Tickets to the fundraiser for Hillary hosted by a law firm who was banned from GITMO after being caught giving Muslim terror suspects anti-American propaganda are a mere $2,700 per person You can t make this stuff up!In 2007 Hillary Clinton voted YES on preserving habeas corpus for Guantanamo detainees.Sen. Specter s amendment would have stricken the provision regarding habeas review. The underlying bill would have authorized a trial by military commission for violations of the law of war. Here is what Senator Lindsey Graham had to say about the bill from the Senate floor:Senator Graham asked, Do we really want enemy prisoners to bring every lawsuit known to man against the people fighting the war and protecting us? No enemy prisoner should have access to Federal courts a noncitizen, enemy combatant terrorist to bring a lawsuit against those fighting on our behalf. No judge should have the ability to make a decision that has been historically reserved to the military. That does not make us safer. Senator Arlon Spector on the vote: The US Constitution states that Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it. We do not have either rebellion or invasion, so it is a little hard for me to see, as a basic principle of constitutional law, how the Congress can suspend the writ of habeas corpus. Even with all the evidence that pointed to the danger this bill would our nation, Hillary voted Yes while the majority of the Sentate voted against her.Today, the attorney s who defended GITMO prisoners are rewarding Hillary for her vote with a major fundraiser.Watch:


The U.S. Senate Budget Committee voted along party lines on Tuesday to send a Republican tax bill to the full Senate for a vote. The 12-to-11 vote "moves us one step closer to a simpler, fairer, and more transparent tax system," Budget Committee Chairman Mike Enzi said in a statement. The full Senate is expected to begin debating the tax bill and vote on it sometime this week. The Republican-controlled House of Representatives has already passed its version of a package of tax cuts.


The White House on Monday said the Justice Department was reviewing its options after a federal judge denied a request by President Donald Trump's administration to enforce his ban on transgender troops while the government appeals an order blocking it. "The Department of Justice is currently reviewing the legal options to ensure the president's directive is implemented," White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders told reporters.


The founding dean of a prominent Singapore school said on Monday he was stepping down, four months after he stirred a heated debate in the city-state with the comment that small countries like Singapore must always behave like small states . Kishore Mahbubani, a long-time diplomat and the wealthy city-state s former envoy to the United Nations, said he had written to the board of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy saying he would step down as dean at the end of the year. The announcement followed a high-profile expulsion by the government of a professor at the school, a China-born U.S. citizen, who was accused of being an agent of influence for a foreign country. In the statement to the school s governing board, Mahbubani cited a double heart bypass operation last year and said he wanted to focus on a new career that involves more time spent on reading, reflection and writing . I realize that the time had come for me to take a fresh look at what I should achieve over the next decade as I enter my 70s, he said. Kishore is 69 and has served 13 years as dean. Kishore s statement did not refer to the controversy fueled by his column in July that Qatar s experience of conflict with its Arab neighbors offered big lessons for small countries. In the piece titled Qatar: Big lessons from a small country , Kishore warned that Singapore could face the fate of the Gulf state which believed it could act as a middle power and exercise influence beyond its borders because it sits on mounds of money . I would like to emphasize as strongly as I can that this Qatar episode holds many lessons for Singapore, he wrote in Singapore s Straits Times newspaper. The first lesson, he said, was: Small states must always behave like small states. Public criticism or perceived admonishments of the government are rare in Singapore, one of the richest and most politically stable countries in the world. His comments drew a sharp rebuke from Singapore s political leaders and fellow former foreign service officials as flawed and intellectually questionable. A veteran diplomat, Bilahari Kausikan, called them muddled, mendacious and indeed dangerous . Mahbubani could not be reached for comment. A spokeswoman for the National University of Singapore, where the Lee Kuan Yew school is an autonomous postgraduate school, said: Professor Kishore Mahbubani s decision to retire is unrelated to the article mentioned. The school is named after modern Singapore s founding father.


German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said on Thursday he had a "friendly and constructive" discussion with U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin in Berlin and they agreed to work together to promote sustainable global growth and prosperity. "We found a good basis" to work together, Schaeuble said at a joint news conference with Mnuchin but added that they would not solve all of their problems at an upcoming meeting of G20 finance ministers.


Tens of thousands of Catalans are expected to defy Spanish authorities and attempt to vote in a banned independence referendum on Sunday, raising fears of unrest in the wealthy northeastern region. The referendum, declared illegal by Spain s central government, has thrown the country into its worst constitutional crisis in decades and raised fears of street violence as a test of will between Madrid and Barcelona plays out. In a sign of how the planned vote has polarized the country, thousands of pro-unity demonstrators gathered in Spain s major cities, including Barcelona, to express their fierce opposition to Catalonia s attempt to break away. In the region itself, hundreds of supporters of the referendum spent the day with their children playing football, board games and ping pong in schools, traditionally used as voting stations in Spain, to keep them open until voting starts at 9 a.m. (0700 GMT) on Sunday. The government said just a small percentage of schools were occupied, however, and that it had verified that most of the more than 2,300 earmarked for the vote were closed. In those where they gathered, parents brought sleeping bags and prepared to bed down on gym mats. We don t understand why we can t express in a peaceful manner the simplest expression of democracy - a vote, said Pablo Larranaga, as he stood in a school in Barcelona surrounded by parents and small children. We don t know what is going to happen tomorrow. We are going to try to vote in the only way we know, which is peacefully. It is still unclear whether the referendum will go ahead despite the regional government s assertions that it will proceed and Madrid s insistence that it will block the move. The ballot will have no legal status as it has been blocked by Spain s Constitutional Court and Madrid for being at odds with the 1978 constitution. A minority of around 40 percent of Catalans support independence, polls show, although a majority want to hold a referendum on the issue. The region of 7.5 million people has an economy larger than that of Portugal. However much voting takes place, a yes result is likely, given that most of those who support independence are expected to cast ballots while most of those against it are not. Police monitored schools earmarked as polling stations and occupied the Catalan government s communications hub on Saturday in an effort to prevent the referendum from going ahead. The Catalan police, or Mossos d Esquadra, who are monitoring the schools, are held in great affection by the Catalan people, especially after Islamist attacks in the region in August that killed 16. But thousands of extra police have been sent to the region in order to enforce a court order banning the referendum, many of whom are billeted in two ships in the port. A Spanish government source said it would be up to police how they carried out orders to remove people from polling stations on Sunday. The head of the Catalan police on Friday urged officers to avoid the use of force. Organizers urged voters to arrive at 5 a.m. (0300 GMT) at polling stations and to wait in line until the schools opened. Voters must show peaceful resistance to police action, organizers said. We must be sure there are lots of people present of all ages, they said in instructions disseminated on social media. Any volunteer staffing a voting station with use of a census listing eligible voters would be liable for a fine of up to 300,000 euros, the government source said. Thousands of pro-unity demonstrators waving Spanish flags filled the central square outside the seat of the regional government and Barcelona city hall. One man burnt the Catalan flag while a group tried to tear down a banner reading More democracy hanging from the front of the town hall to cheers from the crowd. In the capital Madrid, hundreds gathered waving the national flag and chanting Spanish unity and Don t fool us - Catalonia is Spain . Many balconies in the capital are draped with the red and yellow Spanish flag.


As he prepared last week to deliver his farewell address, President Obama convened three Democratic leaders in the White House for a strategy session on the future of their party. The quiet huddle included Senator Chuck Schumer of New York and Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, the top Democrats in Congress, and Gov. Terry McAuliffe of Virginia. One topic of urgent concern, according to people briefed on the meeting: how to break the Republican Party's iron grip on the congressional map. Thwarted for much of his term by a confrontational Republican Congress, and criticized by his fellow Democrats for not devoting sufficient attention to their candidates, Mr. Obama has decided to make the byzantine process of legislative redistricting a central political priority in his first years after the presidency. Emerging as Mr. Obama's chief collaborator and proxy is Eric H. Holder Jr. the former attorney general of the United States and a personal friend of the president. He has signed on to lead the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, a newly formed political group aimed at untangling the creatively drawn districts that have helped cement the Republican Party in power in Washington and many state capitals. In an interview this week at Covington Burling, the Washington law firm where he is now in private practice, Mr. Holder, 65, said that he and Mr. Obama believe Republicans have undermined the political system by creating a patchwork of legislative maps — at both the state and federal levels — that are designed to stifle the will of voters. Echoing a number of Mr. Obama's top advisers, Mr. Holder described fighting Republican gerrymandering as a "primary concern" for the president once he leaves the White House. "He thinks, and I think, that this is something that threatens our democracy," Mr. Holder said. "We have a system now where the politicians are picking their voters, as opposed to voters making selections about who they want to represent them. " Mr. Holder is set to kick off his initiative on Thursday with a speech at the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank in Washington. The first major event for the group is to take place in Chicago this spring David Jacobson, a former ambassador to Canada and an Obama campaign is hosting the event. Mr. Holder said he anticipated that Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. would also be involved, along with other "present and former cabinet members. " For Mr. Obama, the redistricting campaign signals how personally engaged in electoral politics he intends to be after leaving office, unlike many former presidents who enjoy something of a period. Mr. Obama has also appeared to concede in recent weeks that he spent a limited amount of time tending to the Democratic Party as an institution during his time in office, and in a television interview explained almost apologetically that the presidency is a job. But redistricting may be a special preoccupation among Mr. Obama and his allies: For them, Mr. Holder said, there is considerable resentment of how an entrenched House Republican majority undermined the president's goals over of his tenure. "The tasks that he had placed before him were made a lot more difficult, progress a lot more difficult, than it needed to be," Mr. Holder said of Mr. Obama. "That's because of the Congress that he had to deal with, which was a function of the 2010 redistricting effort. " While Mr. Holder said he committed to lead the new Democratic group well before Election Day — and spoke with Hillary Clinton about redistricting during the presidential race — he said Donald J. Trump's victory had intensified interest among activists and donors. The and campaign comes amid a broader resurgence in Democratic interest in state and local elections, at a moment when Republicans control every lever of government in Washington. Candidates seeking to lead the Democratic National Committee have called for a more intensive focus on nonfederal elections, and several senior Democrats said distraught party donors were turning their attention to the states. The Democratic Governors Association and the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, two groups teaming up with Mr. Holder, are already recruiting candidates for upcoming elections. Mr. McAuliffe, who declined to discuss the White House meeting, said he had been in touch with Ms. Pelosi and Mr. Schumer since the elections to refocus the party's attention on races in the states. He said he and Ms. Pelosi had commiserated about the grim state of the congressional map. "I said: 'Nancy, it doesn't matter how much money you have if we don't have lines where Democrats can run competitively and win,'" Mr. McAuliffe said. But Democrats have long suffered from a consuming obsession with the presidency at the expense of other elections, said Mr. McAuliffe, a former national party chairman. "We've got to be smarter about how we're building the future of this party. We have been decimated at the state level, and it's at the state level that they draw the maps," he said, adding: "We raise all this money in the presidential, and then everybody goes away. " The next round of congressional redistricting is still years away, after the next decennial census in 2020. But the officials drawing the maps in most states will be chosen in elections well before then, starting with the election for governor in Virginia this year. Democrats ruefully acknowledge now that before the 2010 census, riding high after Mr. Obama's 2008 victory and seemingly secure in their hold on Congress, they were far less prepared than Republicans in gearing up for legislative reapportionment. The Republican Party mounted a ferocious campaign that gave it overwhelming control of redistricting, allowing it to lock in many victories in the 2010 midterm elections. In the to 2020, Democrats say, their goal in many places will be not to seize control of redistricting, but merely to capture one or two key offices to keep Republicans from locking them out of the process. Right now, there are 25 states in which Republicans control the whole government — the governorship and the legislature — versus just six wholly controlled by Democrats. Mr. Holder said his initiative would unfold on three fronts: In court, where Democrats will challenge maps they see as violating the law on the campaign trail, where they will seek to win offices that influence redistricting and through ballot referendums in states that allow voters to give direct approval to laws mandating new procedures for legislative apportionment. Mr. Holder said he was also prepared to take an unaccustomed leap into electoral politics, campaigning for candidates around the country who can affect the redistricting process. A career prosecutor, Mr. Holder has quickly emerged as a leading figure in Democratic efforts to fight Mr. Trump he has been retained by the California Legislature to help in any battles with the Trump administration. The success of the new effort will depend in part on whether the newfound appetite among Democrats for confronting gerrymandering can be sustained as more attention turns to what will be a presidential primary, the sort of glamorous campaign that often attracts the most attention from liberal donors at the expense of party building efforts. Republican donors have typically been more attentive to state elections they are expected to pour money into defending the party's hold on power outside of Washington. Party strategists hope that having as a figure as Mr. Holder, and eventually Mr. Obama himself, will make it easier for them to solicit and figure checks. Mr. Holder said he and Mr. Obama believed strongly that Democrats needed to look beyond Washington. "I can remember conversations with him where it was his view that it wouldn't take huge amounts of money to have an impact on state and local races," Mr. Holder said, "but that it would take a substantial amount of effort. " Leading the legal offensive will be Marc Elias, the prominent Democratic election lawyer who has already won challenges to maps in several states, including Florida and Virginia. Before 2010, Mr. Elias said Democrats had prepared for a conventional negotiation over drawing lines, in legislatures and in court, but had not matched the Republican Party's yearslong strategy for dominating elections, fueled by heavily funded outside groups. Mr. Obama, Mr. Elias said, would help "direct the best and the brightest in the party to see this as really important. " For the moment, at least, Democrats are portraying their campaign as a matter of fairness, criticizing Republicans for having mangled the maps in places like Ohio and Michigan, so that solidly purple states are represented disproportionately by Republicans. Democrats believe that where states have drawn maps by nonpartisan means, or by court order, it has tended to benefit them. Republicans have tended to roll their eyes at Democratic complaints about redistricting, given how aggressively some in Mr. Obama's party drew maps in their favor when Democrats had more power. Mr. Holder said he viewed Republican gerrymandering as more extreme than anything Democrats had engineered for their own benefit in blue states. But he declined to say that Democrats should eschew gerrymandering of their own. Yet in a sign of tensions that might later emerge, Mr. Holder suggested that some Democratic incumbents might have to be willing to run in more competitive districts, to avoid clustering core Democratic constituencies in a tiny number of districts. Some senior black lawmakers have resisted efforts to overhaul the map in ways that would make their districts even modestly whiter and more competitive. Democrats see Mr. Obama and Mr. Holder as potentially persuasive messengers in easing such resistance. And Mr. Holder said bluntly that black lawmakers could also win seats that are not necessarily . Incumbents of both parties, he said, should "get more comfortable with the notion that with fairly drawn districts, elections might be more significantly contested. " He added: "That's a good thing for our democracy. "


Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke with Saudi Arabia s King Salman by telephone on Thursday, Chinese state media reported. No matter how the international or regional situation may change, China s resolve to deepen cooperation with Saudi Arabia would not change, Xi said, according to the report.


BREAKING : Hillary Clinton Had her MAID Print CLASSIFIED INFORMATION BREAKING : Hillary Clinton Had her MAID Print CLASSIFIED INFORMATION Breaking News By Amy Moreno November 6, 2016  The ineptitude and dangerous, reckless behavior of this nincompoop Hillary Clinton grows stronger every day.  Just when you think her stupidity and carelessness can't get any worse, it does.  We're now learning that Hillary Clinton HAD HER MAID PRINT OUT CLASSIFIED INFORMATION.  That's right – one more time…..  Hillary Clinton had her MAID print out CLASSIFIED INFORMATION.  She should be disqualified immediately.  From the NY Post:  As secretary of state, Hillary Clinton routinely asked her maid to print out sensitive government e-mails and documents — including ones containing classified information — from her house in Washington, DC, e-mails and FBI memos show. But the housekeeper lacked the security clearance to handle such material.  In fact, Marina Santos was called on so frequently to receive e-mails that she may hold the secrets to E-mailgate — if only the FBI and Congress would subpoena her and the equipment she used.  Clinton entrusted far more than the care of her DC residence, known as Whitehaven, to Santos. She expected the Filipino immigrant to handle state secrets, further opening the Democratic presidential nominee to criticism that she played fast and loose with national security.  Clinton would first receive highly sensitive e-mails from top aides at the State Department and then request that they, in turn, forward the messages and any attached documents to Santos to print out for her at the home.  Among other things, Clinton requested Santos print out drafts of her speeches, confidential memos and "call sheets" — background information and talking points prepared for the secretary of state in advance of a phone call with a foreign head of state.  "Pls ask Marina to print for me in am," Clinton e-mailed top aide Huma Abedin regarding a redacted 2011 message marked sensitive but unclassified.  In a classified 2012 e-mail dealing with the new president of Malawi, another Clinton aide, Monica Hanley, advised Clinton, "We can ask Marina to print this."  "Revisions to the Iran points" was the subject line of a classified April 2012 e-mail to Clinton from Hanley. In it, the text reads, "Marina is trying to print for you."  Both classified e-mails were marked "confidential," the tier below "secret" or "top secret."  Santos also had access to a highly secure room called an SCIF (sensitive compartmented information facility) that diplomatic security agents set up at Whitehaven, according to FBI notes from an interview with Abedin.  From within the SCIF, Santos — who had no clearance — "collected documents from the secure facsimile machine for Clinton," the FBI notes revealed.  Just how sensitive were the papers Santos presumably handled? The FBI noted Clinton periodically received the Presidential Daily Brief — a top-secret document prepared by the CIA and other US intelligence agencies — via the secure fax.  A 2012 "sensitive" but unclassified e-mail from Hanley to Clinton refers to a fax the staff wanted Clinton "to see before your Netanyahu mtg. Marina will grab for you."  Yet it appears Clinton was never asked by the FBI in its yearlong investigation to turn over the iMac Santos used to receive the e-mails, or the printer she used to print out the documents, or the printouts themselves  As The Post first reported, copies of Clinton's 33,000 allegedly destroyed e-mails still exist in other locations and could be recovered if investigators were turned loose to seize them. Higher-ups at the Justice Department reportedly have blocked them from obtaining search warrants to obtain the evidence.  It also appears the FBI did not formally interview Santos as a key witness in its investigation.  This is a major oversight: Santos may know the whereabouts of a missing Apple MacBook laptop and USB flash drive that contain all of Clinton's e-mails archived over her four years in office.  In 2013, Hanley downloaded Clinton's e-mails from her private server to the MacBook and flash drive.  "The two copies of the Clinton e-mail archive (one on the archive laptop and one on the thumb drive) were intended to be stored in Clinton's Chappaqua and Whitehaven residences," the FBI said in its case summary.  But Hanley says the devices were "lost," and the FBI says it "does not have either item in its possession."  In addition to Abedin, Santos worked closely with Hanley at Whitehaven and could shed light on the mystery — if only she were asked about it.  My god.  At this point, WHO hasn't seen our classified information?  Perhaps that would be a shorter, more manageable list. This is a movement – we are the political OUTSIDERS fighting against the FAILED GLOBAL ESTABLISHMENT! Join the resistance and help us fight to put America First! Amy Moreno is a Published Author , Pug Lover & Game of Thrones Nerd. You can follow her on Twitter here and Facebook here . Support the Trump Movement and help us fight Liberal Media Bias. Please LIKE and SHARE this story on Facebook or Twitter.


Monday 7 November 2016 by Davywavy UK's largest worm to get Viking funeral  The earthworm is expected to join Harambe in Valhalla where they will toast their valour for all eternity.  Dave the giant worm died in battle against scientists trying to measure him and is to receive a fiery, viking funeral in a longship specially constructed for the occasion.  Thor, God of Thunder, has expressed disappointment that he did not defeat Dave himself as he had hoped to practice on the worm in preparation for battle against Jormungandr, the Midgard Serpent, at the end of all things.  "We're building a longship that might be as long as fifteen or twenty inches long. When complete we shall lay him on a rich bed of loam with a beetle at his feet", said Earthworm expert Simon Williams.  "Okay, not feet. Whatever it is that Earthworms have. Cloaca? You tell me.  "Then we shall cast the ship adrift in the still, wine-dark sea before sending him aloft with the wormy Valkyrie by firing burning arrows at him until he is utterly consumed by flames and the waves, God rest him."  Simon was then interrupted by an announcement that there is no budget for an elaborate funeral and the earthworm will just be put in the bin. Get the best NewsThump stories in your mailbox every Friday, for FREE! There are currently witterings below - why not add your own?


The Republican governor of Texas signed into law on Tuesday a measure that will restrict insurance coverage for abortions, compelling women to buy a supplemental plan if they want coverage for the procedure. Governor Greg Abbott said the measure known as House Bill 214 would protect abortion opponents from subsidizing the procedure. Democratic critics decried it as forcing people to buy "rape insurance." Texas, the most-populous Republican-controlled state, has been at the forefront in enacting abortion restrictions, with many of its measures followed by other socially conservative states. But when HB 214 goes into law on Dec. 1, Texas will be the 11th state to restrict abortion coverage in private insurance plans written in the state. "As a firm believer in Texas values, I am proud to sign legislation that ensures no Texan is ever required to pay for a procedure that ends the life of an unborn child," Abbott said in a statement. The Republican sponsor of a Senate bill on abortion insurance restriction, Brandon Creighton, has told local media supplemental coverage would cost $12 to $80 a year. House Bill 214, which passed both chambers this month, mostly on a party-line vote, does not offer exceptions for cases of rape or incest. Abortion rights groups said they plan a court fight to prevent it from becoming law. "By signing HB 214 into law, Governor Abbott has told women and parents they must pay extra for what is tantamount to 'rape insurance,'" Democratic Representative Chris Turner, who opposed the bill, said on Tuesday. There are 25 states with restrictions on abortion coverage in plans set up by state exchanges as part of the Affordable Care Act under former Democratic President Barack Obama, according to the Guttmacher Institute, which tracks such legislation. Also on Tuesday, Abbott signed another measure that expands reporting requirements for complications arising from abortions.


Tweet Widget by Hugh Esco  The author, a reader and colleague of BAR, offers a corrective to our use of the word "jihad," a term that, in "an Islamic conception, has nothing to do with 'holy war.'" In this "appeal," Mr. Esco warns: "When we fail to interrupt this abuse of human language, We lend support to registration programs and internment camps, to islamaphobic attacks and imperial wars of aggression." Confusing Jihad with Hirabah Won't Build a More Peaceful World by Hugh Esco  "No one seems to use of phrases like 'Christian Terrorists,' although there is plenty of evidence in our history and contemporary experience to support the use of such a phrase."  Black Agenda Report led the way by banning the perjorative use of "illegal" to describe workers in this country without documentation. This publication did so in an article years ago comparing its use to that of the n-word. Many other media outlets including those in the mainstream have since followed suit, so that these days the word is only heard in those venues intent on expressing their contempt for our fellow workers in this divisive way.  This is my appeal that Black Agenda Report and the readers who look to this publication for thought-leadership decide for ourselves that FOX news does not need our help creating a hostile world for our Muslim neighbors who respect a messenger who in his final sermon instructed the faithful, "Treat others justly so that no one will be unjust to you."  Fringe white supremacist groups have long shown a willingness to use violence to advance their political agenda and to justify their tactics by misquoting the Bible and claiming a Christian Identity. Still no one seems to paint all Christians as equally heinous, to treat their claims of Christian faith with any seriousness or to adopt the widespeard use of phrases like "Christian Terrorists," although there is plenty of evidence in our history and contemporary experience to support the use of such a phrase.  Yet it serves the monied interests who profit from war to create fear by conflating the actions and strategies of small sectarian militias who misquote the Quran to advance their secular agenda with the beliefs of 1.6 billion Muslims who actually seek to practice its precepts.  "The Arabic word 'jihad' most often translates as 'struggle.'"  For Muslims around the world an Islamic conception of jihad has nothing to do with "holy war," a concept put forward in 1095 by the Catholic Pope Urban II to justify the crusades against Muslims. The Arabic word most often translates as "struggle," and is used forty-one times in the  Quran, thirty-one times to speak of what the context reveals is a "jihad al-nafs," or an inner struggle in the path of the Divine, what Islamic scholars have called "the greater jihad." It is the sort of lifetime commitment to personal integrity that supports being good partners to spouses, good parents to children, good neighbors, to be civically engaged to create a better world for our communities.  The Quran includes ten references to "jihad al-qital," referred to as the "lesser jihad" by the scholars and theologians. Jihad al-qital is an external militant struggle, ordained by legitimate civil authorities and constrained by rules-of-engagement respecting the distinctions between combatants and others. It includes an expectation that the lives of captured combatants will be spared. Jihad al-qital bears more in common with the Christian concept of just-war, than with the  scorched earth policies of the crusades which burned the libraries of Byzantium, or the Jewish tribes annihilation of all the indigenous peoples of Canaan, along with their livestock and shrines.  We create a communications disconnect when we turn jihad into a pejorative, one where Muslims and non-Muslims wind up talking past each other.  "We'd never let Timothy McVeigh define Christianity for us. "  We also empower Al-Qaida and ISIS and similar organizations and their allies among the elites of the United States, when we let them appropriate this key Islamic concept to describe their terrorist activities. We'd never let Timothy McVeigh define Christianity for us.  When we fail to interrupt this abuse of human language, this hate speech, this disrespect for the faith of 1% of our fellow US citizens and roughly a quarter of our global neighbors, we first show our ignorance but worse share responsibility for creating an atmosphere which lends support to the attacks being suffered on a regular basis by our Muslim neighbors, both here at home and abroad. We lend support to registration programs and internment camps, to islamaphobic attacks and imperial wars of aggression.  If we need an Arabic word to describe terrorism, that word would be hirabah, which translates as "unlawful warfare."  Nuclear blackmail is hirabah. Drone strikes are hirabah. Cluster munitions are hirabah. White phosphorous is hirabah. Wars of imperialism, aggression and occupation are hirabah. Wars for oil are hirabah.  And distorting language to tell people that words mean the opposite of what they mean is also a form of cultural warfare, and ought to be unlawful, but is perpetrated daily by elected officials, agencies of our own government, the war industry funded think tanks, FOX-News and other Islamophobes in the media. Sectarian militias and FOX news ought not be given the power to redefine the 'sixth' pillar of Islam for the non-Muslim world.  "Wars of imperialism, aggression and occupation are 'hirabah.'"  And they certainly do not need our help doing it. In that final sermon referenced above, the Muslim Prophet also prohibited usurious loans and instructed those with accumulated wealth to give every year to the state specified percentages for distribution to the needy. No wonder the disaster capitalists want us to be afraid of our Muslim neighbors.  If fearing our neighbors serves the interests of disaster capitalists, it is highly unlikely to do us any good.  Jihad, even in its lower form, shows its practitioners to be more civilized that the imperial purposes to which our tax dollars are put in imperial wars of aggression and occupation. Jihad al-nafs is an islamic principle to which all the worlds' people, with or without faith, should aspire.  So-called 'jihadist terrorist' is an oxymoron, one which creates a disconnect for those who understand Arabic and Islamic teachings. We ought to say 'sectarian militia' when that is what we mean. Doing so is as essential to our learning to respect our immigrant neighbors as was our rejection of the pejorative use of 'illegal'. Getting the language right is a key early step to creating peace with our Muslim neighbors in the global community. It will help us take the next step of ending our imperial occupations. FOX news is not a legitimate source for a vocabulary useful to our struggle, our jihad for a just future. But respect for the faiths of others can move us in the right direction. Hugh Esco is a founding officer of the Georgia Green Party who works by day in IT, and on nights and weekends for a world worthy of passing on to the next generation. He can be contacted at [email protected]


'How Am I Supposed To Explain This To My Children?' Asks Melania Trump Thoughts - Nov 9, 2016 By: Sarah Pappalardo SHARE: Tweet  It's been a long and draining election cycle, and I don't think any of us could have expected the result that we saw today. For many of us with young children, you probably woke up this morning asking yourself, "How am I supposed to explain this to my children?"  I, Melania Trump, am asking myself the same thing.  How can any of us metabolize what happened to a ten-year-old? Should I be honest and let him know just how bad things are, or do I let him enjoy his childhood, his innocence a little while longer? How much longer can we pretend the bathroom door lock is "broken" while Donald is stuck in there?  Many of us are concerned about how our sons will learn to treat women in this dangerous, sexist climate. In the case of my son, the nation's biggest tragedy since 9/11 just told him to stop being a pussy.  How am I supposed to explain that our next president is a bully, and also his father?  And how do I explain to my son that our next president is a man who intimidatingly looked over at my ballot, just to make sure I was still voting for him? Should I remind my son that this man is a terrible role model and his behavior unacceptable, just like I've been quietly whispering to him for his entire short life?  And when he gets older, how am I supposed to tell them how this all began? That their father admitted to sexual assault, never shared his tax returns, was endorsed by the KKK, and still somehow weaseled his way into the presidency without even winning the popular vote? I used to believe that this country was an equal playing field where anyone can make it with hard work, but now I'm not so sure. I hate that my son has to come of age in such a time of uncertainty and also have blood relation to the cause of it all.  What am I supposed to tell my only son about the loud, nasty man on TV who insults immigrants while hiring thousands of them, including me, his wife? Do I need to tell him anything at all when he is on the TV standing right next to that man?  It seems like it's always on the tip of my tongue these days; that "Donald Trump is a bad man." But I can't bring myself to tell him. Mostly because a man said he'd "send me back to Slovenia" if I did. But in my heart, I am concerned for the future of our country. I'm concerned for the world my son has to grow up in, and that his father is the next leader of the free world.  What have we done? SHARE:


A male colleague grabbing her leg. Another one suggestively rubbing her back. Others at work dinners discussing who they'd want to sleep with. Jane Park talked about experiencing all of this behavior in her career in business consulting and strategy. Never has she reported any of it to human resources or management. "It's made into such a big deal that you have to make a decision: Do you want to ruin your career? Do you want this to be everything that you end up being about?" said Ms. Park, who is now chief executive of Julep, a beauty company she founded. "What you really want to happen is that it doesn't happen again. " Her choice is more common than not, social science research shows. Employers, judges and juries often use women's failure to report harassment as evidence that it was not a problem or that plaintiffs had other motives. But only a quarter to a third of people who have been harassed at work report it to a supervisor or union representative, and 2 percent to 13 percent file a formal complaint, according to a of studies by Lilia Cortina of the University of Michigan and Jennifer Berdahl of the University of British Columbia Sauder School of Business. Mostly they fear retaliation, and with good reason, research shows. In response to a New York Times report this month of payouts to women who had accused the Fox news host Bill O'Reilly of sexual harassment, 21st Century Fox, Fox News's parent company, said: "No current or former Fox News employee ever took advantage of the 21st Century Fox hotline to raise a concern about Bill O'Reilly, even anonymously. " In interviews, women who worked at Fox said they didn't complain to human resources because they feared they would be fired. Some women who experience harassment confront the perpetrator or confide in friends or family, the found. But the most common response is to avoid the person, play down what happened or ignore the behavior. Some don't report a problem because they don't think their experience qualifies as illegal harassment. An analysis of 55 representative surveys found that about 25 percent of women report having experienced sexual harassment, but when they are asked about specific behaviors, like inappropriate touching or pressure for sexual favors, the share roughly doubles. Those numbers are broadly consistent with other survey findings. Many victims, who are most often women, fear they will face disbelief, inaction, blame or societal and professional retaliation. That could be hostility from supervisors, a bad reference to future employers or the loss of job opportunities. Their fears are grounded in reality, researchers have concluded. In one study of employees, of workers who had complained about mistreatment described some form of retaliation in a survey. "They become troublemakers — nobody wants to hire them or work with them anymore," Ms. Berdahl said. Paradoxically, official harassment policies and grievance procedures often end up creating obstacles to women's ability to assert their rights, according to research by Marshall, a sociologist at the University of Illinois. "That is in part because companies put them into place as mini litigation defense centers," Ms. Marshall said. "The way employers deal with it is to prepare to show a court or jury that they did everything they could, rather than to protect women in the workplace. " There are many ways that company cultures discourage people who are harassed from reporting it. Sometimes the harasser is a superstar — someone who makes the company so much money that he feels powerful and uninhibited in his behavior because the company has considerable incentive to look the other way. The more someone has a reputation for harassing, the less likely a woman is to complain, Ms. Berdahl said: "It's natural to conclude that if he's been getting away with this for a long time, then the organization tolerates it, so why become the problem yourself by going to H. R.?" Other times the human resources department has no interest in helping the employee — or there is no such department at all. This is common in Silicon Valley, where companies grow so fast — and where disdain for bureaucracy runs so deep — that human resources officials often serve only to recruit employees. In February, a former Uber engineer, Susan Fowler, wrote that when she reported to the Uber human resources department that her manager had tried persuading her to have sex with him on her first official day on her new team, the department declined to take action. It said she could change teams or accept what would probably be a poor performance review from the manager. Uber has a new human resources executive and is doing an internal investigation. Ellen Pao, a former partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers, described an atmosphere of sexism and harassment at the venture capital firm — with little recourse. In fact, it had no human resources department. She sued and lost a trial. Organizations that are very hierarchical or masculine can breed more harassment, and less reporting of it, according to studies, because gendered power dynamics are a big driver. That's one reason that harassment has been rampant — and underreported — in the military. Most sizable companies have policies banning sexual harassment and require some sort of training in what it is and how to report it. But much of the training has been shown to be ineffective, and at worst can backfire. The best way to avoid sexual harassment and ensure that it's reported when it happens is to bake it into company culture, from the top leaders on down, executives and researchers say. "When you have an effective H. R. department that is supported by leadership, people feel safe about reporting harassment," said Bettina Deynes, vice president for H. R. at the Society for Human Resource Management, a professional association. "It has a lot to do with the type of H. R. department: The motive is not the legal liability, but the culture you want. " Culture is a squishy concept, but companies can do concrete things. One counterintuitive idea is to reward managers when complaints of harassment increase in their department, because it means they're creating an environment where people are comfortable reporting it, according to a frank report published in June by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Here are some other ideas from the commission and researchers in the field: ■ Authorize dozens of employees throughout the organization to receive complaints, so that people can report to someone they're comfortable with. ■ Hire an ombudsman. ■ Promote more women to positions of power. ■ Train people not in what not to do, but in how to be civil to colleagues, and how to speak up as a bystander — and have senior leaders attend the training sessions. ■ Put in proportional consequences, so that instances can be handled with conversations instead of firings or legal action. Ms. Pao, now the chief diversity and inclusion partner at the Kapor Center, a research, advisory and investment group that tries to make the tech industry more diverse, says she is pessimistic that company cultures will change unless it starts at the very top. "If you could fix the problem, then everybody could move on and thrive," she said. "But often it's not just the one bad player, so you may want to get out of the culture. "


Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson continues to shoot himself in the foot on a daily basis. Just a day after the media took his running mate's statements to their logical conclusion – a tacit endorsement of Hillary Clinton – Johnson then lost his cool during an interview with the Guardian, in one of the most awkward interviews we've ever seen.  "I could hear some loud voices just then. Is is the same questions? You get the same questions again and again and again?" asks Lewis. "I'm an idiot. Really. I'm the dumbest guy that you've ever met in your whole life" replies Johnson. An awkward silence follows while Lewis admits "I'm trying to work out if that's sarcasm or not."  When Lews got to more substantial questions, like how Johnson felt about the fact that every major economist considers Johnson's proposals to abolish all taxes and replace them with a flat sales tax to be crackpot lunacy, the candidate blew his top and went off on an angry but unrelated rant about how he was considered a fool for proposing marijuana legalization.  The Libertarian Party never had much chance in the first place, and their poll numbers continue to plummet . Their platform of free-market anarchy and a juvenile obsession with "freedoms" is supported largely by stoned fringe wing-nuts who worship Alex Jones and despise the government in the same way a toddler is infuriated at a parent for not letting them jam a fork into an electric socket.  The general displeasure with the mainstream candidates created some increased interest in the Libertarian Party, but Gary Johnson's behavior can be seen as a representation for the party as a whole: unprepared and immature.  Watch it here:


The irony in Obama s radical Treasury Secretary s decision to remove racist Andrew Jackson from the $20 bill, lies in the fact that Jackson was the first Democrat to be elected President. Rabid Bernie Sanders supporters are hell-bent on seeing Bernie Sanders fulfill his promise of breaking up the big bank monopolies. Andrew Jackson was pioneer in staving off banking domination in his day.But alas it s official .Moments ago Politico reported that the U.S. Treasury will announce that it plans to replace former President Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill with Harriet Tubman, the sources said. There will also be changes to the $5 bill to depict civil rights era leaders.Not every dead president is being scraped however: treasury Secretary Jack Lew on Wednesday will announce a decision to keep Alexander Hamilton on the front of the $10 bill and put leaders of the movement to give women the right to vote on the back of the bill.Lew s decision comes after he announced last summer that he was considering replacing Hamilton on the $10 bill with a woman. The announcement drew swift rebukes from fans of Hamilton, who helped create the Treasury Department and the modern American financial system. Critics immediately suggested Hamilton take Jackson off the $20 bill given the former president s role in moving native Americans off their land.Jackson may remain on the $20 bill in some capacity, but will clearly be demoted.While some pointed to the many accomplishments and qualities of Hamilton for why he should stay on the currency printed by the very Treasury the man created, the more popular argument for the Founding Father s retention was an argument about how awful the man on the $20 dollar bill was.The Daily Beast described Jackson as villainous and linked to a February article that called him a mass murderer. The New York Post argued that Old Hickory may well have been our most racist president and was a vicious, power-mad kook. Lew told POLITICO last July that Treasury was exploring ways to respond to critics. There are a number of options of how we can resolve this, Lew said. We re not taking Alexander Hamilton off our currency. Confused? Disturbed? Angry? You are not alone. The following rant by Mac Slavo expressed many feeling about the proposed change.Andrew Jackson, Who Fought Central Bank, Removed from $20 As Public Concern for Liberty ErasedJackson narrowly succeeded in staving off banker domination of the U.S. during his day.Of course, Andrew Jackson, who was the United States seventh president, was also a complete controversy his entire lifetime. It is no surprise that the same people who took down the Confederate flag from the South on the back of a mass shooting tragedy are now trying to tear down the image of a particularly controversial and intriguing figure from the American past.Jackson was a recalcitrant and unyielding general and war hero, and later an outsider riding a wave of populist support into the White House, bringing in sometimes unscrupulous companions, and plenty of Masons. Many of his backers were diametrically opposed to the entrenched power of New York bankers and speculators, as well as patrician politicians who dominated the first phase of politics in the nation s history. Jackson played a nasty role in the Trail of Tears affairs with Indians, too, and with the South and Western expansion of slave-friendly territories. Many shades of grey.Erasing Andrew Jackson from the faces of the fiat funny-money that is passed around by an increasingly ignorant and dependent society (which itself has adopted digital currency as the new norm) will further cut off the past from the masses, and ensure their enslavement.


Last year, Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy made national headlines for his insane standoff with government officials over the illegal grazing of his cattle, and now his three sons have followed in his footsteps by taking up arms with about 150 armed and dangerous militia members in an Oregon wildlife reserve. They are occupying the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge HQ in protest of the expected detainment of two ranchers in the area who are expected to face federal arson charges. Ammon Bundy, the presumed leader of this ridiculous occupation, made a video that was later uploaded to social media, where he said: We re going to be freeing these lands up, and getting ranchers back to ranching, getting the loggers back to logging, getting the miners back to mining where they could do it under the protection of the people and not be afraid of this tyranny that s been set upon them. These people need to learn that they are not above the law. This occupation is illegal, and if they are taking up arms against the government they and all of their participants and supporters need to be hauled into federal custody and charged. That was the mistake before Cliven Bundy and his right-wing militiamen never spent so much as a day behind bars for their insanity. Now, Ammon Bundy, his brothers, and other like-minded morons want to rule themselves free from government oversight in their own nutty enclave.Another presumed group leader, a man by the name of Blane Cooper, speaks in the video and trashes the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) as the equivalent of high school bullies : Until that line is drawn and say we ve had enough of this tyranny, you are going to leave us alone it will not change. Cooper goes on to encourage more occupations like this one across the country: It doesn t have to stop here. This could be a hope that spreads through the whole country, the whole United States. Everybody s looking for this hope because the government has beat us, and oppressed us, and took everything from us; they will not stop until we tell them no. Perhaps this time, the feds will take these lunatics seriously and arrest them.Watch the video of this insane anti-government speech below:// < ![CDATA[ // < ![CDATA[ // < ![CDATA[ // < ![CDATA[ // < ![CDATA[ (function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.3"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);}(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk')); // ]]>Here it is. Please know these men will speak to people civilly. Do not go up there guns blazing. Stay safe and smart.Posted by Sarah Dee Spurlock on Saturday, January 2, 2016


Russia is quietly boosting economic support for North Korea to try to stymie any U.S.-led push to oust Kim Jong Un as Moscow fears his fall would sap its regional clout and allow U.S. troops to deploy on Russia s eastern border. Though Moscow wants to try to improve battered U.S.-Russia relations in the increasingly slim hope of relief from Western sanctions over Ukraine, it remains strongly opposed to what it sees as Washington s meddling in other countries affairs, according to Russian diplomats and analysts familiar with the Kremlin s thinking. Russia is already angry about a build-up of U.S.-led NATO forces on its western borders in Europe and does not want any replication on its Asian flank, the sources added. Yet while Russia has an interest in protecting North Korea, which started life as a Soviet satellite state, it is not giving Pyongyang a free pass: it backed tougher United Nations sanctions against North Korea over its nuclear tests last month. At the same time Moscow is playing a fraught double game, by quietly offering North Korea a slender lifeline to help insulate it from U.S.-led efforts to isolate it economically. A Russian company began routing North Korean internet traffic this month, giving Pyongyang a second connection with the outside world besides China. Bilateral trade more than doubled to $31.4 million in the first quarter of 2017, due mainly to what Moscow said was higher oil product exports, according to Russia s ministry for the development of the Far East. At least eight North Korean ships that left Russia with fuel cargoes this year have returned home despite officially declaring other destinations, a ploy U.S. officials say is often used to undermine sanctions against Pyongyang. And Russia, which shares a short land border with North Korea, has also resisted U.S.-led efforts to repatriate tens of thousands of North Korean workers whose remittances help keep the country s hard line leadership afloat. The Kremlin really believes the North Korean leadership should get additional assurances and confidence that the United States is not in the regime change business, Andrey Kortunov, head of the Russian International Affairs Council, a think-tank close to the Russian Foreign Ministry, told Reuters. The prospect of regime change is a serious concern. The Kremlin understands that (U.S. President Donald) Trump is unpredictable. They felt more secure with Barack Obama that he would not take any action that would explode the situation, but with Trump they don t know. Trump, who mocks North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as a rocket man on a suicide mission, told the United Nations General Assembly last month he would totally destroy the country if necessary. He has also said Kim Jong Un and his foreign minister won t be around much longer if they made good on a threat to develop a nuclear-tipped missile capable of reaching the United States. To be sure, Beijing s economic ties to Pyongyang still dwarf Moscow s and China remains a more powerful player in the unfolding nuclear crisis. But while Beijing is cutting back trade as it toughens its line on its neighbor s ballistic missile and nuclear program, Russia is increasing its support. People familiar with elements of Kremlin thinking say that is because Russia flatly opposes regime change in North Korea. Russian politicians have repeatedly accused the United States of plotting so-called color revolutions across the former Soviet Union and any U.S. talk of unseating any leader for whatever reason is politically toxic in Moscow. Russia s joint military exercises with neighboring Belarus last month gamed a scenario where Russian forces put down a Western-backed attempt for part of Belarus to break away. With Russia due to hold a presidential election in March, politicians are again starting to fret about Western meddling. In 2011, President Vladimir Putin accused then U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton of trying to stir up unrest in Russia and he has made clear that he wants the United States to leave Kim Jong Un alone. While condemning Pyongyang for what he called provocative nuclear tests, Putin told a forum last month in the eastern Russian port of Vladivostok that he understood North Korea s security concerns about the United States and South Korea. Vladivostok, a strategic port city of 600,000 people and headquarters to Russia s Pacific Fleet, is only about 100 km (60 miles) from Russia s border with North Korea. Russia would be fiercely opposed to any U.S. forces deploying nearby in a reunited Korea. (The North Koreans) know exactly how the situation developed in Iraq, Putin told the economic forum, saying Washington had used the false pretext that Baghdad had weapons of mass destruction to destroy the country and its leadership. They know all that and see the possession of nuclear weapons and missile technology as their only form of self-defense. Do you think they re going to give that up? Analysts say Russia s view is that North Korea s transformation into a nuclear state, though incomplete, is permanent and irreversible and the best the West can hope for is for Pyongyang to freeze elements of its program. Kortunov, the think-tank chief close to the Russian Foreign Ministry, said he did not think the Kremlin s defense of Kim Jong Un was based on any personal affection or support for North Korea s leadership, likening Moscow s pragmatic backing to that it has given Syria s President Bashar al-Assad. Moscow s position was motivated by a belief the status quo made Russia a powerful geopolitical player in the crisis because of its close ties to Pyongyang, Kortunov said, just as Russia s support for Assad has gifted it greater Middle East clout. He said Moscow knew it would lose regional leverage if Kim Jong Un fell, much as its Middle East influence was threatened when Islamist militants looked like they might overthrow Assad in 2015. It s a very delicate balancing act, said Kortunov. On the one hand, Russia doesn t want to deviate from the line of its partners and mostly from China s position on North Korea which is getting tougher. But on the other hand, politicians in Moscow understand that the current situation and level of interaction between Moscow and Pyongyang puts Russia in a league of its own compared to China. If the United States were to remove Kim Jong Un by force, he said Russia could face a refugee and humanitarian crisis on its border, while the weapons and technology Pyongyang is developing could fall into even more dangerous non-state hands. So despite Russia giving lukewarm backing to tighter sanctions on Pyongyang, Putin wants to help its economy grow and is advocating bringing it into joint projects with other countries in the region. We need to gradually integrate North Korea into regional cooperation, Putin told the Vladivostok summit last month.


U.S. Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz apologized to Ben Carson on Tuesday over an email his campaign sent on Monday night that implied Carson was about to drop out of the race and that his Iowa backers should be urged to vote for Cruz instead. A staffer for Cruz sent the email after rumors began circulating that Carson would return to Florida following Iowa's caucuses on Monday rather than go straight to New Hampshire or South Carolina, other early voting states in the state-by-state nominating contests for the Nov. 8 election. "The press is reporting that Dr. Ben Carson is taking time off from the campaign trail after Iowa and making a big announcement next week," the email read, according to CNN. "Please inform any Carson caucusgoers of this news and urge them to caucus for Ted Cruz." Carson said he was simply leaving Iowa to avoid a winter storm and to get fresh clothes before continuing his campaign on Wednesday. The retired neurosurgeon, who said his fourth-place performance in Iowa would have been better had the email never been sent, criticized the move as "a dirty trick" and said the Cruz campaign should face some kind of consequences. "What this does is makes me more determined than ever to try to save our country," Carson said on Fox News on Tuesday. In an apology released on Tuesday afternoon, Cruz, who won the Iowa Republican caucuses, categorized the email as a regular update the campaign would send to grassroots leaders. But the U.S. senator from Texas acknowledged another email should have been sent once Carson clarified he was not dropping out. "This was a mistake from our end, and for that I apologize to Dr. Carson," Cruz wrote. Carson accepted the apology, his communications director, A. Larry Ross, said in a statement later on Tuesday. "This incident further demonstrates that we need an individual who is not a politician to lead and to heal our nation, not someone driven by ambition," Ross said, adding that Carson would continue his campaign in New Hampshire and South Carolina. Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus said he would not interfere in the situation. "You take them at their word for it, and you move on to the next state," he said on CNN. The question remains whether the dispute will hurt Cruz, a favorite of conservative evangelicals looking to win over Carson supporters should Carson drop out. Dartmouth University political scientist Linda Fowler said it could hurt Cruz if other candidates start to pick up on the interaction and say: "There's a reason why nobody likes Ted Cruz, and here it is." (Reporting by Megan Cassella, Additional reporting by Emily Stephenson; Editing by Peter Cooney and Cynthia Osterman) SAP is the sponsor of this coverage which is independently produced by the staff of Reuters News Agency.


The United States hopes a new package of U.S. regulatory changes affecting Cuba will encourage people-to-people interactions and provide additional incentives for Havana to make economic and trade reforms of its own, U.S. officials said on Tuesday. The regulatory reforms, which were introduced earlier on Tuesday, loosen travel restrictions on Cuba and ease limits on the use of U.S. dollars in trade transactions there just days ahead of President Barack Obama's historic visit to the former Cold War enemy. U.S. officials told reporters the new rules would allow more Cubans to work legally in the United States without having to defect, but they declined to predict how that might affect Major League Baseball. "It certainly does address the ability of Cuban athletes who can earn salaries in the United States to do so," one official told reporters in a briefing.


Next Prev Swipe left/right Read the frustrating conversation a man had with his granny after accidentally phoning her Twitter user Big Daddy , also known as @YanniTsunami , has shared an awkward text conversation he had with his grandmother – because granny texts are a thing now – after he accidentally called her.  The conversation went like this:  Granny: What's wrong Granny: Did u want anything or just wanted to talk Big Daddy: It was an accident Granny: Were u driving Big Daddy: I'm fine Granny: Who was driving Big Daddy: My mom is driving Granny: The car hurt


Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg erroneously labeled South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham as one of the women of the Senate on Monday.Ginsburg s misstatement came in her remarks upon accepting an Allegheny College award given to her and the late Justice Antonin Scalia for civility in public life. Hours after Justice Neil Gorsuch was sworn in to replace Scalia, Ginsburg took to the podium in calling on lawmakers to work together, but mistakenly identified South Carolina s senior senator as a woman. I thought back to the 1993 confirmation of my nomination to the court the hearing was altogether civil, the vote was 96 to 3. For Justice Scalia, the vote was unanimous, Ginsburg said. Let s hope members of Congress, the members that Allegheny College has already honored Vice President Joe Biden and Senator John McCain, the women of the Senate, Senators Dianne Feinstein and Lindsey Graham let s hope that they and others of goodwill will lead in restoring harmonious work ways.


Republican U.S. Senator Thad Cochran said he had returned to Washington on Tuesday and was looking forward to "continuing work on the 2018 appropriations bills and to taking part in the debate on the budget and tax cuts." Cochran's absence for a medical procedure threatened to complicate passage of a budget blueprint needed to push through the Republicans' plan for tax reform. Cochran's office said in a statement that the Mississippi senator "continues to be treated for urological issues and remains under medical supervision, which could affect his work schedule."


Police Use Tear Gas, Arrest 9 During Protests In St. Louis Police used tear gas and arrested nine people during protests in St. Louis on Wednesday. Demonstrators gathered after police shot and killed an 18-year-old they say pointed a gun at them. Police said protesters threw bottles and bricks at them, so they deployed armored vehicles and teams of officers in riot gear. "The Rev. Renita Lamkin of St. Charles, who regularly attended protests in Ferguson, went to Page Avenue with several other clergy members Wednesday evening. She accused the police of engaging in an overly aggressive response. " 'There has to be a better way, but the better way is not to terrorize an already terrorized community,' she said. 'How they deal with the situation is classist and dehumanizing. The people here don't matter as much to them.' "Kayla Reed of the Organization for Black Struggle also said she believed officers were too aggressive toward a crowd 'that never was all that big.' She claimed officers gave no warning firing canisters of smoke and tear gas." Police defended their actions, saying they warned protesters that the gathering had been deemed an unlawful assembly. As The Associated Press reports, officers were serving a warrant at a home in that neighborhood Wednesday afternoon. They encountered two suspects. "The suspects were fleeing the home as [18-year-old Mansur] Ball-Bey, who was black, turned and pointed a handgun at the officers, who shot him," the AP says. Police say they found four guns and crack cocaine at the home. "Police said a 33-year-old white officer with seven years on the force and a 29-year-old white officer with nearly seven years experience fired their weapons after Ball-Bey pointed his gun at them. "A black male in his mid to late teens escaped and remains at large. Police said they recovered a 9-mm gun with 'an extended magazine' from Ball-Bey that had been reported as stolen in Rolla, Mo. They also recovered three other guns at the scene." Of course, these protests come at a time when tensions in the St. Louis area are running high. The last few weeks have been marked by events commemorating the shooting death of Michael Brown. The protests and clashes with police extended through the night. One vacant house was set on fire and the Post-Dispatch says police have received reports of businesses being set on fire.


Massive Spherical Space Object Disturbed NASA's Satellite H1  NASA still won't talk about a giant mysterious spherical object that sometimes becomes visible in the vicinity of the Sun. Now, it seems a massive unknown force disturbed NASA's satellite H1 on November 17, 2016 which almost led to an equipment malfunction. On November 16, the satellite was still functioning normally then on the 17th something disturbed the satellite but the H1 camera still managed to capture images and one day later the 18th everything returned to normal. Images captured on the 17th show a giant spherical object which was probably the cause of the incident. Whether the object is one of the giant extraterrestrial or interdimensional spacecraft, which are accessing our solar system, using the Sun as a stargate or an unknown celestial body like the famed planet Nibiru, it is clear what happened on the 17th was not the result of an equipment failure. Note: Planet Nibiru – This mysterious object has been researched by Intellihub's Shepard Ambellas for over 25 years and is likely the basis for all emergency preparations by world governments which we've seen transpire over the last three decades after the object was discovered during the Regan Administration by NASA's IRAS telescope. WATCH THE VIDEO:  UFO Sighting Hotspot SOURCE


Bangalore car driver drives 200 km in search of U-turn to reach home Posted on Tweet  In another bizarre tale of Bangalore's ever increasing traffic woes, more than hundred car drivers reportedly reached Mysore while searching for a u-turn to reach home. The drivers had started from their offices on outer ring road and had to take a u-turn to reach their homes on the other side of the road but the Bangalore Traffic police made some unexpected changes due to which the car drivers kept on driving, finally finding a u-turn near Mysore.  "U-turns and one ways! At one point, I even asked a few passersby to help me lift the car and place it on the other side of the road. But some of them rushed and sat inside my car as they had been waiting to cross the road for the last 6 days and finally saw some hope," said a frustrated driver after reaching Mysore. "I could see my home on the right side 5 minutes after starting from office, but then I never found a u-turn. When I did find one, the Google maps lady asked me to keep going straight and I missed it!" he further lamented.  Even Google Maps isn't able to understand the sudden changes by Bangalore traffic police. "Our users have been banging their cars into dividers. When our map says take a u-turn, there never is one. That's the magic of Bangalore Traffic police," said a developer working on Google maps.  Meanwhile, Bangalore Traffic police has termed this as "suspense driving", in which the driver is always alert. "U-turns should be a suspense and we are going to make this game even more interesting," said a policeman.  (Reported by Citizen Satirist Manish Paul . He blogs here )


The U.S. Senate rejected an amendment on Wednesday that would have forced the repeal of war resolutions used as the legal basis for U.S. military actions in Iraq, Afghanistan and against extremists in Syria and other countries. The Senate voted 61 to 36 to kill the measure, which six months after it became law would have put an end to authorizations for the use of military force (AUMF) passed in 2001 and 2002. The legislation was offered by Republican Senator Rand Paul as an amendment to a must-pass annual defense policy bill, which lawmakers are using as a vehicle to gain a greater say in national security policy. Paul's measure was aimed at asserting the constitutional right of Congress to approve military action, rather than the president. Some of the other amendments address issues such as sanctions on North Korea and President Donald Trump's ban on transgender troops in the military. Many members of Congress are concerned the 2001 AUMF, passed days after the Sept. 11 attacks to authorize the fight against al Qaeda and affiliates, has been used too broadly as the legal basis for a wide range of military action in too many countries. The majority of support for the amendment came from Democrats, who joined Paul in arguing that it is long past time for Congress to debate a new authorization for the use of force. "We should oppose unauthorized, undeclared, unconstitutional war. At this particular time, there are no limits on war," Paul said. Republicans control majorities in both the Senate and House of Representatives. Only two other Republicans backed the amendment. Opponents said it would endanger U.S. forces already deployed in conflicts overseas by generating uncertainty about their mission. "Repealing the 2001 and 2002 AUMFs without simultaneously passing a new authorization would be premature, it would be irresponsible," said Republican Senator John McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. However, McCain and several other senators who spoke against the amendment said they would back efforts to pass a new authorization through so-called "regular order," including hearings and debate. A growing number of lawmakers argue that using the 2001 authorization is especially questionable for the campaign against Islamic State, which did not exist when it was passed, and fights against al Qaeda in Syria and elsewhere.


A spokesman for the Afghan Taliban condemned on Tuesday U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement that he will keep American troops in Afghanistan with no set timetable for withdrawal. "Instead of continuing of war in Afghanistan, Americans should have thought about withdrawing their soldiers from Afghanistan," Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement issued hours after Trump's televised speech on U.S. policy in Afghanistan and South Asia. Mujahid said "as long as there is even one American solder in our country", the Islamist insurgents would "continue our jihad".


One way or another, she s going to have to face these charges Former Republican Congressman Tom Delay Note that Tom Delay says the FBI is ready to indict . The FBI cannot indict but the DOJ can indict. If the DOJ chooses not to indict, Hillary will be tried in the court of public opinion. This will be an interesting test for DOJ Director Loretta Lynch. The revelation that the Clinton team took highly classified e-mails and copy and pasted them is a big bombshell in itself. Just a bunch of amateurs on this team


November 6, 2016 at 11:31 am  I hope the next one really try to tie the 2 you just equated. An ancient cult linked directly to something today is more far fetched than just stating they do crazy stuff and thats about it.It would do you some good to study a little more about how theological perspectives evolve. Not even cults that are proeminent and known throughout history can be linked directly, such as Christianity and Islamism. Why that would be different for any idiotic satan cult?


Amateur president Donald Trump used his commencement speech at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy on Wednesday to make the day all about him. Trump did not address the scandals which have inundated the White House directly, but indirectly he did by saying that he s receiving unfair treatment by the media. Even though Trump s scandals have been compared to Watergate, he said, Look at the way I ve been treated lately. Especially by the media. Trump whined that no politician in history, and I say this with great surety, has been treated worse or more unfairly. Apparently, the former reality show star has forgotten how he treated Barack Obama, dogging our first black president for years with baseless allegations saying that he s a scary Muslim from Kenya.Trump gave the cadets some advice, saying that they will need to fight, fight, fight. Over the course of your life, you will find that things are not always fair. You will find that things happen to you that you do not deserve and that are not always warranted, he said, seemingly referring to bombshell reports, which he even admitted to on Twitter, saying he disclosed highly classified information to top Russian officials. Or he could be referring to the other bombshell reports, stating that he asked former FBI Director James Comey to shut down an investigation into his first national security adviser, Michael Flynn.Trump went on to brag that he s accomplished a tremendous amount in a very short time. Then he boasted of his upcoming first international trip which is to begin on Friday. As you leave this academy to embark on your exciting new voyage, Trump said, I am heading on a very crucial journey, as well. In a few days, I will make my first trip abroad as President. Things will work out just fine, Trump concluded. Great honor. Good luck. Enjoy your life. Watch:Poor Trump, the media has treated him so unfairly by quoting him verbatim. When Flynn was forced to resign, he called the disgraced retired General a wonderful man then went on to blame the fake media. Tell me if this sounds familiar. Michael Flynn, Gen. Flynn, is a wonderful man. I think he has been treated very, very unfairly by the media, as I call it, the fake media in many cases, Trump said at the time. And I think it s really a sad thing that he was treated so badly. And today, President Bone Spurs addressed graduates who may be headed to active duty to cry about the fake news media.Photo by Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images.


Charles Schumer, the top Democrat in the U.S. Senate, called on President Donald Trump on Sunday to name a single official to oversee and coordinate relief efforts in hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico. Schumer, along with Representatives Nydia Velàzquez and Jose Serrano, said a "CEO of response and recovery" is needed to manage the complex and ongoing federal response in the territory, where millions of Americans remain without power and supplies. In a statement, Schumer said the current federal response to Hurricane Maria's impact on the island had been "disorganized, slow-footed and mismanaged." "This person will have the ability to bring all the federal agencies together, cut red tape on the public and private side, help turn the lights back on, get clean water flowing and help bring about recovery for millions of Americans who have gone too long in some of the worst conditions," he said. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Democrats contended that naming a lone individual to manage the government's relief efforts was critical, particularly given that the Federal Emergency Management Agency is already stretched thin from dealing with other crises, such as the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey in Texas and the wildfires in California. The severity of the Puerto Rico crisis, where a million people do not have clean water and millions are without power nearly a month after Hurricane Maria made landfall, demand a single person to focus exclusively on relief and recovery, the Democrats said. Forty-nine people have died in Puerto Rico officially, with dozens more missing. The hurricane did extensive damage to the island's power grid, destroying homes, roads and other vital infrastructure. Now, the bankrupt territory is struggling to provide basic services like running water, and pay its bills. "It's tragically clear this Administration was caught flat footed when Maria hit Puerto Rico," said Velàzquez. "Appointing a CEO of Response and Recovery will, at last, put one person with authority in charge to manage the response and ensure we are finally getting the people of Puerto Rico the aid they need." On Thursday, Trump said the federal response has been a "10" on a scale of one to 10 at a meeting with Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello. The governor has asked the White House and Congress for at least $4.6 billion in block grants and other types of funding. Senator Marco Rubio called on Congress to modify an $18.7 billion aid package for areas damaged by a recent swath of hurricanes to ensure that Puerto Rico can quickly access the funds.


U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, responding to Pope Francis' calling him "not Christian" because of his positions on immigration, said on Thursday the pope would have wished Trump was president if Islamic State attacked Vatican. "If and when the Vatican is attacked by the ISIS, which as everyone knows is ISIS's ultimate trophy, I can promise you that the pope would have only wished and prayed that Donald Trump would have been president," Trump said in a speech in South Carolina, using an acronym for the militant group. (Reporting by Mohammad Zargham in Washington) This article was funded in part by SAP. It was independently created by the Reuters editorial staff. SAP had no editorial involvement in its creation or production.


Will the mainstream media report about this?Contradicting statements by Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, the Virginia State Police say they did not find caches of weapons stashed around Charlottesville in advance of last Saturday s deadly white nationalist rally.In an interview Monday on the Pod Save the People podcast, hosted by Black Lives Matter activist DeRay Mckesson, McAuliffe claimed the white nationalists who streamed into Charlottesville that weekend hid weapons throughout the town. They had battering rams and we had picked up different weapons that they had stashed around the city, McAuliffe told Mckesson.McAuliffe s comments were picked up by other news outlets and spread through social media. But Corinne Geller, a spokesperson for the Virginia State Police, says that no such stashes were found. The governor was referring to the briefing provided him in advance of Saturday s rally and the extra security measures being taken by local and state police, Geller tells Reason. As a safety precaution in advance of August 12, such searches were conducted in and around Emancipation and McIntire Parks. No weapons were located as a result of those searches. The Virginia State Police also disputed McAuliffe s claims that Virginia State Police were underequipped to deal with the heavily armed militia members at Saturday s rally. The governor was referencing the weapons and tactical gear the members of various groups attending the rally had on their persons, Geller says. I can assure you that the Virginia State Police personnel were equipped with more-than-adequate specialized tactical and protective gear for the purpose of fulfilling their duties to serve and protect those in attendance of the August 12 event in Charlottesville. McAuliffe claimed in an interview with The New York Times that law enforcement arrived to find a line of militia members who had better equipment than our State Police had. In longer comments that were later edited out of the Times story, McAuliffe said that up to 80 percent of the rally attendees were carrying semi-automatic weapons. You saw the militia walking down the street, you would have thought they were an army, he said. Reason


Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte s eldest son quit as vice mayor of the southern city of Davao on Monday, citing his being linked to a drug smuggling case by opponents and personal problems from a failed marriage as reasons for the move. Paolo Duterte announced his resignation during a special session of the Davao City Council. Davao is President Duterte s hometown and its mayor is Paolo s younger sister, Sara Duterte-Carpio. There are recent unfortunate events in my life that are closely tied to my failed first marriage, the vice mayor said, in a statement made available to media. These, among others, include the maligning of my reputation in the recent name dropping incident in the Bureau of Customs smuggling case and the very public squabble with my daughter. Paolo testified at a senate investigation in September into a seized shipment of around $125 million worth of narcotics from China after opponents of the president, who has instigated a fierce crackdown on the drugs trade, said they believe his son may have helped ease the entry of the shipment at the port in Manila, the Philippine capital. Paolo has denied any involvement. More recently, he has been involved in an online spat with Isabelle, his 15-year-old daughter from his first wife. Paolo has called her embarrassing on Facebook after she complained on Twitter about being treated badly by her father. The president s office, the mayor s office and other members of Paolo s family did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comments.


Senate Republicans sink to a new disgraceful low in their childish effort prevent President Obama from filling the vacant Supreme Court seat.When asked about potential Supreme Court nominees, John Cornyn, the second highest ranking Republican in the Senate literally issued a threat to anyone who might accept the nomination from President Obama that their career and reputation will be intentionally ruined by Senate Republicans. I think they will bear some resemblance to a pi ata, Cornyn said according to CNN. What I don t understand is how someone who actually wants to be confirmed to the Supreme Court would actually allow themselves to be used by the administration in a political fight that s going to last from now until the end of the year. Because there is no guarantee, certainly, after that time they re going to look as good as they did going in. Yes, Senate Republicans are so desperate to get their way that they are willing to destroy the life of anyone President Obama nominates to fill the empty Supreme Court seat even if that person has impeccable credentials and is absolutely qualified to do the job.This angered Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid so much that he entered the CNN article into the Congressional Record, where it will remain as an example of just how petulant Republicans have become, and then he took to the Senate floor to blast Cornyn and the GOP. Think about that. They don t know who the nominee is, they don t know anything about the person, but they already have in their mind they are going to beat this person like a pi ata. It doesn t matter who it is. Man, woman, old, young, it doesn t matter. Doesn t matter what their education is, what their experience is, they re going to beat them like a pi ata. I think they ve been listening to Donald Trump too much. The Republicans need to stop and listen to this disgusting rhetoric they re spewing This is vile behavior that is beneath the dignity of this institution. Here s the video of Reid remarks via YouTube:And the American people overwhelmingly agree with Democrats on this issue.Three major polls, including a Fox News poll, reveal that most Americans WANT President Obama to nominate a replacement for Scalia and they WANT Senate Republicans to do their jobs and hold fair confirmation hearings even more. A Rasmussen poll says the same thing, and so does a CNN/ORC poll released this month.But rather than backtrack his remarks and apologize for his utter lack of professionalism, Cornyn doubled down on his threat and this time used the Senate floor to repeat his offensive promise to destroy the reputation and career of anyone who accepts the nomination, suggesting that President Obama would be at fault if Senate Republicans did such a thing. I would be surprised if any person who actually aspired to be on the United States Supreme Court, a current judge or a legal scholar or lawyer, would allow themselves to be used by this administration in making a nomination to the Supreme Court for a seat that will not be filled during the remainder of President Obama s term. Knowing that they won t be confirmed. This is totally outrageous and Senate Republicans should be ashamed of themselves. They have thumbed their nose at the American people and are an embarrassment to the nation and Constitution they claim to serve.Featured Image: Wikimedia


U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter called his Japanese counterpart on Saturday to express regrets after an American working at a U.S. military base in Japan was arrested on suspicion of dumping the body of a Japanese woman. The case in Okinawa has sparked a protest from Tokyo and could add to resentment of the large U.S. military presence on the island, where Japanese have long been upset by crimes committed by Americans. It also is likely to stir anti-U.S. sentiment as President Barack Obama visits Japan next week. In his call to Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani, Carter "extended his sincere apologies to the victim's family and friends," Defense Department spokesman Peter Cook said in a statement. "He also expressed his sympathies to the people of Japan," the statement said. A 32-year-old American working at the base on Okinawa admitted to abandoning the corpse of a 20-year-old Japanese woman but did not comment about whether he had killed her, an Okinawa police spokesman said earlier this week. The Pentagon has said the man was a contractor but did not name him. The Pentagon statement said the Defense Department would cooperate with the Japanese government in the investigation and work to prevent similar incidents. Obama is going to Japan for a Group of Seven summit and also will become the first U.S. president to visit Hiroshima, a city destroyed by a U.S. atomic bomb 71 years ago in World War Two. Okinawa, the site of a bloody World War Two battle, hosts the bulk of U.S. military forces based in Japan since the war with U.S. installations taking up about 18 percent of the island. Earlier this year, a U.S. serviceman stationed in Okinawa was arrested on suspicion of raping a woman. In the most infamous post-war case involving Americans on Okinawa, three American servicemen raped a 12-year-old girl in 1995.


Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is really working hard to make Chicagoans feel a part of the city the only problem is he s focusing his efforts on the illegal aliens who live there. To add insult to injury, Chicago s murder rate is sky high with no end in sight but, but, but the illegals have a new fancy ID to give them the same benefits as everyone else in the city at a cost of millions to taxpayers. The card is free to the freeloaders while the taxpayers foot the bill The name municipal ID was initially floated for the program, but Emanuel revealed that Chicago s city IDs would actually be called City Keys. He said City Keys were designed to give a person who doesn t have an ID or a driver s license essentially the same benefits as those who do. When somebody says, Can I see your driver s license? what that unlocks and what that smooths out and all the speed bumps that literally get eliminated because you have a driver s license, Emanuel said.The mayor says the IDs will also provide benefits including discounts at cultural centers, on public transit and for veterans and senior citizens at locations across the city. Chicagoans will be able to link their public transit and library card to the ID and potentially even open bank accounts with it.Critics of the program say it might be a way for undocumented workers or people illegally in the U.S. to obtain a valid ID.GREAT POINT!


Comments  Former US Attorney General Eric Holder just wrote an op-ed warning the American people to disregard the FBI Director James Comey's unprecedented decision to release information about an ongoing investigation during the heat of an election. Comey released a vague memo when he had little more to go on other than a mere suspicion and is now facing bipartisan calls for removal from office. Democratic congressional staffers now claim that their first warning of the Comey memo was when a House Republican tweeted it out with the usual anti-Hillary spin. That alone demonstrates exactly what Holder wrote about preventing "investigations from unfairly or unintentionally casting public suspicion," which happened nearly instantly on Friday afternoon.  Former Attorney General Holder also pointed out that Comey's "newly discovered" emails have no known significance and that the FBI Director violated long standing policies in the Department of Justice – which are non-partisan – aimed at upholding the integrity of America's form of electoral democracy, free from government intervention:  I understand the gravity of the work our Justice Department performs every day to defend the security of our nation, protect the American people, uphold the rule of law and be fair. That is why I am deeply concerned about FBI Director James B. Comey's decision to write a vague letter to Congress about emails potentially connected to a matter of public, and political, interest. That decision was incorrect.  The department also has a policy of not taking unnecessary action close in time to Election Day that might influence an election's outcome. These rules have been followed during Republican and Democratic administrations. They aren't designed to help any particular individual or to serve any political interest. Instead, they are intended to ensure that every investigation proceeds fairly and judiciously; to maintain the public trust in the department's ability to do its job free of political influence; and to prevent investigations from unfairly or unintentionally casting public suspicion on public officials who have done nothing wrong.  Director Comey broke with these fundamental principles. I fear he has unintentionally and negatively affected public trust in both the Justice Department and the FBI. And he has allowed — again without improper motive — misinformation to be spread by partisans with less pure intentions. Already, we have learned that the importance of the discovery itself may have been overblown. According to the director himself, there is no indication yet that the "newly discovered" emails bear any significance at all. And yet, because of his decision to comment on this development before sufficient facts were known, the public has faced a torrent of conspiracy theories and misrepresentations.  High ranking former Justice Department officials like Eric Holder do not make a career out of slamming their former colleagues, so it's a very rare break in the ranks to see a former Attorney General publicly slam his former subordinate. The Hatch Act prevents federal officials from interfering in partisan elections and strictly demands that public officials refrain from doing anything that could impact an election. Holder wrote :  I served with Jim Comey and I know him well. This is a very difficult piece for me to write. He is a man of integrity and honor. I respect him. But good men make mistakes. In this instance, he has committed a serious error with potentially severe implications. It is incumbent upon him — or the leadership of the department — to dispel the uncertainty he has created before Election Day. It is up to the director to correct his mistake — not for the sake of a political candidate or campaign but in order to protect our system of justice and best serve the American people.  FBI Director James Comey knew better than to release a vague memo about an ongoing investigation, which, even under normal circumstances, should never be done. That is why former Attorney General Holder felt compelled to rebuke him in this scathing op-ed.  Hopefully, the current members of the Justice Department tasked with reviewing the bipartisan complaints read the memo and expedite their decision concerning the future of the FBI Director.  It should not take long for any rational investigator to determine that James Comey's "cry wolf" memo was little more than a partisan prop handed to a failing campaign — and to remove the FBI Director from his office.


Goldman Sachs Group Inc Chief Executive Officer Lloyd Blankfein criticized the United States' decision to withdraw from the Paris climate deal in his first message on Twitter Inc since joining the platform six years ago. "Today's decision is a setback for the environment and for the U.S.'s leadership position in the world," Blankfein said, adding the hashtag "ParisAgreement." Goldman spokesman Michael Duvally confirmed that the account is Blankfein's. Blankfein's former No. 2 Gary Cohn is chief economic adviser to President Donald Trump and was part of a "stay-in" camp that included Trump's daughter Ivanka, Gary Cohn, and Energy Secretary Rick Perry. Other top executives also criticized the decision to quit the accord, including Tesla Inc CEO Elon Musk and General Electric Co CEO Jeff Immelt.


Social media news outlets are buzzing today after reporting that a man allegedly threw his 3 year-old son off of the Golden Gate Bridge after he "broke his father's Apple Watch during its WatchOS 3 update." The article claims the man, Richard Thomas, was driving across the bridge when his 3 year-old grabbed the watch during its OS 3 update and threw it out the window. The father reportedly slammed on his brakes, retrieved the Apple Watch, only to find it was broken. As Thomas's car began to back up traffic, he pulled his three-year-old son out of the car and threw him into the water. The news headline has been circulating around the Internet all day. TMZ Breaking SOURCE