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Britain says Moody's downgrade based on 'outdated' Brexit view | LONDON (Reuters) - Britain s government said on Friday that a decision by ratings agency Moody s to downgrade the country s credit rating was based on an outdated assessment of its plans to leave the European Union. Moody s lowered Britain s sovereign credit rating to Aa2 with a stable outlook from Aa1. The assessments made about Brexit in this report are outdated, a government spokesperson said in a statement provided by the finance ministry. Earlier on Friday, Prime Minister Theresa May gave a speech in Italy setting out her wish for a transition period of around two years after Britain leaves the EU in March 2019. The Prime Minister has just set out an ambitious vision for the UK s future relationship with the EU, making clear that both sides will benefit from a new and unique partnership, the government spokesperson said. We have made substantial progress in reducing the deficit while finding extra money for the National Health Service and social care at the same time. We are not complacent about the challenges ahead but we are optimistic about our bright future, the spokesperson added. | 0fake
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World (or at Least Brooklyn) Stops for Lost Dog - The New York Times | Bailey, a goldendoodle, lived a placid, largely uneventful life on a block of handsome brownstones in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, until 7:15 on the morning of Oct. 24. That was when her owner leashed her to a metal chair outside Henry’s Local, a coffee shop on Henry Street, and went in for an iced latte. Another customer entered the cafe. Bailey, startled, jumped to the side. The chair crashed to the sidewalk. The noise spooked Bailey further. She bolted — down Henry Street, dragging the clattering chair behind her, with her owner, Orna Le Pape, in pursuit, yelling: “Bailey, stop! No! No!” Bailey ran diagonally through the intersection at Carroll Street. Then the chair snagged on something. Bailey broke free, leaving the chair and her leash and ID tags behind. She turned right at the When in Rome hair salon onto her block, President Street. She ran right past her house, and she kept going. Ms. Le Pape, 47 and fit but no match for a sprinting dog, lost sight of Bailey at the next corner, but yelled directions: “She went that way!” Bailey went left and left again, toward the waterfront. When Ms. Le Pape got to Columbia Street, on the far side of the Expressway, no one was on the street. She screamed Bailey’s name. She guessed at a direction to run. She passed people. No one had seen her. Gone. Every week, dozens of dogs and cats go missing in New York City. Their distraught owners put up signs. Some turn up alive. Some do not. Over the next few days, Bailey somehow became a phenomenon, a cause, and in her rarefied corner of Brooklyn and beyond, a social media star. Now it was around 7:30 on a Monday, a school and work day, though Ms. Le Pape, a psychotherapist, had no patients scheduled until evening. She ran home, got her car and began an aimless, frantic drive in search of the dog. She called home and told her son to find photos of Bailey (a dog with a shaggy coat, a chestnut beard and enormously long eyelashes) and start printing out fliers. She drove home, picked them up, walked to a nearby copy shop to make more and started posting them, crying all the while. Ms. Le Pape canceled sessions with her evening patients, citing a family emergency. All day, she wandered the tidy precincts known collectively as Brownstone Brooklyn. Up Columbia to Atlantic Avenue, down Hicks Street by the expressway, west to the factories and warehouses of Red Hook, swinging by the dog run beneath by the highway overpass. Everywhere Ms. Le Pape went, people seemed compelled to help. They asked for an extra flier so they could post it on Facebook, or make copies and tape them up elsewhere. They offered suggestions — call vets, call shelters, call animal rescue places, go to the police. “I went to the sanitation garage, down by the water, and the guy said, ‘I’m announcing this on roll call until they find her,’” Ms. Le Pape said. “I ran into absolute strangers who said they were going to church to pray for my dog. ” Ms. Le Pape spared no expense. For $149. 95 she registered with LostMyDoggie. com, which 1, 250 of her neighbors, alerting them to look out for Bailey. She printed over a thousand fliers. Omar at the copy shop would not take her money. In the evening, Ms. Le Pape became fixated on Brooklyn Bridge Park, a mile and a half north of her house — a quiet place to hide for a dog who hates loud noises. From 11:30 p. m. to 1:30 a. m. Ms. Le Pape and her mother, who had come out from Manhattan to help, wandered the deserted park, calling the dog’s name. Nothing. Tuesday: Day 2. Ms. Le Pape started getting calls from people who said they had seen Bailey the day before. She was able to reconstruct some of Bailey’s route: 7:30 a. m. on Monday near the Brooklyn Bridge, a mile and a half north of her house. Then a mile and a half southeast of the bridge at Nevins and Degraw Streets. At 10:30 p. m. on Monday, Bailey had been spotted on Henry Street, five blocks from her house, but running the wrong way. That first day she covered at least 4 miles, probably considerably more. Ms. Le Pape went to the city pet shelters in East Harlem and East New York, Brooklyn. Nothing. More acts of kindness. Near the Fairway supermarket in Red Hook a man flagged her down. “He said, ‘I see you’re offering a reward on your sign. I have the winery that’s down here — tell people the reward is they can come for a tasting and a tour. ’” It is not clear why the search for Bailey drew such an outpouring of support. Part of it may be that Carroll Gardens retains an intimate feel. It certainly did not hurt that she was a particularly appealing dog. “I don’t know if the entire neighborhood would mobilize for an dog,” Ms. Le Pape said. A cynic might wonder if class had anything to do with it. A friend of Ms. Le Pape’s had another theory. “She said, ‘At a time like this, when there’s so much turmoil going on around the election, here’s this story that everyone can latch on to and be on the same side. Everyone wants a lost dog found. ’” In the late afternoon, Ms. Le Pape’s mother noticed signs for a beagle named Edie, who lived three blocks from Bailey and had also run off while leashed to a chair on the same day as Bailey. “I thought it would be a great idea to join forces,” she said. She called one of Edie’s owners, Olly Smith. “I can’t talk right now,” he said. “I think we’ve just found our little dog’s body. ” Edie had been hit by a car on the Expressway. At 4:30 a. m. on Wednesday, Ms. Le Pape was awakened by a dream: Bailey is downstairs, go downstairs. “I didn’t listen to the voice because it was crazy. ” In the morning, Ms. Le Pape went on Facebook. Under “Trending” (a list based on her location, her own social network and broader algorithms) the top topic was Bailey. Outside, she found dog poop on the sidewalk in front of the house. It appeared to be a few hours old. It looked like Bailey’s. “I thought, ‘What if I pick it up and took it to the vet and had them analyze it? ’” Ms. Le Pape recalled. “I was reaching for anything. ” Ms. Le Pape canceled her Wednesday appointments to continue the search. “We heard you have to do at least a radius,” she said. In her part of Brooklyn, there are something like 1, 500 blocks within a radius. At 10 p. m. on Wednesday evening, more than 60 hours after Bailey dashed off, Ms. Le Pape was riding a bike two neighborhoods from home, calling Bailey’s name, and her phone rang. “This woman is panting and puffing,” she recounted. “She says, ‘I’m following your dog, trying to stay with her. ’” Bailey was on Sackett Street, just a few blocks from home. Ms. Le Pape flew down Columbia Street. She ran into the woman: “She said, ‘I was trying to call you again — we lost her. ’” The phone rang again. Someone had just seen Bailey in Red Hook, on Van Brunt Street. And again: “I see your dog,” a man told her. Bailey was on Degraw Street, heading in the direction of home. Ms. Le Pape called her mother. “I just sort of screamed something to the effect of, ‘Everyone get downstairs! ’” Ms. Le Pape’s older son opened the door. There was Bailey, at the top of the stoop. She was starving and dehydrated. She had lost eight pounds. Her paw was bleeding. But she was intact. Ms. Le Pape and her mother began to notify everyone who had been helping with the search, including Edie’s grieving owner, Olly Smith. “This is the most wonderful news,” he wrote back. “We’re so, so happy for you all. ” Bailey has resumed her old life, with one notable change: the coffee place. “I still go there every day,” Ms. Le Pape said. “But without her. ” | 0fake
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Ann Coulter Calls For Assembling ‘Death Squads’ To Kill Undocumented Immigrants (AUDIO) | This is why the right-wing should never have power again.Donald Trump s decision to work with Democrats on legislation that would enshrine the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program into law has angered his anti-immigration supporters.Despite the fact that these children were brought to America through no fault of their own and the fact that America is the only only home they have ever known, right-wingers like Ann Coulter want them deported anyway. And she is so angry over Trump s decision that she is now calling for the creation of death squads to go around the country executing anyone who is an undocumented immigrant or pro-immigration. We have made as clear as you can possibly make it, we want less immigration, Coulter said during an appearance on the Todd Starnes show. Stop dumping the third world on the country. If he continues down this path, well I guess there are three options, she continued. There s the organizing the death squads for the people who ruined America, because there will be no more hope. I guess the other possibility is to well I don t think anyone would mind him being impeached. What s the faction opposing that? And then at least we ll get Mike Pence. But in terms of saving America, maybe a third party. Here s the audio via Right Wing Watch.This is a seriously frightening threat that the American people must reject immediately. Furthermore, federal law enforcement authorities should investigate Coulter. Her words could literally inspire some right-wing nut jobs to actually create these death squads, which would go around terrorizing the nation.Killing immigrants and creating death squads is something that would make Adolf Hitler proud. This is the kind of action that Nazis want in this country and Coulter needs to face serious consequences for even suggesting it as an option. Featured Image: Chip Somodevilla/Getty | 1real
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Religion & Politics: A Bad Mix | October Sky, Good Harbor Beach MA(image by Richard Turcotte) License DMCA Religion is what gives people hope in a world torn apart by religion - Jon Stewart Our Constitution granted each and every one of us the freedom to believe or not believe as we decide. That protection applies to all of us, and when one group has decreed by some spiritual osmosis that their version of the unverifiable and occasionally insane has been decreed as the new Law, then it is up to the rest of us to put that crazy back where it belongs: away from public influence. It's done enough damage as it is. Mankind offers a long history of reliance on others by religious believers with the former being no more intelligent or enlightened than the average man/woman on the street (often far less, if history--or current events--is our guide). Personal thought and introspection have accordingly been relinquished--then, and certainly now. Those presumably more enlightened individuals [bear with me] in turn define and explain their versions of truths, beliefs, and obligations--all in the context of a judging, to-be-feared-and-obeyed, person-like Entity. No small measure of self-interest factors in to their assessments. Keeping ardent followers sufficiently agitated about some loving Deity's wrath [an oxymoron on a grand scale!] allows those professing a direct phone line to the One and Only all the time and opportunity they need to preserve their political and economic advantages without so much as a peep from those loyal supplicants. Hell of a racket.... The current crop of Its spokespeople earn kudos for the ways in which they have fashioned very creative takes on what they claim to be The One and Only Word. Perhaps it's time that we all recognize and simply accept [assuming we accept any kind of theology to begin with] that one religious conviction is in fact no more rational--or irrational--than another. With so many contradictory beliefs, either there is some other unifying and overarching principle, or we will continue to sabotage ourselves and the future of generations to follow by fighting to assert we're right and everyone else is wrong. We own that choice. By its very nature the Source of our Universe is unfathomable. We simply do not have the means or capabilities to define with certainty that great mystery--try as we do. So instead, a great many among us have fashioned a notion that some human-like-but-slightly-better-and-bigger-person-like God/Allah/Whatever created all. Furthermore--apparently--only some know just what It wants from us. That is so convenient, isn't it! - Advertisement - That also frees up some thinking time on the part of those same loyal followers. Why think if someone else is willing to do all of that hard work for us, Right? Aside from that perk, this ceding of rational contemplation is a problem. Always has been. It will continue to be. For all of us, that must change. Acquiescence--or silence--each carry consequences. Were they limited to those followers disinclined to ponder their marching orders, we would certainly have at least one less set of concerns on our plates. If only.... Any honest reading of American history does not suggest a Christian nation that has had secularism forced on it in recent years by liberal forces, but the opposite. Ours is a country that has always been basically secular but has always had to contend with a loud-mouthed minority of theocrats who periodically succeed at using government to push religion until the forces of secularism beat them back again. It's obvious why conservative Christians would like to believe otherwise. Believing they're an oppressed group being denied their birthright is a lot more fun than accepting that they are an oppressive group trying to steal basic freedoms from everyone else. Ignorance, narrow-mindedness, self-serving behaviors, paranoia, fears, and the full range of irrational, fact-challenged nonsense do not manifest themselves inside a protective bubble. The more we collectively permit the subtle infiltration of curiously hypocritical mandates into policy-making, the more certain we can be that outcomes will benefit only very few. Basic math skills tell us that when only a few "win," most lose. That's not a good place for us to be. - Advertisement - Adapted from a blog post of mine View Ratings | Rate It http://richardturcotte.com/
Looking Left and Right: Inspiring Different Ideas, Envisioning Better Tomorrows Rich Turcotte is a retired attorney, former financial advisor, and now a writer. The mission: informing others about the significance and impact of Peak ( more... ) | 1real
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UN Physically Removes Independent Media From NYC HQ For Exposing Institutional Corruption | 21st Century Wire says For years, the United Nations seems to have been embroiled in an endless string of scandals and cover-ups, and yet rarely, if ever, has anyone ever actually been held to account. This has led a number of pundits to accuse the institution of being above the law and riddled with institutional corruption.This latest story only reaffirms these accusations Independent journalist Matthew Russell Lee (photo, left) founded Bronx-based Inner City Press in 2005 and received official press accreditation to cover the United Nations in New York City. He was the first-ever independent, non-affiliated blogger to be given access to the UN s inner sanctum. Since then Inner City Press has broken stories on a number of controversial stories: peacekeeper rapes in Africa, UN cholera in Haiti, war crimes in Sri Lanka and Burundi, the Sudans, SEMG and Yemen (see a leaked letter here), as well as corruption within UN Headquarters (cocaine shipments through its mail room and the current bribery scandals).Apparently, it was all too much for diplomatic luminaries at the UN. Last month, Lee was forcibly ejected from the UN headquarters.The DC-based Government Accountability Project, which defends UN and other whistleblowers, believes that the ouster of Inner City Press from the UN s press office is retaliatory in response to independent, critical journalism. UN Restricts of Free PressOn the afternoon of February 19th, Inner City Press questioned UN inaction in South Sudan and Burundi and financial irregularities, and was handed a letter from Ban Ki-moon s Under Secretary General for Public Information Cristina Gallach ordering Inner City Press to surrender its Resident Correspondent accreditation of eight years and be removed from the UN by 5 pm. In a letter that gave Inner City Press only two hours notice, Gallach told Inner City Press to surrender the key to its long-time shared office. Read the UN letter here. Later, while Inner City Press was writing up a UN Security Council meeting on Syria that went into the evening, a total of eight UN Security guards under Deputy Chief Michael McNulty tore off Inner City Press UN ID badge and grabbed Inner City Press laptop and camera, before throwing them on the sidewalk on First Avenue as well as physically throwing journalist Matthew Lee on the street in freezing weather, without a coat. Audio here; video as UN Security turns off Inner City Press Periscope livestream here: Ban Ki-moon, whose victory tour of blood-soaked northern Sri Lanka Inner City Press covered and was never forgiven for by Ban s UN, was the target of a demonstration in Jaffa for the ouster of Inner City Press. Tamils in Jaffna protest the cancellation of the resident correspondent s press accreditation of Inner City Press from the UN Building in New York City: Supporters of Inner City Press launched a petition to restore Lee and Inner City Press to its former office space.READ MORE UN NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire UN Files | 1real
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What Happens to Our Lungs, Brain & Mood When We Use a Himalayan SALT LAMPS | Keywords: cancer , diet , health , Health Benefits of Himalayan Salt lamp , mental health , Natural remedies , stress , Toxins
The Himalayan Salt Lamps are made from Natural Himalayan Crystal Salt Rock formed millions of years ago in the foothills of Himalaya. Salt lamps are blocks of pure Himalayan salt, so they come from the same region of the world. Also known as the ‘Vitamins of the Air’, they are made from the salt that came from ancient oceans, and serve as a perfect air ionizer. How Himalayan Salt Lamps Work?
Himalayan salt lamps emit negative ions in the air which are healthy for the human body. The ionization is supported by the bulb inside of the salt block since the bulb heats the salt block around it. Himalayan salt attracts the water around it and this process called as hygroscopic. Therefore, the Himalayan salt lamps may become dump or wet, especially in an environment with high humidity. As the bulb heats the salt lamp, the water evaporates and the negative ions are released in the air. The negative ions bind with the positive harmful ions such as allergens, molds and bacteria, and neutralize the environment in the house. Improve Blood Flow
Particular studies have suggested that negative ions, such as those emitted by Himalayan salt lamps, can accelerate blood flow. This boost helps to improve several disorders of the vascular system and can prevent certain damage to the lungs. Purify Air
Dust, pollen, cigarette smoke and other pollutants ruin the purity of the air we breathe, and the perfect way to neutralize it is to use Himalayan salt lamp on your room. It acts as air purifier through its ability to absorb water and evaporating them after. They attract water molecules in the air, which traps impurities in the air and leaves you with fresh, clean air: this is known as hygroscopy. Good Vibrations
Salt has been used through out the ages to clean energies from homes and people. You can use Salt to clear crystals, clear your body and clear your home. Because Salt Crystals vibrate at a frequency closer to the earths magnetic frequency known as the shuman resonance frequency they can also help bring us back in balance. Boost Energy Levels
Positive ions deplete the body of energy, and it is believed that Himalayan salt lamps can actually do the opposite. The negative ions increase energy levels, which yields a refreshing effect similar to the feeling of rejuvenation achieved from spending time in nature. Improve Your Breathing
Asthma and other breathing complications can be triggered by polluted, corrupted air. Salt lamps ensure that you breathe cleaner air whenever you are around them, helping to improve breathing and prevent contaminants from entering your lungs. Other Benefits of Using Himalayan salt lamp
Balancing pH to strengthening bones and lowering blood pressure Reduce morning sickness, some type of depression Reduce asthma attack and allergy symptoms Reduce allergic reaction | 1real
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LOONY CALIFORNIA SECESSION Group Proclaims They’ve Opened An Embassy…In Russia [Video] | California gained an embassy in Russia last weekend, at least in the eyes of those who have promised to seek a statewide vote on secession, nicknamed Calexit, in 2018.Louis Marinelli, a San Diego resident who is the leader of the group promoting an effort to turn the state into an independent country, organized the Moscow event that was publicized on social media. We want to start laying the groundwork for a dialogue about an independent California joining the United Nations now, he said in an email Monday.Read more: LA Times | 1real
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Soon-to-go-free jail convicts snared in French attack plot probe | PARIS (Reuters) - Two French prison inmates who were soon to be freed have been placed under investigation on suspicion of planning a terrorist attack and communicating by smartphone with Syria, stronghold of Islamic State militants. The news highlighted the risk, regularly flagged by rights groups and jail authorities, that crowded prisons offer fertile ground for religious radicalization and conversion to the cause of Islamist fighters, not only in France. It also prompted calls for a crackdown on use of smartphones inside prisons. The two, who were nearing the end of jail time for hold-ups and other criminal activity but not terrorist offences, were taken from their cells late last week and interrogated for four days before being placed formally under investigation for suspected terrorist activity, a judiciary official said. One element that prompted the authorities to act was the interception of encrypted message traffic with Syria, a Fresnes prison staff representative, Cedric Boyer, said. The precise nature of what was being planned was not clear, he added. Conveying the seriousness of the perceived threat that the two constituted, Justice Minister Nicole Belloubet told Europe 1 radio: What happened yesterday exposed the urgency of the situation. French TV station LCI said the two were plotting attacks against jail wardens and police forces, while a source close to the investigation said they also had other targets planned. More than 240 people have been killed in France in attacks since the start of 2015 by assailants who pledged allegiance to, or were inspired by, Islamic State. France has a long record of radicalization in its prisons. Prison guards said the ease with which smartphones can be used to communicate secretively with the world outside was an increasing problem. The government is going to have to put its hand in its pocket, said Boyer, a representative of the Force Ouvriere labor union and guards at the Fresnes prison. Extra staffing is needed but it s also a matter of keeping up with technology, being able to scramble 4G communications rather than staying stuck in the age of the Nokia 33-10, Boyer told BFM TV, referring to latest technology and the days when mobile phones were a rudimentary novelty. | 0fake
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WATCH: Gingrich Accuses Megyn Kelly Of Being “Fascinated With Sex” | Hillary Howls in Laughter About Radical Muslims Sodomizing, Killing Man
“Say, ‘Bill Clinton is a sexual predator,'” he said.
Kelly never did say those words, but she did shoot back at Gingrich by saying that the Kelly File has covered former President Bill Clinton’s accusations as well, but that he “wasn’t on the ticket.”
However Kelly never implied that Clinton was a sexual predator during those segments, something to which Gingrich took offense. Advertisement - story continues below
“I am sick and tired of people like you using that language. That is inflammatory, that is not true,” Gingrich angrily said after Kelly used the phrase “sexual predator” when talking about the women who have come forward to accuse Trump of sexual assault, but not about Clinton.
“You are fascinated with sex and you don’t care about public policy,” Gingrich said to Kelly at one point during the show.
Kelly insisted that she was not obsessed with sex, she was simply reporting on someone who could potentially be the next president of the United States.
The fiery exchange ended on an even lower note. Advertisement - story continues below | 1real
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Maine GOP State Senator Sick Of His Bullsh*t Demands Censure Of Governor Paul LePage | Republicans in Maine tolerated Governor Paul LePage and his offensive words and actions for a long time, but now they are finally sick of him.LePage has constantly characterized blacks and Hispanics as drug-dealers and the enemy but it was a voicemail message he left for Democratic state Rep. Drew Gattine that finally caused Republicans to say enough is enough. I would like to talk to you about your comments about my being a racist, you cocksucker, LePage said. I want to talk to you. I want you to prove that I m a racist. I ve spent my life helping black people and you little son-of-a-bitch, socialist cocksucker. You I need you to, just friggin I want you to record this and make it public because I am after you. Thank you. Clearly, LePage lost his sh*t in this message and actually threatened a member of the state legislature.That s a line too far, says Republican state Senator Amy Volk.Volk is so disgusted with LePage that she is seeking a censure, which is a formal resolution expressing severe disapproval that will be on the record. Up until this point, I have refrained from publicly criticizing any of the governor s behavior both out of respect for the office and a desire to preserve a working relationship with him and his staff, Volk explained. But this latest and the unwelcome attention it has brought to our state is a bridge too far. My understanding is that it would be by a vote of the legislature that it s sort of an official reprimand entered into the record so you know some sort of displeasure with the governor s behavior, she added.A censure is a pretty big deal, especially when it s being called for by a member of the governor s own party.Frankly, LePage should have been censured and impeached a long time ago.After all, his outbursts and damaging decisions have embarrassed the state so much that Maine s largest newspaper actually apologized to the nation for him ever being elected to begin with. Dear America: Maine here, the Portland Press Herald began: Please forgive us we made a terrible mistake. We managed to elect and re-elect a governor who is unfit for high office. He has a gruff exterior and blunt way of talking that some of us find refreshing, but he has shown again and again that he governs by grudge, and uses his power to beat up on people who cannot fight back. Unfortunately for Maine, unless Republicans grow a spine and impeach their inflammatory governor they will be stuck with him until 2019, giving him plenty of time to humiliate himself and the state even more than he has already.Featured image via Flickr | 1real
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3 Ways to Find Focus in Trump's Age of Distractions · Guardian Liberty Voice | President-elect Donald Trump is like a one-man meteor shower of this age. He sprays white-knuckle antipathy upon all manner of people of varied religions, ethnicities, race, and any other target of choice. He avoids the “politically correct” avenue and simply does things his own way. Trump’s age of distractions has thrown the country into a frenzy leaving people careening and disoriented. The real issue is the lack of focus is not limited to the realm of politics; it has shifted into other areas that have affected many on a personal level. This is not really about the distraction of politics, it is more centered on the politics of distraction.
One of the things that continues to rise over the past 15 years or so is the increase in diagnosis involving focus. Whether it is ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) or OCD (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder), the list of diagnosis that indicates a challenge in our ability to focus has America in the lead above any other country. The blame has shifted from the school system to the household, to the programmers of major television stations and now, Trump’s age of distractions. Famed novelist Arthur Golden said, “A mind troubled by doubts cannot focus on the course of victory.” With this in mind, it is evident that no matter who is to blame for the lack of focus, victims need to discover a remedy fast.
Focus, by definition, is the adjustment for distinct vision; a center of activity, attraction, and attention. It is the last part of the definition that really stands out, “the center of a person’s activity, attraction, and attention . ” Here is the real deal, people do not possess focus if it has not arrested those three areas of life. That is the difference between hobbies and passions. The latter captivates all you are and all you do. Many have failed simply because they have refused to bring their lives into a definite focus.
Focus allows us to harness our skills, intelligence, and resources and put them to work on our life goals. Most, at one time or another, have fallen into the trap of being a “Jack of All Trades.” The part that is often missed is that we become masters of none. We spread ourselves thin in an effort to appear busy, but life’s successes come from a laser beam approach toward tasks. This may be the reason America ranks nearly last amidst other countries with regards to productivity. We have more stuff than ever, but we seem to be doing less. The issue lies in our inability to focus.
Where do we begin? In a society that is screaming at us from sun up to sun down, how will we find the time to focus? Even on our jobs, we get assigned to one project only to be told the other five are really the priority. Everything was due two days ago. People consume fast food at alarming rates because it is supposed to be fast and no one has time to cook a balanced meal. This, however, leads to fears of illnesses like cancer and diabetes. People of all nationalities seem to be in a losing battle with the clock and now experts are telling saying the biggest problem is really the lack of focus. Listed below are solutions that can ease the pressure and help people to find focus in Trump’s age of distractions:
Admit other things are important too: One of the first mistakes we make is trying to go “cold turkey” when it comes to our distractions. You have had them long enough for them to become a new normal. Therefore, cutting them out will not be easy. First, devise a plan to lower a number of distractions by setting guidelines. By checking emails less frequently and turning the ringer off on your phone, you increase your ability to focus instantly. Solicit the help of colleagues: People tend to interrupt you because that is what you have trained them to do. Setting boundaries around yourself sends an instant message to people indicating you are in work mode. Let them know your times of “on purpose” focus and that you are not to be disturbed. Usually, people will honor it. Utilize technology, sticky notes, and lists to your advantage: In your lap right now is the power to retake your focus. You probably have a smartphone, Tablet, Kindle or some other device capable of helping you organize your time. I find if we do not have a plan, we are planning to fail. Set reminders to study in your phone, read your morning paper on your iPad while commuting, or set a to-do list the night before. All these small tasks add up to big time savers in the future. In Trump’s age of distraction, it has become easy to blame the lack of focus on external events. In reality, the only thing we really do control is our behavior in any given situation. Take back your life and readjust your focal point. You will be amazed at how closely life imitates a camera. Until it is turned on and focused, no memories are ever clearly captured. Remember, this is really not about the distraction of politics, but the responsibility of managing the politics of distraction.
Opinion by Cherese Jackson (Virginia)
Source:
New York Times: The Politics of Distraction
Photo Credits:
Top Image Courtesy of Michael Vadon- Flickr License
Inline Image Courtesy of Aaron Brinker – Flickr License
Featured Image Courtesy of Nate Steiner – Flickr License
Donald Trump , election , focus , self help | 1real
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Racists Spew Hate All Over Facebook After Black People Hold Anti-Violence #BikesUpGunsDown Rally (VIDEO) | When the Black Lives Matter movement started gaining nationwide attention, racists across America were outraged. How dare the African-American community speak out against the institutionalized racism in this country! One of the most common statements from the hate-filled folks was, Oh sure, they complain about white on black crime, but ignore black on black crime! And that sentiment is what makes the following story so ironic.On Monday, a group of predominantly black bikers held a rally called Bikes Up, Guns Down. Hundreds of young men took to the streets on their ATV s and dirt bikes to promote peace in their communities. Rapper Project Stacks, who is involved in the movement, explained what it was all about in an interview with the Miami New Times in April:Bikes Up, Guns Down is strictly to stop the youth violence. Violence ain t cool. We re saying, Let s stick together. We already deep in population. Back then, when it was violence, it was probably one person droppin every three months or every six months. Now you got two or three dropping every weekend. Or two, three, or four dead bodies every weekend So it s kind of different, and it done raise the stakes. But I know they like to ride them bikes. Give em something to do. I ma buy as many bikes as I can, man.However, when dozens of riders took to the streets on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, the white supremacists went wild on Facebook. Fox 13 Tampa Bay posted a video of the riders on the streets, some of them were driving like idiots, but for the most part is was just a bunch of bike riders but the white folks were very displeased with this. That s right, calling out his vile stereotypes makes YOU the racist.The sad thing about this entire incident was the completely predictable way that the racists responded. The people who participated in the rally were branded thugs even when they were trying to do something positive for their community. Yet, the same totally inclusive white people have nothing to say when hundreds of caucasian bikers hold rallies and disrupt traffic. Hell, they didn t even say anything when a bunch of bikers got into a gun fight outside of a restaurant.As a person who is so white I can guide the way in a dark tunnel, I am truly disgusted by the way my community continues to treat other people. It s not that difficult to be a good human being, I promise.If you are one of those people who still believes that we live in a post-racial America, all you have to do is log on to the internet to be proven wrong.Watch:Featured image video screenshot | 1real
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New Report Shows 3.5 MILLION MORE ADULTS Registered To Vote Than Are Alive…Is This Why Leftist Media Predicted Hillary Would Win? [VIDEO] | WATCH the euphoric reaction of Clinton crony and ABC host George Stephanopoulos discuss the probability of Hillary winning the presidential election against candidate Trump with Nate Silver. According to Stephaopoulos, is rarely incorrect in his predictions. Was Silver considering the effect voter fraud would have on our elections that appears to be almost exclusively favoring Democrats?FAST FORWARD TO August, 2017, as America witnesses one report after anohter of unbelievable voter fraud and/or major voter discrepancies across several states in America. Americans are finally starting to understand how the Democrats, and their allies in the media were so certain that Hillary would win against the much more popular candidate Donald J. Trump:National Review Some 3.5 million more people are registered to vote in the U.S. than are alive among America s adult citizens. Such staggering inaccuracy is an engraved invitation to voter fraud.The Election Integrity Project of Judicial Watch a Washington-based legal-watchdog group analyzed data from the U.S. Census Bureau s 2011 2015 American Community Survey and last month s statistics from the federal Election Assistance Commission. The latter included figures provided by 38 states. According to Judicial Watch, eleven states gave the EAC insufficient or questionable information. Pennsylvania s legitimate numbers place it just below the over-registration threshold.My tabulation of Judicial Watch s state-by-state results yielded 462 counties where the registration rate exceeded 100 percent. There were 3,551,760 more people registered to vote than adult U.S. citizens who inhabit these counties. That s enough over-registered voters to populate a ghost-state about the size of Connecticut, Judicial Watch attorney Robert Popper told me.Take a look at the margin in battle ground states Trump won in 2016, in which Electoral College votes can be decided by incredibly narrow margins. Consider the multitude of ghost voters in:Colorado: 159,373Florida: 100,782Iowa: 31,077Michigan: 225,235New Hampshire: 8,211North Carolina: 189,721Virginia: 89,979(For a deeper dive into these data, please download my spreadsheet here.)President Donald J. Trump s supporters might be intrigued to learn that Hillary Clinton s margins of victory in Colorado (136,386) and New Hampshire (2,736) were lower than the numbers of ghost voters in those states. Clinton s fans should know that Trump won Michigan (10,704) and North Carolina (173,315) by fewer ballots than ghost voters in those states.It s past time to exorcise ghost voters from the polls.Watch Barack Obama criticize Donald Trump for questioning the integrity of the vote: | 1real
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Will James Comey Change the Outcome of the Election? | Will James Comey Change the Outcome of the Election? Is this the game-changing October surprise that many hope for -- and others dread? November 2, 2016
Bruce Thornton is a Shillman Journalism Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center.
FBI Director James Comey’s reopening of the investigation into Clinton’s emails has roiled once more the presidential election. Donald Trump has called the decision “courageous” and “bigger than Watergate.” Clinton, the DOJ, Democrat Senators, and their media flying monkeys are all having conniption fits over their quondam champion’s defection, calling the announcement “appalling,” “absurd,” “strange,” “deeply troubling,” an “attack,” and “unprecedented.” The bigger question is whether it will move enough voters over to Trump’s side and put him in the White House.
There’s no doubt that Comey’s announcement eleven days before the election is mystifying. Not because it is “unprecedented” as the Democrats keep squealing. They had no such qualms when the weekend before the 1992 election, special prosecutor Lawrence Walsh indicted a poll-surging George H.W. Bush for his alleged involvement in the Iran-Contra scandal. No, the mystery is Comey’s motives. Is Comey like Conrad’s Lord Jim, now sacrificing his FBI career––sure to be over if the notoriously vengeful Clinton is elected–– to atone for having besmirched his office, reputation, and the principle of equality before the law in service to careerist self-interest? Or was he facing a mutiny and leaks from disgruntled FBI investigators? To quote one of our candidates, “At this point, what difference does it make?”
The real question is whether it will make a difference to the voters. Right now we don’t know if the content of the 650,000 emails from the conjugal laptop used by serial sexter Anthony Weiner, estranged husband of Clinton vizier Huma Abedin, will reveal something damning like, say, classified materials. But we already know that Clinton passed classified information over an unsecured server, which didn’t bother Comey back in July. So what could be in these new emails that rises above Comey’s sophistic “extreme carelessness,” and reaches the statute’s “gross negligence”? Or has Comey found new evidence of Hillary’s “intent,” his other exculpatory sophistry that had little to do with the law? There had to be something that made Comey subject himself to the scorched-earth wrath of the Democrats.
Whatever is found on the Abedin laptop, one wonders if will even matter to a sufficient number of voters. They have shrugged off so many scandals, lies, and failures that should have sunk a candidacy, that it’s hard to calculate what level of incompetence, unpleasantness, dishonesty, sleaze, and crime is disqualifying anymore. Here are the greatest hits from Hillary’s catalogue: Whitewater Missing billing records from her tenure at the Rose Law Firm Renting out the Lincoln Bedroom to donors Travelgate Illegal possession of FBI files Conducting illegal secret meetings of the Task Force on National Health Care Reform Cackling over keeping a pedophile rapist out of jail Hounding the victims of her husband’s sexual assaults and philandering Stealing $200,000 worth of china, furniture, and artwork from the White House Claiming she landed under “sniper fire” in Bosnia Claiming she and Bill left the White House “dead broke” Shaking down Wall Street while assuring the Orcs of capitalism that she’s got their back Charging exorbitant speaking fees for a half hour of banalities and bromides Calling 30,000 missing emails “personal” communications Lying about the Benghazi attack to the faces of the four dead Americans’ families Supporting the lie that the attacks were caused by an obscure Internet video when she knew the same night that they weren’t Perjuring herself before Congress and the FBI about the emails and her private server The disastrous overthrow of Ghaddafi in Libya The disastrous “reset” with Russia The disastrous nuclear deal with Iran The disastrous withdrawal from Iraq The corrupt Clinton Foundation and its wholly owned subsidiary, the pay-to-play State Department Using feminist rhetoric while taking cash from some of the planet’s most brutally misogynistic regimes Serially flip-flopping on issues like same-sex marriage, the Trans Pacific Trade deal, and the Keystone pipeline Promising to “raise taxes on the middle class” and “put coal miners out of work” Her campaign staff’s dirty tricks against Trump and his supporters Her campaign staff’s incestuous relationship with the media Her staff’s illegal destruction of incriminating evidence during the email investigation Her strong support of gruesome late-term abortions And, last but not least, the continuing unanswered questions about her physical and cognitive health
Back in the day, just a few of these gaffes, deceptions, and failures would probably have sunk a campaign for Congress, let alone the White House.
And Mr. Trump’s offenses? He’s talks exactly as you’d expect a New York real estate developer, casino owner, reality television star, and beauty pageant mogul to talk He’s condemned as a sexual assaulter for saying a decade ago what Bill Clinton and every White-House-visiting rapper, movie star, or rock star knows about the sexual perks of celebrity: “When you’re a star they let you do it,” as Trump bragged of his crude sexual advances He’s ignorant of policy He doesn’t understand the economics of global trade He doesn’t know what the “nuclear triad” is He’s addicted to a half dozen superlative adjectives He wants to build a wall with Mexico He takes legal advantage of tax law He’s not “suitable” for office He does not have the right “temperament” He’s used bankruptcy as a business tool He’s accused of groping over a dozen women, including a polymorphously perverse porn star He’s mean and insulting He has orange hair
In short, Trump lacks the superficial patina of rhetorical decorum and sober demeanor that most modern presidents and candidates spray over their public personas in order to hide their private flaws and vices. Just ask Hillary’s various Secret Service details how wide the distance between public and private personalities can be.
The voters will decide for themselves which candidate’s catalogue of sins is more disqualifying and dangerous. But whatever happens, it’s clear that we the people have lowered the bar of acceptability for presidential candidates.
This transformation happened decades before Trump and Hillary came along. After Bill Clinton was impeached for perjury related to his sordid sexual depredations in the White House, his approval ratings were 73%. He left the White House with a 66% rating, higher than any president since Harry Truman, including Ronald Reagan. Think about it: the president who sexually exploited an intern and was impeached for perjury left office with higher approval ratings than the president who rescued the economy and tossed the Soviet Union into its own dustbin of history.
That was the inflection point for our political culture. No wonder that Barack Obama’s lack of any real-world experience or achievement, left-wing views, self-confessed drug use, friends like the anti-American racist Jeremiah Wright and unrepentant terrorist Bill Ayers, and gaping holes in his biography were unimportant to 45 million voters. So why now are we shocked, shocked that off-brand candidates like Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are vying for the presidency? Decrying these candidates is closing the barn door after the horses of virtue, wisdom, and decorum have already long gone.
So absent a smoking howitzer in the next WikiLeaks dump, Comey’s restart of the investigation, which in any case will take months to complete, will probably not be the game-changing October surprise many hope for and others dread, especially given a corrupt media’s studied indifference to anything that damages their candidate. Then again, the rapid erosion of Hillary’s support is drawing analogies to Reagan’s late surge against Carter.
Either way, on November 8, most people will vote their economic interests and their ideological passions, and decide based on subjective perceptions and silly criteria like “cares for people like me.” Or they might just finally realize that Hillary’s accumulated offenses are intolerable. But what that standard of selection will deliver is anybody’s guess. | 1real
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Sanders, Trump give union hope in fight for Carrier jobs | INDIANAPOLIS (Reuters) - Duane Oreskowic was speechless when he learned last week that his job would be one of 1,400 lost when his employer, Carrier Corp, moved production to Mexico. But he has found his voice again since learning that Bernie Sanders is interested in his plight. “I am a big-time Sanders fan and I hope he can help us,” said the 37-year-old assembly specialist. “But even if he can’t, maybe we can stop this happening to other American workers.” The Feb. 9 announcement by United Technologies Corp’s Carrier unit that it would shift production to Mexico from Indianapolis has thrust the long-term trend of U.S. manufacturing job decline to the foreground of the nation’s election year agenda. Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump seized on the announcement to amplify his position that companies such as Carrier should be taxed if they send jobs to low wage countries. Democratic candidate Sanders called Carrier, a maker of air conditioners, an “example of how NAFTA and other trade policies have been a disaster for American workers.” The 2016 U.S. presidential election is in November. Communities around Indianapolis have witnessed a steady outflow of factory jobs over the past two decades. What made this action different was a YouTube video of the workers getting the news that by Thursday afternoon had more than 3.4 million views, and the political reaction to it. “I came here 30 years ago looking for the American dream,” said Hatice Lancaster, 51, originally from Turkey. “Maybe I should have gone to Mexico instead.” Chuck Jones, president of United Steelworkers Local 1999, which represents the Carrier workers, said he hopes to use the attention to force Carrier to reverse its decision. Jones faces a steep climb. Carrier has told the union it can pay Mexican workers $3 an hour versus more than $20 on average in Indianapolis. A spokeswoman for Carrier said the company pays a “competitive wage” based on local conditions and could not discuss pay levels. Since 1998, the chain-smoking, plain-spoken and profane Jones has watched the number of factories represented by his local dwindle to 12 from 38. He and his staff can rattle off the names of plants that have closed. “We didn’t ask for this fight,” Jones said. “But we have to draw a line in the sand somewhere.” Jones is now giving interviews to anyone who asks - he was interrupted by multiple phone calls seeking comment while talking to Reuters - in the hope “this time America will pay attention and do something about rampant corporate greed.” Jones is grateful that Trump has drawn public attention to Carrier, but he sees Sanders “as a champion for our cause.” Jones said he has been contacted by the Sanders campaign. A member of the Sanders campaign said the Vermont senator’s team would be in touch with Jones. Some Carrier workers interviewed outside the plant said they are drawn to Trump. Brian Easton, 45, said he and his wife work for Carrier, and are now coming to terms with what he said is likely to be a permanent drop in their living standard. “This country is run by Corporate America and we need someone in office like Donald Trump who is not beholden to anyone,” Easton said. “I don’t think he can save our jobs, but if we draw attention to this perhaps other workers won’t have to go through this.” | 0fake
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As Trump visits U.N., New York prepares for 'Super Bowl' of security | NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York police and a host of federal agencies are preparing for the annual traffic and security nightmare known as the United Nations General Assembly, featuring a week of speeches by U.S. President Donald Trump and a parade of other dignitaries. The meeting of the world’s top leaders and diplomats, scheduled to begin on Tuesday, will bring street closures, thousands of police officers and hundreds of protesters to midtown Manhattan, an area already plagued with gridlock on an average weekday. “It’s the equivalent of the Super Bowl of security,” said J. Peter Donald, a spokesman for the New York City Police Department. Trump will be on hand on Monday and Tuesday, when he will address the body of world leaders for the first time. It was not immediately clear whether he would stay at his Manhattan penthouse about a mile away from United Nations headquarters or sleep at his golf course in Bedminster, New Jersey. The event also comes just days after a homemade bomb on a packed commuter train in London injured 22 people, though it failed to fully explode. A handful of anti-Trump protests in New York have been scheduled, with more sure to come. A march on Monday to combat “white supremacy” will start from Grand Central Terminal, while the left-wing activist group Code Pink has organized a Tuesday march to the U.N. to protest Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Other protesters will gather outside the U.N. to call out specific countries, including a rally against Iran President Hassan Rouhani. The NYPD’s elite counterterrorism unit, along with detectives from the intelligence bureau and officers from the aviation, harbor, highway and traffic units, will be on hand throughout the week. Donald said the department has plenty of “muscle memory” from previous years. “It’s a full assortment of personnel from nearly every part of the police department,” Donald said. “We’ll be prepared for anything. We’ll have backup plans and backup plans for the backup plans.” The U.S. Secret Service, the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security and various other federal agencies are also involved in providing security during both Trump’s visit and the general assembly. Vast swaths of the area near the United Nations, on the far east side of midtown Manhattan, will be closed to vehicle traffic, and the Coast Guard will heavily restrict boat traffic on the East River. Police did not immediately offer an estimate on how much the week’s security and traffic measures would cost. | 0fake
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Obama says would support Trump moves to improve U.S. healthcare | BERLIN (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Thursday he would support any move by President-elect Donald Trump to improve healthcare for Amercicans. “Trump says that he can improve the health system. I believe that if he is able to insure the same number of people - better than I am - I would support this,” Obama told German television station ARD, according to a translation into German. During the U.S. presidential campaign, Trump called for the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, to be repealed and replaced and labeled the 2010 law “a disaster.” He has since said he is considering retaining parts of Obama’s healthcare law. | 0fake
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Why Libertarians (and Other 3rd Parties) Should Thank Donald Trump | With just three months to go before the long national nightmare that is Election 2016 transmogrifies into a either a Hillary Clinton or a Donald Trump presidency(!), let's take a late-summer moment to squeeze some lemonade from lemons. Whatever happens in November, all of us who have political perspectives that are routinely discounted or dismissed by the Republican-Democratic duopoly should thank Donald Trump for creating a blueprint to power for us.
Pull yourself out of the news cycle that he has been so expert in dominating with a daily—sometimes hourly—spew of sensational utterings, proclamations, and half-baked policy plans: Extreme vetting! Mexican rapists! Crooked Hillary! When he's not creating outrage himself, he brings it in other people, such as when his supporters get egged at rallies or unflattering naked statues of the billionaire crop up in cities around the country.
The simple fact is, as conservative commentator and Finding Mr. Righteous author Lisa De Pasquale, writes,
There has been much hand-wringing among the right on where Republicans go now that Trump has "destroyed" the party. They complain that the Republican Party has left them, while millions of Trump voters and libertarians believe party leaders and professional pundits left them decades ago. Regardless of whether the #NeverTrump crowd has valid points, it is clear that Trump has done libertarians a favor in busting the Old Guard of Republican kingmakers. The Old Guard isn't mad that Trump doesn't represent their principles, but that they no longer hold any power in picking the top of the ticket. The proof is that rather than get behind Gary Johnson, they'd rather trot out a candidate with zero name recognition or campaign infrastructure.
Beyond revealing the emptiness of the power bases in the existing Republican Party (and party members' absolute lack of interest in moving toward their ostensible principles of limited, smaller government), De Pasquale argues that Trump is the shape of better things to come:
The Trump campaign has been a battering ram for libertarians. In just over a year, Trump has succeeded in what the Libertarian Party hasn't been able to do in the 35 years since it was conceived. Not only has he upset traditional party politics, but he's also paved the way for non-traditional candidates. Who needs stuffy party leaders and pundits when you have social media and 100% name recognition?... In the current political climate, personality, authenticity, and even celebrity reign. Trump has shown that at least in the primaries, the absence of a traditional ground game and campaign budget can be overcome. Libertarians have an advantage because we already know they're authentic by going against the dominant parties.... Libertarians also have a good celebrity bench that could help them replicate the Trump campaign. I wouldn't necessarily endorse famous libertarian Vince Vaughn for president (though I would endorse myself as First Lady), but I would enthusiastically get on the Peter Thiel Train. Set aside policy disagreements libertarians have with Trump. They should be thankful that Trump has created a new path for national office. He built libertarian candidates a path to success and he paid for it.
Read the whole piece and start thinking: Who are the agents of libertarian influence that can either transform the existing major parties and bring a bold new "free minds and free markets" sensibility to independent runs at all levels of government? Better yet, who are the crossover figures that might do for the Libertarian Party what athletes such as Joe Namath did for the old AFL by legitimizing an upstart league as a major force?
It's a given that Americans know nothing and care even less about history. That's certainly true when it comes to journalism generally and political journalism specifically. Did you ever wonder just why every election is the most important one in our lives? The answer is only mysterious to dead-enders within those group and to journalists, both of whom have no sense of history and really think that everything is on the line every four years and that whatever happened 10, 20, or 30 years ago is irrelevant to understanding the current moment. For the most part, we have simply been repeating the same play over and over again, but to less-and-less-engaged audiences.
As Matt Welch and I wrote in The Declaration of Independents: How Libertarian Politics Can Fix What's Wrong With America, all the trends of the past 40 to 50 years show that Americans have weaker and weaker ties to the Republican and Democratic Parties, just as we do with all consumer brands. Whatever post-war coalitions those parties once represented no longer exist. Everything in American life is vastly different than it was in, say 1964, when the current identities of the GOP and Democrats were being formed. These parties are designed to groups of people that either no longer exist in the same numbers as they once did (private-sector union members and socially conservative Christians, say) or who don't link issues the way they used to (what's the necessary connection between before for marriage equality and higer marginal tax rates?).
Yet most party leaders and media ignore the at-or-near-historic lows in voter identification with the Democrats and Republicans. They also act as if the ideologies and policy platforms of parties can't or don't change over time. The result is a conversation about politics that is less and less moored to basic reality. We need a new operating system for politics in the 21st century, but the people most invested in the current one don't want to migrate or upgrade to anything different. We need Windows 10, but they're fine sticking with 3.1, thank you very much.
Trump's rise—and the semi-successful insurgency of Bernie Sanders, too—puts the lie to the idea that the power structure is capable of maintaining a status quo that serves fewer and fewer people. Given his absolute lack of consistent, coherent policies and his radically backward-looking agenda (anti-trade and migration in an increasingly globalized world?!?), he is not the future of anything, but the last gasp of a 20th-century politics that, in one final push, was able to reduce at least one of the major parties to rubble. It's up to those of us who actually want a new operating system for American governance to determine what comes next. | 0fake
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In rush to reclaim Yemen, exiled leaders risk fracturing it | Holed up in Saudi Arabia, the inner circle of President Hadi is rallying tribal leaders to resist Houthi rebels who control much of Yemen. The risk is that if and when they regain power the central government will emerge with little authority.
Uber in court: Is it a digital service, or an unlicensed taxi company?
Uber in court: Is it a digital service, or an unlicensed taxi company?
From the gilded suites and granite lobby of a luxurious five-star hotel here, the remnants of Yemen’s embattled government sees a daily lineup of Yemeni tribal leaders, Western diplomats, and Saudi military commanders.
Over countless cups of bittersweet coffee and dates, and lobster and seafood dinners, Yemeni ministers calmly toss out phrases like “national dialogue” and “institution building” as they talk up their postwar political plans.
They lack the air of urgency or desperation of a government forced to take refuge with its powerful neighbor. To hear them tell it, they are a government poised to reclaim power from the Shiite Houthi militia and allied fighters that call the shots in much of their country.
But their blueprint for victory may contain the seeds of defeat for a unitary Yemeni state. As in Libya, the arming of local militia to oust a common enemy could make it even harder to restore central authority in the aftermath of a civil war.
Over the last two weeks, the UN-backed Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi has been working feverously to patch together a broad coalition of Yemeni tribes backed by Arab military intervention against the Iranian-allied Houthis.
The result is a tribal coalition of some 70,000 fighters – and the pledge of a Saudi-Egyptian expeditionary force. Yemeni officials say they are preparing to retake the southern port city of Aden “within days,” and thence fight for control over the rest of Yemen.
“From day one, we have been building a coalition across all segments of Yemeni society to return the rule of law,” says Yasseen Makawi, a close aide to Hadi who has led several talks here with Yemeni tribal leaders. Hadi is currently in Riyadh, living under tight security.
“We will be in Aden soon to start the long fight,” Mr. Makawi says.
So far, the Saudi-led bombing campaign hasn’t stopped the advance of the Houthis, which are backed by military units loyal to former Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh. On Thursday, these forces captured Ataq, the provincial capital of oil-rich Shabwa province, after days of clashes followed by negotiations with local Sunni tribes, according to news reports.
For Hadi’s exiled government, the stakes are high. In order to win over the support of dozens of tribes in south and central Yemen, officials have agreed in future to devolve more government powers to the provinces and tribal regions, threatening the unity of a state that was only reunified in 1990.
Yemeni tribal leaders see the situation as an opportunity to press for greater autonomy – and perhaps independence.
“We are all for a democratic Yemen with greater powers in the hands of the people,” says Abdullah Kathiri, head of the largest tribe in Hadrawmout, a wealthy province in eastern Yemen who speaks openly about independence. “With this understanding, tribes across the country are now willing to rise up.”
Such ambitions speak to the centrifugal forces being unleashed in Yemen. Exiled officials concur that by arming and militarizing Sunni tribes across the country, they may create a “second Libya” where tribal militias roam unchallenged and refuse to answer to a weak central government.
“We do not want to place heavy arms into the hands of tribes and have them act outside the army,” says Transport Minister Badr Mubarak Ba-Salma, who has led talks with tribal representatives.
“We don’t want to finally rid ourselves of Ali Abdullah Saleh to find ourselves with dozens of more Ali Abdullah Salehs,” Mr. Ba-Salma adds, referring to the longtime ruler who stepped down in 2012. Hadi replaced him as president under a Saudi-backed transition that began to unravel last year.
In private, Hadi’s inner circle concedes it may be a drawn-out, year-long war against the better-armed Houthi militias and military units loyal to Saleh, which swiftly descended from their stronghold in the northern provinces of Saada and Amran to claim over 80 percent of Yemen’s territory.
The Houthis boast a fighting force of between 80,000 and 100,000, while forces loyal to Saleh number around 20,000, Yemeni government officials and observers say.
The Houthi-Saleh fighters boast superior firepower due to the fact that Saleh’s supporters include entire military units with fierce allegiances to their political and financial backer. Some of this equipment is a legacy of US military aid to Yemen during Saleh’s rule, which continued under Hadi’s government.
The Houthis control vital military installations outside Sanaa and warehouses of RPGs, tanks, and armor-piercing grenade and rocket launchers.
Given this superior firepower, the Hadi government’s strategy is to overcome the militias with greater manpower and urge tribal and political factions to rise up town by town, village by village against what many Yemenis view as Houthi “invaders”.
Six military councils – regional groupings of officers loyal to Hadi – have been tasked with coordinating with local tribal militias and the Saudi-led aerial campaign.
The councils have succeeded in fostering armed uprisings in Aden, as well Taiz in the oil-rich province of Marib. However, due to the disparity in arms and lack of cohesive units, the pro-government militias have failed to even secure Aden, where Hadi had declared a provisional government after fleeing Sanaa.
To recapture Aden, several hundred Egyptian and Saudi Arabian Special Forces are preparing to deploy in the port city. With fighting intensifying in Aden, Saudi and Yemeni official sources expect the operation "within the next week."
However, weary of being dragged into a protracted fight, Riyadh and Cairo have stopped short of committing ground troops to a wider war across Yemen.
“We are committed to liberating Aden and reinstalling the democratically-elected government, but that is all that is being discussed,” says a Saudi military liaison close to the operations.
Instead, the joint Arab force would be used with “surgical precision,” say government insiders, using force only to turn the tide in key battles in southern Yemen.
The Hadi government has also received little commitment from the US and its Western allies; officials say they left recent talks sessions with Western diplomats “frustrated” and “dismayed.”
“They want us to lead the war against terrorism and extremism in Yemen, but they are allowing our country to be overrun by terrorist groups,” says a cabinet minister who refused to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue.
The US has begun conducting aerial refueling of Saudi-led coalition warplanes. It has also vowed to speed up delivery of weapons to Saudi Arabia and other Gulf powers.
Should it regain a foothold in Yemen, Hadi’s government is bracing for perhaps the largest obstacle in restoring control: the north.
Despite rounds of marathon talks with northern tribal and political leaders in Riyadh, Hadi and his team have reportedly failed to find “ready and willing partners” to stand up to Saleh and Houthi forces on their own home turf.
“There are opponents to Saleh and the Houthis in the north, but they are afraid they are outmatched,” Ba-Salma says. “Only by breaking their military power, will we break the fear and see people in the north willing to stand up.”
In return for their participation, northern leaders want guarantees of greater power and influence for their region, which was an independent republic during 1962-90. It received a privileged status and government jobs during Saleh’s three decades in power.
The government has been non-committal so far on granting greater independence to the north beyond what it agreed in a national dialogue that ended two years ago. But it has agreed to permit it greater autonomy under the federal system.
Hadi is also trying to peel away Saleh loyalists who might defect to the government side in return for an amnesty. As an olive branch, Hadi officials have promised not to dissolve military units that defect or to cashier their officers. Instead, they say the military must be reconstituted as an internal security service.
“We don’t want to make the same mistakes in Iraq and turn thousands of Yemeni citizens into insurgents,” Mr. Makawi says. “We are prepared to include the supporters of Saleh as an integral part of a stable, federal Yemen state.” | 0fake
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WOW! Sarah Palin’s Stunning AZ Vacation Home Goes On Market [PHOTOS] | It would be great if her former running mate, Senator John McCain would make this his retirement home like NOW! Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin has put her luxury Arizona mansion on the market for $2.5million.The six-bedroom estate, which boasts its own private heated swimming pool and spa, is located in acres of equestrian grounds in ScottsdaleThe luxury home offers six and a half bathrooms one of which includes a huge, circular tub in opulent surroundingsThe six-bedroom estate, which boasts its own private heated swimming pool and spa, lighted sports court and even a wine cellar, is located in acres of equestrian grounds in Scottsdale. Behind a private gated entrance, the 7971sq ft home showcases includes 6.5 bathrooms, a six car garage and offers stunning mountain views from virtually every room.Built in Santa Barbara/Tuscan Spanish style, the home is decorated to match with dark wood fixtures and marble style tilesThe room offers plenty of space for entertaining, whether that be family, friends or even the next political campaignBehind a private gated entrance, the brick home s porch is surrounded by cacti and vegetation to match its Arizona surroundingsThe 2008 GOP vice presidential candidate bought the property in 2011 for $1.7 million.The colorful basketball court, which can also be used for other sports such as tennis, can we used late into the night thanks to its set of floodlightsThe two-story house has six bedrooms, six-and-a-half bathrooms and plenty of indoor and outdoor space to entertain Inside the home is finished to a high standard with luxury fittings, fireplaces, chandeliers, soaring ceilings and a media theater Via: Daily Mail | 1real
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Chicago launches ad campaign to counter Trump's immigration efforts | CHICAGO (Reuters) - Chicago is starting an advertising campaign to reassure immigrants that they are welcome in the third-largest U.S. city, in a show of defiance to a crackdown by President Donald Trump on people who have entered the country illegally. Mayor Rahm Emanuel said on Monday he was not worried about the “One Chicago” campaign upsetting the Trump administration. Starting this week, signs will appear at more than 200 locations including digital billboards, trains and newspaper racks with photos of Chicago immigrants highlighting the diversity of their backgrounds. Radio and TV spots will start this week with similar stories. A new website, onechi.org, features links for free legal aid and “know your rights” training.The campaign’s slogan is “Three million residents, three million stories, one Chicago.” The mayor’s office said the campaign was costing taxpayers nothing. The advertising was designed on a pro-bono basis by the ad agency Ogilvy Chicago and uses city-owned public-service advertising space. “I’m not worried because we’re not only on firm legal ground but firm moral ground,” Emanuel said. “We’re all immigrants and we’re not going to let them divide us and say that person is not allowed here.” Trump already has threatened to withhold federal funds from cities such as Chicago that offer sanctuary to illegal immigrants who commit no serious crimes. The Justice Department in April singled out Chicago and New York, saying they were “crumbling under the weight of illegal immigration and violent crime,” even though experts say illegal immigration had little to do with Chicago’s spike in murders. Last month, a U.S. judge blocked a portion of Trump’s executive order that sought to withhold most federal funds from so-called sanctuary cities as part of the administration’s efforts to toughen immigration enforcement. U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a memo on Monday saying that only Department of Justice and Homeland Security grants would be at risk for cities that “willfully refuse” to comply with federal law. Sanctuary cities generally offer safe harbor to illegal immigrants and often do not use municipal funds or resources to advance the enforcement of federal immigration laws. Emanuel, whose grandparents came to the United States as immigrants from Moldova, said the campaign was meant to reassure those feeling frightened about deportation. Chicago officials estimates there are about 300,000 undocumented immigrants in the city. “I see it with kids all across Chicago – they are nervous about their parents and nervous about their own safety because of the government and the rhetoric,” he said. | 0fake
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WHAT EVERYDAY LIFE IS REALLY LIKE IN CUBA UNDER RAÚL CASTRO | Home › WORLD NEWS › WHAT EVERYDAY LIFE IS REALLY LIKE IN CUBA UNDER RAÚL CASTRO WHAT EVERYDAY LIFE IS REALLY LIKE IN CUBA UNDER RAÚL CASTRO 0 [10/28/16] Cuba is like going back in time.
It’s old and dirty.
There’s no advertising, probably because there’s nothing to sell. The only billboards are propaganda for the dictatorship, with the faces of Fidel or Raúl Castro, Che Guevara and Camilo Cienfuegos.
You hear on the radio again and again “in 1958,” or “since the Revolution,” followed by news on Venezuela: ” …the monopolization of private supermarkets of the right and their allies…the international press…thanks to public policies of the Venezuelan government…famine has declined…”
Money is the key factor determining how a person is treated. If you are a foreigner, things are great, given that apart from having money, the regime forces Cubans to try to “make a good impression” — though it is difficult to pretend. The government behaves as if foreigners were royalty and Cubans were commoners. The same happens with Cuban-Americans who fled the island and return to visit, because they come back with purchasing power.
Cubans work for practically nothing. The average salary for a Cuban is US $20. A nurse earns $40 per month. A teacher earns $20 per month and a doctor earns $60 per month.
There are two markets in Cuba: the Cuban peso market and the dollar market. The dollar market has decent products, while poor quality products are valued in Cuban pesos. With the salary of a Cuban, the possibilities are limited to buying products in pesos, because only foreigners can buy products in dollars.
Usually, when one goes to the market looking for a food item, it is not available. Sellers say they might have it tomorrow, but they rarely do. Other times, sellers do not have any money for giving change to the customers, or no packaging like napkins, plates, cups, bags, etc.
Each family has its own “sales control for food items” book, which indicates the amount of food that families can buy from the government. Often, they are the only things accessible and reasonably priced for a Cuban salary.
Fruits, vegetables and meat are not part of the Cuban peso system, so not everyone gets to enjoy such things. The sales control book only includes rice, beans, sugar, coffee and pasta. Together, they still aren’t enough to form a healthy diet. Post navigation | 1real
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LIST OF COMEY’S 10 BIGGEST SCREW UPS As FBI Director…Why His Firing Was Long Overdue | Comey will inevitably be remembered for the controversial role he played in the 2016 presidential election, where his agency conducted surveillance of the Trump campaign as well as investigated the Clinton camp for mishandling classified materials, giving both sides arguments for how the FBI ultimately swayed the vote.But even before the 2016 campaign, the FBI endured a number of humiliations under Comey s tenure. Most damning were revelations that the FBI was generally aware of almost every terrorist who successfully struck America over the last eight years.1. Before he bombed the Boston Marathon, the FBI interviewed Tamerlan Tsarnaev but let him go. Russia sent the Obama Administration a second warning, but the FBI opted against investigating him again.2. Shortly after the NSA scandal exploded in 2013, the FBI was exposed conducting its own data mining on innocent Americans; the agency, Bloomberg reported, retains that material for decades (even if no wrongdoing is found).3. The FBI had possession of emails sent by Nidal Hasan saying he wanted to kill his fellow soldiers to protect the Taliban but didn t intervene, leading many critics to argue the tragedy that resulted in the death of 31 Americans at Fort Hood could have been prevented.4. During the Obama Administration, the FBI claimed that two private jets were being used primarily for counterterrorism, when in fact they were mostly being used for Eric Holder and Robert Mueller s business and personal travel.5. When the FBI demanded Apple create a backdoor that would allow law enforcement agencies to unlock the cell phones of various suspects, the company refused, sparking a battle between the feds and America s biggest tech company. What makes this incident indicative of Comey s questionable management of the agency is that a) The FBI jumped the gun, as they were indeed ultimately able to crack the San Bernardino terrorist s phone, and b) Almost every other major national security figure sided with Apple (from former CIA Director General Petraeus to former CIA Director James Woolsey to former director of the NSA, General Michael Hayden), warning that such a crack would inevitably wind up in the wrong hands.6. In 2015, the FBI conducted a controversial raid on a Texas political meeting, finger printing, photographing, and seizing phones from attendees (some in the group believe in restoring Texas as an independent constitutional republic).7. During its investigation into Hillary Clinton s mishandling of classified material, the FBI made an unusual deal in which Clinton aides were both given immunity and allowed to destroy their laptops.8. The father of the radical Islamist who detonated a backpack bomb in New York City in 2016 alerted the FBI to his son s radicalization. The FBI, however, cleared Ahmad Khan Rahami after a brief interview.9. The FBI also investigated the terrorist who killed 49 people and wounded 53 more at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Fla. Despite a more than 10-month investigation of Omar Mateen during which Mateen admitting lying to agents the FBI opted against pressing further and closed its case.10. CBS recently reported that when two terrorists sought to kill Americans attending the Draw Muhammad event in Garland, Texas, the FBI not only had an understanding an attack was coming, but actually had an undercover agent traveling with the Islamists, Elton Simpson and Nadir Soofi. The FBI has refused to comment on why the agent on the scene did not intervene during the attack.Via: Grabien | 1real
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TWITTER User Suggests “Climate Deniers” Should Be Shot | The Left is all about gun control unless of course, they re talking about shooting someone who disagrees with phony man-made climate change Thought: in wartime, people deliberately spreading lies and misinformation get shot. Why not do the same with climate change deniers? Daniel Rendall (@danielrendall) October 30, 2015h/t Weasel ZippersJust in case they remove this Tweet, we ve taken a screen shot here: | 1real
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“Rigged To Deny Trump”: Looks Like Elite Trying to Steal These States to Block Electoral Path to 270 | Tweet Home » Headlines » World News » “Rigged To Deny Trump”: Looks Like Elite Trying to Steal These States to Block Electoral Path to 270
There are several states that are being surprisingly maneuvered for her advantage… and if successful, will block Trump from even coming close the presidency.
From Mac Slavo, SHTFPlan : Will the 2016 election be rigged?
That depends on what the definition of “is” is – and whether or not you count blatant media bias, operatives and instigators, shady quasi-voters, bizarre electronic voting “errors” and a heavy-handed advantage in the electoral college and the shifting demographics of a socialist state that promises much to certain groups.
With the GOP leadership turning its back on Trump, and the Democratic machine dedicated solely to providing for Her, it will be a difficult win for Trump, despite overwhelming enthusiasm at rallies across the entire country and lop-sided pro-Trump crowds that literally dwarf pro-Hillary gatherings of very few.
But as most everyone knows by now, it isn’t the popular vote that counts – but only the delegates awarded state-by-state to the electoral college… and that is a game that Hillary’s operatives are very good at playing. Daily News Brief: The 2016 Election Is In The Process Of Being Stolen With Rigged Voting Machines
There are several states – in particular – that are being surprisingly maneuvered for her advantage… and if successful, will block Trump from even coming close the presidency. Texas Could Turn “Blue” For the First Time In 20 Years
This is the big enchilada, so to speak. For the first time in many decades, Texas is in play for Hillary and the Democrats. Texas has been as solidly “red” as any state in the union, but 2016 could be different.
With 38 electoral votes, the Lone Star State is the biggest prize on the map next to California, whose 55 electoral votes have gone to the Democrats since before history began. Since at least 2008, the Dems have been massaging their electioneering strategy to capitalize on shifting demographics – with plenty of Hispanics in the next generation of voters. On paper, Hillary should be able to play well to Hispanics with all the controversy over Trump’s immigration stances and talk of a border wall. Rumors of illegal immigrants be encouraged to vote could be a crucial factor, with polls in Texas close to neck and neck… it could go either way.
Of course, there is every reason to think that Team Hillary is not taking any chances.
As Michael Snyder and many others have reported , electronic voting machines have been mysteriously flipping votes for Hillary in several counties in Texas… and that doesn’t bode well for a massive electoral prize that is within range for her campaign:
Early voting has already begun in many states, and a number of voters in Texas are reporting that the voting machines switched their votes from Donald Trump to Hillary Clinton. The odd thing is that none of the other choices were affected when these individuals attempted to vote for a straight Republican ticket. If Hillary Clinton is declared the winner of the state of Texas on election night, a full investigation of these voting machines should be conducted, because there is no way that Donald Trump should lose that state. I have said that it will be the greatest miracle in U.S. political history if Donald Trump wins this election, but without the state of Texas Donald Trump has exactly zero chance of winning.
At least one county is making an emergency switch to paper ballots after irregularities were found with the electronic machines during early voting.
Meanwhile, Infowars confronted the head of Texas’ elections about his decision to violate voter laws and abandon a manual count of a random sampling of 1-3% of votes (which should theoretically reflect the larger voting trend, unless something is fishy). Without that count, there is less accountability than ever:
This is major issue, and Texas isn’t the only state… just the biggest.
2. Utah’s Independent Republican Could Actually Beat Trump
OK, so Utah only has a grand total of 6 electoral college votes… and has never been a decisive swing state in a presidential election. But that is because the state has been so solidly “red.” However, this election is totally different.
A little known independent candidate named Evan McMullin has actually taken the lead in several recent polls in Utah, and is neck-and-neck with both Trump and Hillary in several other polls (at or around 30% apiece). Libertarian Gary Johnson is also playing (relatively) well at about 5% – possibly enough to swing further momentum away form Trump.
But Evan McMullin is the real surprise hit – in a state that is suddenly considered an important battleground in the election.
McMullin is a Mormon, which gives him a significant boost. He is officially tied to Better for America, which is basically a #NeverTrump operation – backed by neocons like William Kristol. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Evan McMullin has a pretty colorful and telling background : on top of being a former policy director for House Republicans, he’s also a former CIA operations officer; a member of the elite think tank Council on Foreign Relations (CFR); a former Goldman Sachs investment banker and a volunteer refugee resettlement officer for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Jordan.
Wow! I wonder if there could be an agenda there. Hillary probably won’t win Utah, but Trump may not either – and it could make a crucial difference if he is within striking distance of 270 electoral votes.
3. Florida Is a Must Win Swing State for Trump… But Current Polls Show Possible Hillary Win
Oh boy… Florida all over again. With 29 electoral votes, it remains a major contender that is so often on the fence and swinging in the wind. It is considered essential for a Trump victory, and indeed for just about any successful Republican bid for the presidency.
Sure, we all know the polls are rigged, and may be oversampling Dems to look better for Hillary on paper – but nonetheless, that perception drives expectations.
If She can create a convincing win there, it could change the course of the election once again. Florida has consistently been the closest outcome – in 2008 and 2012 it went blue for Obama; in 2000 and 2004 it went red for Bush (and not without major controversy and some very shady recounting).
Her team is pushing heavily for early voting in Florida, and so far they claim an early voting advantage.
But campaign surrogate Roger Stone is now reporting that Hillary has met secretly with Broward County officials in Florida, and there is speculation that problems with the voting machines may soon be happening all over again.
Pay very close to what happens there, because of course, Florida could be THE deciding state (again). Right now polls are within 2 points , currently in favor of Trump by a very narrow margin.
4. Colorado Has Known Voting Fraud Issues – With Dead People on the Voter Rolls
With 9 electoral votes, Colorado is currently swinging “blue” but could go either way. CBS4 and the Washington Times reported that an investigation was started by Colorado’s Secretary of State after multiple examples were found of deceased people registered and in the voter rolls:
“This is the kind of thing you hear rumored, joked about in Chicago, that kind of thing,” Mr. Maasssaid during a Thursday evening broadcast. “Tonight, that changes. We did find voter fraud in Colorado that essentially waters down your vote.”
[…]
“This is the kind of thing you hear rumored, joked about in Chicago, that kind of thing,” Mr. Maasssaid during a Thursday evening broadcast. “Tonight, that changes. We did find voter fraud in Colorado that essentially waters down your vote.”
It’s not clear whether or not Colorado could make a difference in the outcome, but the results could prove suspect.
5. Hillary Is “Leading” In These Key Swing States
While Trump is expected to win the crucial state of Ohio, and also North Carolina, Hillary is projected to take key states including Pennsylvania, Colorado, Iowa, Virginia and Arizona.
According to the Washington Post :
if Clinton can hold Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Colorado, then she only needs one more out of many swing states — New Hampshire, Nevada, Ohio, Iowa, North Carolina, or Florida — barring any surprise Trump win in a blue-leaning state like Wisconsin. That is currently looking very plausible.
While any of these could change in the actual outcome, it shows that Hillary has definitely maneuvered to win where it counts – not with the people, but with the electoral college.
The details are too numerous to follow here, and anything could happen.
6. You Know Voter Fraud Is Happening If the Media Claim It Isn’t
What should be very telling to everyone is how loudly the major media – in concert – are trying to debunk Trump’s claims of voter fraud and insist that all is well when it is quite clear that there are major issues.
This is one claim that the system is very afraid of, because quite frankly, they have a great deal to hide.
There is more reason than ever for accountability, reporting on any irregularities and an insistence that the will of the people be respected – because the system is desperate to hold onto control at any cost. This entry was posted in World News and tagged Donald Trump , Mac Slavo , Rigged Election , SHTFPlan , Voter Fraud , Wikileaks . Bookmark the permalink . Post navigation | 1real
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Secrets of the US Election: Assange Talks to Pilger | Secrets of the US Election: Assange Talks to Pilger November 5, 2016
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange denies the Russian government was the source of leaked emails about Hillary Clinton and says her “neo-McCarthy” Russia-bashing is just part of a cover-up, in an interview with John Pilger.
By John Pilger
This interview was filmed in the Embassy of Ecuador in London – where Julian Assange is a political refugee – and broadcast on Nov. 5, 2016
John Pilger: What’s the significance of the FBI’s intervention in these last days of the U.S. election campaign, in the case against Hillary Clinton? WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. (Photo credit: Espen Moe)
Julian Assange : If you look at the history of the FBI, it has become effectively America’s political police. The FBI demonstrated this by taking down the former head of the CIA [General David Petraeus] over classified information given to his mistress. Almost no one is untouchable. The FBI is always trying to demonstrate that no one can resist us. But Hillary Clinton very conspicuously resisted the FBI’s investigation, so there’s anger within the FBI because it made the FBI look weak. We’ve published about 33,000 of Clinton’s emails when she was Secretary of State. They come from a batch of just over 60,000 emails, [of which] Clinton has kept about half – 30,000 — to herself, and we’ve published about half. Then there are the Podesta emails we’ve been publishing. [John] Podesta is Hillary Clinton’s primary campaign manager, so there’s a thread that runs through all these emails; there are quite a lot of pay-for-play, as they call it, giving access in exchange for money to states, individuals and corporations. [These emails are] combined with the cover-up of the Hillary Clinton emails when she was Secretary of State, [which] has led to an environment where the pressure on the FBI increases.
John Pilger: The Clinton campaign has said that Russia is behind all of this, that Russia has manipulated the campaign and is the source for WikiLeaks and its emails.
Julian Assange : The Clinton camp has been able to project that kind of neo-McCarthy hysteria: that Russia is responsible for everything. Hilary Clinton stated multiple times, falsely, that 17 had assessed that Russia was the source of our publications. That is false; we can say that the Russian government is not the source.
WikiLeaks has been publishing for ten years, and in those ten years, we have published ten million documents, several thousand individual publications, several thousand different sources, and we have never got it wrong.
John Pilger : The emails that give evidence of access for money and how Hillary Clinton herself benefited from this and how she is benefitting politically, are quite extraordinary. I’m thinking of when the Qatari representative was given five minutes with Bill Clinton for a million dollar cheque.
Julian Assange : And twelve million dollars from Morocco …
John Pilger: Twelve million from Morocco yeah.
Julian Assange : For Hillary Clinton to attend [a party].
John Pilger: In terms of the foreign policy of the United States, that’s where the emails are most revealing, where they show the direct connection between Hillary Clinton and the foundation of jihadism, of ISIL, in the Middle East. Can you talk about how the emails demonstrate the connection between those who are meant to be fighting the jihadists of ISIL, are actually those who have helped create it. speaking with supporters at a campaign rally at Carl Hayden High School in Phoenix, Arizona, by Gage Skidmore)
Julian Assange : There’s an early 2014 email from Hillary Clinton, not so long after she left the State Department, to her campaign manager John Podesta that states ISIL is funded by the governments of Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Now this is email in the whole collection, and perhaps because Saudi and Qatari money is spread all over the Clinton Foundation. Even the U.S. government agrees that some Saudi figures have been supporting ISIL, or ISIS. But the dodge has always been that, well it’s just some rogue Princes, using their cut of the oil money to do whatever they like, but actually the government disapproves. But that email says that no, it is the governments of Saudi and Qatar that have been funding ISIS.
John Pilger: The Saudis, the Qataris, the Moroccans, the Bahrainis, particularly the Saudis and the Qataris, are giving all this money to the Clinton Foundation while Hilary Clinton is Secretary of State and the State Department is approving massive arms sales, particularly to Saudi Arabia.
Julian Assange: Under Hillary Clinton, the world’s largest ever arms deal was made with Saudi Arabia, [worth] more than $80 billion. In fact, during her tenure as Secretary of State, total arms exports from the United States in terms of the dollar value, doubled.
John Pilger : Of course the consequence of that is that the notorious terrorist group called ISIL or ISIS is created largely with money from the very people who are giving money to the Clinton Foundation.
Julian Assange : Yes.
John Pilger: That’s extraordinary.
Julian Assange : I actually feel quite sorry for Hillary Clinton as a person because I see someone who is eaten alive by their ambitions, tormented literally to the point where they become sick; they faint as a result of [the reaction] to their ambitions. She represents a whole network of people and a network of relationships with particular states. The question is how does Hilary Clinton fit in this broader network? She’s a centralizing cog. You’ve got a lot of different gears in operation from the big banks like Goldman Sachs and major elements of Wall Street, and Intelligence and people in the State Department and the Saudis.
She’s the centralizer that inter-connects all these different cogs. She’s the smooth central representation of all that, and ‘all that’ is more or less what is in power now in the United States. It’s what we call the establishment or the DC consensus. One of the more significant Podesta emails that we released was about how the Obama cabinet was formed and how half the Obama cabinet was basically nominated by a representative from Citibank. This is quite amazing.
John Pilger: Didn’t Citibank supply a list …. ?
Julian Assange : Yes.
John Pilger: … which turned out to be most of the Obama cabinet.
Julian Assange : Yes.
John Pilger: So Wall Street decides the cabinet of the President of the United States?
Julian Assange: If you were following the Obama campaign back then, closely, you could see it had become very close to banking interests.
Julian Assange : So I think you can’t properly understand Hillary Clinton’s foreign policy without understanding Saudi Arabia. The connections with Saudi Arabia are so intimate. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton meets with Saudi King Abdullah in Riyadh on March 30, 2012. [State Department photo] John Pilger : Why was she so demonstrably enthusiastic about the destruction of Libya? Can you talk a little about just what the emails have told us, told you about what happened there, because Libya is such a source for so much of the mayhem now in Syria, the ISIL jihadism and so on, and it was almost Hillary Clinton’s invasion. What do the emails tell us about that?
Julian Assange : Libya, more than anyone else’s war, was Hillary Clinton’s war. Barak Obama initially opposed it. Who was the person championing it? Hillary Clinton. That’s documented throughout her emails. She had put her favored agent, Sidney Blumenthal, on to that; there’s more than 1,700 emails out of the 33,000 Hillary Clinton emails that we’ve published, just about Libya. It’s not that Libya has cheap oil. She perceived the removal of Gaddafi and the overthrow of the Libyan state — something that she would use in her run-up to the general election for President.
So in late 2011 there is an internal document called the Libya Tick Tock that was produced for Hillary Clinton, and it’s the chronological description of how she was the central figure in the destruction of the Libyan state, which resulted in around 40,000 deaths within Libya; jihadists moved in, ISIS moved in, leading to the European refugee and migrant crisis.
Not only did you have people fleeing Libya, people fleeing Syria, the destabilization of other African countries as a result of arms flows, but the Libyan state itself was no longer able to control the movement of people through it. Libya faces along to the Mediterranean and had been effectively the cork in the bottle of Africa. So all problems, economic problems and civil war in Africa — previously people fleeing those problems didn’t end up in Europe because Libya policed the Mediterranean. That was said explicitly at the time, back in early 2011 by Gaddafi: ‘What do these Europeans think they’re doing, trying to bomb and destroy the Libyan State? There’s going to be floods of migrants out of Africa and jihadists into Europe,’ and this is exactly what happened.
John Pilger: You get complaints from people saying, ‘What is WikiLeaks doing? Are they trying to put Trump in the White House?’
Julian Assange: My answer is that Trump would not be permitted to win. Why do I say that? Because he’s had every establishment off side; Trump doesn’t have one establishment, maybe with the exception of the Evangelicals, if you can call them an establishment, but banks, intelligence [agencies], arms companies … big foreign money … are all united behind Hillary Clinton, and the media as well, media owners and even journalists themselves.
J ohn Pilger : There is the accusation that WikiLeaks is in league with the Russians. Some people say, ‘Well, why doesn’t WikiLeaks investigate and publish emails on Russia?’
Julian Assange: We have published about 800,000 documents of various kinds that relate to Russia. Most of those are critical; and a great many books have come out of our publications about Russia, most of which are critical. Our [Russia] documents have gone on to be used in quite a number of court cases: refugee cases of people fleeing some kind of claimed political persecution in Russia, which they use our documents to back up.
John Pilger : Do you yourself take a view of the U.S. election? Do you have a preference for Clinton or Trump? Donald Trump speaking with supporters at a campaign rally at the Arizona State Fairgrounds in Phoenix, Arizona. June 18, 2016. (Photo by Gage Skidmore)
Julian Assange: [Let’s talk about] Donald Trump. What does he represent in the American mind and in the European mind? He represents American white trash, [which Hillary Clinton called] ‘deplorable and irredeemable’. It means from an establishment or educated cosmopolitan, urbane perspective, these people are like the red necks, and you can never deal with them. Because he so clearly — through his words and actions and the type of people that turn up at his rallies — represents people who are not the middle, not the upper-middle educated class, there is a fear of seeming to be associated in any way with them, a social fear that lowers the class status of anyone who can be accused of somehow assisting Trump in any way, including any criticism of Hillary Clinton. If you look at how the middle class gains its economic and social power, that makes absolute sense.
John Pilger: I’d like to talk about Ecuador, the small country that has given you refuge and [political asylum] in this embassy in London. Now Ecuador has cut off the Internet from here where we’re doing this interview, in the Embassy, for the clearly obvious reason that they are concerned about appearing to intervene in the U.S. election campaign. Can you talk about why they would take that action and your own views on Ecuador’s support for you?
Julian Assange : Let’s let go back four years. I made an asylum application to Ecuador in this embassy, because of the U.S. extradition case, and the result was that after a month, I was successful in my asylum application. The embassy since then has been surrounded by police: quite an expensive police operation which the British government admits to spending more than £12.6 million. They admitted that over a year ago. Now there’s undercover police and there are robot surveillance cameras of various kinds — so that there has been quite a serious conflict right here in the heart of London between Ecuador, a country of 16 million people, and the United Kingdom, and the Americans who have been helping on the side. So that was a brave and principled thing for Ecuador to do. Now we have the U.S. election [campaign], the Ecuadorian election is in February next year, and you have the White House feeling the political heat as a result of the true information that we have been publishing.
WikiLeaks does not publish from the jurisdiction of Ecuador, from this embassy or in the territory of Ecuador; we publish from France, we publish from, from Germany, we publish from The Netherlands and from a number of other countries, so that the attempted squeeze on WikiLeaks is through my refugee status; and this is, this is really intolerable. [It means] that [they] are trying to get at a publishing organization; [they] try and prevent it from publishing true information that is of intense interest to the American people and others about an election. Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa.
John Pilger: Tell us what would happen if you walked out of this embassy.
Julian Assange : I would be immediately arrested by the British police and I would then be extradited either immediately or to Sweden. In Sweden I am not charged, I have already been previously cleared [by the Senior Stockholm Prosecutor Eva Finne]. We were not certain exactly what would happen there, but then we know that the Swedish government has refused to say that they will not extradite me we know they have extradited 100 per cent of people whom the U.S. has requested since at least 2000. So over the last 15 years, every single person the U.S. has tried to extradite from Sweden has been extradited, and they refuse to provide a guarantee [that won’t happen].
John Pilger: People often ask me how you cope with the isolation in here.
Julian Assange: Look, one of the best attributes of human beings is that they’re adaptable; one of the worst attributes of human beings is they are adaptable. They adapt and start to tolerate abuses, they adapt to being involved themselves in abuses, they adapt to adversity and they continue on. So in my situation, frankly, I’m a bit institutionalized — this [the embassy] is the world … it’s visually the world [for me].
John Pilger: It’s the world without sunlight, for one thing, isn’t it?
Julian Assange: It’s the world without sunlight, but I haven’t seen sunlight in so long, I don’t remember it.
John Pilger : Yes.
Julian Assange: So, yes, you adapt. The one real irritant is that my young children — they also adapt. They adapt to being without their father. That’s a hard, hard adaption which they didn’t ask for.
John Pilger: Do you worry about them?
Julian Assange : Yes, I worry about them; I worry about their mother.
John Pilger: Some people would say, ‘Well, why don’t you end it and simply walk out the door and allow yourself to be extradited to Sweden?’
Julian Assange : The U.N. [the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention] has looked into this whole situation. They spent 18 months in formal, adversarial litigation. [So it’s] me and the U.N. versus Sweden and the U.K. Who’s right? The U.N. made a conclusion that I am being arbitrarily detained illegally, deprived of my freedom and that what has occurred has not occurred within the laws that the United Kingdom and Sweden, and that [those countries] must obey. It is an illegal abuse. It is the United Nations formally asking, ‘What’s going on here? What is your legal explanation for this? [Assange] says that you should recognize his asylum.’ [And here is]
Sweden formally writing back to the United Nations to say, ‘No, we’re not going to [recognize the UN ruling],’ so leaving open their ability to extradite.
I just find it absolutely amazing that the narrative about this situation is not put out publicly in the press, because it doesn’t suit the Western establishment narrative — that yes, the West has political prisoners, it’s a reality, it’s not just me, there’s a bunch of other people as well. The West has political prisoners. Of course, no state accepts [that it should call] the people it is imprisoning or detaining for political reasons, political prisoners. They don’t call them political prisoners in China, they don’t call them political prisoners in Azerbaijan and they don’t call them political prisoners in the United States, U.K. or Sweden; it is absolutely intolerable to have that kind of self-perception.
Julian Assange : Here we have a case, the Swedish case, where I have never been charged with a crime, where I have already been cleared [by the Stockholm prosecutor] and found to be innocent, where the woman herself said that the police made it up, where the United Nations formally said the whole thing is illegal, where the State of Ecuador also investigated and found that I should be given asylum. Those are the facts, but what is the rhetoric?
John Pilger: Yes, it’s different.
Julian Assange : The rhetoric is pretending, constantly pretending that I have been charged with a crime, and never mentioning that I have been already previously cleared, never mentioning that the woman herself says that the police made it up.
[The rhetoric] is trying to avoid [the truth that] the U.N. formally found that the whole thing is illegal, never even mentioning that Ecuador made a formal assessment through its formal processes and found that yes, I am subject to persecution by the United States.
John Pilger is an Australian-British journalist based in London. Pilger’s Web site is: www.johnpilger.com . To support Julian Assange, go to: https://justice4assange.com/donate.html | 1real
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BOOM! Woman Tries To Steal TRUMP Signs BUT This Guy Was Ready For Her! [Video] | 1real
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Obama Helps Cuban Government, Blocks Emigration To U.S. - Breitbart | Outgoing President Barack Obama is using his power over U. S. immigration rules to help Cuba’s dictatorial government shut down emigration from the island’s backward economy. [Late Thursday, Obama cancelled the “ foot” migration policy, which allowed Cubans to get a U. S. Green Card once they were officially “paroled” into the United States. The policy, which was established by President Bill Clinton in 1995, also forced Cubans caught at sea back to the island dictatorship. Since 2009, roughly 100, 000 Cuban migrants have used the “dry foot” policy to migrate into the United States, although at enormous cost to taxpayers. Currently, thousands of Cubans are migrating through Central America, heading to the California and Texas borders in the expectation they’ll get asylum and Green Cards. Clinton’s wet policy narrowed a 1966 law which provided Green Cards to all escapees from Cuba’s regime. Many Cubans used the policy to migrate into Florida and other states during the 1960s and even in the 1980s, when Cuba’s leaders sent thousands of criminals to Florida, causing a huge drop in wages for unskilled Americans in Miami. A White House statement said Obama’s new ‘ ’ policy will treat migrating Cubans like it treats ordinary migrants from Mexico and many other countries, only a few of whom are allowed to file for asylum. “By taking this step, we are treating Cuban migrants the same way we treat migrants from other countries,” said a statement from the White House. “The Cuban government has agreed to accept the return of Cuban nationals who have been ordered removed, just as it has been accepting the return of migrants interdicted at sea. ” But Obama’s policy for Cuban migrants is sharply different from his policy towards the people of Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador. Since 2012, Obama has used his administrative power to permit at least 350, 000 people from these three countries to cross the U. S. border and then quickly file for file for asylum and work permits, even though they are mostly fleeing for economic reasons. The cost to taxpayers of Obama’s help for the unskilled Central American adults, youths, and children will exceed $200 billion over the next 75 years, unless most are sent home, according to multiple estimates. Obama’s statement sought to justify his shutdown of Cuban immigration as a policy, not as a policy intended to drive up Americans’ wages by reducing economic competition from unskilled migrants. The United States, a land of immigrants, has been enriched by the contributions of for more than a century. Since I took office, we have put the community at the center of our policies. With this change we will continue to welcome Cubans as we welcome immigrants from other nations, consistent with our laws. During my Administration, we worked to improve the lives of the Cuban people — inside of Cuba — by providing them with greater access to resources, information and connectivity to the wider world. Sustaining that approach is the best way to ensure that Cubans can enjoy prosperity, pursue reforms, and determine their own destiny. As I said in Havana, the future of Cuba should be in the hands of the Cuban people. In 2014, Obama declared the national socialist government of Cuba was a legitimate government, and promised to boost trade with companies in the tropical island prison. “I believe that we can do more to support the Cuban people and promote our values through engagement. After all, these 50 years have shown that isolation has not worked. It’s time for a new approach,” Obama said in December 2014. To the Cuban people, America extends a hand of friendship. Some of you have looked to us as a source of hope, and we will continue to shine a light of freedom. Others have seen us as a former colonizer intent on controlling your future. José Martí once said, “Liberty is the right of every man to be honest. ” Today, I am being honest with you. We can never erase the history between us, but we believe that you should be empowered to live with dignity and . Cubans have a saying about daily life: “No es facil” — it’s not easy. Today, the United States wants to be a partner in making the lives of ordinary Cubans a little bit easier, more free, more prosperous. Obama’s new decision does not kill off a 1995 agreement, under which the U. S. accepts 20, 000 emigrants each year. advocacy groups praised Obama’s new restrictions on Cubans seeking to escape the dictatorship. “The Obama Administration has taken a positive step toward a more sensible Cuban immigration policy, one that ends preferential treatment for Cubans compared with others who arrive without visas,” said a statement from program director Geoffrey Thale, at the Washington Office on Latin America. Up until now, U. S. policy has permitted Cubans who arrive at a U. S. border without a visa to be paroled into the country, and put on a path toward citizenship, an advantage that no other Latin Americans enjoy, and one that has seemed particularly unfair when children and families fleeing violence in Central America are subject to deportation. This change ‘normalizes’ our treatment of Cuban immigrants. Cubans have been seeking entry into the United States primarily because of economic stagnation at home. The U. S. embargo is one of many factors that has contributed to that stagnation, and so WOLA and many colleagues have recommended to the Administration that it should both end preferential treatment for Cubans and increase the number of visas available to Cubans who pursue regular immigration routes. The population of Cuba is 11. 2 million. | 0fake
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Obama details plans for Chicago presidential center | CHICAGO (Reuters) - Former U.S. President Barack Obama on Wednesday unveiled design plans for his Chicago presidential center, which he hopes will serve as a training site for future generations of leaders. The Obama Presidential Center will be built in the 500-acre (200-hectare) Jackson Park on Chicago’s South Side. The park was first developed as the site of the 1893 World’s Fair. The development will feature three buildings - a museum, forum and library - forming a campus around a plaza. The museum, the tallest of the three structures, will include public areas, offices and classrooms in addition to exhibition space, the Obama Foundation said in a statement. “What we want this to be is the world’s premier institution for training young people and leadership to make a difference in their communities, in their countries and in the world. That is our goal,” Obama said at the design unveiling in Chicago. Obama has slowly started to return to the public eye since leaving office in January. Last month he moderated an event at the University of Chicago during his first major appearance since leaving the White House. The project will take around four years to complete, Obama said, but educational programs will begin this year. Obama said Wednesday he would donate $2 million to a summer jobs programs in the community. Obama grew up in Hawaii and went to college in New York and California, but owns a home and spent most of his pre-White House political career in Chicago, starting as a community activist before becoming an Illinois state senator and then a U.S. senator. Chicago beat out proposals by New York City and Hawaii to be the home of the library. Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects Partners of New York and Interactive Design Architects of Chicago were named last year as the firms that will lead the design of the center. Residents of Chicago’s South Side, which includes many poor and crime-ridden neighborhoods, hope jobs and investment come with the library. Some small businesses are concerned they may be forced out of the area if rental prices go up. The center could be a transformational project for the community, Obama said. | 0fake
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Ouch! Trump Hammers Bush In The Brawl Of The Night [Video] | Jeb takes a swipe at Trump and Trump hammers him: He doesn t really believe I m unhinged. He said that because he has failed in this campaign. It s been a total disaster. Nobody cares. And frankly, I m the most solid person up here. I ve built a tremendous company and all I want to do is make America great again. .@realdonaldtrump: With Jeb s attitude, we will never be great again https://t.co/2cXmVJqD3m #GOPDebate https://t.co/tHxzrB3PIe CNN (@CNN) December 16, 2015Round Three: | 1real
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Battle for Rome's beachfront turns bloody with assault on journalist | (Please note: profanity in sixth paragraph) By Isla Binnie ROME (Reuters) - A bloody attack on a journalist has prompted outrage in Italy and put the spotlight on suspected links between extreme right-wing politicians and organized crime in a notoriously unruly seaside suburb of Rome. A local vote last Sunday in Ostia sent the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement and a center-right coalition to the second-round runoff, but also showed a sharp increase in support for neo-fascist group CasaPound. The vote is being closely watched as it is the first since the local government was dissolved two years ago by police, who said city hall - responsible for assigning lucrative beach concessions - had fallen under the influence of organized crime. Ahead of the Nov. 19 run-off, reporters from state TV RAI went to interview Roberto Spada, the brother of an imprisoned mobster, who had expressed support for CasaPound on Facebook and had been photographed with the local candidate. RAI broadcast video showing reporter Daniele Piervincenzi repeatedly asking Spada, on the doorstep of his gym, whether his family had supported CasaPound and if he thought it could change the down-at-heel neighborhood. I don t give a shit, Spada eventually replies, before headbutting Piervincenzi in the face and chasing the bloodied journalist with a baton. CasaPound s prime ministerial candidate Simone Di Stefano told a news conference the attack was deplorable but said the party would not answer for Spada s behavior as he was not a member. The local candidate said the photo taken of him with Spada had happened to be snapped at a neighborhood event. RAI said the blow broke Piervincenzi s nose and doctors had told him he would need 30 days to recover. Rome Mayor Virginia Raggi tweeted the video, and wrote: Unacceptable Spada clan violence ... we will stop crime and extremism in Rome. Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni offered Piervincenzi his solidarity for the brutal aggression suffered in Ostia , and national police chief Franco Gabrieli said the incident showed the area still needs substantial work . A small player on the national stage, CasaPound won 9 percent of the vote in Ostia, where it hands out food to poor and homeless Italians, compared with 1.8 percent last time. CasaPound s Di Stefano challenged the judiciary to investigate whether there had been any arrangements by which votes were exchanged for money or favors in Ostia, adding his group had won between 5 and 8 percent of the vote in three cities since early last year. If we had been in some way favored in Ostia by a mafia clan, we would have had a boom there and in the rest of Italy we would have got 0.4. That s not how it is, he said. Spada was detained by police on Thursday and a judge is due to decide on Friday whether to formally arrest him. | 0fake
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HOW OBAMA Is Putting Terrorist Boots On The Ground | Every American should be demanding answers about why Barack Hussein Obama is in such a hurry to empty Gitmo before he leaves office. Illegal alien prisoners are being released at an unprecedented rate. Our borders are being left wide open by a President who s demanded our US Border Agents stand down. Visas are being given to people coming here with the sole intention of harming innocent Americans. Law enforcement has been ridiculed and weakened by a spiteful racist and his willing accomplices in the media. What do we need to do to alert the Kim Kardashian followers our United States of America is intentionally being destroyed by a radical in the White House?National Security: The Pentagon has cleared the release of 17 more terrorist detainees from Guantanamo Bay prison. President Obama puts jihadist boots on the ground before mobilizing U.S. troops in the Middle East.A congressional aide told Fox News on Thursday that the White House s strategy in the decision this week to set free more terrorist prisoners from the Gitmo facility in U.S.-controlled territory in Cuba is to get the number of detainees there to as low as they can get, even if it means a good deal of risk. The underlying reason is that closing Gitmo was a major Obama campaign promise in 2008, and he doesn t want to leave office with it still open.But the promise was to close it in 2009. Upon taking office, however, Obama found himself faced with the fact that Gitmo was a rather brilliant idea that the Bush administration came up with to prevent captured terrorists from exploiting the U.S. legal system.The spectacle of U.S. courts setting terrorists free, after trials in which the jihadists American legal teams might actually get access to and make public sensitive classified information, was not anything for which Obama wanted to be blamed. He seems amenable, however, to his successor having nowhere to hold captured terrorists.Release of the 17 supposedly low-level combatants, many of them from Yemen, where war rages, brings the number of Gitmo prisoners down to 90. We were told that Osama bin Laden s cook, Ibrahim al-Qosi, released by Obama from Gitmo in 2012, was low-level, but now he cooks up terrorist operations as a celebrity leader of al-Qaida in Yemen.The Pentagon is going along with this politicized emptying of the Guantanamo Bay holding facility. And the decision coming right after an Islamic State-inspired Christmas party attack within the homeland, which slaughtered 14 innocent Americans, suggests the U.S. military leadership has become a group of puppets.A major reason for former Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel s forced departure as Obama s defense secretary last year after a brief tenure, let s not forget, was his hesitation in approving Gitmo releases.In last week s GOP presidential debate, it was a woman who promised that she would immediately reverse Obama s emasculation of the Pentagon. Carly Fiorina pledged to bring back the warrior class Petraeus, McChrystal, Mattis, Keane, Flynn every one was retired early because they told President Obama things that he didn t want to hear. Obama calls Gitmo a sad chapter in American history, but it was almost comic when the worst complaint Shaker Aamer, released from Gitmo in October after nearly 14 years, could tell of in a British TV interview was they just suck all your feelings out of you, adding that torture is not about beating. Torture is not about hanging from the ceiling with handcuffs and all that all that presumably being three square halal meals a day, courtesy of the U.S. taxpayer.Curiously, The Most Transparent Administration in History is now imposing new, severe restrictions on journalist access to Guantanamo Bay, with no more visits to the two detention centers where most detainees are housed, and no more interviews of guards and staff. Outgoing U.S. Southern Command chief Marine Gen. John Kelly told AP that the reason was: We really did have to get some organization to what was going on down there. After all these years?Under Obama, information on the frequency of prisoners assaulting guards and conducting hunger strikes has stopped being made public.It isn t torture or mistreatment that the Obama administration is hiding from the world s eyes within the walls of Guantanamo Bay; it s that what we have down there is a luxury resort to house terrorists, and that the president is incrementally releasing those soldiers of jihad back onto the battlefield after America has spent years fattening them up. Via: IBD | 1real
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5 Questions That Now Loom Over Tonight's Debate | 5 Questions That Now Loom Over Tonight's Debate
It's hard to be any more gobsmacked about the state of the presidential race right now, after a video of Donald Trump making vulgar comments about women surfaced Friday, prompting more than 30 prominent Republicans to call for him to step aside as the nominee. Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton is also in headlines for a WikiLeaks email dump that included alleged excerpts of her speeches to Wall Street banks.
But there is a debate Sunday night, so its time to pick our jaws off the floor and contemplate 5 things we'll be watching:
This is the big question of the night. Trump, as usual, has given conflicting clues. In a video statement posted on Facebook, he said he was sorry ("I said it. I was wrong. I apologize") but also pivoted to an attack on Bill and Hillary Clinton saying he abused women and she intimidated Bill's accusers. Later, he retweeted messages from Juanita Broaddrick, who claims Bill Clinton raped her.
So what does Trump prioritize: contrition or defiance?
Trump tweeted: "The media and establishment want me out of the race so badly - I WILL NEVER DROP OUT OF THE RACE, WILL NEVER LET MY SUPPORTERS DOWN! #MAGA"
Mike Pence, in an extraordinary show of disloyalty for a vice presidential candidate, briefly jumped off the tightrope he's been walking for weeks and issued Trump an ultimatum for the debate.
Pence said he and his family were "offended" and said "we look forward to the opportunity he has to show what's in his heart (tonight)".
Something else might be going through Trump's mind.
The list of Republicans calling on Trump to step aside is growing, but the number is still tiny compared to the GOP leaders who prefer to condemn Trump's words while maintaining their support. House Speaker Paul Ryan, for example, said he was "sickened" by Trump's comments about grabbing women's genitals but he has not un-endorsed or called for him to step aside as the nominee.
Ryan was heckled by Trump supporters at a campaign event in Wisconsin Saturday, which gives you an idea of how deep the split is inside the GOP. Trump's die-hard supporters are still the majority of the GOP base.
The administration believes Russian security agencies authorized the hacking of Democratic party officials emails in order to influence the U.S. elections (and hurt Clinton).
WikiLeaks posted emails from Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta — including ones from his gmail account that contain excerpts allegedly from Clinton's paid speeches to Wall Street banks.
In them she says she's for free trade and open borders and shows some sympathy for Wall Street bankers.
They represent views that she subsequently moved away from as the campaign progressed, but you can see why she chose not to release the transcripts during her primary battle with Bernie Sanders .The hacked emails could hurt her with Sanders supporters, (although Sanders himself has dismissed them) younger voters ,and blue-collar Democrats.
If there is a contest for the October Surprise prize, Trump's hot mic probably beats WikiLeaks.
Still, tonight Clinton will need to come up with a good explanation for why she said those things to a private room filled with Wall Street bankers.
The debate format is unusual and presents lots of pitfalls for both candidates.
There are two moderators (ABC's Martha Raddatz and CNN's Anderson Cooper), but half the questions will come from ordinary voters.
It's harder to attack your opponent in a room full of real people who want you to tell them how you will make their lives better. And any question from a voter has the presumption of validity — making it hard to ignore or to pivot away to boilerplate speech chunks or talking points (a favorite tactic of presidential candidates).
But both campaigns claim this is a great format for their candidate.
Trump has spent more hours in front of a T.V. camera than any Republican presidential candidate other than Ronald Reagan. Even so, Trump's "practice town hall" in Sandown, N.H. on Thursday night did not show that Trump has learned how to connect with people the way a town hall format demands.
The audience was handpicked supporters, the questions were vetted, friendly and read from notecards by the moderator.
The Clinton campaign says the town hall format is a good one for Hillary Clinton since she prefers small listening sessions and roundtables with small businesspeople or working moms over big set piece speeches at rallies.
But most of the questions she gets in those forums are friendly softballs.
Clinton has been preparing diligently — as usual — for this debate. She presumably is working on better answers to questions about her emails, the WikiLeaks revelations and the line that was the most effective for Trump in the first debate — that he represents change and she is the staus quo.
Winning means different things for Clinton and Trump.
Trump has a monumental task. Even before the Access Hollywood hot mic audio was leaked, he was in a hole — a hole that he dug and kept digging for himself because of his poor performance in the first debate, his subsequent feud with former Miss Universe Alicia Machado, and the story about his $916 million dollar business loss/tax deduction.
So tonight Trump needs a performance so unexpectedly good that it will reverse that downward spiral.
Clinton, on the other hand, comes into the second debate with a small but growing lead in the polls. She needs to connect with voters and show them she's not the dishonest, unlikeable person they think she is. But most of all, her goal is to not screw up.
A large number of issues have simply been absent from the conversation this campaign — such as health care, energy, job creation and economic growth.
Will voters tonight ask for specifics on any of these topics, or are they happy to watch another chapter in the food fight that campaign 2016 has become?
The debate will begin at 9 p.m. ET. You can listen to special coverage from NPR on your local station or watch at NPR.org. | 0fake
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JUST IN: Mystery Surrounds Obama Appointee Judge Who Recused Herself From Fusion GPS Case Also Handling DNC Corruption in Awan Brothers Case | A federal judge in Washington, D.C. has recused herself from a second case involving Trump dossier firm Fusion GPS.Tanya S. Chutkan, an Obama appointee, recused herself on Monday from a case involving a dispute over subpoenas issued for Fusion GPS, the firm that commissioned the dossier.This Obama appointee is like so many others controversial. Change.org has a petition calling for her impeachmentA SUPPORTER COMMENT OF THE PETITION: There is Clear and Present Danger, in our Government and to our Country. Judge Chutkin needs to do her duty, as Sworn by Oath, to let in ALL of the evidence pertaining to Imran Awan and Hina Alvi. As it stands today, 9/12/2017, Judge Chutkin is not doing her duty to protect the interests and lives of the Citizens of The United States. For this reason, I am standing with others, shoulder to shoulder, and calling for the Removal and Impeachment of Federal District Judge Tanya S. Chutkin. Aleksej Gubarev, a Russian tech executive accused in the dossier of hacking Democrats computer systems, has sought to subpoena Fusion GPS records and to depose its employees to find out more about the research firm s work on the dossier.Gubarev is suing BuzzFeed for defamation for publishing the dossier earlier this year. He denies the allegations laid out in the document, which was written by former British spy Christopher Steele.Chutkan recused herself last month from another case involving Fusion GPS. The firm had filed suit against its bank, TD Bank, to keep it from complying with a subpoena issued by the House Intelligence Committee, which sought Fusion s bank records.Chutkan presided over that case from Oct. 20 to Nov. 9. It was reassigned to Judge Richard Leon, a George W. Bush appointee. Since taking over the case, Leon has indicated that he plans to allow more transparency into the court proceedings involving the battle over Fusion s bank records. He has ordered several documents be unsealed and made public.Chutkan has presided over the case involving the lawsuit against BuzzFeed since Aug. 31. Her replacement is Trevor McFadden, a Trump appointee who assumed office in October.The reasons for Chutkan s recusals remain a mystery Chutkan refused to comment on the recusal but her work with a medical technology firm also represented by Fusion GPS could be the reason.In any case, this is yet another case of the Obama hand in just about everything that has to do with corruption and intel agencies.Read more: Daily Caller | 1real
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A MASSIVE Screw Up May Have Just Cost Trump The Nomination – And It’s All His Fault | The people insisting the only thing standing in the way of Donald Trump s path to the nomination is Donald Trump himself may have finally been vindicated. In an explosive story first broken by TIME, Republican officials in South Carolina floated the idea that Trump may have given away his landslide victory in the state by brashly announcing that he would no longer adhere to the Loyalty Pledge if he didn t get the nomination.South Carolina Republican Party Chairman Matt Moore gave credence to the anti-Trump claims. Breaking South Carolina s presidential primary ballot pledge raises some unanswered legal questions that no one person can answer, he told TIME. However, a court or national convention Committee on Contests could resolve them. It could put delegates in jeopardy. What does this mean for Trump? The 50 delegates he won in South Carolina could simply walk away and over to his opponents. That sends his delegate count a lot further away from the crucial 1,237 finish line, and maybe give his opponents the push they need to realistically challenge him at a brokered convention. And adding to the problem: Other states which include the loyalty pledge in their bylaws could also move to strip Trump of his delegates.All of this to say, Trump s massive ego is costing him the election. Having early on floated the idea that he wouldn t support a Republican candidate if it wasn t himself, Trump eventually caved and signed a document stating: I, Donald J. Trump, affirm that if I do not win the 2016 Republican nomination for President of the United States I will endorse the 2016 Republican nominee regardless of who it is. Suddenly, with opposition to his nomination mounting, Trump has returned to saying he will not adhere to that pledge, telling Anderson Cooper matter-of-factly: No. I don t anymore, arguing that he s been treated unfairly by the GOP.Trump has repeatedly ignored conventional wisdom and used his gut to direct his campaign early on, Trump s campaign manager told staffers that the motto of the campaign would be Let Trump Be Trump and while it often works to his advantage (who would have thought calling John McCain a loser for being a POW would pay off?), his increasingly erratic behavior makes him a ticking time bomb. Cracks are beginning to emerge. His polls are tanking and there are signs that the anti-Trump members of the Republican Party are finally coalescing around his chief rival, Ted Cruz. He may have enough momentum to get the nod, but needlessly handing away delegates isn t doing him any favors.In the end there was only one serious contender against Trump and that was himself. For all of his arrogance, it is fitting that his own misplaced hubris would be the one thing that got the better of him. Having run as an outsider for his entire campaign, Trump is learning that bashing the party you plan to run for isn t welcomed with open arms. They let Trump be Trump and he didn t disappoint.Featured image via Darren Hauck/Getty Images | 1real
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The Daily Traditionalist: Jeff Schoep and the NSM | Radio Aryan October 29, 2016
Matthew Heimbach brings us the last show of the week accompanied by Jason Augustus and special guest Jeff Schoep from the National Socialist Movement. Jeff tells us how he has been involved in White Nationalism for around 25 years and reminds us of the sacrifices that many good men have made over that time to promote our cause, being imprisoned or physically attacked for their beliefs. The NSM is a political movement as well as being involved in street activism, so they are involved in a lot of community outreach work. Jeff talks about how their roots go back to George Lincoln Rockwell and the only groups that have legitimate ties to his movement are the New Order and the NSM. He was taught by the people who had learned from him and public service was always a part of what they were doing.
Jason asks what it was like to be a political skinhead involved in National Socialism and what changes he has seen in his time. Years ago a fight just used to be a fight, but nowadays you can be hit with hate crime charges as well, which can lead to lengthy prison sentences and ruined lives, just for a fistfight that may not have even involved racial politics. You cannot even defend your life any more without being charged with hate crime, as we have seen recently in Britain, where activists have received serious jail time for defending themselves against violent antifa in Kent. Jeff is banned from Britain as well as Matt, not due to any criminal activity but just because his speech is politically incorrect. Matt reminds us that the reason for this is because they have no answer to our talking points. They cannot debate us so they always seek to shut us down.
The NSM will be taking an important role in the new Nationalist Front alliance with the TWP and Jeff talks about previous attempts to do this before, where good people have tried to broker a peace between the various organisations but due to petty reasons were never able to achieve it. He explains how the main problem has always been personality issues, where people have an issue with someone and then make up stories about them to cause problems.
The TWP and the NSM will be at a national rally together at the state capital of Pennsylvania on November 5th and all are welcome, especially other organisations. Jeff reminds us that although it is good to be promoting stuff on the internet, real political change has always been made on the streets. He suggests that if people are worried of being caught on camera, they should just wear a hat and sunglasses. Matt points out that he has never met anyone at an event that he has ever then gone on to have problems with on the internet.
For the last part of the podcast Jeff talks about how he has worked to modernise the NSM, distancing them from German symbols and concentrating on American ones instead. He has taken some flak for this but believes that if we want to win, then we will have to start taking risks, after all, who dares wins.
Presented by Matthew Heimbach and Jason Augustus with special guest Jeff Schoep
The Daily Traditionalist: Jeff Schoep and the NSM â DT 102816 | 1real
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In Jamaica, Obama indicates that he will remove Cuba from terrorism list | President Obama indicated Thursday that he is preparing to announce Cuba’s removal from the U.S. State Department’s list of state sponsors of terrorism, a move that should quickly lead to a full restoration of diplomatic ties and the opening of embassies in Havana and Washington.
Speaking at a gathering of Caribbean leaders here, Obama said the State Department had finished a review of the issue. There is little doubt that it recommends he drop Cuba from the list, and the only real question is when the announcement will be made.
That could come as early as this week, as Obama attends a summit of Latin American leaders that for the first time will be joined by Cuban President Raúl Castro. Administration officials said a decision on when the president will take action has not been finalized and awaits formal consultation with other affected government agencies.
[Read: Rare poll shows vast majority of Cubans welcome closer ties with U.S.]
But anticipation is already running high, and Caribbean leaders with whom Obama met on Thursday voiced strong approval for the new era in U.S.-Cuba relations.
In Washington, Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin (Md.), the ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued a statement saying he welcomed what he said was the positive State Department recommendation.
Obama confirmed that the White House had received the review but said he would “not make an announcement today.” He added, “I do think we’re going to be in a position to move forward on opening embassies.”
As he began a meeting with Jamaican Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller, Obama noted that a new poll of Cuban public opinion, published in Thursday’s edition of The Washington Post, demonstrated “overwhelming support” for the normalization process and “overwhelming interest by most Cubans to put one era behind us and move forward.”
[Read: What it means to drop Cuba from list of terrorism sponsors]
A positive announcement on the terror-list decision would be welcomed at the two-day Summit of the Americas, which Obama will attend on Friday and Saturday in Panama with up to 35 other leaders from across the Western Hemisphere. The summit is held every three years, and this will be Castro’s first time in attendance. It will be Obama’s third time, following meetings in 2009 and 2012 that were overshadowed by U.S. insistence that Cuba be excluded.
Administration aides have strongly hinted that Obama and Castro will meet for more than a handshake at the summit, but they have not specified the nature of the encounter.
A White House official said Thurwday: “I can confirm that President Obama spoke with President Castro on Wednesday, before President Obama departed Washington.”
Secretary of State John F. Kerry also met with Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla late Thursday in Panama City, the Associated Press reported.
As delegations gathered on the eve of the summit, the presence of communist Cuba made for some extraordinary and also ugly scenes.
In one part of town Thursday, at a forum for the chief executives of major U.S. companies including Facebook, Coca-Cola and Boeing, a Cuban trade official invited America’s corporate leaders to visit the island, telling them his country was open for business.
But at a parallel event at a different location, raucous pro-
Castro crowds disrupted a gathering of nonprofit and civil society groups, blocking Cuban dissidents from participating and denouncing the event’s organizers for daring to invite them.
The tensions, which had boiled over into a wild melee Wednesday in a city park, were a reminder that Cubans’ deep divisions will persist long after the United States reopens an embassy in Havana.
“We are deeply concerned by reports of attacks targeting civil society representatives in Panama for the Summit of the Americas exercising freedom of speech and harassment of those participating in the Summit of the Americas Civil Society Forum,” said State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf, adding that the U.S. “condemns those who use violence against peaceful protesters.”
The situation was also a sign that while the Castro government is increasingly willing to tinker with its economic model, the experiment doesn’t extend to politics. The government also remains determined to stifle critics well beyond Cuba’s borders.
But Rodrigo Malmierca Díaz, Cuba’s minister of foreign trade and investment, said in a speech that although U.S. sanctions continued to limit American business with the island, Obama’s recent moves were “a positive step.”
Malmierca said the Castro government is seeking more than $8 billion in foreign investment in its new effort to spur growth.
Once Obama approves the recommendation to delist Cuba, Congress will have 45 days to consider the proposal. But legislators have no power to alter such a recommendation except through new legislation, a move that is seen as unlikely. The administration has made the case to Cuba that Obama’s decision — even before the end of the 45 days — should be enough for the two countries to move forward on reopening embassies.
Cuba has said it cannot envision having full diplomatic relations with a country that has charged it with supporting overseas terrorism. In many ways, the U.S. designation, first imposed in 1982, is a Cold War relic. Although the United States strongly objects to Cuba’s domestic policies, it has offered no evidence for decades that Cuba is actively involved in terrorism abroad.
Leaders of 14 of the 15 members of the Caribbean Community, known as Caricom, met here with Obama. Those in attendance welcomed the broader move toward normalization, which Simpson Miller called “a bold and courageous move . . . for the good of all of our people.” Obama, she said, is “on the right side of history.”
[Obama moves to normalize relations with Cuba as American is released by Havana]
While the focus of the Caricom talks covered regional security and economic development, Obama’s visit here is also part of a larger plan, which includes his outreach to Cuba. The move is directly related to the administration’s efforts to improve U.S. standing in the region and to undermine Venezuela’s attempts to draw the Caribbean states into its orbit. For years, Venezuela has used cut-rate oil to buy anti-
American support from cash-strapped Caribbean governments.
In recent weeks, Caracas, with money problems of its own, has rolled back energy subsidies to Caricom members. With an energy security program announced in January by Vice President Biden, the Obama administration hopes to help fund island infrastructure to receive and use U.S. gas and petroleum, and then to subsidize U.S. sales of energy products to the Caribbean.
As they try to wean island governments away from Venezuela, administration officials have also attempted to play down their difficulties with Caracas. Thomas A. Shannon, a senior aide to Secretary of State John F. Kerry, was in Venezuela on Thursday for meetings with President Nicolás Maduro. The visit aimed to give at least the impression that the United States is trying to smooth over its differences with the Maduro government before the Caricom meeting and the larger Summit of the Americas.
Miroff reported from Panama City. David Nakamura in Washington also contributed to this story.
Where U.S.-Cuba relations stand and what may change
At the Summit of the Americas, focus is likely to be on the U.S. and Cuba
Argument between U.S., Venezuela puts Cuba in awkward position
Today’s coverage from Post correspondents around the world | 0fake
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Quake of magnitude 6.2 strikes off Papua New Guinea: USGS | SINGAPORE (Reuters) - An earthquake of magnitude 6.2 struck off the Pacific Ocean nation of Papua New Guinea on Monday, the U.S. Geological Survey said. There were no immediate reports of any damage or injuries from the quake, which struck 125 km (78 miles) east of the town of Rabaul, at a depth of 70 km (44 miles). | 0fake
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Russian radio station says intruder stabs presenter in neck | MOSCOW (Reuters) - An intruder forced his way into the offices of Russian radio station Ekho Moskvy and stabbed one of the station s anchors in the neck, the broadcaster said on its Internet site on Monday. The intruder, whose motivation was not immediately known, was detained by station security staff and handed over to police. The victim, Tatyana Felgengauer, has been hospitalized but her life is not in danger, the station said. Ekho Moskvy is owned by a media holding ultimately controlled by state-owned gas giant Gazprom. It does however, give air time to journalists and commentators who are fiercely critical of the Kremlin and its allies. One of the station s regular broadcasters, Yulia Latynina, said earlier this year she had been forced to flee Russia after a series of attacks, including the torching of her car. A spokesman for the Russian Prosecutor-General s office, Alexander Kurennoi, said on Facebook the attack was an outrageous act. She said he had assured the station s managers that the situation would be kept under control. | 0fake
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SUPREME COURT JUSTICE Reveals How She Wanted To Beat Justice Scalia With A Baseball Bat…No Kidding! | It s no secret that Justice Sotomayor is a liberal with radical roots. She s proven over time that her bias is HUGE! Comments like the one below don t help her to appear impartial which is what our Supreme Court is supposed to be Here s a great example of an article on her bias:JUDICIAL BIAS? LATINA SUPREME COURT JUSTICE Declares Her Shockingly Racist View On Ethnicity And Sex When Judging I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn t lived that life Supreme Court Justice SotomayorHere s another one of her many biased comments:This only calls attention to the fact that WE MUST ELECT DONALD TRUMP! Our Supreme Court will be changed for decades if we elect Hillary Clinton! If you believe in our Constitution and the rule of law VOTE TRUMP!When Chief Justice John Roberts promised the Senate Judiciary Committee he would serve as the U.S. Supreme Court s umpire dutifully calling balls and strikes he most certainly did not anticipate Justice Sonia Sotomayor swinging for the fences from the end of the bench.Sotomayor gave the Robert A. Stein Lecture at the University of Minnesota Law School Monday night, where she let slip the inner monologue that runs during oral argument. There are things he d say on the bench, where if I had a baseball bat, I might have used it, she told the assembly, in reference to the late Justice Antonin Scalia, who reveled in the thrust and parry of the Court s proceedings.Read more: Daily Caller | 1real
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Trump HUMILIATED At The Beach This Weekend With HILARIOUS Flying Banner | There s some funny business happening this weekend at the Jersey Shore, and it s not the usual shenanigans you have in mind. A Democratic group is flying a HUGE banner today over the very busy beaches of the Jersey Shore with a hilarious anti-Trump message.The banner that reads TRUMP IS ON VACATION WITH YOUR $$ is being flown by the outspoken Bridge Project. They are flying it from Beach Haven all the way up north to Sea Bright.The group cleverly chose this location and weekend because the President is spending a leisurely weekend golfing at his NJ beach resort. Flying this banner is the perfect way to highlight the fact that Trump is spending every weekend golfing at the beach rather than doing his job and to embarrass him about it, bigly.The irony of Trump spending all his weekends golfing is that he used to slam President Obama on Twitter for playing golf while in the office. Now, even Trump s fellow Republicans are recognizing that he is majorly out-golfing Obama. Senator Joni Ernst from Iowa said in an April town hall speech that Trump needs to spend way less time at Mar-a-Lago in Florida if he wants to be an effective president. I do wish he would spend more time in Washington, D.C. That s what we have the White House for. By April Trump had spent as much time traveling during his presidency than Obama did during the entire two terms in the White House. Besides not being in D.C. doing his job, just one of Trump s weekend getaways cost taxpayers $3.6 million.Maybe this banner will help Trump to see the error of his ways? OK, probably not, but at least it will embarrass the shit out of him.Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images | 1real
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Putin offers transcript to prove Trump did not pass Russia secrets | SOCHI/MOSCOW (Reuters) - Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that U.S. President Donald Trump had not divulged any secrets during a meeting in Washington with Russian officials and offered to prove it by supplying Congress with a transcript. But a leading U.S. Republican politician said he would have little faith in any notes Putin might supply. Two U.S. officials said on Monday Trump had disclosed classified information about a planned Islamic State operation to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov when they met last week, plunging the White House into a fresh controversy just four months into Trump’s tenure. Trump, whose administration has been dogged by allegations that Russia helped him win the White House and that he and his allies are too cozy with Moscow, has defended his decision to discuss intelligence with the Russians after media reports of the meeting alarmed some U.S. and foreign politicians. President Putin deployed his trademark sarcasm on Wednesday to make clear he thought the accusation that Trump had divulged secrets absurd. “I spoke to him (Lavrov) today,” a smiling Putin told a news conference with Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi. “I’ll be forced to issue him (Lavrov) with a reprimand because he did not share these secrets with us. Not with me, nor with representatives of Russia’s intelligence services. It was very bad of him.” Putin, who still hopes Moscow can repair battered ties with the United States despite a deepening political scandal in the United States related to Trump’s purported Russia ties, said Moscow had rated Lavrov’s meeting with Trump highly. If the Trump administration deemed it appropriate, Putin said Russia could hand over a transcript of Trump’s meeting with Lavrov to U.S. lawmakers to reassure them that no secrets were revealed. A Kremlin aide, Yuri Ushakov, later told reporters that Moscow had a written record of the conversation, not an audio recording. U.S. Republican Senator Marco Rubio was unimpressed with Putin’s offer and alluded to alleged Russian hacking of Democratic groups during the U.S. presidential election. “I wouldn’t put much credibility into whatever Putin’s notes are,” Rubio said on Fox News. “And if it comes in an email, I wouldn’t click on the attachment.” Representative Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, which is among those probing alleged Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election, called Putin’s offer “quite amusing.” “The last person Trump needs to vouch for him right now is Vladimir Putin,” Schiff said in an interview with CBS News. “If they want to send something, you know, hats off. Send it our way... It’s credibility would be less than zero.” Russia has repeatedly denied interfering in the U.S. election. Trump is also under pressure over accusations he asked then-FBI Director James Comey to end the agency’s investigation into the Russia ties of former White House national security adviser Michael Flynn. The allegation stems from a memo written by Comey and seen by a source familiar with the contents of the memo. In Washington, Republican and Democratic lawmakers said they wanted to see the Comey memo. U.S. Representative Adam Kinzinger joined a small but growing number of Republican lawmakers who have said they would back some sort of independent investigation into Russia’s role in the 2016 election. “If in fact what was in the memo is true, it’s very concerning and we need to get to the bottom of that,” Kinzinger said on CNN. Complaining about what he said was “political schizophrenia” in the United States, Putin said Trump was not being allowed to do his job properly. “It’s hard to imagine what else these people who generate such nonsense and rubbish can dream up next,” said Putin, referring to unnamed U.S. politicians. “What surprises me is that they are shaking up the domestic political situation using anti-Russian slogans. Either they don’t understand the damage they’re doing to their own country, in which case they are simply stupid, or they understand everything, in which case they are dangerous and corrupt.” Russia has repeatedly said that Trump’s opponents are trying to damage him and Moscow by making what it says are false accusations about the billionaire president and the Russian government which initially had high hopes of a rapprochement. Officials have told Reuters Trump’s alleged disclosure of classified information to Russia’s foreign minister is unlikely to stop allies who share intelligence with Washington from cooperating. That view was reinforced on Wednesday when British Prime Minister Theresa May said her government had confidence in its relationship with the United States and would continue to share intelligence with Britain’s most important defense and security ally. | 0fake
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HULK HOGAN IS KICKED TO CURB BY WWE FOR SPECULATION OVER RACIST COMMENTS | No actual verifiable evidence is available, but hey in a world where PC rules the day who needs to verify a story? ****Strong language warning (video)****Here s the WWE s statement:WWE terminated its contract with Terry Bollea (aka Hulk Hogan). WWE is committed to embracing and celebrating individuals from all backgrounds as demonstrated by the diversity of our employees, performers and fans worldwide.Why is not completely clear yet, although obviously the statement points to him saying or doing something that they found offensive.Some have speculated that it is due to this video from 2012, in which he talks about people s use of the term nigga :https://youtu.be/oVyTgh_kBD0One would hope that they would not act so thoroughly and completely to sever the 30 year relationship over something as benign as that. But in present PC climate, one wouldn t doubt it.Others are pointing to another story, that he supposedly used the terminology fucking n**gers repeatedly on a tape filed in a deposition in a Florida court, this one would be much more problematic, where he calls himself a racist:At that point on the tape, the former Hogan Knows Best star bemoaned how a black billionaire guy had offered to fund his 27 year old daughter Brooke s music career.He also attempts to use bizarre, twisted logic in an attempt to justify his bigotry at the man. I don t know if Brooke was f*cking the black guy s son, Hulk raved, the sources add. I mean, I don t have double standards. I mean, I am a racist, to a point, f*cking n*ggers. But then when it comes to nice people and sh*t, and whatever. Then, in a tirade to rival the racism embarrassments suffered by Mel Gibson and Dog The Bounty Hunter, Hulk unloaded even more hatred!According to sources, he said: I mean, I d rather if she was going to f*ck some n*gger, I d rather have her marry an 8-foot-tall n*gger worth a hundred million dollars! Like a basketball player! I guess we re all a little racist. Fucking n*gger. Of course, according the original news source, THE NATIONAL ENQUIRER, these records are sealed in a Florida court so there is no actual evidence available to the public that can be used to verify this story.Via: Weasel Zippers | 1real
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U.S. House Speaker Ryan to focus on protecting Republican congressional majorities: spokeswoman | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Donald Trump on Monday suffered another political setback when U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan distanced himself from the Republican presidential candidate’s troubled campaign. Ryan, according to someone familiar with a conference call held by the speaker and House Republican lawmakers, will not campaign with Trump in the run-up to the Nov. 8 elections and will not defend the Republican Party nominee. The source did not say whether Ryan intended to withdraw his support for Trump. But a spokeswoman added that the Wisconsin congressman will focus on maintaining a Republican majority in the House. | 0fake
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Somali lawmakers seek to impeach president amid political crisis | MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Some Somali lawmakers said on Wednesday they plan to impeach the president in a mounting political crisis that could put the fledgling government on a violent collision course with one of the country s most powerful clans. The political turmoil endangers fragile gains against the Islamist al Shabaab insurgency and could derail the government of President Mohamed Abdullahi. Universally known by his nickname Farmajo , the dual U.S.-Somali citizen took power earlier this year in a U.N.-backed process. The Horn of Africa state s parliament adjourned last week until the end of February, but some legislators want it to reconvene on an emergency basis, lawmaker Mahad Salad told Reuters. Ninety-six lawmakers have asked the speaker to reopen the session so that the impeachment against the president kicks off. The president is accused of violation of the constitution, treason, destruction of the federal states and so on, he said. The letter had not yet been delivered to the speaker. There are 275 lawmakers and two-thirds would have to vote against the president to impeach him. The motion follows a deadly raid on Sunday on the home of an opposition leader, Abdirahman Abdishakur Warsame, who ran for the presidency against Farmajo. Somali security agents arrived at his house around midnight and engaged his guards in a firefight, killing five people. The minister of security said Warsame resisted arrest and he would be charged with treason. He appeared in court on Tuesday but no warrant was shown for his arrest, a witness said. A Wednesday court hearing was postponed until Thursday. The information minister did not return calls seeking comment. A statement from the security minister and attorney general said they were investigating the crimes of Somalis who were involved in treason, terror and the destruction of government systems . Warsame comes from Somalia s formidable Habar Gidir clan, which is spread across south-central Somalia. Although both his supporters and the government stress that his detention is political, rather than a clan issue, it will further sour relations between the two sides. If that sparks fighting it could split Somalia s security forces, which are composed mostly of clan-based militias. In September, a battle between the police, intelligence, and military killed nine people in Mogadishu s Habar Gidir district. It s a lose-lose situation for the government. If they pursue this, they face a showdown with the Habar Gidir, who are powerful, wealthy and well-armed and provide many units in the SNA, said a Somalia security analyst who spoke on condition of anonymity, referring to the Somali National Army. If they back down, they look weak. It s very hard to see how the administration could survive this crisis. In August, a joint U.S.-Somali raid in the town of Bariire killed 10 Habar Gidir members. The U.S. military said they were Islamist militants but clan elders said they were civilians. In May, a soldier accidentally killed the minister of public works in a case of mistaken identity. A Habar Gidir clan member, the soldier was sentenced to death, angering clan members who felt that blood money should have been accepted. Somalia s new government has won plaudits from diplomats for trying to assess the extent of mismanagement and corruption in the armed forces and the International Monetary Fund has praised it for fiscal reforms. But at home, the government has many problems. It has hired and fired a string of top security officials. Al Shabaab militants, skilled at exploiting clan divisions, stepped up a campaign of deadly bombings in Mogadishu. One October bomb killed more than 500 people. A split between Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, both of which have supported Somali factions, has fuelled a spat between the president and leaders of Somalia s regional administrations, damaging security cooperation. This month, the U.S. government announced it was suspending aid to most of the military over accountability concerns. Now many parliamentarians are angry that a government that promotes itself as reformist is arresting critics like Warsame, said Abdirizak Mohamed, a lawmaker and former security minister. MPs are concerned about freedom of expression and association. This was an unnecessary crisis when they already had a lot on their plate. | 0fake
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How Trump rallies the faithful: Belittle Clinton, news media | CHARLOTTE, N.C. (Reuters) - Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s campaign rallies have turned into eruptions of barely contained emotions from his impassioned followers, who urge him to fight on despite a series of gut punches that have put his chances of winning in doubt. With the Nov. 8 election now only weeks away and polls turning against him, Trump is spending precious time in campaign speeches defending himself from accusations from several women who say he made unwanted sexual advances toward them. What he would do if elected is covered, but much of his speeches are spent belittling his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton. He also accuses the U.S. news media of a plot to bring him down, and charges that the women who have made the accusations against him might be doing it for a taste of fame. Opinion polls show a gloomy picture for Trump. A week after a video surfaced of him bragging in lewd terms about groping women, the latest Reuters-Ipsos poll on Friday showed Clinton up, with 44 percent to Trump’s 37 percent. And the crowds have gotten more protective of their hero. One woman at a rally in Cincinnati, Ohio, on Thursday wore a homemade T-shirt that said “Trump Can Grab My,” with an arrow pointing to her crotch. On Friday in Greensboro, North Carolina, a man wearing a “Gays for Trump” shirt punched a protester who held up an upside down American flag. Both were ejected. Trump’s message has gotten through to his supporters in a big way about Clinton, who Trump calls a criminal for her handling of classified information as secretary of state. “She would be the most dishonest and corrupt ever elected to high office,” he said. A crowd of young voters had a ready response when he brought up Clinton at an event in Columbus, Ohio, on Thursday. “Lock her up!” they chanted, mimicking the lines voiced by older voters at other events. Trump could only smile and shake his head. “So young and so jaded already,” he said. The New York businessman feeds off the energy generated by crowds that pack his rallies by the thousands. But he is easily distracted, lurching from topic to topic based on whatever happens to sprint to mind. On Wednesday in Lakeland, Florida, Trump jumped from bashing the news media as “the most dishonest people you’ll ever see,” to tout his performance at a debate in St. Louis on Sunday - “which I won big league” - to Clinton’s stroll across the stage in front of him at that event. “And the papers said I invaded her space,” he said. “Believe me, the last space I want to invade is hers.” There are moments of levity. A woman who recovered from a brief fainting spell in the heat of Lakeland was pointed out by Trump. “That woman was out cold and now she is recovered — a little ding to the head,” he said, approvingly. Trump can form an attack line against Clinton out of pretty much anything that springs to mind. Venting about Chinese trade practices before a raucous crowd of perhaps 20,000 in Cincinnati on Thursday night, Trump suddenly imagined how China might treat Clinton given her bout of pneumonia a month ago, which had caused her to nearly collapse at an event in New York. “If she goes down in Tiananmen Square, they’ll just leave her,” he said. “They’re tough people.” Trump’s crowds sometimes get agitated. Many of his supporters are upset at the news media, whipped into a frenzy by both Trump and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who in Cincinnati introduced Trump by condemning “the insanity of the media, the insanity of the way they cover him.” Upon entering the arena, Trump’s traveling press corps was booed by thousands of people who chanted “tell the truth.” Trump boosters near the media work area repeatedly cursed and taunted reporters. “When are you all going to be ashamed of yourselves?” one man shouted. “Lower than Congress — that’s what your approval rating is.” | 0fake
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Dennis Byrd, Former Jets Player, Is Killed in Car Crash in Oklahoma - The New York Times | Dennis Byrd, a former Jets defensive lineman who made an inspiring recovery from paralysis after a neck injury in 1992, died on Saturday in a crash near Claremore, Okla. officials said. Byrd was 50. A boy driving a sport utility vehicle north on Oklahoma Highway 88 veered into the oncoming lane about 11:15 a. m. striking an S. U. V. driven by Byrd, who was pronounced dead at the scene, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol said. The boy was taken to Saint Francis Hospital in Tulsa, Okla. where officials said he was in stable condition. A boy was also injured in the crash. Against the Chiefs, on Nov. 29, 1992, Byrd and a teammate, Scott Mersereau, collided while chasing Kansas City quarterback Dave Krieg. Byrd broke a bone in his spine and could not move his lower body. “An eerie silence gripped the stadium as Jets doctors and trainers attended to Byrd for seven minutes,” according to a New York Times article about the game. “Hopes were raised when Byrd moved his left arm. A few of his teammates drifted over to talk to him and hold his hand, then slowly they began to realize just how seriously injured he was. ” Three days after Byrd was injured, he underwent a operation at Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan to stabilize his spine. Doctors thought it could take two years to determine whether he would be able to regain use of the lower half of his body, although they were already encouraged that Byrd had been able to flex his ankles and move some toes. By the end of January 1993, Byrd had made extensive progress in a therapy program at Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan. Weeks later, using crutches, he appeared for an emotional news conference to mark the end of his rehabilitation program at the hospital. The story of Byrd’s recovery was told in an autobiography, “Rise and Walk: The Trial and Triumph of Dennis Byrd,” and a television movie in 1994. Byrd was born Oct. 5, 1966, in Oklahoma City, and he played for the University of Tulsa before the Jets drafted him in the second round in 1989. Derrick Gragg, the university’s vice president and director of athletics, said in a statement that Byrd “exemplified true determination, tremendous heart and humility throughout his life. ” “He overcame great personal adversity after a injury on the football field,” Gragg added. “We know that Dennis touched numerous lives and will be missed by many. ” Byrd became a motivational speaker and traveled across the country, sharing his life story, writing hundreds of letters a year and spending time with others who had neck and injuries. The Jets presented him with an award as the team’s most inspirational player of 1992, and they have given the Dennis Byrd Award to the most inspirational Jet every year since. In 2010, Byrd sent Rex Ryan, then the Jets’ head coach, the No. 90 jersey that had been ripped from his torso after he was injured. In 2012, Byrd became the fifth player in the franchise’s history to have his number retired. Byrd lived in Talala, Okla. about 40 miles northeast of Tulsa, with his wife, Angela, and their four children, according to the Jets’ website. The website quoted Byrd as having said: “Football has always been, for me, a cornerpost of strength and a way to accomplish things in life, whether it’s on the field or just in maintaining a quality of life. All those lessons — dedication, perseverance, teamwork — they all dovetail nicely into living a blessed life. ” | 0fake
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With far-right in turmoil, France's Le Pen softens anti-EU stance | PARIS (Reuters) - Far-right leader Marine Le Pen has said it is possible to improve the lives of French citizens without leaving the single European currency, in a marked shift from the anti-EU stance she pushed during her failed presidential bid. Le Pen s National Front party has been in turmoil since her heavy defeat to Emmanuel Macron in May s presidential election, split by deep internal divisions over its view on Europe that forced the departure of Le Pen s deputy last month. In numerous areas it is possible to improve the daily life of the French without quitting Europe or the euro currency, Le Pen told weekly magazine Valeurs Actuelles in comments to be published on Thursday. We have heard the French people, she said. Her remarks are the clearest indication yet that the National Front will focus on policies around immigration and national identity, and soften the anti-EU rhetoric that cost her dear in the election. While public discontent toward Brussels has fueled nationalist sentiment in France, in particular in rural and low income areas, opinion polls show there is little appetite for France to follow Britain out of Europe, or to drop the euro. The departure of Florian Philippot, for years Le Pen s closest aide and a staunch advocate of an anti-euro, protectionist line, split the National Front but also paved the way to a policy change as the far-right party seeks to rebrand itself. During her election campaign, Le Pen promised a referendum on EU membership. After suffering a bruising defeat to Macron in the May run-off vote, Le Pen s National Front won just eight seats in the National Assembly, leaving it with a weak voice and unable to form a parliamentary group. Last month, already toning down her language, she said that national sovereignty would be a mainstay of the party s struggle. We will continue to fight the European Union with all our soul because it is an instrument for the impoverishment of people, she said in the wake of Philippot s resignation. | 0fake
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Bret Baier: FBI Indictment ALMOST certain in Hillary case | Bret Baier: FBI Indictment ALMOST certain in Hillary case November 03, 2016
Fox News’ Bret Baier says his sources claim that an indictment is almost certain in the new FBI investigation into Hillary Clinton’s private email server. Baier made the claim Wednesday night during a broadcast of “On the Record” with Brit Hume. Baier: “Lot of evidence” had been recovered from Anthony Wiener’s laptop. “I pressed, again and again, on this very issue. These sources said, yes, the investigations will continues [sic], there’s a lot of evidence, and barring some obstruction in some way, they believe they’ll continue to, likely, an indictment.” Baier didn’t say exactly who would be the most most likely target of an indictment, nor the timeline. Baiser sources: Greater than 99 percent confidence that Clinton’s private email server had been hacked by at least five foreign intelligence agencies.
(WASHINGTON, DC) Citing sources at the FBI, Fox News anchor Bret Baier said the FBI’s renewed investigation of Hillary Clinton’s email server will almost certainly end in an indictment, unless some sort of “obstruction” arises.
Baier made the claim Wednesday night during a broadcast of “On the Record” with Brit Hume. He said that a “lot of evidence” had been recovered from Anthony Wiener’s laptop, and made an eventual indictment appear very likely, even if it came months after the election.
“I pressed, again and again, on this very issue,” Baier told Hume. “These sources said, yes, the investigations will continues [sic], there’s a lot of evidence, and barring some obstruction in some way, they believe they’ll continue to, likely, an indictment.”
Baier didn’t say exactly who would be the most most likely target of an indictment, and what the timeline on such an indictment would be.
Baier also said that his sources had greater than 99 percent confidence that Clinton’s private email server had been hacked by at least five foreign intelligence agencies. When FBI Director James Comey first announced last summer that no charges would be recommended regarding Clinton’s server, he said the FBI had no way of knowing whether the server had been hacked.
Clinton’s presidential campaign aggressively downplayed the severity of the renewed investigation into her private email server, and criticized the judgment of Comey for publicly announcing it.
Daily Caller copy, TRUNEWS analysis Please contact TRUNEWS correspondent Edward Szall with any news tips related to this story. Email: | Twitter: @EdwardSzall | Facebook: Ed Szall DOWNLOAD THE TRUNEWS MOBILE APP on Apple and Google Play ! Donate Today! Support TRUNEWS to help build a global news network that provides a credible source for world news
We believe Christians need and deserve their own global news network to keep the worldwide Church informed, and to offer Christians a positive alternative to the anti-Christian bigotry of the mainstream news media Top Stories | 1real
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LOL! DEMOCRAT CHEERLEADER Cokie Roberts Delivers Devastating News To ABC Comrades: “It is Going to Be Very Hard to Defeat” Roy Moore After Trump’s Endorsement [VIDEO] | Earlier today, President Trump tweeted about the Alabama Senate race where Republican candidate for Senate Judge Roy Moore has been the target of the left ever since he won in the GOP primary race in September, against the less conservative candidate, Luther Strange.The last thing we need in Alabama and the U.S. Senate is a Schumer/Pelosi puppet who is WEAK on Crime, WEAK on the Border, Bad for our Military and our great Vets, Bad for our 2nd Amendment, AND WANTS TO RAISES TAXES TO THE SKY. Jones would be a disaster! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 26, 2017Since the first day I took office, all you hear is the phony Democrat excuse for losing the election, Russia, Russia,Russia. Despite this I have the economy booming and have possibly done more than any 10 month President. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 26, 2017Unfortunately for the Democrats, their attempt at destroying the character of Roy Moore, by attempting to paint him as a sexual predator of teenage girls, continues to fall apart. Roy Moore s team is coming out and demanding that the high school yearbook used as evidence by one of Moore s accusers is more looked at by forgery experts after it was discovered that the signature doesn t match that of Roy Moore s and that two different colors of ink were used for the signature. The stepson of the woman who used what many are saying was a forged Roy Moore signature in her yearbook, has also come out to say his stepmother is lying about her encounter several decades ago with Roy Moore. Even the high-profile, leftist, media-whore lawyer, Gloria Allred, who represented the accuser with the yearbook, appears to have gone into hiding. Meanwhile, polls are showing that Roy Moore is ahead by anywhere from 5-15 points and that the left s shameful attempt at stealing the election from the popular conservative candidate in Alabama, is quickly falling apart.Now that President Trump has endorsed Roy Moore, the left appears to be giving up the ship Sunday on ABC s This Week, network analyst Cokie Roberts said now that President Donald Trump had supported Alabama GOP U.S. Senate hopeful Roy Moore, it will be very hard to defeat Moore in the December 12 special election.Roberts said, He doesn t have to go to Alabama. He s done plenty for Roy Moore. Moore can put it in his ads, which he s doing. He s clearly got the endorsement of President Trump. Without the endorsement of President Trump, he won the primary. I think with the endorsement of President Trump, it will be hard to defeat him in the general election. Breitbart News.@CokieRoberts tells @ThisWeekABC Roy Moore clearly has the endorsement of Pres. Trump: Without the endorsement, he won the primary. I think with the endorsement, "it is going to be very hard to defeat him." pic.twitter.com/Hyw6wSligG ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) November 26, 2017 | 1real
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CoverGirl's New Face: A 17-Year-Old Male | Last month, CoverGirl announced its first hiri Comment on this Article Via Your Facebook Account Comment on this Article Via Your Disqus Account Follow Us on Facebook! | 1real
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A standard dejection in the IRS help line | By midmorning, the line of taxpayers outside the IRS office stretched along the marble wall, past the elevators and water fountain, back to the metal detectors near the entrance of the Earle Cabell Federal Building.
Andrew Concha came out into the hall holding a purple sign. He checked his watch — 11:04 a.m. — then calculated how many people could be seen before the Taxpayer Assistance Center closed at 4:30 p.m. He placed the sign behind the 17th customer, signaling to the other 30 or so in line that their chance of seeing a specialist that day was slim.
“I’m not technically turning them away yet,” Concha explained. “I’m letting them know it may not be in their interest to wait three to four hours to see someone.”
With Tax Day approaching, it was the best the IRS could offer.
Five years of budget cuts by Congress have left the agency so cash-strapped that Commissioner John Koskinen doesn’t bother sugarcoating the state of customer service. “It’s abysmal,” he said.
Nationwide, only 4 in 10 callers to the agency’s toll-free help line are getting through to a real person. The number of “courtesy disconnects” — a euphemism for an overloaded system hanging up on the customer — has reached 5 million so far this year, the agency reported.
When callers do get a real person, they can forget about asking questions that require expertise. These are now considered “out of scope.” The customer-service agents have been instructed to only tell callers what tax forms they need, where to get them and where to look for online information. Staff can no longer offer line-by-line assistance, provide guidance on tax planning or tax law, or help make payment arrangements.
And with 5,000 fewer agents than four years ago to go after tax cheats, officials estimate that $2 billion in revenue will go uncollected.
At the Dallas tax assistance center, there’s an empty space where the office printer sat before it was yanked out. The maintenance contract was too expensive. The shelves in the Forms Room are mostly bare. The 40-page P-17, the bible of tax-return preparation, now costs $23 and must be ordered online.
Overcrowding at the Dallas center came to a head in February when the fire marshal showed up and notified its manager, Johnny Holiday, that he couldn’t have customers sitting on the floor and blocking exits and walking space. So now, no one gets in the door unless the person has a seat in one of the 40 chairs in the waiting area.
Late last month, Holiday called security officers when a man lunged at an employee, cursing, after waiting two hours to drop off documents for an audit.
Holiday spends his time devising strategies to bring order to an office that, this being the IRS, should thrive on order. Twenty minutes before the doors open at 8:30 a.m. on a recent morning, he’s making sure that the Line Elimination Team is in place. Its job is do triage on the line, pulling customers out of the queue who have straightforward requests, such as asking to make a payment or to get a copy of an old return. Employees move along the line, handing out paper tickets as at the deli counter, asking customers in Spanish and in English why they are here.
This task takes three of his specialists. That leaves only eight others to meet with taxpayers and answer their questions.
As money has gotten tighter, the demands have grown. Two years ago, another walk-in center in DeSoto, 16 miles south of Dallas, closed, leaving the IRS office in the Earle Cabell building to absorb the business.
With its gray carpets, dropped ceilings with fluorescent lights and keypad-coded doors five blocks from where John F. Kennedy was shot, the 16-story building in downtown Dallas built in 1968 is a monument to a time when there was more optimism about the federal government.
Since 2010, Republicans on Capitol Hill have slashed the IRS budget by $1.2 billion, or about 17 percent, adjusting for inflation. Just this fiscal year, $346 million was cut.
By contrast, cuts across the rest of the government have been far more modest and concentrated. Between 2012 and 2014, automatic spending reductions shrank non-defense spending, as adjusted for inflation, by 1.3 percent, while IRS spending was chopped 5.6 percent, according to Scott Lilly, a budget expert at the Center for American Progress.
Even in an era of shrinking government, conservatives’ antipathy toward the tax-collection agency stands out. It is punishment for a string of missteps: an extravagant conference for employees in Anaheim, Calif., the targeting of conservative groups seeking tax exemptions, $1 million in bonuses given to agency employees who didn’t pay their federal taxes.
“We deliberately lowered IRS funding to a level that will make the IRS think twice about what you’re doing and why you’re doing it,” Rep. Ander Crenshaw (R-Fla.), who chairs the House panel that sets the agency’s budget, said at a hearing last month. The IRS, he said, should “focus on core missions providing taxpayer services.”
Leslie Paige, vice president for policy and communications at Citizens Against Government Waste, said every government agency could sustain deep cuts and in particular the IRS.
“I think taxpayers and their representatives need to think long and hard about throwing more money at an agency that has proven that it persistently mismanages and wastes the money they have gotten in the past,” she said.
As funding has declined, the agency’s workload has grown. The IRS is helping to administer subsidies and compliance under President Obama’s health-care law and dealing with other new wrinkles in the tax code. It is also battling an epidemic of identity theft and new, sophisticated cheating schemes. Since the budget cuts, employees have processed 11 percent more returns, the IRS said.
Koskinen, hired to restore trust in the IRS, is also looking for money to upgrade a system that still runs on COBOL, the computer language that debuted half a century ago. He needs more revenue agents. In Dallas, they only go after people who’ve cheated the government out of $1 million or more.
“At this point it is a little frustrating when people say, ‘We keep cutting your budget so you’ll be more efficient,’ ” Koskinen said.
When Jerry Reed finally made it to a cubicle inside the Dallas center, Andrew Concha apologized for the long wait. Reed just shrugged his shoulders.
Reed’s tax return had been flagged because it reflected a refund of more than $10,000. The IRS suspected that Reed was a victim of identity theft. In reality, Reed was due the refund because he had taken a large business loss when his consulting business failed.
He tried to resolve the confusion online but couldn’t figure how to proceed. He called the toll-free line, waited on hold for 90 minutes and hung up. Then he drove to the federal building one day after work, but he was too late to get a ticket. In the past, IRS employees would work as late as midnight during tax season, but now, with the elimination of overtime pay, they go home at 4:30 p.m.
“Because of the cuts, people have really lost patience with us,” Concha said.
In the high-rise building next door, money ran out for 200 seasonal employees a full month before the April 15 deadline, and they are being sent home, agency officials said.
“They know the minute we say, ‘I’m going to have to transfer you to someone who can answer your question,’ they’re going to be on hold for a number of hours,” said Donna Miller, an agent working for the local chapter of the National Treasury Employees Union.
Just then, an announcement came over the loudspeaker inviting all employees to Room 212 at 1 p.m. for a retirement party for a woman named Peg. Peg was not being replaced because of an IRS hiring freeze.
No choice but to wait
It has fallen to Chris Caroll, the operations manager, to buck up his beleaguered staff. Bald with a goatee, he walks the seven floors of cubicles every day, urging employees to e-mail, call and knock on his door if they need to talk.
“We knew we had to be empathetic versus the typical management style,” he said. Yet he cannot even order them calendars, calculators or rulers.
Back downstairs, Laurence Zeigler had figured out that he wouldn’t get to see anyone at the IRS on this day. All he needed, he said, was to give them his correct address. Near the exit, his credentials in a faded gray folder that long ago carried his vo-tech diploma, he vented to a friendly security guard.
“Man, I just got laid off,” he said. “It’s like, I really need that money.” His $400 refund had been held up by an incomplete return.
“I would just call them,” the guard offered. Waiting on hold did not sound like a great idea to Zeigler.
Concha had come back out to check on the line.
“If you get in this line, the wait will be two hours,” he told an anxious woman, who wanted to make sure her automated tax payment went through after her bank changed. “If you get inside, it will be another two hours.”
“Did you say, another two hours?” someone called out. It was Kim Garrett, on her fifth visit to clear up the matter of her Social Security number, which she said the IRS didn’t have.
“You can’t call,” Garrett said, to anyone who would listen. “You can’t get online, and you can’t see anybody. What are your options?”
The others in line nodded in agreement. | 0fake
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Al-Qaeda's Assault on Aleppo Continues Despite Lack of Progress | Al-Qaeda's Assault on Aleppo Continues Despite Lack of Progress
Rebels are doing a lot of dying but not taking much ground so far Print Originally appeared at The Moon of Alabama
For four days now al-Qaeda in Syria (aka Jabhat al Nusra aka Fatah al-Sham) and assorted other "rebel" groups have tried to attack Aleppo from the west to break the siege on al-Qaeda associated groups in east-Aleppo. The New York Times in now openly admitting that CIA supported groups are acting under al-Qaeda's operational command. The piece though, which belonged on page one, was in the back of the paper. There is no public outcry over this disturbing fact.
The attack on west-Aleppo had been talked about for over two weeks and the defenders are well prepared. waleppoattack.jpg
As can be seen on the map above the areas al-Qaeda and its allies managed to capture so far are only small rural outskirts. Every attempt to attack actual city estate under roof was repelled by the defenders. Small infiltrations like shown in the map were immediately cleaned up. The marked area is back in the hands of the Syrian army. It is estimated that the several thousand attackers have so far lost more than 500 men. A 1,000 more are likely injured. Every attack has to be carried over mostly open land and is received by heavy artillery fire. Air attacks ravage their supply and preparation ares.
The attackers launched over 20 suicide-vehicle bombs so far but only a few reached their targets and their damage was limited. Yesterday one suicide vehicle bomb, ready to be launched for a new attack, was hit by a missile from a Syrian helicopter and exploded at its preparation and launching position. Over 60 "rebels" were killed by it and their attack had to be call off.
The good news is that the defense is holding. The bad news is that the al-Qaeda "rebels" received huge amounts of artillery missiles and launchers from their "western" and Gulf sponsors. Several hundred have been launched at the densely populated areas of west-Aleppo. More than a 100 civilians have been killed by them and several hundred civilians were wounded. Some of the missiles contained gas and people had to be taken to hospital with extreme breathing difficulties. The UN envoy condemned these attacks as "possible war crimes".
The whole attack operation was launched under the direct supervision of al-Qaeda in Syria leader Abu Muhammad al-Golani. He was shown in pictures at the "rebel" headquarter of the attack discussing further operations.
Despite any progress on their part the al-Qaeda forces seem far from giving up. More attacks to break the siege are expected. We can be sure that some of their surprises are still in store. But the defenders are ready and the Syrian army is said to prepare for a large counter operation which may include a serious effort to liberate east-Aleppo of the al-Qaeda occupation.
Other fronts in Syria are relatively quiet. The Turks have been told by Russia to stop all air attacks within Syria. The message has been received. The Turkish plan to occupy Al Bab east of Aleppo is unlikely to happen as it would be out of range of the Turkey based artillery and have no air support. The U.S. would like to go to Raqqa but has no proxy ground force to do that. Some Obama officials are now arguing for more U.S. boots on the ground in Syria. Will Obama agree to that mission creep? | 1real
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California lawmakers approve hiking minimum wage to $15 | SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Reuters) - A plan to raise California’s minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2022 passed both houses of the state legislature on Thursday, putting the state on track to become the first in the nation to commit to such a large pay hike for the working poor. The measure, incorporating a deal Governor Jerry Brown reached with labor leaders and progressive Democrats in the Legislature, was approved in the state Senate Thursday afternoon after winning approval earlier in the day in the Assembly, and now goes to Brown for his signature. “If you work full time, your family shouldn’t live in poverty,” Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, a Southern California Democrat, said in support of the bill to raise the state’s minimum wage from its current level of $10 per hour. Lawmakers from the state’s poorer regions said the measure could harm small businesses that are barely hanging on amid double-digit unemployment, ultimately leading to job losses. If enacted, the bill would put California, home to one of the world’s biggest economies, among a growing number of U.S. states and cities that have moved in recent years to surpass the federal minimum wage, which has remained at $7.25 an hour since 2009. A proposal to raise the minimum wage in parts of New York state to $15 was announced Thursday by Governor Andrew Cuomo and legislative leaders. The California measure would gradually raise the state’s hourly minimum wage to $15 by 2022 for large businesses and by 2023 for smaller firms. The measure would also head off two competing ballot initiatives lacking a provision to allow the governor to suspend increases in hard economic times, a deal breaker for Brown. The proposal sped through the legislative process after the governor’s office reached a deal last week with labor unions pushing a similar minimum wage hike in the form of two ballot initiatives. With polls showing strong support for those measures at the ballot box, Brown emphasized that a version passed through the legislature would allow lawmakers to amend it if needed over time instead of going back to voters to request amendments in expensive and uncertain campaigns. Moreover, the deal allows the state to opt out of minimum wage increases if the economy is doing poorly, a provision not in either of the union-backed ballot initiatives. Even so, several moderate Democrats and most Republicans complained that it was being rushed through, and would disproportionately harm businesses in poorer parts of the state, where the cost of living is not high enough to warrant such a dramatic wage hike. The deal reached in New York would raise wages in costly New York City to $15 in three years, but would stagger increases in other parts of the state, some to just $12.50 per hour unless further approval is granted. It still must pass the legislature, where negotiations on the details are ongoing. | 0fake
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BLACK LIVES MATTER ACTIVIST Obama Invited To White House Charged With PIMPING Teenage Girl…Blames Conservatives “Trolls” | Just another upstanding citizen who s been invited to the White House by our Community Organizer In Chief Birds of a feather Who can forget when Obama s speech about child safety was interrupted by a rapper who was wearing an ankle bracelet for KIDNAPPING went off?And then there was the rapper Tef Poe, who met with Obama in our White House to strategize , who tweeted this threat: Dear white people if Trump wins young niggas such as myself are fully hell bent on inciting riots everywhere we go A Black Lives Matter activist who operates a social justice charity was arrested last month on charges of sex trafficking a 17-year-old girl.Charles Wade co-founded Operation Help or Hush in the aftermath of the August 2014 police shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. The group claims it helps raise funds for the needy and provide food and shelter for activists.But according to a police report obtained by TheDC, the 33-year-old Wade was raising money in more explicit ways.He was arrested on April 25 at a motel where he resided in College Park, Md. Police say he was using the motel room to pimp a 17-year-old girl.He s charged with seven counts, including felonies for human trafficking. The charges carry sentences of up to 25 years in prison and a $15,000 fine. Wade posted $25,000 bond and left jail on April 27.Wade denied the allegations in an email to The Daily Caller. Formerly a stylist for Solange Knowles, the sister of Beyonce, Wade has been featured in numerous news articles about the Black Lives Matter movement. He was also invited by the White House earlier this week to a movie screening with other Black Lives Matter activists. Wade says he did not attend the function, which was on Tuesday.Last year, a team of Washington Post reporters, including Pulitzer Prize-winner Wesley Lowery, included Wade in a profile of Black Lives Matter activists who protested after the August 2014 shooting of Michael Brown by Ferguson, Mo. police officer Darren Wilson. According to the police report, an undercover officer with the vice intelligence unit responded to an ad on backpage.com, a website frequently used by sex traffickers and prostitutes. Holla at me. Quick stay specials tonight and tomorrow. Independent. Fun and sexy. Text me to set up an appointment??????? reads the ad, which listed the age of the poster as 23.The undercover detective contacted the poster to set up a meeting. The respondent informed him that the cost of services would be $100 for a half-hour and provided an address, which turned out to be a Howard Johnson Inn in College Park. A room number was also provided.When the undercover john arrived, a white female wearing only a towel answered the door and let him inside the room. After she attempted to initiate contact with the detective he informed her he was a police officer, and she ran out of the room. Members of the Vice Intelligence Unit described a male that was watching the Undercover Detective as he entered [room 412], the report reads.Investigators reported that the teenager, who gave her age as 17, said that Wade was her manager. She called him CJ. Wade, who used a passport to rent the Howard Johnson Inn room, was arrested and charged with sex trafficking. Police recovered three cell phones from him.The alleged victim told investigators that Wade knew she was a minor. She said that he told her he was not concerned about her age because you only have 5 months left until you re 18 so I m not worried. She also told investigators that she provided all the money she was paid to Wade.In response to TheDC s request for comment, Wade claimed that a tenant at a temporary housing facility he was running as part of his charity was involved in activities that he did not know about. As this is a legal matter, I m not going into serious detail with you, he said.He did claim, however, that he was unfairly arrested because he was too trusting. Despite those claims, the police report suggests that there is evidence that Wade was the person who communicated with the undercover detective by text message.Wade issued a statement on Twitter after being contacted by TheDC in which he blamed conservative trolls for focusing on the case. He also said I am confident that I will be cleared of the charges I am currently facing. I was forced to make this statement before I was ready to because of ongoing efforts by Twitter trolls to stop my work and the work of my organization, he wrote. For the past two to three days, trolls have been actively baiting conservative news outlets to report on my arrest, amongst other vindictive things that they are actively working on. Wade also stated that the recent arrest is the second time he has been arrested after helping someone else. He did not provide details of the case, but a review of criminal databases shows he was charged with 3rd degree grand theft in Miami in January. Wade says he was not convicted in the case nor did he take a plea deal. Records show that the case was closed in February.Wade was also arrested in August 2014 in Travis County, Tex. and charged with making false statements.For entire story: Daily Caller | 1real
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Westminster Dog Show Photos: Up Close and Personal - The New York Times | There is a flurry of activity around each booth as dogs are primped for competition. A walk behind the scenes at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show can be overwhelming. But a close look reveals what makes each breed unique. Above, Pippa, an English setter. Glitter is a Chinese owned by Deborah Camp of East Haddam, Conn. Glitter’s official name is Grand Champion Camp Wrinkles Stairway to Heaven. Chinese known for their wrinkly skin, are said to date from the Han dynasty (206 B. C. A. D.) in China. The foot of Kickstart, a bulldog. The nonsporting group was won by a bulldog in last year’s show. Duo, an Australian shepherd. The eyes of the Australian shepherd vary in color, a notable characteristic of the breed. The tail of Whizz, a Finnish spitz. Part of the nonsporting group, the breed has long been used to hunt small game and birds and is known for its bushy tail. Preston, a puli, has won 95 titles, according to The Associated Press. The herding breed is known for its long, cordlike coat. Sancho is a Xoloitzcuintli, a Mexican hairless breed revered by the Mayans and known for its name. Jack is a standard Manchester terrier, a breed originally trained to hunt rats in Manchester, England. Pilot, a chow chow, won best in breed. The chow chow’s tongue is perhaps its most distinctive feature. Finn, an Afghan hound. The breed’s long, flowing coat served as protection in the harsh, mountainous climate where it originated. Miranda Dowler, of Vancouver, Wash. wore a sequined outfit she designed with her friend Kate Miles to show Shelby, a Siberian husky. “People spend all year looking for their Westminster suit,” she said. | 0fake
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Over $500 million in Thai bank shares transferred on behalf of king: SEC | BANGKOK (Reuters) - Shares worth over $500 million in Thailand s Siam Commercial Bank have been transferred on behalf of King Maha Vajiralongkorn from the Crown Property Bureau, which manages palace assets, a filing with Thailand s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said on Friday. The filing by the Crown Property Bureau did not identify the ultimate beneficiary of the shares, nor did it indicate if any money had been paid for the shares. The transfer took place on Oct 2, the filing said. The law was changed in July to formally give the king control of the Crown Property Bureau. Details of its assets are not made public, but they are estimated to be worth more than $30 billion. The Crown Property Bureau confirmed the transaction but declined comment on how the transfer fitted with changes to the way palace finances are run since the king took the throne late last year after the death of his revered father. It is his majesty s private affair so I cannot comment further, said an official of the Crown Property Bureau who declined to be named because of the sensitivity of anything to do with Thailand s palace. The king has put an increasingly assertive stamp on the monarchy since succeeding his father King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who will be cremated on Oct. 26 in a ceremony that marks an end to more than a year of mourning in Thailand. Siam Commercial Bank, Thailand s third-largest bank by assets, declined to comment on the transaction in its shares. The filing said that the shares transferred amounted to 3.33 percent of the total value of the bank. After the transfer, the Crown Property Bureau still had a holding of 18.14 percent, it said. Based on the latest share price, the shares had a value of 16.9 billion baht ($505 million). At the latest dividend yield of 3.62 percent, the shares would give a payout of around $18 million a year. Shares in SCB closed 0.66 percent down on Friday compared to a 0.22 percent fall in the banking index. The Crown Property Bureau s stakes in SCB and Siam Cement PCL are together worth around $8.3 billion. According to a former official within the Crown Property Bureau, they have accounted for up to 80 percent of the agency s income in recent years. Although its real estate holdings are bigger, the returns from those are much lower. | 0fake
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China's Communist Party to discuss amending constitution, graft fight | BEIJING (Reuters) - China s ruling Communist Party will meet next month to discuss amending the constitution and to talk about the ongoing fight against graft, state media said on Wednesday, ahead of March s expected passing of a new anti-corruption law. Fighting deeply ingrained graft has been a key policy plank for President Xi Jinping in his first term in office, and that battle will take on a new hue with the setting up of the National Supervision Commission as he begins his second term. Trial work has already begun for that commission, which is likely to be formally codified in law in March at the meeting of China s largely rubber stamp parliament. The new body will take over from the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) and merge multiple anti-graft units into a single body. It will also expand the graft campaign s purview to include employees at state-backed institutions rather than just party members. In a short report, Xinhua news agency said the party s politburo, one of its elite ruling bodies, had met and decided to hold two important meetings next month - one on amending the state constitution and the other specifically on fighting corruption. Xinhua gave no details of what the constitutional amendment might entail, but Chinese legal scholars have said the country needs to amend its constitution before it can set up the new supervision commission to ensure there is a proper constitutional basis for its powers. The constitution clearly defines China s top political institutions, such as the judiciary and the prosecutor, in order to grant them state power and changes need to be made to these definitions to make room for a similarly powerful supervision system, scholars argue. The party will discuss the amendment, or amendments, at a plenum next month, Xinhua said without giving an exact date or saying whether it was one amendment or more. The constitution, which is different from the party constitution, was last amended in 2004 to include guarantees to protect private property and human rights. The other meeting, a full session of the anti-corruption watchdog the CCDI, will be held from Jan. 11-13, the report added, again without giving details. Xi has vowed that his war against graft will not ease until officials at all levels dare not, cannot and do not want to be corrupt. Xi told top party leaders in October revision of the anti-graft architecture would include the scrapping of a controversial shuanggui system of secret interrogations, and the introduction of a new detention system. The latest draft of the new Supervision Law, unveiled last week, adds protections for graft suspects as part of efforts to revise the interrogation system. | 0fake
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Trump discusses North Korea situation with Putin: White House | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Trump spoke by phone on Thursday with Russian President Vladimir Putin and the two leaders discussed working together to resolve the very dangerous situation in North Korea, the White House said in a statement. Trump also thanked Putin for acknowledging America s strong economic performance in his annual press conference, the statement said. The Kremlin said in a statement that Trump and Putin discussed bilateral relations and the situation in the Korean Peninsula. | 0fake
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Uzbek writer plans cautious return from exile | ALMATY (Reuters) - When Uzbek writer Nurulloh Muhammad Raufkhon s new book came out last year, security forces raided his home and put the author - who was in Turkey at the time - on their blacklist, effectively forcing him to stay there in exile. Now, after being removed from the list by the new government, the 62-year-old Raufkhon plans to return to his Central Asian homeland - despite harboring some misgivings. A safe return of prominent dissidents such as Raufkhon might herald a genuine thaw in Uzbekistan and mark a significant step toward restoring ties with the West and attracting foreign investment after decades of political and economic near-isolation under the late President Islam Karimov. No prominent dissidents have returned home yet though since Karimov died a year ago and Raufkhon said some of his fellow emigres were still unconvinced it was safe to do so. Raufkhon s book, entitled Bu Kunlar (These Days), was a critique of Uzbekistan s development since it became independent from the Soviet Union in 1991. By publishing it, he went against a well-established taboo on criticizing Karimov, who ran the nation of 32 million with an iron fist from 1989, first as a Communist apparatchik and then as an elected leader. He died in September last year from a stroke aged 78. They all but made me an enemy of the people , traitor of the motherland , Raufkhon, who lives in Istanbul, said in an interview with Reuters conducted by email and telephone. Last month, the government of Shavkat Mirziyoyev, a former prime minister who has succeeded Karimov, removed some 16,000 people, including Raufkhon, from its security blacklist. That prompted him to start thinking about a return home. But he had second thoughts very soon - and he is still slightly apprehensive of possible action by a Karimov old guard . After they removed me from the blacklist, somebody decided to put up a list of wanted criminals with photos in the district where I am registered, he said. My name was among them. Local officials quickly corrected the mistake and covered up his photo, he said, but the incident all the same made him uneasy. I didn t understand this. Do we have a parallel state? he said. (But) in the end, I dismissed this as a mistake and decided to return. To address mistakes like that you need to be back home. Raufkhon said there could be more setbacks. Of course, it is impossible to swiftly change a regime based on violence, he said, adding that a Karimov-era elite was strongly resisting reforms. One of the new government s moves that has raised eyebrows was the sacking last month of Khurshid Mirzohidov, a reformist chief executive of state television company MTRK. Mirzohidov, previously minister for information technology development, was appointed to MTRK in February as part of a broad reshuffle which followed Mirziyoyev s election last December. A major change brought on by Mirzohidov was a series of Q&A sessions broadcast live on national television in which senior officials had to answer tough questions - such as those about the use of forced labor in cotton harvesting. After Mirzohidov was sacked, Alisher Khajayev, who had run state television under Karimov, took back the top job. Though live broadcasts have continued after the reshuffle, Khajayev has yet to show he will maintain the same probing TV programs as Mirzohidov. Speaking of fellow emigres, Raufkhon said: They would have come back in an instant, but what stands in their way is uncertainty about what is going to happen to them upon return. He urged the government to amnesty all opposition activists and guarantee their safety upon return. Raufkhon said he would announce the date of his own return this week. | 0fake
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Comey Must Explain Why He Advised Obama Not to Publicly Accuse Russia of Hacking Democrats | By Sarah Jones on Tue, Nov 1st, 2016 at 1:26 pm Comey struggled with not wanting to appear biased as the FBI investigated Russian interference with the U.S. presidential election, and so he told the Obama administration not to accuse Russia of the DNC hackings lest they be seen as "partisan". Share on Twitter Print This Post
Russia did hack the Democrats. So all of that email information that the media has been reporting came from a foreign entity that seeks to alter the outcome of the U.S. election.
But FBI Director James Comey struggled with not wanting to appear biased as the FBI investigated Russian interference with the U.S. presidential election, and so he told the Obama administration not to accuse Russia of the DNC hackings lest they be seen as “partisan”.
Republican FBI Director James Comey advised the Obama administration not to publicly accuse Russia of hacking the DNC and more “on the grounds that it would make the administration appear unduly partisan too close to the Nov. 8 election,” officials “familiar with the deliberations” told the Washington Post.
These sources with knowledge of the internal discussions spoke to the Post on the condition of anonymity.
There are a few reasons why Comey might want to keep his agency’s investigation of Russian interference under the radar, but given his choice to publicly suggest that his agency might be re-opening its exhaustive investigation of Clinton’s emails, which resulted from a Republican-led, bogus, overreaching and seemingly endless Benghazi investigation that also cleared Clinton, it seems odd that Comey was going to stay silent on the Russia matter.
Comey’s decisions is especially odd given the reports that the Russians have been communicating and coordinating with Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump to the point that he is already “compromised.”
Only one of these matters might allow a foreign power control over the United States president.
The same sources tell the Post that Comey made the decision to reveal the Clinton emails to Congress because he had already testified in that matter and said the investigation was closed, which suggests that he was concerned with his own reputation.
Not sure I’m buying that because if Comey really only cared about his own reputation ahead of not appearing partisan he wouldn’t have said anything at all, but that doesn’t mean that his motives were nefarious.
There might well be good reason for this – after all, this is the FBI and they can’t tell us everything, but as of right now Comey has mishandled this `and appears to be trying to influence an election to help Republicans. Just because he is a Republican and just because he has donated to Republicans doesn’t mean he isn’t doing his job properly.
But Comey has a lot of explaining to do right now. He is under fire for good reason, as the explanations he’s giving for these decisions don’t make sense and are contradictory. | 1real
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Trump's son-in-law Kushner to become senior White House adviser | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, will become a senior White House adviser working on trade and the Middle East, transition officials said on Monday, in a rare case of a close presidential family member taking a major job. Kushner, 35, who is married to Trump’s daughter Ivanka, is taking the post after receiving legal counsel that doing so would not violate U.S. anti-nepotism law, transition officials said. The position, unlike Cabinet posts, does not require U.S. Senate confirmation, and Kushner will not be paid. Trump, in a statement on Monday announcing the choice, said Kushner was a “tremendous asset and trusted advisor throughout the campaign and transition.” Kushner, who like Trump is a New York real estate developer, emerged as an important voice early in his father-in-law’s presidential campaign and was involved in almost every aspect of it from personnel decisions to strategy and fundraising. Ivanka Trump, who like her husband has been a close adviser to the president-elect, will not take on a role in her father’s White House but will focus on settling her family in Washington. Kushner and his wife will undertake significant divestments of their wide-ranging financial portfolios as they prepare for their move to Washington from New York and face inevitable questions about a potential conflict of interest. Senior transition officials and a lawyer for Kushner laid out the arrangement in a conference call with a small group of reporters. Kushner is to work closely with incoming White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus and senior strategist Steve Bannon in advising the new president, and the officials said he would focus at least at first on trade policy and the Middle East. Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20, has vowed to rewrite international trade deals to make them more favorable to the United States. He has also pledged to move the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv, where it has been for 68 years, to Jerusalem, all but enshrining the city as Israel’s capital despite international objections. Jamie Gorelick, a New York lawyer who served as deputy attorney general for Democratic President Bill Clinton and helped advise Kushner, said his new post would not violate a 1967 anti-nepotism statute. She said Congress in 1978 authorized the president to hire personnel for the White House office “without regard” to federal personnel laws like the anti-nepotism statute and that court rulings had determined the White House was not an “agency” under the anti-nepotism law. “I’m not saying that there isn’t an argument on the other side, and I respect the people who have made the argument on the other side. I just think we have the better argument,” Gorelick said. Richard Briffault, a government ethics expert at Columbia Law School, disagreed, saying: “Given the fact that the president is specifically mentioned, you would think that someone that is working for the president would be covered” by the anti-nepotism law. Bill Clinton aroused controversy in 1993 when he named his wife, Hillary Clinton, to lead his healthcare reform drive. She lost the Nov. 8 election to Trump. After John F. Kennedy was elected president in 1960, he chose his brother Robert as attorney general. Late on Monday, a group of six Democrats on the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee said they had written to the Justice Department and U.S. Office of Government Ethics asking them to review concerns about nepotism and conflicts of interest arising from Kushner’s appointment. In order to comply with federal ethics laws and after consulting the Office of Government Ethics, Kushner will take a number of steps to divest substantial assets, Gorelick said. Kushner will resign from his positions as chief executive of the Kushner Companies and as publisher of the New York Observer newspaper and divest from any interests in the New York Observer, Thrive Capital, the 666 Fifth Avenue office building in midtown Manhattan and any foreign investments. In addition, Kushner will recuse himself from participating in matters that could have a direct effect on his remaining financial interests. Those interests include real estate in the New York area, Ivanka Trump’s interest in the new Trump hotel in Washington and the Ivanka Trump Brand fashion business, the officials said. Kushner will file a public financial disclosure form. Norman Eisen, a former ethics chief under President Barack Obama, said in an email that Kushner’s ethics and disclosure moves appeared to be a “positive step.” “I hope his father-in-law takes a page from his book and does the same, as presidents have for the past four decades, by divesting into a blind trust or the equivalent,” Eisen said. Trump has said he would transfer control of his business to his children, but he has given no details. A planned news conference in December on the topic was canceled. Trump is expected to take questions from reporters this week. | 0fake
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Michele Bachmann Confuses Direct-To-DVD Movie Plots With Reality In New Obama Antichrist Theory | Picture it. A marginalized but divinely inspired individual (Michele Bachmann) makes the HUGE discovery that the Bible predicts a global conspiracy. It s engineered by the Antichrist (President Obama) to get the world to declare war on Israel, steal their energy and usher in the end of the world. Will Michele be able to beat the odds and save us all from destruction?SPOILER ALERT She already did. It seriously sounds like the plot to a 99 cent movie in the discount DVD bin, but sadly it isn t anything so harmless. Right Wing Watch reported that America s most adorable prophetic savior, Michele Bachmann, announced how the Bible told her the Syrian civil war is just a false flag operation to cover up a plan by Obama to kick-start Armageddon. Bachmann also said that world leaders were set to grant legitimacy to the Islamic State, Russian and Iranian intervention in Syria was a setup to invade Israel by those nations and China will be helping Russia and Iran to help make sure it matches biblical prophecy better.Bachmann then linked this all to President Obama becoming the Antichrist by transforming into an evil world leader secretary-general of the United Nations. Bachmann was quoted as saying Obama would only go into an empowered, powerful UN, that was powerful enough to see the United States come under the UN s authority. Since we won t be getting anything sensible out of Michele, Right Wing Watch thankfully found where she got her idea. It turns out it wasn t from the Bible but from a report in the right-wing rag Investor s Business Daily. IBD cited what may be a non-existent report from Al-Jarida that this is happening. Al-Jarida is the same publication that suggested Obama will shoot down Israeli aircraft if they try to attack Iran, so their credibility is dubious at best. Either way you look at it, it seems Michele saved the world yet again by letting Obama s secret out and ruining his plans.Listen to Michele Bachmann tell you about Obama, the Antichrist, and all that nonsense below:[soundcloud url= https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/244927649 params= color=ff5500 width= 100% height= 166 iframe= true /]Featured image from Flickr | 1real
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Republicans Hilariously Go Ballistic Because ‘American Sniper’ Star Bradley Cooper Was At DNC Convention | Let the mocking commence.On Wednesday evening, conservatives across the country noticed a familiar face sitting in the audience at the DNC Convention. They may have thought that it was Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, but he s dead and it was actually the actor who portrayed him in the American Sniper movie.That s right, Bradley Cooper and his girlfriend attended the DNC Convention to show their support for Hillary Clinton and conservatives are super pissed about it.Here s some of their reactions on Twitter:Bradley Cooper s DNC appearance indicates his next role as a suicide bomber will be a massive hit in Trukey. Liberal piece of ? USA CITIZEN (@Citizen_USA1) July 28, 2016 Bradley Cooper is promoting Hillary? Too bad. He s dead to me now. pic.twitter.com/gXJ4ahO8YK David O Neill (@garlicfries95) July 28, 2016I have a list of celebrities that support Socialism I refuse to spend another $ on. Add this one. Boycott them all. pic.twitter.com/uOFMkxSvRY Nat Shupe (@NatShupe) July 28, 2016 @WashTimes you d think after playing the part & knowing it s a true story he d hate Hillary but no those liberal actors are stupid AF #sad Courtney (@Quartz335) July 28, 2016@WashTimes @realbigstriper They need to really pick better actors for these roles, they are a disgrace to the men they are portraying. Jeannie (@PC_FilterFree) July 28, 2016 Bradley Cooper was at the DNC, an @WashTimes feken traitor Hollywood puppet scum David Williams (@williamsd369) July 28, 2016d some folks are not amused https://t.co/ecaTe484K7 I just people know he s an actor right? Right? Mikki Kendall (@Karnythia) July 28, 2016Republicans actually think that because Bradley Cooper played the role of Chris Kyle in a movie that it means he must be a Republican like them. That s the kind of stupidity that got Trump chosen as the GOP nominee.Of course, it didn t take long for people to mock conservatives for said stupidity. Bradley Cooper at DNC GOP: Chris Kyle? You traitor! Anthony Hopkins at a buffet GOP: Does he really eat people? pic.twitter.com/0q8bv3CFOQ Craig Rozniecki (@CraigRozniecki) July 28, 2016Conservatives getting mad at Bradley Cooper s DNC appearance really shows how stupid they really are. chickfileeeiiiii (@sunshineleisha) July 28, 2016 Same people who cant differentiate b/t reality star & presidentially qualified candidate r same people mad @ Bradley Cooper s DNC appearance Garrett Sawyer (@garrettmsawyer) July 28, 2016Left-Bradley Cooper. He is an actor, not a sniper. Right-Paul Giamatti. He is an actor, not John Adams. We good? pic.twitter.com/4V4INebX4d Civic_Thoughts (@Civic_Thoughts) July 28, 2016 Nothing offended conservatives last night more than discovering that Bradley Cooper is a Democrat. How could it be, HE S OUR SNIPER!!! BWD (@theonlyadult) July 28, 2016News flash: Arnold Schwarzenegger is not a robot and Julia Roberts is not a prostitute #BradleyCooper #gop thatStellaGirl (@thatStellaGirl) July 28, 2016 People being mad at #BradleyCooper for having different political beliefs than a role he played is proof we need to invest in education. Dave Engler (@DaveEngler) July 28, 2016Conservatives mad #BradleyCooper was at DNC because he portrayed Chris Kyle!!! Does this mean Morgan Freeman isn t really God??? OHNO? Frank Lee Spoken (@FrankLeeSpoken7) July 28, 2016 In boycotting future #BradleyCooper movies due to his appearance at the DNC, confused GOPers desperately search for new Scott Baio movies. Marc Lombardi (@marclombardi) July 28, 2016 How can Bradley Cooper be a democrat when he played Chris Kyle?! pic.twitter.com/6rRIkRVwOn Caitlin (@CJMasessa) July 28, 2016Enough said.Featured image via Twitter | 1real
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In rural America, a startling prospect: Voters Obama lost look to Sanders | Shelley Brannon, 62, can sum up the Obama presidency with three words. Well, three words and an exclamation.
“He screwed us,” said Brannon, a coal miner from Wise County, Va., as he sat outside a rally for the United Mine Workers of America. “Man, he screwed us.”
He shook his head under a camouflage hat that matched his camouflage UMWA T-shirt, and he described his fantasy of dumping nuclear waste in the yards of environmentalists, “if they think coal’s so bad.” He mulled over the mistake he says the UMWA made in 2008, when it endorsed Barack Obama over Hillary Rodham Clinton. Then he explained why he would probably be voting for Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) in the next Democratic primary.
“For one thing, he knows what union is, and he respects it,” Brannon said. “That’s all we need is respect. He’s just a likable fellow, trustworthy. I don’t think she has the same respect for the union, and she really shot herself in the foot over, you know, all that secretive stuff.”
West Virginia has rejected the Obama-era Democratic Party more dramatically than any other state outside the South, with Appalachian counties that voted for Michael Dukakis and Walter Mondale turning blood red over the past eight years. But if you think it’s in places like this where the insurgent Sanders campaign faces its most formidable test, here’s what he thinks: It is also one of his greatest opportunities.
The Vermont socialist believes that white, working-class voters — the sort of people Obama once self-defeatingly said “cling to guns or religion or antipathy toward people who aren’t like them” — are just one honest argument away from coming back.
“We have millions of working-class people who are voting for Republican candidates whose views are diametrically opposite to what voters want,” Sanders said in an interview. “How many think it’s a great idea that we have trade policies that lead to plants in West Virginia being shut down? How many think there should be massive cuts in Pell grants or in Social Security? In my opinion, not too many people.”
This state, one of the last to vote in the 2016 primary race, is supposed to be Clinton country. Seven years ago, in the 2008 primary, West Virginia Democrats gave Clinton a landslide victory over Obama. She won 69 percent of the white vote and did even better with voters who lacked a college education. A Democrat who improved a few points on Obama’s 39 percent of the national white vote in the 2012 general election would stroll into the White House.
Sanders, who has won elections only in a white, rural state, thinks his brand of bold democratic socialism can sell. He has never campaigned here, yet at Friday’s rally in Morgantown, miner after miner said they basically agreed with the former mayor of Burlington more than they agreed with Clinton. Several were aware that Sanders had walked picket lines, something that resonated as they packed a hotel ballroom to demand that Washington fully fund UMWA pensions. When the room quieted, a man recited a prayer against greed. “Lord, we know that Satan has those corporate thieves,” he said, “and they’re still trying to rob us.” Then a singer-songwriter started in:
It’s a long way to Wall Street from 12th and Main and the back roads of my home town.
There’s a new world order and times have changed, so they let these deals go down.
Sanders’s campaign theory may be that there’s a larger electorate hiding in plain sight. Over the summer, as he gained in polls, Sanders was criticized for bringing seemingly every issue back to the sediment of economics and class. Black Lives Matter activist Marissa Johnson dubbed it “class reductionism.” Clinton allies had trouble seeing how his support could grow beyond white liberals.
Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.), who has endorsed Clinton, said Sanders has a weakness in West Virginia greater even than the socialist label: coal. Although the economics-first focus makes sense, Manchin said, Sanders’s support for every major Obama initiative on the environment makes his candidacy a “nonstarter” here.
“His environmental stance?” Manchin asked. “Oh, my, it would be awful.”
But Sanders believes that such naysayers are missing the weight of his cardinal argument — for greater economic fairness — and voters’ willingness to look past the other issues where they disagree.
He has won elections in Vermont, a white, rural, gun-owning state, as a socialist. The social-issue “distractions” bemoaned by red-state Democrats have seemed to bounce right off his armor. (He has taken mixed positions on gun control, supporting a ban on assault rifles, for instance, but opposing the Brady Bill.) In the end, is the white guy who voted for him in Vermont any different than the white guy in West Virginia or Kentucky or Ohio who was told to blame liberals for his problems?
[A key to the Southern vote lies centuries ago on another continent ]
“What I’ve found in Vermont and around the country is that we go to people and say, ‘Look, we do have differences,’ ” Sanders said. “ ‘I believe in gay marriage. I’m not going to change your view if you don’t. I believe climate change is absolutely real, and some of you do not. But how many of you think we should give hundreds of billions in tax breaks to the richest 1 percent?’ ”
Conservative Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) has made a similar argument — that his party can win, with no changes to its message, if more evangelical voters are inspired to come out. Bolstering Sanders’s case are his strong numbers in independent polls. A national Quinnipiac survey last month found him polling marginally better against leading Republican candidates than Clinton did. A Marquette University poll last week indicated that Sanders is running just as strong as Clinton in Wisconsin, home to some of the white voters who have abandoned the Democrats in off years.
Something similar may be happening in West Virginia. In Morgantown, home to West Virginia University, a 62-year-old activist named Andy Cockburn went to an early organizing meeting for Clinton and found only 10 other people. In July, more than 100 people packed a bar basement and started organizing for Sanders. Railing against oligarchies and “the 1 percent” means one thing in New York or San Francisco. It means more in West Virginia, where coal magnate Don Blankenship is standing trial and Patriot Coal is trying to spend most of a $22 million settlement for miners on its own attorneys. On Friday night, at the Democrats’ Jefferson-Jackson dinner in the state capital, Charleston, Bill Clinton echoed his wife and condemned Patriot.
But Sanders is the candidate with consistency on corporate greed — a fact that has helped him slow down some labor endorsements for Clinton. According to the New York Times, the International Association of Fire Fighters hit the pause button on its expected endorsement after too many local leaders blanched. On Saturday, Sanders lost the endorsement of the National Education Association but only after a similar protest made Clinton work for it.
The UMWA has never endorsed Clinton. In 2008, it went for the doomed campaign of John Edwards, switching to Obama only after he had basically sewn up the nomination. In 2012 it made no endorsement, in an avowed protest of the administration’s environmental regulations. This year, the union, with 32,354 of its 71,160 members based in West Virginia, is not yet close to a decision.
“What we’re going to do is base our decision on our future here,” UMWA President Cecil Roberts said in an interview — “whether we’re going to have health care, have pensions, have jobs for people in Appalachia.”
That question could vex Sanders just as much as Clinton. In his energy talking points, Sanders notes that he “introduced the gold standard for climate-change legislation with Sen. Barbara Boxer to tax carbon and methane emissions,” a résumé item that would be about as welcome in West Virginia as a University of Maryland Terps jersey. Asked what he would say to a coal miner who blames Environmental Protection Agency regulations for the loss of his job, Sanders said he could only be straight with him.
“What we have to say is, ‘Look, through no fault of your own, you’re working in an industry which is helping to cause climate change and in fact having a negative impact on the country and world,’ ” Sanders said. “What the government does have is an obligation to say: ‘We’ll protect you financially as we transition away from fossil fuel. We are going to create jobs in your community, extended unemployment benefits. If you lose your job to a trade deal, you get benefits for two years. You get job training.’ I would take that same approach to energy jobs that are lost because of the threat of climate change.”
Nothing about Sanders’s pitch is easy, but this piece is especially rough.
State Rep. Mike Caputo (D), a miner and a union member, said his brothers need jobs, not pity. In an interview at the UMWA office in Fairmont, he asked: “You can train a guy to be a truck driver, but what’s he going to haul? Coal miners don’t want unemployment. They want work.”
Still, on Thursday, at his farm in Grafton, Democratic former state legislator Mike Manypenny was firm that enthusiasm for Sanders is big and getting bigger. Manypenny, one of the many casualties of a 2014 Republican sweep, is running for Congress on the theory that the progressive politics he shares with Sanders — a living wage, the return of Glass-Steagall’s repealed restrictions on banks — are the way to break the conservative grip on voters’ imaginations.
“The problem last year was that everybody focused on getting the vote out from the historic Democratic voters,” he explained. “Those are the seniors — I don’t need to tell you that each year you lose a little more of them. This is something new. Barring anything happening in the Democratic debate, like Bernie stumbling badly, I don’t see anything changing the momentum. I think he wins.” | 0fake
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Watch What Happens When A Rapist Pedophile Tries To Panhandle In The Wrong Guy’s Town (NSFW VIDEO) | Our street corners are filled with people in need carrying cardboard signs and asking for food or cash. The majority of them are legitimately struck with hard times. In many cases it s the only source of income for their family after a job is lost. There are also those out there who are taking advantage of the generosity of others, collecting money for no reason than it s easier to work. Those people, of course, make it more difficult for those with genuine issues.As you ll see in this video, there s a third kind of person out there collecting money, and his name is Lloyd Baker. Baker was arrested in October of 2012 and charged with the sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl in connection with a kidnapping. He is currently out on bail and awaiting trial. In the small town of West Warwick, Rhode Island, people like Lloyd Baker don t just blend in with the scenery; somebody is bound to recognize him.That s exactly what happened. The man who shot the short clip confronted Baker, who at first denied who he was but then admitted it a short time later. It doesn t really matter what this man s circumstances are, he doesn t deserve the charity people are affording him, especially if they don t know who he is or why he can t find work.Please be warned, the man who made the video isn t pleased with Baker. His language is harsh. This is definitely NOT safe for work:https://www.facebook.com/fiftyshadesofjay/videos/10207400122614085/?permPage=1He seems to want to stand his ground until the videographer starts shouting what a monster he is. He comes to his senses fairly quickly when he realizes this man confronting him means business.Sorry, you pedophile. Collecting loose change while you re out on bail for assaulting a 14-year-old girl is worse than wearing a New York Giants jacket in Patriots country.Featured image via screen capture/RI State Police | 1real
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Cheese shortage due to enlarged moon. More soon. | Posted: Nov 14th, 2016 by Guest Click for more article by Guest .. More Stories about: Ticker | 1real
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Counting 100% Over: Trump Gets 306 Electors, Media Refuses to Update Maps |
The Liberal media just can’t give Trump his due after his historic win yesterday. Still today at 3:30pm – nearly 24 hours since voting stopped – the liberal media will not show Trump’s total winning results.
The New York Times which did a respectable job last night keeping with timely updates still does not show Trump wins in Michigan or Arizona. Yet they report Michigan with 100% reporting with Trump up 48% to Clinton’s 47%.
Arizona is worse. They show Trump leading in Arizona by five points with 100% reporting (50% to 45%).
Trump also nearly won Minnesota and New Hampshire which he lost only by 1437 votes.
Real Clear Politics is still showing Trump with only 225 delegates to date, under reporting his 300+ delegates materially.
All other electoral maps are showing Donald Trump stuck at 279 as we speak. They will eventually update but this is going on for hours now. They are so humiliated and filled with hatred against Trump that they simply delay updating their maps.
The count is over and the only one showing the finalized updated map at this point is Wikipedia which shows 306 electors.
Just a few days ago the media was having wet dreams about a Hillary Clinton landslide. They were fantasizing about Hillary getting 352 electoral votes . What a bunch of pathetic scumbags. Cancel your subscription to them, subscribe to us instead. The EU Times, we have openly supported Donald Trump since he first announced in June 2015! When everybody else was bashing him back in the primaries over bimbo Megyn Kelly, over low-energy Jeb! we were among the few who were bashing left and right everywhere to defend our dear leader of whom we immediately fell in love with just because of his immigration program alone and then more goodies were added to the table as time went on, trade deals, NAFTA, TPP, returning of jobs, industry from China, Mexico, etc. Check our archives, read our older stories, convince yourself that we are 100% Trump authentic and Trump supporters since day 1!
CNN , Washington Post , New York Times , NBC News , Google , absolutely NO ONE has updated their maps to include Michigan and Arizona! Well at least it looks like CNN finally awarded Arizona to Trump which now stands at 290 electors but they are refusing to grant him Michigan despite finishing the count hours BEFORE Arizona. They simply can’t believe that so many blue northern states went to Trump…
It is official, it wasn’t just a victory, it was a LANDSLIDE VICTORY, the people have spoken!
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Wife of vanished British lord at heart of murder mystery found dead | LONDON (Reuters) - The wife of British aristocrat Lord Lucan, who vanished without trace 43 years ago after the murder of his children s nanny, has been found dead, London police said on Wednesday. The mystery of what happened to Richard Lucan, a dapper, moustachioed lord known as Lucky , has fascinated the public for decades and speculation about his whereabouts has long been a staple of the British press. Lord Lucan disappeared hours after nanny Sandra Rivett was found bludgeoned to death in his house in central London in 1974. A car he was using was later found on the south English coast with a length of lead piping. It was alleged the peer had mistaken the nanny for his estranged wife Veronica, who was also attacked and fled to a nearby pub covered in blood to raise the alarm. She later identified her husband as the assailant. Police said on Wednesday they had found the body of 80-year-old Lady Lucan after forcing entry to a house in the upmarket Belgravia area of London. The death is being treated as unexplained but is not believed to be suspicious, police said. Over the years, the British press have reported supposed sightings of Lord Lucan across the world, including in Australia, India, the Netherlands and South Africa but his relatives believe him to be dead. The London High Court declared him dead in 1999 and last year a judge issued a death certificate allowing his son George Bingham to inherit his title. My own personal view, and it was one I took I think as an eight-year-old boy, is he s unfortunately been dead since that time (of his disappearance), Bingham said last year. One of numerous theories about what became of Lucan, who would now be 82, was that he shot himself and was then fed to tigers at the zoo of his friend John Aspinall. Aspinall himself said in 2000 that Lucan had weighted himself down with a stone and drowned himself in the English Channel. | 0fake
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Peru's business community sours on Kuczynski: survey | PARACAS, Peru (Reuters) - Support from business leaders for Peru s President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski has plummeted, a survey showed, as he spars with an opposition-controlled Congress and struggles to revive economic growth. The survey by Ipsos Peru, taken at a business forum in Paracas to the south of Lima last week and released late on Friday, showed participants approval for Kuczynski fell to 37 percent from 89 percent a year earlier at a similar event. Kuczynski took office in July 2016 promising to modernize Peru and strengthen its economy with solid backing from Lima s business elite after a tight runoff election against right-wing populist Keiko Fujimori. But the 79-year-old former investment banker s first year in power was hampered by Congress, which is dominated by Fujimori s Popular Force Party and voted to oust his Cabinet in September. Meanwhile economic growth in what was once one of Latin America s fastest growing economies slowed after heavy flooding and a corruption scandal involving Brazilian builder Odebrecht stalled investment in public works projects. The economy and politics cannot continue on separate lines, their progress is interdependent and deficiencies in politics and institutions can block the path of our development, the president of the business forum, Drago Kisic, told reporters. Peru s Central Bank President Julio Velarde also warned during the event that the clashes between the government and Congress could hinder growth in the future, saying the finance ministry had lost influence over the legislature. It is absolutely necessary in the long term that there be a better consensus among political forces in terms of agreeing on the essential elements to underpin growth, he said. Finance Minister Claudia Cooper said on Friday Peru s economy could grow more than 4 percent in 2018, up from 2.8 percent expected in 2017, if private investment in the metals exporting nation recovered. The Ipsos survey showed that among hundreds attending Peru s best known business forum, disapproval with Kuczynski had risen to 63 percent from 11 percent a year earlier. Closing the conference on Friday, Kuczynski defended his government and called on attendees and Congress to unite in a fight against populism. I want to ask you to speak out more clearly about the challenges that we are facing politically, this is a determined government, not a confrontational one, he said. | 0fake
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The “American Conservative Movement” Has Ended. the American Right Goes On. | Here's something interesting from The Unz Review... Recipient Name => Horatius Defends the Bridge at Rome. Credit: VDare.com.
VDARE.com Editor Peter Brimelow writes: I spoke at the H.L. Mencken Club conference in Baltimore last Saturday, November 5. It seems like a thousand years ago. Subject: “The Right and American Conservatism.” Reading the transcript, I see it’s almost as f I thought Donald J. Trump might lose the November 8 election . Silly me.
[See also: America`s Egalitarian Temptation—Stalinism`s Unquiet Ghost , Peter Brimelow’s address to the 2008 inaugural meeting of the H. L. Mencken club].
Peter Brimelow: Ladies and Gentlemen: Some of you may recall I gave the banquet address at the H.L. Mencken Club last November. It’s been lost to history because (to my intense rage!) H.L, Mencken Club Chairman Paul Gottfried didn’t have it recorded. In it, I praised Ann Coulter’s great book Adios America! , which came to the same conclusions about immigration (moratorium, sealed borders, attrition through enforcement etc.) that I had in Alien Nation 20 years earlier. And a questioner said: “Why is she doing this? Why is she taking this risk?” And I said: “Well, look on the bright side, maybe Trump will win.”
There was sort of a shocked silence, as I recall. [ Laughter ] This was before the primaries had even begun. I was pretty shocked at the idea myself!
But, you know, he’s come very close . He’s come very close. The moral of this is: we should not give into despair. Amazing things happen—completely unexpectedly.
The subject I’ve got now from Paul is: “The Right and American Conservatism.” And I think it’s right that we should use the term “American Conservatism” because it’s on the point at becoming a Term Of Art. It represented a specific intellectual eddy , which came into existence relatively recently. I don’t know how widely the term “conservatism” was used in American politics prior to 1950s —Paul, do you?
Paul Gottfried:
It was not used often at all. Robert Taft described himself as a “liberal.”
PB:
Right. In Britain, of course, it didn’t exist at all before the 1840s.
Anyway, the American Conservative Movement came into existence in the 1950s—and now it’s ended.
I may say I immigrated to the American Conservative Movement. I discovered it when I was at university in England in the late 1960s, reading National Review, which we found in great bundles in the History Basement of the University of Sussex Library . They had discontinued their subscription —because they thought National Review was irrelevant and pointless. We of course were fascinated by the fact that there’d been a story on the cover proposing that the Americans nuke China, which struck us as very enterprising, the sort of initiative that was unthinkable in the British political context. [ January 12, 1965 ] So we made them re-subscribe.
And I’m not one of these people that thinks the American Conservative Movement did not achieve anything. It ended in failure, as all political movements do. But it did win the Cold War and that’s really significant. Some of you are old enough to remember the despair that prevailed in the mid1970s after the fall of Vietnam. And we had reason to despair. American society and American politics was riddled with no-goodniks who absolutely planned to staff the gulags after the Soviets arrived. Absolutely planned to do that. And, of course, now they’ve simply mutated into Cultural Marxists. They’re still planning to staff the gulags.
I was talking to Paul [Gottfried] a little earlier about Tom Fleming, our mutual friend, who was the long-time editor of the Chronicles . He’s a sort of wayward genius and I have learned to respect him because he told me more than 20 years ago that the great Lawrence Auster , the blogger , was in effect “mad, bad, and dangerous to know,” to use Lady Caroline Lamb’s description of Lord Byron. And he was understating the matter, although I do think Larry was a great man and we’ve missed him sorely in the immigration wars.
And Tom also said about 20 years ago that we had to give up the term “Conservatism”—because it had been co-opted by, basically, corporate lobbyists and rent-seekers.
I didn’t like this at all because I thought “Conservatism” was one of our very few—but there are a few—victories in the culture. Another one, for example, is the idea of Political Correctness. Everyone knows what Political Correctness is. It’s not that the Cultural Marxists wanted us to know, it’s just that somehow it made it to the front.
We saw Romney describe himself in one of the 2012 primary debates as “ severely Conservative .” Now, of course, he’s not conservative at all, and he doesn’t strike me as particularly severe, he strikes me a rather a wimp as a matter of fact. But he felt obliged to say this because of the power that the word has achieved in the culture. So, I was kind of sorry to give it up. But I’m afraid that we are going to have to.
A few years ago, I learned with delight that the Indian Army has inscribed, on the monument erected in Tawang province to its soldiers who fell in the 1962 border war with China, now completely forgotten, the famous lines from the Lays Of Ancient Rome by Lord Macaulay—also now completely forgotten:
And how can man die better
Than facing fearful odds
For the ashes of his fathers
And the temples of his gods?
It`s always seemed to me that Macaulay`s verse is a litmus test for conservatism—or perhaps I should more accurately say, the Right. It either it speaks to you or it doesn`t.
It`s vital to note that this verse is not vainglorious and chest-thumping, but somber and stoic. The scene, of course, is that Horatius is about to make a stand on the bridge to stop the storming of Rome by Lars Porsena and the deposed king of Rome, Tarquin the Proud. The previous lines are:
Then up spake brave Horatius
The Captain of the Gate:
“To every man upon this earth
Death cometh soon or late…”
In other words, Horatius` point is not that death facing fearful odds is so wonderful—but that there is no wonderful alternative. So why not?
Note also that Macaulay has Horatio fight for “ashes” and “temples”—that is, not in the hope of saving any living family members, or in the service of any gods in whom he has confident faith. The implication: he could have no family members and no hope of divine providence—but his death in battle would still have symbolic resonance.
The core of conservatism, it seems to me, is this recognition and acceptance of the elemental emotions. Conservatism understands that it is futile to debate the feelings of the mother for her child—or such human instincts as the bonds of tribe , nation , even race . Of course, all are painfully vulnerable to deconstruction by rationalistic intellectuals—but not, ultimately, to destruction. These commitments are Jungian rather than Freudian, not irrational but a-rational—beyond the reach of reason.
This is one of the problems, by the way, with the American Conservative Movement. I was completely astonished when it fell apart at the end of the Cold War—I never thought it would. That’s because I assumed that everybody realized that America standing up to the Soviet Union was, in some sense, a nationalist resistance. Americans just didn’t want to be conquered by Russians.
But, it turned out that there were people who had joined the anti-Communist coalition who harbored messianic fantasies about “global democracy” and and America as the first “universal nation” (i.e. polity. Nation-states must have a specific ethnic core.) They also had uses for the American military which hadn’t occurred to me. But they didn’t care about America—about America as a nation-state, the political expression of a particular people, the Historic American Nation. In fact, in some cases, it made them feel uneasy.
I thought about this this spring when Trump was debating in New Hampshire. ABC’s John Muir asked three candidates: “What does it mean to be Conservative?”
I’m going to quote from John Kasich: blah, blah, blah, blah. Balanced budgets—tax cuts—jobs—“but once we have economic growth I believe we have to reach out to people who live in the shadows.”
By this he meant, not illegal aliens, although he did favor Amnesty , but “the mentally ill, the drug addicted, the working poor…[and] our friends in the minority community.”
That’s because the Republican Party has lots of friends in the minority community.
Marco Rubio said:
…it’s about three things. The first is conservatism is about limited government, especially at the federal level…It’s about free enterprise…And it’s about a strong national defense. It’s about believing, unlike Barack Obama, that the world is a safer and a better place when America is the strongest military and the strongest nation on this planet. That’s conservatism.
Kasich and Rubio’s answers, of course, are not remotely “conservative” but utilitarian, economistic, classical liberal. Note that Rubio even felt obliged to justify “strong national defense” in universalistic, Wilsonian terms: it will make the world “a safer and a better place.”
In contrast to all that, Donald Trump said:
I view the word conservative as a derivative of the word conserve. We want to converse our money. We want to conserve our wealth…We want to conserve our country. We want to save our country.
Now, this caused a considerable amount of harrumphing among Conservative Inc. intellectuals and various Republican politicians. Somebody called John Hart , who writes a thing called Opportunity Lives —has anybody heard of it? It’s a very well-funded Libertarianism Inc. website in Washington.
Nobody has heard of it? Good.
Hart said:
Trump’s answer may have been how conservatives described themselves once: in 1957. But today’s modern conservative movement isn’t a hoarding or protectionist philosophy. Conservatism isn’t about conserving; it’s about growth.
“Growth”?
Well, I don’t think so. And not just because I remember 1957 .
As I said, I think it turned out that American Conservatism was just a transitional phase. And now it’s over.
Why did it end? After Buckley purged John O’Sullivan and all of us immigration patriots from National Review in 1997, we spent a lot of time thinking about why he had done this. And there were a lot of complicated psychological explanations: Bill was getting old, he was jealous of his successor, the new Editor, John O’Sullivan, he was terrified of the neoconservatives who didn’t like the emphasis on immigration because of their own ethnic agenda, and he was very inclined to listen to the Congressional Republicans, who didn’t want to talk about immigration because they are terrified too—because they are cowards, basically—and also because they have big corporate donors . And, I think that is part of the explanation.
But there was a similar discussion in the 1950s and 1960s, which I’m old enough to remember, about why the Old Bolsheviks all testified against themselves in the treason trials during Stalin’s Great Purge . They all admitted to the most fantastic things—that they had been spies for the Americans and the British and the capitalist imperialists all along, that they’d plotted to assassinate Comrade Stalin. And there were all kinds of discussions as to why this was, and in fact a wonderful novel, Darkness At Noon [ PDF ] by Arthur Koestler , one of the most remarkable novels in the last century, describing the exquisite psychological process by which an old Bolshevik in prison came to the conclusion that he was going to have to say all these things in the long-term interest of the Revolution.
Do you agree about Darkness At Noon , Paul? [ Paul Gottfried indicates assent ]
Good.
Well, when Nikita Khrushchev got up and denounced Stalin in at the party conference in 1956, he was asked about this. Why did all these Old Bolsheviks turn turtle like this? And his answer was: “Beat, beat, beat.”
In other words, there is no complex psychological explanation : they were just tortured.
I think that goes to what happened to the American Conservative Movement. It wasn’t tortured; it was bought . It was simply bought .
I think the dominance of the Donorist class and the Donorist Party is one of the things that has emerged analytically within the past 10 years.
When I was first writing about American politics and got involved in American politics–and I started by working for John Ashbrook (not Ashcroft , Ash brook ) against Nixon in 1972 –nobody thought about donors. We have only gradually become conscious of them. And their absolute dominant role, and their ability to prohibit policy discussions, has really only become clear in the last five to ten years.
I think, in retrospect, with Buckley , who subsidized his lifestyle out of the National Review to a scandalous extent, that there was some financial transaction. I think that now.
It’s an open secret that Rich Lowry did not want to come out and with this anti-Trump issue that they published earlier this year, but he was compelled to do it. That’s not the type of thing that Lowry would normally do. He wouldn’t take that kind of risk, he’s a courtier, he would never take the risk of not being invited to ride in Trump’s limousine in the case that Trump won. But, apparently, someone forced him to do it. And I think that someone was a donor and I think I know who it was.
So I think that is the reason for the end of the American Conservative Movement. It really goes back to what Eric Hoffer said: “Every great cause begins as a movement, becomes a business, and eventually degenerates into a racket .” It’s a racket.
But the good news is, as John Derbyshire said a few minutes ago, that ultimately Conservatism—or Rightism— is a personality type. It underlies politics and it will crop up again—just as, to our astonishment, Donald Trump has cropped up.
So, I guess my bottom line here is: “ Don’t despair .”
Peter Brimelow [ ] is the editor of VDARE.com. His best-selling book, Alien Nation: Common Sense About America’s Immigration Disaster , is now available in Kindle format. (Reprinted from VDare.com | 1real
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Pope says world should condemn 'very possession' of nuclear weapons | VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis, in some his strongest comments ever on nuclear weapons, said on Friday that the world should condemn not only their possible use but their very possession . The appeal came at the start of a two-day conference on nuclear disarmament that has brought together 11 Nobel Peace Prize winners, as well as United Nations and NATO officials, discussing prospects for a world free of nuclear weapons. Addressing the group, Francis spoke of the catastrophic humanitarian and environmental effects of any employment of nuclear devices and added: If we also take into account the risk of an accidental detonation as a result of error of any kind, the threat of their use, as well as their very possession, is to be firmly condemned. | 0fake
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DANGER: Gold/Oil Ratio At Levels Last Seen During The Great Depression! | 70-Year Gold/Oil Ratio What Does It All Mean? While the Gold/Oil ratio has now risen close to 30:1, it is incredibly extended above its long-term median average of 15.5. This indicates how fragile the global financial system really is at this point in history. Meaning, what we are seeing can now only be compared to what took place during the Great Depression. Adding fuel to the Gold/Oil ratio has been the fact that for two quarters in a row investment demand for gold has outstripped jewelry demand, also a first in history!
Top Citi Analyst Issues Important Update On The Gold Market ! | 1real
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Syrian fighter pilot on trial for espionage in Turkey returns to Syria | ISTANBUL (Reuters) - A Syrian fighter pilot who was detained after crashing in southern Turkey in March has returned to Syria after a Turkish court released him on Friday, Syrian TV reported. The pilot, Mehmet Sufhan, faced trial in Turkey charged with espionage and violating border security after he crashed in the border province of Hatay. He was found by a search team, treated at a local hospital and detained. Turkish media said on Friday that a criminal court in Hatay had released him, but that legal proceedings were continuing. Several hours later Syrian TV reported that Sufhan was back in Syria, saying his return was the result of vigorous attempts and intensive efforts. It was not immediately clear whether Sufhan would come back to Turkey for his trial, which was set for Oct. 25, according to Sufhan s attorney, Anil Cevahir Can. Sufhan s release will hopefully help rebuild bridges of friendship between Syria and Turkey, Can added. | 0fake
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Two Palestinians killed in anti-US protests after U.N. vote on Jerusalem-Gaza ministry | GAZA (Reuters) - Israeli troops shot dead at least two Palestinians and wounded about 60 with live fire on Friday, the Health Ministry in Gaza said, as protests intensified against Washington s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel s capital. A U.N. General Assembly resolution passed on Thursday, rejecting U.S. President Donald Trump s Dec. 6 Jerusalem declaration, did little to calm Palestinian anger over his reversal of decades-old U.S. policy on the contested holy city. Instead, thousands of Palestinian protesters, many of them throwing rocks, confronted Israeli security forces along the Gaza border fence, in all of occupied West Bank s seven cities and in East Jerusalem. In Bethlehem, the traditional birthplace of Jesus, smoke from burning tires billowed in the street, just two days before Christmas celebrations. Israeli gunfire killed two Palestinians in a confrontation in the southern Gaza Strip, a spokesman for the Palestinian Health Ministry said, putting the number of wounded at 120, half of them shot with live ammunition and the rest struck by rubber bullets or hit by tear gas canisters. In a statement, the Israeli military said some 2,000 Palestinians had faced off against the troops at the Gaza border fence. It said the crowd threw stones and rolled burning tires at soldiers, who responded with riot dispersal measures and fired live rounds selectively towards main instigators . Protesters chanted Trump is a coward. Trump is a fool . Among the wounded was a man dressed as Santa Claus. Palestinian health officials said at least one Palestinian suffered a live bullet wound in the West Bank and some 30 protesters were hit by rubber bullets. The military, putting the number of demonstrators at about 1,700 and the injured at six, said troops faced firebombs, rocks and burning tires. The protests died down after sunset. Demonstrations have been held daily since Trump s announcement. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, in a Christmas message, called the U.S. leader s move an insult to millions of people worldwide, and also to the city of Jerusalem . Israel considers Jerusalem its eternal and indivisible capital. Palestinians want the capital of an independent Palestinian state to be in the city s eastern sector, which Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East War and annexed in a move never recognized internationally. Most countries regard the status of Jerusalem as a matter to be settled in an eventual Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement, although that process is now stalled. A total of 128 countries voted for the U.N. resolution. Nine opposed it and 35 abstained. Twenty-one countries did not cast a vote. Sami Abu Zuhri, a spokesman for Gaza s dominant Hamas Islamists, called the U.N. vote a defeat for Trump, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the resolution as preposterous and branded the U.N. a house of lies . But Michael Oren, Israel s deputy minister for diplomacy, seemed to play down the support for the resolution shown by many countries Israel considers friends. We have an interest in tightening our bilateral relations with a long list of countries in the world, and expect and hope that one day, they will vote with us, or for us in the United Nations, Oren said on Tel Aviv radio station 102 FM. But I am not prepared to suspend all cooperation with important countries, such as India, he said. Netanyahu, who hosted Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in July, is due to visit New Delhi next month. Friday s deaths in Gaza raised to 10 the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli gunfire since Dec. 6, Palestinian health officials said. Gaza militants have also fired rockets into Israel, and two gunmen were killed in an Israeli air strike after one such attack. There have been no Israeli fatalities or significant injuries. Amnesty International on Friday called on Israeli authorities to stop using excessive force . The fact that live ammunition has been used during protests in Gaza and the West Bank is particularly shocking, it said. In the run-up to the U.N. vote, Trump threatened to cut off financial aid to countries that supported the resolution. His warning appeared to have some impact, with more countries abstaining and rejecting the document than usually associated with Palestinian-related resolutions. But most of the European Union, Israel s biggest trading partner, and countries such as Greece, Cyprus and India, with which Netanyahu has pursued closer relations and economic ties, backed the resolution. I prefer we have tight bilateral relations over a situation in which we don t have close bilateral relations, and they vote in our favor in the United Nations, Oren said, describing India s vote as certainly disappointing . | 0fake
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WATCH: Anderson Cooper HUMILIATES Trump Supporter For Whining About Jay-Z At Hillary Rally | Anderson Cooper only needed a single sentence to put a Trump supporter to shame.During a panel discussion at a Hillary Clinton campaign rally in Philadelphia, which featured a performance by Bruce Springsteen, the CNN host listened as Trump minions Jeffrey Lord and Kayleigh McEnany whined and complained.Lord got the whine party started by claiming that most people in the crowd at Hillary s rally are only there to see Springsteen while Trump s audience is only at his rallies to see Trump.Lord then shifted to talking about Michelle Obama and how Trump s past statements about grabbing women by the p*ssy caused her to get more involved in the election, which Lord claims makes her a hypocrite because she likes Jay-Z and Beyonce. One of the things that got her interested in this all of a sudden was that Access Hollywood tape, in which the P-word was mentioned, Lord said. And yet there is Hillary Clinton with Jay-Z who has a song, specifically titled with the P-word. Cooper responded by pointing out that Jay-Z is not running for president. It should also be noted that Jay-Z was not singing about sexually assaulting women, which is exactly what Trump was bragging about on that bus.Still, Lord claimed that Michelle Obama and Hillary Clinton are hypocrites, and McEnany agreed. The difference is for Jay-Z to shout these expletives on a stage at a political rally while the Democrats are trying to stand on a moral high ground saying we re better than that and Hillary Clinton is putting out commercials with little girls looking in the mirror, she said.But Cooper was ready for that and promptly humiliated her by pointing out something that a conservative musician did at a recent Trump rally. Ted Nugent grabbed his package at his concert, didn t he? Cooper asked as McEnany sat in stunned silence for a couple seconds.Here s the video via VidMe.Trump supporters will literally say anything to criticize Hillary Clinton. Their attacks are nothing more than petty jealousy because their candidate is so embarrassingly bad.But at least we have Anderson Cooper to call them out and smack them down when necessary.Featured Image via screenshot | 1real
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Doug Band Warning: Chelsea “Conducting An Internal Investigation” Of Foundation And Shared With A “Bush 43 Kid” |
Two days ago we wrote about a mutiny of CHAI management against the Clinton Foundation after they grew weary of donors’ complaints about conflicts of interest…apparently donors weren’t happy contributing money to the Clinton Foundation for their AIDS/HIV work only to find out later that the money never actually made it to the Clinton Health Initiative but instead stayed within the Clinton Foundation.
And, of course, the 2011/2012 feud between Doug Band and Chelsea Clinton is also something we’ve covered at great length (see here and here ).
Now, today’s WikiLeaks dump reveals yet another gem in the Doug/Chelsea saga which draws in one of the “Bush 43 kids.”
I just received a call from a close friend of wjcs who said that cvc told one of the bush 43 kids that she is conducting an internal investigation of money within the foundation from cgi to the foundation
The bush kid then told someone else who then told an operative within the republican party
“Not smart”, indeed.
Delivered by The Daily Sheeple
We encourage you to share and republish our reports, analyses, breaking news and videos ( Click for details ).
Contributed by Zero Hedge of www.zerohedge.com . | 1real
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ANOTHER CLINTON CASUALTY? Activist MURDERED After Openly Blaming HILLARY For Meddling Role In Honduran Coup [VIDEO] | When far left publications like Democracy Now and Global Research start questioning Hillary s involvement in the murder of Honduran environmental activist, Berta C ceres, there is probably good reason to look a little deeper into the controversy. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is facing a new round of questions about her handling of the 2009 coup in Honduras that ousted democratically elected President Manuel Zelaya. Since the coup, Honduras has become one of the most violent places in the world. Last week, indigenous environmental activist Berta C ceres was assassinated in her home.Before her murder on March 3, Berta C ceres, a Honduran indigenous rights and environmental activist, named Hillary Clinton, holding her responsible for legitimating the 2009 coup. We warned that this would be very dangerous, she said, referring to Clinton s effort to impose elections that would consolidate the power of murderers.Berta C ceres was an award-winning land activist, a leader in her community and a mother of four. She was shot four times while in bed, at 1am on 2 March. As a founding member of the Civic Council of Indigenous and Popular Organizations of Honduras (COPINH), C ceres fought against logging, hydro-power and mining projects threatening indigenous people in Honduras. Her death has exposed the poor judgement of impact investor bank FMO, the bully tactics of mining corporations, and murky situations from Clinton s time as Secretary of State. We re coming out of a coup that we can t put behind us. We can t reverse it, C ceres said. It just kept going. And after, there was the issue of the elections. The same Hillary Clinton, in her book, Hard Choices, practically said what was going to happen in Honduras. Via: Democracy NowThe military coup in 2009 did nothing to protect Honduran land or people. President Manuel Zelaya had moved towards grassroots social movements, the kinds of social reforms that the United States has always opposed (Chomsky), and deals with Venezuela. The military kidnapped President Zelaya at gunpoint and flew him out of the country in his pyjamas. This was certainly a coup d etat and was defined as such by the UN, the EU and other Latin America nations and dictionaries everywhere.As Obama s Secretary of State, Clinton refused to call what had happened a coup in public. Doing so would have automatically cut off US non-humanitarian aid to Honduras. Members of Clinton s own party wrote to Barak Obama about the outrage. But Hillary did not relent, despite being informed that the coup question was an open and shut case in US embassy cables.In a video interview, given in Buenos Aires in 2014, C ceres says it was Clinton who helped legitimate and institutionalize the coup. In response to a question about the exhaustion of the opposition movement (to restore democracy), C ceres says (around 6:10): The same Hillary Clinton, in her book Hard Choices, practically said what was going to happen in Honduras. This demonstrates the bad legacy of North American influence in our country. The return of Mel Zelaya to the presidency (that is, to his constitutionally elected position) was turned into a secondary concern. There were going to be elections. Clinton, in her position as secretary of state, pressured (as her emails show) other countries to agree to sideline the demands of C ceres and others that Zelaya be returned to power. Instead, Clinton pushed for the election of what she calls in Hard Choices a unity government. But C ceres says: We warned that this would be very dangerous. The elections took place under intense militarism, and enormous fraud. The Clinton-brokered election did indeed install and legitimate a militarized regime based on repression. In the interview, C ceres says that Clinton s coup-government, under pressure from Washington, passed terrorist and intelligence laws that criminalized political protest. C ceres called it counterinsurgency, carried out on behalf of international capital mostly resource extractors that has terrorized the population, murdering political activists by the high hundreds. Every day, C ceres said elsewhere, people are killed. Interestingly, Hillary Clinton removed the most damning sentences regarding her role in legitimating the Honduran coup from the paperback edition of Hard Choices.According to Bel n Fern ndez, Clinton airbrushed out of her account exactly the passage C ceres highlights for criticism: We strategized on a plan to restore order in Honduras and ensure that free and fair elections could be held quickly and legitimately, which would render the question of Zelaya moot and give the Honduran people a chance to choose their own future (see Fern ndez s essay in Liza Featherstone s excellent False Choices: The Faux Feminism of Hillary Rodham Clinton).Aside from Hard Choices shape-shifting account of the crisis, Clinton has ignored criticism of her role in enabling the consolidation of the Honduran coup. That is, until C ceres s murder forced a response. Last week, her campaign answered my Nation post on her broader responsibility for C ceres s execution: simply nonsense, a spokesperson said: Hillary Clinton engaged in active diplomacy that resolved a constitutional crisis and paved the way for legitimate democratic elections. We still don t have a clear idea of the events surrounding C ceres s murder. There is one witness, Gustavo Castro, a Mexican national, activist, and journalist, who was with C ceres when gunmen burst into her bedroom. Berta died in his arms. Castro was himself shot twice, but survived by playing dead.The Honduran government that unity government Clinton is proud of has Castro in lockdown, refusing him contact with the outside world. Via: The NationIn Clinton s memoir, she admits thatIn the subsequent days [after the coup] I spoke with my counterparts around the hemisphere, including Secretary [Patricia] Espinosa in Mexico We strategized on a plan to restore order in Honduras and ensure that free and fair elections could be held quickly and legitimately, which would render the question of Zelaya moot.Clinton s emails revealed that she played a crucial role, delaying any action that could quickly restore Zelaya.Grahame Russell from Rights Action is not alone in describing the coup as US and Canadian-backed . Media Lens has bemoaned the under-reporting of Hillary Clinton s connection to the state of affairs in Honduras in the US print media, as has FAIR. But it is online. The Nation ran an article titled, The Clinton-backed Honduran Regime is picking-off indigenous leaders the day after C ceres murder.The Clintons have a great ally in Canadian billionaire Frank Giustra. Along with media outlets, Giustra has gold mining interests in Africa. He is known in the industry as a mining promoter and presumably connects investors and miners. Although Bill and Frank like to fly around Latin America, and do philanthropic work together, Bill did bump into Frank in Kazakhstan when Frank was doing a spot of uranium shopping.The Clintons connection with the Canadian mining magnate is labeled a threat to her campaign by Bloomberg Politics. Certainly, The Clintons ties to big business have dogged her campaign, and many democrats are uncomfortable with her performance as Secretary of State. Revelations about the Clinton Foundation do little to dispel the image of Hillary as an entrenched member of the establishment let alone the oligarch hegemony. Given that her nomination looks increasingly insecure, C ceres murder is untimely for them both. Via: Global Research | 1real
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Lesbian Couple Beaten, Arrested For Holding Hands Wins $80,000 Settlement (VIDEO) | In October of 2015, California couple Courtney Wilson and Taylor Guerrero travelled to Honolulu, Hawaii for what was supposed to be an enjoyable vacation getaway. On the second day of the couple s trip, however, their dream vacation turned into a nightmare.As Addicting Info reported here, Guerrero and Wilson stopped at a Foodland grocery store to pick up some snacks.The couple says that they were dancing and having a good time as they shopped. They held hands and at one point Wilson gave her girlfriend of two years a kiss on the cheek. Upon seeing the kiss, off-duty police officer Bobby Harrison told the couple to stop it, then yelled at them to take it somewhere else. The two women tried to brush off the rude remarks and went about their shopping. Harrison continued to follow and harass the couple, threatening to have them thrown out of the store.As Wilson and Guerrero neared the checkout, Harrison approached them again. At this point, Wilson tried to call 911 on the off-duty cop, but Harrison grabbed her arm. Both women were thrown to the ground by the officer. Wilson was punched in the face by Harrison. The officer then directed Foodland employees to hold the two women down until their hands could be zip tied.Harrison arrested the couple, charging them with felony assault on a police officer. The charges were dropped five months later. During the five months that it took the courts to process the case, Wilson and Guerrero were forced to remain in Honolulu. We spent the money we came with on bail, Wilson said during a recent press conference. As a result, the couple was forced to sleep in a park.Watch Wilson and Guerrero describe the harassment and assault in the video below, courtesy of NBC News on YouTube.On Friday, the women were awarded an $80,000 settlement in the case. The City Council is expected to approve the award when it meets in mid-July. The couple also received a $10,000 settlement from Foodland.According to NBC News Officer Harrison retired from the police force last year.Featured image via video screen capture NBC News | 1real
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How Trump is Accelerating the Decline of US Global Influence | It should also be said that the current US Administration is merely finishing the job which started under three consecutive two-term presidents; Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama something to bear in mind as Trump ends his first year in office.This new year, let us not forget who re-ignited the Middle East crisis, with the consecutive sackings of Libya and Syria The "Moderate Rebel" terrorists in Syria certainly miss you Barack, you were so generous to all of them. Patrick Henningsen (@21WIRE) December 29, 2017While Make America Great Again might be the political campaign de jour at home, these next four years are likely to coincide with an overall decline in US influence in the world.Mehr News reports During the past decades after World WarII and disintegration of the former Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, the world has been dominated by the US in terms of politics, military and economy. But the rising of new world powers at the end of the 20th century and beginning of 21st century has challenged the US global domination. Washington s challenges with the new multipolar world order in recent years has resulted in the decline of US influence in the world, which is expected to be accelerated withTrump s term in White House.Recognizing Al-Quds (Jerusalem) as Israeli regime s capital by Trump created lots of negative reaction and resulted in a resolution by the UN General Assembly despite the US threats is a clear example of declining US global influence.Decline of US domination over world trade and financial regimesAfter the end of World WarII until 1960, the US held 40 percent of the world economy but after the rise of new economic powers like China, Japan and EU, in 2013 the US just held 25 percent of the world economy. Considering the recent decisions made by Trump to withdraw from TPP and NAFTA and tensions with EU, more decline is expected in near future.The Dollar dominated global financial, trade and banking regimes until the beginning of 21th century. The first blow to the dollar global stand was inflicted in 1999 when euro appeared as official currency of the EU. In recent years rise of Chinese renminbi has inflicted more blows to the dollar global stand, so that in 2015 only 50 to 60 percent of world trades and transactions were done in dollar, according to EU central bank.During the past years, US sanctions against some countries like Russia, Iran and White House pressure on other countries to avoid transaction with these sanctioned countries, has resulted in some agreements between states to do their business in their own national currencies instead of dollar like the agreements between Iran, Russia, Turkey and China. Continuation of such agreements and trend will definitely lead to further decline of dollar global stand in future.Decline of the US strategic importance in terms of politics and militaryTrump s serious pressure on NATO the most important strategic achievement of the US till now with member states to pay more for the costs of the alliance, has inflicted serious damages to the solidarity of the member states and has created many doubts so that some US old European allies are seriously after formation of a European Army.US inability to solve South Korea s missile and nuclear program issues despite Trump s rhetoric and bluffs, US inability to materialize its regional policy and plans in the Middle East to change the map of the region to the benefit of its own strategic interest and Israel s due to close cooperation of Iran, Russia, Turkey, Iraq and Syria all these US failures and its wrong policies which have even forced some of its old regional allies like Turkey to recalibrate its relation and cooperation with White House in the region shows the US limitations and incapability resulting in increasing decline of Washington s influence.Also the US inability to settle the issues in east of Ukraine and Crimea as its European allies expected has been a serious blow to its strategic stand among the Washington s European allies, and even worse nowadays as some of the Europeans consider US measures in east Europe as a blackmailing to gain the energy market of the EuropeDuring the last one year in office, Trump s moves to withdraw from Paris Climate Change accord, TPP, his wrong approach toward the nuclear deal with Iran (JCPOA), his insatiable immigration policy which has resulted in significant reduction in the number of foreign students in US for the first time, and finally his partial recognition of Al-Quds as Israeli regime s capital all have inflicted serious blows to global credibility and influence of the country which cannot be at least mended in short-term.READ MORE TRUMP NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire Trump FilesSUPPORT 21WIRE SUBSCRIBE & BECOME A MEMBER @21WIRE.TV | 1real
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James Bond wouldn’t make the grade in modern MI6, says Britain’s top spy | James Bond wouldn’t make the grade in modern MI6, says Britain’s top... James Bond wouldn’t make the grade in modern MI6, says Britain’s top spy By 0 41
Fictional super-spy James Bond’s lack of a moral compass would quickly rule him out of the intelligence services today, the head of MI6 said in a rare public statement.
In a question-and-answer session for the Black History Month website, spy chief Alex Younger said 007’s lack of an ethical core would have seen him rejected from training.
“ We know that if we undermine British values, even in the name of defending them, then we have failed. Our staff are not from another planet ,” Younger said.
“ They are ordinary men and women operating in the face of complex moral, ethical and physical challenges, often in the most forbidding environments on Earth .”
Read more
“ In contrast to James Bond, MI6 officers are not for taking moral shortcuts. In fact, a strong ethical core is one of the first qualities we look for in our staff, ” he added.
Younger insisted that Bond’s erratic individualism would certainly have rendered him unable to “get through our recruitment process.”
“ Whilst we share his qualities of patriotism, energy and tenacity, an intelligence officer in the real MI6 has a high degree of emotional intelligence, values teamwork and always has respect for the law… unlike Mr. Bond, ” Younger said.
Some, however, would contest claims that MI6 is a bastion of ethical conduct, not least during the UK’s heavy involvement in kidnap and torture in the post-9/11 world.
A Libyan kidnapped and delivered to the Libyan regime for torture recently questioned the commitment to morality of a previous MI6 head.
In July, Abdul Hakim Belhaj said former MI6 chief Mark Allen was mistaken if he thinks a recent article he wrote for a Christian magazine means his “account is settled with God.”
In 2004, Abdul Hakim Belhaj was kidnapped in Hong Kong with British complicity, along with his pregnant wife, and rendered back to his native Libya. He was then held and tortured by the regime of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi for six years.
A note faxed from Allen to the Libyan authorities told the regime’s spy chief Moussa Koussa: “ I congratulate you on the safe arrival of… the air cargo. ”
On August 4, a day before the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) decided it would not press charges against Allen, the ex-spook published a piece in the Catholic Herald on “ Christian ” approaches to terrorism.
Belhaj’s response, which had been offered to the Herald, was published on the website of the Reprieve human rights charity.
“ His words on the power of faith to see us through bloodshed are too rich to swallow, ” the torture victim wrote in reference to the now infamous ‘ air cargo ’ fax.
Via RT . This piece was reprinted by RINF Alternative News with permission or license. | 1real
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Alien Contact.NASA will never disclose UFOs, but THEY ARE HERE! | Alien Contact.NASA will never disclose UFOs, but THEY ARE HERE! # alina_dragomir 6
Recently a high ranking official from NASA declared that they will never disclose alien life,so we have to stop asking questions like: Do the Alien Exist? because NASA will never tell us something related to extraterrestrials.Never!
But do we really need someone to tell us what to believe?
More and more people are demanding UFO Disclosure,But are we really prepared for such event? What is the implication of that?
What if They are already here among us? Tags | 1real
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SAY WHAT? Obama Gives Go Ahead For New UN “Regional Hub” In Washington DC…What They Plan To Use Center For Is Disturbing | If seven years ago, someone told Americans that the UN would be allowed to place a Regional Hub in our nations Capitol, they would have been dismissed as a tin foil conspiracy theorist. But then, who would ve imagined that it was possible we d have an anti-American community organizer as the President of our United States of America?EXCLUSIVE: The chief United Nations human rights agency, with the Obama administration s apparent blessing, is creating a new regional hub for itself in Washington, to use as a center for organizing against the death penalty, among other things, and for affecting the legal frameworks, policies, and strategies of American counterterrorism.In a management plan covering its activities through 2017, the agency, known as the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, or OHCHR, puts the U.S. in the same category for that counterterrorism alignment effort as countries like Iraq and Uganda.The fast-tracked human rights hub also has a number of more nebulous thematic objectives for the U.S., which include, according to an OHCHR information document, the establishment of national participatory bodies for reporting and implementing recommendations of human rights mechanisms and the aim of widening the democratic space with the aid of undefined National Human Rights Institutions. It may also involve, as OHCHR notes in its management plan, increasing advocacy for ratification of human rights treaties and withdrawal of treaty reservations meaning exceptional carve-outs that nations including those like the U.S., with a federal division of power can make to limit their acceptance of international agreements.In the case of the death penalty, for example, U.S. refusal to join in a U.N- sponsored global moratorium is based on the fact that such criminal justice measures also are the responsibilities of individual states.Nonetheless, as OHCHR s management plan notes, in addition to global efforts to abolish the death penalty by 2017, OHCHR expects to have contributed to a moratorium on the application of the death penalty or pending a moratorium, increased compliance with relevant international human rights obligations in countries such as Iraq, Kenya, Liberia, Libya, Palestine, Papua New Guinea, Somalia, South Sudan, the United States of America and other countries in Asia and the Americas. The OHCHR puts the U.S. in the same category for its counterterrorism alignment effort as countries like Iraq and Uganda.All of those themes, along with OHCHR s view of itself as the principal advocate for human rights within the U.N. system, seem likely to bring the U.S. into closer proximity to the U.N. s tangled, proliferating and often sweepingly contradictory notions of international human rights law and also, perhaps, to the notoriously dictatorship-riddled, 47-member U.N. Human Rights Council.Among other things, the Council, which has been far more enthusiastic about condemning alleged human rights transgressions in Israel than in any other nation, creates mandates for OHCHR, which also serves as the Council s bureaucratic support.The Obama administration reversed the policies of George W. Bush to join the Council in 2009, and served consecutive three-year terms that ended last month, claiming victories during that time in focusing the Council on gay rights and criticism of human rights practices in North Korea and Iran.While no longer on the Council, the administration now seems comfortable with bringing the U.N. s human rights approach into closer contact with U.S. legislators, lobbyists, human rights activists and, perhaps most importantly, financial appropriators, before it leaves office at the end of next year.Indeed, the OHCHR hub which will cover not just the U.S. but North America and the English-speaking Caribbean already has a warm advance welcome from the administration that also seems aimed at letting the new U.N. outpost arrive smoothly under Washington s political radar.Last month U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. in Geneva, Pamela Hamamoto, wrote to tell the aggressively expanding human rights body that it didn t need any additional legal agreement to establish the Washington hub, complete with full legal privileges and immunities, since it already is covered by legal agreements for the U.N. headquarters in New York, where OHCHR maintains a strong presence.If OHCHR felt otherwise, Hamamoto said on behalf of the administration, we would be happy to discuss alternative ways in which we might accommodate OHCHR s specific requests. On the surface, the hub is part of a sweeping Change Initiative being promoted by the U.N. High Commissioner, Zeid Ra ad Al Hussein, which aims at decentralizing the Geneva-based organization, extending its outreach and human rights monitoring capability, and ostensibly improving its efficiency through, among other things, concentration on eight global hubs as focuses of activity.As it happens, the initiative is not that much of a change: six of the hubs already exist, including one in Panama City for Latin America. The only new ones are intended for Washington and Istanbul.According to Zeid, the initiative would mostly involve the reshuffling of existing personnel shipping them away from Geneva headquarters, where more than half of the agency s roughly 1,100 staff is located. Zeid says that exercise, including the establishment of the new Washington venue, would be revenue neutral. That assumption, however, was received skeptically by the U.N. s chief financial oversight committee, which called the calculation preliminary, and recommended against approving the restructuring until Zeid came back with a clear and detailed proposal with a lot more detail.Recommendations of the committee are usually adopted uncritically by the U.N. General Assembly s Fifth Committee, which approves financial measures.But Zeid has been lobbying the Fifth Committee energetically to break that tradition in his case in part because, as OHCHR s fact sheet observes, the 2016-2017 budget that the advisory committee was assessing will cover the majority of the remainder of the High Commissioner s [four-year] term of appointment. (Zeid was appointed in 2014.)The issue came up in so-called informal meaning closed discussions of the Fifth Committee earlier this week. Questions from Fox News to Zeid s spokesman about the discussions went unanswered.Questions to the State Department from Fox News about the issue were referred to the U.S. Mission to the U.N., headed by Ambassador Samantha Power.Questions from Fox News to the Mission about the discussion, and the overall U.S. government view of the hub, were not answered.Beyond the fact that his career clock is ticking, another reason for Zeid s gung-ho approach to the hub could be the possibility that no future U.S. President will be as enthusiastically multilateral as Barack Obama, giving a now-or-never urgency to the chance to bring the U.S. further under the U.N. human rights umbrella.And yet another reason might be that the reorganization could coincidentally help to bring down the curtain on a sensitive political problem for Zeid.As part of the Change Initiative, he has announced that one of OHCHR s important units, the Field Operations and Technical Cooperation Division, which deals with human rights issues at the country level and also incorporates human rights observation of U.N. peacekeeping operations, will be disbanded in Geneva and pieced off to the hubs.That division is headed by Anders Kompass, the senior human rights officer who kicked up a firestorm when he passed on an unredacted human rights report about alleged sexual abuse of children by non-U.N. peacekeepers in the Central African Republic to French authorities.For entire story: FOX News | 1real
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Ft. Lauderdale Terrorist Says He Carried Out Attack for Islamic State | Esteban Santiago Ruiz told the FBI that he carried out an attack on Fort Lauderdale on behalf of the Islamic State ( ) Michael Ferlazzo, an FBI special agent, reportedly testified at the attacker’s bond hearing Tuesday. [Santiago is the New Iraq war veteran of Puerto Rican descent who killed five people and wounded six others at Fort International Airport in Florida earlier this month. Citing public records opened last week, Sunshine State News adds that Santiago converted to Islam and created a “jihadist identity” for himself, assuming the Islamic name Aashiq Hammad, prior to joining the U. S. Army. He reportedly downloaded Islamic terrorist propaganda and recorded Muslim religious music online. However, the Miami Herald, citing unnamed law enforcement sources, reported that despite rumors to the contrary, nothing in Santiago’s social media history suggests he was “an Islamic convert inspired by terrorist organizations. ” On Tuesday, the attacker was ordered held without bond. CNN notes that FBI agency Ferlazzo “did not elaborate on whether Santiago was purporting to be linked to ISIS or simply inspired by the terrorist organization. ” ISIS has not claimed responsibility for the attack. Nevertheless, Ferlazzo revealed that, during the interview conducted after the attack, Santiago claimed “to be fighting for ISIS and that he’d been in touch with people via jihadi chat rooms who were planning attacks as well,” reports CNN. Moreover, the “FBI agent confirmed that the 9 mm gun used in the Jan. 6 shooting rampage at Fort International Airport is the same weapon Anchorage, Alaska, police seized and later returned to Esteban Santiago last year,” reports CBS News. “The agent also testified that Santiago mentioned after the shooting that he was under government mind control. ” The terrorist has already been charged with using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a violent crime performing a violent act against a person at an airport serving international civil aviation that caused serious bodily injury and killing a person with a firearm. Of the charges, the latter two are punishable by death, while the first charge carries a maximum penalty of life behind bars. Santiago revealed before the attack that he was hearing voices and that the CIA had been controlling his mind, federal authorities and the killer’s brother Bryan Santiago have revealed. Nearly a month prior to the attack, Esteban Santiago specifically confessed to the FBI in Alaska where he was living at the time, that he was suffering from government mind control linked to ISIS videos. The FBI reportedly contacted law enforcement in Anchorage and told them the veteran had been having “terroristic thoughts” and believed he was being influenced by ISIS. Although authorities did take Santiago to a mental facility, he was ultimately released along with his weapon. Santiago has confessed to the mass shooting. “At Tuesday’s hearing, the defense did not argue the prosecution’s assertion that Santiago posed a flight risk, as well as a danger to the community, and said that the defendant was prepared to be detained throughout his trial,” reports CNN. “The judge ruled he be held without bond. His next court appearance is January 30. ” | 0fake
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DIAMOND AND SILK Clap-Back at Eminem: ‘When you come for President Trump, we are going to come for you, boo… [Video] | In case you haven t heard about the nasty Eminem rap about President Trump, we bring you the diamond and silk version We think it s much better! Has-been rappers are so boring diamond and silk spice it up a bit in the video below .@DiamondandSilk clap-back at Eminem and them. When you come for President Trump, we are going to come for you, boo . pic.twitter.com/LyPbrrPk9n Diamond and Silk (@DiamondandSilk) October 12, 2017CHECK OUT THE LYRICS BELOW TO THE 4 MINUTE FREESTYLE RAP FROM HAS-BEEN RAPPER EMINEM: It s the calm before the storm right here Wait, how was I gonna start this off? I forgot oh, yeah That s an awfully hot coffee pot Should I drop it on Donald Trump? Probably not But that s all I got til I come up with a solid plotGot a plan and now I gotta hatch it Like a damn Apache with a tomahawk Imma walk inside a mosque on Ramadan And say a prayer that every time Melania talks She gets a mou Ahh, Imma stopBut we better give Obama props Cause what we got in office now s a kamikaze That ll probably cause a nuclear holocaust And while the drama pops And he waits for s**t to quiet down, he ll just gas his plane up and fly around til the bombing stops Intensities heightened, tensions are risin Trump, when it comes to giving a s**t, you re stingy as I am Except when it comes to having the b***s to go against me, you hide em Cause you don t got the f**king n**s like an empty asylum Racism s the only thing he s fantastic for Cause that s how he gets his f**king rocks off and he s orangeYeah, sick tan That s why he wants us to disband Cause he cannot withstand The fact we re not afraid of Trump F**k walkin on egg shells, I came to stomp That s why he keeps screamin Drain the swamp Cause he s in quicksandIt s like we take a step forwards, then backwards But this is his form of distraction Plus, he gets an enormous reaction When he attacks the NFL so we focus on that Instead of talking Puerto Rico or gun reform for NevadaAll these horrible tragedies and he s bored and would rather Cause a Twitter storm with the Packers Then says he wants to lower our taxes Then who s gonna pay for his extravagant trips Back and forth with his fam to his golf resorts and his mansions? Same s**t that he tormented Hillary for and he slandered Then does it moreFrom his endorsement of Bannon Support for the Klansmen Tiki torches in hand for the soldier that s black And comes home from Iraq And is still told to go back to Africa Fork and a dagger in this racist 94-year-old grandpa Who keeps ignoring our past historical, deplorable factors Now if you re a black athlete, you re a spoiled little brat forTryina use your platform or your stature To try to give those a voice who don t have one He says, You re spittin in the face of vets who fought for us, you bastards! Unless you re a POW who s tortured and battered Cause to him you re zeros Cause he don t like his war heroes capturedThat s not disrespecting the military F**k that! This is for Colin, ball up a fist! And keep that s**t balled like Donald the b**ch! He s gonna get rid of all immigrants! He s gonna build that thang up taller than this! Well, if he does build it, I hope it s rock solid with bricks Cause like him in politics, I m using all of his tricks Cause I m throwin that piece of s**t against the wall til it sticks And any fan of mine who s a supporter of his I m drawing in the sand a line: you re either for or against And if you can t decide who you like more and you re split On who you should stand beside, I ll do it for you with this:F**k you! The rest of America stand up We love our military, and we love our country But we f**king hate Trump | 1real
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FEDS: Dozens of Muslim Girls had Genitals Mutilated at Michigan Clinic…The Landmark Defense is Shocking | Changing the name of something doesn t change the TRUTH of what it is female genital mutilation is the name used for the secretive practice in the Muslim world of making sure young girls never have a chance to feel sexual pleasure. It is a horrific practice of destroying the genitals of a girl to make sure she isn t promiscuous. A doctor in Michigan was doing this under the radar on as many as 100 girls. We cannot accept this as a religious and cultural right as the lawyers for this doctor are trying to do. Freedom of religion doesn t include the criminal act of mutilating a woman s genitals. This is what the lawyer said to defend this horrible practice: The defense has argued that the Attars did not engage in any criminal act and that the procedure at issue is a protected religious rite-of-passage that involves no cutting, but rather a ***scraping of genital membrane. They also argued the Attars are not a danger to the society and have no reason or desire to flee, convincing U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman to release them on bond.***The scraping comment is a lie. The girls were looked over by a doctor who said the injuries were far worse that first thought.Here s the latest:A federal prosecutor dropped a bombshell in court Wednesday, telling a federal judge that the government estimates that as many as 100 girls may have had their genitals cut at the hands of a local doctor and her cohorts.Assistant U.S. Attorney Sara Woodward disclosed the information while trying to convince a judge to keep a doctor and his wife locked up in the historic case. It involves allegations that two Minnesota girls had their genitals cut at a Livonia clinic in February as part of a religious rite of passage and were told to keep what happened a secret. Due to the secretive nature of this procedure, we are unlikely to ever know how many children were cut by Dr. (Jumana) Nagarwala, Woodward said, referring to the lead defendant in the case, later adding, The Minnesota victims were not the first victims. Read more: DFP | 1real
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Texas gives Houston $50 million for Hurricane Harvey costs | (Reuters) - Texas Governor Greg Abbott on Friday gave $50 million to Houston to help cover costs related to Hurricane Harvey, a move the mayor said will allow the city to avoid a temporary property tax hike that was up for a city council vote in October. Mayor Sylvester Turner, who accepted the money from the Republican governor at a city hall press conference, said he will pull his proposal for a one-year tax increase to cover the city’s share of debris removal expenses and for insurance-related payments. Parts of Houston suffered severe wind and flood damage after Hurricane Harvey made landfall on Aug. 25. It was the strongest hurricane to hit Texas in more than 50 years. Earlier this week, Abbott rejected Turner’s request for the state to immediately tap its $10 billion rainy day fund to aid its largest city. On Friday, the governor said he had the flexibility to withdraw $50 million from a state disaster relief fund for Houston. “This looked like the best solution at this point,” Abbott told reporters. He added that once the state gets a handle on total hurricane expenses, the Texas legislature will consider tapping into the rainy day fund when its next regular session begins in January 2019 or sooner in a special session. | 0fake
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Ethics Questions Dogged Agriculture Nominee as Georgia Governor - The New York Times | WASHINGTON — In Sonny Perdue’s telling, Georgians were growing weary of the corruption and scandals in their state when he took over as governor in 2003 — a time when he gave his own version of a “drain the swamp” pledge. “My first goal as governor is to restore public trust in state government by changing the culture of state government,” Mr. Perdue told a leadership conference at Kennesaw State University in April 2003. “Our form of government depends on a mutual bond of trust between the people and their government. But people have become cynical about their government. ” But Mr. Perdue, a Republican who is awaiting confirmation to serve as President Trump’s agriculture secretary, became a target of frequent criticism that he was failing to honor his own ethics pledge during his eight years as governor. The criticism centers on the fact that, as Mr. Trump has, he continued to own or help run his family business ventures — four companies — while serving as governor. Mr. Perdue is one of the last cabinet members awaiting Senate confirmation. No date has been set for his confirmation hearing a holdup in the release of paperwork accompanying his nomination by the federal Office of Government Ethics has been blamed for the delay. The office must examine Mr. Perdue’s proposal to avoid conflicts of interest while running the U. S. D. A. as the department is known, which may include selling off some of his farming assets. Before his tenure as governor ended in 2011, 13 complaints had been filed against Mr. Perdue with the State Ethics Commission, which on two occasions ruled that the governor had violated state ethics laws. The commission took the unusual step of fining Mr. Perdue while he was governor. There were numerous other questions, including some about the role of Mr. Perdue’s personal lawyer — also a state legislator — in pushing a bill through the legislature that included a special provision that gave Mr. Perdue $100, 000 in state tax relief. And, when his tenure as governor was coming to a close, Mr. Perdue met with Georgia officials who oversee the state’s ports to discuss use of a terminal for a family business, according to documents obtained by The Atlanta . Soon after he left office, in fact, he opened a new company that specialized in exporting products through Savannah. “When you are a public official you are supposed to be acting entirely on behalf of the public and not for ” said Yasha Heidari, former senior legal counsel to the State Ethics Commission. “Looking at his record, as both an attorney and a citizen of the state, I had serious concerns. ” In a written statement, a spokeswoman for Mr. Perdue rejected that assessment, saying that the frequent criticism he faced while governor was largely politically motivated. “There hadn’t been a Republican governor in Georgia for 135 years,” the statement said. “Governor Perdue was the David who slew the Democrats’ Goliath. ” During the wait for Mr. Perdue’s confirmation hearing, some in the farming industry have come to his defense. “I don’t think you are going to find a man any more honorable than Sonny Perdue,” said Zippy Duvall, a Georgia cattle and poultry farmer who is the president of the American Farm Bureau Federation, adding that he had known Mr. Perdue for about a decade. “He is as ethical as they come. ” Born into a family of farmers, Mr. Perdue played college football as a at the University of Georgia, and later worked briefly as a practicing veterinarian. He rose through the ranks of the state legislature and, in the late 1990s, switched his party affiliation from Democrat to Republican because, he said, the state party had lost its focus on family values. One of Mr. Perdue’s first acts after he was sworn in as governor in January 2003 was to sign an executive order establishing a new code of ethics for executive branch employees. The order, which applied to the governor himself, prohibited state employees from using their powers for “any financial or other personal benefit” and barred them from taking any gifts worth more than $25. “In carrying out their official duties and obligations, all officers and employees of state government must work solely for the public good, striving vigilantly to avoid even the appearance that their actions are motivated by private or personal interest,” the 2003 executive order said. But Mr. Perdue ended up collecting at least $25, 000 worth of benefits or gifts during his years as governor, state records show. The gifts ranged from tickets to a Nascar race and football games to flights paid for by Altria, the tobacco company, and by CSX, the railroad giant, according to a 2010 report by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a liberal nonprofit group. Mr. Perdue’s spokeswoman, in the written statement, said that none of these gifts violated the ban because the “trips were for official state business and were perfectly acceptable as saving taxpayer funds. ” “The gifts were to the state,” the statement read, “not to the governor. ” The fine by the State Ethics Commission in 2005 came after the commission concluded that Mr. Perdue had failed to properly report the use of an airplane owned by one of his family’s businesses for a trip. The commission also found that he had taken campaign contributions in amounts that exceeded state limits from several donors — including a political action committee run by SunTrust, the bank. Mr. Perdue called the violations technical, and the investigation politically motivated. Teddy Lee, the executive secretary of the State Ethics Commission, was fired from his job in January 2006, and in an interview he blamed Mr. Perdue for his firing. Mr. Lee had served in the job under four governors. “This looked like a political hit to me,” Mr. Lee said. Mr. Lee’s dismissal came as Mr. Perdue was seeking and just months before his largest scandal emerged, over a $100, 000 state tax break he received thanks to a legislative maneuver engineered by a lawmaker who was also his personal lawyer. The focus of the controversy was a piece of property in Florida that Mr. Perdue purchased in 2004. The purchase allowed him to defer paying federal capital gains taxes on a separate piece of Georgia land — which he had previously sold at a profit. When that transaction was completed, Mr. Perdue still owed Georgia about $100, 000 in state taxes. Then, Mr. Perdue signed a bill the following year eliminating that state tax obligation — as state law was changed to allow rollover relief on capital gains, even if the new property being purchased was out of state. During deliberations on the legislation, Larry O’Neal, a member of the Georgia House of Representatives who also worked part time as a personal lawyer for Mr. Perdue, intervened to make the change in that provision retroactive. That meant it would cover Mr. Perdue’s 2004 land deal, saving the governor $100, 000, The reported at the time. Mr. Perdue’s spokeswoman said the change in state law was not intended to benefit Mr. Perdue. “It benefited all Georgians,” the statement said. Scott Faber of the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit organization that keeps a close watch on policies at the Agriculture Department, said he had questions about Mr. Perdue’s fitness to take over the department. “Given his record of and conflicts of interest as governor of Georgia, it is fair to ask if he is fit to run a $ federal agency,” Mr. Faber said. But Mr. Duvall, of the American Farm Bureau Federation, believes the opposite. Mr. Duvall said that as a former farmer, Mr. Perdue is just what the nation needs to run the department. “He has worked on a farm and owned businesses that buy and sell grain domestically and internationally,” Mr. Duvall said. “It ought to be a requirement that someone who runs the U. S. D. A. knows something about farming. And Sonny certainly does. ” | 0fake
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NATO Confirms Major Troop Buildup In Eastern Europe | ( ANTIWAR ) A day after reports NATO was soliciting even more ground troops for their deployment into Eastern Europe, officials are reporting “progress” in recruiting more troops from more member nations to participate in the deployment, intended to be around 40,000 troops along the Baltic states, near Russia’s border. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg claimed to have been “ very inspired ” by the response of nations he sought troops from, after yesterday’s report Quote: d diplomats as saying the deployment was meant to both “confront” Russia and to undercut Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s complaints NATO isn’t participating enough in its own defense.
The new participants in the deployment include Albania, Slovenia, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Croatia, Belgium, and Norway. The size of individual deployments from different nations is unclear, but there will be four battalions, and the US is expected to provide the majority.
With all these troops headed to the Baltic coast, reports out of Russia’s media suggest that they are planning some new warship deployments into their Baltic Fleet, with an eye toward enhancing their targeting capacity along the shore. | 1real
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Senate intel panel's top Democrat: Lawmakers will want talk to Kushner again | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Senate intelligence panel’s top Democrat on Friday said lawmakers will want to again interview U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law turned White House adviser Jared Kushner in the wake of former adviser Michael Flynn’s guilty plea as part of the U.S. special counsel’s investigation. “There are a number, like Mr. Kushner and others, that we’re going to want to invite back,” Senator Mark Warner told reporters. He declined to say whether that would include U.S. Vice President Mike Pence. He added that he remained confident in the panel’s Republican chairman, Richard Burr. Burr, in a New York Times report on Thursday, said Trump had told him that he was eager to see the committee’s probe end. | 0fake
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What do the protesters believe they are protesting? | OffGuardian | written by Admin
A victory for freedom, justice and human happiness it isn’t. Those currently frothing at the mouth about the dawn of a new golden age of peace and equality really should know better. A billionaire and friend of billionaires just won an election. 1789 it isn’t.
But Clinton would have blown up the world. Trump probably won’t. Which makes the current situation a very tiny, possibly temporary, but still vanishingly rare moment of sanity in a largely insane world. For that small reason alone sane people everywhere should welcome it for what it is.
So, what to make of those who don’t?
Hysteria. Fainting. Screaming. Pseudo-Leftists happy to support Obama’s imperialism and domestic tyranny, beating their chests and seeking counselling for PTSD because democracy happened. “Mass” riots of thousands (or is it only hundreds? Depends on your source) of outraged identity-politicians.
What do these protesters think they are protesting?
Fascism? Well, ok, but where were they during the past sixteen years during which America has been dragged by inches into becoming the proto-facist state it now is? Besides what is more fascist-populist that using riot and civil unrest to overturn a democratic vote?
Racism? Sexism? Climate-denial? Which of these offenses is worse than nuclear war? And where is it written in the US constitution that they justify the reversal of an election?
And what about those alt news types supporting the “protesters”? Do they agree with Change.org that the vote should be overturned by the electoral college and Clinton given the presidency because she has a vagina and her chums can mobilise mass-hysteria? Are they basically saying they were for Hillary all along, because the Pentagon and Wall Street and WW3 are the lesser of two evils?
If that’s not what they are saying, then what? Protest needs an aim, so what is the aim here? More Obama? Martial Law? Total societal disintegration?
All better than Trump?
Would be great to get some feedback here. Rate this: | 1real
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U.S. taxpayers rush to claim deductions under threat from tax bill | NEW YORK (Reuters) - Financial advisers and accountants are working overtime as many U.S. taxpayers scramble to pay the rest of their 2017 taxes before Jan. 1 when the proposed Republican tax overhaul would sharply cut the amount they can deduct on federal tax bills. The tax legislation, which top U.S. Republicans said on Sunday they expected Congress to pass this week, caps the amount of state, local and property taxes individuals can deduct from their federal tax bills at $10,000. The average American who itemized his or her tax bill in 2015 claimed more than $27,000 in deductions. While taxpayers have until Jan. 15 to pay the final installment of their 2017 taxes, Tom Holly of the accounting firm PwC said he received dozens of calls over the weekend from concerned clients eager to pay sooner. “It’s going to be a very busy holiday season for advisers,” said Holly, who heads the firm’s wealth and asset management division. Lisa Featherngill, managing director of wealth planning at Wells Fargo’s Abbot Downing, said she was skipping a family trip to the Valero Alamo Bowl football game in Texas on Dec. 28 in order to work. Featherngill said wealthy clients and their accountants were not just trying to figure out if it makes sense to estimate and pay the rest of their 2017 itemized taxes this year, but also working to see if they should itemize at all. Some taxpayers, particularly those in high-tax states who have income above $100,000, may end up paying the alternative minimum tax, which limits the deductions a person can take against his or her federal income tax. “People really have to run the numbers because ... if they are subject to alternative minimum tax, some of those taxes wouldn’t be deductible anyway,” said Featherngill. Last week, according to media reports, state officials in New York received calls from residents asking to pay their 2018 state, local and property taxes before Jan. 1 in an effort to claim the higher amount of deductions before the Republican tax bill takes effect. In response, the U.S. Treasury Department issued guidance over the weekend saying that any pre-payments for 2018 tax liabilities would not be deductible on federal tax bills. If passed, the tax bill would be the biggest U.S. tax rewrite since 1986. The legislation would cut the corporate income tax rate to 21 percent from 35 percent but offer a mixed bag for individuals, including middle-class workers, by roughly doubling a standard deduction that does not require itemization, but eliminating or scaling back other popular itemized deductions and exemptions. | 0fake
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Three Quarters Of Americans Oppose Gun Control | Record numbers say no to proposed handgun ban
Steve
A new poll released by Gallup has found that a record amount of Americans are opposed to gun control measures .
The survey found that 76 percent of respondents, over three quarters, believe that a ban on civilian ownership of handguns should not be made law.
The findings represent a four-point increase on the same survey from last year, in addition to an all-time high for the past three decades.
The poll also found that almost two thirds, 61 percent, are “against” a ban on semi-automatic rifles, or “assault weapons”as the corporate media refers to them.
That figure represents a full ten-point increase on previous findings, and is an all time record high since polling began on the issue 20 years ago.
Just 27 percent, less than a third, say they support a ban on handgun ownership, while only 36 percent, support a semi-automatic ban. an eight-point decline on previous findings.
In addition, gun sales have been hitting record highs for months on end.
In a summary of the new poll, Gallup seemed surprised, by the findings, describing waning support for a gun ban as a “paradox”:
Perhaps paradoxically, opposition toward a ban has increased against a backdrop of multiple mass shootings and terrorist attacks in which the perpetrators used assault rifles. These guns were used in high-profile incidents, including the terrorist attacks in San Bernardino, California, and Orlando, and the mass shootings in Aurora, Colorado, and Newtown, Connecticut.
The findings reveal just how out of step Hillary Clinton’s position on gun control is with the majority of Americans.
Hillary is a staunch gun control proponent. Wikileaks releases have revealed that Hillary plans to implement strict gun control measures by executive order.
Clinton purportedly plans to open gun manufacturers to lawsuits by crime victims, a move that critics say would do nothing to reduce crime, but would bankrupt–and eventually end–gun manufacturing in the United States. This article was posted: Thursday, October 27, 2016 at 10:30 am Share this article | 1real
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RICK SANTORUM INFURIATES LIBERALS After He Tells ILLEGAL ALIEN To Go Home And Apply For Citizenship [VIDEO] | What do you think? Do you agree with Rick Santorum, or should we allow illegal aliens to enjoy all of the same benefits as American citizens simply because they or their parents made it across our US border without getting caught?Former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) can t speak to whether President-elect Donald Trump plans to deport undocumented immigrants en masse beginning next year, but he has made one thing clear: People who came to the U.S. illegally as children, also known as Dreamers, should just leave the U.S. if they re worried about their immigration status.Elizabeth Vilchis, a mechanical engineer who said she came to the U.S. from Mexico when she was 7 years old, asked Santorum about Trump s immigration plans on Tuesday night during a town hall event with CNN s Van Jones. She asked Santorum how he would advise her to plan for her future.He began his reply by talking about his father, who left Mussolini s Italy to come to the U.S. when he was 7 years old even though, Santorum said, he wasn t allowed to come because of the immigration laws at the time. Then he began to address Vilchis specifically. What most people in America feel is that you ve been given a tremendous benefit by being here in this country, Santorum said, adding that he imagined she wouldn t have had to opportunities to accomplish what you have in her country of origin. My final point is that you have the ability to go to any other country right now and apply those wares, and be successful, and reapply to come back to America, Santorum added. Go and make the world a better place. CNN contributor Ana Navarro butted in. First of all, this is your country, she said. No matter what he says, no matter what anybody else says, this is your country. That s not what the law says, Santorum replied. As much as I m sympathetic to you, you should recognize the gift that America has given you and that you can give to the world. HP@Jorgesays @RickSantorum I'll chip in good money to send Santorum to another country. Any country. Cindy Hargest (@CindyHargest) December 7, 2016No decent country would take him. Lyle (@lyledal) December 7, 2016This broke my heart. "You got your education, now get out." This woman is as American as you Rick. Dave Harrell (@daveharrell16) December 7, 2016Send disgusting @RickSantorum back to Italy. iburl (@iburl) December 7, 2016 | 1real
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CHELSEA CLINTON Confronted by Woman at Book Signing: “Can you sign this for my friend Juanita Broaddrick” [Video] | Watch what happens when Laura Loomer asks Chelsea Clinton to sign a copy of her book, She Persisted for her friend, Juanita Broaddrick: Because this book s for everyone, including women who have wanted to speak up but have been told to quiet down, can you sign it for a my friend Juanita Broaddrick? Because she s been silenced by your parents, especially Bill Clinton, who s a rapist. Can you sign it for her? The funny thing is that Chelsea was just offered a cool one million dollars to take a DNA test to prove her REAL dad is Webster Hubbell: Jones made the offer on the Wednesday edition of the Alex Jones Show while previewing an upcoming video showing Chelsea being confronted on her father s alleged rape of Juanita Broaddrick. We also have a woman confronting Chelsea Clinton who is now the spitting image of Webster Hubbell, no doubt, Jones said. In fact I ll offer Chelsea Clinton $1 million to the charity of her choice where she s looted billions out of Haiti and other places so she doesn t care a million dollars to the charity of her choice to have a third-party group do a maternity or a paternity test on her and you know she s Webster Hubbell. I mean you look at this new video we re gonna play when we come back, it is Webster Hubbell I mean it s Webster Hubbell. Those are some strong genes. I mean that is daddy s little girl right there. That is daddy s girl. That ain t Bill Clinton s girl, that s daddy s girl right there. I mean I ve never seen somebody with such a spitting image of their daddy. Read more: Info Wars | 1real
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CHRIS WALLACE Has This One Thing To Say About His Donald Trump Interview That’s YUGE! [Video] | Pretty interesting comment from a once skeptical FOX News pundit. Chris Wallace interviewed Donald Trump and then had this to say:Video: Chris Wallace on @realDonaldTrump: I am beginning to believe he could be elected POTUS #FNS #TTT16 pic.twitter.com/M4NVeA5LGV Brent Baker (@BrentHBaker) October 18, 2015 | 1real
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Fitton: Documents Confirm that Obama IRS Improperly Targeted Conservatives - Breitbart | We continue to undercover the details of the Obama IRS’s arbitrary and capricious behavior toward those presumed to be “enemies” of President Obama. [Last week we released 695 pages of new documents containing admissions by IRS officials that the agency used “inappropriate political labels” to screen the applications of conservative organizations. Other records reveal that the IRS was going to require 501( c)(4) nonprofit organizations to restrict their alleged political activities if they opted for “expedited consideration” of their applications. The documents were produced after a revelation by the IRS that it had located “an additional 6, 924 documents of potentially responsive records” relating to a 2015 Judicial Watch Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit about the Obama IRS targeting scandal. These new records are the first batch of nearly 7, 000 documents that had been hidden from JW, Congress, and the American people. (Our FOIA lawsuit seeks records about the IRS’ selection of individuals and organizations for audits based upon applications requesting nonprofit tax status filed by Tea Party and other 501( c)(4) organizations (Judicial Watch v. Internal Revenue Service (No. 1: )). Of the 695 pages of documents released by the IRS, 422 (61 percent) were completely blacked out. Again, this new material was not in the “Congressional Database,” which the IRS created in 2013 to house records responsive to congressional inquiries into the IRS scandal. Nevertheless, we extracted some key info — such as a June 20, 2013, memo from Karen Schiller, director, EO (Exempt Organizations) Rulings and Agreements, suspending use of the controversial Be on the Lookout (BOLO) and Touch and Go (TAG) lists: EO Rulings and Agreements is undertaking a comprehensive review of screening and identification of critical issues. We intend to develop proper procedures and uses for these types of documents. Until a more formal process for identification, approval and distribution of this type of data is established, Rulings and Agreements will not use this technique to elevate issues. In an August 9, 2013, memo, Schiller admitted the IRS used political labels in targeting the groups for special scrutiny and possible audit and that, going forward, the agency would screen organizations based only on their activities, “not words” or “labels of any kind:” As Acting Commissioner Danny Werfel has said, the IRS has taken decisive action to eliminate the use of inappropriate political labels in the screening of 501( c)(4) applications. IRS policy is now clear that screening is based on activity, not words in a name. The new steps and current policies were outlined in the June 24 report, which noted: “In the absence of BOLO lists, the Determinations Unit will continue to screen for information affecting the determination of applications for tax exempt status, including activity tied to political campaign intervention, but it [will] be done without regard to specific labels of any kind. ” The report also reflects the June 20, 2013 memorandum, which was issued to officially suspend the use of the BOLO list in the screening process. The documents also include a “Dear [Applicant]” letter that offers an “expedited process” for 501( c)(4) groups in exchange for restriction on their activities: This optional expedited process is currently available only to applicants for 501( c)(4) status with applications pending for more than 120 days as of May 28, 2013, that indicate the organization may be involved in political campaign intervention. In this optional process, an organization will represent that it satisfies, and will continue to satisfy, set percentages with respect to the level of its social welfare activities and political campaign intervention activities (as defined in the specific instructions on pages ). These percentage representations are not an interpretation of law but are a safe harbor for those organizations that choose to participate in the optional process. In short, the Obama IRS, after lawlessly delaying the approval of Tea Party group applications, tried to extort restrictions — which had no basis in law — on these very same groups. On September 30, 2013, Acting Director, Exempt Organizations, Kenneth C. Corbin, sent a memo to IRS staff providing detailed guidance on classifying applications when “‘merit approval’ is not an option,” emphasizing that the determination is to be based on “facts and circumstances,” not “words and labels:” Classifier reviews the application and determines if it should be routed to a specialty group. This determination is based upon facts and circumstances of the stated activities within Part II of the application rather than names or labels. This is consistent with Karen Schiller’s August 9, 2013 memorandum … The Schiller and Corbin memos came on the heels of the May 14, 2013, Inspector General report revealing that the IRS had singled out groups using terms such as “patriot” and “Tea Party” when applying for status. The IG probe determined that “Early in Calendar Year 2010, the IRS began using inappropriate criteria to identify organizations applying for status (e. g. lists of past and future donors)” and “delayed processing of targeted groups’ applications” in advance of the 2012 presidential election. No wonder the Obama IRS hid these records. These new documents contain admissions by the Obama IRS that it inappropriately targeted conservative groups. But the records also show that the abuse continued — as the Obama IRS tried to force conservative applicants to give up their First Amendment rights in order to finally get their applications granted. | 0fake
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Dem Operative Who Oversaw Trump Rally Agitators Visited White House 342 Times | A key operative in a Democratic scheme to send agitators to cause unrest at Donald Trump’s rallies has visited the White House 342 times since 2009, White House records show.
Robert Creamer, who acted as a middle man between the Clinton campaign, the Democratic National Committee and “protesters” who tried — and succeeded — to provoke violence at Trump rallies met with President Obama during 47 of those 342 visits, according to White House records. Creamer’s last visit was in June 2016.
Creamer, whose White House visits were first pointed out by conservative blog Weasel Zippers, is stepping back from his role within the Clinton campaign. (RELATED: Second O’Keefe Video Shows Dem Operative Boasting About Voter Fraud)
Hidden camera video from activist James O’Keefe showed Creamer bragging that his role within the Clinton campaign was to oversee the work of Americans United for Change, a non-profit organization that sent activists to Trump rallies. (RELATED: Activist Who Took Credit For Violent Chicago Protests Was On Hillary’s Payroll)
Scott Foval, the national field director for Americans United for Change, explained how the scheme works.
“The [Clinton] campaign pays DNC, DNC pays Democracy Partners, Democracy Partners pays the Foval Group, The Foval Group goes and executes the shit,” Foval told an undercover journalist.
One example of the “shit” Foval executes was an instance in which a 69-year-old woman garnered headlines after claiming to be assaulted at a Trump rally.
“She was one of our activists,” Foval said.
Creamer’s job was to “manage” the work carried out by Foval.
“And the Democratic Party apparatus and the people from the campaign, the Clinton campaign and my role with the campaign, is to manage all that,” Creamer told an undercover journalist.
“Wherever Trump and Pence are gonna be we have events,” he said. | 0fake
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Hillary Flip-Flop Highlight Reel | 21st Century Wire says As political smoke screens go, Hillary Clinton s is rather impressive.As Secretary of State, despite leaving an absolute disaster in the Middle East and North Africa in her wake, the media appear to have given her a free pass. What s more revealing, however, are the flip-flops. They seem to be endless.It s part and parcel of that time honored tradition in American politics: say whatever you have to at that moment in order to appear on the right side of a given audience and never, ever take ownership of anything you ve ever said previous to that moment.Here s a compilation of Hillary Clinton flip-flopping and bending reality for 13 straight minutes | 1real
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Trump Posts Report Of Clinton’s Secret Income… Immediately Goes Viral | WATCH: CNN Host Stuns Media, Says Clinton’s Team Thinks “She’s Nuts!”
“And giving money to the charity wouldn’t be enough. Bill and Hillary would have to get rich. So they did,” he wrote. “And all it took was brokering with the former president and acting Secretary of State.”
In other words, quid pro quo, i.e., the practice of making donations in exchange for favors. Band’s clients graciously parted with their money because they expected Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to fulfill their wishes — just like she had done with other donors countless times in the past .
And all the while, both Bill and Hillary Clinton pretended the Clinton Foundation was about helping people. What they forgot to mention was that their primary goal was to help themselves.
Please share this story on Facebook and Twitter and let us know what you think about the bombshell revelations in this Clinton Foundation memo! What do you think about the Clintons profiting from their charity? Scroll down to comment below! Advertisement Popular Right Now | 1real
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