Is this a deal Trump should take? If he walks away, will he make voters wonder if he s afraid to debate Cruz?DES MOINES, Iowa A pair of pro-Sen. [score]Ted Cruz (R-TX)[/score] Super PACs just offered $1.5 million for veterans if Donald Trump will debate Cruz one-on-one in Iowa before Sunday evening.Keep The Promise I and Keep The Promise II offered up the sizable donation for America s veterans on Wednesday evening.The principal donors of Keep the Promise I, the Mercer family, and Keep the Promise II, the Neugebauer family, in a joint statement released Wednesday evening said:Senator Cruz and Mr. Trump both respect the veterans and hold them in the highest regard but Senator Cruz respects the process and we are calling on Mr. Trump to do the same and debates are the purest form of democracy. Iowans and Americans deserve to hear from the frontrunners in this two-man race one last time. Not only would this be a heck of a debate, but it would also be a terrific opportunity to generate millions of dollars for the veterans.The press release made clear the parameters of the pro-Cruz Super PACs offer: The debate must be between just Trump and Cruz, must take place on or before Sunday Jan. 31 in Iowa, must be one-hour long, and the candidates can pick a jointly-agreed-to moderator themselves.The two organizations said in a press release:In response to Senator Ted Cruz s challenge of a one-on-one debate, the principal donors of the Keep the Promise I and II super PACs are offering presidential candidate Donald Trump a truly fantastic deal, pledging to donate $1.5 million to charities committed to helping veterans if Mr. Trump agrees to debate Senator Cruz in Iowa. This money is in addition to the millions of proceeds available to the veterans as a share of the revenues that this debate could secure from a host network.It s unclear at this time whether Trump would move forward with this offer. But at a rally in Des Moines here on Wednesday evening, Cruz announced he has a venue and time and place already set for it. We have a venue, we have a time all we re missing is a candidate, Cruz said.


We Are Change  Fierce battle for the city of Mosul continues to shock Iraq and the whole Middle East with no significant results. The leading role belongs to the assault of the Iraqi army and Kurdish Self-Defense Forces—which still lack experience and skills—to capture the city in the shortest time. However, 500 elite commandos of the U.S. Special Forces, which had been transferred this week at Mosul should give new impetus to the assault. U.S. combatants are supported by Apache and Chinook helicopters. According to the Inside Syria Media Center , the U.S. Special Forces are located at the forefront of Iraqi and Kurdish combat formations. Military experts believe these combat conditions are atypical for the special operation forces which are aimed to carry out reconnaissance and other specific tasks. Elite combatants in Mosul actually perform the functions of infantry soldiers, resulting in inevitable great losses, which are going to be covered up and silenced by the Washington officials in the usual manner. Although the U.S. officials have repeatedly stated Mosul should be liberated from terrorists to eliminate the Islamic State, the decision to use U.S. Special Forces looks unjustified at first glance. However, the protracted nature of the assault on the city is forcing the Pentagon to take extreme measures to complete the operation before the U.S. presidential election. Therefore, the White House uses this situation, first of all, as a large-scale PR-campaign to support the candidate of the Democratic Party Hillary Clinton. In this context, it becomes clear why the U.S. Government refrained from active struggle against terrorists for so long choosing an opportune moment strangely coincided with the end of the presidential elections in the United States. Liberation of Mosul should also demonstrate to the world community the importance and crucial role of the American nation in the fight against the Islamic State. It is even more regrettable in the light of the recent Wikileaks' revelations, which confirmed the United States and American tycoons' role in the creation and funding of the Islamic State terrorists. The post U.S. Special Forces Join Fight For Mosul appeared first on We Are Change .


Posted on October 26, 2016 by Michael DePinto  For anyone who has heard about, but not yet had a chance to learn the details about the undercover operation produced by James O'Keefe 's Project Veritas about the inner workings of the Democrat Party, you're in luck. I have written two different posts covering the subject from different angles, and this will be the third, covering Hillary's response. Each post include at least some, if not all of the undercover recordings released so far by James O'Keefe .  For over a year, O'Keefe risked his life by going deep undercover into the Democrat Party's factory of corruption, and just this week after everyone laughed at Trump for calling the election rigged, O'Keefe began releasing portions of the SHOCKING video he took while undercover. In the videos, some of the highest ranking members of the DNC make some of the most jaw-dropping admissions of guilt you've EVER heard in your lives, not the least of which is, "[w]e have a call with Hillary's campaign EVERY DAY to go over what areas need more focus."  In the first post I wrote titled, George Soros' Master Blueprint to Conquer the West Gets Caught on Camera , I go into detail about how the money funding all the illegal operations caught on film comes from Hillary Clinton 's largest donor, none other than George Soros . One very high ranking Democratic operative explains what happens with the money once it comes in. Upon receipt:  "[t]he campaign (Hillary Clinton campaign) pays the DNC, the DNC pays Democracy partners, Democracy Partners pays the Foval group, and the Foval Group goes and executes the sh** on the ground."  WOW! Then, when questioned about the legality, the response was:  "It doesn't matter what the friggin' legal and ethics people say, we need to win this motherf**ker."  That's just the beginning. The evidence gets infinitely worse. Then, in the second post I wrote titled, This Video Guarantees a Trump Win Even With Hillary's Fraud Machine , I present an honest look at both candidates, and how they operate. The post contains 100% of the released undercover footage so far, so you learn EXACTLY who is prescribing what to whom, and I assure you that nothing can prepare you for what James managed to catch on film. You'll be sick.  Then, I contrast the criminal enterprise Hillary is running with a montage of videos taken over a 30 year span of Donald Trump , and in each of the clips spanning all those years, Trump is asked about potentially running for the Presidency some day. Some of the answers are 30 years old, and all are spontaneous. Unlike the scripted (and now we know, totally false) statements we consistently get from Hillary, it is painfully obvious the answers Trump gives are genuine, and from the heart.  Love him or hate him, good luck arguing that Trump isn't authentic in the video. You get a good look at who would be in the Oval Office, and it's not the caricature that Team Hillary has tried so hard to create. On the other hand, Team Hillary's behavior is utterly indefensible, and she knows it, which is why she runs like hell in the video below the second reporters begin to ask her about the recordings.  There's nowhere to run now though Hillary… You and your staff have a lot to answer for… much of which is criminal in nature (go figure!)  Article posted with permission from The Last Great Stand  Michael DePinto is a member of the fast growing un-silent American majority that is sick of the insanity going on in this country right now. He has been accused of being vitriolic, bombastic, sarcastic to the extreme, and probably worse behind his back. Michael is sick of being branded a right wing-extremist, racist, homophobe, warmonger, or whatever other asinine adjectives Liberal Progressives have for the words COMMON SENSE these days. Michael is also a blogger at The Last Great Stand and an Attorney. Don't forget to follow the D.C. Clothesline on Facebook and Twitter. PLEASE help spread the word by sharing our articles on your favorite social networks. Share this:


On Independence Day, National Public Radio tweeted the entire Declaration of Independence to accompany their annual reading of the most important document in our nation s history.In Congress, July 4, 1776. NPR (@NPR) July 4, 2017The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, NPR (@NPR) July 4, 2017When in the Course of human events, NPR (@NPR) July 4, 2017it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, NPR (@NPR) July 4, 2017and to assume among the powers of the earth, NPR (@NPR) July 4, 2017the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature s God entitle them, NPR (@NPR) July 4, 2017a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. NPR (@NPR) July 4, 2017We hold these truths to be self-evident, NPR (@NPR) July 4, 2017that all men are created equal, NPR (@NPR) July 4, 2017that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, NPR (@NPR) July 4, 2017that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. NPR (@NPR) July 4, 2017 and so on.To people who generally listen to NPR and are typically well-informed (or anyone who graduated kindergarten), this was a wonderful expression of patriotism to be proud of. Then, of course, there are conservatives.While our frenemies on the Right love to wave their flags and call themselves patriots, the Declaration of Independence is apparently on their reading lists alongside the first half of the Second Amendment and parts of the Bible they can use to attack human rights. Conservatives swarmed NPR to whine and cry because they thought the tweets were get this an attack on Donald Trump.When NPR got to this part, things got a bit crazy:it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, NPR (@NPR) July 4, 2017Seriously, check this out.stop it braeden (@wokepolitik) July 4, 2017The responses to @NPR tweeting the Declaration of Independence are sort of hilarious and sad all at once ??? ? pic.twitter.com/yCp6PpSuYg Savannah Grimm (@savvygrimm) July 5, 2017*heavy sigh* pic.twitter.com/Pb35SNdKqe Melissa Martin (@DoubleEmMartin) July 4, 2017When you're triggered by the Declaration of Independence bc you want so badly to submit to King Donald the Doll-Handed . pic.twitter.com/aEyLEu24Qc Alexandra ? (@AlexandraAimee) July 4, 2017So, NPR is calling for revolution.Interesting way to condone the violence while trying to sound "patriotic".Your implications are clear. D.G.Davies (@JustEsrafel) July 4, 2017Wait wait don t tell me Shakespeare? Bernie? MSNBC? The libtards? No?? Dimo (@hipperfish) July 5, 2017That last person actually repented, which is strange for a Trump supporter, but admirable:Trump says he loves the poorly educated. The reaction to the Declaration of f*cking Independence shows us why.


Sarah Palin has said a lot of stupid things over the years but she definitely defended her America s village idiot crown with this one.The New York Times is looking to cut costs by vacating eight floors at their current headquarters to generate rental revenue and create a better work environment. Of course, conservative media is gloating about this by claiming that the newspaper is broke and will be laying off hundreds of employees. But it appears that the New York Times is simply restructuring and the moves will only affect a handful of jobs for the time being if any at all. Meanwhile, the publisher and CEO are giving up corner offices, which will save more money to keep more employees. So the plan is displacing everyone on those floors no matter what position they hold in the company.And so Sarah Palin decided to brag about the New York Times supposedly going broke (citing a right-wing website that profits on fake news and can t even bother to check their headlines for typos) by posting about it on Twitter, massacring lyrics from a popular Jamie Foxx and Kanye West song from 2005 in the process.NYT: I ain t saying you a golddigger, but there s a reason you messin with broke, broke, broke. https://t.co/PYkWNyyx9k Sarah Palin (@SarahPalinUSA) December 19, 2016Seriously, that does not make any sense. And Twitter destroyed her for it.@SarahPalinUSA me reading this trash ass tweet. pic.twitter.com/3lZw8UEXox Erick Fernandez (@ErickFernandez) December 19, 2016@SarahPalinUSA congratulations, your caption is somehow stupider than the article it s quoting. That s a tremendous achievement. Vanessa Selbst (@VanessaSelbst) December 19, 2016.@SarahPalinUSA [P] pic.twitter.com/rGzbFTf3eb Paul and Storm (@paulandstorm) December 19, 2016Hi, @SarahPalinUSA. Pass this along to your homies @YoungCons: https://t.co/kX40uejRmI #unpresidented #commoncore pic.twitter.com/H0ACfWDdsr Chad Smith (@chadssmith) December 19, 2016Can t wait until @SarahPalinUSA tweets the radio edits All of the Lights and New Slaves #SarahPalinMusicTweets https://t.co/4I1RC77SJV Andrew Jerell Jones (@sluggahjells) December 19, 2016@SarahPalinUSA delete this Philip Lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) December 19, 2016@Phil_Lewis_ @SarahPalinUSA she s totes appropriating black ???? music ? and it don t make sense Rohrabacher (@RohrabacherMD) December 19, 2016@katienolan @SarahPalinUSA it s like when you had your friends over to go swimming but your mom comes out and she s wasted Mike miller (@OtherMikeMiller) December 19, 2016@SarahPalinUSA https://t.co/Y8dvcVug9w Gabe Bergado (@gabebergado) December 19, 2016@SarahPalinUSA Welcome to 2005, Sarah. Gabe Ort z (@TUSK81) December 19, 2016@SarahPalinUSA A little early in the day for cocktails, don t you think? The first step is admitting you have a problem. Greg Swartz (@GJSwartz) December 19, 2016@SarahPalinUSA one of the dumbest things you ve ever said. Which is shocking considering that you re a fucking moron The Saurus (@TheSaurus831) December 19, 2016@SarahPalinUSA Don t you have a job to quit? Joseph Finn (@JosephFinn) December 19, 2016@SarahPalinUSA Damn, what did Bristol do now . Harvey King of Shade (@bodysculptorokc) December 19, 2016You can delete you account now, Sarah. Nobody will ever take your place as America s village idiot.Featured Image: The Immoral Minority


The Washington Post is of course, befuddled as to what all of this means, so let us break it down for them: FOX News moderators hardly gave Ted Cruz the opportunity to speak, so the viewers who liked what they saw in the brief moments given to Cruz had to do their own research on him (and any of the other non-Trump or non-RINO candidates). I think that about covers it It will be interesting to see what the TV ratings for Thursday night s presidential primary debate look like once they come out.The most Googled candidate in the debate at any point was Ted Cruz with 67 percent more searches at his peak than the next most-searched candidate s peak.The search volume is all relative to each other; a 100, the Cruz peak, is the most search in a minute for a candidate.On average, Trump held the most sustained search interest, surprise, surprise. Notice that Ben Carson maintained steady interest, too followed by Cruz and Marco Rubio.The key point: We have no idea what this means. We don t know if the spike in Cruz searches will convert people to his cause, or the new attention to Carson will boost him in the polls. We don t know. But we do, at least, have some sense of who people wanted to know more about. We ll see if this reveals anything more significant down the road.What the Republican field not named Trump needed to do during the Fox News debate was get people to spread the attention around a bit. With the debate over, it looks like at least some of them did.In the first half hour, people Googled Ted Cruz. As the night progressed, Ben Carson and Marco Rubio started to attract some attention. Jeb Bush got people interested when the moderators mentioned his alleged comments about the businessman perhaps because they wanted to look up what he said.All data in the graphs above comes from Google Trends.


Donald Trump supporters thought that when they donated to his presidential campaign, they were actually receiving Make America Great Again hats, books, and other merchandise actually autographed by their idol. But like so much else with Trump, this was a scam too.These items offered on his website, including signed hats and signed copies of his book The Art of the Deal, were heavily advertised on social media and by Trump himself. But what some buyers may not have realized is that it seems Trump didn t actually sign any of the items available for purchase on his website with his own hand. Instead, the autographs all appear to have been done by an autopen machine, a device used to automatically sign a signature.The use of an autopen machine only became evident to some after Trump won the election, when opportunists who had purchased such items off Trump s website took to eBay to re-sell what they believed would be a more valuable John Hancock.On eBay, the Trump Tribe suddenly realized that all the merchandise had been signed in the exact same identical position, impossible if he had been signing them by hand.One fan told ABC News, You think for $183, you have to be getting the real thing. Had I known, not only would I not have bought this, but I m pretty sure no one would have. Another told the news outlet that he would like to receive a refund after shelling out money for a fake Trump autograph.Trump relies on a world in which people simply accept the snake oil he s selling and don t bother to actually verify what he s saying and compare it to reality. It s a formula that has worked for him for years and years, while he profits and walks away from businesses in collapse. And now he ll be running the country.


Former White House Chief Strategist Stephen K. Bannon left the White House today and has already returned as Executive Chairman of Breitbart News, where he will continue to go to war for President Trump.Unfortunately for the Left, Steve Bannon will continue to go to war for Trump against his opponents, he just won t be conducting the war from the White House anymore. There are very few conservatives in America who really know how to beat the left at their own game. Conservatives need someone like Steve Bannon more than ever right now. Fortunately for us, he doesn t plan to walk away from the fight. Josh Caplan reports that Bannon will continue his fight for Trump from the outside after his exit from the White House today.FULL STATEMENT: Bannon says he s going to war for Trump after White House exit pic.twitter.com/e61m6bb74O Josh Caplan (@joshdcaplan) August 18, 2017 If there s any confusion out there, let me clear it up: I m leaving the White House and going to war for Trump against his opponents on Capitol Hill, in the media, and in corporate America, Bannon told Bloomberg News Friday in his first public comments after his departure was announced.Bannon led the evening editorial meeting at Breitbart, where he resumed his role as executive chairman, the website said in a statement. A person who was on the call said Bannon called on the group to hunker down and work like never before to advance conservative causes. Bloomberg The populist-nationalist movement got a lot stronger today, said Breitbart News Editor-in-Chief Alex Marlow. Breitbart gained an executive chairman with his finger on the pulse of the Trump agenda. Breitbart News CEO and President Larry Solov agreed. Breitbart s pace of global expansion will only accelerate with Steve back, said Solov. The sky s the limit. Bannon joined the Trump campaign on August 17, 2016 nearly one year ago to the day of his return to Breitbart. He submitted his intention to leave the White House on August 7 of this year. White House Chief of Staff John Kelly and Steve Bannon have mutually agreed today would be Steve s last day, said White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders Friday afternoon. We are grateful for his service and wish him the best. Breitbart


Hillary Is a Communist Spy- Alex Jones, Dave Hodges and Global Research  Hillary Clinton wanted for treason.  Alex Jones came out with his reasons why he believes that Hillary Clinton is a Communist Chinese spy. Alex and I both have our beliefs as to why Clinton should be considered to be a Communist operative and we both come at this from different angles. Alex maintains that Hillary is a Communist Chinese spy. I maintain that Hillary is a KGB operative. However, I believe at the time we are at today, we are both right. Alex Jones maintains that the Chinese will emerge as the dominant power whose mission it will be to usher in the NWO. I agree wholeheartedly with that statement. For the Moment, China and Russia Are Allied  Russia and China are allied and the linchpin of the Russia/Chinese alliance are the massive energy deals that Russia and China have mutually entered into. In something that our main stream media (MSM) never talks about, Russia and China are militarily aligned in Syria. as I have noted in past articles. Therefore, in the present moment, when Hillary is working for the Russians, she is also, by default, working for the Chinese.  Alex Jones has a very interesting take on why Hillary's association with China will help perpetuate our downfall.  Global Research Declares Clinton to be Foreign Spy  It is at this point that Alex Jones and Dave Hodges find common ground.  From Global Research : During her 4 years as Secretary of State of the United States (2009-2014), Hillary Clinton controlled US foreign policy. She had access to the most confidential information and state documents, numbering in the tens of thousands, from all of the major government departments and agencies, Intelligence, FBI, the Pentagon, Treasury and the office of the President.  She had unfettered access to vital and secret information affecting US policy in all the key regions of the empire…"  "…There are several lines of inquiry against Mme. Clinton:  (1) Did she work with, as yet unnamed, foreign governments and intelligence services to strengthen their positions and against the interest of the United States?  (2) Did she provide information on the operations and policy positions of various key US policymakers to competitors, adversaries or allies undermining the activities of military, intelligence and State Department officials?  (3) Did she seek to enhance her personal power within the US administration to push her aggressive policy of serial pre-emptive wars over and against veteran State Department and Pentagon officials who favored traditional diplomacy and less violent confrontation?  (4) Did she prepare a 'covert team', using foreign or dual national operative, to lay the groundwork for her bid for the presidency and her ultimate goal of supreme military and political power? (Ed. Note: My assertion)  Clinton's covert war policies, which included the violent overthrow of the elected Ukraine government, were carried out by her 'Lieutenant' Under-Secretary of State Victoria Nuland, a virulent neo-conservative holdover from the previous Bush Administration and someone committed to provoking Russia and to enhancing Israel's power in the Middle East. Clinton's highly dangerous and economically destabilizing 'brainchild' of militarily encircling China, the so-called 'pivot to Asia', would have required clandestine exchanges with elements in the Pentagon – out of the State Department and possibly Executive oversight.  In other words, within the Washington political circuit, Former Secretary of State Clinton's escalation of nuclear war policies toward Russia and China required secretive correspondences which would not necessarily abide with the policies and intelligence estimates of other US government agencies and with private business interests…" (EDITOR'S NOTE: I MAINTAIN THAT THIS ISSUE IS ALSO CONTAINED IN THE "MISSING EMAILS").  My main interest toward Hillary Clinton's treason has recently focused on one issue, namely, the Clinton Foundation's selling uranium to Russia. I would argue that Clinton's policies which pushed the US into a war mode against Russia was done so Clinton would have a willing buyer of uranium (i.e. Russia) should war every come.  Again, from Global Research:  "The executive leadership now faces the problem of how to deal with a traitor , who is the Democratic Party nominee for US President, without undermining the US quest for global power. How do the executive leadership and intelligence agencies back a foreign spy for president, who has been deeply compromised and can be blackmailed? This may explain why the FBI, NSA, and CIA hesitate to press charges; hesitate to even seriously investigate, despite the obvious nature of her offenses. Most of all it explains why there is no indication of the identity of Secretary Clinton's correspondents in the various reports so far available"… Hillary Clinton: An Agent for Russia  I published my assertion that Clinton was a traitor in 2015. I repeated this charge nearly two months ago.  A former key member of the Obama administration and current Presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton, has proven herself to be the Ethel Rosenberg of her generation. You may recall your U.S. history as Ethel Rosenberg sold nuclear secrets to the Soviet Union at the height of the Cold War. In an act every bit as egregious as Ethel Rosenberg's treason, Hillary Clinton sold uranium to the Russians while serving as the Secretary of State. Ironically, the original source on this treasonous act committed by Clinton was none other than the liberal rag we call the New York Times . The proof is undeniable that Hillary Clinton committed the treasonous act of selling uranium to the Russians while Secretary of State , as reported in the New York Times. The Russian blood money, as reported, is being held in an offshore account and is being used to fund her run for the Presidency.  From the New York Times….  "A Uranium One sign that points to a 35,000 acre ranch by John Christensen, near the town of Gillette, Wyoming. Uranium One has the mining rights Mr. Christensen's property." This is proof of more BLM chicanery which will involve multiple BLM ranches.  The New York Times further asserts that members of the Canadian mining industry, who have supported Clinton's campaign, financed and sold off to the Russians a company known as Uranium One. Uranium One is directly responsible for transferring uranium from BLM land to the Russians through an off-shore holding company. Again, according to the NY Times, the Russians, through three separate transactions, acquired Uranium One, while paying off the Clintons and their Canadian partners from 2009-2013. The business deal also involved paying Bill Clinton $500,000 dollars for a speech on energy which was delivered in Moscow.  Conclusion Alex Jones, Global Research and Dave Hodges all agree on central point. Hillary Clinton is a foreign asset dedicated to the destruction of the United States. Alex maintains that Hillary is aligned with China and I see evidence that she is aligned with Russia. At this point in time, I do not view this as a discrepancy. Nor, do I have an issue with believing that the globalists have chosen China to usher in the NWO agenda. The central point here is that this nation sits upon the precipice of putting a person into the White House who is an absolute traitor to this country. To this point, whether it is the Chinese flavor or the Russian flavor that Hillary represents, "what does it matter?" She is going continue to sell America out to her enemies. It is interesting to note that during the Grid EX drills, which simulated a take down of the grid, both the Chinese and the Russians were invited to participate. Finally, when Alex Jones, Dave Hodges and Global Research all reach the same conclusion, via different means, THAT HILLARY CLINTON IS A SPY, perhaps it is time to pay closer attention to who we are electing as our next President.


Is This Why Comey Broke: A Stack Of Resignation Letters From Furious FBI Agents Source: Zero Hedge  Conspiracy theories have swirled in recent days as to why FBI Director James Comey reopened Hillary's email investigation after just closing it back in July concluding that, although Hillary had demonstrated gross negligence in her establishment of a private email server, that "no reasonable prosecutor" would bring a case against her. Democrats, after lavishing Comey with praise for months on concluding his investigation in an "impartial" way, have since lashed out at him for seeking to influence the 2016 election cycle with Hillary herself describing his recent actions as "deeply troubling". Republicans, on the other hand, have praised Comey's recent efforts as an attempt to correct a corrupt investigation that seemingly ignored critical evidence while granting numerous immunity agreements to Clinton staffers.  According to the Daily Mail , and a source close to James Comey, the decision, at least in part, came after he "could no longer resist mounting pressure by mutinous agents in the FBI" who "felt that he betrayed them and brought disgrace on the bureau by letting Hillary off with a slap on the wrist."  James Comey's decision to revive the investigation of Hillary Clinton's email server and her handling of classified material came after he could no longer resist mounting pressure by mutinous agents in the FBI , including some of his top deputies, according to a source close to the embattled FBI director.  'The atmosphere at the FBI has been toxic ever since Jim announced last July that he wouldn't recommend an indictment against Hillary,' said the source, a close friend who has known Comey for nearly two decades, shares family outings with him, and accompanies him to Catholic mass every week.  'Some people, including department heads, stopped talking to Jim, and even ignored his greetings when they passed him in the hall,' said the source. 'They felt that he betrayed them and brought disgrace on the bureau by letting Hillary off with a slap on the wrist.'  According to the source, Comey fretted over the problem for months and discussed it at great length with his wife, Patrice.  He told his wife that he was depressed by the stack of resignation letters piling up on his desk from disaffected agents. The letters reminded him every day that morale in the FBI had hit rock bottom.  'The people he trusts the most have been the angriest at him,' the source continued. 'And that includes his wife, Pat. She kept urging him to admit that he had been wrong when he refused to press charges against the former secretary of state.  Though we're sure there are many facets behind Comey's decision making process, we can all be quite certain, at this point, that he's not motivated by a desire to make friends having now alienated just about everyone in Washington, both in law enforcement and in both political parties. In fact, after Tim Kaine just last week praised Comey as a "wonderful" career public servant with the "highest standards of integrity" ....  ...everything has now been turned on it's head with Hillary calling his latest moves "unprecedented and deeply troubling"...seemingly implying an attempt, on the part of Comey, to "rig" the election from Trump .  Meanwhile, President Obama and Attorney General Loretta Lynch are apparently also "furious" with Comey over his recent decision.  His announcement about the revived investigation, which came just 11 days before the presidential election, was greeted with shock and dismay by Attorney General Loretta Lynch and the prosecutors at the Justice Department.  'Jim told me that Lynch and Obama are furious with him,' the source said.  'Lynch and Obama haven't contacted Jim directly,' said the source, 'but they've made it crystal clear through third parties that they disapprove of his effort to save face.'  And while the decision to reopen the case may appease FBI agents and republicans, in the short-term, we suspect it does very little to restore overall faith in his competence. As such, we continue to question just how long Comey can hold out before being forced to resign his post. At a bare minimum, in light of his continued questionable judgement and serious doubts raised about the integrity of the first investigation, we fail to understand how an independent investigation into Hillary's email server isn't warranted.  OOOOh! The remorse! The GUILT ! I can almost feel it from here!  Get off it, ....you jabbering, fast talking, asshole.  Statements? ... 'Reopening investigations' (Is that a maybe you wiil have a couple of interns fiddle with Emails a little longer?) and then having legal promptly announce they will take MONTHS and MONTHS to complete the case? .... We Have AN ELECTION LOOKING AT US! ..We need to know who the bad guys are. But, then we already know, don't we?  No, a resignation is in order. .. Declare a 'conflict of interest' and turn states evidence would be more like it. .... You - Are - A - Crook Dir Comey.  I know ZHers are getting tired of seeing this but for the benefit of any little clueless FBI junior G-Men out there that can still read English:


The pace of approvals for nuclear reactor restarts in Japan, where most plants remain shut following the Fukushima disaster, is unlikely to pick up in the coming years, the new head of Japan s nuclear regulator said in an interview on Tuesday. The comments from Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) Chairman Toyoshi Fuketa suggest Japan may not make headway in meeting its electricity generation targets. By 2030, the country was expecting nuclear to power about one-fifth of its generation. However, utilities are having difficulty grappling with tougher rules on protecting reactors from natural disasters in the earthquake-prone country. Following the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011, the world s worst since Chernobyl in 1986, the NRA was set up in 2012 to draft new safety standards that have been described as among the world s toughest. Since then, 12 reactors at six nuclear plants have passed the safety requirements needed to restart, but only four reactors are currently operating. One more reactor that resumed operations after meeting the requirements has been shut down for scheduled maintenance. Most of the approvals have been for reactors in western Japan and not on the east coast where Tokyo Electric Power Co s Fukushima Daiichi station was located. The plant suffered multiple reactor meltdowns after an earthquake on the northeast coast caused a tsunami that swamped the site. We have accumulated experience in safety reviews, but comparatively speaking, many of the plants in eastern Japan that we are reviewing now have difficult natural conditions, Fuketa, 60, said in the interview. It s doubtful the pace of approvals would quicken. A majority of Japanese oppose nuclear power after Fukushima and restarts are a delicate political issue rather than just a matter of meeting technical safety requirements. When asked if he could place a number of how many reactors may be approved for a resumption of operations in the next five years, Fuketa said: I honestly do not know. About a dozen other reactors are going through safety checks as part of a relicensing process under the new rules. Fuketa is known for taking tough positions during safety reviews of reactors and has been instrumental in directing the clean-up of the wrecked Fukushima plant. Japan s government set an energy mix plan in 2015 that forecasts relying on nuclear power to generate between 20 to 22 percent of the country s electricity in 2030. That requires having about 30 reactors operating by then. Japan s nine regional power utilities and a wholesaler, Japan Atomic Power Co, have 42 nuclear reactors for commercial use, with a total generating capacity of 41,482 megawatts.


A U.S. congressional draft bill to steer Puerto Rico through its economic crisis was released on Tuesday with elements of U.S. bankruptcy law opposed by creditors who want to keep the island's debt talks out of court. The draft, circulated by the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Natural Resources, includes sections of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code that allow bankrupt entities under certain circumstances to force creditors to take reduced payouts. An official draft of the bill is expected to be released on April 11 after a public comment period. Puerto Rico has $70 billion in debt, with major bond payments due in coming months. It also has an unfunded state pension liability of nearly $44 billion. The bill "provides Puerto Rico with tools to impose discipline over its finances, meet its obligations and restore confidence in its institutions," Utah Republican Rob Bishop, the committee's chairman, said in a statement. "We appreciate the constructive efforts by Chairman Bishop and the House Natural Resources Committee to begin drafting legislation to address Puerto Rico's fiscal and economic crisis. But the current draft needs improvements," said a statement from a Treasury spokesperson. "Final legislation must provide Puerto Rico with tools to achieve a lasting, workable solution to this crisis and create a path to recovery for the people of Puerto Rico." The Republican-led panel's bill would create a federal board to oversee the island's finances, monitor its accounting and help curb spending. It would also require Puerto Rico to make efforts to restructure debt consensually with creditors. If those talks failed, the island or its public entities could file for a court-supervised debt restructuring process based on key statutes within U.S. bankruptcy law. That would allow Puerto Rico to force such deals on holdout creditors. The bill's elements were unexpected because creditors and House Republicans had largely opposed bankruptcy for Puerto Rico. The Natural Resources Committee had said that "retroactively adding territories" like Puerto Rico to the federal bankruptcy code "is ill-conceived and would undermine the rule of law." A congressional aide stressed that the draft legislation was not a bankruptcy law, and does not directly add Puerto Rico to U.S. bankruptcy code, though it follows similar language. The Obama Administration has advocated to allow Puerto Rico to restructure its debt in a court-sanctioned process. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi criticized the "sweeping powers of the oversight board proposed" in the bill. The bill in its final form may include language that protects an existing consensual restructuring deal between creditors and the power utility, PREPA, the congressional aide said. PREPA earlier this year reached the deal with creditors holding roughly 70 percent of its $8.3 billion in debt. "The bill in its current form is fiscally irresponsible," financial adviser Stephen Spencer of Houlihan Lokey said in an emailed statement. The company's clients include major Puerto Rico creditors such as OppenheimerFunds and Franklin Advisers. "As we showed with the PREPA deal, fair solutions can be reached between Puerto Rico and its creditors that benefit all stakeholders. However, the Discussion Draft Bill is worse for creditors than Chapter 9," Spencer said. How the oversight board treats the island's General Obligation bonds, which is typically regarded as the most senior debt, versus pension payments is also a source of concern for creditors. The oversight board will look at each bond issued and make a determination on how it relates to other creditors under the existing law, the congressional aide said. If the GO bonds are constitutionally protected and within their limits then the board would take that into consideration, the aide said.


Reza Zarrab, a prominent Turkish gold trader who has been jailed in New York on charges of violating the United States sanctions on Iran, has added Rudolph W. Giuliani, the former New York mayor, to his legal team, adding intrigue to a case that has been steeped in international politicking between Turkey and the United States. Just last month, Mr. Giuliani and another prominent lawyer, Michael B. Mukasey, traveled to meet with the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, as part of their efforts on behalf of Mr. Zarrab, according to a person briefed on the meeting who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the trip. Mr. Giuliani is close to President Donald J. Trump, raising the question of whether Mr. Zarrab has retained him in an effort to negotiate a beneficial resolution of his case at the highest levels of the Trump administration. Mr. Mukasey is a former federal judge and attorney general in the George W. Bush administration. Since Mr. Trump's election, there has been a warming of ties between Turkey and the United States, with officials close to Mr. Erdogan quoted as saying they see the prospect of a fresh start in relations. The United States attorney's office in Manhattan said in a court filing on Monday evening that it was told that Mr. Giuliani and Mr. Mukasey "have been retained by the defendant and are involved in, and will continue to be involved in, efforts to explore a potential disposition of the criminal charges in this matter. " Mr. Zarrab, 33, who was born in Iran and moved to Turkey as an infant, has dual citizenship. He was arrested in March 2016 as he arrived on a trip to Miami, and was sent to New York to face charges. Prosecutors, arguing against bail, said Mr. Zarrab had used his considerable wealth and influence to be released from a prison in Turkey after he was detained there in 2013 as part of a corruption investigation of businessmen with close ties to Mr. Erdogan, then Turkey's prime minister. Mr. Erdogan has publicly criticized Mr. Zarrab's prosecution in the United States. According to Turkish news reports, Mr. Erdogan said last fall that he had raised Mr. Zarrab's case with President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. during talks at the United Nations, and Mr. Erdogan also said there were "malicious" intentions in the prosecution, according to the reports. Mr. Zarrab has been charged with facilitating millions of dollars in illicit transactions on behalf of Iran and other sanctioned entities through the use of front companies and false documentation. Prosecutors have said he "allegedly tricked numerous U. S. financial institutions into processing barred transactions. " Mr. Zarrab has also been charged with conspiracies to commit money laundering and bank fraud. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges, and was ordered detained without bond. Mr. Zarrab's decision to retain Mr. Giuliani and Mr. Mukasey was revealed on Monday in a court filing by the office of Joon H. Kim, the acting United States attorney in Manhattan, who took office this month after Preet Bharara was dismissed by the Trump administration. Mr. Kim's office said it was advising the judge, Richard M. Berman, of potential conflicts of interest posed by representation of Mr. Zarrab by the two lawyers, noting that Mr. Giuliani's firm, Greenberg Traurig, and Mr. Mukasey's firm, Debevoise Plimpton, had each represented banks that prosecutors say were victims in the case. Mr. Kim's office asked that the judge hold a hearing on the issue. Mr. Zarrab's lead lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, responded in a letter to the judge, saying no hearing was necessary because no lawyers from either firm "will have any involvement in the trial preparation or trial in this case, and neither Mr. Giuliani nor Mr. Mukasey intends to file a notice of appearance before your honor. " "Their roles will not require any appearing in court," Mr. Brafman wrote. Mr. Brafman, Mr. Mukasey and a spokeswoman for Mr. Giuliani each had no comment on Monday. The United States attorney's office also declined to comment. Mr. Kim's office, responding with the filing in the evening, argued that a hearing was "especially appropriate and necessary at this time if, as the letter from defense counsel indicates, Mr. Giuliani and Mr. Mukasey's involvement in this case is intended to occur entirely outside of the court's purview and knowledge. " Adding to the intrigue surrounding the Zarrab case is the fact that Mr. Giuliani has recommended Mr. Mukasey's son, Marc L. Mukasey, a fellow lawyer at Greenberg Traurig, to Mr. Trump to become the next United States attorney in Manhattan, according to two people briefed on the discussions. The firm's spokeswoman said the younger Mr. Mukasey has no involvement in the Zarrab case.


Venezuela s pro-government legislative superbody ruled on Wednesday that parties who boycotted this month s local elections had lost legitimacy, potentially eliminating the main opposition groups from the 2018 presidential race. The decree by the Constituent Assembly - created in a controversial July vote boycotted by the opposition and widely condemned abroad - infuriated Venezuela s opposition and drew criticism from the United States. The Venezuelan government and its illegitimate Constituent Assembly are inventing rules as they go along. This is not democracy, the U.S. Embassy said on Twitter. The Justice First, Democratic Action and Popular Will parties did not run candidates in this month s mayoral polls in protest against what they said was a biased election system designed to perpetuate leftist President Nicolas Maduro s dictatorship. Maduro had warned that could cost them participation in future votes and the Constituent Assembly echoed that position on Wednesday, saying the parties had lost their legal status and should re-apply to the National Election Board. Given that the board is pro-Maduro and authorities are constantly throwing up obstacles to the opposition, that could well mean those parties are now effectively unable to run in the presidential election due before the end of 2018. Maduro, 55, is expected to run for re-election despite the disastrous state of the economy in Venezuela, where millions are skipping meals and struggling to survive amid one of the world s highest inflation rates and widespread shortages of basics. Two of his potentially biggest rivals already cannot run against him: Popular Will leader Leopoldo Lopez is under house arrest, while Justice First leader Henrique Capriles is prohibited from holding political office. We alert the world and all democratic governments that banning opposition political parties is yet another measure by the dictatorship that deserves rejection and condemnation, said Capriles party colleague Tomas Guanipa. Maduro and his allies say the Constituent Assembly has brought peace to the OPEC nation after months of opposition protests earlier this year in which more than 125 people were killed. Demonstrators said they were fighting for freedom, but the government condemned them as violent subversives. It s time for the coupsters to face the constitution. Let no one undermine the people s participation and the democratic system, Constituent Assembly head Delcy Rodriguez said after the passage of Wednesday s measure.


When trying to figure out who these people are who are actually considering voting for Trump, or have already, two things come to mind they re either racist or just dumber than a bag of bricks.Trump has been so vague on policy and his supporters simply don t seem to care. They hear about his hatred of Muslims and Mexicans and come running in droves. His plans: a wall, the best wall; healthcare, the best healthcare; military, the best military; education, the best education; guns. He literally offers no specifics. He just says what comes to mind and these imbecilic supporters cheer. Watch any rally and you ll soon realize that he s not running for the nation, he s running for himself. Count how many times he mentions polls. Notice how few times he mentions legitimate policy ideas. Keep track of how many times he uses me, my or I. This vagueness is working though, because while at a diner in Nashville, Tennessee, Anna Kooiman of Fox News spoke with a Trump supporter by the name of Austin who said Trump is a proven businessman who has employed tens of thousands of people, he s a man that knows how to get the job done right. Austin is basically just repeating, verbatim, what Trump says at every single one of his rallies and events. Trump proclaims over and over that he is a great businessman who has employed tens of thousands of people and knows how to get the job done right. It s pretty much guaranteed that he ll say this at the next debate as well.When Kooiman pressed this Trump supporter on why he thinks Trump isn t specific on any policy, he replied: I am not concerned about that. I think he is not being specific so he does not give his competition everything that he s doing so they copy him. And Fox News being Fox News, Kooiman said, There s a great theory there and he s a dealmaker. So, let s get this straight, Trump isn t being specific because he doesn t want people to copy him? That s his grand plan to lure voters. That s like a salesman saying, I have this thing, and you re gonna love it, I just can t tell you what it is until you buy it. Who in their right mind would buy something they know nothing about? Apparently, this guy Austin in Nashville.Trump really wasn t kidding when he said he loves the poorly educated. Here s the video from Huffington Post:


Freedom Caucus Chairman Rep. Mark Meadows met with the Vice President late Monday after which he told reporters the caucus was "intrigued" at an offer to give states an option to waive two provisions of Obamacare. [Meadows established that the White House had not offered legislative text for a deal, but expects text within 24 hours. CNN reported that Meadows told reporters the provisions involved were the "essential health benefits" mandate, which dictates what insurers must cover, and a community health ratings requirement on insurers which prohibits charging higher premiums based on health status. Conservatives have lobbied to have the two Obamacare provisions strike from the House Leadership's Obamacare replacement plan, the American Health Care Act (AHCA). The potential new deal appears to be an alternative option that would allow states to opt out. There is no final deal and no Freedom Caucus members have changed their positions on AHCA, was the message from Meadows. "There is no deal in principle there is a solid idea that was offered," he said according to the Hill. Lawmakers indicated the White House may be looking for a vote later this week, but Meadows warned of voting too soon and without time to allow the Congressional Budget Office to offer analysis. He did offer that they are encouraged by the progress that appears to be happening. Some members of the moderate Tuesday Group, which could also stall passage of the AHCA, met with Pence earlier in the day at the White House according to the report. Over the weekend Sen. Rand Paul, who has opposed the AHCA, met and golfed with the President in Virginia. Paul took a brief moment to tell reporters that he was "very optimistic" about progress on repealing Obamacare. Follow Michelle Moons on Twitter @MichelleDiana


Katie Uhlaender was a United States Olympian when she competed at the Sochi Games in February 2014. She was seeking her first Olympic medal, and after four runs down an icy 1. skeleton course, she was sure she had succeeded. She had not. She placed fourth, finishing of a second behind Elena Nikitina of Russia, who took third. Two years later, after replaying the competition in her mind countless times, Ms. Uhlaender learned that Ms. Nikitina was among dozens of Russian athletes at the Sochi Games who were part of a doping program, according to the longtime director of Russia's antidoping lab, Grigory Rodchenkov. "My gut just got all wrenchy," Ms. Uhlaender said recently, tears welling up as she slowed her pedaling on a stationary bike. "It's opening a wound. " Dr. Rodchenkov's account of how doping controls were breached at the 2014 Olympics has tarnished the performance of dozens of Russian athletes and marred the integrity of the Games. His claims also have left many athletes who finished behind Russians feeling cheated. "I'll never know what it feels like to stand on the podium in Sochi, but I want to put this behind me," Ms. Uhlaender said. "I want to know: Am I a bronze medalist?" Ms. Nikitina's name appears on a spreadsheet provided to The New York Times by Dr. Rodchenkov. The document, which he said was sent to him by Russia's sports ministry two weeks before the Sochi Games, lists key competition dates for each athlete — in Ms. Nikitina's case, Feb. 14, the date of her final two races, in which she had some of the fastest running starts at the Games. That list, Dr. Rodchenkov said, guided him in his nightly ritual in Sochi: surreptitiously swapping out the urine of Russia's top athletes, at least 15 of whom won medals. An investigation into Dr. Rodchenkov's account is expected to conclude within days, three weeks before the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro are set to begin, and the full results of the investigation, due on Monday, could prove explosive. Dr. Rodchenkov has cooperated with the inquiry, which was commissioned in May by the World Agency and has been conducted by Richard McLaren, a Canadian lawyer who was part of a commission that last fall accused Russia of systematic doping. In a preliminary report last month, Mr. McLaren, who received the Sochi spreadsheet, called Dr. Rodchenkov's story "both credible and verifiable. " Last month, global sports officials barred Russian track and field athletes from the Rio Games. WADA has said that if the allegations prove true, it will consider recommending all Russian athletes be barred from competition Russia's sports minister, Vitaly Mutko, said he would resign if such a ban were imposed. In an interview in Moscow this week, Mr. Mutko denied that the government had been involved in any scheme, but expressed concern that his deputy was accused of giving Dr. Rodchenkov direct orders. Mr. Mutko was alternately confident in Russia's athletes and contrite about their attitudes toward drugs. "We have to persuade people you can win without doping," he said. "It's the culture. It's a problem. " Waiting for the Sochi inquiry to conclude, Ms. Uhlaender, who will turn 32 next week, has fought to keep her focus on the next Winter Olympics, in 2018 in South Korea. Still, she is concerned that sports officials will fail to deliver the rigorous and decisive result she craves. "I'm worried Sochi will be forgotten, and it scares me," she said. "Rodchenkov said he tampered with the samples, and there are rules against that. I just want to see them follow the rules. " Ms. Uhlaender is training in the desert, spending her days lifting weights in Arizona with fellow professional athletes at a gym and sprinting alongside dozens of other Olympians, mostly track and field athletes preparing for Rio. Between workouts, there is conversation of all kinds — about diets, "Game of Thrones," the price of gas — but there is little mention of the allegations of widespread doping by the Russians. Ms. Uhlaender said she had talked about the situation twice with her coach. "What are you going to do about it?" he asked her before moving on. "The worst thing I can do is talk about it," she said over a chicken lettuce wrap and four shots of espresso. When not training, she meditates works in education for a traumatic brain injury center, having recovered from a concussion herself watches Netflix and exchanges texts with two Navy SEAL friends who have helped keep her tough, she said. "When I come to train, I don't want drama," she said, fiddling with a National League championship ring belonging to her father, the former baseball player Ted Uhlaender. The ring, which she tucks into the back of her sports bra as she works out, hangs on a silver chain alongside a tiny baseball charm that holds his ashes. One of the few people Ms. Uhlaender has talked to about the doping scandal in recent months is Ms. Nikitina, her Russian competitor. In May, days after Dr. Rodchenkov's account became public, Ms. Uhlaender and Ms. Nikitina exchanged more than a dozen messages on Facebook. Ms. Nikitina expressed shock at Dr. Rodchenkov's statements. "We all think this is politics!" she wrote. "We basically joke about it. " She added: "Each athlete sure of himself! As we say in Russia, 'Such complex situations make us stronger. '" Ms. Nikitina, who did not respond to messages from The Times, told Ms. Uhlaender her name was not on Dr. Rodchenkov's spreadsheet, and she emphasized the sacrifices she had made to train twice a day to become a better athlete. When Ms. Uhlaender asked if Russian Olympians had doped at Sochi, Ms. Nikitina said that she could speak only for skeleton racers, and that the answer was no. Dr. Rodchenkov's spreadsheet listed five Russian skeleton athletes, including Alexander Tretyakov, who won gold at the Games. Asked about the allegations this year, the Russian Bobsled and Skeleton Federation wrote in an email that all of its athletes "underwent doping control procedures in accordance to the rules," adding, "All of them were clean, and not one positive result was found. " Mr. Mutko said in Moscow this week that Mr. Tretyakov and other accused athletes had long careers with clean histories. "These athletes didn't appear in sport all of a sudden," he said. "No whiskey would be enough to stop them," he said, referring to the mixture of steroids and liquor that Dr. Rodchenkov said he developed and distributed to coaches to help Russian athletes absorb drugs more quickly before traveling to international competitions for testing. Mr. Mutko said, however, that if Mr. McLaren's inquiry proved Dr. Rodchenkov's account true, the athletes in question would be disciplined. "I am not on the list!" Ms. Nikitina wrote to Ms. Uhlaender in a recent exchange. "I hope that the truth will prevail! And the perpetrators of this scandal will be punished!" Medalists like Ms. Nikitina received high praise for their performance at Sochi. After the Games, President Vladimir V. Putin presented Ms. Nikitina, a Olympian, with a state award, the Order for Merit to the Fatherland. "Your amazing debut," Mr. Putin said in a public statement to Ms. Nikitina at the time, "met the expectations of your fans, coaches and teammates. " Regardless of what may come of the investigation, Ms. Uhlaender called herself more determined than ever to work toward the only major title she has yet to capture in her career. "I want to win Korea," she said. "If I'm first, I'll know no one ahead of me doped. " She said she felt sympathy for Ms. Nikitina, whether or not the claims against her were substantiated. "She's going through something, too," Ms. Uhlaender said. "The shininess has been dulled for both of us. "


U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Sunday it was time for Iranian-backed militias and their Iranian advisers who helped Iraq defeat Islamic State to go home , after a rare joint meeting with the leaders of Iraq and Saudi Arabia. The United States is concerned that Iran, a Shi ite regional power, will take advantage of gains against IS in Iraq and Syria to expand the influence it gained after the U.S. invasion in 2003, something Sunni Arab rivals such as Riyadh also oppose. Iranian militias that are in Iraq, now that the fight against Daesh and ISIS is coming to a close, those militias need to go home. The foreign fighters in Iraq need to go home and allow the Iraqi people to regain control, Tillerson said at a joint news conference with Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Jubeir. Tens of thousands of Iraqis heeded a call to arms in 2014 after IS seized a third of the country s territory, forming the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), which receive funding and training from Tehran and have been declared part of the Iraqi security apparatus. A senior U.S. official said Tillerson had been referring to the PMF and the Quds Force, the foreign paramilitary and espionage arm of the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif berated Tillerson s remarks as influenced by Iran s oil-rich regional rival Saudi Arabia. Exactly what country is it that Iraqis who rose up to defend their homes against ISIS return to?, Zarif said in a tweet. Shameful US FP (foreign policy), dictated by petrodollars. Iraq s military, armed by the United States but supported by the PMF, ejected the ultra-hardline Sunni Muslim militant group from Mosul and other cities in northern Iraq this year. Several thousand U.S. troops are still in the country, mostly for training but also to carry out raids against IS. The campaign to uproot the militants left whole cities in ruins and has hit Iraq s economy. A new joint ministerial-level body between Iraq and Saudi Arabia convened its inaugural meeting earlier on Sunday to coordinate their fight against IS and on rebuilding Iraqi territory wrested from the group. Jubeir emphasized historic ties between the two neighbors, which share a border, vast oil resources and many of the same tribes. The natural tendency of the two countries and people is to be very close to each other as they have been for centuries. It was interrupted for a number of decades. We re trying now to make up for lost ground, he said. The rare senior meeting, signaling a thaw between states that have been at loggerheads for decades, was also attended by Saudi King Salman and Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi. Tillerson said the council would contribute to reforms to build Iraq s private sector and encourage foreign investment. This will be critical to winning the peace that has been earned through the hard-fought military gains, he said. State media said the council had expressed satisfaction with global oil markets recovery as a result of a deal with other countries to boost prices by limiting production. The council also agreed to reopen a Saudi Basic Industries Corp office in Iraq and grant Saudi agriculture company SALIC an investment license. A second meeting will be held in Baghdad but no date was mentioned. Saudi Commerce and Investment Minister Majid al-Qusaibi told Reuters his country seeks to boost exports and is eyeing investment opportunities in Iraq s agricultural and petrochemical sectors, among others. He said backing from the highest levels of both governments would produce quick results on the ground . Let s not cry over spilt milk. Whatever happened in the past has happened. The good news is we are all here toward building a prosperous and beneficial future for both countries, he said in a telephone interview. Tillerson and Jubeir also discussed Washington s hawkish new policy towards Iran, including a possible withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal and new sanctions on the IRGC. Both our countries believe those who conduct business with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, any of their entities, European companies or other companies around the world really do so at great risk, Tillerson said. Relations between Riyadh and Baghdad were cut for 25 years, before recent rapprochement, after former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in 1990. Saudi Arabia, along with the United Arab Emirates, is wooing Baghdad now in an effort to halt the growing regional influence of Iran. Arriving in Doha later on Sunday for the next leg of a multi-country trip, Tillerson told a news conference that there was little chance of a swift breakthrough to resolve a blockade imposed on Qatar by Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies. The kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain imposed trade and travel curbs on Doha in June for alleged support of terrorism and friendship with Iran - charges Qatar denies. There is not a strong indication that the parties are ready to talk yet, Tillerson said. The secretary of state s six-day trip will also take him to Pakistan, India and Switzerland.


Home › POLITICS › IF HILLARY CLINTON IS CHARGED WITH OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE SHE COULD GO TO PRISON FOR 20 YEARS IF HILLARY CLINTON IS CHARGED WITH OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE SHE COULD GO TO PRISON FOR 20 YEARS 0 SHARES  [10/31/16] MICHAEL SNYDER -In the world of politics, the cover-up is often worse than the original crime. It was his role in the Watergate cover-up that took down Richard Nixon, and now Hillary Clinton's cover-up of her email scandal could send her to prison for a very, very long time. When news broke that the FBI has renewed its investigation into Hillary Clinton's emails, it sent shockwaves throughout the political world . But this time around, we aren't just talking about an investigation into the mishandling of classified documents. I haven't heard anyone talking about this, but if the FBI discovers that Hillary Clinton altered, destroyed or concealed any emails that should have been turned over to the FBI during the original investigation, she could be charged with obstruction of justice. That would immediately end her political career, and if she was found guilty it could send her to prison for the rest of her life.  I have not seen a single news report mention the phrase "obstruction of justice" yet, but I am convinced that there is a very good chance that this is where this scandal is heading. The following is the relevant part of the federal statute that deals with obstruction of justice …  Whoever knowingly alters, destroys, mutilates, conceals, covers up, falsified, or makes a false entry in any record, document, or tangible object with the intent to impede, obstruct, or influence the investigation or proper administration of any matter within the jurisdiction of any department or agency of the United States or any case filed under Title 11, or in relation to or contemplation of any such matter or case, shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both.  If Hillary Clinton is sent to prison for 20 years, that would essentially be for the rest of her life.  I have a feeling that the FBI is going to find a great deal of evidence of obstruction of justice in Huma Abedin's emails. But unfortunately there is not likely to be a resolution to this matter before November 8th, because according to the Wall Street Journal there are approximately 650,000 emails to search through…  As federal agents prepare to scour roughly 650,000 emails to see how many relate to a prior probe of Hillary Clinton 's email use, the surprise disclosure that investigators were pursuing the potential new evidence lays bare building tensions inside the bureau and the Justice Department over how to investigate the Democratic presidential nominee.  Metadata found on the laptop used by former Rep. Anthony Weiner and his estranged wife Huma Abedin, a close Clinton aide, suggests there may be thousands of emails sent to or from the private server that Mrs. Clinton used while she was secretary of state, according to people familiar with the matter. It will take weeks, at a minimum, to determine whether those messages are work-related from the time Ms. Abedin served with Mrs. Clinton at the State Department; how many are duplicates of emails already reviewed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and whether they include either classified information or important new evidence in the Clinton email probe.  Of those 650,000 emails, an inside source told Fox News that " at least 10,000 " would be of interest to the investigation.  At this point, FBI officials have not even begun searching through the emails, because a search warrant has not been secured yet. The following comes from CNN …  Government lawyers haven't yet approached Abedin's lawyers to seek an agreement to conduct the search. Sources earlier told CNN that those discussions had begun, but the law enforcement officials now say they have not.  Either way, government lawyers plan to seek a search warrant from a judge to conduct the search of the computer, the law enforcement officials said.  But the FBI is reportedly already searching a laptop that was co-owned by Anthony Weiner and Huma Abedin, and no warrant was necessary for that search because Weiner is cooperating with the FBI.  Many have been wondering why FBI Director James Comey would choose to make such a bold move just over a week until election day. Surely he had to know that this would have a dramatic impact on the election, and it is unlikely that he would have done so unless someone had already found something really big. In addition, Comey was reportedly eager to find an opportunity to redeem himself in the eyes of his peers at the FBI. The following is an excerpt from a Daily Mail article that was written by Ed Klein, the author of a recently released New York Times bestseller about the Clintons entitled " Guilty As Sin "…  'The atmosphere at the FBI has been toxic ever since Jim announced last July that he wouldn't recommend an indictment against Hillary,' said the source, a close friend who has known Comey for nearly two decades, shares family outings with him, and accompanies him to Catholic mass every week.  'Some people, including department heads, stopped talking to Jim, and even ignored his greetings when they passed him in the hall,' said the source. 'They felt that he betrayed them and brought disgrace on the bureau by letting Hillary off with a slap on the wrist.'  According to the source, Comey fretted over the problem for months and discussed it at great length with his wife, Patrice.  He told his wife that he was depressed by the stack of resignation letters piling up on his desk from disaffected agents. The letters reminded him every day that morale in the FBI had hit rock bottom.  So what happens next?  In the most likely scenario, the FBI will not have time to complete the investigation and decide whether or not to charge Hillary Clinton before the election. This means that we would go into November 8th with this scandal hanging over the Clinton campaign, and that would seem to be very good news for Donald Trump.  However, it is possible that once the FBI starts searching through these emails that they could come to the conclusion very rapidly that charges against Clinton are warranted, and if that happens we could still see some sort of announcement before election day.  In the unlikely event that does happen, we could actually see Hillary Clinton forced out of the race before November 8th.  Once again, this appears to be very unlikely at this point, but it is still possible.  If Clinton was forced to step aside, the Democrats would need to come up with a new nominee, and that process would take time. In an article later today on The Most Important News I will reveal who I believe that nominee would be.  In such a scenario, the Democrats would desperately need time to get their act together, and so we could actually see Barack Obama attempt to delay or suspend the election . The legality of such a move is highly questionable, but Barack Obama has not allowed a little thing like the U.S. Constitution to stop him in the past.  This week is going to be exceedingly interesting – that is for sure.  The craziest election in modern American history just keeps getting crazier, and I have a feeling that even more twists and turns are ahead.  It sure seems ironic that Anthony Weiner is playing such a central role this late in the story, and I can't wait to see what is in store for the season finale. Post navigation


Britain is considering a request to sell military equipment to Nigeria to help it fight Boko Haram Islamist militants, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said on Thursday. British soldiers were already training Nigerian 28,000 troops confronting the militants in the northeast, Johnson told Reuters in the commercial capital Lagos. They have put out a request for more help with materiel - equipment of one kind and another. We are going to look at that, he said. We will look at that very seriously on counter-IED provision, on a request for more help with attack helicopters, for instance. Let s have a look at what we can do, he added, without going into further detail. Boko Haram militants have killed more than 20,000 people, forced around 2 million to flee and attacked Nigeria s neighbors in a campaign to carve out an Islamist caliphate. Britain s Foreign Office was unable immediately to provide details of military sales to Nigeria in the last few years. The Pentagon notified the U.S. Congress this month of the sale to Nigeria of 12 Super Tucano A-29 planes and weapons worth $593 million, to help it fight Boko Haram, . [nL2N1LE1A7] Johnson traveled to Maiduguri, the northeast Nigerian city at the heart of the insurgency, on Wednesday and met Nigeria s Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, in the capital, Abuja, earlier on Thursday.


The Daily Sheeple – by Melissa Dykes  Josh Earnest… what a stupid name for a guy who obviously thinks we're all as stupid as he sounds at this press conference.  When confronted with a question on the Project Veritas undercover videos showing all kinds of Dem operatives admitting on tape that they created the Trump protests and other such nasties to incite violence at Trump rallies in an attempt to throw this election Hillary's way, Earnest told the reporter in his best condescending grown up voice that 'we have to take these videos with not just a grain of salt but a whole bag because we can't believe what we see…'  Watch for yourself.  Don't believe your own eyeballs. That's the White House's official response. That's the best they could do.  Again, it's undercover video he's talking about here. Not only that, but Robert Creamer did go to the White House over 340 times . It's all on record.  Come on, dammit.


U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday agreed to expand the use of disaster aid to help rebuild Puerto Rico's power grid and other infrastructure wrecked by Hurricane Maria, the White House said. In a unique agreement recognizing both the massive devastation on the island and its dire financial problems, aid from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for infrastructure projects will be released in a faster, more flexible way than is typical after disasters, a senior White House official told Reuters. The plan, agreed to with Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello, will also provide for third-party advisers to estimate how much money is requires for big-ticket projects, and how it is spent - a provision aimed at protecting taxpayer dollars in what is expected to be a massive, long-term effort to rebuild the island. "We're doing it in a way that grants flexibility, but also imposes a mutually agreed upon set of controls," the official said in an interview. The new agreement will see FEMA cover 90 percent of the costs for rebuilding public infrastructure, up from the typical level of 75 percent. Puerto Rico - home to 3.4 million Americans - is in bankruptcy, struggling with $72 billion in debt. Its finances were put under federal control last year. Six weeks after Hurricane Maria hit, only about 30 percent of Puerto Rico's power grid has been restored. Private sector estimates of total damage from Maria have ranged as high as $95 billion. The White House is expected to deliver a new request for disaster aid to the U.S. Congress in mid-November to help defray costs from Maria and two other major hurricanes - Harvey and Irma - as well as damage caused by wildfires in the western United States. It is not yet clear how big the federal tab for Puerto Rico will be. "Obviously it's going to be a big dollar figure," the official said. "I know there won't be any balking at the amount of money needed from the administration." Even with FEMA covering 90 percent of the costs, it could be difficult for the territorial government to put up its 10 percent. On top of its fiscal constraints, the storm has ground its economy - and tax revenues - to a halt. The federal government provided a $150 million loan in an aid package approved by Congress last month that can be used to help cover its share, the official said. "We didn't want to create the precedent of giving 100 percent in the grant program and then disincentivizing good stewardship," the official said. The federal government will also use relatively new procedures created in 2013 after Hurricane Sandy known as "Section 428" in the Stafford Act, the law that provides for federal disaster aid. "It's not been used on this scale before," the official said. The procedures will allow Puerto Rico to estimate the costs of big projects up front - with help from third-party advisers - and draw down from approved grants, eliminating the slow and cumbersome process of being reimbursed for upfront spending on each segment. The agreement will also allow Puerto Rico to access hazard mitigation grants - normally tapped only outside of disasters - while rebuilding the creaky power grid and other infrastructure so that the structures are more resilient to future hurricanes. "We're going to build them back smarter," the official said.


Over the last decade or so, a handful of people have become what you might call economic rock stars, at least for liberals. Robert Reich, Paul Krugman and Joseph Stiglitz grab the attention of liberals when they talk about income inequality, taking corporate influence out of politics and a more equitable tax structure.Bernie Sanders had talked about bringing on Stiglitz and Reich, if he were to win the presidency. In other words, these are men who have all the credibility in the world when it comes to evaluating political candidates and Nobel Prize winning economist Stiglitz believes that if Clinton wins, we are in for an even more liberal agenda than Obama has had.To be fair, Stiglitz is an advisor to Clinton s campaign, but he rarely tones down his progressive rhetoric, no matter who he s talking to or about. With Clinton, though, he gets quite specific in an interview with Slate Magazine. Stiglitz believes that in the years since Bill Clinton left office, the country has changed and that we are far more focused on income inequality, something he believes Hillary Clinton will do something about:Where do you situate Hillary Clinton ideologically in terms of economics?I think that s a good question. I think the world today is different from where it was 20 years ago, and the issues are being framed considerably differently. For instance, I think there s a recognition that inequality is a much bigger problem. I think she is much more concerned about more progressive taxes and dealing with tax avoidance of multinational corporations. I think she is very committed to that. I think progressives are not against trade, but they are concerned with trade agreements that are pushed by corporations, for their interests, by and for corporations. That is what we have in the form of TPP. I think it is a good thing that she has come out against that.Stiglitz also believes that the very fact that Clinton is pragmatic something she s often criticized for on the left will keep he on the right track:One of the progressive concerns about Clinton has been that the Clintons are enmeshed with this sort of global, financial elite through their foundation, and just through the circles they travel in.I understand those concerns, and I guess part of the answer to that is the reality of 2016 is that the Senate Banking Committee has people like Sherrod Brown, Elizabeth Warren, and Jeff Merkel, and you are not going to get through legislation that is a sell out to Wall Street. Knowing that, and knowing that she does not want to fight within her party, I think she is pragmatic enough. The criticism occurs because she s been, you might say, too pragmatic. The fact is she is pragmatic enough to know that these people will not tolerate the kind of sell-out that I think many people have seen in previous administrations. I think it is unlikely that we will get policies that stray too far from the progressive agenda.Stiglitz credits Bernie Sanders with Hillary Clinton s more progressive policies. As for Clinton compared to Obama:More conservative than Hillary, yes. I think his temperament is basically more conservative and he did not go as far on Dodd-Frank as many people wanted. He opposed some of the key provisions that eventually got in the bill.For those who are still worried that Hillary Clinton will take on the more neoliberal policies of her husband, remember that times have changed and that we are no longer a center right nation. If anything, we are center left, and Clinton knows that if she disappoints the growing progressive wing of the Democratic party, she is doomed to just one term.


For Republicans, the Robert Mueller investigation into Donald Trump s Russian ties is a very inconvenient truth. If Trump is found guilty, there s little doubt that many others in the party would be dragged down with him. It s also putting a big damper on the Republican agenda to screw the poor and the middle class while giving big bonuses to Trump and those in his tax bracket (whatever that is). Now there s a bill in Congress to shut the whole thing down and it can be done, legally.Rep. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) has introduced a bill that would financially starve the investigation by cutting off funding after six months and would limit its scope to nothing prior to June, 2015, which was when Trump decided to run for president.According to a Washington Post report, Trump has been seeking business opportunities in Russia for three decades. It began in 1987, when he explored the options of opening a hotel in Moscow. He found it rather inconvenient, because everything is owned by the government while Russia was under communist rule.Almost 10 years later, in 1996, Trump announced that he was going to invest $250 million in buildings in Moscow. Those deals didn t pan out, but he was given a lot of trademarks that year.In 2005, Trump further expressed interest in building in Moscow, saying, It s ridiculous that I wouldn t be investing in Russia, he said. Russia is one of the hottest places in the world for investment. We will be in Moscow at some point. In 2008, Donnie Jr. admitted that the Trumps have all kinds of money tied up in Russia. In terms of high-end product influx into the US, he says, Russians make up a pretty disproportionate cross-section of a lot of our assets We see a lot of money pouring in from Russia. In 2013, while planning the Miss Universe pageant in Moscow, Trump tweeted about Putin becoming his best friend. Do you think Putin will be going to The Miss Universe Pageant in November in Moscow if so, will he become my new best friend? Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 19, 2013During that year, he also continued his talk about doing more business in Russia.Cutting the investigation off at 2015 isn t a guarantee that Trump will get away with it. There have been numerous meetings between Russian officials and Trump officials since then.Mueller, though, is going broad. He s going after money laundering and all of Trump s business ties and he s probably going back years. DeSantis sits on the Foreign Affairs Committee and the Committee on the Judiciary. It s very possible that he has some insight into the scope of Mueller s investigation and he knows that if he prevents him from looking at anything pre-2015, Trump may have cleaned up his act, at least on paper.The provision, which is part of a government spending package may never see a vote, but if enough Republicans see this as a way out of the mess, it could.


Penguin Random House announced on Tuesday night that Barack and Michelle Obama have both signed book deals with the publisher. According to the statement, the former president and former first lady will each be authoring a book in the near future.The announcement reads: Penguin Random House is pleased to announce that it will publish forthcoming books by former President of the United States Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama. Oenguin Random House CEO MArkus Dohle announced today that the company has acquired world publication rights for two books, to be written by President and Mrs. Obama respectively. The statement did not disclose an actual dollar amount for these deals, but according to a report in Financial Times, bids on their books had reached more than $60 million. If accurate, this would blow away the price tag attached to the memoirs of other recent presidents. Bill Clinton got $15 million for his book My Life and George W Bush made approximately $10 million from his book Decision Points.The announcement did say that in support of the mission of The Obama Foundation and Penguin Random House s own commitment to social responsibility, the company will donate one million books in the Obama family s name to First Book. The First Book program strives to promote equal access to education by providing new books, learning materials, and other essentials to children in need. In addition, the Obamas also plan to donate a significant portion of their author proceeds to charity. We are absolutely thrilled to continue our publishing partnership with President and Mrs. Obama, Dohle said. With their words and their leadership, they changed the world, and every day, with the books we publish at Penguin Random House, we strive to do the same. Now, we are very much looking forward to working together with President and Mrs. Obama to make each of their books global publishing events of unprecedented scope and significance. This is not the first time the former president has worked with the publisher. CNN points out that Penguin Random House has published Obama s past books, so the new deal continues a two-decade-long relationship. The hefty figures quoted in the bids for their books clearly demonstrate the expectation that these books are going to be huge best sellers. Personally, I have only one question: Where can I place a pre-order?New books by @BarackObama and @MichelleObama have been acquired by @penguinrandom, the publisher says. pic.twitter.com/EkF5cfRaOH Dave Itzkoff (@ditzkoff) February 28, 2017


13 Hours debuted in movie theaters today. So far, it s getting rave reviews. Do supporters of Hillary and Barack Obama even care about the truth?Here s one of the first reviews of 13 HOURS: Here is the official 13 HOURS movie trailer:Even though evidence shown during her testimony proved Hillary was lying, her supporters still moved forward with her nomination. Watch this incredible footage:


President Donald Trump urged two senior intelligence officials in March to publicly deny there was any evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, the Washington Post reported on Monday, citing current and former officials. Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats and National Security Agency Director Michael Rogers refused to comply with Trump's requests because they believed them inappropriate, according to two current and two former officials, the Post said.


Argentine President Mauricio Macri is almost certain to run for re-election in 2019, his top campaign adviser said on Thursday, even as he acknowledged that the leader s market-friendly reforms were unpopular among many poor Argentines. Jaime Duran Barba, an Ecuadorian who has run campaigns across Latin America and is considered the political guru behind Macri s surprise win in 2015, told Reuters on Thursday he did not see a scenario where Macri was not a candidate. The most likely is for Macri to go for re-election, it s highly probable. But what is certain is that after that he will leave politics, Duran Barba said in an interview. Center-right Macri has not said if he will seek re-election and told Reuters in an August interview that he was focused on his current government. When the time came for Macri to move on, Duran Barba said that there were important, prepared people who could dispute the succession. He pointed to city of Buenos Aires mayor Horacio Rodriguez Larreta, Macri s Cabinet Chief Marcos Pena, and Maria Eugenia Vidal, the governor of Buenos Aires and the most popular politician in Argentina, according to several polls. But Macri s Let s Change coalition must first post a strong performance in October s legislative elections, where one third of the Senate and half of the lower house seats are up for re-election. Mauricio s strategy has always been: in the first two years we can start a transformation, but the point at which we will know if it is possible or not to change Argentina is the mid-term election, said Duran Barba, who has advised Macri since he first ran for political office in 2003. The Oct. 22 vote is being closely watched by investors because Macri s political nemesis and populist two-term predecessor, Cristina Fernandez, is vying for a Senate seat in Buenos Aires province, home to 40 percent of voters. She is believed to be testing the waters for a potential bid for the presidency in 2019. Fernandez eked out a narrow win over Macri ally Esteban Bullrich in the non-binding primary vote in August, a scenario Duran Barba said was ideal for motivating voters to rally around Bullrich against a divided opposition. It was the best option, our numbers always predicted a tie (with Fernandez). I said hopefully she wins by a bit because that way the people will see a need to do something. The latest polls, including an internal poll from the Fernandez camp, are showing Bullrich ahead. Macri s approval ratings are running at 44 percent, according to an Observatorio Electoral survey on Tuesday. But his reforms have been unpopular with the country s powerful unions and triggered anti-Macri protests. Argentina s economy came out of recession in the second half of last year, later than expected. Duran Barba acknowledged that Macri s austerity measures had particularly hurt poor slum-dwellers in Buenos Aires province. They raised (energy) tariffs, and that was unpopular. We hoped there would be fast results for the economy and that there would be investment. There wasn t, Duran Barba said. He said Fernandez, who has toned down her formerly tub-thumping speeches and gave a rare live interview last week, is copying some of his tactics - such as visits to voters homes, ripe for recording and posting on social media. Cristina has copied a lot of our way of campaigning, Barba said. But it s hurting her. Fernandez s campaign declined to comment.


Not long before Donald Trump pathetically admitted that President Obama was born in the United States, two of his white supporters stood outside the Republican nominee s new Washington D.C. hotel and claimed that black people don t work as hard as white people.And that was an incredibly bad idea considering they were standing in a city that would not exist without the back-breaking labor of slaves who built many of the buildings around the city, including the White House.So when these two Trump supporters ran their mouths, Carlos Maza of Media Matters starting filming them just as a black man rode up on his bicycle and informed them of just how wrong they are. You see these buildings down here? Black people built the buildings on slave labor, he said using Georgetown University as an example. So a lot of black people have residual anger for their ancestors building this country as free labor. Indeed, white racists would rather pretend black people had nothing to do with constructing our nation s capitol rather than acknowledge that they played a major role.But the man was not finished schooling Trump s supporters. As soon as a white person steps into America, they have an advantage just by being white, the man pointed out before going on to explain that systemic racism has been built into the system.The Trump fans tried to change the topic by claiming that thousands of Europeans have been killed by Muslims, which is incorrect. Hundreds of Europeans have been killed by terrorists, not true practitioners of Islam.A white people standing by the black man then asked the Trump duo if they have really ever experienced discrimination and they admitted that they haven t.Here s the video via Twitter.Here s a Trump supporter getting schooled on systemic racism after suggesting white people work harder: pic.twitter.com/gbHPkT4A2o Carlos Maza (@gaywonk) September 16, 2016And yet Donald Trump wonders why black people don t want to vote for him.


President Barack Obama and the deputy crown prince of Saudi Arabia on Friday discussed ways to support Iraqis in their fight against Islamic State militants and the importance of a political transition in war-torn Syria, the White House said. Obama met with Mohammed bin Salman in the Oval office for about an hour. The deputy crown prince is visiting the United States to repair frayed relations and to promote a plan, known as Vision 2030, to slash the kingdom's dependence on oil exports. "The President expressed appreciation for Saudi Arabia's contributions to the campaign against ISIL," the White House said, using an acronym for the Islamic State group. The two talked about steps to support Iraqis "including increased Gulf support to fund urgent humanitarian and stabilization needs," the White House said. U.S. officials have expressed unease about the Saudi-led campaign against Houthi rebels in Yemen, which according to the United Nations and human rights groups has resulted in large numbers of civilian casualties. Saudi Arabia is worried about closer relations between the United States and Iran, Riyadh's arch enemy, after a 2015 nuclear deal. Obama welcomed Saudi Arabia's commitment to a political settlement of the Yemen conflict and support by the Gulf Cooperation Council, of which the kingdom is a member, to address humanitarian needs and rebuild the country, the White House said. On Syria, Obama and the prince talked about the importance of supporting a political transition away from President Bashar al-Assad, the White House said. The United States is working with international partners on what it calls a Syrian-led transition process facilitated by the United Nations, but so far there has been little progress. Over 50 diplomats at the U.S. State Department signed a memo, leaked on Thursday, that was critical of the Obama administration's Syria policy and called for targeted military strikes against Assad's government. Asked about the memo, Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir, also in Washington, told reporters the kingdom had been arguing for a "more robust intervention" including airstrikes, a no-fly zone, and a no-drive zone, from the beginning of the five-year civil war. Obama does not see a military solution to the crisis in Syria, White House spokeswoman Jen Friedman said. Both Washington and Riyadh are anticipating the release of classified pages of a U.S. report into the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, that some U.S. lawmakers have alleged link Saudi government officials to the attacks. Jubeir said investigations show that the allegations "are not correct and they don't hold."


Barring something completely unforeseen, Donald Trump will be our new President in just a few weeks. That means that all personal liberties could fly right out the window, except for one: the liberty to discriminate based on who people love. Trump and the new Congress haven t even taken office yet and the legislative hatred has already begun.Ted Cruz, who s never met a gay person or a woman who didn t make him feel self-righteous, is expected to reintroduce the First Amendment Defense Act (FADA), which, despite its completely inoffensive name, is all about allowing bigots to freely discriminate. Trump is expected to sign it.In the text, the bill says that businesses can refuse service based on one of two beliefs, and both are ridiculous: that marriage is or should be recognized as the union of one man and one woman or sexual relations are properly reserved to such a marriage. As for the second one, well, unless a couple is entering an establishment demanding space to specifically have sex, it doesn t seem there s ever a reason to declare that one. As for the first, marriage is what the law says it is, and the law says that marriage is between two consenting adults who get married. Okay, that s not the legal definition, but the Supreme Court, when Antonin Scalia was still alive, said that defining marriage is unconstitutional.The CEO of Equality Texas agrees that the proposed law shouldn t be a law at all. The legislation that Senator Cruz is proposing specifically elevates two narrow interpretations above any other religious practice, Chuck Smith, CEO of Equality Texas said. The bill is titled the First Amendment Defense Act, but in reality it is an unconstitutional attempt to totally redefine what the first amendment protects. Source: KXANIt would also put the Federal Government in the weird position of suing itself. The FADA would allow businesses to sue if the government wouldn t let them discriminate. The U.S. Attorney General would be required to defend the businesses against the government.Trump will likely sign the bill, at least according to his campaign s website: If I am elected president and Congress passes the First Amendment Defense Act, I will sign it to protect the deeply held religious beliefs of Catholics and the beliefs of Americans of all faiths. Here s the video:The other bad news is that by the time this reaches the Supreme Court, we will likely have another conservative justice.