diff --git "a/data/fake" "b/data/fake"
new file mode 100644--- /dev/null
+++ "b/data/fake"
@@ -0,0 +1,1000 @@
+0 prostate cancer study details value of treatments - the new york times denise grady a new study offers important information to men who are facing difficult decisions about how to treat prostate cancer in its early stages , or whether to treat it at all . researchers followed patients for 10 years and found no difference in death rates between men who were picked at random to have surgery or radiation , or to rely on “ active monitoring ” of the cancer , with treatment only if it progressed . death rates from the cancer were low over all : only about 1 percent of patients 10 years after diagnosis . but the disease was more likely to progress and spread in the men who opted for monitoring rather than for early treatment . and about half the patients in the study who had started out being monitored wound up having surgery or radiation . the patients are still being followed , which should reveal whether the death rate will eventually increase for the men assigned to monitoring . doctors say the findings should help reassure men that surgery and radiation are equally reasonable choices in the early stages of the disease . “ i can counsel patients better now , ” dr. freddie c. hamdy , a leader of the study from the university of oxford , in england , said in an interview . “ i can tell them very precisely , ‘ look , your risk of dying from cancer is very , very small . if you receive treatment you will get some benefit . it will reduce the disease from growing outside your prostate , but these are exactly the side effects you might expect . ’ ” active monitoring involves regular clinic visits with physical exams of the prostate , periodic biopsies and blood tests for antigen , or psa , a substance that may indicate the disease is worsening . between 40 and 50 percent of men with early prostate cancer in the united states now choose active monitoring . the study , published wednesday in the new england journal of medicine , was the first to include detailed information from patients about the side effects of treatment . men who had surgery to remove the prostate were the most likely to have lingering impotence and urinary incontinence . those given radiation reported bowel problems after six months of treatment ( usually with gradual improvement ) but not urinary incontinence . sexual function also diminished after radiation , but recovered somewhat . but there were no differences among the three groups in anxiety , depression or their feelings about how their health affected their quality of life . dr. peter t. scardino , a prostate surgeon and chairman of the department of surgery at memorial sloan kettering cancer center in new york who was not involved in the study , said the research was important because there was little previous data comparing surgery , radiation and careful monitoring in men with early prostate cancer . dr. scardino said the findings helped confirm that active monitoring is a valuable approach for many men . he said that it was appropriate for a third to a half of men with early prostate cancers , and that only a third of those patients would need treatment within 10 years . but dr. scardino emphasized that the monitoring must be done regularly and with great care , for the rest of a patient ’s life . he added that an important message from the study is that early prostate cancer is not an emergency , and men have time to decide what to do about it . worldwide , there were 1 . 1 million cases of prostate cancer and 307 , 000 deaths from it in 2012 , the latest year data were collected by the international agency for research on cancer . in the united states , about 181 , 000 cases and 26 , 000 deaths are expected in 2016 . the average age at diagnosis is 66 in the united states , and the disease rarely occurs in men under 40 . most men who have prostate cancer do not die from it , according to the american cancer society . the disease often grows very slowly — but not always . some cases are potentially deadly , but tests can not always tell which ones . the uncertainty leaves many men in a quandary , particularly because of the bowel , bladder and sexual problems from treatment . in 2012 , the united states preventive services task force , an independent panel of experts picked by the government , recommended against routine screening for prostate cancer with the psa test . the group said screening finds many tumors that may never have harmed the patient , and leads too many men into unneeded surgery or radiation , with their troubling side effects . dr. hamdy ’s team set out to address the quandary . they studied 1 , 643 patients in britain ages 50 to 69 who had early prostate cancers , found with routine psa testing and then a biopsy if the psa was abnormal . all the cancers were localized , meaning they were confined to the prostate and had not spread to nearby tissue outside the gland , or to distant organs . the patients had psa measurements of 3 or higher , and about three quarters had a gleason score of 6 the rest had higher gleason scores . gleason scores are a measure of aggressiveness and range from 6 to 10 in cancers , with higher scores being worse . the patients were then assigned at random to one of three groups : a third had surgery , a third had radiation , and a third had active monitoring . though death rates from the cancer did not differ , more men on active monitoring had progression . the disease spread to distant parts of the body in 33 men on monitoring , 13 who had surgery and 16 who had radiation . the differences were statistically significant . other progression , to nearby tissue outside the prostate , was also more common with monitoring : 112 cases , compared with 46 each in the surgery and radiation groups . as time went on , more and more of the monitored patients wound up having treatment . dr. hamdy said not all those who left monitoring actually needed treatment . “ we know that 80 percent of them had not shown signs of progression , ” he said , adding that anxiety on the part of the patients or their doctors , or some suspicion of progression , may have pushed them into treatment . robert boulton , 76 , a retired maker of rubber gloves , was initially assigned to active monitoring but switched to radiation treatment after four years , when his psa went up . in an interview , he said two doctors recommended the treatment and one opposed it , so he went with the majority advice . he said his only side effect was what he called “ man boobs , ” swelling in the breast area from the hormonal treatment that is given along with radiation . “ i ’m feeling fine now , ” he added . “ no problems . ” another patient , douglas collett , 73 , was also assigned to active monitoring in 2008 and has stayed with it . when he was first told he had cancer , he wanted to get rid of it immediately , he said . but when he learned more about the disease and the side effects of treatment , waiting made more sense , and he actually felt relieved when he was picked for the monitoring arm of the study . he realizes the disease could progress , he said , and if it does he will probably have radiation to treat it . in the meantime , he said , “ i ’m fit as a flea . ”
+0 over 12,000 tweets call for trump ’s assassination - breitbart jack hadfield according to research search from the social media analytics company dataminr , over 12 , 000 tweets have called for the assassination of president trump since he took office on january 20th . [ here are just a few found after a quick search on twitter : can someone take one for the team and assassinate trump when he comes to the uk ? ? — cal ( @callum_fielding ) january 27 , 2017 , someone needs to assassinate donald trump , — elizabeth pyman ( @boho1899 ) january 27 , 2017 , i hate to say this , but can someone just assassinate trump already ? — justin ( @jaysupremeee ) february 3 , 2017 , i hope melania has a secret plan to assassinate trump and pence with the help of her slovenian family , — effy 🖤 ( @elyssuhhxx ) january 27 , 2017 , oh mrs may , came back todayafter her trip to the usa , wish she may , wish she mightassassinate d. trump tonight#poemsabouttrumpandmay , — sammie ♥ ( @sammiejomaria ) january 26 , 2017 , twitter has said in an email statement that “ the twitter rules prohibit threats of violence , and we will suspend accounts violating that policy . ” whilst these may not be direct threats , the rules also clearly state that the “ promotion ” of violence is also forbidden . yet many thousands of tweets and accounts remain active , in a direct contradiction to twitter ’s former statement . not all twitter threats are hyperbolic . the secret service have in fact investigated some individuals for their tweets . heather lowry from kentucky posted , “ if someone was cruel enough to assassinate mlk , maybe someone will be kind enough to assassinate trump . ” the agency ’s field office then interviewed lowry and conducted a background check . zachary benson of cleveland , ohio , was in fact charged with threatening the then ’s life on twitter , with a maximum possible sentence of five years in prison . former us secret service special agent tim franklin told mashable that “ it ’s the people who have a true and genuine intent to do harm that the secret service is worried about … they ’re not going to to beat down the door of everybody who makes a negative twitter comment . ” users who use specific language and detail regarding any assassination attempt will likely get a visit from the secret service . jack hadfield is a student at the university of warwick and a regular contributor to breitbart tech . you can follow him on twitter @torybastard _ , on gab @jh or email him at jack@yiannopoulos . net .
+0 report : trans jenner to attend donald trump ’s inauguration jerome hudson gold medal olympian turned reality tv star caitlyn jenner , formerly known as bruce jenner , has reportedly accepted an invitation to attend donald trump ’s inauguration . [ jenner , who previously praised trump during a contentious election campaign , will be among the many figures to travel to washington , d. c. for the january 20 event , usweekly reports . a lifelong conservative , jenner came out in support of presidential candidate senator ted cruz in march , and even offered to serve as cruz ’s “ trans ambassador . ” that same month , jenner was seen on an episode of reality tv series i am cait calling hillary clinton a “ f*cking liar ” and a “ political hack . ” “ i would never ever ever vote for hillary , ” jenner said during the episode . “ we ’re done , if hillary becomes president — the country is over . ” a few months later , jenner was praising trump as possibly being “ better ” on women ’s issues than clinton . “ everybody looks at the democrats as being better with these issues . but trump seems to be very much for women , ” jenner told the health magazine . jenner shocked hollywood and the world in june 2015 with a vanity fair magazine spread that featured the first photographs taken following the former olympian ’s gender reassignment surgery . in a speech at the university of pennsylvania in february , jenner said that being transgender in hollywood is easier than being a conservative republican . jenner later legally changed his name to caitlyn marie . follow jerome hudson on twitter @jeromeehudson
+0 angelina jolie slams refugee order : trump ’playing with fire’ jerome hudson actress and human rights activist angelina jolie says president donald trump ’s executive order temporarily suspending the u. s. refugee admissions program is like “ playing with fire ” and will “ worsen ” america ’s war against terrorists . [ “ shutting our door to refugees or discriminating among them is not our way , and does not make us safer , ” jolie wrote in an published thursday in the new york times . “ acting out of fear is not our way . targeting the weakest does not show strength . ” jolie , who serves as special envoy of the united nations high commissioner for refugees , says “ the lesson of the years we have spent fighting terrorism since sept. 11 is that every time we depart from our values we worsen the very problem we are trying to contain . ” president trump ’s order suspended the u. s. refugee admissions program for 120 days and bars refugees from failed terror coming into the united states during that period . a review of the refugee vetting process is now underway . while never mentioning trump ’s name , jolie rebukes the president ’s refuge order calling it a departure from “ our country ’s history of giving shelter to the most vulnerable people . americans have shed blood to defend the idea that human rights transcend culture , geography , ethnicity and religion . ” while acknowledging trump ’s pledge to protect america from its enemies around the world , jolie says the president ’s action “ must be measured and should be based on facts , not fear . ” “ if we send a message that it is acceptable to close the door to refugees , or to discriminate among them on the basis of religion , we are playing with fire . we are lighting a fuse that will burn across continents , inviting the very instability we seek to protect ourselves against , ” the academy award winner writes . last may , jolie criticized trump after he proposed his plan to temporarily halt entry for nationals from countries fraught with terror . “ to me , america is built on people from around the world coming together for freedoms , especially freedom of religion , ” jolie said . “ so it ’s hard to hear this is coming from someone who is pressing to be an american president ” while the maleficent star continues to condemn trump ’s policies , her father actor john voight is a fierce supporter . follow jerome hudson on twitter @jeromeehudson
+1 hillary cleared as fbi folds again : information tyler durden hillary cleared as fbi folds again comey says " conclusions unchanged from july " on clinton email review by tyler durden november 06 , 2016 " information clearing house " - " zero hedge " - in a letter to several committee chairmen released sunday , fbi director james comey announced on sunday afternoon that just over a week after the fbi reopened its probe into clinton emails , the bureau has not changed its july conclusion regarding hillary clinton’s use of a private email server while secretary of state . house oversight and government reform chairman jason chaffetz made waves sunday afternoon , when he tweeted about the fbi letter . fbi dir just informed us " based on our review , we have not changed our conclusions that we expressed in july with respect to sec clinton " — jason chaffetz ( @jasoninthehouse ) november 6 , 2016 below is the full letter from fbi director comey , with the key section highlighted . the clinton campaign is exuberant ... we were always confident nothing would cause the july decision to be revisited . now director comey has confirmed it https://t.co/bmqqx9erzw — brian fallon ( @brianefallon ) november 6 , 2016 so , having reviewed 650,000 emails in less than a week ( ? ) , we can now go back to democrats loving comey and the fbi and trump hating on them .
+0 detained illegal aliens end 3-day hunger strike bob price illegal immigrants detained at the northwest detention center in tacoma , washington , stopped a hunger strike shortly before easter sunday . the detainees demanded more money for doing chores , better food , and medical care . [ nearly 750 detainees reportedly refused their meals nearly half of the 1 , 500 inmate capacity of the detention center . the hunger strike began earlier in the week on april 10 when some of the male detainees refused their lunches . some women at the detention center later joined in the protest , the seattle times reported . protesters planned to fast for at least three days because the u. s. immigration and customs enforcement ( ice ) agency reportedly does not recognize hunger strikes that are any shorter . all but one detention had stopped the strike by saturday morning , said a spokeswoman for ice . the detention facility was at the center of a publicized hunger strike in 2014 when time reported that paulino ruiz “ was sick of eating a boiled potato at every meal . ” he also reportedly claimed to be with the $ he received for doing custodial chores . he further alleged harsh treatment by detention center personnel . ruiz is a legal resident who came to the united states at the age of three . he was scheduled for removal by immigration officers after he served prison time for robbery . all but just a handful of inmates stopped their strike after it had gone on for more than a week , time reported . breitbart texas reported in that more than 60 , 000 illegal aliens that were housed in a colorado detention center are suing the federal contractor who operates the detention center . they allege the facility compelled “ forced labor ” in violation of federal human trafficking laws and are seeking money damages and restitution . lawyers for the geo group , inc. counter that no other court has ever recognized trafficking or unjust enrichment claims for cleaning bathrooms , serving meals , doing laundry , and performing other housekeeping duties . there is a supervised program of daily cleaning by all detainees , and geo implements these requirements “ through an program . ” “ nobody trafficked them there , ” the defendant argued in a motion filed with the court which authorized the class action lawsuit . bob price serves as associate editor and senior political news contributor for breitbart texas . he is a founding member of the breitbart texas team . follow him on twitter @bobpricebbtx and facebook .
+0 exclusive - rep . kevin brady : ’it is clear we do n’t have the votes’ to pass ryancare - breitbart neil w. mccabe the chairman of the house ways and means committee told breitbart news thursday evening he is looking for a compromise that will allow speaker paul ryan ( r. ) ’s american health care act to move forward for a vote on the house floor . [ “ we are listening to our colleagues , from those who are the most conservative to those who are the most moderate , about what are the final solutions that we need to achieve , so we can reach consensus , ” said rep. kevin brady ( r. ) whose committee approved the ryancare bill march 9 . brady is one of the committee chairmen who approved the “ manager ’s amendments ” monday , which made modest changes to the bill . thursday ’s vote on the bill was canceled by ryan after a bloc of conservatives , led by the house freedom caucus , secured north of 25 “ no ” votes . with 237 gop congressman , ryan can not lose more 22 votes to reach the 216 votes required for passage . the ryancare bill is still a work in progress , brady said . “ while it ’s clear we do not have the votes , no one is walking away from the table — that means our members here in the house and certainly not in the white house as well , so let ’s stay at the table , ” he said . “ there are a number of new solutions to try to reach that common ground let ’s just keep working towards it , ” he said . breitbart news spoke to the chairman less than 100 feet from ryan ’s office , where the speaker was meeting with members of the house freedom caucus and senior aides to president donald trump .
+1 comment on tainted measles vaccine kills more than 50 children in syria by tragic deaths used to promote vaccine fear – on the fence about vaccines tragic deaths used to promote vaccine fear – on the fence about vaccines photos credits : social media the so called “ opposition health authorities ” said in a statement posted online in arabic : “ primary investigations point to a limited security breach by vandals likely connected to the regime , which has been attempting to target the medical sector in free syria in order to spread chaos . ” the statement also added : “ the syrian interim government ’s health ministry has instructed a halt to the second round of the measles vaccination campaign , which began monday september 15th … following several fatalities and injuries among children in vaccination centers in the idlib countryside . ” adnan hazouri , the health minister in the syrian opposition who held a conference ( in the arabic language ) said that he will resign if an investigation upheld allegations of negligence , as blood samples have been sent to turkey for analysis . the syrian observatory for human rights , which is based in london , also confirmed : “ at least five children have died and 50 others are suffering from poisoning or allergic reactions after measles vaccinations in jirjanaz , in the idlib province . ” the following video shows affected children in saraqeb hospital in idlib , syria : monther khalil , the head of the idlib medical department said this during an interview with radio hawa smart -an opposition related station established on gaziantep , turkey : “ the department assures all parents who have had their children vaccinated that the vaccine is completely fine and there is no risk to children who have already been injected . we have already vaccinated 60,000 children against measles and there has been no previous problem . the same crews also previously carried out a polio campaign , where they vaccinated 252,000 children across seven rounds , and there were no abnormal complications . ” more than 190,000 syrians have been killed during the foreign - backed war since 2011 , which has also created more than 3 million refugees outside syria . sources :
+0 push by ‘ john doe’ to block release of list adds mystery in new jersey bridge scandal - the new york times patrick mcgeehan add another mystery to the murky case of the disappearing traffic lanes at the george washington bridge : who is john doe and why is he putting up such a struggle to shield his identity ? a man known only by that alias has hired a lawyer from a prominent manhattan firm to plead with two federal courts in five days to keep his name out of the impending prosecution of the alleged criminal conspiracy known broadly as bridgegate . so far , he is winning the fight for anonymity . on tuesday , an appellate court in philadelphia blocked the scheduled release of a list of people who prosecutors believe were somehow involved in the scheme to tie up traffic at the new jersey end of the bridge in september 2013 . the court set a hearing on john doe ’s appeal for june 6 . so , the riddle of john doe ’s identity and motivation will keep the politically curious guessing for a few more weeks , at the least . who , they wondered , could have played a notable role in the highly publicized scheme and still hope to avoid being linked to it ? and why did he wait until the eve of the scheduled release of the list of “ unindicted ” to try to suppress it ? “ there are no coincidences in new jersey politics , ” said john s. wisniewski , a democratic state assemblyman who was of a legislative committee that investigated the scheme . “ i ’m certain that there is an important reason for whoever john doe is to have retained counsel , a reason that only recently came up . ” whoever he is , mr. wisniewski said , john doe had the resources and connections to hire jenny kramer , a former federal prosecutor who is now with the chadbourne parke law firm . ms. kramer filed a motion in federal court in newark last week , arguing that her client would be “ publicly branded a felon ” by his inclusion on the list , even though he has not been charged with a crime . prosecutors have not said how many names are on the list , but they have obtained indictments against only three former allies of gov. chris christie , a republican , suspected of plotting to tie up traffic in fort lee , n. j. they contend that the three — bill baroni , david wildstein and bridget anne kelly — sought to punish the borough ’s mayor , mark sokolich , a democrat , for declining to endorse mr. christie for in 2013 . mr. baroni was the governor ’s top executive appointee at the port authority of new york and new jersey , which operates the bridge . mr. wildstein , who pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy last may , was a deputy to mr. baroni at the agency . mr. baroni and ms. kelly , who was a deputy chief of staff to mr. christie , are scheduled to stand trial in september on nine counts , including conspiracy to commit fraud . mr. wildstein has stated that there is evidence that mr. christie knew about the scheme while it was being carried out , but the governor has said he found out about it afterward and quickly informed the public . unless those denials have been refuted by prosecutors , mr. wisniewski said , “ it probably is unlikely that the governor is on this list . ” he declined to speculate about john doe ’s identity , but trying to puzzle it out has been something of a parlor game among those who have continued to follow the case . holly schepisi , a republican state assemblywoman who was on the committee with mr. wisniewski , called it a “ bridgegate fantasy league ” that had people swapping rosters of possibilities and wishes . “ there are some people out there who still hold out hope , for whatever diabolical reason , that john doe is somebody very senior , ” ms. schepisi said . brigid harrison , a professor of political science at montclair state university , said in an interview on tuesday that there was “ widespread speculation ” that john doe could be mr. christie . “ it is someone who has an enormous amount to lose , ” ms. harrison said . “ who has the most to lose ? ” ms. harrison noted that donald j. trump , the republican candidate for president , was scheduled to attend a rally in new jersey on thursday that will raise money to pay for mr. christie ’s aborted presidential campaign . “ so there is at least some advantage he has gained from the delay of this , ” she said , referring to the governor . but assemblywoman schepisi said she was reasonably certain that john doe was not mr. christie , but another current or former public official or government employee . beyond that , she said , she had heard plenty of guesses , but “ everybody ’s speculating . ” susan wigenton , the judge in the united states district court in newark who denied john doe ’s motion to keep the list confidential , said that the public ’s right to know outweighed the interests of privacy of the people on the list , for “ whom the government has sufficient evidence to designate as having joined the conspiracy . ” ms. schepisi said she thought john doe had a strong argument against being implicated in a conspiracy without being charged and having a chance to defend himself . she said she imagined he had good reason to want to keep his presence on that list a secret . “ when people hear the phrase ‘ unindicted ’ the implication is no longer , unfortunately , o. k. you did n’t commit a crime it is , you very probably did something criminal and somehow you skated , ” ms. schepisi said . “ it ’s like having a big scarlet letter put across your chest for the rest of your life . ”
+0 2 federal judges rule against trump ’s latest travel ban - the new york times alexander burns a federal judge in hawaii issued a nationwide order wednesday evening blocking president trump ’s ban on travel from parts of the muslim world , dealing a stinging blow to the white house and signaling that mr. trump will have to account in court for his heated rhetoric about islam . a second federal judge in maryland ruled against mr. trump overnight , with a separate order forbidding the core provision of the travel ban from going into effect . the rulings were a second major setback for mr. trump in his pursuit of a policy that he has trumpeted as critical for national security . his first attempt to sharply limit travel from a handful of predominantly muslim countries ended in a courtroom fiasco last month , when a federal court in seattle halted it . mr. trump issued a new and narrower travel ban , affecting six countries , on march 6 , trying to satisfy the courts by removing some of the most contentious elements of the original version . but in a pointed decision that repeatedly invoked mr. trump ’s public comments , judge derrick k. watson , of federal district court in honolulu , wrote that a “ reasonable , objective observer ” would view even the new order as “ issued with a purpose to disfavor a particular religion , in spite of its stated , religiously neutral purpose . ” in maryland , judge theodore d. chuang echoed that conclusion hours later , ruling in a case brought by nonprofit groups that work with refugees and immigrants , that the likely purpose of the executive order was “ the effectuation of the proposed muslim ban ” that mr. trump pledged to enact as a presidential candidate . mr. trump lashed out at judge watson during a rally in nashville late on wednesday . raising his voice to a hoarse shout , mr. trump accused the judge of ruling “ for political reasons ” and criticized the united states court of appeals for the ninth circuit , which upheld the earlier decision against his administration and will hear any appeal to the hawaii ruling . “ this ruling makes us look weak , which by the way we no longer are , believe me , ” mr. trump said , to mounting cheers from a loyal crowd . mr. trump even said he might reissue the initial version of the order , rather than the one blocked on wednesday , which he described as “ a version of the first one . ” after he signed the revised ban , democratic attorneys general and nonprofit groups that work with immigrants and refugees raced back into court , claiming that mr. trump ’s updated decree was still a thinly veiled version of the ban on muslim migration that he proposed last year . judge watson , who was appointed by president barack obama , ruled that the state of hawaii and an individual plaintiff , ismail elshikh , the imam of the muslim association of hawaii , had reasonable grounds to challenge the order as religious discrimination . and he concluded that allowing the travel restrictions to go into effect at midnight , as scheduled , could have caused them irreparable harm . judge watson flatly rejected the government ’s argument that a court would have to investigate mr. trump ’s “ veiled psyche ” to deduce religious animus . he quoted extensively from the remarks by mr. trump that were cited in the lawsuit brought by hawaii ’s attorney general , doug chin . “ for instance , there is nothing ‘ veiled’ about this press release , ” judge watson wrote , quoting a trump campaign document titled “ donald j. trump is calling for a total and complete shutdown of muslims entering the united states . ” judge watson singled out mr. elshikh , an american citizen whose syrian had been pursuing a visa to enter the united states , as having an especially strong claim that the travel regulations would harm him on the basis of his religion . “ this is a great day for democracy , religious and human rights , ” mr. elshikh , who was out of the country , said in a message relayed through hakim ouansafi , the chairman of the muslim association of hawaii . “ i am very pleased that the processing of my ’s paperwork will not stop now but more importantly that this muslim ban will not separate families and loved ones just because they happen to be from the six countries . ” mr. elshikh , who is egyptian and previously worked in michigan , was recruited to the hawaii mosque more than a decade ago , mr. ouansafi said . and when the association began recruiting someone to serve as a plaintiff , the imam , who became a citizen last year , agreed to do so without reservation , mr. ouansafi said . after he became the face of the lawsuit , he received several threats from the mainland , mr. ouansafi said . “ if we lived in any other state , i would not have asked him to come forward , ” he said . in the maryland case , judge chuang , who was also appointed by mr. obama , declined to block the entire executive order from going into effect , but ruled that the most important section — banning travel from half a dozen countries — could not be enforced . his decision cited mr. trump ’s public comments to conclude that there were “ strong indications that the national security purpose is not the primary purpose for the travel ban , ” and that mr. trump may have intended to violate the constitutional prohibition on religious preferences . in addition to the hawaii and maryland suits , a federal judge in washington state heard arguments wednesday in cases challenging the constitutionality of mr. trump ’s order , including one brought by a coalition of democratic attorneys general , and another by nonprofit groups . administration lawyers have argued that the president was merely exercising his national security powers . in the scramble to defend the executive order , a single lawyer in the united states solicitor general ’s office , jeffrey wall , argued first to a maryland court and then , by phone , to judge watson in honolulu that no element of the order , as written , could be construed as a religious test for travelers . mr. wall said the order was based on concerns raised by the obama administration in its move toward stricter screening of travelers from the six countries affected . “ what the order does is a step beyond what the previous administration did , but it ’s on the same basis , ” mr. wall said in the maryland hearing . after mr. trump ’s speech in nashville , the justice department released a more muted statement disputing the hawaii decision , calling it “ flawed both in reasoning and scope . ” sarah isgur flores , a spokeswoman for the department , said it would continue to defend the legality of the presidential order . refugee organizations and civil rights groups greeted the hawaii ruling with expressions of triumph and relief . marielena hincapié , executive director of the national immigration law center , one of the groups that sued mr. trump in maryland , hailed judge watson ’s ruling as “ a strong and unequivocal rejection of the politics of hate . ” at the same time , advocates for refugees and immigrants acknowledged that significant uncertainty would hang over some of their more practical decisions , as a longer legal process plays out around mr. trump ’s order . “ it ’s a preliminary decision , but it recognizes that there continue to be problems with the constitutionality of this revised order , particularly with discriminatory intent toward muslims , ” said betsy fisher , policy director at the international refugee assistance project at the urban justice center . the original ban , released on jan. 27 , unleashed scenes of chaos at american airports and spurred mass protests . issued abruptly on a friday afternoon , it temporarily barred travel from seven nations , making no explicit distinction between citizens of those countries who already had green cards or visas and those who did not . it also suggested that christian refugees from those countries would be given preference in the future . after the federal court in seattle issued a broad injunction against the policy , mr. trump removed major provisions and reissued the order . the new version exempted key groups , like green card and visa holders , and dropped the section that would have given christians special treatment . mr. trump also removed iraq from the list of countries covered by the ban after the pentagon expressed worry that it would damage the united states’ relationship with the iraqi government in the fight against the islamic state . yet those concessions did not placate critics of the ban , who said it would still function as an unconstitutional religious test , albeit one affecting fewer people — an argument judge watson concurred with in his ruling . the lawsuits have also claimed that the order disrupts the operations of companies , charities , public universities and hospitals that have deep relationships overseas . in the hawaii case , nearly five dozen technology companies , including airbnb , dropbox , lyft and tripadvisor , joined in a brief objecting to the travel ban . the second , executive order preserved major components of the original . it would have ended , with few exceptions , the granting of new visas and green cards to people from six countries — iran , libya , somalia , sudan , syria and yemen — for at least 90 days . it would have also stopped all refugees from entering for 120 days and limited refugee admissions to 50 , 000 people in the current fiscal year . mr. obama had set in motion plans to admit more than twice that number . mr. trump has said the pause is needed to screening procedures for immigrants from the six countries . “ each of these countries is a state sponsor of terrorism , has been significantly compromised by terrorist organizations , or contains active conflict zones , ” he wrote in the order . the two court orders were not a final ruling on the constitutionality of mr. trump ’s ban , and the administration has expressed confidence that courts will ultimately affirm mr. trump ’s power to issue the restrictions . but the legal debate is likely to be a protracted and unusually personal fight for the administration , touching mr. trump and a number of his key aides directly and raising the prospect that their public comments and private communications will be scrutinized . the lawsuits against the ban have extensively cited mr. trump ’s comments during the presidential campaign . attorney general bob ferguson of washington , who successfully challenged mr. trump ’s first order , has indicated that in an extended legal fight , he could seek depositions from administration officials and request documents that would expose the full process by which trump aides crafted the ban . as a candidate , mr. trump first proposed to bar all muslims from entering the united states , and then offered an alternative plan to ban travel from a number of muslim countries , which he described as a politically acceptable way of achieving the same goal . the lawsuits also cited rudolph w. giuliani , the former new york city mayor who advises mr. trump . mr. giuliani said he had been asked to help craft a muslim ban that would pass legal muster . and they highlighted comments by stephen miller , an adviser to the president , who cast the changes to mr. trump ’s first travel ban as mere technical adjustments aimed at ushering the same policy past the review of a court .
+0 the playlist : burial and laura marling slip deeper into the void - the new york times jon pareles , jon caramanica and nate chinen every friday , pop critics for the new york times weigh in on the week ’s most notable new songs and videos — and anything else that strikes them as intriguing . you can listen to this playlist on spotify here . like this playlist ? let us know at theplaylist@nytimes . com , and sign up for our louder newsletter ( coming soon ! ) here . the electronic musician who calls himself burial deals in blurry , melancholy , ominous implications . his first release since 2013 is a pair of tracks that are never far from dissolving into entropy . “ young death ” can be glimpsed from the farthest fringe of dance music most of it has fairly steady but nearly subliminal beats , though they are submerged deep in the mix . much closer to the foreground are crackly sounds — a storm ? a burning city ? — and voices singing words that would be soothing if they did n’t sound so utterly lost : “ do n’t fear , ” “ do n’t cry , ” “ i will always be there for you . ” the beat is absorbed by the static , to be replaced by one that ’s slower and even less supportive . “ i ’ll be there , promise i ’ll be , ” a voice offers before the haze swallows it , too . “ nightmarket ” is an even more shadowy , attenuated travelogue . its passages of blippy arpeggios are separated by lengthy stretches with echoes of wind chimes , distant keening voices , screams , whispers and stray spoken words — “ come with me , ” “ the frontier , ” “ over here ! ” — that only lead deeper into the void . jon pareles the title of laura marling ’s ravishing new song is n’t meant as a descriptor , but rather a note of anguish — like the word “ water ” as rasped by someone crawling across a desert . “ oh my hopeless wanderer , ” she sings at the start of the track , tracing an upward arpeggio in a minor key . “ you ca n’t come in , you do n’t live here anymore . ” still , ms. marling toys with aspects of seduction in the song ’s arrangement , which leans heavy on a sinuous electric bass , and in the video , which she directed herself . inspired by a series of dreams she had while making her new album — “ semper femina , ” due out in march — it ’s a vision of human bodies as sculptural forms , and also an argument for physical intimacy as just another mode of performance . nate chinen if you are the sort of person who expends much energy stressing about the fact that rapper du jour lil yachty had not , until recently , listened to the music of the notorious b. i. g. then little in this freestyle — on the beats 1 radio show of his longtime antagonist ebro darden — will change your mind . rather than concede to the beat — craig mack ’s “ flava in ya ear , ” the remix of which featured b. i. g. — and perform a flow that recalled the original , in an act of homage , yachty goes rogue , rapping in elongated sentences that stretch past the ordinary beat boundaries . it ’s not quite virtuoso , but it ’s intriguing — the sound of a rapper following the beat in his head , not his earphones : i ’m in a benz and i ’m getting a bentleyi’m reading texts from last night , she said ‘ i love how you bent me’i just bought a benz and it said ‘ please take me’you wanna buy it but you ca n’t , so you ’re rentingyou take it back in six months , if there ’s no denting jon caramanica “ arkansas , ” by the rising texas country singer troy cartwright , is wonderfully patient . on this song , from his recent ep , “ do n’t fade , ” he muses about the stability of a relationship ( “ is this love or is this convenience ? ” ) and , after a couple of minutes , comes to no conclusions . and yet his voice is remarkably free of anxiety — he ’ll wait as long as it takes , play it as it lays . that ’s clearest when he ’s not singing at all : the at the song ’s end that ’s just melancholy , stretched out ambient notes with cricket noises screaming for attention in the background . j. c. you wo n’t hear paul simon ’s voice until after the mark on “ stranger , ” a hypnotic new track featuring elements of his recent songs “ the werewolf ” and “ the clock . ” made by nico segal and nate fox of the social experiment — a chicago group best known for its affiliation with chance the rapper — it ’s a remix and but also an imaginative new creation . those first two minutes involve some sharp , brooding horn playing by mr. segal , who until recently went by the name donnie trumpet . the production on the track is dreamy but also clearly drawn , so that mr. simon ’s voice , when it does surface , practically crackles in the mix . n. c. “ when and where did we go cold ? ” oliver sim of the xx wonders in “ on hold , ” the single previewing the xx ’s album “ i see you , ” due jan. 13 . it ’s a familiar sentiment for the xx , an english band known for introspection and dialogues of estrangement sung by mr. sim and romy madley croft . but now the band is visible by daylight , and they even smile now and then . the video clip for “ on hold ” is set under the cloudless blue skies of marfa , tex . the town known for donald judd ’s chinati foundation , a minimalist monument . when mr. sim and ms. madley croft are n’t trading recriminations and regrets ( via landlines ) the video shows glimpses of life , including a romance between a football player and a cheerleader . meanwhile , the song presents the xx as no longer rigorously minimalistic . a dance beat periodically surges in the mix , echoing what jamie xx has been doing as a solo act and club d. j. meanwhile , a sample from hall oates ’s “ i ca n’t go for that ” suggests that the xx is n’t entirely isolated from pop after all . j. p. the new album by the cornetist and composer taylor ho bynum is “ enter the plustet , ” a rich textural odyssey featuring a orchestra . it ’s a grand statement , but hardly the only thing mr. bynum has been working on . a couple of months ago , at pioneer works in brooklyn , he introduced a smaller band he calls rank sentimentalist , whose ranks include the electric bassist stomu takeishi and the cellist marika hughes . this video captures the opening song in the set : a hallucinatory cover of “ black lake , ” by björk . stick with the clip for the full minutes , and you ’ll begin to understand how improvisers like mr. bynum can turn a brief scrap of melody into something as churning and vast as an oceanic swell . n. c. jamire williams is a drummer with a capacity for groove , which has served him well as a sideman . he also has his own band , erimaj — but on “ effectual , ” he pares down almost entirely to solo drum kit , creating a series of poetic experiments in rhythm and tonal color . the album , produced by carlos niño , recalls jazz precursors like max roach as well as loops and west african folk drumming . and while there is n’t much in the way of melody , the closing track , “ collaborate with god , ” features some atmospheric keyboard work by chassol , the french soundtrack composer who can also be heard on frank ocean ’s recent visual album , “ endless . ” n. c. a technological collapse is just the entry point to a personal one in “ a lost machine , ” from a grandaddy album due in march . the music unites fragility and majesty , placing jason lytle ’s high , quavery voice atop a piano hymn that swells into a vastly reverberant processional , like neil young leading pink floyd . the lyrics start out by sketching a landscape , where wandering people desperately seek shelter in a “ canyon land ” littered with old , obsolete gadgets . but that ’s their problem : halfway through , mr. lytle turns his voice into a chorale and laments : “ everything about us is a lost about we is a forgotten dream . ” a broken world ca n’t compare to a broken heart . j. p.
+0 what kids wish their teachers knew - the new york times donna de la cruz when kyle schwartz started teaching third grade at doull elementary school in denver , she wanted to get to know her students better . she asked them to finish the sentence “ i wish my teacher knew . ” the responses were for ms. schwartz . some children were struggling with poverty ( “ i wish my teacher knew i do n’t have pencils at home to do my homework ” ) an absent parent ( “ i wish my teacher knew that sometimes my reading log is not signed because my mom is n’t around a lot ” ) and a parent taken away ( “ i wish my teacher knew how much i miss my dad because he got deported to mexico when i was 3 years old and i have n’t seen him in six years ” ) . the lesson spurred ms. schwartz , now entering her fifth teaching year , to really understand what her students were facing outside the classroom to help them succeed at school . when she shared the lesson last year with others , it became a sensation , with the twitter hashtag “ # iwishmyteacherknew ” going viral . other teachers tried the exercise and had similar insights . many sent her their students’ responses . in her recently published book , “ i wish my teacher knew : how one question can change everything for our kids , ” ms. schwartz details how essential it is for teachers and families to be partners . “ i really want families to know how intentional teachers are about creating a sense of community and creating relationships with kids , ” ms. schwartz said . “ kids do n’t learn when they do n’t feel safe or valued . ” melody molinoff of washington , d. c. who has two sons , ages 9 and 11 , in the public school system , agreed . “ parents see the teacher as their partner in bringing up their child , and that ’s a huge responsibility that we are putting on our teachers and our schools , ” ms. molinoff said . “ i always want my sons’ teachers to know what their challenges are , what they like , just more about them . ” mary clayman , a teacher in the washington public schools , said she has noticed the same thing from the other side of the desk . “ i ’ve taught over 500 kids so far in my career and parents in every grade want to know how their child is doing socially and emotionally , often times more so than whether they can multiply or divide quite yet , ” mrs. clayman said . in her book , ms. schwartz writes about mistakes that might have been prevented if she had known her students better . she had a student named chris who was obsessed with science . ms. schwartz thought she had done chris a huge favor by securing a spot for him in a summer camp . but she was unaware of the family ’s financial struggles and it turned out that his parents could not afford to take time off from work to get chris to camp . ms. schwartz said classrooms can become a supportive environment for students coping with grief . she suggests that schools have “ grief and loss ” inventories for students who have gone through a crisis , with input from families so that the child ’s future teachers know what that student is dealing with . “ as teachers , we know parents are the first and best teachers for their children and we want them to work with us , ” she said .
+1 woman arrested on own property after her land was stolen by dapl whitney webb once again , the repression of those against the dakota access pipeline ( dapl ) is heating up , with 127 activists arrested in north dakota over the weekend . however , north dakota is n’t the only ...
+0 watchdog claims 5 k noncitizens registered to vote in virginia brandon darby a new report released shortly after the forming of the presidential advisory commission on election integrity finds that more than 5 , 000 individuals were determined to be . s. citizens registered to vote in virginia . [ dubbed a “ sequel ” to a similar 2016 effort , the latest study found 5 , 556 voters were “ quietly removed ” from the records for reasons related to “ between 2011 and may 2017 , ” according to an advanced look at the findings provided by the public interest legal foundation ( pilf ) . of the total registered , of unlawful voters managed to cast ballots — leading to a total of more than 7 , 400 illegal votes cast , according to the report . the organization points out that it was unable to find any evidence that illegal registrations or votes were ever prosecuted . the report details how ineligible individuals are slowly discovered by local officials — most often , the authors allege , by accident . applicants for voter registration are not required to prove they are actual u. s. citizens in virginia . the vast majority of states only require that people claim to be citizens during registration , pilf notes . the report details , however , that virginia shares information when a claimed citizen indicates otherwise to a separate state agency . at that point , removal procedures begin : in the absence of regular arrangements between federal officials and the commonwealth , the ability of election officials to identify aliens on the voter rolls is almost nonexistent . the most that happens in virginia is that an alien on the voter rolls will sometimes tell the state dmv they are not a citizen . without those leads , counties and municipalities must accept false claims of citizenship on their face . the authors also shared with this reporter examples of how some ineligible noncitizens admitted their immigration statuses at the outset , but were still registered to vote . some illegal registrants lasted on the rolls for years — risking possible deportation — until they were discovered . in order to obtain the information necessary to perform the study , the public interest legal foundation filed a total of three lawsuits across the commonwealth in 2016 . the group claims that political interference from officials loyal to governor terry mcauliffe ( d ) initially stalled the research effort . “ at the instruction of governor mcauliffe ’s political appointees , local election officials spent countless resources to prevent this information from spilling into the open , ” j. christian adams , a former department of justice attorney and president of the public interest legal foundation said in a statement . “ virginia hid critical information that would have improved election integrity while a political vetoed numerous proposals that would ’ve prevented alien registration and voting . ” a release notes that local clerks were advised to reject pilf ’s requests for information , citing the federal drivers privacy protection act as a justification to prevent full disclosure , since some noncitizens outed themselves when receiving driver ’s licenses . that effort reportedly failed when the organization sued some northern and central virginia officials . the “ alien voting ” report arrives at an interesting time . in addition the presidential commission announced that plans to study similar problems around the country , virginia is also due to hold statewide elections in november 2017 . the nonprofit law firm credits the virginia voters alliance for assisting in the research effort locally . the report adds that it is a felony on both state and federal levels for a to vote and can carry with it an order of deportation . alien invasion ii by public interest legal foundation on scribd , brandon darby is managing director and of breitbart texas . he the cartel chronicles project with ildefonso ortiz and stephen k. bannon . follow him on twitter and facebook . he can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart . com .
+0 fox ’s andrew napolitano stirred the pot for trump ’s british tempest - the new york times michael m. grynbaum andrew napolitano was a superior court judge in new jersey until , frustrated by the constraints of his salary , he left the bench for more lucrative pastures : talk radio , a syndicated court tv series ( “ power of attorney ” ) and , eventually , fox news , where he rose to become the network ’s senior legal analyst . it was in that capacity this week that mr. napolitano managed to set off a cascading scandal , which by friday had sparked a tiff between britain and the united states while plunging president trump ’s close relationship with fox news into new , murkier territory . it was new ground for mr. napolitano , 66 , who prefers being addressed as “ the judge ” and once insisted that fox news install bookshelves and in his newsroom office , the better to resemble a judge ’s chambers . but mr. napolitano ’s unlikely leap into global politics can be explained by his friendship with mr. trump , whom he met with this year to discuss potential supreme court nominees . mr. napolitano also has a taste for conspiracy theories , which led him to larry c. johnson , a former intelligence officer best known for spreading a hoax about michelle obama . let ’s back up . the saga began on tuesday on “ fox friends , ” the chummy morning show , where mr. napolitano made a bizarre and unsupported accusation : citing three unnamed sources , he said that britain ’s top spy agency had wiretapped mr. trump on behalf of president barack obama during last year ’s campaign . cable news blather , especially at that hour , usually vanishes at the commercial break . but on thursday , mr. trump ’s press secretary , sean spicer , repeated the claim from the white house podium , infuriating british officials . on friday , fox news was forced to disavow mr. napolitano ’s remarks . “ fox news can not confirm judge napolitano ’s commentary , ” the anchor shepard smith said . “ fox news knows of no evidence of any kind that the of the united states was surveilled at any time , any way . full stop . ” the terse declaration boosted the credibility of fox news ’s newsroom , which is often attacked as biased , but also put it in the awkward position of repudiating one of its featured contributors . and it could threaten the cozy dynamic between mr. trump , a frequent fox viewer , and the network ’s conservative hosts . tucker carlson , sean hannity and the prankster jesse watters are among the few television personalities to be granted interviews with the president . programs like “ fox friends ” often serve as cheerleaders for him , and the network is increasing its focus on conservatism : a new weekly series , hosted by a leader of the brexit movement , steve hilton , will focus on populism . mr. napolitano , who keeps a residence in manhattan at trump international hotel tower on central park west , did not respond to inquiries on friday . but mr. johnson , who was himself once a fox news contributor , said in a telephone interview that mr. napolitano called him on friday and requested that he speak to the new york times . mr. johnson said he was one of the sources for mr. napolitano ’s claim about british intelligence . mr. johnson became infamous in political circles after he spread false rumors in 2008 that michelle obama had been videotaped using a slur against caucasians . in the interview on friday , mr. johnson acknowledged his notoriety , but said that his knowledge of surveillance of mr. trump came from sources in the american intelligence community . mr. napolitano , he said , heard about his information through an intermediary . “ it sounds like a frederick forsyth novel , ” mr. johnson said . mr. trump refused to back down from the claims on friday , and even praised mr. napolitano , telling reporters , “ all we did was quote a very talented legal mind . ” the president ’s next scheduled appearance on fox news is saturday night , when an interview will air between him and mr. watters , a host known for interviews that have been denounced as offensive and , at times , racist . in a clip released on friday , mr. watters asks mr. trump which celebrity he would most like to fire : alec baldwin , senator chuck schumer or cnn ’s president , jeff zucker . “ i do n’t want to say , ” mr. trump replied . “ but i will say i ’m disappointed in all three . ”
+1 before the flood ( 2016 ) nan share on facebook tweet join leonardo dicaprio as he explores the topic of climate change , and discovers what must be done today to prevent catastrophic disruption of life on our planet . before the flood , directed by fisher stevens , captures a three - year personal journey alongside academy award - winning actor and u.n. messenger of peace leonardo dicaprio as he interviews individuals from every facet of society in both developing and developed nations who provide unique , impassioned and pragmatic views on what must be done today and in the future to prevent catastrophic disruption of life on our planet . [ watch video below ]
+1 this test will tell if you are an indigo , a crystal or a rainbow child ! arnold monteverde ( noreply@blogger.com ) many people believe that there has been a wave of individuals being born in order to change the old ‘ iron’ and industrial way of life to more ‘ enlightened’ and spiritual . you ’ve probably heard about ‘ indigo children ’ and ‘ lightworkers ’ across the internet . lightworkers are just a consequence the ways of the modern world have brought to the human psyche . a lightworker is a person who can sense that there ’s a lot of healing to be done on a large scale to the world . the modern ways of life are disharmonious and harmful to ourselves and nature , which we are all a part of . this results in subconscious awareness that something needs to be done , especially in people who are born into the modern society . newer generations are unbound from ‘ the chains’ people who were constructing the modern society have been imprisoned with . the chains i am referring to are actually their investment of energy , their mindset and character developed in a different era , with far less available information . these new generations can clearly see the bigger picture and what does n’t work . that ’s why they have a heightened sense to fix the world . just like there are popular terms in the science community addressing these new generations as ‘ generation x’ , ‘ generation y’and ‘ generation z’ , there are terms in the spiritual movement addressing these generations as ‘ indigo children ’ , ‘ crystal children ’ and ‘ rainbow children ’ . what kind of lightworker are you ? check what kind of lightworker you are . what aspect has most traits that describe you ? indigo children : born between the 1960s and the 1990s ; rebellious and warrior in spirit ; despises the system ; loves to isolate ; fond to addictions ; stubborn ; crystal children : born between 1980s and 2000s ; strong and pure hearted ; highly developed imagination and creativity ; extremely empathetic and emotional ; passionate about supernatural phenomena and superheroes ; easygoing ; rainbow children : born after the new millennium ; positive and happy ; technologically advanced and easy in understanding new gadgets ; loving and hard to contain ; loves animals , nature and possibly vegan ; free ; this is what these labels mean : indigo children are born between the 1960s and the 1990s really similar as the baby boomers of the generation x. they are rebellious and unable to conform to dysfunctional situations at home , work , or school . they are warriors in spirit . they want to rage against the corrupted system that governs society and this trait projected itself into the art , the music , the movies , the movements and the lifestyle of their youth . they experimented with psychedelic substances , they forced their mind to be opened . all of this resulted in creation of new businesses and inventions that changed the future forever , like the internet . crystal children are most likely to be the children of people from generation x. they are born around 1990s and 2000s slightly differing from generation y which addresses people born between 1980s and 2000s . however , the characteristics of crystal children and generation y individuals are almost exactly the same . they are intuitive , spiritually aware and passionate about supernatural subjects . they have highly developed imagination and creativity . they understand things easily , they are extremely empathetic and very easy going . this contradictive schism between their emotions forces them to use drugs , to visit psychiatrists , feel high levels of anxiety , have panic attacks and sometimes even more serious issues with their mental health . they are born in a transition time , in a period where humanity made its biggest leap with technological advancement which affected all areas of society . they grew up in times without internet and times when you can not imagine how you lived without internet . this transition happened in only 10 years period , which is really small amount of time for such great change . this affected their way of seeing the world . it ’s like they were forced to raise their consciousness in an accelerated rate . but that ’s ok because they are strong enough , like crystals . they always see the world with pure eyes , which additionally adds to their ‘ crystal children’ description . because of their imagination , purity of heart and strength , they are attracted to the superhero phenomena . their art , music , movies , businesses , even their lifestyles are inspired and driven by various superheroes they idolized while they were growing up . rainbow children are the newest generation of people , or generation z , born after the new millennium . they are modern and more technologically advanced than generation x and y because they are raised in a period where humans are more connected than any time in the known human history . they had almost all of the information in the world available to them while they were growing up , only by pushing few buttons . these kids are happy and positive . they are like a breath of fresh air . they are bringing happiness and joy to the whole world through various inventions , platforms and mediums that the generation x has developed and generation y perfected . their light and positivity makes them freer than any generation in modern history . they love traveling , they hate being tied up to one person and they can not stand the old conformistic ways . it feel like prison to them . think of them like light ; they give warmth , life and can not be captured . their whole being is pure and that ’s why most of these kids are vegan . the greatest difference between these 3 generations is this : the indigos are here to destroy what ’s not working and pave the way for a better world . the crystal children are the ones who need to create , develop and build the new ways uniting the best from the old and the new . the rainbow children are here to give life and fertilize the new and improved world that ’s in harmony with nature and the human potential . all of these 3 spiritual archetypes need to work together so there will be a real change to the way humanity further develops . however , it does n’t mean that if you are an indigo you can not be a crystal or a rainbow child . you can evolve through all of these 3 archetypes depending on your environment , understanding and purpose . and a lot of people do . these are simply 3 different aspects of one larger program called being a ‘ lightworker’ which works to heal the world . here is how we are all a part of this spiritual revolution : this spiritual revolution is a consequence of the collective human psyche . to understand this you must understand how we are all connected . you must grasp the fact that everything connects to everything else , even our thoughts . émile durkheim first introduced the collective conscious back in 1893 and described as the set of shared beliefs , ideas and moral attitudes which operate as a unifying force within society . however , just like our collective conscious carl jung called a phenomena ‘ collective unconscious’ which is the subconscious mind shared by all of humanity . this is how we are all connected . this is how all of us , unintentionally created the perfect environment for ‘ lightworkers’ to be developed and act as an antidote to the virus that could have destroyed us . maybe that was the defensive mechanism of our collective subconsciounsess or a higher plan of our collective psyche to help us thrive together as species . life coach code source
+1 juror 4 : oregon standoff prosecutors failed to prove ‘ intent’ to impede federal workers joe from massprivatei oregon live juror 4 vigorously defends the across - the - board acquittals of ammon bundy and his six co - defendants , calling the rulings a “ statement ” about the prosecution ’s failure to prove the fundamental elements of a conspiracy charge . the full - time marylhurst university business administration student was the juror who had sent a note to the judge on the fourth day of the initial jury ’s deliberations in the case , questioning the impartiality of a fellow juror , no . 11 , who the judge bounced from the jury a day later . “ it should be known that all 12 jurors felt that this verdict was a statement regarding the various failures of the prosecution to prove ‘ conspiracy’ in the count itself – and not any form of affirmation of the defense ’s various beliefs , actions or aspirations , ” juror 4 wrote friday in a lengthy email to the oregonian / oregonlive . he expressed relief that he can now speak out freely , but he was n’t ready as of friday morning to drop his anonymity . he said his studies have suffered since the trial started , and he ’s not ready for the attention revealing his identity would bring but felt it was important to defend the verdict . the judge withheld jurors’ names during the jury selection process and trial , instead referring to each by number . the jury closely followed u.s. district judge anna j. brown ’s instructions on how to apply the law to the evidence and testimony heard during the five - week trial , he said . the jury returned unanimous verdicts of “ not guilty ” to conspiracy charges against all seven defendants . each was accused of conspiring to prevent employees of the u.s. fish and wildlife service and bureau of land management from carrying out their official work through intimidation , threat or force during the 41-day occupation . juror 4 noted the panel could n’t simply rely on the defendants’“defining actions ” to convict . “ all 12 agreed that impeding existed , even if as an effect of the occupation , ” he wrote . “ but we were not asked to judge on bullets and hurt feelings , rather to decide if any agreement was made with an illegal object in mind , ” the marylhurst student wrote . “ it seemed this basic , high standard of proof was lost upon the prosecution throughout . ” prosecutors had argued that the case , at its core , was about the illegal taking of another ’s property . the heavily armed guards that manned the front gate and watchtower during the 41-day takeover , in and of itself , was “ intimidating , ” and prevented officers from the u.s. fish and wildlife service and u.s. bureau of land management from carrying out their work , they said . they argued that the alleged conspiracy began nov. 5 , when ammon bundy and ally ryan payne met with harney county sheriff dave ward and promised there would be extreme civil unrest in the community if he did n’t step in and block harney county ranchers dwight hammond jr. and steven hammond . the hammonds were slated to return to federal prison on jan. 4 and serve out a mandatory minimum five - year sentence for arson on federal land . defense lawyers urged jurors in closing arguments not to mix - up the “ effect ” of the occupation – which undoubtedly kept federal employees from doing their jobs – from the “ intent ” of the occupiers . five of the seven defendants , including ammon bundy , testified . many said that they were there to protest in support of the hammonds and federal government overreach because they received absolutely no response from state or local government officials to their previous efforts to spur change . the defense lawyers’ arguments , coupled with the jury instructions on how to apply the law to the evidence , resonated with jurors , juror 4 noted . “ inference , while possibly compelling , proved to be insulting or inadequate to 12 diversely situated people as a means to convict , ” the juror wrote . “ the air of triumphalism that the prosecution brought was not lost on any of us , nor was it warranted given their burden of proof . ” juror 4 plainly stated that fellow juror 11 , during the initial round of deliberations , “ had zero business being on this jury in the first place . ” juror 11 had worked for the u.s. bureau of land management as a ranch tech and firefighter “ more than 20 years ago , ” he had said during jury selection . asked by the judge during voir dire if that experience would impede his ability to be a fair and impartial judge of the facts , he said , “ not really . ” juror 4 explained why he did n’t alert the court immediately after he had heard juror 11 , on day one of deliberations reportedly say , “ i am very biased . ” it was n’t until the fourth day into deliberations that juror 4 sent a note to the court , asking if a juror who had worked previously for the federal land management agency and outright told the panel he was “ very biased ” could be an impartial judge . the court , flummoxed by the development , a day later dismissed juror 11 for “ good cause , ” after the prosecution and defense teams agreed to the dismissal . at the time , parties to the case were n’t sure which way juror 11 ’s alleged bias fell . juror 4 said he “ resisted the impulse ” to send the question sooner in an effort to give his fellow juror a chance to explain himself . in his email to the oregonian / oregonlive , juror 4 , for the first time , also contended that juror 11 “ violated ” the judge ’s explicit orders “ by hearkening to ‘ evidence’ that was never admitted in this case , refused to consider the defendant ’s state of mind and used imaginative theories to explain key actions . ' ” juror 4 said , though , he wishes that he “ had sent the letter on day one , since it would have alleviated much stress for all of us . ” the maryville business student said he is “ baffled ” by what he described as observers’“flippant sentiments ” in the wake of the jury ’s acquittals . “ do n’t they know that ‘ not guilty’ does not mean innocent ? ” he wrote . “ it was not lost on us that our verdict(s ) might inspire future actions that are regrettable , but that sort of thinking was not permitted when considering the charges before us . ” the jury , he said , met with judge brown after the verdicts were announced and after the u.s. marshals’ physical confrontation and arrest of bundy lawyer marcus mumford . he said many of the jurors questioned the judge about why the federal government chose the “ conspiracy charge . ” he said he learned that a potential alternate charge , such as criminal trespass , would n’t have brought as significant a penalty . the charge of conspiring to impede federal employees from carrying out their official work through intimidation , threat or force brings a maximum sentence of six years in prison . “ we all queried about alternative charges that could stick and were amazed that this ‘ conspiracy’ charge seemed the best possible option , ” juror 4 said . — maxine bernstein
+0 why republicans are battling republicans on obamacare repeal - the new york times jeremy w. peters washington — republicans are rarely as exercised as when they are fighting with themselves . and as the house debates how to best dismantle the affordable care act , a familiar array of interest groups with deep pockets , incensed talk radio hosts and online agitators is again assuming its posture of aggression toward the house republican leadership . “ swampcare , ” the writer and radio personality erick erickson scoffed at the new american health care act , the culmination of seven years of promises to repeal and replace president barack obama ’s signature domestic achievement . “ obamacare 2 . 0 , ” declared breitbart . com . “ rinocare , ” mark levin wrote on twitter , using the acronym for republican in name only . political groups backed by the billionaire brothers charles and david koch and other powerful players on the right , such as club for growth and heritage action for america , have come out quickly and strongly against the bill . some have threatened to punish lawmakers by docking their conservative ratings on the influential “ scorecards ” they distribute to voters . activists are already swarming capitol hill and demanding that congress take a harder line and pass a repeal measure that would leave no trace of the affordable care act . “ i feel lied to , ” said anna beavon gravely , the deputy state director of the north carolina chapter of americans for prosperity , a group that is funding a push against republicans in congress who want to stop short of an outright repeal . “ we trusted you because you said you were going to do something about this . and this is not it . not even close , ” she added as she prepared to set out for the offices of north carolina lawmakers with other activists from her state . the displeasure is forcing an uncomfortable reckoning in the republican party much earlier and in a much more disruptive way than many think is constructive . and it has many conservatives asking why — now that they control both houses of congress and the white house and have remained largely united so far — they are picking a fight with each other . the criticism from the right has grown so harsh that president trump asked leaders of several conservative groups in an oval office meeting on wednesday to tone it down . he was especially troubled , one participant said , by the comparisons of the plan to “ obamacare lite , ” which he said was inaccurate and harmful to their shared cause of gutting the current law . one senior white house official described the meeting as “ tough . ” referring to the president , the official said : “ he listened . they vented . ” after the meeting , the white house appeared more confident about the prospects in the house for the health care overhaul . in a meeting with conservative leaders in the oval office on wednesday , mr. trump said he anticipated the most trouble in the senate , where republican moderates and conservatives are opposing the plan for different reasons . he said he was prepared to pressure holdout senators by having the kind of rallies he had during his presidential campaign . unified government was supposed to eliminate some of the infighting that plagued the republicans during the obama years , when the party ’s right flank brought down a house speaker , defeated a house majority leader and blocked another majority leader ’s ascent . instead , it is underlining the difficulties of running washington now that their party bears full responsibility . “ for a while , it did seem like trump ’s victory had transcended the old political battles , ” said matt lewis , a conservative author , who added that the fighting was doubly odd because the repeal was not an issue central to mr. trump ’s and campaign . “ this is not why people elected donald trump . and yet here we are . ” as they find themselves sudden targets of a and opposition from within , some republicans are beginning to question whether the squabbling is ultimately . and their doubts raise a new question for this republican faction that has been mocked as the “ party of no ” : can they ever get to yes ? “ i fully respect people on the outside — who do n’t have to take a vote or produce an outcome — who strive for perfect , ” said senator thom tillis of north carolina , one of the republicans who found activists in their offices this week . perfect , he said , is never as attainable as people think . “ but we ’re going to get good here . ” stopping health care has been a cause unifying conservatives since mr. obama began talking about it as a presidential candidate nine years ago . perhaps no other issue created as much energy among conservative voters , helping republicans make historic gains in congress as they railed against the law as an egregious government overreaching into a vast part of the economy . but differences over how exactly to unravel the affordable care act have long divided republicans , even when the stakes were low and they knew that whatever they passed in congress would be vetoed by mr. obama . in 2013 , differences within the republican party over defunding it led to a government shutdown . back then , the fault lines in the debate were largely the same : conservatives butting up against the party leadership , which they accused of not acting aggressively enough . but as much as the squabbling seems the same , there is one crucial difference : they are firing with real bullets now . “ we ’re on the hook this time , ” said representative dave brat , republican of virginia , who is part of the group of conservatives pushing for an outright repeal . “ this one counts . ” that they are firing some of those bullets at one another seems to be less of a concern the more conservative you are . representative raul labrador of idaho , an opponent of the house bill who along with mr. brat is a member of the house freedom caucus , the driving force on capitol hill behind the resistance , said that any republicans who will not vote to fully repeal the law will not be keeping a promise they made to voters . “ and they can go back to their districts and explain to the american people why they lied , ” he said . conservatives see many of the same problems in the republican leadership plan today that bothered them about the democrats’ 2010 health care bill : it extends a subsidy to help individuals buy insurance though it revokes the affordable care act ’s mandate that nearly all americans have insurance , it replaces the mandate with a new penalty if a consumer buys insurance after letting coverage lapse it was negotiated largely without consulting the rank and file and , they insist , its benefits could go toward people who should not receive them , like undocumented immigrants . matt schlapp , the chairman of the american conservative union , echoed a concern that many conservative activists have voiced about not being briefed or consulted on the plan . “ it goes a long way when you hear people out , ” he said . “ and there are a lot of natural allies that this caught by surprise as much as it did democrats . ” the unhappiness on the right could be especially worrisome for speaker paul d. ryan , whose status as a favorite target of the conservative base seemed to fade in the wake of mr. trump ’s election . now , many conservatives appear willing to reopen the wounds of old leadership fights . some of them have already taken to mocking the repeal plan with what they consider to be the most damning of pejoratives — not “ trumpcare , ” as democrats call it , but “ ryancare . ”
+0 dershowitz : courts psychoanalyzing trump - if obama issued travel ban , it would be constitutional - breitbart pam key saturday on fox news channel ’s “ fox friends , ” while discussing federal courts in hawaii and maryland halting president donald trump ’s new restrictions on travelers from countries , harvard law professor alan dershowitz said if trump ’s predecessor former president barack obama had issued the same order , the courts would not have intervened on the constitutionality of the executive order . “ the idea of focusing so heavily on campaign rhetoric and essentially saying , look , if obama had issued the very same order with the same words it would be constitutional , but if trump issues it , it ’s unconstitutional because he said some things about muslims in the to the campaign , ” he said . dershowitz continued , “ that ’s not the way the law is supposed to operate . and finally , the trump justice department is getting smart . they are appealing this not to the ninth circuit where they are likely to get an adverse ruling . they are appealing it to the fourth circuit . the fourth circuit is a much more conservative court . and much more likely to uphold the travel ban , and then if the case goes to the supreme court and ties four to four , trump wins . ” he added , “ i actually said that this was n’t constitutional analysis . it was psychoanalysis . there is precedent in extreme cases where legislators in enacting a statute say things that you can sometimes look to the legislative intent . but i have never heard of a case where the rhetoric of a candidate , ambiguous rhetoric to be sure — because i do not believe this is a muslim ban — focusing on a country like iran , the greatest exporter of terrorism , not only no vetting , it sends terrorists out in order to kill americans . iran has so much blood on its hands of americans and american allies , to exclude a country like iran from the list would be absurd . and the list — although for a different purpose — was originally designed by president obama . so how can you say that the exclusion of six countries on the list was motivated by what mr. trump said when he was candidate trump ? that is not good legal analysis . i ’m putting my reputation on the line — i predict the case gets to the supreme court , the supreme court will uphold the major provisions of this ban . ” follow pam key on twitter @pamkeynen
+0 hollywood dentist kicked off flight for anti - trump comment katherine rodriguez a dentist who caters to celebrities in hollywood was reportedly kicked off a flight for making an comment to a flight attendant . [ shawn sadri , a immigrant from iran , who practices in los angeles and manhattan , was returning to new york from hollywood after a week of performing cosmetic dental procedures for his clients attending the oscars , the new york daily news reported . he sat next to an unaccompanied “ or boy ” of latino descent , who was crying and nervous before takeoff . “ i asked the boy , ‘ are you ok ? are you traveling alone ? ’ ” says sadri , who has served clients such as actor aaron paul and athletes jose canseco and gabby douglas . “ he did n’t speak a word of english and no one was with him , ” sadri said . “ out of nowhere , he runs down the aisle and starts screaming ! ” when a flight attendant came over to assess the situation , sadri told the flight attendant jokingly that “ maybe trump is trying to deport ” the boy . “ do n’t say that , ” the flight attendant snapped back at him . sadri , who moved to iran from the u. s. when he was three , thought that by making a “ joke ” he might diffuse the situation , but things only escalated even further . “ fine , you must be a trump supporter , ” he told the flight attendant . “ and she said , ‘ what if i am?’ so i said ‘ if you are , you are , but you ’re also incompetent and need to do your job . why am i dealing with this kid ? ’ ” two other flight attendants came to the aid of their colleague , and an argument between sadri and the flight attendants ensued , according to sadri . “ i was n’t yelling , i was n’t swearing , it was 6 a. m. i had n’t been drinking , ” he said . “ i ’m a new yorker — i ’m not going to back down — and i was born a muslim in iran . i do think all those things played into it . ” sadri said security was “ nice ” when they kicked him off american airlines flight 292 and put him on the next flight to new york leaving an hour later . american airlines said he was asked to leave the flight because he failed to follow crew members’ instructions . sadri said he has flown by private jet in the past but did not get lucky enough to do so sunday , the daily mail reported .
+1 being crazy in a sick society is actually healthy noreply@blogger.com ( alexander light ) . being crazy in a sick society is actually healthy to be normal is to be sick ... krishnamurti once said that “ it is no measure of health to be well ad ... http://humansarefree.com/2016/11/being-crazy-in-sick-society-is-actually.html to be normal is to be sick ... krishnamurti once said that “ it is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.”however , being born and brought up in such a society , most people ca n’t realize that it is sick , let alone that they are part of this sickness , just like fish , which , living in water , can not realize that they are in water and part of the sea life . what does it mean to live a normal life ? in the modern world , especially in the west , it means to be brainwashed at a very young age for over a decade by what we call schooling , to later on work as a wage slave for almost the rest of your life competing with others so as to merely survive . to mindlessly consume products without end because manipulative advertising convinced you to do so , while at the same time you unconsciously harm the planet we inhabit . to slowly poison your physical organism by feeding it with disease causing foods , to obey to the rules and believe in the dogmas handed down to you by those in authority , to be passive and uncreative , suppressing yourself in countless of ways , living in suffering , yet doing nothing to overcome it . these 13 families rule the world : the shadow forces behind the nwo — and how to escape their control if you stop for a moment and think , you might realize that this kind of living is absolutely sick , yet it is accepted by almost everyone as healthy and is actually rewarded by society . in fact , those of us who are better at living this way are considered to be the most successful and respected , while those who are different , more sensitive and intelligent , desiring to create a different path in life , are ridiculed and looked down upon , being considered as stupid , weird , or even crazy . but what is the point of living the way most people live ? life can be lived so much better — we can live playfully , filled with laughter and love , with a desire to be creative , at peace with ourselves and others , savoring the gifts of existence . unfortunately , only a few people manage to think outside the mental box that society has provided us with and escape from the matrix they ’ve been unconsciously living in since they were born . those are the rebellious ones who at some point in their lives felt the need to break free from the chains of tradition and help create a more beautiful world for all beings on earth . rebelling against normalcy to rebel against normalcy is the most difficult thing you can do because you need the guts to be honest with yourself and others . to voice the truth in a world where almost everyone is living in lies is quite a risky thing to do . speaking the truth means going against the current of tradition , which in turn means confronting the herd mentality and having the strength to keep on going your way regardless of the hardships you might face . there have been many people who had the courage to rebel against the normalcy of our sick society , but most of them could n’t deal with the negative consequences their actions had on themselves . when nobody embraces your uniqueness and is able to understand you , and when everybody is trying to suppress you and help you to fit back into society , it is easy to lose courage , and not uncommon to experience immense psychological anguish . that ’s why some of the greatest minds to have ever walked on earth were suffering from serious mental and emotional issues . and although now , after a long time since they passed away , they are recognized as geniuses , when they were alive they were seen by the majority as weirdos or lunatics . once you realize how sick the way you and most people are living is and openly go against it , trying to reclaim your freedom and create your own path in life , you are bound to get in trouble . people , including family members and friends will do everything to put obstacles on your path with the intention to “ help ” you become normal again , exactly like they are . instead of helping you to grow your wings of consciousness and leave behind what is burdening your psyche , they do their best to cut them off and make you crawl by their side so that you can suffer together . dare to be crazy your inner voice has for a very long time been telling you that life could be lived much more beautifully , and you should trust it because it ’s right . and although it might be the most difficult thing to achieve , it is the only thing worth working for , because what is the point of living otherwise ? what is the point of wasting your entire life just because others told you that ’s how you are supposed to live?if you desire to live the way you want to live and not the way others expect you to live , you need to gather the courage in your heart to be a little crazy — crazy according to society ’s standards . you need to distance yourself from the comfort of the herd and follow your calling , without caring what others think of you . you need to be willing to go through hardships and experience pain , without giving up trying to turn your dreams into reality . remember : no matter how much pain you might experience by walking the path of non - conformity , the rewards of doing so far outweigh the disadvantages . just like a mother experiences tremendous pain while giving birth , you are experiencing immense pain birthing a new kind of life . a life of beauty , of joy , of celebration . pain goes hand in hand with change , so embrace it , allow it to guide you and let it be a catalyst for your inner metamorphosis . by sofo archon
+1 california becomes second state to raise legal smoking age to 21 ethan a. huff , staff writer california becomes second state to raise legal smoking age to 21 ethan a. huff , staff writer tags : smoking age , california , prohibition ( naturalnews ) if you 're between the ages of 18 and 21 , live in california and are a smoker , expect to be denied your favorite pack at the convenience store . beginning in june , the new minimum age for officially jumped from 18 to 21 , a prohibition move that lawmakers claim will curb the number of smokers in the golden state , and ultimately help save lives . joining both hawaii and the city of needham in massachusetts , california is the third locale in the u.s. to raise the legal smoking age to 21 . officials there hope that , like in these other places , age restrictions on smoking will help reduce the number of smokers and minimize the number of individuals who develop smoking - related health conditions like emphysema and lung cancer . citing statistics from needham that show a nearly 50 percent reduction in the number of smokers in the five - year period following the change that was made in 2005 , april roeseler , head of the california public health department 's tobacco control program , told the los angeles times that she expects similar reductions in her state . in needham , the number of high schoolers smoking cigarettes fell by nearly half , according to a study published last year . and adult smoking rates in the town also fell from about 18.1 percent to a mere 8 percent – statistics that experts say can be replicated all across the country."if we can push that age up where fewer and fewer people start smoking as a teen , it 's likely that we will start to have some tobacco - free generations , " the times quotes her as saying . prohibition never works ; people who want ' contraband ' will find a way at this point , though , very little , if any , evidence exists to show that the rule change is working as intended . university of california , san francisco ( ucsf ) professor dr. stanton glantz , for instance , admitted to the times that the policy still needs time to " settle in . " the california smokers ' helpline also says it has n't noticed any increases in the number of callers in the prohibited age range trying to quit , which suggests that not much has changed . there 's also the contraband factor – older kids still buying cigarettes for younger kids , for example , including those younger than the former threshold age of 18 . illegal buying has always been an issue , law or no law , which is something that the government never really seems to understand when it comes to issues of prohibition ."they're hanging out and partying together , so they 'll just get someone else to buy , " says leonard charles , the owner of a liquor store in oakland . charles says he strictly enforces the new cigarette age law , but believes that if somebody wants cigarettes , he or she is going to find a way , regardless of the law . in the internet age , cigarettes are also freely available to anybody with a wifi connection . people can order cigarettes off the web and have them delivered right to their doorstep , which means that state - level restrictions are basically moot . and what about e - cigarettes ? the state of california classifies e - cigs as a " tobacco product " just like cigarettes , and they are subject to the same laws . however , everybody has them these days , they 're very discreet , and they do n't produce that typical tobacco smell that 's so hard to get out of a room , so trying to enforce restrictions against their use is next to impossible , say experts familiar with the reality of how easy it is to obtain tobacco , regardless of what the law says . when asked how the new law will realistically work in light of the fact that smoking laws often are n't effective , glantz responded , " the short answer is i do n't know . " sources for this article include :
+0 actor , trump supporter antonio sabato jr. running for congress in california daniel nussbaum soap opera star and donald trump supporter antonio sabato jr. is set to make his own foray into politics with a run for congress in california . [ according to the los angeles times , the general hospital and melrose place star will challenge democratic rep. julia brownley in california ’s 26th congressional district , which encompasses a large portion of ventura county and part of the central coast . the actor — who has competed on dancing with the stars and worked as a model — spoke at the republican national convention in support of trump in july . sabato strategist and fundraiser charles moran told the times that the actor ’s experience at the convention sparked his own desire to affect change in washington . “ being a republican and with proximity to the white house and republican leadership , he ’s going to be able to get more done — being in the majority , with his notoriety , for the residents of the 26th [ congressional ] district , ” moran told the paper . sabato was a vocal supporter of trump throughout the 2016 presidential campaign . at the republican convention in july , the actor — who immigrated from italy to the united states in 1985 — said he had never considered himself to be a political person before , but expressed concern about the direction of the united states , and said those wishing to enter the country should follow the same procedures he did nearly thirty years ago . “ having secure borders , protecting our citizens , none of this is hateful , ” sabato said at the time . “ this is the responsibility of the government . and it ’s the right thing to do . ” the candidate will reportedly campaign with a focus on veterans and substance abuse issues . in august , sabato said in an interview that he had been blacklisted from hollywood due to his political beliefs . “ t ’s not just me . i know a lot of people in the industry who are in the same boat , ” he told variety . “ the reality is if you ’re associated with the republican party , the casting directors and producers already blacklist you based on that . ” follow daniel nussbaum on twitter : @dznussbaum
+0 justice or ‘ conspiracy’ ? terrorism trial divides somalis in minneapolis - the new york times jack healy and matt furber minneapolis — the day after his oldest son was convicted of conspiring to join and kill for the islamic state in syria , abdihamid yusuf just wanted to go home and rest . but bills were stacking up , so on saturday morning he and his wife visited the jail and then reopened hooyo ’s kitchen , the small somali restaurant where they serve plates of chicken , rice and bananas . “ we try to survive , ” mr. yusuf said . the trial of his son and two other young men splintered families and opinions here in the country ’s largest somali community . former friends testified against one another , describing how they had watched propaganda videos , bought fake passports and plotted their paths to syria . family members squabbled in the halls of the courthouse . some said they had been threatened or shunned . when the jury came back on friday afternoon , mr. yusuf did not even get word in time to reach the courtroom to see his son , mohamed farah , and the two other defendants , guled omar , 21 , and abdirahman daud , 22 , declared guilty . a total of nine men — including another of mr. yusuf ’s sons , adnan — have been convicted in the case . federal prosecutors say the case shined a light on the persistent problem of terrorist recruiting here . law enforcement authorities have said that more than 20 young men from minnesota have left to join the shabab militant group in somalia and that more than 15 have tried or succeeded in leaving to join the islamic state . but it also opened wounds among families , and at the end of the trial , some in the community praised justice served , while others pointed to what they called another injustice . deqa hussen said she had learned the price of cooperating : “ they ’ve been calling me snitch . ” her oldest son , abdirizak warsame , 21 , briefly acted as the leader of a group of friends as they planned to travel to syria in 2014 . he pleaded guilty and testified for prosecutors , telling the jury how he had wanted the rewards of martyrdom . now , ms. hussen said , longtime friends and strangers have accused her of selling her son to the government . during the trial , she said , the mother of another defendant threatened her life . “ i have to respect the government and i have to respect my son , ” she said . “ my culture is a culture of silence . you can not speak your rights . ” some in the somali community praised the government . they said that the three defendants had gotten a fair trial , and that they hoped the convictions would prompt candid talks about extremism and its allure to some young men here . “ this is good for the community , ” said mohamed ahmed , a gas station manager who created an online cartoon character , average mohamed , to condemn extremism . “ it unmasks the fear , forces us to think deeply . we can either confront it or bury our heads . ” jibril afyare , an ibm software engineer and community activist , spoke of vigilance . he said he talked regularly to the united states attorney about the threat of recruitment by terrorist groups , and has a local police captain ’s number on speed dial . “ we can not afford even one somali youth to be recruited by extremists , ” he said . “ it ’s dangerous for the country , and it ’s dangerous for the somali community . ” but others called the case a setup , and said the defendants had been goaded to act and praise terrorism by a onetime friend who made secret audio recordings as a paid federal informant . in barber shops and cafes where the case flashed on television screens , young men and old said the trial would harden the community ’s relationship with law enforcement , and said the defendants did not deserve potential sentences of life in prison . “ people think the trial was dishonest and was done in a hurry , that this is a conspiracy , ” said jamaal k. farah , 35 , a barber and comedian who goes by the name happy khalif and has attracted hundreds of thousands of views on youtube . mr. farah said he used to give haircuts to some of the nine friends who have now pleaded guilty or been convicted . he rejected portrayals of them as eager , militants who spoke of wanting to spit on the united states , kill turkish security forces or die as martyrs . the case focused on conversations and events in 2014 and 2015 . prosecutors said some of the defendants had watched islamic state propaganda videos , met to discuss routes and timing to leave for syria , tried to buy fake passports from an undercover f. b. i. agent and played paintball to train for combat . but to mr. farah and others skeptical of the convictions , the men were not defendants or terrorists , but boys , brothers , kids who had messed up but deserved a second chance . “ these kids used to be part of this community , ” mr. farah said . “ this country gave us hope and a better life . we think this trial was a total injustice . ” as he watched boys play basketball outside a community center in central minneapolis , burhan mohumed thought of his friend guled omar . he said mr. omar had played here before “ he was caught up in that storm . ” mr. mohumed attended the trial regularly but was barred from the courthouse after he intervened in a fight and argued with court security officers . after the trial , andrew m. luger , the united states attorney for minnesota , condemned the threats and courthouse scuffles as intolerable and “ . ” mr. mohumed supported the three defendants and , echoing others here , he was upset they could face life in prison even though they never left for syria and never pulled a trigger . “ if they can convict them on words and thoughts , it ’s over , ” he said . “ people will not feel safe in our communities . ” but prosecutors said the case involved far more than thoughts . they said the defendants were ready to kill for the islamic state and had made efforts to fly out of kennedy international airport or cross the mexican border to travel to syria . on saturday , mr. yusuf said , his wife insisted that they go back to work after they visited their son in jail . he said he had taken time off from his job driving a school bus to deal with the criminal cases against his sons . but they still had five other children to care for . so they opened hooyo ’s kitchen , in a somali shopping center stuffed with rug stores , barber shops , classrooms and kitchens , four floors above mr. farah ’s barber shop . as his wife cooked , mr. yusuf rushed food to customers . people stopped by to tell them to be strong . mr. yusuf ’s thoughts tilted back to his sons . he said mohamed farah , the oldest , was hopeful about sentencing , and had told him that whatever came next was god ’s will . he worried about the cost of funding two commissary accounts so his sons could call him from jail . he worried about the distance he would have to drive to visit them . “ it ’s not fair , ” mr. yusuf said . but he said they were propped up by faith . “ we believe god will give , no matter what . ”
+0 rex tillerson , an aggressive dealmaker whose ties with russia may prompt scrutiny - the new york times clifford krauss houston — twenty years ago , as rex w. tillerson was rising through the ranks at exxon , he was charged with negotiating with the government of yemen to build a natural gas export plant . the talks got bogged down over yemen ’s insistence that it have veto power over important business decisions . mr. tillerson , at one point , flew into a rage , throwing a book across the room and storming out , perhaps for dramatic effect . yemeni negotiators and other representatives of other oil companies partnering with exxon in the international consortium looked on in bewilderment . in the end , yemen got at least some of its demands . but that kind of determination to bend others’ wills could be exactly what donald j. trump is looking for in a secretary of state . it is also the kind of unconventionality that could open up mr. tillerson to closer scrutiny in senate confirmation hearings , particularly when it comes to his close relations with russia . “ he ’s much more than a business executive , ” mr. trump said of mr. tillerson in an interview with fox news on sunday , without confirming that mr. tillerson would be the ultimate choice . “ he ’s a player . ” to make a fresh start with russia , as mr. trump promised during the campaign , there may not be a better envoy than mr. tillerson , 64 , who has made a career at exxon — and exxon mobil since the 1999 merger — by drilling more fossil fuels out of russian soil and has even been decorated for his friendship with the country . the united states and russia are quarreling these days in ways rarely seen since the collapse of the soviet union . ukraine and syria are just two of several hot spots where the countries have clashing interests , and united states intelligence has concluded that russia covertly tried to undercut the very essence of american democracy by hacking computers and selectively leaking information to hurt hillary clinton and promote mr. trump ’s presidential campaign . mr. tillerson ’s clever maneuvering in russia at a time of growing tensions with the west was amply shown in 2014 , shortly after the united states and its allies applied sanctions on russia for meddling in ukraine . president obama asked american business leaders not to attend a major business forum in russia that may , and mr. tillerson obeyed the president ’s wishes . but mr. tillerson , exxon mobil ’s chief executive , still found a way to get a seat at the table . he sent his company ’s top exploration official in his place . the official , neil w. duffin , signed an agreement to promote more business with rosneft to expand joint drilling in the arctic ocean , develop shale fields with new technologies and cooperate on a gas export plant in siberia . tougher sanctions eventually froze the growth of exxon ’s activities in russia , but mr. tillerson had once again proved his commitment to doing business with the country ’s president , vladimir v. putin . “ tillerson will be a credible and effective messenger for a u. s. reset because he is not a member of the foreign policy establishment but also because his history embodies the investment potential russia could enjoy with a better relationship with the united states , ” said david l. goldwyn , who was the state department ’s top energy diplomat during the first obama administration . of mr. trump , mr. goldwyn said : “ he has definitely decided to do a reverse nixon and side with russia against china . he thinks we probably can make common cause with russia in syria but also in libya , and he does n’t have a problem supporting strongmen . ” russia may be mr. tillerson ’s strength , but it could also ultimately be his achilles’ heel . the russian government gave him the country ’s order of friendship decoration in 2012 , an award that could now well be an embarrassment . senator marco rubio , republican of florida , said on twitter on sunday , “ being a ‘ friend of vladimir’ is not an attribute i am hoping for from a secretary of state . ” mr. tillerson has opposed sanctions on russia , which are the single greatest obstacle to foreign investment in that country . russia has two enormous areas for new oil development , in the barents sea and the bazhenov shale field in western siberia , that are essentially closed to development because of a lack of foreign capital and expertise . exxon was poised to invest in both areas before the sanctions . exxon operates in about 50 foreign countries , and mr. tillerson has relationships far and wide . energy experts say he is particularly well versed in the affairs of angola , argentina , canada , mexico , nigeria and qatar . “ my impression is he is a corporate diplomat , ” said chase untermeyer , who was united states ambassador to qatar in the george w. bush administration . “ in my day in qatar , he would come and go for meetings with the most senior leadership of the country . ” but environmentalists and human rights groups have already reacted to the likely appointment with alarm , saying mr. tillerson would send the wrong message on the united states’ commitment to curbing climate change because he has spent his entire professional career at a company . also likely to come up at confirmation hearings would be mr. tillerson ’s potential interest in seeing exxon succeed in russia and elsewhere in the future . according to company filings this year , mr. tillerson owned $ 218 million in company stock , and his pension plan was worth nearly $ 70 million . raymond c. offenheiser , president of oxfam america , an antipoverty organization , said his group questioned how mr. tillerson would “ balance the pressure to transact deals against his larger responsibility to strengthen the rules and institutions that protect economic hope and fundamental human rights for so many on the planet . ” mr. offenheiser added , “ under tillerson ’s leadership , exxon has continued to work to undermine climate science . ” mr. tillerson is not always easy to define . deeply conservative and committed to the boy scouts of america , he quietly pushed the organization to be open to gay rights . but under his leadership , exxon was slow to adopt explicit policies protecting gay employees from discrimination . although reputed to be a decisive leader with a long view , he appeared slow to grasp the full potential of the united states’ shale gas revolution . exxon executives , speaking confidentially because they were not authorized to discuss the potential nomination , argued that mr. tillerson had pushed for more research on advanced biofuels , carbon capture and sequestration , and carbon taxes to reduce greenhouse emissions . mr. tillerson has also moved the company toward acknowledging climate change as a serious problem , although he has strongly defended the company amid investigations by several state attorneys general into allegations that the company took public positions skeptical of climate change when its own scientists were warning of the risks of burning fossil fuels . meanwhile , mr. tillerson ’s opposition to sanctions for russia made sense given exxon ’s interests there , supporters say . exxon has been active in russia for decades , and it has various joint ventures with rosneft inside and outside russia . western sanctions against russia have hurt the company , costing it as much as a billion dollars by some estimates . the company is unable to collect revenue from an investment in an oil and gas consortium that operates off sakhalin island or develop other unconventional projects , like arctic offshore and shale drilling . mr. tillerson ’s strong suit could be his knack for getting his way in negotiations . he can be expected to encourage the permitting of the keystone xl pipeline , which would deliver more oil from the canadian oil sands to american refineries . having just successfully bid for a deepwater drilling block off the coast of mexico , and understanding the importance of mexico as a growing natural gas export market , he can also be expected to try to smooth relations with mexico city . some energy experts say mr. tillerson could encourage mr. trump to support the international climate accord negotiated in paris last december , but with added emphasis on the benefits of natural gas and ways to bury carbon waste . mr. tillerson , said paul bledsoe , a former climate change adviser in the clinton administration , “ might bring trump equal measures of new pressure and political cover to engage on international climate change issues . ”
+0 sean spicer ’s quick twitter reaction to jobs report may break a rule - the new york times patricia cohen oops . the enthusiastic reaction of sean spicer , the white house press secretary , was understandable on friday when the labor department reported a gain of 235 , 000 jobs . “ great news for american workers , ” he proclaimed on twitter 22 minutes after the labor department release , “ in first report for @potus trump . ” mr. spicer was probably just following president trump ’s lead . at 8:41 a. m. 11 minutes after the report ’s 8:30 release , mr. trump reposted a twitter message sent by the conservative website drudge report that linked to a news report with the comment “ great again : + 235 , 000 . ” but those messages on twitter apparently violate a federal rule barring executive branch employees from publicly commenting on principal economic indicators for at least one hour after the official release time . announced in the federal register on sept. 25 , 1985 , when ronald reagan was president , the rule was adopted “ to preserve the distinction between the release of data by statistical agencies and their interpretation by policy officials , ” and to avoid affecting “ financial and commodity markets , ” according to the office of information and regulatory affairs , part of the office of management and budget . the rule as published in the federal register does not include a penalty for violation . the white house receives the jobs data through the council of economic advisers on thursday afternoon , before its friday release . jason furman , the chairman of the council of economic advisers in president barack obama ’s second term , said by email on friday : “ the interpretation of our administration ( like clinton and bush ) was that this applied to potus . there were times they wanted obama to comment , his flight or whatever was taking off at 9:20 and they would hold off until 9:30 so he could comment then . ” of course the trump administration ’s delight was no surprise . and at a white house briefing on friday afternoon , mr. spicer addressed the issue with . “ do n’t make me make the podium move , ” he told a questioner , alluding to a parody of his briefing style on “ saturday night live . ” he said that while “ i understand the rule , ” he felt his post had caused no market disruption because the news was already out . “ i apologize if we were a little excited , and we ’re so excited to see so many americans back to work , ” he added .
+1 israel ’s defense minister to ‘ palestinian’ paper : hamas’ next attack on israel will be its last admin israel ’s defense minister to ‘ palestinian’ paper : hamas’ next attack on israel will be its last oct 29 , 2016 previous post in an effort to communicate directly with the palestinian people , defense minister avigdor liberman warned , in a rare interview with the al quds daily , that hamas would be destroyed if it dares attack israel again . israel ’s defense chief threatened the hamas terror organization which rules the gaza strip , and dismissed the palestinian authority ( pa ) head as an incapable leader in a rare interview published monday in the al quds daily , a popular palestinian newspaper . the positions of defense minister avigdor liberman are well known , but it is unusual for the palestinian media to interview him . he started his interview saying , “ it ’s important for me to talk directly to palestinian people … i tried to do that since i took office … because i believe there is misunderstanding . ” liberman said pa head mahmoud abbas is not capable of signing a peace deal with israel . “ this agreement needs someone else , someone capable of taking a tough decision , ” he said . liberman expressed support for a two - state solution , restating his proposed plan that it should be based on an exchange of territories , and saying that israel does not need some areas , such as the arab town of umm el - fahm in the north . he warned hamas against testing israel with violence . “ if they ( hamas ) impose a war on israel , this war will be the final war for them ; we are going to destroy them completely , ” liberman was quoted as saying in the full - page interview . however , he said that israel has no interest in reconquering and occupying the gaza strip and emphasized that israel does not want another war with hamas . hamas official fathi hammad said his group is “ in no way afraid and this is a powerful message from gaza to liberman . ” in the interview , liberman also said that israel is ready to invest in an airport , sea port and industrial park in gaza — if hamas ceases its violent actions against israel and “ stops building tunnels and launching rockets . ” “ gaza could be the singapore or hong kong of the middle east , ” he said . israel has in the past presented for entire article click link
+0 romance turns sour for swansea fans , and bob bradley is caught in the middle - the new york times rory smith swansea , wales — the protests started even before the humiliation was done . zlatan ibrahimovic had yet to score his second goal , which would be manchester united ’s final one in a victory over swansea city on sunday , but already the dull hum of mutiny flickered around the losing team ’s liberty stadium . the songs began in the corner of the east stand , where swansea ’s most vocal supporters are corralled . each chant was greeted with a ripple of applause from the rest of the stadium . “ we want our club back , ” the first chorus went . the second demanded that “ greedy ” members of the board leave the club . a third suggested an explicit use for “ dollars , ” an allusion to the recent american takeover of the team . bob bradley , swansea ’s american manager , heard what he called the “ back and forth ” but tried to shut it out of his mind and focus on the game unfolding in front of him . the fans kept voicing their dissent as manchester united waltzed through , almost unchallenged , once more . over the last decade or so , swansea has been british soccer ’s story , with an improbable rise that seemed to belong to another age . the tale proved so irresistible that it even made it onto celluloid . that movie , “ jack to a king , ” depicts a club saved from financial ruin by lifelong fans and then lifted from oblivion and into the elite by a succession of young , imaginative managers preaching an adventurous style of play . it is , strictly speaking , a documentary , but it follows the narrative arc of a romance . for a while , it seemed that swansea would have its happily ever after . in 2013 , the club won its first major trophy in more than a century of existence , prevailing in the english tournament now known as the efl cup . the following season , the team , not far removed from the threat of extinction , earned a rare spot in one of the prestigious european competitions , the europa league . that was only two years ago , but it seems like a lifetime . devotion , all of a sudden , is in short supply in this corner of south wales . managers have come and gone with alarming , uncharacteristic frequency : michael laudrup , garry monk and francesco guidolin , who yielded to bradley last month . cornerstone players have departed . new owners — steve kaplan and jason levien , american sports executives — have arrived . the mounting discontent among supporters suggests that rapid change has not been universally welcomed . results make it hard to disagree : swansea has not won a game since the opening day of the season bradley has picked up just 1 point from his first four matches in charge . the club is 19th in the premier league , with the same point total as sunderland . the threat of relegation to a lower division is very real . who is to blame is not entirely clear . the accusations of greed might have been directed at kaplan and levien , seen as speculators coming to profit from others’ hard work . or the song might have been meant for huw jenkins , the chairman , and a number of other directors who made millions from the club ’s sale this year but retain their places on the board . who will play the role of lightning rod , though , is not in question . bradley has spent much of his career awaiting a chance in the premier league . now he has it , and he is getting the full experience : not just the full stadiums , the razzmatazz and the chance to pit his wits against the likes of josé mourinho and arsène wenger , but the politics , the impatience and the cutthroat darwinism , too . wisely , he chose to avoid the issue of the protests , insisting after the match that the only way to “ win the support of the fans is to play better and take points . ” he added , “ the players , the coaches , the professionals — we have to focus on the only part we can control . ” bradley , though , will not be afforded the chance to be neutral . to some fans , he is a manifestation of the second transformation in swansea ’s recent history . after its gleeful metamorphosis into a premier league fixture , there is now the grudging mutation from local institution into international concern . it is bradley ’s nationality that condemns him . danny gabbidon , a former wales international , said on the radio after the game that the accent of bradley , a new jersey native , meant that he “ could not take him seriously . ” one fan , as the game petered out , loudly suggested that bradley was “ out of his depth . ” by that point , a goal from the dutch defender mike van der hoorn had given the final score a veneer of respectability for swansea and muted the worst of the dissent for the final 20 minutes of the match . the lull will not last . some fans are convinced that swansea is managed by an american because it is owned by americans . to them , bradley is a reason for unrest , not a victim of it . there are holes in this particular plotline . swansea ’s dramatic elevation was characterized by stability . from 2007 to 2014 , swansea employed four managers : roberto martínez , paulo sousa , brendan rodgers and laudrup . each joined a club with a clear vision of not only where it was going but also how it wanted to get there . since laudrup ’s acrimonious exit , swansea has had four managers in less than three years . the smoothness , that mentality in which the club rolled on regardless of the man on the sideline , has long since disappeared . in december , monk , a former player , was replaced by alan curtis , a trusted coach and local hero , on a temporary basis because the board did not have a successor in mind . guidolin , an experienced italian , eventually took the post — after not working for two years . he was hardly an obvious extension of swansea ’s reputation for stylish play . the players like bradley and enjoy his training sessions , and the club ’s staff members admire his insatiable work ethic , but the concerns about guidolin apply to him , too . whatever else he is , and whatever his passport says , bradley is not cast from the same mold as martínez and rodgers . that does not mean he will be a failure , of course , and it does not mean he should be run out of town . but it does speak of a club that has , somehow , lost its sense of self . that development , most likely , lies at the root of the discontent among swansea ’s supporters . swansea won admiration during its romantic period because of what it stood for : the idea that fans could run a club , and run it well the belief that style could bring success . now , that story has ended , but nothing has emerged in its place . swansea was different now it looks like any other premier league club , owned from afar , its only ambition to survive , thinking from one game to the next . wins would lift the pressure from bradley , but they may not heal the deeper rift . what the club that wrote a tale worthy of a film needs , more than anything , is another script .
+1 re : america has become a lawless nation – hillary clinton magically cleared by the fbi douglass ridenhouse america has become a lawless nation – hillary clinton magically cleared by the fbi by michael snyder , on july 5th , 2016 it is hard to be proud to be an american today after watching fbi director james comey magically clear hillary clinton of all wrongdoing . sadly , comey is likely to go down in history as the man that struck the final death blow to the rule of law in america . during his address to the media , comey admitted that clinton sent or received 110 emails in 52 email chains that contained classified material at the time they were sent . but of course there were probably many more . comey told the press that it was “ likely that there are other work - related emails that they did not produce … that are now gone because they deleted all emails they did not return to state , and the lawyers cleaned their devices . ” so basically clinton turned over to the fbi whatever she felt like turning over , and then she destroyed the rest of the evidence . as a former lawyer , this infuriates me , but it does n’t surprise me . in fact , it does n’t surprise me at all that hillary clinton was allowed to skate . i expected this all along . if you search the thousands of articles that i have posted on the economic collapse blog and end of the american dream , you will find many articles where i say that hillary clinton should be in prison , but not a single one where i ever said that i thought she would be going to prison . this is how politics in america works today . people like bill and hillary clinton could openly sacrifice children to satan on the white house lawn and still probably not get into trouble . despite scandal after scandal going all the way back to arkansas in the 1980s , nothing ever sticks to them , and nothing probably ever will . in this case , fbi director james comey essentially had to rewrite federal law in order to clear clinton . this is something that andrew mccarthy explained very well in his article entitled “ fbi rewrites federal law to let hillary off the hook ” … there is no way of getting around this : according to director james comey ( disclosure : a former colleague and longtime friend of mine ) , hillary clinton checked every box required for a felony violation of section 793(f ) of the federal penal code ( title 18 ) : with lawful access to highly classified information she acted with gross negligence in removing and causing it to be removed it from its proper place of custody , and she transmitted it and caused it to be transmitted to others not authorized to have it , in patent violation of her trust . director comey even conceded that former secretary clinton was “ extremely careless ” and strongly suggested that her recklessness very likely led to communications ( her own and those she corresponded with ) being intercepted by foreign intelligence services . —– in essence , in order to give mrs. clinton a pass , the fbi rewrote the statute , inserting an intent element that congress did not require . the added intent element , moreover , makes no sense : the point of having a statute that criminalizes gross negligence is to underscore that government officials have a special obligation to safeguard national defense secrets ; when they fail to carry out that obligation due to gross negligence , they are guilty of serious wrongdoing . the lack of intent to harm our country is irrelevant . people never intend the bad things that happen due to gross negligence . the amazing thing is that the fbi handled a highly similar case very , very differently less than a year ago . just check out what happened to naval reservist bryan nishimura … u.s. magistrate judge kendall j. newman immediately sentenced nishimura to two years of probation , a $ 7,500 fine , and forfeiture of personal media containing classified materials . nishimura was further ordered to surrender any currently held security clearance and to never again seek such a clearance . according to court documents , nishimura was a naval reservist deployed in afghanistan in 2007 and 2008 . in his role as a regional engineer for the u.s. military in afghanistan , nishimura had access to classified briefings and digital records that could only be retained and viewed on authorized government computers . nishimura , however , caused the materials to be downloaded and stored on his personal , unclassified electronic devices and storage media . he carried such classified materials on his unauthorized media when he traveled off - base in afghanistan and , ultimately , carried those materials back to the united states at the end of his deployment . in the united states , nishimura continued to maintain the information on unclassified systems in unauthorized locations , and copied the materials onto at least one additional unauthorized and unclassified system . nishimura ’s actions came to light in early 2012 , when he admitted to naval personnel that he had handled classified materials inappropriately . nishimura later admitted that , following his statement to naval personnel , he destroyed a large quantity of classified materials he had maintained in his home . despite that , when the federal bureau of investigation searched nishimura ’s home in may 2012 , agents recovered numerous classified materials in digital and hard copy forms . the investigation did not reveal evidence that nishimura intended to distribute classified information to unauthorized personnel . so what is the difference between nishimura and clinton ? neither of them ever intended to do anything wrong . so why were they treated so differently ? needless to say , social media is exploding with outrage over this decision to let clinton go free . many americans are openly asking why they should continue to play by the rules if politicians like hillary clinton are not required to do so . unfortunately , this is what america has become . our politicians are a reflection of who we are as a society , and as i have stated before hillary clinton is going to be the overwhelming favorite if there is an election in november . at this moment , she has solid leads in all of the “ swing states ” , and she only really needs to win one of them … perhaps you enjoy talk of battleground states . well , there ’s a scenario for you , too . first , pick the six “ closest ” swing states ( va , nh , ia , oh , fl , nc ) . got it ? now understand that new hampshire excepted , clinton only has to win one of them in order to reach the requisite 270 electoral votes to win . ( optional third step for republicans only : start shotgunning pabst blue ribbon and do n’t stop until november . ) lest any trump supporters seek solace in poll numbers , recent polls have trump sliding further behind in all the relevant swing states . according to a ballotpedia battleground poll released last week , trump trails by 14 % in florida , 4 % in iowa , 10 % in north carolina , 9 % in ohio , and 7 % in virginia . hillary clinton is a horrible , evil , miserable human being , and right now she is the odds - on favorite to become the next president of the united states . but ultimately it is the american people that are to blame for blindly supporting corrupt politicians such as clinton , and if they willingly pick her to be our next president then we will certainly deserve whatever consequences follow . the price of silver explodes past 20 dollars an ounce as the european banking crisis deepens » daddyotis i struggle trying to get my head around this . it goes against all reasonable consideration of law and civilized society . what refocuses and grounds me is when i consider that this is another puzzle piece of end time prophecy being put into place . this brings me closer to an understanding of gods will for me and my place in it all . the best part is that i am already saved and cleared for the afterlife . god bless all do michael dubin presidents clinton , bush ii , and obama have gotten away with murder , so why would anyone think that hillary would be charged over some illegal server ? k well the final proof . we have the best government and law enforcement money can buy . amf boy have they been bought . a republic requires an informed electorate.to survive . and we sure do not have that . so welcome to the new america , all the justice you can afford/ steeve girard dude … accidental web address electorate ( dot ) to michèle we turned on the tv just to watch the announcement that comey had to make about clinton . just as he made the announcement that indicated that their recommendations to the doj would be to not press charges , that very second a loud boom went off in my house sounding exactly like a cannon and my husband and both sons saw a purple bolt of lightning outside and a ball of fire and then my tv froze with the words coming out aof comey ’s mouth . i ’ve never experienced anything like that in my life . we all felt that it had spiritual implications in regards to the announcement made . aldownunder what did you do then ? pack another cone jerry c lightning is called the finger of god . believers are getting signs all over the place . shalom . r.bitting she said she was sorry , geesh man , do n’t overreact . its not like our nation ’s survival is on the line . in all seriousness though , if folks ca n’t see the writing on the wall here ( and you know they wo n’t ) , there s no hope left . thecogitator american has not become a lawless nation , it has been a lawless nation for quite sometime . now they do n’t even try to cover it up.“all animals are equal , but some animals are more equal than others . ” hillary is an example of a “ more equal ” one — way more equal . snohtblossom liberals are the scum of the earth ! ! ! rushmore amen to that gogen ! ! , gogenhouser the liberal mind is a demonic mind , heathen reprobate bloodsuckers and that goes double for the demoncrat voter ! ! ! joe you are apiece of sh - t snohtblossom you are a piece of crahp guest i was thinking te same thing . the elites do n’t bother covering up their deeds or their intentions anymore . that in itself says a lot … . steeve girard after i learned this bs here ’s the . all the lies can you say , to the dumb public minds ��� what so proud as we ’re hailed , as the twilight last gleaming … who broad stripes and bright stars , lost in meaningless fights … o’er the ramparts torn down , by some “ gallantly ” streaming … ( tv ) and the debt red glare , and the money made of air … gave proof to the night that the flag is now gone … where does that star spangled banner yet wave … . o’er the land of the owned , and the home of the slaves … . creepy pedro o’er the land of the freeloaders , and the home of the debt slaves steeve girard amen . this is an insanity world nation in which we are living . bill you are so right michael , tonight it is very hard to be a proud american . guest edward snowden , as an american citizen i , on behalf of all americans apologize for this governments incredible hypocrisy . redlucy i am sick to my stomach about this . even though i fully expected this decision , i had some tiny hope in my heart and soul that justice might be served . i am terrified of a us run by her … .i ca n’t even say her name . she is a lying , scheming , demonic woman who needs all the prayers she can get , it is hard to fathom the implications that her communist agenda will bring about , we are in for some very great suffering , its just getting started my friend . she is the next president of america . steeve girard not if you guys can vote for a “ third party ” candidate . joe trevors every vote for a 3rd party candidate is a vote for hillary . jerry c there is no “ third party ” ; maybe a “ two party ” outside the democrat / republican sham coin . joe trevors yes , jerry , that is true . that is what god has revealed through donald trump . it is clear to all of us how much hatred , contempt , almost demonic anger is expressed against trump by both parties . they speak with one voice their true nature , do n’t they ? snohtblossom i ’ve said that hillary would be cleared of this many times on this board . hillary 2016 ! 😀 suck it lucy .. rhino horns you should be ashamed of yourself . unless you repent of your carnality and sins in this life , judgment day is going to be very difficult , and necessary , for you . jc teecher sb , you are hardcore . sadly , you got a million more partners in crime , as liberal , atheistic , billery supporters . i would not want to be in any of your shoes when the 2nd advent is happening . but , until then , go in peace . none ex_russian special forces do her “ dirty ” ? work ? i think back to the days of breaking bad , the t.v. show . mike , the “ fixer ” along with the rest of them , where to loyal to this country to ever do the kinds of things hillary has been accused of doing . even the u.s. mafia . they helped out in the second world war . mondobeyondo not if bernie sanders has anything to say about it . which he does n’t . bc i look forward to hillary being president 😀 i ’ve told the board numerous times she would be cleared . infidel51 ya you ’re the only one who saw that one coming dude . you ’re a straight up genius . bob332 and very , very soon ; satan has ruled the pass 7.5 yrs . the country can not survive another 4 . snohtblossom there is no satan jb that ’s exactly what he wants you to believe – that he ’s not a threat , he ’s not there , etc . why do you think there are caricatures of him in a cape and horns , mocking the idea of him ? you ’re playing right into his hands … steeve girard the is one , it ’s between abraham ’s legs . mike i blog , therefore i am . mike you are one of the many proofs that satan exists . snohtblossom see ? there is a snohtblossom mike my point exactly . mdice11 you are a fool and hopefully a soon - to - be fatal victim of your own arrogance and filth . votetedcruz2016 your dissenting opinion hurts my feelings . please stop . infidel51 stop harshing my safe space bro . your micro aggressions are not cool . dixieangel_76 that ’s what he wants people to think . isa41:10 the parasite class does n’t care what criminal acts hillary has done . neither do the illegals , convicted felons , or the dead … … … her natural constituency . jaxon64 does it seem to anyone else incredibly convenient that the shooting ( and soon to come rioting ) in baton rouge comes at a perfect time to drive the hillary criminality out of the news ? snohtblossom all you poor boys are going to have to accept that hillary was legally cleared and that she will be our new glorious president . bobbi after hillary there will be no more america . vegasbob correction : she will be worse than hitler , lenin or stalin . richard o. mann maybe one of her government paid bodyguards will step up and take care of matters , as a patriot . infidel51 at least once she is elected we can get this show on the road and stop futzing around on the internet . obama was just the set up man , hilary will blow this f$&@er sky high . dixieangel_76 you will not be nearly so glib when you see the wreckage she leaves in her wake . jaxon64 i think i understand on a much deeper and clearer level now what the apostle paul meant when he called the future global leader , “ the man of lawlessness . ” it is more than just corruption and criminal closed - door activities , it is a complete disregard and “ above any law ” status . bobbi it was not that way 1974 when nixon was hounded out of office was much less that hillary has done . infidel51 so the tower of sauron rises . who is willing to stand against it ? q “ lest any trump supporters seek solace in poll numbers , recent polls have trump sliding further behind in all the relevant swing states . ” the lamestream medias are prepparing us for a massive democrat voter fraud campaign in those states . bevy you are right redlucy ! ! ! we are going to go thru judgment because of our rampant sin and only a small remnant will survive ! ! ! im4truth4all james comey has joined james clapper , john koskinen , john kerry , etc . i have lived almost 74 years and have never seen as corrupt an administration as this one . my estimate of years left based on my genetic profile is probably 5 to 10 years . i feel sorry for my descendants . i personally feel this country is in the last years of its existence . kent harris 9/11 was god ’s judgment against this nation . please read the isaiah 9:10 prophesy and then read what god will do to this nation as a result of our defiance from isaiah 9:11 - 10:4 . he will utterly destroy this nation . you say that god will never do such a thing . he will and know this that when you walk into church , any church and see if any pulpits says anything at all about this this coming sunday . the answer will be no . god in the prophecy says the pulpit is wholly to blame . during the homosexual marriage issue how many pulpits came out against this abomination ? none . why ? because god has blinded just like pharaoh of egypt the pulpit . they have been consumed with the outward versus the inward . they are vipers among vipers . steeve girard 911 was the warning of the arab world … the americans ignored it with “ exceptionalism ” . time to cough - up . bahmi 911 was meant to blame muslims for everything connected , but the jews and neocons were behind 911 , along with the saudis . this was , however , a distraction so the real bad guys could install people like obongo and let his destructive agenda destroy us , choke us in debt , focus on homosexuality , same sex butt banging , etc . while we were occupied with the distractions , the real bad guys did their thing and now have us on the precipice of total destruction and nwo marginalization . if you voted for obama , you are part of the problem . gv “ … focus on homosexuality , same sex butt banging … . ” ever obsessed with teh gays paul patriot amen . this is why i am convinced hitlery will be the next president . it ’s all apart of the plan to destroy american constitution and sovereignty during her “ reign ” she is what the sheeple , illegals and liberal , progressives are calling for , and the lord will oblige the desires of those who mock , blaspheme and spit in the face of the god of our heritage , “ nature ’s god ” nothing will change until the pulpits start preaching truth and a nation repents jc teecher all is going along with the prophetic word and the nations are aiding and abetting to the “ fullness of the gentiles ” , ( islamic peoples ) . jc teecher the pulpits , for the most part , are bringing about the apostasy . sad no , the church wants to be liked and civil in this matter . sin is a three letter bad word . churches are more interested in”community ” and not scaring people off with the truth . unfortunately , that is the majority of churches today . they did n’t scare me . the only truth that scared me was hell and i was scared into the kingdom by god ’s love for me a sinner . that he died for me to save me . do n’t hear much about that these days . politically incorrect . on the way to hell . jerry c actually , i ’d say sin is a five - letter word , death . lol watchmannonthewall i somewaht agree with you regarding god ’s move against the us , but i tend more towards 9/11 being one of a couple of disciplines and warnings , the 2008 meltdown was the other , regarding coming judgment on the nation rather than it actually being a judgment . if athaliah becomes president , she will be just like the real athaliah ; narcissistic and paranoid , and her rage will extend to “ christians ” . she is power hungary and has a self destruct button that will take all with her . at that point , i think it quite likely the warnings of the destruction of america by about 2020 - 21 will probably occur . joe trevors i believe we are experiencing the end times battle between the body of christ & the body of antichrist . our war is not against flesh & blood but against the spiritual powers on high . yes , kent , you do see how our nation is being transformed by the installation of leaders in our society who are following the antichrist . but also our nation is filled with millions of people who are following the christ . one way i see this is to view islam as the trojan horse to bring down christianity . yes , it is bringing down the church but it can not hurt the head of the church , jesus , so it is making war on the body of christ , the members one of another . you can today how islam is being used by our government to destroy the church in syria ? muslims are killing christians & other muslims in syria . nowalive perhaps mr cahn is right . it ’s an interesting premise , to be sure . what i will say is that the idea that “ none ” , meaning no pulpits spoke out against homosexual marriage , is simply wrong . many spoke of judgment because of it . but you are certainly right about vipers filling the most pulpits . they are indeed blind . alas that the baby boomers now run this country … off a cliff . gv “ … during the homosexual marriage issue how many pulpits came out against this abomination ? none … . ” pharisee , fixated on genitalia while remaining silent on american war crimes around the world she is the next president of america . joe trevors only god knows who will be the next president . it is important for us to pray to the lord & trust god as we say the lord ’s prayer in part , “ thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven ” . we need our faith more than ever during these days of tribulations . god can do anything he wants . god answers our prayers but we do not understand how he answers us , do we ? oz steamer she looks likely to be the last president of the united states . jerry c why would tptb collapse the economy on one of their own ? my gut says they want a white conservative christian male at the helm to blame it on , so trump is the man of the hour . next feast on god ’s timetable is feast of trumpets ( the last trump believers are watching for ) ; coincidence ? i think not . brian i will not be voting because the next president , hillary has already been “ selected . ” hillary with a satanic grin on her disgusting face will be taking our guns , and sending us to fema camps . i have no doubt that these are the end times ! god bless eveyone . steeve girard vote for a “ third party ” candidate . if you do not vote , your voice will be dissolved in the remainders who will vote . check your list of candidates . joe trevors why do n’t you vote for donald who is not corrupt like the career politicians ? alan looks like she been selected to be the next president . now just figure out how to get rid of trump . i suspect as a last resort the election will be thrown to her in november . its just like we are living in an african country . steeve girard the usa is a third world country since 2007 . creepy pedro since 1913 . guest i heard all sorts of platitudes about what an upright , honest , law and order guy comey is . there was going to be a revolt in the fbi , remember ? he ’s just another flunky political appointee who caved in like a house of cards . judges have never accepted ignorance of the law as a valid defense if your a plumber or a pizza cook but if your a lawyer and secretary of state it ’s acceptable . my mailman could have told me that server and private email account were illegal and erasing those 30,000 or so emails was destroying evidence and obstructing justice . the clintons , lynch and comey have utterly disgraced the system and themselves . snohtblossom hillary 2016 ! guest and lynch for attorney general and comey for fbi director ! ! now lets see … who can we get for ambassador to libya ? bill g wilminton nc if it is god ’s will trump will be the next president … .pray for our country … .and the safety of trump . god ’s ways are higher than our ways and gods thoughts are higher than our thoughts . shalom randy oh , it ’s because this god is on duty 24/7/365 that the pope rides around in a box made of bullet proof glass ? ! ? ! if there was any man or woman who you would think of as having some kind of divine protection , it would be this god ’s right hand man , right ? ? mark the pope is the head of the roman catholic church . jesus christ is the head of the true church . they have little more in common than the word church . steeve girard and jesus , god , allah are “ wieners ” , relics of the first cult of humanity which worshipped sex . mark steeve , god has written a psalm just for you and all who believe as you do . read psalm 2 in the kjv , the true words of god . one day god will laugh at you and deride you . exercise your free will wisely . bill g wilminton nc at the right hand of god sits yeshua ( jesus) … . the pope is the head of a religious organization called the roman catholic church . chris pope is not god ’s right hand man . jesus is his right hand man . duh . randy yeah , well it ’s not much of a god who would let his “ only begotten son ” be tortured to death then . no thanks , i ’ll take a pass on that one there . and a real god would have infinite love and compassion for his inferior creations along with complete understanding , so to laugh at and deride us would not be in keeping with the attributes of a real god . just a fake one . but that kind of logical reasoning makes the head of a jesus freak explode if they think too long on it . guest to vote for the lesser of 2 evils is still a vote for evil …… snohtblossom there is no god ariusarmenian check out what comey did to martin armstrong . more of the same . the bi - partisan oligarchic elites that rule the us use the law to keep us in line while they laugh all the way to the bank . none a postal worker could lose his job , for saying something like that . gogenhouser this makes me want to throw up , this is no longer america . demoncrats a bunch of baby murdering bloodsuckers . steeve girard lol ! df nj poverty kills much more people than abortion . i wish republicans had a brain equally matching their conscious . nowalive i guess i had n’t seen the number that over 60 million children had died from poverty in the us . kindly provide a link and i ’ll check it out . bill g wilminton nc while in poverty you do not have your arms and legs ripped off … .. one at a time . bob332 idiot ’s such as yourself , are completely soulless . joe trevors remember : is this not the same fbi that stopped investigating omar the orlando shooter ? the fbi had no time to follow omar ? they did not want to infringe on omar ’s constitutional rights because obama forbids us to discriminate against muslims . omar got a job at a security company so he could protect us . omar ’s dad was preaching what omar followed . omar ’s dad works for the cia . the fbi was forbidden to bother omar no matter what he threatened . the fbi does not even know to investigate omar ’s dad . what about the mosque where omar worshipped ? the fbi is super good – in covering up ! ! randy great post there , joe ! except that orlando was a completely contrived event , just like sandy hoax . where were the ambulances to carry off the dead bodies ? where was all of the blood ? did everybody who was shot at either place just happen to leave all their blood at home that day ? the temps in connecticut on december 14 , 2012 were 30.6 for the low and 49.3 for the high , yet not one wisp of breath fog from anybody there ! ! how is that possible ? check the old farmer ’s almanac for the weather reports on the 14th and 15th . joe trevors yes , how can they cover up so much with so little outrage from them in orlando ? randy quite easily ! since the media is in bed with the corrupted legal system and political system , they just ignore the outrage , they do n’t report on it , therefore very few ever hear about it ! someone forgot to check the records to see what the weather would possibly be like on december 14 , 2012 , and that ’s how that very important clue got left out of the narrative when the hoax was launched ! you do n’t see anyone being asked on tee vee why there was no snow on the ground or breath fog from the people because the media does n’t want to have questions like that being asked ! snohtblossom you have no choice ! enjoy it .. bwah hah haha snotty … .when ya have to give yourself an upvote …… its time to retire your flower ! snohtblossom it helps keep the discussion orderly . ok , so i like the limelight . working fulltime here 😉 guest does anyone remember what president demanded the resignation of every u.s .attorney in the country and made them all reapply for their jobs so he could hire whomever he wanted and get rid of the ones he did n’t like ? i ’ll give you all one guess . steeve girard g.w. bush ! aka bush ii . . guess only a canadian could answer this one . guest wrong ! ! ! ! bush fired 8u.s. attorneys and caused a firestorm in the establishment media . clinton fired all 93 u. s. attorneys . steeve girard at least i knew bush did some … forgot about clinton . damn selectiveness of memory ! guest oh … your canadian ? i forgot to mention we were betting a six pack of molson . guest the fbi probably thought blondie deserved a break because she was a “ woman of color ” like elizabeth warren max gon you are absolutely right michael , if the usa spineless population picks this evil woman to be our next president then we will certainly deserve whatever consequences follow . joe trevors our greatest hope is to vote for donald trump . i believe god is using donald . it is a sign by the overwhelming opposition against him by both democrats & republicans . look at republican paul ryan as house majority leader : he has no trouble “ understanding ” obama or clinton . but he ca n’t “ understand ” trump ? paul say i do n’t know where donald is coming from . trump is exposing how we are already ruled by a one party oligarchy , that chooses who will be president . this time trump is confounding their agenda . trump is revealing how they are all lying to us & of course they all really support hillary or a 3rd party candidate . are n’t they the ones who say “ anyone but trump ” ? jc teecher look at the bright side , even though it is just a dying ember of one , this brings the chosen one to the final phase of taking her pedestal of satanic hierarchy in ussag , and will eliminate the need for martial law in order to stave off the trump charge . i still believe we will see bank failures and an economic collapse whereby she will pull the exact same stunts as odrama did , to filter off funds , but ; i think it will stabilize after the “ haircut ” to the upper middle class wealth . the con game continues at a much more rapid and rabid pace . themacabre if there was ever a situation that demanded a special prosecutor , this was it . how could the valerie plame joke get a special prosecutor and not this obvious case of criminal wrong doing ? of course , the criminal wrong doing was , and is , obvious … there was no way obozo would have sanctioned a special prosecutor . yes , july 5 , 2016 , will go down in history when america officially became a banana republic , and ms evita peron clinton will be crowned el presidente in january , 2017 . df nj hillary is the most corrupt politician in my lifetime . she needs to go to jail . horiboyable . or hunt her down like the libyan leader and give her the gaddafi treatment otay in my time it was the o.j. simpson verdict . df nj you conservatives are a funny bunch . your answer to everything is to cut taxes , have a smaller government , and the world will be a better place . but if you ever return to reality based politics , look at the recent years between california and kansas . in ca , they raised taxes and increased minimum wage and now they have a budget surplus . in kansas , brownback implemented traditional republican policies . the rich got huge tax breaks . and their pockets are bulging . and now the state is bankrupt . nice job republicans . jerry c california and kansas a success ? quoting bill maher & liberal leftists garbage rags for news does n’t make it reality . more businesses and people are moving out as fast as they can . who wants to work when they ’re being taxed to death ? only the workers . you . are . clueless . faith it ’s going from bad to worse if she wins . but god … .. do n’t lose heart or the faith . pray against the wickedness in high places using the weapons from god;s word . if she gets in keep praying if not keep praying . the bible says to pray without ceasing . it ’s only a day , god can do so much in a millisecond to make a change . we do n’t even know what tomorrow will be like we are only here for a moment like a mist . hillary is only a vapor to god . she can be evaporated like nothing . df nj i always thought hillary was a christian . i ca n’t believe she ’s a muslim like you are saying . son of a bi!tch ! wiseup really ? ! how did you come to that conclusion ? by what she says or what she does ? df nj well , obviously she can not be a servant of god . joe trevors the head of the cia is a muslim . snohtblossom shut up and leave ! take your liberal anti - american , anti - christian garbage else where . snohtblossom suck it ! freedom of speech you unamerican dip retired22 who can say that she / he / it is politically liberal ? i do n’t think this demented fool knows or cares about the issues , he / she / it is a whack job looking for attention ! mr. cipher font water the troll flower nowalive do n’t feed the animals . he ’s here for attention obviously . there is n’t anything on this site that interests him except for those who give him the attention his parents failed to provide . i pity him in the sense that he feels unloved , lost , and hopeless . i see him smoking pot or washing down his antidepressants with a shot of whiskey … .alone . as he ponders his life , he thinks he has it figured out , though his marks bear out the fact that he ca n’t handle life . and of course , after convincing himself of his uselessness , he becomes a self - fulfilled prophecy , here to incense and be fed by those who will respond . look on him as he is : utterly lost and filled with hatred . he ’s an animal to be pitied , not fed . he ’s too irrational to be fed . he ’ll bite … as you can see from his silly , lost , unhappy remarks . sistersoldier for the wicked boasts of his heart ’s desire , and the greedy man curses and spurns the lord . the wicked , in the haughtiness of his countenance , does not seek him . all his thoughts are , “ there is no god . ” psalm 10:3 - 4 you are in fact quoting scripture when you say , “ there is no god ” he put in writing more than 3,000 years before you said it . rushmore you will be the first one crying , when this all falls aprt ! preacher62 you know there is . he gave his son for you . steeve girard there is one , but it ’s between abraham ’s legs . guest no , he will not answer such prayers . for individual americans , yes , but not the nation . he is a holy elohim . he gives nations the leaders it deserves . i am canadian . look what he gave us . bob332 the comey effect : we have the evidence , but , no intent . therefore , our intent is not to prosecute . a big shout out for -fu america , case closed . the hitlery effect : well america , this proves we are not equal under the law . you would be indicted , convicted and spending 25-life in some fed pen . remember , america you are just useful serf ’s . df nj she ’s absolutely the most corrupt politician in my lifetime . she needs to go to jail ! snohtblossom i ’m sure she ’s not the most corrupt politician of your lifetime . heyahuman just out of curiosity , why do you support her ? snohtblossom she will be our glorious new president ! jerry c luitpos is not done yet . he ’ll go to the u.n. where he can destroy the whole world ; america was just a stepping stone . victor i ’ve been say all along america is lawless , no rule of law , since this guilty criminal clinton came on the scene steeve girard longer than that … . it started with throw everything out the white house windows reagan djohn1 that announcement by the fbi did two things . the fbi were always the untouchables that could not be bribed or intimidated . not until yesterday at least . i think the reaction of the american people will be to elect someone else . now if the electorial college does not follow what the people elect , then we have a real problem this time around . i think if she had won a verdict in a trial that was public then she may have been elected . this way she is damned politically forever . she never got her day in court . so people will assume she was guilty and that bill bribed the fbi . assume is a big word . but that is what people will do . she has just been shot in the foot politically . that is why she will never become president of this country . her reputation is shot . that obama is running around supporting her effort to get elected president using government transport to do so is another problem she has . when both of them are being transported on air force one , that is on our dime as tax payers . trump labeled her “ crooked hilliary ” and this just gave her the reputation to go with it . only god knows the future . it is beginning to look like trump may become president after all . joe trevors yes ! mr. cipher half the population could n’t care less is she is crooked as long as the welfare checks keep coming . illusion relax everybody and stay calm . hillary , like all of her predecessors will be merely a puppet for the banking and global elite . i will admit that she is a vial person . fortunate for her , we have a rather stupid populace in this country that can not see through her campaign facade . hillary and bill will continue their charade in office . it will be all about them and theirs ( bankers ) , who will call the shots . world war 3 is a real distinct possibility with this charlatan in the oval office . would anybody care to wager on another false flag event similar if not worse to 9 - 11 to further an agenda ? this time , we can place the false blame on the syrians to foster the belief that we need troops on the ground . heyahuman condition people to accept blatant corruption . condition them to accept that the elite are above the law , and that justice is not blind . how much more will we accept ? df nj i would be happy if we just enforced our existing banking and monopoly laws . tempus.fugit re : what is the difference between nishimura and clinton ? nishimura confessed . it ’s that simple . all western systems of law , whether full adversarial , full discovery , or something in between , have always relied upon testament of self - confession or the force to exact it in the absence of confession . nishimura self - recognized his actions , self - classified them , and confessed them . that he confessed them with the emotion of wrong - doing is his . in contrast , hillary has not confessed , nor is she capable of self - recognition of her actions , let alone classifying them , or even classifying them as bad . to give testament of null - value is why we do n’t give guns to children : they can not self - pay the price of learning the lesson , so they do n’t learn . self - confession is inherently predicated on the sensing of cost and the ability to pay it . children do n’t confess ; they ca n’t ; even if they admit spoken guilt , they do not feel it , nor give it any recognition that those who pay do . grant the unable credit as if they are able , and you ’ll only end up backrupt , with decades of time lost , and not one shred of gratitude nor remorse from those who took credit they were unable to pay . oz steamer “ o what is the difference between nishimura and clinton ? ” firstly , nishimura was ( is ? ) male , and hillary is a woman . secondly , anyone who thinks the feminists want “ equality ” only has to look at this decision . if hillary was a man , she ’d be in prison , by now . the feminists ( especially the male ones ) are trying so hard to get her to be president . the feminists show they have never ever wanted genuine equality , only to bash men , and to get away with what can only be described as “ obvious criminal behavior ” . for any religious person , the choice is clear : go with feminism , and hillary or go with religion and oppose her and feminism . pick one . i fear the us election is already hillary ’s as the republicans are clearly trying to destroy donald trump , and to win against your own party elite and against hillary and the media ( who automatically side with hillary ) would be an impossible task . god help america if hillary wins . mr. cipher ya but she ’s offering free college and other goodies . horiboyable . you knew the fix was in because obama had already come out and said he would support hillary ’s bid before fbi director james comey made his announcement . seriously what type of women would stay with a man that gets bjs from interns ! ! i tell you what type , a women that would sell her mothers eyeballs in their lust for power . folks with this decision the line has been clearly drawn in the sand if you would like to see it . it is them against us . you are free to chose not to see reality but you are not free to avoid the consequences of reality . bobbi she stays with him because who else would want her ? xsandiegoca j b i ’m not shocked or surprised . i would have more surprised if she was n’t handed a get out of jail free card . it ’s should be quite to others now , who owns the monopoly board . retired22 perhaps what will save us is the gigantic financial correction coming down on, … a financial correction that will cripple the welfare state & destroy political washington ! unfortunately, … this will give us a whole new set of problems ! barry let ’s all just admit to ourselves that the clintons ( and maybe others ) must ’ve threatened mr. comey into kowtowing to their will and not recommend these charges . no doubt a death threat against him or his family was made to convince him to accede to their will . now , ms. lynch can easily just say that the fbi has recommended not to pursue an indictment , so she will just let the matter drop off the radar . how convenient . dead bodies have been left in the wake of the clintons since arkansas . if you do n’t believe me , just ask larry nichols . jc teecher i do n’t know of anyone that would not lie and turn against their work ethic / patriotism to prevent the possible death of one of their own little ones . comey is no different . he has to live with what he did as well as lyin lynch . some people have no conscience though , much less a soul . voltaic while you allwere silent as a mouse when gwb was not convicted for lying america into an endless war over fake wmds …… you sense of ‘ justice’ is remarkable … . jerry c your new york times reported we did find wmds in iraq . what about clinton who voted to attack iraq on the same information bush was given ? in addition , it was bush ’s advisor appointee from clinton ’s administration who told him . ah , the facts again . cal signs a nation is under judgment are many , two in particular come to mind . sorceries , the primary definition is obvious but the secondary meaning derived from the greek pharmakeia ( pharmacy in english ) . a drug epidemic has struck this country exceeding the 1960 ’s killing thousands and women rulers . hillary will no doubt win this election because the devil ordains it and america is under judgment . obama is the stepping stone to the tribulation and the return of bill and hillary to the wh will destroy what is left of the united states during the tribulation . america is not mentioned anywhere in biblical prophecy and the reasons are obvious . for evil to prosper good men do nothing . good men did nothing to stop the warren court , escalation of the vietnam war and the drug saturated counter culture … the proverbial pandora ’s box and the beginning of the end of the greatest nation on earth . preacher62 truth right there except for the part about the greatest nation . this nation has always been about lawlessness and greed from the outset dropping off smallpox laced blankets killing millions of native americans to all the unjust wars especially the civil war declared to the millions murdered by abortion . if the blood of abel cried out to god from the ground , how loud is the screaming he is hearing from this country . bobbi hillary will president not by election but by corruption . black heart rush likened the comey cave - in to that of chief justice john roberts on the obamacare challenge , effectively rewriting the law so obama would have his victory . good comparison , but i believe the comey - cave is more in tune with fbi ad james kallstrom when , under pressure from clinton , he covered up the twa 800 shoot down . after kallstrom retired , he reportedly suffered sever mental anguish . by a twist of fate , comey was at a pivot point in history . it fell to him the the task of saving western civilization . he failed , he sold out and this will haunt him . hillary will be elected . any democrat starts with some 200 - 210 electoral votes . in her first term , after she grants citizenship to millions of invaders and invites millions more , we have been effectively pri - ed as in mexico ’s forever ruling national party , except for a minor break of 12 years . the republicans will never again control the oval office or the senate or the house . thank you comey , you hack , you political flack . until now the idea of session was a mere discussion point . texas will get serious after hillary ’s inauguration . will texas get out ? probably not . jb sad day indeed , michael . i ’ve said this before and i ’ll say it again : the only thing that will change things is if the church in this country is on its knees in constant prayer , praying for an outpouring of the holy spirit and spiritual revival . that ’s why none of this makes any sense – it ’s a spiritual battle ( “ for our struggle is not against flesh and blood , but against the rulers , against the authorities , against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms . ” ephesians 6:12 ) . the wicked prosper while the righteous suffer , but christ did n’t promise christians a life free of persecution ( “ no servant is above his master ” matthew 10:24 ) . hillary gets away while christians are fined and imprisoned for refusing to bake a cake – or take a photograph . wrong has become right and right has become wrong ( isaiah 5:20 ) . it ’s becoming like the days of lot or noah , marked by violence , immorality – and lawlessness . yet god holds the hearts of all rulers in his hands ( proverbs 21:1 ) – just as he hardened pharoah ’s heart . he ’s still in charge and in control – as a believer , if you want things to change , you have free access to the control room of the universe . dark times indeed – and like habakkuk , we can be dismayed – but the righteous shall live by faith ! ( habakkuk 2:4 , hebrews 10:38 ) sistersoldier amen jb . scorners seem to believe that the earth needs to be in a complete catastrophic upheaval before the lord ’s return . also , there are those who identify with the household of faith that believe god is merciful and that they will not see or experience his wrath . true , god did not appoint us ( his elect ) to wrath but when he is ready to chastise a nation one method he will use is to give our enemies power over us . he did it with israel and the u.s. is no more blessed than the apple of his eye . life will seemingly be normal upon christ ’s second coming . natural disasters will precede him stepping down on the mt. of olives but life will continue to thrive until those who are alive and remain see him face to face . “ as it was in the days of noah , so will it be at the coming of the son of man . for in the days before the flood , people were eating and drinking , marrying and giving in marriage , up to the day noah entered the ark . … ” jc teecher good to see you sister . the days of the entrance of antichrist / satan has been dramatized by the ignorant to the point that some people will be expecting an ugly man with horns and wearing red flannel underwear , while sporting a pitch fork and serpent ’s tail . to the contrary , he will be an awesome looking man in his early thirties , with similarities as we have been shown as to what christ may have looked like , before he was imprisoned and beaten . he will be speaking scriptures , and seem so holy , with signs of power around him . in fact , the biggest sign was revealed to me and i ’m gon na share with you real soon , maybe today . what people do n’t understand is the fact that he will be impersonating christ and come in “ peacefully and prosperously ” , but will go out in a sort of blaze of demonic glory , after killing the two witnesses . that brings about the end of this age . sistersoldier welcome back jc ! i hope you had the opportunity to relax and catch plenty of fish . it ’s good to see you posting again as well ! yes , i believe that it will be as you said or as the bible says which agrees with your statement . the antichrist will indeed be “ fiercely attractive ” with a an irresistible charismatic personality . he will represent all that the world worships . especially those who do n’t know the one true god . isaiah 53 describes jesus as just the opposite of the way pictures and movies portray him . the deception began centuries ago with a false image of the true savior ’s likeness . the prophet said that our lord had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him , nothing in his appearance that we should desire him . he was despised and rejected by mankind , a man of suffering , and familiar with pain . like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised , and we held him in low esteem . preacher62 food for thought and simply my opinion , not being argumentative . the ant - christ is not a person but a spirit just as the kingdom of god is within those who belong to him,(luke 17 ) the spirit of anti - christ is within those who belong to satan . i believe the teaching of a literal and physical anti - christ to be a distraction from the truth . we are told time and again in the scripture to examine ourselves to see if christ is in us and if he is not then we have failed the test of christianity . teaching that there is a literal anti - christ keeps many looking “ out there ” for the enemy when we should be looking within for the enemy . the war that we are fighting is not against flesh and blood and it is not “ out there ” ; the war we are fighting is within ourselves . satan is prowling around like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour . this refers to christians because all who are not christians have already been devoured . finally 1 john 2 tells us that many anti - christs had already come and that was 2000 yrs ago , there have been many since and there are many still to come i am sure . the only real option we have is to do as the lord commanded and go and make disciples . this is all that will prevent them from being devoured . if we get too caught up with looking for something or someone that does not exist then we might become distracted from doing that which is necessary . john 6:66 tells us the “ mark of man ” from that moment they left him and followed him no more . the “ mark of god ’s children ” on the other hand is that they hold out faithful till the end by the grace of god . love and blessings jc teecher i see what you are saying , however ; it makes me wonder if you believe that satan is not a real entity and being held , right now , by michael the archangel ? preacher62 no , satan is very real and the prince of this world . jc teecher ok , thanks . many follow man ’s teachings that antichrist is a flesh man walking the earth right now , while god teaches us exactly who he is , how , and when he comes , in the book of revelation . i have even heard the pre - tribber hagee say he will arise from europe and then get shot in the head and miraculously recover and come back to life after three days . what a hoot and hogwash . bill g wilminton nc many many christians believe in the pre - trib rapture including myself . hagee makes many good points so does perry stone and others … …… hagee does believe that he(anti - christ ) will be shot and miraculously recover … … as he(anti - christ ) mimicks christ . i study both pre - trib and post - trib rapture and i find many fallacies in the post - trib beliefs and it seems at times that the post - tribbers focus on being included in the pain and misery of the tribulation … .like they do nt want to be “ left out ” . or feel that they should be left out . i believe that those that love the lord are “ the bride of christ ” and one does not have their bride get beat to a pulp and then sweep her away for the honeymoon . there are other serious issues with the post - trib rapture . shalom gv “ … i study both pre - trib and post - trib rapture and i find many fallacies in the post - trib beliefs … . ” gee , people reading the same bible coming to totally different conclusions bill g wilminton nc god said that no one would know the day or the hour of the rapture … .uncertain by design . but ” for a man to lie with a man as with a woman is an abomination in the eyes of the lord ” sorry gv no uncertainty there . gv your “ god ” ordered the murder of children and babies . sorry bill , no uncertainly there jb i agree with your personification of the anti - christ – many mistake “ anti ” to mean someone who is gruesome and abhorrent , but in the greek ( which is more precise ) translates into “ in place of christ ” – in other words , satan creates his counterfeit ( as he always has – he tries to imitate what god does with his own version ) and we ’ll have a man arrive on the scene who the entire world embraces and some will mistake for the messiah . like satan , he will want to be worshipped . jc teecher the thing is , satan is , or shall i say , will be , the antichrist . all others that have come in the “ spirit ” of antichrist , have been men … flesh men . satan will come looking as a man , even a flesh man , but will be spirit bodied . jb true , god has and does judge corporately ( and some day individuals ) . many examples of that in his word . our country has been given a lot of truth – as what was once a christian nation – and to “ whom much is given , much will be expected . ” nationally , we ’ve also been blessed because of a promise he made to abraham ( “ those who bless you , i will bless ” ) . what ’s unique about that is we were blessed – not because of anything we did ( because we ’re certainly no longer living righteously ) – but because of a promise he made . but as we continue to turn our backs on israel , that goes away and there ’s really nothing left to stay his judgment – except the prayers of believers . but yes , that was also something that astounded habakkuk – he wanted god to pour some wrath on israel and when god showed him that he was going to bring the chaldeans on them ( for they were incredibly barbaric ) , habakkuk did n’t like that much , but the lord responded that he is free to use whoever he chooses as his “ war club . ” i think generally things will tend to get worse , though . man says he is evolving and getting better , but if you read paul ’s letters to timothy , he describes terrible times in the last days and a very wicked generation . df nj it would be nice if corporations would go to hell . sistersoldier yes and amen . the bible submits the question , “ will the son of man ( jesus ) find faith on the earth when he returns ? ” a testimony as to how wicked mankind will have become in the latter days . if i may tag team on your comment about the blessing of abraham . abraham is considered to be the father of faith . he believed god and it was counted unto him as righteousness . we know this because abraham obeyed the voice of god . the first seed which carried the promise to bless all nations was the seed of faith . faith ( in god ) is the seed that god can bless and still be true to his word as we know that not all of abraham ’s descendants were righteous but his faith was pure . america has rejected the god of the word and the promise and thereby have chosen to forfeit the blessings . what a mighty and a righteous god we serve . df nj so we are all jews first . got it . preacher62 actually only those who belong to god are jews . repent and believe the gospel and you can be a jew as well . ( romans 2:28–29 ) “ 28 for you are not a true jew just because you were born of jewish parents or because you have gone through the ceremony of circumcision . 29 no , a true jew is one whose heart is right with god . and true circumcision is not merely obeying the letter of the law ; rather , it is a change of heart produced by god ’s spirit . and a person with a changed heart seeks praise from god , not from people . ” sistersoldier no ! i don’t!. god ’s word affirms that the jews are god ’s chosen people : “ you are a people holy to the lord your god . the lord your god has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people , his treasured possession ” ( deuteronomy 7:6 ) . from eternity past god knew that he would need to be born into the human race in order to save us from the spiritually dead condition that we were in ( ephesians 1—2 ; genesis 3 ) . god had planned from the beginning to be born into a very small nation or race of people called the jews . jc teecher the lord works in mysterious ways , sister . i just logged back on to see if you were also , and … boom .. there you are . i have my shadow / burner acccount set up so if you want me to email you , just reply and i ’ll post it for you , and then after i receive your email on that acct . i ’ll send back my regular email and the info i spoke about . sistersoldier jc teecher crap it ’s held up in moderation . ok , i ’ll break it apart and try it . i had a post yesterday that was held up for 20 hours in mod . sistersoldier
+0 how to form healthy habits in your 20s - the new york times charles duhigg this article is part of a series aimed at helping you navigate life ’s opportunities and challenges . what else should we write about ? contact us : smarterliving@nytimes . com . when you woke up this morning , what did you do first ? did you hop in the shower , check your email or grab a doughnut ? what did you say to your roommates on the way out the door ? salad or hamburger for lunch ? when you got home , did you put on your sneakers and go for a run , or eat dinner in front of the television ? most of the choices we make each day may feel like the products of decision making , but they ’re not . they ’re habits . and though each habit means relatively little on its own , over time , the meals we eat , how we spend our evenings , and how often we exercise have enormous impacts . this is particularly true in our 20s , when so many of our habits are still up for grabs . the patterns you establish right now will impact your health , productivity , financial security and happiness for decades . how much money you make , how much time you spend with your friends and family , how well your body functions years from now — all of these , in many ways , are products of the habits you are building today . ( related : the 8 health habits experts say you need in your 20s ) and in the last decade , our understanding of the neurology of habit formation has been transformed . we ’ve learned how habits form — and why they are so hard to break . we now know how to create good habits and change bad ones like never before . at the core of every habit is a neurological loop with three parts : a cue , a routine and a reward . to understand how to create habits — such as exercise habits — you must learn to establish the right cues and rewards . in 2002 , researchers at new mexico state university studied 266 individuals , most of whom worked out at least three times a week . they found that many of them had started running or lifting weights almost on a whim , or because they suddenly had free time or wanted to deal with unexpected stresses in their lives . however , the reason they continued exercising — why it became a habit — was because of a specific cue and a specific reward . if you want to start running each morning , it ’s essential that you choose a simple cue ( like always lacing up your sneakers before breakfast or always going for a run at the same time of day ) and a clear reward ( like a sense of accomplishment from recording your miles , or the endorphin rush you get from a jog ) . but countless studies have shown that , at first , the rewards inherent in exercise are n’t enough . so to teach your brain to associate exercise with a reward , you need to give yourself something you really enjoy — like a small piece of chocolate — after your workout . this is counterintuitive , because most people start exercising to lose weight . but the goal here is to train your brain to associate a certain cue ( “ it ’s 5 o’clock ” ) with a routine ( “ three miles down ! ” ) and a reward ( “ chocolate ! ” ) . eventually , your brain will start expecting the reward inherent in exercise ( “ it ’s 5 o’clock . three miles down ! endorphin rush ! ” ) and you wo n’t need the chocolate anymore . in fact , you wo n’t even want it . but until your neurology learns to enjoy those endorphins and the other rewards inherent in exercise , you need to the process . and then , over time , it will become automatic to lace up your jogging shoes each morning . you wo n’t want the chocolate anymore . you ’ll just crave the endorphins . the cue , in addition to triggering a routine , will start triggering a craving for the inherent rewards to come . want more ? you might also like : • the scientific workout • no time to workout ? try exercising on the job • how to pick a health insurance plan
+1 teenager devastated to find that ‘ self esteem’ and ‘ selfie stream’ not the same . more soon . dominic_mcg dominic_mcg dominic_mcg
+1 the healing plant : medical marijuana , hemp , and cannabis oil heather callaghan by wes annac , editor , culture of awareness & openhearted rebel in just a few decades , we ’ve been flooded with information about a plant that ’s been suppressed for nearly a century but is finally ...
+0 house witness on libya : ’moscow ’s foothold in libya is growing’ edwin mora washington , d. c. — moscow ’s foothold in libya “ is growing ” as russian president vladimir putin “ increasingly ” supports former gen. khalifa haftar , the leader of the opposition to the united government of national accord ( gna ) an expert on russian foreign policy tells a house panel . [ in march , gen. thomas waldhauser , the head of u. s. africa command ( africom ) told the senate armed services that russia ’s intervention in libya , including putin ’s support for gen. haftar , dubbed the “ new ” muammar gaddafi , is “ very concerning ” for the american military . although russia has hosted both gen. haftar and libyan prime minister fayez who serves as the chief of the gna , putin favors the opposition leader . during a hearing on russia ’s objectives in the muslim world held thursday by the house foreign affairs subcommittee on the middle east and north africa , anna borshchevskaya , an expert on russian foreign policy at the washington institute for near east policy , told lawmakers : moscow ’s foothold in libya is growing . this issue is important to watch in the months ahead . putin increasingly supports libya ’s gen. khalifa haftar , who controls the eastern part of the country but wants more . with the fall of muammar [ gaddafi ] in october 2011 , russia lost not only several billion dollars’ worth of investments but also access to the benghazi port . u. s. militias overthrew and executed libyan dictator gaddafi ( also spelled qadhafi ) in 2011 . borshchevskaya noted : haftar ( who served under qadhafi ) pursues an agenda and looks to putin to help secure his leadership in libya at the expense of the civilian government . haftar is a deeply polarizing figure , one that by expert accounts is the wrong choice for the country . echoing other assessments , american gen. waldhauser indicated that gen. haftar represents an opportunity for russia to fill the vacuum left by former president barack obama ’s administration . “ russia provides the tobruk government [ led by haftar ] with military advice and diplomatic support at the un , ” the russian foreign policy expert told the house panel . “ in may 2016 , moscow reportedly printed nearly 4 billion libyan dinars ( approximately $ 2 . 8 billion ) for libya ’s central bank and transferred the money to a branch loyal to haftar . ” borshchevskaya continued : in the context of growing tensions with tripoli , haftar made two trips to moscow in the second half of 2016 , and in january of this year , he toured the russian aircraft carrier admiral kuznetsov as it returned home from syrian waters . while aboard the kuznetsov , haftar held a video call with russian defense minister sergei shoigu and reportedly talked about fighting terrorism in the middle east . this february , moscow flew approximately seventy of haftar ’s wounded soldiers to russia for treatment . moscow has denied allegations that it considers establishing military bases in libya with haftar ’s support , borshchevskaya pointed out . “ russia is trying to exert influence on the ultimate decision of who becomes , and what entity becomes , in charge of the government inside libya , ” the africom chief told senators in march . “ they ’re working to influence that decision . ” russia ’s objectives in the middle east and north africa are to support other dictators as well as undermine u. s. influence and democratic efforts , the experts told the house members thursday . “ putin ’s objectives in the middle east have been consistent both with his domestic behavior and with his approach to other parts of the world : support fellow dictators and undermine efforts at democratization — what his foreign police concept refers to as ‘ ideological values … imposed from outside,’ ” mr. vladimir the vice chairman of the organization open russia , told lawmakers thursday .
+0 agency ’s green card errors said to be worse than first thought - the new york times ron nixon united states citizenship and immigration services sent green cards to people that contained incorrect information or were duplicates , or mailed them to the wrong addresses , according to a report released on monday by the department of homeland security ’s office of inspector general . the immigration agency , which is part of the department of homeland security , told auditors that it had received more than 200 , 000 reports of cards that were not being delivered to approved applicants . the report also found that more than 2 , 400 immigrants who were approved for conditional resident status were instead given cards that were good for 10 years . the report was a to a march review that found the agency had possibly sent hundreds of green cards to the wrong addresses . the latest report said the problem was far worse than originally believed . in the last three years , it said , the immigration agency produced at least 19 , 000 cards that included incorrect information or were issued in duplicate . homeland security auditors said the immigration agency had instituted several methods for addressing problems with erroneous or duplicate green cards . “ however , these methods — manual intervention , production controls and system enhancements — have not proven adequate to ensure quality across the volume of cards produced and issued each year , ” auditors wrote . león rodriguez , director of the immigration service , said in a statement that it was taking steps to address the problems raised in the report , but added that some of the findings “ were overstated . ” “ although the report correctly points out instances in which there were errors with the data on a card or duplicate cards issued , u. s. c. i. s. did not issue green cards to any individuals who were not eligible to receive them , ” he said . “ it is therefore imprecise , and potentially misleading , for the o. i. g. to indicate that u. s. c. i. s. ‘ inappropriately issued’ green cards . ” the report released on monday came after an inquiry in september that found the immigration agency had used incomplete fingerprint records to grant citizenship to hundreds of people who were to have been deported . that inquiry , also from the office of inspector general , found that nearly 900 people had been granted citizenship because neither homeland security nor f. b. i. databases contained all of the fingerprint records of people who had previously been designated for deportation . nearly 150 , 000 older fingerprint records were not digitized or simply not included in homeland security ’s databases when they were being developed , the report said . in other cases , fingerprints that immigration officials had taken during the deportation process were not forwarded to the f. b. i. the immigration agency is supposed to check the fingerprints of applicants for citizenship against a number of databases to make sure that the applicants do not have criminal records or pose a threat . but because the fingerprint databases are incomplete , the report found , the agency had no way of knowing if the individuals were y who they said they were . as naturalized citizens , these individuals retain many of the rights and privileges of american citizenship , including serving in law enforcement , obtaining a security clearance and sponsoring the entry of other foreigners into the united states , the report said .
+0 voters’ view of a donald trump presidency : big risks and rewards - the new york times patrick healy and dalia sussman most voters consider donald j. trump a risky choice for president , saying he lacks the right temperament and values , but he is seen as more transformative and better at handling the economy than hillary clinton , according to the latest new york news poll . mrs. clinton , despite being as disliked as mr. trump , is seen as a safer option . majorities of voters say she has the temperament for the job and would better handle foreign policy . only 36 percent of them , however , view her as an agent of change . that perception deeply worries some clinton campaign advisers , who want the race to hinge on mr. trump ’s character rather than voters’ desire to upend the status quo . with less than eight weeks until election day , the two candidates are locked in a close contest in which the challenge from candidates may make a difference . mrs. clinton , the democratic nominee , has the support of 46 percent of likely voters nationwide , compared with 44 percent for mr. trump , the republican that result includes voters who said they were leaning toward a candidate . looking more broadly at all registered voters , mrs. clinton holds a wider edge , 46 to 41 percent , driven by her support among women , minorities and college graduates . getting registered but unlikely voters to the polls in november is a large challenge for mrs. clinton ’s campaign . mr. trump has an advantage among men , whites and less educated voters . in a race , mr. trump and mrs. clinton are tied at 42 percent each . gary johnson , the libertarian candidate , has the support of 8 percent of likely voters , and the green party nominee , jill stein , takes 4 percent . mr. johnson is hoping to qualify for the coming presidential debates , but he is short of the requirement of reaching 15 percent support in an average of major polls . among likely voters younger than 30 , mrs. clinton ’s support drops 10 points in a race . their support for mr. trump falls seven points , but he is not relying on young voters as much . the race has clearly grown tighter in recent weeks . national polling averages have narrowed markedly from early august to today . polls in a number of key swing states , including ohio and florida , have narrowed in the past week as well . projections of mrs. clinton ’s electoral college advantage have also shown a tightening based on recent polls . voters expressed discontent with both candidates . among those who say they intend to vote for mr. trump or mrs. clinton , slightly more than half express strong support . the rest say that they harbor reservations about their candidate or that they are voting simply to thwart the other nominee . despite the voters’ misgivings , the nominees are consolidating support among their party faithful . mrs. clinton commands support of 87 percent of democrats , while mr. trump is supported by 85 percent of republicans . the poll results offer more cause for concern than confidence for mr. trump and mrs. clinton as they prepare for their first debate , on sept. 26 , and as early voting begins in some states next weekend . their favorability ratings remain stubbornly low , with only about of voters seeing each of them positively , despite the candidates’ attempts to use their conventions , commercials and public appearances to persuade voters to see them in a new light . a majority of voters say mr. trump does not care about the needs or problems of hispanics most voters see mrs. clinton as caring about hispanics , and a majority of voters agree with her view that most illegal immigrants in the country should be allowed to stay and eventually apply for citizenship . the nationwide telephone poll was conducted with 1 , 433 registered voters from sept. 9 to 13 on cellphones and landlines . the margin of sampling error is plus or minus three percentage points for all voters . mr. trump ’s temperament stands out as potentially his most damaging vulnerability , as his penchant for insults and provocations often undercuts his political message . trump advisers see the televised debates as mr. trump ’s greatest opportunity to reassure people about his personality , but he starts off in a weak position , with 64 percent of voters saying he does not have the right temperament to be president . percent of voters see mr. trump as a risky choice for president , compared with 51 percent who hold that view about mrs. clinton — a surprising number in itself given that she has been a president ’s spouse , a senator and a secretary of state . for trump advisers , the image of mr. trump as a gamble comes with an upside . they concede that he is most likely to lose the election if a majority of voters view him as dangerous or reckless . but if he can persuade people to see him simply as unpredictable — even cagey in a strategic sense — as well as committed to disrupting the federal government , voters could regard him as worth taking a chance on for four years while looking to his advisers and congress as a check on his power . several trump supporters said in interviews that they believed he was worth the risk , given the economic and security challenges facing the nation . percent of voters think mr. trump could bring real change to washington , a edge over mrs. clinton another 48 percent think he could not bring change . “ the risky part with trump is the fact of his rhetoric , how he says things , ” said patrick kellegher , 52 , a political independent and a retired deputy sheriff from anaconda , mont. “ but i think he is outside the known government circles . ” he added , “ i think trump will bring about real change because he ’s looking at it through a different scope . ” the candidates also face continued doubts about their honesty . of the two , mrs. clinton has tried more visibly to address misgivings about her trustworthiness , by releasing decades of tax returns and more details about her health than mr. trump has . yet one stain on her reputation is proving indelible : about seven in 10 voters say she did something wrong when she used a private email server as secretary of state , including 45 percent who say she did something illegal . concerns about her judgment linger even among some of her supporters , who say she could have been more forthcoming about her email practices before they grew into a political controversy and the focus of a scathing f. b. i. report . “ i do n’t think she ’s been dishonest or untrustworthy in a way that disqualifies her to be president , but she should n’t have worried so much about political ramifications and come clean up front , ” said lindsay dofelmier , 36 , a lawyer in houston who is supporting mrs. clinton . mr. trump has yet to release any of his tax returns , a break with political tradition that goes back decades , and has been far less specific than mrs. clinton on many personal and political questions , including his policy proposals . asked if it was necessary for mr. trump to release his tax returns , 59 percent of voters said it was . percent of voters said they would like the candidates to release more medical records .
+0 fox promotes unity in super bowl ad jerome hudson the stars of some of fox ’s biggest shows are featured in a new super bowl aimed at promoting “ the great many things that unite us ” on super bowl sunday . [ the advert sees cast members from fox ’s primetime lineup , including empire , new girl , and gotham , among others , celebrating the millions of people “ of every race , every color , every religion ” coming together and watching the biggest sporting event of the year . actors including taraji p. henson , queen latifah , terrence howard and damon wayans take turns reciting the same message spliced together around one inspiring theme of unity . “ very soon , over 100 million people around the world will be watching the super bowl , ” the celebrity ensemble says in the commercial . “ from the smallest towns to the biggest cities , people of every race , every color , every religion , are sharing this moment together , which proves once again that the things that divide us are small compared to the great many things that unite us . from all of us at fox , thanks for watching . ” the subtle political tone of fox ’s new ad follows comments made by super bowl halftime performer lady gaga , who hinted earlier this week that her performance may include some political statement . “ i do n’t know if i will succeed in unifying america . you ’ll have to ask america when it ’s over , ” the pop star said earlier this week during a press qa . “ but the only statements that i ’ll be making during the halftime show are the ones that i ’ve been consistently making throughout my career . ” super bowl li airs on february 5 on fox . follow jerome hudson on twitter @jeromeehudson
+0 iran ’s supreme leader : ’real war’ with west is ’culture war’ on tv , internet penny starr in a speech this month in the east azerbaijan region of iran , supreme leader ayatollah khamenei said that a war on iran ’s culture and economy is more dangerous to his islamic regime than any military threat from the west . [ “ a european official said to our officials that a war in iran would have been inevitable if it had not been for the ” khamenei said , referring to the nuclear agreement brokered by the obama administration and western allies . “ that official said that if the had not been signed , the war would have been definite . ” “ this is a blatant lie ! ” khamenei said in the speech . “ why do they speak about war ? they do so because they want to switch our minds to a military war , but the real war is something else . ” “ the real war is an economic war , the real war is the war of sanctions , the real war is the arenas of work , activity , and technology inside the country , ” khamenei said . “ this is the real war ! ” “ they draw our attention to a military war so that we ignore this war , ” khamenei said . “ the real war is a cultural war . “ there are so many television and internet networks which are busy diverting the hearts and minds of our youth away from religion , our sacred beliefs , morality , modesty and the like , ” khamenei said . “ they are working in a serious manner and they are spending heavily on this , ” khamenei said . “ the real war is this . ” the 2017 academy awards on monday night put iran and its culture in the spotlight , with the iranian film the salesman winning best foreign language film . the iranian film ’s director , asghar farhadi , said last month that he would boycott the oscars because of trump ’s immigration order on halting refugees coming to the united states from seven countries with links to islamic terrorism , according to a january 29 new york times article . “ to humiliate one nation with the pretext of guarding the security of another is not a new phenomenon in history and has always laid the groundwork for the creation of future divide and enmity , ” farhadi said in a statement published by the times . “ i hereby express my condemnation of the unjust conditions forced upon some of my compatriots and the citizens of the other six countries trying to legally enter the united states of america and hope that the current situation will not give rise to further divide between nations . ” the iranian foreign minister , javad zarif , tweeted praise for the film ’s award and iranian culture after the win . “ proud of cast crew of ‘ the salesman’ for oscar stance against # muslim ban . iranians have represented culture civilization for millennia , ” zarif tweeted . the guardian reported that a “ protest vote ” against trump ’s immigration policy might have helped the film win . khamenei tweeted in august that the united states was responsible for creating and supporting isil , or daesh , as part of what he claims is a culture war against “ true islam . ” “ us aim of making backing daesh is to sow discord in islamic ummah , defame true islam promote wahabi islam which is far from true islam , ” khamenei wrote . khamenei , a muslim cleric , has been the supreme leader of iran since 1989 after serving as the third president from 1981 to 1989 . he regularly calls the united states the great satan and promotes the destruction of israel .
+1 dollar collapse/ jfk assassination nan • on air now : listen live dollar collapse/ jfk assassination dollar collapse/ jfk assassination date monday - november 21 , 2016 host george noory 1st half : investment banker and risk manager james rickards will discuss why he believes the coming collapse of the dollar and the international monetary system is entirely foreseeable , and what people can do to protect themselves . 2nd half : actor , author , and standup comedian richard belzer talks about the jfk assassination , the mysterious deaths of key witnesses , and the facts , truths , and fictions that surround one of the most controversial events in history .
+1 what happens when the government and the media collude to pander to islam ? ! nan 1 what happens when the government and the media collude to pander to islam ? ! you get the absolute disaster that is happening in europe . one only needs to look at france and germany to see what the future of america will look like under a hillary ( global elite establishment ) presidency ! open borders , open trade , and open immigration , threatens all of our security and well being . hillary has openly admitted that this is her dream for america ! the globalists want to destroy what is left of our constitution , and to start a civil war between the american citizens and the islamic immigrants ! all to usher in the north american union ! we are looking at the fall of this republic just as ww2 germany fell to the fascist nazis ! america : do n't make europe 's mistake ( vote trump ) ~ its the only chance we have ! ! ! tags
+0 missouri lawmakers push campus carry , liability for gun - free businesses awr hawkins campus carry and legislation holding businesses liable for injuries to disarmed citizens are both on the move in missouri . [ the campus carry legislation is contained in house bill 630 , which is sponsored by state rep. jered taylor ( ) . the missourian reports that hb 630 would remove numerous “ zones ” around the state , including those in “ child care centers , public universities and churches . ” this means child care workers with concealed carry permits would be able to have a gun at hand to protect children , permit holders would be able to keep a gun with them on campus to defend their lives and the lives of fellow students , and could be armed to fend off an attack during church services around the state . state rep. jon carpenter ( city ) was taken aback by efforts to roll back “ zones ” and asked , “ is this for show or is this for real ? ” rep. taylor responded , “ i want individuals to be able to choose whether or not they carry a gun to protect themselves and others if the need were to arise . ” he added , “ criminals know where the zones are . they know they ’re going to be able to carry out their rampage and likely wo n’t be stopped until law enforcement arrives . ” state rep. nick schroer ( ’fallon ) is sponsoring legislation that would hold “ ” businesses liable if a customer in the business suffers harm in a situation where they could have defended themselves with a gun . he said , “ this policy of making places provides a sense of safety to those who engage in magical thinking . these killers are not stopped by a sign on the front door . ” schroer said businesses that advertise their status with signage highlight “ the dangerous condition we talk about when we talk about premises liability . ” awr hawkins is the second amendment columnist for breitbart news and host of bullets with awr hawkins , a breitbart news podcast . he is also the political analyst for armed american radio . follow him on twitter : @awrhawkins . reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart . com .
+1 charles hugh smith : “ do n’t diss the dark ages ” stevew posted on october 26 , 2016 by charles hugh smith once dissed as the dark ages , the medieval era is more properly viewed as a successful adaptation to the challenges of the post - western roman empire era . the decline of the western roman empire was the result of a constellation of challenges , including ( but not limited to ) massive new incursions of powerful germanic tribes , a widening chasm between the western and the eastern roman empire ( byzantium ) , plague , an onerous tax burden on the non - elite classes , weak leadership , the dominance of a self - serving elite ( sound familiar ? ) and last but not least , the expansion of an unproductive rabble in rome that had to be bribed with increasingly costly bread and circuses . in effect , the grand strategy of the roman empire ran out of time and money . the grand strategy , successful for hundreds of years , relied heavily on persuading “ barbarian ” tribes to join the roman system for the commercial and security benefits . this process of integration worked because it was backed by the threat of destruction by military force . the empire maintained relatively modest military forces given its vast territory , but its road system and fleet enabled relatively rapid concentration of force to counter an invasion . it also maintained extensive fortifications along active borders . all of this required substantial tax revenues , manpower and effective leadership , not just for fortifications , the army , roads and the fleet , but to maintain the commercial and political benefits offered to “ barbarians ” who chose integration in the empire . once the military threats proliferated and the benefits of imperial membership eroded , the grand strategy was unable to maintain the integrity of the imperial borders . as tax revenues and the bureaucracy they supported imploded , security declined , reducing trade and communications . this unvirtuous cycle fed on itself : reduced trade led to reduced tax revenues which led to phantom legions that were still listed on the bureaucratic ledgers but which no longer had any troops . the collapse of the western empire was a process , not an event . key organizational infrastructures that endured through the medieval era – for example , the roman catholic and orthodox christian churches – gained traction in the waning centuries of the western empire . monasteries offered islands of scholarship and literacy and in many cases offered security via fortifications . as trade diminished along with secure trade routes , self - reliance became the order of the day outside the borders of the byzantine and persian empires . though political leadership shifted with the latest invasion from the steppes of eurasia , the two branches of christendom slowly converted many invading groups or consolidated existing christian powers into alliances that bound together diverse groups and proto - states . these alliances were typically contingent and temporary , as today ’s ally became tomorrow ’s enemy , or vice versa . despite the shifting loyalties of constant invasion and warfare , the byzantine empire endured and charlemagne ( and others ) in western europe established the fractured but still effective holy roman empire . much was lost when the western roman empire collapsed , but islands of literacy , learning and security arose despite the constant conflicts and threats of invasion . venice offers one example of a small city securing trade routes with commercial centers that then funded a regional empire . the tidiness of the old empire could not be reinstated . the adaptations were as messy and untidy as the challenges that swept in from the steppes and forests . so please do n’t diss the dark ages . yes , the roman baths , coliseums and political /social order fell into disrepair , but new ways of coping emerged that were as contingent and untidy as the era ’s multiple challenges . new modes of production and new social /political orders do not arise fully formed . they are pieced together by trial and error and numerous cycles of adaptation , innovation and failure . share :
+0 the slow - game app is the new smoke break - the new york times amanda hess all around the world , millions of smartphone users are preparing for war . pokémon go has sent players scurrying outside their homes to hunt cartoon critters , chuck virtual balls at them , and then groom their captured characters into a digital army . advance far enough in the game , and players are invited to join a pokémon team and stage at designated gyms — basically , virtual forts — where competitors descend to hold their phones with a grip , stare unblinkingly at the screen and tap furiously on one another ’s pokémon in a bid to seize control of the territory . or not . users can also just lazily check for pokémon as they proceed throughout their days , stopping occasionally to scan the app for nearby characters and snapping screen shots on their commute or evening stroll . marinate on this lower level of game play , and pokémon go feels less like a competition and more like a charming little interlude . in this way , pokémon go has become the rare app to unite the two extremes of the mobile gaming universe . one , the compulsive , land of candy crush and clash of clans . the other , its antidote — the serene , world of slow games . slow games are less ubiquitous and straightforwardly tantalizing than traditional mobile games . they often seem to lack any point at all . instead , they invite players to engage in simpler virtual pleasures — taking a stroll , watering plants , feeding stray cats . in the game mountain , the user plays god , designs a world , then watches powerlessly as “ time moves forward , ” “ things grow and things die ” and “ nature expresses itself . ” download viridi to start a succulent garden in your pocket . then just check in every few days to collect new seedlings , water thirsty plants and watch them grow . and with the japanese mobile sensation neko atsume : kitty collector , you can fill a little yard with toys and kibbles that attract stray cats . it ’s like installing a window into a cat cafe on your phone . in these games , the stakes are lowered to nearly imperceptible levels , eliminating the weight of responsibility involved in actual caretaking . barmark , a mobile app that invites users to play groundskeeper to their own virtual ecosystem , promises “ no goals , no points , and no death . ” and it ’s no coincidence that many slow games are set in a virtual backyard . if pokémon go has brought the thrill of video games into the great outdoors , slow games bring the feel of nature into offices , grocery aisles and subway cars . my succulents and strays grow and play for me in exchange for just a few screen taps a day . while the shiniest , most successful phone apps are designed to push our competitive buttons and light up our pleasure centers with quick rewards , slow games seek access to a different part of our brains . they soothe rather than excite . the author and game designer ian bogost has referred to this genre as video game zen , the mobile equivalent of running a tiny rake across a desktop japanese garden . david oreilly , the filmmaker and digital artist who designed mountain , calls these games “ relax ’em ups , ” a clever play on their departure from the ubiquity of shooters . thatgamecompany , the studio behind slow games like cloud and journey , strives to create “ positive change to the human psyche . ” on a very basic level , i find that the simplistic tapping and swiping actions that propel the games forward do provide an odd , unexpected comfort . in mushroom garden , a middling game in which you grow fungi on a log , players swipe across the screen to pop the mushrooms out , a sensation that approximates the pleasure of pulling a bioré pore strip off your nose . other games manage to transmit a feeling of even more passive . neko atsume is my coping mechanism of choice . six months after downloading the app , the simple act of checking in on my cats a few times a day has relaxed into a mindless habit embedded amid all my others — check email , check twitter , feed cats . i ’ve already collected each of neko atsume ’s 56 cats — the ostensible point of the game — but i keep playing . it ’s evolved from game into ritual , or even atmosphere . it ’s the new smoke break . while desktop and console slow games have been around for years ( the dreamy , moody indie puzzle game cloud had its debut in 2005 ) there ’s something particularly entrancing about a slow game on a mobile device . in the early days of the iphone app store , koi pond became a surprise mobile blockbuster upon its release in 2008 . the app offers a placid setting with just a touch of interactivity : it invites you to stare down into a clear pool of water , tap the surface and watch as a school of koi scatter from sight and then slowly return to repopulate the screen . the next year , the company behind koi pond released distant shore , a game in which you stroll along an endless beach , collecting seashells , writing messages to put in bottles , then chucking the bottles into the surf . as you walk , you find bottles written by other players from around the world and read their messages , too — it ’s a random , rarefied form of communication you ca n’t often find on social media . now , the app store is sprinkled with dozens of tranquil smartphone portals that are antidotes to the maddening intensity of traditional video games and the quickening pace of online life . but in another way , slow games are less a rejection of internet culture than they are a capitulation to it . by freeing up gamers from the burdens of extreme concentration and physical control , slow games allow us to fit a mobile game into every spare moment , to seamlessly multitask among facebook monitoring and texting and the game play . and while pokémon go may beckon casual players with the opportunity to collect cute characters around town , the game can also seduce many of them into more advanced , obsessive , competitive play . these slow games , as the davidson college professor and video game researcher mark sample told me , “ fit into the interstices of our lives . ” the rise of slow games on mobile has allowed us to “ play games about waiting while we ’re waiting , ” he said , adding , “ it ’s kind of perverse : slow games aestheticize the experience of waiting . ” slow games offer a release , but their escape is on a screen , too . run out of lives in candy crush and you can check on your aloe plant , tend your garden and feed the cats .
+1 elitists will reap grapes of wrath the alex jones show elitists will reap grapes of wrath michael moore speaks the truth , but wo n't support trump the alex jones show - october 28 , 2016 comments although he ’s too tribal & too partisan to support trump , michael moore eloquently lays out trump supporters’ anger about what globalism has done to the middle class . he knows that we know who , how and why the elites destroyed our economic life . but he misses the optimism of americanism and he turns a blind eye to hillary ’s corruption .
+0 trump says health law replacement may not be ready until next year - the new york times mark landler west palm beach , fla. — president trump said in an interview that aired on sunday that a replacement health care law was not likely to be ready until either the end of this year or in 2018 , a major shift from promises by both him and republican leaders to repeal and replace the law as soon as possible . “ maybe it ’ll take till sometime into next year , but we ’re certainly going to be in the process , ” mr. trump said during an interview with bill o’reilly of fox news , after mr. o’reilly asked the president whether americans could “ expect a new health care plan rolled out by the trump administration this year . ” “ it statutorily takes awhile to get , ” mr. trump said . “ we ’re going to be putting it in fairly soon , i think that , yes , i would like to say by the end of the year at least the rudiments but we should have something within the year and the following year . ” mr. trump acknowledged that replacing former president barack obama ’s affordable care act is complicated , though he reiterated his confidence that his administration could devise a plan that would work better than the law — despite having provided few details of how such a plan would work . “ you have to remember obamacare does n’t work , so we are putting in a wonderful plan , ” mr. trump said . speaker paul d. ryan has vowed to move legislation for a replacement for the affordable care act by the end of march . but some republicans are worried about a political backlash if they repeal the law without an adequate replacement — potentially throwing millions of people off their insurance — and have urged a more methodical approach . senator lamar alexander of tennessee , a republican who is the chairman of the senate committee on health , education , labor and pensions , recently proposed repairing parts of the health care law ahead of scrapping the whole package . mr. trump said last month that he wanted to present a replacement soon after the senate confirmed his nominee for secretary of health and human services , representative tom price , republican of georgia . the senate is scheduled to vote on mr. price ’s confirmation this week . “ we ’re going to be submitting , as soon as our secretary is approved , almost simultaneously , shortly thereafter , a plan , ” mr. trump said in january . last month , the president signed an executive order to begin unwinding the affordable care act . it gave the department of health and human services the authority to ease what it called “ unwarranted economic and regulatory burdens ” from the existing law .
+0 the financial benefits of buying what you love - the new york times carl richards eleven years ago , i needed a new bike . at the time , i rode a lot . i was in a big group of relatively competitive riders , and we ’d often put hundreds of miles on our bikes each week . i agonized over what bike to buy , but i kept coming back to one made by a company called moots , a colorado company that builds titanium road and mountain bikes by hand . the father of a good friend of mine had a moots bike when i was growing up , and it made me salivate . the problem was , they were really expensive . like , “ far more money than i ever considered spending on a bike ” expensive . maybe $ 5 , 000 or so back then . but the more i looked into it , the more i was convinced i had to have this bike . after putting myself through the painful process of shopping around , comparing prices and looking at models that i did n’t really want , i pulled the trigger . following weeks of buyer ’s remorse that more closely resembled terror , i came to realize something that is going to sound crazy . buying this incredibly expensive bike was one of the best financial decisions i ’ve ever made . i understand that writing $ 5 , 000 and the words “ bike ” and “ smart financial decision ” all in the same sentence sounds absurd , but it ’s not . this was a fantastic , rational , smart financial decision . and i know that goes against everything you ’ve heard from every personal finance adviser out there . they ’re always telling you how to save money , how to reduce expenses , how to buy cheaper . right ? cheaper , cheaper , cheaper . what i ’m saying is , that ’s a shortsighted message that we need to change . here are the reasons . 1 . if you love it , you will keep it if you keep it , you will use it . i bought a bike i love . you may not like it . that ’s fine . if you do n’t like it , do n’t buy it . but i love it . and since i love it , i ’ve kept it for 11 years . and since i ’ve kept it for 11 years , i use it all the time . 2 . it replaces five other bikes . the guys i ride with own plastic bikes ( carbon fiber ) . and they may feel the same way about their bikes as i do about mine , but most of them do n’t . most of them think , “ oh , i ’ll just go buy a bike . ” a couple years later , they buy the newest bike , and a couple years after that , they buy the newest bike again . each time they sell the old one and buy the new one , they lose money . that can be costly . i have changed almost nothing on my road bike in 11 years , and i like it more than when i bought it . 3 . it will last . let ’s say you follow the standard advice and buy the cheaper bike . we all know what happens with the cheaper bike . it breaks ! it wears out , you replace it . and not only does good gear last , but when you buy cheap stuff , you get bored with it . i do not get bored with this bike , and that is why it is saving me money . 4 . it ’s beautiful . that may sound silly , but it ’s important . if you ’re planning on having something for a long time , you ’d better like looking at it . any time i even consider looking at a new road bike , all i have to do is wash mine and see the beautiful welds , and i fall back in love again . when i ’m done and can no longer ride my bike , it will hang above the mantle over my fireplace . that ’s how much i love it . it ’s a piece of art to me . 5 . the cognitive benefit . buying things is agonizing . the cognitive expense of switching , replacing and constantly thinking about whether you need a new bike or not has a cost associated with it , too . i do n’t think about it . i do n’t have to think about it . i ’ve got the bike i love . period . so , i hereby give you permission to consider buying the things you really love — things that may be two , three or perhaps even four times more expensive than a similar product . i am asking you to consider the possibility that buying stuff you love , regardless of price , may be the best decision you can make . consider that if you love it and you ’ll use it , you ’ll save not only money but retain the cognitive and emotional energy you would have used to replace the thing once a year . you ’ve heard of “ buy nice , or buy twice , ” right ? well this is a derivative of that idea . but do n’t just buy nice , buy what you love . if you do n’t , you ’ll end up hating , and replacing , until you do .
+0 russian olympic chief to step down putin hints at other changes - the new york times rebecca r. ruiz president vladimir v. putin laid the groundwork this week for a possible of russian sports leadership in the wake of a doping controversy that has implicated government officials . at a state sports meeting in kovrov , russia , mr. putin outlined a broad strategy to redeem the country with global olympic officials five months after a former director of russia ’s antidoping laboratory detailed a cheating scheme executed by the russian state . mr. putin said that alexander zhukov , head of the russian olympic committee since 2010 , would step down two years before his term was set to expire , to focus on a new role in the russian parliament . before naming his successor , mr. putin said , the government would consult with the international olympic committee , which has established a disciplinary commission that is set to consider penalties for russia ahead of the next winter games , in 2018 . pointing to russia ’s finish in the medal standings at this year ’s rio games — behind the united states , china and britain — mr. zhukov and mr. putin on tuesday praised russia ’s olympic delegation for its “ ability to take a punch ” amid “ an aggressive information campaign against russian athletes . ” noting that russia won no medals in diving in rio , mr. zhukov suggested the country recruit specialists from china , given its dominance in the sport . mr. putin also hinted at possible changes in russian sports leadership , announcing a new government position to oversee sports , tourism and youth policy . it was not immediately clear whether that expanded portfolio would be taken on by vitaly mutko , russia ’s sports minister . “ importantly , these are the first steps on the path of reform in the sports sector , ” mr. putin said , denouncing the “ prejudice against our athletes ” and doping in sports while assuming hazy responsibility for “ a number of errors and miscalculations in this important and very sensitive area . ” he said government authorities and a newly created antidoping commission were focused on redeeming russia ’s standing in global sports . russia ’s track and field team remains barred from global competition , its paralympic team suspended and its national antidoping agency decertified by the global antidoping regulator . mr. putin emphasized the government ’s financial support of russia ’s antidoping activities , including its annual contributions to the world agency , which has made russia the subject of several investigations over the last year . he suggested a change in the structure of russia ’s antidoping system , proposing to distance it from the sports ministry and instead have it managed by russia ’s olympic committee . since the country ’s former lab director , dr. grigory rodchenkov , outlined in may the precise contours of a doping system in an interview with the new york times , mr. putin and the country ’s top sports officials , including mr. zhukov and mr. mutko , have been publicly defiant . they called dr. rodchenkov , who fled to the united states , a traitor and insisted that his account was fabricated while obliquely acknowledging doping was a “ black spot ” on the country . but an investigation commissioned by wada produced proof of dr. rodchenkov ’s claims , along with evidence establishing mr. mutko ’s deputy minister , yuri nagornykh , as critical in covering up the use of drugs by top athletes at the 2014 sochi olympics , as well as in the years before and after . mr. nagornykh disputed the times ’s report in may. after the antidoping regulator published the results of its inquiry in july , mr. putin suspended him . although mr. mutko was named in the report as having been complicit in the system , his status as minister has remained steady . still , the revelations left russian sports officials scrambling to defend the country ’s participation in the rio olympics mere weeks before they began . mr. zhukov was a key ambassador in that crusade , maintaining that the russian olympic committee was independent of the government and unaffected by any shadows cast on the country ’s sports ministry . ( mr. nagornykh , however , had occupied overlapping roles as deputy minister and a russian olympic committee official . ) in the days before russia ’s olympic roster was completed , mr. zhukov politicked at a hotel in rio and pledged that his country ’s delegation would be the purest of any at the games , given the level of scrutiny applied to it . mr. mutko , however , was refused admittance to the olympics and did not travel to rio with russia ’s team , which was cut by nearly a third after sports officials deemed athletes tainted unless they proved a rigorous history of drug tests . now , with olympic officials anticipating the results of a second investigation this fall — which is expected to identify russian athletes who benefited from the doping system — russia is bracing itself for disciplinary action . beyond jeopardizing the 33 medals russia won at the sochi games — at least 15 of which dr. rodchenkov said were won by athletes who had used his cocktail of anabolic steroids — possible penalties could extend to the winter olympics in pyeongchang , south korea , in february 2018 . some antidoping authorities who lobbied that the russian flag not fly in rio have called on olympic officials to penalize russia more severely . joseph de pencier , chief executive of the institute of national organizations , said last week that he hoped “ the reception of russian athletes in pyeongchang is very different than the one in rio , ” adding , “ the i. o. c. can redeem itself . ” mr. putin also publicly waded into the nuances of antidoping protocols in sports this week , criticizing the practice of allowing athletes to use prohibited drugs for legitimate medical reasons . that topic has received global attention this fall , after russian hackers breached wada ’s athlete database and published the private medical records of top athletes . of the records the hackers have chosen to release , roughly half relate to american , british and canadian athletes . the hackers identified themselves as fancy bear , a russian cyberespionage group that forensics specialists have tied to breaches against government agencies , nonprofit organizations and corporations . the i. o. c. and wada have denounced the hacks , which law enforcement authorities are investigating .
+0 trump abruptly orders 46 obama - era prosecutors to resign - the new york times charlie savage and maggie haberman washington — the trump administration moved on friday to sweep away most of the remaining vestiges of obama administration prosecutors at the justice department , ordering 46 holdover united states attorneys to tender their resignations immediately — including preet bharara , the united states attorney in manhattan . the firings were a surprise — especially for mr. bharara , who has a reputation for prosecuting public corruption cases and for investigating insider trading . in november , mr. bharara met with then donald j. trump at trump tower in manhattan and told reporters afterward that both mr. trump and jeff sessions , who is now the attorney general , had asked him about staying on , which the prosecutor said he expected to do . but on friday , mr. bharara was among federal prosecutors who received a call from dana boente , the acting deputy attorney general , instructing him to resign , according to a person familiar with the matter . as of friday evening , though some of the prosecutors had publicly announced their resignations , mr. bharara had not . a spokesman for mr. bharara declined to comment . sarah isgur flores , a justice department spokeswoman , said in an email that all remaining holdover united states attorneys had been asked to resign , leaving their deputy united states attorneys , who are career officials , in place in an acting capacity . “ as was the case in prior transitions , many of the united states attorneys nominated by the previous administration already have left the department of justice , ” she said in the email . “ the attorney general has now asked the remaining 46 presidentially appointed u. s. attorneys to tender their resignations in order to ensure a uniform transition . ” the abrupt order came after two weeks of increasing calls from mr. trump ’s allies outside the government to oust appointees from president barack obama ’s administration . mr. trump has been angered by a series of reports based on leaked information from a sprawling bureaucracy , as well as from his own west wing . several officials said the firings had been planned before friday . but the calls from the acting deputy attorney general arose a day after sean hannity , the fox news commentator who is a strong supporter of president trump , said on his evening show that mr. trump needed to “ purge ” obama holdovers from the federal government . mr. hannity portrayed them as “ saboteurs ” from the “ deep state ” who were leaking secrets to hurt mr. trump . it also came the same week that government watchdogs wrote to mr. bharara and urged him to investigate whether mr. trump had violated the emoluments clause of the constitution , which bars federal officials from taking payments from foreign governments . in mr. hannity ’s monologue , he highlighted the fact that the clinton administration had told all 93 united states attorneys to resign soon after he took office in 1993 , and that “ nobody blinked an eye , ” but he said it became a scandal when the george w. bush administration fired several top prosecutors midway through his second term . several democratic members of congress said they only heard that the united states attorneys from their states were being immediately let go shortly before the friday afternoon statement from the justice department . one senator , speaking on the condition of anonymity to protect the identity of the united states attorney in that state , said that an prosecutor had been instructed to vacate the office by the end of the day . although it was not clear whether all were given the same instructions , that united states attorney was not the only one told to clear out by the close of business . the abrupt nature of the dismissals distinguished mr. trump ’s mass firing from mr. clinton ’s , because the prosecutors in 1993 were not summarily told to clear out their offices . michael d. mckay , who was the united states attorney in seattle under the george bush administration , recalled that even though he had already made plans to leave , he nevertheless stayed on for about three weeks beyond a request by general janet reno for all of the holdover prosecutors to resign . he also recalled at least one colleague who was in the midst of a major investigation and was kept on to finish it . “ i ’m confident it was n’t on the same day , ” he said , adding : “ while there was a wholesale ‘ good to see you , thanks for your service , and now please leave,’ people were kept on on a basis depending on the situation . ” two united states attorneys survived the firings : mr. boente , the top prosecutor for the eastern district of virginia , who is serving as acting deputy attorney general , and rod rosenstein , the top prosecutor in baltimore , whom mr. trump has nominated to be deputy attorney general . “ the president called dana boente and rod rosenstein tonight to inform them that he has declined to accept their resignation , and they will remain in their current positions , ” said peter carr , a justice department spokesman . it remains possible that mr. trump and mr. sessions could put others on that list later . it is not unusual for a new president to replace united states attorneys appointed by a predecessor , especially when there has been a change in which party controls the white house . still , other presidents have done it gradually in order to minimize disruption , giving those asked to resign more time to make the transition while keeping some inherited prosecutors in place , as it had appeared mr. trump would do with mr. bharara . mr. obama , for example , kept mr. rosenstein , who had been appointed by george w. bush . the abrupt mass firing appeared to be a change in plans for the administration , according to a statement by senator dianne feinstein of california , the top democrat on the senate judiciary committee . “ in january , i met with vice president pence and white house counsel donald mcgahn and asked specifically whether all u. s. attorneys would be fired at once , ” she said . “ mr. mcgahn told me that the transition would be done in an orderly fashion to preserve continuity . clearly this is not the case . i ’m very concerned about the effect of this sudden and unexpected decision on federal law enforcement . ” still , the cases the various federal prosecutors were overseeing will continue , with their career deputies becoming acting united states attorneys in their place for the time being . mr. bharara has been among the united states attorneys , with a purview that includes wall street and public corruption prosecutions , including of both democratic and republican officials and other influential figures . his office , for example , has prosecuted top police officials in new york and the powerful leader of the city correction officers’ union they have pleaded not guilty . it is preparing to try a major public corruption case involving former aides and associates of gov. andrew m. cuomo and is looking into allegations of around mayor bill de blasio of new york . but mr. bharara is also closely associated with the senate minority leader , senator chuck schumer , democrat of new york . mr. bharara was formerly a counsel to mr. schumer , who pushed mr. obama to nominate mr. bharara to be the top federal prosecutor in the southern district of new york . at the time of the november meeting at trump tower , mr. schumer was saying publicly that democrats should try to find common ground and work with the . but relations between mr. trump and mr. schumer have since soured . mr. trump has called mr. schumer the democrats’ “ head clown ” and accused him of shedding “ fake tears ” over the president ’s efforts to bar refugees from entering the united states . for his part , mr. schumer has called for an independent investigation into contacts between the trump campaign and the russian government , and demanded that mr. sessions resign for having testified that he had no contacts with russians even though he had met with the russian ambassador . the white house officials ascribed the reversal over mr. bharara as emblematic of a chaotic transition process . one official said it was tied to mr. trump ’s belief in november that he and mr. schumer would be able to work together .
+1 paul ryan has a truly pathetic response to latest phony ‘ hillary email bombshell’ elizabeth preston oh , the politics are strong with this one . fbi director james comey just sent out a letter to the republican congressional committee informing them that the fbi will be looking into more of hillary clinton ’s emails . the discovery of the new emails was “ in connection with an unrelated case . ” as think progress points out , all the letter really means is there are emails that were discovered that the fbi had not reviewed . it does n’t mean a case is being “ re - opened . ” this does not say the fbi will be reexamining the information of the previous investigation . and , it does n’t mean that all of a sudden criminal charges are going to be forthcoming . it means nothing , except , the fbi needs to read a few more emails that were missed in the previous investigation . even comey says in his letter : “ the fbi can not yet assess whether or not this material may be significant . ” read republican james comey ’s letter , here : yet , the reality of this statement is lost on not only major media outlets who are reporting that the case has been “ reopened , ” but also our politicians . paul ryan ’s response takes the cake , though . the republican speaker of the house went full knee - jerk with this one . he said in a statement : “ yet again , hillary clinton has nobody but herself to blame . she was entrusted with some of our nation ’s most important secrets , and she betrayed that trust by carelessly mishandling highly classified information . this decision , long overdue , is the result of her reckless use of a private email server , and her refusal to be forthcoming with federal investigators . i renew my call for the director of national intelligence to suspend all classified briefings for secretary clinton until this matter is fully resolved . ” so , 11 days before our presidential election , we ’ve had the fbi director , who happens to be a republican , release an ambiguous letter which touches on an unsubstantiated scandal for which the democratic presidential candidate came out of clean as a whistle because charges could n’t be justified . and now we ’ve had the speaker of the house call for the candidate ’s intelligence briefings to be suspended “ until this matter is fully resolved . ” which , by the way , the fbi director says he “ can not predict how long it will take to complete this additional work . ” yeah , ok . like this does n’t have political ploy written all over it . how pathetic . featured image via getty images / win mcnamee / staff share this article !
+1 senado de méxico analiza designación de nuevo fiscal general nan ( actualizada a las 20:39 26.10.2016 ) url corto 0 29 1 0 ciudad de méxico ( sputnik ) — el senado de méxico analiza la propuesta enviada por el presidente enrique peña nieto para reemplazar al fiscal general de la república , arely gómez , por raúl cervantes , expresidente de la cámara alta . en un enroque en dos altos cargos del estado , la iniciativa contempla que la procuradora saliente , quien también es senadora con licencia para desempeñar el cargo de fiscal , ha sido designada a la secretaría de la función pública , cargo que también debe analizar el senado . renuncia secretario federal de la función pública de méxico la titular saliente de la procuradora general de la república ( pgr fiscalía federal ) , asumió el cargo a principios de 2005 , en remplazo de jesús murillo , que fracasó cuando se derrumbó la llamada " verdad histórica " sobre la llamada masacre de iguala , perpetrada por policías y sicarios confabulados contra estudiantes de la escuela rural de atoyotzinapa , que sigue sin esclarecerse . en aquella ocasión , gómez expresó que la pgr heredada era " un desastre " como institución federal contra el crimen . ese cargo federal se encarga de auditar el desempeño de los funcionarios públicos con criterios de transparencia , vacante desde julio pasado cuando un amigo del presidente , virgilio andrade dejó el cargo anticorrupción . más : presidente peña pide perdón a méxico por la " casa blanca " de su esposa andrade dejó ese despacho cuando se aprobó el nuevo sistema nacional anticorrupción , entre críticas de la oposición por haber exonerado al presidente mexicano en una investigación interna , por la llamada casa blanca de la primera dama , angélica rivera , una mansión de casi 4 millones de dólares construida y financiada por un amigo contratista del gobierno . el enroque se forma una " tormenta perfecta " al final del mandato de peña nieto en méxico gómez ha encarado otros casos paradigmáticos , como la fuga del jefe de cartel de sinaloa , joaquín guzmán , alias el chapo , que se fugó por un túnel cavado hasta la celda del mafioso , cuando la procuradora fue fotografiada desconcertada , examinando la boca del pasadizo subterráneo del escape . una de las tareas inconclusas que deja gómez es un paquete de juicios por corrupción que involucran a media docena de exgobernadores del gobernante partido revolucionario institucional ( pri ) , pero también uno de la oposición , que están prófugos por millonarias malversaciones al erario y sin rastro de ellos . si es aprobado , el legislador cervantes , de 53 años y con dos décadas de militancia en el pri tendrá en su despacho los expedientes de líderes políticos caídos en desgracia de la clase política , cuyos hilos llegan a las alturas del poder . la aprobación del enroque en los cargos es inminente : por ejemplo , el líder del partido acción nacional ( pan , centroderecha ) en el senado , fernando herrera , ya le deseó al designado " éxito en su nueva encomienda " . a su turno , el coordinador de la bancada del partido de la revolución democrática ( prd , centroizquierda ) , miguel barbosa , dijo que como senador se desempeñó con " profesionalismo y capacidad " , cuando fue presidente de la cámara alta . el líder del pri en el senado emilio gamboa , dijo que cervantes " representó siempre a todas y a todos los legisladores " , para desenredar " temas tan complicados como los que se discutieron " , durante la aprobación de las reformas estructurales al inicio del mandato de peña nieto en 2013 . " cervantes es un gran constitucionalista y respetuoso de las leyes " , que contribuyó a establecer el nuevo sistema nacional anticorrupción , dijo el líder del pri . senadores calculan que la corrupción cuesta el 10 % del gasto público , es decir de 20.000 a 25.000 millones de dólares , otros organismos lo calculan como porcentaje del producto interno bruto , y oscilan desde el 2 al 10 % del pib . en cuanto al crimen , gómez deja la fiscalía cuando las estadísticas oficiales sobre homicidio dolosos en ocho meses de 2016 , registran un amento anual de 20 % . ...
+0 spain arrests islamic state extremists plotting jihad breitbart london madrid ( ap ) — spain ’s interior ministry said two separate arrests have been made in connection with islamic extremism , bringing to 188 the number of people accused of jihadi links in spain since 2015 . [ advertisement
+0 uber defies california regulators with self - driving car service - the new york times mike isaac for seven years , uber ’s stance on complying with regulations has been consistent : ask forgiveness , not permission . on friday , the company stuck to that position . it said it had no intention of ending a new test of its vehicles in san francisco , even though california regulators had said the service was illegal because uber had not obtained the necessary permits . uber said its cars were still on the road and picking up passengers . the dispute is rooted in uber ’s refusal to seek a permit from the california department of motor vehicles , which would allow it to test autonomous vehicles under certain conditions . companies like google , tesla motors and have all gotten such permits . uber officials contend that under the letter of california law , the company does not need a permit because the motor vehicles department defines autonomous vehicles as those that drive “ without the active physical control or monitoring of a natural person . ” uber said its modified , volvo xc90s require human oversight , and therefore do not fit california ’s definition of an autonomous vehicle . “ this rule just does n’t apply to us , ” anthony levandowski , vice president of uber ’s advanced technologies group , said in a conference call with reporters . “ you do n’t need to wear a belt and suspenders and whatever else if you ’re wearing a dress . ” the motor vehicles department did not immediately respond to requests for comment . but in a letter to uber on friday , lawyers in the california attorney general ’s office reiterated the state ’s position that the company pull the off the road until it got the permits or face unspecified consequences . the episode serves the latest volley in uber ’s war with local and state regulators — not only in the united states , but in many of the more than 70 countries in which the company operates . uber has previously grappled with the authorities in california over safety concerns . and otto , the trucking founded by mr. levandowski and acquired by uber in august , has flouted state laws in nevada in the past . uber argues the way its technology is used differs little from the way tesla motors , the electric carmaker founded by elon musk , uses its technology . tesla offers a system called autopilot , which gives drivers the ability to “ match speed to traffic conditions , keep within a lane , automatically change lanes without requiring driver input , ” according to the company ’s website . as of dec. 8 , tesla held a permit in california for testing . uber said that permit did not apply to the wider commercial use of cars bought by consumers , and that the motor vehicle department ’s process should be consistent across the types of vehicles on the road . “ it ’s an important issue of principle about when companies can operate cars on the roads and the uneven application of statewide rules across very similar types of technology , ” mr. levandowski said . a tesla spokeswoman declined to comment .
+1 à la rencontre de la footballeuse russe de la « liste de messi » alexeï mosko 1 / 2 le rêve s’avéra amer : il lui fallut vivre dans des préfabriqués de chantier , ce qui ne la dissuada pas . « je trouvais ça marrant . tu ne fais rien à part jouer au football . on m’avait même expliqué qu’on pouvait en vivre . bien sûr que je reste [ décida nadedja ] , je suis prête à me laver à l’eau froide et tout » , confie - t - elle . « si mon père ne m’aidait pas , je crèverais de faim » июн 6 2016 в 7:49 pdt se faire une place dans le football professionnel s’avéra difficile . après ses études , le club de l’académie , rossiyanka , proposa à nadejda , qui jouait alors déjà dans l’équipe jeunes de russie , 9 000 roubles ( 120 euros ) par mois . ce furent les représentants d’un autre club , zorky , qui la sauvèrent de la misère en la payant trois fois plus cher . mais cet argent ne suffisait de toute façon pas pour quoi que ce soit . « je ne peux rien m’acheter avec l’argent que je gagne au football , a raconté nadjeda dans une interview à eurosport en 2014 . je peux m’acheter une carte de métro . si mon père ne m’aidait pas , je crèverais de faim » . durant ces deux ans , nadedja fait des débuts remarqués dans l’équipe nationale et est en tête des marqueurs du championnat russe 2016 dans l’équipe chertanovo de moscou . cependant , la star du football féminin russe vit toujours modestement , comme tout le football féminin en russie , qui paie 3 000 roubles ( 40 euros ) de prime pour une victoire , et do nt les joueuses en déplacement s’entassent dans les wagons de troisième classe . « les salaires des hommes , on n’en rêve même pas . je ne veux même pas entendre parler de ces sommes . qu’est - ce que … je pourrais faire de 50 000 dollars ? rien de bon … j’irais faire la fête , je perdrais la raison . il me semble que c’est ce qui arrive à tous ceux qui reçoivent des sommes pareilles » , affirme nadejda .
+1 « pourquoi je suis candidat à la présidentielle 2017 » par jean - françois buissière , candidat à la présidentielle 2017 > > le gorafi nan
+1 new lawsuit challenges efforts to stamp out african - american vote in nc andrea germanos | common dreams videos new lawsuit challenges efforts to stamp out african - american vote in nc north carolina is ' ground zero in the intentional , surgical efforts by republicans to suppress the voice of voters ' | november 1 , 2016 be sociable , share ! president barack obama casts his ballot during early voting at the martin luther king jr. community center in chicago , ill. , oct. 25 , 2012 . ( official white house photo by pete souza ) with just over a week to go before election day , the north carolina naacp on monday filed a lawsuit to stop what it describes as a republican - led effort to snuff out the african - american vote . “ this is our selma and we will not back down and allow this suppression to continue , ” said rev. william barber ii , president of the organization . according to the civil rights organization , wrongful challenges to voters’ eligibility are happening in at least three counties — beaufort , moore , and cumberland — and are disproportionately affecting african americans . the suit ( pdf ) states that “ a small number of individuals have recently challenged the registration of approximately 4,500 voters , based exclusively on mass mailings that were returned as undeliverable . ” a press statement from the group says the challenges stem from “ a coordinated campaign led by individuals with gop ties . ” registration cancellations based on that alone is in violation of the national voting registration act , the group says . the complaint , filed monday in federal court in the middle district of north carolina , states , “ in many cases , voters purged by defendants still reside at the addresses where they are registered to vote , or have moved within the county and remain eligible to vote there . ” the suit is asking for the wrongfully canceled voting registrations to be restored . among the plaintiffs is james edward arthur sr . , who ’s lived in beaufort county his entire life . he is african american and has been a registered voter for five years . he was among the over 130 voters in that county to have his registration cancelled based on the challenge of an undeliverable mass mailing — even though he moved within the county . “ i did not receive notice from the state or beaufort county that my voter registration had been challenged , or that a hearing had been set to determine whether i would remain on the state ’s list of eligible voters , ” he said , referring to the procedure that election officials must follow when a challenge has been made . “ if i knew my right to vote was in jeopardy , i would do whatever i could to protect it . i want and plan to vote in the upcoming election , but i am concerned that since my registration has been canceled i will not be able to cast a ballot or it will not be counted , ” he added . another plaintiff is james l. cox , also african american and another lifelong resident of beaufort county . his voting eligibility was also part of the en masse challenges — even though he currently resides at the address on his voting records . the suit — filed months after a federal appeals court said the state ’s voter id law was created “ with discriminatory intent”—says that though african americans make up less than 26 percent of the county ’s residents , they account for over 65 percent of the challenges . “ the tar heel state is ground zero in the intentional , surgical efforts by republicans to suppress the voice of voters , ” barber added . “ we ’re taking this emergency step to make sure not a single voters’ voice is unlawfully taken away . ” the suit also comes as voters in the state take part in “ the souls to the polls ” initiative . montica taulmidge , a former organizer in raleigh , told cbs it ’s “ an opportunity for people to come with their congregations right after church and to vote as a community of faith . ” “ our communities of faith are super important to us so being a part of a church family , ” she said , “ and saying we are going to be civically minded , we are going to be civically active and engage in this process , is a huge deal for a lot of people . ” this work by common dreams is licensed under a creative commons attribution - noncommercial - sharealike international license .
+1 the amish in america commit their vote to donald trump ; mathematically guaranteeing him a presidential victory - abc news jimmy rustling 18 share the amish in america have committed their vote to donald trump guaranteeing him the presidency . ( ap photo / dennis system ) columbus , oh ( ap ) — history was made today in columbus , ohio when more than 3 million amish poured into the city to see the american amish brotherhood ( aab ) , an organization which acts as an informal governing body for the amish community , endorse donald trump for president . that number represents a significant portion of the total amish population , which the united states census bureau says numbers more than 20 million men and women nationwide all pledging their vote to trump for president . with the full force of the amish community behind him , donald trump is now mathematically guaranteed to win the presidency in november . the organization typically meets once a year and the meetings usually consist of about 300 amish leaders who meet to discuss the challenges , such as urban sprawl , that face the community . this year , however , the organization wanted as many people in attendance as possible so they can effectively instruct all amish men and women of legal voting age to cast their vote for the flamboyant republican nominee . the amish , who are direct descendants of the protestant reformation sect known as the anabaptists , have typically stayed out of politics in the past . as a general rule , they do n’t vote , serve in the military , or engage in any other displays of patriotism . this year , however , the aab has said that it is imperative that they get involved in the democratic process . “ over the past eight years , the democratic party has launched a systematic assault on biblical virtues , ” said aab chairman menno simons . “ we have seen more and more christians being persecuted for their faith ; we have seen the state defile the institution of marriage . now , they want to put a woman in the nation ’s highest leadership role in direct violation of 1 timothy 2:12 . we need to stop this assault and take a stand for biblical principles . donald trump has shown in both action and deed that he is committed to restoring this country to the lord ’s way . ” according to statistician nate silver of the website fivethirtyeight.com , there are no possible scenarios in which hillary clinton can win with donald trump carrying the amish vote . “ the amish have their highest numbers in perennial swing states like pennsylvania , virginia , ohio , indiana , and iowa , ” silver noted . “ they also have strong numbers in reliably democratic states like michigan , illinois , and new york , meaning that hillary will lose those states as well . there is also a sizeable community in florida which , while not as large as it is in the midwest , is still large enough to turn florida for trump . over the next two weeks , you can expect hillary to enter into a state of freefall in all of my predictive models . ” the clinton campaign issued a written statement to the aab asking them to reconsider their decision . “ i do n’t believe that donald trump is the person who best represents your interests , ” clinton wrote to the aab . “ as a career real estate developer , he represents a clear threat to your simple way of life . as former first lady of arkansas , i understand the concerns of rural americans more than any candidate in this election . i implore you to consider all of the facts before voting for my opponent . ” most pundits believe that mrs. clinton ’s plea is too little too late . during a press conference in manhattan , trump thanked the aab for their support and promised to put the amish to work maintaining government buildings , which he said would save taxpayers millions because “ the amish do great work for a very low price . ” though clinton has pledged to stay in the race until the very end , many of her campaign workers have already resigned . according to the associated press , it is expected that the clinton campaign will lose 50 % of its staff over the next two weeks . there is a general mood of hopelessness and despair in the clinton camp , and many simply want to cut their losses . “ it looked like she was going to win this election easily , ” said paul horner , a campaign worker in ohio , “ but this is what happens when you wake a sleeping giant . cleary , mrs. clinton took far too much for granted in this race , and we are all now paying the price . it ’s really sad to see the campaign end this way . ” if you are interested in learning more about the amish community and the aab , you can contact the pennsylvania amish heritage museum at ( 785 ) 273 - 0325 . tags
+0 weak federal powers could limit trump ’s climate - policy rollback - the new york times justin gillis with donald j. trump about to take control of the white house , it would seem a dark time for the renewable energy industry . after all , mr. trump has mocked the science of global warming as a chinese hoax , threatened to kill a global deal on climate change and promised to restore the coal industry to its former glory . so consider what happened in the middle of december , after investors had had a month to absorb the implications of mr. trump ’s victory . the federal government opened bidding on a tract of the ocean floor off new york state as a potential site for a huge wind farm . up , up and away soared the offers — interest from the bidders was so fevered that the auction went through 33 rounds and spilled over to a second day . in the end , the winning bidder offered the federal treasury $ 42 million , more than twice what the government got in august for oil leases — oil leases — in the gulf of mexico . who won the bid ? none other than statoil , the norwegian oil company , which is in the midst of a major campaign to turn itself into a big player in renewable energy . we do not know for sure that the new york wind farm will get built , but we do know this : the energy transition is real , and mr. trump is not going to stop it . on a global scale , more than half the investment in new electricity generation is going into renewable energy . that is more than $ 300 billion a year , a sign of how powerful the momentum has become . wind power is booming in the united states , with the industry adding manufacturing jobs in the reddest states . when mr. trump ’s appointees examine the facts , they will learn that technician is projected to be the occupation in america over the next decade . the election of mr. trump left climate activists and environmental groups in despair . they had pinned their hopes on a hillary clinton victory and a continuation of president obama ’s strong push to tackle global warming . now , of course , everything is in flux . in the worst case , with a sufficiently pliant congress , mr. trump could roll back a decade of progress on climate change . barring some miraculous conversion on mr. trump ’s part , his election can not be interpreted as anything but bad news for the climate agenda . yet despair might be an overreaction . for starters , when mr. trump gets to the white house , he will find that the federal government actually has relatively little control over american energy policy , and particularly over electricity generation . the coal industry has been ravaged in part by cheap natural gas , which is abundant because of technological changes in the way it is produced , and there is no lever in the oval office that mr. trump can pull to reverse that . the intrinsically weak federal role was a source of frustration for mr. obama and his aides , but now it will work to the benefit of environmental advocates . they have already persuaded more than half the states to adopt mandates on renewable energy . efforts to roll those back have largely failed , with the latest development coming only last week , when gov. john kasich of ohio , a republican , vetoed a rollback bill . the federal government does offer important subsidies for renewable energy , and they will surely become a target in the new congress . but those subsidies are already scheduled to fall drastically over five years , in a deal cut a year ago that gave the oil industry some favors and that passed congress with many republican votes . if mr. trump pushes for an early end to the subsidies , he will find that renewable energy has friends in the republican party . topping that list is charles e. grassley , the senior senator from iowa . that state — in presidential politics , let us remember — will soon be getting 40 percent of its electricity from wind power . “ senator grassley has been and continues to be an extraordinary leader and champion for the wind industry , ” said tom kiernan , the head of the american wind energy association , a trade group . when i spoke with him last week , mr. kiernan did not sound like a man gnashing his teeth about the impending trump era . by his group ’s calculations , $ 80 billion of wind industry investment is in the pipeline for the united states over the next few years . “ we are creating jobs throughout america , jobs , and we think trump will want that to continue , ” he said . if mr. trump really wanted to roll back the clock , he could try to get congress to override all the state mandates , a gross violation of the supposed conservative commitment to federalism . but it would be a titanic fight , some republican senators would defect on principle , and mr. trump would almost certainly lose . so if the damage mr. trump can do domestically is limited by circumstance , what about the international effort against global warming ? that is the prospect that has david g. victor most worried . dr. victor , a professor at the university of california at san diego , is one of the closest observers of global climate politics . while the nations of the world agreed a year ago to a landmark deal to tackle global warming , that consensus is fragile , he pointed out . the paris agreement is really an outline more promise than reality . mr. trump has vowed to withdraw . right now , other countries are saying they will go forward even if he does so , but it is not hard to imagine the thing unraveling . as part of the negotiations , the obama administration promised billions of dollars from american taxpayers to help poor countries adjust to the devastation of global warming . “ that ’s a big part of the glue that held the paris deal together , ” dr. victor pointed out . mr. trump is considered likely to abandon that pledge . perhaps the biggest threat to the climate agenda posed by the incoming administration is not anything that mr. trump might do , but rather what he will not do . while the energy transition is real , it is still in its earliest stages . iowa may soon get 40 percent of its power from wind , but for the united states as a whole , the figure is closer to 5 percent . the transition is simply not happening fast enough . the pledges countries made in paris , even if kept , are not ambitious enough . to meet the climate goals embodied in the paris agreement , the world needed an american president who would have pushed hard to accelerate the energy transition . you can debate whether mrs. clinton would have been that president , but it is certainly clear that mr. trump will not be . so as washington goes into reverse gear on climate policy , seas will keep rising and heat waves will get worse . later this month , global monitoring agencies are expected to report that 2016 was the hottest year in the historical record , beating out 2015 , which beat out 2014 . if nothing else , the next four years may be a fascinating test of just how far politics can become divorced from physical reality .
+1 demonic possession today ( part 1 ) admin part 1 : the six stages of the exorcism process by lobro van helsing part 1 of this article is authored entirely by lobro van helsing and consists largely of graphic details about the exorcism process as described by malachi martin in his controversial book , hostage to the devil . part 2 of the article , entitled ‘ the deceiver of the world’ , is by lasha darkmoon and continues where part 1 leaves off . this reflects on various apocalyptic issues , such as armageddon and the last days , the problem of good and evil , and the role of the jews in human history . “ the devil ’s finest trick is to persuade you that he does not exist . ” — charles baudelaire why is it so hard to accept , at least hypothetically , that in the words of observant thinkers like baudelaire , the devil ’s finest trick is to convince us that he does not exist ? it is generally accepted that the devil preys on human souls . and what do predators do in all the settings , natural , political , online ? they all use disguise and it should n’t be beyond comprehension that the devil , if he existed , would use whichever cloak of invisibility was the most effective for the occasion . therefore , not seeing the devil or sensing his presence , proves absolutely nothing . for those who are interested , the material here comes from a book , hostage to the devil , by father malachi martin , a trained exorcist in the roman catholic tradition . fr malachi ’s material , featuring several cases of authentic demonic possession and their accompanying exorcisms in modern day america , was carefully vetted through use of tape recorders and reinforced later on by lengthy interviews with the participants in the exorcism process . — § — in 1906 in south africa , clara germana cele , age 16 , reportedly made a pact with the devil . as a result , her behavior suddenly took a bizarre turn for the worse . in august of that year , the startled nuns at the convent school where clara was a student witnessed her tearing at her clothes , growling like an animal , and engaging in conversation with unseen entities . nuns reported that the girl ’s skin would burn when sprinkled with holy water . she would lash out violently when crosses or other sacred objects entered her presence . she also reportedly developed clairvoyant powers and was able to describe personal details of other people ’s lives that she could n’t possibly have known ab out . the accounts of several nuns also reported that clara possessed the ability to speak and understand several different foreign languages to which she had never been exposed , including polish , german , french , and several others . it was said that clara had been imbued with superhuman strength as well , easily overpowering authority figures at the school when they attempted to restrain her . another seemingly far - fetched assertion from many witnesses was that clara began levitating up to five feet in the air on a regular basis , her clothes sticking to her body as if they too had managed to defy the laws of gravity . it was claimed that only after being sprinkled with holy water could she be brought back down , during which time she would also temporarily snap out of her possessed state . most outlandish of all were the claims that the young woman had the ability to transform into a sort of snakelike creature , her body becoming as flexible as rubber as she slithered across the floor . at one point she was said to have bitten a nun on the arm and left puncture marks like those of a serpent ’s fangs . ( see here ) note . this case history is not to be found in malachi martin ’s hostage to the devil . i have added it to the article as an afterthought , since it contains within it many of the typical features found in demonic possession . before you read any further , please watch this 2-minute video in spanish with english subtitles . warning . this article contains material that is deeply disturbing . those of sensitive disposition are advised to refrain from further reading . apart from the quoted extracts , randomly chosen among many to illustrate various aspect of possession or exorcism , i wish to make the following points : although the book deals only with cases in the catholic community , demonic possession is a universal phenomenon and has been noted and researched in countries all over the world . the possessor ( often referring to itself as “ the kingdom ” or in plural as “ we ” ) selects victims gripped in some spiritual , emotional and intellectual conflict with the accepted mores of family , society and church , inserting itself undetected into these fault lines and exploiting them with catastrophic consequences . loss of self identity , soul , or personality follows as a result . there is invariably an element of guilt on the part of the victim who has initially invited possession by his or her aberrant behavior and life style . in extreme cases , the possessed individual has actually made a formal request for possession in order to gain some advantage , e.g. , worldly wealth or fame . the process of expelling the possessing malignancy moves through identifiable stages . “ one of the most experienced exorcists i have known , ” malachi martin notes , “ who was in fact the mentor of the exorcist in the first case related in this book , gave names to the various general stages of an exorcism . these names reflect the general meaning or effect or intent of what is happening , but not the specific means used by the evil spirit or by the exorcist . conor , as i call him , spoke of six stages : presence , pretense , breakpoint , voice , clash , and expulsion . exorcism exacts practically intolerable toll on the priest in charge , not infrequently resulting in his death , at which point the junior helper must take over the task . demonic possession is not an isolated or freak phenomenon . it seems to be on the rise , especially in the united states . perhaps this has something to do with the demise of religious authority , the proliferation of satanist covens , child abuse and sacrifice , the prevalence and glorification of satanist elements in pop culture , and , finally , the wide acceptance and promotion of sexual perversion as a new norm . “ the incidence of exorcism , ” fr . martin begins by pointing out , “ has been on a steady rise . there has been a 750 percent increase in the number of exorcisms performed between the early 1960s and the mid-1970s . over the same period , there has been an alarming increase in the number of requested possessions – that is , cases in which the possessed formally request satan to possess them — in comparison to the cases of incurred possessions , which result from other sorts of activities of the possessed that facilitate possession . each year , some 800 to 1,300 major exorcisms and some thousands of minor exorcisms are performed . for experts in the field , this is a sobering barometer of the increase in known cases of possession . but it is still more sobering to realize how many more cases of possession can not be addressed at all . the thousands of letters i receive from people who are desperate for help — catholic , protestant , evangelical , and unchurched — are eloquent , anguished , and a steadily mounting testimony to the crisis . law officers , meanwhile , are increasingly confronted on every side by the incontrovertible signs of crimes committed in the course of ritualistic satanism , or as a grisly result of an individual ’s participation in such rituals . they are very often left out of the shrunken loop of expert advice and assistance . advice and assistance that was once routinely to be found . to those who are active in the field of exorcism , and who therefore acquire a greater than usual ability to uncover and recognize the marks of ritualistic satanism for what they are , it is clear that in many police precincts the satanist character of a crime is either relegated to the background or not mentioned at all — at least not in public reports . by and large , the police have no other choice . they have neither competence nor authority in the rarefied and dangerous field of satanist behavior . ” most of the above points were made on numerous occasions in mythology and folklore , e.g. , vampires , werewolves , and the tale of dr faustus adapted by marlowe and goethe . jesus christ was of course the grand exorcist , not only in the gadarene swine incident but his opus seems to me to have been focused on confronting the devil in judaism for which he paid with his life … the tale does not end there in my view but i leave these speculative elements to the reader . — § — the six stages of demonic possession from the moment the exorcist enters the room , a peculiar feeling seems to hang in the very air . from that moment in any genuine exorcism and onward through its duration , everyone in the room is aware of some alien presence . this indubitable sign of possession is as unexplainable and unmistakable as it is inescapable . all the signs of possession , however blatant or grotesque , however subtle or debatable , seem both to pale before and to be marshaled in the face of this presence . there is no sure physical trace of the presence , but everyone feels it . you have to experience it to know it ; you can not locate it spatially- beside or above or within the possessed , or over in the corner or under the bed or hovering in midair . in one sense , the presence is nowhere , and this magnifies the terror , because there is a presence , an other present . not a “ he ” or a “ she ” or an “ it . ” sometimes , you think that what is present is singular , sometimes plural . when it speaks , as the exorcism goes on , it will sometimes refer to itself as “ i ” and sometimes as “ we . ” this is reminiscent of the possessing entity in the gospel who , when asked his name by jesus , replied : “ i am legion . ” ‘ i am legion.’ invisible and intangible , the presence claws at the humanness of those gathered in the room . you can exercise logic and expel any mental image of it . you can say to yourself : “ i am only imagining this . careful ! do n’t panic ! ” and there may be a momentary relief . but then , after a time lag of bare seconds , the presence returns as an inaudible hiss in the brain , as a wordless threat to the self you are . its name and essence seem to be compounded of threat , to be only and intensely baleful , concentratedly intent on hate for hate ’s sake and on destruction for destruction ’s sake . — § — in the early stages of an exorcism , the evil spirit will make every attempt to “ hide behind ” the possessed , so to speak - to appear to be one and the same person and personality with its victim . this is the pretense . the first task of the priest is to break that pretense , to force the spirit to reveal itself openly as separate from the possessed - and to name itself , for all possessing spirits are called by a name that generally ( though not always ) has to do with the way that spirit works on its victim . as the exorcist sets about his task , the evil spirit may remain silent altogether ; or it may speak with the voice of the possessed , and use past experiences and recollections of the possessed . this is often done skillfully , using details no one but the possessed could know . it can be very disarming , even pitiful . it can make everyone , including the priest , feel that it is the priest who is the villain , subjecting an innocent person to terrible rigors . even the mannerisms and characteristics of the possessed are used by the spirit as its own camouflage . sometimes the exorcist can not shatter the pretense for days . but until he does , he can not bring matters to a head . if he fails to shatter it at all , he has lost . perhaps another exorcist replacing him will succeed . but he himself has been beaten . every exorcist learns during pretense that he is dealing with some force or power that is at times intensely cunning , sometimes supremely intelligent , and at other times capable of crass stupidity ( which makes one wonder further about the problem of singular or plural ) ; and it is both highly dangerous and terribly vulnerable . oddly , while this spirit or power or force knows some of the most secret and intimate details of the lives of everyone in the room , at the same time it also displays gaps in knowledge of things that may be happening at any given moment of the present . but the priest must not be lulled by small victories or take chances on hoped - for stupidities . he must be ready to have his own sins and blunders and weaknesses put into his mind or shouted in ugliness for all to hear . he must not make excuses for his past , or wither as even his loveliest memories are fingered by ultimate filth and contempt ; he must not be sidetracked in any way from his primary intention of freeing the possessed person before him . and he must at all costs avoid trading abuse or getting into any logical arguments with the possessed . the temptation to do so is more frequent than one might think , and must be regarded as a potentially fatal trap that can shatter not only the exorcism , but quite literally shatter the exorcist as well . accordingly , as the pretense begins to break down , the behavior of the possessed usually increases in violence and repulsiveness . it is as though an invisible manhole opens , and out of it pours the unmentionably inhuman and the humanly unacceptable . there is a stream of filth and unrestrained abuse , accompanied often by physical violence , writhing , gnashing of teeth , jumping around , sometimes physical attacks on the exorcist . — § — a new hallmark of the proceedings enters as the breakpoint nears , and ushers in one of the more subtle sufferings the exorcist must undergo : confusion . complete and dreadful confusion . rare is the exorcist who does not falter here for at least a moment , enmeshed in the peculiar pain of apparent contradiction of all sense . his ears seem to smell foul words . his eyes seem to hear offensive sounds and obscene screams . his nose seems to taste a high - decibel cacophony . each sense seems to be recording what another sense should be recording . each nerve and sinew of onlookers and participants becomes rigid as they strive for control . panic - the fear of being dissolved into insanity - runs in quick jabs through everyone there . all present experience this increasingly violent and confusing assault . but the exorcist is the one who rides the storm . he is the direct target of it all . the breakpoint is reached at that moment when the pretense has finally collapsed altogether . the voice of the possessed is no longer used by the spirit , though the new , strange voice may or may not issue from the mouth of the victim . in thomas wu ’s case , the alien voice did come from the possessed ’s mouth ; and that was why the police captain was so startled . the sound produced is often not even remotely like any human sound . at the breakpoint , for the first time , the spirit speaks of the possessed in the third person , as a separate being . for the first time , the possessing spirit acts personally and speaks of “ i ” or “ we , ” usually interchangeably , and of “ my ” and “ our ” or “ mine ” and “ ours . ” another very frequent sign that the breakpoint has been reached is the appearance of what father conor called the voice . the voice is an inordinately disturbing and humanly distressing babel . the first few syllables seem to be those of some word pronounced slowly and thickly - somewhat like a tape recording played at a subnormal speed . you are just straining to pick up the word and a layer of cold fear has already gripped you - you know this sound is alien . but your concentration is shattered and frustrated by an immediate gamut of echoes , of tiny , prickly voices echoing each syllable , screaming it , whispering it , laughing it , sneering it , groaning it , following it . they all hit your ear , while the alien voice is going on unhurriedly to the next syllable , which you then try to catch , while guessing at the first one you lost . by then , the tiny , jabbing voices have caught up with that second syllable ; and the voice has proceeded to the third syllable ; and so on . if the exorcism is to proceed , the voice must be silenced . it takes an enormous effort of will on the part of the exorcist , in direct confrontation with the alien will of evil , to silence the voice . the priest must get himself under control and challenge the spirit first to silence and then to identify itself intelligibly . as in all things to do with exorcism of evil spirit , the priest makes this challenge with his own will , but always in the name and by the authority of jesus and his church . to do so in his own name or by some fancied authority of his own would be to invite personal disaster . merely human power unadorned and without aid can not cope with the preternatural . ( it is to be remembered that when we speak of the preternatural , we are not speaking about what are known as poltergeists . ) usually , at this point and as the voice dies out , a tremendous pressure of an obscure kind affects the exorcist . this is the first and outermost edge of a direct and personal collision with the “ will of the kingdom , ” the clash . we all know from our personal experience that there can be no struggle of single personal wills without that felt and intuitive contact between two persons . there is a two - way communication that is as real as a conversation using words . the clash is the heart of a special and dreadful communication , the nucleus of this singular battle of wills between exorcist and evil spirit . — § — painful as it will be for him , the priest must look for the clash . he must provoke it . if he can not lock wills with the evil thing and force that thing to lock its will in opposition to his own , then again the exorcist is defeated . the issue between the two , the exorcist and the possessing spirit , is simple . will the totally antihuman invade and take over ? will it , noisome and merciless , seep over that narrow rim where the exorcist would hold his ground alone , and engulf him ? or will it , unwillingly , protestingly , under a duress greater than its single - track will , stop , identify itself , cede , retire , disappear , and be volatilized back into an unknown pit of being where no man wants to go ever ? even with all the pressure on him , and in fullest human agony , if the exorcist has got this far , he must press home . he has gained an advantage . he has already forced the evil spirit to come out on its own . if he has not been able to until now , he must finally force it to give its name . and then , some exorcists feel , the exorcist must pursue for as much information as he can . for in some peculiar way , as exorcists find , the more an evil spirit can be forced to reveal in the clash and its aftermath , the surer and easier will be the expulsion when that moment comes . to force as complete an identification as possible is perhaps a mark of domination of one will over another . it is of crucial interest to speculate about the violence provoked by exorcism - the physical and mental struggles that are so extreme they can bring on death . why would spirit battle so ? why not leave and waft off invisibly to someone or someplace else ? for spirit itself seems to suffer in these battles . time and again , in exorcism after exorcism , there occurs that curious thing to do with spirit and place , the strange puzzle mentioned previously in connection with the room chosen for the exorcism . when jesus expelled the unclean spirits , those spirits showed concern for where they might go . in record after record , as well as in several exorcisms recounted in this book , the possessing spirits wail in lament and questioning pain : “ where shall we go?”“we too have to possess our habitation.”“even the anointed one gave us a place with the swine.”“here . . . we ca n’t stay here any longer . ” evil spirit , having found a home with a consenting host , does not appear to give up its place easily . it claws and fights and deceives and even risks killing its host before it will be expelled . how violent the struggle probably depends on many things ; the intelligence of the spirit being dealt with and the degree of possession achieved over the victim are perhaps two one could speculate about . whatever determines the actual pitch of violence , once the exorcist has forced the invading spirit to identify itself , and sustained the first wordless bout of the clash , and then invoked its formal condemnation and expulsion by the exorcism rite , the immediate result is generally a struggle tortuous beyond / imagining , an open violence that leaves all subtlety behind . the person possessed is by now obviously aware in one way or another of what possessed him . frequently he becomes a true battleground for much of the remainder of the exorcism , enduring unbelievable punishment and strain . it is sometimes possible for the exorcist to appeal directly to the possessed person , urging him to use some part of his own will still free of the spirit ’s influence and control , and engage directly in the fight , aiding the exorcist . and at such moments no animal pinned helplessly to the ground struggles more pathetically against the drinking of its life ’s blood by a voracious and superior cruelty . the very nauseous character of the possessed person ’s appearance and behavior appears to be a sign of his desire for deliverance , a desperate sign of struggle , evidence of a revolt where once he had consented . increasingly what had possessed him is being forced into the open , all the while protesting its victim ’s revolt and its own expulsion . the violence of the contortions and the physical disfigurement of the possessed can reach a degree one would think he could not possibly withstand . the exorcist , too , comes in for full attack now . once cornered , the evil spirit seems able to call on a superior intelligence , and will try to lure the exorcist on to a field boobytrapped and mined with situations from which no human can extricate himself . any weakness in the religious faith that alone sustains the exorcist or any fatigue will allow the exorcist ’s mind to be flooded with a terrible light he can not fend off - a light that can burn the very roots of his reason and turn him emotionally into the most servile of slaves desperate to be liberated from all bodily life . these are only some of the dangers and traps that face every exorcist . his pain is physical , emotional , mental . he has to deal with what is eerie but not enthralling ; with something askew , but intelligently so ; with a quality that is upside down and inside out , but significantly so . the mordant traits of nightmare are there in full regalia , but this is no dream and permits him no thankful remission . he is attacked by a stench so powerful that many exorcists start vomiting uncontrollably . he is made to bear physical pain , and he feels anguish over his very soul . he is made to know he is touching the completely unclean , the totally unhuman . “ the totally unhuman ” ( click to expand ) all sense may suddenly seem nonsense . hopelessness is confirmed as the only hope . death and cruelty and contempt are normal . anything comely or beautiful is an illusion . nothing , it seems , was ever right in the world of man . here is an atmosphere as bizarre as bedlam . if , in spite of his emotions and his imagination and his body — all trapped at once in pain and anguish — if , in spite of all this , the will of the exorcist holds in the clash , what he does is to approach his final function in this situation as an authorized human witness for jesus . by no power of his , on account of no privilege of his own , he calls finally on the evil spirit to desist , to be dispossessed , to depart ! — and to leave the person possessed . and , if the exorcism is successful , this is what happens . the possession ends . all present become aware of a change around them . the sense of presence is totally , suddenly absent . sometimes there are receding voices or other noises , sometimes only dead silence . the recently possessed will wake up as if from a dream , a nightmare , a coma . sometimes he will remember much of what he has been through ; sometimes he will remember nothing at all . — § — many people could be demonically possessed without knowing it . here are two individuals who , in my opinion , might benefit from the ministrations of a good exorcist : is this woman demonically possessed ? who knows ? . . . but many have said so . ( click here for a spooky 2-minute video ) is this woman demonically possessed ? who knows ? . . . but many have thought so . apart from the demonic expression that disfigures her face , this woman preaches white genocide — the total destruction of the european race . what more do you have to do to qualify for demonic possession ? ( see here for more details on barbara spectre ’s psychopathy and compare the expression on her face with figure 1 of this illustration from a medical textbook on demonic possession ) . as i wrote in a recent email to lasha darkmoon : “ i feel that the entire tribe of judah is demonically possessed . they always have been for centuries . jesus made that point over and over again in his homilies . and clearly the jews’ works bear that out . they are now the devil ’s agents on earth to promote his policies and spread contagion into the body of the goyim . history bears me out on this . ” i will not quote dr darkmoon ’s response here . it is too long and would require a separate article of its own . suffice to say that she disagreed with me on several counts , though she accepted my general premise that demonic possession was an authentic and veridical phenomenon and not just a superstitious relic of the dark ages . continued in part 2 : the deceiver of the world , by lasha darkmoon lobro van helsing is a retired canadian academic who is constantly on the move and likes visiting strange places ; at present he is living in south east asia . 2 thoughts on “ demonic possession today ( part 1 ) ” franklin ryckaert says : november 19 , 2016 at 10:23 am “ … lobro van helsing is a retired canadian academic who is constantly on the move and likes visiting strange places ; at present he is living in south east asia … ” that sounds like “ our ” lobro of the commentariat of this website , but i thought he was of croatian descent and “ van helsing ” is a dutch or flemish name .
+1 interview 1226 – financial survival : the day after the ( s)election corbett 11/10/2016 at 5:15 pm bread and circuses a phrase used by a roman writer to deplore the declining heroism of romans after the roman republic ceased to exist and the roman empire began : “ two things only the people anxiously desire — bread and circuses . ” the government kept the roman populace happy by distributing free food and staging huge spectacles . so , ( s)election is part of the circuses … you should worry when the free food distribution increases .
+0 trump : ’sometimes you have to fuel the well’ - military ’more important’ than a balanced budget , ’we’ll get there’ - breitbart ian hanchett during an interview aired on thursday ’s “ hannity , ” on the fox news channel , president donald trump said , “ a balanced budget is fine , but sometimes you have to fuel the well in order to really get the economy going . and we have to take care of our military . our military is more important to me than a balanced budget , because we ’ll get there with a balanced budget . ” trump was asked [ relevant exchange begins around 7:00 ] how important a balanced budget is to him . he answered , “ so , a balanced budget is fine , but sometimes you have to fuel the well in order to really get the economy going . and we have to take care of our military . our military is more important to me than a balanced budget , because we ’ll get there with a balanced budget . but we have a military that ’s really depleted . and i ’m negotiating the price of airplanes , can you believe this ? i cut off hundreds of millions of dollars off one particular plane , hundreds of millions of dollars , in a short period of time . ” he added , “ i want a balanced budget eventually , but i want to have a strong military . to me , that ’s much more important than anything . ” follow ian hanchett on twitter @ianhanchett
+1 ankara to benefit from mosul operation if city avoids trap of sectarianism nan we d , 26 oct 2016 15:01 utc © sputnik/ hikmet durgun ankara will benefit from the mosul operation in case the city is not divided into sectarian areas after liberation , yasar yakis , turkey 's former minister of foreign affairs , told sputnik on the sidelines of the valdai discussion club in sochi . " benefits for ankara from mosul operation will depend on what will be done in mosul after isis [ daesh ] is cleared from there , whether it will be divided into six small pockets according to ethnic and confessional and sectarian divides . because there are turkmens there , but 60 percent of them are shia , 40 percent of turkmens are sunni , then there are also kurds , non - muslims , and arabs . so if six cantons are to be established there , then do we sow the seeds of the new conflict ? because it will not be a monolith composition ... we should not create new problems , " yakis said . he said that getting rid of sectarianism in this issues would be best for turkey . " if turkey can secure this and prevent shia militants from entering the center of the city , which is inhabited by sunnis , this would be the best gain for turkey , " yakis said . iraqi prime minister haider abadi announced the start of a military operation to recapture mosul from daesh , outlawed in russia , with the help of airstrikes by the us - led international coalition . according to local media , about 30,000 iraqi soldiers and 4,000 kurdish peshmerga fighters are taking part in the operation . turkey has repeatedly said it is willing to take part in the operation , though iraq has raised objections .
+1 treason : our banana republic exposed — bill holter iwb treason : our banana republic exposed — bill holter tweet hillary clinton is the queen of the new world order and the mainstream mockingbird media is colluding with the dnc and the clinton campaign to hide her documented crimes from the american people . js mineset ’s bill holter is back to help document the collapse . bill says that the united states is becoming a banana republic right before our eyes . as donald trump recently stated , “ the clinton machine is at the center of this power structure . we ’ve seen this firsthand with the wikileaks documents in which hillary clinton meets in secret , with international banks to plot the destruction of u.s. sovereignty . the clintons are criminals . ” and still , the cia mockingbird media targetstrump while giving clinton a free pass . the fix is in .
+1 the us may soon face an apocalyptic seismic event starkman today , an ever increasing number of earthquakes in the united states may soon bring the country to ruin , as geologists , journalists and politicians say . via usualroutine the university of washington has already presented seismological charts showing a gigantic geological rift that stretches across the central states of the us from north to south , and marks the region of a possible split of the north america continent in two . as it has been reported by geologists , for the first time this anomaly was discovered in 1960 ’s , when scientists found a strange underground rupture along the lake superior that would run south . the discovery surprised american scientists back then since there were no mountains in that area . following studies showed that this anomaly was stretching across the whole continent , resembling in its form and shape the giant cracks in the east of africa . it ’s been reported that the tectonic plate beneath the southeastern regions of the united states is being fragmented by the layers of earth above it , which may be the cause of future earthquakes in the washington area and other cities on the east coast , where basically no preconditions for the emergence of aftershocks , according to live science . according to berk biryol from the university of north carolina , in recent years the washington area and the areas around other large cities in the east of the country faced a pretty intense seismic activity , which at first puzzled seismologists since the east of the country is residing on a stable continental crust that must prevent any earthquake from occurring . in recent years , the relationship between fracturing and the mounting number of earthquakes has been brought to light by the us geological survey ( usgs ) , that would note that the number of earthquakes in the us has increased drastically over the last six years . in fact , it expects an abrupt increase in the number of seismic events in some regions of the country where fracturing is being used including oklahoma , california , texas , kansas , colorado , ohio , alabama and new mexico . but the split in the united states is not being predicted by the usgs alone , since the recent seismic political events aggravated the growing discord within the us society in the wake of the us presidential campaign . western journalists are sounding the alarm – america ’s youth is now fascinated with the concepts of socialism and communism . according to the poll conducted by the victims of communism memorial foundation ( voc ) , a half of all americans under 35 years would love to be represented by a socialist president . politicians who profess capitalist views doonly receive the support of 42 % of the younger american generation . this explains the spectacular rise of dnc ’s bernie sanders which would most certainly become the next president , if hillary did n’t use her wealth and connections to replace him as the sole democratic candidate . the german newspaper tagesspiegel points out that this election campaign “ undermines the belief that most americans share the idea about living in a democratic and constitutional state . ” the newspaper notes that there ’s been a lot of speculations about the possible armed resistance to the “ us corrupt government system ” lately , no matter how unlikely the future post - election violence may look now . the latest poll conducted by usa today and suffolk university shows that only 40 % of potential voters strongly believe in the peaceful transfer of power after the us presidential elections . with six in ten viewing the candidates unfavorably , clinton andtrump are the two most unpopular presidential candidates in abc / post polls dating to the 1984 election . this abc news / washington post poll was conducted by landline and cellular telephone in english and spanish , among a random national sample of 1,165 likely voters . the level of antipathy towards the two main presidential candidates in terms of party affiliation has also been at staggering level , with 97 % of trump supporters despising hillary clinton and 95 % of hillary ’s loathing the republican presidential candidate . it ’s no wonder that there ’s been a rapidly increasing number of petitions on the separation of various states , which refer to the declaration of independence , where the founding fathers explicitly stated that “ any form of government becomes destructive of these ends , it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it ” to date , the petitions on the separation from the us have been filled by a total of 40 states . texas that is viewed as the last bastion of conservatism has already gathered more than 100 thousand signatures under its petition for obtaining the status of an independent state . behind it are louisiana , florida , north carolina , alabama , georgia and tennessee . therefore , aside from the major geological rift that may soon hit the us , there ’s a deep social and political rift to be observed , which may , in case of loss of all confidence in the existing political system result in a major outbreak of violence . earth has already witnessed the existence of two supercontinent – rodinia and pangaea . first , the former continent formed about 800 million years ago , until the latter one appeared some 600 million years later . scientists expect that in the future a new supercontinent will be formed that has it own name already – amasia . this continent will be formed out of the modern north america and asia , notes the nature . who knows , maybe before amasia even emerges we will witness a new state or even two that would replace the us ?
+1 when duterte met abe peter lee as i discuss in my most recent piece for asia times , duterte v. united states : the empire slaps back , i find the us tunnel vision concerning asian attitudes toward engagement with china puzzling . the big story in asia imo is the smaller powers trying to integrate with the prc economically while keeping it at arms’ length militarily , but that does n’t seem to drive the coverage i see . perhaps as a function of that “ salary depends on not understanding ” mark twain crack , us diplos / generals / journos / wonks seem determined to ignore the centripetal forces at play in asia with china at their heart . there ’s also a gigantic blind spot in us coverage of the philippines . if you read the papes , everybody in the philippines is staring anxiously out at the south china sea for “ chizilla ” to emerge and wreak havoc on a jewel of pacific democracy . actually , if you read my piece , you ’ll find that the forces ravaging the philippines are poverty , inequality , social division , corruption , and the occasional megatyphoon and i have an idea the reason that fidel ramos championed duterte is because he saw him as the one candidate who would focus on domestic issues and not pivot - friendly bullsh*t . the us story is that the threat of “ china rising ” must be contained militarily , its economic reach reduced , and asia should look for a “ high standards ” trade bloc , tpp , for its growth story instead of canoodling with the chicoms . however , i think the ccp read its george kennan and realized the containment strategy worked on the ussr because the soviets thought , incorrectly , they could cut it as an autarky . deng knew different , enabled inward and outward investment , and now we ’re looking at not only asia but much of the world anxious at how chinese trouble will play out in their own economies . in my opinion , the us was only able to establish “ china threat ” as the top element on the asian fp agenda temporarily , with considerable effort , and only by the active support of pro - us government officials in japan and the philippines who were willing to assist in engineering polarizing provocations with the prc around the senkakus and scarborough shoal . now the economic logic of asian integration i.e. hoovering up the cash the prc is willing to throw at the region is reasserting itself . thailand , malaysia , myanmar , vietnam , and now the philippines are showing via engagement with china that their participation in any us crusade is conditional and equivocal . these countries are not democratic and human rights garden spots , so i guess the us could summon up some “ birds of a feather ” grumbling about why the jefes of these regimes are willing to cozy up to dictators instead of joining the crusade to contain , isolate , and degrade the prc regime ( and heroically put their own economic well - being at risk at the same time ) . and then there ’s this guy : that ’s shinzo abe making nice with rodrigo duterte during duterte ’s recent visit to japan . actually , making the “ iron fist ” , the symbol of duterte ’s , shall we say , rather harsh vision of how to make philippine democracy do the right thing “ or i ’ll punch the crap outta you . or worse . ” i just love this picture . i do n’t recall seeing it in us coverage of duterte ’s foray into japan . us tunnel vision was in full force again , focused on the fact that duterte said he wanted foreign militaries a.k.a . the us outta the philippines in two years . but the big story was , to paraphrase sherlock holmes , “ the dog that did n’t snarl . ” japan . abe reciprocated duterte ’s outreached fist , one might say , with his own , and competed with the prc in offering various goodies to the philippines . abe ’s japan , as i comment in my asia times piece , has a rather multi - jointed agenda . japan was in a pretty solid space , securitywise , if it was content to remain a security ward of the united states under the pacifist constitution . but ideology , opportunity , and necessity are driving japan back into asia as a security actor . abe , a revisionist nationalist ( i.e. he rejects the victor ’s justice narrative of world war ii that japan did wrong and deserved to be militarily neutered ) , is piggybacking on the pivot to enable japan ’s re - emergence as a full - fledged asian power with an extensive network of relationships cum allies in east and south asia . china ’s rise is an indispensable element in japan ’s rise . the , let ’s face it , hulking and goonish face of prc regional engagement promotes a search for capable friends , and most asian countries are pretty happy to have japan in their corner — and not too upset about japan ’s return to the fray as a full - fledged military power . second , after the united states signed on to the “ china threat ” narrative as the driver for its asia pivot ( something that kurt campbell , hillary clinton , and seiji maehara cahooted on in 2010 ) , the us abandoned the honest broker position it had claimed in previous decades and lined up behind japan and provided material , operational , and diplomatic support for the expansion of japan ’s military footprint in asia . however , i believe that japanese strategists regard us anti - china resolve as a wasting asset , not just subject to the vagaries of american politics and conflicting economic / fiscal / trade priorities that undercut the containment strategy , but also because the ineluctable logic of asian growth is sidelining the us as hegemon of the anti - china alliance . there is likely to come a day when the us faces its suez moment and admits it ’s not ready to fight a war in the west pacific to protect us interests and sustain us prestige . that day is unlikely to come under the clinton administration — which has preemptively committed itself to a policy of sustaining us global pre - eminence through the application of military force as needed — and that , depending on your appetite for combat with the chicoms 8000 miles from home , is either a good or bad thing . but the day will probably come and if and when it does , japan does not want to be standing there helplessly holding its daikon ( as it did when nixon went to china ) . instead , it ’s going to be militarily strong , probably with a israel - style covert nuclear weapons capability it will discretely brandish , and with a strong regional network of friends and allies in east asia . i think a japan - centric security regime facing china but complemented by regional economic integration is sustainable ; i think a us - centric system based on forestalling economic integration and keeping allies submissive by maintaining a nuclear “ umbrella ” a.k.a . monopoly is not . we may de facto be heading towards such a regime , even as the clinton administration continues its hypernationalist bluster . there ’s the nibbling away at the pivot by the smaller and weaker allies , there ’s abe with duterte and , if i ’m reading paul krugman ’s tea leaves correctly , it appears that president clinton may give up on tpp as an obama pipe dream . not to say peace and reduced tensions are in the offing for east asia ; particularly , if i was duterte i ’d watch my back as the clinton administration will probably seek to punish his lese majeste toward the united states much more than the lame - duck obama administration . and , i imagine the u.s. navy will demand more of its precious fonops in order to provoke the chinese , hopefully to the point of a confrontation that feeds the security polarization narrative and fattens its budget . but the general trend seems to be away from hillary clinton ’s goal of “ america ’s pacific century ” toward “ the pacific ’s pacific century ” and i think that ’s a pretty good thing . ( reprinted from china matters by permission of author or representative )
+1 unprincipled wapo editors damned comey critics – now join them washingtonsblog from the first piece headlined james comey is damaging our democracy : first , the fbi director , james b. comey , put himself enthusiastically forward as the arbiter of not only whether to prosecute a criminal case — which is not the job of the fbi — but also best practices in the handling of email and other matters . now , he has chosen personally to restrike the balance between transparency and fairness , departing from the department ’s traditions . from the second piece by notorious mud - slinger dana milbank : i ’ve long believed in comey ’s integrity . but if he does n’t step forward and explain his october surprise , he may inadvertently wind up interfering in the political process — perhaps even reversing the outcome of a presidential election — in a way that would have made j. edgar hoover gape . and the third strike : fbi director james b. comey ’s stunning announcement that he has directed investigators to begin reviewing new evidence in the clinton email investigation was yet another troubling violation of long - standing justice department rules or precedent , conduct that raises serious questions about his judgment and ability to serve as the nation ’s chief investigative official . back to the july 7 editorial : “ it appears damage is being done to the rule of law , ” mr. ryan said . he ’s right , but the fbi director is n’t doing the damage . the wreckers are those who cast baseless aspersions on u.s. law enforcement in the service of their partisan goals . i for one believe that comey was wrong in july and is right today . he should have pressed for charges against clinton early on . using a “ secret ” private email server for confidential state business is not legal and would have been out of bounds for anyone else . now possible new evidence was found and must be investigated . it is not comey ’s job to ask if the timing of a renewed investigation is convenient for the potential culprit . he also had to inform congress because he had reasonably promised to do so . ( he also needed to save his ass before anyone else in his department talked to the media . ) the so called “ election ” of a u.s. president is always a sorry show . but this season ’s version has at least some amusing moments . seeing the hypocrites at fred hyatt ’s funny pages ™ squirm is one of them . it makes me smirk .
+1 fbi “ insurrection ” to scuttle director , rig election gordon duff , senior editor by gordon duff , senior editor on november 1 , 2016 by gordon duff , senior editor and ian greenhalgh , managing editor john f. kennedy memorably stated that he was going to smash the cia into ‘ a thousand pieces’ , he had very good reasons for doing so ; half a century later , it can reasonably be assumed that similar phrases are being darkly muttered within the corridors of power about the fbi . president george w. bush “ lost ” 22 million emails , many involving criminal investigations , and the fbi has said nothing , though the emails involved the white house used an illegal private server owned by the republican party for official government business . the fbi is out to get hillary clinton , it ’s not director comey , obama put him in there to clean up the mess , they ’ve been after obama for 8 years . the ‘ birther’ hoax began , no we are n’t kidding , inside the fbi – it was the fbi that originated the wild rumour that hillary clinton murdered vince foster and that president obama is not only a muslim but many in the fbi actually say he ’s the anti - christ . legal analyst paul callan of cnn just published the following : lately , the fbi , while acting without the customary supervision of the justice department , appears to be a runaway train on a collision course with the concept of fairness in next week ’s presidential election . democratic senator harry reid and former white house ethics counsel richard painter have accused fbi director james comey of violating the hatch act by illegally using his office to influence the election . while the claim of a hatch act violation is a stretch , the appointment of an independent prosecutor and the replacement of comey are nonetheless urgently required , if not outright overdue . the tangled relationship between the clintons and attorney general loretta lynch should have prompted appointment of an independent special prosecutor long ago .. here ’s what callan knew but was n’t able to write . the same informants that went to callan also came to us and what they had to say was frightening . here is how it began ; an fbi insurrection and this is the exact term used by sources deep inside the fbi cabal , an fbi insurrection against , comey , hillary clinton and obama can no longer be safely ignored . this is why senator harry reid has called for a criminal investigation of the fbi for violation of the hatch act . the fbi , and this is n’t comey , it is the rank and file , the insurrectionist rank and file , a very powerful organisation that includes case managers , deputy directors that run not only counter - terrorism but financial crimes as well have not only targeted what they see to be dangerous liberal and progressive leaders , including of course the american president , but have continually protected criminals from prosecution as well . those they have protected , possibly including names like adelson , trump and romney , are funding moves against the us government , moves against american foreign policy and may well actually be funding recognised terror organisations as well , we have been specifically told this by sources within the fbi . this insurrectional group within the fbi , which we are told includes the majority of fbi agents , has little idea what they have gotten into , some are aware they are taking orders from the shadowy federalist society , that ‘ right - wing conspiracy’ hillary clinton referred to so many years ago as trying to bring down her husband ’s presidency , but it goes deeper , it gets scarier ; it is n’t just ‘ birthers’ . the public face of this is blocked court appointments and a government in paralysis , but it ’s far deeper and far more threatening , it all became possible when two branches of government fell under the control of organised crime . it took a five / four rigged supreme court and a rigged election in 2000 , covered up by the fbi , to subvert for all times the independence of america ’s legislature . rigged by richard mellon scaife , funded by sheldon adelson , a cabal calling themselves ‘ neocons’ , in reality a front for organised crime , reapportioned congressional districts across the us in clear violation of equal protection provisions of the constitution and backed by five mob - controlled members of the supreme court , bolstered by vote flipping software from the cia , control of the legislative / investigative branch of government was permanently placed in the hands of a minority , destroying any hope of separation of powers and undermining all constitutional protections . any hope of americans influencing their own destiny disappeared with a rigged legislature running endless witch hunts and a mob - controlled supreme court backing them up . making it worse , so much worse , was the creation of a massive security bureaucracy , the department of homeland security , laws authorising torture and illegal surveillance and the destruction of the fbi . no public scandal can be investigated , no regulation enforced , no - one is left to speak up , no - one is safe from illegal arrest and imprisonment , a nightmare from the pages of kafka become reality , all this has become clear in the last few days . when a prominent us senator calls for the prosecution of america ’s national police force , is it perhaps time to take note ? there was a reason the constitution prohibited the creation of the national police force , just as the constitution prohibited the creation of a central bank ; there is no mechanism capable of controlling a central bank , as the failures of the federal reserve board and a cursory study of american history since 1913 will establish . similarly , no provision was established within the constitution to regulate or oversee a national police force , it did n’t take long for the fbi to become the cheka within a short period after it ’s creation , j. edgar hoover , turned ‘ the bureau’ into a monstrosity blackmailing politicians and cosying up to crime figures while hoover ’s fbi chased ‘ commies’ both real and imaginary , it protected not only the mafia but powerful international crime cartels as well , becoming the real ‘ murder inc.’ taxpayer financed strong - arm thugs supported by a disinformation campaign . hoover gained control of the press almost immediately , keeping files on his press enemies , threatening and blackmailing ; some of this was to protect his own secrets – mob ties and his notorious penchant for sexual deviance , now long in the public domain , but it went further – it was all about power . ‘ mary’ hoover liked to dress as a woman and was infamously covertly photographed along with his longtime companion and lover clyde tolson in flagrante delicto ; those photographs came into the possession of mob kingpin meyer lansky , thus ensnaring hoover , and by extension the entire fbi in a dangerous marriage with the mob . there is no evidence they ever got divorced , though from time to time the relationship may have been somewhat rocky . simply put , given these facts , any sense of surprise at fbi misconduct or calls for investigating or even disbanding the fbi , should be no surprise to anyone . nearly every current television series that features scenarios involving the fbi invariably focuses on fbi corruption , the fbi ’s illegal involvement in politics and gross incompetence . sit at a table and have lunch with the fbi , it can go one of two ways – you can have brilliant , dedicated and relentless law enforcement officers who complain about being shackled by a corrupt bureaucracy , or like as not , a pack of delusional nutcases mouthing wild conspiracy theories and ranting about dangerous liberals ; neither group , though widely divergent , make a case for the survival of the fbi . then when you realise the dept . of homeland security is entirely composed of conspiracy nutcases and other agencies are worse , it becomes clear that harry reid ’s demand to clean up the fbi is far from enough .
+0 job growth loses steam as u.s. adds 98,000 in march - the new york times nelson d. schwartz looking for a trump bump in the economy ? keep waiting . after two months of stellar job creation that convinced administration officials that president trump ’s policies were paying off immediately , employers pulled back sharply on hiring in march . the economy added 98 , 000 jobs , the labor department reported friday , fewer than half the monthly number for january and february . the report contained some notable good news : the unemployment rate fell to 4 . 5 percent , the lowest level in almost a decade and a milestone in the long road back from the great recession . the rate was 4 . 7 percent in february . wages also continued to rise . but the disappointing number of new jobs was jarring for the administration , and well below what economists had expected . it comes as the stock market surge , which followed the november election , subsides and amid signs that economic growth in the year ’s first quarter proves weak . economic perceptions , as well , may not be playing out in reality . sentiment among consumers and businesses rose after mr. trump ’s election , but so far , it has not been matched by a comparable increase in spending by either group . “ we ’ve given up on waiting for hard data to improve , ” said rob martin , an economist at barclays . “ it ’s been five months since confidence increased . if consumption were going to improve , it would have already . ” industries that mr. trump emphasized in his campaign — particularly manufacturing — continued to add jobs last month , but at a slower pace . payrolls in the retail sector , meanwhile , declined further , shedding tens of thousands of jobs . the response from the white house , which crowed last month after more than 200 , 000 jobs were produced in mr. trump ’s first full month in office , was muted friday . gary d. cohn , the former goldman sachs executive who is director of the white house ’s national economic council , emphasized the decline in the unemployment rate . “ when you look at the jobs report as a whole , i think there ’s an awful lot of good news in here , ” he told fox business network . congressional democrats took a dimmer view . also watching closely are the policy makers of the federal reserve , which has begun to reel in its stimulus . it raised interest rates last month and said it planned to do so twice more this year . but signs of a sluggish economy could affect how quickly the central bank moves . “ this raises the stakes for the april report , ” said joshua shapiro , chief united states economist at mfr , a research firm . “ you need to see things pick up in april , or else march wo n’t look like aberration . ” the market reaction , in any case , was sanguine , with stocks essentially flat for the day . barclays has said it expects the economy to actually slow in the first half of 2017 , before rebounding modestly in the second half . “ given this data today , we see downside risk in our already soft expectations for the first half , ” mr. martin said . the consensus view on wall street is that the economy expanded at an annual rate of 1 percent last quarter , with the pace of growth in the current second quarter rising to 3 . 5 percent . the march report represents a snapshot of the economy , not an oil painting . and snow and cold weather in many parts of the country clearly took a toll on the construction sector , which barely grew after gaining a total of more than 90 , 000 jobs in january and february . “ january and february were abnormally warm , so they were pumped up , and you had some payback in march exacerbated by the harsh weather , ” mr. shapiro said . on capitol hill , republicans acknowledged a view of the report . “ the economy clearly should be generating higher job growth , ” said representative pat tiberi , an ohio republican who is chairman of the joint economic committee . “ however , the unemployment rate fell to the lowest rate since before the recession . ” the top democrat on the committee , senator martin heinrich of new mexico , ignored the new jobless rate and focused instead on the disappointing payroll gain . “ today ’s jobs numbers show there are still challenges ahead that this administration must address , ” mr. heinrich said . “ president trump promised that he would be ‘ the greatest jobs producer that god ever created.’ democrats on the joint economic committee will hold him to this promise . ” last month , when february ’s payroll gain turned out to be much better than expected , sean spicer , the white house press secretary , claimed credit for mr. trump . mr. spicer called the job creation a result of “ the surge in economic confidence and optimism that has been inspired since his election . ” part of the problem for the administration is that its legislative accomplishments in the first hundred days are falling far short of the expectations — notably , for tax cuts and infrastructure spending — since the election . whether or not they support mr. trump , mainstream economists say it will take many months for policy shifts in washington to move a economy with 153 million workers . what is more , the tepid numbers for march mask pockets of strength . for example , a few sectors like professional and business services are holding up well , adding 56 , 000 jobs last month . hyland , a business software designer in westlake , ohio , plans to hire at least 300 people this year , bill priemer , its chief executive , said . that is a 15 percent increase in head count at the company , and it is a sign of just how quickly demand is growing for new technologies like content management , one of hyland ’s specialties . “ we are growing faster than the economy and the enterprise software sector overall , ” mr. priemer said . “ digital transformation is a big buzzword , but it ’s just fancy terminology to describe how business can use technology to streamline their operations . ” on the other hand , new technologies are upending venerable industries like retailing , as consumers shift to shopping online and department stores close . the retail sector lost almost 30 , 000 jobs last month , after a decline of about 31 , 000 in february . the headline numbers for hiring and the unemployment rate are derived from separate surveys by the bureau of labor statistics , one of establishments , the other of households . although the two tends to converge over time , they can vary widely from month to month , and march was one of those times . so while businesses showed an anemic gain of 98 , 000 jobs in terms of payrolls , households reported a 472 , 000 increase in employment , without any fall in labor participation . that explains why the unemployment rate could fall by 0 . 2 of a percentage point , even as the number for job creation was far short of expectations . “ i think the headline number was clearly impacted by the weather , ” said michelle meyer , head of united states economics at bank of america merrill lynch . but at some point she said , rosy economic expectations are likely to catch up with a more sober reality . “ sentiment surveys moved sharply higher after the election on expectations of policies and tax reform , ” she added . “ so far , that has n’t happened , and the big question is whether confidence can remain as strong . ”
+1 video : student knocks out classmate who viciously assaulted teacher wilmot proviso protester pies ex - nba mayor … not so funny when mayor brutally evens the score that ’s when the kid in the red hoodie hit her right in the face . the teacher , stunned , stepped back and eventually left the room . thankfully , though , another kid leaped in and taught the red hoodie punk a lesson . the third student took mr. red hoodie to the ground in one of those “ only two hits , me hitting you and you hitting the floor ” kind of fights . “ watch the f * * * out , you just hit the f***ing teacher ! ” the third student said . “ chill your s * * * , you just hit the f***ing teacher , you do n’t f***ing do that . who the f * * * do you think you are ? ” advertisement - story continues below here ’s the video of the sick encounter ( warning : there is a lot of bad language involved . obviously not safe for work , and viewer discretion is advised ): it may have been brutal , but the red - hoodied punk had it coming to him . after all , what kind of sick country are we in when it ’s considered ok to beat up your teacher ? however , at least one student had some sense — and managed to knock it into the punk , quite literally . advertisement - story continues below
+1 muslims are kidnapping white girls and forcing them into sex slavery , says uk children 's charity walid shoebat print islam and sex slavery are like peanut butter and jelly - you always find the one next to the other . muslims kidnapping vulnerable white girls in the uk and forcing them to be sex slaves has reached an epidemic level , according to a recent report from the uk charity barnados . they say that muslims are setting up fake businesses , primarily car washes , when , in reality , they are brothels and transit houses for these kidnapped girls : barnardo ’s claims girls are being ferried from one unit to another as sex slaves for kurds[s ] . it suggests white british girls on the run from the care system in hartlepool , stockton - on - tees and middlesbrough are being targeted . the report said : “ there were connections between people that work in car washes and the sexual exploitation of children on teesside . … officers on the immigration - led operation found beds at one . it was suggested staff were living on the premises . cleveland police said : “ it was not confirmed that child sexual exploitation had taken place although enquiries were conducted . ” ( source ) this is a sad and sickening picture of what the uk has become . once one of the safest places in the west , it has allowed itself to become little more than a third - world cesspool , where its own women are being sold like slaves in the muslim bazaars of old , and the government refuses to do its job to stop it , instead allowing it to continue and trying to stop those who want to put a stop to it . article reposted with permission from shoebat.com * article by andrew bieszad
+0 new york city ballet savors the city of light - the new york times roslyn sulcas paris — on saturday , the new york city ballet will wrap up a season at théâtre du châtelet here , the company ’s longest international tour to one city since 1976 . city ballet was presented by les etés de la danse , an annual summer festival that brings dance companies — often american ones — to the french capital . “ i spent a lot of time here with balanchine , listening to him talk about his experiences in paris , ” said peter martins , the company ’s ballet master in chief , referring to george balanchine , the of city ballet , whose groundbreaking choreography forms the backbone of the company ’s repertory . “ balanchine did n’t get good reviews here they liked jerry robbins , and balanchine knew that , ” mr. martins added . “ so our first week was all balanchine because i wanted to say , this choreographer is not only arguably the greatest choreographer in history , but our choreographer . ” the logistics are impressive : 150 people came from new york , including 94 dancers an additional 60 board members and patrons came for the opening and a gala dinner . four sea freight containers were sent , containing costumes , scenery , props , lighting booms , physical therapy equipment , orchestra music and stage management supplies . ( these include floor tape , tissues , ammonia , mops , sharpies , bandages and altoids . ) houses have been full , critics have been fulsome , and audiences rapturously appreciative . meanwhile , the dancers have been enjoying parisian life , sightseeing on their days off , hanging out in cafes and occasionally proposing marriage . here are some snapshots of city ballet in paris , and edited excerpts from conversations with the dancers . justin peck , a soloist with city ballet as well as its resident choreographer , came to paris a month earlier than his colleagues to work with the paris opera ballet . his “ entre chien et loup ” for paris opera has been running at the same time as the city ballet season . “ it ’s my first experience working in europe , and it has been so nice to be living here and not feel so much like a tourist , ” mr. peck said over a coffee on monday . “ i stayed in the marais , which was great because i could walk to work every day . sometimes i did class with the paris opera ballet , other times i ’d warm up by myself and listen to my music to get into the right head space . “ basically in any off time , i ’ve tried to eat my way through paris . i ’d go with [ the choreographer ] bill forsythe , who was also working at the opera , to this great french place near the palais garnier , and i have a favorite new wave place . ” he added : “ the picasso and rodin museums are my favorites , but it ’s crazy , because i ’ve been here for so long , and i keep thinking i ’m going to get to things . now it ’s the last week , and there is so much i still have n’t done . ” dancing at châtelet was a homecoming for robert fairchild , a city ballet principal who starred in christopher wheeldon ’s production of “ an american in paris , ” which appeared at the châtelet in 2014 before opening on broadway in april 2015 . “ the first day , after class , we ran over to the stage , and i got the chills seeing that house again , ” said mr. fairchild , who left the show in march . “ but i ’ve tried not to compare the experiences . one was making a broadway show here we were in the theater all day long , and you only went out to get a sandwich . this time has been more about living here and doing things in paris . it ’s nice to be here with tiler [ peck , mr. fairchild ’s wife , also a city ballet principal ] . we also went back to a lovely restaurant at the top of the musée du quai branly , because after i proposed we had gone there for dinner , but we were so tired that we were falling asleep at the table . it was good to go back there and be awake this time ! ” “ i feel almost parisian by now ! ” ms hyltin said after company class on monday . “ i ��m on the metro , i know where i ’m going , i ’m practically a local . i go for lunch every day to one place , because i love their . this one is so big that i keep a third of it to eat just before the show . ” ms. hyltin said that the rehearsal schedule was as intensive as it is in new york , partly because the company is preparing for its annual summer season in saratoga springs , immediately after the paris tour . she has performed almost every night , but has made the most of company days off . “ i ’ve been up the eiffel tower to the musée d’orsay the rodin museum a great architectural museum , cité de l’architecture et du patrimoine and to twice , ” she said , adding that she loved the rodin especially , “ looking at the musculature and elegance of those sculptures . it really hit me how rich the culture is here everywhere you look there is history . ” mr. martins does n’t teach company class every day , but when he does , there is always a turnout of dancers , and on tuesday morning , almost 90 bodies were crammed into the studio space at théâtre de la ville , where the dancers do their daily class and rehearse . ( it ’s across the plaza from châtelet . ) mr. martins gives instructions , indicating steps by motioning silently with his hands the dancers seem to pick it up by osmosis or telepathy . unusual rhythmic accents and quick differences in dynamics ( from fast to slow , sharp to soft ) give some clues about why the city ballet style is so specific to this company . the dancers worked with concentration , finishing with a partnering sequence . “ i notice how hard you work , ” mr. martins told a corps de ballet dancer after the class . “ i always notice . ” silas farley , a corps de ballet dancer , proposed to cassia wilson , a dancer with ballet austin , on sunday . ( she accepted . ) on monday , mr. farley recounted the story . “ cassia ’s favorite movie is ‘ funny face,’ and her sister suggested that i propose at the château de la reine blanche , which is in it . i did n’t tell her where we were going , and we took the train out there . it was picture perfect , sunny , blue sky , blue lake , swans . we had lunch there , and at one point i told our waiter , i ’m going to propose , please take my phone and video it . then i got down on one knee in front of the chateau and asked cassia to marry me . the waiter got it perfectly he turned out to be a wedding photographer in his spare time ! ” indiana woodward , a corps dancer , is half french and came to paris to stay with her father during every school break while growing up . she said she had always dreamed of performing with city ballet for her french family . “ my face hurt from smiling after the first show i danced here , ” she said . “ and i ’m staying at home , in my room ! ” ms. woodward said she had taken her city ballet friends to all her top paris spots — the jardin du luxembourg , a small park at the top of montmartre , the banks of seine — and handed out “ a giant list of vintage shops . ” paris , she added , feels more relaxed than new york . “ people sit around having a coffee . you take that for granted when you are here . ” craig hall , a soloist , is retiring this season and performing some of his last shows in paris , although he will remain with the company as a ballet master . “ it ’s a really great way to end off , ” he said , as he , lauren lovette and brittany pollack set off for the île in search of the famed berthillon ice cream . ms. lovette , a principal , said that she had visited the normandy war memorial on an off day , and had been very moved at the sight of thousands of graves . “ it ’s part of our history too , ” she added . she had a more upbeat excursion to the champagne region to visit ruinart , which supplies the bubbly stuff to city ballet . “ they gave us an amazing vintage champagne to try , then more over lunch , ” she said . “ probably not so wise of us , but we figured , we ’re in france ! ”
+1 pee wee football team banned from league after letting grown man play in disguise kim smith lifesize noah ’s ark is massive success despite athiests’ predictions league officials removed the unidentified 19-year - old from the game , and the rhode island pre - teen football league removed the team from the league indefinitely . team founder alexandra diaz said she was embarrassed by the act . she also said that she had dismissed the coach in question . “ we moved very , very quickly , ” she told wpri monday . advertisement - story continues below “ my organization does n’t tolerate things like that , ” diaz said . “ we are very concerned with children ’s safety . ” here 's the picture of the adult who was snuck into a game of 13 year olds by the coach of a rhode island youth football team . pic.twitter.com/gthfvjhsnp — toucher and rich ( @toucherandrich ) october 25 , 2016 the buccaneers’ junior varsity and cheerleaders have also been dismissed from the league . nelson pedro , vice president of the league , said the league did n’t want to come to that decision but that it was necessary for the safety of the other teams and players . advertisement - story continues below
+1 deepwater horizon continues to impact public health admin deepwater horizon continues to impact public health deepwater horizon continues to impact public health by 1 135 it ’s hard to believe that the deepwater horizon incident , which discharged over 200 million gallons of oil into the gulf of mexico , happened six years ago . what ’s not hard to believe is that the environmental health implications of the spill are stubbornly lingering . gulf residents of variety of species are paying a high price for it — so high that litigation against bp for its role in the spill , officially deemed “ negligent , ” is likely to continue for decades as people fight to get help with ongoing medical expenses . last year , the national oceanic and atmospheric administration announced that the spill was linked to an uptick in dolphin deaths , illustrating that this unprecedented release of petroleum products in the gulf had a lasting health impact for animals . similarly , abnormalities in heart development among fish have also been connected to deepwater horizon exposure . part of the problem is that sediments remain coated in oil and sludge . because it was impossible to clean up every drop of crude from the gulf , the oil that settled to the bottom continues to interfere with the embryonic development of a range of fish species . but humans are n’t doing too well either . in the aftermath of the spill , people were exposed both to crude petroleum and to corexit , a chemical dispersant used in unprecedented volumes during the cleanup . subsequent research has shown that in addition to having some hazardous health effects on its own , the combination of corexit and the type of crude spilled during the deepwater horizon incident packs a hefty punch for marine animals . in the weeks following the spill , first responders reported symptoms like rashes , respiratory problems , headaches , seizures and depression . in response to the complains , agencies closely monitored these individuals . as the years went by , enough significant health problems arose for a class action lawsuit against bp . the company eventually agreed to a settlement that included the potential for …
+1 the fix is in’ hillary wins ! and the media knows it .. danny f. quest we are change in the last few days we have seen numerous tells that not only are the 2016 presidential elections rigged , but also the the so called main stream media is actively involved in the rigging . in a email intercepted by wikileaks from todd macklerr to donna brazile and john podesta a telling exchange clearly mentions , the presetting of the [ voting machines ] along with a promise that they will be “ humming in november ” . if you can remember not long ago we published an article about a white house .gov petition that received over 100 thousand signatures requesting that the government removes the voting machines connected to george soros owned companies . in this video during the dr. phil show the network appeared to ‘ leak’ the poll results , the problem is that this video was shot 4 days before the elections , and while the live ‘ polls’ seem to have donald trump in the lead , we also see that all the votes are yet to be counted . http://wearechange.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/hillary-media-collusion.mp4 this paranormal streak continues below , in this video by payday monsanto , where wrcb a nbc affiliate news stations again appeared to have its own predictions about the poll results . this time officially declaring hillary rodham clinton as the winner . things start to get even weirder when a woman who works in a book store discovered that newsweek already has an issue in print , boxed and ready to ship , declaring hillary clinton the winner . newsweek has reportedly shipped thousands of boxes of magazines all across the country . in these boxes are magazines congratulating hillary on her election win . congratulations , madame president . this is less of an election , and more of a selection . the decision has been made . it was always hillary . if you look at the wikileaks emails , you will find ample support for collusion and corruption in the democratic national committee – why would anyone assume it stopped there ? those who believe this is evidence of the rigged system point to the bar - code image on the magazine . that would be the last element added to a magazine before publication , and we are yet to see any evidence that trump could have even the slightest chance of winning even though some polls , and most cyberspace discussion seems to have him in the lead . follow we are change on social media snapchat : lukewearechange fbook : https://facebook.com/lukewearechange twitter : https://twitter.com/lukewearechange i nstagram : http://instagram.com/lukewearechange sign up become a patron and show your support for alternative news for just 1 $ a month you can help grow we are change we use bitcoin too ! 12hdlgeeua87t2ju8m4tbro247yj5u2tvp join and up vote our steemit the post the fix is in’ hillary wins ! and the media knows it .. appeared first on we are change .
+0 nfl support of colin kaepernick tanked 2016 tv ratings - breitbart robert j. marlow a large share of fans responded to the nfl ’s tacit endorsement of colin kaepernick ’s message by refusing to to games , prompting a huge decline in tv ratings . [ aside from his disrespect for the national anthem , the san francisco 49ers quarterback also sparked outrage by donning socks embroidered with pigs wearing police uniforms . early in the season , espn and network broadcasts never missed an opportunity to spotlight kaepernick and his followers taking a knee during the ritual . fans , though , saw kaepernick ’s protest as thumbing his nose at america . as a result , regular season ratings for 2016 dropped 8 % to 16 . 5 million viewers per game from the 17 . 9 million who watched games during the 2015 nfl campaign . the nfl and its associate broadcasters preferred to blame the decline in this year ’s viewership on the presidential election , but the data does n’t support their claim . although a pickup in ratings occurred after the election ended , viewership compared to the same duration in 2015 still showed a drop . as breitbart news reported last week , “ when you compare viewership numbers after this year ’s election against last year ’s 2015 nfl season numbers during the same period of time , per game viewership declined by approximately 4 percent from 19 . 24 million viewers in 2015 to this year ’s 18 . 43 million . quick arithmetic calculates the nfl lost over 800 , 000 viewers since last year during the same period . ” nevertheless , the daily caller reports that despite the steep decline in viewership the nfl takes in more revenue than any other professional sports league thanks to dollar tv contracts . nbc , cbs , fox and espn coughed up a stunning $ 7 . 3 billion to broadcast the gridiron gladiators in 2014 alone .
+1 the onion ’s special coverage of election day 2016 - the onion - america 's finest news source nan the onion ’s special coverage of election day 2016 pinned articles 5:51 pm report : turnout fairly unattractive throughout suburban philadelphia our correspondents are reporting a steady turnout of homely and hideous residents throughout the suburban philadelphia area that shows no signs of slowing down . in montgomery county , polling places are said to be bustling with scores of schlubby , overweight voters , while bucks and delaware counties were reportedly busy all morning with an influx of unsightly , poorly groomed constituents , with many of the local oinkers having to wait upwards of an hour in line to cast their ballot . overall , turnout in the area appears to be way uglier than analysts initially predicted . compiled from reports out of the onion ’s philadelphia bureau as part of our precinct watch initiative , dedicated to covering all voting rights obstacles encountered by the feckless and feeble - minded american electorate . the onion 9:51 pm the onion calls upon the cowardly state of iowa to stop its dithering and declare itself for one candidate or the other with 42 percent of precincts reporting and the margin between the candidates holding at less than a percentage point , the onion calls upon the spineless state of iowa to quit its tarrying , pull itself together , and make a goddamn choice already . according to the onion ’s electoral models , the midwestern state needs to get its shit in order and figure out which way it ’s going to go , because this is n’t even that complicated , for christ ’s sake . the onion projects that the timid little hawkeye state has 20 minutes or so to decide which candidate will get its six puny electoral votes , or we ’ll just go ahead and call it for jill stein , and you ’ll just have to deal with it . the onion 9:46 pm nation ’s optimists need to shut the fuck up right now washington — saying their rosy attitude about the state of the election was not helping anything given what is currently transpiring , sources confirmed tuesday night that the nation ’s optimists need to seriously shut the fuck up as soon as humanly fucking possible . “ sure , things may look bad right now , but even if the worst happens , it ’s only four years we ’re talking about here , ” said santa fe , nm resident pete mirenge , one of hundreds of thousands of positive thinkers across the nation who would do everyone a huge goddamn favor by closing their fucking traps right this fucking second and keeping them sealed for the foreseeable future . “ this is exactly why we have a system of checks and balances — to ensure that whatever happens in the election , the executive branch never gets too much power . think about it : has any president been able to carry out their platform to the letter ? no . nothing ’s ever as bad as it seems , believe me . ” according to sources , a calm and composed mirenge — who reportedly has about five seconds before his mouth is shut for him — then added that the country ’s been through much worse and everything turned out okay . 9:27 pm tim kaine shows hillary his belly button to cheer her up after losing ohio after it was officially projected that donald trump would take the critical swing state of ohio and its 18 electoral votes , vice presidential nominee tim kaine quickly ran over to a visibly disappointed hillary clinton and attempted to lift her spirits by pulling his shirt up above his midriff and showing her his belly button . the virginia senator spent several minutes holding up the bottom of his shirt with his chin while repeatedly pointing at his navel and informing clinton that he has “ a innie [ sic ] , ” prompting clinton to curtly nod and say “ yes , that ’s right , ” before craning her neck to look past him at the electoral map to track her progress in florida and nevada . onion chief political correspondent martin hazelton is reporting live from clinton hq in new york city throughout the evening . the onion jill stein addresses voters on twitter the onion 8:38 pm a recap of the onion ’s exit polls the onion has been camped out at polling locations nationwide to collect the most accurate exit poll data and offer the only journalistic refuge in a world teeming with chaos and lies . here are the highlights : the onion 8:13 pm how ordinary americans feel about what remains of this country every four years , against anyone ’s better judgment , the american people are entrusted to elect the next president . the onion let them tell their stories . 7:58 pm clinton leaves office on motorcycle to hunt down precinct leaders who have n’t reported yet with the majority of polls now closed across the country and no victor yet declared , hillary clinton reportedly left her campaign watch party moments ago , jumped on a red suzuki hayabusa motorcycle , and sped off to track down any precinct leader who has yet to report their county ’s election returns . secretary clinton could be seen weaving between cars in manhattan , driving on the sidewalk to get past several areas of heavy traffic , and then accelerating to speeds in excess of 110 miles per hour once she reached the interstate . reporters were unable to keep up with the democratic nominee , but numerous witnesses confirmed that clinton had a baseball bat stowed next to her and appeared incredibly irate before she pulled down the tinted visor on her helmet , revved the motorcycle ’s engine , and tore away . onion chief political correspondent martin hazelton is reporting live from clinton hq in new york city throughout the evening . the onion 7:51 pm wolf blitzer walks into middle of olive garden commercial to announce breaking election results new york — briskly striding into frame and interrupting a jubilant family meal , cnn anchor wolf blitzer reportedly entered the middle of an olive garden commercial airing during the network ’s election coverage tuesday night to announce a late - breaking election result . “ breaking news : cnn is calling nevada for hillary clinton , ” said blitzer , stepping directly in front of a smiling mother passing a heaping plate of fettucine alfredo to her daughter and shushing the laughter of surrounding tables so that he could add that the victory dealt a severe blow to donald trump ’s chances of reaching the oval office . “ we are projecting that secretary clinton will take the crucial swing state ’s six electoral votes , putting her on the inside track to securing the 270 electoral votes needed — hey , excuse me , will you please keep it down ?— needed to win the presidency . ” at press time , blitzer was ducking in panic as the olive garden logo came swooping into frame . the onion 7:36 pm election flashback : nation finally shitty enough to make social progress ( 2008 ) washington — after emerging victorious from one of the most pivotal elections in history , president - elect barack obama will assume the role of commander in chief on jan. 20 , shattering a racial barrier the united states is , at long last , shitty enough to overcome . although polls going into the final weeks of october showed sen. obama in the lead , it remained unclear whether the failing economy , dilapidated housing market , crumbling national infrastructure , health care crisis , energy crisis , and five - year - long disastrous war in iraq had made the nation crappy enough to rise above 300 years of racial prejudice and make lasting change . “ today the american people have made their voices heard , and they have said , ‘ things are finally as terrible as we ’re willing to tolerate , ” said obama , addressing a crowd of unemployed , uninsured , and debt - ridden supporters . “ to elect a black man , in this country , and at this time — these last eight years must have really broken you . ” added obama , “ it ’s a great day for our nation . ”
+0 difficult questions : how much the clinton - trump debates matter - the new york times clyde haberman forty years later , a moment in the annals of presidential debates remains a classic , worth recalling as hillary clinton and donald j. trump prepare to go head to head on monday . “ there is no soviet domination of eastern europe , ” president gerald r. ford declared when he went up against jimmy carter in 1976 , “ and there never will be under a ford administration . ” reality could not have been more starkly different , and it was reflected in the startled reaction of a debate panelist who had brought up the issue : max frankel , a senior editor at the new york times , who then became the newspaper ’s editorial page editor and later executive editor . “ i ’m sorry , ” mr. frankel said . he continued : “ did i understand you to say , sir , that the russians are not using eastern europe as their own sphere of influence and occupying most of the countries there and making sure with their troops that it ’s a communist zone ? ” undeterred , ford went on to say that several eastern european nations he named did not think of themselves as and that “ the united states does not concede ” any domination exists . his misstep and the panelist ’s instant response are recalled in an examination of presidential debates by retro report , a series of documentaries that explore important news stories of the past and their lasting impact . how deeply the debaters should be scrutinized is a question with special resonance this year , given that mr. trump , in particular , has earned enough “ pinocchios ” from fact checkers to fill many geppetto workshops . then , too , the scheduled moderator for a third debate , chris wallace of fox news , has shrugged off suggestions that it is his duty to hold the candidates accountable if they leave critical facts in the dust . “ i do n’t view my role as ” he said , a comment that has drawn considerable fire . “ ” even if it was not called that , became the most enduring memory from that 1976 debate . actually , mr. frankel thought he was tossing the president a lifeline , not a gotcha line . “ my giving ford a chance to clarify was instinctive , ” born of journalistic tradition , he said in a recent email exchange . “ we do not trap a president with trick questions or acquiesce in confusion . we aim to explain policy , and should follow up if he has left his meaning unclear . ” across the years , presidential debates have tended to be remembered less for their intellectual heft than for their gaffes and be it ford ’s stumble , or ronald reagan ’s “ there you go again ” riposte in 1980 , or michael dukakis ’s bloodless answer in 1988 on how he would react if his wife were raped and murdered , or george bush ’s impatient glance at his wristwatch in 1992 , or al gore ’s exasperated exhaling in 2000 — proof that herman hupfeld did n’t get it quite right in his song , “ as time goes by , ” of “ casablanca ” fame . sometimes , a sigh is not just a sigh . but whether bloopers and snappy retorts are game changers is a question that has dogged presidential election debates since the first one , held on another sept. 26 , in 1960 , between john f. kennedy and richard nixon . their encounter is retro report ’s main focus , notably the story line that swiftly took root . it held that kennedy won on good looks alone , that against a light backdrop he appeared crisp and commanding in his dark suit while nixon , recovering from an injury , looked pale and sweaty , his bearing hardly improved by an gray suit . those who saw none of that and only listened on radio — a far more common situation in 1960 america than today — believed nixon had triumphed . so the story went . many scholars have debunked that narrative , among them david greenberg , a professor of history , journalism and media studies at rutgers university . in the retro report video , professor greenberg contends that kennedy ’s overall performance , not just his looks , won the day . he showed , as a senator , that he could hold his own again a sitting vice president . as for nixon ’s supposedly prevailing on radio , the evidence for that is skimpy because , professor greenberg noted , no scientifically rigorous surveys were done at the time . ( whatever the reality , nixon felt burned by the experience and came to view television warily — until he ran again for president in 1968 , this time successfully , tutored in the art of the camera by a young producer named roger ailes . mr. ailes , ousted in july as chairman of fox news , is once again a media mentor , for mr. trump . ) when it comes to substance , and not just a stumble here or a clever line there , can a debate make or break a candidacy ? experts have long been divided . some consider the debates decisive . that view was offered last month by gary may , a university of delaware historian , who wrote on the daily beast website , “ for good or ill , television ’s laserlike eye reveals the candidates’ fitness for the presidency . ” well , maybe not , suggests another academician , john sides , an associate professor of political science at george washington university . writing in washington monthly in 2012 , professor sides said , “ scholars who have looked most carefully at the data have found that , when it comes to shifting enough votes to decide the outcome of the election , presidential debates have rarely , if ever , mattered . ” even blunders may not be right away . mr. frankel acknowledged that he himself had not immediately recognized the damaging potential of ford ’s “ no soviet domination ” remarks . many other americans also failed to see it until newspaper and television analyses shaped their consensus that a serious presidential slip had occurred . these days , voters no longer need to wait for received wisdom to form . they can get it , or at least what passes for wisdom , in real time by watching squiggly lines on their television screens that represent focus group impressions of the candidates , or by following an avalanche of opinions put forth by the commentariat on twitter and other social media . as a share of the united states population , the television audience for debates has declined . the number of viewers in 2012 , about 67 million , was pretty much what it was in 1960 . but there were an estimated 314 million americans in 2012 and only 180 million in 1960 . of course , millions of people these days , both in this country and overseas , may be tuning in via online streaming services . in decline or not , “ debates are important , ” mr. frankel said , “ because we normally get so few opportunities to meet the candidates and confront them with difficult questions . ” for professor greenberg , the merits of what the candidates say onstage may not be as important as the mere fact that they stand there , subjecting themselves to a grilling before millions of eyes and ears . “ debates draw strength from their status as important rituals , ” he wrote in the journal daedalus in 2009 . the experience , he said , “ serves , in some quiet way , to thicken our commitments to political life . ”
+0 uber partners with daimler in a step toward a driverless future - the new york times mike isaac san francisco — uber is one step closer to its dream of a future — with a little help from a new partner . the company announced on tuesday a partnership with daimler , under which the german automaker plans to build autonomous vehicles that will operate on uber ’s transportation network . the move marks the first time a major automaker will provide its own vehicles — built entirely and without uber ’s help — specifically to operate on the company ’s network . the agreement is not exclusive , and daimler may produce autonomous cars for uber ’s competitors , while uber can also bring other automakers onto what it calls its “ open platform ” for ride hailing . the two companies said they expected daimler ’s vehicles to reach uber ’s network “ in the coming years . ” “ auto manufacturers like daimler are crucial to our strategy because uber has no experience making cars — and in fact , making cars is really hard , ” travis kalanick , uber ’s chief executive , said in a statement . “ we can combine uber ’s global network with the vehicles of companies like daimler , so that uber riders can have a great experience getting around their cities . ” uber has a history of cooperating with automakers to jointly produce autonomous vehicles . the company has worked with volvo to develop the xc90 , a sport utility vehicle now being tested in pittsburgh , near uber ’s research headquarters . uber has also modified a fleet of ford fusion vehicles , outfitting them with sensors and cameras for autonomous capabilities . lyft , uber ’s largest competitor in the united states , has also worked closely with a major automaker , general motors , which is making its own vehicles for lyft ’s network . google struck a deal with fiat chrysler last year to work on vehicles . uber stands to benefit from the daimler partnership in several ways . collaborating with automakers could reduce the perception that uber is a threat to the sales of the auto industry , for example . the company can also bolster its supply of vehicles to pick up a growing base of riders . uber faced some setbacks with its experiments last year . it ended a pilot program in san francisco in december after disagreeing with california ’s department of motor vehicles over whether it had the proper permits for the test . uber plans to begin a similar test in phoenix in the coming months . “ daimler aims to be a leader in autonomous driving , ” dieter zetsche , daimler ’s chairman , said in a statement . “ together with uber , we seek to combine our strengths . ”
+0 report : fox news parting with bill o’reilly ben kew update : fox news has officially cut ties with bill o’reilly . through the network ’s parent company 21st century fox , the murdochs issued a statement on wednesday afternoon : “ after a thorough and careful review of the allegations , the company and bill o’reilly have agreed that bill o’reilly will not be returning to the fox news channel . ” [ in another statement released on wednesday , the network announced that the new primetime will be eric bolling at 5 pm martha maccallum at 7 pm tucker carlson at o’reilly ’s old 8 pm timeslot the five with kimberly guilfoyle , dana perino , bob beckel , greg gutfeld , jesse watter , and juan williams at 9 pm and sean hannity will remain at 10 pm . fox news : tucker carlson to move to 8pm slot , the five shifts to 9pm pic . twitter . — oliver darcy ( @oliverdarcy ) april 19 , 2017 , * * * the murdoch family has reportedly decided to pull the o’reilly factor off air amid allegations of sexual harassment against host bill o’reilly , and will soon be officially announcing his departure , according to sources close to gabriel sherman in new york magazine . according to sherman , the decision was primarily driven by rupert murdoch ’s sons , james and lachlan , after the new york times reported earlier this month that $ 13 million has been paid out from either fox news or o’reilly to five women to settle their sexual harassment claims against the host in lieu of litigation , despite o’reilly ’s denying the veracity of their claims . fox news executives are reportedly meeting on wednesday to discuss how to contain any damage from an o’reilly dismissal . o’reilly , who is currently on vacation , has hosted the network ’s most popular show — the o’reilly factor — since the network ’s inception in 1996 and remains the country ’s cable news host . sherman reports that “ the board of fox news’ parent company , 21st century fox , is scheduled to meet on thursday to discuss the matter . ” decisions are now being made as to whether o’reilly will be allowed a final show to bid farewell to his audience . they are also discussing the terms of his release , with o’reilly recently having signed a new $ 20 million a year contract . executives within the company are also discussing who will fill o’reilly ’s primetime 8 pm slot , with hosts such as eric bolling , dana perino , and tucker carlson currently under consideration . over 90 companies dropped advertising on the o’reilly factor over the allegations , while a small group of feminist protesters gathered outside the fox news headquarters in new york calling on the network to fire o’reilly . last year , fox news’ longtime chairman roger ailes resigned over claims of sexual harassment against several female staff members , including former hosts gretchen carlson and megyn kelly . you can follow ben kew on facebook , on twitter at @ben_kew , or email him at bkew@breitbart . com
+0 u.s. presidential race , rio olympics , milwaukee : your monday evening briefing - the new york times andrea kannapell and sandra stevenson ( want to get this briefing by email ? here ’s the . ) good evening . here ’s the latest . 1 . donald trump vowed to “ defeat radical islamic terrorism ” in a speech to enthusiastic supporters in ohio . he said president obama and hillary clinton had failed to protect the country , and he called for “ extreme vetting ” of potential immigrants and alliances with any nation willing to fight the islamic state . at the same time , there was new scrutiny of mr. trump ’s campaign manager , paul manafort , after investigators in ukraine found secret ledgers designating more than $ 12 million in payments to him from a party . mr. manafort ’s lawyer said no such payments were received . _ _ _ _ _ 2 . vice president joe biden received a warm welcome as he campaigned with hillary clinton in scranton , pa. his hometown and that of her father . he warned bluntly that mr. trump was a threat to national security and the nato alliance , saying , “ this guy ’s shame has no limits . ” _ _ _ _ _ 3 . the mother of an american olympian described how the brazilian authorities blew up her suitcase , fearing a bomb : “ some of the clothes were salvageable , but some were melted . some had holes . my american flag was melted . ” despite such screenings and the surge of tens of thousands of agents in rio , the games have seen an unusually high number of crimes , including the gunpoint robbery of ryan lochte and several other swimmers . brazilians fear violence in the troubled city will explode when the competition ends and the extra officers go home . _ _ _ _ _ 4 . american gymnasts won two more medals : laurie hernandez , the youngest member of the u. s. team , took the silver medal on the balance beam , and simone biles earned bronze , her fourth medal . the running world marveled at usain bolt ’s third consecutive olympic gold in the dash . and the games crowned a new superstar : ans botha , above center , the who coaches wayde van niekerk , the south african runner to the left above , who smashed a record in the 400 meters . our full coverage of the games is here . _ _ _ _ _ 5 . good news : scientists discovered that a coral reef they ’d given up for dead had returned to vibrant life . “ everything looked just magnificent , ” said a scientist who led an expedition to the reef this month . the reef ’s recovery offers hope for other reefs damaged by warming ocean temperatures . _ _ _ _ _ 6 . firefighters , the national guard , the coast guard and ordinary citizens joined forces with rescuers in southern louisiana , racing to pluck people to safety before flooding worsened . the death toll rose to at least six and four parishes have been declared disaster areas . more than 20 , 000 people have been evacuated , 11 , 000 are in shelters and the authorities say the numbers will grow . rain continues to pelt the area . _ _ _ _ _ 7 . milwaukee plans to aggressively enforce a curfew of 10 p. m. for teenagers under 17 , and the national guard remains on standby . the city is struggling to quell a burst of unrest in the neighborhood of sherman park after a armed suspect was fatally shot by a police officer , both black . “ we ’re going to make sure that there is peace and order restored to this neighborhood , ” said the mayor , tom barrett . above , a prayer vigil . _ _ _ _ _ 8 . comedy central canceled the “ nightly show with larry wilmore . ” that ’s the latest in two years of shakeouts in television set off by the loss of david letterman , jay leno , jon stewart and “ the colbert report . ” mr. wilmore said he was saddened not to be covering the election and surprised that what he calls “ the unblackening ” of the white house would be “ happening to my time slot as well . ” _ _ _ _ _ 9 . there were more pleas for help for some two million people trapped in the besieged syrian city of aleppo , above . russian officials offered hope for greater aid access , saying they were near an agreement with the u. s. to combine forces against the islamic state . u. s. officials made no comment . in yemen , where a saudi bombing campaign against houthi militias has resumed , doctors without borders said an airstrike on one of its hospitals had left at least 15 people dead . _ _ _ _ _ 10 . the bidding is over and we should know soon who will own gawker media . the company filed for bankruptcy and put itself up for sale after being hit with a $ 140 million legal judgment in an lawsuit by the former wrestler hulk hogan . among the likeliest top bidders : ziff davis , univision , new york magazine , penske media and vox media . _ _ _ _ _ 11 . finally , “ young people are not interested in becoming indebted in the way that their parents are or were . ” so says an expert on the payment industry , commenting on federal reserve data showing a more than in the percentage of americans under 35 with credit card debt . _ _ _ _ _ your evening briefing is posted at 6 p. m. eastern . and do n’t miss your morning briefing , posted weekdays at 6 a. m. eastern , and your weekend briefing , posted at 6 a. m. sundays . want to look back ? here ’s the weekend briefing . what did you like ? what do you want to see here ? let us know at briefing@nytimes . com .
+0 six teens beat up woman on ny train for looking at them with displeasure , police say - breitbart warner todd huston police in new york are searching for six teenaged girls who allegedly beat up another train passenger for looking at them with disapproval , reports say . [ officials are on the lookout for six girls who witnesses say began to harass a female passenger on a l train on december 23 . the teens were upset with the woman because she shook her head at them to “ express her displeasure towards the group , ” according to police . the teens began to punch and kick the woman and knocked her phone out of her hand . in addition , as the assailants left the train car they stole the assaulted woman ’s phone , new york ’s dnainfo . com reported . the victim was punched in the face several times , police said , the girls jumped off the train at the sutter avenue stop at around 3:30 pm . the nypd released surveillance video of the teens exiting the train . no one is currently in custody for the incident . authorities are asking anyone with information to contact crime stoppers at ( 800 ) ( 8477 ) . follow warner todd huston on twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail . com .
+1 november 21 : daily contrarian reads david stockman november 21 : daily contrarian reads by david stockman . my daily contrarian reads for monday , november 21st , 2016 .
+1 coming unglued john kaminski by john kaminski on october 30 , 2016 john kaminski — the rebel.org oct 24 , 2016 dark secrets remain unrevealed as society ’s fabric disintegrates why is every major politician surrounded by jewish ‘ advisers’ ? too many things do n’t make sense . what makes us act against our own best interests ? why are we americans encircling russia with tanks and missiles ? why do we create our own terrorists and bomb our own allies ? why do we blow up our own buildings and claim that the crime was done by terrorists who simply can not be found ? what do the misanthropes who operate the gears of power want by causing constant conflict ? sometimes washington reminds me of the old testament , ruled by a wrathful god who orders us to kill those whose property we wish to steal . why would we hire the most odious criminals in the world to butcher the inhabitants of middle eastern countries ? i mean , whose work are we doing by these actions , covertly funding israel - friendly arab radicals to demolish nations who refuse to do our bidding ? there can be only one answer . america is no longer run by americans . because the same people who commit the crimes own the newspapers and tv networks , most americans do n’t realize their country has long ago been taken away by the very international bankers henry ford warned us about , who adolf hitler warned us about . now ford and hitler are the most widely reviled personalities from the 20th century . not a day goes by when you do n’t hear something nasty about them . they tried to stop the jewish takeover of reality . the tidal wave of jew - owned white noise media overwhelmed them . what most people still do n’t realize is that none of these neocon wars would have happened had hitler won world war ii . he never wanted to conquer anyone . he only wanted the return of germany ’s ancestral lands , which had been stolen by the jewish allies ( us , britain , ussr ) after world war i. all the horror stories about hitler are projected jewish fantasies that have dominated the western airwaves for a half century . they are meant to obscure hitler ’s economic miracle and the path to a financial future free of the vampire jews . hitler floated seven peace proposals prior to world war ii . but because he had challenged the jewish monopoly of control of the world ’s financial affairs , the jews would let him have no peace . the secret jew roosevelt pushed the levers of war . winston churchill started bombing the first day he took office . think of all the wars that have been spawned by the jewish murder machine since that time , the 1940s . it ’s impossible to say that none of them would have happened , but had hitler won , the jews would not now be strutting around the world using u.s. military might as its brutal enforcer to rob all nations of the their most valuable possessions , and even more chilling , to stamp out all traces of opposition to their psychopathological hijacking of everyone ’s reality . you ca n’t live a normal life because of the jews , harvesting and neutering everything they encounter , like some robot parasite destined to suck the life out of the world , as hitler and ford both warned us about , turning your food into poison and your daughters into tramps . there is no one to turn to for help . turn to the wrong person and you can get killed . call the cops and your pet ’s as good as dead . anywhere in the white united states , if you saw a woman being raped by 20 men on the street , everyone ’s first impulse would be to stop the crime , or at least report it to the cops . not so in the ugly deserts of the middle east , where insane arab terrorists hired by jews and americans commit the most barbaric crimes in order to blame these false flag atrocities on people it means to exterminate , a task for which any excuse will do for these world famous killers . this is the real american personality , the goons who hired those al - qaeda mercenaries to rape and kill qaddafi in the streets , people like hillary clinton and barack obama . stone cold killers . and they laugh about it . if you were in your right mind , you would n’t ever trust people like this . america gassed those hundreds of children in syria and tried to blame it on assad . people finally began to realize that nothing the u.s. government ever says is true . the terrorists who supposedly slit people ’s throats are so over - the - top because they are all a hollywood act < http://www.globalresearch.ca/isis-beheadings-of-journalists-cia-admitted-to-staging-fake-jihadist-videos-in-2010/5399345 > . americans have begun to realize that they are the killers they thought they had been fighting . it turns out the fight has just begun . unglued . society is becoming unglued . the fabric of society is disintegrating . what horrific chaos is sure to follow can only be envisioned by our most harrowing nightmares . there are no explanations that adequately describe what exactly is happening to the world at the present time except to note that things that once seemed to work now no longer do . it seems like freedom has been devalued and shackled , and governments make too many decisions the people never wanted , like the world wars , the great depression and the war on drugs . to be an american today is like living in a grand old steamship that is not so slowly sinking into a jellified ocean , petrified minds in a viscous sea of misinformation , afraid to challenge orders they know are lies , sliding into oblivion without a clue that they are doing so . the separation of the population into chosen and neglected applies to all religions , guaranteeing perpetual sectarian strife . those who are chosen believe it is their right to rob and kill whomever they choose , that they are simply following the laws of nature and the personalized deity they choose to hallucinate . governments have adopted this policy . peace is achieved when robbers agree to divide the spoils . the rest of the people are left to scramble for scraps . it has always been this way , i think . the government overreach to extend help to needy immigrants is really part of a ploy to dilute the american electorate into undereducated slaves who will support the government through any atrocity because it is the government that is keeping them alive . this is how the democrats guarantee themselves a majority of citizens too grateful for the financial help to ever quarrel with the government ’s expansionist objectives and its continuing restrictions on individual rights . there are simply too many subjects to be addressed , to be worried about . they swathe all the final cuts of vegetables , right before it goes to market , with glyphosate , to make sure everyone gets poisoned . step in brackish louisiana water with a cut on your foot and your body will completely disintegrate in a few weeks . the fallacy of the cloister regiments us into soldier slaves , causing us to murder those who disagree with what we say . the more technology increases the faster human abilities dissipate . the flaw of democracy is that the people with the money can convince the people with the guns to start shooting at any time . the government has blackmailed states into implementing a communist agenda that reduces the intelligence of citizens . so many lies told over so many years . as long as we try to see things through the toxic filter of jewish media , what we see will be a mirage that aims to mislead , exploit or destroy us . coming unglued . the world is coming unglued . like the atlantic gulfstream , the circadian rhythm of the planet has been disrupted . ever since it was discovered that men will kill each other over practically anything , there have been those who will cultivate disagreements for profit , such as weapons makers who seek to widen their markets by endlessly promoting conflict , or newspaper owners who fan the flames of discord and scandal and watch their profits skyrocket . it ’s like we ’re all spectators at the old roman coliseum only instead of some hapless prisoner getting chewed up by lions , the stakes in this entertainment are if the beast wins much of the known world will be turned to rubble and most of us will be suddenly dead . this is no exaggeration . just ask the people in syria or any of a dozen other countries that israel , using u.s. muscle , has destroyed . it ’s like the shadow of judaism casts its evil pall over every area of human endeavor , pollutes everything , cheapens our lives , makes everything artificial . why do jews seek to murder the natural ? why do they strive toward wanting to be everyone ’s jailer and demanding immunity for their obnoxious crimes against humanity , whom they call beasts while their heckling heebs twitch and moan to the insanities of their so - called holy book . they suck the blood of their babies’ penises . how insane do you have to be ? failure to identify this threat and solve this mystery has now placed human society in absolute peril , as the majority of human beings sinks into a second class consciousness , while those with the keys to kosher success join the ranks of ruthless guards keeping watch on a world of pathetic prisoners . too many things do n’t make sense . is our fear of death so strong that we have to destroy ourselves to prove we are immune to it ? better yet would be acknowledgment of its inevitability that would create a clearer view of who we are and what we ’re doing . because what we ’re doing now , and how we are proceeding further into this toxic reality we have created for ourselves , offers us no future except and increasing decay and corruption that the jews seem to love so much . like bloodthirsty vultures they look for stricken carcasses on the road that they can devour in their insatiable drive to consume the whole world and everything in it . the jews intend to kill everything natural and replace it with a jewish product that can be controlled from afar . they will fail in this attempt and likely destroy humanity in the process . in any case , we are well on our way to being completely regimented with independent consciousness no longer an option . we have no fix on the future . neither presidential candidate offers us a way out of our trouble because neither will admit the overwhelming control inflicted by the jews on the whole world is leading to a mindless police state in which our only thought will be to serve the state no matter how cruel and depraved that assignment might be . to disagree with the aims of the jewish monster state is to court your own death , or at least to be slandered and ostracized by people you thought were your friends . too many things do n’t make sense . what unexplored dark corner of our brains would make us create our own enemy in order to keep our fellows enslaved and exploited ? john kaminski is a writer who lives on the gulf coast of florida , constantly trying to figure out why we are destroying ourselves , and pinpointing a corrupt belief system as the engine of our demise . solely dependent on contributions from readers , please support his work by mail : 6871 willow creek circle # 103 , north port fl 34287 usa .
+0 house challenge to health law could raise premiums , administration says - the new york times robert pear washington — victory for house republicans in federal court last week could mean significantly higher health insurance premiums for millions of people if the decision is upheld on appeal , the obama administration said monday . and much of the cost for those higher premiums could be passed on to the federal government and taxpayers , administration officials and health policy experts said . the ruling by judge rosemary m. collyer of the united states district court for the district of columbia would block the administration from reimbursing insurers for discounts provided to millions of people under the affordable care act . without that money , insurers would have to increase premiums for many people purchasing insurance through the health law ’s online marketplaces , the administration said . judge collyer said that the administration had paid billions of dollars to insurers since january 2014 even though congress had not appropriated money for those subsidies , a violation of article i of the constitution , which states , “ no money shall be drawn from the treasury , but in consequence of appropriations made by law . ” the disputed money compensates insurers for the discounts , which make health care more affordable to consumers by reducing deductibles and other costs . if insurers are not reimbursed for the discounts , the administration said , they will need to charge higher premiums to cover their expenses . a study by the department of health and human services estimated that premiums for midlevel “ silver plans ” could rise by nearly 30 percent without those reimbursements . many consumers would be protected , since under the law , they would be entitled to larger tax credits to help pay the higher premiums , the administration said . however , taxpayers would bear some of the extra costs . the urban institute , a nonprofit research organization , estimated additional spending would total $ 3 . 6 billion in 2016 and $ 47 billion over the next decade . the administration plans to appeal the decision in the case , house of representatives v. burwell . the judge held off putting her decision into effect to allow for an appeal . clare krusing , a spokeswoman for america ’s health insurance plans , a trade group , said : “ we have a long judicial process ahead of us , so there ’ll be no immediate change to anyone ’s current benefit . but if you eliminate the subsidies , it would certainly increase the overall cost of coverage . ” federal officials say the affordable care act gave them permanent authority to help pay deductibles , and other costs for certain people who buy insurance through the new public marketplaces . the congressional budget office estimated that these payments , known as reductions , would total $ 130 billion over the next 10 years . but if insurers must rely on congress to provide the money through annual appropriations , that would cause uncertainty in insurance markets , the administration said , noting that congress was often late in passing bills to finance operations of the federal government . in court papers , the obama administration made this forecast : “ if reduction payments were dependent on annual appropriations , insurers would be forced to set their premiums for the upcoming year in the face of uncertainty about the existence and amount of payments they would receive . that uncertainty would be inefficient and destabilizing . it would also inevitably lead to increased premiums . ” josh earnest , the white house press secretary , said he felt sure that the administration would ultimately prevail in court . republicans will “ stop at nothing to try to tear this bill down , ” he said , “ but i continue to be confident that they ’re going to continue to fail . ” administration officials said the ruling should not affect 2017 premiums . the white house contends that the health care law , signed by president obama in 2010 , provides all the authority he needs to pay insurance companies for the discounts they give consumers . but in april 2013 , mr. obama sought explicit authority , asking congress to provide the money in one of the annual appropriations bills for 2014 . congress did not act on the request . “ congress authorized reduced but did not appropriate moneys for it , in the fiscal year 2014 budget or since , ” judge collyer said . “ congress is the only source for such an appropriation , and no public money can be spent without one . ” nearly five million people , or 56 percent of those enrolled in health plans through federal and state marketplaces , were benefiting from reductions at the end of last year , the administration said . researchers at the urban institute also predicted that insurers would increase premiums for silver plans if they were no longer reimbursed for reductions . premiums for such plans , they said , would increase about $ 1 , 040 a year per person , or 29 percent . “ if insurers have enough time to develop new rates , they could incorporate the increased costs into the premiums for silver plans , ” said linda j. blumberg , a health economist at the urban institute . “ but this takes time . you ca n’t change the rules in the middle of the year and adjust prices the next week . ”
+0 a business with legs ( and abs ) : boom times for male striptease revues - the new york times brooks barnes los angeles — it all started with uncle tony . in summer 1989 , tony hassan opened a detroit agency to book strippers for local bachelor blowouts . by the time his shy nephew , myles hass , finished high school two decades later , the little company , erotic image ( “ give the gift that unwraps itself ” ) was a scorching success — so much so that mr. hass hatched a spinoff plan . nude dudes . mr. hass spotted bachelorette parties as a growing market for male strippers . ( credit “ sex and the city . ” ) and he started to fantasize : what about creating a male revue ? competing with the chippendales or the thunder from down under was too much to dream . but he could probably book michigan clubs . detroit . grand rapids . maybe even kalamazoo . “ something quality , with real showmanship , ” mr. hass told me over drinks at the w hollywood hotel recently . “ not a traveling group of man whores . ” his publicist , seated beside him , shifted uncomfortably , but mr. hass , 28 , has nothing to be embarrassed about . last year , his touring revue , magic men live , sold roughly $ 5 million worth of tickets at 148 shows in north america . mr. hass , who will introduce a magic men on tuesday in rapid city , s. d. thinks attendance could double in the coming years . now that is a business with legs . “ i ca n’t believe it , either , to be honest with you , ” said mr. hass , who moved to los angeles from detroit a few months ago . “ when we started out , we were literally driving our own cars , four guys to a vehicle , sleeping on each other in uncomfortable positions . ” he added : “ i started this company while living with my parents . from my childhood bedroom . now women arrive by the thousands . it ’s like , ‘ here we go , boys ! ’ ” as it turns out , and i did some serious investigating here , this corner of show business is booming . interest has been fueled by the “ magic mike ” male stripper movies — no relation to magic men — and the “ fifty shades of grey ” books , films and products , which have prompted women in more conservative areas ( and audiences are 99 percent women , mr. hass said ) to more openly enjoy watching guys gyrate onstage . the chippendales are not only still grinding away in las vegas ( “ goodness , ” the website promises ) . their global tours also attract a growing audience roughly two million people ( again , mostly women ) went to see a chippendales show last year , according to michael caprio , a spokesman . competitors include thunder from down under and . the creation of black magic live , a new multiracial revue , was chronicled on a lifetime reality show in january that starred vivica a. fox . ( she was pilloried for claiming gay men are not a target audience — “ hell no , ” she said — leading to a public mea culpa . ) and another mainstream star , channing tatum , is joining the fray . his male revue , magic mike live , took up residency at the hard rock hotel and casino in las vegas late last month . mr. tatum , a force behind the “ magic mike ” movies , served as one of the revue ’s directors . a publicist for magic mike live declined interview requests , so it ’s difficult to know how serious of a production it is . the las vegas said it included “ acrobatic aerialism on harnesses . ” ( sorry , ladies — and gents ! — mr. tatum will not disrobe in it . but he does know how : he once made a living in a florida revue called male encounter . ) you may think that the young upstart of magic men would be sweating magic mike ’s arrival . after all , mr. hass — even in his state — is just a guy from detroit , while mr. tatum has all the resources of a major celebrity . mr. hass also openly trades on the “ magic mike ” films , billing his magic men revue as “ the first stage production to bring the phenomenon of ‘ magic mike,’ ‘ fifty shades of grey’ and others to life with a experience . ” among the magic men merchandise that mr. hass sells is a $ 25 shirt with the words “ alright , alright , alriiiight , ” a phrase associated with matthew mcconaughey , who starred in “ magic mike , ” which was released in 2012 and took in $ 167 million , spawning a 2015 sequel . but mr. hass does not seem worried . “ they will do their thing , and we will do ours , ” he said . “ i do n’t see us as competing . we tour . they stay in vegas . ” his new magic men show , he added , “ has nothing to do with those movies except for us paying our respects to them . ” mr. hass declined to say how “ magic mike ” would be incorporated into his revamped show . “ he wants to be able to surprise the fans , ” his publicist , andy keown , wrote in an email . despite different packaging and a few unique niches — the chippendales also sing , for instance — these shows are fairly interchangeable . a striptease is a striptease . just switch out the abs , put on some dance music and add fake fog . “ everyone who is doing this now is just copying what we originated , ” mr. caprio said . ( for the record , he added , the chippendales have brand cachet that others lack , pointing to the casting of chippendales dancers in the syfy channel ’s “ sharknado 4 . ” i told him i had missed that one . mr. caprio sent me to google with these instructions : “ search for chippendales and crotch fight . ” ) mr. hass , who arrived for our interview wearing a leather jacket and a backward baseball hat , has a boyish charm and manscaped eyebrows . he performs in magic men as the m. c. warming up the crowd and introducing dancers who go by names like cowboy christian and boy toy troy . he employs 25 people , including 10 dancers , and tours with two sleeper buses and an to carry sound and lighting equipment . part of his success appears to come from a savvy use of geography : magic men mostly visits smaller cities , bringing a style of entertainment not often seen in spots like bismarck , n. d. and owensboro , ky. troupe members regularly interact with fans on snapchat and instagram . magic men has 1 . 1 million followers on facebook chippendales has about 803 , 300 . “ one of my friends was following them on snapchat , and she kind of got me hooked , ” johnelle allen , 28 , told me by phone from her home in albuquerque . ms. allen , a single mother , has been to five magic men shows over the last year , posting about her experiences online and trading messages with the dancers on snapchat . “ you would n’t think they would be but they are , ” she said . “ they make us feel like we ’re all friends . ” ms. allen said she enjoyed the escape that magic men performances provided from her everyday life . watching the men strip down to “ the smallest boxer briefs you have ever seen in your life ” is less titillating than funny , she said . at one of the last performances she saw , a dancer started his routine wearing a furry , elmo costume . putting a “ sesame street ” character into a sexually charged setting , she said , made the audience really hoot and howl . but wait . five performances over the past year ? “ they have multiple stops in one area , so we also went to see them in amarillo and el paso , ” she said . “ it ’s like a boy band . ” except without as many clothes .
+0 high on hitler and meth : book says nazis were fueled by drugs - the new york times david segal given the sheer tonnage of books already devoted to the nazis and hitler , you might assume that everything interesting , terrible and bizarre is already known about one of history ’s most notorious regimes and its genocidal leader . then along comes norman ohler , a novelist from berlin , who rummages through military archives and emerges with this startling fact : the third reich was on drugs . all sorts of drugs , actually , and in stupefying quantities , as mr. ohler documents in “ blitzed : drugs in nazi germany , ” a best seller in germany and britain that will be published in the united states by houghton mifflin harcourt in april . he was in new york city last week and sat for an interview before giving a lecture to a salon in a loft in the east village , near cooper union . “ this is actually my old neighborhood , ” he said , sipping grape juice on a sofa . “ i lived around here when i wrote my first novel , a detective story . ” mr. ohler fell back on his interest in sleuthing during the five years it took to research and write “ blitzed . ” through interviews and documents that had n’t been carefully studied before , he unearthed new details about how soldiers of the wehrmacht were regularly supplied with methamphetamine of a quality that would give walter white , of “ breaking bad , ” pangs of envy . millions of doses , packaged as pills , were gobbled up in battles throughout the war , part of an officially sanctioned campaign against fatigue . as surely as hangover follows high , this pharmacological stratagem worked for a while — it was crucial to the turbocharged 1940 invasion and defeat of france — and then did not , most notably when the nazis were mired in the soviet union . but the most vivid portrait of abuse and withdrawal in “ blitzed ” is that of hitler , who for years was regularly injected by his personal physician with powerful opiates , like eukodal , a brand of oxycodone once praised by william s. burroughs as “ truly awful . ” for a few undoubtedly euphoric months , hitler was also getting swabs of cocaine , a sedation and stimulation combo that mr. ohler likens to a “ classic speedball . ” “ there are all these stories of party leaders coming to complain about their cities , ” mr. ohler said , “ and hitler just says : ‘ we ’re going to win . these losses make us stronger.’ and the leaders would say : ‘ he knows something we do n’t know . he probably has a miracle weapon.’ he did n’t have a miracle weapon . he had a miracle drug , to make everyone think he had a miracle weapon . ” lanky and angular , mr. ohler quietly conveys the mordant humor that occasionally surfaces in his book , which has a chapter titled “ high hitler . ” “ blitzed , ” he explained , was born when a berlin friend who is a d. j. and a fan of substances asked , “ did you know that the nazis took loads of drugs ? ” while growing up in munich , the friend had heard about wartime meth use from former soldiers . aside from a documentary on the subject , mr. ohler found little information online . so he contacted an academic in the documentary , who provided invaluable leads about how to search military archives , which were n’t indexed for “ drug ” searches . initially , the findings were intended as material for a fourth novel , but his publisher told him the story was too weird for fiction . just tell it straight , he was advised . history can be a treacherous discipline for neophytes , but some professionals have given the exhaustively researched and carefully footnoted “ blitzed ” high marks . the renowned hitler biographer ian kershaw called it “ a serious piece of scholarship . ” and though elements of this tale have been told , the extent of narcotic consumption by nazi soldiers and hitler has surprised even those who have spent decades researching this era . how is that possible ? “ it ’s one of the old problems of specialization , ” said antony beevor , the author of several highly regarded books about world war ii . “ no historian knows a lot about drugs . when an outsider comes in with an open mind and different interests , the results can be fantastic and very illuminating . ” mr. ohler ’s fascination with drugs comes from colorful personal experience . in his 20s , while visiting new york , he took acid and hallucinated a race riot on second avenue . did he ever trip again ? “ yeah , ” he said . “ blitzed ” begins with germany ’s success in the 19th century as the world ’s inventors , manufacturers and exporters of drugs , ranging from the benign ( aspirin ) to the infamous ( heroin ) . one of those drugs was meth , which was initially marketed over the counter to the german public as an upper that beat back everything from depression to hay fever . red , white and blue tubes of pills , sold under the trade name pervitin , caught the attention of a doctor at the academy of military medicine in berlin , who would oversee the logistics of ferrying millions of pills to troops . soldiers would sprint tirelessly through the ardennes at the onset of war , an adrenalized performance that left winston churchill “ dumbfounded , ” as he wrote in his memoirs . a german general would later gloat that his men had stayed awake for 17 straight days . “ i think that ’s an exaggeration , ” mr. ohler said , “ but meth was crucial to that campaign . ” the other focus of “ blitzed ” is a man long considered one of the era ’s farcical bit players : theodor morell , the portly , overweening physician who had won hitler ’s confidence in 1936 by curing the stomach pain that had afflicted the führer for years . an opportunist and a maestro with a syringe , dr. morell responded to the incessant demands of patient a , as he calls hitler in his notes , with an escalating regimen of injected vitamins , hormones and steroids , which included extracts from the hearts and livers of animals . ( while hitler ’s diet was vegetarian , his veins told a different story . ) starting in the summer of 1943 , the cocktail included generous quantities of opiates . by 1944 , the doctor had trouble finding veins to shoot . then , as the allies bombed the factories that produced germany ’s drugs , he had trouble finding opiates . “ historians have tried to explain hitler ’s tremors that started in 1945 by saying that he suffered from parkinson ’s , ” mr. ohler said . “ i would n’t rule it out , but there ’s no proof of it . i think hitler was suffering from cold turkey . ” mr. ohler believes that hitler ’s drug consumption prolonged the war , by enabling his delusions . but “ blitzed ” does not aspire to recast our understanding of national socialism , or hitler ’s psyche , fundamentally , so much as to add particulars that make other portraits seem incomplete . for mr. ohler , writing the book was cathartic . he grew up with a palpable sense of the horrors of naziism , learning an unflinching account of the war at school in what was then west germany . the history was made all the more appalling and personal by his maternal grandfather , a former nazi party member who lamented the demise of hitler whenever something about life in a democracy got on his nerves . then there was the legacy of his paternal grandfather , who fought for the nazis in the soviet union . “ i always wondered why my father never showed any emotions toward me , ” he said . “ it ’s because his father never showed any emotions toward him . the german people coming out of the war were emotionally so disturbed . i had always been in that story . now , i have written myself out of that story . i have freed myself by writing this book . it was a liberating experience . it was a good five years . ”
+1 a judge just declared trump ’s new hotel bankrupt colin taylor comments yet another one of the obnoxiously ostentatious monuments to trump ’s ego is going under . the trump international hotel in toronto is filing for bankruptcy , a mere four years after it opened . the champagne and caviar toned tower will be auctioned off after a canadian bankruptcy judge placed the building into receivership on tuesday . in a story that is now very familiar to all of us , the $ 310 million project was beset with lawsuits from the start from angry investors who claim that trump and his partners lied to them with “ wildly overstated projections of trump toronto ’s performance , ” telling investors the “ worst case ” scenario for occupancy rates would be 55 % , when in fact court documents show it varied between 15 % and 45 % . politico details just how hard trump screwed his investors : it is clear from affidavits in the fraud cases and the bankruptcy case that the buyers have taken a financial beating . a warehouse supervisor named sarbjit singh , who was earning about $ 55,000 a year , testified that he borrowed money from his father , a retired welder , for the deposit on his hotel unit ; he never closed on the deal , but he says he still lost $ 248,000 . se na lee , a homemaker who was married to a mortgage underwriter , borrowed money for her deposit from her parents ; she did close , and ended up losing $ 990,000 through december 2014 , she says . trump licensed his name for the project to talon international , owned by a russian - born oligarch , alexander shnaider . “ the whole business model has been overpromise and underdeliver , and it ’s trump ’s name on the thing ” said an insider to politico . the hotel has been the site of numerous protests against the racist rabble - rouser , and a city councillor of toronto has publicly demanded the trump name be removed from the building , saying in a statement to the project managers that : there are some who may suggest that canadians should just ignore mr. trump , or that he does n’t matter because he is a political figure in another country . however , recent attacks against muslims in toronto , and other canadian cities , show that we are not immune to hateful actions against peaceful people . as well , the canadian government ’s similar internment of japanese - canadians is a part of our past that is still very painful for many . to have the trump name displayed so prominently on our skyline signals a tacit acceptance of hateful and divisive views . such is the legacy of donald trump , disgraced businessman and divisive race - baiting sexual predator : angry citizens , angry investors , bankruptcy , and a prominent stain where the letters of his name once stood .
+1 hillary will land in prison , not the oval office the doc hillary will land in prison , not the oval office posted on tweet home » headlines » world news » hillary will land in prison , not the oval office fbi director james comey has caved to the pressure of his outraged employees at the fbi , and re - opened the criminal investigation of hilary clinton . with less than two weeks until the election , it would seem that hilary is more likely to enter a prison cell than the oval office : 2017 gold pandas and 2017 silver pandas are now available ! secure your 2017 panda coins today at sd bullion ! you must be logged in to post a comment . today 's top articles privacy policy the analysis and discussion provided on silverdoctors is for your education and entertainment only , it is not recommended for trading purposes . the doc is not an investment adviser and information obtained here should not be taken for professional investment advice . the commentary on silverdoctors reflects the opinions of the doc and other contributing authors . your own due diligence is recommended before buying or selling any investments , securities , or precious metals . we do not share in your profits , and thus will not take responsibility for your losses as well . search
+0 drop in late obamacare enrollment appears to be a trump effect - the new york times margot sanger - katz in the waning days of this year ’s affordable care act period , the trump administration declared war on the health law , releasing an executive order that could weaken its requirements and yanking advertisements and outreach off the air . those actions appear to have made a difference . for health plans in the states managed by the federal government are down slightly compared with last year . about 9 . 2 million americans picked an obamacare marketplace plan for this year , according to a government report released friday . last year , that number was 9 . 6 million . the decline by itself is n’t that meaningful , but several snapshots over previous months had shown that were on track to overtake last year ’s enrollment . it was only in the final two weeks of enrollment , when there ’s typically a surge , that the numbers dropped . fewer than 400 , 000 people signed up for obamacare plans over the last two weeks . last year , more than 700 , 000 people signed up in the last week alone . the falloff suggests that trump administration actions may have confused consumers , discouraged them from enrolling or simply made it easier to forget about the deadline . so far , the numbers do not show that the markets are failing , or in the “ death spiral ” that mr. trump and house speaker paul ryan have often mentioned . but they show how important signaling is , and how confused the signaling currently is . mr. trump ’s executive order , signed on the day of his inauguration , was widely reported as eliminating the law ’s requirement to buy insurance . ( i differ with that view . ) and the reductions in outreach may have prevented some people who intended to sign up from getting the reminder that they needed . more broadly , promises from mr. trump and republicans in congress to quickly repeal obamacare may have caused some people to think the law was no longer in effect at all . my colleagues abby goodnough and robert pear spoke with counselors around the country , who said many of their customers assumed that obamacare would be repealed soon . premiums were substantially higher this year than last in many places , and it ’s possible that those high prices also depressed . but most obamacare customers do not pay full price for their plans , so they do not feel the increases . full national numbers wo n’t be released until next month . the 9 . 2 million reported friday come only from states that use the federal government ’s website to select plans . appear to be up in a few states using their own system . of course , some people who signed up during the enrollment period may drop out of coverage or simply fail to pay their premiums , meaning the number of people who will be covered in obamacare plans is likely to be lower than the current numbers . moreover , people who signed up early for plans because they thought it was required may drop coverage if they come to believe they will face no penalty . that ’s why the future health of obamacare ’s markets will depend largely on what the trump administration and congress do next . that path is hard to predict . after a week of steps that appeared to undermine the obamacare markets , the trump administration appeared to change course . some of the canceled outreach was restored . and a new regulation , currently under review by the office of management and budget , is expected to help stabilize the health insurance markets — though it ’s hard to be sure until it is published . yet on friday , a spokesman for the department of health and human services — the agency still responsible for administering obamacare — issued a statement that adopted the harshest tones of mr. trump . “ obamacare has failed the american people , with one broken promise after another , ” said the spokesman , matt lloyd . “ we look forward to providing relief to those who are being harmed by the status quo . ” a rapid obamacare repeal is looking increasingly unlikely . mr. trump reaffirmed this morning that health care legislation is high on his priority list , but congress ’s efforts have largely stalled . the trump administration may want to keep things calm in the interim . if so , it will probably take more steps to reassure anxious insurers and customers . or it may decide that further chaos will help encourage congressional action . if mr. trump ’s preference is the former , he may learn from this week ’s news that his words matter .
+0 donald trump ’s remarks show he ’s mistaken on sexual assault in military - the new york times jennifer steinhauer and matthew rosenberg washington — sexual assault in the military has plagued the pentagon in recent years as a series of cases , and new data , revealed the extent of the problem . in response , president obama and members of congress demanded that military officials more aggressively address the threat and its causes . yet few military experts went as far as donald j. trump did wednesday , when he suggested that the integration of women into the armed forces was an underlying cause of sexual assault . speaking at a candidates’ forum , mr. trump defended one of his twitter posts from 2013 concerning the high number of sexual assaults in the military , and said that he had been “ absolutely correct ” in posting a message that said , “ what did these geniuses expect when they put men women together ? ” the remarks drew criticism on thursday from lawmakers and military experts , who said mr. trump had displayed ignorance of the pentagon ’s struggle to curb such assaults and the military justice system that is in place to prosecute them . “ that ’s more than victim blaming , and it misunderstands the historical role of women in the military , ” said retired col . don christensen , a former chief prosecutor of the air force . american women in the military have taken on expanded roles in recent years as the pentagon has integrated them into more combat positions . but they have worked alongside servicemen since the revolutionary war , and in significant numbers since world war ii , something mr. trump did not acknowledge . their roles have grown over the centuries from nurses , cooks and seamstresses , who maintained the camps of the continental army , to fighter pilots , soldiers , sailors and marines who are battling the islamic state in the middle east and afghanistan . “ we could n’t run a military without women , ” said senator lindsey graham , republican of south carolina , a member of the senate armed services committee . he noted that an argument that the proximity of women was to blame for sexual assault could be applied to women on college campuses and in workplaces , where they are also assaulted . “ quite frankly , it ’s absurd , ” he said . as the pentagon has released more detailed records on the problem , the statistics reveal that sexual assault in the military is not just a problem faced by women . in 2014 , the latest numbers available , the pentagon estimated that 20 , 300 servicemen and servicewomen were assaulted that year . “ over half the victims are men , ” said colonel christensen , who is now the president of protect our defenders , an advocacy group . of the estimated 20 , 300 attacks in 2014 recorded by the pentagon , roughly 10 , 600 of the victims were men , though women faced a higher rate of assault given their lower overall numbers in the armed forces . mr. trump ’s proposed solution of creating a military justice system to deal with sexual assault also puzzled national security experts . a military justice system has been in place in some form since the 1774 british articles of war . it is an essential and distinct part of the military . “ george washington beat him to it ! ” said mr. graham , who has worked as a military lawyer . that system and its laws , known as the uniform code of military justice , have in fact been at the center of a protracted battle in congress over its role in adjudicating such crimes . one solution was first proposed by senator kirsten gillibrand , democrat of new york . she has pressed for a measure , opposed by top pentagon leaders , that would take sexual assault cases outside the military chain of command and give military prosecutors the power to decide which cases to try , rather than keeping that authority with the accuser ’s own commander , as is the policy now . ms. gillibrand ’s logic — and that of her supporters , including a number of victims’ groups — is that more men and women in the military would come forward to report crimes if they did not fear retaliation by those supervising them . the pentagon ’s newest statistics also showed that a majority of victims did not report attacks . the defense department said that in 2014 , only 6 , 131 — under — of attacks were reported . the 2014 statistics , which were based on a study conducted for the pentagon by the rand corporation , a think tank , found that 62 percent of women who reported sexual assault said they had faced retaliation for doing so . the study , released in may 2015 and endorsed by the pentagon , offered no comparable statistic for men . ms. gillibrand ’s efforts have been rebuffed in favor of more modest measures , including those written by senator claire mccaskill , democrat of missouri , that stripped commanders of their ability to overturn jury verdicts and mandated dishonorable discharge or dismissal for anyone convicted of sexual assault . other recent legislation guarantees that every sexual assault victim in the military receives an independent lawyer , known as a special victims’ counsel , and assures a civilian review of any case in which a commander overrules a prosecutor seeking to an accused offender . “ donald trump displayed a stunning lack of knowledge about how the military justice system works , the nature of sexual assault in the military or the dozens of systemic reforms that congress has made to curb such crimes , ” ms. mccaskill said on thursday . mr. trump , pressed on wednesday about whether his 2013 twitter post was meant to suggest that women should not serve , said the solution was “ not to kick them out . ” “ right now , part of the problem is nobody gets prosecuted , ” he said . “ you have the report of rape , and nobody gets prosecuted . ” mr. trump ’s remarks on sexual assault in the military , like so many he has made on other topics , became instant campaign fodder . matt heinz , who is challenging representative martha e. mcsally , republican of arizona and a former air force combat pilot , issued a news release on thursday morning that said , “ voters deserve to know if mcsally will stick to her principles and denounce donald trump and his campaign . ”
+0 trump ’s inauguration rabbi : president likely to affirm his stance on jerusalem during next week ’s visit deborah danan tel aviv — president donald trump ’s inauguration rabbi criticized the president and his administration for its seeming reticence to clarify its position on israel ’s sovereignty over jerusalem , but added that he was confident the president would erase all doubts once he arrives in israel next week . [ speaking to the algemeiner on tuesday , rabbi marvin hier — the founder and dean of the simon wiesenthal center ( swc ) in los angeles — said he believes trump will reaffirm his stance that “ jerusalem is the eternal capital of israel . ” “ trump is not going to let it stand that the kotel ( western wall ) is going to be under the sovereignty of another nation , or that it ’ll be ‘ internationalized,’ as the vatican would like , ” hier said . “ those are unworkable suggestions that are never going to be agreed upon by the state of israel . trump has made it clear on so many occasions that jerusalem is the eternal capital of israel , so it would be quite a reversal for him to state differently on this occasion . ” hier ’s remarks came after a press briefing earlier in the day by trump ’s national security adviser h. r. mcmaster , who declined to give direct answers when pressed as to whether the u. s. regards the western wall as part of israel . mcmaster only said that the matter was a “ policy decision . ” on tuesday , white house spokesman sean spicer affirmed that the holy site is “ clearly in jerusalem . ” the debate swirling around the trump administration ’s position on israel intensified in recent days when it was revealed that a senior member of the u. s. delegation reportedly angrily shouted at his israeli counterpart that the western wall was “ part of the west bank . ” however , it later emerged that the official was david berns , a political counselor at the u. s. consulate in jerusalem who took up the role during the obama administration . later that day , the white house said that bern ’s position did not reflect that of the administration or the president . on tuesday , mcmaster confirmed that prime minister benjamin netanyahu ’s request to accompany the president on his visit to the western wall would not be fulfilled , stating that “ no israeli leaders ” would be joining the president . even though trump will be the first sitting president to go to the western wall , the white house said it would be in the framework of “ a private visit . ” the western wall , together with the temple mount complex and the eastern part of jerusalem , was captured during the 1967 six day war . its final status has not been agreed on by the international community , which views it as a core issue in the conflict with the palestinians . “ the notion that there is a question as to whom the kotel ( western wall ) belongs to is just preposterous , ” hier said . “ this is an unnecessary blunder on the part of , firstly , officials , and then mcmaster . to leave open the suggestion that the sovereignty of the kotel is attached to the west bank is just to me . ” hier repeated his belief that trump would clarify matters after he arrived in the country . “ when president trump arrives in israel , i do n’t think there will be any doubt over who has title over the kotel , ” he told the algemeiner . also on tuesday , a senior u. s. official said trump still intends to fulfill his campaign promise of relocation . “ we ’ll move the embassy , just give us time , ” the official was quoted as saying .
+1 automation is a worse cause of factory job loss than bad trade deals brenda walker
+1 3 reasons why you should apply for a job in the trump administration matt forney with the election over and done with , america is turning its attention to the transition from president obama to president trump . in barely two months , the donald will take office , ejecting the democrats’ coterie of corrupt courtiers and beginning his mission to right america ’s wrongs . but president trump ca n’t do it alone : he needs good , talented people to work under him and carry out the hard work of making america great again . that ’s where you come in . the trump administration is now soliciting people to apply for jobs for when the man himself takes office in january . we are officially calling on all ready and able return of kings readers to submit their applications and take up any job offers . here ’s why you should consider a job in president trump ’s administration ( beyond obvious reasons such as money and prestige ) … 1 . it ’ll help keep president trump accountable while the media is lying about trump reneging on his campaign promises , it ’s still a good idea to give the man more reasons to keep his word . by staffing his administration with committed nationalists , we ’ll make it easier for president trump to fulfill his political program , as well as make it more difficult for him to go back on his promises . remember , it was rank - and - file fbi agents who forced james comey to reopen the investigation into hillary clinton ; a leader needs loyal men in order to carry out his agenda . 2 . you ’ll be able to make history given the momentous task of rebuilding america after eight years of obama ’s perfidy and failure , you almost have a civic duty to help president trump in his mission . expecting america to become great again all on its own is delusional ; we need to do our part to restore this nation ’s glory . by working with the trump administration , you ’ll have a direct role in reshaping america for years — possibly decades — to come . 3 . you ’ll help trigger the left despite their massive losses in the election — beyond hillary clinton ’s defeat , the democrats now control only a handful of state governments and failed to dent the gop ’s congressional majority — the leftist mainstream media is trying to order trump around and persuade him to staff his administration with the same flacks who filled bush ’s and obama ’s . right now , they ’re freaking out over breitbart executive chairman stephen bannon being appointed as trump ’s chief strategist . by joining the trump administration , you ’ll have a hand in helping trigger the left into conniption fits and spasms of impotence . nothing horrifies them more than losing access to the levers of power , which they ’ve controlled for decades . watching leftists squirm and cry is one of the biggest fringe benefits of trump ’s victory , and we need to keep the triggering up for years to come . if you think you have the job skills , return of kings highly recommends you apply for a job in trump ’s administration . president trump may have started the fire , but it ’s our job to help the fire rise . read more : did the anti - donald trump riot in chicago help trump cruise to victory on tuesday ?
+1 project veritas video iv : $ 20 k wire transfer from belize returned | politics beforeitsnews.com ( before it 's news ) rigging the election – video iv : $ 20 k wire transfer from belize returned – youtube in the effort to prove the credibility of the undercover donor featured in the videos and to keep the investigation going , project veritas action made the decision to donate twenty thousand dollars to robert creamer ’s effort . project veritas action had determined that the benefit of this investigation outweighed the cost . and it did . in an unexpected twist , aufc president brad woodhouse , the recipient of the $ 20,000 , heard that project veritas action was releasing undercover videos exposing aufc ’s activities . he told a journalist that aufc was going to return the twenty thousand dollars . he said it was because they were concerned that it might have been an illegal foreign donation . project veritas action was pleased but wondered why that had n’t been a problem for the month that they had the money . view the first part of this series here : https://youtu.be/5iujghuikzy view the second part of this series here : https://youtu.be/hdc8pvcvfks view the third part of this series here : https://youtu.be/eeqvsk5w-jy
+0 as democrats nudge bernie sanders , g.o.p. tries to rein in donald trump - the new york times alexander burns , michael d. shear and ashley parker democratic and republican leaders on wednesday renewed their fitful efforts to impose greater order on a freewheeling presidential race and to bring to heel a pair of political renegades , senator bernie sanders and donald j. trump , whose upstart campaigns have roiled the political establishment . for democrats impatient to rally around hillary clinton as their presumptive nominee , mr. sanders has lingered as an obstacle so stubborn and frustrating that only president obama ’s intervention might dislodge him soon . mr. obama is expected to meet with mr. sanders in washington on thursday and increase the pressure on the irascible vermonter to defer to mrs. clinton . mr. obama , white house aides said , intends to nudge mr. sanders toward embracing her , stressing that mr. sanders can further his policy agenda while unifying the party to defeat mr. trump in november . the white house strategy will culminate with the president ’s formal endorsement of mrs. clinton in the coming days , followed by an appearance with her on the campaign trail soon after . but leaders in both parties are approaching mr. sanders and mr. trump gingerly , fearful that tactics might foster resentment . each man is essentially being asked to shed part of his core political persona in the interest of party unity . for mr. sanders to step away from the roaring crowd , or for mr. trump to back away from a televised brawl , would represent a wrenching departure from form . mindful of that , democrats want to ease mr. sanders from the race without alienating his supporters . in a taped appearance for “ the tonight show ” that will air thursday night , mr. obama praised mr. sanders , saying he brought “ enormous energy ” and “ new ideas ” to the campaign , making mrs. clinton better . “ my hope is over the next couple weeks we ’re able to pull things together , ” the president said . vice president joseph r. biden jr. said , “ we should be a little graceful and give him the opportunity to decide on his own . ” republicans face a thornier challenge in grappling with mr. trump , whose inflammatory comments and slapdash campaign style have alarmed party leaders throughout the race . since securing his spot as the presumptive republican nominee , he has made only transient efforts to impose discipline on his campaign and turn toward courting mainstream general election voters . mr. trump appeared briefly chastened on tuesday night , delivering a prepared victory speech free of vulgarity or racial attacks . but he quickly reverted to a more improvisational style , complaining in multiple interviews that republicans had been wrong to criticize him for denouncing a federal judge because of his hispanic heritage . still , house speaker paul d. ryan assured colleagues in a conference on wednesday that he remained supportive of mr. trump ’s candidacy . mr. ryan had criticized him this week for using “ racist ” language in criticizing gonzalo p. curiel , a united states district court judge overseeing litigation involving mr. trump . mr. ryan told lawmakers that he continued to believe mr. trump represented the party ’s best chance to enact its agenda , said brendan buck , a spokesman for mr. ryan . but mr. ryan , he said in an email , “ also told them he ’ll continue to speak out necessary to protect our identity as a party . ” steering carefully between mr. sanders and mr. trump is mrs. clinton , who praised mr. sanders and his supporters with her victory speech on tuesday night , while delivering an aggressive denunciation of mr. trump that doubled as a sales pitch for the general election . allies of mrs. clinton said on wednesday that they were confident mr. sanders would come around in time , and that the broad message she had outlined for the fall campaign would suffice to win over doubters on the left . mayor eric garcetti of los angeles , a democrat who campaigned for mrs. clinton in california , predicted that the urgency of fighting mr. trump would bring the party together and ease the hurt feelings from the nominating contest . “ this is definitely a crisis moment , ” mr. garcetti said . “ people come together in crises , and donald trump is that crisis . ” mr. sanders has given no indication that he will end his campaign before the july convention in philadelphia , though he collected far too few delegates to threaten mrs. clinton ’s nomination in a floor fight . facing a stinging defeat in the california primary on tuesday , mr. sanders responded with defiance . he declined to acknowledge that mrs. clinton had won enough delegates to capture the nomination and vowed to keep campaigning in the district of columbia , which votes next week . there have been a few early attempts at diplomacy : their campaign managers , robby mook and jeff weaver , spoke on tuesday , and the clinton campaign has been in direct contact with elected officials backing mr. sanders . senator jeff merkley of oregon , the lone senator to back mr. sanders , said he was in close contact with mrs. clinton ’s advisers and declared it time to close ranks for the general election . “ i will absolutely support our democratic nominee , and that nominee is hillary clinton , ” mr. merkley said in a telephone interview , “ and i ’ll keep working with her and her team in support of the ideas that bernie sanders put forward . ” liberal activists aligned with the sanders campaign have begun to inch away from his tenacious bid . several members of congress and two prominent advocacy groups on the left , moveon . org and democracy for america , said on wednesday that they would line up behind mrs. clinton as the candidate who has won the most pledged delegates . mr. sanders offered no immediate response to the signs that his core liberal coalition might be faltering . activists on the right have had even less success at applying pressure to mr. trump . republicans have repeatedly pleaded and cajoled mr. trump to run a more professional campaign , reflecting greater attentiveness to rules of political and social decorum . mr. trump has essentially disregarded those demands and charted his own course as an insurgent candidate with a skeleton crew of campaign staff . a new test of mr. trump ’s campaign begins on thursday as the candidate and his top aides embark on their most concerted push yet to win over big republican donors . on thursday , 70 donors are to meet at trump tower in new york , followed by lunch at the four seasons hotel . mr. trump is expected to attend both the meeting and the lunch , and to proceed to a event in richmond , va. on friday . it is unclear which version of mr. trump is likely to show up . after delivering a conventionally victory speech on tuesday , mr. trump returned to twitter the next morning to attack the hosts of msnbc ’s “ morning joe ” for covering him unfavorably . hours later , an aide to mr. trump called for barring a conservative radio host , hugh hewitt , from the republican convention because of his criticism of mr. trump . and even as his efforts have intensified , mr. trump has resisted making phone calls to donors to solicit funds . edward f. cox , the chairman of the new york republican party , said the party was grappling with unprecedented circumstances , brought about by the elevation of an untrained outsider unlike any presidential nominee in memory . mr. trump , he said , faced unusual pressure to build up his political operation and coordinate a message with mr. ryan . mr. cox noted major opportunities coming up for mr. trump to reintroduce himself to voters and move on from his attacks on mr. curiel . “ you ’re going to be looking to the naming of a candidate , you ’re going to have an acceptance speech , ” mr. cox said , “ and this issue is going to be a very minor one . ”
+0 a look at clinton ’s marriage woes raises a question : really ? - the new york times liz spayd late last saturday evening , the new york times delivered an scoop to its readers — tax documents of donald trump ’s that showed he may not have paid taxes for 18 years thanks to a nearly $ 1 billion loss suffered by his business . that was a winning story for the times . it took aim at an issue that has dogged trump for months and it gave the public insight into trump the businessman , his main pitch for the presidency . then , one day later , came an investigative look into hillary clinton that surfaced revelatory material on : her questionable behavior as the wife of a philandering husband . not as the secretary or state , or the junior senator from new york , or even the first lady behind a calamitous health care initiative . instead , it probed an issue whose relevance to the election and certainly to her potential presidency seems hard to make . even the boundless trump has shown partial restraint around the issue . he feigns that he is only considering bringing it up in the future ( despite a few jabs ) but mostly he leaves the frontal attacks to surrogates like rudy giuliani . the times piece ran nearly 3 , 000 words and was played prominently on the front of the home page and on a1 of monday ’s print edition . it focused on whether clinton played a key role in efforts to discredit and undermine various women who came forward claiming to have had sexual relations with bill clinton , who was running for president . the reporting was exhaustive and balanced , and the tone measured . its conclusion , from numerous interviews and from resurfacing previously disclosed material , did n’t feel like a big reveal but it was a fair interpretation of the material : “ mrs. clinton ’s level of involvement in that effort , as described in interviews , internal campaign records and archives , is still the subject of debate . by some accounts , she gave the green light and was a motivating force by others , her support was no more than tacit assent . ” but the response from readers writing into the public editor was heavily tilted against the piece , especially but not exclusively the response from women . this email from suzanne burke of savannah , ga. was typical : i asked the times ’s political editor , carolyn ryan , if she would lay out the justification for the piece . here ’s her response in an email : i do n’t think this one is an easy call . there is a defensible case to be made that this subject is moving closer to the daily beat of the campaign . and the times is n’t the only publication that has circled this topic . but a few things bother me about the story . one is the conceit of this piece . it seemed more intent on scoping out possibly unethical behavior by a woman whose husband had cheated than on exploring the full dimensions of an undoubtedly brutal period in her life . i also felt shortchanged on the question of whether hillary clinton indeed knew whether the women alleging to have had sexual relationships with her husband were telling the truth . if clinton did n’t believe them — or was determined to believe her husband — then it ’s more understandable that she would strike out against women that to her were menacing liars . on the other hand , if she was trying to smear women she knew were telling the truth , well , that ’s a different story . but i left the times article uncertain which it was . could some type of biographical piece be done on this period of clinton ’s life ? perhaps . it would be hard to look the other way if trump engages a detailed assault on her behavior . but by launching a probe like this one , the times feels more brazen than the republican challenger himself .
+0 howard dean : dems must filibuster gorsuch or ‘ they ’ll never raise any money’ again - breitbart pam key thursday on msnbc , former vermont governor and dnc chair howard dean said the senate democrats must filibuster president donald trump ’s supreme court justice nominee , neil gorsuch if they want to continue to be able to raise money from the base voters of their party . partial transcript as follows : kornacki : an announcement by a democrat — i know he ’s one of the more moderate or conservative democrats — but an announcement by a democrat joe manchin that ’s going to vote for this confirmation . what does this do , howard dean , to the question of a filibuster on the democratic side ? dean : nothing . that ’s baked n. i expect two or three or four democrats to vote for judge gorsuch . that is what their constituency wants . i can tell you right now if judge gorsuch if he ’s confirmed by democrats — that is unless we force mcconnell to exercise the nuclear option — if he ’s confirmed straight up with 60 votes , 10 of which are democratic , the democratic senatorial committee might as well hang it up ’cause they ’ll never raise any money from our base . follow pam key on twitter @pamkeynen
+0 donald trump used legally dubious method to avoid paying taxes - the new york times david barstow , mike mcintire , patricia cohen , susanne craig and russ buettner donald j. trump proudly acknowledges he did not pay a dime in federal income taxes for years on end . he insists he merely exploited tax loopholes legally available to any billionaire — loopholes he says hillary clinton failed to close during her years in the united states senate . “ why did n’t she ever try to change those laws so i could n’t use them ? ” mr. trump asked during a campaign rally last month . but newly obtained documents show that in the early 1990s , as he scrambled to stave off financial ruin , mr. trump avoided reporting hundreds of millions of dollars in taxable income by using a tax avoidance maneuver so legally dubious his own lawyers advised him that the internal revenue service would most likely declare it improper if he were audited . thanks to this one maneuver , which was later outlawed by congress , mr. trump potentially escaped paying tens of millions of dollars in federal personal income taxes . it is impossible to know for sure because mr. trump has declined to release his tax returns , or even a summary of his returns , breaking a practice followed by every republican and democratic presidential candidate for more than four decades . tax experts who reviewed the newly obtained documents for the new york times said mr. trump ’s tax avoidance maneuver , conjured from ambiguous provisions of highly technical tax court rulings , clearly pushed the edge of the envelope of what tax laws permitted at the time . “ whatever loophole existed was not ‘ exploited’ here , but stretched beyond any recognition , ” said steven m. rosenthal , a senior fellow at the nonpartisan tax policy center who helped draft tax legislation in the early 1990s . moreover , the tax experts said the maneuver trampled a core tenet of american tax policy by conferring enormous tax benefits on mr. trump for losing vast amounts of other people ’s money — in this case , money investors and banks had entrusted to him to build a casino empire in atlantic city . as that empire floundered in the early 1990s , mr. trump pressured his financial backers to forgive hundreds of millions of dollars in debt he could not repay . while the cancellation of so much debt gave new life to mr. trump ’s casinos , it created a potentially crippling problem with the internal revenue service . in the eyes of the i. r. s. a dollar of canceled debt is the same as a dollar of taxable income . this meant mr. trump faced the painful prospect of having to report the hundreds of millions of dollars of canceled debt as if it were hundreds of millions of dollars of taxable income . but mr. trump ’s audacious maneuver gave him a way to simply avoid reporting any of that canceled debt to the i. r. s. “ he ’s getting something for absolutely nothing , ” john l. buckley , who served as the chief of staff for congress ’s joint committee on taxation in 1993 and 1994 , said in an interview . the new documents , which include correspondence from mr. trump ’s tax lawyers and bond offering disclosure statements , might also help explain how mr. trump reported a staggering loss of $ 916 million in his 1995 tax returns , portions of which were first published by the times last month . united states tax laws allowed mr. trump to use that $ 916 million loss to cancel out an equivalent amount of taxable income . but tax experts have been debating how mr. trump could have legally declared a deduction of that magnitude at all . among other things , they have noted that mr. trump ’s huge casino losses should have been offset by the hundreds of millions of dollars in taxable income he surely must have reported to the i. r. s. in the form of canceled casino debt . by avoiding reporting his canceled casino debt in the first place , however , mr. trump ’s $ 916 million deduction would not have been reduced by hundreds of millions of dollars . he could have preserved the deduction and used it instead to avoid paying income taxes he might otherwise have owed on books , tv shows or branding deals . under the rules in effect in 1995 , the $ 916 million loss could have been used to wipe out more than $ 50 million a year in taxable income for 18 years . mr. trump declined to comment for this article . “ your email suggests either a fundamental misunderstanding or an intentional misreading of the law , ” hope hicks , mr. trump ’s spokeswoman , said in a statement . “ your thesis is a criticism , not just of mr. trump , but of all taxpayers who take the time and spend the money to try to comply with the dizzyingly complex and ambiguous tax laws without paying more tax than they owe . mr. trump does not think that taxpayers should file returns that resolve all doubt in favor of the i. r. s. and any tax experts that you have consulted are engaged in pure speculation . there is no news here . ” mr. trump financed his three atlantic city gambling resorts with $ 1 . 3 billion in debt , most of it in the form of high interest junk bonds . by late 1990 , after months of escalating operating losses , new jersey casino regulators were warning that “ a complete financial collapse of the trump organization was not out of the question . ” by 1992 , all three casinos had filed for bankruptcy , and bondholders were ultimately forced to forgive hundreds of millions of dollars in debt to salvage at least part of their investment . the story of how mr. trump sidestepped a potentially ruinous tax bill from that forgiven debt emerged from documents recently discovered by the times during a search of the casino bankruptcy filings . the documents offer only a partial description of events , and none of mr. trump ’s tax lawyers agreed to be interviewed for this article . at the time , mr. trump would have been to pay tens of millions of dollars in taxes . according to assessments of his financial stability by new jersey casino regulators , there were times in the early 1990s when mr. trump had no more than a few million dollars in his various bank accounts . he was so strapped for cash that his creditors were apoplectic when they learned that mr. trump had bought marla maples an engagement ring estimated to be worth $ 250 , 000 . it is unclear who first glimpsed a way for mr. trump to dodge a huge tax bill . but the basic maneuver he used was essentially a new twist on a contentious strategy corporations had been using for years to avoid taxes created by canceled debt . the strategy , known among tax practitioners as a “ swap , ” relies on mathematical sleight of hand . say a company can repay only $ 60 million of a $ 100 million bank loan . if the bank forgives the remaining $ 40 million , the company faces a large tax bill because it will have to report that canceled $ 40 million debt as taxable income . clever tax lawyers found a way around this inconvenience . the company would simply swap stock for the $ 40 million in debt it could not repay . this way , it would look as if the entire $ 100 million loan had been repaid , and presto : there would be no tax bill due for $ 40 million in canceled debt . best of all , it did not matter if the actual market value of the stock was considerably less than the $ 40 million in canceled debt . ( stock in an effectively insolvent company could easily be next to worthless . ) even in the opaque , rarefied world of gaming impenetrable tax regulations , this particular maneuver was about as close as a company could get to waving a magic wand and making taxes disappear . alarmed by the obvious potential for abuse , congress and the i. r. s. made repeated efforts during the 1980s to curb this brand of tax wizardry before banning its use by corporations altogether in 1993 . but while policy makers were busy trying to stop corporations from using this particular ploy , the endlessly creative club of elite tax advisers was inventing a new way to circumvent the ban , this time through the use of partnerships . this was the twist that was especially beneficial to mr. trump . wealthy families like the trumps often own real estate and other assets through partnerships rather than corporations . mr. trump , for example , owned all three of his atlantic city casinos through partnerships , an arrangement that allowed casino profits to flow directly to his personal tax returns when times were good . but what if times were bad ? what if mr. trump ’s casino partnerships could not repay hundreds of millions of dollars they owed to bondholders ? and what if the bondholders were persuaded to forgive this debt ? would n’t that force the partnerships — i. e. mr. trump — to report hundreds of millions of dollars of taxable income in the form of canceled debt ? enter the tax advisers with their audacious plan : why not eliminate all that taxable income from canceled debt by swapping “ partnership equity ” for debt in exactly the same way corporations had been swapping company stock for debt ? true enough , the i. r. s. and congress had clearly signaled their disapproval of the basic concept . fred t. goldberg , who was the i. r. s. commissioner under george bush , recalled in an interview that the i. r. s. frowned on partnership swaps for the same reason it objected to corporate swaps . “ the fiction is that the partnership interest has the same value as the debt , ” he said . lee a. sheppard , a contributing editor to tax notes , wrote in 1991 that trying to find a legal justification for this tactic was akin to proving “ the existence of the loch ness monster . ” on the campaign trail , mr. trump boasts of his mastery of tax loopholes and claims no other candidate for the white house has ever known more about the tax code . this background , he argues with evident disgust , gives him special insight into the way wealthy elites buy off politicians and hire lawyers and accountants to rig the tax system — just as , he claims , they rig elections . that insight was on display in 1991 and 1992 when he was laying the groundwork to make a tax bill disappear . before proceeding with his plan , mr. trump did what most prudent taxpayers do : he sought a formal tax opinion letter . such letters , typically written by highly paid lawyers who spend entire careers mastering the roughly 10 , 000 pages of statutes that make up the united states tax code , can provide important protection to taxpayers . as long as a tax adviser blesses a particular tax strategy in a formal opinion letter , the taxpayer most likely will not face penalties even if the i. r. s. ultimately rules the strategy was improper . the language used in tax opinion letters has a specialized meaning understood by all tax professionals . so , for example , when a tax lawyer writes that a shelter is “ more likely than not ” going to be approved by the i. r. s. this means there is at least a 51 percent chance the shelter will withstand scrutiny . ( this is known as an “ m. l. t. n. ” letter in the vernacular of tax lawyers . ) a “ should ” letter means there is about a 75 percent chance the i. r. s. will not object . the gold standard , a “ will ” letter , means the i. r. s. is all but certain to bless the tax avoidance strategy . but the opinion letters mr. trump received from his tax lawyers at willkie farr gallagher were far from the gold standard . the letters bluntly warned that there was no statute , regulation or judicial opinion that explicitly permitted mr. trump ’s tax gambit . “ due to the lack of definitive judicial or administrative authority , ” his lawyers wrote , “ substantial uncertainties exist with respect to many of the tax consequences of the plan . ” one letter , 25 pages long , analyzed seven distinct components of mr. trump ’s proposed tax maneuver . it found only “ substantial authority ” for six of the components . in the stilted language of tax opinion letters , the phrase “ substantial authority ” is a red flag that the lawyers believe the i. r. s. can be expected to rule against the taxpayer roughly of the time . in other words , mr. trump ’s tax lawyers were telling him there were at least six different reasons the i. r. s. would probably cry foul if he were audited . in anticipation of that possibility , the lawyers even laid out a fallback plan that would have allowed mr. trump to spread the pain of a large tax hit over many years if the i. r. s. ultimately balked . it is unclear whether the i. r. s. ever challenged mr. trump ’s use of this specific tax maneuver . according to a financial disclosure statement prepared by mr. trump ’s accountants , he was under audit by the tax authorities as of 1993 , only a year after he avoided reporting hundreds of millions of dollars in taxable income because of this legally suspect tactic . but the results of that audit are unknown , and the agency declined to comment on monday . regardless of whether the i. r. s. objected , mr. trump ’s tax avoidance in this case violated a central principle of american tax law , said mr. buckley , the former chief of staff for congress ’s joint committee on taxation , who later served as chief tax counsel for democrats on the house ways and means committee . “ he deducted somebody else ’s losses , ” mr. buckley said . by that , mr. buckley meant that only the bondholders who forgave mr. trump ’s unpaid casino debts should have been allowed to use those losses to offset future income and reduce their taxes . that mr. trump used the same losses to reduce his taxes ultimately increases the tax burden on everyone else , mr. buckley explained . “ he is double dipping big time . ” in any event , mr. trump can no longer benefit from the same maneuver . just as congress acted in 1993 to ban swaps by corporations , it acted in 2004 to ban swaps by partnerships . among the members of congress who voted to finally close the loophole : senator hillary clinton of new york .
+0 california college professor who called trump ’s win an ’act of terrorism’ nominated for campus award - breitbart katherine rodriguez a california college professor who called president trump ’s election win an “ act of terrorism ” during class was nominated to become “ faculty member of the year , ” campus reform reported . [ a panel of school administrators are in charge of selecting the professor for the award , which gives the chosen faculty member a chance to speak at orange coast college ’s commencement ceremony . the professor in question , olga perez declined the award for an unspecified reason , according to doug bennet , executive director of college advancement at occ . even though cox turned down the award , some people at the school think the faculty ’s decision to nominate her was wrong in the first place , given what she said last semester . “ the fact that the faculty chose professor cox for the faculty member of the year award speaks volumes to how blind they are about what she did last semester , ” said joshua of occ ’s college republicans group . on saturday , campus police discovered graffiti targeting the occ college republicans and . “ doxx joshua martinez occ young republicans = fascists , ” one graffiti message read , according to the los angeles times . says that cox probably did not accept the nomination because of these recent events . “ she understood the impact that accepting the nomination could have on the campus climate , and that is why she refused , ” said . ’s group is the same group responsible for posting the video of cox ’s comments on facebook . in her comments , cox blamed the electoral college for trump ’s win and and said that the “ act of terrorism ” was committed by someone “ among us . ” “ it ’s an act of terrorism . one of the most frightening things for me , and most people in my life , is that the people committing the assault are among us , ” cox said . the college recently rescinded the suspension of the student who recorded cox in class .
+1 re : yes , there are paid government trolls on social media , blogs , forums and websites anotherannie yes , there are paid government trolls on social media , blogs , forums and websites february 26th , 2014 do you want solid proof that paid government shills are targeting websites , blogs , forums and social media accounts ? for years , many have suspected that government trolls have been systematically causing havoc all over the internet , but proving it has been difficult . but now thanks to documents leaked by edward snowden and revealed by glenn greenwald , we finally have hard evidence that western governments have been doing this . as you will see below , a uk intelligence outfit known as the government communications headquarters , through a previously secret unit known as the joint threat research intelligence group , has been systematically attempting “ to control , infiltrate , manipulate , and warp online discourse ” . this should be deeply disturbing to anyone that values free speech on the internet . it is n’t just that the british government is trying to influence what people are thinking . the reality is that this is far bigger than a mere propaganda campaign . as greenwald recently noted on his new website , the “ integrity of the internet itself ” is at stake … by publishing these stories one by one , our nbc reporting highlighted some of the key , discrete revelations : the monitoring of youtube and blogger , the targeting of anonymous with the very same ddos attacks they accuse “ hacktivists ” of using , the use of “ honey traps ” ( luring people into compromising situations using sex ) and destructive viruses . but , here , i want to focus and elaborate on the overarching point revealed by all of these documents : namely , that these agencies are attempting to control , infiltrate , manipulate , and warp online discourse , and in doing so , are compromising the integrity of the internet itself . so what techniques are the british using to control and manipulate discourse on the internet ? according to greenwald , the documents that snowden has uncovered show that they are willing to sink to despicable lows in order to get the results that they desire … among the core self - identified purposes of jtrig are two tactics : ( 1 ) to inject all sorts of false material onto the internet in order to destroy the reputation of its targets ; and ( 2 ) to use social sciences and other techniques to manipulate online discourse and activism to generate outcomes it considers desirable . to see how extremist these programs are , just consider the tactics they boast of using to achieve those ends : “ false flag operations ” ( posting material to the internet and falsely attributing it to someone else ) , fake victim blog posts ( pretending to be a victim of the individual whose reputation they want to destroy ) , and posting “ negative information ” on various forums . the following is a list of internet infiltration techniques that were listed on one particular slide that snowden leaked … – infiltration operation – sting operation you can check out this slide for yourself right here . there is also evidence that the canadian government has been involved in this sort of thing as well . natural news … you ’ve probably run into them before — those seemingly random antagonizers who always end up diverting the conversation in an online chat room or article comment section away from the issue at hand , and towards a much different agenda . hot - button issues like illegal immigration , the two - party political system , the “ war on terror ” and even alternative medicine are among the most common targets of such attackers , known as internet “ trolls ” or “ shills , ” who in many cases are nothing more than paid lackeys hired by the federal government and other international organizations to sway and ultimately control public opinion . several years ago , canada ’s ctv news aired a short segment about how its own government had been exposed for hiring secret agents to monitor social media and track online conversations , as well as the activities of certain dissenting individuals . this report , which in obvious whitewashing language referred to such activities as the government simply “ weighing in and correcting ” allegedly false information posted online , basically admitted that the canadian government had assumed the role of secret online police . you can see a video news report about this activity up in canada right here . are you disturbed yet ? you should be . so what kind of people are the governments of the western world targeting online ? well , when it comes to the u.s. government , all you have to do is to look at their official documents to see who they consider the “ problems ” to be . for much more on this , please see my previous article entitled “ 72 types of americans that are considered ‘ potential terrorists’ in official government documents “ . sadly , the reality of the matter is that the days of the free and open internet are numbered . the governments of the world are increasing their control over the internet with each passing day , and eventually a time will likely come when we will not be able to communicate openly like this any longer . things have gotten so bad in the u.s. already that even google is spooked … a recent court decision that endorsed a broad view of the federal communications commission ’s authority over the internet has google and other web companies nervous . in closed - door meetings with regulators and capitol hill staff , google ’s lawyers have said they ’re worried how the fcc may use its newfound powers , according to multiple people familiar with the meetings . the extent of the fcc ’s authority over google and other web services remains unclear , and the current fcc has given no indication that it is interested in pushing aggressive new regulations . but the possibility that the commission could begin telling google how to organize its search results or handle its users’ data is enough to spook the company ’s army of washington lobbyists . and this is just the beginning . if you think that the control freaks that are running things now are bad , just wait until you see the next generation of control freaks . for example , there is one prominent student writer at harvard that apparently believes that free speech at her university should be abolished and that any professor that does not advocate for her politically - correct version of “ justice ” should be fired … a student writer at harvard university is raising eyebrows after publishing her belief that free speech on campus should be abolished and professors with opposing views be fired . sandra korn , a senior who writes a column for the harvard crimson newspaper , thinks radical leftism is the only permissible political philosophy , and the first amendment only hinders colleges from brainwashing students with her viewpoint . “ let ’s give up on academic freedom in favor of justice , ” states the subtitle of her feb. 18 column , in which she insists harvard stop guaranteeing students and professors the right to hold controversial views and conduct research putting liberalism in a negative light . “ if our university community opposes racism , sexism , and heterosexism , why should we put up with research that counters our goals ? ” korn asks . this is what control freaks always want . they always want to shut down those that are presenting opposing views . they do n’t believe in free speech and a “ marketplace of ideas ” . rather , they believe in shoving what they believe down the rest of our throats . and now we have solid proof that the governments of the western world are paying people to manipulate discourse on social media , blogs , forums and websites . so will there be great outrage over this , or will the apathetic public just roll over and ignore this like they have so many other times the past few years ? my guess , most will just roll over and ignore this . people do n’t care . hammerstrike at least i know why people disagree with me other dem intrenets now , they are paid trolls ! paid by the governement to spread falsehoods and hurt muh feelins ! seth datta most of my comments get deleted by bankster paid control freaks if they do n’t troll my comments . banksters truly are the psychopaths destroying the world . k the amazing thing is , they are not that hard to spot . but since like so many other things , people will not face the truth . this information will only help a very few . for those of you still sitting on the fence . how much more evidence do you need ? how many more ways does the government have to mess with you ? what will it finally take , to say enough ? rodster “ do n’t confuse me with the facts . i already made up my mind . ” supernaturalcat “ the amazing thing is , they are not that hard to spot . but since like so many other things , people will not face the truth . ” indeed . never underestimate the power of denial . djohn1 this is called doing anything for a paycheck . otherwise known in the world as prostituting for money . snowden probably has a few other “ surprises ” in the material he has not released yet . this also dates back to way before the internet was ever thought of . pr firms for the government have been making fun of anything that they truly want to hide . such as any legitimate ufo reporting over the last 50 or so years . anyone with a thorough knowledge of solar system astronomy was made to feel like a nut as far back as the 50s . one russian scientist came up with a fantastic theory of how venus came to be where it is in the solar system . in 1949 or 1950 scientists all over the planet wanted his books banned from publication and actually boycotted anyone that would pub his work . his theory said that venus was extremely hot(800 degrees fahrenheit ) . that the planet had a weird rotation . that it possibly came into the solar system around the time of joseph of egypt and 400 years later caused the plagues of egypt under moses . that placed it in biblical times . well venus does have a weird day . it is longer than its year . venus is full of hydrocarbons and carbon dioxide . it has an atmosphere much thicker than the earth ’s . all of which sort of lend credit to the theory . it is volcanic and has a very hot surface . in 1950 , astronomers were guessing that venus was a twin to earth with a slightly higher temperature . possibly 150 at the equator and comfortable at the poles . then the russian drones sent to venus told an entirely different story and blew all of the astronomers out of the water . i hope i am embarrassing them for their efforts to ban the man from publication . he spent his years at princeton university after leaving russia . two aspects of the theory should make us all sit up and listen . he claimed the hydrocarbons rained oil over the surface of the earth and that might be where a lot of earth ’s supply of oil came from . the russians are acting on that theory to find new oil reserves . the second aspect is that venus played a kind of bounce game as it came down through the solar system and removed the second planet from the sun in the process and dumped it out further in the solar system . he thought that mars was originally in the orbit where venus is today . his theory was that mankind forgot what happened in a kind of national amnesia . if what he says was true , then mars could have had a thick enough atmosphere and water to support life ! more important it might have had a thick magnetic layer that filtered out the sun and kept the planet temperate at one time . all of which was ruined as venus dragged it out of orbit . that might have happened in biblical times . the earth might have been slightly closer to the sun with a 360 day year instead of 365 and a quarter day year . this of course is all speculation until we go out there and find out the real truth of what is going on . my own guess is that if there is life on mars it is in caves under the surface with a slightly heavier atmosphere and possibly seas in these huge caverns . if there is any surface life left , it is likely to be about the size of a dog or a racoon . if there is large life , i suspect it will be sand worms deep in the sands of mars . i mention this because it is very easy to ridicule ideas . the one i just told you about actually happened in the 50s and was ridiculed coast to coast by actual scientists . we are in a universe with over 100 billion galaxies out there . the number of stars with life possible is at a fantastic number . if one in a million stars has life , that is still a whole lot of life out there . the only explanation that makes sense to me is we are far off the trade lanes between the stars . otherwise we would have been contacted years ago . or have we been ? i suggest that when a civilization reaches the level of using atomic bombs then that civilization bares watching . we had a lot of ufo activity after world war ii and the setting off of bombs all over the planet as governments tested these weapons . governments all over the world that are big enough are probably hiding a lot of things from all of us . i think we might all be amazed at just exactly what has been withheld . nowalive this is quite a postulation on the mere evidence that was correct , namely the temperature of venus . the plagues of egypt were localized . you had firstborns killed unless you used a passover lamb . second , what about the oils raining down all over the earth ? i was quite young when valdez crashed . the oil rig explosion in the gulf is more recent . the hydrocarbon dumping would have killed off most life on the planet . basically my point is that observational science shows that virtually none of what you just stated has been proven or even has any legitimate evidence . it ’s wild speculation . i ’m not an astrophysicist , but i doubt you are either . the governments hiding things is obvious . this in no way shows life on mars or venus dumping oil or switching orbital positions . it does not even slightly point to alien visitations or life . i ’m not trying to offend you . i ’m just trying to understand what you just said in a way that shows there is some evidence for it . djohn1 you are quite right . it is wild speculation on my part . except the temperature is not the only evidence . venus rotates the wrong direction in its spin or day . it is the only planet in the entire solar system to do so . the day is 268 of our days long . the year is 222 of our days . that the temperatures are so high could just be the closeness to the sun . the atmosphere is 15 times thicker than our planet ’s atmosphere . that speaks to me that something unusual is going on . as for the oil , it is showing up in places that only a rain of oil might explain . the critical thing that we do not know is when it occurred or if it occurred at all . if i am right , there is a good possibility that the moon will have some fairly large deposits of oil under the surface . there is a lot of unexplained discoloration on face of the moon . if there is oil under the surface of the moon , it might also mean that the moon was a small planet at one time with an atmosphere and life . again , i am speculating . the theory did not come from astrophysics . it came from examining a lot of stories all over the planet from the approximate time of moses . that was velinkovsky ’s specialty , ancient languages and psychology of ancient cultures . rastus a field of study that you may or may not have heard of is called “ catastrophism ” . not without its critics and highly controversial among biblical scholars , you may find the subject a good scratch to your itch . a book by donald wesley patten called “ catastrophism and the old testament ” might be in accordance with your fancy . johnny are you speaking of immanuel velikovsky ? he is the author of worlds in collision . he points out the chaos of the universe . i found him interesting to read in 1958 . djohn1 yes . he was not a specialist in astronomy . he simply pointed out what the beliefs of the ancient world were . he did upset the scientific world of his time . i think he was at least 50 % right about things . we now know that venus could not have come from jupiter or saturn . my own thought is that it had to come from the outer solar system or beyond . we have well over 100 moons around the planets . most of which are around the gas giants . most of which have a nickel / iron core . none of which could have come from the major gas giants in the solar system . they had to come from something much more dense and much older . the man most likely to shake the core beliefs of astrophysics and astronomy is an accomplished astronomer , dr. mike brown . what he is finding is there are a series of small , pluto sized planets , some with small moons in the outer solar system . scientists have been looking in the wrong place . of the four new planets he has found , they seem to be 40 - 50 degrees off the orbits of the gas giants . some are in extremely comet like orbits and at least one is on its way out of the solar system . i am no scientist . a lot of what i read about it makes little sense with current theories . unless there is something out there that is big enough to drag small planets and moons out of their original orbits around the sun . some think we have a brown dwarf about a light year out at the edge of the sun ’s influence(gravity ) . so far no one has found it . i think we are looking in the wrong places . if there is a brown dwarf , it is quite small as stars go . if it is in a comet - like orbit , then somewhere down the road it will return causing all kinds of changes in the solar system . if it has planets around it , then those planets might cause a lot of destruction as they come close to existing planets and moons in our solar system . our planets as viewed from the north and top of the solar system rotate around the sun counter - clockwise . if this brown dwarf is rotating clockwise around the sun , that might complicate finding and plotting an orbit for it . if it is way off the angle that most planets orbit the sun , that might also keep it from being discovered . i do find it interesting that a lot of astronomy telescopes are moving towards the south pole for observations . known brown dwarf stars do exist around stars in our stellar neighborhood and some are independent of any other stars all within about 12 light years of our sun . a lot of what we do know is kept fairly low key and does n’t really get a lot of news headlines . how many people know about dr. brown ’s work in the outer solar system ? how many know about the gap(hole ) in the orbits of the orb cloud ? a gap big enough for something the size of venus or much larger could have made in the outer asteroid belt . i think it is possible that an object possibly the size of a gas giant might be out there somewhere but so little light is coming from it that we will only discover it by accident . what is significant is we are still learning about new planets in our own solar system . the governments have spent enormous amounts of money in this area through nasa . so someone must think we have things out there we need to know . grimreaperlady i found your reply facinating ! there is no way we are the only planet with life . i think i am going to go read some scientific journals , any suggestions . jaxon64 awesome distraction technique … you turned a discussion of govt media control and trolling into a lengthy discussion of planetary formation? … truly masterful . you deserve a raise . djohn1 thank you . just for the record , i have no salary from the u.s. government for trolling . the only funds from them i see is my monthly social security check as someone that has retired . not sure how long that lasts before they steal what they have n’t all ready spent out of the general fund . the true masters are the pr people hired to keep the sheep all sleeping peacefully while the government steals everything in sight . i started getting suspicious about 20 years ago , when the entire newspaper business stopped mud raking and went with bland stories handed out by the wire services . it appears stirring up things has legal penalties and newspapers do not want to get hung up in legal battles . so they run news from wire services and leave the real reporting to others . making advertisers angry has financial penalties as well , so lord help the reporter that angers an advertiser . everything is wrapped up in money motivations . that above anything else is what has destroyed the country ’s estate that used to bring down the crooked politicians . the only way this related to planetary formation is that this media was used to go against this man by scientists that were angry at his claims . these scientists literally boycotted the publishers willing to pub his work . my own thought is that controling the scientific discovery press is just as bad . jonathon von tischner a good video on that is “ return of the nephilim ” by chuck missler . djohn1 immanuel velikovsky wrote the book in question . worlds in collision was the title . he was wrong about a lot of things . for instance i do not think it is possible to have venus come out of jupiter . the elements are different . venus has a heavy core vs jupiter has a hydrogen and helium core . what he did get right was a lot of facts about what venus actually consisted of . my own idea is venus might have been a wondering planet not orbiting any star . i mentioned this man because by coincidence he did get a lot of things right . his ideas should not have been debunked or censored in any way . how was venus created ? i think it might have come from brown dwarf that was coming apart at the seams . that would make it a whole lot older than velinkovsky thought . the idea is brown dwarfs might have a lot of heavy materials on them than regular stars and gas planets . we have an entire solar system full of heavy objects like that . we also have at least 4 gas giants that consist mostly of hydrogen and helium . the question is where did all of those heavy material objects consisting of nickel / iron cores come from ? that is a question that most astronomy scientists do not have a good answer yet . 2¢wurth wow , less than two sentences into the article and the icon of gary2 started appearing on the left and right sides of the screen . i used to think of a troll as a small ugly creature , now i think of this perverted looking plastic muppet who barks out this “ take from the rich , give to me ” mantra . must be very weird living in that world … chris yes the purple colored cookie monster from sesame street ! seth half my comments get deleted or trolled outright . there is little to no freedom of speech in the west . heck , other countries are the lands of the free , relatively speaking . blackciti_fo5 so they ’re doing with the internet what has already been done to television basically ? great . just great . eric blair those who propose that only one perspective is viable and that all competing viewpoints should be abolished by decree are the worst trolls of all , no matter what ideals they hold up to justify their actions . america was founded on the idea of freedom , and primarily freedom of speech and ideas . any who would seek to deter that freedom are as tumors on the political body of this country , and as such should be excised lest their disease continue to spread . goebbels and bernays would be proud of such people , but they have no place in a truly free country . nicholas mull yes brotherjohnf we have been telling people this for years as we have battled these trolls for more than a decade . people just refuse to believe it . sad . syrin anyone reading my unrelenting attacks on gary at michael ’s other web site knows that i believe without a doubt he is a paid disinformation gov’t agent . no one can read the facts that michael presents , and logically reach the conclusions he does when faced with pages of data and facts unless they are brain dead or have an agenda . he might have both . guest lol . i do n’t think gary is a disinformation agent . i think he ’s just an angry man who feels that he ’s owed something . but that ’s just my opinion . jaxon64 agreed … now gay vet may actually be a troll . gary at least discusses the issues ,- albeit from his redundant and close - minded viewpoints which are inalterable by facts — yet gay vet and a few others are always trying to distract from the topic and turn any intelligent discourse in the comments section into a name calling and repub vs democrat discussion . his very name was probably chosen to distract from article content . another tactic i see from some here consistently is that if anyone mentions any faith , or god or just finishes a post with “ god help us” … then trolls who never post anything else will pounce in and start attacking god — i think the true motive is to turn the conversation toward one of atheism / religion / creation instead of the topic of the article … you see it from the same people over and over – then they disappear and someone new with a different moniker will take their place ( quite possibly the same shill but different name . ) all said , they are very effective at distraction if one reads through the comments , they often take over an entire article and it never gets back on topic . gay veteran speak of trolls and jaxon64 pops up . “ … yet gay vet and a few others are always trying to distract from the topic and turn any intelligent discourse in the comments section into a name calling and repub vs democrat discussion … hey einstein , get a clue , there is no differences between the 2 parties … his very name was probably chosen to distract from article content … . ” i ’ll choose my own name , j - hole . “ … another tactic i see from some here consistently is that if anyone mentions any faith , or god or just finishes a post with “ god help us” … then trolls who never post anything else will pounce in and start attacking god … ” or you post something incredibly stoopid and get hammered for it firstgarden you know a tree by its fruit . veteranforpeace some folks take pride in being prime slime . they ’re so desperate for attention that any kind would be better than none . veteranforpeace they ’ll do it for buck too , paid prime time slime . facts seldom stand in the way of what someone wants to believe english kev i think gary has genitalia dimension disorder . syrin michael , i actually believe the gov’t push to take over the internet will help america . why ? because most americans are fat , lazy brain dead zombies who let jon stewart do their thinking for them . they ’re intellectual sloths and are 100 % unaware of the noose being placed around their neck . however , they are internet addicts , and take away an addicts fix , and he / she will react potentially violently . it might just shake enough people from their stupor to effect meaningful change . firstgarden how dare you speak my mind ? :-) media - mesmerized couch potatoes . derp so basically , what you ’re saying is that the only way to save the internet ( and all that it represents ) is to destroy it ? apple cider your beliefs step on the rights of free citizens and we are not here to serve your needs . please stick your head in a bucket of water and drown yourself . gay veteran you ’ll get more truth from jon stewart than from the corporate media ( including fox ) rkb100100 public sector employee unions troll everything . firstgarden the new “ free speech”– no speech tolerated but their own . ( if you disagree , you ’re automatically a hater and a phobe . ) the new “ diversity”– everyone except veterans and white males in their 50s . the new “ constituency”– left wing voting blocks ( formed by tax incentives to corporations for target hiring ; promotion of welfare vs. workfare . ) rastus their father is the “ father of lies ” firstgarden aye , but he is an equal - opportunity father , with children in many a camp . derp freedom of speech means that you have the freedom to speak your mind . that does n’t mean that what you say is automatically correct or true . firstgarden you ’re correct . unfortunately , statism does not tolerate free speech , dissent , nor true diversity . joey d’fixer i do nt know why they even bother anyway . its not like this garbage works and they are so easy to spot . for instance , on yt , they are always a dead give away , as for 95 % of the time , they use a first and last name , which from what i can tell , is autogenerated through some script they use . i had seen in a video , the fedbizopps site putting out a contract for a system to make multiple ids for use in some social media program . if i recall , it was the air force or something like that . operation earnest voice was another one as well . but they basically log in through some front - end of sorts , and they do nt actually use yt like we do . the profiles are always empty : no dates , no vids , no likes , no uploads , no playlists , nothing on the ‘ about’ section . its all pure vapor . and cass sunstein was the one who recommended all this in his paper , calling it ‘ cognitive infiltration’ , and who is another dr goebbels wanna - be and who should be hung from a tree . and its not like they are ‘ going to change our minds’ on anything . troll or no troll , if i do nt like what you re saying to me , i have 3 words for you ‘ go f yourself.’ this is what actually enrages me more than anything , that they feel everyone but themselves , are going to be that malleable , zombified and sloth - like , to just believe everything they spew . if its one thing i hate , its people with superiority complexes , they are just a total scourge on the planet and its mindset of every control - freak authoritarian out there , past , present and future . randall thrift the illusion of privacy is just that , an illusion . my granddaddy always taught me that once an idea , thought , or opinion leaves you mind it is no longer private and you no longer should have any expectations of privacy . in today ’s world of the high tech social media this truth is more evident than ever . grimreaperlady wow that is scary , this my last post until i think this through . captain canuck yeah if you guys are worried about obama ’s nsa , then you would n’t believe prime minister harper . he ’s diabolical . he ’s managed to remove or control most press and cameras from parlaiment hill . this is huge , as media used to have access and reporters had a presence at the capital . he ’s also managed to muzzle anyone who comes out and questions the big oil agenda . c p corrupt governments hate free speech , and ours will be gone for good with the next major terrorist attack or natural disaster . then the internet will be every bit as dumbed down as the broadcast media . blitzkrieg oh gay veteran … paging gay veteran . blitzkrieg … and gary — if they ’re not already the same person . gay veteran sorry junior but i detest our fascist government charles reece by the way , since britain and america are both english - speaking countries – and the closest of allies , along with france ; that therefore , england is already “ in league ” with whatever almost everthing that the u.s. does in the first place , and therefore , given edward snowden ’s revelations of the u.s. government ’s intelligence apparatus “ spying ” on its own citizens ; that accordingly , why not expect britain to do the “ same ” – to not only their own people , but also ours as well , anyway . and besides , truly , during the 1960 ’s , the english - speaking countries ; such as england itself , and canada , australia , and new zealand have already been sharing “ signals - intelligence ” information – or electronic “ eavesdropping ” information – with each other and with uncle sam ; through the echelon electronic eavesdropping network ; which was set up back in 1964 . by each member nation of echelon electronically spying on each other ’s respective private citizens – and passing on intelligence - gathered information to the other member nations ; that consequently , each member nation could actually circumvent their own respective government ’s laws prohibiting echelon from “ spying ” on its own country ’s citizens . they ’ve been doing this ever since echelon was “ set up ” back in ’64 . but very few americans have already known about what ’s been “ going on ” all of these past five decades ; that being , with echelon members permitting each other to electronically “ spy ” and “ share ” intelligence information dealing with each other ’s country ’s citizens . thus , by one member nation allowing another one to gather information on its own citizens – and sharing that same “ information ” with the others ; that consequently , each member nation could not legally be “ accused ” of violating its own respective government ’s laws prohibiting domestic spying . bart simpsonson hey , it ’s just another means of getting the prog ’s agitprop out there and countering any notion of free speech on the internet . in case you have n’t noticed they also pretty much have the non - fox tv news networks , channels , and programs fellating them daily … … . james it ’s not really a surprise tho is it ? and i do n’t think it ’s a lib vs dem thing , i imagine most governments do it . and it ’s not just governments either . big business is up to exactly the same thing . big pharma , oil companies spreading disinformation about climate change . sad times we live in really , difficult to know who to trust on the internet these days . we all seek out the stories and opinions that support our view on the world . butidigress in any society , most people do nothing . it ’s up to the minority to defend the naive majority . it ’s how things are done . bob g if i read the article correctly the government is targeting conservative thought . i always wondered why liberals would deliberately read conservative web sites and then harass the commentators . i certainly have no wish to read liberal web sites let alone comment on them . it all makes sense now . ogis the dnc is behind a lot of this . false flag operations to make “ conservative ” posters sound ignorant , stupid and racist . ( not to say that there are not elements of that in many conservatives and liberals , but these j@ck@sses ramp it up to 11 . ) tami chapman i almost posted this until you mentioned the harvard student ’s article , which was taken totally out of context . great article until the very end when you very sneakily try to place all of the blame on liberals when we all know the the real villains completely control both parties , especially the conservatives . it ’s independents like sanders who will fight for our rights … people who are not bought by the power elite .
+0 google ’s antitrust woes in europe are likely to grow - the new york times mark scott google ’s antitrust problems in europe are about to get a whole lot bigger . the company is expected to be charged with breaking the european union ’s competition rules by unfairly favoring google services , like its search engine and google maps , on its android smartphone operating system over those of rivals , according to three people . the three , who work in either government or the private sector , spoke on the condition of anonymity . the charges , known formally as a statement of objections , may be announced in brussels as soon as wednesday , though the announcement could still be postponed until later this month , according to one of the people . the expected charges against google are the latest in a raft of regulatory problems that american tech giants have faced as the european union has cracked down on these companies’ perceived dominance over how people in the bloc get access to digital services . that ranges from privacy complaints over how facebook uses people ’s online information to questions about apple ’s tax affairs from its headquarters in ireland . these cases come after previous antitrust investigations into how the likes of microsoft and intel operated across regions . google denies that it has breached the region ’s tough competition laws , and it will have several months to respond to the charges from the european commission , the executive arm of the european union . “ anyone can use android with or without google applications , ” mark jansen , a google spokesman , said in a statement when asked about the company ’s mobile software . “ hardware manufacturers and carriers can decide how to use android , and consumers have the last word about which apps they want to use on their devices . ” a spokesman for the european commission declined to comment . despite the company ’s denials , the expected charges linked to android , which powers 77 percent of european smartphones , would represent a major setback for the silicon valley company as it grapples with a growing number of global competition investigations into google ’s vast operations . the case against android also comes as google is trying to strengthen its position on mobile — increasingly the primary way that people go online — as its traditional desktop business has started to show some signs of fatigue . europe ’s antitrust officials have already accused google of unfairly abusing its dominant market position across the bloc to favor some of its own search services . a conclusion into those separate charges is expected within months , and it could lead to a fine exceeding $ 7 billion , equivalent to about 10 percent of google ’s most recent annual revenue , the maximum allowable fine . the federal trade commission in washington is also looking into whether google broke american antitrust laws by using its android operating system to bolster the company ’s products . american officials previously investigated claims that google ’s search services violated federal competition rules , though they eventually decided not to bring charges . other countries , including india and russia , have similarly either accused the company of breaking antitrust rules or opened antitrust investigations into google ’s activities . canadian authorities , though , said on tuesday that they had closed their investigation into claims that google had misused its dominant position in online search . they added they would continue monitoring the company ’s activities . apple continues to generate the largest share of revenue from global smartphone sales . the company also bundles its own services , including digital maps , into its mobile software , but has yet to face similar questions over whether it has broken europe ’s antitrust rules . google does not make money from licensing its basic android software to cellphone manufacturers , but instead earns revenue through digital services like advertising from search , among other mobile services . it holds more than 80 percent of the smartphone operating system market worldwide , according to the technology research company gartner . if european officials demand that the company provide rivals greater access to the android universe — a possibility if google is found to have broken the region ’s laws — the search giant may find it more difficult to promote its own mobile services to users worldwide as well as to smartphone makers . as part of the charges to be announced as soon as wednesday , margrethe vestager , europe ’s antitrust chief , is expected to focus on google ’s deals with cellphone manufacturers that include bundles of google services included in android . speaking in amsterdam on monday , ms. vestager said that these deals may have hindered competition by forcing cellphone manufacturers to rely on google ’s mobile services that come preinstalled on certain versions of the android software . “ our concern is that , by requiring phone makers and operators to preload a set of google apps , rather than letting them decide for themselves which apps to load , google might have cut off one of the main ways that new apps can reach customers , ” ms. vestager said ahead of the charges being announced . the case related to google ’s android operating system has been long expected . in 2013 , europe said it had received an official complaint from fairsearch europe , a group of google ’s competitors , including oracle and nokia , among others . aptoide , a portuguese android online marketplace , also filed a complaint against google in 2014 . these companies say that they have been financially hurt by google practices that they call unfair , an accusation the company rejects . in response to these complaints , the european commission announced last year that it would investigate google ’s dominant role in the android operating system , and whether rivals had been treated unfairly . “ consumers deserve more choice and innovation in mobile devices and applications , ” said thomas vinje , a lawyer for fairsearch . “ a statement of objections in the android case would be an important step forward for competition and consumers . ” google says that its partnerships with cellphone makers that rely on its operating system are voluntary , and that these relationships offer benefits to consumers as well as manufacturers . europe ’s latest antitrust charges represent one of the first major challenges for sundar pichai , who took over as google ’s chief executive after a reorganization last year . google is now owned by a holding company called alphabet , which reports its quarterly earnings on thursday . in february , mr. pichai traveled to brussels to meet with ms. vestager and other european politicians , including günther oettinger , a german politician in charge of the digital economy in the bloc . eric e. schmidt , alphabet ’s executive chairman , has also been a regular visitor to europe , meeting often with regional officials , in part to discuss the company ’s continuing antitrust problems . mr. pichai is no stranger to competition struggles . in 2009 , he wrote to european officials explaining why they should take a hard line against microsoft on charges that the company had abused its position in web browsers . microsoft eventually paid more than $ 3 billion in fines for breaking the region ’s antitrust rules . now , google faces mounting pressure over accusations it abused its position in everything from online search to its android operating system . and it is the turn of mr. pichai , along with other google executives , to respond .
+0 ms-13 gangs involved in northern virginia murders , say police john binder fairfax county , virginia — alleged “ gang activity ” is responsible for murders in the northern region of virginia , according to fairfax county police chief edwin roessler . [ investigators are suspected to be pointing to the transnational criminal gang after police found remains in the holmes run park . police reported finding other human remains in the past connected tied to gang activity . “ i can just assure you that this is gang activity , ” roessler told the media during a news conference , according to wtop news . police have not yet identified the remains , and investigators are awaiting autopsies to be completed , according to roessler . just two years ago , police discovered two bodies in the holmes run park . officials tied the remains to the gang , roessler said . “ this problem is horrible , ” roessler told the media . “ this is four murders in this park . obviously , we ’ve had other murders in the region in the past few weeks . this is getting out of control , and we need to stop it . ” roessler , though , refused to name the specific name of the gang linked to the most recent remains , saying “ not going to advertise for gangs . ” last month , breitbart news reported the springfield , virginia murder of a teenage girl , in which four illegal immigrants were arrested for their involvement , with police being led to the gang . most recently , breitbart texas reported on 13 gang members who were indicted on murder charges for their involvement in the deaths of seven individuals . 10 of the gang members were illegal immigrants . as breitbart texas’ has reported , the crime syndicate is comprised primarily of illegal immigrants living in the u. s. from el salvador , honduras , and guatemala . the united nations classifies the gang as an international street gang , which is loosely affiliated with the mexican drug cartels , as they both conduct illegal immigrant smuggling into the u. s. and operate human trafficking rings . john binder is a contributor for breitbart texas . follow him on twitter at @jxhnbinder .
+1 scientists define ‘ smart casual’ apepper november 16 , 2016 for many years men have struggled buying clothes that are not a suit or a pair of jeans , but finally we have made some progress . a team of scientists gathered from oxford , cambridge and john lewis are said to be near to a clear definition of ‘ smart casual’– somewhere equidistant between bland and gimp . said one customer : ‘ i just want something that says fun , breezy – capable of attending a swingers a party but not afraid to put his socks in alphabetical order . the kind of guy who undoes his top button , but knows his way around a spreadsheet or double moka’ .
+1 intrepid report will resume publishing on monday , november 29 bev conover intrepid report will resume publishing on monday , november 29 this year ’s elections have left yours truly drained . by bev conover bev conover yes , donald trump , a sexual predator , a misogynist , a racist , a liar , a cheat , a con man extraordinaire , and a narcissist , who has never held public office and may not even be as rich as he claims , will , barring anything unforeseen , become president of the united states on january 20 , 2017 . hillary clinton may have won the popular vote but the trump supporters gave him the necessary 270 electoral college votes needed for victory . it was half a bloodless revolution . the other half would have been cleaning out congress , too . while hillary called half of trump ’s supporters “ the deplorables , ” and some undoubtedly are , all of them have had it with a government that only serves and enriches the plutocrats , and cares nothing about the rest of the people ’s welfare and needs . thus , they saw an opening to revolt and did — call it striking out blindly because they did n’t finish the job and paul ryan , if he hangs on to the house speakership , and senate majority leader mitch mcconnell are licking their chops over the prospect of all the damage they intend to cause , i.e. , if trump goes along with them . it remains to be seen how happy trump ’s supporters will be in a year or so if they lose their health insurance , if medicare is cut , social security is privatized , there is no increase ( maybe even a cut ) in the federal minimum wage , the dodd - frank act is overturned to let the banks go hog - wild , the wars are n’t ended and the military is further bloated , and millions of undocumented aliens are deported . and those are just the openers on trump ’s list of what he wants to do . forget about the environment and drill , baby , drill . global warming ? he says it ’s a hoax . all is not doom and gloom if he follows through ( at the risk of winding up like john f. kennedy ) on ending globalization , repealing nafta , leaving the world trade organization ( wto ) , refusing to sign on to the tpp , ttip , tisa and any other trade deals that sap the signatories’ of their nations’ sovereignty for the benefit of the corporations . now is the time for all of us who realize this broken system must be replaced to put aside our petty differences and reach out to each other and organize . we all want the same things : fairness , justice , peace and a sustainable planet . we the people have the power if only we would recognize it ; the plutocrats do and that ’s what scares them . and now is the time for me to spend time with family visitors who have been very patient with me this week while i have been glued to this computer . plus , it would be an understatement to say i need some r & r. as usual , i will be checking email daily , so writers may submit articles that are n’t time sensitive . bev conover is the editor and publisher of intrepid report . email her at .
+1 google and god nan ( 16 fans ) - advertisement - yeah . i know , i know . i 'm an iconoclast . yep and i 'm proud of it . so the other day i got to thinking about religion and other things in the homo sapiens space called life . you know i get philosophical from time to time . and then i get inspired to tackle some very touchy and sensitive subjects that usually set off a lot of people . i get a perverse joy in rubbing people the wrong way and send them into wft hissy fits . so you know that this article is going to have some folks seeing red and the god - police will start pulling out their truncheons to give me a whack on the ole noggin just to prove their point that i should not meddle in the affairs of the great father somewhere in a place called heaven . the fact is that today , with the click of a mouse button the era of seeking answers and advice about god directly from rabbis , pastors , or imams is gradually coming to an end . and the cause of this backsliding and undermining of the hitherto unquestioned role of these " emissaries of god on earth ? " well , it 's not a human person but artificial intelligence personified and its called " google . " google may be the well - known supercomputer system that processes information by nano - seconds but ai has been with us for a long time . consider the following : self - driving cars have arrived ; siri ( on your iphones and ipads ) can listen to your voice and find the nearest movie theatre ; and i.b.m. set the " jeopardy"- conquering watson to work on medicine , initially training medical students , perhaps eventually helping in diagnosis . nowadays , scarcely a week goes by without the announcement of a new a.i. product or technique . and for all the constant complaining about the religious right 's inappropriate influence in politics and religious conservatives ' attempts to tear down the church - state wall , the secular movement in america is actually doing quite well . the most recent pew research center poll says 23 percent of americans are religiously unaffiliated ( atheists , agnostics and no - religion people ) ; that percentage increases to 35 percent for americans under thirty - five -- young people are not doing too many religious conversions , and see god as part of a belief system of their parents . so , for americans in the bible belt and elsewhere this is alarming news - if secularism has n't yet taken over the country , its on track for that to happen . and its all the fault of artificial intelligence as epitomized in the incredible superpower of google . now i do not intend to be dismissive of religion or disrespect people 's beliefs or their right to worship and believe what they want to . me ? i believe that every thursday night when karaoke takes place in brooklyn my bulldog max turns into a werewolf seeking cats to relieve them of their hemoglobin fluids . you get my drift -- you can believe what you want but that does not make what you believe true . but one thing is not in doubt -- google and god are on our daily human agendas . indeed , the questions that americans type into google searches about god appear to confirm the country 's rising secularism . for example , according to an economist writing in the new york times : " despite the rising popularity of pope francis , who was elected in 2013 , google searches for churches are 15 percent lower in the first half of this decade than they were during the last half of the previous one . the top google search including the word " god " is " god of war , " a videogame , with more than 700,000 searches per year . " bummer , people searching for a videogame with the word " god " in it ? wft ! are people losing their cotton - picking minds ? and to make matter worse the same economist , stephens - davidowitz , also discovered that " searches questioning god 's existence are up . " he went further to seek what questions people google whilst in their periods of doubt : the no . 1 question ? in the united states of america ? is without a doubt : " who created god ? " and the second ? " why god allows suffering ? " in number 3 " why does god hate me ? and in fourth place : " why god needs so much praise ? " - advertisement - it now appears from this data that people in america are looking to google for answers to some pertinent and serious questions about god and in an oblique way questioning what they were taught by their parents and learned in churches on sundays for so many years . there is absolutely no doubt that the internet and google have been at odds with religion . the google phenomenon is also explainable in the context of the adversarial relationship between science and religion -- they just do n't mix . religion -- all religions -- are based on a system of blind , unquestioning belief and a rejection of objective inquiry that is substituted with faith . religions place and validate this faith by statements found in their holy books that 's interpreted by preachers , pastors , priests and ministers . these writings and teachings must be accepted without question by the faithful . science on the other hand believes that all things in nature should be questioned and examined . and that it is only by this kind of objective inquiry that humankind has progressed and will progress . the internet and google are not the products of a sunday sermon or the dogmatic faith or prayers of the faithful . advances in medicine , communications technology , transportation , and other things that define modern human existence are the results of science -- not faith or belief . in fact , the cornerstone of the scientific method is to question everything ; science accepts nothing that is not provable -- again and again and again . the rise of american secularism and of individuals with no religious affiliations is directly due to the rise and use of the internet . hitherto the internet , and in particular google , people used libraries and their church leaders for research on questions of faith , belief , and the existence of god . religion had a stranglehold on knowledge and issues of god and sin . but with the advent of google information and knowledge became readily available and a new generation is now growing up in a society more open to doubting old canards and traditional belief systems . google has undermined religion 's central premise for the belief in god -- his all - knowing faculty . google now processes over 40,000 search queries every second on average which translates to over 3.5 billion searches per day and 1.2 trillion searches per year worldwide . google can bring up literally millions of hits simultaneously on every conceivable topic that the human mind can imagine -- including biblical history , origins and that of other religious books , and their pros and cons . for iconoclasts like me declining religious affiliation is akin to social improvement . it 's evidence of the clarifying influence of scientific rationality that 's the end result of the global information revolution . i know that one of the questions here will undoubtedly be about personal faith in the context of our ability to pay bills , order clothes and food , communicate with friends and family and send emails across the word in seconds . and too , i 'll hear the issue of the difference between google as a profit - making , altruistic organization , and the church whose primary concern is about the condition of our souls . these are valid arguments when it comes to god and google . i 'm not suggesting that this is an either or situation . but what i am suggesting is that modern experiences in the secular world are now impacting religious belief and not in a very positive manner . - advertisement - and yes , from a religious standpoint the question is : because of the rise of google are religious institutions that used to answer questions about god and sin crowdsourcing the acts of faith that the entire system is built on ? put another way , does religion risk losing its ability to provide answers to life on earth when google 's data can not do so ? and , in today 's internet and google dominated world will faithful people when in doubt , google " who created god ? "
+0 inauguration protesters and police clash on washington ’s streets - the new york times michael s. schmidt , nick corasaniti and matt flegenheimer washington — a spate of violence erupted on friday in the nation ’s capital , as protesters damaged storefronts , threw rocks and bricks at police officers and lit a limousine on fire . phalanxes of police officers used pepper spray , flash grenades and other nonlethal tools to disperse the protesters . by the end of the day , six police officers had sustained minor injuries and more than 200 people had been arrested . many of the protesters were dressed in black , wore face masks and carried flags associated with groups . they congregated on a series of streets just blocks from the parade where donald j. trump passed as he made his way to the white house for the first time as president , their activities creating a distraction as television networks played live footage of the clashes . the violence was focused not only on the police . richard b. spencer , a leader of the a fringe movement that embraces white nationalism and a range of racist and positions , was punched in the face by a protester as mr. spencer gave an interview on the street , according to a video posted on twitter . “ we ’re not peaceful , ” said one of the masked protesters who , like many others who clashed with the police , ran away after being approached by reporters . while the clashes occurred , thousands of peaceful protesters marched across the country as they voiced slogans . in new york , seven people were arrested when they blocked the sidewalk outside trump tower . protesters in san francisco formed a blockade across train tracks , leading to eight arrests , and chained themselves to the downtown offices of uber and wells fargo . in the central business district of portland , ore. banks , clothing retailers and a jewelry store boarded up windows and covered walls to limit vandalism . chants in english and spanish broke out in front of the capitol in phoenix . “ this is one of the darkest days in the history of our country , ” said adelle wallace , 75 , during a march in los angeles . the violence in washington began about an hour before mr. trump was sworn in at noon . storefront windows at a bank of america and a starbucks several blocks from the parade route were smashed , leading to many arrests . around 2 p. m. as mr. trump ate lunch on capitol hill with lawmakers and supporters , the protests expanded and turned violent . protesters hurled rocks and bricks at police officers several blocks from the parade route . officers with helmets and riot shields tried to disperse the protesters by using flash grenades and pepper spray . after being pushed back a block , protesters outside the washington post building lit a fire in the middle of the street , smashed the windows of a limousine and then lit it on fire . the police , using more flash grenades , cleared a path for fire trucks as protesters retreated to a park . the violence attracted a throng of onlookers , journalists and peaceful protesters who had marched earlier in the day . reed arahood , 34 , of massachusetts , who had come to washington to be part of the peaceful protests , said she was ambivalent about the violence . “ i do n’t think i have words to accurately describe how i feel about them , ” she said about the protesters . she added that she felt “ solidarity ” but also was “ absolutely ” concerned about the image of violent protests . but over all the scene of thousands of protesters gave her hope . “ i feel pretty proud of the number who showed up today , ” she said . “ looking strangers in the eye and knowing that we ’re together and talking with people from all over the country who have come here to express their concerns about what is going to happen in the next four years and what is already happening in our country . i feel really good about that . ” along several access points to view the inauguration , the protesters hoped simply to put themselves in the way , locking arms , forming human blockades in front of both public and ticketed entrances . the police directed attendees around the corners of blockades , sometimes in single file , forcing some ticketed attendees to wait nearly an hour in line to trickle past the protests . content with their success disrupting the flow of attendees , about 150 protesters gathered downtown in mcpherson square , breaking off in groups to march along i street . an organizer advised two dozen people on the day ’s aims : to disrupt mr. trump ’s celebration as much as possible — an objective , he predicted , that would rankle “ mainly police officers and trump supporters . ” “ police officers , ” a woman in the crowd grumbled , “ are trump supporters . ” a few attendees drummed on buckets , nodding at the instructions . some wondered about divine intervention as the day turned rainy . “ it ’s the earth crying about the president , ” said elodie huttner , 52 . rallies have been planned all over the country all weekend , cresting with a women ’s march in washington on saturday . despite the disruptions , some in washington were able to find moments of normalcy . molly schwizer , 52 , a government employee who had the day off , left the quiet neighborhood in northwestern washington where she lives to check out the chaotic and heavily policed streets of downtown , where protesters vied with trump supporters . “ i wanted to see what this was all about , ” she said , motioning toward saks off 5th , the discount branch of the new york department store . “ and , ” she added , “ i had some shopping to do . ” by midafternoon , she had seen enough of the protesters ( “ they should clean up , ” she said ) and the trump supporters ( no comment — she does have a government job , after all ) . also , it was raining — and so it was time to shop .
+0 democrats , with garland on mind , mobilize for supreme court fight - the new york times carl hulse washington — senate democrats have one particular judge ’s name in mind as they await the identity of president trump ’s supreme court nominee : merrick b. garland . democrats and their allies remain furious that senate republicans refused to even consider judge garland , president barack obama ’s nominee to the high court , with 10 months remaining in mr. obama ’s second term . that deep resentment is certain to color their handling of mr. trump ’s choice just as it has contributed to their resistance to moving quickly on mr. trump ’s cabinet selections . all indications are that they see the forthcoming nomination as a chance to take a strong stand against the new president , since they still have the power to filibuster a supreme court choice — at least for now . “ i have n’t seen the names , ” said senator patrick j. leahy , democrat of vermont and a veteran of multiple supreme court fights . “ but when they had a consensus person with merrick garland , every single republican who raised their hand and solemnly swore before god to uphold the constitution refused to follow the constitution and even have a hearing . ” top democrats say they do n’t intend to play “ tit for tat ” with the nomination . but they say they will insist on what they consider to be a mainstream candidate capable of securing at least the 60 votes needed to thwart any filibuster . otherwise , they promise to do whatever they can to block the nominee . “ we are not going to do what the republicans did , ” said senator chuck schumer of new york , the democratic leader , “ but if the candidate ’s out of the mainstream , i can tell you i will fight and my caucus will fight tooth and nail against them . ” the chief reason that democrats will not do what the republicans did is that they ca n’t — republicans remain in the senate majority , which last year enabled them to refuse to even schedule a hearing and now gives them control over the confirmation process . but unlike with cabinet nominees , democrats could still employ a filibuster against a supreme court pick , because the high court was excluded from a 2013 change engineered by democrats to thwart filibusters against nominees . if democrats hold out , senator mitch mcconnell of kentucky , the majority leader , will no doubt come under pressure to wipe out the possibility of filibuster against supreme court nominees . given the steps republicans were willing to take to hold open the vacancy created by the death of antonin scalia , democrats believe senate republicans might choose to eliminate that filibuster power , too . “ all the signals are there is no limit to what they are capable of doing to give the big special interests behind them control of the court , ” said senator sheldon whitehouse of rhode island , a democratic member of the judiciary committee . but republicans are already differentiating their handling of mr. garland ’s nomination from whatever is to come with the announcement by mr. trump . they argue that the situations are not comparable , given the timing of the presidential election . “ there ’s a big difference between not approving a supreme court nominee in the middle of a highly contested presidential election , and the beginning of a term , ” mr. mcconnell said on tuesday , noting that republicans did not filibuster supreme court nominees in the first term of either president bill clinton or mr. obama . mr. mcconnell took pains on tuesday to note that both republicans and democrats were invited to the white house to discuss the coming nomination with mr. trump as part of the requirement for seeking the senate ’s advice and consent . many republicans and their conservative allies would prefer not to abolish the filibuster on supreme court nominees , knowing that it could come back to haunt them by allowing a future democratic majority a free hand — essentially the same reason democrats left high court nominees out of the 2013 change . it is also unclear whether republicans would even have the votes to do so through a simple majority vote on an arcane procedural maneuver . but the question will hang over the entire confirmation fight and could force a showdown . if the democrats filibuster , “ then i guess we ’ll see what steps need to be taken at the time , ” said senator john thune of south dakota , a member of the republican leadership . “ but i think the one thing that we ’re committed to is getting a supreme court justice confirmed . ” democrats say that one result of the stalemate over judge garland is that it has shown that the supreme court can function , though imperfectly , without a full complement of nine members , relieving the party of some guilt for keeping the court if it comes to that over a trump nominee . senator richard blumenthal , a connecticut democrat who sits on the judiciary committee , said democrats were also galvanized by the turnout at last weekend ’s protests . he said it would serve as a unifying force for senate democrats . “ that swell of people and strength and spirit at the marches we had saturday showed us we have the american populace on our side , ” mr. blumenthal said . “ they understand the importance of the supreme court to those issues that brought them to the streets , principally women . ” mr. blumenthal said the selection of a nominee by president trump would “ put a face and a voice ” on the supreme court battle . but for now , the face and voice most democrats are putting on the coming clash are those belonging to judge garland .
+1 nobel confusion : ramos - horta , trump and world disorder binoy kampmark email history should tell us that writing scolding , even scornful letters , to electorates as part of a conversation for persuasion do not work . they are even less effective when coming from outside that electorate , however well - intentioned . non - voters should be careful to judge and lecture . consider the attempt on the part of the guardian to mount its electoral high horse prior to the 2004 presidential elections in the united states . the prospect of another four years of george w. bush was hard to stomach for the editors , hence their disruptive project . operation clark county was advertised as an effort to write “ to undecided voters in the crucial state of ohio . ” the experiment had more than a degree of condescension , slanted , as it were , to the superior across the pond wisdom . instead of providing a platform of sobriety , it simply supplied patriotic fuel to us voters to confirm their positions . no one was going to be telling them what to do . their president was a fool , but was their fool . as one letter went , “ we ohioans are an ornery sort and do n’t take meddling well , even if it comes from people we admire and with their sincere goodwill . we are a fairly closed community overall . ” [ 1 ] even the new york times came forth with an unmistakably frank headline : “ british two cents draws , in sum , a two - word reply : butt out . ” [ 2 ] nobel prize winner and former president of timor - leste , josé ramos - horta , should be more attuned with that recent history . but instead , he has decided to wade into the us elections with another letter of scorn , another experiment in persuasion . to add weight and magnification to the appeal , he is seeking the signatures of fellow nobel prize laureates . the direction of this letter promises to be simple : whatever you do , people of the us , do n’t vote for donald trump next month . during a brief visit to the northern australian town of darwin , ramos - horta explained how he and his friends , “ nobel peace prize laureates , are extremely concerned with the tone of a presidential candidate donald trump in making disparaging remarks about migrants , about muslims , and refugees . ” ramos - horta insisted that the rise of such a figure was “ extremely worrying for all of us and it does not serve us interests . ” along with his fellow laureates , he was hoping to pen a letter that would “ alert american public opinion that the world … can not afford extremism coming from the white house itself . ” ramos - horta provides us a fairly typical , if rusted view , of world power . empires need the wise and clever to lead them , being repositories of responsibility . lunacy has no place . “ the us is an indisputable global power and global powers have to be led with prudence , with enormous wisdom . ” what of the brakes of moderation and restraint offered by a critical , at times unreasonable congress , including other measures so carefully thought through by the republic ’s founding fathers ? we have seen such brakes bringing the republic to a screeching halt on occasions , notably during the obama years . these are polarized times in us politics , and not even the supply of finance to public servants is sacred . this is of little interest to ramos - horta , who is convinced that a trump presidency would have congress in his deceptively deep pocket to wage war with impunity and engage in a pattern of global mischief making . “ whatever the us president and us congress may decide on some measure of issues internationally can enhance peace , but can provoke instability and world disorder . ” not that the record book on peace , stemming from us foreign policy in recent years , has been particularly enhancing . having dumped generously on trump , ramos - horta admits a swooning admiration for hillary clinton , his preferred white house occupant . if there is a candidate bound to embark on more aggressive stances , be it towards iran or russia , few could come close . her recipe is for greater , not lesser belligerence . free world boisterousness indeed . taking leave of his senses , ramos - horta suggested that she was “ outstanding ” and “ sensitive to the rest of the world ” . with baffling adolescent gullibility , the nobel prize laureate saw a clinton “ extremely sensitive to education for poor people , for children ” . a sense of balance might have been appropriate at that point : questionable donations from despotic regimes to the same , supposedly helpful foundation open to helping the indigent and illiterate ; or security breaches ; or compromised arrangements with wall street . the world of power is dark , and maze ridden , and at the end of it usually lurks a clinton apology . a clinton presidency would hardly be that prudent , nor particularly wise , but that is the ramos - horta verdict , his own variant of an external endorsement that is bound to fall on deaf ears in the united states . any ears who receive the message will be dismissive . from a man whose country suffered an occupation that will , in time , find its way into the books of notable genocides , endorsing such a clinton can hardly be prudent . but then again , power of the massive sort rarely is . notes .
+0 blue state blues : the white house loves the russia ’scandal’ - breitbart joel b. pollak the trump white house seems quietly to be enjoying the russia hacking “ scandal . ” [ certainly it has its frustrations , especially for sean spicer , who has to face the press corps and its obsession with meaningless minutiae . but the joke is on the journalists . they are spending so much time on the that they are missing what president donald trump is actually doing . he complains on twitter about the coverage , but the truth is that the distraction is very useful . the “ scandal ” is no longer about russia . now it is about how house intelligence committee chair devin nunes ( ) found information backing up trump ’s claims that his team was under surveillance by the obama administration . was nunes approached by whistleblowers who came to his congressional office ? or were the whistleblowers sent by the white house to nunes ? it makes no difference at all , but the media think they are onto something very important . cnn called it a “ ” without specifying what , exactly , nunes was supposed to be “ covering up . ” and the answer is : nothing . even if — for argument ’s sake — the white house had approached nunes rather than the other way around , the worst that could be said about it is that nunes behaved like a partisan republican . if so , he is no more partisan than ranking member rep. adam schiff ( ) who is abusing his position to launch conspiracy theories against the gop . the core of schiff ’s case , as presented at the house intelligence committee last monday , is a lie — namely , the false claim that the republican party altered its platform at the behest of trump aides in order to appease the russians . as byron york of the washington examiner has demonstrated , the republican platform was “ was actually strengthened , not weakened ” against russia . schiff is still pretending that some other evidence will emerge on ties . but the idea russia colluded with the trump campaign is ludicrous , for three reasons . the first is there is no evidence whatsoever to support that claim . obama ’s own james clapper and mike morell even said so — though it took trump ’s tweets about “ wiretapping ” to flush them out of hiding . second , the russians could not have known that trump would win , and would not have targeted clinton alone when it seemed that she could exact punishment once she took office . the third reason is that hillary rodham clinton was arguably the most official since alger hiss . from the russian “ reset , ” to giving up missile defense , to the new start treaty , to the uranium giveaway , to the loss of the middle east , and to the loss of the crimea ( which happened on her successor ’s watch , while she remained silent ) clinton ran the state department almost like a satellite . indeed , if donald trump really wanted to appease russian president vladimir putin , it would be hard to find anything left with which to appease him . the russians saw trump ’s criticism of nato as useful , and applauded him . but they likely preferred clinton . already , trump has been much tougher on russia than obama ever was . from blasting russia at the un security council over the eastern ukraine , to threatening to tear up the new start treaty , trump has opposed putin — and it shows . trump foreign policy adviser sebastian gorka , formerly of breitbart news , is also a vociferous critic of russia . so the russia “ scandal ” is much ado about nothing . but it keeps the media distracted from what trump is really doing — such as taking a chainsaw to obama ’s regulations — and it keeps the democrats from developing an actual message . the beauty of it all ? aside from trump ’s tweets , the media and the democrats are creating this distraction themselves . joel b. pollak is senior at breitbart news . he was named one of the “ most influential ” people in news media in 2016 . his new book , how trump won : the inside story of a revolution , is available from regnery . follow him on twitter at @joelpollak .
+1 marilyn declassified/ bigfoot & ets nan live nightly 1 am - 5 am est / 10 pm - 2 am pst advertisement home > shows > marilyn declassified/ bigfoot & ets marilyn declassified/ bigfoot & ets date sunday - november 20 , 2016 host george knapp listen with windows player high low download mp3s hour 1 hour 2 hour 3 hour 4 important : some mobile devices do not download mp3s . if this is the case , please use your desktop computer or download our mobile app or download our mobile app . 1st half : what really happened to marilyn monroe ? filmmaker and artist , paul davids , joins george knapp to reveal newly declassified fbi and cia files , proving that her troubles were not all the product of her abuse of prescription drugs and failed marriages , but began with her wedding to communist - leaning playwright arthur miller as she was targeted and tormented by the fbi , cia and mafia . 2nd half : science teacher thom powell is known for his investigations of the edges of science and bigfoot . he 'll present his theory that sasquatch is quite possibly an et here to monitor the human race . website(s ) :
+0 pittsburgh symphony orchestra strike is resolved - the new york times michael cooper the pittsburgh symphony orchestra settled a strike on wednesday , just in time for thanksgiving . the strike was resolved after its musicians agreed to freeze their defined benefit pensions and management settled for an initial 7 . 5 percent wage cut , half of what it had been seeking . the contract , which was ratified on wednesday , paves the way for the orchestra — a major ensemble that is scheduled to perform this summer at the prestigious salzburg and lucerne festivals in europe — to return to work next week . the orchestra will play a pair of free “ the music has returned ! ” concerts on dec. 2 and 4 with its music director , manfred honeck . the pittsburgh strike on sept. 30 sent shock waves through the classical music world . the smaller fort worth symphony orchestra in texas had gone on strike earlier that month ( and remains out of work ) and , also on sept. 30 , the storied philadelphia orchestra began a strike that lasted 48 hours , raising new questions about how symphony orchestras are adapting to their challenges . pittsburgh ’s management , warning that the orchestra was running out of cash , called for freezing the musicians’ pensions , cutting their pay by 15 percent in the first year and temporarily reducing the size of the ensemble . the union expressed openness to moving from a defined benefit pension plan to a defined contribution plan , provided there were provisions to help those most adversely affected — but they balked at the large pay cut . they went on strike . the new contract calls for a 7 . 5 percent cut in the first year , which the orchestra said would have been 10 . 5 percent had an anonymous donor not stepped in . the contract calls for the players to be restored to their current base salary — approximately $ 107 , 000 — in the fifth year . the orchestra accepted a new defined contribution retirement plan , and management agreed to additional contributions to the musicians who would suffer the most . and the ensemble , which has a current complement of 99 musicians and two librarians , will retain that size but keep three open positions unfilled . “ these were painful and substantial concessions , ” said micah howard , the chairman of the pittsburgh symphony orchestra committee . “ but we agreed to work with management to face our financial challenges . ”
+1 breaking trust , breaking the bank - the inside story of russia 's biggest bank robbery - john helmer john helmer reality check media breaking trust , breaking the bank - the inside story of russia 's biggest bank robbery benedict worsley is implicated in the disappearance of $ 3 billion from the trust bank of moscow originally appeared at dances with bears investigators searching for $ 3 billion in funds missing from trust bank of moscow , the biggest russian bank fraud in history , have found benedict worsley , the cyprus - based manager of the bank ’s offshore operations , at a heavily fortified house in the south of france , where he is guarded by british gunmen formerly employed by the british secret services . the high court in london has revealed that in return for cash and a promise of immunity from prosecution , worsley has agreed to cooperate in the search for the missing money . he is now reported to be employed by otkritie bank , which is being financed by the central bank of russia , to operate the old trust bank . however , sources close to the central bank say that officials at the bank are anxious to see otkritie start repaying the bailout loans , and reluctant to soften the terms or extend the repayment dates as otkritie is reported to be requesting . suspicion is also rife in moscow banking circles , according to one source , that “ well - known names in high places were beneficiaries of the trust bank loans . they do n’t want to be identified or obliged to repay . ” they , according to a cyprus source and another in london , who knows worsley , are “ threats to worsley , and he knows it . ” worsley refuses to respond to emails , and he has closed the cyprus office of teos management , where until late last year , he used to manage trust bank ’s loans through dozens of companies he created and directed , on instruction from the bank , its control shareholder ilya yurov , and others . yurov has testified in the london court that he ordered forensic accountants to trace what had happened to the bank ’s loan funds . the russian state deposit insurance agency ( dia ) amd otkritie bank have also been searching . to substantiate their application to the high court for a freeze on yurov ’s assets in the uk and switzerland , they have reportedly identified asset value and bank accounts worth $ 830 million . for more details of the yurov scheme , read this . for the high court records , click to open . one source for worsley ’s operations has not been made public before . this is the archive known as the panama papers , compiled by the international consortium of investigative journalists ( icij ) in washington . according to the icij , it obtained its “ data through three massive leaks . the largest one comes from panamanian law firm mossack fonseca , whose inner workings were exposed in the panama papers investigation published in april 2016 in conjunction with süddetsche zeitung and more than 100 other media partners . ” it is far from easy to find benedict worsley in the panama papers data base assembled by the icij . for example , here is what turns up when the search box cue is benedict worsley . most of the listed entities were either deactivated before yurov took over trust bank , or are unconnected to both russia and cyprus , where worsley and yurov have operated . one entity , benedict investment corporation , was created by gsl law in cyprus in 2002 , and is still active . gsl is a russian law firm , based in moscow , which provides offshore services . it does n’t appear to have been involved with worsley and trust bank . however , benedict worsley can be found in the panama papers , not by searching for his name , but by searching for companies he created , managed , and directs still . in order to open worsley ’s file in the panama papers , it is necessary to know the names of several of his companies first . some of these names have not been detected in the cyprus searches before . here is the asset map for worsley in the panama papers archive :
+0 as double dutch wanes in new york , competition comes from abroad - the new york times lisa w. foderaro on a rainy night in queens , armani graves leapt into the swirling ropes and started to move her feet . soon the ropes — and her orange knee socks — were a blur as she jumped faster and faster in a cavernous gymnasium echoing with her teammates’ encouragement . “ knees up ! ” “ push ! ” armani , 13 , and her teammates were practicing competitive double dutch , the schoolyard game that was adopted and perfected by black girls in urban american communities after world war ii . in recent decades , double dutch has evolved into a competitive sport , complete with rules , score sheets and tournaments . but it has also fallen out of favor in the neighborhoods where it was born and once flourished . “ i ’m one of the only kids who does double dutch in my school , ” said armani , a member of stan ’s pepper steppers , a club , who lives in the east new york neighborhood of brooklyn . but even as double dutch has declined in popularity in new york city and across the united states , its appeal has surged beyond the country ’s borders , with the number of teams from abroad soaring and many of them beating american teams at a sport that was invented here . perhaps nothing illustrates double dutch ’s international spread as much as the double dutch holiday classic , an annual tournament at the apollo theater in harlem that bills itself as the super bowl of double dutch and will have its 25th anniversary on sunday . in addition to teams from queens , brooklyn , connecticut and south carolina , there will be competitors from france and japan . “ the double dutch classic is a perfect example of what ’s happened , ” said kyra gaunt , a professor of sociology and anthropology at baruch college and author of “ the games black girls play : learning the ropes from to . ” “ for the last 15 years , almost every freestyle competition has been won by groups that are outside the united states . ” as stan ’s pepper steppers were practicing wednesday night in a community center in queens , five teams from japan were aboard a flight to new york . on thursday , a japanese team called big up , still rehearsed in central park for this weekend ’s tournament , the midtown skyline looming behind them . while the queens team is known for its swiftness — members hold various speed records — japan ’s competitors are renowned for their choreographed , style . two of the five members of the coed team big up , including koichiro sugawa , were trained as dancers . mr. sugawa , 21 , first tried double dutch when he began college . “ i simply thought it was cool , ” he said . the organizer of the japanese trip , jun haratake , was a competitor in high school and then at his university in tokyo , where the double dutch club had 100 members . now 36 , mr. haratake is the director and of the japan double dutch association , a nonprofit organization . from 2004 to 2008 , mr. haratake studied english in new york and worked as a physical education teacher in a japanese school . he recalls taking the subway to the brownsville section of brooklyn and joining teenage girls in jam sessions — akin to a golfer traveling to st. andrews in scotland . double dutch , he said , is still ascendant in japan . “ it ’s continuing to grow in popularity , ” he said . in new york city , its transformation into a competitive sport started in the 1970s , when a former police sergeant in harlem , david a. walker , decided that girls needed a way to channel their athletic skill . he founded the national double dutch league , a nonprofit group that sponsors the annual tournament at the apollo . he also developed rules and worked with the city ’s schools to incorporate double dutch into gym classes and intramural programs . “ in the 1970s , there were not a lot of programs for girls , ” said lauren walker , mr. walker ’s daughter , who assumed leadership of the league after his death in 2008 . “ boys had baseball , basketball and football . my father saw some girls jumping double dutch in a schoolyard one day and said , ‘ hey , let ’s turn an urban activity into an actual sport . ’ ” in 2009 , the city ’s department of education made double dutch a varsity sport in nearly a dozen high schools , mostly in predominantly black neighborhoods like and harlem . the idea was to increase the number of students , girls in particular , who participate in competitive sports . yet despite the imprimatur of school officials , and clubs like stan ’s pepper steppers , double dutch veterans and observers of black youth say the activity has slowly lost its appeal as a spontaneous form of play . they blame the lure of social media and video games . “ back in the day , there were no computers , ” ms. walker said . “ kids are just not as physically active anymore . ” dr. gaunt , who is an ethnomusicologist and social media researcher , agreed . “ most girls spend most of their time on instagram or tumblr , or with games online , rather than outside , ” she said . “ that ’s true across all demographic groups . but double dutch is a street sport . it ’s so common now to meet girls who have never . that was n’t the case 20 years ago . ” but in countries from latin america to asia , the sport has been embraced as part of a love affair with culture . ( the impresario malcolm mclaren put it on the map as far back as 1983 with his hit song “ double dutch . ” ) since the 1980s , double dutch organizations and competitions have emerged across the globe . in the last decade in europe , championship tournaments have been held in denmark , hungary , the netherlands and sweden . in japan , it has spread though clubs in high schools and colleges . mr. haratake said that at least half of the members of his university ’s double dutch club were studying physical education , adding that they would most likely spread the sport as future teachers . but double dutch still casts a spell on some teenagers in new york — mostly girls , but the occasional boy , too . young competitors say it combines art and athleticism and also improves their performance in other sports . armani graves , for example , plays flag football and runs track . “ i ’m one of the fastest runners in my school because of double dutch , ” she said . during practice , javon langston , 14 , a member of the pepper steppers , had just pulled off a series of tricks inside the swirling ropes , including an aerial , a and a flip , and he did not get tangled . “ i like the freestyle the most because it shows your creativity , ” he said modestly . his mother , reneé langston , nodded her approval . “ it keeps him positive and active and off the streets , ” she said . “ it has definitely made him a better young adult . ” dr. gaunt lamented that there were n’t more funds available to allow the city ’s double dutch champions to travel to international competitions . “ the girls here who jump do n’t get to go to morocco and france and germany , ” she said . “ a lot of the teams in far rockaway and brooklyn do n’t have that kind of money . so the descendants of the culture from which double dutch emerged do not have the same resources to compete . ”
+1 ask holly : why am i such a miserable git ? nan ask holly : why am i such a miserable git ? 03 - 11 - 16 why am i such a miserable git ? jose manchester dear jose , happiness comes from sweets and things made of plastic and sparkly items you see in the adverts on channel 5 . all you need to do is get a job which pays you about £ 21.99 a week . if you are too young to work , ask your mum and dad every half an hour for several days to give you the money and then you can get some wine gums , a sherbet dip dab , some shopkins and a barbie and you will be happy for at least five minutes . hope that helps ,
+1 black and a member of the 1 % elite anonymous coward ( uid 73270245 ) black and a member of the 1 % elite page 1 related threads 1 10/21/16 9 10/22/16 10 " godlike productions " & " glp " are registered trademarks of zero point ltd. godlike ™ © 1999 - 2015 godlikeproductions.com page generated in 0.006s ( 8 queries )
+1 what the clintons did to haiti nathan j. robinson tweet widget by nathan j. robinson bill and hillary clinton ’s role in the “ remaking ” of haiti after a devastating earthquake and foreign occupation is “ indefensible , ” according to the author ’s article , “ superpredator : bill clinton ’s use and abuse of black america , ” from which this piece is excerpted . “ many clinton projects “ have primarily benefited wealthy foreigners and the island ’s ruling elite . ” other projects simply fizzled . “ the money donated and invested was extraordinary , but nobody seems to know where it has gone . ” what the clintons did to haiti by nathan j. robinson this article previously appeared in global research and current affairs . “ she intended to ‘ make haiti the proving ground for her vision of american power.’ ” bill and hillary clinton had long shared a personal interest in haiti , dating back to the time of their honeymoon , part of which was spent in port - au - prince . in his autobiography , bill says that his understanding of god and human nature were profoundly transformed when they witnessed a voodoo ceremony in which a woman bit the head off a live chicken . hillary clinton says the two of them “ fell in love ” with haiti and they had developed a “ deep connection ” to the country . so when hillary clinton became secretary of state in 2009 , she consciously made the redevelopment of haiti one of her top priorities . the country , she announced , would be a laboratory where the united states could “ road - test new approaches to development , ” taking advantage of what she termed “ the power of proximity . ” she intended to “ make haiti the proving ground for her vision of american power . ” hillary clinton selected her own chief of staff , cheryl mills , to run the haiti project . mills would be joined by bill clinton , who had been deputized by the u.n. as a “ special envoy ” to haiti . bill ’s role was not well - defined , and haitians were curious about what was in store . mills wrote in an email to hillary clinton that haitians saw bill ’s appointment as “ a step toward putting haiti in a protectorate or trusteeship status . ” soon , “ joking that he must be coming back to lead a new colonial regime , ” the haitian media “ dubbed him le gouverneur . ” the project was heavily focused on increasing haiti ’s appeal to foreign corporations . as politico reported , clinton ’s experiment “ had business at its center : aid would be replaced by investment , the growth of which would in turn benefit the united states . ” “ clinton announced that haiti would be a laboratory where the united states could road - test new approaches to development , taking advantage of ‘ the power of proximity.’ ” one of the first acts in the new “ business - centered ” haiti policy involved suppressing haiti ’s minimum wage . a 2009 haitian law raised the minimum wage to 61 cents an hour , from 24 cents an hour previously . haitian garment manufacturers , including contractors for hanes and levi strauss , were furious , insisting that they were only willing to agree to a seven - cent increase . the manufacturers approached the u.s. state department , who brought intense pressure to bear against haitian president rené préval , working to “ aggressively block ” the 37-cent increase . the u.s. deputy mission chief said a minimum - wage increase “ did not take economic reality into account ” and simply “ appealed to the unemployed and underpaid masses . ” but as ryan chittum of the columbia journalism review explained , the proposed wage increase would have been only the most trivial additional expense for the american garment manufacturers : “ as of last year hanes had 3,200 haitians making t - shirts for it . paying each of them two bucks a day more would cost it about $ 1.6 million a year . hanesbrands incorporated made $ 211 million on $ 4.3 billion in sales last year , and presumably it would pass on at least some of its higher labor costs to consumers . or better yet , hanesbrands ceo richard noll could forego some of his rich compensation package . he could pay for the raises for those 3,200 t - shirt makers with just one - sixth of the $ 10 million in salary and bonus he raked in last year . ” “ u.s. deputy mission chief said a minimum - wage increase ‘ did not take economic reality into account ” and simply ‘ appealed to the unemployed and underpaid masses.’ ” the truth of the “ economic reality ” was that the haitian undergarment sector was hardly likely to become wildly less competitive as a result of the increase . the effort to suppress the minimum wage was not solely a clinton project . it was also a “ concerted effort on the part of haitian elites , factory owners , free trade proponents , u.s. politicians , economists , and american companies . ” but it was in keeping with the state department ’s priorities under clinton , which prioritized creating a favorable business climate . it was that same familiar clinton move “ from aid to trade . ” bill clinton ’s program for haitian development , designed by oxford university economist paul collier , “ had garment exports at its center . ” collier wrote that because of “ propitious ” factors like “ poverty and [ a ] relatively unregulated labor market , haiti has labor costs that are fully competitive with china . ” but the clintons’ role in haiti would soon expand even further . in 2010 , the country was struck by the worst earthquake in its history . the disaster killed 160,000 people and displaced over 1.5 million more . ( the consequences of the earthquake were exacerbated by the ruined state of the haitian food economy , plus the concentration of unemployed haitian farmers in port - au - prince . ) bill clinton was soon put in charge of the u.s .- led recovery effort . he was appointed to head the interim haiti recovery commission ( ihrc ) , which would oversee a wide range of rebuilding projects . at president obama ’s request , clinton and george w. bush created the “ clinton - bush haiti fund , ” and began aggressively fundraising around the world to support haiti in the earthquake ’s aftermath . ( with hillary clinton as secretary of state overseeing the efforts of usaid , the clintons’ importance to the recovery could not be overstated ; bill ’s appointment meant that “ at every stage of haiti ’s reconstruction — fundraising , oversight and allocation — a clinton was now involved . ” despite appearances , the clinton - bush fund was not focused on providing traditional relief . as they wrote , “ [ w]hile other organizations in haiti are using their resources to deliver immediate humanitarian aid , we are using our resources to focus on long - term development . ” while the fund would advertise that “ 100 % of donations go directly to relief efforts , ” clinton and bush adopted an expansive definition of “ relief ” efforts , treating luring foreign investment and jobs as a crucial part of earthquake recovery . on their website , they spoke proudly of what the new york daily news characterized as a program of “ supporting longterm programs to develop haiti ’s business class . ” “ at every stage of haiti ’s reconstruction — fundraising , oversight and allocation — a clinton was now involved . ” the strategy was an odd one . port - au - prince had been reduced to ruin , and haitians were crowded into filthy tent cities , where many were dying of a cholera outbreak ( which had itself been caused by the negligence of the united nations ) . whatever value building new garment factories may have had as a longterm economic plan , haitians were faced with somewhat more pressing concerns like the basic provision of shelter and medicine , as well as the clearing of the thousands of tons of rubble that filled their streets . the clinton - led recovery was a disaster . a year after the earthquake , a stinging report from oxfam singled out clinton ’s ihrc as creating a “ quagmire of indecision and delay ” that had made little progress toward successful earthquake recovery . oxfam found that : “ … less than half of the reconstruction aid promised by international donors has been disbursed . and while some of that money has been put toward temporary housing , almost none of the funds have been used for rubble removal . ” instead , the clinton foundation , ihrc , and state department created what a wall street journal writer called “ a mishmash of low quality , poorly thought - out development experiments and half - finished projects . ” haitian ihrc members lamented that the commission had produced “ a disparate bunch of approved projects . . . [ that ] do not address as a whole either the emergency situation or the recovery , let alone the development , of haiti . ” a 2013 investigation by the government accountability office found that most money for the recovery was not being dispersed , and that the projects that were being worked on were plagued by delays and cost overruns . many clinton projects were extravagant public relations affairs that quickly fizzled . for example , the washington post reported that : “ … [ a ] 2011 housing expo that cost more than $ 2 million , including $ 500,000 from the clinton foundation , was supposed to be a model for thousands of new units but instead has resulted in little more than a few dozen abandoned model homes occupied by squatters . ” “ a stinging report from oxfam singled out clinton ’s ihrc as creating a ‘ quagmire of indecision and delay.’ ” other clinton ventures were seen as “ disconnected from the realities of most people in the poorest country in the western hemisphere . ” politico reported that many clinton projects “ have primarily benefited wealthy foreigners and the island ’s ruling elite , who needed little help to begin with . ” for example , “ the clinton bush haiti fund invested more than $ 2 million in the royal oasis hotel , where a sleek suite with hardwood floors costs more than $ 200 a night and the shops sell $ 150 designer purses and $ 120 men ’s dress shirts . ” predictably , the royal oasis did n’t do an especially roaring trade ; the washington post reported that “ [ o]ne recent afternoon , the hotel appeared largely empty , and with tourism hardly booming five years after the quake , locals fear it may be failing . ” in a country with a 30-cent minimum wage , investing recovery dollars in a luxury hotel was not just offensive , but economically daft . sometimes the recovery projects were accused not only of being pointless , but of being downright harmful . for instance , bill clinton had proudly announced that the clinton foundation would be funding the “ construction of emergency storm shelters in léogâne . ” but an investigation of the shelters that the foundation had actually built found that they were “ shoddy and dangerous ” and full of toxic mold . the nation discovered , among other things , that the temperature in the shelters reached over 100 degrees , causing children to experience headaches and eye irritations ( which may have been compounded by the mold ) , and that the trailers showed high levels of carcinogenic formaldehyde , linked to asthma and other lung diseases . the clinton foundation had subcontracted the building of the shelters to clayton homes , a firm that had already been sued in the united states by the federal emergency management administration ( fema ) for “ having provided formaldehyde - laced trailers to hurricane katrina victims . ” ( clayton homes was owned by warren buffett ’s berkshire hathaway , and buffett had been a longstanding major donor to the clinton foundation . ) the nation ’s investigation reported on children whose classes were being held in clinton foundation trailers . their semester had just been cut short , and the students sent home , because the temperature in the classrooms had grown unbearable . the misery of the students in the clinton trailers was described : “ judith seide , a student in lubert ’s sixth - grade class [ explained that ] she and her classmates regularly suffer from painful headaches in their new clinton foundation classroom . every day , she said , her ‘ head hurts and i feel it spinning and have to stop moving , otherwise i ’d fall.’ her vision goes dark , as is the case with her classmate judel , who sometimes ca n’t open his eyes because , said seide , ‘ he ’s allergic to the heat.’ their teacher regularly relocates the class outside into the shade of the trailer because the swelter inside is insufferable . sitting in the sixth - grade classroom , student mondialie cineas , who dreams of becoming a nurse , said that three times a week the teacher gives her and her classmates painkillers so that they can make it through the school day . ‘ at noon , the class gets so hot , kids get headaches,’ the 12-year - old said , wiping beads of sweat from her brow . she is worried because ‘ the kids feel sick , ca n’t work , ca n’t advance to succeed.’ ” “ three times a week the teacher gives her and her classmates painkillers so that they can make it through the school day . ” the most notorious post - earthquake development project , however , was the caracol industrial park . the park was pitched as a major job creator , part of the goal of helping haiti “ build back better ” than it was before . the state department touted the prospect of 100,000 new jobs for haitians , with hillary clinton promising 65,000 jobs within five years . the industrial park followed the clintons’ preexisting development model for haiti : public / private partnerships with a heavy emphasis on the garment industry . even though there were still hundreds of thousands of evacuees living in tents , the project was based on “ the more expansive view that , in a desperately poor country where traditional foreign aid has chronically failed , fostering economic development is as important as replacing what fell down . ” much of the planning was focused on trying to lure a south korean clothing manufacturer to set up shop there , by plying them with u.s. taxpayer funding . the caracol project was “ the centerpiece ” of the u.s. ’s recovery effort . a gala celebrating its opening featured the clintons and sean penn , and it was treated as the emblem of the new , “ better ” haiti , that would demonstrate the country ’s commitment to being “ open for business . ” in order to build the park , hundreds of poor farmers were evicted from their land , so that millions of dollars could be spent transforming it . but the project was a terrible disappointment . after four years , it was only operating at 10 % capacity , and the jobs had failed to materialize : far from 100,000 jobs — or even the 60,000 promised within five years of the park ’s opening— “ caracol currently employs just 5,479 people full time . that comes out to roughly $ 55,000 in investment per job created so far ; or , to put it another way , about 30 times more per job than the average [ caracol ] worker makes per year . the park , built on the site of a former u.s. marine - run slave labor camp during the 1915 - 1934 u.s. occupation , has the best - paved roads and manicured sidewalks in the country , but most of the land remains vacant . ” most of the seized farmland went unused , then , and even for the remaining farmers , “ surges of wastewater have caused floods and spoiled crops . ” huge queues of unemployed haitians stood daily in front of the factory , awaiting jobs that did not exist . the washington post described the scene : “ each morning , crowds line up outside the park ’s big front gate , which is guarded by four men in crisp khaki uniforms carrying shotguns . they wait in a sliver of shade next to a cinder - block wall , many holding résumés in envelopes . most said they have been coming every day for months , waiting for jobs that pay about $ 5 a day . from his envelope , jean mito palvetus , 27 , pulled out a diploma attesting that he had completed 200 hours of training with the u.s. agency for international development on an industrial sewing machine . ‘ i have three kids and a wife , and i ca n’t support them,’ he said , sweating in the hot morning sun . ‘ i have a diploma , but i still ca n’t get a job here . i still have nothing.’ ” “ the interests of the market , the interest of foreigners are prioritized over the majority of people who are impoverished in haiti . ” for some , the caracol project perfectly symbolized the clinton approach : big promises , an emphasis on sweatshops , incompetent management , and little concern for the actual impact on haitians . “ caracol is a prime example of bad help , ” as one haiti scholar put it . “ the interests of the market , the interest of foreigners are prioritized over the majority of people who are impoverished in haiti . ” but , failure as it may have been , the caracol factory was among the more successful of the projects , insofar as it actually came into existence . a large amount of the money raised by bill clinton after the earthquake , and pledged by the u.s. under hillary clinton , simply disappeared without a trace , its whereabouts unknown . as politico explained : “ even bill ’s u.n. office of the special envoy could n’t track where all of [ it ] went — and the truth is that still today no one really knows how much money was spent ‘ rebuilding’ haiti . many initial pledges never materialized . a whopping $ 465 million of the relief money went through the pentagon , which spent it on deployment of u.s. troops—20,000 at the high water mark , many of whom never set foot on haitian soil . that money included fuel for ships and planes , helicopter repairs and inscrutables such as an $ 18,000 contract for a jungle gym … huge contracts were doled out to the usual array of major contractors , including a $ 16.7 million logistics contract whose partners included agility public warehousing ksc , a kuwaiti firm that was supposed to have been blacklisted from doing business with washington after a 2009 indictment alleging a conspiracy to defraud the u.s. government during the iraq war . ” the recovery under the clintons became notorious for its mismanagement . clinton staffers “ had no idea what haiti was like and had no sensitivity to the haitians . ” they were reportedly rude and condescending toward haitians , even refusing to admit haitian government ministers to meetings about recovery plans . while the clintons called in high - profile consulting firms like mckinsey to draw up plans , they had little interest in listening to haitians themselves . the former haitian prime minister spoke of a “ weak ” american staff who were “ more interested in supporting clinton than helping haiti . ” “ a large amount of the money raised by bill clinton after the earthquake , and pledged by the u.s. under hillary clinton , simply disappeared without a trace , its whereabouts unknown . ” one of those shocked by the failure of the recovery effort was chelsea clinton , who wrote a detailed email to her parents in which she said that while haitians were trying to help themselves , every part of the international aid effort , both governmental and nongovernmental , was falling short . “ the incompetence is mind numbing , ” she wrote . chelsea produced a detailed memorandum recommending drastic steps that needed to be taken in order to get the recovery on track . but the memo was kept within the clinton family , released only later under a freedom of information act disclosure of hillary ’s state department correspondence . if it had come out at the time , as haiti journalist jonathan katz writes , it “ would have obliterated the public narrative of helpful outsiders saving grateful earthquake survivors that her mother ’s state department was working so hard to promote . ” the clintons’ haiti recovery ended with a whimper . the clinton - bush haiti fund distributed the last of its funds in 2012 and disbanded , without any attempt at further fundraising . the ihrc “ quietly closed their doors ” in october of 2011 , even though little progress had been made . as the boston review ’s jake johnston explained , though hundreds of thousands remained displaced , the ihrc wiped its hands of the housing situation : “ [ l]ittle remained of the grand plans to build thousands of new homes . instead , those left homeless would be given a small , one - time rental subsidy of about $ 500 . these subsidies , funded by a number of different aid agencies , were meant to give private companies the incentive to invest in building houses . as efforts to rebuild whole neighborhoods faltered , the rental subsidies turned haitians into consumers , and the housing problem was handed over to the private sector . ” the clintons themselves simply stopped speaking about haiti . after the first two years , they were “ nowhere to be seen ” there , despite hillary ’s having promised that her commitment to haiti would long outlast her tenure as secretary of state . haiti has been given little attention during hillary clinton ’s presidential campaign , even though the haiti project was ostensibly one of great pride for both clintons . “ one of those shocked by the failure of the recovery effort was chelsea clinton . ” the widespread consensus among observers is that the haiti recovery , which time called the u.s. ’s “ compassionate invasion , ” was a catastrophically mismanaged disappointment . jonathan katz writes that “ it ’s hard to find anyone these days who looks back on the u.s .- led response to the january 12 , 2010 , haiti earthquake as a success . ” while plenty of money was channeled into the country , it largely went to what were “ little more than small pilot projects — a new set of basketball hoops and a model elementary school here , a functioning factory there . ” the end result has been that little has changed for haiti . “ haitians find themselves in a social and economic situation that is worse than before the earthquake , ” reports a belgian photojournalist who has spent 10 years in haiti : “ everyone says that they ’re living in worse conditions than before … when you look at the history of humanitarian relief , there ’s never been a situation when such a small country has been the target of such a massive influx of money and assistance in such a short span of time … on paper , with that much money in a territory the size of haiti , we should have witnessed miracles ; there should have been results . ” “ if anything , they appear worse off , ” says foreign policy of haiti ’s farmers . “ i really can not understand how you could raise so much money , put a former u.s. president in charge , and get this outcome , ” said one haitian official . indeed , the money donated and invested was extraordinary . but nobody seems to know where it has gone . haitians direct much of the blame toward the clintons . as a former haitian government official who worked on the recovery said , “ [ t]here is a lot of resentment about clinton here . people have not seen results . . .. they say that clinton used haiti . ” haitians “ increasingly complain that clinton - backed projects have often helped the country ’s elite and international business investors more than they have helped poor ‘ haitians . ” there is a “ suspicion that their motives are more to make a profit in haiti than to help it . ” and that while “ striking a populist pose , in practice they were attracted to power in haiti . ” but perhaps we should be more forgiving of the clintons’ conduct during the haitian recovery . after all , instead of doing true harm , the clintons simply failed to do much good . and perhaps it ’s better to have a luxury hotel than not to have one , better to have a few jobs than none at all . thanks to bill clinton , there ’s a gleaming new industrial park , albeit one operating at a fraction of its capacity . yet it ’s a mistake to measure clinton against what would have happened if the united states had done nothing at all for haiti . the question is what would have happened if a capable , nonfamous administrator , rather than a globetrotting narcissist , had been placed in charge . tens of millions of dollars were donated toward the haiti recovery by people across the world ; it was an incredible outpouring of generosity . the squandering of that money on half - baked development schemes ( mainly led by cronies ) , and the ignoring of haitians’ own demands , mean that clinton may have caused considerable harm through his failure . plenty of people died in tent cities that would not have died if the world ’s donations had been used effectively . “ defending the clintons’ haiti record is an impossible endeavor . ” democrats have bristled at recent attempts by donald trump to criticize hillary clinton over her record in haiti . jonathan katz , whose in - depth reporting from haiti was stingingly critical of the clintons , has now changed his tune , insisting that we all bear the responsibility for the failed recovery effort . when trump accused the clintons of squandering millions building “ a sweatshop ” in haiti in the form of the caracol park , media fact - checkers quickly insisted he was spewing pinocchios . the washington post said that while clinton foundation donors may have financially benefited from the factory - building project , they benefited “ writ large ” rather than “ directly . ” the post cited the words of the factory ’s spokesman as evidence that the factory was not a sweatshop , and pointed out that caracol workers earned at least “ minimum wage ” ( failing to mention that minimum wage in haiti remains well under a dollar ) . politifact also rated the sweatshop claim “ mostly false , ” even though katz notes “ long hours , tough conditions , and low pay ” at the factory and politifact acknowledges the “ ongoing theft of legally - earned wages . ” defending the clintons’ haiti record is an impossible endeavor , one democrats should probably not bother attempting . as the center for economic and policy research , which has studied the recovery , noted , when it comes to the clinton - led recovery mission , “ it ’s hard to say it ’s been anything other than a failure . ” haitians are not delusional in their resentment of the clintons ; they have good reason to feel as if they were used for publicity , and discarded by the clintons when they became inconvenient . none of this means that one should vote for donald trump for president . his tears for haiti are those of a highly opportunistic crocodile , and his interest in the country ’s wellbeing began at the precise moment that it could be used a bludgeon with which to beat his political opponent . as we have previously noted in this publication , one does not need to be convinced that hillary clinton is an honorable person in order to be convinced that she is the preferable candidate . it is important , however , not to maintain any illusions , not to stifle or massage the truth in the service of short - term electoral concerns . it remains simultaneously true that a clinton presidency is our present least - worst option and that what the clintons did to haiti was callous , selfish , and indefensible .
+1 mr and what makes you think that , considering that mass incarceration has always stemmed from putting people in prison for a long terms for nonviolent offenses ? and do n't tell me that debtors prisons are illegal , america routinely breaks its own laws .
+1 america ’s streets will run red with blood- mike adams dave hodges america ’s streets will run red with blood- mike adams violence in america - america ’s streets will run red with blood hillary is going down . but do n’t make the mistake of thinking it is over ! as mike adams says in the following video . it does not matter who wins , the streets will run red with blood . listen to what mike adams has to say in the following video . if this video does not convince you to prepare to be on your own , then nothing will .
+1 the name of rose , an arkansas thriller : clintons ' corrupt rise to power nan the new republic mon , 04 apr 1994 13:56 utc you see a girl walking down the street . you can say , " there goes a beautiful girl " or " there goes a whore . " what the hell 's the difference ? they 've both got legs . ~ jon e.m. jacoby , executive vice president of stephens inc. , explaining the arkansas system of politics and finance as it reached perfection during the clinton years part 1 © unknown in arkansas , the latest backstairs of the national political system , you hear a lot of things . concerning whitewater , for example , you are constantly-- and probably correctly -- reminded that the dustup involves nothing but a typical loony tunes savings & loans deal from the 1980s , despite the august personages involved and their perplexing insistence on behaving like refugees from a raymond chandler novel . in arkansas memories are long , political rascality is king of regional sports and rumor and truth tend to commingle until otherwise reasonable people are driven slightly bonkers trying to sort out one from the other . in little rock the whole whitewater affair is regarded as something of a hoot -- the yankee carpetbagger press , with the reality of arkansas staring it in the face , has gone and missed the real story again . but if whitewater was nothing but a minor peccadillo that the press has glommed onto because it thinks it understands it -- and compared with the private financial shenanigans of arizona governor fife symington , whitewater resembles a misdeed along the lines of crossing the street against the light-- why , then , has the clinton administration so frantically placed its back to the door , as though a peek beyond would reveal grandpa tied to a chair , surrounded by his looted bank books ? in arkansas the answer to this question eerily resembles the epitaph on the tombstone of sir christopher wren : if you would see clinton 's monument , look around . when it comes to bill clinton 's home state , the national press has repeatedly looked , seen everything and observed next to nothing ( the honorable , largely ignored exception being the los angeles times ) . visiting little rock in search of atmosphere during the presidential campaign , reporter after reporter dutifully described the imposing stephens building , the elegant capitol hotel , the worthen bank tower and the headquarters of arkla petroleum , future white house chief of staff mack mclarty 's gas company , without realizing that all of these things were either owned , controlled or under the influence of a single , immensely powerful family : the stephenses . by a happy chance , the family is also the stellar client of hillary rodham clinton 's old employer , the rose law firm . although it usually served as a hired gun with a conveniently blind eye , rose proves to be a handy prism for observing a gothic , sometimes darkly humorous tale of bonds , banks , a friendly cocaine distributor , sinister pakistanis , shadowy indonesians and the uses to which an agreeable state government can be put . the story is in fact three connected stories , combined in a typically southern saga : stephens inc. and the worthen bank corporation ; the rose law firm itself ; and the arkansas bond business , which , like most bond businesses , is extremely difficult for the well - educated layman to understand , thus making it an excellent place to hide things in plain sight . central to the story is a pair of siblings named witt and jackson stephens . part 2 in one sense , nothing unusual occurred in arkansas during the 1980s : tales of high jinks in high places have always figured prominently in american discourse , and some of the most colorful stories -- a number of them actually true -- have come out of the bubba belt of the south and southwest , whose geographical heart happens to be occupied by arkansas . but arkansas is rendered sui generis by the presence of the only major investment bank not headquartered on wall street , stephens inc. of little rock , which does much to explain some of the arresting peculiarities of a state that is more than a little strange even when judged by the spacious standards of its region . for one thing , although arkansas is the home to some of the nation 's wealthiest families , it is one of the poorest states in the country , although there is no reason for it to be poor at all . abundantly endowed with minerals , petroleum , timber and some of the most fertile agricultural land on the surface of the planet , it bears a close resemblance to a third world country , with a ruling oligarchy , a small and relatively powerless middle class and a disfranchised , leaderless populace admired for its colorful folkways , deplored for its propensity to violence ( on a per capita basis , little rock has one of the highest murder rates in the nation ) and appreciated for its willingness to do just about any kind of work for just about any kind of wage . in the words of one local wag , the farther you get from arkansas , the better the stephens boys look . indeed , the family 's sanitized , horatio alger- like biographies have been featured , accompanied by a remarkable lack of examination , in publications as various as forbes and golf digest . the dynasty 's founder , witt stephens , together with his younger brother by sixteen years , jackson , grew up on a hardscrabble farm near the town of prattsville , the sons of a small - time speculator in oil stocks and sometime state legislator , a.j. stephens , who remained a power in state democratic politics until the end of his life . an eighth - grade dropout , witt first made his living by peddling bibles and belt buckles before he discovered a pair of bonanzas in undervalued , depression - era municipal bonds and the natural gas with which arkansas is so richly endowed . meanwhile , jackson briefly served as a page with his father in the state legislature and went on to become a classmate of future president jimmy carter at the naval academy , a circumstance that would later serve the family 's fortunes well while causing a disaster of still unmeasured magnitude in the american banking system . after world war ii the brothers joined forces at stephens inc. in little rock , with witt -- or mr. witt , as he came to be known -- serving as the company 's colorful , cigar - chomping and aphoristic face to the world ( or as much of the world as paid attention ) while the taciturn jack toiled away in the back office , revealing a golden touch at investment strategy . these things are relative , of course ; by the time witt ( who died in 1992 at the age of 83 ) handed over the reins to jack in 1957 , while retaining his petroleum interests and serving as the presiding genius of the firm , stephens inc. was worth a beggarly $ 7.5 million . but in the arkansas of 1957 , a financial institution with $ 7.5 million had the money and the clout to do a number of things -- including purchase a governor . witt , like his father before him , was a staunch hereditary democrat , a supporter and friend of such arkansas luminaries as senator william fulbright . he was also a great patron of the infamous , six - term orval faubus -- not , apparently , because of the governor 's segregationist policies ( to the family 's credit , jack stephens , a trustee of the university of arkansas since 1948 , had successfully lent his voice to the cause of integrating the institution ) , but because faubus was sound on the subject of natural gas , a subject dear to the stephens ' heart . as the family 's fortune continued to wax after the faubus years , it became an axiom of arkansas politics that someone could occasionally become governor without permission from stephens headquarters , but the politician was unlikely to remain governor for very long unless he paid close attention to the care and feeding of the brothers-- the great exception to the rule being two - term republican winthrop rockefeller , the beneficiary , representative and broken reed of an even vaster american fortune , who became the failed hope of arkansas liberalism . decades later , when the self - effacing jack became chairman of the augusta national golf club in georgia , naive visitors were quickly enlightened on the subject of how a man so shy could assume a post so prominent in the sport of the moneyed and the gently bred . " jackson stephens ? " it was explained . " he 's the man who owns arkansas . " it was with jackson stephens at the helm that stephens inc. propelled itself into the stratosphere of the american financial plutocracy , making a bewildering variety of investments in enterprises as various as real estate , hazardous waste incineration , data processing , nursing homes , trucking and airplane maintenance , while simultaneously diversifying into the business of underwriting issues of common stock . in its new role , the firm called on the services of young c. joseph giroir , the only trained securities lawyer in the state , and his paralyzingly respectable firm , rose . the securities business , in turn , led to a chain of peculiar events beginning in 1977 ( the year , it so happened , that bill clinton became arkansas attorney general and that rose hired his wife ) . that year , no less a figure than t. bertram lance appeared on the corporate doorstep of his old friend 's classmate , bringing with him a load of troubles and a glittering opportunity . lance was compelled to resign as head of jimmy carter 's office of management and budget because of his long history of questionable financial practices in georgia . as a result of that history , he was also beset by a negative net worth , substantial loans from banks in chicago and new york and a large stockholding in the national bank of georgia . sadly for lance the price of the bank stock was depressed and its sale on the open market could not rescue him from the specter of bankruptcy , which was the dilemma stephens inc. was invited to solve . a solution was soon found in the form of the now notorious bank of commerce and credit international ( bcci ) , although whether lance introduced stephens to the pakistani - run scam or vice versa is a matter of some debate . beyond dispute , however , is the fact that the comptroller of the currency , the nation 's principal regulator of commercial banks , had clearly stated that bcci was never to enter the american banking system under any circumstances . oddly , this unambiguous order did nothing to prevent stephens inc. from solving lance 's problems while settling a small score of its own . the national bank of georgia was controlled by a holding company called financial general , one of the few entities in the country allowed to engage in interstate banking under the laws of the time . the stephens interests controlled slightly less than 5 percent of financial general and the investment had soured , partly because financial general refused to hire the family 's data processing company . it was , stephens soon persuaded bcci , just the sort of investment bcci was looking for , the comptroller 's edict notwithstanding . comment : bcci was pretty much the global ( not ' pakistani ' ) financial instrument that got the western ' war on terror ' up and running , funneling weapons to terrorists via payments of hard drugs , prostitutes and cash . in short order , stephens launched lance on the path to renewed solvency , assembled blocks of stock for purchase by the front men who would conceal bcci 's identity , effected an introduction to the subsequently disgraced democratic wise man clark clifford , turned a small but tidy profit on the sale of its own shares , pocketed fees of at least $ 95,000 - -and , in return for a sum that in stephens terms amounted to chump change , set in motion the process that would give bcci its long - sought beachhead in the american financial community . when subsequently confronted with its bcci involvement by the securities and exchange commission , stephens inc. neither admitted nor denied the sec 's findings but promised to go and sin no more . but bcci was not the only exotic party attracted by lance 's bank holdings . also appearing on the scene was mochtar riady , one of the wealthiest men in indonesia , with far - ranging interests and a known connection to his country 's dictator , general suharto . when someone went into business with riady , there was also the possibility that they were in business with the general , a fairly decent chap by dictatorial standards ( he had begun his reign with the slaughter of 200,000 supposed communists , a feat he had not found necessary to duplicate except on the island of timor ) but a tyrant nonetheless . stephens inc. , which appeared to be uninterested in the true activities of bcci , exhibited a similar indifference when it came to riady . moreover , the stephens people did not appear to be the least bit curious about the business endeavors of the distinguished former statesman who effected the introduction between jakarta and little rock . this was robert b. anderson . formerly a secretary of the treasury in the eisenhower administration , anderson had carried out diplomatic assignments for president lyndon johnson in the middle east and had served as president richard nixon 's chief negotiator in the panama canal talks before opening an offshore bank -- commercial and trade bank and trust ltd. on anguilla -- that catered to people who needed to launder money , evade taxes , or both . jack stephens had willingly presided over the handoff of a big hunk of an american bank to a bunch of pakistani thugs , but he was not willing to let riady go so easily . " he wanted to buy into an american bank , an idea i was not enthusiastic about , " stephens told an interviewer some years later , perhaps making an unconscious semantic distinction . he 'd seen nothing wrong with selling bcci an american bank -- they even named it first american -- but he and riady soon began planning an entirely new kind of arkansas bank holding company , for which they required the services of giroir and his expertise in securities law . but they also needed something that increasingly became a hallmark of the rose firm : a willingness to perpetrate a subtle conflict of interest . founded in 1820 , well before arkansas became a state , rose is one of the oldest surviving law firms west of the mississippi , one of the most competent and one of the most quietly influential . often , in looking at the state government of arkansas , the rose firm and the stephens interests , it is hard to escape the impression that one is looking at a single entity , rather along the lines of nato . the law partnership takes its curious name from u.m. rose , a talented attorney who dominated the firm from the mid-1860s to the end of the century , was one of the founders of the american bar association and is one of two arkansans whose statues adorn the capitol in washington . over the years rose has provided arkansas with numerous legislators and justices of the state supreme court . in 1957 , when the modern civil rights era was born in governor faubus 's refusal to integrate little rock 's central high , it was a rose lawyer who acted as lead counsel to the school board . ( rose still has no black partners . ) and from 1975 until 1988 the firm enjoyed a spectacular run -- growing from seventeen lawyers to fifty - three -- under the leadership of the dapper and charming giroir , the first and only chairman in the history of rose , who deeply entwined the partnership and his personal destiny in the affairs of the stephens family 's empire . during the clinton administration , the history of the rose firm could be divided into two periods : the giroir years , and the shorter period , from 1987 to 1992 , when the firm claimed to be a democracy , voting on its future rather than blindly following a single , charismatic leader . this democracy , however , was publicly dominated by three partners : the amiable webster hubbell , who was until a few days ago associate attorney general ; the quiet vincent foster , who was deputy white house counsel until his suicide last summer ; and hillary rodham clinton , who as of press time is still first lady . the firm 's sea change , which generated a certain amount of hoopla from the legal press , was more apparent than real . under the surface , rose was much the same as always , doing good for its friends and clients while doing well for itself , but much more silently . in his years as rose 's chief , giroir conspicuously chaired a group drawn from the state 's so - called good suit club . the club successfully lobbied the legislature to change the state usury law , which made owning an arkansas commercial bank a much more attractive proposition . it also was active in convincing the state 's lawmakers to revise the law restricting the formation of bank holding companies , which enabled giroir , riady and stephens to make a substantial and potentially lucrative investment . on his own , giroir had purchased control of four arkansas banks . he sold all four -- including the second - largest bank in the city of pine bluff -- to worthen banking corporation , the new holding company riady and stephens had been able to set up after state law , with giroir 's help , had been made more congenial to such things . for his part in the deal , giroir was compensated with $ 53,760,294 in cash , stock and assumed debt . he also became a major stockholder of worthen ( named after the venerable and very large little rock bank that was the pride of the stephens commercial banking empire ) and a powerful member of its board . he received further income by renting property to the company , and he pocketed an additional $ 2.1 million when he sold part of his stockholdings to a company affiliated with riady 's son james ( who was also worthen 's co - president ) . more important , he managed to create a whole new client for his firm ; rose became worthen 's principal outside counsel . these things are complicated , dull and dry , which is an excellent form of concealment , but consider the sequence of events . with the stroke of a pen and without a visible second thought , then - governor bill clinton , following his traumatic period as a voter - rejected civilian between 1980 and 1982 , gave life to two pieces of legislation inspired by his wife 's boss -- revising the usury laws and permitting the formation of new banking holding companies . in a state as small as arkansas , where everybody of importance knows everybody else , it seems impossible that governor clinton could not have known that the relevant legislation would be of immense personal benefit to the boss in question , the state 's most powerful family and an indonesian investor whose presence in arkansas seemed to be regarded as the most natural thing in the world . last and not incidentally , the governor , by permitting the creation of the worthen bank corporation , had arranged a new payday for the clinton family through the windfall in legal fees provided to the rose firm ( hillary rodham clinton , partner ) . when the compensation of the firm 's partners was computed , rodham clinton has insisted , she specifically exempted herself from receiving a share of rose 's business with the state . but although worthen could not have been brought to life without the help of her husband 's government , it was not a government agency . rodham clinton was therefore not excluded from a partner 's share of its fees . more important , worthen also became a major depository of the state 's tax receipts . nothing unusual here ; governments frequently park their undeployed funds with large private banking institutions until they decide what to do with the money . but the results soon proved to be imprudent under the most charitable interpretation of the word . in 1985 worthen bank managed to lose $ 52 million of arkansas state taxpayers ' money in a purchase of government securities from a new jersey brokerage with a questionable past and no future whatever ; several of its principals ended up in jail for fraud . with its capital wiped out in a single stroke and a seizure by federal regulators imminent , worthen was swiftly rescued with a $ 30 million cash infusion from its major stockholders , in the form of a loan that paid the stephens partners a handsome 10 percent -- together with additional funds from stephens inc. , which pocketed a $ 3.2 million fee for its trouble . ( the risk , in true stephens fashion , was not great . two - thirds of the funds were swiftly replaced by worthen 's insurance company , which made stephens inc. 's noble rescue of the bank -- and of a big hunk of the arkansas treasury -- an almost surefire , profitable investment . ) also conspicuous during the complex negotiations were joe giroir and his partner webb hubbell , appearing in their capacity as members of rose . two questions surround this incident . first , how could worthen have allowed the state to make such an obviously tainted investment via the new jersey brokerage firm ? second , and more important , why did nobody in arkansas appear before the bar of justice ? the new jersey firm was a direct lineal descendent of a peculiar regional phenomenon : the world of so - called bond daddies . the bond - daddy racket , long centered in memphis but with many of its members drawn from arkansas , specialized in selling questionable government securities to gullible investors , principally small banks with little financial sophistication . here is where the oddity begins , at least as it concerns worthen . the stephens brothers , if not giroir and riady , were intimately familiar with the black arts of finance . they were also experts in the government bond market . moreover , at least one of the principals in the new jersey brokerage of bevill , bresler & schulman inc. ( which executed the transaction for worthen and the state of arkansas ) was well - known in the region . bevill 's operations had all the earmarks of a standard bond- daddy scam , and yet worthen committed $ 52 million anyway . ( at the bank , the official explanation was that co - president jim jett acted naively , on his own and without the supervision of his principal stockholders , which is possible but not entirely plausible , since giroir , who represented the stephenses , sat on the board . ) consider a virtually identical event at the same time in ohio , in which a savings bank controlled by marvin warner , jimmy carter 's ambassador to switzerland , invested in the same kind of fraudulent securities , destroyed itself , ignited a statewide financial panic and caused governor richard celeste to declare the first ohio bank holiday since the great depression . a number of the responsible parties , including warner , found themselves behind bars , some for a very long time . why ? under long established anglo - american law , an officer or director of a bank is governed by the " prudent man " rule , which states that he is personally responsible for the financial and legal consequences of his acts . in arkansas , where the prudent man rule seems to have been suspended , a number of people were fired , but the clinton government hauled precisely no one into court on criminal charges . once again in clinton 's arkansas , the law seemed to be different than it was in the rest of the united states -- which makes certain arkansans smile in knowing amusement over the fact that bill clinton now happens to be running the united states . part 3 the near failure of worthen in 1985 , like the arrival of bcci , proved to be another pivotal event in recent arkansas history : stephens , worthen , rose and the clintons remained at the center of the stage , but the cast of supporting players began to change . a former stephens executive named ray bradbury , who had been deeply involved in the bcci negotiations -- hardly a job qualification , one would think -- took the helm at worthen , where he discovered that the bank was also stuffed with bad real estate loans . meanwhile , federal regulators learned that the bank had made an excessive number of insider loans , particularly to the riadys , although what happened next is , as usual , a matter of mutually exclusive explanations . knowledgeable observers in little rock and elsewhere say that the riadys were slowly forced out of the bank by the federal government ; at worthen , the official version says that the riadys disengaged because it was clear the troubled bank could not be a major force in international finance . in any event , the riadys soon departed . the role of joe giroir also underwent a change . as a principal owner of worthen , he was charged with securities fraud in a shareholder suit ; he was also sued by worthen itself for taking illegal " short - swing " profits when he sold stock to the riady affiliate . not only did giroir lose his board position and partial ownership of the bank -- with giroir and riady out of the picture , the stephenses gradually increased their stockholding to more than 40 percent , while stoutly denying they controlled the place -- but , following giroir 's disgrace in 1988 , rose lost worthen as a client that had once paid the firm hundreds of thousands of dollars per year . as for giroir , his troubles were far from over . in 1986 he was revealed to be a shareholder in and a substantial borrower from a pine bluff thrift called firstsouth , the first billion - dollar savings & loan failure in the country . comment : is n't that curious ; the first s&l bust happened under the clintons ' watch . before the dust had cleared , the head of firstsouth had gone to jail together with a former president of the arkansas bar association , and giroir had sued the federal regulators while the federal regulators were suing him , putting a considerable crimp in the plans of his partners , hubbell and foster , to create a lucrative practice in the cleanup of the s&l crisis . ( at failed s&ls , the fees for firms like rose could be enormous . according to one frustrated federal investigator , private lawyers in dallas were making $ 500,000 per month from the thrift catastrophe , more than the total annual budget for the federal cleanup effort in the entire state of texas -- and in arkansas , where lawyers were cheaper , the damage per capita was among the worst in the country . somehow , governor clinton escaped criticism for this interesting fact . ) it was clear that joe giroir , who had built the modern rose law firm , was now the partnership 's greatest liability -- the firm 's reputation aside , federal regulators charged that giroir had used rose letterhead to give firstsouth legal advice beneficial to himself ; rose was forced to settle with the federal s&l insurance corporation regulators for a reported half - million dollars -- although once again there is a contradictory official version of his abrupt departure . giroir once claimed that he left the firm voluntarily but will no longer comment on the matter . the rose firm fell abruptly silent on this and all other subjects following recent allegations that it had shredded its whitewater files , but its spokesman told american lawyer in 1992 that giroir departed in a coup arranged by litigators who were miffed that he and the firm 's other rainmakers were paid substantially more than the lawyers who actually did the scut work in court -- litigators prominently including hubbell , foster and rodham clinton , who actually seemed to be engaged in very little legal work at all . with the departure of giroir , life at rose became quieter if no less active . the three partners became the firm 's public face to the world . the most physically imposing and locally active of these was hubbell , a six - foot , five- inch giant of a man who had played football for the university of arkansas , had almost made it into the big time with the chicago bears , had served briefly as mayor of little rock ( when rose received a significant portion of the city 's bond business ) and had received an interim appointment as chief justice of the arkansas supreme court from governor clinton . ( according to a reliable source , hubbell 's father - in - law , seth ward , a septuagenarian self - made entrepreneur , once complained that keeping hubbell in politics cost him $ 100,000 a year . ) the second was foster , once described as an immaculately brown - suited man in an immaculate brown office , who was regarded as the " soul " of a firm that , according to grand jury testimony , shredded volumes of his records the moment an independent federal prosecutor appeared in the vicinity . the last was rose 's first female partner , rodham clinton , who occasionally did some lawyering in the intervals when she was n't working for the children 's defense fund , attending to her personal business affairs or serving as the governor 's first lady . the three were described to american lawyer as " big , big buddies " ; rodham clinton 's office was next door to hubbell 's , and much of her work was actually done by foster . comment : hubbell is very likely the father of chelsea clinton . and foster , another ' lover ' , was suicided shortly after he followed killary to the white house . the three also were closely entwined in a curious financial arrangement . this was mid - life investors , a partnership set up by e. f. hutton in 1983 . hubbell , foster and rodham clinton each kicked in $ 15,000 and named each other -- rather than their spouses -- as beneficiaries . but although the fund was active at least until 1991 , rodham clinton reported annual dividends of under twenty dollars from mid - life investors , a sum that comes as a surprise to roy drew , the financial counselor who supervised the partnership and invested its money in such 1980s takeover candidates as diamond shamrock and firestone tire . according to drew , with the likes of sir james goldsmith and the japanese offering huge sums for the stock of shamrock and firestone , there was no way mid - life investors could have failed to reap substantial profits . although rodham clinton was a litigator -- that is , a lawyer whose task is to appear in court , if only to force the other side to settle -- and an attorney who was named one of the 100 most influential in the country by the national law journal in 1988 and 1991 , she was almost never seen in the courtrooms of little rock ; some court reporters remember an occasional appearance , and one could not remember having seen her at all . according to a search conducted by american lawyer , she tried just five cases during her fifteen years at rose ; other published sources say her work revolved around copyright infringement cases involving songwriters and bread companies . but paradoxically , in view of what happened to giroir , she ( like giroir ) received extra compensation for the business she generated from her extracurricular activities , even if she did not work on the cases at all . for example , she was only one of two rose partners to act as a corporate director , serving at various times on the boards of four companies and earning $ 64,700 in 1991 from director 's fees alone . ( her 1991 salary from rose was in the vicinity of $ 110,000 ; her husband earned $ 35,000 and got to live in a free house . ) she was on the board of wal - mart , a rose client that stephens had launched on the road to glory . ( rodham clinton also owned $ 80,000 worth of wal - mart stock . ) she served southern development bancorp , a holding company created to give development loans in rural arkansas , which , according to the washington post , paid rose somewhere between $ 100,000 and $ 200,000 in fees . in 1989 she joined the board of tcby yogurt company , which occupies the tallest building in little rock . tcby then proceeded to pay rose $ 750,000 for legal work during the next few years . last , and puzzlingly , she was a director of lafarge , a giant french cement company that had no discernible connection to arkansas except , like stephens inc. , it was engaged in burning hazardous waste . ( as president , bill clinton did nothing to stop operation of an ohio waste incinerator , partly backed at one time by stephens inc. , despite the fact that it did n't work , had no legal permit and his own vice president had promised that it would never operate until it was thoroughly investigated , which it was n't . ) comment : that 's the same lafarge recently caught trading with head - chopper inc , isis : paris strikes corporate partnership with lafarge , who secretly sponsored isis for profit and has ties to killary with rodham clinton aboard at rose , the firm 's long established connections to the governor 's office were made firmer still . rose , the gold standard of arkansas law firms , had long enjoyed unusual access to the state 's corridors of power . it both advised and did the bidding of the powerful family that acted as the state 's shadow government , and during the clinton years , the rose law firm sometimes behaved as though it were an agency of the state rather than a legal partnership with offices in a converted ymca . the intimate connection between rose , stephens inc. and the governor 's office may help explain how the stephens family made a vast amount of money when its most visible enterprises were doing no such thing . the investment bank had hit a gusher when it took wal - mart public , made a pleasing sum on the stock of tyson foods , the nation 's largest chicken processor , but otherwise cut no great swath in the stock market . until recently , worthen was a disaster area . at least part of the answer for the family 's continued prosperity seems to reside in the unusual way bill clinton 's state dealt with stephens inc. 's old specialty , government bonds . part 4 the crown jewel of bill clinton 's avowed attempt to create industries and jobs in the state was an unusual entity called the arkansas development finance authority ( adfa ) . according to well - established common law , a government - chartered authority is supposed to be an independent body , insulated from the hurly - burly of everyday political life and its temptations . but adfa , written into law with the help of webb hubbell , was no such thing . all ten members of its board were appointed by the governor . though it was specifically granted the power to issue industrial development bonds , the governor , personally , was required to approve every bond issue . state agencies with the ability to issue industrial bonds are supposed to distribute the money ( and thus create jobs and wealth ) to companies and individuals who ca n't receive lines of credit on favorable terms from the usual financial institutions or venture capitalists . on significant occasions , however , adfa spread its bounty to less than deserving clients . nor do the peculiarities of this body end here . although it issued bonds , adfa did no due diligence -- the common practice of engaging an outside financial expert to examine the applicants for the proceeds and determine if they actually need the money and are otherwise worthy recipients . ( due diligence , according to an adfa spokesman who happens to be the brother - in - law of one of witt stephens 's daughters , was the responsibility of the purchasers of the bonds under the ancient principle of caveat emptor --a practice that had previously helped the region 's bond daddies flourish and had wiped out the capital of the worthen bank . ) while its spokesman is a little fuzzy on the subject , it seems that there was no regular adfa oversight to ensure that money was being spent according to the original purpose of the loan , although an adfa employee might occasionally be sent into the field to discover if everything was tickety - boo . it is also somewhat difficult to discover just what adfa was actually doing . a recent examination of the log kept at adfa headquarters for the enlightenment of wandering reporters and inquisitive citizens reveals just twenty - five bond issues from 1985 to the present -- or twenty - six , if you count the paperwork on a bond issue that was removed in a reporter 's presence . moreover , the log suggests that adfa was heavily involved in good works with religious orders . but according to the los angeles times ' count of adfa 's activities , the authority released seventy industrial bond issues -- according to my count , the number is sixty - five -- none of them to religious charities or university hospitals , and most of them missing from the official log . which begs the question : just what was adfa doing with the $ 719 million it dispensed ( or whose dispensation it authorized ) as of january 1992 ? " adfa , " says larry nichols , a dismissed authority official , " was set up by clinton for dan lasater . " now , it should be borne in mind that nichols is something of an arkansas character and , in some circles , a figure of fun . a well - known supporter of the nicaraguan contras , nichols was also the person who originally alleged that clinton had an affair with gennifer flowers and four other women , only to destroy his credibility when he retracted his charges in a document remarkable for its abject contrition . but there are those in arkansas who insist that nichols is neither entirely a vindictive nut nor the sort of notorious regional liar who has to hire a man to call his own dog . " you ought to listen to larry nichols , " says a little rock political consultant . " he says a lot of things , but sometimes he tells you something you really need to know . " and , certainly , there is something intriguing about bill clinton 's relations with lasater , a man no governor in his right mind would let in the front door . if dan lasater was not the largest cocaine user in the state of arkansas , he was certainly the most conspicuous one . a prosperous little rock bond dealer , he was an acquaintance of the clinton family and a contributor to the governor 's political fortunes . lasater distinguished himself in other ways , too . he served ashtrays full of cocaine at parties in his mansion , stocked cocaine on his corporate jet ( a plane used by the clintons on more than one occasion ) and later told the fbi that he had distributed cocaine on more than 180 occasions . " i shared my success ... in that manner , " he explained . he was also a patron of governor clinton 's cocaine - using half - brother , roger , employing the younger man in his thoroughbred racing stables in florida and claiming that he gave roger clinton $ 8,000 to pay off debts to drug suppliers . by 1985 it was also known that lasater was the subject of a police investigation that , even the most uneducated guess would suggest , could end in only one way . but that year , governor clinton deemed lasater worthy of handling a $ 30.2 million bond issue to modernize the state police radio system , despite the fact that the expenditure would normally be made by an appropriation from the treasury and the fact that lasater was about to be busted . nonetheless , clinton vigorously lobbied the legislature , ignored the wishes of the stephens family and won the day , giving lasater & co. a handsome $ 750,000 underwriting fee , according to the los angeles times . in 1986 lasater was sentenced to two and a half years in prison , with roger clinton testifying against him at his trial . in 1990 he received a state pardon from governor clinton . for whatever it 's worth , one of the few people to have access to the office of the late vincent foster during the three days it was unsealed following his suicide was white house official patsy thomasson , who managed lasater 's business affairs while he was in jail . but in the clinton system , perfected in little rock and now being practiced in washington , none of these things should be considered a mistake or an aberration . lasater was not the only strange thing about the arkansas bond business during the time of bill clinton . whenever a normal state issues bonds , there are many ways for a variety of people to get well on the public nickel . the beneficiary of the proceeds receives a loan at below - market rates . the financial institution that sold the bonds receives underwriting fees . for each bond issue , an outside attorney is engaged to certify that the deal conforms to the law and prepares the documents required by the internal revenue service and the federal treasury . a bank is chosen as trustee for the money , collecting the repayments from the lucky borrowers and making the repayments to the purchasers of the bonds . and the borrower itself almost invariably retains a lawyer . but when one examines the activities of adfa , a certain pattern emerges concerning at least some of the beneficiaries of arkansas largess . for example , one of the very first adfa bond issues provided $ 2.75 million to pom , a manufacturer of parking meters in russellville , whose president happened to be seth ward ii , the brother - in - law of webb hubbell . despite the fact that hubbell was chairman of the conflicts committee at rose , he seemed to see nothing amiss in the fact that rose then collected a fee as adfa 's certifying attorney or that he himself served as pom 's attorney . nor did hubbell seem to see anything unusual in the fact that he was representing the resolution trust corporation in its case against the auditors of madison guaranty , despite the fact that his father - in - law , the senior ward , had not repaid millions in loans from the thrift , or that ward had received an airplane from madison in the bargain . between 1985 and mid-1992 stephens inc. was involved in the underwriting and sale of 78 percent of adfa 's housing and industrial bonds , an unsurprising figure considering the firm 's familiarity with the market and its clout in the state . still , considering stephens 's involvement in the authority 's affairs , governor clinton did not appear to feel that it was ever so slightly wrong to appoint two stephens associates -- a vice president of one of worthen 's banks and a vice president of a chain of nursing homes partly controlled by the stephens empire -- to adfa 's ten - member board . nor did the man who signed off on every single adfa bond issue exhibit suspicion when stephens seemed to be supplementing its brokerage fees by helping itself to adfa 's money in the form of favorable loans . meanwhile , at least another member of the board , the vice president of twin cities bank , an institution that served as trustee in one of adfa 's tangled deals , appeared to take a similar double - dip . and the governor 's wife 's law firm was not only receiving a healthy chunk of adfa 's legal business , but rose apparently found nothing wrong with affiliates of stephens receiving adfa money , or with the fact that on not one but two occasions , adfa issued bonds that benefited the relatives of rose partners . in 1988 and 1989 adfa lent a total of $ 1.37 million to the pine bluff warehouse company . rose received $ 22,321 in legal fees from adfa . the trustee bank was worthen 's national bank of commerce in pine bluff , whose vice president sat on the adfa board and whose chief executive officer was not merely a member of pine bluff warehouse 's board but the father of a senior rose partner , william kennedy iii , now associate white house counsel . stephens , unsurprisingly , underwrote the bonds . in 1989 adfa loaned $ 4.67 million to arkansas freightways , whose largest outside stockholder was stephens inc. co - counsel on the bond issue was rose . the trustee bank 's executive vice president was a member of the adfa board . the underwriter was stephens . also in 1989 adfa tried to loan $ 83 million to a texas entrepreneur for the purpose of bailing out beverly enterprises , the country 's largest operator of nursing homes , 10 percent owned by stephens , whose vice president sat on the adfa board , at a time when beverly 's stock was being hammered by the company 's persistent losses . a swift and decisive halt to the deal was called by arkansas attorney general steve clark , a rising political star who was expected to be a strong gubernatorial candidate in 1990 , and who claimed that a stephens - beverly lobbyist had offered him a $ 100,000 bribe ( as campaign contributions , of course ) if he would just lay off and let the deal go through . the lobbyist was later cleared by an arkansas court , but clark was caught charging personal expenses on his state credit card . his political career in shambles , he was later disbarred . current reports place him somewhere in the state of georgia . but these were only the most conspicuously questionable of adfa 's doings , the ones most easily understood by the public and the press . there was also the question of the true extent of rose 's involvement in the authority 's bond business . according to the daily record , a little rock business journal , rose ranked fourth among the law firms working directly for adfa , with fees of only $ 175,000 for the years up to 1991 . but not everyone agrees with this assessment . when frank white , the only man ever to defeat clinton in a gubernatorial election , tried to repeat the feat in 1986 , his campaign claimed that rose had actually been in on every adfa deal ( for the authority or for the recipient ) while clinton was governor . unfortunately , the relevant data was assembled under the supervision of white 's political consultant , darrell glasscock , a former louisiana state official and a great supporter of the contras ( an occupation that appears to have been an arkansas cottage industry ) . reached recently by phone , former governor white , now an officer of worthen 's principal competitor , the first commercial bank holding company , clearly wishes he had never heard of glasscock , cheerily questions glasscock 's veracity and pleasantly turns aside any questions about rose . when a visitor to adfa asks for the complete documentation on any particular bond issue , he is presented with a thick volume that , if placed on a chair , would allow him to dine with the grown - ups . a small sampling of these volumes reveals an interesting thing : every company examined , including pow , arkansas freightways , pine bluff warehouse and concert vineyards appears to be eminently creditworthy . these are the sorts of enterprises that could walk in the door of any bank and walk off with any reasonable sum they needed . why , then -- in addition to the mutual back - scratching described above -- were they being given loans at below market rates by a desperately poor state with other uses for its money ? this question takes added luminosity from the fact that adfa really did n't work very well . the old arkansas industrial development commission , started by orval faubus , created 90,000 jobs in nine years . and it had no bonding power . after seven years under the clinton regime and with tens of millions in issued loans , adfa had created just 2,700 jobs , many at wages significantly below the national standard . this anemic showing obscures the fact that adfa had yet another purpose : its generosity was returned in the form of campaign contributions for william jefferson clinton . according to the los angeles times , in the 1990 race for the governorship , the recipients of adfa 's largess contributed $ 400,300 , nearly one - fifth of the clinton war chest . they then kicked in with millions more for the presidential race . outside arkansas the white - shoe investment bank of goldman sachs , which later contributed its co - chairman , robert rubin , to president clinton 's inner circle of economic advisers , raised millions for the presidential race and even paid for a substantial hunk of the democratic national convention . according to adfa 's incomplete records , goldman was either the lead or sole underwriter of at least $ 400 million in adfa bonds . in addition , two of adfa 's board members were active clinton fund - raisers , which raises yet another question among many : was n't this against the law ? for once , the answer is terse and straightforward . not in arkansas . under the arkansas ethics - in - government act , passed in 1988 and , according to state legislators , either drafted or inspired by hubbell , state legislators were required to report possible conflicts of interest . surprisingly , the law specifically exempted the governor and other elected or appointed officials , including officials of state agencies and commissions . moreover , these officials were not even required to report dealings with entities -- such as rose -- that employed their relatives . this was not the only remaining service that rose had provided to the governance of its state . when the time came to rewrite the state 's incorporation laws , it was rose that drew up the 397-page treatise that formed the basis of the legislation . well , somebody has to draft a state 's legislation , and under arkansas 's unusual ethics law , it was perfectly all right for rose to do just that . less clear ( if anything in these murky waters can be described as clear ) is just why clinton seemed so eager to assist the stephens family , which was hardly enamored of the man and kept bankrolling the candidates who ran against him for governor until it experienced a change of heart in 1990 . witt stephens habitually referred to clinton as " that boy . " in a moment of candor his brother jack once remarked that " it would be awfully easy for stephens , if we wanted to be close to a governor , to be close to bill clinton . " nonetheless , the clinton governorship 's assistance to stephens extended well beyond adfa . during clinton 's years in little rock , the stephens interests were involved in some 61 percent of the $ 7 billion of all the state bonds issued in arkansas . contrary to state law , stephens inc. , according to the arkansas democrat - gazette , was given the underwriting for the state university system without competitive bids from other bond dealers . the fayetteville campus alone , where the clintons had once taught law , had $ 33 million in bonds outstanding . under clinton , stephens devised a plan to rescue the state 's troubled student loan authority , in which the authority 's bonds would be bought by the state employees ' retirement funds . an independent consultant -- roy drew , the very man who created mid - life investors for hubbell , foster and rodham clinton-- was brought in to examine the deal . drew thought it was a terrible investment and so did the state 's auditor , julia hughes jones . but drew was dismissed , jones 's budget failed to pass the legislature ( the first time ever for an arkansas state auditor ) and she began to receive late - night harassing calls from a collection agency -- concerning , ironically , her own daughter 's student loan , which was current . in the upshot , the retirement funds bought $ 100 million of the loan authority 's bonds , another $ 100 million in the bonds of two other state agencies , adfa was given the task of overseeing the retirement fund 's investment policies and stephens inc. , according to the philadelphia inquirer , made $ 1.8 million . these were very considerable favors to a family that not only bankrolled clinton 's opponents but seemed to despise him as a man . but bill clinton 's canny instinct that the stephenses needed to be appeased -- rather than ignored -- eventually paid off . after clinton 's unexpected loss in the new hampshire primary , with the campaign coffers bare , the staff paying its bills on their personal credit cards and federal matching funds just beyond reach , the worthen bank rescued the candidacy with a prearranged $ 3.5 million line of credit , selflessly advanced at a lucrative rate of interest . later , worthen - whose executives , like many stephens executives , experienced a spasm of arkansas patriotism that caused them to reach for their checkbooks - became the clinton campaign 's depository of $ 55 million in federal campaign funds , which , in effect , was free money . worthen did not have to pay any interest on this staggering sum , but as long as it was on deposit ( and as long as worthen , with its undistinguished track record in the department of government deposits , managed not to lose it ) , the bank was free to use it to make itself some money that it got to keep . and when the votes were counted , everybody who wanted to go to washington got to go to washington : bill clinton and hillary rodham clinton , president and first lady ; mack mclarty , white house chief of staff ; vince foster , deputy white house counsel ; webb hubbell , associate attorney general ; patsy thomasson , a white house aide . jack stephens , though mentioned as a candidate for secretary of the treasury , had , it now seems safe to say , the good sense to stay home . oh , and one last thing : when whitewater special prosecutor robert fiske -- who once defended clark clifford , the famed friend of jack stephens 's old client , bcci -- arrived in little rock , something strange happened . worthen bank had a fire . is this a great country , or what ? comment : yeah , it 's a great country if you love giving free reign to your baser instincts . see also :
+0 you ’re an adult . your brain , not so much . - the new york times carl zimmer leah h. somerville , a harvard neuroscientist , sometimes finds herself in front of an audience of judges . they come to hear her speak about how the brain develops . it ’s a subject on which many legal questions depend . how old does someone have to be to be sentenced to death ? when should someone get to vote ? can an give informed consent ? scientists like dr. somerville have learned a great deal in recent years . but the complex picture that ’s emerging lacks the bright lines that policy makers would like . “ oftentimes , the very first question i get at the end of a presentation is , ‘ o. k. that ’s all very nice , but when is the brain finished ? when is it done developing ? ’ ” dr. somerville said . “ and i give a very nonsatisfying answer . ” dr. somerville laid out the conundrum in detail in a commentary published on wednesday in the journal neuron . the human brain reaches its adult volume by age 10 , but the neurons that make it up continue to change for years after that . the connections between neighboring neurons get pruned back , as new links emerge between more widely separated areas of the brain . eventually this reshaping slows , a sign that the brain is maturing . but it happens at different rates in different parts of the brain . the pruning in the occipital lobe , at the back of the brain , tapers off by age 20 . in the frontal lobe , in the front of the brain , new links are still forming at age 30 , if not beyond . “ it challenges the notion of what ‘ done’ really means , ” dr. somerville said . as the anatomy of the brain changes , its activity changes as well . in a child ’s brain , neighboring regions tend to work together . by adulthood , distant regions start acting in concert . neuroscientists have speculated that this harmony lets the adult brain work more efficiently and process more information . but the development of these networks is still mysterious , and it ’s not yet clear how they influence behavior . some children , researchers have found , have neural networks that look as if they belong to an adult . but they ’re still just children . dr. somerville ’s own research focuses on how the changes in the maturing brain affect how people think . adolescents do about as well as adults on cognition tests , for instance . but if they ’re feeling strong emotions , those scores can plummet . the problem seems to be that teenagers have not yet developed a strong brain system that keeps emotions under control . that system may take a surprisingly long time to mature , according to a study published this year in psychological science . the authors asked a group of to to lie in an fmri scanner and look at a monitor . they were instructed to press a button each time they were shown faces with a certain expression on them — happy in some trials , scared or neutral in others . and in some cases , the participants knew that they might hear a loud , jarring noise at the end of the trial . in the trials without the noise , the subjects did just as well as people in their . but when they were expecting the noise , they did worse on the test . brain scans revealed that the regions of their brains in which emotion is processed were unusually active , while areas dedicated to keeping those emotions under control were weak . “ the young adults looked like teenagers , ” said laurence steinberg , a psychologist at temple university and an author of the study . dr. steinberg agreed with dr. somerville that the maturing of the brain was proving to be a long , complicated process without obvious milestones . nevertheless , he thinks recent studies hold some important lessons for policy makers . he has proposed , for example , that the voting age be lowered to 16 . “ are just as good at logical reasoning as older people are , ” dr. steinberg said . courts , too , may need to take into account the powerful influence of emotions , even on people in their early 20s . “ most crime situations that young people are involved in are emotionally arousing situations — they ’re scared , or they ’re angry , intoxicated or whatever , ” dr. steinberg said . dr. somerville , on the other hand , said she was reluctant to offer specific policy suggestions based on her brain research . “ i ’m still in the learning stage , so i ’d hesitate to call out any particular thing , ” she said . but she does think it is important for the scientists to get a fuller picture of how the brain matures . researchers need to do studies to track its development from year to year , she said , well into the 20s or beyond . it ’s not enough to compare people using simple categories , such as labeling people below age 18 as children and those older as adults . “ nothing magical occurs at that age , ” dr. somerville said .
+1 police turn in badges rather than incite violence against standing rock protesters starkman at least two police officers turned in their badges today after acknowledging that attacking peaceful protesters is not what they signed up for . via trueactivist it should be evident if you ’re following news concerning the standing rock protests in north dakota that tension continues to escalate between protesters supporting the standing rock sioux tribe and riot police . the big deal ? a four - state dakota access pipeline which threatens to uproot sacred burial ground , poison the missouri river , and make null an 1881 treaty ensuring the property belongs to the standing rock sioux tribe . in addition to being maced and beaten with batons , activists have been tased and even shot with rubber bullets . despite the violence taking place , tribal leaders continue to ask all “ water protectors ” to maintain peaceful relations and rely on prayer as the only weapon used to halt construction of the dapl . after watching videos of the mass arrests and beating that have taken place , many have asked how those employed by the state can continue to terrorize weaponless protesters . surely , some form of cognitive dissonance must be taking place ? for some , most likely , and that ’s undoubtedly what inspired at least two officers to turn in their badges today . according to an activist named redhawk , there have been reports of at least two officers turning in their badges after acknowledging that the battle against the american people is not what they signed up for . on facebook , the activist wrote : “ you can see it in some of them , that they do not support the police actions . we must keep reminding them they are welcome to put down their weapons and badge and take a stand against this pipeline as well . some are waking up . ” the comments on the ordeal have been quite positive . charlotte holywater vincent wrote , “ brave to stand up for what is right ! to hand over years of training and service in a little metal badge and then stand on the side of humanity . ” ron hemming , who reportedly is a retired deputy in washington , shared his thoughts : “ as a retired deputy in washington state , i would have refused to go on a detail such as this . as i am also part native blood , i stand with my relatives on the front line protecting the water from the black snake . be safe , stay strong . ”
+1 if megyn [ sic ] kelly does n’t want her pussy grabbed , why did she pose for this “ grab my pussy ” photo shoot ? andrew anglin if megyn [ sic ] kelly does n’t want her pussy grabbed , why did she pose for this “ grab my pussy ” photo shoot ? andrew anglin daily stormer october 27 , 2016 megyn [ sic ] kelly has continually asserted over the last two weeks that she personally fears that if donald trump is elected president , he will use his presidential powers to grab her by the pussy . however , this begs the question : if megyn [ sic ] kelly is so concerned about having her pussy grabbed , why did she pose for this “ grab my pussy ” photo shoot for gq ? keep in mind , these pictures are from 2010 . she was n’t some dumb college student trying to make a few bucks to pay rent with a quick “ grab my pussy ” photo shoot . she was already a multi - millionaire fox news host . last year , when the whore kelly was attacking trump as a sexist , he pointed out this “ grab my pussy ” photo op , and noted that kelly is a bimbo . in response to allegations of bimboism , kelly told people magazine : “ i was 40 , and i was pregnant , i was like , ‘ i look pretty good.’ “ of course , in woman - speak this translates to “ i was 40 , and i was pregnant , and i wanted to send the message to random men that they should grab me by the pussy to confirm that i am still attractive . ” and sure , the pictures do look good , but they are airbrushed all to hell and back for instance , she is wearing a push - up bra , but the curvature of her breasts has been corrected and wrinkles have been removed from the place where her breasts connect to her chest and from her neck . armpit wrinkle removal is also plainly obvious . so nothing is proved by these pictures – other than the fact she wants her pussy grabbed . in the same year , 2010 , she went on the jew howard stern ’s show and said that she wanted to fuck bill o’reilly , which is bizarre and i believe sick . in this interview she also talked about her breasts and her husband ’s penis size . ( full interview here . ) it is not like she did n’t know she was walking into a sex interview here . that is stern ’s entire shtick . and everyone knows who howard stern is . so the only reason she would go on this show is to sexually objectify herself , which again , is to feel sexy when old and beginning to sag all of this simply confirms that megyn ’s continued attacks on donald trump – such as we saw newt gingrich slap her around like an even cheaper hooker than she actually is for earlier this week – are part of a gigantic shit test against donald trump . basically , kelly ’s entire career is now devoted to trying to bully donald trump into grabbing her by the pussy . tsk - tsk , megyn [ sic ] . tsk - tsk . roger ailes firing conspiracy confirmed ? way back when fox news chief roger ailes was fired – over a sexual harassment hoax that megyn [ sic ] kelly took part in by saying he hugged her weirdly – i said that it was obviously part of an anti - trump conspiracy by the station ’s owner , rupert murdock . murdock , while claiming to be a “ conservative , ” is an elite globalist and friend of the clintons . ailes , while not a perfect guy ( shilled for bush ’s wars , shilled for israel ) , is a friend of trump and was n’t going to allow this whore kelly – as well as a whole bunch of other hosts and pundits – to betray the network ’s viewership by shilling for hillary clinton . because that is exactly what we are seeing now : a massive betrayal of donald trump by the fox news channel . o’reilly has n’t been horrible , but he has n’t been great either . the only one who has consistently supported donald j. trump is sean hannity , and his ratings have now gone through the roof because of it . i ’m half - surprised murdock does n’t just fire him for it , but i suppose that would n’t work , as the entire viewership would boycott the channel . right now , they can do a lot of damage to trump by having the majority of their hosts shill for hillary , but still having a few support trump so they do n’t totally expose themselves as being part of a clinton conspiracy .
+0 islamists celebrate erdogan ’s victory in referendum for expanded powers ali waked islamists around the arab world celebrated turkish president recep tayyip erdogan ’s victory sunday in a referendum to give the head of state expanded powers . [ the referendum to go forward with executive presidency won with 51 . 4 % voting in favor . khaled mashal , head of hamas’ politburo in gaza , spoke with president erdogan by phone and congratulated him several hours after polling stations closed . a website belonging to hamas reported that mashal “ wished turkey and the turkish people and their leaders continued success , progress and prosperity . ” islamists and their supporters also celebrated the victory on social media , with many expressing hope that the successful referendum would result in increased support from erdogan for the opposition in syria , currently battling the government forces of president bashar assad . abou baker , a senior syrian jihadist and commander of the mujahadeen army militia fighting assad in syria , wrote , “ this is a divine reward for erdogan ’s good actions . allah helped the good man erdogan , guided his hand , supported him , strengthened his hands and granted him all the best . ” وماجزاءالإحسان الإحسان اللهم كن للرجل الطيب أردوغان ناصرا ونصيرا وعون ومعينااللهم أيده بنصرك وأجر الخير على يديه وهيئ له بطانة صالحةياالله , — المقدم أبو بكر ( @bbakr70 ) april 16 , 2017 , an islamist activist known as ahmad abu farha wrote , “ the caliphs were taken from us gradually and they will only return to us gradually , according to allah ’s plan . the human mosquitos wo n’t be able to delay it or interfere . ” الخلافة الراشدة سلبت منا بالتدريج و لن ترجع لنا الا بالتدريج وفق السنن الربانية في التغيير و ان نواميس الكون لا تعاند و لا تسابق , — أحمد أبو فرحة ( @ahmadabufarha21 ) april 16 , 2017 , yasser zaatreh , a journalist and islamist in jordan , wrote , “ the strengthening of erdogan in these delicate times is very important for the maintenance of turkey ’s power both on a regional and international level . at times like this , courage and wisdom are needed along with a lot of reason . ” قوة أردوغان في هذه اللحظة الحساسة على الصعيد الدولي والإقليمي، هي قوة لتركيا. في مثل هذه اللحظات لا بد من قوة وجرأة مع كثير من الحكمة. — ياسر الزعاترة ( @yzaatreh ) april 17 , 2017 , islamist journalist and author muhamad alshinqiti wrote , “ secularism in turkey has been defeated by democracy — as it soon will be in the arab countries . ” انهزمت العلمانية في تركيا على يد الديمقراطية .. عقبى للدول العربية # استفتاء_تركيا , — محمد مختار الشنقيطي ( @mshinqiti ) april 16 , 2017 , syrian jihadist abou rayan almaasada wrote , “ today the turks put an end to secularism . the legal changes put an end to what was left of the age of ataturk and summon in a new age , or more correctly , an old age renewed . god guided their hands . ” اليوم ينجح الاتراك بانهاء العلمانيةتعديلات دستويه تعلن انتهاء ماتبقى من عصر اتاتورك وبداية عهد جديد او ربما عهد قديم يتجدداللهم يسر لهم , — أبوريان المأسدة ( @alm2sda ) april 16 , 2017 , another social media user , anwar alsaadi wrote , “ the sultan did this . congratulations to turkey which has been granted its sultan . ” @mousaalomar فعلها السلطان . مبروك لتركيا سلطانها , — anwar alsaadi ( @anwarsweed ) april 16 , 2017 ,
+1 one of trump ’s deplorables escaped from his basket , injuring poll worker in texas ( video ) allison vincent on tuesday , an election volunteer was injured at a polling location at collin college in plano , tx when he was sliced by box - cutter blades intentionally planted in a trump / pence sign . collin college spokeswoman lisa vasquez said in a statement : “ the man stopped as he left the campus to help re - position the sign to the correct location because it was blocking the official polling site sign . when he did so , box - cutter blades attached to the trump - pence sign cut his hands . ” steve spainhouer , collin county democratic campaign chair , told reporters at ktvt that the incident was “ deplorable . ” “ it just shows how far we have come in politics where people want to be so mean and so hateful to try and injure somebody who ’s probably not got any political party persuasion one way or the other . i think most people have already made their minds up at this point how they ’re going to vote and so there ’s nothing to gain by being mean spirited or hateful . ” thankfully , the injured poll worker was not seriously hurt , but this could have been much worse . clearly , the people who did this have listened to trump ’s violent rhetoric — they knew putting a razor blade in a misplaced sign was dangerous . and in placing the sign in the wrong place , they deliberately injured someone . texas rangers are investigating the incident . let ’s hope they find the people / person who did this . watch the full report via ktvt here : featured image via video screen shot share this article !
+1 new - york – le lâcher de confettis prévu à times square remplacé par un lâcher de mouchoirs en papier > > le gorafi nan
+0 hillary clinton ’s doctor says pneumonia led to abrupt exit from 9/11 event - the new york times jonathan martin and amy chozick hillary clinton is being treated for pneumonia and dehydration , her doctor said on sunday , hours after she abruptly left a ceremony in new york honoring the 15th anniversary of the sept. 11 attacks and had to be helped into a van by secret service agents . the incident , which occurred after months of questions about her health from her republican opponent , donald j. trump , and his campaign , is likely to increase pressure on mrs. clinton to address the issue and release detailed medical records , which she has so far declined to do . mrs. clinton was taken from the morning event at ground zero to the manhattan apartment of her daughter , chelsea . about 90 minutes after arriving there , mrs. clinton emerged from the apartment in new york ’s flatiron district . she waved to onlookers and posed for pictures with a little girl on the sidewalk . “ i ’m feeling great , ” mrs. clinton said . “ it ’s a beautiful day in new york . ” mrs. clinton left in her motorcade without the group of reporters that is designated to travel with her in public . a campaign spokesman , nick merrill , indicated that she had returned to her chappaqua , n. y. residence sometime after 1 p. m. and mrs. clinton was not seen publicly the rest of the day . mr. merrill initially described mrs. clinton , the democratic presidential nominee , as feeling “ overheated ” at the commemoration ceremony . but just after 5 p. m. a campaign official said mrs. clinton ’s physician , dr. lisa r. bardack , had examined the candidate at her home in chappaqua , and dr. bardack said in a statement that mrs. clinton was “ rehydrated and recovering nicely . ” “ secretary clinton has been experiencing a cough related to allergies , ” dr. bardack ’s statement said , adding that on friday morning , after a prolonged cough , mrs. clinton was given a diagnosis of pneumonia . “ she was put on antibiotics , and advised to rest and modify her schedule , ” dr. bardack added . “ at this morning ’s event , she became overheated and dehydrated . ” dr. bardack did not indicate what sort of pneumonia mrs. clinton had or elaborate on the nature of the examination last week , whether mrs. clinton had a fever today , or a host of other issues that could offer more precise insights about her condition . late sunday night , mrs. clinton ’s campaign said she was canceling her plans to travel to california on monday for what had been a planned trip there . a video of mrs. clinton taken by an attendee at the ceremony captured what appeared to be her legs buckling as she struggled to steady herself and walk to her van . she required assistance from two secret service agents , who held her on either side , to move off a curb and into the van . images revealed that her feet were dragging as she was hoisted into the vehicle . the episode thrust questions about mrs. clinton ’s health and the transparency of her campaign squarely into the last two months of the race , which many polls show has grown tighter . for months republicans have , with scarce evidence , questioned the stamina of mrs. clinton , 68 , and claimed she is ill , often pointing to her repeated coughing bouts . she has brushed off such claims . mrs. clinton and mr. trump , 70 , have shared substantially less information about their health than some previous presidential candidates . and mrs. clinton revealed that she had pneumonia and had been prescribed medication only after the startling video emerged of her being unable to walk under her own volition after the ceremony . her campaign initially did not offer any information about why she had left early or her whereabouts . twice during the day , she abandoned the group of reporters assigned to cover her public movements . campaign officials did not respond to multiple inquiries about whether mrs. clinton had been treated by a doctor or had taken any medications . even some members of mrs. clinton ’s campaign staff had been unaware of her recent diagnosis . huma abedin , mrs. clinton ’s aide , sent an email to the full campaign staff on sunday that included the doctor ’s note , to share with them “ the full picture . ” “ onward as h. r. c. would say , ” ms. abedin wrote in the message , the contents of which were disclosed by a clinton aide who requested anonymity to share an internal campaign email . temperatures were in the high 70s on sunday morning in new york , and humidity was high . mr. trump also attended the ceremony , as did many other dignitaries . other attendees at the event said afterward that mrs. clinton had not appeared ill when she first arrived at the former site of the world trade center . “ she seemed fine , ” said representative peter t. king of new york , a republican , who recalled speaking briefly with mrs. clinton around 8:30 a. m. but about an hour later there was a minor commotion , mr. king said . a number of new york ’s current and former elected officials had been standing in silence as the names of the victims of the attacks were read . suddenly , mrs. clinton , a former new york senator , left her position . mrs. clinton emerged last week from an august mostly focused on private with campaign events in ohio , illinois , florida , north carolina and missouri . on wednesday , she participated in an nbc forum on national security , and on friday she attended a manhattan where she characterized half of mr. trump ’s supporters as a “ basket of deplorables . ” the candidates had taken their advertisements off the air to honor the anniversary of the sept. 11 attacks , and mr. trump said nothing when he was asked on sunday about mrs. clinton ’s condition . but he and his supporters have aggressively sought to raise questions about mrs. clinton ’s health in recent months . mr. trump has highlighted her recurring cough and wrote on twitter last month that “ both candidates ” should “ release detailed medical records . ” ( mr. trump has issued only a limited summary of his health . ) questions about the health of presidential hopefuls are hardly new to this campaign , but long before the exacting scrutiny of the modern media environment , campaigns were often able to suppress information about the ailments of candidates . rumors about franklin d. roosevelt ’s health , for example , pervaded his final presidential campaign in 1944 , but he campaigned vigorously and his aides kept the extent of the heart disease that would kill him the following year out of the news . more recently , ronald reagan , bob dole and senator john mccain , each of whom was the republican presidential nominee while in his 70s , faced questions about their physical condition . “ the physical demands of running for president , even with private planes and secret service protection , are more difficult than the mental demands , ” said scott reed , who managed mr. dole ’s 1996 campaign . mr. trump has also been criticized for sharing few details about his health , providing only a brief statement from his personal physician in december . short on particulars like heart rate , cholesterol level or family history , it described mr. trump in laudatory terms , saying that he would be “ the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency . ” the physician , dr. harold bornstein , later told nbc news that he had written the statement in five minutes while a black car waited outside his office to collect it . mrs. clinton ’s campaign has tried to bat away rumors about her health , including releasing a letter from mrs. clinton ’s doctor saying she was in “ excellent health . ” but aides have dismissed such questions as a way to distract from the issue of mr. trump ’s not releasing his tax returns . in july 2015 , mrs. clinton issued a detailed letter from her physician that included a concussion she sustained in 2012 , while she was secretary of state it left her with a blood clot in her head and double vision . dr. bardack , mrs. clinton ’s physician , said those symptoms had been resolved within two months . the candidate ’s husband , bill clinton , however , has said that she “ required six months of very serious work to get over ” the concussion — a statement that helped feed conspiracy theories among republicans that the injury was worse than initially disclosed , though there is no medical evidence to support those theories . asked whether she was concerned that such questions about her health would affect the election , as the polls have tightened , mrs. clinton told reporters on her campaign plane last week : “ i ’m not concerned about the conspiracy theories . there are so many of them , i ’ve lost track of them . ”
+0 palestinian terror groups celebrate ’sweet’ jerusalem truck - ramming attack ali waked the news of sunday ’s attack in jerusalem that left four israelis dead and 17 injured has sparked outbursts of jubilation among palestinian terrorist groups . [ hamas welcomed the attack , saying the carnage is a “ natural reaction ” to the “ crimes of the occupation , ” and what the terrorist group claimed was the infringement on the “ palestinians’ rights ” and their holy sites . fawzi barhoum , the movement ’s spokesperson , lauded the attack as a “ courageous act in defense of the holy sites and especially al aqsa mosque . ” he added that the attack proves that the “ jerusalem intifada [ a series of attacks on israelis that started in october 2015 ] continues to defend our lands and holy sites , and the israeli oppression and aggression wo n’t be able to stop it . the oppression will only increase the determination of the palestinian people to continue its heroic resistance in all its forms . ” the islamic jihad also welcomed the attack , and said in a statement that the deadly represented “ a natural reaction to the crimes of the israeli crimes against the palestinian people . ” the journalist adham abu slamiyeh tweeted a picture of palestinians handing out sweets , with the following caption : “ the sweets of the attack are in . allah bless the men of jabel mukaber [ the perpetrator ’s home neighborhood ] that helped us redeem the spirit of jerusalem . ” حلوان # عملية_القدس وصل .. حيا الله رجال # جبل_المكبر الذين أعادوا لنا روح # انتفاضة_القدس pic . twitter . — أدهم أبو سلمية # غزة ( @adham922 ) january 8 , 2017 , twitter user ahmad qanita wrote : “ allahu akbar , these pictures make me want more . they remind us of [ hamas explosives expert yahya ] ayash ’s attacks , just as we smell his perfumed memory , ” referring to the 21st anniversary of yahya ’s elimination by israel , which hamas marked earlier this week . الله أكبر ،، صور بتفتح النفس. .صور تذكرنا بعمليات # يحيى_عياش ونحن نتنسم ذكراه العطرة ( صور من عملية القدس قبل قليل)#انتفاضة_القدس pic . twitter . — أحمد قنيطة # غزة ( @ahmadqanita89 ) january 8 , 2017 , hussein shaweesh also evoked ayash ’s memory : “ jews , the children of ayash are back and the jerusalem attack is the best proof . ” أبناء العياش عادوا يا ابناء اليهودية وخير دليل # عملية_القدس#انتفاضة_القدس , — حسين الشاويش — غزة ( @hshshaweesh ) january 8 , 2017 , “ here is the jerusalem intifada , jerusalem the crown jewel of cities demonstrates its determination to fight against the invaders , ” the analyst yasser zaatreh tweeted . “ the attack today proves that the intifada continues despite the cruel oppression of the enemy and the collaboration of our brothers . ” هي انتفاضة القدس، وفي زهرة المدائن يتجلى الإصرار على رفض الغزاة. عملية اليوم تؤكد أن الانتفاضة متواصلة، رغم شراسة قمع العدو وتآمر الشقيق. — ياسر الزعاترة ( @yzaatreh ) january 8 , 2017 , “ allah , harm the sons of zion and show them the wonders of your might , ” mohammed yehya tweeted . 5 قتلى وأكثر من 15 اصابة بينهم حالات حرجة جميعهم جنود في عملية # القدس البطوليةاللهم أثخن في بني صهيون وأرنا فيهم عجيب قدرتك#انتفاضة_القدس , — محمد يحيى # غزة ( @mhmdyjber ) january 8 , 2017 , ramadan wrote : “ in jerusalem the hero rose up and exacted revenge , the jerusalem intifada will continue until the return and liberation of the land . ” في # القدس ثأر البطل؛#انتفاضة_القدس مستمرة حتى تعود الأرض حرة pic . twitter . — ramadan ( @ramadan32583280 ) january 8 , 2017 ,
+1 black lives matter leader deray mckesson endorses clinton mikael thalen black lives matter leader deray mckesson endorses clinton mckesson praised clinton 's platform for seeking to reform parts of her husband 's 1994 crime bill mallory shelbourne | the hill - october 26 , 2016 comments top black lives matter activist deray mckesson on wednesday endorsed hillary clinton for president . “ clinton ’s platform on racial justice is strong : it is informed by the policy failings of the past and is a vision for where we need to go , ” mckesson wrote in a washington post op - ed . clinton hosted a meeting with mckesson and other black lives matter activists in the fall to discuss the campaign zero plan to end police violence . mckesson wrote that clinton “ did n’t appear to understand the urgency of the need to address racism ” when she began running for the white house but that her position on racial justice is now “ strong . ”
+0 university of california it workers sue after losing jobs to outsourcing - breitbart jack hadfield it workers at the university of california intend to file a lawsuit challenging their dismissal after they were replaced by offshore workers , arguing that those sacked from the uc san francisco campus were discriminated against based on age and national origin . [ around 80 people lost their positions in the department , including 50 workers and 30 contractors , in a move that is unheard of in the public sector , where offsourcing is much less common than in the private sector . ucsf hired the firm hcl to handle its services instead of the american workers . randall strauss from gwilliam ivary chiosso cavalli brewer , the attorney representing the argued that “ to take a workforce that is overwhelmingly over the age of 40 and replace them with folks who are mainly in their 20s — early 20s , in fact — we think is age discrimination . ” the group also represents and “ reflects the diversity of california ” — to allow them to be “ replaced with people who come from one particular part of the world ” is discrimination based on their national origin , continued strauss . the lawsuit will be filed in alameda county superior court . on wednesday , details about ucsf ’s financial situation emerged that may help the it workers in their case . a report by a california state auditor found an undisclosed $ 175 million in funds in the university ’s budget the outsourcing would be estimated to save $ 10 million a year for the next 5 years . the lead counsel on the case , j. gary gwilliam , released a statement on the subject of the university funding : it is unbelievable to me that a public university would ship good american jobs overseas by telling the fired workers , the regents , the legislature and public of a crying need to save money , while at the same time maintaining a secret slush fund of $ 175 million dollars which would more than cover the cost of keeping all these jobs in california , leaving more than enough money leftover to cover the needs of the university and its students . similar lawsuits have been popping up around the country recently . in december , former it workers at disney filed a lawsuit against the company , claiming that american workers were being discriminated against in favor of hiring visa workers from overseas . some staff members even alleged that they were forced to train their foreign replacements before being allowed to take their redundancy check . jack hadfield is a student at the university of warwick and a regular contributor to breitbart tech . you can like his page on facebook and follow him on twitter @torybastard _ or on gab @jh .
+1 fake websites , fake polls , fake news , fake leaks : the desperate maneuvers of the losing clinton campaign daisy luther in : mainstream media , politics , propaganda , sleuth journal yes , virginia , there really is a poll fairy skewing the polls in favor of hillary clinton . yesterday , i wrote about a brand new leak that had come my way . i read through the first 5 pages , confirmed that the two entities in the document were genuine and were really in cahoots , and quickly got out the information that the polls we are seeing with clinton in the lead are fake . but , in full disclosure , i made a mistake . i really should have read the last 3 pages , because if i had , i would n’t have published the document as a legitimate leak . it was full of outrageous hollywood sci - fi “ salvage options ” for the campaign that included magnetized mind control and a fake alien invasion . it ’s interesting to note that all of those options actually do exist – darpa experiments on things like that , and things even creepier . however , it seems far - fetched that the clinton campaign would / could go that far , and even more so that a business that does polls and analyzes them would have experimented with the tactics . so , i removed the post . there are enough lies and rumors going around the internet without me adding to them . that is n’t the end of the story , though , because part of that document was legit . i began to do further research and discovered that the gist of the fake document was accurate . the polls in the msm that show hillary in the lead are being faked , and they ’re being bought and paid for . we ’re all being manipulated by the collusion of hillary clinton , the dnc , and the media . their attempts at predictive programming through fake polls is so blatant that even the most oblivious people have noticed that something seems awry . it has long been a successful method of propaganda to leave in just enough truth to make the lie seem viable . in mein kampf , adolf hitler wrote ( emphasis mine ) : all this was inspired by the principle — which is quite true within itself — t hat in the big lie there is always a certain force of credibility ; because the broad masses of a nation are always more easily corrupted in the deeper strata of their emotional nature than consciously or voluntarily ; and thus in the primitive simplicity of their minds they more readily fall victims to the big lie than the small lie , since they themselves often tell small lies in little matters but would be ashamed to resort to large - scale falsehoods . it would never come into their heads to fabricate colossal untruths , and they would not believe that others could have the impudence to distort the truth so infamously . even though the facts which prove this to be so may be brought clearly to their minds , they will still doubt and waver and will continue to think that there may be some other explanation . for the grossly impudent lie always leaves traces behind it , even after it has been nailed down , a fact which is known to all expert liars in this world and to all who conspire together in the art of lying . first of all , i found a copy of the disbursements from a clinton - aligned superpac called priorities usa action on the website red state watcher . ( click image to enlarge ) this shows that the superpac paid the princely ( or should i say , presidential ? ) sum of $ 391,250.00 for polls that were overwhelmingly positive to clinton . these documents appear to be legitimate . the website conservative treehouse did a great analysis and posted links to the fec(federal election commission ) filing pdfs from the superpac , as well as screenshots . here are links to the pdf – pages 92 and 118 show that they did indeed make the payments shown above . but … when i did a reverse image search , i found the same thing on the following sites . and by the same thing , i mean exactly the same . and , these sites with conservative sounding names are all relatively new sites . i checked on alexa.com to see how long they ’d been around . aside from red state watcher , which is definitely legit and has been around for a long time , here ’s the rundown on a few of the others . http://usapoliticsnow.com/ – since may 2016 http://incredibleusanews.com/ not long enough for statistics to be available http://truthfeed.com/ – since may 2016 now , this does n’t say for certain these sites are fake ones , put up by the opposition , but it does cast some questions on the credibility . these stories are all based on a video alleged to be by anonymous , but in actuality , the youtube channel is anonymous patriots . their first video was posted 7 months ago – march 16 , 2016 . other sources concur that the polls being broadcast by the mainstream are skewed or outright fake . a professor at suny has been saying all along that donald trump was strongly in the lead . back in february , fortune magazine published an article by dr. northrup that showed , based on his analysis , trump had a 97 % chance of winning the election . he still stands by this opinion . dr. helmut norpoth wrote a post for the hill explaining how these polls published by the msm are misleading . to start with something basic , opinion polls are really about “ opinions , ” not actions . at their best , they can tell us how people feel about political issues and personalities . do voters , for instance , like or dislike candidates such as hillary clinton and donald trump ? yet having an opinion and acting on it are two different things . barely 6 in 10 voting - age american citizens turn out for presidential elections . ascertaining the opinions of 100 citizens is just a start . now you have to determine which 60 of them actually take the time to mark a ballot . they are the “ likely voters . ” they are the only ones that count . but to find them is no easy chore . it is ingrained in all of us that voting is civic duty . so nearly all of us say , oh yes , i ’ll vote , and then many will not follow through . dr. northrup is not alone in his claims that trump is far , far ahead of hillary clinton . the website govt . slaves reported on a polling app called zip back in august . despite a majority of opinion polls showing the 2016 presidential election going to democrat hillary clinton , a smartphone app developer says his data suggests challenger donald trump will be the victor . “ based on the stats we see , he looks strong , ” says ric militi , co - founder of san diego - based crazy raccoons , maker of the zip question and answer app . his app poses questions and polls responses based on an average of 100,000 daily users . “ i go with trump , based on what we see . ” breitbart showed evidence of reuters “ back rigging ” the polls in georgia to indicate a clinton victory . speaking exclusively to breitbart news , political polling pioneer pat caddell said the reuters news service was guilty of an unprecedented act of professional malpractice … ”this comes as close as i have ever seen to cooking the results , ” said the legendary pollster and political consultant . “ i suppose you can get away with it in polling because there are no laws . but , if this was accounting , they would put them in jail . ” … “ the looks to me , are far as i can indicate , they have merely decided to go back and revise their numbers in a formula that removes voters or allocates them – i am not sure how they are doing this – proportionately , ” he said . reuters has rejiggered its methods in order to get the results they want , said the man , whose out - of - the - box interpretations of the american electorate were the brain - work behind the insurgent presidential campaigns of sen. george mcgovern ( d .- s.d. ) in 1972 , georgia gov. james e. “ jimmy ” carter in 1976 , president carter 1980 and sen. gary hart ( d .- colo . ) in 1984 . millenium report concurs about the poll - rigging . in view of so much fake poll data that is systematically dumped into the public domain by the msm , the american people being gradually conditioned to believe that clinton is really ahead in this race . with each passing week the clinton numbers increase by 5 or 10 % which should put her with 175 % of the populace by now . yes , there contrivance of poll numbers is that ridiculous . 2016 election being rigged by the hour , polls fraudulent , clinton popularity grossly exaggerated these same fraudulent tactics were utilized during the democratic primary with much success . bernie sanders’ loss was the direct result os so much fixing and rigging , manipulating and scheming . that sanders himself permitted all the fraud is the biggest scandal of all , particularly after he heartily endorsed comrade clinton for president . such a transparent betrayal of his once loyal will most assuredly push many voters over to trump . but here ’s the real conspiracy . i think there is a clinton - based conspiracy to cast doubt on everything coming out of the opposition , which in turn reinforces everything coming from them . first of all , vet your sources . here ’s how . when you see an article from a source you do n’t recognize , go over to alexa.com and paste in the homepage address . you ’ll see a chart that shows you how long the website has been around , and below that will be the global and national ranking of the site . this is n’t conclusive , of course . there are legitimate new websites popping up all the time , but i have to think that some of these more outrageous , allegedly “ conservative ” websites could be new websites started by those who want hillary clinton to be in office . these sites can perpetrate all sorts of wild rumors and fake documents and this has a two - fold effect . most importantly , these types of stories cast doubt on the real leaks that are out there . what better way to discredit the massive information being provided by wikileaks than to mix in a bunch of fake leaks ? people without critical thinking skills will extrapolate from this : “ this leak is fake , so all the leaks must be fake . holy cow , they ’re lying about our queen hillary . ” secondly , crazy rumors being spread through conservative and libertarian sources make us all look … well , crazy . if we are dispensing inaccurate information from questionable sources , then everything we say becomes subject to more doubt . the gateway pundit shows an actuarial review that determined trump could possibly be looking at a landslide victory . with all the liberal distortions and dishonesty we decided to have a small team of actuarial and statistics professionals take a look at a couple of the recent polls to get their take on the reliability of these polls . they selected the recent fox poll from october 14 showing hillary up by 7 and the wsj / nbc poll from october 16 showing hillary with an 11 point lead . the first observation is that both polls are heavily skewed towards democrats . at a high level , the fox poll consists of 43 dems to 36 reps to 21 other while the nbc poll shows 44 dems to 37 reps to 19 other . by selecting more dems the polls are designed to provide a dem result . our experts next analyzed the data and calculated results using the same data from the two surveys on a split of 40 dems , 40 reps and 20 other . the results show that using either sets of data trump comes out ahead with a larger margin of victory using the fox data . clearly the polls using data that is heavily weighted towards democrat voters is incorrectly skewed . … it is difficult to determine what the independent voters will do but many independent voters partook in the primaries to vote for trump . therefore it is more likely that independent voters vote for trump as well . if more democratic voters vote for trump than republicans vote for hillary and more independents vote for trump than hillary , both scenarios which are highly likely , then the results of the general election will likely be a trump landslide . it ’s easy to see how this supports the possibility of a stolen election . remember during the debate when donald trump refused to say that he would accept the outcome of the election if it was n’t in his favor ? not only has camp clinton been caught more than once rigging the election , they ’re redoubling their efforts in social perception . here are a few ways they ’re doing it : the discrediting of websites who are open about their dislike of hillary clinton . the fake polls that assure everyone that clinton ’s victory is guaranteed . the manipulation of public opinion through false reporting in the msm . potentially putting up websites with fake conservative names in order to spread misinformation in the hopes that other conservative websites will make the posts go viral , then “ disproving ” the rumor they started themselves . coincidentally ( or not ) , i ’ve spent hundreds of dollars over the past few weeks because my websites have been hacked . i ’d love to know if any other alternative media sites are having these issues . if you have information on this , drop me a quick private message on facebook . submit your review
+1 the fbi ca n’t actually investigate a candidate such as hillary clinton nan eric zuesse | 05.11.2016 | opinion the fbi ca n’t actually investigate a candidate such as hillary clinton the power above the us federal bureau of investigation ( fbi ) is the us attorney general , and , above that person , the us president . that ’s whom the fbi actually serves — not the us public . this is the reason why the fbi is having such internal tensions and dissensions over the investigation of hillary clinton : not only is she the current president ’s ardently preferred and designated successor — and overwhelmingly supported also by america ’s aristocracy and endorsed by the aristocracy ’s press — but the top leadership of the fbi have terms - in - office that ( unlike , for example , the term of the us attorney general ) do not end with the installation of the next president ; and these people will therefore be serving , quite possibly , the very same person whom they are now ‘ investigating’ . this is the reason why james comey , the fbi ’s director , let clinton totally off the hook on july 5th , when he declined to present the case to a grand jury : he and the rest of the fbi ’s top management violated three basic principles of trying white - collar - crime cases when a prosecutor is serious about wanting to prosecute and obtain a conviction against a person — he ( and they ) wanted to keep their jobs , not be fighting their boss and their likely future boss . if america were an authentic democracy , there would be a way for the fbi to serve the public even when the us president does n’t want it to . according to the only scientific study that has ever been done of the matter , the us federal government is a dictatorship not a democracy . this was reluctantly reported by the researchers , whose own careers are dependent upon the aristocracy which they were finding actually controls that government . they found that the us , at the federal level , is not a democracy but an « oligarchy » , by which the researchers were referring to an « economic elite » , america ’s billionaires and centi - millionaires who control america ’s international corporations and the ‘ charities’ ( such as think tanks ) that are dependent upon them — including many that directly affect us politics , such as the think tanks or other way - stations for former us government employees to become hired by private firms . the authors of the only empirical scientific research - study that has been done of whether the united states is a democracy , or instead a dictatorship , excluded the very term « aristocracy » ( or « collective dictatorship » such as an « economic elite » is if that « elite » actually is in control of the given nation ’s government ) from their article . they did this so as for the meaning not to be clear to the us public . in any country in the modern world where an aristocracy exists , aristocrats nowadays try to hide their power , not ( like in former eras ) display their power by crowns and other public symbols of ‘ the nobility’ . the closest the study ’s authors came to using that term , « aristocracy » , was their only sentence that employed the pejorative term for an aristocracy , « oligarchy » . that obscure lone sentence was : « jeffrey winters has posited a comparative theory of ‘ oligarchy , ' in which the wealthiest citizens — even in a ' civil oligarchy ' like the united states — dominate policy concerning crucial issues of wealth and income protection.11 " their 11th footnote made clear that they were referring here to the book oligarchy , by jeffrey a. winters , which stated the ‘ theory’ that this article had actually just confirmed in the american case . their article mentioned the book — and the « oligarchy » — only in this one footnote , so that the authors of the article ( whose own careers are dependent upon america ’s ‘ oligarchs’ ) wo n't be able to be accused by oligarchs ( or in any way thought by their own financial benefactors — america ’s aristocrats ) to have called the us an « oligarchy » ( a collective dictatorship by the few super - rich and their agents ) . to apply either term — « aristocracy » or « oligarchy » — to one ’s own country , is now viewed as negative , an insult to the country ’s controlling elite . neither scholars nor scholarly publishers wish to insult the people who ultimately are their top funders . this article was written in the standard unnecessarily obscurantist style of social ‘ scientists’ who want to be comprehensible only to their peers and not to the general public . doing it this way is safer for them , because it makes extremely unlikely that their own benefactors would retaliate , against them or else against the institutions that hire them , by withdrawing their continued financial and promotional support ( such as by no longer having them invited onto cnn as an « expert » ) . ( this type of fear prevents theory in the social ‘ sciences’ from being strictly based upon the given field ’s empirical findings : it ’s not authentically scientific . the physical sciences are far less corrupt , far more scientific . the biological sciences are in - between . ) one particular reason why the authors never called the people who control the us government an « aristocracy » , is that everyone knows that the founders of the us were opposed to , and were engaged in overthrowing , the existing aristocracy , which happened to be british , and that they even banned forever in the us the use of aristocratic titles , such as « lord » or « sir . » consequently , within the us , the only term that the aristocrats consider acceptable to refer to aristocrats , is « oligarchs » , which always refers only to aristocrats in foreign countries , and so is considered safe by the aristocrats’ writers ( including scholars and political pundits ) to use . everyone knows : in accord with the clear intention of america ’s founders , the us should eliminate from its citizenry any aristocrat ( any self - enclosed and legally immune group that holds power over the government ) , but americans naturally accept the existence of « oligarchs » in other countries ( and « good - riddance to them there » ) , typically the ones in countries us foreign policy opposes and often overthrows by means of coup or outright military invasion ( any form of conquest , such as in 2003 iraq , or 2011 libya ) . it ’s fine to refer to other countries’ aristocracies as ‘ oligarchies’ , because any such foreign aristocracy can therefore be declared to be bad and ‘ deserving’ of overthrow . thus , any aristocracy that is opposed to america ’s aristocracy ( especially one that ’s opposed to being controlled by the us aristocracy ) , and which wants to be controlling instead their own independent nation , can acceptably be overthrown by coup ( such as ukraine 2014 was ) or invasion ( such as libya 2011 was ) . thus , calling a foreign aristocracy an « oligarchy » is supportive of , not opposed to , the us aristocracy — and , so , « oligarchy » is the term the authors used ( on that one occasion , and they never used the prohibited term « aristocracy » ) . nonetheless , despite the cultural ban on describing the us as an « aristocracy » , the authors were — as obscurely as they were able — proving that the us is an aristocracy , no authentic democracy at all . or , again , as they said it in their least - obscurantist phrasing of it : « economic elite domination theories do rather well in our analysis , even though our findings probably understate the political influence of elites . our measure of the preferences of wealthy or elite americans — though useful , and the best we could generate for a large set of policy cases — is probably less consistent with the relevant preferences than are our measures of the views of ordinary citizens or the alignments of engaged interest groups . yet we found substantial estimated effects even when using this imperfect measure . the real - world impact of elites upon public policy may be still greater » . ‘ greater’ than what ? they did n’t say . that ’s because what they were saying ( as obscurely as possible ) is that it ’s probably ‘ greater’ than is shown in the data that was publicly available to them , and upon which data their clear finding is that the us is an aristocracy , no democracy at all . or , as they also put it : " economic elite domination theories do rather well in our analysis . » but , actually , « economic elite domination theories » ( virtually all of which come down to positing an aristocracy that consists of the billionaires — and centi - millionaires — and their corporations , and their think tanks , and their lobbyists , etc . ) did phenomenally well , in their findings , not just ‘ rather well’— they simply ca n’t safely say this . saying it is samizdat , in the us dictatorship . they were allowed to prove it , but not to say it . so , that ’s what they did . they did n’t want to « upset the applecart » from which they themselves are feeding . the simplest ( but no less accurate ) way of stating their finding is : the us , at least during the period the researchers probed , which was 1981 - 2002 , was an aristocracy , no democracy at all . the us , in other words , was ( even prior to the infamous citizens united supreme court decision , which is making the aristocracy even more concentrated among even fewer people ) a country of men ( and women — that ’s to say , of individuals ) not of laws ; it ’s a dictatorship , in short ; it is not a country « of laws , not of men » . america ’s founders have finally lost . the country has been taken over by an aristocracy . and one of those « men » now , is actually hillary clinton , even though she is no longer officially holding governmental power . they know she soon might be . that ’s why , the fbi can not really , and seriously , investigate her . it ’s not for legal reasons at all . it ’s because of whom she is . in fact , purely on the basis of us laws , she clearly ought to be in prison . any honest lawyer , inside or outside the fbi , has long known this , because the actual case against her is ‘ slam - dunk’ , even though the fbi has refused to investigate it and has limited its ‘ investigation’ only to peripheral ‘ national security’ issues . ( the # 2 person at fbi , deputy director andrew mccabe , right below director james comey , specified this limitation to his ‘ investigators’ . they simply were n’t allowed to investigate her , except on the hardest - to - prove crimes that she probably but not definitely did also do . the slam - dunks were just off - limits to them . mccabe ’s wife ’s political campaign had received $ 675,000 from the pac of terry mcauliffe , a close friend of the clintons , who chaired hillary ’s 2008 presidential campaign . and , even on the harder - to - prove matters , which fbi director comey declined on july 5th to pursue , they stood a strong chance of winning , if only comey had n’t prevented their moving forward to try — but those issues are tangential to the basic case against her , anyway . ) there are at least six federal criminal laws which accurately and unquestionably describe even what ms. clinton has now publicly admitted having done by her privatized email system , and intent is n’t even mentioned in most of them nor necessary in order for her to be convicted — the actions themselves convict her , and the only relevance that intent might have , regarding any of these laws , would be in determining how long her prison sentence would be . i have already presented the texts of these six laws ( and you can see the sentences for each one , right there ) , and any reader can easily recognize that each one of them describes , unambiguously without any doubt , what she now admits having done . most of these crimes do n’t require any intent in order to convict ( and the ones that do require intent are only « knowingly … conceals » , or else « with the intent to impair the object ’s … use in an official proceeding » , both of which « intents » would be easy to prove on the basis of what has already been made public — but others of these laws do n’t require even that ) ; and none of them requires any classified information to have been involved , at all . it ’s just not an issue in these laws . thus , conviction under them is far easier . if a prosecutor is really seeking to convict someone , he ’ll be aiming to get indictments on the easiest - to - prove charges , first . that also presents for the prosecutor the strongest position in the event of an eventual plea - bargain . as alan dershowitz said , commenting on one famous prosecution : « they also wanted a slam - dunk case . they wanted the strongest possible case . » comey simply did n’t ; he wanted the hardest - to - convict case . his presentation was a brazen hoax . that ’s all . that ’s the real scandal , and nobody ( other than i ) has been writing about it as what it is — a hoax . but what it shows is that maybe the only way that clinton will be able to avoid going to prison is by her going to the white house . either she gets a term in the white house , or else she gets a ( much longer ) term in prison — or else our government is so thoroughly corrupt that she remains free as a private citizen and still above the law , even though not serving as a federal official . even if she is convicted only on these six slam - dunk statutes ( and on none other , including not on the ones that comey was referring to when he said on july 5 th that , « although there is evidence of potential violations of the statutes regarding the handling of classified information , our judgment is that no reasonable prosecutor would bring such a case » ) , she could be sentenced to a maximum of 73 years in prison ( 73 = 5 + 5 + 20 + 20 + 3 + 10 + 10 ) . adding on others she might also have committed ( such as the ones that comey was referring to , all of which pertain only to the handling of classified information ) , would mean that her term in prison might be lengthier still , but what ’s important in the email case is n’t that ; it ’s to convict her on , essentially , theft and/or destruction of us government documents by means of transferring them into her private email and/or smashing hard drives . no one , not even a us federal official , can legally do that , and those six laws are specifically against it . motive is important in ms. clinton ’s email case , because motive tells us why she was trying to hide from historians and from the public her operations as the us secretary of state : was it because she did n’t want them to know that she was selling to the sauds and her other friends the us state department ’s policies in return for their million - dollar - plus donations to the clinton foundation , and maybe even selling to them ( and/or their cronies ) us government contracts , or why ? however , those are questions regarding other crimes that she might have been perpetrating while in public office , not the crimes of her privatized email operation itself ; and those other crimes ( whatever they might have been ) would have been explored only after an indictment on the slam - dunks , and for further possible prosecutions , if president obama ’s people were serious about investigating her . they were n’t . clearly , this is selective ‘ justice’ . that ’s the type of ‘ justice’ an aristocracy imposes . why , then , did comey finally switch to re - open the clinton case ? it was n’t merely the discovery of some of her previously unknown emails on the computer of anthony wiener , husband to hillary ’s closest aide huma abedin . as politico on october 28th reported , « another former justice official said comey 's letter [ announcing the re - opening of hillary ’s case ] could be part of an effort on his part to quiet internal fbi critics who viewed him as burying the clinton probe for political reasons . ‘ he ’s come under a lot of criticism from his own people for how he ’s handled this . he ’s trying to gain back some of their respect,’ former justice department spokeswoman emily pierce said . ‘ his ability to do what he does largely depends on the respect within his own ranks.’ » joachim hagopian at global research headlined on october 30th , « the real reasons why fbi director james comey reopened the hillary email investigation » , and reported : « former federal attorney for the district of columbia joe digenova spelled it all out in a wmal radio interview last friday just hours after the news was released that comey had sent a letter informing congress that the case is being reopened . digenova said that with an open revolt brewing inside the fbi , comey was forced to go public on friday with reopening the investigation . … finally , digenova dropped one more bombshell in friday ’s interview . an inside source has revealed to him that the laptops belonging to key clinton aides cheryl mills and heather samuelson , both wrongly granted immunity , were not destroyed after all as previously reported , but have been secretly kept intact by investigating fbi agents refusing to destroy incriminating evidence as part of the in - house whitewash » . in other words : comey was between a rock ( the resignation - letters piling up on his desk from subordinates who felt that no person should be above the law ) and a hard place ( his ability to stay on at the fbi and not have a scandal against himself bleed out to the public from down below ) . the us was n’t yet that kind of dictatorship — one which could withstand such a public disclosure . in order for it to become one , the aristocracy ’s control would have needed to be even stronger than it yet is . also on the 30 th , ed klein in britain ’s daily mail bannered : exclusive : resignation letters piling up from disaffected fbi agents , his wife urging him to admit he was wrong : why director comey jumped at the chance to reopen hillary investigation james comey revived the investigation of clinton 's email server as he could no longer resist mounting pressure by mutinous agents , sources say the atmosphere at the fbi has been toxic ever since jim [ comey ] announced last july that he would n't recommend an indictment against hillary he told his wife that he was depressed by the stack of resignation letters piling up on his desk from disaffected agents . so , does this now mean that , finally , the fbi will bring before a grand jury the evidence that hillary clinton blatantly violated those six federal criminal laws against stealing and/or trying to destroy federal documents ? there has never — at least since 1981 — been so severe a test of the extent to which this nation is ( as those researches found it to have unquestionably been between 1981 and 2002 ) an « oligarchy » . however , a serious criminal prosecution of ms. clinton would potentially start an unwinding of this dictatorship . the present writer will make no prediction . however , obviously , the results of the election on november 8th will certainly have an enormous impact upon the outcome . since i think that anyone but a complete fool can recognize this much , i ’m confident enough to assert it — a conditional about the future .
+0 ‘ this only confirms the image of the u.s.a.’ - the new york times lela moore and lindsey underwood here are the top 10 comments of the week on our digital platforms , as selected by our readers and the journalists who moderate nearly every comment . 1 . it ’s so shortsighted . the burkini is a wonderful piece of clothing because it allows observant muslim women to go swimming , to cool off , to have fun , like any other person . if the burkini is banned , the result wo n’t be for observant muslim women to go swimming in a women ’s swimsuit . the result will be for such women to not go swimming at all , but to stay fully covered and on dry land . is that a victory ? i think not . it results in restricting observant muslim women ’s activities . instead , burkinis should be welcomed and recognized as the garments that they are for observant muslim women . not in favor of the burkini ? then do n’t wear one . but do n’t stop others from wearing one if they choose to do so . — margaret in oakland , calif. reacting to an article about towns in france banning the burkini , a bathing suit worn by observant muslim women that bares only the face , hands and feet , from public beaches . 2 . a friend of mine who lives in utrecht , holland , described to me what it ’s like living in her community now . she said she used to be able to walk freely anywhere , in any neighborhood regardless of what she was wearing without being harassed . she described it as a “ free society , ” not having to worry about her safety . now in some areas where there is a larger muslim immigrant population she is frequently called a “ whore ” by random men on the street . her crime : wearing short sleeves . now she is the one who has to cover up as to not be harassed in a place she has called home for over 50 years because some immigrants do not respect the laws of where they now reside . she also said if you report these incidents you are branded a “ racist ” by the authorities because you are not respecting a particular religion . people may not like the ban on burkinis , but the situation in europe is at a boiling point . — ahf in brooklyn . 3 . i think that pulling off the swimmers from the plane makes our image of a third world banana republic worse . yet , what about using your prominence to falsely accuse our police of criminal behavior when you were the ones acting criminally ? we have a serious crime problem , under which all of us suffer . when i see rich americans destroying our property and then lying about it to make us look worse , this only confirms the image of the u. s. a. as an arrogant rich country . — jose in rio de janeiro , reacting to an article about four american olympic swimmers , including the medalist ryan lochte , whose story about being robbed was deemed false by the brazilian authorities . this comment received more than 670 reader recommendations . 4 . i used to feel a sense of obligation , as someone who has a certain level of privilege living where i live , to watch and be a witness to the suffering of others . i ca n’t anymore . before this child was the image of a father carrying his dead daughter in agony . before that image was the picture of the dead child who washed up on a beach . i do n’t know how many pictures of suffering syrian children it will take for our international community to act . what i do know is that this is n’t the last image that will trend for a couple days and fade away . — lore abenaa afrakoma ii on the times ’s facebook page , responding to a video that showed a syrian boy , omran daqneesh , in the back of an ambulance after his family ’s home in aleppo was destroyed in an airstrike . a photograph of his dazed expression went viral as a symbol of syrian suffering . this comment received more than 480 likes . 5 . since moving to louisiana , i ’ve come to understand how offended and betrayed some folks feel when they ’re being told that the energy business that brought jobs and middle class prosperity to a deeply , deeply impoverished state since the early 20th century is now the devil that ’s driving climate change and destroying the physical world they dearly love . the levels of cognitive dissonance and grief can not be underestimated , and it fuels pushback . meanwhile , most americans are entirely oblivious to how profoundly they continue to depend on the energy and shipping infrastructure that is driving louisiana ’s physical extinction . — jimaka in lafayette , la. reacting to an article about the link between the devastating floods in louisiana and climate change . 6 . ridiculous . as a public school teacher , i and my students have regularly functioned without air conditioning , and believe me , it gets quite hot in may , june and september . and like prisons ( sadly ) schools are built with brick , concrete , flat roofs , limited breezeways . so if it ’s unconstitutional to have no air conditioning for grown prisoners , it is * definitely * unconstitutional to have no air conditioning for millions of our nation ’s school children as well as adults who serve them . not a single prison should get before all the schools in our nation have . — washington in new york , reacting to an article about whether a failure to provide inmates in jails with violates the constitution ’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment . this comment received more than 300 reader recommendations . 7 . it ’s hard not to be sarcastic . hours on a hard bench is no worse than what many of us have suffered when we missed a bus . with homeless families suffering in the united states , i do not see that we should spend money on the creature comforts of lawbreakers who chose of their own free will to sneak across the border . only the fact that children are subjected to these uncomfortable conditions concerns me : they should be given safe , comfortable accommodations and their parents prosecuted for endangering the welfare of a child , with their sentence suspended unless they ever return . — josh hill in new london , conn. reacting to an article about photos of conditions inside immigrant detention centers in arizona . the photos were released in the discovery process of a lawsuit against the border patrol by several civil rights and immigration groups . 8 . “ strap yourself up by your bootstraps ! ” seems to be the main theme . “ things were bad when i was young , so stop your whining . ” unreal . back in the old days , we had unions , we had politicians that were , at the least , willing to actually talk to each other , ooh , maybe even compromise ! we had housing that was affordable , if you did n’t go to college there were still jobs out there that paid a halfway decent wage , the list goes on forever . what have we left them ? — karla in mooresville , n. c. reacting to other comments on an article about millennials in seattle , many of whom work in the tech industry and are worried about their generation ’s heavy student loan debt and uncertain political future . this comment received more than 480 reader recommendations . 9 . the trump “ ” ( yet again ) and his wacky roller coaster ride of a campaign provides a working model of how a trump administration would run : improvised from day to day and in perpetual crisis management mode in a effort to clean up yesterday ’s public relations disaster caused by donald ’s bizarre behavior . by contrast , i take note of hillary clinton ’s campaign : methodical , cautious , steady , not too glamorous but relentlessly on track and succeeding . — jonathan baker in new york , reacting to an article about donald j. trump ’s hiring of stephen k. bannon , chairman of the breitbart news website , to run his campaign . this comment received more than 1 , 740 reader recommendations . 10 . many athletes are born with unusual physical traits that give them an advantage . michael phelps has an unusually large wingspan , the natural ability to hyperextend his joints , he produces less than half the normal lactic acid , etc . all of these give him an edge . why are his quirks lauded and caster ’s quirks banned ? it ’s misogynistic and speaks to our society ’s discomfort with women who do n’t fall within the traditional view of femininity . i support her in her natural physical state 100 % . — jenny awasano on the times ’s facebook page , responding to an article about the south african runner caster semenya , whose high testosterone levels — and the perceived competitive edge they might give her — have resulted in years of scrutiny . this comment received 1 , 530 likes .
+0 report -- white house computer logs : susan rice accessed intel reports re trump associates neil w. mccabe circa news reported monday that white house staffers found logs that document and date stamp president barack obama ’s national security adviser susan rice accessing intelligence reports that included associates of the donald trump ’s 2016 presidential campaign:[intelligence sources said the logs discovered by national security council staff suggested rice ’s interest in the nsa materials , some of which included unmasked americans’ identities , appeared to begin last july around the time trump secured the gop nomination and accelerated after trump ’s election in november launched a transition that continued through january . the intelligence reports included some intercepts of americans talking to foreigners and many more involving foreign leaders talking about the future president , his campaign associates or his transition , the sources said . most if not all had nothing to do with the russian election interference scandal , the sources said , speaking only on condition of anonymity given the sensitive nature of the materials . when intelligence or law enforcement agencies accidentally gather information related to american citizens , outside their legally sanctioned collection mission , the data appears in reports with simple labels , such as american 1 or american 2 . however , when the reports were circulated inside the obama administration , the actual names were used , or unmasked , or labelled in a way that made the speaker ’s identity obvious . the report written by sara carter and john solomon also quotes an intelligence source , who said it is the common practice to step up surveillance of foreign governments after an election and that after trump ’s surprise victory nov. 8 this ramped up intelligence gathering provided more opportunities for incidental collection of trump associates , as the transition team reached out to foreign governments to prepare for the new administration .
+0 the latest celebrity diet ? cyberbullying - the new york times amanda hess the reality tv star rob kardashian had a family matter to discuss , so naturally , he turned to twitter . “ did n’t invite the mother of my child to a baby shower you all were trying to throw for me ! ! ? ” he tweeted late last month , reigniting the feud between the clan and his model fiancée , blac chyna . “ you all must have lost your damn minds . ” in retaliation for the slight , he tweeted out his little sister kylie jenner ’s phone number . mr. kardashian , in internet parlance , had doxxed ms. jenner — he published personal , private information about her online , seemingly without her consent . it ’s a maneuver harassers use to humiliate , intimidate or silence their targets . it also helped mr. kardashian score his most popular tweet ever . lately , celebrity feuds have taken on the contours of cyberbullying , with famous rivals integrating the tactics of online harassers into their p. r. offensives . what looks like a public display of immaturity can actually be part of a sophisticated image management strategy . retweet counts and instagram followers are the new billboard 100 , and celebrities can gin up their numbers by instigating feuds with one another in increasingly nasty or technologically intriguing ways . but the game can have a dark side , especially for the losers . the modern celebrity arsenal incorporates these other digital bullying tools : secret recordings the celebrity squabble of the summer exploded when kim kardashian west released a surreptitiously recorded taylor swift talking on the phone with ms. kardashian west ’s husband , kanye west — a bid to prove that ms. swift had preapproved his controversial lyrics about her in his song “ famous . ” ms. kardashian west posted the video evidence to snapchat in july . ( such recordings are illegal in some states , including california , and run afoul of youtube ’s harassment rules . ) sexual humiliation when the rappers wiz khalifa and mr. west tussled on twitter in january , amber rose , their mutual ex , stepped in to tease mr. west about their sex life . and when justin bieber ’s selena gomez waded into his instagram comments to scold him for posting pictures with a new girlfriend and to accuse him of cheating on her , he struck back by accusing her of using the relationship for attention . revenge porn after the teenage actress chloë grace moretz tweeted dismissively about the feud , yet another kardashian — kim ’s sister khloé — responded by posting a photo of a woman resembling ms. moretz . she had jumped onto a young man ’s back on the beach , and her bikini bottoms were yanked to the side , revealing everything underneath . ms. moretz tweeted back to debunk the depantsing , writing that ms. kardashian had instead exposed “ some girl who was wrongfully photographed . ” mob deployment for celebrities with the most rabid fandoms , even an oblique nod from the star can set off a fan stampede . after ms. kardashian west posted the snapchat video of ms. swift ’s phone call , kanye fans and allies — many aligned with her spurned calvin harris — gathered under the # kimexposedtaylorparty hashtag to shovel out cruelly exultant gifs and memes . ( a commemorative reading “ in memory of taylor swift , rip , 1989 to 2016 ” was soon offered for sale online . ) and when ms. kardashian west cryptically tweeted a line of snake emoji , revelers bombarded ms. swift ’s instagram with snake after snake after snake . it ’s no coincidence that a kardashian fingerprint can be lifted from many of the most incidents . while most celebrities use the internet to promote their mainstream careers — movies , albums — ms. kardashian west ’s core product is herself . stirring up dramatic personal narratives on her reality television show and social media accounts is her main event . ms. swift , who studiously avoids confrontation while writing veiled riddles about her and frenemies into her songs , did n’t stand a chance . ms. kardashian west ’s assault was part of a multiplatform offensive . on twitter , she leveraged ms. swift ’s phone call to advertise her new snapchat account . and she went on to milk the publicity by posting another snapchat video of herself singing along to the “ famous ” lyrics in question . her clip became an internet blockbuster not only because of the story it told but also because of the tactics it deployed . in the polished world of celebrity p. r. it ’s exceptional to see a celebrity exposed in a private moment , especially by one of her own kind . meanwhile , ms. swift was put on the defensive , left to quibble about the details of the exchange in a message that she typed on apple ’s notes app . she then took a screen shot of it and posted it to instagram . her response to ms. kardashian west ’s raucous exposé — “ i would very much like to be excluded from this narrative ” — soon curdled into a mocking meme . who was in the right did n’t matter — ms. kardashian west won the game . blac chyna , who recently clawed her way into the kardashian universe through her relationship with rob , has proved a quick study . a few days after mr. kardashian doxxed his sister , ms. chyna posted his number to twitter , too , then toggled over to snapchat to explain that she ’d done it to compel her fiancé to change his number — and flush out all the women who had been texting him . it was a strategic move , both personally and professionally — it locked down her man , drew attention to her suite of social accounts and stirred interest in the couple ’s e ! reality series , “ rob chyna . ” you ’d think that the utter savageness on display here would horrify fans . online celebrity feuds capitalize on some of the most vile and destructive social ideas : that sexual shaming is an acceptable response to a stated opinion that women are manipulative liars and that a person who missteps in a private dispute deserves to be punished by the crowd . and these days , nearly everybody has a story about being subjected to similar abuse online . occasionally , attacks backfire : in may , the rapper azealia banks posted a racist tirade against the pop star zayn malik and soon found herself booted from twitter for violating its harassment policy . but most of the time , salty celebrities have little to lose and millions of followers to gain . “ bullying ” and “ harassment ” are amorphous categories , and the seriousness we attach to these tactics varies considerably depending on the power dynamics at play . unlike the muscled jock who picks on the scrawny nerd , the straight teenager who harasses the gay kid or the jilted boyfriend who uses the cover of the internet to mar his ex ’s reputation , these celebrity cases can make us feel like mere mortals peering up at a couple of greek gods shooting lightning bolts at each other . for some fans , their own experiences with harassment may fuel their desire to see the rich and famous get dragged down to their level . instead of pity and concern for the targeted party , celebrity harassment produces in fans feelings of both fascination and schadenfreude . for the famous person caught in the cross hairs , though , it ’s not always so fun . just ask ms. swift , who called ms. kardashian west ’s stunt “ character assassination . ” or the pop star demi lovato , who announced a career hiatus last week after getting dragged across twitter over dismissive comments about ms. swift she made in a magazine interview . ( “ taking a break from the spotlight , ” ms. lovato tweeted last week . “ i am not meant for this business and the media . ” ) or ms. moretz , who did not deserve to be sexually humiliated for subtweeting ms. kardashian west . it ’s a p. r. game , until it ’s a real thing .
+1 russia , india discuss fgfa advanced fighter , su-30mki upgrade sputnik russia , india discuss fgfa advanced fighter , su-30mki upgrade 27 october 2016 sputnik the india - russia intergovernmental commission on military and technical cooperation held a meeting in new delhi . facebook shoigu , fgfa , su-30mki indian and russian defence delegations discussed joint defence projects and defence issues of mutual interest , in particular , the sukhoi / hal fifth generation fighter aircraft ( fgfa ) and the upgrade of the sukhoi su-30mki fighter , the sources at the indian defence ministry sources told sputnik . on wednesday , the india - russia intergovernmental commission on military and technical cooperation held a meeting in new delhi , bringing together the delegations headed by russian defence minister sergei shoigu and his indian counterpart manohar parrikar . " we discussed … the fgfa project and [ upgrade ] of su-30mki which is presently india 's priority , " the sources said on wednesday . the russian - indian fgfa has stealth capabilities and is based on the russian t-50 prototype jet . the fgfa project came about following the signing of a russian - indian cooperation agreement on october 18 , 2007 . first published by sputnik .
+1 wtf ! ! ! there is not a simgle thread about the podsesta et topic after this morning 's leak deplorableduckhunter wtf ! ! ! there is not a simgle thread about the podsesta et topic after this morning 's leak i have encouraging news for white house counselor john podestadear john podesta , i recently surmised upon viewing and listening to a dvd i received unexpectedly earlier this week that you are an advocate for u.f.o. disclosure . well , i have got some very good news for you which you will see and hear from the enclosed vhs tape , which i personally edited with you in mind . please review the two hours of footage and let me know what you think . thank you , ( name redacted ) just saw the below this morning . you are right tom . wikileaks did mess some stuff up . they showed the attempt to s * * * spin the whole et disclosure by you , barrack obama , john podesta and hillary clinton to just half tell the truth and then control the narrative to suit their own political goals .
+0 internet porn nearly ruined his life . now he wants to help . - the new york times sridhar pappu alexander rhodes sat along a stretch of grass , looking out over the allegheny river . the two of us were sitting in a quiet space on the outskirts of pittsburgh where we had planned to spend the night in tents camping out . “ the key thing to consider is that i am not a very good businessman , ” he said . “ i ’m not really anything but a guy who was addicted to internet porn . ” a few years ago , mr. rhodes , 26 , founded a website as an online space meant to help others who share his particular problem . it has about one million unique visitors each month , he said , and nearly breaks even . mr. rhodes , who grew up in western pennsylvania and worked at google until recently , is now hoping to make his site into something larger . with the help of his father and other family members , he is transforming part of an abandoned church into a base of operations for his fledgling company . “ it ’s one thing to look back and regret what happened in terms of growing up , being addicted to internet porn , ” he said . “ you might look back and be like : ‘ oh , man . i was a loser . and if i never watched it , my life would be so much better.’ and maybe that ’s true . but at the same time , the fact that i was addicted to internet porn , the fact that i was so mediocre , makes me uniquely qualified to help humanity . ” in recent years , mr. rhodes has emerged as a spokesman against a “ disease ” that has n’t been officially recognized by the medical establishment . he seemed uneasy with his new status . he was careful with every word and asked to go off the record more than a government official . he would not confirm whether he was involved with someone , saying only that , since giving up pornography “ for good ” in 2013 , he has been able to have meaningful relationships with women . in some ways , his story is that of the digital age . his father was a computer programmer , and he was exposed to digital technology from early on . he gravitated to nintendo game boy and eventually moved to the nintendo 64 and sony playstation . at 11 or so , he said , he clicked on a banner ad by mistake and found an image depicting rape . by the time he had reached adolescence , so had the internet , and mr. rhodes came to rely on pornography that was easy to find and often free . by college , he was masturbating while watching it up to 14 times a day , he said . “ i would say , ‘ o. k. i have to take a few days to recover from this , like physically recover,’ ” he said , “ and i could n’t last for even a day . ” mr. rhodes ’s seeming dependence on porn did n’t help matters with his first girlfriend , whom he started dating when he was a sophomore at the university of pittsburgh . it was his first real chance for sustained intimacy , and he blew it . “ i do n’t think it was all due to internet porn , ” he said . “ but i can tell you that the sex life did n’t go very well . i had erectile dysfunction — a very mild form , and this is all very because doctors wo n’t diagnose this — but i was able to maintain an erection by fantasizing about pornography . that was the only way . ” in 2011 , mr. rhodes was lost and in search of support . he created a discussion forum on reddit on the topic of abstaining from masturbation and pornography . he realized he was far from alone and began his site soon after . after college , he continued to build the site while working as a contractor for google , specializing in data analysis . he said he earned good money and was able to put a good amount into the website ( called nofap . com , from a slang term for masturbation ) . but he was still using the supposed vice he was railing against . it took another failed relationship to get him to quit . “ i think i was relying on pornography as some kind of emotional crutch , ” he said . “ if anything bad would happen , you would go to porn , because it would always be there . “ i knew it was bad for me , ” he said . “ but i also realized it was bad for women i was involved with , and that was the moment that i said : ‘ i need to leave this thing behind . it is completely distorting my sexuality to the point where it could actually be harmful or at least not enjoyable for other people who i am involved with . ’ ” mr. rhodes came to believe he had a calling greater than his work in data analysis at google . “ it was n’t an easy decision , ” he said of his leaving the job last year . “ but ultimately it was what was best for humanity . ” the website serves as an online umbrella for men looking to escape pornography . it has advertisements for software and online programs that promote the idea of steering clear of pornography and masturbation . the site also has discussion forums and includes testimonials by men sharing stories of their successes and failures . and it helps match men with “ accountability partners ” meant to serve as alcoholics sponsors , to keep a person on the right path . the site generates revenue through subscriptions and advertising , mr. rhodes said . to make it into something more robust , mr. rhodes needed to “ come out ” as a spokesman of sorts . after he appeared in a new york magazine article in 2013 about men who had quit masturbating , he told his mother what was going on , much to her horror . other interviews followed . while his family remains supportive , there are limits . when he showed his mother a recent article in time magazine in which he was quoted , she said , joking , “ i should n’t be reading these types of things about my son , ” mr. rhodes said , recalling his mother ’s reaction . on the first day i visited mr. rhodes , we climbed the stairs of the former st. clement church in tarentum , pa. the structure , built in 1906 , had long since been abandoned , its pews , confessional and attached school crumbling and gathering dust . his father , phillip rhodes , had recently bought the sprawling complex at auction for $ 50 , 000 . while the church is likely to house other businesses , the younger mr. rhodes sees a future there for him and a fully staffed operation . he sat on one side of the church confessional while i sat on the other . “ tell me the last time you watched porn , ” i said , joking . despite the location , he has largely kept away from religious people , especially evangelicals wanting to team up with him , even though such a relationship could help fund his work . “ i have viewpoints that do n’t mesh with their viewpoints , ” mr. rhodes said . “ i ’m very . i ’m not a religious person . i ’m not someone who supports religion . i ’m not against religion , but i do n’t support it . and i completely , firmly believe in premarital sex . ” mr. rhodes said he has also endured the wrath of those on the other end of the ideological spectrum . people have tried — and failed — to hack the site ’s servers , and its forums have been bombarded with pornographic images , he said . his father received pornography in the mail , mr. rhodes said , and he himself has gotten death threats . “ it ’s just something you have to deal with and let the proper authorities follow up on anything , ” he said . soon it would grow terribly cold , making for a terrible night of sleep in spite of a tent and a supposedly insulated sleeping bag that i bought at a suburban target . on the morning of our second day , mr. rhodes sat near the extinguished campfire from the night before , laptop on his knees . soon we ’d be departing the campsite , heading back to the city , to “ civilization . ” but first he had to present a webinar for another outfit . during the chat , he spoke with people who asked about avoiding triggers . as the session continued , he spoke less about pornography than about the need to take care of oneself , both physically and emotionally . he talked about developing good habits and routines , about changing one ’s life in general . when a health care worker asked about fatigue and how he believed it often led him to pornography , mr. rhodes told the man that he needed to take care of his own health as well . “ it ’s like if you ’re on an airplane flight , ” mr. rhodes said , “ and they say , ‘ oh , you have to put your oxygen mask on before assisting others with theirs.’ it ’s because you ’ll pass out trying to get a mask on to somebody else . you have to make sure you ’re in a balanced spot in order to best serve other people , in order to best serve the world . ”
+0 u.s. is sending 400 more troops to syria - the new york times michael r. gordon washington — the united states is sending an additional 400 troops to syria to help prepare for the looming fight for raqqa , the capital of the islamic state ’s caliphate , american officials said on thursday . the increase , which includes a team of army rangers and a marine artillery unit that have already arrived in syria , represents a of the number of american troops there . the united states military has declined to say how many troops it has deployed in syria . the formal troop cap is 503 , but commanders have the authority to temporarily exceed that limit . the rangers’ presence became apparent last weekend when they were seen driving around the northern syrian town of manbij in stryker vehicles and armored humvees . the washington post earlier reported the deployment of the marine artillery battery . “ we are preparing logistical and fire support to enable a successful assault on raqqa , the capital of isis , ” said col . john l. dorrian , a spokesman for the command that is fighting the islamic state in iraq and syria . “ the exact numbers and locations of these forces are sensitive in order to protect our forces , but there will be approximately an additional 400 enabling forces deployed for a temporary period to enable our syrian partnered forces to defeat isis in raqqa , ” colonel dorrian added . the military strategy that is emerging in syria parallels the approach that the united states has taken in mosul , iraq , and largely reflects the assumptions that guided the planning during the obama administration . in mosul , the americans and their allies have provided the air power , rocket fire , artillery and advisers , enabling iraqi forces to move forward in their push to take the city ’s western half . similarly , in the case of raqqa , the idea is that syrian forces will do most of the ground fighting but that americans will assist them with advisers and firepower . the united states is already carrying out airstrikes in syria and has deployed himars rockets in the northern part of the country . before he left office , president barack obama approved the use of a small number of apache attack helicopters , and they are expected to be part of the raqqa operation , as well . now , marine artillery is being added , along with logistical support and training and protection in dealing with improvised explosive devises . gen. joseph l. votel , the head of the united states central command , told reporters on thursday that he was open to asking for more conventional military units if they are needed . “ i feel very comfortable with mixing special operations forces with conventional forces , ” general votel said . “ that is the way we fight . ” one big hole in the strategy concerns which fighters will actually seize raqqa . american commanders favor a mixed force of syrian arabs and the kurdish y. p. g. militia . but turkey objects to arming the kurds , a group it has denounced as terrorists . the american military hopes it can mollify the turks by making sure that the majority of the force that takes the city is arab , and making clear that only local fighters will occupy the city after the islamic state is driven out . but senator john mccain , republican of arizona and chairman of the senate armed services committee who recently visited syria and turkey , questioned whether these assurances would be enough to ease the concerns of president recep tayyip erdogan of turkey . his role is critical because he has allowed american warplanes to operate from the turkish airfield at incirlik and has sent turkish troops into syria . “ i ’m not sure there ’s an understanding of how seriously erdogan views this issue , ” mr. mccain said in a thursday hearing with general votel . “ i think there ’s a possibility of an impending conflict between turkey and the kurds , ” mr. mccain said . without providing details , general votel responded , “ we are trying to take actions to prevent that from occurring . ” turning to other regions , general votel said he agreed the afghan conflict was stalemated and supported the appeal from the american commander in afghanistan for additional troops . regarding yemen , general votel said that he bore full responsibility for a january raid that was mounted to acquire intelligence about al qaeda in the arabian peninsula . one american commando was killed , and civilians perished in the . mr. trump has unwaveringly defended the value of the raid , but also told a fox news interviewer that the operation was something the commanders “ wanted to do . ” mr. mccain said that while the heroism of the special operations forces could not be challenged , the operation raised questions , including why the mission continued after encountering heavy fire and why the commandos had failed to capture any al qaeda operatives . the american people , mr. mccain said , need to be told the truth . general votel said that four to 12 civilian casualties resulted from the operation , providing lower casualty estimates than some analysts . after the hearing , general votel acknowledged that united states commandos had hoped to capture some al qaeda operatives so it could interrogate them about the group ’s operations . “ we were trying to develop our understanding of the area and that includes the people as well as other materials , ” general votel said . still , he told the lawmakers that he did not see the need for an additional government investigation of the mission . in iraq , as the fighting continued in mosul , suicide bombers struck a village north of baghdad as a wedding party gathered there , killing at least 26 people and wounding dozens , a government spokesman said on thursday . there was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attacks late wednesday , but suspicion has fallen on the islamic state , the associated press reported .
+0 trump , gatlinburg , fidel castro : your tuesday evening briefing - the new york times karen zraick and sandra stevenson ( want to get this briefing by email ? here ’s the . ) good evening . here ’s the latest . 1 . the trump administration took shape as more cabinet choices emerged . the transportation department , the focus of the ’s pledge to spend billions on rebuilding infrastructure , will be headed by elaine chao , above , a former labor secretary who is married to the senate ’s top republican , mitch mcconnell . steven terner mnuchin , a financier with deep roots on wall street and in hollywood but no government experience , is expected to be named treasury secretary as soon as wednesday , people close to the transition say . tom price , a republican congressman from georgia , is the choice to head the department of health and human services , meaning that a chief critic of president obama ’s health care initiative will oversee its future . here ’s the full list of cabinet choices . the push for a vote recount is quietly advancing , even though reversing donald trump ’s win seems unlikely . _ _ _ _ 2 . on twitter , mr. trump ’s subject of the day was flag burning , possibly in response to a fox news segment about a protest at a massachusetts college . he proposed that flag burners could be stripped of their citizenship . the supreme court has already ruled that such a penalty is unconstitutional . _ _ _ _ 3 . only a handful of people survived the crash of a chartered plane in colombia , which killed most of the members of a wildly successful brazilian soccer team and journalists traveling with them . “ the shock is so intense that it ’s nearly impossible to remain calm , ” one of brazil ’s most eminent soccer journalists said . _ _ _ _ 4 . firefighters are still battling the remnants of wildfires in tennessee that forced thousands of people to evacuate their homes in gatlinburg , in the foothills of the great smoky mountains . hundreds of buildings were damaged , and three deaths were reported . video shot by residents shows flames lining the edge of the highways used for evacuations . _ _ _ _ 5 . scientists reported that the recent coral at the great barrier reef , a world heritage site off the coast of australia , was the worst ever recorded . warm waters this year bleached and weakened the coral , and environmentalists say the government is not doing enough to protect the reef . _ _ _ _ 6 . president park of south korea offered to step down in a televised address . but opposition lawmakers said they would still insist on a vote to impeach ms. park , who was named a criminal suspect in an scandal . _ _ _ _ 7 . as many as 2 , 000 veterans from diverse backgrounds plan to serve as human shields for dakota access pipeline protesters near the standing rock sioux reservation in north dakota . the veterans’ plan may run up against the army corps of engineers’ plan to close off access to the protesters’ campsite by dec. 5 , as well as an evacuation order for the protest site issued by the governor , who cited “ anticipated harsh weather conditions . ” _ _ _ 8 . with fidel castro gone and mr. trump threatening to undo president obama ’s détente with cuba , what ’s next for the island ? much of the warming relationship was accomplished through executive action , which could be reversed . but analysts say it would be legally difficult , as american companies have already invested millions to enter the market . _ _ _ _ 9 . news organizations are examining their use of the term to refer to the white nationalist movement that came into focus as part of mr. trump ’s base . above , an gathering in washington this month . critics say the term is a euphemism and legitimizes hateful ideologies . the new york times is encouraging its reporters to explain what the term means , rather than use it as a label . _ _ _ 10 . finally , we ’d like to help you reclaim one of the joys of winter . america ’s inexorable march to processed food turned chicken soup into something to buy , not make . but our food writer offers some expert advice — do n’t toss the skin ! — on how to make a fragrant , golden , savory version sure to keep you warm . ( click here to go straight to the recipe . ) photographs may appear out of order for some readers . viewing this version of the briefing should help . your evening briefing is posted at 6 p. m. eastern . and do n’t miss your morning briefing , posted weekdays at 6 a. m. eastern , and your weekend briefing , posted at 6 a. m. sundays . want to look back ? here ’s last night ’s briefing . what did you like ? what do you want to see here ? let us know at briefing@nytimes . com .
+1 women wo n't earn the same as men for another two centuries - report nan thu , 27 oct 2016 11:40 utc © joshua lott / reuters it will take close to two centuries for women to earn the same as men , according to the world economic forum 's latest report . the annual global gender gap report was released tuesday and found economic disparity between the sexes is on the rise . when looking at income and employment , we are back to similar levels of inequality seen during the 2008 financial crash . " at the current rate of change , and given the widening economic gender gap since last year , it will not be closed for another 170 years , " the report read . the gender gap index uses economics , education , health and political empowerment to rank 144 countries that have enough available data to use . last year 's report estimated it would take 118 years for economic equality to be achieved . iceland , finland , norway and sweden were the best countries on the global gender gap index having closed the gender gap in more than 80 percent of cases , but all still have disparities between the sexes . rwanda and ireland came fifth and sixth in the index . the uk came 20th and the us came 45th , falling 17 places from last year . yemen came last . " there also continues to be a persistent wage gap in paid work , " the report says . " women 's average earnings are almost half those of men , with average global earned income for women and men estimated at us$ 10,778 and $ 19,873 , respectively . countries that perform well in this dimension of gender parity span all regional and income groups . " to examine economic participation and opportunity , the report looks at the ratio of female and male workers , wage equality for similar work and the ratio of women to men in various roles . the greatest gap between the sexes was found in political empowerment . the first index was conducted in 2006 to track gender disparities and countries ' progress over time .
+0 globally , orlando attack strikes now - familiar fault lines - the new york times jim yardley rome — by monday morning , the grim , if now familiar , global ritual had begun . leaders across europe , asia and elsewhere sent messages of sympathy and outrage . editorialists opined against extremism and violence . symbolic gestures — another special lighting of the eiffel tower — were announced . solidarity hashtags circled the virtual globe . the orlando attack now ranks as the deadliest mass shooting in united states history . and the horrific slaughter early sunday at a gay nightclub has a uniquely american component , again demonstrating an easy access to assault weapons that stupefies much of the rest of the world . but judging from the initial reaction , the attack in florida resonated globally on monday not as an american anomaly , but because it felt so universal . orlando now takes a place with paris , brussels , beirut , bamako , san bernardino and other cities struck by different incarnations of terrorism in recent years . candles were once lit in their honor , too . the orlando attack is already stirring debate on some of the most visceral fault lines of american politics : terrorism and islamophobia , security and civil liberties , gun control and gay rights . but absent guns , those issues also resonate across the world , especially in many developed countries wrestling with how to maintain their freedoms in the face of violent attacks on their values . in an interconnected world , what seemed most relevant was what bound together the satirists of charlie hebdo , the rock music fans at the bataclan , the tourists at the brussels airport and the young people dancing early sunday at the pulse nightclub in orlando — not what divided them and their societies . but that connectedness also meant that orlando quickly became politicized globally as well as in the united states . one organization campaigning for britain to leave the european union in the june 23 national referendum posted a campaign message on twitter that showed islamic state fighters warning of an “ atrocity ” if britain remained in the european bloc . the group deleted the message after the person who posted it was widely condemned . for many gays , lesbians and transgender people , the orlando attack was a searing moment , highlighting the continued threats they face from an ideologically varied array of sources even as much of the world grows more inclusive about sexuality . in london , owen jones , a liberal columnist who is gay , walked off the set of a sky news program after arguing with the host on how the orlando attack should be defined . mr. jones argued it was both a terrorist attack and an hate crime , while the program ’s host sought to make a distinction between the two . “ this guy , however he dresses up his bigotry and hatred , is someone who hates gays , ” mr. jones said of the killer . “ if he went into a synagogue and killed innocent jewish people , as people have done , disgusting terrorists , we ’d call it out for what it is . “ this was a homophobic hate crime as well as terrorism . ” the day before the orlando attack , thousands of people took part in gay pride parades in croatia and poland amid concerns about rising political trends . in brazil , a spate of killings of gay and transgender people has started an intense debate , with some brazilians arguing that the rising clout of evangelical christian legislators is increasing intolerance in the country . “ these killings in orlando were motivated by the most sordid homophobia , ” said jean wyllys , an openly gay congressman from rio de janeiro . “ this could have happened to any of us , to me , to a friend , a work colleague , a neighbor , a cousin . they could be dead if they had been in orlando enjoying themselves at a club without harming anyone else . ” europe ’s mainstream political leaders were quick to offer condolences on monday and affirm their friendship with the american people . chancellor angela merkel of germany condemned “ such a murderous attack ” and declared a determination to “ continue our open , tolerant life . ” tel aviv ’s city hall was bathed in the colors of the rainbow and the american flag on sunday night . the town hall in sydney , australia , was lit in pink . in britain , the cities of blackpool and liverpool said they would light local landmarks with rainbow colors on monday night in memory of the victims . even so , the orlando killings come as political parties in europe are stoking sentiments in a similar vein to donald j. trump , the presumptive republican presidential nominee in the united states . as mr. trump quickly seized on the massacre to renew his call to view muslim immigrants as a threat , some politicians in the european right did the same . hungary ’s government has been in the vanguard on resisting migrants , and championing a illiberal democracy . on monday , lajos kosa , the parliamentary leader of the governing party , invoked the orlando attacks as a cudgel to repeat the party ’s campaign against migrants from syria and other muslim nations . “ uncontrolled migration , forced resettlement , the inflow of crowds into european society who not only can not but do not want to integrate come with enormous dangers , ” mr. kosa told a plenary session of the hungarian parliament on monday . in recent years , as europe has struggled to respond to islamist terrorism , security in the united states was regarded as more efficient and better organized . europe ’s national security agencies were poorly coordinated and blamed for failing to root out cells of homegrown islamist terrorists , especially in france and belgium . now , after the attacks in orlando and san bernardino , calif. the united states also seems likely to confront difficult questions about the government ’s ability to track and stop determined killers , especially those who operate largely on their own , drawing inspiration but not practical support from groups like the islamic state . the questions are likely to be especially pointed for the f. b. i. given that it had twice investigated the orlando killer , omar mateen , for possible terrorist ties . for years , america ’s liberal gun laws , and the unwillingness of congress to change them , have mystified people in many other countries . in japan , the american gun issue is treated as a bizarre aberration , and much of the news media coverage of the orlando killings focused on the terrorism angle . only one person was killed by a gun last year in japan , according to the national police agency , and there were only eight reported incidents of a gun being fired . in china , news of the orlando shooting came only hours after a man set off primitive explosives in the area at an airport in shanghai . four people were slightly injured , showing the gulf between the two countries in the lethality of the weapons available to the public . in china , where ordinary citizens have no access to firearms , the weapon of choice is often a large kitchen knife . more than 300 , 000 chinese students are studying at american universities , and the orlando shooting brought on new concerns from chinese parents . gao junlan , a lawyer from southwestern china ’s sichuan province , was concerned about her daughter , a chemistry student at the university of minnesota . her daughter was at the shanghai airport when the explosives were detonated there , waiting to catch a flight to the united states . “ i think the american government should tighten its gun control , ” ms. gao said by telephone . “ yes , it is a free society for people with all religions and beliefs , but not everyone is capable of controlling their behavior , and the government ’s lax regulation is making killing a lot easier . ”
+1 idiots pretending to surf on turtle ’s back face $ 20,000 fine amanda froelich it ’s not nice to harm wildlife – nor is it financially intelligent . two guys , one named ricky rogers and his unnamed friend , found this out the hard way after they posted a photo of themselves ...
+1 will this election be decided by votes cast by illegal immigrants ? deneen borelli print in the final 11 days leading up to the monumental 2016 presidential election , reports have filtered in that thousands of immigrants are headed for the u.s .- mexico border to illegally enter the united states . their motivation is crystal clear , according to cbs news york , which explains the sudden influx : “ the smugglers are telling [ the masses of illegal ] if hillary [ clinton ] gets elected , that there ’ll be some sort of amnesty , that they need to get here by a certain date , ” [ border patrol agent chris ] cabrera said . “ they ’re also being told that if [ donald ] trump gets elected , there ’s going to be some magical wall that pops up overnight and once that wall gets up , nobody will ever get in again . ” cabrera added that they ’ve encountered up to 1,000 immigrants along [ the texas city of ] mcallen ’s stretch of the border some days . it ’s not just donald trump ’s imagination that democrats are manipulating the immigration process to register as many hillary clinton voters as possible . bloomberg notes independently that a number of american cities are opening allowing illegals to vote . in some cases , an ad hoc workaround is being impemented to give the process an air of respectability .
+0 professor watchlist is seen as threat to academic freedom - the new york times christopher mele a new website that accuses nearly 200 college professors of advancing “ leftist propaganda in the classroom ” and discriminating against conservative students has been criticized as a threat to academic freedom . the site , professor watchlist , which first appeared nov. 21 , says it names those instructors who “ advance a radical agenda in lecture halls . ” “ we aim to post professors who have records of targeting students for their viewpoints , forcing students to adopt a certain perspective , abuse or harm students in any way for standing up for their beliefs , ” wrote matt lamb , an organizer of the site . the professor watchlist is a project of turning point usa , a nonprofit organization that says its mission is to educate students about “ true free market values . ” charlie kirk , its founder and executive director , wrote in a blog post that “ it ’s no secret that some of america ’s college professors are totally out of line ” and that it was time to expose them . but julio c. pino , an associate professor of history at kent state university in ohio who is among those named on the site , said in an interview , “ what we are seeing with this site is a kind of normalizing of prosecuting professors , shaming professors , defaming professors . ” “ the broader issue it raises is : what kind of country is america going to become in the next four years ? ” he added . professor pino said professors should not fight the creators of the list directly but instead seek allies on and off campus to address what gave rise to the atmosphere that allowed the website to flourish in the first place . the professor is listed on the site because , it says , he faced investigation by the f. b. i. “ for connections to isis . ” he declined to address the allegations , but has denied any ties to the terrorist organization and has spoken out against violence , according to the plain dealer in cleveland . mr. lamb , a director of constitutional enforcement and transparency at turning point usa , said in an email that the website was “ simply aggregating ” professors whose actions have been the subject of news reports . “ this site is a beautiful example of freedom of speech , ” mr. lamb said . “ professors can say whatever they want , other people can report it and we can compile the reports on whatever they say . ” the website has thin information in its entries and a search function . that could be a reflection of how rapidly it was created to capitalize on the political climate , particularly after the election of donald j. trump as president , professor pino said . among those featured is melissa click , a former university of missouri professor who was caught on video calling for “ some muscle ” to remove a journalist from a student demonstration in 2015 . the university later fired ms. click . one of the instructors listed , joan neuberger , a professor at the university of texas at austin who teaches russian history , was described on the site as leading a petition to bar students who carry concealed weapons from entering classrooms “ in violation of texas law . ” but professor neuberger said in an email that the characterization was inaccurate . “ the law had not been finalized yet when we were petitioning , ” she said , adding that the website showed no commitment to posting factual information . professor pino said professor watchlist was a “ reboot ” of similar past efforts , such as discover the networks by the conservative activist david horowitz . tiede , the associate secretary for the department of academic freedom , tenure and governance at the american association of university professors , said in an interview : “ there is a continuing cycle of these sorts of things . they serve the same purpose : to intimidate individuals from speaking plainly in their classrooms or in their publications . ” he noted in a blog post that the monitoring of organizations and people deemed “ radical ” dated to 1934 , when the conservative political activist elizabeth dilling published “ the red network : a ‘ who ’s who’ and handbook of radicalism for patriots . ” among the organizations listed in her work were the american federation of teachers and the american civil liberties union . ms. dilling wrote that the federation supported “ full ‘ academic freedom’ to teach anything , including socialism , communism or atheism , ” according to the blog post . mr. tiede said the site could be used to harass professors or sabotage them from gaining jobs or promotions . and some professors were submitting their own names to the website as a way to emphasize the absurdity of the list , he added . others took to twitter to highlight parody submissions , such as albus dumbledore from “ harry potter ” and the professor from the television series “ gilligan ’s island . ” the submission for the latter character read in part : “ spent almost 30 minutes building a working radio out of coconuts but failed to maintain a working signal in the end . ” some in academic circles said professors should not overreact to the site , but should not ignore it either . “ in the past , i have taken the position that we ignore such challenges to free speech and the hate mail that usually accompanies it , but no longer , ” professor neuberger said . “ now i say we fight as hard as we can against people who do n’t care about accuracy , who ca n’t recognize fake news and who seek to monitor what we do as educators . ”
+1 planned parenthood prepares to fight : vice news tonight on hbo ( full segment ) – the rundown live the rundown live vice news fri , november 18 , 2016 10:38am url : embed : with two avowed supporters of the anti - abortion movement set to take the white house in just 63 days , planned parenthood will have to prepare for deep cuts and open hostility . caroline modarressy - tehrani went to washington d.c. where planned parenthood ’s leadership met behind closed doors to mount its counter - attack . watch vice news tonight weeknights at 7:30 on hbo . subscribe to vice news here : http://bit.ly/subscribe-to-vice-news check out vice news for more : http://vicenews.com follow vice news here :
+0 paolo gentiloni , italy ’s foreign minister , will try to form a new government - the new york times gaia pianigiani rome — italy ’s foreign minister , paolo gentiloni , accepted a presidential mandate on sunday to try to form a new government , hoping to lead italy out of a political crisis that ensued with the resignation of matteo renzi as prime minister . mr. renzi stepped down last week after the defeat of a referendum on constitutional changes that he had hoped would streamline italy ’s government . he staked his seat on the outcome , and failed . in a brief speech on sunday , mr. gentiloni , 62 , said he had accepted the challenge of forming a new government out of a “ sense of responsibility . ” “ i ’m aware of the urgency to give italy a government in the fullness of its powers , to reassure the citizens and to face with utmost commitment and determination international , economic and social priorities , starting with the reconstruction of the areas , ” mr. gentiloni said . in coming days , mr. gentiloni is expected to form a government using the same majority , led by the democratic party , as his predecessor , and to then face a confidence vote before parliament , perhaps as early as tuesday . his cabinet is likely to resemble that of mr. renzi , with whom he has had a close relationship . for those reasons , the opposition , five star movement has already called mr. gentiloni “ renzi ’s avatar . ” mr. gentiloni , a journalist , has long worked in parties . a communications minister in romano prodi ’s government until 2008 , he has been in charge of italy ’s foreign affairs for two years . he has advocated international support to stop violence in libya and help for migrants who gather on those shores before risking their lives crossing the mediterranean . this year , he lobbied with the egyptian government to find out who was responsible for the death of a young italian researcher in cairo . in his brief speech on sunday , mr. gentiloni said he would work to clarify italy ’s new electoral rules “ with the necessary promptness . ” disputes over the laws are a central obstacle to the country ’s holding a new election . in late january , italy ’s constitutional court is scheduled to issue a verdict on the current system , which may face an overhaul . most of the opposition parties are calling for elections soon after , a year ahead of the due date in spring 2018 . but italy ’s president , sergio mattarella , noted at the end of his consultations with italy ’s political leaders that the democratic party still held a parliamentary majority . the decision whether and when to call elections , then , will rest in the hands of mr. mattarella . mr. renzi has all but vanished from italy ’s political scene . soon after moving boxes of “ books , clothes and notes ” out of palazzo chigi , the prime minister ’s residence , mr. renzi repeated that he had kept his promise to step aside if he lost the referendum , writing in a long facebook post from his hometown in tuscany . he also pledged to try again to reunite the country . “ only those who change can help a country as beautiful and difficult as italy , ” he said , acknowledging his mistakes .
+1 comment on not guilty : oregon standoff leaders acquitted for malheur wildlife refuge takeover by richard johnson richard johnson posted on october 28 , 2016 by jay syrmopoulos portland , or – the group of men who seized the malheur national wildlife refuge , in rural oregon were found not guilty late thursday , vindicating brothers ammon and ryan bundy after the 41-day standoff that brought nationwide focus to long - running dispute over federal control of rural land in the western united states . according to a report in by the associated press : a jury found brothers ammon and ryan bundy not guilty a firearm in a federal facility and conspiring to impede federal workers from their jobs at the 300 miles southeast of portland where the trial took place . five co - defendants also were tried one or both of the charges . ammon bundy has a house in emmett . despite the acquittal , the bundys were expected to stand trial in nevada early next year on charges stemming from another high - profile standoff with federal agents . authorities rounding up cattle at their father cliven bundy ’s ranch in 2014 because of unpaid grazing fees released the animals as they faced armed protesters . the bundy family initially made headlines in 2013 when the bureau of land management brought armed agents in to seize rancher cliven bundy ’s cattle after his refusal to pay federal authorities a massive debt – which he claims is illegitimate . in response to the militarized response in nevada by the blm , militia from across the u.s. mobilized and coordinated a response which saw hundreds of armed americans stand up to what they perceived as vast federal overreach . what the government thought would be an open - and - shut case was anything but . the group never denied they seized the refuge while armed or that they made demands of the government . “ ladies and gentlemen , this case is not a whodunit , ” assistant u.s. attorney ethan knight said in his closing argument , making the argument the group illegally commandeered a federal building . the ap reports : on technical grounds , the defendants said they never discussed stopping individual workers from accessing their offices but merely wanted the land and the buildings . on emotional grounds , ammon bundy and other defendants argued that the takeover was an act of civil disobedience against an out - of - control federal government that has crippled the rural west . federal prosecutors took two weeks to present their case , finishing with a display of more than 30 guns seized after the standoff . an fbi agent testified that 16,636 live rounds and nearly 1,700 spent casings were found . ammon bundy spent three days testifying in his own defense , focusing on the fact that federal overreach is destroying rural western communities that have relied on the land — for generations in many cases . bundy made clear that the plan was to simply take control of the refuge by occupation , while eventually returning it to local control . originally , 26 occupiers were charged with conspiracy . eleven pleaded guilty , while another had the charge dropped . seven defendants have not yet been tried . their trial is scheduled to begin february 14 , according to the ap . shortly after the verdict was announced , an oregon - area reporter posted to twitter that ammon bundy ’s attorney marcus mumford was tackled by u.s. marshals after insisting that bundy should be allowed to be released from custody , with the judge subsequently ordering the courtroom cleared . the armed occupiers took control of the remote bird sanctuary on january 2 , in response to the prison sentences given to two local ranchers , dwight and steven hammond , after being convicted of arson in relation to an ongoing dispute with the blm . upon occupying the refuge the group demanded that the father and son be freed and that federal officials cede control of publicly held lands to local control . ultimately , the bundy brothers and a number of their fellow occupiers were arrested in an ambush style attack , while on the way to negotiate with a sheriff . it ended with officers gunning down robert “ lavoy ” finicum – a charismatic group spokesman . currently , numerous federal srt agents are under investigation for lying about firing at the occupiers’ vehicle during the ambush . the majority of the remaining occupants left the refuge in the wake of finicum ’s killing , with four holdouts negotiating their surrender until february 11 . in the wake of the verdict , both the fbi and u.s. attorney ’s office also expressed disappointment . u.s. attorney billy j. williams said his office “ respects the verdict of the jury and thanks them for their dedicated service during this long and difficult trial . ” “ for many weeks , hundreds of law enforcement officers — federal , state , and local — worked around - the - clock to resolve the armed occupation at the malheur national wildlife refuge peacefully . we believe now — as we did then — that protecting and defending this nation through rigorous obedience to the u.s. constitution is our most important responsibility . although we are extremely disappointed in the verdict , we respect the court and the role of the jury in the american judicial system . ” – greg bretzing , special agent in charge , fbi oregon regardless of the sentiments of those in government and law enforcement , the jury carried out justice — with this verdict solidifying that the killing of lavoy finnicum was nothing less than criminal . revealing exactly why the 2nd amendment is so important to a free people , bundy testified that the reason occupiers chose to carry guns was because they understood that they would be immediately arrested otherwise and needed to protect themselves against possible government violence . there is no mistaking the difference in law enforcement ’s response to unarmed protestors — versus those that exercise their right to bear arms . one need look no further than the ongoing protests against the dakota access pipeline at standing rock – which has been met with numerous militarized and violent crackdowns on non - violent water protectors – to see exactly how differently armed protesters are treated . do n't forget to follow the d.c. clothesline on facebook and twitter . please help spread the word by sharing our articles on your favorite social networks . share this :
+1 powerful photo series challenges society ’s perception of the obese amanda froelich society might demean and bully those who are overweight or obese , but that does n’t detract from the fact that approximately 60 - 70 % of the population in the u.s. carries excess weight . largely a ...
+0 enthralled by sicily , again - the new york times francine prose on the subject of travel , my father used to say : “ you ca n’t go back . avoid the places you loved when you were young , because they ’ll have changed , and you ’ll be disappointed . ” occasionally my husband agrees , “ that ’s right , you ca n’t go back . ” but does that mean that the cities and countries where we were happiest and most enchanted must forever be crossed off the list of destinations ? ca n’t some places remain unspoiled ( or possibly even improve ) ? and , at the very least , is n’t it interesting to see how different a place looks to us at various points in our lives ? this spring , i decided to find the answer to some of these questions by revisiting sicily , one of my favorite places on earth . i ’d first been there in 1992 , with my mother , my husband and our two sons ( then aged 10 and 14 ) and written — for this newspaper — about watching mount etna erupt . i ’d returned for six weeks in early 2002 to write a brief book that was partly about how an immersion in sicilian history , with its appalling violence and inspiriting record of recovery and resilience , had provided some comfort in the recent aftermath of sept. 11 . now , almost a quarter century after my first visit , i was returning with my husband , howie our younger son , leon our jenny and our two granddaughters , emilia and malena . one advantage of returning to a region you know reasonably well — and , i suppose , of getting older — is that you lose the greedy compulsion to go everywhere and see everything . were this a first visit , or were i alone with howie , i could n’t have resisted palermo : the glorious mosaics in the cathedral of monreale , the exuberant baroque statuary of the quattro canti , the vibrant markets and delicious street food . but vivid memories of yanking my sons out of the way of speeding cars and rogue motorini convinced me that it might be more relaxing to begin our vacation in cefalù , a seaside town about 40 minutes from palermo , to which we flew from rome . we rented a car at the airport ( a more efficient process than in years before ) and drove to cefalù . the first sign of serious improvement was that the traffic seemed less maniacal than i remembered , making the trip more like an ordinary ( that is , vaguely harrowing ) autostrada drive , and less like a ferocious scramble for survival . we spent three nights in cefalù , a beautiful town on the sea . hugging a curve of the coastline , cefalù has a picturesque , mazelike old city and a magnificent cathedral that you can see from far away . in the duomo is a remarkably mosaic of christ pantocrator in the central apse , just above the madonna and surrounded by the twelve apostles . the village is like a much smaller , more intimate version of monreale — without the crowds . during our last stay in cefalù , howie and i returned to the church every few hours to watch the changing light play on the mosaics , but we knew that these obsessive pilgrimages were unlikely to appeal to the girls , who much preferred playing on the beach and in the gentle waves . ( one necessity of traveling with family , it became clear , was figuring out — in advance or on the spot — the many minor but essential compromises and adjustments that needed to be made . ) i ’d very much wanted to revisit the lovely inn and restaurant , gangivecchio , in an ancient , aristocratic villa in the madonie mountains above cefalù , but i was n’t sure how well the children would like the twisty drive . instead we took a much shorter ( less than a ) trip to the handsome town of castelbuono , where we had an extraordinary lunch at nangalarruni , a restaurant that specializes in dishes prepared with local mushrooms . the menu includes a marvelous sort of gratin made with potatoes and mushrooms , a medallion of pork encrusted with honey , pistachios and almonds , and pastas with a variety of delectable mushroom sauces . easily navigable and unpretentious , castelbuono is also an art town , with frescoes in the crypt of the church matrice vecchia in the castle is a chapel encrusted with the giddily baroque decorations of the sculptor giacomo serpotta . but by the time we finished lunch , late on a palm sunday afternoon , the town seemed to have slipped into a peaceful postprandial sleep , and ( in lieu of seeing its art treasures ) we settled for buying honey and olive oil in a shop selling produce from a nearby organic cooperative . if you like to cook , as we do , the great frustration of tourism is the inability to shop at local markets and make dinner . one thing that ’s greatly changed travel over the last decade has been the advent of airbnb and its online gallery of rentable apartments and houses . for us , the fantasy was irresistible : the smell of olive oil and garlic , the family gathered around platters of steaming pasta and seafood bought that very day . we could be like italians ! the reality was somewhat different . the amiable hosts who showed us to our rental cottage in cefalù had forgotten to mention the high chance of burning out the clutch as we climbed the driveway , which rounded precipitous curves ( without guardrails ) along the edge of a cliff , nor did we know ( from the online photos ) that the only access to the bedrooms was via a ladder , a problem for two little granddaughters , my and , to be honest , for me . in syracuse , where we went next , our elegant , spacious , comfortable apartment , also an airbnb , had another sort of glitch : the electricity had been turned off in a country where , we well knew , it could be weeks for it to be turned back on . perhaps my father should have said : you ca n’t go back and rent an apartment . ultimately , these issues , which featured moments evoking “ national lampoon ’s vacation ” films , hardly mattered . our little family fled both airbnbs and checked into local hotels , the gracious and comfortable la plumeria in cefalù , and in syracuse , after our genuinely kindly , regretful landlady refunded our money , ( though our cefalù “ host ” refused ) the elegant algilà . when the travelers who had come for easter filled its rooms , we moved again to the seafront hotel des étrangers . in syracuse , we stayed on ortigia , the lovely island across a small bridge from the mainland . though there were far more restaurants and souvenir shops than i recalled from my previous visits , ortigia ’s architecture , the atmospheric cobbled streets , the dramatic waterfront and especially the piazza del duomo ( particularly beautiful when illuminated at night ) were no less thrilling than i remembered . nor was it any less fascinating to observe the layers of history so visible everywhere throughout the city . on one side of the duomo , you can see the columns that upheld the structure during its original iteration as a greek temple consecrated as a christian church in the seventh century , the norman cathedral was rebuilt , in its current baroque splendor , after the earthquake of 1693 . among syracuse ’s wonders is one of caravaggio ’s major — and most beautiful — paintings , “ the burial of st. lucia , ” which was done in 1608 when the artist briefly took refuge in sicily , on the run from a murder charge in rome . the painting , temporarily housed in the church santa lucia alla badia , on one side of the piazza duomo , depicts the interment of the city ’s patron saint , her delicate frame stretched out near the bottom of the canvas , surrounded by mourners and half blocked from our sight by the broad , powerful back of the gravedigger all this — the action of the painting , as it were — transpires in a narrow band , beneath a vast expanse of empty dark space that has been restored since i last saw it ( then in syracuse ’s art museum ) to reveal a brick niche , dimly visible in the sepulchral gloom . on the mainland , a short cab or bus ride ( or longer walk ) from ortigia , is syracuse ’s archaeological zone , a sort of classical entertainment center featuring one of the largest and most impressive greek theaters in existence , as well as an elliptical roman arena that often served as the stage ( and could be flooded ) for simulated naval battles . in the same park are a series of caverns , or latomie . now surrounded by a pleasant garden planted with lemon and orange trees and heavily populated by songbirds , are the caves that were used as prisons by the region ’s despotical rulers . perhaps the most of these caves , the ear of dionysius , was ( at least supposedly ) given its name by caravaggio , who observed the way in which the cave ’s entrance resembles an enormous ear . our granddaughters loved running in and out of these dark , slightly daunting natural wonders , and were suitably impressed by the unusual acoustics , where the slightest whisper can be heard throughout the cavern . legend has it that this feature was used by the rulers to eavesdrop on the conversations of the unsuspecting prisoners , though it seems more probable that this natural amplification was ingeniously employed to increase the audibility of the plays performed in the greek theater . as in much of sicily , the food in syracuse is — to put it simply — great . one of the best meals we had on our trip was at burgio , a sort of upscale grocery store and restaurant in one corner of ortigia ’s appealing market . burgio focuses on local produce — cheeses , sausages and salamis . they serve sandwiches made to order , artisanal beers , local wines and elaborate platters on which are arranged small dishes of sliced meats , fish , cheese and marinated vegetables , each selection paired with perfectly complementary relishes . eating at burgio was our consolation for not being able to shop in , and cook from , the market , but it was by no means the only excellent restaurant in ortigia . walking around , checking out menus , it ’s not hard to find someplace where the food is superb and not terribly expensive . we especially liked sicilia in tavola , which has a terrific selection of seafood dishes — and pasta bolognese for the girls ! — and where i had pasta with sea urchin , pasta ai ricci , a dish with which i am obsessed and order every chance i get . we also liked a place called divino mare , which is near the market and serves grilled , wonderfully fresh fish at unusually reasonable prices . we spent much of our time ( four days ) in syracuse just walking around and eating . i would have liked to spend more time traveling up and down the ionian sea coast , and to the inland mountain towns of ragusa and modica . i ’d hoped to take the family to the fish market in catania , where once , eating pasta with sea urchin in a little trattoria at the edge of the pescheria , i watched the restaurant and the market stalls empty as everyone gathered to marvel at a gargantuan tuna that one of the fishermen had brought in . i would have liked to have lunch at the coastal beauty spots aci trezza and aci castello , and to visit noto , the wildly baroque town where every cornice and window sill appears to vie for the greatest complexity of decoration , and where a balcony might be upheld by mermaids , griffins or galloping horses carved from stone . i would have liked to make a side trip to the villa romana del casale , near piazza armerina , a restored roman villa with famously spectacular mosaics depicting a chariot race , an epic hunting scene , a parade of women in what appear to be bikinis . but of the three generations traveling together , each one had their own reasons for wanting to relax , to take things slow and easy . ultimately , some of the most pleasurable moments were the most unexpected , and the ones that most fully disproved my father ’s warning against returning to the familiar . i had an experience of pure bliss , riding through the gently rolling , unusually green sicilian countryside between cefalù and syracuse , looking at ruins of ancient farmhouses and flocks of grazing sheep , and hearing my granddaughters sing at the top of their lungs along with adele ’s “ hello . ” perhaps my favorite moment of the entire trip occurred at segesta , where there is an unfinished but nonetheless grand doric temple and an amphitheater ( dating from the third century b. c. ) on a hill above the temple . the structures are themselves magnificent , but their beauty is greatly enhanced by the setting : a semideserted , ( about 40 minutes from palermo ) and wholly rural mountaintop from which you can see far across the bucolic countryside and , beyond it , the sea . of sicily ’s three major greek temples — at agrigento , selinunte and segesta — segesta was the one i wanted my family to see , the one i wanted to revisit myself . when we reached segesta , after getting lost in search of a nearby lunch spot , it was midafternoon . the busloads of tourists and italian schoolchildren had mostly departed . we took the shuttle bus up to the amphitheater , where a strong wind was blowing , and where — as their parents and grandparents sat on the stone benches encircling the theater and took in the view — the girls ran up and down the levels like graceful little mountain goats and treated the ancient theater as their personal terraced playground . from the shuttle bus , going back downhill , you suddenly see the temple , solitary and majestic , exerting a kind of presence you can feel even from afar . the bus driver stopped so his passengers could take a picture , and i had the sense that even he — navigating this road , day after day — had never reached the point of taking the temple ’s beauty for granted , and was still awed by its magnificence . the hike from the parking area to the temple is slightly steep and long . leon and howie and the girls ran up ahead , while i walked more slowly to keep my company . by the time we reached the temple , the girls had made it their own . malena , who never walks when she can run , was scrambling over the rocks that surrounded the structure , inspecting every inch of the hilly area around the monumental columns . emilia was having quite a different reaction . in the open space , with the temple behind her , she seemed to have become intoxicated by the gorgeousness of the place . with her arms outstretched she twirled and twirled around , the afternoon sunlight shining through her pale skirt and picking out the highlights in her long reddish brown hair . graceful and free , powered by the sheer joy of being a child , by the happiness of finding herself in such an astonishing spot , she turned and turned and turned . watching her , i thought : you can go back . this is better . returning can be better than seeing a place for the first time . the temple at segesta had never before seemed to me so striking , so timeless , so precious . i thought : this — right here , right now — is the most beautiful thing that i have ever seen . the budget airline , meridiana , has direct flights from new york to palermo , sicily , but there are also flights from a number of european capitals to palermo and catania . we flew alitalia from rome to palermo , and rented a car at the airport . la plumeria hotel , corso ruggero 185 , cefalù . it double rooms from $ 182 . algilà ortigia charme hotel , via vittorio veneto 93 , syracuse . it double rooms from $ 364 . hotel des étrangers , passeggio adorno , syracuse . com double rooms from $ 244 . nangalarruni , via delle confraternite , 5 , castelbuono . it lunch for two with wine : $ 100 . fratelli burgio , piazza cesare battisti 4 , syracuse . com lunch for two with wine : $ 80 . sicilia in tavola , via cavour 28 , syracuse siciliaintavola . eu dinner for two with wine : $ 90 .
+0 fake news : cnn tweet mislabels photo , saying only democrats knelt in prayer at congressional baseball game warner todd huston cnn politics tweeted an image thursday of both congressional baseball teams gathered on the field , kneeling in prayer . the caption of the image , though , said , “ members of the democratic team , ” as if those kneeling in prayer in the photo were only democrats . [ cnn ’s tweet came on the heels of wednesday ’s shooting at eugene simpson stadium park in alexandria , virginia , perpetrated by infuriated bernie sanders supporter james t. hodgkinson , who opened fire as the republican team practiced for thursday ’s game . the attempted murder became one of the biggest stories in the nation on wednesday as louisiana rep. steve scalise and several others fought for their lives in the hospital after the shooting . the story continued into thursday as both congressional baseball teams insisted that the charity game should go on as scheduled . before the game began , both teams came to the field and knelt together in prayer . enter the cnn politics twitter account to tell its fans that only the democrats knelt in prayer , with a caption reading , “ members of the democratic team gather on the field for a prayer before the congressional baseball game . ” a screenshot follows as cnn deleted the original tweet : the cable news network was immediately inundated with twitter users enraged that the “ news ” network whitewashed history by removing the fact that the image depicted both the democrat and the republican teams kneeling in prayer . not long after being called on the misleading caption , cnn deleted the tweet and the image : members of both teams gather on the field for a prayer before the congressional baseball game ( corrects who prayed ) https : . — cnn politics ( @cnnpolitics ) june 16 , 2017 , president trump also tweeted about the prayer : # congressionalbaseballgame ⚾ ️ pic . twitter . — donald j. trump ( @realdonaldtrump ) june 15 , 2017 , cnn had issued no acknowledgment or apology for its original tweet before this story was posted . follow warner todd huston on twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail . com .
+1 the homo economicus straw man ryan mcmaken ryan mcmaken https://www.lewrockwell.com/lrc-blog/homo-economicus-straw-man/ to understand the marketplace , it is not necessary to believe in the existence of a selfish , profit - maximizing human . 10:24 am on october 28 , 2016
+0 soul - searching at clinton foundation in trump era - the new york times steve eder , sheri fink and amy chozick last summer , former president bill clinton pledged that if hillary clinton won the presidential election , he would avoid conflicts by stepping aside from many of his duties at the clinton foundation , restricting foreign donations to the charity and spinning off certain programs . now , nearly three months after mrs. clinton ’s defeat , the foundation is still grappling with its place in the era of president trump . it faces some daunting challenges : a drop in during the campaign uncertainty about the scale of the former president ’s ambitions and questions about leadership , including how long its president , donna e. shalala , will stay , and whether mrs. clinton might rejoin the charity . mr. clinton , in a letter to be released with the foundation ’s annual report this week , went so far as to ask supporters for advice on its future . “ we seek both your input and your ideas , ” he wrote , noting that the organization would work to expand its impact . ms. shalala , in an interview on thursday , acknowledged the difficulties . “ last year was a tough year , ” she said , “ because people were beating on us with nonsense , ” a reference to bruising political attacks claiming that donors were using the foundation to curry favor with the clintons . revenues were down for 2016 , ms. shalala acknowledged , in part because of voluntary restrictions and the fact that the charity ’s major — the former president and his daughter , chelsea — were campaigning for mrs. clinton . revenues “ dropped during the economic downturn , too , ” ms. shalala said . still , both mr. clinton and ms. shalala , who also cited concerns in keeping talent , expressed optimism . “ at the end of the day , ” she said , “ i think this is going to be as it always was : a creative , dynamic foundation that helps to improve the lives of millions . ” as the foundation looks within , many experts said it was right to assess its future , including whether a great enough need still existed for its most prominent asset : the ability to bring the private sector together with charities to help underserved causes . “ it ’s certainly a different landscape than it was ” when the foundation ’s work began , said carolyn miles , president and chief executive of save the children , one of the foundation ’s early partners . “ i would say you have to come back as something slightly different . ” in recent weeks , the foundation has completed a planned shutdown of the clinton global initiative , which hosted a annual meeting , and laying off most of the initiative ’s staff of about 100 . foundation officials confirmed on thursday that two major programs , including one in haiti , would transfer out of the foundation . the organization has also considered scaling back other efforts , according to several people familiar with the discussions , speaking on the condition of anonymity . staff members have prepared options for bill and chelsea clinton to consider , which include some new endeavors , ms. shalala said . meanwhile , foundation officials are striving to project an image of business as usual . the new annual report highlighted the organization ’s efforts across the world , including opening a health clinic in malawi and expanding its role in countering the opioid crisis in the united states . during the holidays , mr. clinton reached out to donors offering to match contributions . chelsea clinton and foundation staff members in january packed grapefruits at a community service event in new york with city harvest . and ms. shalala announced a new partnership to enhance the health of children in san diego county . president trump ’s executive order banning federal assistance for international health groups if they counsel women on or provide abortions has also contributed to fears of a broader decline in funding for global health work . ms. shalala said she had discussed how to contend with that possibility in a recent conversation with bill gates , whose charity has supported the clinton foundation and many other nonprofits . the foundation was formed in 1997 during mr. clinton ’s presidency and has raised roughly $ 2 billion since then . its work has spanned 3 , 500 projects and 180 countries including the united states , with projects as varied as earthquake recovery in haiti and health initiatives in rwanda . during the presidential campaign , political opponents pounded the foundation , criticizing its dealings with foreign donors and financiers . no evidence emerged of a quid pro quo while mrs. clinton served as secretary of state , but the overlapping interests of foreign donors to the foundation and official international affairs dogged her candidacy . the philanthropy was a focus for mrs. clinton after her time as secretary of state and before her recent presidential run . in terms of deciding whether to “ we are not there yet even remotely now , ” nick merrill , a spokesman for mrs. clinton , said . ms. shalala , who served as secretary of health and human services under mr. clinton and seemed destined for a white house role if mrs. clinton had prevailed , said it was unclear how long she would stay as the foundation ’s president . for the moment , hiring appears muted : most of the job postings on the foundation ’s website are for food service and catering jobs at the clinton presidential center in little rock , ark. many believe the foundation ’s future will depend on mr. clinton , now 70 , always its driving force . “ does he still have the energy , passion , desire and the good health in order to devote energy to it ? ” neal the chief executive of the global humanitarian organization mercy corps , asked during a phone interview from davos , switzerland , during the world economic forum in january . on thursday , ms. shalala described the former president and chelsea clinton , who both serve on the foundation ’s board , as engaged , “ main influences ” on with mr. clinton still a draw for donors . “ he ’s got a lot of friends , ” ms. shalala said . but others saw obstacles ahead . “ the big issue they are going to face is to what degree can they raise money now that the clintons seem to be out of national leadership positions , ” said leslie lenkowsky , a philanthropy expert at indiana university . “ they have lost a little bit of their luster . ” in 2015 , the charity ’s revenues were nearly $ 300 million , down from $ 338 million in 2014 , according to its annual report . it has not yet released figures for 2016 , but ms. shalala acknowledged that they were lower . internal goals of raising $ 20 million in unrestricted funds in 2016 were surpassed , but “ took a lot of effort to get there , ” she said . in august , at the official start of the general election campaign , the foundation announced its decision to shutter the clinton global initiative , a yearly gathering that douglas j. band , a longtime aide of mr. clinton ’s , had conceived of as a way to connect wealthy donors and corporations with worthy causes . it held its final meeting in september . by contrast , the clinton health access initiative , known as chai — a separate but affiliated entity — halted a series of moves designed to disengage from the clintons in the event that mrs. clinton won the white house . regan lachapelle , a spokeswoman for chai , said the group ’s work was continuing amid discussions about its future . “ none of it ’s resolved , ” said dr. paul farmer , a board member of chai , which has health programs in 70 countries that include promoting aids treatment and strengthening health systems , in a telephone interview from haiti . “ knowing what to do in this climate is a tough call . ” across the worldwide outposts where the clinton foundation has a presence , speculation about its future has been rampant . in some foreign countries , chai has been accused of using the clintons’ influence to pressure governments into pursuing certain initiatives , or rewarding favored american development partners . “ if they disappear it would be very ironic , ” said dr. patricia a. mcquilkin , an associate professor of pediatrics at the university of massachusetts medical school . speaking from liberia , she said chai ’s initiatives in the wake of the ebola epidemic had sidelined longtime academic partnerships like hers . “ they insinuate themselves into the whole process and try to take it over , ” she said . development experts , including daniel f. runde , a former director of the office of global development alliances at the united states agency for international development , generally expressed the belief that the foundation could continue to attract support for its work . “ it ’s a damaged brand , ” mr. runde said , “ but there remains an international demand for them . ” for years , the clinton foundation has worked with organizations founded by other former presidents , from lyndon b. johnson to george w. bush . in recent months , ms. shalala said , foundation officials have offered advice for former president barack obama and his wife , michelle , on their own foundation , which will focus on national and international community building programs . “ they called and asked some questions , ” ms. shalala said .
+1 election 2016 : open thread washingtonsblog orangutan . rigged . worth trying but its not a fair game . smartmatic style diebold type machines and software will count the votes and the corporate controlled media will announce the results . no mention of election fraud or the problems of the past . long live mike connell , clint curtis , bev harris , brad friedman , rfk jr. and other whistleblowers who have tried to fight for our democracy . will only get worse from here it seems . always hopeful though . david s government will win as always . freedom will lose as always . the ruling elite control most elected officials and hundreds of thousands of government bureaucrats legislate unconstitutionally from their offices . we sit upon $ 20 trillion in real debt and another $ 250+trillion in unfunded liabilities . trump wishes to increase military spending and hillary never met a war she did n’t support ( on behalf of her puppetmasters of course ) . our medical system is nearly completely destroyed by over a century of government micromanagement and collusion with the ama . we have more people incarcerated than nearly every other country on earth – mostly for non - violent drug offenses – and neither candidate looks to have the courage or the desire to truly allow freedom in this area ( though trump shows the greatest hope ) . our government / cia / other black ops groups , etc . are working tirelessly to undermine governments around the world , incite violence , and provoke armed conflict – maybe even nuclear – all for the benefit of the arms cartel and banksters who profit from every war . the people of america clearly have no interest in restoring freedom , liberty , private property rights , business rights , sound money , etc . anymore . this “ rebellion ” that has gotten behind trump still needs to bear fruit with regards to demanding real change at the federal and state levels . what will come of the following months is to be seen , but i suspect , as with so many previous “ rebellions , ” these folks will go back to their televisions , ipads , and playstations and will forget about the fundamental corruption and crony capitalism that is destroying this country so long as they get a few bones thrown their way to pacify them . let us hope something far more profound comes of it all . time for a drink . kimyo fwiw : a screencap of ‘ final’ results displayed on 11/2 ( apparently by accident ) by nbc station wrcb - tv shows : popular vote : clinton 41,765,317 / trump 40,124,438 , electoral college : clinton 343 / trump 195 . although the early reporting showing trump with a commanding lead matches my take on american sentiment , my cynical side suspects that it is the msm ’s way of getting out the later - voting clinton supporters if anonymous were a real thing , today ’s show would be have been completely different . real hackers do n’t waste their precious time defacing websites . ps : if trump does win , i picture zuesse as the dog , who , after years of chasing , has finally caught that darn ups truck . growling , jowls full of brown bumper , but with a dawning comprehension on his brow , realizing ‘ well , exactly what do i do now?’ orangutan . continuity of gov’t plans have been implemented and in place . dept of homeland security is now running our elections . the results will not be publicly available for review anymore according to bev harris . similar to the results in california where the primary was announced for hillary but bernie may have actually ended up winning there . welcome to the 1984 style continuity of government plan and department of homeland security run elections thanks to the public ’s refusal to emotionally or intellectually acknowledge the truth about 9/11 or the false flag anthrax attacks that followed . truthtime especially agree with the comment about the anthrax attack . the criminals are still at large for that blatantly , obvious state - sponsored crime . i laughed when obama ’s administration decided to shut down any investigation into it . america is a nation of subjects who are continually subjected to the lies and falsehoods of their elected leaders . we have state crimes going far back to the era of jfk . people that still think corruption is n’t really that bad in washington , that it ’s all a “ conspiracy theory . ” carl_herman thank you for asking , gw . it ’s not an “ election ” when it fails to meet that definition due to multiple methods for election fraud . it ’s not for a “ us president ” therefore , but an appointed “ leader . ” and , it ’s not reported by media , but the appointers’ propaganda minions . of course , if we continue this argument with ~100 other points centered in lie - started wars of aggression , bankster - looting , and lying about near everything important , we ca n’t even call it the us as defined by our constitution . so , where do we go from here ? start with truth . then see what develops . charlie primero carl , this vote shows that all the people you have been trying to “ wake up ” to the corruption and graft are waking up . this is just the beginning . be happy . mywikidisqus it does not matter what we think or do or say anymore . the republic has been overthrown by the plutocrats who remain in power as long as the citizenry believe in the concocted and fraudulent electoral system they fabricated that selects the candidate who serves them , not the people . participation of the masses is necessary to grant them the mandate to ensure the continuity of their reign that has continually impoverished the majority of the nation . in the beginning representative government in america was a wonderful experiment that has since devolved , brick by brick , decade by decade into a shell of its former creation to become a bastion of despotism . the poor are still slaves , indentured to the government by onerous debt as negros were to their 19 century plantations masters ; only the title of ownership has changed . the middle class , once a foundation of prosperity has now become an economic ghost , relegated to the status of freemen of the peasant class . the wealthy are richer in material possession , millionaires become billionaires and the government siphons off from the upper class to enrich itself by political favor , by statute and regulation , by ignoring the rule of equal justice under the law . how long will the people tolerate this abomination of corrupt authority ? what will be the future event that triggers the entire country to say , “ enough ! ” ? will it be a complete economic breakdown of society or the devastation of nuclear war on our soil ? “ we the people ” have the power , we have always possessed it . the time of reconciliation is upon us , we must balance the ledger of liberty back in our favor . the only way to peacefully do it is reject the system that oppresses us . do not engage with them , do not obey them , tell them their lies carry no truth , we see through the veil of falsity and reject it and demand a new path to opportunity and happiness for all who are willing to work towards it . truthtime the u.s. is fucked . but it needs to collapse now or within 100 years for people to totally realize they were duped . it is the only way to start anew . kimyo according to zh , trump has ohio , florida and north carolina . my top 3 questions : 1 ) will there be a thorough investigation of the clinton foundation ? 2 ) what will he do if the next 9/11 happens on his watch ? 3 ) will he kill cop21 and defund global warming research ? diogenes one thing is utterly clear : if trump wins , the wholly wall street owned democratic party gave it to him by rigging primaries to put the clinton criminal gang on the ballot . because bernie would have won — won with the votes not only of millions of nominally “ democratic ” voters who rightly ca n’t stomach clinton and did n’t vote for her ( whether we voted green , or libertarian or trump or stayed home ) — but also with the votes of millions who are voting trump because he appears to at least not be part of the wall street criminal gang of hereditary oligarchs . tim chambers looks like trump will be president and free to do as he pleases . the repug ’s bet on scalia ’s seat has been made good . the democrats will now have to rethink identity politics and third way neoliberalism . i wonder if obama will try to ram through the trade agreements and a few other monstrosities now during the lame duck session . bye , bye , hillary , bye bye . it ’s the one silver lining to the overhanging clouds . what a disaster of a candidate ! such arrogant over - confidence . and what a comeuppance for the party and its big money backers ! it is going to cost them a lot of money to into trumps good graces . all we need now is for trump to sell out his working class supporters for the democrats to return to a sincere class - based politics that brings back the independent voters . they should have given bernie his rightful chance . unfortunately , what we are likely to see is another attempt by the clintons 4 years from now against warren . two losses is n’t likely to dissuade that bitch in the least . i told you back in april and again 2 weeks ago that trump would win ! ! http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2016/10/donald-j-trump-will-win.html tim chambers fuggetaboutit evil genius who knows the clintons and waltons better than arkansas ? my favorite part was arkansas voted 2 - 1 against clinton . ha ha ha ! ( btw gw : there ’s an error in robert parry ’s bio … the word “ broke ” is missing ( i.e. , “ broke stories ” ) . ) kimyo imagine if tomorrow trump says ‘ yes , absolutely , we ’re going to build that wall , but while we ’re waiting for the check from mexico why do n’t we find 500 out - of - work engineers and architects and 5,000 out - of - work construction folk and send them to flint to fix the water system . ( costs him nothing , delivers grand justice ) cnn had a bad day today , but they ’d be totally f’d tomorrow . trump should hire some guy ( me ! ) whose only job is to make cnn miserable , each day worse than the last . ps : arpaio gone is nice . cali cannabis is nice . why is this thread so inactive ? jack it ’s time to collapse this mess and start new . charlie primero
+1 military op to retake mosul from isis truth broadcast network 17 mins ago 2 views 0 comments 0 likes check keiser report website for more : http://www.maxkeiser.com/ in this episode of the keiser report max and stacy discuss howls at the moon as the bank of japan attempts to taper the tokyo condo market ponzi . they also discuss the newly announced interventions by the uk government in the nation ’s deflating property pyramid . in the second half max interviews journalist and comedy writer , charlie skelton , about his observations on the us elections . he concludes that hillary is the face in the machine of the matrix and that the craziness is the system . watch all keiser report shows here : http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=pl768a33676917ae90 ( e1-e200 ) http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=plc3f29ddaa1babfcf ( e201-e400 ) http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=plpszygyha9k2ztv_1kphsugbb7izqbfyz ( e401 - 600 ) http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=plpszygyha9k1gpav3zkpnfoevkay2qfh_ ( e601-e800 ) https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=plpszygyha9k19wt4cp0tugzixpjdiqdyl ( e801-current ) subscribe like
+1 millions of south koreans rise up against shadow government madeline your news wire south koreans are rising up in their millions and demanding the overthrow of their government after a series of leaks proved president park geun - hye is a puppet controlled by a covert shadow government . in a furor eerily similar to that surrounding hillary clinton ’s use of an email server and charity slush fund , critics are charging that park has irresponsibly managed classified information and benefited from corrupt practices using non - profits as a front . the south korean and u.s. comparisons stop there however . rather than apathetically accepting the situation – like in america – south koreans have risen up and the media has rounded on their leader . citizens have taken to the streets en masse and the country ’s media have called for the president to step down immediately – or face impeachment . the essence of the scandal is this : it has emerged that park , famously aloof even to top officials and aides , has been taking instructions from a group known as the “ eight fairies ” including choi soon - sil , a shadowy billionaire with ties to george soros and angela merkel . choi has existed around the edges of south korean power circles for decades , but has never held an official position . posters of the president being controlled by puppet strings are cropping up all over south korea as country - wide protests continue to rage . recommended ( 4 months ago ) france : protestors rise up in their millions against ruling class the washington post reports that “ calls for her resignation — and even impeachment — are resonating from across the political spectrum , and her approval ratings have dropped to a record low of 17 percent , according to two polls released friday . on friday , park directed all of her top advisers to resign en masse , with her spokesman saying a reshuffle would take place , the yonhap news agency reported . kim jae - won , senior presidential secretary for political affairs , told a parliamentary session that park ’s chief of staff had already stepped down . it ’s not clear , however , whether it will be enough . “ park geun - hye ’s leadership is on the brink of collapse , ” said yoo chang - sun , a left - leaning political analyst . shin yool , a right - leaning professor at myongji university , called it the “ biggest crisis ” since south korea was founded 70 years ago . “ the president has lost her ability to function as leader . ” choi is the daughter of the late choi tae - min , who was a kind of shaman - fortune teller described in a 2007 cable from the u.s. embassy in seoul as “ a charismatic pastor . ” locally , he ’s seen as a “ korean rasputin ” who once held sway over park after her mother was assassinated in 1974 . “ rumors are rife that the late pastor had complete control over park ’s body and soul during her formative years and that his children accumulated enormous wealth as a result , ” read the cable , released by wikileaks . park has strongly denied any improper relationship . but south korean media have uncovered evidence that , they claim , shows that choi soon - sil wielded undue influence over the president . jtbc , a television network , said it had found a tablet computer that contained files of speeches the president had yet to give , among other documents . the younger choi is said to have edited the landmark speech that park gave in germany in 2014 , laying out her vision for unification with the north . the hankyoreh newspaper wrote that actual presidential aides “ were just mice to choi ’s cat . ” she is also rumored to have created a secret group called “ the eight fairies ” to advise the president behind the scenes . tv chosun , the channel belonging to the chosun ilbo newspaper , aired a clip showing choi overseeing the making of an outfit for park , “ raising doubt whether park made any decision at all without choi , ” the paper said . south korean media have been full of photoshopped graphics to illustrate the relationship , including one showing park as a puppet and choi soon - sil pulling her strings . meanwhile , investigators are looking into allegations that choi siphoned off money from two recently established foundations that collected about $ 70 million from the federation of korean industries , the big business lobby with members including samsung and hyundai . prosecutors raided choi ’s home in seoul this week looking for evidence . at the same time , there are allegations that the daughter of choi soon - sil was given special treatment when she applied for ewha womans university , one of south korea ’s top colleges . local media have reported that her daughter ’s grades were not good enough , so the rules were changed to give credit to applicants who had won equestrian awards , as she had . the already - embattled president of ewha resigned this week . ironically , this all comes less than a month after park ’s administration instituted a wide - ranging new law aimed at cracking down on corruption and influence peddling . choi is in germany with her daughter and is refusing to return to south korea to answer questions , saying she is having heart problems and can not fly . but in an interview with the segye ilbo , she denied creating the eight fairies group , owning the tablet or knowingly receiving classified information . “ because i was not a government official , i had no idea that this was confidential , ” she told the paper . park apologized tuesday for the scandal , saying she had always acted “ with a pure heart . ” then she canceled a planned meeting related to north korea on friday so she could consider ways to “ resolve the nation ’s anxiety and stably run the government , ” according to a spokesman . she did , however , attend a ceremony in the southern city of busan , where university students shouted “ park geun - hye should step down ! ” and “ choi soon - sil must be arrested ! ” share :
+0 the right - wing supreme court that was n’t - the new york times adam liptak washington — conservatives thought this supreme court term would be different . still reeling from losses last year in major cases on health care and marriage , they welcomed a new docket in october studded with cases that seemed poised to move the law to the right . but then came two unexpected turns of events . justice antonin scalia , the member of the court ’s conservative wing , died . and justice anthony m. kennedy veered left in two of the term ’s biggest cases , joining the court ’s liberals in significant decisions favoring affirmative action and abortion rights . for the second term in a row , the court led by chief justice john g. roberts jr. delivered liberal decisions at a rate not seen since the famously liberal court led by chief justice earl warren in the 1950s and 1960s . yet the court , which ended its term on monday , remains in a period of great transition . with one vacant seat and the possibility of more to come , it is almost certainly entering a new era , the shape of which will depend on the outcome of the presidential election . for now , justice scalia ’s absence has handed chief justice roberts the difficult task of steering his colleagues toward consensus in big cases . over the past term , when he succeeded the resulting decisions were sometimes so narrow that they barely qualified as rulings . when he failed , the court either deadlocked or left him in dissent . before justice scalia died , the court had agreed to hear cases that conservative advocacy groups hoped would help business interests and republican politicians , while dealing setbacks to public unions , colleges with racial admissions preferences and abortion providers . just four days before his death , the court seemed to send an assertive signal , blocking the obama administration ’s effort to combat global warming by regulating emissions from power plants . the vote was 5 to 4 , with the court ’s conservatives in the majority . things soon changed . justice scalia ’s death left the court ’s eight remaining members evenly divided along ideological lines , and a case that had threatened to cripple public unions , friedrichs v. california teachers association , no . illustrates the impact of his absence . when it was argued in january , a month before justice scalia died , the court ’s conservatives seemed ready to say that forcing public workers to support unions they have declined to join violates the first amendment . soon after the argument , the publicly available evidence indicates , chief justice roberts assigned the majority opinion to justice samuel a. alito jr. who in two earlier opinions had made clear that he was ready to overturn a 1977 decision allowing such unions to require the payments . but in march , the month after justice scalia died , the court announced that it had deadlocked in the case . as is the custom , the brief order gave no reasons and did not say how the justices had voted . the decision left the 1977 precedent in place . a second deadlock , in united states v. texas , no . effectively destroyed president obama ’s plan to shield as many as five million immigrants from deportation . but it could have been worse for the president . while the tie vote left in place an appeals court decision blocking the effort , justice scalia , if he had been alive , would almost certainly have provided the fifth vote for a comprehensive rebuke to what republicans say is a pattern of unconstitutional overreach by mr. obama . the alternative to a deadlock was sometimes a muddle . in may , the court unanimously returned a major case on access to contraception , zubik v. burwell , no . to the lower courts for further consideration in the hope that the two sides could somehow settle their differences . “ the court expresses no view on the merits ” of the case , the unsigned opinion said . if an court was deadlocked or toothless , it turned out that a court was prepared to take a major step . in fisher v. university of texas , no . a challenge to a admission program at the university of texas , austin , the court was missing both justice scalia and justice elena kagan , who had recused herself because she worked on the case as solicitor general . the case had generally been viewed as a threat to affirmative action , particularly after the court agreed to take a second look at it last june . instead , justice kennedy , abandoning his earlier hostility to programs , joined the court ’s remaining liberals to endorse the texas program by a vote . if justice scalia had been alive , the case would almost certainly have ended in a deadlock . justice scalia was a dominant presence on the court , and his influence could exceed the power of his single vote . but it is also possible that justice scalia played a role in pushing justice kennedy to the left . when the fisher case was argued in december , justice scalia ’s comments from the bench brought aspects of it into vivid relief . he said that some minority students may be better off at “ a less advanced school , a school where they do well . ” “ i do n’t think it stands to reason , ” justice scalia said , “ that it ’s a good thing for the university of texas to admit as many blacks as possible . ” vikram amar , dean of the university of illinois college of law , said there had been a change in tone at the court since justice scalia died . “ in fisher , ” dean amar said , “ even though the dissent justice alito read from the bench was frank , it was not as barbed and incendiary as justice scalia ’s likely would have been . ” justice kennedy also joined the court ’s liberals in a decision on monday striking down parts of a restrictive texas abortion law and strengthening the “ undue burden ” standard that the court announced in 1992 . the silencing of justice scalia ’s voice seemed to help other justices find theirs . two weeks after justice scalia died , justice clarence thomas broke a silence by asking questions from the bench . justice sonia sotomayor , already a major presence at arguments , took on an even larger role . this month , she wrote a lashing dissent , rooted in the concerns of the black lives matter movement , in a case on police stops . justice thomas remained the most conservative member of the court based on voting patterns this term , while justice sotomayor overtook justice ruth bader ginsburg as the most liberal one , according to an analysis by lee epstein , a law professor and political scientist at washington university in st. louis , and kevin quinn , a political scientist at the university of california , berkeley . justice sotomayor ’s votes in criminal cases also make her one of the most liberal justices since 1937 , while justice alito is among the most conservative , to the right of even justice thomas . in all , though , the justices are doing what they can to find common ground , professor epstein said . “ without scalia , it ’s still the kennedy court , but kagan and breyer had a very good term , ” she said . “ both were in the majority in divided cases over 80 percent of the time , and the democratic side of the court yet again won victories in some of the term ’s biggest cases . ” there have been five versions of the roberts court since the chief justice took charge in 2005 . justice sandra day o’connor left not long after , followed by justices david h. souter and john paul stevens . but the court was nonetheless ideologically stable for a decade , from the arrival of justice alito in 2006 to the death of justice scalia this year . the court ’s new volatility is likely to continue for some time . even after justice scalia is replaced , other openings could be on the horizon : by the time the next president is inaugurated , justice stephen g. breyer will be 78 , justice kennedy will be 80 , and justice ginsburg will be 83 . republican senators have vowed to block mr. obama ’s supreme court nominee , judge merrick b. garland , meaning that the court will remain for some time . even if hillary clinton wins the presidency and democrats make gains in the senate , it may be spring before a new justice is confirmed . “ the odds are more likely than not that there will be an entire next term with eight justices , ” said one leading supreme court advocate , andrew j. pincus of mayer brown . the term that ended on monday included a potential blockbusters , but all of them had been put on the docket before justice scalia died . since then , the court has been accepting cases in uncontroversial areas , notably intellectual property . “ i do n’t think it wants to take on more cases in which it ’s going to be closely divided and that could end up ” mr. pincus said , “ unless there is some very compelling reason to do that . ”
+0 egypt declares state of emergency , as attacks undercut promise of security - the new york times magdy samaan and declan walsh tanta , egypt — rattling a country already wrestling with a faltering economy and deepening political malaise , two suicide bombings that killed 44 people at coptic churches in egypt on palm sunday raised the specter of increased sectarian bloodshed led by islamic state militants . the attacks constituted one of the deadliest days of violence against christians in egypt in decades and presented a challenge to the authority of the country ’s leader , president abdel fattah who promptly declared a state of emergency . security is the central promise of mr. sisi , a strongman leader who returned on friday from a triumphant visit to the united states , where president trump hailed him as a bulwark against islamist violence . mr. trump made it clear that he was willing to overlook the record of mass detention , torture and extrajudicial killings during mr. sisi ’s rule in favor of his ability to combat the islamic state and defend minority christians . on sunday , mr. sisi found himself back on the defensive , deploying troops to protect churches across the country weeks before a planned visit by pope francis . mr. sisi rushed to assure christians , who have traditionally been among his most vocal supporters and now fear that he can not protect them against extremists . “ i wo n’t say those who fell are christian or muslim , ” mr. sisi said in a speech shown on state television on sunday night . “ i will say that they ’re egyptian . ” one attack on sunday struck at st. mark ’s cathedral , the seat of the coptic church in alexandria , where the bomber blew himself up at the church gates as the coptic patriarch , pope tawadros ii , led a palm sunday service inside . the other struck in the nile delta city of tanta , where the attacker slipped past security to the front pews of the church and blew himself up , turning a religious celebration of joy into a ghastly scene of bloodshed and death . the islamic state , which claimed responsibility for the attacks through its aamaq news agency , signaled in december its intention to step up attacks on christians when a suicide bombing at a major cairo church killed at least 28 people . in february , hundreds of christians fled their homes in north sinai after a concerted campaign of assassination and intimidation in the area . although mr. sisi had already stepped up security at churches , sunday ’s bloodshed underscores the difficulty of stopping suicide attacks . more starkly , it highlighted the failure of egypt ’s powerful intelligence agencies to anticipate a coordinated wave of devastating attacks . the explosion in tanta , about 50 miles north of cairo , occurred at st. george ’s church , where the authorities had already sealed the main door to prevent attacks . the bomber managed to slip past security measures , including a metal detector , at one of the side doors , and blew himself up near the altar . at least 27 people were killed and 78 others injured , officials said . children , their parents and deacons — lay christians who help with the service — accounted for many of the dead . hours later , victims’ relatives stood silently outside the city morgue , waiting to identify and collect the remains of their loved ones . the rev. daniel maher , a priest who had been leading the mass , was still wearing his bloodstained white vestments . the priest said he had not been harmed in the attack , but he lost his son , bishoy , who was to get married later this year . “ what can i say ? thank god , ” he said in a cracking voice . next to the priest , a young woman sat on the sidewalk , sobbing as a group of women tried to comfort her . “ god , what did he do to deserve this ? ” she asked , bemoaning the loss of her own loved one . the second attack occurred just over two hours later in the coastal city of alexandria , where a suicide bomber tried to enter st. mark ’s cathedral . surveillance footage , later aired on a private egyptian television channel , showed a man wearing a bulky jacket being directed into a metal detector at the church gates , where he paused to be searched by a police officer . a moment later , a giant blast rang out . at least 17 people were killed , including a district police chief and a police officer , and an additional 48 were wounded , according to the health ministry . pope tawadros , who is due to meet with pope francis during his visit to egypt at the end of this month , was not injured in the blast . he later issued a statement saying that “ these acts will not harm the unity and cohesion of the people . ” christians make up about 10 percent of egypt ’s 90 million people , who are mostly sunni muslim , and have long complained of discrimination and sporadic violence at the hands of extremists . christian leaders were vocal supporters of mr. sisi after he came to power in 2013 when the military ousted the elected president , mohamed morsi of the muslim brotherhood . many christians see mr. sisi as their defender , but sunday ’s events underscored how difficult it is for him to deliver on that promise , and raised pressing questions about security arrangements for pope francis’ visit on april 28 and 29 . as forensics specialists combed through bloodstained wreckage at the site of the two church bombings , security officials found and defused explosive devices at other locations in alexandria and tanta , the state news media reported . two devices were found at the sidi abdel rahim mosque in tanta , home to one of the most famous sufi muslim shrines in the city , and another was found at the collège st. marc , an school in downtown alexandria . hours later , mr. sisi convened a meeting of the national defense council , which includes the prime minister and commanders of the egyptian armed forces , in response to the bombings . he then declared a state of emergency , though it was not immediately clear what extra powers he required , given that his government enjoys largely unfettered powers , has already imprisoned or exiled thousands of political opponents , and oversees a parliament that is dominated by his supporters . in his televised speech , mr. sisi indicated that news media coverage of attacks that embarrass his authority could be restricted . “ the media discourse has to be responsible , ” he said . “ it ’s not acceptable to have the incident aired repeatedly on television stations all day . ” egyptians are used to such moves . the country was officially under a state of emergency for all of hosni mubarak ’s rule , and again for three months in 2013 . when pope francis arrives in egypt , he will find a country where the islamic state is intent on driving a wedge between islam and christianity . the pontiff offered his condolences to the copts and all egyptians , and in his statement from rome he referred to the coptic patriarch as his “ brother . ” francis’ scheduled visit to egypt has been billed as the latest step in a effort to forge stronger ties between the roman catholic church and muslim leaders . relations became strained in 2011 when francis ’s predecessor , pope benedict xvi , denounced what he called “ a strategy of violence that has christians as a target ” after a bombing at a church in alexandria killed at least 23 people . francis has sought to rebuild ties with muslim clerics since becoming pope in 2013 . and last year he welcomed to the vatican sheikh ahmed the grand imam of al azhar , a mosque and university that is revered by sunni muslims in egypt , the pontiff is to visit with mr. sisi the leadership of the coptic orthodox church and the grand imam . the grand imam condemned sunday ’s attacks as a “ despicable terrorist bombing that targeted the lives of innocents . ” for many christians , though , the attacks at the start of the holy week before easter are a harbinger of worse to come . “ i think people will not only be too scared to be inside a church , they will be too scared to pass by one now , ” said mina mansy , a prominent christian rights activist . “ this will continue to happen because the state is not interested in protecting christians , or anyone else for that matter . the police ’s only job is to crush political opponents . they do n’t care about the real terrorists . ”
+1 what ’s goes around comes around , or how russia and the us are trading punches , by scott humor scott saker message : no current saker messages . what ’s goes around comes around , or how russia and the us are trading punches , by scott humor this article was first published by the duran three years ago someone ’s video parody of a “ russian guy ’s reaction ” to a meteor falling over chelyabinsk went viral . “ russia today ” even included it into its reportage of how the russian dashcam videos become internet sensations [ 2:24 ] . this 10 sec video had done more to project the toughness of russians than all the fireworks of vitaly churkin ’s diplomatic rhetoric . hands down , churkin is brilliant and his speeches should be included into high school curriculum , however , due to peculiarities of the western supranational media , his oratorical talent remains largely unrecognized by a wider audience . yet , everyone remembers a video of a guy in a knitted cap , who just lowered a sun visor driving directly onto a collision path with a rapidly approaching celestial body . readers and commentators of the saker blog often express their frustration with the “ lack of immediate ” response to the western provocations from the russian government and society . “ why do n’t russia ’s government respond by hitting them back hard and in kind ? ” ask out readers . whereat we , russians , consider this to be our national character trait . rather than jumping nervously every time the west says “ boo ! ” we keep steadfastly and resolutely moving forward despite of adversities . there is also a well calculated geopolitical dimension to this “ wait and observe ” stance chosen by the russia ’s government every time washington comes up with a newly staged provocation . which is every monday , wednesday and friday , if i am not mistaken . “ washington ” here is being a working term to include pentagon , cia and also a slew of companies like : valbin corporation – bethesda , md caci international inc – suitland , md leidos – vienna , va varen technologies – fort meade , md sagent partners – linthicum , md pluribus international – fort meade , md assured information security , inc – fort meade , md aecom – chantilly , va razor technology llc – washington , dc engility corporation — fort meade , md goldbelt inc – herndon , va cwu , inc. – hunter army airfield , ga belay technologies , inc — annapolis junction , md applied technology group – annapolis junction , md booz allen hamilton – mclean , va pluribus international – fort meade , md advantage sci – united states this is just a short snippet of a long list of willing participants in a division of a us military budget pie , which is now turned into a thriving and mushrooming industry of private constructors specializing in recognizance , intelligence gathering , intelligence analysis of sigint & finint in support of operations conus or oconus . we , of course , are mostly interested in “ operations ” that are being conducted oconus , which is outside of the continental us , also known as the rest of the world . in case you are wondering about the location of your country in relation to the us intelligence community . take the us military , plus the entirety of nato , some crafty old spy masters from britain , france , and germany , add to it hundreds of private and public enterprises , and you will understand where the plethora of false flag attacks , provocations , terror acts , civilian sabotage on the media , sports , kidnapping of russian citizens and other violations of the human rights of russians are coming from . in the last two weeks of october we watched a ukrainian civil airline dispatcher threaten to take down a civil aircraft from belarus . russia got pushed out of the un human rights council , after the generally proven - to - be - fake campaign of the white helmets , which are another of these private intelligence companies financed by nato members . we also were presented with the gruesome murder of one of the originators of so called “ russian spring ” in ukraine , known to the western audience as “ motorola . ” keeping in mind , of course , that the “ russian spring ” starting with the bolotnaya square protests , just like its predecessor the “ arab spring , ” was engineered by western intelligence and military complexes . let ’s give credit where credit is due . all of these provocations , from big to small , from violent to ridiculous , all of them have one common goal , to draw the reaction of the russian government , to take its precious time , resources , and to disrupt its work . here comes the catch : the more willing participants are being involved in designing and staging this torrid stream of provocations against russia , the less professional , less coordinated , and less convincing they are becoming . it ’s exactly like with the famed musical “ cats ” which was perfectly choreographed on broadway , but watching it on a community theater stage would hurt your eyes in shame for the production crew and actors . by the fall of 2016 , the saturation of provocative actions against russia has reached it ’s critical stage . in other words , we had ceased reacting emotionally to them and have started analyzing them rationally . this explains the russian government ’s reaction to the multitude of recent provocative actions . a reaction that can be generally described as “ muted,”“low - key,”“hushed , ” and at least in one instance “ absent . ” knowing who or what is behind a provocation should warrant a type of response , if any . let ’s say , the justice department backtracks it ’s perfidious demands for billions of dollars in fines arbitrarily imposed on deutsche bank , only after germany agrees to deploy its troops and tanks to the russian border . understandably , their move puts an adult population of russian into a sentimental mood summarized in “ let ’s finish the job our grandfather died doing . ” russia ’s foreign ministry issues a warming statement , and the defense ministry moves a few troops closer to the western border , mirroring nato moves . the pentagon and cia issue memos to the all western media outlets stating the “ russian aggression . ” the western press copies these memos verbatim and propagates them in every nook and cranny of the “ free ” world . after that , the russian defense ministry releases information on successful testing of a new “ sarmat ” missile with some of its technical characteristics . youtube hosts several videos with detailed explanations of how it takes only two sarmats to destroy the east and west coasts of the us . they also specifically explain why sarmat is invincible to the western anti - missile systems . if you wonder how we got to this point , see the aforementioned information . everyone , privy to the latest russian military upgrades , which includes every youtube viewer , can see the russian government response to the attacks of the us banking system and wall street and the doj . we are witnessing a situation when hundreds of companies employing well over a million people who are trying to make themselves relevant in a crowded industry of war making , by producing torrents of “ events ” around the globe . they are the americans with “ gas cans ” setting fires around the globe , according to the memorable comparison made by rostislav ishchenko in his april 2015 article “ what does putin want ? ” he wrote : “ one can only guess who will be more effective – the americans with their gas can or the russians with their fire extinguisher ? ” fire , however , dies quickly in the absence of oxygen . most of the anti - russian actions go unnoticed and just turn into white noise , but some manage to stand out in the news for a day or longer . in essence , they all vie for the russian government attention . maybe that gets them a yearend bonus and an annual contract renewal ? thank you for your time , scott
+0 2 police officers are shot and killed in palm springs , calif. - the new york times karen workman and jonah engel bromwich the police in palm springs , calif. are mourning two officers who were shot and killed on saturday while responding to a call about a domestic disturbance . one of the victims was a young mother and the other a veteran months away from retirement . dozens of law enforcement officers converged on the scene , where a third officer had been wounded , to help search for the gunman . “ i am awake in a nightmare right now , ” said chief bryan reyes of the palm springs police department . the riverside county sheriff ’s department , which took over the case , said on sunday that a suspect , john felix , 26 , of palm springs , had been arrested . the police said that mr. felix had been injured while exchanging gunfire with the officers , but that his injuries were not and that he was being treated at a local hospital . mr. felix will be charged with two counts of murder of a peace officer , the police said . the los angeles times reported that mr. felix had a criminal record . he was convicted of assault with a deadly weapon in 2009 and sentenced to two years in prison . the episode began shortly after noon on saturday when a woman called the police about her adult son . three officers — jose gilbert vega , 63 lesley zerebny , 27 and a man whose identity has not been released — responded to the call . a person at the house refused to open the front door and threatened to shoot them through it , chief reyes said . within 10 minutes , shots had been fired and all three officers had been hit . “ it was a simple family disturbance and he elected to open fire , ” chief reyes said . officer zerebny had been on the force for a year and a half . she was married to a deputy for the riverside county sheriff ’s department . officer vega , who was married with eight children , had been with the department for 35 years . chief reyes said officer vega was not scheduled to work on saturday , but he had picked up an overtime shift . he was planning to retire in december . “ my employees are broken , ” chief reyes said , his voice shaking . “ if there ’s ever a time to pray for palm springs p. d. it is now . ” officers zerebny and vega are the first from the department to die in the line of duty since 1962 , the desert sun reported .
+0 in books on donald trump , consistent portraits of a high - decibel narcissist - the new york times michiko kakutani over the last year , we ’ve been plunged into the alternate reality of trumpland , as though we were caught in the maze of his old board game , “ trump : the game , ” with no exit in sight . it ’s a darwinian , world where greed is good , insults are the lingua franca , and winning is everything ( or , in tangled trumpian syntax , “ it ’s not whether you win or lose , but whether you win ! ” ) . to read a stack of new and reissued books about mr. trump , as well as a bunch of his own works , is to be plunged into a kind of bizarro world version of dante ’s “ inferno , ” where arrogance , acquisitiveness and the sowing of discord are not sins , but attributes of leadership a place where lies , contradictions and outrageous remarks spring up in such thickets that the sort of moral exhaustion associated with bad soap operas quickly threatens to ensue . that the subject of these books is not a fictional character but the republican nominee for president can only remind the reader of philip roth ’s observation , made more than 50 years ago , that american reality is so stupefying , “ so weird and astonishing , ” that it poses an embarrassment to the novelist ’s “ meager imagination . ” books about mr. trump tend to fall into two categories . there are funny ones that focus on trump the celebrity of the 1980s and ’90s — a cartoony avatar of greed and wretched excess and what garry trudeau ( “ yuge ! 30 years of doonesbury on trump ” ) calls “ big , honking hubris . ” and there are serious biographies that try to shed light on mr. trump ’s life and complex , highly opaque business dealings as a real estate magnate , which are vital to understanding the judgment , abilities and financial entanglements he would bring to the oval office . because of mr. trump ’s lack of transparency surrounding his business interests ( he has even declined to disclose his tax returns ) and because of his loose handling of facts and love of hyperbole , serious books are obligated to spend a lot of time sifting through business and court documents . ( usa today recently reported that there are “ about 3 , 500 legal actions involving trump , including 1 , 900 where he or his companies were a plaintiff and about 1 , 300 in which he was the defendant . ” ) and they must also his assertions ( politifact rates 35 percent of his statements false , and 18 percent “ pants on fire ” lies ) . perhaps because they were written rapidly as mr. trump ’s presidential candidacy gained traction , the latest of these books rarely step back to analyze in detail the larger implications and repercussions of the trump phenomenon . nor do they really map the landscape in which he has risen to popularity and is himself reshaping through his carelessness with facts , polarizing remarks and disregard for political rules . for that matter , these books shed little new light on controversial stands taken by mr. trump which , many legal scholars and historians note , threaten constitutional guarantees and american democratic traditions . those include his call for “ a total and complete shutdown of muslims entering the united states ” and the “ extreme vetting ” of immigrants his talk of revising libel laws to make it easier to sue news organizations over critical coverage an attack on a federal judge that raises questions about his commitment to an independent judiciary and his incendiary use of nativist and bigoted language that is fueling racial tensions and helping to mainstream views on race . some of these books touch fleetingly on mr. trump ’s use of inflammatory language and emotional appeal to feelings of fear and anger , but they do not delve deeply into the consequences of his nativist rhetoric or his contempt for the rules of civil discourse . they do , however , provide some sense of history , reminding us that while mr. trump ’s craving for attention and use of controversy as an instrument of publicity have remained the same over the years , the surreal switch of venues — from the new york tabloid universe and the world of reality tv to the arena of national and global politics — has turned formerly “ stakes , ” as one writer put it , into something profoundly more troubling . from insults aimed at fellow celebrities , mr. trump now denigrates whole racial and religious groups and questions the legitimacy of the electoral system . a “ buffoon ” in manhattan in the waning decades of the 20th century — as the editor of the new yorker , david remnick , terms the businessman in a foreword to mark singer ’s book “ trump and me ” — has metamorphosed into a political candidate whom 50 senior republican national security officials recently said “ would be the most reckless president in american history , ” putting “ at risk our country ’s national security and well being . ” two new books provide useful , vigorously reported overviews of mr. trump ’s life and career . “ trump revealed , ” by michael kranish and marc fisher of the washington post , draws heavily on work by reporters of the post and more than 20 hours of interviews with the candidate . much of its material will be familiar to readers — thanks to newspaper articles and michael d’antonio ’s 2015 biography ( “ never enough : donald trump and the pursuit of success ” ) — but “ trump revealed ” deftly charts his building of his gaudy brand and his often masterful manipulation of the media . it provides a succinct account of mr. trump ’s childhood , when he says he punched a teacher , giving him a black eye . it also recounts his apprenticeship to a demanding father , who told him he needed to become a “ killer ” in anything he did , and how he learned the art of the counterattack from roy cohn , joseph mccarthy ’s former man , whom mr. trump hired to countersue the federal government after the justice department brought a case against the trump family firm in 1973 for violating the fair housing act . “ the making of donald trump ” by david cay johnston — a former reporter for the new york times who has written extensively about mr. trump — zeros in on mr. trump ’s business practices , arguing that while he presents himself as “ a modern midas , ” much “ of what he touches ” has often turned “ to dross . ” mr. johnston , who has followed the real estate impresario for nearly three decades , offers a searing indictment of his business practices and creative accounting . he examines mr. trump ’s taste for debt , what associates have described as his startling capacity for recklessness , multiple corporate bankruptcies , dealings with reputed mobsters and accusations of fraud . the portrait of mr. trump that emerges from these books , old or new , serious or satirical , is remarkably consistent : a narcissist , almost comically a “ hyperbole addict who prevaricates for fun and profit , ” as mr. singer wrote in the new yorker in 1997 . mr. singer also describes mr. trump as an “ insatiable publicity hound who courts the press on a daily basis and , when he does n’t like what he reads , attacks the messengers as ‘ human garbage,’ ” “ a fellow both slippery and naïve , artfully calculating and recklessly heedless of consequences . ” at the same time , mr. singer and other writers discern an emptiness underneath the armor . in “ trump and me , ” mr. singer describes his subject as a man “ who had aspired to and achieved the ultimate luxury , an existence unmolested by the rumbling of a soul . ” mr. kranish and mr. fisher likewise suggest that mr. trump “ had walled off ” any pain he experienced growing up and “ hid it behind a show about himself . ” when they ask him about friends , they write , he gives them — off the record — the names of three men “ he had had business dealings with two or more decades before , men he had only rarely seen in recent years . ” mr. trump likes to boast about going it alone — an impulse that helps explain the rapid turnover among advisers in his campaign , and that has raised serious concerns among national security experts and foreign policy observers , who note that his extreme and certainty ( “ i ’m speaking with myself , number one , because i have a very good brain ” ) come coupled with a startling ignorance about global affairs and an impatience with policy and details . passages in his books help illuminate mr. trump ’s admiration for the strongman style of autocratic leaders like russia ’s vladimir v. putin , and his own astonishing “ i alone can fix it ” moment during his republican convention speech . in his 2004 book , “ think like a billionaire , ” mr. trump wrote : “ you must plan and execute your plan alone . ” he also advised : “ have a short attention span , ” adding “ quite often , i ’ll be talking to someone and i ’ll know what they ’re going to say before they say it . after the first three words are out of their mouth , i can tell what the next 40 are going to be , so i try to pick up the pace and move it along . you can get more done faster that way . ” in many respects , mr. trump ’s own quotes and writings provide the most vivid and alarming picture of his values , modus operandi and relentlessly dark outlook focused on revenge . “ be paranoid , ” he advises in one book . and in another : “ when somebody screws you , screw them back in spades . ” the grim , dystopian view of america , articulated in mr. trump ’s republican convention speech , is previewed in his 2015 book , “ crippled america ” ( republished with the cheerier title of “ great again : how to fix our crippled america ” ) in which he contends that “ everyone is eating ” america ’s lunch . and a similarly nihilistic vision surfaces in other remarks he ’s made over the years : “ i always get even ” “ for the most part , you ca n’t respect people because most people are n’t worthy of respect ” and : “ the world is a horrible place . lions kill for food , but people kill for sport . ” once upon a time , such remarks made mr. trump perfect fodder for comedians . though some writers noted that he was already a caricature of a caricature — difficult to parody or satirize — mr. trudeau recalled that he provided cartoonists with “ an embarrassment of follies . ” and the businessman , who seems to live by the conviction that any publicity is good publicity , apparently embraced this celebrity , writing : “ my cartoon is real . i am the creator of my own comic book . ” in a 1990 cartoon , doonesbury characters argued over what they disliked more about mr. trump : “ the boasting , the piggish consumption ” or “ the hideous décor of his casinos . ” sadly , the stakes today are infinitely so much huger . follow michiko kakutani on twitter : @michikokakutani
+0 chicago has deadliest day of 2017 , seven killed warner todd huston after suffering its most dangerous year for decades , chicago is already on track for an even worse year of bloodshed , murder , and crime as tuesday counted seven dead in a single day . the victims included a pregnant woman . [ just after 9 pm on february 22 , chicago police found a man and a pregnant woman shot in the city ’s chatham neighborhood , chicago ’s wgn tv reported . the man was found shot in a parked car and the woman was discovered lying on a sidewalk . the victims were taken to a nearby hospital but both were pronounced dead . the male shooting victim was a known gang member . the name of the female victim is not being released . thus far this year , chicago has already suffered 99 homicides with 94 of those deaths by firearm . 2017 is also already ahead of 2016 with over 400 shooting victims . by the end of february last year the city saw only 202 shootings with 46 dead . follow warner todd huston on twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail . com .
+1 robots v humans : ai machine ‘ attacks’ visitor at chinese tech fair ( photos ) nan you are here : home » news » featured » robots v humans : ai machine ‘ attacks’ visitor at chinese tech fair ( photos ) robots v humans : ai machine ‘ attacks’ visitor at chinese tech fair ( photos ) a robot attacked and injured a man at a tech fair in china , leading social media users to question if the machine ’s actions were actually the opening gambit in a war waged by robots against humans . the robot , marketed as an educational tool and on sale for 13,000 yuan ( us$ 1,890 ) , was on show at the 18th china international hi - tech fair in shenzhen when it reportedly suddenly smashed a glass booth and attacked a man . the victim was taken away in a stretcher for medical treatment , but was not seriously injured . the robot ’s apparently unprovoked outburst led people on twitter and chinese social media site weibo to wonder if it was the first shot in a robots versus humans war . “ this robot is a pioneer in his struggle against humanity , ” one weibo user wrote , according to whatsonweibo.com . “ the invasion of the robots has started , ” another person said , while a third added “ the invasion of the robots has started . ” although initial reports all suggested that the robot acted of its own accord , sina.com says that the incident was in fact caused by human error . an official at the tech event said that someone simply mixed up the robot ’s ‘ forward’ and ‘ back’ buttons , sending the robot crashing into a display stand and injuring the unfortunate bystander . so , not a declaration of war and not even the robot ’s fault – however , the poor thing still looks pretty upset about the whole episode . originally published by rt.com
+0 inmates take employees hostage at a delaware state prison - the new york times richard pérez - peña and jon hurdle inmates were holding two people hostage at a delaware prison on wednesday night in a standoff that began in the morning and left at least one prison employee injured , officials said . the hostages were taken at the james t. vaughn correctional center , near the town of smyrna , between wilmington and dover . it is the state ’s largest prison , with 2 , 500 inmates in and units . at a news conference on wednesday night , officials revealed that a total of 27 inmates had been released by the but it was unclear whether they had been held against their will and how many inmates remained . officials said four staff members had initially been taken hostage . early accounts put that number at five , though officials said one person had not been accounted for at first but was later found to be safe . robert coupe , the secretary of the delaware department of safety and homeland security , said at the news conference at about 8:15 p. m. that the authorities were communicating with the inmates via a radio belonging to a correctional officer . inmates also have access to television and may have been watching a live broadcast of the news conference , he added . at 10:32 a. m. “ a correctional officer made a radio call for immediate assistance from within c building , which houses over 100 inmates , ” sgt . richard bratz of the delaware state police said at a news conference earlier on wednesday . the building houses inmates who are making the transition to medium security . other correction officers responded to the distress call , and the prison was placed on lockdown , but inmates took four employees hostage . at about 2:40 p. m. one hostage was set free and taken by ambulance to a hospital , sergeant bratz said , “ with injuries . ” eight inmates were released at 5:20 p. m. shortly before 8 p. m. another staff member and 19 inmates were released . their conditions were not immediately known . the news journal newspaper reported that a woman had called its newsroom , stated that she was a hostage and haltingly read a statement that she said had been given to her by the inmates , complaining of mistreatment . she said the prisoners had forbidden her to give her name , and when asked how many inmates were holding her , she said she did not know because “ they ’ve got my face covered . ” officials declined to discuss specifics of the inmates’ demands . mr. coupe said that once the takeover was resolved peacefully , “ a dialogue can start then . ” scores of law enforcement officers in riot gear , with armored vehicles , gathered around the prison ’s buildings . sergeant bratz said officials were in contact with the but he gave no details about their demands or the progress of negotiations . “ we are doing everything we can to ensure the safety of everyone involved , ” he said . as a precaution , the department of correction placed all of the state ’s prisons on lockdown . on a rural road along the prison perimeter , carla vereen was waiting in her car for news of her husband , who has worked in the prison as a corrections officer for 16 years . ms. vereen said she had not heard directly from her husband or from the prison authorities since the hostage crisis began . also waiting was a former inmate , rollin lee laub , who said he was not surprised to hear the reports that some inmates had taken hostages . “ they took everything from these guys so they had nothing but idle time , which is the devil ’s workshop , ” said mr. laub , who was released from the prison in 2014 after serving almost 40 years .
+0 alan thicke , reassuring father on ‘ growing pains,’ dies at 69 - the new york times christopher mele and niraj chokshi alan thicke , the canadian actor , singer and songwriter best remembered for his portrayal of the ultimate suburban middlebrow dispenser of parental advice on the sitcom “ growing pains , ” died on tuesday in burbank , calif. he was 69 . mr. thicke was playing hockey with his son , carter , when he had a heart attack , his gloria loring said . she added , “ he died the way any good canadian should — playing hockey with his son . ” mr. thicke projected a genial warmth across all his television work , most memorably on “ growing pains , ” which ran from 1985 to 1992 on abc . his character , dr. jason seaver , a psychiatrist , was a classic 1980s formulation of the reassuring father who solved everyone ’s problems with a warm homily by the end of each episode . the cast also included joanna kerns as his wife and kirk cameron as his oldest child . the role earned mr. thicke the nickname america ’s dad . his character was ranked no . 37 on tv guide ’s list of the “ 50 greatest tv dads of all time . ” mr. thicke ’s talents also included songwriting . he wrote the theme songs for numerous game shows , including “ the joker ’s wild , ” “ celebrity sweepstakes ” and the original “ wheel of fortune , ” and he wrote the themes for the sitcoms “ diff’rent strokes ” and “ the facts of life ” with al burton and ms. loring . the “ diff’rent strokes ” theme is a masterpiece of the genre , setting up in less than a minute the story of a white multimillionaire who took in ( and later adopted ) two black children . it begins : his career also included stints as a host , both real and fictional . his syndicated show “ thicke of the night ” was seen in the season , and he played the host rich ginger on the soap opera “ the bold and the beautiful . ” he also played himself on several episodes of the sitcom “ how i met your mother . ” he was a writer on the satirical talk show “ fernwood ” ( 1977 ) a spinoff of “ mary hartman , mary hartman ” that starred martin mull and fred willard , and was nominated for a primetime emmy award for his writing on a later version of the show , “ america . ” he was also nominated for a golden globe award in 1988 for best performance by an actor in a comedy or musical series for “ growing pains , ” and for a daytime emmy in 1998 for his work as host of the game show “ pictionary . ” mr. thicke called himself “ the affordable shatner , ” a reference to his appearances at public events that were said to have been turned down by his fellow canadian actor william shatner , of “ star trek ” fame . he was a host of the annual disney christmas parade with joan lunden in the 1980s , and of the miss universe pageant and the canadian comedy awards . mr. thicke was born alan willis jeffrey on march 1 , 1947 , in kirkland lake , ontario . “ we started in northern ontario in a small town where i did n’t even see a television set until i was 7 years old , ” mr. thicke said at the unveiling of his star on canada ’s walk of fame in 2013 , the website et canada reported . “ so when you take that moment and to what i ’m experiencing today with my family here and feeling embraced by my country — that ’s unique . ” mr. thicke was the author of two books , “ how to raise kids who wo n’t hate you ” and “ how men have babies : the pregnant father ’s survival guide . ” in addition to his son carter , mr. thicke is survived by two other sons , robin , the singer and songwriter , and brennan and his wife , tanya callau . two previous marriages ended in divorce . hours before his death , mr. thicke commented on twitter about “ fuller house , ” the netflix to the television series “ full house , ” on which he had recently appeared as a guest star . “ season 2 fuller house looking good , ” he wrote . “ i even like the ones i ’m not in ! ”
+1 sorry , piers , but joe walsh just laid claim to the ‘ musket’ nickname with his post - election call to arms brett t. sorry , piers , but joe walsh just laid claim to the ‘ musket’ nickname with his post - election call to arms posted at 5:26 pm on october 26 , 2016 by brett t. share on facebook share on twitter some are interpreting radio host joe walsh ’s wednesday afternoon tweet as a literal call to violence following the election , while it seems the majority are electing to point and laugh instead . at least gun control crusader piers morgan should be ok with it , seeing as walsh ’s weapon of choice is a musket , just as the founders envisioned when they drew up the bill of rights . on november 8th , i 'm voting for trump . on november 9th , if trump loses , i 'm grabbing my musket . you in ? — joe walsh ( @walshfreedom ) october 26 , 2016 @walshfreedom what exactly does that mean ? — jake tapper ( @jaketapper ) october 26 , 2016 good question . there ’s no need to alert the authorities , as plenty of people have already ; it ’ll be up to the powers that be to determine if “ grabbing my musket ” constitutes a threat , or if it ’s meant symbolically . ( the odds that twitter will suspend walsh ’s account look pretty good . ) @walshfreedom did n't you get in trouble for this once before ? — meredith d. ( @yankeebeatcheck ) october 26 , 2016 at least once before . grab your musket and meet me in north carolina . time to fight the feds . — joe walsh ( @walshfreedom ) may 9 , 2016 i'm grabbing my musket is the perfect thing to scream into an old fashioned phone that is n't plugged in it 's not a great thing to tweet — erin gloria ryan ( @morninggloria ) october 26 , 2016 in the meantime , plenty of people are n’t exactly quivering at the image of walsh wielding a musket — or , as the cable networks would likely call it , an assault musket . @walshfreedom bless your heart . — swami buttload ( @metricbuttload ) october 26 , 2016 " when you 're an ex - congressman , they let you do it . you can do anything . grab them by the musket . you can do anything . " https://t.co/qlnapg4ypi — alec macgillis ( @alecmacgillis ) october 26 , 2016 @walshfreedom looks like .0002 % of your followers are " in " . awkward . — robert bingaman ( @robertjosiah ) october 26 , 2016 @walshfreedom girl , you do n't have a musket . — christoph fitzgerald ( @kifferfitz ) october 26 , 2016 . @walshfreedom good thinking , you 'll go far with a smoothbore black - powder muzzleloader — adam weinstein ( @adamweinstein ) october 26 , 2016 @walshfreedom and what are you going to do with said musket ? really ? a musket ? not a carbine ? you really are out of touch 🙂 — dan braxton ( @braxtonmedia ) october 26 , 2016 actually , a musket would be an outdated and ineffective weapon for armed insurrection against a modern—*falls into manhole * — alex brown ( @alexbrownnj ) october 26 , 2016 . @walshfreedom you 'd get droned before you could even load it — matt provenzano ( @mattprov94 ) october 26 , 2016 @walshfreedom you gon na old yeller your candidate ? seems a bit harsh .
+0 trump to tee it up with japan prime minister shinzo abe - breitbart robert j. marlow president donald trump will play golf with japanese prime minister shinzo abe next week , near his club in palm beach , florida . [ trump insists that abe is his partner during the round . so as usual , the 45th president plans on winning . “ we ’re going to have a round of golf , which is a great thing , ” golf digest reported . “ that ’s the one thing about golf — you get to know somebody better on a golf course than you will over lunch . ” trump has a ways to go to catch up to barack obama , who played over 300 rounds during his presidency . nevertheless , trump claims to have won many club championships over the years before his decision to dive into the political arena . historically , golf plays a significant role for many of the nation ’s presidents . dwight eisenhower played some 800 rounds as the 34th president of the united states . woodrow wilson reportedly played 1200 rounds when he was president from 1913 to 1921 . the new will get a chance to air out a gift abe presented to trump after he won the election in november . japan ’s chief executive bestowed a honma beres driver to the new york billionaire . the club retails for a whopping $ 3 , 755 . during his 2016 presidential campaign , trump indicated he would be looking for abe and his country to help the united states in covering the cost of providing security and safety around the world . this idea disturbed many of trump ’s critics , as they accused him of encouraging nuclear arms proliferation in the “ land of the rising sun . ”
+1 coffee shop customer feels good about leaving a $ 20 tip . nan topics : tips , coffee bar , tall coffee seattle , wa - contemplating how utterly thrilled the staff of the local coffee shop must be , 32-year - old brandon reenberg felt good about himself monday for leaving a remarkable tip . sources confirm mr. reenberg had a vague , poorly concealed smile on his face as he was casually stuffing a $ 20 bill into the tip jar , after paying only $ 4 for his large cup of cappuccino to go . " i feel amazing about doing this , " reenberg said when asked to comment . " these people are heavily underpaid , and i 'm pretty sure they do n't get tips that big that often , given the average order price at that miserable place . they probably thought i 'm a fantastic customer . i might have even made their day . " at press time , the coffee shop benefactor is reportedly having second thoughts after realizing it was , like , a 500 % tip he left there . make alice malice 's
+1 military plane approaching a ufo . see what happens then ... nan military plane approaching a ufo . see what happens then ... # grey 0 it ’s not very often that someone has to catch a ufo and at the same time , military fighter planes in the sky . the video recording captures a ufo of elliptical shape that is chased by a military jet . tags
+0 fear of donald trump helps democrats mobilize hispanics - the new york times jeremy w. peters , amy chozick and lizette alvarez donald j. trump maligned undocumented immigrants as murderers and rapists . hillary clinton hired a woman who had lived undocumented for many years as her national director of latino outreach . clinton organizers rolled through the streets of orlando , fla. blasting reggaeton music from their cars , calling out to puerto rican residents to vote for the woman many of them know as “ la hillary . ” and in arizona , a group released an online video game that rewards players with points every time they smack mr. trump and the maricopa county sheriff , joe arpaio , in the face with a but that also tells those who play where to vote . many votes have yet to be counted , but this much is already clear : hispanic america has been mobilized like never before in the 2016 election , and is emerging as a formidable force with the power to elect a president . energized by anger at mr. trump and an aggressive democratic campaign to get them to the polls , latinos are turning out in record numbers and could make the difference in the outcome in several highly contested states . and with turnout so far failing to match the historic levels of 2008 and 2012 , hispanics could make up the difference . in fact , they could turn out to be mrs. clinton ’s firewall . in florida , a state that is likely to be decided by the thinnest of margins , about one million of the nearly 6 . 2 million early votes counted as of early sunday had been cast by hispanics , an increase of almost 75 percent over 2012 . in clark county , nev. home to las vegas and the state ’s largest hispanic population , a record 57 , 000 people voted on friday alone . eight years ago , president obama inspired a wave of turnout , with black voters hopeful and deeply moved by his candidacy . this time , it is not an admired figure but a disliked one — mr. trump — who is driving the surge among hispanics . motivated by fear about what a trump presidency would mean for their families , many hispanics say they can not afford to stay home . “ i ’m scared for my country ’s future , ” said cinthia estela , 30 , who is helping to organize latinos for the arizona democratic party . sometimes , ms. estela brings along her mother and two young daughters , who are 8 and 9 , to help in the effort . “ this is breaking us apart , ” she said of the election . “ this is taking us back many years . ” crucially , many of the latinos casting ballots are new voters . according to an analysis of early vote returns in florida by daniel a. smith of the university of florida , more than of hispanics who have cast ballots so far did not vote in november 2012 . “ it is truly historic , ” mr. smith said . “ donald trump has done more to energize hispanics in florida than any democratic candidate . ” but the democrats were laying the groundwork even before mr. trump emerged as the republican nominee , with years of organizational planning and tens of millions of dollars in investment by groups , state democratic party organizations and the clinton campaign itself . from the beginning of her campaign , mrs. clinton and her team saw untapped potential in the 27 million hispanics who would be eligible to vote in 2016 , a 26 percent increase since 2012 . but voter turnout among hispanics was stubbornly low . in the 2012 presidential campaign , 48 percent of eligible hispanics voted , compared to 64 percent of eligible white voters , according to pew . so they set out to reach them in their communities , talking to them in their language , with the belief that touching them in the most personal way possible , at churches , bodegas , bus stops and nail salons , was also the most persuasive . and the effort was focused on more than registering potential voters . democrats sought to make electoral politics part of the daily conversation for a demographic that had until now largely sat on the sidelines . starting in nevada , the campaign convened groups of women to discuss issues that were important to them , like health care and education . after each meeting , the women were asked to write down the names and contacts of five other women who might support mrs. clinton . the program , called “ mujeres in politics , ” was deemed such a success that the campaign replicated it in colorado and other states with large hispanic populations . “ we understand this community . we know culturally what are the strongest messages that work for them , ” said lorella praeli , mrs. clinton ’s national director of latino outreach , who had lived undocumented for years after coming to this country from peru but is now an american citizen . “ this was n’t created in an office . this was built on the ground . ” mrs. clinton also had to grapple with the fact that many latino voters were disappointed with mr. obama , who had increased deportations and failed to bring about an overhaul of the country ’s immigration laws . mrs. clinton knew she would need to tell latino voters at the start of her presidential campaign that she would go further than mr. obama in extending a path to citizenship , even if it meant upsetting the president . mrs. clinton and her democratic allies now have a presence in every state with a large hispanic population with customized strategies for each . in florida , the campaign identified early on the influx of puerto ricans who had fled the island amid its economic crisis as a potential bloc of new democratic voters . both bill clinton and amanda renteria , the campaign ’s political director , were dispatched to puerto rico . and the campaign issued bilingual messages of support for funding to combat the spread of the zika virus and to encourage legislation to address the debt crisis in puerto rico . in arizona , a state democrats believe they have a chance of winning for the first time since mr. clinton carried it in 1996 , mrs. clinton and her allies have focused much of their efforts on the restrictive immigration policies that have been approved by the state government . ian danley , the executive director of one arizona , an independent coalition of 14 organizations that lead voter mobilization efforts , said the group was sending 350 , 000 text reminders to latinos , urging them to vote . while hispanic turnout this year is largely driven by voter outreach , mrs. clinton has also paid careful attention to select the right issues . and there are few issues that have bonded her as closely to latinos as immigration . on the polarizing questions surrounding what to do with undocumented immigrants , mrs. clinton has taken a more sympathetic posture than many in her party have , including the president , whom she has criticized as acting too aggressively on deportations . she has embraced undocumented immigrants in a way that would have been practically unthinkable when her husband ran for president in 1992 . and she has pledged to make the politically combustible issue of immigration reform a priority of her first 100 days in office if elected . the democrats have especially leaned on hispanic women for their campaign . similar to how black women became an influential engine of support for mr. obama , hispanic women have been central to the organizing efforts of democrats . latinas have been working phones and knocking on doors , often in pairs . and they say they are hearing the same story again and again from the neighbors they have persuaded to go to the polls : they have never voted before , but feel they must now because they can not stomach the thought of mr. trump in the white house . asked if there was anything in particular that drove him to the polls in west tampa , fla. on sunday , oscar diaz , 44 , a maintenance worker with puerto rican roots , said simply , “ trump ’s big mouth . ”
+1 australian taxpayers charged over $ 88 million for donation to corrupt clinton foundation nan australian taxpayers charged over $ 88 million for donation to corrupt clinton foundation october 31 , 2016 google + they both love to play the gender card , turning their immense privilege into victim status and ­dividing the electorate by sex . thus , gillard nobbled tony ­abbott with her fabled misogyny speech and clinton ’s machine manages to drown out every wikileaks embarrassment with a new donald trump bimbo eruption . the other thing the two ladies have in common is the clinton foundation , which wikileaks emails now show is an influence - peddling political slush fund . and guess which country was one of its biggest donors ? australia . yep , we ’re up there with saudi arabia and qatar . the australian taxpayer shovelled at least $ 88 million into the clinton foundation and associated entities from 2006 to 2014 , reaching a peak of $ 10.3 million in 2012 - 13 , gillard ’s last year in office . hillary clinton and julia gillard both involved in the influence - peddling political slush fund that is the clinton foundation . on the clinton foundation website , ausaid and the commonwealth of australia score separate entries in the $ 10 million - plus group of donors , one rung up from american teacher unions . in 2009 - 10 kevin rudd handed over another $ 10 million to the foundation for climate research , part of $ 300 million he squandered on a global carbon capture and storage institute . gillard also donated $ 300 million of our money to the clinton - affiliated global partnership for education . lo and behold , she became chairman in 2014 and has been ­actively promoting clinton as president ever since — in a campaign video last december slamming trump , in opeds trumpeting the next woman president and in appearances with clinton spruiking girls’ education . the abbott government topped up the left - wing organisation ’s coffers with another $ 140 million in 2014 , bringing total australian largesse to $ 460 million , according to a press release from foreign minister julie bishop . and yet , apart from the beautiful friendship with gillard , what did australia get from the clintons for all that cash ? a whole lot of trouble is what . the latest treasure trove of wikileaks emails released last week shows that australian green groups have been secretly funded to destroy our coal industry by environmental activists connected to the clinton campaign . apart from the friendship between hillary clinton and julia gillard , what does australia get from the clinton foundation for donating all that cash ? a whole lot of trouble is what . the email account of clinton ’s campaign chairman john podesta reveals extraordinary details of the sabotage of the $ 16 billion adani coalmine in queensland , which has damaged australia ’s national interest and denied cheap electricity to millions of poor indians . last august john hepburn , former greenpeace activist and founder of australian anti - coal group the sunrise project , sent a crowing email to his american paymasters , the sandler foundation , which is also a major donor to the clinton foundation . ( founder herb sandler and mate george soros funded another clinton - aligned progressive group , the centre for american progress , previously chaired by podesta . ) “ the adani carmichael mine and the whole galilee basin fossil fuel industrial complex is in its death throes , ” hepburn wrote in the email forwarded to podesta . “ i am going to buy a few bottles of bubbly for a celebration with the ( environmental ­defenders office ) legal team , our colleagues at getup , greenpeace , 350.org , ecf , australian youth climate coalition , mackay conservation group , market forces and the brilliant and tireless sunrise team . ” in another email forwarded to podesta , hepburn panics about an abbott government inquiry into environmental charities and discusses hiding sunrise ’s sources of funding to safeguard its charitable tax status . hepburn boasts about the latest legal blow to adani , when the federal court overturned its approval and the commonwealth bank quit the project . in it he now wants to “ escalate the campaign ­towards the other 3 big australian banks ” . and he mocks miners who “ try to claim that there is some kind of foreign - funded and tightly orchestrated conspiracy to systematically ­destroy the australian coal industry . ( i seriously do n’t know where they get these wacky ideas from ! ) ” as if it ’s not bad enough that foreign - funded activists are meddling with our largest export earner , podesta ’s emails also detail their insidious influence on indigenous land owners who blocked the adani mine using powerful native title rights . this alliance of green groups with native title owners is a frightening development detailed in a new book by historian keith windschuttle , the break - up of australia : the real agenda behind aboriginal recognition . he reveals the imminent expansion of native title claims , either ­approved or quietly being processed , stretch across a whopping 60 per cent of the australian continent , an area twice the size of western europe . already 6000sq km of the kidman cattle empire in the kimberley has been given , via native title , to green activists to be converted from productive cattle country to a wildlife conservation area . “ in return , the yulumbu people get a paltry $ 50,000 a year royalty , ” windschuttle writes . “ as a flora and fauna sanctuary it is economically defunct for the foreseeable future . ” at worst , writes windschuttle , the upcoming referendum for indigenous constitutional recognition , proposed by gillard in 2012 , could pave the way for a separate aboriginal state on native title land , funded by taxation , royalties and lease payments — passive welfare in another guise . at the very least , the ­alliance between foreign-­funded green groups and ­indigenous owners gives ­environmentalists the opportunity to take whole swathes of australia out of the productive economy and shut down industries they do n’t like , from coal mines in queensland to cattle farms in western australia . thanks for nothing , hillary and julia .
+0 robert james waller , author of ‘ the bridges of madison county,’ dies at 77 - the new york times william grimes robert james waller , whose gauzy , romantic novel “ the bridges of madison county ” became a runaway best seller on its publication in 1992 and the basis of a popular film , died on friday at his home in fredericksburg , tex . he was 77 . the cause was multiple myeloma , his daughter , rachael waller , said . the novel came out of the blue . mr. waller , on leave from teaching business at the university of northern iowa , was shooting pictures with a friend along the mississippi river in the early 1990s when he decided to make a detour and photograph covered bridges in madison county , iowa . he was an enthusiastic guitarist and singer , and years earlier he had written a song about the dreams of a woman named francesca . an idea stirred . two weeks later he had completed the manuscript of “ the bridges of madison county . ” it told the tale of francesca , a italian war bride on an iowa farm whose life takes an unexpected turn when robert kincaid , 52 , a photographer , stops by one day to ask directions to the roseman covered bridge . she is temporarily alone , her husband and two children away at the state fair . francesca and robert discover that they are kindred spirits , athirst for love , and a torrid affair commences . it lasts just four days — but four days unlike any other . “ god or the universe or whatever one chooses to label the great systems of balance and order does not recognize ” kincaid tells her in a letter . “ to the universe four days is no different than four billion . ” many critics found the characters unconvincing , the sentiments sappy and the writing overripe . kincaid , who called himself “ one of the last cowboys , ” was fond of delivering statements like “ i am the highway and a peregrine and all the sails that ever went to sea . ” millions of readers , however , found mr. waller ’s story of reawakened love deeply moving . the orlando sentinel spoke for them when it wrote , “ this lyrically written first novel is as perfect as a tear — and do n’t be surprised if you shed a few upon reading it . ” oprah winfrey , who broadcast a special edition of her television show from madison county , called it “ a gift to the country . ” “ bridges ” leapt to the top of the lists and stayed there , eventually outselling “ gone with the wind . ” it took root on the new york times ’s list and remained there for three years , becoming , as entertainment weekly put it , “ the book that would not die . ” the film , released in 1995 , starred meryl streep and clint eastwood and was directed by mr. eastwood . it was also reincarnated as a broadway musical in 2014 , starring kelli o’hara and steven pasquale . robert james waller jr. was born on aug. 1 , 1939 , in charles city , iowa , and grew up in nearby rockford , about 125 miles northeast of des moines . his father was a wholesaler and a local magistrate . his mother , the former ruth welch , was a homemaker . he won a basketball scholarship to the university of iowa but transferred in his freshman year to iowa state teachers college ( renamed the state college of iowa in 1961 ) . while an undergraduate , he married georgia wiedemeier , whom he had met at a dance in iowa city . the marriage ended in divorce . in addition to his daughter , he is survived by his wife , linda bow , and a granddaughter . mr. waller earned a bachelor ’s degree in business education in 1962 and a master ’s in education in 1964 before pursuing graduate work at indiana university ’s school of business . he was awarded a doctorate of business administration in finance in 1968 . his thesis was on the american guitar industry . he returned to his undergraduate alma mater , renamed the university of northern iowa in 1967 , and taught management and economics there . in 1980 he was appointed dean of its business school . on the side he began writing travel and nature essays for the des moines register ’s sunday edition . these were collected in “ just beyond the firelight : stories and essays ” ( 1988 ) and “ one good road is enough ” ( 1990 ) . fed up with teaching , mr. waller took an unpaid leave of absence in 1990 and obtained a $ 200 , 000 grant from the state to study the future of the region . his report , “ iowa : perspectives on today and tomorrow , ” was published in 1991 . with “ bridges ” still riding high , mr. waller recorded an album , “ the ballads of madison county , ” and in 10 days wrote his second novel , “ slow waltz in cedar bend , ” about the love affair between an economics professor and a colleague ’s wife . with a first printing of a million copies , it , too , shot to the top of the lists . seeking solitude , mr. waller moved to a ranch in alpine , tex . southeast of el paso . the high desert country provided the setting for his novels “ puerto vallarta squeeze : the run for el norte ” ( 1995 ) and “ border music ” ( 1995 ) . both sold well , but not spectacularly . mr. waller decided to revisit the scene of his first novel in “ a thousand country roads : an epilogue to the bridges of madison county , ” published in 2002 . it continued the adventures of an older , lonelier kincaid , who hits the road again and , at one point , finds his way back to territory . in his next novel , “ high plains tango ” ( 2005 ) mr. waller passed the generational baton to kincaid ’s son , a master carpenter who battles to stop development on the site of an indian burial ground in south dakota . mr. waller ’s last novel , “ the long night of winchell dear ” ( 2006 ) was a taut , atmospheric thriller about a retired professional poker player and a fateful night at his ranch in the texas desert . the romantic flame ignited by “ the bridges of madison county ” was slow to die . “ i receive letters each week from people who have read it and are moved by the story , ” mr. waller told book page in 2005 . “ at one time , i received 50 to 100 letters per week . now it ’s more on the order of five . the last i knew , 350 marriage ceremonies had been celebrated at roseman bridge . ”
+1 coalition nations seek to put north korea in a vise nan coalition nations seek to put north korea in a vise october 27 , 2016 coalition nations seek to put north korea in a vise japan , the united states and south korea agreed on thursday to work together to put more pressure on north korea to get it to abandon its nuclear and missile programs , japanese vice foreign minister shinsuke sugiyama said . tension on the korean peninsula has been high this year , beginning with north korea 's fourth nuclear test in january , which was followed by a satellite launch , a string of tests of various missiles , and its fifth and largest nuclear test last month , all in defiance of international sanctions . co " we reaffirmed the necessity to increase pressure against north korea to have it give up its nuclear and missile development and realise the denuclearization of the peninsula , " sugiyama told reporters . he was speaking after a meeting in tokyo with u.s. deputy secretary of state antony blinken and south korean deputy foreign minister lim sung - nam . ( tokyo ) - russia and north korea 's lone major ally , china , have pushed for a resumption of six - party talks on denuclearization in north korea . the talks , which also involve japan , south korea and the united states , have been on hold since 2008 . lim said his government had decided to resume talks with japan for the conclusion of general security of military information agreement ( gsomia ) , a pact that would share sensitive information on north korea 's missile and nuclear activities . read more : dni clapper says that north korea is a lost cause the signing of the agreement was expected in 2012 , but south korea postponed it amid domestic opposition against concluding such a security pact with japan , a one - time colonial ruler . tokyo 's ties with seoul , plagued by a territorial spat and japan 's past military aggression , have warmed after reaching a landmark agreement last december to resolve the issue of korean girls and women forced to work in japan 's wartime brothels . article by doc burkhart , vice - president , general manager and co - host of trunews with rick wiles got a news tip ? email us at help support the ministry of trunews with your one - time or monthly gift of financial support . donate now ! download the trunews mobile app ! click here ! donate today ! support trunews to help build a global news network that provides a credible source for world news we believe christians need and deserve their own global news network to keep the worldwide church informed , and to offer christians a positive alternative to the anti - christian bigotry of the mainstream news media top stories
+1 harry potter and the nipple pumps - culture minister to consider ban nan topics : harry potter , culture sunday , 13 november 2016 her majesty 's principal secretary of state for culture , media and sport , karen bradley , has been asked by mps to reconsider approval of the printing of j.k. rowling 's latest novel , ' harry potter and the nipple pumps ' . " ok " , explained the culture secretary , " bdsm is spreading , i guess , especially if you look to westminster , and they 've all grown up , and i can see rowling 's open mind here . hagrid as perpetrator , or the executor , of bondage ceremonies in his little bungalow . and the discipline , dominance and submission rituals exerted by teaching staff . however , sadism and masochism on the part of pupils is somewhat disturbing though i would like to see the screen version for assessment purposes only , of course .... " harry potter and the prisoner of azkaban is taken to a new level by rowling , with hagrid tormenting and torturing his beloved schoolkids , and ron weasly being forced to solitary confinement : he has to watch endless repeats of harry potter and the chamber of secrets . sadism in the extreme . hermine granger , stretched out with wrist and ankle restraints , is subjected to speeches by donald trump and tony blair , while harry potter is revealed as a masochistic freak , locking himeslf into a time warp zone with gary glitter . " it 's pretty hefty stuff , but .... well , i like it , " commented bradley . " it 's different . i mean , we all had to handle nigel farage for months , so this is really nothing in particular . and , you should see what we get up to at our cabinet meetings " make t. loaf 's day - give this story five thumbs - up ( there 's no need to register , the thumbs are just down there ! )
+0 christian leaders denounce trump ’s plan to favor christian refugees - the new york times laurie goodstein over the past decade , christians in the united states have grown increasingly alarmed about the persecution of other christians overseas , especially in the middle east . with each priest kidnapped in syria , each christian family attacked in iraq or each coptic church bombed in egypt , the clamor for action rose . during the campaign , donald j. trump picked up on these fears , speaking frequently of christians who were refused entry to the united states and beheaded by terrorists of the islamic state : “ if you ’re a christian , you have no chance , ” he said in ohio in november . now , president trump has followed through on his campaign promise to rescue christians who are suffering . the executive order he signed on friday gives preference to refugees who belong to a religious minority in their country , and have been persecuted for their religion . the president detailed his intentions during an interview with the christian broadcasting network on friday , saying his administration is giving priority to christians because they had suffered “ more so ” than others , “ so we are going to help them . ” but if mr. trump had hoped for christian leaders to break out in cheers , that is , for the most part , not what he has heard so far . a broad array of clergy members has strongly denounced mr. trump ’s order as discriminatory , misguided and inhumane . outrage has also come from some of the evangelical , roman catholic and mainline protestant leaders who represent the churches most active in trying to aid persecuted christians . by giving preference to christians over muslims , religious leaders have said the executive order pits one faith against another . by barring any refugees from entering the united states for nearly four months , it leaves people to suffer longer in camps , and prevents families from reuniting . also , many religious leaders have said that putting an indefinite freeze on refugees from syria , and cutting the total number of refugees admitted this year by 60 , 000 , shuts the door to those most in need . “ we believe in assisting all , regardless of their religious beliefs , ” said bishop joe s. vásquez , the chairman of the committee on migration for the united states conference of catholic bishops . jen smyers , the director of policy and advocacy for the immigration and refugee program of church world service , a ministry affiliated with dozens of christian denominations , called friday a “ shameful day ” in united states history . it remains to be seen whether mr. trump ’s executive order will find more support in the pews . during the campaign , mr. trump successfully mined many voters’ concern about national security and fear of muslims . he earned the votes of four out of every five white evangelical christians , and a majority of white catholics , exit polls showed . in interviews on sunday , churchgoers in several cities were sharply divided on the issue , including on whether christian teachings supported giving priority to christians . “ love thy neighbor ” was cited more than once , and by both sides : it was seen as both a commandment to embrace all peoples and to defend one ’s actual neighbors from harm . “ you look at a city like mosul , which is one of the oldest christian populations in the world , ” said mark tanner , 52 , a worshiper at buckhead church , an evangelical church in atlanta , referring to the besieged iraqi city . “ there ’s a remnant there that want to stay there to be a christian witness . ” “ so yeah , ” he continued . “ we should reach out to everyone , but we have to be real about it and as far as who you let come into the country . ” nmachi abengowe , 62 , a native of nigeria who attends oak cliff bible fellowship in dallas , cited violence in africa in defending mr. trump ’s preference for christian refugees . “ they believe in jihad , ” he said of muslims . “ they do n’t have peace . peace comes from jesus christ . ” that was not the view of makeisha robey , 39 , who was at the atlanta church . “ i think that is just completely opposite what it means to be a christian , ” she said . “ god ’s love was not for you specifically . it ’s actually for everyone , and it ’s our job as christians to kind of enforce that on this planet , to bring god ’s love to everyone . ” john and noreen yarwood , who attended mass at the of st. joseph , a catholic church in brooklyn , said they feared that a policy of preference for christians could in practice become a preference for certain denominations of christianity over others . “ what does this administration mean by christian ? ” mr. yarwood , 37 , asked . he said that refugees are deserving of help and mercy “ because of desperation and poverty , ” not because of their religion . “ this is not grace , ” he said of the president ’s order . “ it does n’t follow christian teachings . ” christian leaders who defended mr. trump ’s executive order were rare this weekend . one of the few was the rev. franklin graham , the son of the evangelist billy graham and the president of samaritan ’s purse , an evangelical aid organization . mr. graham has long denounced islam as “ evil , ” and in july 2015 proposed a ban on muslims entering the united states as a solution to domestic terrorism , months before mr. trump made his first call for the same . in a statement on saturday , mr. graham said of refugees , “ we need to be sure their philosophies related to freedom and liberty are in line with ours . ” he added that those who followed sharia law — a set of beliefs at the core of islam — hold notions “ ultimately incompatible with the constitution of this nation . ” jim jacobson , the president of christian freedom international , which advocates for persecuted christians , applauded the executive order and said , “ the trump administration has given hope to persecuted christians that their cases will finally be considered . ” among the claims mr. trump made at his campaign rallies was that the obama administration had denied refugee status to christians , and had given preference to muslims . “ how unfair is that ? how bad is that ? ” he told supporters at a rally in st. clairsville , ohio , interlaced with boasts about his “ tremendous evangelical support . ” the contention was consistent with the conspiracy theories held by some conservative christians that mr. obama was secretly a muslim , and that he was turning a blind eye to the suffering of christians while using the reins of government to increase the muslim population of the united states . but the claim is simply untrue . in 2016 , the united states admitted almost as many christian refugees ( 37 , 521 ) as muslim refugees ( 38 , 901 ) according to the pew research center . while only about one percent of the refugees from syria resettled in the united states last year were christian , the population of that country is 93 percent muslim and only 5 percent christian , according to pew . and leaders of several refugee resettlement organizations said during interviews that it took 18 months to three years for most refugees to go through the vetting process to get into the united states . many syrian christians got into the pipeline more recently . “ we have no evidence that would support a belief that the obama administration was discriminating against christian populations , ” said the rev. scott arbeiter , the president of world relief , the humanitarian arm of national association of evangelicals . his organization has resettled thousands of muslim refugees , with the help of a network of 1 , 200 evangelical churches . mr. arbeiter said that world relief is opposed to “ any measure that would discriminate against the most vulnerable people in the world based on ethnicity , country of origin , religion , gender or gender identity . our commitment is to serve vulnerable people without regard to those factors , or any others . ” he said that world relief had already gathered 12 , 000 signatures from evangelical christians for a petition opposing mr. trump ’s executive order . “ we ’re going to call out to our network , the 1 , 200 churches that are actively involved , ” he said , “ and ask them to use their voices to change the narrative , to challenge the facts that drive the fear so high that people would accept this executive order . ”
+1 ‘ most wanted’ drug baron hands himself in , says life on the run ‘ got too much’ admin ‘ most wanted’ drug baron hands himself in , says life on the run ... ‘ most wanted’ drug baron hands himself in , says life on the run ‘ got too much’ by 0 157 a notorious british drug baron turned himself in to the cops because the “ pressure ” of life on the run became too much for him . robert gerrard , of liverpool , handed himself over to national crime agency ( nca ) officers in manchester after being named on a most wanted list of criminals . the 53-year - old made the arrangements through his solicitor after complaining the “ pressure of being on the run had got too much for him . ” he was added to the uk ’s most wanted list as part of operation return , a campaign to capture criminals on the lam . he appeared in manchester magistrates’ court on wednesday , where he was charged with conspiracy to import cocaine in a £ 60 million ( us$ 75 million ) plot . gerrard is believed to have used café de ketel , in rotterdam , the netherlands , as a front for international drug trafficking . nca regional head of investigations greg mckenna said : “ robert gerrard handing himself in shows the impact we are having with our most wanted campaigns . three arrests in under a week is a tremendous result . “ we do n’t know at this stage how long gerrard has been back in the uk for , but he told our officers that the pressure of being on the run had got too much for him . “ the fugitives on our most wanted list really do have nowhere to hide . i would urge any of the remaining ones to take note – save yourself the trouble and hand yourself in because we will never stop hunting you and you will face justice , ” he added . crimestoppers director of operations roger critchell said : “ the fact robert gerrard handed himself in to police is again an indication that when the pressure mounts , hiding places become harder to find . “ this is a great result as it follows two fugitive arrests in the last week from our sister campaign targeting those on the run in spain . these campaigns really do work . ” his next hearing will be at manchester magistrates’ court on november 23 . via rt . this piece was reprinted by rinf alternative news with permission or license .
+1 police left standing rock and refuse to return . here 's why dikran arakelian ( noreply@blogger.com ) share on facebook widespread outrage over both the construction of the dakota access pipeline and violent police crackdowns rages on . that outrage is spreading even to police agencies now returning from deployment to the reservation . two departments have already refused to return , citing personal and public objections . as if that was n't enough , an army of sympathizers is re - purposing social media to combat police efforts in standing rock . minnesota 's hennepin county sheriff 's department is among that group . lawmakers , according to mpr news , found police activities in standing rock “ inappropriate . ” it 's to the point where they 're considering rewriting legislation to avoid future deployments to incidents like the pipeline resistance . police officials , of course , declined to comment on their return from north dakota or their feelings on what 's happening there . it 's also made the task of rebuilding trust with the community an even loftier uphill battle . “ i do not support sheriff stanek 's decision to send his deputies to north dakota , ” says lt . governor tina smith , “ nor did we approve his decision to begin with . i do not have any control over the sheriff 's actions , which i think were wrong , and i believe he should bring his deputies home if he has n't already . ” smith 's comments split the state 's government , however , and she was targeted . minnesota state rep. tony cornish condemned smith for prioritizing “ the rights of protesters over the needs of law enforcement , ” saying she should apologize to the cops . sheriffs from wisconsin 's dane county were more empathetic , pulling out and refusing to return . according to the bismarck tribune , sheriff dave mahoney made the decision after a “ wide cross - section of the community ” decried the deployment . “ all share the opinion that our deputies should not be involved in this situation , ” says mahoney . dane county 's deputies were deployed to standing rock for around a week . sources report dane county was n't involved in recent arrests , a string of which scooped up an alderwoman from madison wisconsin . ald . rebecca kemble traveled to north dakota as a “ legal observer , ” filming and participating in prayer ceremonies . when morton county officers – if they cans till be called that – grabbed and arrested her for engaging in a riot . according to kemble , no riot was happening . other wisconsin departments have been recalled , with at least one staying behind for a more couple weeks . many other citizens have been charged for trespassing and participating in non - existent riots , including journalists . one of the most renowned reporters who 's faced dapl ( dakota access pipeline)- related charges was amy goodman of democracy now . goodman 's team filmed dog attacks by dapl contractors who lacked proper k9 licenses . the contractors have also been accused of unethical surveillance , intimidation , and sabotaging the movement by attempting to make authorities believe the protesters have finally turned violent . other journalists , including documentarian deia schlosberg , face decades in prison for filming climate activists at a separate oil project . journalists from the independent outlet unicorn riot , who recently reported use of a sound cannon on water protectors , have also been arrested . thousands of opponents to the pipeline have flooded standing rock to repel construction and police brutality . more still have taken to the internet , spreading information in the form of writing , video , photography , and art . among the renegade tactics is using facebook to “ check - in ” at standing rock . according the guardian , over a million people – even people i know – have joined the action . it began with a facebook post , disclosing that morton county sheriffs are allegedly using facebook check - ins to track protesters . “ checking in”– whether you 're at a friend 's , restaurant , or escalating resistance – pinpoints your location to a tee . once you check in , a notification is sent out to , yes , your friends , but theoretically anyone who 's capable of watching . it 's yet another tool in the bag of tricks authorities have deployed against civilians , and are likely utilizing in standing rock . some detractors have dismissed the social media action as a waste of time . an editor at the fifth column challenged these in a facebook post , narrating a debate on the subject he 'd had . editor justin king pointed out that even if the check - in 's wasted two minutes of time , multiplied by hundreds of thousands , that equates to two months of wasted police work . now imagine how ineffective the surveillance may be with millions continuously checking . morton county sheriff 's , guardian reports , called claims of police surveillance misguided “ rumors . ” morton county , by their own account , is n't “ monitoring facebook check - ins for the protest camp or any location for that matter . ” before you trust them , consider that facebook access for water protectors was reported as “ blocked’ during a military - style raid on a camp . data collection nationwide other police departments are similarly sketchy when pressured to speak on their surveillance technologies . wisconsin 's milwaukee pd hid the use of cell site simulators , or stingrays , from courts for months . stingrays mimic cellphone towers , thus tricking phones into providing all manner of user information and data . nearby , the wauwatosa police department , despite having admitting to “ collecting and analyzing cell phone data ” in its public reports , denied ever even coming close to a stingray . it took the department 5 weeks to respond to that open records request , which is considered unusually long . it remains unknown how wauwatosa pd , which has been blasted for lack of transparency before , collects cell phone data . the hand 's fingers in open rebellion in addition to the general retreat of departments , two officers have already turned in their badges in support of the protesters . north dakota water protector redhawk , mintpress reports , disclosed the revelation . the individual also pointed out “ you can see it in some of them , that they do not support the police actions.”“some are waking up , ” they continued , “ we must keep reminding them that they are welcome to put down their weapons and badge and take a stand against the pipeline as well . ” hints of shame could be seen in the faces of officers who confronted protesters as they blocked them from prayer grounds . as the protesters condemned officers , some of whom looked down or off to the horizon in shame . the modern era of internet and technology gifts us with a plethora of ways to express ourselves , and help one another . standing rock is quickly becoming a stand out of that fact . citizens , journalists , and activists are all using the internet to achieve their own goals . whether that be spreading information being blocked , tracking police movements , sending food and rations or just voicing opinions . standing rock 's resistance is spreading globally , with protests occurring in europe and elsewhere . as long as construction does n't stop , the movement wo n't rest . related :
+0 buzzfeed scoop : sebastian gorka not a nazi or anti - semite - breitbart joel b. pollak buzzfeed ’s mitch prothero traveled all the way to hungary to dig up dirt on white house foreign policy advisor dr. sebastian gorka — and discovered that he is neither a nazi or an antisemite , but merely a conservative . [ prothero did his best to smear gorka . he describes the former breitbart news editor ( inaccurately ) as having “ failed his way upwards ” ( a description that could apply equally to the career paths of many of buzzfeed ’s own crack reporters ) . but in the search for evidence of gorka ’s ties to the prothero came up short , despite contacting gorka ’s former employers in hungary and members of the hungarian counterintelligence service . gorka ’s hungarian critics are not shy to attack him , either : some describe him rather viciously . even so , they say that gorka is not a nazi or an antisemite . “ sebastian gorka is not a nazi or a security threat because he is some sort of secret british agent , ” said a member of the hungarian counter intelligence service , who has reviewed the files a security background check on gorka from 2002 . “ gorka is , how do you say in english — a peddler of snake oil . ” … gorka ’s rejection for a [ hungarian ] security clearance to serve on the committee was a devastating blow to his reputation in hungary . he had come to be seen as a the intelligence official said , while the minor ties to the british government that had been established were enough to alienate him from much of the hungarian nationalist right . … this chimes with the views of some of those who knew him in hungary , who remember gorka as and keenly but whose views set him outside the . … “ within the context of historical hungarian fascism , gorka never appeared to be particularly interested in these [ extreme , ] movements , having always been a supporter of the atlantic alliances and an advocate for hungarian integration into the west , ” he said . “ so i do n’t think it ’s fair to characterize him as a nazi , when he ’s more of a . ” … “ the charges that gorka supports movements ” — such as jobbik , which has been roundly criticized by human rights groups across europe — “ does n’t seem consistent with his attitude or background when he was here in hungary , ” said horvath , citing gorka ’s loud stance . “ while all seem to be nazis , not everyone in the hungarian right is a racist because there ’s a lot of diversity in thought . ” when asked about the controversy over gorka ’s use of his father ’s order of vitéz medals and title , molnar first dismissed the complaint , arguing that the order was fairly common in hungarian political circles , and is associated with nationalism rather than ideology . porter also confirms what was first reported here at breitbart news — that the medal gorka wore at the inauguration , which was awarded to his father for his anticommunist activism by an organization called the vitezi rend , had nothing to do with the historical vitezi rend that had ties to the hungarian regime in the second world war . joel b. pollak is senior at breitbart news . he was named one of the “ most influential ” people in news media in 2016 . he is the of how trump won : the inside story of a revolution , is available from regnery . follow him on twitter at @joelpollak
+0 chelsea clinton : sexism , racism , islamophobia , homophobia , jingoism ’is not an opinion’ - breitbart pam key monday in washington , dc at the care national conference , former first daughter chelsea clinton declared the public has to recognize that sexism , racism , islamophobia , homophobia and jingoism were not “ opinions . ” clinton said , “ we also have to recognize particularly at this moment that sexism is not an opinion . islamophobia is not an opinion . racism is not an opinion . homophobia is not an opinion . jingoism is not an opinion . so i think that in our posture of listening also have to get comfortable with standing up and speaking out because i also agree that those of us that have been blessed and by definition all of us on the stage today have been blessed there is a responsibility with giving voice to the voiceless but also using our own voices . ” ( grabien ) follow pam key on twitter @pamkeynen
+0 burlesque dancer fired , investigated by secret service for trump assassination tweet - breitbart katherine rodriguez the secret service is investigating a burlesque dancer from kentucky after she posted a tweet that said she hoped someone would be “ kind enough ” to assassinate president donald trump . [ “ if someone was cruel enough to assassinate mlk , maybe someone will be kind enough to assassinate trump , ” heather lowrey , 26 , of louisville wrote on twitter . the secret service confirmed it interviewed lowrey and is still investigating the incident , the new york daily news reported . lowrey posted the tweet jan. 17 , three days before trump ’s inauguration . the tweet disappeared not long after it was posted , along with all her social media accounts . the bio on her profile said she was a “ a louisville vixen and aspiring wwe diva ” before the account was taken down , the daily news reported . no charges have been announced against her yet , but her former employers have already issued statements denouncing the tweet and have severed ties with her , wave reported . va va vixens , a burlesque group in louisville , let lowrey go as soon as they found out about the incident , citing a “ zero tolerance policy ” for her behavior . “ we do not condone hate by any party and will not partake in it . we in no way support negative behavior or malicious intent from anyone , ” the group said . american income life , travis moody office , also severed ties with lowrey and issued a statement on the company ’s facebook page saying , “ heather lowrey is no longer contracted with the travis moody agency . ” “ the travis moody agency , its agents and its staff do not share the same views , nor opinions as heather lowrey . we have a zero tolerance policy and would never condone this behavior , ” the company said . she is the only person to face a federal investigation for posting about the assassination of president trump . the secret service is also reportedly looking into madonna ’s comments at the women ’s march on washington saturday after the singer said she had thought of “ blowing up the white house . ”
+0 donald trump should n’t ‘ put his children out of work,’ giuliani says - the new york times nicholas fandos and eric lipton washington — rudolph w. giuliani , a top adviser to donald j. trump , said on sunday that it would be “ unrealistic ” to remove mr. trump ’s children from their roles in running his business empire and place the assets into a strict blind trust like the ones used by previous presidents . “ i think he ’s in a very unusual situation , ” mr. giuliani said on cnn ’s “ state of the union . ” “ he would basically put his children out of work , ” he added , “ and they ’d have to go start a whole new business , and that would set up new problems . ” as president , mr. trump will not be required to sell his assets , which he has valued in billions of dollars . but the vast scope of mr. trump ’s assets and business dealings is likely to lead to questions about how his actions as president would affect the financial fortunes of him and his family . most modern presidents have elected to use a blind trust , which puts their assets under the control of an independent trustee . ethics experts said mr. giuliani ’s remarks were misguided on ethical and political grounds . kenneth a. gross , a lawyer who advises corporations and members of congress on ethics issues , said it was important for mr. trump “ to separate his vast business interests from his official decision making . ” “ if not , it is going to be a constant thorn in his side , ” mr. gross added . “ it might even be unfair criticism he will get , as he might be acting in the public interest and still be accused of promoting his business interests because he has not separated them as much as possible . ” turning his business operations over to his children would not insulate him from ethical questions , mr. gross said , and may even exacerbate them . richard w. painter , a white house ethics officer during the george w. bush administration , said it would be problematic if mr. trump used such an arrangement , given that he would ultimately retain ownership of the assets . “ it is extremely inappropriate , ” said mr. painter , who has been a critic of mr. trump ’s candidacy . “ in the past 200 years , we have never had a president with such egregious conflicts of interest with family business holdings . ” mr. giuliani , a vice chairman of mr. trump ’s transition team who is believed to be under consideration for various posts in the trump administration , including attorney general , said fears of a conflict of interest were groundless . mr. trump ’s three eldest children , who hold leadership positions in his businesses , said in an interview on “ 60 minutes ” that was broadcast sunday that they would not work in the administration in any formal capacity . “ we ’ll be in new york , and we ’ll take care of the business , ” mr. trump ’s son eric said . “ i think we ’re going to have lots of fun doing it . and we ’re going to make him very proud . ” the three children , including ivanka and donald jr. as well as ms. trump ’s husband , jared kushner , are members of the executive council of mr. trump ’s transition committee . once mr. trump takes office , mr. giuliani said , the president will erect “ a wall between them with regard to government matters . ” “ you have to have some confidence in the integrity of the president , ” mr. giuliani said . “ the man is an enormously wealthy man . i do n’t think there ’s any real fear or suspicion that he ’s seeking to enrich himself by being president . if he wanted to enrich himself , he would n’t have run for president . ” the financial arrangement was one of a number of questions surrounding mr. trump ’s transition efforts , as his team moved toward announcing staff positions , tried to clarify the ’s agenda and sought to reassure those still questioning his fitness for office . kellyanne conway , mr. trump ’s campaign manager , batted down questions on several television news programs about who would fill critical positions in the coming administration , and she argued that mr. trump ’s victory had already demonstrated that he could bring together democrats and republicans . ms. conway went further on “ fox news sunday , ” saying that it was incumbent upon democrats , including hillary clinton , president obama and senator bernie sanders of vermont , to calm the passions of their supporters who are objecting to mr. trump . she said that many of them were “ masquerading as protesters , ” and that democratic leaders should ask those critical of mr. trump “ to give this man a chance so that this country can flourish . ” she said on nbc ’s “ meet the press ” that she disagreed with mrs. clinton ’s remarks to donors on saturday in which the candidate blamed the f. b. i. director , james b. comey , for her election defeat . the clinton campaign “ misread america , ” ms. conway said , and should take ownership of its loss . “ i just ca n’t believe it ’s always somebody else ’s fault , ” she said . “ sometimes you just have to take a look in the mirror and reflect on what went wrong . ” the house speaker , paul d. ryan , seeking to outline a prospective republican legislative agenda for mr. trump ’s first days in office , said on sunday that mr. trump ’s border security efforts included no plans to create a deportation force — a specter raised during the campaign . “ that ’s not what we ’re focused on , ” mr. ryan said on “ state of the union . ” “ we ’re focused on securing the border . we think that ’s first and foremost before we get into any other immigration issue . ”
+0 muslim groups ’undermining fight against terror’ , leading prosecutor warns virginia hale “ islamist ” muslim groups and community leaders hinder the fight against terror and are interested only in presenting muslims “ as victims ” britain ’s most prominent muslim lawyer has said . [ in an interview with the times , nazir afzal warned that british muslim organisations are “ undermining ” attempts to counter terrorism in the uk by spreading misinformation to discredit prevent , the government ’s programme . section 26 of the and security act 201 compels teachers and some healthcare workers “ to take due regard to preventing people being drawn into terrorism ” yet prevent has been repeatedly slammed by labour mps and large parts of the left — including major unions — for its “ disproportionate ” focus on muslims . but afzal , a deradicalisation expert and former chief crown prosecutor who has successfully prosecuted islamists , credits prevent with having “ stopped at least 150 people from going to syria ” . afzal warned that its “ phenomenally good work ” was being undermined by what he called an “ industry ” of muslim groups , some of which have islamist leanings , pushing “ myths ” about the programme . he also took aim at “ ” community leaders whose sole agenda was to present muslims “ as victims and not as those who are potentially becoming radicals , ” singling out britain ’s largest muslim umbrella group — the islamist dominated muslim council of britain ( mcb ) as an example . the 54 year old , who resigned last week as chief executive of the association of police and crime commissioners , said he was shocked that the agenda at the group ’s annual general meeting last year contained “ nothing about radicalisation and nothing about the threat of people going to syria ” . among groups afzal accused of lying about prevent to discredit the programme are islamist support group cage , which has been described as a “ terrorism advocacy group ” by veteran journalist andrew gilligan , and prevent watch , a “ initiative ” that supports “ communities impacted by prevent ” . cage ’s outreach director moazzam begg , a former guantanamo bay detainee who signed a confession admitting to having been an recruiter , likened islamic extremists to the suffragettes at a 2015 event opposing the prevent programme . “ sadly , there ’s an industry which is trying to undermine prevent . some of them do n’t like anything that ’s and some of them are islamists ” afzal said . “ prevent is simply safeguarding . when we ’re asking people to identify victims of child sexual abuse by looking for signs , it ’s the same thing for radicalisation . look for the signs . if you ’re concerned , share those concerns with somebody and then if they come to fruition we can provide some support . it ’s not about criminalising . ”
+0 trump administration orders tougher screening of visa applicants - the new york times michael d. shear washington — the trump administration is making it tougher for millions of visitors to enter the united states by demanding new security checks before giving visas to tourists , business travelers and relatives of american residents . diplomatic cables sent last week from secretary of state rex w. tillerson to all american embassies instructed consular officials to broadly increase scrutiny . it was the first evidence of the “ extreme vetting ” mr. trump promised during the presidential campaign . the new rules generally do not apply to citizens of 38 countries — including most of europe and longstanding allies like australia , new zealand , japan and south korea — who can be speedily admitted into the united states under the visa waiver program . that program does not cover citizens from any country in the middle east or africa . even stricter security checks for people from six predominantly muslim nations remain on hold because federal courts have temporarily blocked president trump ’s travel ban . but mr. trump and his national security team are not waiting to toughen the rules to decide who can enter the united states . embassy officials must now scrutinize a broader pool of visa applicants to determine if they pose security risks to the united states , according to four cables sent between march 10 and march 17 . that extra scrutiny will include asking applicants detailed questions about their background and making mandatory checks of social media history if a person has ever been in territory controlled by the islamic state . mr. trump has spoken regularly of his concern about the threat of “ radical islamic terrorism ” from immigrants . but it is unclear who , exactly , will be targeted for the extra scrutiny since mr. tillerson ’s cables leave that decision up to security officers at each embassy . still , taken together , consular officials and immigration advocates said the administration ’s moves will increase the likelihood of denial for those seeking to come to america , and will further slow down a bureaucratic approval process that can already take months or even years for those flagged for extra investigation . in 2016 , the united states issued more than 10 million visas . there are legitimate reasons someone might be targeted , such as evidence of a connection to terrorism or crime . but advocates also said they worry about people being profiled for extra scrutiny because of their name or nationality . “ this will certainly slow down the screening process and impose a substantial burden on these applicants , ” said greg chen , the director of advocacy for the american immigration lawyers association . “ it will make it much harder and create substantial delays . ” the cables from mr. tillerson , which were reported by reuters , make clear that the trump administration wants a more intense focus on the potential for a serious threat when making decisions about who should receive a visa . “ consular officers should not hesitate to refuse any case presenting security concerns , ” mr. tillerson wrote in the cables , titled “ implementing immediate heightened screening and vetting of visa applications . ” “ all visa decisions are national security decisions , ” the secretary of state added . during his presidential campaign , mr. trump accused the obama administration of failing to properly screen people coming into the united states , a claim former officials in that administration reject . as a candidate , mr. trump vowed to ban all incoming muslims until leaders could “ figure out what the hell is going on . ” later , he backed away from a total ban on muslims but promised “ extreme vetting ” of those trying to come to the united states . the president ’s first attempt to put tougher screening in place was the executive order aimed at temporarily blocking refugees and people whom mr. trump called “ bad dudes ” from predominantly muslim countries . courts blocked the first version of the president ’s order after a chaotic rollout just days into his term . a second order was blocked this month . but on march 6 , the same day that mr. trump issued his revised travel ban , he also wrote a presidential memorandum ordering the secretary of state , the attorney general and the secretary of homeland security to “ implement protocols and procedures ” to enhance visa screening . administration officials said the cables from mr. tillerson are among the actions being taken to carry out that memorandum . mark toner , a state department spokesman , said the steps aim “ to more effectively identify individuals who could pose a threat to the united states . ” most people seeking entry to the united states , for family , business or tourism reasons , must apply for a visa . embassy officials can deny a visa for anyone suspected of being a threat , conducting fraud or planning to stay longer than allowed . the unclassified cable that mr. tillerson sent on march 15 , which was provided to the new york times , makes clear that the process of securing an entry visa is about to get harder and longer at diplomatic posts around the globe . “ consular chiefs must immediately convene post ’s law enforcement and intelligence community partners ” to develop what mr. tillerson described in the cable as “ sets of populations warranting increased scrutiny . ” people targeted for increased scrutiny , mr. tillerson said in his cable , may be subject to a decision made only after more rigorous screening . the march 15 cable suggests areas of inquiry during a required interview , including : the applicant ’s travel history , addresses and work history for 15 years and all phone numbers , email addresses and social media handles used by the applicant in the past five years . another cable , sent two days later , indicated that consular officers should not begin asking for the travel and work histories until the state department received authorization for those questions from the office of management and budget . it is unclear why that permission had not been granted . the state department also urged its embassy officials to delay or reschedule interviews if an applicant was unable to provide all of the information demanded . and mr. tillerson acknowledged in the cables that the extra scrutiny would cause “ backlogs to rise , ” even as he recommended that officials should each interview no more than 120 visa applicants each day . mr. chen , of the american immigration lawyers association , questioned how a single interviewer who conducts 120 interviews per day — at about five minutes per interview — could improve security for the visa process . “ it ’s highly unlikely they could obtain information that demonstrates whether someone is a national security threat in such a brief interview process , ” he said . in addition to the new security protocols for embassies , the four diplomatic cables sent last week offer a view into how the administration hopes to enact the travel ban if the president ever gets the chance . the march 15 cable , which was sent before federal courts blocked the revised travel ban , increases scrutiny on people from the six countries in the president ’s executive order : iran , yemen , sudan , syria , somalia and libya . it also includes a section calling for increased scrutiny for iraqi nationals . for those from the six countries covered in the ban , the cable envisions a process for potentially granting a limited number of exemptions from the ban by issuing a waiver , but only after vigorous screening . those people would be questioned about their past 15 years of travel and occupational history , as well as whether they have visited territory controlled by the islamic state . a march 16 cable suspended “ all enforcement ” regarding the tougher scrutiny on the countries from mr. trump ’s executive order .
+1 in interview with bill maher , obama warns america : sitting out this election is a vote for trump ( video ) allison vincent by allison vincent election 2016 , news , politics , videos november 5 , 2016 in interview with bill maher , obama warns america : sitting out this election is a vote for trump ( video ) google pinterest digg linkedin reddit stumbleupon print delicious pocket tumblr bill maher finally got his interview with president obama and it ’s a must see ! after hundreds of thousands of petition signatures and months of “ begging ” on his show , bill maher finally managed to get president obama to agree to a sit - down interview , and it aired on real time friday night . during the interview , the two discussed a wide variety of subjects based on questions maher compiled from what he thought his viewers “ would want to know , ” including socialism , global warming , the agriculture industry and the military . they also discussed elitism and religion . president obama answered every question candidly and without hesitation . he even joked around with maher when the subject of marijuana legalization came up . at the end of the interview , maher brought up the election and the president had this to say to people who are still on the fence , or are choosing not to vote at all : “ anybody sitting on the sidelines right now , or deciding to engage in a protest vote — that ’s a vote for trump , and that would be badly damaging to this country , and very damaging to the world . “ bill maher may have scored one of the most in - depth interviews with president obama ever , and you wo n’t want to miss it . watch the full interview here : featured image via video screenshot share this article !
+1 jimmybitch boycott the nfl
+0 macron pulls ahead of le pen in post - debate snap poll liam deacon centrist emmanuel macron has pulled ahead of populist marine le pen in a snap poll following a fiery tv debate wednesday night . [ more than 60 per cent of viewers found mr. macron more convincing than ms. le pen in the debate , according to an opinion poll by elabe for bfmtv . around 34 per cent , meanwhile , said the arguments of ms. le pen were more persuasive . the former front national leader has defied polls in the past , however . in a survey by the same company after last month ’s debate with all the first round candidates , ms. le pen received the smallest share of support for her vision for france , coming behind “ ” melénchon and conservative françois fillon . ms. le pen went on to convincingly defeat both candidates in the first round of voting . last night ’s debate was notably acrimonious , with both candidates deploying personal insults and attacks . ms. le pen slammed the european union ( eu ) and branded her competitor a “ darling of the system ” . she also said : “ you need to show a little less arrogance before the election . it seems to me that you try to treat them as children . ” mr. macron , meanwhile , said his rival was a “ parasite ” and “ liar ” who risked throwing the nation into civil war .
+0 as daylight saving starts , some ask : why fall back at all ? - the new york times jess bidgood damariscotta , me . — several years ago , the owner of a sandwich shop on the main drag here grew so tired of turning the clocks back in the fall — and witnessing the early sunsets that followed — that he simply decided not to . that year , he kept his shop on daylight saving time all winter . “ we have such short days , ” said sumner fernald richards iii , the owner . “ it was very nice to get out in the afternoon and still have an hour or two of daylight . ” changing the clocks brings grumbles around the country , and especially here , in the nation ’s easternmost region , where “ falling back ” in the wintertime means sunsets as early as 4 p. m. and sometimes earlier . but as the clocks once again were nudged ahead to daylight saving time in many parts of the nation over the weekend , foes of turning the clocks back in the first place saw a glimmer of hope in new england . efforts to alter time zones pop up around the country like spring tulips every year , and rarely get very far . but some in new england are trying a different tack this time : they want , in essence , to stay on daylight saving time throughout the year , and think that a concurrent regional approach could be the key . if multiple new england states make the jump at the same time , the thinking goes , it just might happen — even if that means taking the unusual step of splitting from the time zone of the rest of the east coast , including new york city . “ we are a distinct region of the country , ” said tom emswiler , a health care administrator in boston who is part of a dedicated smattering of new englanders pushing for the change . “ if new york wants to join us on permanent atlantic time : come in , the water ’s fine . ” the efforts to join atlantic standard time would mean that , for about four months out of the year , some new england states would be an hour ahead of the rest of the eastern time zone . last year , massachusetts created a commission to study the question . the states have not coordinated , but in new hampshire , rhode island and maine , proposals have been filed that could open the possibility for such a change , at the very least , if their powerful neighbor — home to boston , an economic driver — does . “ our markets and our businesses would be operating ahead of new york i do n’t know how they ’d like that , ” state senator eileen m. donoghue of massachusetts said . she is chairwoman of the state ’s commission , which has a major public hearing this week . the idea , the senator said , requires much more study and perhaps , down the line , will merit a summit meeting of the interested states . “ when you look at the geography , we certainly line up more with the atlantic time zone , ” ms. donoghue said . puerto rico , the u. s. virgin islands and parts of canada including nova scotia are on atlantic standard time now . experts say the plan seems unlikely to come to fruition . even if state legislatures passed these bills — and , so far , only new hampshire ’s house has — it would require either a regulatory action by the federal department of transportation , or an act of congress . the governors of massachusetts and rhode island have expressed reservations about making such a break . but the debate has renewed musings about why , exactly , this part of the country is part of a time zone that may better serve cities to its west , and whether the region ought to boldly step away from its neighbors — maybe even on principle . “ why do we essentially torture ourselves — in the spring in particular — and keep changing the clocks and messing everybody up ? ” asked donna bailey , a democratic state representative from saco , me . who filed a bill on the matter this year . under the current form of the bill , she said , maine would have a referendum on the issue if both massachusetts and new hampshire made the switch . “ if we do it on a regional basis , ” ms. bailey added , “ you carve out a niche for yourself , that you do n’t have to be so dependent on new york city . ” any such switch would create a special complication for connecticut since the northern part of the state is closely tied to massachusetts , while many residents of the southern section commute to new york city . the most frequently cited argument against a change is its effect on schoolchildren , who would most likely board buses in the dark on winter mornings . proponents counter that the whole state of maine , as well as communities including boston , are considering pushing school start times back , too . plus , opponents say , such a change could create confusion for businesses and chaos for passengers taking amtrak trains from new york to boston and trying to figure out what time it is . broadcast schedules — and with them , teams like the patriots and the bruins — could be affected as well . “ once you start toying with the clocks , there are repercussions that people do n’t bear in mind , ” said michael downing , the author of “ spring forward : the annual madness of daylight saving time . ” time was kept locally in the united states until 1883 , when railroad companies established the time zones . daylight saving time began in europe during world war i as an effort to save energy . it was adopted by the united states in 1918 but repealed the following year after strident objections from farmers , who preferred having more light in the morning , not in the evening . but more cosmopolitan and some eastern areas , like new york city and the state of massachusetts , decided to keep it , opening up an inconsistent approach to timekeeping until congress split the difference in 1966 and set the rule as six months of standard time and six months of daylight saving time . it is now observed between the middle of march and the beginning of november — except in arizona and hawaii , which have opted out . if nothing else , the bills have sparked renewed rumination on time and light here in new england , and many people have their reasons for considering a change . “ definitely it would mean a longer day of business , ” said lynn archer , a chef who owns two restaurants in rockland , me . and groaned the other day as the harbor there glowed pink during an early evening sunset . but the idea has left others — including the editorial board of the bangor daily news — aghast , saying it would isolate the state and hurt business . plus , many mainers are used to things as they are . “ you ’re tough new englanders , it ’s just like — yeah , it ’s cold and dark , ” said susan d’amore , of washington , me . “ so ? ”
+0 transgender texas boy gets new birth certificate merrill hope born mary grace , a north texas child is now officially named max . his parents petitioned a court to change all of his legal documents , including his name , birth certificate , and social security card to reflect his male name and identity . [ max briggle ’s mother amber told wfaa : “ he ’s always going to be transgender , but having that piece of paper , my hope is that it ’s going to make it a little easier for him . ” she called these changes , “ another milestone , ” and believed the new paperwork was essential for her child while the state legislature debates the proposed “ bathroom bill , ” sb 6 . if passed into law , this legislation would mandate people use bathrooms based on the gender shown on their birth certificates . amber and husband adam , who reside outside of dallas in denton , became visible advocates for transgender children as the “ bathroom bill ” debate heated up nationally and in texas . max , then mg , became the face of texas trans kids when his parents invited attorney general ken paxton to dinner at their home . the family wanted to show paxton they were a “ normal , remarkably unremarkable family , ” according to the dallas morning news . paxton and his wife accepted the invitation . the ag lead a lawsuit against the former obama administration over a transgender directive that advised public school students could use the bathroom and other facilities based on “ gender identity . ” ultimately , a federal judge blocked the obama transgender guidelines . “ as long as we ’re going to pass laws saying which facilities you can and ca n’t use , it ’s awfully nice to have a document saying he can use it , ” said amber briggle . “ at the same time , i just feel like it ’s so unnecessary . why do i have to change my son ’s birth certificate so he can be treated like the boy that he is ? ” a changed birth certificate impacts more than bathrooms . in 2016 , texas public school superintendents resoundingly approved the university interscholastic league ’s ( uil ) amendment requiring that school districts use a ’s birth certificate to determine gender identification if questioned , as reported by breitbart texas . the uil is the state ’s governing body for competitive public school athletics , music , and academic events . recently , north texas transgender teen athlete mack beggs , transitioning from female to male , competed on the girl ’s wrestling team because of uil rules , breitbart texas reported . altering max ’s name required a letter from a physician meeting specific requirements and a court order . according to wfaa , texas health human services said only 34 people in the entire state met these requirements and could change their vital documents last year . in this case , the briggle family went through the u. s. state department to amend their trans child ’s birth certificate since he was born in the netherlands . the state department issues a consular report of birth abroad ( crba ) when american children are born in a foreign country . that document now states max ’s sex as male . a crba functions as a birth certificate for all official purposes . amber briggle believes going through the state department simplified the lengthy process . “ the fact that he was born abroad made it significantly easier for us than had he been born here in texas , ” she said . “ in which case , i ’m not sure it would have happened at all . at least not at this age . ” the family now plans to have a “ ” baby shower to commemorate the revised paperwork . “ i want to have a baby shower for my baby boy , ” said amber briggle . “ he ’s always been my son . but it ’s been this very long , gradual process over nine years for us to get to this point , and i feel like that needs to be recognized . ” follow merrill hope , a member of the original breitbart texas team , on twitter .
+0 figuring out when and why squids lost their shells - the new york times nicholas st. fleur shaped like a torpedo and about as swift , squids are underwater predators . together with their nimble brethren , the octopus and cuttlefish , they make for an agile invertebrate armada . but that was not always the case . hundreds of millions of years ago , the ancestors of the tentacled trio were slow , heavily armored creatures , like the ammonites and the belemnites . alastair tanner , a doctoral student at university of bristol in england , wanted to better understand why those cephalopods lost their shells . but though both ammonites and the belemnites have left behind rich fossil records , their descendants have not . so mr. tanner conducted a genetic analysis of 26 present day cephalopods , including the vampire squid , the golden cuttlefish and the southern octopus . with the molecular clock technique , which allowed him to use dna to map out the evolutionary history of the cephalopods , he found that today ’s cuttlefish , squids and octopuses began to appear 160 to 100 million years ago , during the mesozoic marine revolution . mr. tanner published his findings last week in the journal proceedings of the royal society b : biological sciences . during the revolution , underwater life underwent a rapid change , including a burst in fish diversity . some predators became better suited for crushing shellfish , while some smaller fish became faster and more agile . “ there ’s a continual arms race between the prey and the predators , ” said mr. tanner . “ the shells are getting smaller , and the squids are getting faster . ” the evolutionary pressures favored being nimble over being armored , and cephalopods started to lose their shells , according to mr. tanner . the adaptation allowed them to outcompete their shelled relatives for fast food , and they were able to better evade predators . they were also able to keep up with competitors seeking the same prey . today most cephalopods are squishy and . the biggest exception is the nautilus . but though there are more than 2 , 500 fossilized species of nautilus , today only a handful of species exist . squid and octopus species number around 300 each , and there are around 120 species of cuttlefish . the differences in number , compared with the nautilus , indicates the advantages that these cephalopods may have gained over their shelled relatives , according to mr. tanner . “ it became a much more successful strategy to be a really high metabolism , very rapid moving animal , ” mr. tanner said , “ and they evolved into these really quite amazing things we see today . ”
+0 christian farmer barred from michigan market because of views on gay marriage - breitbart thomas d. williams , ph.d. a catholic apple grower in michigan has been barred from a city farmers’ market over his views on marriage , after he refused to host a lesbian couple ’s wedding at his orchard . [ stephen tennes , the owner of country mill farms , has sold his fruit and vegetables at the east lansing farmer ’s market for the past seven years . after city officials learned of his christian belief that marriage is the union between one man and one woman , they invoked a policy to exclude him from being able to sell at the farmers’ market . tennes says he was barred from selling his produce after his business , country mill farms , refused to host a lesbian couple ’s wedding at its orchard in charlotte , 22 miles outside east lansing . explaining his position on facebook , tennes cited his “ catholic belief that marriage is a sacramental union between one man and one woman . ” in a statement , the city of east lansing said the farmer ’s decision not to host a wedding violated a “ ordinance that protects sexual orientation as well as the supreme court ’s ruling that grants the right for couples to be married . ” in point of fact , the city introduced a modification to the city ’s farmers market vendor agreement just this year requiring sellers to comply with east lansing ’s human relations ordinance . among other things , the ordinance prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation , gender identity and expression . the city ’s punitive action targets the farmer ’s use of his own private property , 22 miles outside the city and well outside its jurisdiction . mr. tennes has declared that he does not discriminate against lgbt customers at the farmer ’s market , and gladly sells his produce to all comers . “ it ’s our faith that informs us how to treat all who come to our farm and the farmers market with dignity and decency … serving customers of many races , religions , cultures and those who identify with the lbgt community , ” he said . when it came to actually hosting a marriage that contradicts his biblical understanding of the nature of marriage , tennes felt obliged to decline . “ our faith and beliefs on marriage and hosting weddings at our home and in our backyard of our farm have nothing to do with the city of east lansing , ” tennes said at a press conference . according to gay star news , the biblical view of marriage is “ homophobic ” and the city of east lansing barred tennes for his “ homophobic religious views . ” on wednesday , may 31 , tennes filed a federal lawsuit against the city of east lansing seeking his reinstatement at the market . according to the lawsuit , country mill is the only business to have been prohibited under the market ’s policy . the alliance defending freedom , a nonprofit legal organization specializing in religious liberty cases , is representing tennes . they have asserted that his religious views on marriage have no bearing on his involvement at the market and said the city ’s actions amounted to a first amendment violation . “ steve and his farm have been singled out and excluded from full participation in the life of the community for only one reason , ” said adf counsel kate anderson . “ steve expressed a viewpoint the city did not like . ” “ if the government can shut down a family farmer just because of the religious views he expresses on facebook … then no american is free , ” anderson said . follow thomas d. williams on twitter follow @tdwilliamsrome
+0 hillary clinton crashes tribeca film festival breitbart news new york ( ap ) — the premiere of a virtual reality short by director kathryn bigelow was already a event at the tribeca film festival on saturday night . and then hillary clinton walked onstage . [ advertisement
+1 colorado cannabis industry contributes more to economy than all other industries noreply@blogger.com ( alexander light ) . colorado cannabis industry contributes more to economy than all other industries the colorado cannabis industry has quickly gone from bud to full flower , as indicated by a new in - de ... print email http://humansarefree.com/2016/11/colorado-cannabis-industry-contributes.html the colorado cannabis industry has quickly gone from bud to full flower , as indicated by a new in - depth data analysis by the marijuana policy group . using a new “ marijuana impact model ” they say is the first to “ accurately characterize how this industry impacts the overall state economy , ” the researchers confirmed the astounding positive impact that legalization has brought upon colorado . legal cannabis activities generated an output of $ 2.39 billion in 2015 , with almost $ 1 billion in sales for the year . the sales represent a 42.4 percent increase from the previous year , translating into a staggering 112 metric tons of buds and 132 metric tons of “ flower - equivalent ” products ( edibles , concentrates , etc.).cannabis now ranks number six in terms of product sales , following closely behind cigarette sales . it beats gold mining by a large margin , and even performing arts and sports venues as well as all non - grain crop farming . however , the real impact is seen when put in terms of “ output and employment per dollar spent , ” where spending in the cannabis industry outperforms all private industries in colorado – including coal and other mining , oil and gas , casinos , business services , general manufacturing and retail trade ( incl . alcohol ) . each dollar spent on retail cannabis generates $ 2.40 in state output , while cannabis manufacturing follows with $ 2.34 and cannabis cultivation comes in at a close $ 2.13 . combining the three , cannabis is generating far more than any other entity , including federal government spending . much of this has to do with the fact that the colorado cannabis industry operates almost entirely within the state , due to continuing prohibition in other states . george jung , the biggest marijuana dealer of the 60s : " marijuana was accepted and almost legalized " there is equally impressive news in the jobs sector , where legal cannabis created more than 18,000 jobs in a year . “ legalization of marijuana created 18,005 fulltime equivalent ( fte ) jobs in 2015 . among those jobs , 12,591 were employees directly involved with the marijuana business — either in stores and dispensaries , cultivations , or infused product manufacturing operations . “ the remaining 5,414 full - time equivalent positions were generated by intermediate input purchases made by the cannabis industry for general business goods and services , and through general spending by marijuana industry employees and proprietors . ” security guards comprise a significant portion of these indirect jobs , due in large part to the fact that the industry is still being forced to operate on a cash basis — because of asinine banking prohibitions by the federal government and the federal reserve . this is n’t stopping entrepreneurs and other productive individuals from taking advantage of the new , wildly popular market . legal cannabis is having profound effects in many other industries , including commercial real estate , construction , and a raft of business services . the cannabis industry itself is growing at a faster pace than any other sector , at an astonishing 42.4 percent . colorado ’s general economic growth is at 3.5 percent and the u.s. average is 1.75 percent . the growth analysis found a very interesting result that supports a primary argument for ending prohibition . 36.2 percent of the economic growth was the result of the disappearance of the black market . when people are free to indulge in the personal behavior of ingesting a substance – as they can with alcohol – they will naturally choose to do so through the legal market , even if it means having to pay exorbitant taxes . and colorado is gladly raking in this tax revenue . “ in 2015 , marijuana taxes were the second largest revenue source among excise products in the state ( e.g. , tobacco , alcohol , and gaming ) . “ combined marijuana excise and sales tax revenues were $ 63.4 million in 2014 , and $ 121.2 million in 2015 . 5 for 2015 , they were 14 percent larger than casino / gaming revenues , 6 about 5 percent less than lottery revenues , and almost three times larger than alcohol revenues . ” the huge increase in tax revenue is primarily caused by the rapid increase in recreational use sales since legalization in 2014 , and the fact that recreational products are taxed at a much higher rate than medical cannabis products . interestingly , the report noted that a significant portion of the cannabis industry growth is coming from visitors who go to colorado on cannabis vacations , rather than some other reason like skiing or hiking . “ this visitor demand segment is poised to grow from 14 metric tons in 2015 , to 55.1 metric tons by 2020 , based upon these new , sole - purpose visitors choosing colorado as a marijuana destination . ” if there is one negative aspect to the report , it is that small cannabusinesses are struggling to stay alive as the industry becomes dominated by larger companies . while some of this is the natural result of competition , it appears that many of them are being regulated out of business by the state . “ private industry owners purport that consolidation is not being caused purely by price competition , but instead by high compliance costs . “ for example , the owner of one of colorado ’s largest retailers recently stated that many small operations are unable to properly comply with the state ’s complex regulations , leading them to exit the market . ” there lies the hidden barb of legalization . there ’s no question that ending prohibition is the right thing to do , but government tends to place needless , cumbersome burdens on free enterprise which favors larger conglomerates and smothers the little guy . this ultimately leads to less competition and the tendency for monopolies to develop , which makes it easier for government to siphon their taxes . all in all , though , the analysis by the marijuana policy group is heartening , and it shows other states how incredibly beneficial it is when people regain freedom and a new market is born . the report is especially timely , as nine states will be voting in less than a week to expand legal access to cannabis through recreational and medicinal means . by justin gardner
+1 trump wins florida – needs michigan to win it – can he do it ? mac slavo matt drudge has called florida for donald trump . major news channels still holding back on their call but have noted that she ’s not making any gains as final votes are counted . the race now comes down to michigan . donald trump is projected to win michigan but the race is tight with 2.8 million votes remaining . michigan is not yet a win for trump .
+0 ‘ lula,’ brazil ’s ex - president , is charged with corruption - the new york times simon romero rio de janeiro — federal prosecutors in brazil filed corruption charges wednesday against luiz inácio lula da silva , the former president who has wielded influence across latin america for decades , portraying him as the mastermind of a sprawling graft scheme intended to maintain his party ’s grip on the presidency . deltan dallagnol , a prosecutor , called mr. da silva the “ ultimate commander ” of bribery and kickback schemes that allowed his leftist workers’ party to build coalitions in congress , describing him as “ the general ” at the helm . the actual charges against mr. da silva , who was president from 2003 to 2010 , focus on a much narrower claim : prosecutors accuse mr. da silva and his wife of illegally receiving about $ 1 . 1 million in improvements and expenses for a beachfront apartment paid for by a large construction company seeking public contracts . but beyond the specific charges , which must still be accepted by a judge , the prosecutors said mr. da silva had been instrumental in a bigger corruption scheme that has thrown brazil ’s political system into turmoil for more than two years . in their complaint on wednesday , prosecutors contended that mr. da silva had overseen a system of illicit payments , kickbacks and campaign donations in which the construction company o. a. s. paid as much as $ 26 million to obtain contracts from brazil ’s oil giant , petrobras . the prosecutors did not claim that mr. da silva personally pocketed that money . instead , they asserted that it went to oil executives , workers’ party leaders and lawmakers in the governing coalition to help maintain the party ’s grip on power . the prosecutors are now demanding that mr. da silva return that amount of money to public coffers . the charges and broader allegations are a major blow to mr. da silva , adding to a mounting list of legal problems that have complicated his ambitions of returning to the presidency . just a few years ago , mr. da silva , a former labor leader who never finished elementary school , ranked among brazil ’s most powerful politicians . his party held the president ’s office for 13 years , overseeing a period of brisk economic growth during which millions were lifted out of poverty . but bribery scandals and a severe economic crisis have tarnished his legacy , ending with the ouster of his handpicked successor , dilma rousseff , who was removed by the senate in august in a contentious impeachment trial . prosecutors in são paulo had already filed corruption charges against mr. da silva at the state level in march , arguing that he had sought to conceal his ownership of the apartment . mr. da silva will also stand trial on charges of obstructing the investigation into the bribery scheme surrounding the national oil company , petrobras , a federal judge ruled last month . nearly 40 politicians and business leaders have been jailed since prosecutors discovered the petrobras scheme in 2014 . in all , investigators say that contractors paid nearly $ 3 billion in bribes to executives at the oil giant , who pocketed some of the gains while also channeling funds to politicians in the governing coalition led by the workers’ party . mr. da silva and his lawyers have repeatedly said that he did nothing illegal in relation to the apartment in guarujá , a seaside city near são paulo . but investigators said o. a. s. a large brazilian construction company , had illegally paid for a series of improvements at the property . prosecutors also filed corruption charges against the former chief executive of o. a. s. mr. da silva ’s lawyers , cristiano zanin martins and roberto teixeira , said in a statement that the charges and the broader allegations “ attack the democratic rule of law and the intelligence of brazilian citizens , ” and that their client was innocent . the charges were filed after months of simmering tension related to mr. da silva ’s legal battles . federal police agents raided his home in march and briefly held him for questioning . after that , ms. rousseff , the president at the time , offered him a cabinet post that would have given him broad legal protections from being jailed . but brazil ’s supreme court blocked the nomination . rui falcão , the president of the workers’ party , described the latest charges as an effort to hamper mr. da silva ’s involvement in politics . mr. da silva has signaled that he plans to run for president again in 2018 , and polls have placed him among the leading contenders . “ these charges were expected as part of an effort to criminalize lula , ” mr. falcão said . the amount of money that mr. da silva is accused of receiving in the form of an apartment upgrade pales in comparison with what others have been accused of pocketing in recent years . eduardo cunha , the conservative former speaker of the lower house of congress , who orchestrated the effort to oust ms. rousseff , is charged with taking as much as $ 40 million in bribes and laundering them through an evangelical megachurch . and sérgio machado , a former chief executive of a petrobras unit who was a member of the centrist party of brazil ’s new president , michel temer , has agreed to return more than $ 20 million in bribes . brazil ’s entire political system is struggling to react to the steady drip of charges and revelations from various bribery scandals . the new administration of mr. temer , the former vice president who engaged in a bitter power struggle with ms. rousseff , is facing dismal approval ratings and doubts about its legitimacy after various cabinet ministers were forced out of their posts over reports that they were seeking to stymie corruption inquiries . mr. temer ’s former attorney general , fábio medina osório , claimed over the weekend that he had been fired after seeking damages from construction companies involved in the petrobras scheme . mr. medina osório told the magazine veja that mr. temer ’s government was seeking to “ smother ” the inquiry , which is popularly known as car wash , after a gas station in brasília that a money dealer used to launder bribes and kickbacks . heightening the sense of distrust , some figures involved in the scheme have been secretly recording one another , with the idea of using the information to reach plea deals with prosecutors .
+0 larry summers : paper by trump officials navarro and ross ’economic equivalent of creationism’ - breitbart breitbart tv during a tuesday interview with bloomberg , harvard professor and former clinton treasury secretary larry summers criticized a paper written by trump economic officials peter navarro and wilbur ross as “ well beyond voodoo economics . ” summers said the transition to a new administration is a matter “ of enormous uncertainty , and i do n’t think that ’s fully recognized by markets . ” summers also criticized a paper written by white house national trade council head peter navarro and commerce secretary wilbur ross as “ well beyond voodoo economics . ” and , “ the logic of it , the arguments made , are so far out of the mainstream of any kind of responsible economic thinking that they ’re the economic equivalent of creationism . ” he also compared the paper to scientists who do n’t believe in global warming . ( business insider ) follow breitbart . tv on twitter @breitbartvideo
+1 pa. lawmakers approve ban on naming officers in shootings howard portnoy print as cities nationwide grapple with fatal police shootings , many involving unarmed black men , pennsylvania ’s legislature on thursday passed and sent to gov. wolf a bill that would block public officials from immediately releasing the names of officers involved in such incidents . the measure , sponsored by republican state rep. martina white of philadelphia and approved by the gop - controlled legislature , stoked sharp opinions and drew votes largely along partisan lines . supporters say the bill , supported by several local police unions , is necessary to protect police officers and their families after such incidents . “ we are the protectors of our protectors , ” said one proponent , rep. dominic costa , a pittsburgh de mocrat . opponents said the bill flies in the face of transparency , which they believe is even more critical in tragic circumstances involving police shootings . “ do not undermine the bridges that have been built between law enforcement and communities of color , ” said rep. margo davidson ( d. , delaware ) during a floor debate . “ this legislation will do nothing but breed suspicion . ”
+1 putin says election hacking accusations are political ploys nan putin says election hacking accusations are political ploys october 27 , 2016 putin says election hacking accusations are political ploys russian president vladimir putin said on thursday american politicians were whipping up hysteria about a mythical russian threat in the u.s. presidential campaign as a ploy to distract voters from their own failings . putin , addressing an audience of foreign policy experts gathered in southern russia , said he found it hard to believe that anyone seriously thought moscow was capable of influencing the nov. 8 election . the u.s. government has formally accused russia of a campaign of cyber attacks against democratic party organizations , while democratic candidate hillary clinton has accused republican rival donald trump of being a putin " puppet " . article by doc burkhart , vice - president , general manager and co - host of trunews with rick wiles got a news tip ? email us at help support the ministry of trunews with your one - time or monthly gift of financial support . donate now ! download the trunews mobile app ! click here ! donate today ! support trunews to help build a global news network that provides a credible source for world news we believe christians need and deserve their own global news network to keep the worldwide church informed , and to offer christians a positive alternative to the anti - christian bigotry of the mainstream news media top stories
+1 comment on what donald trump needs to do by debbie menon debbie menon by rahul manchanda , esq . on november 10 , 2016 there has never been a better - suited and more experienced president when it comes to these issues ... by rahul manchanda , esq . now that donald trump has been elected president of the united states of america , there are a lot of things he needs to do . he has seen firsthand the unseemly underbelly of the various deep state actors that have fought tooth and nail to both undermine and character assassinate him , as well as destroy him personally and professionally . but donald trump is made of legendary stuff , and not only endured these constant and underhanded attacks , but also exposed and destroyed them all , one by one . however the problems facing him and his administration still exist , and part of his mandate needs to not only “ make america great again , ” but to also ensure that the cancers that plague american society are dealt with and destroyed , once and for all : the media donald trump needs to somehow dismantle and break up control of the american media by only 6 major corporations . he needs to light a fire under the collective asses of the federal trade commission ( “ ftc ” ) and force them to do their job . no agency in the united states is so important but has been so asleep at the wheel than this one . problems with the ftc and its lack of teeth or motivation has resulted in some of the most heinous consolidations of illicit power in the hands of an evil greedy few , devastating and hurting the american people , and donald trump and his family as well . large behemoths such as the hillary clinton / deep state allies such as google and the major media need to be first on the chopping / neutering block . the big international banks similarly , the awesome power and monetary capital of the big banks , hedge funds , investment banking houses , and other financial institutions have also been left to their own devices , allowed to grow like a cancer without any ftc or treasury oversight , to the point where they literally threaten american democracy and its people on a daily basis – indeed they , just like the major media , got behind hillary clinton , even in the face of all her crimes and conspiracies , to unseat donald trump to ensure that he never got into presidential office . hillary clinton ’s wall street fundraising benefited from loophole in federal anti - corruption rule this lesson donald trump should never forget – because as long as they are allowed to continue their domestic and global hegemony unchallenged , they will also pose an existential threat not only to the american people and their civil liberties / human rights / constitutional guarantees , but also to donald trump and his efficiency as president himself . one of his first orders of business should be the reinstatement of the glass - steagall act , previously repealed by bill clinton in 1998 , which separates investment banking money from mom and pop checking / savings accounts , so that risky investments by banking houses will , and should , result in their bankruptcy , rather than being bailed out by the american taxpayer . many argue that this repeal , coupled with the forced reduction of credit standards of fannie mae and freddie mac by bill clinton through his hud director andrew cuomo to buy a home , created the mortgage crisis and crashed the american economy ( some say deliberately ) in 2008 . goldman sachs sickeningly created a reverse credit swap derivative , betting on the impending housing mortgage crisis , and made billions in the glass - steagall repeal that was pushed by their own robert rubin , larry summers , and gene sperling , when they were us treasury secretaries and economic policy advisors under bill clinton . rubin , greenscam , and summers donald trump also needs to take on the federal reserve , audit them , and if he finds any irregularities or shady behavior ( which he most assuredly will ) , then he needs to immediately repudiate and/or renegotiate the insanely ridiculous 23 trillion dollars in american debt , delivering the american people from the yoke of financial and tax slavery by the central bankers of america , europe , and overseas . optimally he might consider issuing american currency from the us government , rather than by a secret closed - off cabal of illicit and greedy private international citizens / corporations . president bill clinton promotes nafta at the united states chamber of commerce in november , 1993 . bring industry and manufacturing jobs back to the usa as donald trump so effectively and succinctly repeated while on the campaign trail over the past 2 years , the north american free trade agreement ( “ nafta ” ) was single - handedly one of the most devastating and disruptive treaties ever placed on the books of american jurisprudence , thus resulting in the mass loss of tens of millions of american jobs , industries , manufacturing facilities , revenue , and self - confidence of the american people – donald trump needs to rebuild and re - establish american pre - eminence in industry , manufacturing , and hardcore goods for services , all made and manufactured in the united states of america . stupid foreign wars donald trump has also echoed the american overwhelming cry of anti neo - conservative bloodlust by keeping america out of stupid , foreign wars geared only for the benefit and power of a few , endangering the safety and welfare of the many . to do this donald trump must revamp and refresh the us department of defense , the pentagon , the intelligence services , and the military . he must ensure that not one single drop of american blood be shed for another hopelessly stupid war – if the united states has become a national security state with its greatest source of income and revenue being the weapons , artillery , and products of the military industrial complex ( “ mic ” ) then he needs to find alternative and supplemental sources of revenue such as what was described above in terms of manufacturing and industrial jobs and factories being re - established within the united states . section 60 of arlington national cemetery offers tragic testimony to america ’s most recent wars donald trump needs to value the heroism and self - sacrifice of american soldiers , military and veterans , and stop sending them on unnecessary stupid wars for the sake of the wealth and power of the deep state , and also to ensure that once our soldiers return home , that they are treated like the true heroes and privileged class that they are , and always should be ( jobs , health care , benefits , and utmost respect ) . no one has better described the predicament facing the american people in this regard than dr paul craig roberts in his stellar work , “ the neoconservative threat to world order . ” this also means developing working and effective relationships with other great world powers such as russia , china , and india , in the spirit of mutual respect and friendship , to jointly take on the world ’s problems and terrorists together , based on mutual consultation and consensus , rather than with the united states “ policing the entire world . ” reversing divide and conquer one of the first things that donald trump said upon accepting his election as president was that he wanted to listen to everyone , and bring everyone together under the fabric of the united states of america . right off the bat , he declared that he would be a uniter , and not a divider . to that end he needs to now undo the “ special protected classes , ” chock full of con - artists and whiners who use their protected class status to get special privileges , abuse others , trample on the right of others not lucky enough to be different , or oppress the constitutional , civil , and human rights of the rest of america . from undermining the second amendment and influencing elections to sponsoring color revolutions in eastern europe and the middle east , the ominous footprint of george soros is everywhere.— reclaimourrepublic these protected classes have been revealed to be the “ henchmen ” and agents of the deep state , by the likes of such men as arch - manipulator and “ color revolution ” social engineer , george soros , who use these unwitting “ protected classes ” to do their dirty work , in their ongoing assault on the american people with their “ divide and conquer ” rhetoric , pitting men against women , children against their own parents , gays against straights , minorities against majorities , and different races / religions against one another . the only ones who benefit from this intra - american infighting have always been the ruling class deep state plutocrat elite , who have watched with smiles , rubbing their hands , as they kept the american people fighting amongst themselves , so that the people are too busy fighting and killing each other to notice or challenge the crimes and conspiracies of the deep state elite themselves . criminal justice and family court reform no single “ american industry ” has been so lucrative to the deep state elite , and debilitating to the american people , than the horrific butchering process known as the american criminal justice and family court system – indeed many would argue that the dismal state of race relations in america have their origins in the disparate treatment of racial and religious minorities by the state - sanctioned and wholesale criminality of the american police state as implemented by bill clinton and joseph biden ’s crime bill of 1994 and its corresponding draconian legislation pertaining to the family and criminal courts and its privatized prison industrial complex . surrounded by lawmakers , president bill clinton hugs then - sen . joseph biden after signing the $ 30 billion crime bill at the white house on sept. 13 , 1994 . dennis cook / ap all too often , fundamental constitutional rights and guarantees have been squelched and squashed by the “ american stasi ” as formulated by the 1994 crime bill , and its corresponding us department of justice state - sanctioned “ community oriented policing ” gang - stalking program , resulting in 1/3 of all african - americans , 1/6 of all latinos , and 1/10 of all whites having been unfairly and without due process , probable cause , or evidence arrested , incarcerated , with families destroyed , resulting in over 70 million americans with permanent criminal records ( more than the entire population of france ) – something is wrong here , and donald trump needs to do something about the fact that biden and clinton et al have transformed our once great and proud country into a “ nation of criminals . ” donald trump needs to take the immediate measures and remedies to undo and reverse the american police state as described by john whitehead in his seminal book and treatise , “ battlefield america . ” foreign relations as donald trump echoed while on the campaign trail , he is a subscriber to the thomas jefferson school of thought of “ peace , commerce , and honest friendship with all nations – entangling alliances with none . ” i am sometimes asked if i have any regrets about publishing our book . as of today , my only regret is that it is not being published now . after the humiliations that obama has endured at the hands of the israel lobby and the hagel circus , we would sell even more copies and we would not face nearly as much ill - informed criticism . — stephen walt , co - author of the book . donald trump is an “ america - firster , ” and will not allow the united states to get embroiled and enmeshed in unnecessary foreign stupid wars , treaties , and other entanglements which tend to negatively affect american sovereignty , weighing us down like a rock around our collective necks – foreign nations need to put their “ big boy pants ” on and deal with their own internal skirmishes , civil wars , financial problems , and other internecine conflicts on their own , without the constant hand - holding ( and financial and military support ) of the united states and its hard working taxpayers . unless the sovereignty or security of the united states is directly at risk , the usa needs to stay the hell out of the worlds’ problems and to focus on our own people , economy , and issues . the sentiments echoed herein can be attributed to legendary libertarian statesmen such as dr ron paul and his protege daniel mcadams . re - injecting and reinforcing american moral standards no area of american life has been so undermined and impacted as the deterioration of fundamental american values , morals , and character in the past few decades of american society , disastrously affecting american individuals , families , cities , states , and eventually the nation itself . this has been augmented and exacerbated by the constant , irresponsible , and disgusting messages in the american media , movie industry , hollywood , by the undermining of organized religion in america , and the disruption of common value systems as brought on by unregulated mass immigration and non - assimilation by various foreign elements . a nation ’s moral health and compass is absolutely essential for it to be considered a “ shining city on a hill ” as described by legendary president ronald reagan himself . for this , donald trump must use his “ bully pulpit ” as a leader to identify , isolate , target , and then take on the purveyors of common filth and disrepute by the american hollywood movie and television industry , media , and other enemies of common human decency and morality . american infrastructure as donald trump is the ultimate and consummate “ builder , ” it will be awe - inspiring to watch him re - build american infrastructure , such as our railroads , transportation systems , airports , roads and highways , hospitals , schools , buildings and cities . there has never been a better - suited and more experienced president when it comes to these issues , and donald trump will not disappoint in this very important arena of america ’s pride , patriotism , self - confidence , and self - respect . incumbent attorney general loretta lynch cleanse the judiciary it is no secret that the last 8 years of steady obama appointments have stocked the american judiciary , federal state and local , with either deep state bankster agents , or their “ protected class ” useful idiot appointees , who all report back to the same deep state oligarchy / plutocracy anyway . the only thing these appointees have in common is that they generally have no respect for or understanding of the us constitution or the bill of rights . the direct deep state judicial appointees , usually hailing from the big law firms who in turn represent the big banks / corporations , know exactly who their masters are , while the ambitious “ protected class ” judicial appointees are either imbalanced activists , or too stupid to realize that their biased , unconstitutional judicial opinions serve the same deep state elite anyway , as they help to eviscerate and destroy the protections afforded and guaranteed by the us constitution . either way , a major house cleaning is in order , and donald trump needs to re - stock the judiciary with learned , educated , and constitutionally minded judges in the federal and state courts all throughout america , beginning with the major cities first , “ pruning the judicial tree ” as he goes along . also see :
+0 woody harrelson quits smoking pot after 30 years warner todd huston actor woody harrelson is almost as famous for his outspoken advocacy of marijuana as he is for his movie roles , but now , after 30 years of advocacy , harrelson is swearing off pot . [ in a new interview , the hunger games star revealed that his pot smoking days are over . harrelson , 55 , told vulture that he stopped smoking pot a year ago . “ i am a party animal , ” the oscar nominee said . “ but on the other hand , i have n’t … i ’m now extremely moderate , and … i actually stopped smoking pot almost a year ago . ” the interviewer noted that he , too , had “ a problem ” with pot saying that it “ messed with his head ” and made him “ less productive . ” harrelson agreed to a degree with that characterization , saying , “ yeah , that was a little bit of my issue . just 30 solid years of just partying too f***ing hard . ” this might shock some of the actor ’s fans . after all , harrelson has been a longtime fan of pot . so much so that he has publicly supported the marijuana organization norml ( national organization for the reform of marijuana laws ) has served on the organization ’s board , and even once applied to open a medical marijuana dispensary in hawaii . perhaps realizing he was bucking years of advocacy , harrelson was quick to add that he is still a supporter of pot . “ i do n’t have a problem at all with smoking . i think it ’s great . i think it ’s a great drug , in terms of … even cops say that the side effect is euphoria . or the … what do you call it ? … the effect of it is euphoria , ” he said . “ but when you ’re doing it all the time , it just becomes … well , you know . i feel like it was keeping me from being emotionally available . i really do n’t want this interview to turn into a whole thing about that . ” follow warner todd huston on twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail . com .
+1 western intelligence agencies are running al - qaeda camps in north africa quest we are change intelligence agencies are running al - qaeda camps in north africa?— un consultant ( exclusive ) new evidence points to a western cover - up of algerian state sponsorship of islamist jihadists , to protect oil and gas interests by nafeez ahmed an unpublished report by a government advisor and un consultant , obtained exclusively by insurge intelligence , accuses western and algerian security services of complicity in al - qaeda terrorist activity across north africa . the academic report focuses on damning evidence that a devastating al - qaeda terrorist attack on the tigantourine gas plant near in amenas , algeria , was orchestrated by algeria ’s secret services , with the knowledge of us , french and british intelligence . a draft copy of the report , due to be published later this month , has been seen exclusively by insurge intelligence . escalating instability in north africa is being blamed on the re - emergence of an offshoot of al - qaeda?—?al - qaeda in the islamic maghreb ( aqim ) . despite french military efforts , the group is re - consolidated in northern mali , and has orchestrated terror strikes from burkino faso to the ivory coast . yet the new draft report by a un consultant , prepared by the international state crime initiative ( isci ) at queen mary university of london , uncovers remarkable evidence that the phoenix - like return of aqim is thanks to the unwavering covert support the terror group receives from one of the west ’s staunch allies in the ‘ war on terror’ : algeria . terror ties the as - yet unpublished report highlights evidence of such support from the in amenas attack between 16 and 20 january 2013 , which resulted in the deaths of 39 foreign nationals , including three americans , six britons , five norwegians , and one french . the tigantourine gas plant is operated jointly by bp , norway ’s statoil and the algerian state - owned sonatrach , producing 12 % of algeria ’s natural gas . algeria ’s in amenas gas plant ( reuters ) the attack was the single largest terrorist killing of ‘ westerners’ since the london bombings of 7 july 2005 . the queen mary university of london report is authored by social anthropologist professor jeremy keenan of the school of oriental and african studies ( soas ) , university of london . keenan , who has authored over 200 peer - reviewed scholarly articles and six books on the sahara - sahel region , is an advisor on regional security issues to nato , the us state department , the eu , the un , the british foreign office , and international oil companies . the report reveals startling evidence that the attack was secretly organised by the drs , algeria ’s notorious secret intelligence service . the idea was to convince algeria ’s western allies to continue supporting the regime ’s domestic and regional counter - terrorism programmes , amidst growing international scepticism about their success . algeria ’s drs maintained intimate ties with the terrorists behind the in amenas attack , many of whom have been longstanding agents of the algerian security services , the report says . us , british and french intelligence services are aware of these connections , but are covering them up to protect their considerable oil and gas interests in the country . among the report ’s most alarming revelations is that over the last decade , algeria ’s drs has run a secret al - qaeda training camp in the tamouret region , with the knowledge of western government security agencies . al - qaeda camp?—?run by algeria ’s secret state over several years , prof keenan obtained direct eyewitness evidence from locals about the secret al - qaeda camp in tamouret , including from an aqim member who trained there . its purpose is to recruit , indoctrinate and train marginalised youth from across north africa into committing atrocities in algerian communities?—?after which they would usually be executed . al - qaeda in the islamic maghreb ( aqim ) fighters in a propaganda video filmed in the sahara ( wikipedia commons ) according to keenan ’s eyewitness sources , the camp was visited almost daily “ by high - ranking army and drs officers … including general rachid ‘ attafi’ lallali , the head of the drs’ external security directorate ( ddse ) . ” the camp was also directly supplied with arms and ammunition from algerian army depots . detailed information on the identities of camp recruits , including dna data , was routinely shared with western intelligence agencies according to sources familiar with the camp . trainee terrorists at tamouret were schooled in sniping and throat - slitting . the camp was provided with a continual supply of prisoners?—?mostly criminals and dissenting soldiers?—?purely for the purpose of being killed during training . over a seven month period , one eyewitness said , about 180 murders had taken place at the camp during such routine practice sessions . in amenas?—?a drs operation keenan ’s report for the international state crime initiative points to disturbing evidence of algerian intelligence services’ direct sponsorship of al - qaeda terror . on 27 august 2015 , senior drs commander general “ hassan ” abdelkader aït ouarabi was arrested by algerian authorities . the arrest was based on allegations from three terrorists captured at the in amenas gas facility , who claimed they had received arms from general hassan . on the same day as gen hassan ’s arrest , the us director of national intelligence ( dni ) , james clapper , flew into algiers for high - level government meetings . the fbi had also been given access to the three terrorists making these allegations before july 2013 . corroborating this information , the report refers to the testimony of former drs captain , h. haroune , and a former captain and instructor in the special forces under drs command at the time , a. chouchan . the two former drs operatives have claimed that “ general mediène [ then drs chief ] ordered the attack on in amenas ( presumably planned to be a hostage - taking mission that the army would resolve as it did at gharis in 2003 ) . ” what did bp know ? astonishingly , the report reveals that before the attack , bp and statoil had a three year contract with a transport services company , baat sarl , owned by mohamed ghadir , the brother of al - qaeda terrorist abdelhamid abou zaïd?—?the head of aqim in the sahara , and chief of the drs - run aqim training camp at tamouret . at the london inquest last year , bp was never questioned about this contract , despite it involving a company tied to the very al - qaeda group that attacked the gas plant . in the years preceding the attack , keenan himself?—?in his capacity as a security consultant?—?repeatedly warned bp that the facility would be attacked by islamist terrorists with the covert support of the algerian government . keenan suggests that bp ’s inexplicable lack of concern about the matter was because the firm had been given security assurances from algerian or western authorities that aqim would not attack the plant . bp did not respond to request for comment . gary rose , an emergency response advisor who worked at the in amenas facility , said that bp ’s onsite security “ was incredibly poor and relied totally on the untested and unknown capabilities of the algerian military . ” rose narrowly avoided the attack having left the site two days earlier . rose , who gave evidence at the london inquest , was especially damning about bp ’s approach . the firm “ did nowhere near enough to protect the facility , even with the most basic and credible scenarios in their own emergency response plans … “ the risk assessment process was flawed , inadequate and done from a view of process safety not human safety . physical security was constantly breached by the local staff and was out of direct expatriate control , the physical barriers and warning / protection systems were wholly inadequate . i know exactly what systems we did and did not have , and management on site were aware of all the failings too . after the fall of libya there should have been a massive review of security , but instead we handed over more control to poorly trained algerian security guards . we were all aware of bandits and arms trafficking in the desert regions but were just relying on the algerian military to manage this , maybe by force or maybe by negotiation ? ” according to rose , the most appropriate way of dealing with the risk would have required abandoning the site to conduct a full review and reinforcement . but shutting down and abandoning the facility , or any other such facilities , “ was never an option due to the huge amount of revenue and european reliance on external hydrocarbons : it ’s economy over safety and that ’s how the petroleum industry works . ” complicity in algeria ’s reign of terror the draft report by queen mary university ’s isci refers to recent revelations from habib souaïdia , a former algerian army officer . according to souaïdia : “ … he had been informed by many of his former colleagues [ in the algerian special forces ] that the leaders of some of the jihadist groups sowing terror in tunisia ‘ take their orders from algiers.’ ” in 2015 , tunisia experienced two major terrorist attacks , in which a total of 61 civilians were killed by gunmen with ties to algeria . souaïdia reported that mobile phones and sim cards of aqim jihadists killed in tunisia ’s mount chaambi border area , obtained by the tunisian army , “ revealed their communications with drs officials in algiers , including their phone numbers and even their nicknames . ” in late 2013 , the information about the sim cards was handed over to us intelligence , which demanded algeria ’s army chiefs put a stop to the support for jihadists in tunisia . but , keenan says , a related us concern was to prevent information on the drs’ dealings with terrorists falling into the public domain : “ the reason for that was because us intelligence services and the drs had been working together as close allies in the so - called war on terror since 2002 and would inevitably , and quite correctly , be seen as having been complicit in whatever ‘ false - flag’ and other such questionable operations had been conducted by the drs since 2002 . ” the aqim - backed insurgency in mali was also being supported by algeria ’s intelligence services . a nigerian military officer told keenan that aqim forces in mali were being supplied food and fuel by the drs . throughout the drs’ sponsorship of regional al - qaeda terrorist activity , the us , britain and france have worked closely with the very same drs on regional ‘ counter - terrorism’?—?despite being privy to damning intelligence on algeria ’s double - game . algerian soldiers the clinton files direct confirmation of high - level us knowledge of the algerian regime ’s relationship with the terrorists behind the in amenas attack came from emails leaked from hillary clinton ’s private server , published by wikileaks in march 2016 . an email dated 17 january 2013 to clinton from her aide sidney blumenthal , noted that the alleged leader of the in amenas attack , aqim terrorist mokhtar belmokhtar [ mbm ] , had a secret agreement with algerian intelligence . under the agreement , belmokhtar would pursue al - qaeda destabilisation operations in mali and the western sahara : “ according to sources with access to the algerian dgse [ the drs ] , the bouteflika government reached a highly secret understanding with belmokhtar after the kidnapping in april 2012 of the algerian consul in gao ( mali ) . under this agreement belmokhtar concentrated his operations in mali , and occasionally , with the encouragement of the algerian dgse , attack moroccan interests in western sahara , where the algerians have territorial claims . ” mokhtar belmokhtar was also , according to keenan ’s eyewitness sources , in charge of logistics for the al - qaeda training camp in tamouret , which he visited every two weeks . hillary clinton a further email dated 19 january 2013 from blumenthal to clinton reported that french intelligence had learnt from a source “ with access to the highest levels of the algerian army ” that : “ … officers of the algerian dgse [ drs ] are looking to secretly meet belmokhtar or one of his lieutenants in northern mauritania in the immediate future . they have been ordered to find out why belmokhtar violated their two - year - old secret agreement and launched attacks inside algeria . ” there is no evidence that such a meeting actually took place , suggesting that the drs was not really interested in finding the answer . in any case , clinton forwarded blumenthal ’s email to robert russo , her assistant in the us department of state?—?which means the us government was aware of the agreement between aqim ’s belmokhtar and algerian intelligence . keenan points out that these emails must be placed in context with the evidence that the drs itself had sponsored the in amenas attack in the first place : “ we therefore had a situation in which the presidency , the army high command and , most likely , western oil companies , knew there was a secret agreement with mbm not to attack installations within algeria . the drs , which would have been the agency that made the deal with mbm , would have assured the presidency and army command that such an agreement had been made . what neither the presidency , army nor foreign oil companies knew , although they may have suspected , was that they had effectively been double - crossed by the drs . ” in either case , it seems that the state department was aware that algerian intelligence was sponsoring islamist terror across north africa . when asked what the state department did with the information it had received via hillary clinton , a spokesperson , pooja jhunjhunwala said : “ as a matter of policy , the department of state does not comment on materials , including classified documents , which may have been leaked . ” however , when asked about the state department ’s position on public record evidence of algerian intelligence support to jihadists supplied by prof keenan?—?who has previously consulted on regional security issues for the state department?—?she simply declined to comment . cover - up ? much of this information was passed on by keenan to the london inquest into the attack on the tigantourine gas plant . yet the inquest , which delivered its verdict in february 2015 , excluded this evidence from the proceedings . keenan himself was blocked from giving evidence at the inquest . the addendum to the queen mary university report includes the full text of a letter dated 30 april 2015 sent by prof keenan to detective constable william wixey of the so15 counter terrorism command , summarising his available evidence . keenan ’s letter offered to provide access to multiple witnesses , two of whom would be non - algerian citizens , who would expose the leader of the in amenas attack as an “ agent ” of algeria ’s secret intelligence service . on 13 may , dc wixey replied to keenan ’s letter to explain that the coroner ’s office was “ of the view that they do not wish to take this matter further at this stage . ” the metropolitan police failed to respond to a request for comment on the decision to block keenan ’s evidence from the inquest . in addition to blocking keenan ’s evidence , the british government used public interest immunity?—?the withdrawal of information on grounds of ‘ national security’?—?to suppress the disclosure of key documents at the inquest on what the government knew , and when . the use of public interest immunity was “ very suspicious , ” london inquest witness gary rose said : “ now we are not able to know what is being withheld and there is little that can be done about that . ” in his report for queen mary university , prof keenan concludes that the government had sought not only to cover up “ its own incompetency with regard to the fco ” , but also to avoid questions about the government ’s “ possible complicity in [ algerian ] state crimes . ” the government ’s goal was to withhold any information alluding to british intelligence collusion with the drs , including evidence that mi6 had been “ complicit in activity that could be construed as criminal . ” in the absence of a further inquiry , there seems little prospect that the questions keenan raises will be answered by officialdom . yet his forthcoming report goes some way toward uncovering the real reasons that the threat of terrorism is escalating in north africa . dr. nafeez mosaddeq ahmed is an award - winning 15-year investigative journalist , international security scholar , bestselling author , and film - maker . he is the creator of insurge intelligence , a crowdfunded public interest investigative journalism project , ‘ system shift’ columnist at vice , and a weekly columnist at middle east eye . he is global editor at the canary . previously , nafeez wrote the guardian ’s ‘ earth insight’ blog . his work has been published in the guardian , vice , independent on sunday , the independent , the scotsman , sydney morning herald , the age , foreign policy , the atlantic , quartz , the new statesman , prospect , le monde diplomatique , raw story , new internationalist , huffington post uk , al - arabiya english , alternet , the ecologist , and asia times , among other places . exclusive stories broken by nafeez via insurgeintelligence have been covered by usa today , global post , the guardian , the independent , washington post , the metro , the week , news corp ’s news.com.au , discovery news , channel 4 news , forbes , columbia journalism review , gigaom , futurezone , among others . in 2015 , nafeez won the project censored award for outstanding investigative journalism for his guardian story on the energy politics of the ukraine crisis . the previous year he won another project censored award , known popularly as the ‘ alternative pulitzer’ , for his guardian article on climate - induced food crises and civil unrest . in 2010 , nafeez won the routledge - gcps essay prize for his academic paper on the ‘ crisis of civilisation’ published in the journal global change , peace and security . he also won the premio napoli ( naples prize ) in 2003 , italy ’s most prestigious literary award created by decree of the president of the republic . nafeez has twice been featured in the evening standard ’s ‘ top 1,000’ list of most influential people in london , in 2014 and 2015 . nafeez is the author of a user ’s guide to the crisis of civilization : and how to save it ( 2010 ) , and the scifi thriller novel zero point , among other books . his work on the root causes and covert operations linked to international terrorism officially contributed to the 9/11 commission and the 7/7 coroner ’s inquest . this story is being released for free in the public interest , and was enabled by crowdfunding . i ’d like to thank my amazing community of patrons for their support , which gave me the opportunity to work on this story . please support independent , investigative journalism for the global commons via www.patreon.com/nafeez , where you can donate as much or as little as you like . al qaeda africa military foreign policy terrorism further source material – insurge - intelligence follow we are change on social media snapchat : lukewearechange fbook : https://facebook.com/lukewearechange twitter : https://twitter.com/lukewearechange i nstagram : http://instagram.com/lukewearechange sign up become a patron and show your support for alternative news for just 1 $ a month you can help grow we are change we use bitcoin too ! 12hdlgeeua87t2ju8m4tbro247yj5u2tvp join and up vote our steemit the post western intelligence agencies are running al - qaeda camps in north africa appeared first on we are change .
+1 u.s./al - qaeda attacks school in idlib , reportedly kills 22 kids , 6 teachers - blames russia and syria nan thu , 27 oct 2016 17:37 utc © omar haj kadour / afp a syrian man checks the damage at a school after it was hit in an alleged air strike in the village of hass , in the south of syria 's rebel - held idlib province on october 26 , 2016 . almost two dozen children have reportedly been killed in an airstrike on a school complex in syria 's idlib province , according to opposition activists . the reports emerged as the un security council debated the dire humanitarian situation in the country . at least 28 civilians , mostly children , were killed when the strikes hit a school complex in the village of hass , the activists said , pinning the blame on either russian or syrian warplanes . the wednesday tragedy was first reported by the controversial two - man , london - based syrian observatory for human rights and the western - funded civil defense network , also known as the white helmets . the opposition idlib media center also confirmed a strike on a school , claiming a " rocket " struck the premises . comment : red flag number one . abdulrahman ( aka sohr ) is a fraud and a terrorist sympathizer ( see : propaganda spin cycle : ' syrian observatory for human rights ' is funded by us and uk governments ) . the white helmets have the distinction of being actual terrorists ( see : white helmets fraud : terrorist support group , not humanitarians - but west loves them ! ) . they are liars , cheats , frauds , and killers . " one rocket hit the entrance of the school as students were leaving to go home after the school administration decided to end classes for the day because of the raids , " an activist said , speaking on condition of anonymity . the un children 's rights & emergency relief organization has condemned the tragedy as a potential " war crime , " saying it is likely the " deadliest attack on a school " since the beginning of the syrian war . " twenty - two children and six teachers were reportedly murdered today when their school compound was repeatedly attacked in idlib , syria , " unicef executive director anthony lake said in a statement . he did not specify the circumstances of the attack or the sources of the reports . " this is a tragedy . it is an outrage . and if deliberate , it is a war crime , " lake added . " when will the world 's revulsion at such barbarity be matched by insistence that this must stop ? " comment : unsg ban ki - moon released an identical statement today , saying : " the secretary - general is appalled by reports of attacks that killed students and teachers in a school complex in haas village , idlib governorate , syria on 26 october . if deliberate , this attack may amount to a war crime . " earlier in the day , russian foreign ministry spokeswoman maria zakharova condemned the attack on a school in syria 's idlib and called for an investigation into the bombing . she also said that international media " launched an attack " on russia by claiming that moscow and damascus are behind the bombing without presenting evidence . russia 's ambassador to the united nations , vitaly churkin , said that moscow will look into the facts to determine whether a possible airstrike destroyed the school , as reports of the deadly assault have so far only been confirmed by groups with tainted reputations and questionable sources . © omar haj kadour / afp a general view shows a damaged classroom at a school after it was hit in an alleged air strike in the village of hass , in the south of syria 's rebel - held idlib province on october 26 , 2016 . commenting on allegations that russian jets could be responsible , churkin said that moscow will wait for the military to assess the situation . " it 's horrible , i hope we were not involved . it 's the easiest thing for me to say no , but i 'm a responsible person , so i need to see what my ministry of defense is going to say , " he said . in it latest daily bulletin , the russian center for the reconciliation of the opposing sides did not mention striking any targets in idlib province . citing a military source , syrian state tv did report that strikes had taken place on terrorist positions in the region , but the targeting of a school complex was not confirmed . idlib province is controlled by the army of conquest , a conglomerate of rebel groups being run by fateh al - sham front ( formerly jabhat al - nusra ) . under the truce agreed between russia and the us earlier this year , islamic state and al - nusra fighters will continue to be targeted in airstrikes until terrorists lay down their weapons . comment : the russian foreign ministry explicitly denied carrying out an airstrike on the school . maria zakharova : " this is a lie . russia has nothing to do with this dreadful attack . " the defense ministry followed up with their own statement , which unlike the paranoid ravings of sohr and the white helmets , actually included some evidence : " on thursday , a russian uav was directed to the area , to conduct detailed digital photography , " said a statement from defense ministry spokesman major general igor konashenkov . " as can be seen from the photos taken by the drone , there are no signs of damage to the roof of the school , or craters from airstrikes around it . " " we have analyzed the photo and video ' evidence ' of the supposed attack . the video published in a range of western media outlets appears to consist of more than 10 different shots , filmed at different times of the day , and in different resolutions that were edited into a single clip , " stated konashenkov . " the photograph published by afp shows that only one wall of the school is damaged , and all the desks inside the classroom are in place . the outer fence seen through the hole has no traces of damage from bomb fragments . in a genuine airstrike this is physically impossible - the furniture would have been swept away by the blast wave , and there would have been damage marks on the classroom wall and the outer fence . " © russian defense ministry " our evidence points to unicef falling victim to another scam from the white helmet fraudsters . before making resonant statements , unicef should check its sources more carefully , to protect the reputation of the respected organization , " continued konashenkov . in addition , just as with the humanitarian aid convoy attack , russian recon detected a u.s. drone in the area at the time of the attack : no russian aircraft entered the area over the syrian idlib , where the alleged strike took place , [ konashenkov said ] . " according to a photo made by a russian uav , the school 's roof is not damaged and there are no bomb craters in the area near the school . similar information may be requested from our american colleagues . russian reconnaissance means registered a us ' mq-1b predator surveillance - and - attack drone . "
+0 leaked ‘ brexit’ memo says u.k. is unsure how to proceed - the new york times steven erlanger and kimiko de freytas - tamura london — the government of britain could need six more months to settle on a plan for negotiating the country ’s exit from the european union and an extra 30 , 000 civil servants to deal with the complexities of the task , according to a memo of uncertain parentage leaked to the times of london on tuesday . the office of prime minister theresa may poured cold water on the memo , denying reports that it was prepared for the government . “ this unsolicited document has nothing to do with the government at all , ” a spokesman said in a statement . “ it was produced by an individual from an external accountancy firm . it has no authority , and we do n’t recognize any of the claims it makes . ” chris grayling , secretary of state for transport , told bbc radio on tuesday , “ it ’s certainly not a government report . ” as for britain ’s departure from the union , known as brexit , he said , “ it ’s a complex process , albeit with some simple objectives . ” the british press , already fluttery over the complications of leaving the european union and the uncertainties of a trade deal with a president donald j. trump who , as a candidate , expressed opposition to free trade , seized on the memo , which the times said was drafted on nov. 7 by a “ consultant ” working for the cabinet office , a government department that supports the prime minister . according to the guardian , the memo was “ understood ” to have been written by a consultant at deloitte and was unsolicited by the government . “ this was a note intended primarily for internal audiences , ” said mark smith , a spokesman for deloitte , confirming the guardian report . “ it was not commissioned by the cabinet office , nor any other government department , and represents a view of the task facing whitehall , ” he added , referring to the central government administration . “ this work was conducted without access to no . 10 or input from any other government departments . ” but the memo to a large extent said what is widely understood : the government has not yet finished its internal debate on what kind of relationship it wants with the european union , nor has it set its priorities for any negotiation and the cabinet remains divided between those favoring as clean a break with brussels as possible and those who want to preserve access to the huge european market . that negotiation would not begin in any case until britain invokes article 50 of the lisbon treaty , which sets a limit for talks with the other 27 member states about britain ’s exit . a ruling by the high court , which is being appealed by the government , said parliament must have a debate and vote on invoking article 50 , which is not solely in the jurisdiction of the british cabinet . while the memo spoke of six months before the government could agree on a negotiating strategy , mrs. may has said she intends to invoke the article by the end of march . she has said little specifically about what she favors , other than a deal that allows immigration controls as well as access to the european single market , which many european officials regard , at least for now , as incompatible . for now , as the memo suggested , she is trying to keep her conservative party together to avoid early elections . the memo also pointed to britain ’s need for more trade negotiators and lawyers to work through that future relationship . having been a member of the european union for more than 40 years , britain had no need for trade negotiators and clearly needs to hire more , and quickly any deal will be legally intricate . given budget cuts and computerization , today ’s civil service is reported to be the smallest since world war ii , at 400 , 000 . the memo ’s figure of 30 , 000 extra civil servants seemed high , however , given that the entire staff of the european commission — brussels’ supposedly mighty bureaucracy — is 33 , 000 , according to official figures . david archer , who is recruiting lawyers and trade negotiators to suggest to the government , said 10 percent of the résumés he is now receiving are of “ good quality , ” with required experience . the number of civil servants is down 20 percent since 2010 , mr. archer said , and many civil servants are unhappy with brexit . “ morale is awful and rock bottom , ” he said . mr. archer , director of the executive search firm circle square , said that the government was training civil servants internally , and looking to law firms , former ambassadors and former trade negotiators . “ it ’s a problem , since we have n’t negotiated at an international level since 1973 , ” he said . there are about 600 trade negotiators worldwide , mr. archer said , including 40 currently in london . robert bourns , the president of the law society , said the government was doing its best at recruiting for brexit , but with only a few months before article 50 is invoked , “ this is an enormous task . ” much of current british law has been developed in europe , mr. bourns said . he added that the government recognized that the number of lawyers capable of drafting legislation had been reduced over time , and needed to be increased . mr. grayling , a prominent brexit supporter , said the government has “ people in my department and in other departments working with the brexit department , ” adding , “ i do n’t know what 30 , 000 extra people would do . ” according to the memo , various government departments are working on more than 500 projects related to brexit , which is more than they can handle . it also repeated widespread reporting about mrs. may ’s management style , which is secretive . it said her tendency of “ drawing in decisions and details to settle matters herself ” or with a small circle of aides would prove unsustainable . “ it may be six months before there is a view on strategy as the political situation in the u. k. and the e. u. evolves , ” said the document , titled “ brexit update . ” members of parliament who favor a quick brexit attacked the memo as intended to harm their case . john redwood , a prominent conservative who supports brexit , said : “ it ’s complete nonsense . you do n’t need consultants who are against brexit and trying to undermine it . they are not speaking for the government , and i ’m very glad they are not . brexit can be much quicker , better and cheaper than they think . ” another legislator , steve baker , said : “ this gloomy memo carries all the hallmarks of the campaign we know is in progress to defy the will of the british people . ”
+0 tillerson signs docs with climate change statement , insisting u.s. ’still reviewing’ policy - breitbart penny starr as a member of the arctic council , the united states has signed onto two agreements that include efforts to protect the arctic from climate change , linking it to human activity and calling on global efforts to reduce its effects , including enforcement of the paris agreement . [ “ the arctic council , which recently celebrated its 20th anniversary , has proven to be an indispensable forum in which we can pursue cooperation , ” tillerson said in remarks to the council . “ i want to affirm that the united states will continue to be an active member in this council . ” “ foreign ministers of the eight arctic states signed the third binding agreement negotiated under the auspices of the arctic council , the ‘ agreement on enhancing international arctic scientific cooperation,’ which will help to facilitate entry and exit of persons , equipment , and material access to research infrastructure and facilities access to research areas the use of traditional and local knowledge and education , career development , and training opportunities for students and scientists , ” the council press release said . the ministers , including tillerson , also signed the fairbanks declaration , which states , in part : reaffirming our commitment to the of the inhabitants of the arctic , to sustainable development and to the protection of the arctic environment , recognizing the rights of arctic indigenous peoples and the unique role of the permanent participants within the arctic council , as well as the commitment to consult and cooperate in good faith with arctic indigenous peoples and to support their meaningful engagement in arctic council activities , acknowledging the contributions of local authorities , and the interests of all arctic residents and communities in the work of the arctic council , further recognizing that activities taking place outside the arctic region , including activities occurring in arctic states , are the main contributors to climate change effects and pollution in the arctic , and underlining the need for action at all levels , noting with concern that the arctic is warming at more than twice the rate of the global average , resulting in widespread social , environmental , and economic impacts in the arctic and worldwide , and the pressing and increasing need for mitigation and adaptation actions and to strengthen resilience , noting the entry into force of the paris agreement on climate change and its implementation , and reiterating the need for global action to reduce both greenhouse gases and climate pollutants . the white house has not taken an official position yet as to whether it will stick with the paris agreement or withdraw , and tillerson did not comment directly on the matter while in alaska , the new york times reported , despite his signing the document in favor of it . “ no decision is imminent , and in his remarks on thursday , mr. tillerson presented the delay as necessary to gain the viewpoints of parties outside the white house and even outside the united states , including the other arctic nations , ” the times reported . “ we are taking time to understand your concerns , ” tillerson told the members of the council , which in addition to the u. s. is comprised of canada , finland , sweden , denmark , norway , iceland , and russia . “ but we ’re not going to rush , ” tillerson said . “ we ’re going to work to make the right decision for the united states . ” “ the council members approved , with little fuss , an agreement on scientific cooperation in the region , ” the times reported . “ but the meeting ’s closing statement , known as the fairbanks declaration , had been the subject of a flurry of negotiations on wednesday . ” “ we came here to fairbanks believing that the declaration language was agreed , ” rene soderman , the senior arctic official for finland , said , noting that the u. s. objected to some language , but that the overall council prevailed in its efforts . “ we were able to push the u. s. back as much as possible , ” soderman said . “ and they were able to go back as much as possible . ” “ it ’s a decent declaration and contains all the essential issues for all the eight countries , ” soderman said . protesters were on hand at the venue chanting slogans , the times reported , noting tillerson ’s previous job as ceo of exxonmobil . terry chapin , a climate scientist at the university of alaska fairbanks , was one of the protesters who is critical of the council ’s need for unanimous decisions on matters . “ they ’re constrained in the action they can take because they depend on the consensus from participating countries , ” chapin said . “ so if the united states is not going to provide consensus on the climate action that ’s needed , their hands are tied . “ i think we really need to speak to people like tillerson to say that this is the kind of action that ’s needed , ” chapin said . “ while the council only has the power to issue advisories , the language in the statement signed by tillerson comes in stark contrast to statements and promises made by president trump about climate change , ” abc reported , noting at the same time that tillerson “ endorsed ” the fairbanks declaration . the associated press describes the arctic council as “ an advisory body that promotes cooperation among member nations and indigenous groups , ” and a “ focus is sustainable development and environmental protection of the arctic . ” “ it does not make policy or allocate resources , and its decisions must be unanimous , ” according to ap . the gathering marked the end of the u. s. chairmanship of the council , which was passed on to finland .
+0 ‘ i have a black son in baltimore’ : anxious new parents and an era of unease - the new york times rachel l. swarns baltimore — he assembled the crib and mounted the bookshelves . she unpacked the bedding and filled the closet with onesies and rompers . then husband and wife stood in the nursery and worried . bill janu , a police officer , is white . shanna janu , a lawyer , is black . as they eagerly awaited their baby ’s birth this spring , they felt increasingly anxious . they had chosen not to find out their baby ’s gender ahead of time . but their nearly two years of marriage had been punctuated by the killings of men and boys in ferguson , mo. brooklyn cleveland north charleston , s. c. and baltimore , all at the hands of the police . mr. janu , who longed for a son , tried to reassure his wife . mrs. janu emailed him one article after another , warning of the perils that face black boys . as the due date approached , mr. janu found himself praying for a girl . in the delivery room at st. agnes hospital , after more than 20 hours of labor , the infant finally arrived , and wailing . the newborn had mr. janu ’s blue eyes and mrs. janu ’s full lips and nose . the new father exulted . then he felt the weight of his new reality . “ now , i have a black son in baltimore , ” the white police detective remembered thinking as he cradled his baby boy . wesley william janu , born on may 23 , 2016 , smiled for the first time during a summer bloodied by the worst confrontations between and the police in decades : the killings in july of black men in baton rouge , la. and falcon heights , minn. followed by the killings of five officers in dallas and three more in baton rouge . this month , protesters burned buildings and clashed with law enforcement officers in milwaukee after an armed black man was shot to death there by the police . the violence has been wrenching for families like the janus , an interracial couple struggling to straddle the nation ’s racial fault lines in a red brick rowhouse in a quiet corner of baltimore . but the heated national discussions over policing and race feel particularly piercing for a black woman born in the south and her white husband who wears a badge . they know their son is taking his place in the world at a time of promise and unease . wesley will learn to sit up on his own during the final term of the nation ’s first president . he will celebrate his first birthday in 2017 , the year that will mark the 50th anniversary of the supreme court decision that overturned state bans on interracial marriage . by the time he is 28 , more than half of the population in the united states will very likely be members of ethnic or racial minority groups or mixed race , according to the census bureau . yet this is also a time when black and white americans find themselves deeply divided . in wesley ’s face , there are glimpses of the country ’s racial future , yet that future often feels uncertain and unsettled . born in louisiana , mrs. janu grew up in a predominantly white suburb in upstate new york , joined a white sorority in college and married a white detective . yet these days , she fears that racism and bias might be “ ” into society and wonders how that might affect her family . she worries as her husband holsters his glock 22 , kisses her goodbye and heads out the door to pursue gun runners and violent criminals in this predominantly black city . will he be a target now on the street ? she worries as she has adjusted to the rhythms of feedings and diaper changes . what dangers might wesley face as a teenager at the hands of the police ? and then there is the racial divide that runs right through her living room , the issues that occasionally create a rift between husband and wife . mrs. janu , 31 , is a strong supporter of the black lives matter movement , for instance , while mr. janu , 42 , argues that some of its activists “ do more harm than good ” and spew “ a lot of hate ” toward the police . “ am i being a disloyal law enforcement wife because i do feel so strongly for black lives matter , because i do feel such a strong affinity for the movement ? ” asked mrs. janu , describing her internal turmoil during 12 weeks of maternity leave . “ i try to see both sides of it , ” she said . “ it leaves me a little bit torn . ” the warnings flashed on mr. janu ’s cellphone after nightfall on july 7 as he cruised through downtown baltimore in his unmarked police car . it was his first inkling that a calamity was unfolding . “ watch your back , ” one friend texted . “ be safe out there , ” another wrote . at home , mrs. janu was trying to erase the image of a dying black man from her mind . she had delighted that day in one of wesley ’s milestones , when she realized he was following her every move with his eyes , and recorded the thrill in an app tracking his development . but then , as she was nursing her baby , she signed onto facebook and there was philando castile , slumped and bleeding in his car in minnesota , while his girlfriend filmed her confrontation with the officer who had shot him . mrs. janu scrambled to press the pause button , but she had already seen too much . she sat stunned on the sofa , with wesley in her arms , reliving her fears about his future . she was asleep by the time mr. janu came home . by then , he knew why he had received the urgent texts . five dallas police officers had been shot to death that night . shaken , he stayed up all night , flipping between cnn , msnbc and fox until dawn . only then did he talk to his wife about what had happened in texas . “ all i wanted to do was hug her , ” he said . the couple met six years ago , casually introduced by mutual friends who were shocked when they got together . mrs. janu , who is wry and bracingly frank , had vowed never to date a police officer . she had grown up hearing her parents’ stories about ugly encounters between and the police in the segregated south . she remembers the day her father was pulled over . she was 7 at the time , sitting in the back seat . and she still remembers the pains he took afterward — checking and rechecking his turn lights and headlights — to ensure that it would never happen again . “ bullies , ” she said , describing the men she assumed joined the force . mr. janu , who is stocky , bald and bearded , looked like a character in a television crime drama . he had spent a decade in the military and a decade on the police force , mostly in a specialized squad that focused on gun sales and gun offenders . but he was unlike any officer she had encountered . he was silly and cracked her up . he had studied marine biology in college , loved travel and art and shared her nostalgia for “ buffy the vampire slayer , ” the cult television series . ( the janus named their son and one of their dogs , buffy , a maltese poodle mix , after characters in the show . ) his father , who abhors interracial relationships , stopped speaking to him . mr. janu was undeterred by his disapproval , and by the stream of news articles and blog posts that mrs. janu emailed him , warning about the challenges facing interracial couples and parents of biracial children . but the pain still surfaces . a year ago , mr. janu bumped into his father while he was visiting family near cleveland . his father stood up without speaking , strode to his white convertible and locked the door . mr. janu chased after him , pounding his fists on the car windows . “ why wo n’t you talk to me ? ” he remembered shouting before his father drove off . sometimes , the janus manage to put that aside , the knowledge that their son might never meet his paternal grandfather , and their fears about what he might face as a young man . they lose themselves in the cocoon of their home , shouting out answers to the contestants on “ family feud , ” chatting about the summer electric bill , the paperwork for day care and their perennial efforts to prod wesley to nap just a little bit longer , which most recently involved the purchase of an outfit called “ baby merlin ’s magic sleepsuit . ” “ he slept for three hours ! ” mrs. janu announced gleefully to her astonished husband one recent evening when he arrived home from work . they focus on wesley — mr. janu calls him “ little man ” — on the grip of his fingers , the pout of his lower lip , the way he scales tall buildings with his eyes . “ i think he wants to climb them , ” joked his father , who envisions his boy hurling a football and sliding into home plate . but this summer , the ugliness of the outside world has always seemed to intrude . just days after the dallas shootings , one of mr. janu ’s colleagues , an officer who had attended his wedding , narrowly escaped a spray of gunfire . some in the department worried initially that the assailant had intended to ambush the police . two weeks later , as mrs. janu was pulling the new sleepsuit out of the package , mr. janu called to tell her that his squad was bracing for protests . the state ’s attorney in baltimore had announced that she was dropping the case against the officers charged in the death of freddie gray , a black man who was found to have a fatal spinal cord injury after being transported in a police van . mrs. janu , who works for the federal government on the affordable care act , was still on maternity leave . “ there ’s going to be rioting — is that what you ’re saying ? ” asked mrs. janu , her phone tight to her ear , as she bounced wesley on her hip . this city remained calm . but this month , the fires were burning in milwaukee . and the justice department released a scathing report , accusing the baltimore police of systematically stopping , searching and arresting black residents for minor offenses , often without cause . wesley is blithely unaware of the tumult . but his parents have already begun preparing what to tell him , when the time comes . do n’t do things that bring too much attention to yourself , even if your white friends are doing it . you ca n’t go running around in a hoodie . do n’t run into someone ’s yard and grab a ball . if a police officer tells you to do something , just do it . mrs. janu considers herself the practical parent , but the list fills her with sadness . “ black boys are n’t allowed to be innocent or young , ” she said . “ they do n’t have that privilege . ” mr. janu felt bewildered at first by such talk . he is the optimist in the family , the dreamer . he had never imagined such a discussion with his son . “ you would n’t have to explain that to a white child , ” he said . he said he had lived most of his life “ with blinders on . ” his conversations with his wife have opened his eyes . in the past , mr. janu said , he often assumed that the black boys he saw on impoverished street corners were youngsters destined for handcuffs . now , he looks for the exuberance in the faces of the wisecracking , jostling boys still savoring the waning days of summer . he hopes that other police officers will see that , too , someday , in his son .
+0 mike ilitch , little caesars founder and detroit sports owner , dies at 87 - the new york times richard goldstein mike ilitch , a son of immigrants who founded little caesars pizza in a detroit suburb and also owned baseball ’s tigers and hockey ’s red wings , building a business , sports and entertainment empire that made him among america ’s wealthiest men and helped change the face of his native city , died on friday in detroit . he was 87 . his death was announced by his company , ilitch holdings . mr. ilitch and his wife , marian , had a net worth of $ 6 . 1 billion at his death , according to forbes . mr. ilitch never went to college and failed in his bid to make it from the tigers’ minor league chain , where he played shortstop , to the major leagues . he found his calling in the business world when he and his wife opened the first little caesars , in garden city , a detroit suburb , in 1959 . it became the world ’s largest carryout pizza chain , known for tv ads announcing “ pizza ! pizza ! ” deals . turning to the sports world , mr. ilitch spent freely and eventually turned around franchises that experienced many lean years . his tigers won two american league pennants , and his red wings of the national hockey league won four stanley cup championships . he bought the fox theater in downtown detroit in the late 1980s , refurbished it and created an entertainment hub for the city . he moved his corporate headquarters from suburban farmington hills into the building that contains the fox . mr. ilitch broke into sports ownership in 1982 , when he paid a reported $ 8 million to purchase the red wings from the norris family . once a powerhouse with names like gordie howe , ted lindsay and terry sawchuk , the franchise was struggling . in august 1985 , mr. ilitch , commenting on why his red wings were aggressive in pursuing free agents , said : “ i hate to lose . i happen to be a fan with an owner ’s pocketbook . ” his wings won the stanley cup championship in 1997 , 1998 , 2002 and 2008 , and he was inducted into the hockey hall of fame in 2003 and into the u. s. hockey hall of fame a year later . mr. ilitch , who became known as mr. i , bought the tigers from the domino ’s pizza founder tom monaghan for $ 85 million in 1992 . starting in 1994 , the tigers had 12 consecutive losing seasons , but in 2000 they moved from the aging tiger stadium to comerica park . they won the 2006 american league pennant , then lost to the st. louis cardinals in the world series . they were in the world series again in 2012 , featuring the sluggers miguel cabrera and prince fielder and pitchers justin verlander and max scherzer , but were swept by the san francisco giants . “ i ’m not afraid to go out and spend money , ” mr. ilitch said . “ it ’s been very costly , but i ’m not going to change my ways . ” mike ilitch was born on july 20 , 1929 , a son of sotir ilitch , a machinist , and sultana tasseff ilitch , who had come to the united states from macedonia in 1924 . he was an athlete in baseball and track at cooley high school , served four years in the marines , then signed with the tigers’ minor league system , but his career ended after a few seasons when he sustained a knee injury . he worked as a salesman until he and his wife opened the first little caesars on may 8 , 1959 . a food service distribution company soon followed to supply ingredients and other products for restaurants . blue line foodservice grew into one of the largest food service distribution companies in the country . mr. ilitch ’s charitable endeavors included the little caesars love kitchen , a restaurant on wheels to feed the hungry and help with food distribution following national disasters . the ilitch organization has embarked on a $ 1 . 2 billion district detroit project , transforming dozens of largely vacant blocks in downtown detroit into a neighborhood including office and residential spaces . all of mr. ilitch ’s businesses have their headquarters in the detroit metropolitan area . his son christopher is president and chief executive officer of ilitch holdings . in addition to his wife and his son christopher , mr. ilitch is survived by his sons michael jr. atanas and ron his daughters , denise , lisa and carole 22 grandchildren and three . “ mike ilitch was more than just a shrewd , successful businessman , ” detroit ’s mayor , mike duggan , said in a statement . “ he was a detroiter through and through . whether he was making pizza , building successful sports and entertainment franchises or supporting youth organizations in our city , mr. i helped to bring thousands of jobs and opportunities to our city and attract millions of dollars of investment . ”
+0 erdogan : soon europeans ’will not walk safely on their streets’ chris tomlinson turkish president recep tayyip erdoğan has warned the european union ( eu ) that if the diplomatic spat between turkey and several european countries continues , europeans wo n’t be able to walk their own streets safely . [ president erdoğan made the comments wednesday in what is another increase of tensions between turkey and the eu that began when germany and the netherlands banned several turkish ministers from holding campaign rallies for the upcoming turkish referendum . erdoğan has threatened europe before , but this time he threatened the safety of europeans if the row continues , die welt reports . “ if you continue to behave like this , not a single european , not a single westerner will be able to take a step on the road safely anytime in the world , ” erdoğan said at a press conference adding : “ we as turkey are calling on europe to respect human rights and democracy . ” erdoğan did not go into specifics of the threat , though many turks living in countries like germany and the netherlands have expressed massive support for him following the failed coup attempt last year . shortly after the coup , tens of thousands of turkish expats attended a rally in cologne , germany , to express support for erdoğan . on the night two turkish ministers were refused entry in the netherlands earlier in march , hundreds of turks flooded the streets of rotterdam and rioted . following the actions of the netherlands , erdoğan and his government have suspended diplomatic relations with the dutch and even accused the country of being complicit in the srebrenica massacre calling them “ nazi remnants “ . germany has also seen heated rhetoric from ankara and turkish press who depicted german chancellor angela merkel as a nazi on the cover of newspaper gunes . many in europe are concerned what effect the row will have on the migrant deal made between the eu and turkey last year . the deal rapidly slowed the number of migrants crossing from turkey to greece from hundreds a day to dozens . the turks have made it clear that the deal is on the table and have threatened to scrap it and send 15 , 000 migrants a month to europe . erdoğan said the political bloc can “ forget about ” the migrant deal and that it is , for all intents and purposes , dead . the turkish government has threatened the deal before when ankara became frustrated with the lack of access to the bloc for turkish citizens . more troubling has been a recent report that showed an abnormal increase in the number of migrant arrivals over the past week . some have attributed the rise in sea landings to improved weather conditions , while others question whether this may be the first signs of the end of the migrant deal . follow chris tomlinson on twitter at @tomlinsoncj or email at ctomlinson@breitbart . com
+0 on jerusalem , as on much else , it ’s trump vs. ’deep state’ - breitbart joel b. pollak president donald trump promised to move the u. s. embassy to jerusalem , but a recent diplomatic spat showed why it has been so hard for him to do so . [ on monday , the times of israel reported that talks between u. s. and israeli officials coordinating trump ’s upcoming visit to the western wall — the holiest site in judaism — stumbled when a “ senior american official ” said that the area was not within israeli control and was part of the west bank . that is the official position of president barack obama ’s administration , and of un security council resolution 2334 , obama ’s parting shot against the jewish state . it is not clear who , exactly , the “ senior american official ” was , but israel ’s ha’aretz identified the culpable parties as “ diplomats stationed at the u. s. consulate in jerusalem . ” the consulate is located in eastern jerusalem and has long been regarded as more sympathetic to the palestinians . ( update : the name of the official has since been reported as david berns , a career bureaucrat at state . ) the trump administration disavowed that official ’s view . but generally , it is difficult to overstate the degree to which the career bureaucracy disapproves of moving the u. s. embassy — and not just in the state department . there are various reasons given , from possible prejudice to peace talks with the palestinians , to repercussions in u. s. relations with arab and muslim countries . still , it is difficult to distinguish the arguments against moving the embassy from the arguments against recognizing israel in the first place . already , the trump administration has been grappling with the challenge of working with obama administration holdovers in the bureaucracy who have not yet been replaced . add to that the fact that there are members of the “ deep state ” who are actively undermining the president , through leaks and other methods , and you have a formidable obstacle to progress — one to which trump ’s predecessors yielded , and which trump alone can defeat . joel b. pollak is senior at breitbart news . he was named one of the “ most influential ” people in news media in 2016 . he is the of how trump won : the inside story of a revolution , is available from regnery . follow him on twitter at @joelpollak .
+1 john podesta ’s new global order cliff kincaid john podesta ’s new global order john podesta ’s new global order october 28 , 2016 , 5:44 am by cliff kincaid leave a comment 0 accuracy in media in one of her secret speeches , hillary clinton said , “ my dream is a hemispheric common market , with open trade and open borders … ” before this comment was revealed , adam taylor of the washington post tried to assure everyone that the idea of a north american union , like the meddlesome and bureaucratic european union , was dead . such talk , he said , emanated from “ fringe websites ” and “ conspiracy theorists . ” the hillary speech was made to a brazilian bank known as itaú bba , which describes itself as “ latin america ’s largest corporate & investment bank ” and part of the itaú unibanco group , “ one of the world ’s largest financial conglomerates . ” the problem for taylor and other faux journalists is that there is a whole body of research on the topic of a “ north american law project , ” designed to integrate the legal systems of the u.s. , canada and mexico . the project is run out of american university ’s center for north american studies , where students can concentrate in north american studies . as a matter of fact , such degrees are being offered by several different colleges and universities , including canada ’s mcgill university . passed in 1993 , nafta , the north american free trade agreement , began the process of harmonizing laws among the u.s. , canada and mexico . but the council on foreign relations admits that the u.s .- mexico trade balance swung from a $ 1.7 billion u.s. surplus in 1993 to a $ 54 billion deficit by 2014 . this has led to a loss of about 600,000 jobs . in addition to shipping jobs to mexico , nafta constituted subversion of our constitutional system . president clinton submitted nafta as an agreement , requiring only a majority of votes in both houses of congress for passage , and not a treaty , which would have required a two - thirds vote in favor in the senate . nafta passed by votes of 234 - 200 in the house and 61 - 38 in the senate . a money crash soon followed in 1995 as mexico was hit by a peso crisis , and a u.s. bailout was arranged . congress would not bail out mexico , so clinton arranged for loans and guarantees to mexico totaling almost $ 40 billion through the international monetary fund and the “ exchange stabilization fund . ” meanwhile , pressure has been building for the creation of a “ north american community”—also known as a “ north american union”—with regular meetings involving the leaders of the three countries . on june 29 , 2016 , the obama white house issued a fact sheet on this year ’s “ north american leaders’ summit . ” it said , “ the economies of the united states , canada , and mexico are deeply integrated . canada and mexico are our second and third largest trading partners . our trade with them exceeds $ 1.2 trillion dollars annually . ” the leaders of these countries agreed to establish a “ north american caucus ” to “ more effectively work in concert on regional and global issues by holding semi - annual coordination meetings among our foreign ministries . ” one item on the agenda was for the leaders to reaffirm “ north america ’s strong support for [ colombian ] president santos ’s efforts to finalize a peace accord with the farc guerrillas . ” that fell apart on october 2 when a “ peace deal ” with the communist terrorists was voted down by the people of colombia . but notice how these leaders claim to speak for “ north america . ” going global , they also declared , “ north america is committed to joint and coordinated actions to implement the 2030 agenda for sustainable development , including the sustainable development goals ( sdgs ) and the addis ababa action agenda . ” this is u.n .- speak for global taxes and other forms of foreign aid from the u.s. to the rest of the world . we noted in a column last year that the american people , through their elected representatives , have had absolutely no input in developing the new global agenda that president obama has tried to implement without the input or approval of congress . interestingly , one of those deeply involved in this global agenda , as we noted at the time , was john podesta , the chairman of the 2016 hillary clinton presidential campaign who previously served as counselor to obama . podesta ’s emails are at the center of the wikileaks disclosures about the operations of the clinton campaign , the clinton foundation and the democratic party . podesta , founder of the george soros - funded center for american progress and a member of the elitist trilateral commission , went to work for obama as a senior policy consultant on climate change . a liberal catholic , he has been a professor at georgetown law school . one of the leaked emails shows podesta saying that he applauds the work of pope francis on climate change and that “ all my jesuit friends say the pope is the real deal . ” podesta was picked by u.n. secretary - general ban ki - moon to be a member of the “ high - level panel ” of “ eminent persons ” planning the future of the globe . this so - called “ high level panel on the post-2015 development agenda ” released an 81-page report titled , “ a new global partnership : eradicate poverty and transform economies through sustainable development . ” “ in simplest terms , ” explains patrick wood , author of technocracy rising : the trojan horse of global transformation , “ sustainable development is a replacement economic system for capitalism and free enterprise . it is a system based on resource allocation and usage rather than on supply and demand and free economic market forces . ” in this context , wood argues that the major significance of the transfer of the internet corporation for assigned names and numbers ( icann ) is not the immediate need by the u.n. or some countries to censor websites , but to generate revenue for global purposes . icann will do this , he argues , through management of the so - called internet of things ( iot ) , the links between the internet and networks , electronic devices and embedded technology with ip addresses . “ iot are the connections between inanimate objects and the humans that depend upon them , ” he notes . to accomplish this , icann has devised a new ip numbering system called ipv6 , described as the “ vital expansion ” of the internet . “ in terms of ‘ follow the money,’ iot is expected to generate upwards of $ 3 trillion by 2025 and is growing at a rate of at least 30 percent per year , ” wood argues . “ in other words , it is a huge market and money is flying everywhere . if the un can figure out a way to tax this market , and they will , it will provide a windfall of income and perhaps enough to make it self - perpetuating . ” he adds , “ congress never understood this when they passively let obama fail to renew our contract with icann . however , obama and his globalist handlers understood it perfectly well , which makes the deception and treachery of it even worse . ” under the cover of “ sustainable development , ” wood predicts the internet will be used to construct a massive database on human activities , in order to monitor and control nations’ and peoples’ access to resources . it will constitute ultimate socialist control and a form of “ digital slavery , ” from which he warns there may be no return . cliff kincaid cliff kincaid is the director of the aim center for investigative journalism and can be contacted at cliff.kincaid@aim.org . view the complete archives from cliff kincaid . 0
+1 top 5 mind blowing issues voting americans realized this election danny f. quest we are change in this video luke rudkowski goes over the top 5 important issues that voting americans realized this election . whether its donald trump or hillary clinton the american people have been exposed to some serious truths this election . to support our work and expand our efforts go to https://www.patreon.com/wearechange support wearechange by subscribing to our channel here http://www.youtube.com/subscription_c … visit our main site for more breaking news http://wearechange.org/ patreon https://www.patreon.com/wearechange?a … snapchat : lukewearechange facebook : https://facebook.com/lukewearechange twitter : https://twitter.com/lukewearechange instagram : http://instagram.com/lukewearechange rep wearechange merch proudly : http://wearechange.org/store oh yeah since we are not corporate or government whores help us out http://wearechange.org/donate we take bitcoin too 12hdlgeeua87t2ju8m4tbro247yj5u2tvp the post top 5 mind blowing issues voting americans realized this election appeared first on we are change .
+0 review : the chainsmokers find that pop is an awkward fit - the new york times jon caramanica from the beginning , the chainsmokers knew dance music was a joke . the festivals , the groupthink , the sounds — these were the hallmarks of a scene designed for ecstatic release , but also one that was easily parodied . and so rather than make serious music that others might dismiss , they embodied parody themselves . they made songs about selfies and kanye west ( in so much as they were about anything ) and saw their stars rise . they seemed to understand , in a particularly disquieting way , how easy it was to game the system , turning growing american interest in and tolerance of dance music into a platform for ambition . that made the chainsmokers both disorientingly effective and easily loathed . so maybe it ’s humility , or maybe it ’s strategy , but pointedly , over the last couple of years , the duo of andrew taggart and alex pall have been engaged in a very public process of dismantling mainstream dance music from within . by this point , they are essentially a pop duo — mr. taggart sings and writes , and both men produce . instead of club music though , they ’ve come to specialize in a style that approximates a skinned and deboned version of those sounds , maintaining a handful of its key gestures and flourishes while administering a benzodiazepine to the tempo and volume . in 2015 and 2016 , three chainsmokers songs reached the top 10 of the billboard singles chart , as have two songs that appear on their new album , “ memories … do not open , ” “ paris ” and the coldplay collaboration “ something just like this . ” each hit has been more denuded than the one that preceded it . this is the logical endpoint of the american explosion of the last decade , which was almost certainly never going to end in a nightclub . it was a long con in retraining pop ears to accept some of that world ’s sonic ideas . by that measurement , “ memories … do not open ” — the first chainsmokers album — is a savvy success that cannily toys with expectations . most songs hover between 95 and 105 beats per minute , something more than a slog but less than a gallop . often , when a song arrives at the drop — the place where an explosion usually lands — it instead veers into something like a sun shower , or a crowd applauding in the distance , rarely the usual gut punch . but these strategic victories do n’t overshadow the chainsmokers’ myriad weaknesses . in the ecosystem in which the chainsmokers have thrived — dance music and the pop that derives from its distillation — the album is a meaningless concept , and the album format underscores both this duo ’s weaknesses and strengths . mr. taggart is a capable but unexciting singer . and he has shockingly few lyrical ideas , less of a concern for performers more adept with melody . most songs here moan about brittle young relationships over the musical equivalent of bringing an amiable golden retriever along for an unhurried jog . ( the songs written with the emily warren , like “ do n’t say ” and the excellent “ my type , ” are among the best here , with an emotional texture the others grasp for futilely . ) two songs , the impressive “ honest ” and “ wake up alone , ” parse the weight that fame exacts on emotional relationships — they ’re among the most credible on the album . while the chainsmokers often appear to have decided what sort of music they ’re not making , their affirmative choices are lacking . “ the one ” ends up somewhere near chillwave , “ break up every night ” is toothless and “ last day alive , ” a collaboration with the duo florida georgia line , is 100 percent pure pablum , a collection of dim anthemic sayings in search of a stadium , a twinkle with no diamond . all of this makes for songs in search of remixes , skeletons notable as much for what ’s missing as what ’s there . that ’s a curious position for an act moving from the world of festivals , where the scene is the star more than the performer , to the world of pop , where personality counts , a shift that may well be the chainsmokers’ undoing , even if their music remains effective . that ’s because onstage , on the duo ’s handful of televised performances , they ’re almost brutally awkward . on “ saturday night live ” — where they performed “ paris ” and “ break up every night ” last weekend — they were listless and limp . of course they were . mr. taggart is not an aggressively trained pop star ( and for what it ’s worth , not a disruptive punk either ) . he was uncomfortable in the same way a young indie rock or folk singer might be , unsure of how to use his body as effectively as his voice . the chainsmokers might have gamed their way into pop , but pop is hard work — inside jokes melt under the klieg lights .
+1 anonymous hacker fighting for justina pelletier pleads ‘ not guilty’ in children ’s hospital ddos attack aaron kesel we are change activist and alleged anonymous hacker martin gottesfeld who has been accused of orchestrating an attack on the boston children ’s hospital pleaded “ not guilty ” to charges of conspiracy and intent to cause damage to protected computers . after he was arraigned , gottesfeld , who has been on a hunger strike for a month , rose from his chair and fainted in the courtroom . gottesfeld , 32 , is a human rights advocate and senior systems engineer who was born and raised in andover , massachusetts . he is being prosecuted under the computer fraud and abuse act ( cfaa ) by carmen ortiz ’s office . the same people who caused the death of internet reddit founder pioneer and activist aaron swartz . if convicted , gottesfeld could face up to twenty - five years in prison and $ 380,000 in restitution to the tormentors of justina pelletier , the patient he was initially fighting to protect . his attorneys are mounting a vigorous defense on his behalf , and need your help . the cfaa has been cited by digital rights group eff as being overly broad and so that , “ creative prosecutors have taken advantage of this confusion to bring criminal charges that are n’t really about hacking a computer , but instead target other behavior prosecutors dislike … compounding this problem is the cfaa ’s disproportionately harsh penalty scheme . even first - time offenses for accessing a protected computer without sufficient “ authorization ” can be punishable by up to five years in prison each ( ten years for repeat offenses ) , plus fines . violations of other parts of the cfaa are punishable by up to ten years , 20 years , and even life in prison . ” the aclu agrees and filed suit that it violates everyone ’s first amendment rights . “ marty has dedicated years of his life to fighting for the human rights of institutionalized children . he would often spend 8 hours at his job , come home , and spend another 8 hours campaigning against child abuse . he never profited from his activism , ” according to a statement on freemartyg.org . the statement goes on to say : “ in 2013 , marty began a campaign against troubled teen industry institution logan river academy . dozens of survivors left heartwrenching petition comments and some created videos . marty ’s story first hit main stream media after he and his wife experienced trouble with their boat and were rescued by a disney cruise ship . since the fbi left out justina ’s name and her suffering from its complaint against him , many outlets merely printed that he allegedly ‘ cyber - attacked’ a hospital . marty ’s family and friends have launched the # freemartyg campaign to set the record straight and call on the public to show their support for him . ” justina pelletier was tortured by the boston children ’s hospital and denied treatment for her mitochondrial disease and her medication , according to former bch employees . gottesfeld came to her aide in the form of cyber attacks on the hospitals website for awareness of the case . gottesfeld has said he will continue his hunger strike until the presidential candidates pledge to protect institutionalized children from abuse . he also said that he wants overzealous federal prosecutors to halt “ political prosecutions ” of people accused of crimes he considers harmless . gottesfeld also argues that he did not harm patients or expose any private information , so he did not break the cfaa and commit a crime . who is justina pelletier ? that question is answered again by the statement on freemartyg.org : “ justina pelletier was 14 years old when she arrived at boston children ’s hospital e.r. with her mother . both she and her older sister had been diagnosed with mitochondrial disease , a condition that is often genetic and runs in families . however , doctors at boston children ’s hospital felt her symptoms had psychological causes , and just 4 days after meeting her , wanted to stop successful mitochondrial disease treatments prescribed since 2011 . fearful for her life , justina ’s parents refused to consent to such a radical departure from her well established treatment plan . they tried to discharge their daughter and bring her to previously scheduled appointments with her mitochondrial disease team . what followed was any family ’s nightmare . unwilling to take “ no ” for an answer , boston children ’s hospital urged state officials to take custody of justina and enforce their new treatment plan . this kind of thing happens more often than you might think . in fact , boston children ’s hospital even has a name for it . they call it a “ parentectomy ” ( see the wray and t. cases , as well as this open letter from a former federal prosecutor . ) pelletier ’s abuse did not end at the boston children ’s hospital . it expanded to a dcf facility in framingham , massachusetts when she was transferred to a troubled teen industry facility , wayside youth and family . her contact with her family was severely limited , it was only after she took to smuggling notes hidden in her art projects describing her suffering that her family figured out . jennifer pelletier describes her little sister ’s abuse in the video below , she goes on to say how a worker at dcf harassed her sister in the shower : “ it ’s disgusting to harm a human being it ’s in humane and these actions that they ’ve done to my sister what they ’ve been harming her for almost 15 months now all of them should be held accountable and they should almost be treated the same way that my sister has been treated to see how hurtful it ’s been they should be all plucked out of their lives and told that people do n’t believe in them and have them doubt their own . i do n’t get how anybody can treat somebody so in humane this needs to end now and justina needs to be home before may 24th on her 16th birthday and this needs to end now . ” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbgds6xvmbc the case gained international attention and even congress ’s attention when the hashtag “ # freejustina ” trended on twitter . jim lyons spoke out on the floor of the house expressing his disdain for the case and presenting an amendment . jim went on to say that justina ’s parents did n’t neglect their daughter and were innocent . he went on to say that “ what we have here is the department of children and family interfering with constitutionally protected parental rights to make medical decisions on behalf of their children . ” justina pelletier was eventually allowed to return home . she still has n’t recovered from the torture though . she and her family have sued boston children ’s hospital and four of its doctors for gross negligence and civil rights violations . when the lawsuit was filed , justina was quoted saying , “ it was awful . just imagine being a psych ward without needing to be in a psych ward . ” now it ’s time to bring marty gottesfeld home . he fought for justina pelletier and others in the troubled teen industry of private “ treatment ” centers for years , including fighting to expose logan river if you can consider donating to my good friends at @freeanons to help marty ’s defense fund . marty has written a book called “ parentectomy ” if you wish to read that book and further your knowledge about the troubled teen industry of private treatment centers you can do purchase it on amazon and support him or here for free in pdf format . you can also listen to marty answer several questions about his case , his treatment in prison , his hunger strike and his actions in the youtube playlist below . it should n’t be a crime to expose institutional child abuse even a congressional hearing has acknowledged the abuse below in which parents and survivors testified about the abuse that goes on in these privatized centers . even the u.s. government accountability office investigated the industry in 2007 and again in 2008 finding these centers abusive . urge your representatives to pass legislation to curb the worst abuses and demand that places that have multiple notable claims of abuse are investigated and in severe cases shutdown . # freemartyg # shutdownloganriver mail marty a letter let him know he ’s not alone in this fight ! marty gottesfeld , inmate # 12982104 donald d. wyatt detention facility 950 high st. central falls , ri 02863 the post anonymous hacker fighting for justina pelletier pleads ‘ not guilty’ in children ’s hospital ddos attack appeared first on we are change .
+1 standing rock indian reservation : thousands of wild buffalo appear out of nowhere dikran arakelian ( noreply@blogger.com ) share on facebook native americans attempting to stop a pipeline from being built on their land and water just got assistance from a large herd of wild buffalo . indigenous culture honors american bison ( known as tatanka oyate , or buffalo nation ) as a symbol of sacrifice , as the bison give their lives to provide food , shelter , and clothing through the use of their meat and their hides . native americans maintain a spiritual tradition with bison , believing that as long as buffalo — a gift from the great spirit — roam free and as long as the herds are bountiful , the sovereignty of indigenous people would remain strong . and in the midst of mass arrests , mace attacks , and beatings from batons , a stampede of bison suddenly appeared near the standing rock protest camp . a cry of joy reportedly erupted from the standing rock sioux , as they had been praying for assistance from the tatanka oyate during their standoff with riot police and national guardsmen . as the police response to the sioux 's ongoing nonviolent civil disobedience escalates , tribal leaders are calling on state and federal governments to respect the constitutional rights of water protectors and stop the mistreatment of the indigenous community . “ we call on the state of north dakota to oversee the actions of local law enforcement to , first and foremost , ensure everyone 's safety . the department of justice must send overseers immediately to ensure the protection of first amendment rights and the safety of thousands here at standing rock , ” wrote david archambault ii , chairman of the standing rock sioux tribe . “ doj can no longer ignore our requests . ” related :
+0 a republican congresswoman has personal stake in transgender debate - the new york times lizette alvarez miami — the day rodrigo told his prominent parents about his new gender identity , he did so in a letter that he left on their bed . then he grabbed a packed bag and , unsure of whether he would be welcomed back , went to a friend ’s house to see if his family would love him or leave him . his shocked parents , representative ileana a miami republican , and dexter lehtinen , who served as the top federal prosecutor here , did not hesitate . they grabbed the phone and told him that they loved him and that family trumped all , and asked him to come home . but as with many parents of transgender children , they were also overwhelmed by fear : the future they saw for their then whom they had named amanda , would be pockmarked with discrimination and bullying , if not outright violence . it was this visceral reaction to want to protect her child that drove ms. to break from her party ’s skepticism or hostility on gay and transgender issues — a stance evident now in north carolina ’s battle over transgender bathroom visits — and become a conspicuous advocate in congress and more recently in public service announcements . on monday , ms. her husband and her son , now 30 , will appear in the latest one for save , a longtime south florida gay rights group that hopes to engage the latino community here . “ i worried about his safety and about his ” ms. said , noting that inflammatory debates like the one about school bathrooms serve to further alienate transgender youths and subject them to more bullying and animosity . “ i did n’t want him to be depressed . you think of all the parade of horribles that could happen . ” there is ample evidence that many transgender people continue to be rejected by their families , employers and society , a situation that is beginning to change as the transgender movement becomes more visible and better organized . and while ms. profoundly disagrees with president obama on a number of issues , especially on his approach to cuba , she agreed with his administration ’s directive friday telling school districts to allow students to use the school facilities that match the sex they identify with , even if that conflicts with their anatomical sex . “ allowing students to use the bathroom of their authentic selves is a step forward in stopping the stigma around transgender individuals , ” said ms. 63 , the first hispanic woman elected to congress . “ unnecessary laws only make transgender youth feel unaccepted , and can lead to depression or even worse , suicide . ” her husband , a lawyer who as a united states attorney here supervised the prosecution of the panamanian strongman manuel noriega and now teaches constitutional law at the university of miami , said the administration had sent a strong message . but he questioned the method , worrying that the president ’s unilateral approach might undercut the protections he is offering . “ it ’s important that in this slow but necessary recognition of equality that we do it on a sound legal basis , because law and process carry great weight with the american people , ” mr. lehtinen said . “ it legitimizes what we are trying to do . ” as for the republican party , ms. who has served in the house for more than 25 years , said it would come along as more americans shared stories of how discrimination can harm the lives of gay and transgender people . “ the republican party ’s stance on the issue is lagging behind , ” she added . “ but folks are figuring out that there is no political harm in embracing these issues and , in fact , they see a lot of good can come out of it . ” for her family , the journey that began with rodrigo ’s letter in 2007 unfolded over five years . rejecting their child , who had just graduated from brown university , was unthinkable . even so , getting entirely comfortable with the idea of a daughter who had become a son , a sister who had become a brother , was not altogether easy for the family and required adjustments , particularly outside the home . “ it was an evolving conversation for the next five years , ” said mr. who will soon move back to miami from los angeles , where he works as a for a gay , lesbian and transgender rights group . “ nobody expects their child to be transgender . it ’s a big shift , and we often want to go back to our normal lives . ” although he had come out as bisexual as amanda in high school , he said he knew so little about transgender people that he did not see it in himself until he got to brown . he trod slowly , first by wearing men ’s clothing and asking friends to call him rodrigo . “ i did n’t know how comfortable a person could feel until i had tried on men ’s clothes , ” said mr. who goes by rigo , adding that he had long grown accustomed to feeling depressed or anxious . “ a fog lifted . ” when the moment came to tell his family , he had no reason to think they would lash out , but he still imagined the worst . “ i am about to lose everyone i love , ” he told himself . he also feared that he would hurt his mother ’s political career , a possibility that did not worry ms. . a turning point came when he told his abuelo in 2010 . “ we were terrified to tell him , ” mr. said . instead of becoming angry , his grandfather shrugged . at his age , he said , nothing was more important than the happiness of his grandchild . “ it was an incredibly simple and loving response , ” mr. added . as time went on , he began taking testosterone , and now sports a beard . last year , he married a man , adding heng to his name . his father , who was badly wounded in the face in vietnam as an army ranger ( and still bears the scar ) says one way to generate empathy is to help people understand that sexual and gender orientation do not define a person ’s character — but that their work ethic , their honesty , their grit do . “ i do n’t mean it ’s not important to the individual it ’s that it should not be important to us which choice they make , ” mr. lehtinen said . “ they are the same person . it ’s sometimes difficult for me to understand why anybody would think that their fundamental character would change because of their sexual orientation . ” their son , mr. lehtinen added , has never been happier . as for the family , the new normal is exactly that — normal . this is exactly the message the lehtinens hope to convey to latinos as they sit around their kitchen table drinking coffee in the save public service announcement , which will air on networks . many latinos are perceived as more traditional and more reluctant to embrace sexual diversity . gay , lesbian and transgender issues were mostly taboo until recently , which meant that there was scarce media attention on the issue . polling by the local management consultant bendixen amandi , which has surveyed people on these issues for years and was commissioned by save , showed that the way to connect with latinos was to present a parent talking about the importance of family . this was an easy fit for the lehtinens , who embraced that message from the start and whose prominence here gave it extra weight . “ every transgender person is a part of someone ’s family and should be treated with compassion and protected from discrimination , ” ms. said in the video .
+1 sberbank plans to introduce samsung pay technology in near future tass sberbank plans to introduce samsung pay technology in near future october 28 , 2016 tass banks , apps sberbank is going to introduce samsung pay technology in the near future . source : reuters sberbank is going to introduce samsung pay technology in the near future , sberbank ceo german gref told reporters on oct. 28 . " we are currently working on samsung pay . i think we will introduce it in the near future , " he said . gref also noted that the bank is working to make samsung pay and apple pay available for cards of all payment systems , including visa and mir . in early october , sberbank and mastercard launched apple pay system on the russian market . according to sberbank , apple pay can be easily set up in the sberbank online mobile application , which is familiar to all sberbank cardholders . users can enjoy contactless payment service while continuing to receive all the benefits from using their credit and debit cards . apple pay works with iphone se , iphone 6 and later , and apple watch .
+0 james o’neill , officer since 1983 , will step into police dept . ’s top job - the new york times al baker and j. david goodman for months , chief james p. o’neill was the man in the blue uniform with four gold stars standing , shoulders square , just behind police commissioner william j. bratton in his pressed suits and hermès ties . on tuesday , chief o’neill stepped to the center : mayor bill de blasio announced that he would become the next commissioner of the new york police department after mr. bratton steps down next month . the uniformed officer in the department , chief o’neill , 58 , has become an increasingly familiar face on the local news , around the city and at city hall , ready at news conferences and in private meetings with answers for his boss or the mayor . they often summon him with a familiar call , using just his first name . “ i always call him jimmy , ” mr. de blasio , a democrat , said while inviting him to the lectern on tuesday . chief o’neill began his career in 1983 , in the old transit police , and is steeped in the city ’s policing culture . yet as mr. de blasio took office vowing to reform many embattled and longstanding police practices , such as stop , question and frisk , chief o’neill was also among those eager to embrace change , spearheading the department ’s effort at a new incarnation of neighborhood policing . “ i know exactly how valuable and how fragile it is at times , this relationship between law enforcement and the community actually is , ” he said on tuesday at the city hall announcement . “ this is truly a shared effort and shared responsibility . ” it was chief o’neill who sent a team of officers to los angeles to study that city ’s community policing program , which influenced the plans the new york police department was developing to foster better relations . he has been at the helm in overseeing security planning for major events , like the annual session of the united nations general assembly and the visit last year of pope francis . for months , chief o’neill ’s public profile has been growing as mr. bratton appeared to be grooming him to be the face of the department . the two men met in 1990 , when mr. bratton came to new york from boston to take over the transit police and mr. o’neill was a young supervisor running its video unit . mr. bratton used the unit to hone his image within the department , producing videos for the rank and file , and producing commercials and public service messages for the public . when mr. bratton returned and was reunited with mr. o’neill , it was a reunion of mutual benefit . after languishing for nearly a decade as a deputy chief under raymond w. kelly , the commissioner at the time , chief o’neill was promoted twice in short order by mr. bratton , first to chief of patrol and then to chief of department . it was a remarkable career turn for chief o’neill , who had been pushed out of his post as the commander of the department ’s narcotics operations after an internal sting operation found officers paying informants with drugs . chief o’neill was one of several commanders transferred amid the scandal , which led prosecutors to dismiss many cases involving the officers implicated . the last two years have been quite different . commissioner bratton and chief o’neill have enjoyed a warm relationship , with mr. bratton occasionally teasing chief o’neill at news conferences . those lighter moments — including on tuesday when mr. bratton ribbed chief o’neill about his baldness — elicit the friendlier side of a chief who can seem , with his starched uniform and military bearing , to be distant and cool . some elected officials have said that they worked well with chief o’neill as chief of department . representative hakeem jeffries , an advocate of criminal justice reform , described the chief as “ very qualified , personable and . ” “ chief o’neill is a good man , who has always had an relationship with leaders of diverse backgrounds throughout the city , ” mr. jeffries , a brooklyn democrat , said on tuesday . late last month , when mr. bratton said in an interview with the new york times that he would be leaving the department before the start of a potential second term for mr. de blasio , he talked openly about his admiration for chief o’neill and suggested that the chief would be a worthy successor . on tuesday , the mayor made that a reality . in an earlier interview , chief o’neill also said he admired mr. bratton ’s touch — making officers feel that they are being listened to and trusted . “ obviously , he wants cops to do a great job . but he also wants them to feel good about themselves and to have that sense of fulfillment , ” chief o’neill said of mr. bratton in january . “ that is different from the prior administration . ” as the news came out on tuesday morning , a group of uniformed officers from various bronx precincts who had assembled at an outdoor session greeted the shift with enthusiasm . “ he rose through the ranks , that ’s for sure , ” officer dan conti , of the 47th precinct , said as he stood with colleagues near the grand concourse . others nodded . “ he ’s a pretty good boss , ” officer conti added . chief o’neill ’s ascension is unusual . thomas repetto , author of a history of the department , said a chief of department had not been promoted to commissioner in more than four decades . rather , mayors have typically reached further down in the leadership , or more often outside the department , for new commissioners . before moving into senior posts , chief o’neill served as a commander of three precincts : the 25th in east harlem , the 44th in the bronx and central park . he knows what it is like to face high crime and thousands of homicides a year . but now , with crime boiled down to much lower levels , he has embraced the shifts the administration has wrought : focusing on people , places and conditions that drive crime . “ fighting crime is what we get paid to do , ” chief o’neill said in january . “ but we ca n’t do that unless we have the backing of the community . unless we have that connectivity , it ’s not going to work . ” as he spoke on tuesday in city hall ’s blue room , chief o’neill , who is separated and has two sons in their 20s , faced his mother , who sat in the front row . he choked up , recalling the advice she gave while he was growing up , one of seven siblings in the east flatbush neighborhood of brooklyn . “ to be a sound and moral man , ” his mother , helen o’neill , told reporters afterward . “ and to always do the right thing , and he has . ” ms. o’neill said she was in awe of her son , who likes irish soda bread , motorcycle rides and discussing with her the books he has read . “ he ’s more than what you see , ” she said .
+0 retired women ’s basketball star says supposedly tolerant wnba oppresses heterosexual players - breitbart warner todd huston a recently retired women ’s national basketball association player is charging the league with bullying and oppressing players who are n’t gay . [ candice wiggins retired at the relatively young age of 30 from the wnba ’s new york liberty after a standout career including being chosen for the wnba team in 2008 , earning wnba sixth woman of the year in 2008 , and going to the wnba finals in 2011 . her professional career is on top of a very long list of high school honors earned between 2001 and 2004 . but in a new interview , wiggins says she was essentially hounded out of the league because she is n’t gay , according to the san diego . wiggins said that she wanted to keep playing but the fact that the league itself has so few fans “ did n’t lend itself to my mental state . ” “ it was a depressing state in the wnba . it ’s not watched . our value is diminished . it can be quite hard . i did n’t like the culture inside the wnba , and without revealing too much , it was toxic for me . … my spirit was being broken , ” wiggins said . but she also noted that the major problems between players also added to her anguish . “ me being heterosexual and straight , and being vocal in my identity as a straight woman was huge . i would say 98 percent of the women in the wnba are gay women . it was a conformist type of place , ” wiggins charged . “ there was a whole different set of rules they ( the other players ) could apply . there was a lot of jealousy and competition , and we ’re all fighting for crumbs . the way i looked , the way i played — those things contributed to the tension . ” “ people were deliberately trying to hurt me all of the time . i had never been called the so many times in my life than i was in my rookie season . i ’d never been thrown to the ground so much , ” she added . the retired player insisted that the message given by gay players was : “ we want you to know we do n’t like you . ” “ it comes to a point where you get compared so much to the men , you come to mirror the men , ” wiggins concluded . “ so many people think you have to look like a man , play like a man to get respect . i was the opposite . i was proud to a be a woman , and it did n’t fit well in that culture . ” follow warner todd huston on twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail . com .
+0 preet bharara links firing to trump team ’s ‘ helter - skelter incompetence’ - the new york times benjamin weiser and william k. rashbaum nearly a month after he was fired by the trump administration , preet bharara , the former united states attorney in manhattan , remains mystified by the circumstances of his ouster , saying he had never been told why president trump changed his mind about wanting him to stay on . in his first interview since he was forced out , mr. bharara said this week that his firing was part and parcel of what he characterized as the chaos that has defined some of the administration ’s decisions . he called it “ a direct example of the kind of uncertain incompetence , when it comes to personnel decisions and executive actions , that was in people ’s minds when this call for everyone ’s resignation letter came . ” mr. bharara also disclosed that mr. trump , after having asked him to remain in his post , telephoned him three times , raising concern among mr. bharara and his aides that such calls could run afoul of strict justice department protocols governing communications with the white house . mr. bharara , an appointee of president barack obama , was among 46 united states attorneys who were asked on march 10 to submit their resignations . the directive was not especially unusual all presidents choose their own candidates for united states attorney positions , and invariably ask holdover prosecutors to leave . but mr. bharara ’s inclusion in the request came as a surprise , since he had been asked on nov. 30 by mr. trump , the at the time , to remain in his post . speculating about the reasons for mr. bharara ’s firing became a kind of parlor game for a time in some legal circles , with questions about whether the president may have been trying to block investigations focused on his friends and associates . those inquiries include one into the way fox news handled payments related to sexual harassment accusations under roger ailes , its former chairman , and another focused on stock trades by tom price , mr. trump ’s secretary of health and human services . a justice department spokesman declined to comment on why mr. bharara was among those dismissed despite mr. trump ’s earlier request that he stay . in his seven years as the united states attorney for the southern district of new york , mr. bharara established a reputation for prosecuting public corruption cases and for investigating insider trading . he declined to discuss the office ’s current investigations , but he said he did not know whether his firing was related to any particular case . still , he expressed some disbelief over how his removal was handled . when a top justice department official called him on march 10 to ask for his resignation , mr. bharara said he thought it was a mistake . he said it took nearly 24 hours before justice department officials could finally tell him whether the president actually wanted him fired . “ literally , no one was giving us an answer to that question , ” mr. bharara said . mr. bharara spoke to the new york times on monday , his first day as a distinguished scholar in residence at new york university school of law . on thursday night , he is to deliver a lecture at the cooper union in manhattan . he said he was uncertain about his plans , but reiterated that he had no interest in seeking public office . he has had some time to contemplate life after being a prosecutor in the interview , he said he initially expected that , like all united states attorneys , he would be asked to resign once mr. trump took office , a request that he said would have been “ perfectly appropriate . ” his expectations began to change on nov. 16 , when he said he received a call from senator chuck schumer , democrat of new york , for whom he had once worked as chief counsel and who had recommended him to mr. obama for the united states attorney post . mr. schumer told mr. bharara he had gotten a call from mr. trump during which the said he wanted mr. bharara to stay on . that led to a meeting on nov. 30 , on the 26th floor at trump tower . jared kushner , mr. trump ’s and stephen k. bannon , his chief strategist , were waiting , mr. bharara said . when mr. trump entered the room 10 to 15 minutes later , mr. bharara recalled , he quipped , “ this guy gets better press than me . ” mr. trump said he had read for years about the office ’s work under mr. bharara , and praised its accomplishments . mr. bharara said he spoke briefly about his office , emphasizing that it prized its independence , and that he presumed that was why mr. trump wanted him to stay . he would be honored , he said he told mr. trump , to continue in the job . at the meeting , mr. bharara said , mr. trump asked for his phone numbers , a request that mr. bharara found unusual . he nonetheless scribbled them down on a yellow sticky note , which he left on mr. trump ’s desk . as the meeting ended , mr. bharara said that mr. trump told him to tell reporters in the lobby about the decision . mr. bharara said he had gone over what he planned to say in the lobby with mr. kushner and mr. bannon , and that both had given their assent . mr. bharara said mr. bannon had also asked that he call jeff sessions , at the time a republican senator from alabama whom mr. trump had picked as his nominee for attorney general . standing at the elevator bank before going downstairs , mr. bharara said he had called mr. sessions and had an “ equally positive and enthusiastic ” conversation . soon , mr. bharara was downstairs addressing reporters , telling them that mr. trump had asked him to stay on and that he had agreed to do so . about two weeks later , mr. bharara said he received a message that mr. trump had called . mr. bharara said he consulted with senior aides , including his deputy , joon h. kim , and that they had concluded there was no ethical problem with returning the call because mr. trump was not yet president . “ the consensus was that i can return the call , ” he said , “ and just to be certain that we do n’t talk about any case . ” during the brief conversation , mr. trump raised no problematic topics and said he was just “ checking in , ” mr. bharara recalled . the asked if he had spoken with mr. sessions , and mr. bharara said he had . mr. trump seemed pleased . afterward , mr. bharara said he called brian benczkowski , who led the justice department transition team , to inform him of the call . on jan. 18 , two days before mr. trump ’s inauguration , mr. bharara learned that he had called again . mr. bharara said he spoke to his senior aides and later advised mr. benczkowski . this conversation was also brief and innocuous , mr. bharara said , adding that mr. trump mentioned that he was working on his inaugural address and that his theme would be unity . the timing of a third call , on march 9 , might suggest that mr. trump was reaching out to mr. bharara before the request for the mass resignations became public . but the actual purpose of the call was unclear mr. bharara did not return it . he said he had consulted with mr. kim again and that they had reviewed two memos , issued by the justice department in 2007 and 2009 , related to communications with the white house . he concluded that prudence as well as the written policy counseled against his speaking directly to the president . “ i do not think it is wise for a sitting president to try cultivating a personal telephonic relationship with a sitting u. s. attorney , especially one with a certain jurisdiction , ” he said , an apparent reference to trump tower ’s location within the southern district . that evening , mr. bharara said , he spoke with mr. sessions ’s chief of staff , jody hunt , and suggested that mr. sessions might want to counsel the president about contacting a sitting united states attorney directly . mr. bharara said he had seen firsthand what could happen when the justice department became politicized . as a senate staff member , he had helped to lead the senate judiciary committee ’s investigation into the firings of up to nine united states attorneys around the country during president george w. bush ’s administration . moreover , mr. bharara said that taking the president ’s call could potentially have opened them both to the kind of criticism that mr. trump raised during the presidential campaign after president bill clinton met attorney general loretta lynch on an airport tarmac in phoenix while the f. b. i. was investigating his democratic opponent , hillary clinton . “ i mean , either way , ” mr. bharara said , sketching out a broad hypothetical , “ people would say : ‘ all we know is the president called preet . preet only has his job because the president bizarrely asked him to stay . and you know what ? preet did n’t charge that guy . preet did n’t open that investigation . they must have made a deal . ’ ” the next day , the phone calls went out from the acting deputy attorney general , dana j. boente , informing mr. bharara and the other prosecutors to tender their resignations immediately . mr. bharara said he spent the rest of the day trying to determine whether the request applied to him . mr. boente called again the next morning , and said he understood that mr. bharara was not submitting a letter of resignation . mr. bharara confirmed that report . mr. boente soon called back , and mr. bharara remembered asking , “ ‘ i want to know : is the president firing me?’ that ’s all . it seems like a very easy question . ”
+0 scientists turn spinach leaf into beating human heart cells - breitbart jack hadfield researchers at worcester polytechnic institute have created artificial heart tissue with functioning vasculature by stripping a spinach leaf of its original cells and replacing them with human cells . [ the spinach leaf was used to solve a problem faced by biological engineers when creating artificial tissues and organs . methods such as 3d printing that generally make good copies do not have the ability to recreate the complicated vascular systems that are needed to ensure the success of any bioengineered tissue . if oxygen and nutrients can not be transported to the cells , then that organ will fail and die . while plants use their vasculature to transport water and nutrients rather than blood , the access to the cells that it provides is similar in design to animals . combined with the fact that cellulose is compatible with human biology , the researchers saw a new opportunity to utilize plants in bioengineering . the process was relatively simple . the spinach leaf was first bleached via a detergent pumped through the veins , stripping away the plant cells . this took several days to complete , after which human blood vessel cells were implanted to make the veins to be compatible with human biology . the process was finished off by covering the leaf in human heart cells , which attached themselves to the skeleton . eventually , the cells started beating like an actual heart , allowing mock blood to flow through the system . similar experiments were conducted with peanut plants and parsley . joshua gershlak , a researcher at wpi in massachusetts and the first author on the study explained in a press release where he got the inspiration from : when i looked at the spinach leaf , its stem reminded me of an aorta . so i thought , let ’s perfuse right through the stem . we were n’t sure it would work , but it turned out to be pretty easy and replicable . its working in many other plants . this is just one step on a long road to successfully utilizing this process in medical science . researchers need to make sure that plant scaffolds like these would not be rejected , once inside a host , with a further plan to make the new creations stronger . glenn gaudette , a professor of biomedical engineering wondered if they could “ stack decellularized leaves , can we create a large thickness more along the thickness of a human heart wall ? ” another theory was perhaps broccoli or cauliflower could be made to replicate lung tissue . along with requiring further optimisation , it also is unclear how the tissues could be used to actually create a new organ . researchers are upbeat , claiming that while further investigation may still be needed , “ it has the potential to develop into a ‘ green’ solution pertinent to a myriad of regenerative medicine applications . ” jack hadfield is a student at the university of warwick and a regular contributor to breitbart tech . you can like his page on facebook and follow him on twitter @torybastard _ or on gab @jh .
+1 someone made a guide for what to do if you see a hate crime tom cahill tom cahill | november 11 , 2016 a brilliant guide showing bystanders what to do when seeing islamophobia in public is spreading on social media . the guide instructs friendly bystanders to do four things in succession : converse with the victim while ignoring the attacker , focus on a random subject of conversation that does n’t involve anything the attacker is talking about , maintain eye contact with the victim while refusing to engage with the attacker , and continue friendly conversation until the attacker leaves , while offering to escort the victim to a safe space . the illustrated guide , made by artist maeril , is a 4-step guide that simultaneously shows how a bystander can make an islamophobic attacker irrelevant while at the same time providing the victim with a safe space . maeril , who lives in france , originally designed it for bystanders wanting to make muslim citizens feel welcome after the terror attacks in paris and nice , said on her tumblr that the guide can actually be used to help those being targeted by various forms of hatred and racism . maeril asked those planning on following the guide to make sure to do two things : 1 ) do not , in any way , interact with the attacker . you must absolutely ignore them and focus entirely on the person being attacked ! 2 ) please make sure to always respect the wishes of the person you ’re helping : whether they want you to leave quickly afterwards , or not ! if you ’re in a hurry escort them to a place where someone else can take over — call one of their friends , or one of yours , of if they want to , the police . it all depends on how they feel ! in an interview with buzzfeed news , maeril said the guide is based on a psychological technique called “ non - complementary behavior , ” in which a person adopts the polar opposite behavior of someone else . in this instance , non - complementary behavior means acting in a warm and friendly way toward someone who is experiencing hostile behavior from someone else . this guide will likely become essential over the next four years as hate crimes are already being reported across the country in the wake of donald trump ’s election to the presidency . follow maeril on tumblr here . tom cahill is a writer for us uncut based in the pacific northwest . he specializes in coverage of political , economic , and environmental news . you can contact him via email at [ email protected ]
+1 sharpton attacks o’keefe , so o’keefe releases brutal expose on sharpton … boom ! harris sharpton tried to dismiss it , saying , “ oh , you ’re talking about the heavily edited video , ” he replied . “ fine . ” see the discussion below : however , project veritas founder james o’keefe was n’t going to stand for the disparagement , so he re - released a video that his group had published in the past — all about the good reverend himself . sharpton did not want this to be brought to light . see the sharpton video below : what 's wrong @thereval , are you still mad that we exposed how you 're # alaboutthemoney ? # veritas https://t.co/qttuo9yixh https://t.co/17lukao5fi — james o'keefe ( @jamesokeefeiii ) october 24 , 2016 maybe next time he wo n’t point at the speck in his brother ’s eye without acknowledging the log in his own . boom .
+1 a combat veteran with ptsd was n’t allowed to fly with her service dog . so she sued . arnaldo rodgers a combat veteran with ptsd was n’t allowed to fly with her service dog . so she sued . 30 , 2016 ptsd by peter holley lisa mccombs , a decorated army veteran who served in iraq and afghanistan , claims she ’d never had any trouble flying with her service dog , a labrador retriever named jake . that changed one year ago , when she was barred from boarding a regional american airlines flight with jake , who was wearing his service vest and was properly documented at the time , according to a federal lawsuit . mccombs suffers from ptsd and relies on her dog to calm her anxiety and panic before it overwhelms her . but as she waited to board her return flight from manhattan , kansas , an airline agent approached her and asked “ in a condescending tone , ‘ ummm , are you going to fly with that ? ’ ” the suit states . www.washingtonpost.com > > > > related posts : no related posts the 30 ,
+1 penn state fined $ 2.4 million for handling of sandusky case - the onion - america 's finest news source nan nation puts 2016 election into perspective by reminding itself some species of sea turtles get eaten by birds just seconds after they hatch washington — saying they felt anxious and overwhelmed just days before heading to the polls to decide a historically fraught presidential race , americans throughout the country reportedly took a moment thursday to put the 2016 election into perspective by reminding themselves that some species of sea turtles are eaten by birds just seconds after they hatch . cleveland indians worried team cursed after building franchise on old native american stereotype cleveland — having watched in horror as their team crumbled after a 3 - 1 world series lead , members of the cleveland indians expressed concern thursday that the organization has been cursed for building their franchise on an incredibly old native american stereotype . report : election day most americans’ only time in 2016 being in same room with person supporting other candidate washington — according to a report released thursday by the pew research center , election day 2016 will , for the majority of americans , mark the only time this year they will occupy the same room as a person who supports a different presidential candidate . nurse reminds elderly man she ’s just down the hall if he starts to die des plaines , il — assuring him that she ’d be at his side in a jiffy , local nurse wendy kaufman reminded an elderly resident at the briarwood assisted living community that she was just down the hall if he started to die , sources reported tuesday .
+0 house freedom caucus member desantis : ’we can pass something , relatively soon’ on obamacare - breitbart ian hanchett on friday ’s broadcast of the fox news channel ’s “ america ’s newsroom , ” house freedom caucus member representative ron desantis ( ) stated that there ’s “ definitely a path ” to an obamacare bill , and that if they can deliver lower premiums and more choice , “ i absolutely think we can pass something , relatively soon . ” desantis said , “ i think there ’s definitely a path , bill . i mean , if you remember this march 23rd date , where this kind of blew up , that was not any deadline . that was a deadline . and what happened was , the bill really was n’t ready for primetime . you had n’t developed a consensus . you set a date to vote on it without having the consensus . and so , what ’s happened since then , is members are talking to each other , and really the administration , i think has done a good job . vice president pence has been exercising a lot of leadership to try to figure out how do we actually fulfill the promises we made to the american people , and for me the core thing that we have to do is deliver lower premiums and more choice on private insurance , because that is the reason why people dislike obamacare because their premiums have gone up and their deductibles have gone up . so , that ’s really what we have to do , and i think if we can get there , i absolutely think we can pass something , relatively soon . ” desantis added that he thinks the house is getting closer to an obamacare bill . follow ian hanchett on twitter @ianhanchett
+1 comment on evidence that hillary clinton and her associates are satanists by traildustfotm traildustfotm dr. eowyn | 2 comments i ’ve been blogging every day , every week , every month for more than 7 years now . blogging for fotm requires that i ’m really “ plugged in , ” ear - to - the - ground on news and goings on , including conspiracy theories . after more than 7 years of being “ plugged in , ” i ’ve come to the conclusion that the conspiracy theories that i , who began as an innocent , had initially thought to be outlandish turn out to be credible . that ’s my honest , sober observation — from a person who is a full professor , has a ph.d. , was well - trained in and had taught epistemology and the scientific method to undergraduate and graduate students . i go to where the empirical evidence leads me . one of the most far - out conspiracy theories is that a shadowy group of élites controls governments . in the united states , those élites variously are called shadow government , secret government or deep state . ( see “ deep state : who really rules america ” ) an even more far - out version of that conspiracy theory is that the shadowy élites are satanists . this post is about hillary clinton and her close associates being satanists . really . exhibit a larry nichols in 2009 i originally reported the following more than a year ago in “ clinton friend and assassin larry nichols says hillary clinton is a satanist “ . larry nichols is a former green beret and a longtime associate of bill clinton . the two men first met in arkansas in the late 1970s when bill was an up - and - coming politician . when bill was elected governor of arkansas , he inserted nichols as the marketing director of the arkansas development finance authority , an arkansas state agency that was one of the entities investigated by the senate whitewater committee . on the pete santilli radio show on september 24 , 2013 , nichols admitted that he had killed people as the clintons’ hit man or assassin - for - hire . ( see “ bombshell : long - time clinton associate says he killed people for bill & hillary “ ) on june 24 , 2015 , interviewed by alex jones for infowars , nichols dropped another bombshell . he said , beginning at the 28:44 mark in the audio above : “ back when hillary was first lady , she would go home on the weekends to california with linda bloodworth - thomason * and some of the other ladies of ‘ designing women’ . and they went to a church for witches . witches , witches , witches . . . . you know that lady that was tryin’ to run for the senate and sometimes she ’d gone to some place where they did witch stuff ? hillary went to a church and worshiped satan . . . . what . . . i think is scaring the hell out of you : there are people that love them [ clintons ] , no matter what . ” * note : linda bloodworth - thomason , together with her husband harry , was the producer of designing women , a popular tv sitcom ( 1986 - 1993 ) . exhibit b i first reported the following in a post about two months ago , “ hillary aide talks about animal sacrifice to demon moloch in wikileaks email “ . in early august 2016 , wikileaks released a ( hacked ) email from w. lewis amselem to cheryl mills , hillary ’s chief of staff . at the time of the email , amselem served in the state department under then - secretary of state hillary clinton as head of the u.s. delegation to the organization of american states ( oas ) . ( he has since retired . ) in the email , amselem made mention of “ sacrificing a chicken in the backyard to moloch ” — an ancient demon . below is a screenshot i took of the wikileaks email ( you can see the email for yourself here ) . i painted a red bracket around the animal sacrifice phrase . in the old testament , gehenna was a valley by jerusalem , where apostate israelites and followers of various pagan gods sacrificed their children by fire ( 2 chr . 28:3 , 33:6 ; jer . 7:31 , 19:2–6 ) . one of those gods was moloch ( aka molech , molekh , molok , molek , molock , moloc , melech , milcom or molcom ) , an ancient ammonite god who demanded a particular kind of propitiatory child sacrifice from parents . ( amselem is a sephardic jewish surname . ) exhibit c the latest evidence of satanism on the part of a hillary clinton associate is an email recently released by wikileaks . the email was sent from tony podesta , a powerful democrat lobbyist , to his brother john podesta , a longtime clinton associate who is the chairman of the 2016 hillary clinton presidential campaign . tony had forwarded an invitation to attend a satanic ritual called “ spirit cooking dinner ” from marina abramovic , 69 , a serbian “ performance artist ” who now lives in new york . abramovic ’s email says : “ dear tony , i am so looking forward to the spirit cooking dinner at my place . do you think you will be able to let me know if your brother is joining ? “ tony appended to abramovic ’s invitation this message to john podesta : “ are you in nyc thursday july 9 marina wants you to come to dinner . ” here ’s a screenshot of the email ( you can view it on wikileaks here ): paul joseph watson of infowars explains that “ spirit cooking ” is a “ sacrament ” in thelema — a religion founded by british occultist - satanist aleister crowley , whose motto was “ do as thou wilt”— in which menstrual blood , breast milk , urine and sperm are mixed to create a “ painting . ” according to abramovic , if the ritual is performed in an art gallery , it is merely art , but if the ritual is performed privately , then “ spirit cooking ” is a “ spiritual ceremony”—“to symbolize the union between the microcosm , man , and the macrocosm , the divine ” and “ a representation of one of the prime maxims in hermeticism ‘ as above , so below’ . ” mike cernovich cuts ( no pun intended ) to the quick : spirit cooking is an “ occult practice used during sex cult rituals , as explained in the book spirit cooking with essential aphrodisiac recipes . ” so who is marina abramovic ? let ’s begin with this disturbing image of abramovic posing with a bloody goat ’s head — a representation of baphomet : here ’s a video of abramovic on “ spirit cooking painting ” : cassandra fairbanks of wearechange.org has more information on marina abramovic : she is known for gory “ performance art ” in the name of “ confronting pain and ritual . ” one of abramovic ’s performances involved repeatedly stabbing herself in her hands . another featured her throwing her nails , toenails , and hair into a flaming pentagram , then jumping inside the pentagram and fainting . exhibit d many fbi agents involved in the now re - opened criminal investigation into hillary clinton ’s emails , who we would expect to know more about her than we do , regard hillary clinton as the antichrist . spencer ackerman reports for the guardian , nov. 4 , 2016 : “ deep antipathy to hillary clinton exists within the fbi , multiple bureau sources have told the guardian , spurring a rapid series of leaks damaging to her campaign just days before the election . current and former fbi officials , none of whom were willing or cleared to speak on the record , have described a chaotic internal climate that resulted from outrage over director james comey ’s july decision not to recommend an indictment over clinton ’s maintenance of a private email server on which classified information transited . ‘ the fbi is trumpland,’ said one current agent . [ … ] the currently serving fbi agent said clinton is ‘ the antichrist personified to a large swath of fbi personnel , ’ and that ‘ the reason why they ’re leaking is they ’re pro - trump.’ ” h / t fotm ‘s anon and will shanley see also :
+1 the truth that america does n't want you to know about war crimes in syria vandita after claiming the lives of more than a quarter of a million people ; causing the biggest refugee crisis since world war ii ; and fueling the rise of islamic state of iraq and syria ( isis ) , the civil war in syria , which started in 2011 as a peaceful protest against president bashar al - assad but later turned into an international proxy war , is today , signaling world war iii . at least , that ’s what the west and the mainstream media want you to believe . however , the truth is the united states and its allies are using the “ war crimes ” and “ crimes of historic proportions ” in syria to prolong the proxy war , overthrow assad , and annex an independent country . sadly , the united nations , amnesty international , the syrian observatory for human rights , and other “ concerned parties ” ( including the mainstream media ) , support the west in its malicious intent . the western claim “ russia and the syrian regime owe the world more than an explanation about why they keep hitting hospitals and medical facilities and children and women , ” us secretary of state john kerry recently commented . kerry begged for an investigation of the russian and syrian military strikes against civilians and medical facilities in aleppo , as war crimes . “ there is clear and abundant evidence the assad regime and the russian government are committing crimes that include , but are not limited to , deliberate attacks on civilians , collective punishment , starvation as a tool of war , torture , murder , inhumane treatment of prisoners and the use of chemical weapons on the battlefield , ” asserted the washington post . “ the ancient city of aleppo , a place of millennial civility and beauty , is today a slaughterhouse — a gruesome locus of pain and fear , where the lifeless bodies of small children are trapped under streets of rubble and pregnant women deliberately bombed , ” observed the un human rights’ chief , seeking a war crimes inquiry . the western evidence 1 . a commission for international justice and accountability — a non - profit organization funded by western states including the uk , us , the eu , germany , switzerland , norway , canada and denmark — smuggled over 600,000 top - secret syrian government documents brought to western europe . an analysis of some 400 documents “ linked the systematic torture and murder of tens of thousands of syrians to a written policy approved by president bashar al - assad , coordinated among his security - intelligence agencies , and implemented by regime operatives . ” current status : neither the documents nor the evidence has been made public . 2 . a decorated american journalist and a former cia officer , adam ciralsky wrote about the 53,275 photos that “ caesar ” ( a syrian military photographer turned war crimes whistleblower , who fled the country in august 2013 ) took as grisly evidence of assad ’s brutality . “ the pictures , most of them taken in syrian military hospitals , show corpses photographed at close range — one at a time as well as in small groupings . virtually all of the bodies — thousands of them — betray signs of torture : gouged eyes ; mangled genitals ; bruises and dried blood from beatings ; acid and electric burns ; emaciation ; and marks from strangulation , ” ciralsky explained . current status : the treasure trove , as well as the photographer “ caesar , ” is hidden from the public eye . 3 . in 2015 , amnesty international documented the systematic and widespread “ unthinkable atrocities ” war crimes , and crimes against humanity committed by assad ’s regime , in a 74-page report ( including indiscriminate use of explosive weapons , arbitrary arrests , torture , and enforced disappearances ) . the ‘ heartbreaking’ research involved merely 78 residents ( mostly former ) and 29 professionals working in aleppo . 4 . the syrian observatory for human rights — the london - based monitoring group , often quote : d as the most authoritative source of information about human rights abuse in syria — is a tool of western propaganda run by one man who last visited syria in 2000 ( 11 years before the armed conflict began ) . he relies on “ intelligence ” allegedly gathered by around 200 “ activists ” who he has never met . current status : whatever the sohr claims , the mainstream media reports as truth without verifying its nature – because the sohr does not reference any sources . the western lies why is the angry and ( nowadays ) concerned world not asking the united states and the mainstream media a few pertinent questions ? what is the west doing in syria ? why is the peace - loving west prolonging the war ? why is the west backing the rebels in a foreign country ? why is the west funding and arming isis ? why are the western forces not being held accountable for war crimes like bombing a hospital ? why is the mainstream media , the ngos and the un not holding the west accountable for crimes committed on their own land , or in israel , africa or yemen ? one reason may be because of the abundance of natural gas under syrian soil , and that this may very well be another ‘ petrodollar’ war . the us had long had its gaze set on syria – years before the civil war and the 2011 “ revolution . ” leaked wikileaks cables show the us ambassador to syria ( 2004 - 2007 ) william roebuck discussing a plan to remove assad from power , in december 2006 . while the russian and iranian forces entered syria on assad ’s request to fight against isis and armed rebels , the western military invaded syria — a sovereign country and united nations member state — to violently overthrow the syrian government . why did n’t the west invade saudi arabia to initiate “ humanitarian intervention ” and save innocent citizens from its brutal dictator ? saudi arabia remains a member of the united nations human rights council and a u.s. ally , despite its poor human rights record — if attacking an independent harmless country is justified , why did the us act against osama bin laden ? the western effort to annex syria has relied on a series of crudely - spun lies and media - generated talking points . in september , rt dared to expose the top 10 western lies about syrian conflict that the mainstream media are trading in , to fool the western public into backing yet another failed ‘ nation - building’ project ( after yugoslavia , iraq and libya ) . obviously , the fear mongering media did n’t find it profitable to give the lies much , if any , coverage in the west . from calling the conflict a fault of wicked assad , and assad a brutal dictator who enjoyed no popular support , to portraying him as an uncompromising president interested only in ‘ killing his own people’ – and not in peace and reconciliation , the list is endless . from accusing the syrian government and russia for helping isis and terming the western interventions in syria as humanitarian , to claiming russia was acting out of self - interest and that the west was on the side of the ‘ good guys’ in syria , can you be certain of the ‘ truth’ ? realistically , the west has n’t been fighting ‘ terror’ in syria , it has aided it . remember the american journalist serena shim , who was killed in october 2014 , after she revealed the isis - turkey - us link that proved the west was assisting isis in syria ? the syrian reality henry lowendorf , a member of the executive board of the u.s. peace council ’s peace and fact - finding delegation to syria – who returned from syria in august – noted : “ what we saw in syria goes against everything we read in the united states . ” before 2011 , illiteracy in syria had been wiped out ; the life expectancy was 75.9 years and the government spent massive amounts of money on improving the nation . developing irrigation , electricity , water and road building projects , and expanding the health services and education to rural areas , all occurred ; and china invested hundreds of millions of dollars to modernize syria ’s aging oil and gas infrastructure .
+1 if they could , most democrats would reelect obama over clinton howard portnoy print [ ed . – it ’s that bad . ] president obama has received higher approval ratings in his final year than he has for most of his presidency . while most voters expect hillary clinton to continue many of his policies if she wins , a sizable majority of her current supporters would vote for obama instead if the rules allowed it . a new rasmussen reports national telephone and online survey shows that 70 % of likely u.s. voters who support clinton in the election say they ’d vote for obama if it was a legal option . just 11 % of republican donald trump ’s voters agree . ( to see survey question wording , click here . ) among all likely voters , 41 % say that if obama was legally allowed to run for a third term in office , they would vote for him over clinton and trump . just over half ( 52 % ) still say they would not vote for him in that case . earlier this year before the presidential nominees were decided , 31 % said they would vote for obama if he legally could seek a third term , but twice as many ( 62 % ) said they would not support him . those findings were little changed from last year after obama commented about winning a third term in a speech in africa .
+0 boaty mcboatface , from internet joke to polar explorer - the new york times hannah olivennes london — boaty mcboatface is back , but this time it ’s serious . the remotely operated yellow submarine , bearing a name that began as a joke , will begin its first mission this week through a deep current that starts in antarctica and goes through the southern ocean . boaty will navigate through underwater waterfalls and rapids on a mission , collecting data to help scientists understand how global warming affects oceans . it will depart on friday aboard the james clark ross , a british polar research ship , from punta arenas , chile , and will head to the southern ocean . the scientists involved can only hope that boaty mcboatface will find something that draws as much attention to climate change as the odd story of how the vessel got its name . that story started a year ago , when the natural environment research council , a british government agency , opened a public campaign to name a ship to replace the james clark ross . that plan backfired in spectacular fashion , with voters overwhelmingly supporting a name that failed to capture the grandeur that officials were probably looking for : boaty mcboatface . to the dismay of many , the science ministry ignored the results of the poll and announced that the ship would be named after the naturalist david attenborough . in an attempt to soothe hurt feelings , british officials acknowledged the boaty mcboatface phenomenon by bestowing the name on a remotely operated submarine that would accompany the david attenborough in collecting data and samples . enthusiasm for boaty mcboatface continued to run high on monday , even though , as one twitter user noted , it ’s not a boat , and it does n’t have a face . the robot submarine ’s missions can last for several months and include traveling thousands of miles under ice while reaching depths of about three and a half miles to measure seabed properties on an oceanic scale . the submarine can then rise to the surface to transmit data to oceanographers via a radio link . the british national oceanography center says it hopes boaty will be able to make the first crossing of the arctic ocean . construction of the david attenborough , a project expected to cost 200 million pounds , or about $ 240 million , continues at a shipyard in liverpool , in northern england . the vessel is expected to become operational in 2019 .
+1 comment on 15 plants & herbs that can boost lung health , heal respiratory infections & repair pulmonary damage by why not news 15 plants & herbs that can boost lung health , heal respiratory infections & repair pulmonary damage - why not news why not news 15 plants & amp ; herbs that can boost lung health , heal respiratory infections & amp ; repair pulmonary damage - why not news share on facebook share on twitter when it comes to taking herbs for medicinal purposes , it seems the mainstream belief is that they are not as effective and not worth taking . while the effectiveness of herbs has not been studied deeply to determine how well they work across the entire population , the same could be said for most pharmaceutical drugs . much of the time , pharmaceutical drugs attempt to mimic a compound that occurs in nature ( herbs ) , but often bring the risk of side effects in the process . advertisement - learn more safety is one of the most critical areas of review amongst herbs and drugs . according to stats released by the american association of poison control centers , no deaths have been reported due to the use and consumption of herbs . [ 4 ] however , pharmaceutical drugs and physician prescribed medications kill approximately one million americans each year . while it is important to note that herbal medicines can be lethal in extreme doses , it appears their safety is much greater than that of pharmaceutical drugs . [ 2 ] interestingly , pharmaceutical drugs are actually adding to the world - wide issue of declining health due to their side effects and encouragement of viral resistance . antibiotics in particular are adding to the wave of increased viral strength when it comes to certain infections . [ 3 ] herbs , on the other hand , can be a useful tool in fighting infections that have turned into superbugs due to the overuse of antibiotics . it is always useful to perform as much research as possible , or as you see fit , when it comes to both pharmaceutical drugs and herbs prior to taking them . just as we approach the use of herbs with skepticism , so too should we approach the use of any pharmaceutical drugs with the same discerning eye . contrary to popular belief , our reluctance to use herbs in western culture is not a result of their inefficacy . it is because pharmaceutical companies ( and those who can benefit from the sale of pharmaceutical drugs ) have done a great job of making them seem unsafe and inadequate . herbs can not be patented and owned , unlike synthetic drugs , which is why many pharma companies operate the way they do . seek out the assistance of a naturopathic doctor , traditional chinese medicine practitioner , ayurveda practioner , or herbologist before you use herbs . like any medical issue , each illness can have different root causes and it ’s always important to understand them before relying on any treatment to solve the entire problem . below is a list of herbs that can not only boost lung and respiratory health but can also repair it . herb information is courtesy of john summerly who is a nutritionist , herbologist , and homeopathic practitioner . advertisement - learn more 1 . licorice root – glycyrrhiza glabra licorice is one of the more widely consumed herbs in the world . in traditional chinese medicine it occurs in more formulas than any other single herb because it is thought to harmonize the action of all other herbs . licorice is very soothing and softens the mucous membranes of the throat and especially the lungs and stomach , and at the same time cleanses any inflamed mucous membrane that needs immune system support . it reduces the irritation in the throat and yet has an expectorant action . it is the saponins ( detergent - like action ) that loosen the phlegm in the respiratory tract so that the body can expel the mucus . compounds within this root help relieve bronchial spasms and block the free radical cells that produce the inflammation and tightening of the airways . the compounds also have antibacterial and antiviral effects to them as well , which helps fight off viral and bacterial strains in the body that can cause lung infections . glycrrhizins and flavonoids can even help prevent lung cancer cells from forming . for people with high blood pressure this should be taken with caution . 2 . coltsfoot – tussilago farfara coltsfoot has been traditionally used by native americans for thousands of years to strengthen the lungs . it clears out excess mucus from the lungs and bronchial tubes . it also soothes the mucus membranes in the lungs and has been shown in research to assist with asthma , coughs , bronchitis , and other lung ailments . coltsfoot is available in dried form for tea or as an alcohol extract known as a tincture . 3 . cannabis the toxic breakdown of therapeutic compounds in cannabis from burning the plant are totally avoided with vaporization . extracting and inhaling cannabinoid essential oils of the unprocessed plant affords significant mitigation of irritation to the oral cavity that comes from smoking . cannabis is perhaps one of the most effective anti - cancer plants in the world , shown in study after study to stimulate cannabinoid receptor activation in specific genes and mediate the anti - invasive effect of cannabinoids . vaporizing cannabis allows the active ingredients to stimulate the body ’s natural immune response and significantly reduces the ability of infections to spread . vaporizing cannabis ( especially with very high amounts of cannabinoids ) opens up airways and sinuses , acting as a bronchodilator . it is even a proven method for treatment and reversal of asthma . 4 . osha root – ligusticum porteri osha is an herb native to the rocky mountain area and has historically been used by the native americans for respiratory support . the roots of the plant contain camphor and other compounds which make it one of the best lung - support herbs in america . one of the main benefits of osha root is that it helps increase circulation to the lungs , which makes it easier to take deep breaths . also , when seasonal sensitivities flare up your sinuses , osha root , which is not an actual antihistamine , produces a similar effect and may help calm respiratory irritation . 5 . thyme – thymus thyme is very powerful in the fight against chest congestion . it produces powerful antiseptic essential oils which are classified as naturally antibiotic and anti - fungal . thyme is well known to zap acne more so than expensive prescription creams , gels , and lotions . thyme tea has the power to chase away and eliminate bacteria and viruses , so whether your infection is based on one or the other , it will still work . thyme has been used as a lung remedy since antiquity and is used extensively today to prevent and treat respiratory tract infections and bacterial infection pneumonia . 6 . oregano although oregano contains the vitamins and nutrients required by the immune system , its primary benefits are owed to its carvacrol and rosmarinic acid content . both compounds are natural decongestants and histamine reducers that have direct , positive benefits on the respiratory tract and nasal passage airflow . oil of oregano fights off the dangerous bacteria staphylococcus aureus better than the most common antibiotic treatments . oregano has so many health benefits that a bottle of organic oregano oil should be in everyone ’s medicine cabinet . 7 . lobelia inflata did you know that horses given lobelia are able to breathe more deeply ? its benefits are not limited to equestrians . it has been used as an “ asthmador ” in appalachian folk medicine . lobelia , by some accounts , is thought to be one of the most valuable herbal remedies in existence . extracts of lobelia inflata contain lobeline , which showed positive effects in the treatment of multidrug - resistant tumor cells . lobelia contains an alkaloid known as lobeline , which thins mucus and breaks up congestion . additionally , lobelia stimulates the adrenal glands to release epinephrine ; in effect , this relaxes the airways and allows for easier breathing . also , because lobelia helps to relax smooth muscles , it is included in many cough and cold remedies . lobelia should be part of everyone ’s respiratory support protocol ! * use with caution as too much can cause side effects . 8 . elecampane – inula helenium elecampane has been used by native americans for many years to clear out excess mucus that impairs lung function . it is known as a natural antibacterial agent for the lungs , helping to lessen infection , particularly for people who are prone to lung infections like bronchitis . herbal practitioners often recommend one teaspoon of the herb per cup of boiling water , drunk three times daily for two to three weeks . elecampane is also available in tincture format for ease . 9 . eucalyptus – eucalyptus globulus native to australia , eucalyptus is n’t just for koala bears ! aborigines , germans , and americans have all used the refreshing aroma of eucalyptus to promote respiratory health and soothe throat irritation . eucalyptus is a common ingredient in cough lozenges and syrups and its effectiveness is due to a compound called cineole . cineole has numerous benefits — it ’s an expectorant , can ease a cough , fights congestion , and soothes irritated sinus passages . as an added bonus , because eucalyptus contains antioxidants , it supports the immune system during a cold or other illness . 10 . mullein – verbascum thapsus both the flowers and the leaves of the mullein plant are used to make an herbal extract that helps strengthen the lungs . mullein is used by herbal practitioners to clear excess mucus from the lungs , cleanse the bronchial tubes , and reduce inflammation that is present in the respiratory tract . a tea can be made from one teaspoon of the dried herb to one cup of boiled water . alternatively , you can take a tincture form of this herb . 11 . lungwort – pulmonaria officinalis as early as the 1600 ’s , lungwort has been used to promote lung and respiratory health and clear congestion . pulmonaria selections come in all kinds so seek a herbologist for direction . lungwort also contains compounds that are powerfully effective against harmful organisms that affect respiratory health . 12 . chaparral chaparral , a plant native to the southwest , has been appreciated by the native americans for lung detoxification and respiratory support for many years . chaparral contains powerful antioxidants that resist irritation , and ndga , which is known to fight histamine response . ndga inhibits aerobic and anaerobic glycolysis ( the energy - producing ability ) of cancer cells . chaparral is also an herb that fights harmful organisms . the benefits of chaparral are mostly available in a tincture extraction but chaparral tea may support respiratory problems by encouraging an expectorant action to clear airways of mucus . [ source ] 13 . sage – salvia officinalis sage ’s textured leaves give off a heady aroma , which arises from sage ’s essential oils . these oils are the source of the many benefits of sage tea for lung problems and common respiratory ailments . sage tea is a traditional treatment for sore throats and coughs . the rich aromatic properties arising from sage ’s volatile oils of thujone , camphor , terpene , and salvene can be put to use by inhaling sage tea ’s vapors to dispel lung disorders and sinusitis . alternatively , brew a strong pot of sage tea and place it into a bowl or vaporizer . 14 . peppermint – mentha × piperita peppermint and peppermint oil contains menthol — a soothing ingredient known to relax the smooth muscles of the respiratory tract and promote free breathing . dried peppermint typically contains menthol , menthone , menthyl acetate , menthofuran , and cineol . peppermint oil also contains small amounts of many additional compounds including limonene , pulegone , caryophyllene , and pinene . paired with the antihistamine effect of peppermint , menthol is a fantastic decongestant . many people use therapeutic chest balms and other inhalants that contain menthol to help break up congestion . additionally , peppermint is an antioxidant and fights harmful organisms . 15 . plantain herb – plantago major and p. lanceolata plantain leaf has been used for hundreds of years to ease coughs and soothe irritated mucous membranes . many of its active constituents show antibacterial and antimicrobial properties , as well as being anti - inflammatory and antitoxic . clinical trials have found it favorable against cough , cold , and lung irritation . plantain leaf has an added bonus in that it may help relieve a dry cough by spawning mucus production in the lungs . sources :
+1 la seguridad social procurará enfermos públicos a las familias que carezcan de uno fernando costilla la seguridad social procurará enfermos públicos a las familias que carezcan de uno sanidad quiere " beneficiar a aquellas familias que no tienen a nadie de quien cuidar " seguridad social la sanidad pública procurará un enfermo a aquellas familias españolas cuyos miembros gocen de plena salud . el objetivo es “ combatir una situación desigual en la que algunas familias se hacen cargo de personas enfermas mientras que otras no disponen de ellas ” , en palabras de la ministra dolors montserrat , que ha dado así el pistoletazo de salida a su gestión al frente de la cartera de sanidad . en las próximas semanas , las familias que no cuenten con miembros afectados por una enfermedad que requiera hospitalización recibirán una carta con el nombre , el centro hospitalario y la habitación donde se encuentra el enfermo que les ha sido asignado por sorteo , así como los días y las horas de visita sugeridos . aparte de ofrecer “ recursos a las familias españolas que no tienen a nadie de quien cuidar ” , los servicios de salud , según la ministra , “ también saldrán ganando porque alguien se ocupará de todos esos pacientes que se acumulan en los pasillos de los hospitales ” . de todos modos , según ha insistido montserrat , el objetivo principal de la medida es “ ayudar a los ciudadanos que no pueden disfrutar del placer que se experimenta cuidando de alguien necesitado ” . tras anunciarse este nuevo servicio , el gobierno de la comunidad de madrid , encabezado por cristina cifuentes , ha prometido estudiar la posibilidad de llevar a los enfermos públicos a las casas de las familias beneficiadas “ para evitarles incómodos desplazamientos ” .
+0 renting a car ? know the rules of the road - the new york times elaine glusac having booked their flights and secured their hotels , travelers often consider rental cars among the last of their tasks , making the unprepared more vulnerable to the of industry fees . “ our number one advice for renters is to do their homework , ” said david solomito , vice president of marketing for north america at kayak . “ for most people , rental cars are the least considered part of trip . ” as technology has changed travel — consider toll roads , which often do not have manned tollbooths any longer — so it has the rules of the road when it comes to renting cars . “ it ’s not dramatic in terms of what companies are charging in fees , it ’s just that there ’s more of them , ” said rick garlick , who leads the global travel and hospitality practice at j. d. power , which conducts consumer surveys , including an annual survey on car rental satisfaction ( for the third year running , enterprise has ranked highest ) . “ ancillary fees , as with airlines , are how the companies retain profitability , ” he said . there are a number of ways to save money on rental cars , including renting from a location that ’s not at an airport , which kayak says will save you an average of 11 percent . but there are several charges that tend to nip renters’ wallets after they return their cars that can be avoided or reduced with a little forethought . assuming you have n’t purchased any refueling options when you signed the contract , rental car agencies require renters to return the car with the same amount of gas as when they departed , which usually means full . but the mileage range between topping off the tank and reaching the return facility is a gray area . “ at hertz , we do not have a mileage restriction . we simply ask that customers refuel to the same level they started with , ” wrote lauren luster , communications manager with hertz , in an email . this lack of definition is open to exploitation both from drivers who refuel miles away and from agencies . i recently returned a car to avis in miami after refueling a block from the airport return terminal , only to find a “ fuel service ” charge of $ 16 . 07 on my bill . an avis employee redacted it when i objected . a spokeswoman for avis said the company has about 40 , 000 “ connected ” cars , which measure fuel levels when exiting and the rental facility . “ we carefully monitor the system and work closely with car manufacturers , so the likelihood that the technology in the vehicle malfunctioned is slim , ” wrote alice pereira , an avis spokeswoman , in an email . industry experts advise making a mental note of the closest gas station when you drive away from the rental facility . “ cars are n’t getting smarter , we need to be , ” said lauren fix , an author and automotive writer also known as the car coach . “ if you have a receipt to prove you refilled , they will usually refund the fee . any pushback , i ask for a manager . ” drivers are responsible for paying their own tolls , but a shift to electronic tolling has made it harder for renters to avoid the fees charged by agencies as manned booths have disappeared from many routes . most agencies provide electronic transponders that allow convenient access to toll roads . but once they are triggered by a tollgate , the devices initiate a daily rental fee , often regardless of whether it is used each day . these fees are in addition to the actual tolls , so that while you may only incur a few dollars in tolls driving from miami to key west , you will pay somewhere between $ 2 . 95 a day for the device at payless car rental to $ 4 . 95 a day with hertz . these fees are usually capped . avis charges a maximum of $ 19 . 75 per rental month hertz charges $ 24 . 75 maximum per rental agreement and payless charges $ 14 . 75 maximum for each rental period . enterprise , national and alamo car rentals offer the use of automatic tolling for $ 3 . 95 per day it is used , with a maximum charge of $ 19 . 75 for the rental term . car rental companies stress that drivers can pay cash ( when the option exists ) avoid toll roads or bring their own electronic transponders from home . not all electronic passes are linked , however . the can be used in most northeastern and states and a few in the midwest , extending from maine down to north carolina and west to illinois . an may be used in various vehicles as long as they are in the same class as your car , so forget using it if you rent a . some toll roads in california will allow drivers to register a credit card to the rental car license plate and have the tolls charged automatically . many consumers assume that an early rental return will spare them the fee remaining for the balance of the contract . that does n’t take into account the lost revenue that the rental car company incurs . “ it messes with their inventory and planning , ” said mr. solomito of kayak . “ returning a car early is considered breaking the contract . ” how early is early depends on the company , but generally anything less than 24 hours before the return date requires payment of the full amount . if earlier , dollar rent a car , for example , will only charge for the days used and add a $ 25 charge , according to the company website , “ to compensate us in part for our inability to rent your vehicle during the remaining time we have reserved for your use . ” late returns generally trigger fees . and like airline rebooking , any changes may result in a different rate than the one originally agreed to . hertz encourages customers to call its rental extensions department . they may be subject to a $ 10 fee , through renters can avoid the fee if they change a return date when they pick up the car . if they do n’t call , however , they can be subject to a fee of $ 12 a day , up to a maximum of $ 60 , in addition to daily rental charges . parking or traffic tickets are the driver ’s responsibility . but if ever there were a financial incentive to driving carefully , it ’s in a rental car , where ticket fees may come with a service charge from the rental company . these penalties are usually detailed in the terms and conditions of the rental contract . avis ’s contract says offenses will be charged back to the renter ’s credit card , and the company may impose a $ 30 administration fee to cover the cost of notifying the renter of the infraction by sending copies of the notices . payless charges a $ 50 fee per violation . “ what the big print giveth , the little print taketh away , ” ms. fix said . “ you have to be aware . ”
+1 lazy liberal journalists smear bannon cliff kincaid lazy liberal journalists smear bannon lazy liberal journalists smear bannon november 16 , 2016 , 1:37 pm by cliff kincaid leave a comment 0 accuracy in media media bias wo n’t let up just because the liberal media were humiliated on november 8 . the bias is now being directed at the president - elect ’s conservative appointments . on monday night ’s cbs evening news , anchor scott pelley proclaimed that the southern poverty law center had declared that donald j. trump ’s campaign ceo stephen bannon “ has no business being in the white house . ” bannon was named as chief strategist and counselor . in fact , the southern poverty law center ( splc ) has no business being cited as a credible source by any responsible news organization . it smears conservatives for profit , diverting attention from real domestic threats , such as the marxist extremists currently demonstrating against trump in the streets and threatening to disrupt his inauguration . many of the demonstrators are from the answer coalition , an outgrowth of the pro - north korea marxist - leninist workers world party . but do n’t expect to get any information about the answer coalition from the splc . in fact , the splc is in bed with communists of all kinds , having participated in the notorious left forum held in new york city earlier this year . we noted at the time that the event featured “ an assortment of communists , 9/11 truthers , pro - palestinian and anti - israel activists , and other extremists . ” even more troubling , splc president and ceo richard cohen was a member of the “ countering violent extremism working group ” of the department of homeland security in 2010 . it is possible that cohen , in this capacity , was able to get access to classified information , and that the splc , in turn , shared its erroneous data on conservative opponents of the obama administration with federal law enforcement agencies . the attacks on bannon stem from his leadership of the news site , breitbart news , a popular source of alternative news and information which was strongly pro - trump during the campaign . on occasion , the site features some unorthodox conservative views that bannon ’s critics have tried to pin on him . the site was named for andrew breitbart , who pioneered new and effective ways to undermine the left . one of his disciples , jeremy segal , did a video exposing democratic rep. danny k. davis ( il ) being honored at the communist party u.s.a. ’s headquarters in chicago for a lifetime of “ inspiring leadership . ” lazy liberal journalists would rather cite the splc as authoritative without having to bother to investigate how the group has been exposed by such investigative reporters on the left as ken silverstein . at one time , notes silverstein , the group did some good work against racist hate groups . but later , in order to expand its business model and make more money , it expanded the “ hate ” label to mainstream conservative organizations . it has accumulated $ 300 million in a reserve fund and has become “ one of the most profitable charities in the country , ” with its top officials getting membership in the so - called financial elite one percent . this journalist was named a member of the “ radical right , ” a designation then transformed into a charge of “ islamophobia ” by the council on american - islamic relations ( cair ) . the accusations are designed to silence first amendment rights and discourage the media from going to conservative sources for news , information and commentary . before pelley uncritically cited the splc , kate snow was on msnbc talking about how trump ’s stand against illegal immigration was similar to that of the secretary of state of kansas , kris kobach . she said kobach had given “ support ” to the social contract press , which she described as a “ hate group ” designated by the southern poverty law center . the social contract press rebuts all of the accusations , while noting that the splc ’s $ 300 million cash hoard “ rivals that of [ the ] clinton foundation . ” it was the social contract press which published one of silverstein ’s articles exposing the splc . indeed , silverstein ’s exposé was just one section of a major report the social contract press published in 2010 that examined the splc ’s strategy and tactics . yet , it ’s bannon who is being accused of being an extremist . the washington post admits there ’s no real evidence behind the allegation , making it just another smear picked up by most of the media without adequate checking or verification . what we are witnessing in the faux outrage against bannon is a fear that the trump administration and the new republican congress will get back to the business of monitoring real domestic threats . for example , trump adviser walid phares has already indicated that the president - elect will back a bill , the muslim brotherhood terrorist designation act , which could lead to an investigation of the council on american - islamic relations . trevor loudon , the producer of the new film , “ enemies within , ” says the muslim brotherhood terrorist designation act could be supplemented by the house and senate bringing back committees or subcommittees devoted to exposing internal security problems , also known as un - american activities . a member of congress exposed in the film for his ties to the muslim brotherhood is rep. keith ellison ( d - mn ) , who is running for chairman of the democratic national committee .
+1 continental gold king world news the richest man .. , considered , invested in one u.s .- based company – cnl ! continental gold ( tsx : cnl ; otcqx : cgoof ) is a well - funded advanced - stage exploration and development company focused on becoming a leading gold producer in colombia . the company´s 100 % owned flagship buriticá project is a large and high - grade gold deposit located 75 km northwest from medellín . continental´s management team has proven experience in permitting , financing and building precious metal mines in latin america . the company is dedicated to maximizing shareholder value while working to the highest standards of community commitment and environmental defensiveness . symbol cnl on the tsx and cgoof in the united states . contact the company directly t o get more information by calling ( 416 ) 583 - 5610 or email [ email protected ] . continental gold which has one of the highest grade gold deposits in the entire world . the company ’s flagship high grade gold and silver project buritica , has extremely high 97 and 95 % recovery rates for gold and silver . buritica has gold resources of 2.97 million ounces measured and indicated and 4.4 million ounces inferred with grades averaging nearly 10 grams per ton of gold equivalent , which includes high - grade silver resources . the company has high priority targets being drilled at buritica and a portfolio of other potential high - grade exploration projects and all projects are 100 % owned . continental gold has roughly $ 100 million of cash in the bank and management also owns roughly 16 % of the company . continental gold , symbol cnl in canada and cgoof in the us . continental gold ( tsx : cnl ; otcqx : cgoof ) is an advanced - stage exploration and development company focused on maximizing shareholder value by becoming the leading gold producer in colombia . why continental gold ? continental gold is an advanced - stage exploration and development company focused on maximizing shareholder value and committed to the highest standards of community and environmental responsibility . the company´s 100%-owned flagship buriticá project is a large high - grade gold deposit located 75 km northwest from medellín , colombia . on february 24 , 2016 , the company announced the results of an independent feasibility study for the buriticá project . utilizing a gold price of $ 1,200/ounce , a silver price of $ 15/ounce and a us$ : cop exchange rate of 1:2,850 , the base case scenario resulted in an after - tax net present value at a 5 % discount ( npv5 ) of $ 860 million , an internal rate of return ( irr ) of 31.2 % and payback of 2.3 years . what differentiates continental gold ? the company´s 100%-owned flagship high - grade buriticá project is a rare combination of size , grade , straightforward metallurgy , excellent infrastructure and growth potential . on february 24 , 2016 , the company released the results of an independent feasibility study that indicates the buriticá project will be a lowest quartile cost producer and an economically robust mine with modest initial capital expenditure . once in production , buriticá has the potential to approximately double the legal production of gold in colombia and become the largest single gold mine in the country . in association with various government entities in colombia , the company was the first in the country to formalize small - scale mining associations , paving the way for the implementation of legal and responsible small - scale mining operations at the buriticá project . in addition , the company has operated a 30 tpd small - scale operating mine at buriticá since 1992 and is one of the largest employers in northwestern antioquia , employing over 300 people . the company focuses on providing a safe working environment and partnering with the local communities on key social projects . ari sussman – chief executive officer – ari sussman has over 15 years of experience in both the natural resources and investment markets sectors . having dedicated the majority of his career to the natural resources industry , mr. sussman has been instrumental in sourcing , funding and developing high - quality mineral assets . during his career , mr. sussman has built a strong network of business contacts throughout latin america , and in the past decade has raised over $ 500 million for various resource companies association . mateo restrepo – president – mr. restrepo was vice - president of corporate affairs at prodeco group ( a glencore subsidiary ) , colombia ’s third largest thermal coal producer , where he was responsible for managing the company ’s key relationships with the colombian government , non - government organizations , and national and local stakeholders proximal to its operations . he was also director of the colombian office of grupo salinas – banco azteca of mexico , where he played a pivotal role in the process of licensing and setting up operations in colombia . mr. restrepo has held various positions with the colombian government , including senior counselor to the president of colombia on economic recovery ( 2009 - 2010 ) and advisor to the presidency of colombia ( 2005 - 2008 ) . born in medellín , colombia , mr. restrepo holds a master in public administration from harvard university and a bachelor of business administration from berkeley college .
+1 russian theatre cancels jesus christ superstar after ‘ blasphemy’ accusations nan originally appeared at pravoslavie.ru a siberian theatre triggered a storm today by cancelling a staging of andrew lloyd webber ’s musical jesus christ superstar after a pro - kremlin nationalist group condemned it as blasphemy . the touring production by saint petersburg ’s rock opera theatre was due to open november 1 in the musical theatre of the city of omsk , but the organisers cancelled it this week following protests by conservative activists . in a report from omsk , regnum news agency wrote today that the scandal “ has prompted a major public reaction ” . it quoted art critic vadim klimov as saying : “ today you can not say that russia is a secular state . ” an obscure group called family , love , fatherland had appealed to regional authorities to stop the staging and applied to hold a demonstration , accusing the long - running musical of “ non - stop blasphemy ” and “ mockery of faith ” . the closure comes as relatively small numbers of nationalist activists with orthodox beliefs are voicing their views more and more stridently , supported by some officials . amnesty international called the cancellation of the show “ the latest example of interference in russian cultural life by nationalist ‘ activists’ . ” the region ’s culture ministry distanced itself from the decision to stop the show , with a spokesman saying the promoter cancelled the show “ for some reasons of its own , ” ria novosti state news agency reported . the omsk diocese of the russian orthodox church also denied any “ interference ” in the theatre ’s repertoire . last year a director and the head of another siberian theatre in novosibirsk went on trial for “ desecrating religious symbols ” over a staging of richard wagner’stannhauser opera . the case was dropped , but the theatre ’s head was sacked . rossiya-24 state television reported the decision to close lloyd webber ’s “ legendary rock opera ” was most likely taken by the theatre “ fearing to repeat the fate ” of the tannhauser staging . the musical was first staged in russia in 1990 during mikhail gorbachev ’s perestroika reforms . russia made offending religious believers a criminal offence after the pussy riot punk band performed a song slamming president vladimir putin in a moscow church in 2012 .
+1 amnesty warns against using white phosphorus in attack on mosul jason ditz notes evidence of use northeast of mosul by with iraqi forces continuing to near the city of mosul in a protracted military offensive , there are more than a few concerns about potential war crimes against the massive civilian population in the isis - held city . today , amnesty international ’s concern centers on white phosphorus . white phosphorus is legally used both for smoke screens and for illumination in war zones , its use is often heavily criticized for the risk of civilian casualties in the intense temperature the chemical burns at . its use in areas where civilians are present is considered a war crime . this is particularly true around mosul , a huge city in which some 1.5 million people are believed to still reside . amnesty noted it has photographic evidence of the use of the chemical to the northeast of mosul , and warned against any further use in areas where civilians are present or may be present in the near future . us forces have been documented using white phosphorus recently in iraq , though they insist they ’ve only done so in ways consistent with their interpretation of international law . the us , of course , insists everything they do in iraq is legal , but in the case of such a densely populated area , this could be a big problem .
+0 netflix flip - flops on net neutrality - breitbart jack hadfield after netflix ceo reed hastings dismissed net neutrality as an issue that was only important to “ the netflix of ten years ago ” at a conference two weeks ago , the company ’s twitter account sent out a tweet claiming they would “ never outgrow ” the cause . [ the tweet linked to battleforthenet . com , a site dedicated to a “ day of action ” on july 12th where multiple companies will protest against efforts by the fcc to roll back their current rulings on neutrality online . netflix will never outgrow the fight for # netneutrality . everyone deserves an open internet . https : . — netflix us ( @netflix ) june 15 , 2017 , netflix joins the already growing list of companies and groups that are part of the effort , including amazon , reddit , etsy , kickstart , and github . this is in contrast to the comments made by hastings at recode ’s code conference last month . hastings claimed that netflix is too big a company to bother with issues like net neutrality that would n’t greatly affect them anymore : it ’s not our primary battle at this point . other people it is , and that ’s an important thing , and we ’re supportive through the industry association , but i think you ’re right that we do n’t have the special vulnerability to it . we had to carry the water when we were growing up and we were small . now other companies need to be on that leading edge . jack hadfield is a student at the university of warwick and a regular contributor to breitbart tech . you can like his page on facebook and follow him on twitter @torybastard _ or on gab @jh .
+1 here 's your intent ! hillary intentionally erased emails - wikileaks the european union times in today ’s , 25th , wikileaks release of hacked podesta emails , one of the notable highlights is a march 2 , 2015 exchange between john podesta and clinton aide cheryl mills in which the clinton campaign chair says “ on another matter … .and not to sound like lanny , but we are going to have to dump all those emails . ” back in july 2016 , fbi did n’t go after hillary because director comey said “ did n’t find any intent ” . well here ’s your “ intent ” thanks to wikileaks . the email , which may indicate intent , was sent at the same time as the nyt story “ hillary clinton used personal email account at state dept . , possibly breaking rules ” – which for the first time revealed the existence of hillary ’s email server – hit , and just days before hillary ’s press conference addressing what was at the time , the stunning revelation that she had a personal email account , and server , in her home . the proposed “ dumping ” on march 2 takes place two days before the house select committee on benghazi sent hillary clinton a document retention subpoena on march 4 , 2015 , with some hinting the nyt report may have served to tip off the clinton campaign about the upcoming subpoena . mills’ response to podesta : “ think you just got your new nick name . ” it is unclear which “ lanny ” is referred to : the infamous former doj staffer lanny breuer who quit in january 2013 after telling frontline that some banks are too big to fail , or , more likely lanny davis , special counsel to president bill clinton , and spokesperson for the president and the white house on matters concerning campaign - finance investigations and other legal issues it is also unclear – for now – which emails podesta is referring to in the thread , but podesta adds : “ better to do so sooner than later . ” we can hope that a subsequent response , yet to be leaked by wikileaks , will provide more color . if the exchange is shown to disclose intent to mislead , it will negate the entire narrative prepared by clinton that she merely deleted “ personal ” emails and will reveal a strategic plan to hinder the state department and fbi “ investigation . ” this is the first time that particular exchange has emerged among the podesta emails . furthermore , a search for lanny davis reveals the following curious exchange between robby mook and john podesta from march 8 , 2015 , just days after the abovementioned exchange , in which mook says : we got ta zap lanny out of our universe . ca n’t believe he committed her to a private review of her hard drive on tv . it seems the clinton campaign was not happy with being set on a course of transparency by bill clinton ’s special counsel . finally , in a separate email sent out in the first week of march 2015 , by clinton campaign communications director , jennifer palmieri , we get yet another confirmation that the president actively mislead the public when he said he did n’t know hillary was using a private email address : suggest philippe talk to josh or eric . they know potus and hrc emailed . josh has been asked about that . standard practice is not to confirm anything about his email , so his answer to press was that he would not comment / confirm . i recollect that josh was also asked if potus ever noticed her personal email account and he said something like potus likely had better things to do than focus on his cabinet ’s email addresses . perhaps while the doj / fbi is taking a second look into huma abedin ’s emails , it can also take a repeat look at some of these , especially the ones involving potus . source
+0 trump , an outsider demanding loyalty , struggles to fill top posts - the new york times peter baker and julie hirschfeld davis melbourne , fla. — during president trump ’s transition to power , his team reached out to elliott abrams for help building a new administration . mr. abrams , a seasoned republican foreign policy official , sent lists of possible candidates for national security jobs . one by one , the answer from the trump team came back no . the reason was consistent : this one had said disparaging things about mr. trump during the campaign that one had signed a letter opposing him . finally , the white house asked mr. abrams himself to meet with the president about becoming deputy secretary of state , only to have the same thing happen — vetoed because of past criticism . mr. abrams ’s experience has become a case study in the challenges mr. trump still faces in filling top positions a month into his presidency . mr. trump remains fixated on the campaign as he applies a loyalty test to some prospective officials . for their part , many republicans reacted to what happened to mr. abrams with dismay , leaving them increasingly leery about joining an administration that can not get past the past . as mr. trump brings candidates for national security adviser to meet with him in florida this weekend , he presides over a government where the upper echelons remain sparsely populated . six of the 15 statutory cabinet secretaries are still awaiting senate confirmation as democrats nearly uniformly oppose almost all of the president ’s choices . even some of the cabinet secretaries who are in place may feel they are home alone . it is not just secretary of state rex w. tillerson who has no deputy secretary , much less under secretaries or assistant secretaries . neither do the heads of the treasury department , the education department or any of the other cabinet departments . only three of 15 nominees have been named for deputy secretary positions . defense secretary jim mattis has a deputy only because he kept the one left over from president barack obama ’s administration . that does not even begin to cover the rest of the more than 4 , 000 appointments that a president typically makes . in some cases , the trump administration is even going in reverse . a senior political appointee at the housing department , who had already started the job , was fired this past week and marched out of the building when someone discovered his previous statements critical of mr. trump . the president ’s top latin america official at the national security council was likewise fired after just weeks on the job for complaining about internal dysfunction at an discussion at a washington research organization , according to officials , who confirmed a politico report . the state department has laid off six top career officials in recent days , apparently out of questions about their loyalty to mr. trump . “ many tough things were said about him and by him ” before last year ’s election , mr. abrams , who served as president ronald reagan ’s assistant secretary of state and president george w. bush ’s deputy national security adviser , said in an interview . “ i would have hoped he would have turned toward just hiring the most effective people to help him govern rather than looking back to what we said in that race . ” mr. trump has fallen behind the pace of his last three predecessors both in naming senior officials who require senate confirmation and in securing their confirmations , according to data compiled by the nonpartisan partnership for public service . whereas mr. obama had nominated 40 senior officials by feb. 11 , 2009 , mr. trump had named 34 of them as of friday . mr. obama had 24 confirmed at that point , while mr. trump has 14 . the trouble assembling an administration reflects the deeper rift between mr. trump and the washington establishment of both parties . a businessman with no government experience , mr. trump catapulted to power on a promise to break up the existing system . even after he won the republican nomination last year , he did little to win over those who had opposed him , while his “ never trump ” critics within the party kept up a steady assault on his qualifications and temperament . mr. trump faces other hurdles , too . with no cadre ready to go from past political service , he has been starting from scratch . his team has been slow to vet candidates , and in some cases his choices have had troubles with their business backgrounds or other matters . and democrats have mounted a wall of resistance to his nominations , slowing the process down . the white house did not respond to requests for comment , but mr. trump has disputed reports of troubles . “ the white house is running so smoothly , so smoothly , ” he told a rally of supporters in melbourne , fla. on saturday . “ and believe me , we inherited one big mess , that i can tell you . ” the ill will between mr. trump and much of the republican establishment works both ways . many republicans who might have agreed to work for the president have been turned off by what they consider his sometimes erratic behavior and the competing power centers inside his white house . after firing his first national security adviser , michael t. flynn , mr. trump found that his initial choice for a replacement , robert s. harward , a retired vice admiral , would not take the job . “ the problem is that with each successive episode , it raises the stakes for the next one , ” said peter d. feaver , a duke university professor who was a strategic planning adviser to mr. bush . “ it ’s going to be hard for the next outsider to accept the national security job and not request the ability to make personnel changes . ” richard n. haass , a former republican official and now president of the council on foreign relations , said mr. trump had “ ruled out much of an entire generation of republican public policy types ” and alarmed others with his empowerment of stephen k. bannon , his chief strategist , to shape national security . even some cabinet secretaries appear unable to pick their own staff . “ this is unprecedented , it ’s untraditional , it ’s outside the mainstream , ” said mr. haass , whose own name had been floated for a position . “ and so it ’s just that you ’d be signing on for , at a minimum , tremendous uncertainty , and quite possibly for being associated with a set of policies you deeply disagree with . ” stuart holliday , an ambassador under mr. bush , said many republicans would want to work for mr. tillerson or mr. mattis . “ however , the republican foreign policy bench is not that deep at senior levels , ” he said , “ especially if you factor in people who took themselves off the field . ” former senator judd gregg , republican of new hampshire , said the business veterans that mr. trump had enlisted for his cabinet were “ the most positive thing about his administration so far . ” but he added that the president ’s disregard for advice could complicate his efforts to fill posts . “ you get the feeling that he ’s still flying by his own experiences , ” he said , “ and that ’s got to concern anyone who cares about these issues . ” for mr. trump , the challenge is more pronounced because he and his advisers feel they can not trust some of the senior career professionals still working at the white house or cabinet departments . leaks about mr. flynn and mr. trump ’s phone calls with foreign leaders have convinced white house officials that they face an opposition within . “ you have a new administration that also has fewer people familiar with the processes and systems of government , including the importance of the vetting process , ” said max stier , the chief executive of the center for presidential transition at the partnership for public service . “ you ca n’t operate as they did in the campaign context , with a smaller than usual group — it does n’t work . ” indeed , mr. trump ’s failure to vet candidates in advance has led to some stumbles . a white house scheduler was fired this past week because of an issue that surfaced in her background check , something that normally would have been completed weeks ago . another challenge has been mr. trump ’s implementation of ethics rules that bar white house officials from lobbying for five years after they leave the government , prompting senior congressional officials and lobbyists to demur . mr. trump has faulted the democratic minority in the senate for obstructing his choices . democrats have voted almost as a bloc against many of his nominees , breaking with long tradition in which the opposition party largely went along with a president ’s selections , except in specific cases of controversy . “ the democrats are making it very difficult , ” mr. trump said at his news conference on thursday . “ this is pure delay tactics . ” despite his own experience , one person still urging republicans to take jobs in the administration is mr. abrams . “ i have been encouraging everybody to go into the government if offered an appropriate position , ” he said . “ that was my view , and it ’s still my view , because you have one president and one government at a time . ”
+0 mike pence ’s journey : catholic democrat to evangelical republican - the new york times jonathan mahler and dirk johnson when gov. mike pence of indiana was in college , he found himself admiring a gold cross hanging from the neck of his fraternity “ big brother . ” the response he received left such a powerful impression that he would recall it decades later on the floor of congress . “ remember , mike , you have got to wear it in your heart before you wear it around your neck , ” mr. pence said his fraternity brother told him . soon after this exchange , at a christian music festival in kentucky , mr. pence took a very different sort of pledge from the one he had taken to join phi gamma delta . “ i gave my life to jesus christ , ” he recalled years later , “ and that ’s changed everything . ” it was a decision that would redefine mr. pence , setting him on the path to becoming an evangelical christian and one of the country ’s most outwardly religious and socially conservative legislators . but it also caused him to break with two institutions that had been central to the pence family : the roman catholic church and the democratic party . mr. pence , 57 , who accepted the republican nomination for vice president on wednesday night , is the only one of six pence siblings who is no longer part of the catholic church . though the family remains close , his embrace of evangelical christianity was long a source of disappointment to his mother , according to the rev. clement t. davis , the priest at the church in columbus , ind. where mr. pence was baptized . the family ’s irish catholic roots run deep . mr. pence ’s maternal grandfather , with whom he was especially close , came to america in 1923 from ireland and settled in chicago , where he eventually became a bus driver . the family idolized john f. kennedy , the nation ’s first president . as a teenager , mike pence was the youth coordinator for the bartholomew county democrats . all four of the pence brothers were altar boys at their church , st. columba , and attended its parochial school . they were at church six days a week , sometimes seven , if they were serving saturday mass. even after they all went off to college , the church would call the pence house during vacations or over the summer when it was in need of an altar boy . “ our life revolved around the church , ” gregory pence , one of mr. pence ’s two older brothers , said in an interview , adding that he still went to morning mass there a few times a week with his mother . but at hanover college , a small college in indiana near the banks of the ohio river , mr. pence came to feel that something was missing from his spiritual life . the catholicism of his youth , with its formality and rituals , had not given him the intimacy with god that he now found himself craving . “ i began to meet young men and women who talked about having a personal relationship with jesus christ , ” he said years later in an interview with the christian broadcasting network . “ that had not been a part of my experience . ” still , it was not easy for him to leave behind the church in which he had been raised . after graduation , he worked as a catholic youth minister and even considered becoming a priest . he described himself for years as “ an evangelical catholic . ” friends say he wrestled with how to square his religious past and his religious future . “ he was part of a movement of people , i ’ll call it , who had grown up catholic and still loved many things about the catholic church , but also really loved the concept of having a very personal relationship with christ , ” said patricia bailey , who became close to mr. pence when she and her husband , mark , worked with him at a law firm in indianapolis in the . mr. pence ’s wife , karen , was also part of that movement . they met when he was in law school at indiana university . after they started dating , she bought a gold cross with the word “ yes ” engraved on it , and kept it in her purse until he proposed . “ she ’s been very much a part of his faith journey , ” said mark bailey , who often started his day by praying with mr. pence in one of their offices at the law firm . “ he would refer to his wife as the prayer warrior of the family . ” by the mr. pence and his wife were attending an evangelical church in indianapolis . years later , the break from catholicism still stung his mother , nancy , according to father davis , who has been the priest at her church , now called st. bartholomew , since 1997 and has grown close to her . “ you could see nancy just shake her head about it , ” father davis said inside the rectory before mass on saturday . “ she was disappointed . she had hoped he could find his way back to the church . ” others in columbus who knew the pence family were also surprised . “ they were just known as such a big catholic family , ” said janie gordon , a friend of mr. pence ’s from high school . mr. pence ’s mother declined to comment . the governor also declined to be interviewed about his conversion , but he authorized his brother to speak about his family ’s faith . as mr. pence ’s faith was changing , so were his politics . he voted for jimmy carter in 1980 but soon gravitated to ronald reagan , and to the republican party ’s staunch opposition to abortion . his evangelical christianity is now the driving force behind his political agenda , whether he is working to deny federal funds to planned parenthood or to make it legal for religious conservatives to refuse to serve gay couples . “ i sign this law with a prayer that god would continue to bless these precious children , mothers and families , ” he said in march , putting his pen to a sweeping abortion bill prohibiting a woman from aborting a fetus because it has a disability such as down syndrome . ( a federal judge blocked the law last month . ) “ pence does n’t simply wear his faith on his sleeve , he wears the entire jesus jersey , ” brian howey , a political columnist in indiana , once put it . during mr. pence ’s days on capitol hill , he would not attend events without his wife if alcohol was being served . fellow representatives sometimes joked about the need to clean up their language when he appeared . mr. pence would not even engage in attack ads , having sworn off negative campaigning after running a particularly nasty and unsuccessful congressional race earlier in his political career . “ christ jesus came to save sinners , among whom i am foremost of all , ” he wrote after the election , quoting a line from scripture . when mr. pence was in a tight race for governor in 2012 , his media strategist , rex elsass , invoked a different line from the bible in an effort to persuade him that attacks from his democratic opponent justified a direct and forceful response , as long as it was truthful , mr. elsass recalled . mr. pence refused . in recent days , however , he has not hesitated to hammer hillary clinton , the presumptive democratic nominee : he has called her “ corrupt hillary , ” mimicking donald j. trump ’s label “ crooked hillary . ” when mr. pence returned to his alma mater in 2008 to deliver a commencement address , his speech built toward what he considered to be the most profound experience of his college career . “ there was one other person i met during my years here who changed my life more than all the friends and family combined , ” he said , referring to jesus christ . “ thirty years ago this spring , i embraced the truth , ” he continued , before quoting a verse from scripture . today , mr. pence and his wife often worship at college park church , an evangelical megachurch in indianapolis with three huge video screens , colored spotlights and christian bands . on sunday , the day after mr. trump formally introduced mr. pence as his running mate in midtown manhattan , they sat in the balcony of the auditorium there , standing and clapping in rhythm with the music . several church members talked about their experiences of deepening their faith in god . there was no talk of mr. pence or the election , but one song , its lyrics flashing across the big screens , encouraged the faithful : “ set your church on fire , win this nation back . ” it was a far cry from the wooden pews and kneelers of st. columba , the austere catholic church of mr. pence ’s youth . gregory pence said he did not see his brother ’s turn to evangelical christianity as a rejection of their catholicisim , but rather as a reflection of the fact that he had different spiritual needs . the two of them still pray together , just not usually in church . indeed , gregory said that when his brother called after learning that mr. trump had chosen him as his running mate , they wept and swapped verses from scripture . ( “ well done , my good and faithful servant , ” gregory pence told his brother . ) he declined to say whether he had been supporting mr. trump before his brother joined the ticket . but asked if he thought his brother might have had some doubts about signing on with a man whose résumé includes three wives and a casino empire , and who liberally invokes coarse language and imagery , he answered without hesitation . “ judge not lest ye be judged , ” he said .
+0 tim kaine ’s son faces criminal charges after joining masked , violent anti - trump riot - breitbart katie mchugh linwood michael kaine , a son of former 2016 democratic vice presidential candidate tim kaine , faces criminal charges for allegedly joining in an riot to attack supporters of president donald trump in march in minneapolis , minnesota . [ authorities charged the kaine with “ fleeing police on foot , concealing his identity in a public place , and obstructing legal process , ” according to a detailed twin cities pioneer press report . “ when people seek to prevent others who are peacefully assembled from making their voices heard , it threatens the very foundation of our democracy , ” a local attorney said friday after the charges against kaine and seven others were announced . police said kaine was allegedly part of a violent , masked group : security officers saw five people dressed in black leaving the capitol , including one who threw a smoke bomb inside , according to complaints filed by the city attorney ’s office . they went to a nearby spot and “ tried to change their appearance by doing things like taking off their black clothing , putting on different jackets or hats , and turning their clothing inside out , ” the complaints said . when police approached , they scattered and ran . steve frazer , who was then a st. paul police senior commander , chased a man who was later identified as woody kaine . a mar. 7 twin cities pioneer press report states that kaine allegedly fought with police after being part of a group that threw a smoke bomb in a government building during a rally for president trump : clad in black and wearing a mask , the youngest son of democratic vice presidential nominee tim kaine wrested himself from the cop and then “ squared off ” with him . woody kaine , 24 , was among five masked , people suspected of lobbing a smoke bomb minutes earlier inside the minnesota capitol rotunda saturday afternoon . officers had chased him down , but kaine was n’t about to submit , according to a more detailed account provided wednesday by st. paul police . in the end , it took three officers , a “ knee strike ” and a chemical spray to subdue kaine after he was identified as one of the counterprotesters [ sic ] who allegedly used fireworks or a smoke bomb to disrupt a rally in support of president donald trump at the minnesota state capitol , according to police spokesman steve linders . less than two months before his son was arrested after the and speech riot , kaine said on msnbc that progressives must “ fight in the streets ” after trump ’s election . “ what we ’ve got to do is fight in congress , fight in the courts , fight in the streets , fight online , fight at the ballot box , and now there ’s the momentum to be able to do this , ” kaine told msnbc ’s mika brzezinski on jan. 31 . after his son ’s arrest , kaine issued a statement that did not appear to condemn his son ’s alleged actions . “ we love that our three children have their own views and concerns about current political issues . they fully understand the responsibility to express those concerns peacefully , ” kaine said , as reported by breitbart news . on friday , a kaine spokeswoman doubled down , ignoring allegations that kaine had taken part in the minnesota state capitol and attempting to dismiss the severity of fighting police officers . “ today ’s announcement of misdemeanor charges against sen. kaine ’s son contains no suggestion that he engaged in disruptive behavior while at the rally , but are instead focused on his actions as he was arrested after he left . tim and anne support their son and hope the matter is resolved soon , ” she said to the twin cities pioneer press . kaine was charged the same day the new york post revealed that police arrested a prominent democratic leader , jacob schwartz , with ties to hillary clinton campaign manager robby mook , for child pornography charges , for allegedly having thousands of photos and videos of showing “ young nude females between the approximate ages of 6 months and 16 , engaging in sexual conduct … on an adult male ” on his laptop .
+0 twitter continues to hemhorrage executives as head of asia pacific bolts - breitbart nate church twitter has lost its sixteenth leader in the last twelve months in its ongoing slide from chaotic cultural relevance into clean and curated silence . [ as twitter continues its desperate efforts to render its platform wholly antiseptic — even going so far as to employ a powerful ai moderator — another member of its leadership has made for the proverbial lifeboats . twitter head of asia pacific aliza knox is the latest in a line of executives to flee the company . she was preceded by china head kathy chen , india and southeast asia head parminder singh , and the rishi jaitly , as well as australia ’s karen stocks . for anyone keeping track , that makes it a whopping 60 % of executives gone in 2016 alone — even if you exclude vps and above . knox worked almost five years for twitter after her time at google , expanding twitter ’s presence to nine offices and more than 100 employees in their asia pacific unit . she ended her time with a fond farewell from her coworkers and employees and finished by passing the torch to her replacement , maya hari . # amazing 4 . 5 years at @twitter ! proud to have built a great apac team to hand over to @maya_hari . thanks for the farewell ! # lovewhereiworked pic . twitter . — alizaknox ( @alizaknox ) march 31 , 2017 , in a statement released to techcrunch , twitter said : we thank aliza for her contributions and leadership over the past four years and a half years . she pioneered twitter ’s asia pacific business ( outside of japan ) championed our expansion into new markets and businesses such as indonesia and china export advertising , set up our asia pacific headquarters in singapore , and led our diversity initiatives across the region . unfortunately , new blood has n’t been enough to recover from twitter ’s continual decline . twitter stock managed a meager 16 cent earning per share in the fourth quarter , missing revenue forecasts once again . it ’s less than 1 % in revenue growth , disheartening to even the foremost members of the company . is there any way for twitter to pull up , or has it already tweeted its last ? aliza knox , as well as those before her , have made their opinion all too clear . follow nate church @get2church on twitter for the latest news in gaming and technology , and snarky opinions on both .
+0 u.s. could exceed goal of accepting 10,000 syrian refugees - the new york times julie hirschfeld davis baltimore — when madiha algothany and her family , syrian refugees who had fled to jordan , arrived in the united states in june , they braced for rejection from a new culture and country they feared did not want them . they knew that , like donald j. trump , many americans wanted to stop muslims from coming into the country . but ms. algothany and her husband and their four sons found a furnished town home in baltimore waiting for them , along with a case worker to help them navigate their new life — part of an effort president obama announced last fall to resettle 10 , 000 people displaced by the war in syria by the end of september . after a slow start and amid fierce political controversy , the obama administration is on track to meet that target and probably exceed it , according to figures it released on friday . “ we were told it will be very difficult for us in the u. s. because the people do n’t like us and they do n’t want to deal with us , but what i found is that people received us very well , ” ms. algothany , 32 , said in an interview this week , speaking through an interpreter at a resettlement center run by the international rescue committee . “ they are really spending a lot of time and effort helping us , to answer our questions and help us in our life . ” ms. algothany ’s family is one in a rapidly growing influx of syrian refugees — 99 percent of them muslim — arriving in communities around the united states . administration officials said on friday that 8 , 000 syrian refugees had been allowed into the united states since october , putting them on pace to surpass the goal of 10 , 000 . through partnerships with the state department and the department of health and human services , all of them receive assistance from nonprofit organizations that connect them to a local support network to help them find housing , register for health care and food assistance and enroll their children in school . the international rescue committee is one of nine nonprofit organizations helping refugees relocate and integrate into their new communities . the increase reflects a quiet but intense push by the state department and the department of homeland security , with substantial prodding from the white house , to radically speed up the pace at which syrian refugees are placed in the united states . it appears likely to further inflame the political debate about refugees that has become a central theme of the presidential campaign . mr. trump has claimed that “ thousands upon thousands ” of muslim refugees with a terrorist have been “ pouring into our country ” without proper security screening . the administration was spurred to action by a refugee crisis whose dimensions were driven home to the public in september , when newspapers published a photograph of the drowned corpse of alan kurdi , a syrian toddler whose body washed ashore in turkey after he and his family were tossed from a raft while attempting to flee to greece . “ we had so much pressure to bring syrians , that we had n’t done enough for that crisis , ” said anne c. richard , the assistant secretary of state for population , migration and refugees , who said she had initially questioned whether the target of accepting 10 , 000 syrians — part of an overall goal of resettling 85 , 000 refugees in the united states this year — was feasible . the task involves a rigorous set of security screenings and other checks , and an increased effort by the nonprofit groups involved to find new homes for those who are accepted in the united states . “ we have people and groups in the united states who want us to bring many , many more refugees from around the world , and then we have people who say , ‘ do n’t you dare bring a terrorist in,’ ” ms. richard said in an interview . she added : “ it takes people and resources . the biggest challenge is to move faster without cutting corners on security . ” the paris attacks in november intensified the scrutiny one of the bombers was found to have had a syrian passport . governors in 31 states said they would not accept syrian refugees , although in many cases they have not been able to bar them , and legislation was introduced in 19 states this year , according to the international rescue committee . “ i ’m dismayed that refugees have become a political issue this campaign season — i ’m really shocked by it , ” ms. richard said . “ it is a departure from the past , and could potentially harm the program . ” for now , it has not hindered the administration ’s efforts quickly integrate a large new stream of syrians into american communities . in february , around the time that ms. algothany ’s family got word they could apply to resettle in the united states , the administration began a push to interview and process syrian refugees in jordan . employees of the state department and the department of homeland security interviewed 12 , 000 applicants , flooding the pipeline with refugee applications . operations also expanded in istanbul , beirut , lebanon , and erbil , iraq to handle many more syrian cases . “ we ’ve actually added security checks to the process , ” jeh johnson , the homeland security secretary , said this week . “ what we have also added are a lot of resources to the process to meet the commitments that we have given the world refugee crisis . ” leon rodriguez , the director of the united states customs and immigration service , said the vetting included what officials call a “ syrian enhanced review ” involving fraud detection and national security units , as well as intelligence checks that include examination of social media . seven percent of syrian refugee applicants have failed the screenings and been denied entry , mr. rodriguez said on friday , and an additional 13 percent were paused because of concerns about their credibility . the nonprofit groups that help resettle refugees began to feel the impact . at their weekly wednesday “ allocation ” meeting , where a representative from each group spends hours in a nondescript office conference room in arlington , va. across the potomac river from the state department , there was a spike in the number of syrian cases they were being asked to accept . the bulk of the syrian refugees have resettled in michigan , california , arizona and texas , according to figures released by the state department , but some have ended up in all but a dozen states , from the pacific northwest to new england . “ we have seen a surge , ” said mamadou sy , refugee program director at lutheran social services of the national capital area , which has offices in falls church , va. and hyattsville , md. “ but what we have also noticed is a surge of phone calls from volunteers who want to help that is really very overwhelming because the discourse out there has been very negative . ” at the international rescue committee ’s resettlement office in baltimore this week , the small waiting room was filled with syrian families preparing to register for health care with the maryland department of social services and english classes at baltimore city community college . they also attended cultural or training in small classrooms equipped with white boards , fliers and task lists . “ this is where the realities begin to set in for the clients : that while they have certain rights and benefits , they also have a lot of responsibilities , ” said ruben chandrasekar , the executive director of the rescue committee ’s maryland programs , gesturing to an orientation classroom . while syrians had arrived in “ a trickle ” for most of the year , mr. chandrasekar said , that has changed dramatically in the last couple of months . “ now , they ’re essentially taking over our caseload , ” he said . mohammad 34 , who arrived in baltimore in june with his wife and four young children , is part of the trend . it has been four years since he hid the children in a livestock van and fled with his wife from dara’a , syria , to jordan . “ it was my dream always to come to the united states , ” mr. smadi said through an interpreter . so he did not hesitate when he learned in february that his family could apply . american officials grilled him extensively during several interviews about “ the tiniest details , ” mr. al smadi said , once calling him back for a second hourslong round of questioning because of a discrepancy in the dates he had provided for his service in syria ’s military . “ we are hardworking people — we like to work and make our own living , and we do n’t like to ask for aid , ” mr. smadi said as his daughter squirmed on her belly on a table in front of him and his two other daughters and son played quietly nearby . “ but there was no future for my children . ”
+0 slain san antonio detective was targeted , police chief says - the new york times richard pérez - peña a san antonio police detective who was shot to death while sitting in a squad car was apparently killed just for being on the force , the city ’s police chief said on monday , a day after the detective and three officers were shot in separate episodes around the country . there was no apparent link among the killing of detective benjamin marconi and the three other shootings , in which officers were wounded , and officials cautioned that many questions about the shootings remain unanswered . but they added to the sense of a profession under siege , coming after a series of killings in which officers were singled out . “ i feel we were targeted , ” said the san antonio police chief , william mcmanus . “ i think the uniform was the target , and the first person who happened along was the target . ” late monday , chief mcmanus said that otis tyrone mccain , 31 , had been arrested without incident after the car he was in was stopped on interstate 10 . in july , a gunman killed five police officers and wounded nine other people in dallas , and days later , another gunman killed three officers and wounded three others in baton rouge , la. both gunmen were killed by the police , but they first made clear that they were angry about police killings of black men . this month , in the des moines area , two officers were gunned down in their patrol cars , and the police arrested a man who had been described as having a hatred of law enforcement . sunday ’s shootings prompted strong reactions on social media , including some posts calling the episodes part of a war on law enforcement , or blaming people who have criticized the police over a string of highly publicized deaths at the hands of officers . violence against the police dropped to 31 officers fatally shot ( aside from accidents ) in the line of duty in 2013 , from a high of 144 in 1973 , according to records kept by officer down memorial page , a nonprofit group that tracks such episodes . last year , there were 39 . but so far in 2016 , there have been 58 killings — a pace that would make this the worst year since 2011 . “ people are reacting to this phenomenon of police being specifically targeted , which we saw some of in the ’70s , but we have n’t seen it recently , ” said geoffrey p. alpert , a professor of criminology and criminal justice at the university of south carolina . “ it ’s hard to do community policing when you do n’t know if somebody ’s going to take you out . ” detective marconi , who was 50 , had stopped a driver near police headquarters and was sitting in his car writing a ticket when a person unconnected to the traffic stop walked up and shot him at close range . the police department later showed reporters surveillance video of an unidentified person , taken a few hours earlier , at the front entrance of the police building . the video shows a young man pacing and speaking into an intercom . the doors open and he enters , then he leaves seconds later . “ he talked to the clerk at the desk , ” chief mcmanus said at a news conference . “ he asked a question , and the clerk said that they would help him with that , and he said , ‘ never mind,’ and walked out . ” “ i do n’t know why he was in headquarters , ” he added . “ there ’s several motives we ’re looking at . ” the chief would not say what the man had asked , or why he was considered a suspect , but he said the dashboard camera in detective marconi ’s car had provided important evidence . on sunday evening in st. louis , a car pulled up alongside a police s. u. v. and shot the sergeant at the wheel . the sergeant , 46 , whose name was not released , was hit twice in the face but was expected to survive , officials said . the gunman was a suspect in a recent crime spree — robberies , a carjacking and possibly a homicide — said the city ’s police chief , d. samuel dotson iii , “ and when he saw the officer , he became concerned that he would be recognized , and we believe he fired at the officer for that reason . ” “ he was targeted because he was a police officer , ” mayor francis slay said . “ this tells you how dangerous of a job it is . ” a few hours after the shooting , officers caught up with the man , who was a passenger in a friend ’s car . chief dotson said the man had jumped out of the car and run , and shot at pursuing officers , who returned fire , killing him . the gunman was identified as george p. bush iii , 19 . a similar shooting took place in gladstone , mo. near kansas city , when an officer stopped a car and a passenger ran away . shots were fired , the passenger died , and the officer was wounded . neither person ’s name was released . in sanibel , fla. officer jarred ciccone was wounded in a shooting while sitting in his patrol car . the officer , who was hit in the shoulder , was treated at a hospital and released . a short time later , the police exchanged gunfire with a suspect — jon w. hay , 49 — and arrested him . officials declined to discuss a possible motive , but mr. hay had a history of making complaints to the police that he was a victim of various crimes — stalking , fraud , attempted burglary , computer hacking and sexual abuse , among others .
+1 george soros funds anti - trump riots similarly to how he funded the ferguson riots realdeal does someone behind the scenes want to see civil war in the united states ? the answer is almost certainly yes . and it is n’t likely to settle down anytime in the next few days . ( if you are n’t prepped for this , go here to learn how to stay safe . ) just a little background : this has been going on since the midst of the campaign when actors were hired on craigslist and trained to disrupt rallies . for example , one craigslist ad was answered by paul horner , who admitted he was paid $ 3,500 to cause a scene at a trump event in fountain hills , arizona . “ as for who these people were affiliated with that interviewed me , my guess would be hillary clinton ’s campaign , ” horner said . “ the actual check i received after i was done with the job was from a group called ‘ women are the future’ . after i was hired , they told me if anyone asked any questions about who i was with or communicated with me in any way , i should start talking about how great bernie sanders is . ” horner continued , “ it was mostly women in their 60 ’s at the interview that i went to … ” ( source ) the same report goes on to say : when asked about the other protesters at the rally , horner said he saw most of them during the interview and training for the rally . “ almost all of the people i was protesting with i had seen at my interview and training class . at the rally , talking with some of them , i learned they only paid latinos $ 500 , muslims $ 600 and african americans $ 750 . i do n’t think they were looking for any asians . women and children were paid half of what the men got and illegals received $ 300 across the board . i think i was paid more than the other protesters because i was white and had taken classes in street fighting and boxing a few years back ” you can also read this article , in which a quote caught on video from project veritas shows how the clinton campaign caused disruptions via “ bird - dogging . ” there ’s a lot of evidence that someone is funding these protests . an eyewitness in austin , texas spotted protesters being transported by chartered coach buses . then there was this craigslist ad . there are many more tweets along these lines , but suffice it to say , suspicion is high that these , just like the clinton campaign , are rigged to manipulate the american people . why would anyone want to cause all this trouble ? that ’s where the web gets tangled . it certainly seems counterproductive to set fire to america . after all , what these people are doing is likely to end up with more tyranny – like martial law , for example . exactly . that ’s precisely the plan . back in august , hackers from a group called dc leaks got into the private documents of the open society , an organization founded by george soros . soros , whom dc leaks referred to as “ the architect and sponsor of almost every revolution and coup around the world for the last 25 years ” is a pro - globalist billionaire who has been trying to take over the world via shadow government for decades . zero hedge reported on the findings in the soros leak : the documents are from multiple departments of soros’ organizations . soros’ the open society foundations seems to be the group with the most documents in the leak . files come from sections representing almost all geographical regions in the world , from the usa , to europe , eurasia , asia , latin , america , africa , the world bank “ the president ’s office ” , as well as an unknown entity named souk . as the daily caller notes , there are documents dating from at least 2008 to 2016 . documents in the leak range from research papers such as “ european crisis : key developments of the past 48 hours ” focusing on the impact of the refugee crisis , to a document titled “ the ukraine debate in germany “ , to an update specific financials of grants . they reveal work plans , strategies , priorities and other activities by soros , and include reports on european elections , migration and asylum in europe . an email leaked by wikileaks earlier this week showed soros had advised hillary clinton during her tenure as secretary of state on how to handle unrest in albania – advice she acted on . as well , it ’s important to note that soros provided a whopping $ 33 million to activists in ferguson , missouri , escalating a protest to a siege . the washington times reported : … liberal billionaire george soros , who has built a business empire that dominates across the ocean in europe while forging a political machine powered by nonprofit foundations that impacts american politics and policy , not unlike what he did with moveon.org . mr. soros spurred the ferguson protest movement through years of funding and mobilizing groups across the u.s. , according to interviews with key players and financial records reviewed by the washington times . in all , mr. soros gave at least $ 33 million in one year to support already - established groups that emboldened the grass - roots , on - the - ground activists in ferguson , according to the most recent tax filings of his nonprofit open society foundations … everyday carry gear – 11 items you should always have on you ( ad ) this is business as usual for the osf ( open society foundation ) , as explained by director kenneth zimmerman : mr. zimmerman said osf has been giving to these types of groups since its inception in the early ’90s , and that , although groups involved in the protests have been recipients of mr. soros’ grants , they were in no way directed to protest at the behest of open society . “ the incidents , whether in staten island , cleveland or ferguson , were spontaneous protests — we do n’t have the ability to control or dictate what others say or choose to say , ” mr. zimmerman said . “ but these circumstances focused people ’s attention — and it became increasingly evident to the social justice groups involved that what a particular incident like ferguson represents is a lack of accountability and a lack of democratic participation . ” soros -sponsored organizations helped mobilize protests in ferguson , building grass - roots coalitions on the ground backed by a nationwide online and social media campaign . other soros -funded groups made it their job to remotely monitor and exploit anything related to the incident that they could portray as a conservative misstep , and to develop academic research and editorials to disseminate to the news media to keep the story alive . the plethora of organizations involved not only shared mr. soros ‘ funding , but they also fed off each other , using content and buzzwords developed by one organization on another ’s website , referencing each other ’s news columns and by creating a social media echo chamber of facebook “ likes ” and twitter hashtags that dominated the mainstream media and personal online newsfeeds . soros was busted for paying protesters to go into ferguson and stir things up . this is not theory . it ’s fact . the daily mail reported that soros spent $ 33 million to bankroll the protests . the washington times reported that it was totally cool , though , because humanitarian that he is , soros just wanted to help the civil rights movement . what a guy . of course , this seems to be a thing with the kabillionaires . the ford foundation and rockefeller foundation also fund “ social activism . ” which is kabillionaire code for “ mess stuff up and wreak havoc . ” keep in mind that the organization black lives matter was born through the ferguson riots . does this look familiar ? if the modus operandi in these protests looks familiar , that ’s because moveon.org is organizing a lot of them , and moveon is funded by … you guessed it : george soros . the organization was originally founded to combat the impeachment of bill clinton … are you seeing a link here ? another proud instigator is the answer coalition which also – are you sitting down ? has links to soros . there are a lot of people who are out there because they genuinely oppose a trump presidency . the unfortunate thing is , their opposition comes from propaganda that they passionately believe . they are acting based on misinformation and they ’re being professionally manipulated . the next step here is martial law , which nobody wants . well , nobody except george soros and friends . someone who wants to see america ripped apart is causing this division . last summer , it was leaked that soros attempted to destabilize russia and depose putin in 2012 . putin responded by banning soros and all of his organizations from russia . in 2014 , putin issued an international arrest warrant for soros . we could certainly improve both international relationships and our current situation by extraditing soros immediately . daisy luther is a freelance writer and editor . her website , where this article first appeared , offers information on healthy prepping , including premium nutritional choices , general wellness and non - tech solutions . you can follow daisy on facebook and twitter , and you can email her at [ email protected ] share :
+1 dakota access pipeline funding : banks and oil companies in the endless destruction of native lands bryan william myers by bryan william myers | oct 29 , 2016 back on sept. 3 , 2016 , labor day weekend in america , protesters in north dakota representing the standing rock sioux were attacked with dogs and pepper spray while attempting to halt construction on an approximately $ 4 billion crude oil pipeline that would extend nearly 1,200 miles from the northern interior of the u.s. to south - central illinois . one of the oil companies “ responsible ” for the pipeline is dakota access , llc — a subsidiary of energy transfer crude oil company , llc . some quick facts about the pipeline , from an energy transfer partners website : the pipeline will “ … transport crude oil from the bakken / three forks play in north dakota to a terminus in illinois with additional potential points of destination along the pipeline route . ” “ the pipeline will translate into millions in state and local revenues during the construction phase and an estimated $ 156 million in sales and income taxes . ” “ the dakota access pipeline project is a $ 3.7 billion investment into the united states directly impacting the local and national labor force by creating 8,000–12,000 construction jobs and up to 40 permanent operating jobs . ” “ the pipeline is anticipated to be fully functional by 2016 . ” ultimately , this is conjecture . who are the sioux ? about the sioux : “ the standing rock sioux reservation is situated in north and south dakota . the people of standing rock , often called sioux , are members of the dakota and lakota nations . ‘ dakota’ and ‘ lakota’ mean ‘ friends’ or ‘ allies’ . the people of both these nations are often called ‘ sioux’ , a term that dates back to the seventeenth century when the people were living in the great lakes area . the ojibwa called the lakota and dakota ‘ nadouwesou’ meaning ‘ adders’ . this term , shortened and corrupted by french traders , resulted in retention of the last syllable as ‘ sioux.’ there are various sioux divisions and each has important cultural , linguistic , territorial , and political distinctions . ” where do they live ? “ the great sioux reservation comprised all of present - day south dakota west of the missouri river , including the sacred black hills and the life - giving missouri river . under article 11 of the 1868 fort laramie treaty , the great sioux nation retained off - reservation hunting rights to a much larger area , south to the republican and platte rivers , and east to the big horn mountains . under article 12 , no cession of land would be valid unless approved by three - fourths of the adult males . nevertheless , the congress unilaterally passed the act of february 28 , 1877 , removing the sacred black hills from the great sioux reservation . the united states never obtained the consent of three - fourths of the sioux , as required in article 12 of the 1868 treaty . the u.s. supreme court concluded that ‘ a more ripe and rank case of dishonorable dealings will never , in all probability , be found in our history . ' ” as the years wore on , and more of their land was claimed by the invader — the u.s. government — the standing rock sioux tribe eventually formed their own constitution in 1959 to be overseen by a tribal council . “ the tribal council consists of a chairman , vice - chairman , a secretary , and fourteen additional councilmen which are elected by the tribal members . ” and now , once again , they are up against the sprawling u.s. empire , which will stop at nothing when natural resources are coveted for the invader ’s profit machine . this time , it ’s the unelected bureaucracy of oil companies and monopolistic energy partnerships in america paired with the funding from nearly 20 u.s. , u.k. , and other international banking institutions who are all involved in this endless destruction of native lands . combined with a militarized police state — hundreds of arrests , assaults with batons and rubber bullets , armored vehicles with sound cannons , humvees , helicopters flying overhead , and troops from the national guard — the recent events in north dakota resemble that of a war zone , more than a peaceful protest . transporting oil out of north dakota crude oil transported out of north dakota has traditionally been shipped on rail cars to get to the east coast . over the years , the competitive push to match domestic demand with imported crude oil pressurized the internal transport system , increasing rail - car shipping incidents . from pennsylvania stateimpact , “ a reporting project of npr member stations ” : “ refineries on the east coast used to rely on crude oil from nigeria and the gulf of mexico shipped on large tankers . today , trains carrying crude oil from north dakota ’s bakken shale travel on rail lines through pennsylvania . the rail shipments are part of a larger nationwide boom in rail traffic resulting from the oil and gas boom and have helped keep refineries in the philadelphia region stay in business . however , increased traffic on the rails has resulted in a surge in accidents , including an explosive derailment in lac - megantic , quebec that left 47 people dead in july 2013 . the crude - by - rail phenomenon has come under intense scrutiny from federal agencies , as well as state and local governments across the country who worry that a derailment in more populous cities like pittsburgh and philadelphia could result in catastrophe . ” this , in tandem with crashing oil prices . paired with a previous announcement in may 2015 from the u.s. department of transportation ( dot ) , for new rules to “ strengthen the safe transportation of flammable liquids by rail ” . and you ’ve got a perfect environment for vulture capitalist intervention . the banks swoop in back in september , democracy now ! did an exclusive report entitled “ who ’s investing in the dakota access pipeline ? meet the banks financing attacks on protesters ” . “ we continue our conversation with hugh macmillan ( senior researcher at food & water watch ) on his new investigation revealing the financial institutions backing the $ 3.8 billion dakota access pipeline project . the investigation , published by research outlet littlesis , names more than two dozen major banks and financial institutions helping to finance the dakota access pipeline . it details how bank of america , hsbc , ubs , goldman sachs , wells fargo , jpmorgan chase , and other financial institutions have , combined , extended a $ 3.75 billion credit line to energy transfer partners , the parent company of dakota access . ” in the interview , macmillan begins : “ dakota access , llc is a joint venture of phillips 66 , and a joint venture of two members of the energy transfer family , energy transfer partners and sunoco logistics . enbridge ( energy partners ) and marathon ( petroleum corporation ) oil have bought into this joint venture . together , they now have about a 37 % stake in the pipeline , the dakota access pipeline . ” when amy goodman asked how the banks were involved , macmillan responded : “ they ’re banking on this company , and banking on being able to drill and frack for the oil to [ be sent ] through the pipeline over the coming decades . so they ’re providing the capital for the construction of this pipeline . ” macmillan then asserts that the 17 banks in their funding of the dakota access pipeline through energy transfer partners are also coupled together with an existing pipeline that will be converted to extend from the southern end of the dakota access pipeline all the way down to the gulf coast . “ where there are refineries and also export infrastructure . ” here is a picture of that proposal from the sunoco logistics website : macmillan stated the ultimate goal of the pipeline projects will be to have one pipeline that would run from “ near the canadian border on down to the gulf coast of texas , over 1,800 miles . ” as to which banks , specifically , are directly involved in the dakota access pipeline : “ citibank is the bank that ’s been running the books on the project . and that ’s the bank that ‘ beat the bushes’ and got other banks to join in . so we have wells fargo , bnp paribas , suntrust , the royal bank of scotland , the bank of tokyo - mitsubishi , mizuho bank , td securities , abn amro , dnb first bank ( based in philadelphia ) , icbc london , smbc nikko securities , and societe generale . ” goodman then asked macmillan about the drop in demand for oil , in the past year , with regard to a personal conversation she had with an oil trucker . “ if you ask morgan stanley , they said a year ago that the oil producers are getting into ‘ prison shape’— without irony . so these are long term investments from the banks . they fully expect the united states to maximize its production of oil and gas through widespread fracking . ” macmillan summarized what he believed was most crucial for people to understand about the dakota access pipeline : “ well , i think it ’s important to see the forces behind this particular pipeline as the same forces behind numerous other pipelines across the country , both to support fracking for tight oil as well as fracking for shale gas , all toward maximizing production of oil and gas . when the science is clear that we need to maximize what we keep in the ground . our current policy has not made that switch . and if you look at the department of energy ’s quadrennial technology review , published a year ago , you ’ll see under clean energy technologies , permeability manipulation is included along with improved understanding of well integrity and improved understanding of injections and how they ’re causing earthquakes , such as [ what ] occurred over the weekend in oklahoma . the quadrennial technology review speaks of a future mastery of the subsurface towards maximizing production . ” other hands in the pot most recently , it has come out that republican presidential candidate donald trump has anywhere from $ 500,000 to $ 1 million invested in energy transfer partners , the parent company of the dakota access pipeline , in addition to having $ 500,000 – $ 1 million invested in phillips 66 — a company which will also hold a 25 % stake in the pipeline . kelcy warren , co - founder and chief executive of energy transfer partners , donated more than $ 100,000 to trump ’s campaign , and he gave nearly $ 67,000 to the republican national committee since trump became the party ’s controversial candidate for president in the 2016 election . according to the guardian , warren gave a $ 3,000 personal donation to trump ’s election campaign back in june . that amount exceeded $ 2,700 — the legal limit for individual contributions . previously , warren donated $ 550,000 to current texas governor greg abbott ’s 2014 campaign . after abbott won the election , he then appointed warren and his wife to state boards , the guardian reported . “ warren has worked in the energy industry for the past 25 years and has a net worth of $ 3.8bn , according to forbes . the texas - based businessman has said concerns over the dakota access pipeline are ‘ unfounded’ and insisted there are no native american artifacts at risk from its construction . he vowed that energy transfer partners will press ahead with the project . ” recent responses from politicians on dakota access pipeline on thursday , oct. 27 , hillary clinton ’s campaign released a statement with regard to the dakota access pipeline project and the ongoing protests where hundreds have been arrested in recent weeks . “ it ’s important that on the ground in north dakota , everyone respects demonstrators’ rights to protest peacefully , and workers’ rights to do their jobs safely … ” bernie sanders made a much less benign statement on the issue : “ the major global crisis facing our planet today is climate change . the vast majority of scientists tell us that climate change is real , it is caused by humans and it is already causing devastating problems . they say that if we do not aggressively transition our energy system away from fossil fuels toward energy efficiency and sustainable energy , the planet we leave our children will be a much less habitable place . like the keystone xl pipeline , which i opposed since day one , the dakota access fracked oil pipeline , will transport some of the dirtiest fuel on the planet . regardless of the court ’s decision , the dakota access pipeline must be stopped . as a nation , our job is to break our addiction to fossil fuels , not increase our dependence on oil . i join with the standing rock sioux tribe and the many tribal nations fighting this dangerous pipeline . ” here is sanders’ letter to u.s. president barack obama on this issue , from oct. 28 . a previous letter , dated oct. 13 , was also sent to the president , regarding the halting of construction on the dakota access pipeline . that letter was also signed by sanders , in addition to four other u.s. senators . collectively , banks from nearly a dozen countries are involved in the funding of the dakota access pipeline . and , last weekend , on friday , oct. 21 , an oil pipeline was breached , spilling gasoline in close proximity to the susquehanna river , in an area of lycoming county , pennsylvania — about 100 miles north of the state capital , harrisburg . the spill was estimated at 1,300 barrels , or 55,000 gallons of gasoline . the owner of that pipeline is sunoco logistics , which has had over 200 leaks of crude since 2010 , much more than any of its competitors . it ’s the same oil company that will be operating the dakota access pipeline . bryan william myers bryan is a freelance writer / copy editor / copywriter . he reads , researches and drinks beer . he also writes poetry , short stories , essays , and is working on various novels , some of which include private documentation of traveling and living in philadelphia , colorado , and new jersey . currently , he lives in south philadelphia . he also paints and records his own music . join we are change !
+0 pride marches on , with jubilation and solemn tributes to victims of massacre - the new york times rick rojas there were scores of men and women , some uninhibited by cares or much clothing , dancing to pulsing beats on a sunny sunday afternoon along fifth avenue . revving motorcycle engines and honking horns drowned out the cheers of the swelling crowds that lined a route that started in midtown manhattan and reached down to the west village . but soon , the jubilant procession gave way to what looked like an apparition : a shuffling contingent of figures dressed in all white , veiled in gauzy fabric and wearing placards with names and faces . they represented the 49 people gunned down this month at a gay nightclub in orlando , fla. the new york city gay pride march on sunday reflected the event ’s evolution over more than four decades from a defiant protest by a marginalized community into a freewheeling day that included a presidential candidate and other political leaders , floats from major corporations and a diverse crowd that extended beyond members of the city ’s lesbian , gay , bisexual and transgender community . ( the new york police department ’s marching band was there , too , and played “ y. m. c. a. , ” by the village people . ) but the numerous tributes to the shooting victims in orlando , including a float at the front of the march carrying the owner of the club , served as a reminder of the parade ’s history as a moment each year for the gay community to celebrate its identity in the face of violence and adversity . “ it ’s a much more emotional day for me than just a parade , ” said michael leb , 76 , who teared up as he reflected on a time , not that long ago , when there was less acceptance of gay people and some companies would not hire them , much less march with them . “ it ’s just that everybody is with us , ” mr. leb said . “ i remember when we were treated as less than citizens . it ’s a young world , and those who are young will bring even greater change . ” officials believed the crowds surpassed the 1 . 6 million who attended last year , and 30 , 000 of them were marchers , making up 484 contingents . the police department also had stepped up its presence , with thousands of officers stationed at barricades and directing traffic , watching from the rooftops above and in plainclothes on the ground . “ whenever we talk about new york values , we ’re talking about respect and inclusion of all people , ” mayor bill de blasio , a democrat , told reporters before the parade . “ this will not just be a celebration of love but a rejection of hatred . this is new york saying , ‘ we believe in tolerance for everyone . ’ ” the theme this year was “ equality needs you . ” the world now is different from the one in which the first march took place , in 1970 , called christopher street liberation day and held a year after the rebellion prompted by police harassment at the stonewall inn . ( in a signal of that evolution , president obama declared the bar , in greenwich village , and the area surrounding it a national monument and , with it , created a unit of the national park service dedicated to the gay rights movement . ) but advocates said that the gay , lesbian , bisexual and transgender community in the united states still faced discrimination and violence and that gay people in other countries faced far dire circumstances . “ i am one of the few lucky ones who made it here to safety , ” said subhi nahas , one of the march ’s three grand marshals and a refugee from syria who has testified at the united nations about the islamic state ’s persecution of gay people . the march also included a group that called itself gays against guns , whose members lay on the pavement at various points along the route for a . the group urged stricter gun control laws and condemned the national rifle association , which , according to one poster , the group said should “ sashay away , ” borrowing a catchphrase from “ rupaul ’s drag race . ” poot rojamasiri opted for an outfit more muted than what some others were wearing : a tan polo and green shorts , with a small rainbow sticker on his arm . he said he had considered dressing in drag , but decided against it . “ i have fear to express myself , ” said mr. rojamasiri , who is from bangkok . “ my mom back home told me , ‘ just do not go crazy . ” but others said the event was a rare place where they felt enveloped in acceptance . “ today , i feel just really proud of who i am , ” said logan , a transgender man who has been transitioning for the past two years . ( he declined to give his surname because his family was not supportive of his transitioning . ) katie graubart , 17 , and helaina ross , 16 , stood on the corner of fifth avenue and east ninth street waving rainbow flags . ” love overpowers all , ” helaina said . “ just look at the streets — they ’re lined with people who all support love and being who you are . ” john burris , 74 , has attended about 30 pride marches over the years . he came out at 18 and moved to new york around the time of the stonewall uprising . “ this acceptance may be too late for me , ” mr. burris said . “ but i ’m so grateful that it ’s available to all these young people . ” he became emotional as he recalled the turbulence that had to be endured before reaching the point where the community is now . he said he had lost 75 friends to aids . “ after they died , we had to decide what to do with the bodies , ” he said . “ we ’d call the parents , and some of them just hung up on us . i put their ashes in the hudson river and the grand canyon . ” mr. burris used to come to the march with his partner , who died 12 years ago . he imagined that his partner could not have fathomed what the parade had become and how the world had changed . “ we had no idea the beauty that would be here today , ” mr. burris said , rubbing the goose bumps on his arms .
+1 trump reopening 9/11 , reversing rome , in bid to be greatest american steward ? daily bell staff trump reopening 9/11 , reversing rome , in bid to be greatest american steward ? by daily bell staff - november 11 , 2016 trump : i ’m reopening 9/11 investigation … “ first of all , the original 9/11 investigation is a total mess and has to be reopened , ” trump said … donald trump believes that 9/11 has not been properly investigated and has promised to find out what really happened when he takes office in january . donald trump ’s plans for his first 100 days in office are raising eyebrows around the world , but of all the items on his agenda it is the reopening of the 9/11 investigation that will provide the greatest earthquake for the establishment . -yournewswire is new president - to - be donald trump really going to make major moves to roll back globalism ? we ’ve indicated that one way or another the “ establishment ” wished for donald trump to be elected . in our view , they certainly have the power – and we think brexit offers a similar story . the idea is that the various military and economic disasters pent - up around the world will be released and blamed on people ’s impulse to flee global technocracy . in this way the elite takeover of the world continues under the cover of politics . this process of inflicting disaster has already begun with the so - called riots taking place in the us . there are certainly reports these “ riots ” and general civil unrest are not in all cases genuine . one can spot , perhaps , soros funding and even “ crisis actors . ” but the idea is to make it clear that “ populists ” are bitterly resented by many if not most americans . of course , trump has little to do with populism . there is a specific globalist agenda that has been implemented around the world and certainly in america . this agenda involves trade deals that drain away american prosperity ; too - low interest rates that create inflation , stock markets crashes and ongoing depression ; and a variety of rules , regulations and cover ups designed to concentrate power into fewer and fewer hands . this agenda is what trump is apparently taking aim at . if he follows through on some of his recent statements and positions we ca n’t imagine the secret rulers of america and the west will be too happy with his ascension . 9/11 is at the bottom of much of modern globalist cover - up . it trump reveals the truth about 9/11 , the globalist movement based on in london with tentacles throughout the west will likely collapse or at least become far less powerful . more : trump believes that 9/11 has not been properly investigated and he plans to get to the bottom of it . “ first of all , the original 9/11 investigation is a total mess and has to be reopened , ” trump said . … the election of donald trump has rocked the establishment and things are only going to get rockier for them during his first term . there is a reason george w. bush did n’t vote for trump in the election , leaving the presidential line blank and voting republican down - ballot . trump has pledged to investigate 9/11 in a way it has not been investigated before . for the first time 9/11 will be investigated by someone who is n’t part of the establishment , with skin in the game and plenty to lose . of course , despite such reports , there remains considerable skepticism on the ‘ net that trump will follow through on a re - investigation of 9/11 . for one thing , his campaign is close to rudy giuliani who helped apparently orchestrate the original cover - up . in researching trump ’s most recent comments on 9/11 , we also find ‘ net claims that trump ’s intentions regarding 9/11 have been revealed on “ satire ” sites and and have not been reported “ in the mainstream . ” but in fact there is a growing list of reports affirming his intentions regarding 9/11 , including an article posted at dailystar.co.uk . take trump at his word and the 9/11 re - investigation is only one of numerous ant - globalist moves that trump intends to make . it is emerging he has a long list of globalist rollbacks in mind . on his transition website greatagain.gov , trump presents some of them . he wants to significantly cut taxes , cut regulation , push back against the fake climate change movement , get rid of obamacare , build “ the wall , ” between the us and mexico and reduce or remove unconstitutional executive orders . generally he claims to want to make government less intrusive and destructive . this is certainly not the direction the us government has been traveling for decades and even centuries . trump also wants to build up the america military – last seen mislaying $ 8 trillion . but while he wants to give the us military more funding ( which it does n’t need ) he also wants to reduce or eliminate the endless serial wars that the pentagon has been engaging in for the past half - century . as a libertarian publication , we can think of a lot more that trump could try to do . he could try to get rid of the federal reserve entirely , close up america ’s military bases around the world , reduce or remove the federal “ justice system ” and its prison system that incarcerates 25 percent of the world ’s prison population at any one time . while he ’s at it , he could get rid of laws making drugs illegal and other laws regulating behaviors that benefit no one but america ’s burgeoning , authoritarian police strucure . basically , the closer that trump can bring the country back to its original constitution , the better . freedom produces prosperity and the constitution ( which was n’t actually needed either ) at least codified limits on the federal government . we ’ve argued regularly for years that individual freedom can not be gained or regained via the political process . politics inevitably reduce freedom , no matter the intentions of politicians . additionally , empires like america are probably impossible to roll back and this has likely never happened in the history of humankind . if trump really means to do what he says he will , and sticks to his word , he will be that rarest of all creatures : a politician who keeps his word . he will also reintroduce real freedom into america and begin the significant crushing of the globalist conspiracy . again we find all this hard to believe given that globalist control ( from what we can tell ) of much of western society and trillions of dollars via the central bank system . intelligence agencies and secret societies also seem to be under globalist control . conclusion : given the enemies he faces and the challenges he needs to surmount , trump will need to have more courage and determination than we can begin to contemplate . but if he really intends to follow through and manages to make significant difference , he will go down as america ’s greatest president .
+1 when they asked her what she thinks of hillary clinton , they never expected her to say this ! the conservative millennial hillary clinton when they asked her what she thinks of hillary clinton , they never expected her to say this ! 0 comments kids say the darndest things … adorable ! " my dad told me that hillary clinton lies a lot , so if she wins she might take over the country ! " @realdonaldtrump # votetrump pic.twitter.com/chrp8lkpbs
+1 political party of anarchists , libertarians , hackers , and computer geeks to take power in iceland hqanon by claire bernish at thefreethoughtproject.com in a country continuing to shirk the ordinary , iceland ’s pirate party — an amalgamation of anarchists , libertarians , and hackers , who want to ban digital surveillance — is predicted to win the country ’s national elections this saturday . this collection of free - thinkers have upturned the traditional western political paradigm and hopes to use online public polls to shape governmental policy and end all internet spying . although the pirate party formed just four years ago , its popularity has skyrocketed — most likely for unconventional tactics aligning loosely with libertarianism — the promotion of privacy rights and personal freedoms , and simultaneous shrinking of big government . edward snowden has been offered the safe haven of icelandic citizenship should the pirates likely victory come to fruition — which makes sense , given the party ’s anti - establishment roots . in fact , the pirates have experienced astonishing success in a short time — taking the nation ’s longstanding political traditionalists off - guard in the process — even the group ’s founder , a programmer and former wikileaks activist , is stunned . asked whether she expected the explosion of enthusiasm for the nascent pirate party — which now leads in public polls with 22.6 percent — founder birgitta jónsdóttir decisively told the washington post , “ no way . ” but considering growing frustration with ever - increasing western governments — and all of the surveillance programs , police state tactics , and chill on personal liberties — the rise of the pirates , who describe themselves as neither right nor left but a radical mix of both , hardly seems too shocking . “ people want real changes and they understand that we have to change the systems , ” jónsdóttir asserted , “ we have to modernize how we make laws . ” according to the pirates’ website , “ the icelandic pirate party was founded on november 24th , 2012 based on the political ideology of the swedish pirate party , which richard falkvinge founded in january 2006 , to bring about internet copyright reform . ”
+0 supreme court justice removes brazil ’s senate leader amid graft case - the new york times simon romero rio de janeiro — a justice on brazil ’s supreme court on monday night removed the powerful head of the senate from his post , as tensions have escalated between congress and the judiciary over efforts by legislators to curb the power of prosecutors and judges overseeing corruption investigations . the justice , marco aurélio mello , based his ruling on the fact that the senate leader , renan calheiros , is going to stand trial in a graft case in which a lobbyist paid for the child support of a daughter mr. calheiros , 61 , fathered in an extramarital affair . mr. mello ’s ruling reflects how brazil ’s political tumult is intensifying once again , in a year in which president dilma rousseff was ousted and an orchestrator of her impeachment , eduardo cunha , the former speaker of the lower house , is now in jail on graft charges . the move by mr. mello also comes amid a tense standoff between congress and the judiciary . last week , the lower house held a marathon session in which its members gutted a anticorruption bill . the legislation , which would erode the authority of prosecutors and judges guiding graft inquiries , then moved to the senate , where mr. calheiros unsuccessfully tried to hold a vote on it . thousands of brazilians took to the streets on sunday to protest the moves in congress , venting their wrath especially against mr. calheiros . even as he faces a loss of authority , mr. calheiros , from alagoas state in brazil ’s northeast , is expected to keep his seat in the senate . for many of the protesters on the streets of brazilian cities , mr. calheiros came to symbolize impunity in the nation ’s political system , resurrecting his career despite facing an array of scandals . ( in 2007 , he was forced to resign as head of the senate over the same child support case . ) it was not immediately clear if the supreme court would need to ratify or reject mr. mello ’s ruling with a full vote of its members . the request for mr. calheiros ’s ouster came from sustainability network , a political party in the opposition . mr. calheiros may be able to appeal the decision . “ i applaud this ruling , ” said randolfe rodrigues , a senator from sustainability network , which largely blends centrist and leftist ideas . he said that the decision built on previous votes by justices aiming at preventing politicians on trial in corruption cases from remaining in the presidential line of succession . jorge viana , a senator from ms. rousseff ’s leftist workers’ party , is expected to ascend to the post as head of the senate . mr. calheiros is a member of the brazilian democratic movement party , the same centrist grouping led by president michel temer . senators from the workers’ party said on monday night that they would seek to delay voting in the senate on a bill that would place a cap on federal spending , a cornerstone of mr. temer ’s proposed austerity measures . the senate already approved the bill in a first round of voting in november , with a second and final round scheduled for . with some in congress now also calling for mr. temer ’s impeachment after a scandal involving his support for an ally in a property deal , brazil ’s political establishment is facing the prospect of renewed instability . but at least for now , few observers see mr. temer at imminent risk of falling , given his coalition ’s control of congress .
+1 europe hopes for clinton win for more deals with iran nan europe hopes for clinton win for more deals with iran november 01 , 2016 europe hopes for clinton win for more deals with iran after a year of disappointment , european businesses are hoping a victory for hillary clinton in the u.s. election next week may help break the logjam that has prevented large - scale western investments in iran since the opening of its economy . while no one in europe is predicting a flurry of new deals should clinton defeat her republican rival donald trump on nov. 8 a win for the democrat would remove some of the political clouds hanging over last year 's nuclear deal between iran and world powers . business groups say this could help fuel a more aggressive push into the iranian market in 2017 , especially in the second half of the year , if a clinton victory is followed by the re - election of moderate iranian president hassan rouhani next may. " if clinton and rouhani win , then we will have a political window of opportunity that is much bigger than we have now , " said matthieu etourneau , who advises french firms on the iranian market for medef international , the french employers group . " this is what the european banks and companies are waiting for , " he said . back in january , when the united states and europe lifted sanctions related to iran 's nuclear program , the excitement in europe 's business community was palpable . with a population of 78 million and annual output higher than that of thailand , iran was the biggest economy to rejoin the global trading and financial system since the 1991 break - up of the soviet union . european politicians flocked to tehran with dozens of corporate executives in tow . rouhani , a pragmatist elected in 2013 on a platform to reduce iran 's isolation , traveled to paris and rome to promote his country to eager investors . but within months the euphoria had vanished , replaced by frustration on both sides . biggest obstacle to iran deal : us laws the biggest obstacle for european firms seeking to do business in iran has been the reluctance of the continent 's largest banks to finance deals out of fear they could run afoul of u.s. sanctions and incur massive penalties down the line . the united states has taken steps to reassure the banks . last month the treasury department 's office of foreign assets control ( ofac ) issued new guidance to allay concerns about doing u.s. dollar transactions with iran . read more : donald trump says that hillary clinton 's foreign policy will lead to world war three but secretary of state john kerry acknowledged at a think - tank event in london this week that banks remained skittish . german officials raised their concerns about the hurdles during a recent visit by u.s. sanctions coordinator daniel fried . this caution is likely to persist , regardless of who is sitting in the white house . beyond the issue of sanctions , the poor state of iranian banks after a decade outside the international financial system , the strong state role in the economy and a lack of clarity about the legal system are all deterrents to foreigners . " everyone knows now that this will be a long , step - by - step process to build up our economic ties , " said friedolin strack , head of international markets at the federation of german industries ( bdi ) . still , a clinton victory would be a reassuring signal to europe . her close adviser jake sullivan was a key figure in the secret negotiations in oman that paved the way for the landmark agreement that curbed iran 's disputed nuclear activity , and she has defended it during the election campaign . trump , by contrast , has called it " one of the worst deals ever made " and promised to renegotiate it if he is elected . bankers say the risk of the deal unraveling under a trump presidency has contributed to the reticence in europe . recently however , there have been signs of movement . smaller german banks , pressed by their clients to support them in iran , are beginning to offer limited financing and payment services . " medium - sized banks that finance the german mittelstand have a great deal of interest in iran business and are preparing the groundwork intensively , " said siegfried utzig , acting head of economic policy and international affairs at the association of german banks ( bvb ) . " we can see the light at the end of the tunnel but it 's still quite far away . " article by doc burkhart , vice - president , general manager and co - host of trunews with rick wiles got a news tip ? email us at help support the ministry of trunews with your one - time or monthly gift of financial support . donate now ! download the trunews mobile app ! click here ! donate today ! support trunews to help build a global news network that provides a credible source for world news we believe christians need and deserve their own global news network to keep the worldwide church informed , and to offer christians a positive alternative to the anti - christian bigotry of the mainstream news media top stories
+1 yemeni forces fire ballistic missile at saudi arabia ’s jeddah airport nan yemen this photo provided by the media bureau of the operations command in yemen shows a borkan-1 ( volcano-1 ) missile . yemeni army forces and allied fighters from popular committees have reportedly launched a locally designed and manufactured ballistic missile towards an area deep inside saudi arabia in response to the riyadh regime ’s atrocious aerial bombardments against the crisis - hit arab country . yemeni soldiers and their allies fired a borkan-1 ( volcano-1 ) missile towards king abdulaziz international airport , located 19 kilometers north of the western saudi port city of jeddah , arabic - language al - masirah television network reported . a military source , speaking on condition of anonymity , later told the official saba news agency that the 12.5-meter - long missile had targeted its target accurately and left massive destruction at the airport . saudi media outlets , however , reported that the kingdom ’s missile systems intercepted and destroyed the solid propellant and scud - type missile before it could cause any damage . they said the projectile was launched at 9 p.m. local time ( 1800 gmt ) on thursday from yemen ’s mountainous northwestern area of sa’ada . also on thursday , the media bureau of the operations command in yemen said army soldiers had targeted a gathering of militiamen loyal to resigned president abd rabbuh mansur hadi in the aqaba district of the northern province of jawf , leaving scores of the saudi - backed armed men dead . fire rages after a gathering of militiamen loyal to resigned president abd rabbuh mansur hadi is targeted by yemeni army forces in the aqaba district of the northern province of jawf , yemen , on october 27 , 2016 . an armored vehicle and battle tank belonging to the mercenaries were also destroyed in the attack . separately , a number of saudi soldiers were killed and injured when yemeni forces and popular committees fighters struck al - kars base in saudi arabia ’s southwestern border region of jizan . saudi arabia has been engaged in the deadly campaign against yemen since march 2015 in an attempt to bring back the former yemeni government to power and undermine the houthi ansarullah movement . the united nations puts the death toll from the military aggression at about 10,000 . loading ...
+0 virgil : donald trump vs. the main stream media : the president - elect is beating the press , but more combat is coming virgil most members of the main stream media like to think of themselves as . and so , as part of their mellow feelings toward the planet , enjoy shopping at whole foods indeed , many are so refined in their thinking that they are vegans . so of course they support gun control , oppose the death penalty and the pentagon budget , and pride themselves on voting for “ peace ” candidates . and yet when it comes right down to it , in their own line of work , they are plenty militant , even warlike . and that goes double if the target is donald trump . [ first of two parts … yes , if trump is in the picture , then journos easily slip into the language , and the thinking , of combat and war . this makes sense , because , for better or for worse , the vocabulary of fighting suffuses everyday speech , and “ nice ” reporters are no exception . in particular , when humans wish to organize themselves to do something , they tend to adopt military forms the word “ campaign , ” for example , was used to describe military operations long before it was used to describe political operations . a case in point is the headline that appeared in the of the january 13 edition of the new york times : “ outgunned , outmaneuvered and in need of a game plan . ” later , perhaps at the prodding of groups , that headline was softened to , “ as trump berates news media , a new strategy is needed to cover him ” still , the word “ strategy ” is there in the header , reaching , as it does , deep into military history . could trump really be doing all that ? it sure looks that way . after all , if the msm is waging war on trump , trump is also waging war on the msm . indeed , we might add , trump is doing a better job — he ’s winning . and why is he winning ? because he ’s smarter and tougher . most obviously , there ’s trump ’s twitter feed , which now numbers 20 million followers . as he has said , possessing an audience that big is like owning the new york times , only without the financial losses . moreover , including all forms of social media , his audience totals some 50 million . and yet even that big number understates his impact , because his messages always echo in the news . it ’s fair to say that even before trump is inaugurated as president , he has proven that when he wants to get a point across , everyone in the country gets it . so here we might be tempted to interpolate the wisdom of the ancient chinese military strategist sun tzu , who declared , “ he will win who , prepared himself , waits to take the enemy unprepared . ” and trump has been prepared . and yes , sheer gumption matters , too . it was trump the man who stared down megyn kelly , the pope , all his republican rivals , and hillary clinton . and most recently , trump won the confrontation over the “ dirty dossier , ” the passel of allegations leaked by the “ intelligence community ” last week and published , in all its inglorious detail , by buzzfeed . in his january 11 press conference , held in the middle of the resulting media firestorm , trump showed no fear as he took on virtually the entire press corps . he denied all the allegations , adding that reporters should be ashamed of themselves for even thinking of bringing up such an unverified dump . he refused to take a question from cnn ’s jim acosta , labeling the entire network as “ fake news , ” and he lambasted buzzfeed as a “ failing pile of garbage . ” and in fact , soon the msm was scampering away from the dossier legend bob woodward agreed with trump , calling it a “ garbage document . ” and then , on twitter , trump hit back even harder , comparing the attack on him to some sort of atrocity out of nazi germany . needless to say , this turn of events has been disturbing to diehard trump haters such as rutenberg . as he wrote to his brothers and sisters in the fourth estate , the next time they were going to do battle with trump , they had to have a stronger plan . and speaking of the msm as a whole , rutenberg added , “ it better figure things out , fast , because it has found itself at the edge of the cliff . ” in the meantime , amidst the msm disarray , trump is still on the offensive . here ’s the headline from the january 15 new york times : “ trump team considers moving press corps , alarming reporters . ” that is , the trump communications shop is considering a plan to move the white house press corps from its current location in the west wing to the eisenhower executive office building . in the words of sean spicer , the incoming white house press secretary :
+0 spared by gunman in charleston , churchgoer describes night of terror - the new york times alan blinder and kevin sack charleston , s. c. — polly sheppard , a retired nurse and longtime stalwart of emanuel african methodist episcopal church , dived under a table as the gunfire began and did the only thing she could think to do : she prayed aloud . she could see the bullet casings skittering across the floor of the fellowship hall and the young man ’s boots approaching . dylann s. roof told her to “ shut up , ” then asked menacingly if he had shot her yet . “ i said ‘ no,’ ” ms. sheppard testified on wednesday , as the final witness in the guilt phase of mr. roof ’s federal trial on 33 counts , including hate crimes resulting in death . “ and he said , ‘ i ’m not going to . i ’m going to leave you to tell the story . ’ ” she did , in a panicked call to a 911 operator that night , and again on wednesday , when she described the events to a courtroom crowded with family members of the nine parishioners mr. roof is accused of killing in a massacre on june 17 , 2015 . after ms. sheppard finished testifying , the prosecution rested , and mr. roof ’s defense lawyers followed suit after declining to call any witnesses . with their eyes on the sentencing phase of the death penalty trial , the lawyers have tried to make suggestions of mr. roof ’s mental incapacity , but have been allowed little leeway by judge richard m. gergel . before the defense rested , judge gergel , of federal district court , summoned mr. roof to the bench , placed him under oath out of the jury ’s presence and asked if he wanted to testify in his own defense . mr. roof , 22 , with pale white skin and a distinctive haircut , said he did not . judge gergel has scheduled closing arguments for thursday , and jurors are then expected to begin deliberations . if mr. roof is convicted — a virtual certainty , as he confessed in a recorded f. b. i. interview and left a trail of incontrovertible evidence — the jury will return in january to hear more evidence and decide whether to sentence him to death or to life in prison . mr. roof , who offered to plead guilty in exchange for a life term , plans to represent himself during that phase . he also faces capital murder charges in state court in a trial scheduled to begin on jan. 17 . over six days , federal prosecutors presented the jury with an array of technical evidence that established the timeline of mr. roof ’s plot , but they bookended their case with ms. sheppard ’s testimony and that of her friend and fellow survivor , felicia sanders , who appeared as the opening witness . guided gently through questioning by an assistant united states attorney , julius n. richardson , ms. sheppard humanized the nine victims . there was the rev. daniel lee simmons sr . known as “ dapper dan , ” who always wore a fedora and usually led the bible study . she spoke of ethel lee lance , who cleaned the church with “ a woman ’s touch ” and loved the song “ one day at a time . ” tywanza sanders had a “ big smile , ” and his susie jackson , was “ a very sweet lady . ” the rev. depayne “ could sing like an angel . ” cynthia hurd , a librarian , had a soft spot for zora neale hurston . and the rev. sharonda the tall , graceful track coach , could preach like nobody ’s business . ms. sheppard said she attended the bible study that night only because her friend , myra thompson , was leading it . she sat near the back because she planned to sneak out early , but ms. thompson kept an eye on her . at some point , ms. sheppard testified , nodding toward mr. roof , “ the young man at the table over there joined us . ” she said the church ’s pastor , the rev. clementa c. pinckney , asked mr. roof if he was there for the study session , handed him a bible and a pamphlet about the night ’s lesson , and offered him a chair . usually , ms. sheppard said , the group would end with a prayer adapted from genesis : “ the lord watch between me and thee when we are absent from another . ” but as they rose for the benediction , the gunman began firing , she said . mr. pinckney was the first to be shot . ms. sheppard said she first thought the explosions had come from the church ’s aging wiring but then heard ms. sanders scream , “ he ’s shooting ! ” she reached for ms. lance ’s cellphone and , after initially pressing the wrong buttons , managed to dial 911 . “ he shot the pastor , ” she told the dispatcher during a recorded call that was played in court on wednesday . “ he shot all the men in the church . ” soon after , she told the dispatcher , “ there ’s so many people dead , i think . oh , my god . ” when the gunman finally left the building , ms. sheppard checked the pulse of mr. pinckney and another victim . she found none . mr. roof , who confessed that he had planned to kill himself if confronted by the police at the church , fled in his car into the sweltering south carolina night . he was captured the next day in north carolina . the evidence that prosecutors presented against him included gps data showing he had visited the church ’s neighborhood six times in the six months before the attack and telephone records showing he had called the church four months before . they also have used mr. roof ’s writings , photographs and possessions to depict him as a racial extremist . jurors heard , for instance , that he had downloaded a history of the ku klux klan in august 2014 , and that investigators found in his bedroom a pillowcase cut into a triangular shape , perhaps to represent a klan hood . prosecutors presented photographs mr. roof had taken of the confederate battle flag when it flew on the grounds of the state house , before its removal in july 2015 in response to the shootings . they had a witness read aloud a white supremacist manifesto that mr. roof had posted online . they also showed chilling footage of mr. roof ’s preparations for his assault on the church , including surveillance video of his purchase of a glock . 45 caliber handgun and ammunition . mr. roof also recorded himself , wearing a black muscle shirt and reflective sunglasses , practicing with his pistol , expressionlessly firing shot after shot . but on the final day of testimony , prosecutors turned away from mr. roof ’s planning and back to its consequences . a forensic pathologist , dr. s. erin presnell , described the findings of autopsies that showed the nine parishioners had been struck at least 60 times . then ms. sheppard , a bright pink scarf draped around her neck , mounted the witness stand . she plucked a tissue or two from a nearby box , and told her story for about 40 minutes . there was no from mr. roof ’s lawyer , david i. bruck . “ ms. sheppard , i ’m so sorry , ” he told her softly . “ i have no questions . ”
+1 irish fans rush to buy 2018 world cup final tickets after austria win julius hubris 0 add comment the scramble for tickets to the 2018 world cup final is well underway as fifa report unprecedented interest from irish football fans , wwn has learned . with a james mcclean goal securing a historic win in vienna for the boys in green , ireland sits top of their qualifying group after 4 games , all but guaranteeing a showdown against brazil in the final just under two years from now . “ i ’ve a brother in the fai , and even he ca n’t get me tickets . i ’m proper panicking now , what if i ca n’t get one ? ” dermot nelly , worried irish supporter , shared with wwn . ireland ’s path to russia 2018 and their subsequent run to the final has come courtesy of a good performance against an anemic austria side on saturday , and fans are becoming increasingly desperate to ensure they do n’t miss out on the biggest game in irish soccer history . “ i ’ve been online since the win , just checking to see if anyone is selling a spare ticket . i ’m prepared to blow the life savings on this . there ’s no way i ’m missing us lifting the world cup trophy , ” shared dubliner tommy gleeson , whose budget for a ticket stands at an eye watering € 120 . in a bid to quell the overzealous reaction to the recent win , the fai delivered a sobering statement this morning . “ lads , jesus , relax will ye . listen , when fifa post us over our ticket allocation for the final , you lot will be the first to know . a bit of patience please , ” the statement read .
+1 anti - communist group makes their first ever endorsement toward the donald .. media silent wilmot proviso unreal : calif. soldiers billed for thousands after military decides not to honor decade - old enlistment bonuses he told the audience that he was “ humbled by this endorsement from true freedom fighters . ” he also referenced the damas en blanco ( ladies in white ) , a “ cuban dissident organization composed of the wives , mothers , daughters and sisters of political prisoners . ” “ they march quietly to church every sunday and … are subject to physical and verbal violence and abuse by government - sanctioned mobs , ” trump told the audience . he added that his opponent “ turns a blind eye to the human rights violations that occur every single day . ” as for the bay of pigs veterans association , a representative from the group called their endorsement a “ no - brainer . ” in his introduction , the representative said that the group was concerned that “ corruption in our public life has become rampant and has to be stopped . he also derided the “ socialist progressive agenda of hillary clinton . ” you can see trump ’s speech at the event here : trump has clearly shown that he ’s on the side of the military , speaking out against obama ’s broken department of veterans affairs , the shoddy treatment given to our veterans otherwise and the fact that our military gains have been reversed by administration policy .
+0 court papers give insight into stanford sex assault - the new york times thomas fuller palo alto , calif. — proud parents converged at stanford university ’s commencement on sunday to hear ken burns , the documentary filmmaker , welcome the elite class of graduates into the wider world . but across the idyllic university grounds , in the shade of a large tree , is a quiet stretch of lawn that speaks to a persistent and darker side of campus life , at stanford and across the country . it was here in january last year , an hour past midnight on a saturday night , that a young woman lay on the ground , unresponsive , her hair disheveled and knotted , her body covered in dirt and pine needles , and her dress hitched up above her waist . the assault of the woman — she is described as jane doe in court documents — has led to a firestorm of outrage for what many saw as her assailant ’s light punishment , a jail term with the possibility of being released after three months . in march , a jury convicted the assailant , brock turner , 20 , a champion swimmer and olympic hopeful who was a freshman at the time , of intent to commit rape of an intoxicated or unconscious person and two related sections of the law , all felonies . the court papers , some of them released just last week , outline the complex and intense national debate over the sentence , and over sexual assaults on campus . yet they also portray a case that legal experts say was unusual . the assault was not hidden in a dorm room or clouded by the complex emotions of a college romance . mr. turner and his victim had met only minutes before their encounter . the assault was taking place beneath the tree when a pair of swedish students passed by on bicycles . the men stopped , and mr. turner began to run away . they chased him down and tackled him . “ it happened in full view , ” said shanlon wu , a lawyer who is a specialist in campus rape cases . “ you had unimpeachable witnesses — someone was basically caught . ” the court papers and police reports depict an event that could be found virtually any weekend at any college — a fraternity party with alcohol . the woman , who was not a stanford student , was 22 , working full time and living with her parents in palo alto at the time of the assault , according to court documents . she described the decision to go to a fraternity party on campus as a lark and a way to spend more time with her younger sister , who accompanied her . after she had a meal at home and four shots of whiskey , she told the police , her mother drove her , her sister and two other friends to the stanford campus at 11 p. m. the women ended up at a party hosted by a fraternity , kappa alpha , which was also attended by mr. turner . the woman ’s sister told the police that they met several men at the party , but that “ one of the guys was very aggressive and trying to kiss everyone , ” according to a police report . she later identified that man as mr. turner and said she had twice repelled kissing and advances by him . the sister left the party to accompany an intoxicated friend back to her room , and soon after the victim and mr. turner left the party , according to court documents . mr. turner told the police that he and the victim kissed and then walked away from the fraternity house holding hands and ended up on the ground kissing . he removed the victim ’s underwear and penetrated her with his fingers . he said he never took his own pants off . the swedish students who came upon mr. turner and the woman said they stopped to intervene because they saw mr. turner on top of her , thrusting his pelvis toward her , court papers and the police reports say . they said she appeared motionless , her eyes closed and her head tilted to the side . one of the men yelled to mr. turner , who “ looked up , slowly got off of ” the victim “ and began running rapidly away from her , ” according to a case summary by the prosecutor . the swedes chased him and brought him to the ground . after the assault , the woman told a police officer that the last thing she remembered was being with her sister at the party . her next memory was waking up in the hospital feeling groggy and confused , she told the police . the court and police documents detail the level of drinking by everyone involved . both mr. turner and the woman were heavily intoxicated , according to police reports . mr. turner reported having seven beers and a “ couple of swigs ” of whiskey . in addition to the four shots of whiskey she had at home , jane doe reported having two shots of vodka and “ some beer ” once she had reached the stanford campus . she remained unconscious for three hours after paramedics reached her and began giving her treatment , including an intravenous drip , police reports said . the degree to which the inebriation of both mr. turner and the woman should have been a factor in sentencing was a central point of contention . monica lassettre , the probation officer who wrote sentencing recommendations , advised the judge to be lenient partly on the grounds that mr. turner was drunk . “ this case , when compared to other crimes of similar nature , may be considered less serious due to the defendant ’s level of intoxication . ” she recommended four to six months in a county jail , even though mr. turner faced a maximum sentence of 14 years in state prison . she also based her recommendation on what she said was his “ sincere remorse and empathy for the victim , ” and his lack of a prior criminal record . alaleh kianerci , the deputy district attorney who prosecuted the case , saw the woman ’s intoxication as a reason for a harsher sentence , and she urged the judge to impose six years . the fact that the victim was so intoxicated was an “ aggravating factor warranting a prison sentence , ” ms. kianerci wrote . “ ultimately , the fact that the defendant preyed upon an intoxicated stranger on a college campus should not be viewed as a less serious crime , than if he were to assault a stranger in downtown palo alto , ” ms. kianerci said . in the woman ’s courtroom statement , which went viral when it was released to the news media a week ago , she described drinking too much and blacking out as “ an amateur mistake ” — but not a criminal act . “ regretting drinking is not the same as regretting sexual assault , ” she said . “ we were both drunk , the difference is i did not take off your pants and underwear , touch you inappropriately , and run away . ” the victim added in her statement that she remains deeply traumatized by the assault . in a widely circulated comment in the courtroom when issuing his sentence , judge aaron persky of the santa clara county superior court , said there was “ less moral culpability ” for a defendant who is intoxicated . his sentence was harsher than the probation officer asked for , but a petition for his removal has now swelled beyond a million signatures . the court papers paint diametrically opposed pictures of mr. turner . family members and friends describe him in sentencing documents as gentle , polite and , in the words of a former high school teacher , “ an individual of true kindness , compassion and promise . ” adjusting to the social life at stanford was difficult , mr. turner said in his own statement to the court . “ coming from a small town in ohio , i had never really experienced celebrating or partying that involved alcohol , ” he wrote . the prosecution ’s sentencing memo , however , described a man who embraced numerous forms of illicit drugs both at stanford and in high school . the memo said the police concluded from photos and text messages found on mr. turner ’s phone that he was “ engaging in excessive drinking and using drugs , ” including lsd , ecstasy and an extract of cannabis . mr. turner had a previous arrest for underage alcohol possession in november 2014 , the memo said . the prosecution document also said he aggressively flirted with women . detectives interviewed two women who had “ an encounter ” with mr. turner the weekend before the assault , the memo said . he was “ touchy ” and put his hands on one of the women ’s upper thigh . mr. turner had “ creeped ” her out because of his persistence , the woman told the police . ten days after his arrest , the university reached an agreement with mr. turner that he withdraw from the university . “ that was a much more expedited process than if we had gone through a formal expulsion process , ” lisa lapin , a stanford spokeswoman said . “ it was the harshest punishment that the university can have . ” the woman ’s courtroom statement continued to reverberate across the country and campus this past week . michele dauber , a stanford law professor who has helped create the university ’s policies for dealing with sexual assault complaints , called her a new rosa parks . “ we are at a real watershed moment in public perception of campus sexual assaults , ” said ms. dauber , who is also leading the effort to have judge persky recalled . in a letter submitted to the court , ms. dauber said that a recent university survey found that 43 percent of senior female undergraduates said they had experienced nonconsensual sexual assault or misconduct . ms. dauber is friends with the victim and said she is helping her to obtain a book contract . mr. turner is banned from campus , and as part of his criminal sentence , mr. turner will also be registered a sex offender for life .
+1 is donald trump autistic ? darkbake link donald trump could have a disability that used to be known as aspergers , and this can cause people trouble when they try to socialize because their theory of mind is not complete . basically , they have trouble thinking of how others perceive their actions . these people tend to be highly intelligent . trump 's iq is 156 , which makes sense considering he has built more businesses than most of us have , and although he could have invested his father 's money and made the same amount back as he did in the end through business deals , he put a lot of work and thought into his business . i would like to know what kind of medicines trump is on and what his mental health diagnosis are . if he has aspergers , then that would explain why he makes so many social mistakes . being super rich from a young age might also account for it since he would not be trained to interact with people on an equal level ( which is a lot more complicated than interacting with people when you are rich and they are poor ) . however , an article in the new york times recently focused on trump 's fears of making social blunders . he has a fear of losing social status or being embarrassed publicly . however , he does n't seem to do well publicly , which must be a disability because he would * want * to be a good public speaker and not make social gaffes yet he still does it . it must be accidental . donald even stated he is a difficult man to be married to , which means he knows himself and his weaknesses . many people with aspergers do n't get married because they have a hard time in relationships .
+1 tom jovanovich it 's easy to imagine obama or kerry pissing him off , but i have n't heard specifically what the us did to set him off .
+0 the pecan steps off the pie plate - the new york times david tanis pecans , with their rich , buttery , sweet flavor , are considered by many to be the quintessential american nut . they once grew wild throughout what is now the american south and mexico . native peoples foraged for these highly nutritious nuts , and spanish explorers took pecans — along with other unknown new world foods like potatoes , tomatoes , corn and chiles — back to europe for cultivation . today , orchards in the united states continue to produce most of the world ’s supply . i have had them on the brain ever since i received a giant bag of pecans from a friend in new mexico recently . with the holiday season ( a. k. a. the baking season ) nigh upon us , i began to think of what to do with them . i do n’t have much of a sweet tooth , but i will happily make an exception when homemade pecan rolls or other members of the sticky bun family are in the room . and if they happen to be rolled in cinnamon sugar , so much the better . pecan rolls are a particularly fond childhood memory for me . occasionally , a dozen freshly baked ones would arrive at our house , packed in a shoe box — the gift of a doting aunt on a baking spree . it was impossible not to eat at least two of them . i would eat them from the top down , unfurling the rolls’ spiral layers and saving the sugary caramelized bottom for last . many years later , i found work as a professional baker , and making cinnamon rolls became a daily task . i baked dozens and dozens each day , even more on weekends , gaining proficiency , to say the least . ( for quality control , i sampled one from each batch . ) so playing with this pecan version was like riding a bike . some home bakers are fearful of yeasted doughs . do n’t be . the key is to let the yeast do its work and allow the dough to rise sufficiently before popping your creations into the oven . these pecan rolls are baked in muffin tins to help them puff proudly . just be sure not to rush them : the longer they rise , the lighter they ’ll be . bake them until the tops are nicely browned and well burnished . that is the way to ensure a golden glazed underside . do n’t we all love the classic filling of a good pecan pie ? for these pecan bars , i wanted a similar sensation , but with a heaping dose of spice . cardamom , allspice , nutmeg and clove add a kind of peppery warmth to these . i also craved the earthy presence and deep dark hue that a touch of molasses can contribute . rather than rely on too much sugar or syrup , i folded chopped dates into the batter to increase the sticky factor . a thick layer of buttery shortbread is the base , baked in a square cake pan , with a generous layer of crisp pecans on top . you can cut the flat pie into bars or into pieces . the best thing about it is that you can store these bars at room temperature for days on end with no loss of quality . in fact , they seem to improve with a little age . ( they also freeze well . ) i ’ll confess to a weakness for cheese puffs and other cheesy nibbles , and some kind of salty baked good is always welcome with drinks . for these savory cookies , grated parmesan was my choice . chopped pecans , fresh sage and a good spoonful of coarsely ground black pepper went into the dough . it is as easy to put together as any type of cookie dough , but not a speck of sugar goes in . the dough can be shaped into a log ( keep a couple in the fridge at the ready ) for savory cookies , or it may be rolled out like pie dough and cut into shapes . they ’ll keep a week in an airtight tin , if it ’s perched well out of reach serve the cookies with cocktails or add them to a cheese board . surprise your friends and family with one of these pecan treats , or all three . give them savory pecan cookies to start , pecan bars for dessert and a bag of pecan rolls to take home for breakfast . recipes : savory pecan cookies | rolls | spiced pecan date shortbread bars
+0 ned ryun : trump wh breaking into two factions -- national populists vs. liberal nyc democrats john hayward ned ryun , founder and ceo of american majority , discussed with sirius xm host raheem kassam on thursday ’s breitbart news daily what kassam called “ palace intrigue . ” [ “ is stephen k. bannon marginalized ? is jared kushner leading the president into strange and unusual places ? is reince , and is sean spicer , influential ? are they on their way out ? in your opinion , what is going on here , what do we need to be wary of , what are we looking out for , who are the players , and how do they align with each other ? ” kassam asked . “ since inauguration , it was really about four camps , ” ryun replied . “ it was the kushner camp , it was the bannon camp , it was the reince camp , and it was the pence camp . but i ’m starting to think , based off what i was hearing from yesterday and then reading reports this morning , that this is becoming actually more of two camps — that it really is the national populists , really led by bannon , versus , quite frankly — there ’s no other way to describe them — the liberal new york city set that have come in . ” ryun said the latter camp included “ gary cohn , dina powell , ” and others he described as democrats , along with jared kushner and ivanka trump . “ god bless them , they ’re part of the trump family , but let ’s not kid ourselves : they are part of the manhattan liberal set , ” he said of the latter duo . “ the question that i have as i ’m reading these reports — and i think we should start asking questions — who are they really ? what has been their experience ? what is their worldview ? because i ’m starting to suspect their worldview does not line up with the campaign promises that trump was making , ” ryun said . “ the people that voted for donald trump voted for very specific things , ” he noted . “ they do want to see a wall . they want to see immigration dealt with . they want to see healthcare reform . they want to see tax reform . they want to see all of these things . ” “ watching what ’s taking place , i ’m growing more and more concerned that some of the dynamics , some of the voices in trump ’s ear , some of the influences — we should start asking questions . are they starting to steer him in the wrong direction , away from what got him into one of the most stunning victories in presidential history , got him into the white house ? ” ryun asked . kassam returned to ryun ’s description of the “ liberal new york city set ” and asked him to explain the importance of dina powell . ryun noted powell is a fellow veteran of the bush white house . “ i was at the white house before she was , but she came in she was head of presidential personnel . in fact , i think she was the head of presidential personnel , ” he said . he continued that after powell left the bush white house , she worked for goldman sachs in new york “ and now has come back , really gotten involved with ivanka trump day . ” “ i have real concerns , not only about the new york liberal set that has come into the white house . … i am more and more concerned about the goldman sachs people that have come into the administration , ” ryun professed . he said they have a “ different worldview than the american people that voted trump in . ” “ you ’ve got that worldview , you ’ve got the new york goldman sachs liberal set worldview , and the real question here is which one is going to win out , influencing the future direction of trump , ” he predicted . “ i thought really yesterday , at first , initially , it was a reorganization by mcmaster of some of these things , ” ryun said of the news that steve bannon has been removed from the principals committee of the national security council . “ i ’m a little more concerned that there is a serious power struggle going on . ” “ i ’ve got to tell you , my hope is that trump will say , ‘ i know what got me in . i know what brought me to the white house . steve bannon is really the lead cheerleader on that front . keep steve close . listen to steve . keep pushing down this path , ” ryun advised . “ if he does , there will be victory this year in regards to policy , ” he anticipated . “ he ’s already going to have it this week with gorsuch . i really do think we ’re going to get something done with health care . there ’s going to be a massive step in the right direction . i do think we ’ve got a real shot at tax reform . ” “ you get a couple of these victories under your belt . you keep going down this path . then we ’re going to start talking about what the second trump term looks like , ” he said . “ but if he starts to stray , i ’m concerned . ” kassam asked where the republican national committee , its former chairman reince priebus , and sean spicer fit into this picture . “ you know , i think they ’re starting to realize that the new york set , they ’re not their friends , ” ryun replied . “ i think in a weird strange alliance that the rnc folks are realizing they ’re basically going to become allies with bannon . ” “ this is all on the fly . this is all really the last 24 hours , ” he added . “ if the other guys win , i guarantee you bannon ’s out , reince is out , spicer ’s out , the corporate new york set is in . ” “ i think you ’re going to see , internally , really kind of what i think are strange alliances . but in the short term , i think they ’re going to be working together to push back on this new york set . quite frankly , even though it pains me somewhat to say this , i hope that bannon and the rnc guys , that alliance is successful , ” ryun said . breitbart news daily airs on siriusxm patriot 125 weekdays from 6:00 a. m. to 9:00 a. m. eastern . listen :
+0 rand paul : trump has been sold a ‘ bill of goods’ on ryan health care bill - breitbart pam key wednesday on msnbc ’s “ morning joe , ” sen. rand paul ( ) said president donald trump has been “ fed a bill of goods ” by house leadership on the proposed house republican health care legislation to repeal and replace obamacare . paul said , “ you know , i think that he has been told things by house leadership that frankly just are not accurate . he ’s been told this is the only vehicle , and paul ryan ’s been saying it for weeks , ‘ it ’s a binary choice , you either take it , it ’s my way or the highway,’ i think he ’s been fed a bill of goods on this thing , and i do believe that there ’s something that could pass , that actually would bring down insurance costs , but this bill does n’t do it . i ’ve fought against obamacare for six years , i am a physician and i want to repeal it , but i do n’t want to repeal it and replace it with something that just as bad or does n’t work . ( grabien ) follow pam key on twitter @pamkeynen
+0 mysterious buyer of trump ’s childhood home said to be from china - the new york times sarah maslin nir they first arrived in late january , caravans of black escalades driving along a small street in jamaica estates , an upscale neighborhood in queens , and stopping in front of a modest house that had just been sold at auction : the home where president trump lived as a boy . out stepped a stream of people in business suits , according to a neighbor , all speaking chinese . the visits spiked between the auction and the closing of the sale last week , according to the neighbor , who did not want to be identified because of concerns about her privacy . it was revealed last week that the home had been bought by trump birth house , a limited liability company that obscured the identity of the person behind it . but while the buyer ’s identity remained unknown , a person with knowledge of the deal said that the new owner , who spent over $ 2 million for the childhood home of the current president of the united states , is a woman from china . “ why is there an influx of chinese people interested in this house , of all people ? ” the neighbor said she recalled wondering . “ what do they want ? ” the house on wareham place has become another curiosity in the vast orbit of properties connected to mr. trump , even though he last lived in the home , built by his father , fred c. trump , when he was 4 . the house ’s intrigue lies not just in the price it fetched in an auction by paramount realty usa — $ 2 . 14 million , more than double the price of comparable houses in the area — but also in the mystery surrounding the buyer . she remains unknown , shrouded behind the limited liability company . a thin trail of documents associated with the sale led first to a office on main street in flushing , queens , of michael x. tang , a lawyer who represents trump birth house . in the cramped and bustling office , which , according to its website , specializes in facilitating chinese purchases of american real estate , a woman at a desk welcomed visitors . “ oh , about the trump house , ” she said . she continued : mr. tang declined to comment . documents show that mr. tang was also the lawyer for a seemingly unrelated transaction on a palatial home in old westbury , n. y. which sold for more than $ 3 . 6 million in 2014 to a person named jiying wei . the redbrick mansion , tucked at the end of a and abutted by a private tennis court , is a far cry from the modest childhood home of mr. trump . but , according to a person with knowledge of the sale , the mansion ’s owner is a relative of the woman from china who bought the trump family home . standing in the collonaded entryway of her home a few doors down in old westbury , a neighbor , who declined to give her name for privacy reasons , deepened the mystery : the only person who lives in the mansion , she said , is the family ’s son , a local college student the rest of the family lives in china . the trail at the : the house was empty and the owner could not be reached . “ i did have some expectation that the purchaser would be a huge trump supporter from within america , ” misha haghani , principal of paramount realty usa , said of the jamaica estates home . he declined to reveal the identity of the buyer . “ but it is entirely possible that the purchaser is a huge trump supporter from outside of america , ” he said . cathy han , a real estate agent in new york who specializes in marketing properties to chinese buyers — including apartments in buildings — said she was not surprised that the home had been purchased by a chinese buyer . “ when i saw it was trump ’s birth house property for sale , i knew immediately it would get a lot of attention from chinese buyers , ” ms. han said . “ i know he is a controversial figure in the states , but among chinese people , trump is a very popular kind of character in china . ” she said the image that mr. trump liked to promote of himself as a successful businessman resonated in china . “ the whole thing about trump is he has no experience in politics , but now he is the president of the u. s. a. , ” she said . “ the story is like a movie : it ’s kind of inspiring , in a way , that a person can rise up to that position . and i think most chinese people kind of respect that journey . ” the home had been owned by isaac kestenberg , purchased with his wife , claudia , in 2008 for $ 782 , 500 . on election day last year , as mr. trump ’s ascendancy seemed possible , michael davis , a real estate investor , made an offer on the house , he said , ultimately purchasing it for about $ 1 . 4 million . neither mr. kestenberg nor mr. davis knows who bought it this time , they said . the sale to trump birth house closed on march 23 . “ i hope that the broader economy has as much lift from the president ’s policies as the president ’s childhood home got , ” mr. davis said . on tuesday , rain pelted the crocuses popping up outside the home on wareham place . the house appeared to have been emptied . around 1 p. m. a worker arrived in a national grid van . the new owner could n’t be found , he said , so he had come to turn off the power .
+1 west ham fans laud aerodynamic properties of new pound coin nan tuesday 1 november 2016 by formelia alberthine west ham fans laud aerodynamic properties of new pound coin west ham fans have thanked the royal mint for its efforts in improving the match - day experience at the london stadium with the release of a new more aerodynamic pound coin . many season ticket holders claim its enhanced aerodynamic design , could see its distance and accuracy improve significantly . a royal mint spokesperson explained , “ there is a reason golf balls are n’t completely flat , these imperfections on the surface actually reward the more skilful throwers . you ’re welcome . ” after a spate of crowd disturbances at the ground , hammers fans had complained of a return to the dark days of the early eighties , where only ‘ unpredictable’ circular coins could be deployed as missiles at games . west ham fan simon williams congratulated the royal mint on the technological advances which have seen multiple ‘ stabilising’ edges introduced . he told us , “ i ’m reasonably confident that with this new coin i could pick out the skull of an opposition player , or supporter for that matter , from way up in the gods . “ they ’re quite weighty – i had become accustomed to launching 20p ’s , but they only leave flesh wounds – these babies could do serious brain damage . “ obviously it ’s difficult to inflict brain damage upon millwall fans , but it will be fun trying ! west ham vice - chair karen brady hoped the temptation to start launching whole pounds could see match day takings increase significantly . “ listen , if they want to start targeting the directors’ seats then please , by all means , do so . “ in fact , i ’d like to see all denominations of our fabled currency ‘ go coin’ . “ if someone could chuck us a £ 50 we ’d happily throw andy carroll back at them in retaliation . ” get the best newsthump stories in your mailbox every friday , for free ! there are currently
+1 killer mike proves real leaders are truth - tellers by saying what most people wo n’t the mind unleashed killer mike proves real leaders are truth - tellers by saying what most people wo n’t nov 21 , 2016 0 0 politics in america has devolved into a contest of personalities , where policy , history , and reality are rejected in favor of style , skin color , gender and celebrity factor . this is unsurprising , though , in a nation that has for generations been weened on television and state indoctrination . we ’ve been trained to look to politicians for leadership , but the real heroes and change makers in our world are the fearless truth - tellers who work to free our minds and inspire us to greatness by setting an example with their words and deeds . as we stare down the barrel of a critically divided society under the thumb of an all - powerful government and police state , righteous voices of non - partisan , no - bullshit truth who apply logic , common sense , and critical - thinking in defense of community and humanity are needed now more than ever . one such example is hip - hop artist , civic leader , social activist , and entrepreneur michael render , aka killer mike . his articulation of the problems we all face , accompanied with real ideas for meaningful action , make for an excellent reminder of what true leadership can look like . he ’s done a ton of interviews in recent years , and although he mentions being a conservative , even advocating for the 2nd amendment in response to public shootings , he played a big role in bernie sanders’ campaign for the democratic nomination in an effort to help educate and awaken black voters . consider the following clips of killer mike speaking on a number of today ’s critical issues . firstly , he talks to tmz about the importance of participating in local elections and in using your vote to hold political parties accountable , while helping to see through the phony logic of voting for the lesser of two evils . “ scaring me with the boogie man is not going to work as effectively as giving my community something that helps . ” ~killer mike in his song , ‘ reagan , ‘ he rails against obama , along with all the other authoritarian presidents we ’ve had , as a member of an organization of war and profit , saying what so many obama supporters are afraid to acknowledge . “ ronald reagan was an actor , not at all a factor just an employee of the country ’s real masters just like the bushes , clinton and obama just another talking head telling lies on teleprompters if you do n’t believe the theory , then argue with this logic why did reagan and obama both go after qaddafi we invaded sovereign soil , going after oil taking countries is a hobby paid for by the oil lobby same as in iraq , and afghanistan and ahmadinejad say they coming for iran they only love the rich , and how they loathe the poor if i say any more they might be at my door ” ~killer mike , reagan as a leader in the black community , he is keenly aware of the affects of racism and police brutality today , but rather than advocating for protests or riots as an expression of justifiable anger , he breaks down how black people can overcome systemic corruption and racism by using the one weapon that is most effective in a capitalist culture : money . furthermore , on the bill maher show on hbo , he goes into relationship between politicians and police , pointing out how politicians themselves use police as pawns . final thoughts the president of the united states of america is the figurehead of an authoritarian and corporatized organization that masquerades as benevolent , but potus is a puppet , not a leader . as americans go at each other ’s throats over about the election , it may serve us well to remember that individuals are the true leaders in our community and in our world . “ my criteria is probably libertarian views , where you just let the free market reign , you let people do what they want to , and the government takes care of protecting us from foreign interests and one another . ” ~ killer mike about the author dylan charles is a student and teacher of shaolin kung fu , tai chi and qi gong , a practitioner of yoga and taoist arts , and an activist and idealist passionately engaged in the struggle for a more sustainable and just world for future generations . he is the editor of wakingtimes.com , the proprietor of offgridoutpost.com , a grateful father and a man who seeks to enlighten others with the power of inspiring information and action . he may be contacted at [ email protected ] . this article ( killer mike proves real leaders are truth - tellers by saying what most people wo n’t ) was originally created and published by waking times and is published here under a creative commons license with attribution to dylan charles and wakingtimes.com . vote up
+0 woman claims nail salon posted sign saying fat clients must pay more - breitbart katherine rodriguez a nail salon in tennessee is facing an uproar after a woman claimed it posted a sign saying customers must pay more for the business ’s services . [ “ sorry , but if you are overweight , pedicures will be $ 45 due to service fees for pedicurists . thank you ! ” reads a sign on a nondescript wall , seen in a photo the woman posted to facebook . “ so rude , ” said deshania ferguson , who published the image . ferguson claims that she saw the sign in a local salon called rose nails , which charges up to $ 30 for a pedicure . the image has been shared more than 500 times , with others balking at the alleged price increase . the daily mail tried calling the salon , but a person on the other line claimed that they had the wrong number . wreg got in touch with the nail salon ’s owner , son nguyen , and spoke with him in person . nguyen denied that the sign existed despite the viral photo . nguyen did , however , tell the station that he and his wife who run the salon have turned away overweight people because it is “ difficult for technicians to give them pedicures . ” he says that two chairs have been broken as a result of his larger clientele , which cost him $ 2 , 500 to repair or replace them . “ they took the sign down and denied ever having it up … pictures are worth a thousand words , ” ferguson posted to facebook friday .
+0 1 in 5 child deaths in london borough caused by parents being ’close relatives’ oliver jj lane a new report from the london borough of redbridge has revealed almost one in five of all child deaths in the area since 2008 were down to their parents being close relatives . [ the statistic was discussed at a meeting of the redbridge council health and board on monday , with the matter of child fatality being raised . the council ’s report found between 2008 and 2016 , 19 per cent of child deaths in the borough were caused by infants being born to “ consanguineous relationships ” — marriage or otherwise sexual relations between couples who are first cousins or closer . the recording year of saw the highest number of child deaths in the period . of all deaths in that year , the second greatest cause was “ chromosomal , genetic or congenital abnormalities ” . overall , 65 per cent of child deaths occurred before the age of one . the ilford recorder reports the remarks of child death overview panel chairman gladys xavier who told the meeting there were ongoing education programmes targeting asian communities in the area to address the prevalence of incest , which the paper referred to as a “ continued problem ” . the council has also asked local schools to emphasise the teaching of genetics to children . the 2011 census found that 41 per cent of redbridge residents identified as asian or asian british , and the religious makeup of the area was 36 . 8 per cent christian , 23 . 3 per cent muslim , and 11 . 4 per cent hindu . concerns over consanguineous relationships in redbridge focus around particular communities in the borough , with the report stating the practice “ is most common among pakistani communities ” and the same pattern can be observed in redbridge . of all child deaths in the area in the time studies , nine per cent were to pakistani ethnicity parents and were the “ result of genetic complications arising from having related parents ” . despite the attempts to reach out to these communities , there was a concern the educational drive was falling on deaf ears . councillor joyce ryan told the board meeting : “ although everyone is battling hard at this it is something that some communities struggle to accept and sometimes do not want to accept . ”
+0 ‘ arbeit macht frei’ gate thought to be stolen from dachau is found - the new york times henrik pryser libell and melissa eddy oslo — a gate bearing a notorious nazi slogan and believed to have been stolen from the dachau concentration camp in southern germany has been found in a suburb of bergen , norway , police officials in the two countries said on friday . the gate , a replica of the original bearing the phrase “ arbeit macht frei , ” or “ work sets you free , ” is one of the most photographed symbols of the camp . it was stolen in november 2014 in what the german authorities believed was an organized crime . an anonymous tipster alerted the norwegian police to the presence of the gate . margrethe myrmehl gudbrandsen , a police spokeswoman in norway , said the tip had come in this week , but she declined to give further information . she did not provide any details about the exact location of the discovery . the bavarian police , who investigated the theft , said they were working with their norwegian counterparts to determine whether the gate that was found was , indeed , the one from dachau . the norwegian authorities had left the announcement of the discovery to the germans out of deference for its symbolism , ms. gudbrandsen said . “ we understand this gate is an important monument for germany , ” she said . the original gate was made by prisoners in a workshop of the dachau camp shortly after it opened . prisoners who entered the camp passed through it , and it served as a barrier between their internment and the outside world . immediately after the camp was liberated in may 1945 , the original gate was removed . the replica was put in its place in 1965 , when the camp reopened as a memorial site , and hung there until it was stolen two years ago . survivors of the camp , where the nazis imprisoned about 200 , 000 people over 12 years , welcomed the discovery . thomas , president of the comité international de dachau , an organization of former camp prisoners , described the theft as a “ desecration of this important memorial site . ” an estimated 41 , 500 people met their deaths at dachau before it was liberated by american troops in the final days of world war ii in europe . gabriele hammermann , director of the memorial site , said she expected that the gate would be returned once the authorities had completed their investigation . “ of course , after being restored , it will again be presented to the public , ” she said . a sign bearing the same slogan that hung over the entry to auschwitz was stolen in 2009 . it was recovered after just a few days , and in december 2010 , a swedish and two polish accomplices were jailed for their part in the theft . dachau is the former concentration camp in germany , with an estimated 800 , 000 visitors a year .
+0 aft president weingarten : trump ’s budget ’takes a meat cleaver to public education’ dr. susan berry the president of the american federation of teachers ( aft ) says president donald trump ’s budget blueprint “ takes a meat cleaver to public education . ” [ at a press conference thursday , randi weingarten said to members of the media , “ budgets tell you priorities , and what you have here is a budget that tells you that president trump ’s priority is not public education . the budget takes a meat cleaver to public education . ” trump ’s budget hurts the working poor . from taking a meat cleaver to pub ed to job cuts , this is wrong . # skinnybudget https : . — randi weingarten ( @rweingarten ) march 16 , 2017 , weingarten and public education advocates have condemned trump ’s push since the end of his campaign for school choice programs as a means to bring about social justice for families living in areas . secretary of education betsy devos worked in her home state of michigan to develop school voucher programs that allowed parents to use taxpayer funds to have their children attend public charter , private and religious schools . trump ’s nomination of devos signaled his pivot toward school choice as the primary theme of his education agenda . teachers’ unions especially say that school choice will draw taxpayer funding away from traditional public schools and toward public charter schools as well as private and religious schools . trump ’s 2018 budget calls for an increase in federal spending on school choice programs by $ 1 . 4 billion , ultimately reaching an annual total of $ 20 billion . additional spending in 2018 on school choice would include : a $ 168 million increase for charter schools , $ 250 million for a new private school choice program , and a $ 1 billion increase for title i , dedicated to encouraging districts to adopt a system of based budgeting and open enrollment that enables federal , state , and local funding to follow the student to the public school of his or her choice . “ the budget also includes both and voucher programs that further an ideological crusade against public education , ” weingarten said during the press conference . she continued : what we have here is what we feared when betsy devos was nominated for this job . that — just like she did in michigan — she tried to defund public schools with the aim of destabilizing and destroying them , and then lifting up other things that had really shoddy … track records . that ’s exactly what the title i portability proposal does . it ’s a voucher scheme which , frankly , was expressly rejected in the recently enacted bipartisan federal education law . trump ’s budget plan also calls for either eliminating or reducing “ over 20 categorical programs that do not address national needs , duplicate other programs , or are more appropriately supported with state , local , or private funds . ” among those programs mentioned are : striving readers , teacher quality partnership , impact aid support payments for federal property , and international education programs . the plan also eliminates $ 3 . 6 billion in support for programs for instruction support , before and and summer programs — all of which the blueprint observes , “ lack evidence ” of meeting the goals of improving student achievement . overall , trump ’s budget for next year offers $ 59 billion in discretionary funding for the federal department of education , an amount the plan says represents “ a $ 9 billion or 13 percent reduction below the 2017 annualized cr level . ” more than $ 1 . 2b on vouchers backdoor vouchers , while $ 1 . 2b cut to programs . this hurts working families # skinnybudget , — randi weingarten ( @rweingarten ) march 16 , 2017 , “ the cuts to community schools mean that we are not going to take poverty on head on , we ’re not going to meet children ’s needs , ” weingarten said . “ the cuts in terms of lower class size mean that we are not going to be able to meet the needs of individual children , and cuts to professional development mean the things that teachers need to learn on an ongoing basis — there ’s going to be fewer people for them to learn that . ” breitbart news asked weingarten if she had any comment about the fact that trump ’s budget blueprint maintains the current funding levels of $ 13 billion for students with disabilities under the idea program , and $ 492 million for historically black colleges and universities and institutions . “ the funding for idea and the funding for title i are not discretionary funding , ” weingarten responded . “ it is required funding , and that is very important to have . ” “ the hbcus have asked for more funding , ” she added . “ they needed more funding , not less funding . and you ca n’t just have a with hbcus and not create more funding for them . these schools have been under austerity for years , and if they ’re going to compete with others , they definitely need more funding . ”
+0 f.b.i. director testifies on clinton emails to withering criticism from g.o.p. - the new york times eric lichtblau and michael d. shear washington — the f. b. i. director , james b. comey jr. defended himself thursday against an onslaught of republican criticism for ending the investigation into hillary clinton ’s emails , but he also provided new details that could prove damaging to her just weeks before she is to be named the democrats’ presidential nominee . at a contentious hearing of the house oversight committee , mr. comey acknowledged under questioning that a number of key assertions that mrs. clinton made for months in defending her email system were contradicted by the f. b. i. ’s investigation . mr. comey said that mrs. clinton had failed to return “ thousands ” of emails to the state department , despite her public insistence to the contrary , and that her lawyers may have destroyed classified material that the f. b. i. was unable to recover . he also described her handling of classified material as secretary of state as “ negligent ” — a legal term he avoided using when he announced on tuesday that “ no reasonable prosecutor ” would bring a case against her . the f. b. i. director repeatedly suggested that someone in the federal government who had done what mrs. clinton and her aides did would probably be subject to administrative sanctions . asked whether those sanctions could include firing or the loss of security clearance , mr. comey said that they could . while an f. b. i. employee who mishandled classified evidence in the way that mrs. clinton did would not be prosecuted either , he said sternly , “ they would face consequences for this . ” mr. comey also criticized mrs. clinton ’s lawyers for their handling of her emails . he said that they had not actually read all of her emails before destroying them , as she had suggested , and that they may have deleted classified material without her knowledge . david kendall , the lead lawyer on mrs. clinton ’s team , declined to comment on this point . but mr. comey , in response to republican accusations that he had employed a “ double standard ” to spare mrs. clinton from criminal charges , insisted that she was not given special consideration by the f. b. i. nor held to a more lenient standard than a less prominent person would have been . he said his team of investigators had not found clear evidence that mrs. clinton intended to break the law governing the use of classified materials and explained that prosecutors have “ grave concerns ” about using the lower legal standard of “ gross negligence ” in their handling , and have applied it only once in the last century . democrats on the house oversight committee attempted to respond to the new facts presented by mr. comey while accusing their republican colleagues of conducting a partisan witch hunt in their attacks on him . republicans were not mollified , and they expressed particular frustration with mr. comey when he said that the f. b. i. did not examine mrs. clinton ’s statements to congress about her email server to determine whether she had perjured herself . mr. comey said to do that would have required a formal request from congress , known as a referral . “ you ’ll have one in the next few hours , ” responded representative jason chaffetz , the utah republican who is the committee chairman . his office said later that the committee would probably issue the referral on friday , a move that would ensure their scrutiny of mrs. clinton ’s emails extends past the end of the criminal case . the state department is also reopening an internal review looking at possible disciplinary action against current employees who may have been involved in the handling of mrs. clinton ’s emails . republicans also pressed mr. comey to say whether the clinton foundation , the global charity started by former president bill clinton , had become embroiled in the investigation , as some reports have suggested . mr. comey — who was surprisingly forthcoming on many other issues — twice declined to answer mr. chaffetz on that issue . before the hearing , a smiling mr. chaffetz greeted mr. comey and thanked him for appearing so quickly at what was billed as an “ emergency ” hearing into the clinton investigation . but less than 10 seconds into the start of the hearing , mr. chaffetz lit into the f. b. i. director over a decision he said that “ mystified ” him . if the “ average joe ” handled classified information the way that mrs. clinton had , “ they ’d be in handcuffs , ” mr. chaffetz said . he said there was legitimate concern that “ if your name is n’t clinton or you ’re not part of the powerful elite that lady justice will act differently . ” in more than four and a half hours of testimony , mr. comey was for the most part calm and dispassionate in defending the f. b. i. ’s work , veering at times into the roles of sober federal prosecutor and erudite law school scholar — two jobs he held before taking over the bureau two years ago . but he showed occasional piques of anger when some republicans suggested that he was part of a political agenda designed to clear mrs. clinton of criminal wrongdoing . representative john mica , republican of florida , told mr. comey that it looked as if the end of the investigation into mrs. clinton was choreographed , beginning with attorney general loretta e. lynch ’s chance meeting last week with mr. clinton , and continuing with the f. b. i. ’s interview with mrs. clinton on saturday , mr. comey ’s announcement on tuesday , and mrs. clinton ’s campaign appearance with president obama hours later . mr. mica said he did not know what to tell constituents talking about the case in florida cafes . mr. comey grew red in the face , raising his voice as he answered the congressman . “ i hope what you ’ll tell the folks in the cafe is : look me in the eye and listen to what i ’m about to say . i did not coordinate that with anyone , ” mr. comey said . “ the white house , the department of justice , nobody outside the f. b. i. family had any idea what i was about to say . i say that under oath , i stand by that . there was no coordination . ” brian fallon , a spokesman for mrs. clinton ’s presidential campaign , said in a statement that mr. comey ’s testimony “ clearly knocked down a number of false republican talking points . ” he added that “ while republicans may try to keep this issue alive , this hearing proved those efforts will only backfire . ”
+1 comment on enjoy some “ period positive meditative coloring ” with this new book ! by steven broiles steven broiles 3 responses to “ enjoy some “ period positive meditative coloring ” with this new book ! ” david | november 4 , 2016 at 7:02 am | reply sounds like she is trying to make money of a medical condition that women have no choice but to endure ! maybe if mothers would teach their children , both girls and boys about female ministration the stigma would go away ! women that refuse to teach their daughters about this problem are the problem . many a young girl that did not know about ministration freak out the first time . if that happens at school even other more educated girls laugh at them and make fun of the unsuspecting girl . i have known of a few in my life time !
+0 red sox broadcaster jerry remy thinks foreign players should n’t use translators dylan gwinn tuesday turned out to be quite the day for the english language . [ first , philadelphia phillies broadcaster mike schmidt said that philadelphia ’s odubel herrera ’s “ language barrier ” prevented him from becoming a player that the phillies could build around . then , red sox broadcaster jerry remy got in on the act . during the middle innings of tuesday night ’s game between the yankees and the red sox , yankees starter masahiro tanaka had a meeting on the mound with yankees pitching coach larry rothschild , and tanaka ’s translator . tanaka , who hails from japan , needs the translator because he does n’t speak english . shortly after tanaka ’s translator walked off the mound , remy on the subject of foreign players using translators . remy said , “ i do n’t think that should be legal . i really do n’t . ” “ what is it you do n’t like about that ? ” asked red sox announcer dave o’brien . “ learn baseball language , ” remy said . “ it ’s pretty simple . you break it down pretty easy between pitching coach and pitcher after a long period of time . ” it ’s unknown if remy made these comments because of schmidt ’s earlier remarks . it ’s impossible to imagine that remy was n’t aware of them . either way , this seems like a perfectly stupid thing to say . who cares whether or not the guy uses a translator ? “ learn baseball language ? ” if signs , and a couple carefully selected words were all that was needed to communicate with a pitcher , then managers and pitching coaches would never go to the mound , and would just give signals from the dugout . by definition , if the team ventures out to the mound , unless they ’re just stalling for time , it means something needed to be said which required actual conversation . if the player and the coach do n’t speak the same language , that ’s a problem . masahiro tanaka is n’t some refugee , or illegal alien attempting to make america become more like japan . he ’s a baseball player , being paid $ 155 million dollars to win baseball games . something he has n’t done a whole lot of this year . that ’s a bigger problem . one obvious enough that it does n’t require a translator . follow dylan gwinn on twitter : @themightygwinn
+0 video : cnn accused of staging muslim demo against terror following london attacks jack montgomery cnn has been forced to deny staging an protest by ‘ muslim mothers’ for a “ fake news ” report , after raw footage appeared to show the event was choreographed for the cameras . [ the video shows anderson and a substantial crew appearing to direct the mostly female “ demonstrators ” who file under a cordon one at a time under the watchful eye of nearby police constables . flowers are laid out around the group as it appears , and printed placards bearing slogans such as ‘ # love will win’ and ‘ # turntolove’ are spread out . after crew members make sure everyone is in place , anderson begins her report saying , “ what i want to show you now , viewers , is a wonderful scene ” — to muffled laughter from mark antro , who filmed the and other bystanders . this is outrageous . propaganda . choreography by ” news ” channels . https : . — raheem ( @raheemkassam ) june 4 , 2017 , “ look at all the people around me here , behind me here , sad about last night but hopeful for tomorrow , ” the normally the normally abu journalist continued . “ on the left here , londoners came to help hurt , behind me you can see a sign here , hashtag ‘ turn to love’ hashtag ‘ for london’ hashtag ‘ isis will lose’ and flowers left in remembrance of those who left their lives . ” u. s. media commentator richard grenell described the scene as “ very disturbing ” in a twitter post which was later recirculated by dr sebastian gorka , the deputy assistant to president donald trump . other online commentators , such as former lbc host katie hopkins and popular trump supporter mike cernovich , were more forthright . “ watch . @cnn scripting a narrative . right before your eyes . ” tweeted hopkins . “ cnn caught staging news ! ” tweeted cernovich . “ they even brought ‘ peace group’ printed out papers and props ” . the network fired back , however , with its public relations team insisting their employees had done nothing wrong . this is nonsense . police let demonstrators through the cordon to show their signs . cnn along with other media simply filmed them doing so . — cnn international pr ( @cnnpruk ) june 5 , 2017 , “ this is nonsense , ” they claimed . “ police let demonstrators through the cordon to show their signs . cnn along with other media simply filmed them doing so . ”
+1 anonymous its not a bad idea paiting their faces same as that on the clip , its very polular movie and could catch on quick .
+0 on anniversary of pulse jihadi attack , media replaces radical ideology with generic ’hate’ - breitbart adelle nazarian on monday , thousands are remembering the lives lost during the deadliest mass shooting in united states history , the pulse nightclub massacre , a jihadist attack by an islamic state sympathizer targeting the orlando club ’s “ latin night . ” [ omar mateen opened fire on innocent patrons of the club , killing 49 people and injuring scores of others . mateen pledged his allegiance to the islamic state during the shooting before police shot him dead . the media has made little to no mention of the fact that a jihadist , influenced by a radical islamic ideology , was behind this crime . instead , most of the stories in the press have painted the incident as a generic form of “ hate . ” an article in the new yorker about the graveyard caretaker who looks after the plots of the victims of the massacre does not mention mateen . usa today similarly makes no mention of mateen ’s radical motivations or his allegiance to a group hellbent on spreading an islamic caliphate throughout the world . cnn ran an article highlighting five people who were either related to the victims of the pulse massacre or survived the atrocity . cnn also failed to address the radical islamic ideology behind the attacks . while they did mention the word “ terror , ” they chose quotes to highlight the views of those who believe in stricter gun laws , and one that blamed the incident squarely on “ hate . ” the one person cnn quoted who believes in gun ownership as a form of protection as a result of what she survived said she does not believe in god . “ it ’s hard to say that i am here because of god because , i ’m sorry , i do n’t believe that god would take those people the way that they were taken , ” jeannette mccoy told cnn . “ there ’s nothing proud about being a survivor . not for me . ” the washington post also failed to make any mention of mateen ’s radical influence . as the washington free beacon pointed out , “ despite the post‘s piece clocking in at over a thousand words , the words ‘ terrorism,’ ‘ terror,’ ‘ isis,’ ‘ islam,’ ‘ muslim,’ and ‘ ’ never appeared once . the sole reference to ‘ islamic state’ occurs in a photo caption , and never in the body of the piece . ” breitbart news previously reported that mateen said , “ i pledge allegiance to [ islamic state leader ] abu bakr may god protect him , on behalf of the islamic state , ” during a 911 call about his assault . in that same piece , breitbart news detailed how the media worked to “ portray mr. mateen as a scorned , mentally ill , repressed homosexual , ” but the reports on the incident “ reveal one crucial point : omar mateen ranted at the police about america ’s fight against the islamic state , mentioning the war and air strikes at least 20 times in total . ” several other news outlets also failed to mention the keywords that the washington free beacon mentioned their sole reference to mateen pledging allegiance to the islamic state . they include a toronto , news site , cp24 and the associated press . however , last year , the ap ran a headine with a quote from mateen ’s imam who said the pulse massacre “ has nothing to do with isis ” and instead blamed it on mental illness . on monday , the city of orlando participated in what they have called “ orlando united day — a day of love and kindness ” to honor the lives lost one year ago today . in addition to a series of events taking place in the city and throughout other cities across north america , an event at pulse nightclub called “ reflections and remembrance ” began at 11 a. m. at 7 p. m. a memorial event called “ orlando love : remembering our angels ” will take place at lake eola park . the park is located at 512 east washington street . adelle nazarian is a politics and national security reporter for breitbart news . follow her on facebook and twitter .
+0 after blast , new yorkers examine themselves for psychological shrapnel - the new york times michael wilson , samantha schmidt and sarah maslin nir as detectives scoured every inch of the bomb scene in chelsea on sunday , new yorkers were conducting their own investigations . but theirs were turned inward , as they felt around for the psychological shrapnel that an explosion on a busy city street is designed to release , as damaging in its way as the kind that tears into flesh . a walk around manhattan revealed glimpses of these inquiries , quiet but as intense as those beneath the emergency klieg lights . suzie shapiro got as close as she could to the scene on sunday . “ it ’s less scary if you see it , ” she said , adding that she had done her best to explain the explosion to her two young children at home . “ this is the reality of being a kid right now . ” on an uptown subway on sunday , a group of singers performed just as they do every other day , but added as they left the train , “ be safe out there . ” moments later , the f train bypassed the 23rd street station near the bomb scene “ due to a police investigation . ” the conductor spoke in bored tones over the intercom , as if it were like any other incident . from her apartment a block away from the explosion , the singer rosanne cash wrote on twitter : “ we are safe and well . appreciate the love + concern . ” and another neighbor nearby , graham mills , 52 , seemed unsurprised . “ it was only a matter of time , ” he said . “ there ’s kind of this new york spirit that ’s like , whatever . let ’s get on with life . ” getting on with life in new york has been a work in progress for at least 15 years . in 2010 , a car bomb was found in a nissan pathfinder parked in times square , though it did not detonate . the episode rattled the city even as residents spoke of the proverbial dodged bullet . but the bullet is always out there , as saturday night reminded everyone . no lives were lost . had new york dodged another one ? natalie wollen did not think so . she said she did not want to leave her chelsea apartment all day on sunday , but did so to walk her dog . “ i ’m still scared , ” she said , her lips quivering . she had heard reports , which were later retracted , of a third bomb . “ if there were three already , there could be another one , ” she said . another dog walker , sipho simela , 31 , stepped out into the day , but with a shrug , perhaps more appropriate to his age . “ my wife was like , ‘ what are you going to do ? ’ ” he said . “ and i said , ‘ i ’m going to walk the dog . ’ ” years after sept. 11 , 2001 , some new yorkers still use that day as a guide , a measure for examining anxiety not unlike the sign outside the scary ride in an amusement park . when something like this happens , they ask themselves , does this day feel as bad as that day , that line on the wall of my psyche ? better ? worse ? “ i do n’t feel anywhere near that kind of intensity , ” said merril stern , sitting in a starbucks near the blast site . similarly , tyschelle doucette from queens was greeted by mayor bill de blasio , and she told him , as if seeking to reassure the leader of a jittery city : “ i was here for . if it ’s happening , it ’s happening . ” the mayor called her an example to other new yorkers . for will finnegan , 31 , a former marine , the news of the blast brought him back to the levels he worked in while deployed for five years in afghanistan , he said . he went to work checking on friends in the neighborhood . “ i understand how to mitigate stress and fear , ” he said . likewise , his roommate , brandon lanham , 31 , who served in afghanistan and iraq , said , “ i ’m almost too calm to a fault . ” he said he found solace in the aftermath of the blast : “ i ’m assuming it ’s someone that wants attention and is an american . it was not well placed . ” for others , the images of the explosion , as seen on television and smartphone screens ( a bright flash and people running away , looking back over their shoulders ) belonged somewhere else . somewhere far away . “ new yorkers , we see now , here , what we have seen only abroad , ” said james mitchell , 54 , an driver . “ chickens have come home to roost . ” he thought back to 2001 and found something more troubling in the chelsea explosion , he said . “ it ’s different , because the target is more random than specific , ” he said . “ it really makes me feel that life is getting really cheap in this world . ” natalie , the walking her dog , said she was like everyone else born in the past 15 years . “ since we were n’t alive for we ’ve never been alive in a time when we are n’t scared , ” she said . “ i ’ve learned to accept that this stuff is going to happen . ” downtown , sitting on a bench in the west village , a mother , maria lugo , might beg to differ . to be a parent in these times is to know fear , she said . she grew up in the bronx , where “ i was n’t even allowed to go outside and play . ” now she has a son . “ i am still worried about the bullies , the drug dealers , the killings , the shootings , the stabbings . plus , i am also concerned about this . ” she is struggling , like so many others , to place the chelsea bomb in the context of her life and manage the anxiety it brought . “ it has n’t eased up , ” she said . “ when can you say , ‘ you know what ? it ’s o. k.’ ? you ’re always worried about something . ” back in chelsea , across the street from the scene of the blast , a boy , aiden li , gave his account of the event : “ i heard the thunder , ” he said . “ i climbed up on papa . ” his father , kyle li , did not correct him . but he mourned what he said he lost on saturday night . “ across from my house , that dumpster is sitting there in pieces , ” he said . “ and now the whole city looks different to me . ”
+1 millions of drunk cubs fans rioting in heaven following world series win - the onion - america 's finest news source nan most hotly contested down - ballot measures of 2016 as americans head to the polls , they will be presented with a number of issues to vote on besides choosing their representatives . the onion gives voters an advance look at which measures will be included on the ballots in which states . new heavy - duty voting machine allows americans to take out frustration on it before casting ballot washington — saying the circumstances of this year ’s presidential race made the upgrade necessary , election commissions throughout the country were reportedly working to install new heavy - duty voting machines this week that will allow americans to physically take out their frustrations on the devices before casting their votes . man grateful to live in society where mattress disappears if left on sidewalk for a couple days columbus , oh — emphasizing that such an impressive feat should not be taken for granted , local man nathan montgomery told reporters wednesday he was incredibly grateful to live in a society where a mattress just disappears if it ’s left outside on the sidewalk for a couple days . news website likes to set aside a little ad space to promote own articles new haven , ct — saying they were proud to showcase the work done by their writers , executives at the new haven register told reporters thursday they sometimes like to set aside a little ad space to promote the newspaper ’s own articles . clinton staff readies emp launch to disable all nation ’s electronic devices new york — in an effort to prepare for any new revelations that might emerge about her emails during her tenure as secretary of state , democratic presidential nominee hillary clinton reportedly told her staff tuesday to ready the launch of several electromagnetic pulses to disable all of the nation ’s electronic devices . doctors restore ken burns’ full - color vision after removing massive tumor from filmmaker ’s visual cortex cleveland — speaking to reporters following the successful eight - hour procedure tuesday , neurosurgeons at the cleveland clinic confirmed they had removed a golf ball – sized tumor from the visual cortex of filmmaker ken burns , restoring the documentarian ’s ability to see in full color . mom produces decorative gift bag out of thin air lexington , ma — conjuring the item into existence along with several sheets of perfectly coordinated tissue paper , local mother caroline wolfson , 49 , reportedly produced a decorative gift bag out of thin air tuesday within a mere fraction of a second of her daughter mentioning she needed to wrap a present . paul krugman ’s facebook friends excitedly posting about new article he got published in ‘ the new york times’ new york — sharing the link on their news feeds with captions such as “ you have to read this ! ” and “ check out what a buddy of mine wrote , ” paul krugman ’s facebook friends reportedly spent tuesday morning excitedly posting about a new article of his that was published in the new york times . anthony weiner sends apology sext to entire clinton campaign brooklyn , ny — in response to the fbi ’s announcement that its investigation of him had produced new evidence that could pertain to its probe of the democratic presidential nominee , anthony weiner reportedly sent an apology sext early monday morning to the entire hillary clinton campaign . nation too terrified to look at what trump ’s recent rise in polls attributed to washington — claiming it felt queasy just thinking about what the cause could be , the nation ’s populace said monday it was too terrified to look at what republican presidential nominee donald trump ’s recent rise in the polls was attributed to . report : friend has been going by middle name this whole fucking time calabasas , ca — astounded that it had never come up at any point in the six years they had known each other , local woman lucy reed , 25 , reported tuesday that her friend nicole silberthau had apparently been going by her middle name this whole fucking time . trump campaign training poll watchers to spot any suspicious skin colors on election day harrisburg , pa — instructing volunteers to remain alert and pay close attention to every individual who arrives at their voting location , the “ trump election observer ” section of donald trump ’s campaign website reportedly trains supporters to spot any suspicious skin colors they may see on election day , sources confirmed this week . relationship in exciting early stage where every exchange causes unspeakable anxiety garden city , ga — admitting that they often felt like they were still on their first date , local couple derek peterson and tara meyers told reporters tuesday that they were in the early , exciting stage of their relationship where every interaction causes deep , unspeakable anxiety .
+1 young white men ' excited ' to ruin country with third - party vote nan topics : hillary clinton , donald trump , 2016 presidential election , men , hillary clinton emails , jill stein ah , the usa . you had a nice run . well , not ' nice ' really , but not awful . well parts of it were awful , but - oh , never new york , ny - a mere twenty - four hours before election day , it appears there 's one group of voters hillary clinton still has n't managed to win over : young , white men . a recent survey revealed that this group is overwhelmingly reluctant to cast their vote for the only candidate in the 2016 election with any real chance of defeating actual yam in a wig and part - time hitler impersonator donald trump . chad chadderdon , one such millennial , says that clinton still does n't seem trustworthy to him . " she 's been in politics for like thirty years , so it seems like maybe she 's been plotting to be president this whole time , like she had career goals or something , and that seems suspicious to me . " with bernie it always seemed like he 'd just rolled out of bed and decided to run for president , " he adds , tearing up at the mention of the beloved senator . " maybe if hillary stopped brushing her hair , i 'd feel better about her . " but the real problem with clinton ? her emails . " it just shows how out - of - touch she really is , " says mark markman , one of chad 's fraternity brothers . " i mean who even uses email anymore ? it 's all about snapchat now . " so , if not clinton , who will these young , white men be voting for on november 8th ? " i 'm going with jill stein , " says chad . " sure , she 's been accused of pandering to anti - vaxxers and it 's unclear whether she actually knows how the government works , but at least her voice does n't irritate me . " mark , on the other hand , plans to vote for former cia operations officer evan mcmullin , who 's been gaining ground in the state everyone would forget about if it were n't for mormons , utah . " nobody 's ever heard of him , and i like that , " he says . " and if he gets enough votes , maybe he 'll have a real run of it in 2020 . i wanna be able to say i voted for mcmullin before everybody else did . " overall , young white men seem energized to cast their votes tomorrow , probably because they do n't really have that much at stake here . " it 's nice to finally feel like we do n't need our parents to ruin the country for us , anymore , " says chad . " we can fuck shit up all on our own . " and they may very well do just that . make samantha irene 's
+0 families and fellow officers honor victims of dallas sniper - the new york times john eligon and patrick mcgee dallas — from a young age , brent thompson pushed the bounds of life so hard that he almost always found a way to get hurt . there was that time as a youngster when he nearly broke his neck playing in a hammock . or when he wrecked his brother ’s mustang after begging him for the keys . or the time he broke his arm during motorcycle training for the police department . it was his fearlessness and desire to serve his country that led mr. thompson to join the marines and , after returning from deployments in afghanistan and iraq , to become a police officer , his longtime pastor , rick lamb , said wednesday . so it came as no surprise to people close to mr. thompson , 43 , that when gunfire started ringing out during a protest here last thursday , he was one of the officers running toward the shooting . this time , however , mr. thompson suffered the ultimate injury . he and four other officers were killed when a black army veteran upset over killings by the police across the country opened fire , targeting white officers , the authorities said . the grim process of moving forward from one of america ’s deadliest mass shootings of police officers began on wednesday when mr. thompson , who worked for the dallas area rapid transit police , and sr . cpl . lorne ahrens of the dallas police department were given their final during funerals that were by turns emotional and quippy . a private service was held wednesday for another dallas officer , sgt . michael j. smith , and a public memorial is planned on thursday . services for the fourth victim , officer michael krol , will be friday , and the funeral for the fifth victim , officer patrick zamarripa , will be saturday . even as mourners , including hundreds of officers who came here from across the country , took tentative steps forward , they acknowledged the cathartic backdrop against which wednesday ’s services took place : in a country rived by a debate over race and policing , upended by vast protests and nationwide soul searching . “ though i ’m heartbroken and hurt , i ’m going to put on my badge and my uniform and return to the street along with all of my brothers and sisters in blue , ” mr. thompson ’s wife , emily , who is also a police officer , said with a shaky but steely voice . “ to the coward that tried to break me and my brothers and sisters , know your hate made us stronger . ” the couple had married about two weeks before the shooting . only about 12 hours before mr. thompson was shot , his wife had filed their marriage license with government authorities , mr. lamb said . about 8:15 that night , the couple spoke on the phone . “ my shift ’s over in 45 minutes , and then i ’ll be home , ” mr. thompson told his wife , according to mr. lamb . “ he told her he loved her , and that ’s the last time that he ever spoke to her . ” mr. thompson leaves behind six children from a previous marriage . he was a music enthusiast who occasionally played guitar and would send his children songs with his cellphone to see if they could recognize the tune . the funeral reflected the nuances of the conversation on race and policing that has enveloped the country . the service was held in the potter ’s house , the west dallas megachurch where t. d. jakes is the pastor . a noticeably diverse cast of officers filled the seats . among them was emily thompson ’s patrol partner , a black man , who stood next to her as she read her words of remembrance about her husband . as brenda lee , who is black and works for the transit police , sang “ i can only imagine , ” her voice resonated with a gospel flair . several people stood , some raising their arms in worship , when she hit the long notes . and among the final speakers was the chief of the transit police , james d. spiller , who is black . it was a diverse showing in remembrance of a white man from a small town 55 miles south of dallas . “ brent respected and loved all people , regardless of what color they were , where they came from , ” mr. lamb said . but the reality was that wednesday ’s services were taking place beneath a cloud of national racial tension , and about 30 miles away from mr. thompson ’s funeral , f. b. i. agents in camouflage and tactical gear were providing security outside mr. ahrens ’s service in plano . friends and colleagues of mr. ahrens , 48 , recalled his seemingly quixotic journey from his native los angeles to dallas . he drove here with nothing but his dog and a few possessions stuffed into his toyota . he slept on the floor of his apartment early in his police training because he had no bed . when a woman named katrina first approached him , he was too shy to speak . she later became his wife , and they went on to have two children . “ your dad was doing what he was supposed to do , ” the rev. rick owen , senior pastor of mr. ahrens ’s church , pathway church in burleson , tex . told the fallen officer ’s daughter and son during the service . the dallas mayor and police chief sat in attendance as mr. ahrens was remembered as a lover of guns and heavy metal music who did not know his own strength . he once bent a police car door on accident during training . “ when you were on the radio screaming for help , you could count on lorne to be the first to be there , ” sr . cpl . debbie taylor said . the funerals drew officers from places as as south carolina and indiana . “ at times like this , we feel like we stand alone , ” said rick keys , a lieutenant with the north charleston , s. c. police department , who drove 15 hours with three of his colleagues to attend mr. thompson ’s funeral . “ it means a lot to the families to see the officers come from so far . ” robert parker , the assistant chief of police in watauga , a city about 30 miles west of dallas , said he hoped that this could be an opportunity for police departments and the communities they serve to come together . “ we have a long way to go before we get where we need to be , ” he said after mr. thompson ’s funeral . “ one of the things that i ’ve talked to my wife about , and many others , is everybody on all sides of this , whether it ’s black lives matter , blue lives matter , all lives matter , everyone needs to sit back and gain all the truth and the facts of each case before they pass judgment . if we do that and then we have an open dialogue and sit down and look at each other ’s points of view , maybe we can go through this without further violence . ” after mr. thompson ’s funeral , hundreds of officers lined up outside , saluting his coffin as an honor guard fired off a gun salute . the department then did what is known as a last call . a radio dispatcher , over a loudspeaker , called for mr. thompson , by his name and badge number , three times . when he did not answer , she said a final goodbye . “ we will miss you , brent , ” she said . “ you will never be forgotten . ”
+0 gary cohn relaunches war on coal : fuel from america ’s heartland ‘ does n’t make much sense anymore’ - breitbart matthew boyle white house national economic council director gary cohn , a former goldman sachs banking executive , has reopened the u. s. government ’s war on coal in direct contravention of directions from president donald trump . [ “ coal does n’t even make that much sense anymore as a feedstock , ” cohn said in europe on air force one , while speaking for the white house to the press , the new york times’ brad plumer noted . “ natural gas , which we have become an abundant producer , which we ’re going to become a major exporter is , is such a cleaner fuel , ” cohn continued . trump adviser gary cohn a bit on air force one , per pool report : “ coal does n’t even make that much sense anymore as a feedstock ” pic . twitter . — brad plumer ( @bradplumer ) may 26 , 2017 , cohn ’s comments against the coal industry come as he has attempted to steer president trump in a direction against his campaign promise to remove the united states from the paris climate accords , a deal that sen. rand paul ( ) has told breitbart news would cost at least six million american jobs . paul and 21 of his gop u. s. senate colleagues have written to president trump urging him to follow through on his pledge to remove the u. s. from the deal and stand up for the coal industry in the united states . trump repeatedly campaigned on defending coal workers — people previous presidents and his democratic opponent former secretary of state hillary rodham clinton worked to undermine . former president barack obama ’s administration — was brutal to the coal industry — something clinton campaigned on continuing . as the trump administration has made great strides in rolling back regulations on the coal industry , moving the government out of the way , president trump announced to the american people back at the end of march that “ the war on coal is over . ” but it seems the war on coal is being relaunched by his economic adviser cohn , who now calls coal obsolete and unclean . cohn ’s comments are sure to cause serious backlash among republicans and democrats on capitol hill , since there is bipartisan support nationwide for protecting coal workers .
+0 government report : islamists building ’parallel society’ in sweden aided by pc culture liam deacon aided by a politically correct culture of “ tolerance ” the muslim brotherhood ( mb ) is secretly building a “ parallel ” society in sweden by infiltrating organisations and political parties , a government report has concluded . [ surprisingly , the document takes aim at “ political elites ” for fostering a doctrine of multiculturalism and silence , which can help and facilitate the nefarious ends of organisation like the brotherhood . somewhat predictably , however , the publication of such claims in sweden — where open criticism of liberal , multicultural ideals is rare — has caused a row , with critics labelling the report “ conspiratorial ” and claiming it misrepresents islam . published friday , the document was commissioned by sweden ’s civil contingencies agency ( msb ) part of the country ’s ministry of defence , which is responsible for civil protection and public safety . the paper ’s authors claim the brotherhood is working to increase the number of practicing muslims in sweden , encouraging tension with secular society , and targeting political parties , ngos , academic institutions and other civil society organisations . they also slam the “ established structure of values among the country ’s political elite [ which ] places a high value on ‘ acceptance’ and ‘ tolerance’ of citizens who are in some sense different from the mainstream ” . in the report , the islamism of the mb is described as a totalitarian political ideology born out of islam , a religion . this can make it “ difficult to oppose what on the surface appears to be ( a vulnerable minority ) religious rights ” it explains . critics , therefore , “ run the risk of being called ‘ racist’ or ‘ islamophobic’ and because of the situation in swedish society such classifications endanger people ’s careers ” . the press was quick to label these claims inflammatory , and 22 academics and “ experts ” in religion have published a blog post questioning the methodology of the research . the academics — from many of sweden ’s leading universities — say it is “ almost conspiratorial ” to suggest criticism of islamism is difficult in sweden . they also insist the claim that the brotherhood is building a parallel society is refuted in past research . in response to the blog post , the department has refuted the criticism of their methodology , and the report ’s editor , magnus norell , told public service broadcaster svt : “ had they smoked something before they read it ? you just need to read the report . if someone does n’t accept this , there ’s not much i can do about it . it ’s proven . ” controversially in sweden , the report also links islamism and poor social integration to immigration . “ islamists aim to build a parallel social structure competing with the rest of the swedish society the values of its citizens . in this sense , mb ’s activists pose a challenge in terms of the country ’s social cohesion ” it states . adding : “ migration from africa and the middle east is likely to continue in coming years , both in form of relatives and refugees … “ given that mb ’s goal is to increase the number of practising muslims in swedish or european territory , there is a great likelihood that a ‘ tug of war’ will occur between the majority community and the islamic community with the mb ’s encouragement … ” the authors of the blog post objected to this claim . “ the [ report ’s ] authors seem to conclude that swedish islam is a homogeneous phenomenon and that swedish muslims are led by the muslim brotherhood … ” they write . “ it is a conclusion that goes against the overall research , which rather points towards the muslim community being diverse and there being competition between muslim groups … ” founded in 1826 , the mb aims to create a global , sunni islamic caliphate by organising muslims politically . it is arguably the largest islamist organisation in the world and has links to the muslim council of britain and many other mainstream european islamic institution . the group has been accused of fostering links to militants and is considered a terrorist organisation by the governments of bahrain , egypt , russia , saudi arabia , and the united arab emirates .
+1 what ’s with the electoral college ? bill white bill white november 16 , 2016 what ’s with the electoral college ? once again , the democrats are on one of their favorite hobby horses , that of eliminating the electoral college . the last time this was an issue was when george w. bush won the elections in 2000 . in that case , like this one started out to appear , bush won the electoral vote , without winning the popular vote . but in this case , the early indications have been refuted and donald trump won both the popular election and it is presumed that he will win the electoral vote . of course , democrats cry “ foul ” whenever their candidate does n’t win the presidency . in their world view , they are the majority and there is no possibility of anyone else winning what they are convinced is their rightful seat in the white house . this is actually somewhat humorous , when you consider how much voter fraud the democrats propagate every election . they started early this time , stealing the primaries from bernie sanders and then went on to create millions of votes of fraud for the general election . but even with that , trump still managed to beat out hillary in the election . according to those who want to do away with the electoral college , the only reason it exists is to disenfranchise voters . but then , they say the same about requiring identification and requiring u.s. citizenship to vote as well . so , that makes it a little hard to buy their story . even so , the truth is that the electoral college prevents citizens from being disenfranchised , rather than what they are claiming . of course , with most people not understanding this truly ingenious mechanism of american politics , it ’s easy to sell the idea of the electoral college disenfranchising people ’s vote , as on the surface , it appears that the only vote which counts , is the 538 votes of the electors . in fact , the electoral college does the opposite . democracy is mob rule . it ’s two wolves and a sheep voting on what to eat for lunch . it means that the majority decides and shoves their decision down the throat of everyone else . in doing so , it makes it so that the vote of many people does n’t count , as the votes of people living in high population centers makes the decisions . coincidentally , the big cities , where the majority of the population lives , are almost exclusively controlled by democrats . so , their push for eliminating the electoral college really is n’t as altruistic as they would want us to believe . in reality , it ’s a means for them to gain control and ensure that democrats win every presidential election . of course , that ’s what democrats want , as they do better at appealing to the mob than the republicans do . they want a system that allows them to gain control and keep it , regardless of what they have to do . they lie , hire violent protesters , co - opt the media and engage in extensive voter fraud , all in the name of partisan politics . yet all the while , in their minds , they are justified in those actions . the electoral college – how it works and myths debunked so , let ’s debunk this idea that the electoral college is hurting the american people and taking away their right to vote . to begin , we need to understand the electoral college and how it works . the first myth that needs to be debunked in this process is that we hold a nationwide presidential election every four years . we do n’t . what we hold is 51 consecutive but separate presidential elections ; one for every state in the union and one for the district of columbia . what that election does is decide the votes of the electoral college . each state has as many electoral votes as they have members of congress . so , higher population states , like california and texas , have more electoral votes ; but there are n’t enough electoral votes there to win the presidency ; candidates need to win a majority of the electoral votes , which means that they need to win a sizeable number of the other states as well . the electoral votes go to the candidate that won that state . basically , the party who won state ’s presidential election gets to send their electors to washington , where they will vote for their party ’s candidate . about the only way that can be corrupted , is for individual electors to be bribed or corrupted and change sides between the time of the several states elections and the vote of the electoral college . in such a case , they might vote for the opposite party ; for which they would be forced to pay a fine . interestingly enough , clinton ’s backers and quite possibly her campaign staff , are calling for the electoral college to do just that . as they have with many other things , they want to break the rules and have republican electors , who come from states that donald trump won , vote for clinton , and they ’re willing to pay those electors to do just that . herein we find the true beauty of the electoral college system . it forces presidential candidates to pay attention to all the states , as they ca n’t win the election by concentrating on just the major population areas . if we elected presidents based upon the popular vote alone , the democrats would start out with a huge advantage , in that their voter base is concentrated in the big cities , which also happen to have the majority of the population . the top ten cities in the country contain just about half the population . if a candidate could win those ten cities in the popular election , the votes of the rest of the nation would n’t matter . quite literally , the rest of the population would become disenfranchised , as the high - population cities dictated our country ’s politics to the rest of the country . what is jokingly referred to as “ flyover country ” would truly become flyover country then , especially for the democrats . they would n’t have any reason to bother campaigning in those states , because they would n’t need to . on the other hand , about the only way that a republican candidate would have a chance of winning the election would be to win all those states , as well as a large number of votes in the high population states . but it could become even worse than that . right now , presidents need to take into consideration the needs of the entire country , so that they can get votes from the entire country . if they only needed to concern themselves with the votes of the highest population centers , they could literally take from the “ less important ” states , in order to give to those that support them . in this , a popular vote helps promote political corruption , rather than doing away with it . in fact , the electoral college system is one of the best protections against voter fraud that we have . with it in place , a political candidate or party must rig the vote in a number of states , in order to win each of those elections . on the other hand , with a popular vote , they could concentrate all their efforts in one place , essentially forcing the voter fraud in that one place to dictate the outcome for the nation . yet , even with the safeguards it offers , many people feel that the electoral college is a rigged system . as part of that , they believe that the swing states ( sometimes referred to as battleground states ) decide the election for the rest of us . but , once again , that ’s because they do n’t understand the system . swing states are such , not because they are any more important than any other state , but rather because they might swing either way in the election . they are n’t states that either political party can count on for their vote . as such , those states receive a lot of attention by the candidates and a lot of attention in the media , but their vote is no more important than any other state . new hampshire is considered a swing state , and as such , it receives a lot of attention . but new hampshire only has three electoral votes . that makes it one of the least important states in the nation , as far as elections are concerned . it ’s on par with montana , wyoming , south dakota and north dakota ; but none of those states receive much attention , as they are strongly republican states . so the outcome of the vote is all but guaranteed before campaigning even starts . so , states are only swing states because the population of those states is fairly evenly divided between the two primary political parties . this means that the swing states can change over time , which in fact they do . in fact , california was once a republican state and texas was once a democrat one . while we ’re debunking here , let me hit on a couple of other arguments that are used against the electoral college . we ’ve already looked at the false narrative that the swing states have control . one of the biggest of these is that the electoral college is supposedly obsolete . according to this argument , the electoral college was created because of the difficulty in getting the vote count to washington in a timely manner , back in the 1700s . if that ’s the case , then i have to ask how it was easier to get the electors to washington , than it was to get the news of the vote count to washington . obviously , it ’s not . it takes the same amount of travel time for several electors carrying their state ’s votes to washington , dc as it takes for an individual or small party to carry that news . once again , this is an argument which is counting on people ’s ignorance . the implication is made that the electors are a group of people in washington , rather than traveling to washington after the state elections . such a group would disenfranchise voters , exercising complete control over the election . finally , the idea of one person , one vote , which is the motto of the anti - electoral college crowd , does n’t mean one vote per citizen , it means one vote per person . in other words , all 20 million illegal aliens who are currently in the country should be allowed a vote , according to them . of course , they want that because it gives the democrats an advantage , just like voter fraud does – the advantage of 20 million more votes , from people who have no right to vote in our elections . bill white for survivopedia . references :
+0 canadian pilot arrested after he passes out drunk in the cockpit - breitbart katherine rodriguez a canadian pilot was arrested saturday after he was found drunk in a plane he was about to fly out of calgary airport in western canada . [ the crew and other airline staff found the man intoxicated shortly after 7 a. m. in the cockpit of a plane he was supposed to fly to cancun , mexico , afp reported . the flight crew noticed the pilot ’s erratic behavior before he passed out in the cockpit , and then called the authorities . police said the pilot was escorted out of the plane and put in jail . authorities say the pilot had more than three times the legal limit of alcohol allowed ( 0 . 08 percent in canada ) in his system two hours after his arrest . miroslav gronych of slovakia was charged with one count of operating an aircraft while impaired , and one count of operating an aircraft with a blood alcohol level over 0 . 08 , the huffington post canada reported . “ it had all the potential for a disaster but i ’ll tell you this much — the likelihood of a pilot on a major airline like this actually being able to take off when they ’re impaired like that is pretty slim , because there ’s a lot of checks and balances , ” police spokesman paul stacey said to bbc news . a spokeswoman for sunwing airlines thanked the crew for dealing with this “ very unfortunate matter , ” according to local media . transport canada spokesman dan dugas said that it is a crime for flight crew to work within eight hours of drinking alcohol or while under the influence . he added that transport canada is investigating the incident . the flight took off with another pilot in control of the boeing 737 plane with 99 passengers and six crew members , including the pilot who was charged .
+0 russia has deployed missile barred by treaty , u.s. general tells congress - the new york times michael r. gordon washington — a senior american general told congress on wednesday that russia has deployed a prohibited cruise missile , the first public confirmation by the united states that the kremlin had fielded the weapon in violation of a landmark arms control agreement . the missile is believed to have been moved in december from a test site in southern russia to an undisclosed operational base . “ we believe that the russians have deployed a cruise missile that violates the spirit and intent of the intermediate nuclear forces treaty , ” gen. paul selva , the vice chairman of the joint chiefs of staff , told the house armed services committee . “ the system itself presents a risk to most of our facilities in europe , ” he added . “ and we believe that the russians have deliberately deployed it in order to pose a threat to nato and to facilities within the nato area of responsibility . ” the new york times reported last month that russia had deployed a battalion of the prohibited missiles . a typical battalion has four launchers , each of which is equipped with six missiles . while senior trump administration officials have not said where the new unit is based , there has been speculation in media reports that a missile system with similar characteristics is deployed in central russia . the times also noted that a second battalion was staged at a missile test range at kapustin yar , in southern russia near volgograd . russia ’s foreign ministry criticized the article as an example of “ fake news . ” the treaty russia is accused of violating bans the testing , production and possession of american and russian missiles based on land . commonly called the i. n. f. treaty , it was signed in 1987 by president ronald reagan and mikhail s. gorbachev , the soviet leader , and is regarded as one of the cornerstones of arms control . general selva appeared skeptical during his congressional testimony about the prospects of persuading the russians to remedy the violation . “ i do n’t have enough information on their intent to conclude , other than that they do not intend to return to compliance , ” he told the lawmakers . general selva added that the pentagon was considering steps the united states and its allies could take to pressure the russians to comply , but had not yet determined what “ leverage points ” might be effective . “ i do n’t know what those points are at this point in time , ” he said . the obama administration , starting in 2013 , sought to persuade the russians to correct the violation while the missile was still in the test phase . but the russians have denied they have violated the treaty and responded with their own allegations , which the americans have dismissed as specious . american lawmakers say it is very unlikely that the senate would ratify a new agreement requiring deeper cuts in nuclear arms unless the dispute over russian compliance with the i. n. f. treaty is resolved . in a february interview with reuters , president trump said he was concerned about the alleged violation and planned to take it up with president vladimir v. putin of russia . “ to me it ’s a big deal , ” said mr. trump , who added that he would raise the matter with mr. putin “ if and when we meet . ” if the russians agreed to eliminate the new cruise missile , verifying that the missile was no longer deployed could require intrusive inspections . the mobile launcher for the cruise missile is very similar to the mobile launcher used for the iskander , a system that is permitted under arms control treaties . having failed to persuade the russians to fix the alleged violation , some military experts say the united states could increase the pressure by announcing plans to expand missile defenses in europe or deploying or nuclear missiles . but many say that the united states should seek to avoid a heated debate within the alliance by proposing the deployment of a new generation of missiles in europe . the russian cruise missile is also a concern for the united states’ asian allies . since the system is mobile , it could easily be moved across russia , depending on its potential target .
+1 u.s. currency hidden images nan www.youtube.com 0 hypothesis : there are major bombings that have been printed on the u.s. currency many years before the events actually happened . there is a common denominator between all the images and how they were spiritually discerned by what was recorded in the prophets of isaiah spoken 2,700 years ago . there are multiple layers of ink and watermarks printed on the bills when magnify appear to produce animations . tags
+0 exclusive excerpt -- adrienne ross : ’push your way to purpose : how to get from where you are to where you ’re meant to be’ adrienne ross breitbart news head copy editor adrienne ross published two books on april 17 , push your way to purpose : how to get from where you are to where you ’re meant to be and # auntalma unleashed : old , bold , and out of control . below is an excerpt from push your way to purpose . purpose consumes me . it always has . who are you ? why are you ? what will you ? i began contemplating those questions when i was a young girl sitting in my bedroom and staring at pictures of music and television icons taped to my wall . but it started long before that . i entered the world with a mandate on my life . it was spoken . it was so . but i did n’t know . i always had a feeling that something larger was calling me , though , which made little sense , considering that i lived in rather ordinary surroundings . the projects of the bronx do n’t exactly conjure up images of greatness . later , after i moved to long island , a bright future may have seemed more likely to the onlooker — like i was getting closer to the possibility of greatness , but even as i daydreamed , there was a nagging longing for more . but how would i make it happen ? is n’t that the question everyone asks ? if you think not , think again . by 11 , children have already begun wondering what their purpose is . by 40 , adults have begun wondering if they missed theirs . we ’re all consumed with purpose . your neighbors are . your are . you are . we may not recognize it , but it ’s there — in the words we speak , the decisions we make , even the friends we keep . everything points back to purpose and our longing for it . what are the odds that we will fulfill our purpose , though ? the answer has everything to do with identity , being able to recognize who we truly are . unfortunately , many never come to this revelation . as a result , they live beneath themselves . even those seemingly on top of the world struggle with identity . i am writing this book because i have a message to share , one that will help you understand that there ’s more waiting — for you . no matter how low you ’ve fallen or how high you ’ve climbed , you ’re marked for more . this is n’t one of those name it , claim it , blab it , grab it , sprinkle a little dust , and you can have it books meant to pump you up with hot air . those books do pump you up , right before dropping you — on your head . this book does n’t tell you that reaching the place you were meant to be is easy . in fact , it tells you the opposite . some of it is difficult , but all of it is doable . my experiences provide keys to unlock the doors to your destiny and introduce you to principles . my book is called push your way to purpose for a reason . let ’s just say the title also has a purpose . “ push ” is a verb . verbs are action words . you have to become a verb to grasp what the book ’s subtitle promises to teach you : how to get from where you are to where you ’re meant to be . nobody wants to push anymore . we want everything to be easy . but easy does n’t bring us to destiny . i do n’t believe it was supposed to be as hard as we have made it , though . god created us with basic instructions : be . but “ but ” got in the way . we “ but ” our way out of “ be , ” making excuses for being everything other than our best , and we made messes along the way . some messes look like successes , while other messes ca n’t hide . some people are so far down they ca n’t even imagine up . but most of the people we encounter are just your ordinary , people . they ’re not at rock bottom , and they ’re not soaring on the clouds . they ’re average , working , normal people . they ’re parents , teachers , students , friends . they ’re community members you see in the supermarket . they run for elected office . they change diapers . they ’re you . they ’re me . so we ’re in this together . we each have a purpose , and we can discover it , then fulfill it . it will require effort , a willingness never to settle for less than who we are meant to be . it may also require swallowing our egos if we think we have it all together and embracing our potential if we think we have nothing together . wherever we sit on that spectrum , let us get up , raise our expectations , believe for more , and push our way to purpose . it ’s time . “ name her adrienne because she ’s going to be a schoolteacher . ” i ’ve shared this story more times than i can count , and for good reason : by the time i ’m done telling the story , it always garners the desired response . what is that story , and what is the response ? that ’s the purpose of this chapter . it ’s a perfect place to start because it sets the stage for the focus of this book . everyone wants to be successful . everyone wants to believe that she was , in fact , born to be successful , that the adage is true for her life : “ the sky is the limit . ” some would bet the farm — or the — on it . it sounds good , does n’t it ? but it ’s not true , or at least it ’s not necessarily true . like most things , it must be made to be true . you have to grab it and make it true in your life . the sky very well may be the limit , but so may the floor . it all depends on the level of your reach , the things you ’ve chosen to embrace , the relationships you have — and have not — fostered . all these and more figure into your limit . you may be one of those whose life seems to be without limits , or you may be one who seemingly can not catch a break . it could go either way because while there are circumstances that are beyond our control and sometimes just happens , very often , the thing that happens to us is us . one thing influencing our level of success is what we hear . when i say “ hear , ” i mean “ listen to . ” many words bump into my ear in the course of a day , but i do n’t feed off of them all . there ’s a huge difference between what i hear well enough to repeat and what i listen to and choose to eat — to digest . i decide . and it makes all the difference in the world . adrienne ross is an author , editor , columnist , speaker , and former teacher and coach . she owns adrienne ross communications and speaks at schools , churches , political events , and national and international service organization conferences . ross ’s first book is # auntalma : raisin’ a little hell heaven on earth .
+0 philippines jailbreak frees more than 150 inmates , prompting manhunt - the new york times felipe villamor manila — a manhunt was underway wednesday for more than 150 inmates who escaped from a jail in the southern philippines after it came under attack by gunmen overnight . one guard was killed and another wounded in the assault on a jail in kidapawan city on the southern island of mindanao , according to peter bungat , the warden . the gunmen were thought to be from a bandit group that had broken away from a muslim rebel organization , mr. bungat told a radio station on mindanao , which is home to a insurgency . five of the 158 inmates who escaped from the facility , the north cotabato district jail , were later killed in a shootout with pursuing officers , senior inspector xavier solda , a spokesman for the philippine bureau of jail management and penology , told a radio station in manila . a village official was also killed when he was mistaken for one of the escaped inmates , the police said . mr. bungat said the attack began early wednesday , when the jail ’s power supply was cut . armed men then approached from behind the compound and began firing . “ it was well planned , ” mr. bungat said . he said it was unclear whether any “ high profile ” inmates were among the escapees . at least a dozen were involved in drug trafficking , according to officials from the jail management bureau . mr. bungat said the assault was believed to have been led by a bandit known as commander derbie , who once led a faction of the moro islamic liberation front , the philippines’ largest rebel group . commander derbie is widely believed to have broken away from that organization , which has signed a peace deal with the government . philippine security officials have said that commander derbie joined a breakaway group called the bangsamoro islamic freedom fighters . a spokesman for that group , abu misry , denied any involvement in the jailbreak . ernesto abella , a spokesman for president rodrigo duterte , said there was no “ specific information ” as to the identities of the gunmen , “ though speculation is rife . ” three inmates who had been charged with possessing drugs and explosives escaped from the north cotabato district jail last august . eight years ago , three inmates accused of carrying out a bombing also escaped from the jail .
+1 feds once again threatening states over real id ; kaitlyn stegall october 26 , 2016 feds once again threatening states over real id ; the u.s. department of homeland security once again ramped up its sabre - rattling routine , threatening that residents in states that have not complied with real id will not be able to use their driver ’s licenses to board aircraft beginning in 2018 . states should ignore the dhs bluster , stand their ground and continue their refusal to implement this unconstitutional national id program . real id essentially coopts the states into creating a national id system . the federal government has no constitutional authority to mandate a national id . the federal government repeats this song and dance every couple of years , and has done so since pres . george w. bush signed real id into law in 2005 . instead of following through on threats the feds simply keep extending their deadlines . under the law , all 50 states were supposed comply with the federal law by 2009 . but , states rebelled against real id for several reasons , including privacy concerns and the fact that congress did n’t provide any funding for the mandates it expects states to implement . some states passed laws expressly prohibiting implementation of the act .
+0 is the national anthem racist ? beyond the debate over colin kaepernick - the new york times jennifer schuessler the continuing refusal by the san francisco 49ers quarterback colin kaepernick to stand during the playing of “ the banner ” before games has set off a debate about patriotism , protest and professional sports . but it has also raised another fraught question : is our national anthem itself racist ? the journalist jon schwarz , writing in the intercept , argued yes , denouncing the lyrics , written by francis scott key during the war of 1812 , as “ a celebration of slavery . ” how could black players , mr. schwarz asked , be expected to stand for a song whose rarely sung third stanza — which includes the lines “ no refuge could save the hireling and the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave ” — “ literally celebrates the murder of ” ? that argument drew outrage from some conservative news outlets , as well as a more scholarly rebuttal from mark clague , a musicologist at the university of michigan and the founding board chairman of the star spangled music foundation . we spoke with mr. clague , who is writing a book about the song , about the anthem ’s history and shifting meanings . the interview has been edited for clarity and length . why do you think those who call the song racist are wrong ? the social context of the song comes from the age of slavery , but the song itself is n’t about slavery , and it does n’t treat whites differently from blacks . the reference to slaves is about the use , and in some sense the manipulation , of black americans to fight for the british , with the promise of freedom . the american forces included as well as whites . the term “ freemen , ” whose heroism is celebrated in the fourth stanza , would have encompassed both . few people know “ the banner ” has a third verse , since it was often left out of sheet music publications . why ? i do n’t think people were afraid of offending but of offending the british . it was their blood that “ has wash’d out their foul footstep ’s pollution , ” as the third verse puts it . but when we became allies in world war i , we really started reversing course . part of the difficulty of parsing the anthem seems to that americans know so little about the war of 1812 . why is public understanding so murky ? it ’s something in our history we would probably rather skip over . nobody won , nobody lost . the british burned down the white house . we invaded canada . it was sort of a bizarre war . but while it did n’t really change much , it was pivotal as far as american identity went . the naval buildup really created the modern american national state . that ’s part of the reason why “ the banner ” seems so natural and true and permanent and sacred to us today . it did n’t really describe america in 1814 , when key wrote his lyrics , but it was a vision of the unified power the country would become . for your project “ poets patriots , ” you tracked down around 100 different sets of lyrics written by others . how do these alternate versions help us understand the meaning of the song ? there are versions that talk about temperance , about women ’s suffrage , about presidential campaigns , including abraham lincoln ’s . the one i wish everyone knew about was one about abolition from 1844 , beginning “ oh say , do you hear … ” it repeats key ’s phrase “ the land of the free ” but as an ironic statement . i wish teachers would contrast that version with key ’s , as a way of showing how singing the anthem is n’t a mindless , rote ritual , but part of a long history of exploration of what the country is about . does that same kind of revision go on today ? by the 20th century , we were treating the anthem as a religious hymn , and it became counterproductive to alter the lyrics as social commentary since changes to the anthem tend to make people so upset . in the 20th century , commentary became less about the lyrics than about the performance . take jimi hendrix ’s version . it was a combination of patriotism and protest . here you have an man , speaking largely to white youth but really to all youth , about their own potential to create the country at a moment when they were old enough to be drafted , but not necessarily old enough to vote . what do you see as the most important part of the anthem ? for me , it ’s the punctuation that ends the part we sing . after “ land of the free , ” we have a question mark , not an exclamation point . is the flag and what it represents still there ? are we winning the battle for freedom that this country was founded on ? that ’s where colin kaepernick has started a productive conversation . if there are people who do n’t feel the song represents them , we need to pay attention to that . but if we just reject the song as racist , or declare that it is n’t our anthem anymore , we do n’t fix the problem .
+0 from false alarm to panic : inside kennedy airport ’s chaotic night - the new york times marc santora jennifer rosen was scheduled to depart kennedy international airport on an 8:55 p. m. flight to san francisco but instead found herself stuck at gate c62 in terminal 2 . it was the typical misery of summer airline travel — or so it seemed . a short distance way away , in another terminal , something more unpredictable than the weather had begun to sweep across the new york airport : panic . it spread quickly and without warning . by the time sunday night was over , ms. rosen , 32 , had sprawled out under a table seeking cover , followed a crowd of people who bolted through a secure door onto the tarmac , frantically called her sister to find out what was happening and tell her that she was alive , and , finally , made a mad dash from the terminal to join mobs of travelers who thought they might be living through an episode of terror . in the end , it proved to be a false alarm . while the authorities were still trying to piece together exactly how a report of gunfire at 9:34 p. m. outside the security checkpoint at terminal 8 led to complete turmoil across one of the nation ’s busiest airports , the accounts of passengers in interviews and on social media offered a lesson in the anatomy of fear . it was a night of confusion and dread , informed by the latest headlines — including reports of recent attacks on airports in brussels and istanbul — as much as fact . in the absence of official information or instructions , unconfirmed reports from social media fueled the hysteria . officials said there was no evidence that what took place at kennedy airport was the result of a hoax . it was , rather , a sign of the times . “ right now , what is being concentrated on is the investigation into what the catalyst of the incident is , ” said joe pentangelo , a spokesman for the port authority of new york and new jersey , which runs the airport . joe haviland was at terminal 8 seeing off his family when the first wave of panic hit . people nearby had been gathered watching the olympics , as usain bolt of jamaica made his bid for a third gold medal in the dash . “ we heard a big celebration , ” mr. haviland told fox news shortly after being evacuated . he described hearing something like a loud pop , followed by the sight of a herd of people running his direction . “ when you see 80 people come running around the corner , ” he said , “ and they break a door to get out , you think ‘ oh my god , what is happening ? ’ ” he said he saw “ people working for the airline taking off their shirts , ” and saying , “ this is not worth it , i am leaving . ” within minutes , he said , police officers with their guns drawn were shouting , “ show me your hands ! ” the bomb squad soon arrived , and the area was evacuated . but inside terminal 8 , by the departure gates , many passengers had no idea anything was wrong . judy rothman rofé , who had been visiting her son in brooklyn and was waiting for an american airlines flight back to los angeles , was waiting by gate 33 . around 10 p. m. a passenger nearby was checking the internet and told her it seemed their flight was not delayed because of the weather . “ there is a shooter at large , ” she was told . still , she said , as the news filtered out , people around her were relatively calm . “ it was business as usual in our section of the terminal , ” she said . until it was n’t . shortly after 11 , she said , “ we heard screaming . ” it was unclear what set off the wave of panic , but suddenly the eerie calm turned to chaos . “ lots of screaming , crying , mass hysteria , ” she said . the gate agents , she said , were nowhere to be found passengers threw themselves under counters and huddled under chairs . after several minutes , an announcement came over the public address system , ordering passengers to leave their bags , put their hands above their heads and evacuate . as she left , she said , scores of law enforcement officers , weapons drawn , were heading into the terminal . around the same time , terminal 1 was also officially evacuated , sending hundreds of people into the street outside the airport , unsure what was happening . the port authority said that those were the only two terminals evacuated , but that the panic spread quickly to the rest of the airport . in terminal 2 , where ms. rosen was waiting for her san delta air lines flight , everything seemed normal nearly an hour after the first calls to 911 about a possible gunman . it was around 10:30 p. m. when someone screamed , “ shots ! ” “ everyone started screaming and yelling , ” ms. rosen said . “ i dove under this desk space like everyone else . “ then this guy came running over , ” she added . he was not an airport employee or an official , but he had an urgent warning . she recalled that he shouted : “ they ’re coming ! let ’s go this way ! ” not knowing who “ they ” might be and not wanting to find out , ms. rosen and about a dozen others followed the man through a secure door and onto the tarmac , leaving their belongings behind . “ there were no announcements , nothing , ” she said . all she could hear was an alarm . she waited with about 20 others on the hot , humid tarmac . “ i called my sister , freaking out , ” she said . “ i told her i am on the tarmac , people are saying there are gunshots . i think i am safe . if you see news about this , i am o. k. ” the crowd was searching google and social media when a man — she thought he was a pilot — finally said they should return . “ people were like , ‘ i do n’t want to go back inside,’ ” she said . still , when the man opened the door , they found things just as chaotic as when they left . a flood of people were running in a single direction , she said . out of the terminal . once again she followed the crowd . there were “ just mobs of people , ” she said . she spotted a man in a transportation security administration shirt and asked him what was happening . “ you probably have a better idea than i do ” was his response , she said . finally , a little after midnight early on monday , employees were allowed back inside the airport . passengers were permitted to collect their belongings . it would take time for operations to fully resume . and thousands of passengers still needed to figure out what to do next . there were no trains running . the van wyck expressway leading to the airport was closed . cabs were just starting to trickle back . eventually , ms. rosen climbed in a cab with several others and made her way to her twin sister ’s apartment in the city . as she prepared to set off for the airport again on monday morning , she was a bit more leery about the procedures that might be in place in the event of an actual emergency . “ i understand situations like this are inherently chaotic , but the lack of communication and guidance just compounded an already tumultuous and traumatic experience , ” she said . “ at least in our terminal , they should have had enough time to get a coordinated plan together . but they did n’t , and that caused a lot of unnecessary panic and heartache . ”
+1 re : babylon mystery religion series nan « reply # 1 on : today at 08:44:21 pm » part 2 mother & child worship https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twtzpg2rp-m logged the answer to 1871 is 1776i am one of the people , not a fictional entity created by an incorporated state issued birth certificate .
+0 his tone dark , donald trump takes g.o.p. mantle - the new york times patrick healy and jonathan martin cleveland — donald john trump accepted the republican presidential nomination on thursday night with an unusually vehement appeal to americans who feel that their country is spiraling out of control and yearn for a leader who will take aggressive , even extreme , actions to protect them . mr. trump , 70 , a new york real estate developer and reality television star who leveraged his fame and forceful persona to become the rare political outsider to lead the ticket of a major party , drew exuberant cheers from republican convention delegates as he strode onto the stage of the quicken loans arena and delivered a speech as fiery as his candidacy . with dark imagery and an almost angry tone , mr. trump portrayed the united states as a diminished and even humiliated nation , and offered himself as an savior who could resurrect the country ’s standing in the eyes of both enemies and americans . “ our convention occurs at a moment of crisis for our nation , ” an mr. trump said , standing against a backdrop of american flags . “ the attacks on our police , and the terrorism in our cities , threaten our very way of life . any politician who does not grasp this danger is not fit to lead our country . ” mr. trump nearly shouted the names of states where police officers had been killed recently , as the crowd erupted in applause , and returned repeatedly to the major theme of the speech : “ law and order , ” he said four times , each time drawing out the syllables . evoking the tumult of the 1960s and the uncertainty that followed the sept. 11 terrorist attacks , mr. trump made a sharp departure from the optimistic talk about american possibility that has characterized republican presidential candidates since ronald reagan redefined the party over 30 years ago . in promoting his views on crime , immigration and hostile nations , mr. trump was wagering that voters would embrace his style of populism and his promises of safety if they feel even less secure by election day . but his speech — the longest , at an hour and 15 minutes , since at least 1972 — had relatively little new to offer women , hispanics , blacks and others who have been turned off by mr. trump ’s incendiary brand of politics . he did sound like a different sort of republican at times , though , making no mention of abortion — a core issue for many republicans — and saying of his support among evangelical voters , “ i ’m not sure i totally deserve it . ” mr. trump also challenged republican orthodoxy as he promised to end multilateral trade deals and limit american intervention in global crises . he denounced “ 15 years of wars in the middle east ” — a rebuke of his party ’s last president , george w. bush — and pledged to help union members , coal miners and other americans who have historically supported democrats . “ these are the forgotten men and women of our country , ” said mr. trump , a billionaire with a mixed record of job creation and layoffs . “ people who work hard but no longer have a voice — i am your voice . ” he even vowed “ to do everything in my power to protect our l. g. b. t. q. citizens from the violence and oppression of a hateful foreign ideology . ’’ as the audience applauded , mr. trump made a deviation from his prepared text , observing : “ i have to say , that as a republican , it is so nice to hear you cheering for what i just said . ” ’ facing a restive party on the final night of a convention that has been unusually turbulent and divided , mr. trump seemed to make headway in galvanizing and unifying at least those republicans gathered in the hall . the nearly full arena was rapt as mr. trump spoke , and when he began discussing illegal immigration , a familiar chant quickly broke out in the arena : “ build the wall , build the wall ! ” and when he vowed to tell the truth “ plainly and honestly , ” a delegate cried from the floor : “ bring it , donald ! ” mr. trump dwelled at length on illegal immigrants and lawless americans , saying they are as dangerous for the nation ’s security as the islamic state and syrian refugees . in doing so , trump advisers said , he sought to win over undecided voters who are sickened by the recent violence against police officers and worried about safety yet are unsure if mr. trump has the temperament and abilities to be commander in chief . “ i have a message to every last person threatening the peace on our streets and the safety of our police : when i take the oath of office next year , i will restore law and order to our country . ” while nomination speeches are traditionally optimistic and personal , full of hope and revelations that cast candidates in the best possible light for voters , mr. trump sounded like a wartime president , using the word “ threat ” seven times and promising to “ defeat the barbarians of isis . ” he also recited homicide rates in american cities and the thousands of illegal immigrants with criminal records , promising to control violence at home and abroad . “ it is time to show the whole world that america is back — bigger , and better and stronger than ever before , ” mr. trump said . he was blistering about hillary clinton , his democratic opponent , and her tenure as secretary of state , arguing that her diplomatic strategy in syria , iraq , egypt , libya and other countries had led to civil unrest and political chaos and rendered her unfit to be president . “ america is far less safe — and the world is far less stable — than when obama made the decision to put hillary clinton in charge of america ’s foreign policy , ” mr. trump said . mr. trump said americans had “ lived through one international humiliation after another ” under president obama : the navy sailors “ being forced to their knees ” by iranian captors in january the destruction of the american consulate in benghazi , libya and mr. obama ’s decision not to defend his “ red line ” on syria . mrs. clinton shared the blame , too , he added . “ this is the legacy of hillary clinton : death , destruction , terrorism , and weakness , ” mr. trump said . in a bid to appeal to democrats unhappy with their party ’s embrace of mrs. clinton , he invoked the political message of her chief rival , senator bernie sanders , and suggested that mr. sanders shared republicans’ critique of her record . mr. trump ’s elder daughter , ivanka , also sought to reach out to democrats and moderates , extolling him as a champion of women in the workplace , and a leader who would “ take on the bold and worthy fights , who will be unafraid to set lofty goals and relentless in his determination to achieve them . ” this week ’s convention , which typically would have been choreographed carefully , was itself a departure from the norm . but if mr. trump injected drama and even spontaneity back into the formulaic gathering , he also tested the limits of improvisation over the last week . the operatic quality of the first three days of the convention worried some republicans . presidential candidates have two major issues to deal with over the summer , their selection and their convention , and they felt he had bungled both . mr. trump chose his running mate haphazardly and then overshadowed the announcement of gov. mike pence of indiana by indulging in a rambling speech that revived questions about his seriousness . the party staged a convention that reflected just how fractured it is . there were , to be sure , effective attacks on the character and record of mrs. clinton , whose unpopularity among modern presidential nominees is exceeded only by mr. trump ’s . but some of the language spilled into ugliness and catcalls . the party at times seemed unified only around a shared determination to imprison the former secretary of state . but the speeches dedicated to promoting mr. trump and the party ’s governing vision were hazy and at times collided with the candidate ’s own beliefs . many of the elected officials who spoke extolled a traditional conservative platform that bears little relation to the nationalist agenda on which mr. trump is basing his campaign . for example , just hours before mr. pence , a committed internationalist , assured delegates and millions of voters that america would defend its allies , mr. trump gave an interview in which he balked at defending nato countries , a policy that has been the cornerstone of the alliance for 70 years . even as republicans prepared to leave cleveland , they were still straining to come to terms with the views and personality of their newly minted nominee . “ i ’m going to vote for mike pence , ” said gov. gary herbert of utah , pausing for effect : “ and donald trump comes along with the package . ” candidates who are trailing — as mr. trump is , according to national polling averages — must maximize the bump they typically enjoy in the polls after their conventions . mr. trump may see his standing improve after he leaves cleveland on friday , even though he did not fully seize the opportunity he was afforded after mrs. clinton was upbraided by the f. b. i. director over her private email server . in many ways , the convention ’s formality was an awkward fit for mr. trump , who soared in the primaries by energizing voters at freewheeling rallies with his and frequently entertaining remarks . instead , for thursday night , he relied on a teleprompter and a speech heavy with familiar republican themes like cutting taxes , creating jobs , and pushing for education reforms to give parents more choice in schools for their children . yet he also made more personal promises as well , like being the ultimate safeguard for the younger generations of americans . “ to every parent who dreams for their child , and every child who dreams for their future , i say these words to you tonight : i ’m with you , i will fight for you , and i will win for you , ” mr. trump said .
+1 the united states is pre - positioning “ enemy assets ” in preparation for a rigged election the doc the united states is pre - positioning “ enemy assets ” in preparation for a rigged election posted on tweet the united states is pre - positioning “ enemy assets ” in preparation for a rigged election with civil rest or a world war , the administration will be handed the country on a platter – indefinitely – and the election will be a moot point , whether it happened or not . from jeremiah johnson , shtfplan : there are a number of excellent pieces circulating that hypothesize on what will happen before , during , and after the election . mike adams of natural news and dave hodges of the common sense show have both dug deeply , examining the overall situation with outstanding insights as to the possibilities . mike ’s piece listed the scenarios that can happen regarding either outcome , and government actions that can be triggered by the result . dave ’s videos and telephone conversations expose the fact that the government is indeed preparing to have plans ready and in place with drills and exercises that can turn into an actual operation immediately . you can watch dave hodge ’s full report with paul martin below : that being mentioned , an article came out the other day written by deb riechmann of the associated press , october 26 entitled us official : russia might shoot down us aircraft in syria . the article highlights dialogue from a charlie rose interview via cbs at the council of foreign relations in new york that was conducted with national intelligence director james clapper . the answers that clapper gave to the questions gives two “ insights ” into the obama administration ’s mindset . this comment came regarding the potential for the us and russia engaging one another militarily : “ i would n’t put it past them to shoot down an american aircraft if they felt that [ it ] was threatening to their forces on the ground . russia has deployed a very advanced and capable air defense system in syria and would not have done that if it [ russia ] would n’t use it . ” james clapper then clapper was questioned about north korea , and he had this to say : “ … the u.s. policy of trying to persuade pyongyang to give up its nuclear weapons is probably futile . perhaps the only thing the u.s. could get would be limitations on north korea ’s nuclear capabilities . i think the notion of getting the north koreans to denuclearize is probably a lost cause . they are under siege and they are very paranoid , so the notion of giving up their nuclear capability , whatever it is , is a nonstarter with them . ” all of this sounds very lackadaisical , coming from the director of national intelligence . that is because it is : obama is pursuing a laissez - faire policy regarding “ threats , ” either from russia or north korea . the reason ? he created them to use later . clapper ’s next responses are very interesting regarding the questions of whether or not russia has been tampering with the election process and the recent threat by vice president joe biden that the u.s. will respond to the ( alleged ) tampering with a cyberattack designed “ to embarrass and humiliate ” the kremlin . here is an excerpt of that interview : “ clapper also was asked about the obama administration ’s claim that recent hacking of political sites was orchestrated by top russian officials . the u.s. response might not come in the form of a reciprocal cyberattack on russia , clapper said . pressed on the subject , rose , the interviewer , noted that there is a sense that the russians were not paying any price for the hacking . “ maybe not yet , ” clapper replied . “ maybe after the election ? ” rose asked . “ i ’m not going to pre - empt , ” clapper said . ” there we have it , in the absence of verbal commitment , no matter how nebulous the answer may seem . just because it is nebulous , however , does not belie the nefarious nature of the answer , and it is obvious : the obama administration is setting the russians up for the time of the election to blame any deviance or hacks on them . it is no secret that election fraud is being committed now , even with the early voting that is occurring in several states . the cyberattacks conducted on friday , october 21st were a beta - test for what is to come : full - blown election fraud and an attack on the infrastructure of the u.s. , to be blamed on russia or north korea and used as justification to either suspend the elections or declare them null and void . on october 25 , an article was released entitled dmv computer outage raises fear of election - day cyber attacks , as presented on losangeles.cbslocal.com . apparently 100 dmv offices in california had a gigantic computer malfunction that was not attributed to hacking . the article interviewed a usc professor who had the following to say : “ election day may be a different story . government computer systems are vulnerable to cyber attacks . i think there will certainly be some sort of cyber security issue in some location . ” clifford neuman , director , usc center for computer systems security from a standpoint of greater simplicity , the government can simply collapse the power grid , and this can be blamed on an emp ( electromagnetic pulse ) weapon from north korea or russia . if this is not done , the government can use the soros - provided voting machines and other nefarious measures ( such as dead people ’s names being used to vote , illegal aliens casting a ballot , or people voting in numerous states , to name a few ) to steal the votes . then blame can be shifted to the russians . keep in mind that the cyberattack on october 21 was found to “ not be done by a government ’s actions through state actors , ” as the mainstream media termed it . how true . not one concrete shred of justification that russia has been conducting any cyberattacks has been provided . certainly the russian government has taken the time to investigate the source of the hacking on the u.s. systems . they will certainly monitor the elections in some manner to protect themselves from any accusations of hacking and prove they do not hold any culpability when the democrats skew the numbers of the election and steal it themselves . this is why the federal government has warned russia that simply to monitor the elections may warrant criminal charges being brought against the russian government . but it ’s ok to have un election monitors , which in itself is a violation of the 10 th amendment to the u.s. constitution , right ? the law does n’t apply to the democrats ; the law only matters as long as they can inflict it upon you . soros just came out recently and cursed democracy in general : though toad like in appearance and mannerisms , this communist foreigner is responsible for the collapse and/or debilitation of almost a dozen governments . in a previous article we covered how the voting machines in the early voting in illinois did not register the original choice of the voter and “ chose ” the democratic candidates . this was labeled as a “ calibration error , ” so simply and innocently . the communists masquerading as democrats know the truth of the matter , that it is those who count the votes and not the voters who decide the elections . in summary , the u.s. is pre - positioning its “ enemy - assets ” to blame – on what the administration does – for a collapsed election labeled as “ rigged ” or the suspension of the election for any number of reasons , real or illusory , such as a genuine attack the u.s. provokes or an attack the u.s. carries out on itself . civil unrest and/or war are the escape hatches to bail out of the constitution and to take control of the country … not letting either crisis go to waste . with civil rest or a world war , the administration will be handed the country on a platter – indefinitely – and the election will be a moot point , whether it happened or not . buy 2017 gold pandas and buy 2017 silver panda coins on pre - sale now ! secure your 2017 panda coins today at sd bullion !
+0 donald trump finds himself playing catch - up in all - important ohio - the new york times trip gabriel columbus , ohio — since the republican party ’s founding , not one of its nominees has won the white house without carrying ohio , a most diverse and perennially state . but as republicans head to cleveland to nominate donald j. trump in two weeks , a convention city chosen with battleground ohio much in mind , a vortex of headwinds are rising against mr. trump in the state . the barely concealed disdain of gov. john r. kasich , a former rival who has not endorsed the presumptive nominee , echoes through the state ’s republican leadership , whose full engagement in the fall campaign will be needed to turn out voters . images of disunity in cleveland , where delegates are gathering july in the shadow of local polls showing a majority of republicans prefer a different nominee , could make it harder for the party to attract activists for the fall campaign . mr. trump ignored ohio for six weeks after clinching the nomination , until a visit last week to coal country , where he spoke to an audience of largely white voters , including some democrats . it was the group he has performed best with in primaries and polls . but in describing a trade deal during the same visit as a “ rape of our country , ” his oratory and protectionist policies are turning off other voters , including suburban women and business interests , in a state whose economy depends on global exports . “ if you look at the primary and extrapolate , trump could get of the white working class , ” said john c. green , a political scientist at the university of akron . that would improve on mitt romney ’s share of these voters in ohio in 2012 , when the state slipped from his grasp by only 103 , 000 votes . “ the flip side is trump ’s appeal to white men very well may cost him other kinds of republican voters , ” mr. green said . public polling of ohio , which has been scant , shows hillary clinton with an average lead of about three percentage points . mrs. clinton and her supporters are already spending heavily in the state on ads to define mr. trump negatively , and last week mrs. clinton visited cincinnati with senator elizabeth warren , who electrified the crowd by mocking mr. trump for running a campaign no deeper than the slogans on his “ goofy ” hats . a recent quinnipiac poll of ohio , showing the race deadlocked , indicated women were moving toward mrs. clinton while mr. trump ’s strength among men was unchanged . bob seszko , a school bus mechanic from rural bellaire , ohio , said he voted for senator bernie sanders in the democratic primary but planned to vote for mr. trump in november . in the 1980s , he had made good money at a steel plant in the ohio river valley — until it closed . “ overseas was selling it cheaper than we could make it , so i lost my job , ” he said . “ i think trump ’s more sincere than hillary is . she ’s riding on the coattails of her husband . ” mr. trump ’s appeal to such voters is likely to be strong , especially in the industrial region around youngstown and akron . that he has kept the race tight even after weeks of negative news — about his visit to scotland , his firing of his campaign manager and his congratulating himself after the nightclub shooting in orlando , fla. — is a testament to the strength of mr. trump ’s appeal with his base , as well as the polarization of the electorate . to counter the threat , mrs. clinton and her supporters began a barrage of television ads in ohio and other swing states in may , and for the fourth of july weekend , they planned a $ 13 million blitz mostly in ohio and florida . mr. trump , who is skeptical of tv ads and short on campaign cash , has not bought any general election ads in the state . the first ad supporting him from an outside group , the national rifle association , featuring a survivor of the terrorist attacks in benghazi , libya , was just rolled out . “ i ’ve gotten to the point where i feel so much of this is on the trump campaign , ” said matt borges , chairman of the ohio republican party . he said mr. trump recently called him after reading that mrs. clinton was far ahead in hiring field staff members in ohio . in march , mr. borges and other republican leaders in the state bluntly warned that if mr. trump were the nominee , he could not carry their perennially state . “ we want to distance ourselves from the kind of rhetoric that donald trump is using to divide americans , ” mr. borges said at the time . “ if donald trump is unfortunately our choice and our nominee , it could imperil not only the race for the white house but many other candidates . ” the state ’s republican leaders , who supported their native son mr. kasich before his withdrawal from the race , no longer openly scorn mr. trump . but they pick their words carefully , withholding full support . “ a great many people in ohio are watching mr. trump closely to see if over the weeks and months he will emerge as an individual of presidential stature , ” said brad sinnott , chairman of the republican central committee of franklin county , which includes columbus , the capital . “ there is some work to be done . ” mr. trump , who has signaled a strategy of outsourcing organizing to the national party , hired a state director only late last month . the republican national committee , which promised last year to hire more than 200 field staff members in the state , has about 50 now , and has yet to open its first ohio office . the clinton campaign , which declined to say how many staff members it has in ohio , is also coordinating with state and national democrats , who collectively have more than 100 people in the field , said kirstin alvanitakis , a state party spokeswoman . the clinton campaign plans to open offices across the state in the coming weeks . mr. trump ’s appeal helped drive record turnout in the primary in march . “ i told him we had a million new republicans , ” mr. borges recalled of a conversation he had with mr. trump . “ he asked , ‘ is that because of me ? ’ ” “ i told him yes , ” he said . what he did not say is that many republican primary voters came out to vote against mr. trump , who received nearly 36 percent of the vote in the contest , which mr. kasich won . “ you do n’t have a movement without trump , ” mr. borges said .
+1 yandex email account proves dnc hacker was not russian - jeffrey carr nan taming the corporate media beast yandex email account proves dnc hacker was not russian or , who in russian intelligence does n’t dpeak russian ? originally appeared at medium.com on march 22 , 2016 william “ billy ” rhinehart , a regional field director at the democratic national committee , received an email from google warning him that someone tried to access his account and that he should immediately change his password . he complied . unfortunately for mr. rhinehart , it was n’t google who sent him that email . he , along with many others , were a victim of threat group 4127 — the secureworks designation for fancy bear ( crowdstrike ) , apt28 ( fireeye ) , and sofacy ( kaspersky lab ) . secureworks assesses that tg 4127 “ is operating from the russian federation and is gathering intelligence on behalf of the russian government . ” thanks to a bizarre twist involving guccifer 2.0 ’s solicitation of a journalist at the smoking gun ( tsg ) to write about the dcleaks emails in exchange for giving tsg an early look at some of the stolen documents , tsg was able to obtain the original spear phishing email directly from billy rhinehart and shared it with threatconnect , who posted this screenshot of the email ’s headers and identified the actual sender of the email:hi.mymail@yandex.com . 1-ibuqqojl1spagetqb9oumq.png what ’s wrong with this picture ? yandex is the google of russia . like google , yandex is a search engine , and , like gmail , yandex‘s users can open a free email account . when you visit yandex.ru and create a new email account , the email assigned to you has the .ru domain . however , hi.mymail@yandex.com has a .com domain . there ’s only one reason why something like that would happen , but first , here ’s what a russian user would see when he creates a yandex email account on runet ( the russian internet ) . step one : pretend that you‘re in russia secureworks says that you work on behalf of the russian government . crowdstrike says that you ’re an employee of the russian government . and everyone else believes that you ’re russian so for this little experiment to work , you need to be on the russian internet . assuming that you are n’t already in russia , you ’ll need to connect to a russian proxy server . i have an account with privatevpn and used vpn-ru1.privatevpn.com for my test . once you ’re connected , run a test to make sure that you ’re on runet by visiting http://www.ip2location.com/ . it will show you your ip address and geolocation . step two : go to yandex.ru type yandex.ru into your browser ’s address bar . you should see it resolve to https://yandex.ru/ .
+1 why palestinians want to sue britain : 99 years since the balfour declaration ramzy baroud 9 shares 8 0 0 1 last july , the palestinian authority took the unexpected , although belated step of seeking arab backing in suing britain over the balfour declaration . that ‘ declaration’ was the first ever explicit commitment made by britain , and the west in general , to establish a jewish homeland atop an existing palestinian homeland . it is too early to tell whether the arab league would heed the palestinian call , or if the pa would even follow through , especially considering that the latter has the habit of making too many proclamations backed by little or no action . however , it seems that the next year will witness a significant tug of war regarding the balfour declaration , the 100th anniversary of which will be commemorated on november 02 , 2017 . but who is balfour , what is the balfour declaration and why does all of this matters today ? britain 's foreign secretary from late 1916 , arthur james balfour , had pledged palestine to another people . that promise was made on november 02 , 1917 on behalf of the british government in the form of a letter sent to the leader of the jewish community in britain , walter rothschild . more ... palestine ’s reality : al nakba commemoration and the right of return or the return of the faisal - weizmann agreement ? to be a child in palestine , where israel has killed more children than the total number of goals scored in all fifa world cups let there be water : israel 's policy of stolen water no hope and no heroes for palestine at the time , britain was not even in control of palestine , which was still part of the ottoman empire . either way , palestine was never balfour ’s to so casually transfer to anyone else . his letter read : “ his majesty 's government view with favour the establishment in palestine of a national home for the jewish people , and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object , it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non - jewish communities in palestine , or the rights and political status enjoyed by jews in any other country . ” he concluded , “ i should be grateful if you would bring this declaration to the knowledge of the zionist federation . ” balfour was hardly acting on his own . true , the declaration bears his name , yet , in reality , he was a loyal agent of an empire with massive geopolitical designs , not only concerning palestine alone , but with palestine as part of a larger arab landscape . only a year earlier , another sinister document was introduced , albeit secretly . it was endorsed by another top british diplomat , mark sykes and , on behalf of france , by françois georges - picot . the russians were informed of the agreement , as they too had received a piece of the ottoman cake . the document indicated that , once the ottomans were soundly defeated , their territories , including palestine , would be split among the prospective victorious parties . the sykes - picot agreement , also known as the ‘ asia minor agreement’ , was signed in secret one hundred years ago , two years into world war i. it signified the brutal nature of colonial powers that rarely associated land and resources with people who lived upon or owned them . the centerpiece of the agreement was a map that was marked with straight lines by a china graph pencil . the map largely determined the fate of the arabs , dividing them in accordance with various haphazard assumptions of tribal and sectarian lines . the improvised map consisted not only of lines but also colors , along with language that attested to the fact that the two countries viewed the arab region purely on materialistic terms , without paying the slightest attention to the possible repercussions of slicing up entire civilizations with a multifarious history of co - operation and conflict . the sykes - picot negotiations were completed in march 1916 and , although official , was secretly signed on may 19 , 1916 . wwi concluded on november 11 , 1918 , after which the division of the ottoman empire began in earnest . british and french mandates were extended over divided arab entities , while palestine was granted to the zionist movement a year later , when belfour conveyed the british government ’s promise , sealing the fate of palestinians to a life of perpetual war and turmoil . rarely was british - western hypocrisy and complete disregard for the national aspiration of any other nation on full display as in the case of palestine . beginning with the first wave of zionist jewish migration to palestine in 1882 , european countries helped facilitate the movement of illegal settlers and resources , where the establishment of many colonies , large and small , was afoot . so when balfour sent his letter to rothschild , the idea of a jewish homeland in palestine was very much plausible . still , many supercilious promises were being made to the arabs during the great war years , as the arab leadership sided with the british in their war against the ottoman empire . arabs were promised instant independence , including that of the palestinians . when the intentions of the british and their rapport with the zionists became too apparent , palestinians rebelled , marking a rebellion that has never ceased 99 years later , and highlighting the horrific consequences of british colonialism and the eventual complete zionist takeover of palestine which is still felt after all of these years . paltry attempts to pacify palestinian anger were to no avail , especially after the league of nations council in july 1922 approved the terms of the british mandate over palestine – which was originally granted to britain in april 1920 – without consulting the palestinians at all . in fact , palestinians would disappear from the british and international radar , only to reappear as negligible rioters , troublemakers , and obstacles to the joint british - zionist colonial concoctions . despite occasional assurances to the contrary , the british intention of ensuring the establishment of an exclusively jewish state in palestine was becoming clearer with time . the balfour declaration was not merely an aberration , but had , indeed , set the stage for the full - scale ethnic cleansing that followed , three decades later . in fact , that history remains in constant replay : the zionists claimed palestine and renamed it ‘ israel’ ; the british continue to support them , although never ceasing to pay lip - service to the arabs ; and the palestinian people remain a nation that is geographically fragmented between refugee camps , in the diaspora , militarily occupied , or treated as second class citizens in a country upon which their ancestors dwelt since time immemorial . while balfour can not be blamed for all the misfortunates that have befallen palestinians since he communicated his brief , but infamous letter , the notion that his ‘ promise’ embodied - that of complete disregard of the aspirations and rights of the palestinian arab people – that very letter is handed from one generation of british diplomats to the next , in the same way that palestinian resistance to colonialism has and continues to spread across generations . that injustice continues , thus the perpetuation of the conflict . what the british , the early zionists , the americans and subsequent israeli governments failed to understand , and continue to ignore at their own peril , is that there can be no peace without justice and equality in palestine ; and that palestinians will continue to resist , as long as the reasons that inspired their rebellion nearly a century ago , remain in place .
+0 after a breakup , an app to help breathe , then run - the new york times olivia gagan “ when was the last time you breathed properly ? ” the therapist asked me . his name was allan . thirty minutes into my first visit , i was still waiting for him to reach the part where he would help me get over the end of my relationship . “ i ’m not sure what you mean , ” i said . “ easy , open breathing . big lungfuls of air . ” “ i do n’t know , ” i said . “ i breathe all the time . ” i tried steering the conversation myself . “ i just think i need to work out what happened — — ” “ i ’m not interested in what happened , ” he said . “ i ’m interested in the last time you breathed normally . you ’re a young , healthy woman . but your paperwork tells me you ’re struggling at work , have n’t eaten a full meal in weeks and ca n’t sleep . you need to fix that . ” i thought therapy would help convince me that the loss of the person i had been devoted to for years was a good thing . instead , something in allan ’s blunt insistence on the symptoms and not the cause had put me on my heels . he peered over his notepad . “ you ’re all hunched up , ” he said . “ you look miserable . your homework for next week is to do the exercises i ’ll email you . you ’ve got six sessions , and i want you breathing and sleeping properly by the end of it . ” cycling home afterward , i had already dismissed allan ’s words and returned to my regular programming : raking through the seven years since i had met my ex , mining memories for details of where it went wrong . we had started with two years of silent longing ( me ) and dating other people ( him ) before finally feeling our way into a life and home together in london . until one painful , protracted summer , he left . i had always prided myself on being strong , on being able to bounce back , but here i was , months later , wrestling with questions without answers at night and awakening to a frightening bleakness . lying awake that evening , i wondered if i was making a mistake in outsourcing my problems . allan ’s focus on breathing sounded suspiciously like mindfulness to me . i had another long night ahead , though , so i groped around the bedsheets for my phone , and that ’s when i saw his promised email . “ download the app in the link below , ” it read . “ when you use it , imagine a place you feel happy and safe . hold that image in your mind . then focus on your breathing . use the app each night before you go to sleep . exercise . ” my mind cast around for the prescribed happy place , settling on a pebble beach on the south coast of england where i had spent childhood summers . i tried to remember its hard , smooth stones , the sounds of my brother yelling from the sea . the app , positivity with andrew johnson , started . in a scottish burr , a man counted down from 10 . with a twinge of curiosity , i tried breathing in . allan had a point : my chest was tight with tension . i attempted to push the air down , and my tummy distended like a child ’s . as i tried to synchronize my breathing , the vision of the beach kept escaping and then reappearing , interrupted by jags of thought . still , i kept trying every night . learning how to breathe was at least something different , a quick break from analyzing my own love story with exhausting precision . when i visited allan a few weeks later , our conversation turned to intuition . “ what does your gut tell you about what you should be doing ? ” he asked . “ my gut ? ” i felt embarrassed . “ i do n’t feel anything in there . ” i looked down hopefully at my stomach . privately , i had always wondered what people meant by intuition . “ you mentioned that you were nervous , that you often experienced anxiety from the start of the year , ” he said . “ why do you think that was ? ” i have always relied on the flush of adrenaline to get stuff done . yet a deeper , more frantic energy than usual had seeped in during the months before my boyfriend left . this tension pushed the vacuum cleaner faster round the living room and infused the meals i had started to make from cookbooks . our apartment had never looked so tidy . on rainy sundays , i urged him to make plans for a trip to paris , which he was n’t keen on . “ i find it hard to believe that my body knew something was up before my brain did , ” i said , petulance creeping into my voice . “ intuition is a sense developed from your past experiences , books you ’ve read , sounds on the street , conversations , facial expressions , ” allan said . “ all valuable information . it can help you to distinguish between what is real and what is fake , to notice something dangerous . perhaps you trust your thoughts more , though . ” “ thoughts are all i have , surely , ” i said . “ that ’s where all that information ends up getting used . ” “ there ’s plenty of research that would disagree with you . why not try listening to your body instead of your head ? that ’s where all your feelings have been coming from . ” feelings . we had n’t talked about feelings at all . but as the weeks passed , i found that painful emotions , long ossified and remote , began overtaking me in humiliating ways . tears streamed down my face in supermarkets my shoulders heaved silently on family car trips . my feelings were like the drunk who shows up too late to the party , misjudging the mood . yet it was a strange relief to find i was capable of them . the tears were new , and they felt animal . salt burned a rash around my eyelids in a way that i suspected was n’t entirely about the end of a relationship . the breakup had done something else : it had caused a crack , and the breathing only seemed to be making it wider . earlier , secrets and disasters found the fissure and out they came , noisily , messily . they had been quiet for years , but now they wanted water and air . in allan ’s company , i seemed to spend increasing amounts of time feeling like an idiot . “ i ’m not trying to be difficult — — ” he suddenly sounded kind . “ i do n’t think you are , ” he said . “ but deep down , people often know when something is coming . when something has to change . ” the last time i spoke to allan was on the phone i had work i could n’t get out of . he was as unrepentantly to the point as ever . “ it ’s fine , ” he said as i apologized . “ you ’ll be fine . but i wanted to say , if your comes back , think seriously . good luck . and do n’t forget to fill in the feedback form . ” later that day , from across my office desk , my phone pinged . it was a message from my ex : “ do you want to meet up ? i ’d like to speak to you . ” how had allan foreseen that ? the old love drew me back in , even when reduced to digital form . “ when ? ” i replied . “ where do you want to meet up ? ” a few days later , after an evening of stilted small talk in a pub , we stood together on a london street streaming with people . it was a sharp , clear november night . i felt blindsided . ten minutes earlier he had stared cryptically into my face and said : “ i think we should try again . i miss you . ” words i had been willing him to say . “ i understand this is a surprise , ” he said . “ i ’ll wait for you to decide . ” “ i do n’t know what to say , ” i mumbled . but then there was the beach . i had found that the more time i spent imagining that beach , the better i felt , the more i noticed things . that afternoon , for example , i had enjoyed how the cold air smelled of bonfires . even now , flooded with fear , i had briefly thought how cheerful the city ’s scarlet buses looked as they slid past in the dark . i could see him waiting for a response , but i stood dumb . the traffic roared and i could feel my feet vibrating with the pavement . cold wind brushed past , goading me . it was all in league with a new , internal voice , one that spoke quietly and unexpectedly . “ leave him , ” it said . “ take what you have and run . ” so with hardly a word , i turned and ran for the bus . that was a couple of years ago . allan gave me no cure for heartbreak , but he did teach me some things . to look after my body , to pay it respect . to question my mind , which does n’t understand half as much as it thinks it does . to understand that the time spent in the gap between the endless stories we tell ourselves is the present . these days , i care more about being peaceful and happy than about being in love . i ’m not sure love is love if it consumes you , if it dominates your thoughts . perhaps that ’s something else : obsession , limerence . while it ’s a trip to get lost in a relationship , finding yourself again can prove and costly . but breathing freely , feeling alert to the world and being in touch with your emotions ? just $ 2 . 99 at the app store . and a lot of work . next i ’d like to try having love and happiness at the same time , though . i ’ve heard it ’s possible .
+0 finding common ground in interfaith marriage - the new york times jennifer miller when dan diamond was 12 , his mother gave him a book titled “ it all begins with a date : jewish concerns about intermarriage . ” at the time , it seemed a bizarre gift for someone so young , but its aim was clear . mr. diamond was expected to marry a jewish woman one day and raise jewish children , a view his mother later reinforced , he said , by asking the religion of every girl he dated . then , in november 2012 , mr. diamond , a psychotherapist , met ashley mask , a doctoral student researching art museum education . at that time , ms. mask had started to reconnect with her presbyterian upbringing . but after falling in love with mr. diamond , she agreed , should they marry , to raise their future children as jewish . “ i had this naïve sense that since we had the same creation story , it would n’t be hard , ” said ms. mask , 38 . but it was . as the relationship progressed , she feared abandoning important holiday traditions . at synagogue services , she said , she felt lost . she worried she would always be an outsider . interfaith couples represent a swiftly rising demographic . before 1960 , only 19 percent of american married couples were of two different religions , according to a 2015 study by the pew research center . today , it ’s nearly 40 percent . as a result , there are a number of new programs providing support to these couples . given that a 2013 pew study reported that since 2000 , 72 percent of jews have married outside their faith , it is not surprising that many of the resources are sponsored by jewish organizations . “ there ’s a deep fear in the jewish community about losing jews , about assimilation , ” mr. diamond said . he and ms. mask chose to work through some of their issues by signing on with honeymoon israel , an organization in buffalo that offers interfaith partners , including gay and lesbian couples , subsidized trips to israel . the trips cost $ 1 , 800 a couple — or about 20 percent of the total cost — with the remainder picked up by a jewish family foundation in boston ( which prefers to be unnamed ) as well as by jewish organizations in the cities where honeymoon israel operates . once in israel , the couples , who are organized into groups of 20 , are encouraged to explore jewish culture and religion . they stay in upscale hotels , lounge by the mediterranean and visit jewish , christian and muslim historic sites . they also bond with their fellow travelers , other committed couples also struggling to figure out what role religion should play in their marriages , their homes and in the lives of their future children . “ the train has left the station , ” said avi rubel , a founder of honeymoon israel , which expects to send 360 couples this year . mr. rubel said the program has no political or religious agenda . “ we do n’t care what you believe in , ” he said . “ you married into our family , so you ’re in our family . we want couples to explore the issues on their own terms . we ’re not trying to dictate how anybody feels about being jewish or about israel . ” ms. mask and mr. diamond went to israel in february , three months after their wedding , with the first group organized out of new york city . ms. mask was especially relieved to meet so many other christians in her situation . “ it helped address this fear that i will lose part of my identity , ” she said . for mr. diamond , the trip “ was all about an to the idea that there are many kinds of jewish families , ” he said . “ that ’s not something i ’ve been exposed to most of my life : a celebration instead of a grudging acceptance . ” seth preminger , 31 , and tracy lyons , 30 , each assumed they would marry within their own faiths . dr. preminger , a child and adolescent psychologist in chicago who was raised jewish , and dr. lyons , a pediatrician in chicago who was raised catholic , met in july 2011 . “ as a little girl , the only thing i ’d ever planned for my wedding was what church i ’d get married in and what church music i ’d have , ” dr. lyons said . neither realized how stressful planning an interfaith wedding would be . the catholic clergyman who agreed to be an officiant wanted to marry them in a church , but that made dr. preminger uncomfortable . it was difficult to find a rabbi willing to be part of a joint ceremony . after much searching with google , they found the interfaith family school in chicago , run by catholics and jews . the school , which offers a curriculum for children whose families consider themselves “ both , ” and which also has a couple ’s counseling group , invited dr. lyons and dr. preminger to attend a student presentation . “ it was really exciting for us to hear these kids talk about growing up in an environment that supports both faiths , especially as we were planning our wedding , ” dr. lyons said . “ they help you explain the different traditions to extended family . ” dr. preminger said their wedding in may 2015 at the kenmare loft , a former factory in chicago , raised a few eyebrows , but everyone eventually came around . another organization , interfaithfamily , which is overseen by rabbis , demonstrates the ripple effect of this new attitude . the nonprofit started as a website , interfaithfamily . com , to help couples plan interfaith weddings and find rabbis willing to jointly officiate ceremonies . within the last five years , the organization has opened offices in eight cities , where the group hosts couples discussion groups , religious services and social events . “ couples need safe spaces to be with others just like them , ” said rabbi ari moffic , who heads the chicago branch . “ if you google ‘ interfaith marriage,’ you ’ll still find negative headlines . ” “ the american jewish community sees this as a public concern for jews at large , ” said helen kim , an associate professor of sociology at whitman college in walla walla , wash. “ they want to mobilize the larger community . ” dr. kim is a who was raised without religion and adopted judaism after marrying noah leavitt , an associate dean at whitman . the couple recently wrote a book , “ jewasian : race , religion , and identity for america ’s newest jews . ” there are no hard statistics , but dr. kim , who said she has noticed a rise in marriages , has also found that asians in the united states , who are mostly christian , are n’t concerned about “ dilution of the population ” the way jews are . on balance , there are fewer resources for couples seeking a more equitable arrangement . many organizations “ say they ’re friends of interfaith , but they have a tiny asterisk that says , ‘ we want you to have a jewish home,’ ” said eileen o’farrell smith , the founder and director of the interfaith union , which holds workshops for and couples in chicago . in new york , a group called interfaith community runs couples workshops , private counseling sessions and an elementary school curriculum that teaches the fundamentals of judaism and christianity for interfaith families . “ in this multicultural , global , diverse world , where people are bringing many differences into a family , the old war ii paradigm , where you married the boy next door and everyone went to the same church , has completely changed , ” said sheila gordon , the group ’s president . some 100 children are enrolled in interfaith community ’s educational programs , dr. gordon said , but the number of couples in the premarital workshops has declined , even as the percentage of interfaith marriages has increased . at least for younger couples , “ the millennial ethos of fairness and respect means they do n’t feel threatened by entering into this kind of partnership , ” she said . so these couples do not think workshops are necessary . and yet , such programs can be vital for some couples , who do face challenges in joining different faiths . “ it helps to know other people in the same boat , ” said kamran khan , a muslim who joined ms. o’farrell smith ’s group with his christian fiancée , corinne atty . their wedding , planned for september in chicago , has caused a rift , with mr. khan ’s parents disapproving of his relationship and refusing to talk about it or to attend the wedding . but mr. khan wants to discuss the difficult questions with ms. atty now , “ instead of seven years from now , ” he said . being a part of the group at interfaith union , he added , has given him a sense of pride about creating a different kind of family . “ we can blaze a trail for others , ” mr. khan said . “ we ’re at the forefront of something . ”
+0 planned parenthood to host pre - inauguration benefit concert in dc daniel nussbaum rapper common and indie rock band the national are set to host a benefit concert for planned parenthood in washington , d. c. on january 19 , the day before donald trump is sworn into office . [ the free concert , billed “ show up ! a concert for reproductive health , freedom + justice , ” will take place at the 9:30 club in washington , d. c. organizers all access promise special guests , elected officials and other activists will join in on the concert . “ we plan to send a clear message to the incoming administration that millions of people across this country are prepared to fight attacks on reproductive health care and abortion services , ” planned parenthood president cecile richards said in a statement . the concert is one of several protest events planned around trump ’s inauguration . on january 21 , thousands of demonstrators are expected to participate in the women ’s march on washington , including celebrities like katy perry and cher . “ women should be able to make their own decisions regarding their bodies and health , ” the national ’s frontman matt berninger said in a statement . “ this is a basic human right , and we ’re at the very beginning of a long and tough battle to defend these basic rights . a concert in d. c. inspiring people to take action , seems like a pretty good way to kick it off . ” this is n’t the first concert hosted by the all access coalition . in september , the group planned a concert featuring singer sia and ghostbusters actress leslie jones in cleveland , ohio . follow daniel nussbaum on twitter : @dznussbaum
+1 support for ' assault - weapon ' ban hits record low -no author- support for ' assault - weapon ' ban hits record low even widely opposed by those who do n't even own guns published : 3 mins ago ( the federalist ) support for a so - called assault weapons ban in the u.s. just hit a record low of 36 percent , according to a new gallup poll released on wednesday . the poll showed that 61 percent of american adults now oppose a ban . that level of opposition is the highest ever recorded . increasing opposition to the 1990’s - era gun ban is n’t just limited to republicans . gallup ’s data show that opposition to the ban has increased across the board . barely 50 percent of democrats currently support the ban today , compared to 63 percent support from democrats in 1996 , just two years after the federal ban was signed into law . less than a third of independents currently support a ban , while republican support hovers at 25 percent .
+1 larken rose on the immorality of voting corbett podcast : play in new window | download | embed your vote is statistically meaningless and will not sway the ( s)election . your vote is strategically meaningless and decides nothing about the future of the country . your vote is useless , as the ( s)election is rigged anyway . but as larken rose of larkenrose.com reminds us , what really matters is that voting is immoral , legitimizing a system of authoritarian control and empowering the oligarchs who created the system and control its results . click here for show notes and mp3 audio for this conversation
+1 trump throws a fit when asked why he is promoting his hotel instead of campaigning jason easley donald trump had himself a tantrum on cnn after he was asked why he was spending the day promoting his hotel instead of campaigning in swing states . video : dana bash : is your dc hotel opening free advertising?donald trump : “ no , not at all ” https://t.co/6oztrfiwim https://t.co/9hhqooom8r — cnn politics ( @cnnpolitics ) october 26 , 2016 with just 13 days until election day , cnn ’s dana bash asked trump why he is promoting his hotel instead of campaigning in swing states , “ i say the following : you have been covering me for the last— long time . i did yesterday eight stops and three major speeches , and i ’ve been doing this for weeks straight . for you to ask me that question is actually very insulting because hillary clinton does one stop and then she goes home and sleeps . and yet you ’ll ask me that question . i think that ’s a very rude question , to be honest with you . ” trump ca n’t defend why he is wasting precious time promoting his business interests instead of campaigning . trump does n’t have a single campaign event scheduled until 7 pm . he has given up a critical day of campaign time to get publicity for his new hotel . when trump got called out for some very unpresidential scheduling priorities , his response was to attack the reporter . the republican nominee is not behaving like a person who is willing to give everything to be elected the next president , and every time he leaves his fox news bubble , donald trump opens his mouth and reminds voters of why he should never be elected president . trump throws a fit when asked why he is promoting his hotel instead of campaigning added by jason easley on we d , oct 26th , 2016
+1 jack mcleod you ca n't even prove your god exists . why would i believe anything this god says ? fortunately , we have a congress who is supposed to vote on the law of equality and not on some stupid , outdated , book with fictional people and accounts .
+0 champion runner attempts to murder sports official after outed as transgender ’woman’ - breitbart warner todd huston a champion female runner who faces being stripped of her titles after revelations that she was born a man has been convicted of attempting to murder a sports official who outed her past life , authorities say , the daily mail reported . [ champion lauren jeska was arrested for the stabbing attack on british athletics official ralph knibbs in march of last year . police say jeska also attacked two of knibbs’ during the incident . officials called the march 22 attack at the birmingham open plan uk athletics office “ frenzied ” and “ wholly unprovoked , ” yet was also a “ cool and calculated attack . ” the attacks came after jeska faced having her series of wins vacated because she refused to supply blood tests to prove she had a woman ’s level of testosterone in her system at the time of her victories . “ we understand jeska had been asked to provide further evidence of hormone levels after historical complaints to uk athletics that she had an unfair advantage competing in women ’s events because she had been born a man , ” detective sergeant sally olsen said after the latest hearing . “ the governing body ’s policy required the athlete to take a blood test but she took exception to this and feared being unable to compete , ” olsen added . police discovered from a psychiatrist who interviewed the suspect that she “ fantasized about going to the alexander stadium and killing all of the staff . ” during the attack , jeska stabbed knibbs in the neck nicking his carotid artery , but even as blood spurted out across the room with each heartbeat , the victim warded off further blows until two colleagues came to subdue jeska . the other two men were also injured in the attack . despite the loss of blood , knibbs survived the attack . the victim said he suffered a during the attack and now also suffers permanent vision loss . he testified that the attack was a “ traumatic , experience . ” lauren jeska was handed an jail term for her crime . she will not be eligible for parole until she has served of her sentence . follow warner todd huston on twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail . com .
+1 recently leaked documents reveal what the rockefeller ’s knew about ufos starkman via usualroutine “ there exists a shadowy government with its own air force , its own navy , its own fundraising mechanism , and the ability to pursue its own ideas of the national interest , free from all checks and balances , and free from the law itself . ” – senator daniel k. inouye , the highest - ranking asian - american politician in united states history sponsored links scroll down for video below one great way to find out is to follow the money , and in doing so , it becomes immediately apparent that corporations sit higher than the government itself . “ it ’s corruption really , the might of money , the corporations that hold governments in their hands , because of lobbying power and so forth , it ’s really frightening . ” – jane goodall ( source ) the recognition that we now live in a ‘ corporatocracy’ rather than a democracy has become almost a commonplace for many people . above the corporations ( who continually require access to cheap money ) , however , are the big banks . these groups supply cheap loans to corporation , enabling them to maintain their lobbying power and thus their influence over governmental policy . the banks in question include chase , bank of america , and goldman sachs , to name a few . above these big banks are the national central banks , like the bank of england and the federal reserve . above them still are the international central banks — the international monetary fund ( imf ) and the world bank . and finally , above these two is the central bank of central banks , the bank for international settlements . the rockefeller and rothschild families are and have been involved with the creation of this system . if we follow the money , that is precisely where it leads . when it comes to the ufo phenomenon , we know that governments have been kept in the dark , that there are developments being made within the “ black budget ” world , most notably within unacknowledged and waived special access programs ( saps ) , that ‘ world leaders’ know little about . “ it is ironic that the u.s. would begin a devastating war , allegedly in search of weapons of mass destruction , when the most worrisome developments in this field are occurring in your own backyard . it is ironic that the u.s. should be fighting monstrously expensive wars in iraq and afghanistan , allegedly to bring democracy to those countries , when it itself can no longer claim to be called a democracy , when trillions , and i mean thousands of billions of dollars have been spent on projects about which both the congress and the commander in chief have been kept deliberately in the dark . ” – paul hellyer , former canadian defence minister ( source ) i think it is a fair assumption to say that information surrounding ufos and extraterrestrials , along with this “ shadow ” government , lies within the hands of those who sit atop these major financial institutions — a group of private , international elites . “ a power has risen up in the government greater than the people themselves , consisting of many , and various , and powerful interests , combined into one mass , and held together by the cohesive power of the vast surplus in the banks . ” ( source ) – john c. calhoun , the 7th vice president of the united states today , we have no shortage of evidence for the existence of ufos . in fact , the reality of these objects has been officially verified in the ‘ mainstream’ world , as thousands of government documents have been released showing that there are objects in our atmosphere performing impossible maneuvers at unbelievable speeds . the rockefeller family and ufos what evidence is available suggesting that the rockefeller family had information regarding ufos and possible extraterrestrials ? we can start with the fact that we now know that laurence rockefeller , the prominent third - generation member of the rockefeller family and the fourth child of john d. rockefeller , encouraged ufo research . how do we know this ? he heavily supported the work of harvard university professor , psychologist , and pultizer prize winner dr. john mack , who had a great interest in ufos and those who have had supposed contact with extraterrestrials . you can learn more about mack in an article we published earlier this year where he dealt with 60 school children who all witnessed non - human beings and a large craft landing . according to the us national library of medicine , mack ’s “ disparate personas — from esteemed professor of psychiatry at harvard medical school to social activist and believer in alien abductions — were as incongruent as the extraordinary assemblage of his supporters , who included venture capitalist laurence rockefeller . . . . ” ( source ) the john e. mack institute website also states that rockefeller funded mack . peter sturrock , an emeritus professor of physics , gathered a group of other world - renowned scientists in 1997 to stress the fact that the ufo topic deserves serious attention and is accompanied by physical evidence . the scientists met at the pocantico conference center near trrytown , new york , and the conference was financially supported by laurance rockefeller . ( source ) ( source ) laurence rockefeller initiated an effort alongside hilary clinton and bill clinton encouraging the u.s. government to officially disclose the existence of extraterrestrials and ufos . it ’s what ’s known today as the “ rockefeller initiative , ” and you can view all of the documents to and from laurence rockefeller to various people regarding this initiative here . they were obtained through the freedom of information act by various researchers , including the paradigm research group , who was responsible for the citizens hearing on disclosure , an event that brought together researchers and high ranking military and political personnel to testify about the reality of ufos and extraterrestrials in front of several former united states congresspeople . you can learn more about that here . ( source ) . laurence has also supported the work of dr. steve greer , head of the disclosure project . here is a picture with hillary clinton meeting with laurence rockefeller , holding a book believed to be written by paul davies titled , “ are we alone ? ” you can see from the information above why it ’s not unreasonable to assume this , and we published an article earlier this year explaining how we determined the identity of the book . what ’s interesting about this point is the fact that john podesta , former white house chief of staff under the clinton administration , councillor to barack obama , and current head of hilary clinton ’s presidential campaign , has gone on the record stating that : i ’m skeptical about many things , including the notion that government always knows best , and that the people ca n’t be trusted with the truth . the time to pull the curtain back on this subject is long overdue . we have statements from the most credible sources – those in a position to know – about a fascinating phenomenon , the nature of which is yet to be determined . ( taken from leslie kean ’s 2010 new york times bestseller , ufos : generals , pilots , and government officials go on the record , for which podesta wrote the forward ) podesta also made a live appearance at the national press club years before this , stating that “ it ’s time to open the books on questions that ’ve remained in the dark ” regarding “ government investigations of ufos . ” ( source ) so what exactly does the rockefeller family know about ufos ? as stated earlier , based on my research , i believe that the secrecy surrounding this subject has been dictated by a small group of elite who sit atop the global financial system . i believe this same international group has heavy influence inside the military industrial complex/ black budget , and i believe they are responsible for what president eisenhower warned us about many years ago — “ the acquisition of unwarranted influence whether sought or unsought , by the military industrial complex . the potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists , and will persist . ” i also believe that information regarding this subject could lie in the hands of people above those who control our global economy / financial systems — with a group that ’s completely , one hundred percent clandestine , even possibly beyond the big banks … but who really knows ? that being said , it ’s only possible to find information linking laurence rockefeller to ufos ; we do n’t have much evidence to suggest his other family members have been involved , but it ’s not illogical to assume that given the fact that anne bartley , the stepdaughter of winthorp rockefeller , was also involved we know he has shown a clear interest in the subject , and , as illustrated above , financed a few prominent people who were studying the subject . it ’s clear that laurence had a heavy interest in this subject and certainly encouraged the disclosure of classified information , as the above information demonstrates . whether he was doing this out of pure interest or because he and his family were already involved in the cover - up is unclear . who knows what information he was privy to ? or what the other members of his family knew about the subject ? laurence was the only one to openly take interest in it , but other members of his family could have been working behind the scenes . what are your thoughts ?
+1 tennesseereddog the jews hold moral , historical and legal title to all jerusalem including the temple mount . zion , the city of david , the apple of god 's eye . the islamos are interloping squatters there and i 'm surprised israel tolerates their presence . there is also no history of anything called a palestinian people , language or culture . the argument is a 70 year old mb political construct simply to justify continual war against israel . only one state solution exists : israel .
+0 man wrongfully convicted of murder awaits his exoneration , 52 years later - the new york times alan feuer a couple of years ago , paul gatling , a retired landscaper in virginia , happened to see an article in a local newspaper about the brooklyn district attorney ’s efforts to identify wrongful convictions . mr. gatling , then 79 , had himself been wrongfully convicted in 1964 of murdering an artist in the crown heights neighborhood of brooklyn . he spent nine years in prison for the crime until , with the help of the legal aid society , his sentence was commuted by nelson a. rockefeller , new york ’s governor at the time . even with the reduction in his sentence and his eventual parole , mr. gatling remained , officially , a convicted murderer . intrigued by the possibility that he might finally be able to clear his name , mr. gatling called the lawyer who had handled his commutation and was , some 40 years later , still working for legal aid . the lawyer suggested that he write to the district attorney ’s office to ask if its new conviction review unit would his case . mr. gatling did , and his request began an inquiry that led investigators into a tale of legal malfeasance , one that is to culminate on monday in mr. gatling ’s formal exoneration . “ i wanted to be done with all of this , ” mr. gatling , now 81 , said in a telephone interview last week . “ i was still angry about having to spend that time for something i did n’t do . ” mr. gatling ’s exoneration will be the 20th time in the last two years that the conviction review unit has helped to clear defendants found guilty in brooklyn of crimes they did not commit . charles j. hynes began a similar effort as the district attorney in 2011 , but when his successor , ken thompson took office in 2014 , he renamed the unit and put his support squarely behind it . the review unit initially focused on cases connected to one detective , louis scarcella , whose alleged misconduct has called into question nearly 50 murder cases . but as news of the unit ’s work has spread , its reach has widened to include cases like mr. gatling ’s . mr. gatling ’s ordeal began on oct. 15 , 1963 , when a man armed with a shotgun burst into the home of lawrence rothbort , an artist who lived on bedford avenue with his wife , marlene , and their two children , a boy and an infant daughter . according to police reports and , later , testimony at trial , the man demanded money from mr. rothbort . when the artist refused , the gunman shot him in the chest . during the investigation , suspicion first fell on mr. gatling when one of the rothborts’ neighbors , a felon named grady reaves , informed the police that he had seen mr. gatling in the area just minutes after the shooting . when mr. gatling was interviewed by detectives in the 80th precinct ( which was later absorbed by another precinct ) he told them that he had been paying his rent at the time — a fact that his landlord eventually confirmed . a few hours into the interview , mr. gatling ’s lawyer called the station house , but the detectives told him that he could not see his client until the questioning was complete , court papers say . that same evening , mr. gatling , who was was placed in a lineup with three notably shorter men . mrs. rothbort was called in to identify him , but did not pick him out , even though , court papers say , the detectives directed her to focus on “ the tall one . ” a few nights later , mrs. rothbort went back to the station house as mr. gatling was again being interviewed . this time , after seeing him facing questions , she told detectives that he was the man who had killed her husband . largely on the basis of this identification , mr. gatling ’s lawyers persuaded him to plead guilty — in the middle of his trial . after all , he faced the possibility of being sent to the electric chair . so mr. gatling pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison . within a week , however , he had asked the judge to withdraw his plea , but the petition was denied . over the next few years , there were more petitions , all of them turned down . finally , in 1973 , malvina nathanson , a young legal aid lawyer , sent a report on mr. gatling ’s case to governor rockefeller . the next year , he commuted mr. gatling ’s sentence he was eventually released on parole . forty years later , when the conviction review unit plunged into the gatling case , most of the witnesses were dead . investigators had to dig up case files from the city archives and track down copies of police reports on microfiche at 1 police plaza . they found that mr. gatling had been denied many of the legal protections that defendants take for granted these days ��� the presence of a lawyer during questioning , for example . perhaps more important , they also found an alternate theory of the case that the jury never heard . it turned out that one of the rothborts’ neighbors had told the police that their marriage was “ not a healthy situation ” and that the couple often argued — sometimes violently in the middle of the night . mrs. rothbort , moreover , told detectives that she was having an affair with a musician who was living as a boarder in their home . when the boarder , leon tolbert , was interviewed , he explained to the police that he had recently heard mrs. rothbort tell her husband that she would kill him if he ever hit her again . much of this information was not provided to the defense , and that was cause enough for the district attorney ’s office to request a reversal of mr. gatling ’s conviction . on monday , he is expected to appear in court for the reversal with , among others , ms. nathanson , his lawyer . “ it ’s restored my enthusiasm , ” ms. nathanson said last week . she added , struggling for words , “ it ’s been a lot of years . ”
+0 directors guild nominates nate parker for best debut - the new york times cara buckley the awards season leaders whom everyone already knew were awards season leaders became ever more apparent on thursday when the directors guild of america revealed the nominees for its top prize . they are : damien chazelle ( “ la la land ” ) garth davis ( “ lion ” ) barry jenkins ( “ moonlight ” ) kenneth lonergan ( “ manchester by the sea ” ) and denis villeneuve ( “ arrival ” ) . the real news came further down in the announcement : nate parker received a nomination for outstanding achievement for a director . this signals a redemption of sorts for mr. parker , whose awards hopes for his debut film , “ the birth of a nation , ” were torpedoed when controversy emerged around rape charges he faced and was acquitted of nearly 16 years ago . in the category , nominations also went to mr. davis ( a second one for his work on “ lion ” ) kelly fremon craig ( “ edge of seventeen ” ) dan trachtenberg ( “ 10 cloverfield lane ” ) and tim miller , whose satirical superhero film “ deadpool ” has been a surprise presence in this year ’s awards race . in the main feature film category , the notable omissions were mel gibson , for “ hacksaw ridge , ” and martin scorsese , whose passion project , “ silence , ” received neither a directors guild nomination nor one from the producers guild , which found room for “ deadpool ” in its nominations list this week . taken with the film ’s shutout from the screen actors guild award nominations , mr. scorsese and “ silence ” are all but guaranteed to be ignored in the best picture and best director oscar races this year . ( academy award nominations are announced jan. 24 . ) guild awards are given far more weight in the oscars race than awards from critics or journalists because they represent industry sentiment , and because a huge number of guild members also belong to the academy of motion picture arts and sciences . the dga award nominations capped a busy week that began with the golden globes and included nomination announcements from the producers and the british academy of film and television arts , which also shares members with the american academy ( and is now dealing with a # baftasowhite controversy for picking an slate of lead acting and directing nominees ) . taken with golden globes wins , the guild nominations make clear the calcification of this year ’s race around the leading contenders , with “ la la land ” more out front than ever .
+1 idols of intellectual perversity : how ideology corrupts the minds of smart people jonas e. alexis by jonas e. alexis on november 1 , 2016 the good thing about morality or practical reason is that it does n’t have a particular political affiliation . it transcends political ideologies and that ’s what make things very interesting . … by jonas e. alexis you ’ve probably seen megyn kelly in action . you ’ve probably watched her babbling weird things , crazy things , and incoherent things . you ’ve also seen how she has prostrated before the powers that be for money , power , and fame . [ 1 ] in fact , she has been seeking for a salary of $ 20 million with fox news . [ 2 ] in other words , kelly is selling herself for the almighty dollar . if you have n’t noticed some of those phenomena , here is kelly on the howard stern show talking about her husband ’s genital , frolicking and other delicate things : youtube - veterans today - for kelly , it is perfectly fine for howard stern to talk about those issues on his show . it is also fine for stern to sexually degrade kelly . for kelly , stern is obviously doing a great job . but for people like donald trump to mention almost the same things on a private bus is an unpardonable sin . sure , trump ’s remarks are disgusting and nasty . and there is no way to justify his immoral statement . it could even be conceived that trump is just a nasty person who has been grabbing women , well , “ by the pussy . ” but do we honestly think that trump is the only nasty and disgusting guy in town ? can kelly really explain to us what was she doing on the howard stern show about six years ago ? and how again can the same sex culture itself slam trump ’s “ grab them by the pussy ” phraseology and at the same time praise people like wilhelm reich or even alfred kinsey ? you see , the good thing about morality or practical reason is that it does n’t have a particular political affiliation . it transcends political ideologies and that ’s what make things very interesting . if you are looking at things from a moral point of view , then those who are condemning trump ought to condemn the same sex culture which articulates trump ’s “ grab them by the pussy ” in a much subtle and interesting way . keep in mind that wilhelm reich , the man who coined the term “ the sexual revolution , ” was praised by the new york times and other media outlets . reich explicitly promoted and encouraged the sexualization of children and the clergy in his widely read text the mass psychology of fascism . [ 3 ] reich taught that “ sexual inhibition prevents the average adolescent from thinking and feeling in a rational way . ” [ 4 ] reich did n’t stop there . he ’s got more insights : “ if one succeeds in getting rid of the childhood fear of masturbation and as a result thereof genitality demands gratification , then intellectual insight and sexual gratification are wo nt to prevail . ” [ 5 ] then , reich dropped the ideological bomb : “ the mechanism that makes masses of people incapable of freedom is the social suppression of genital sexuality in small children , adolescents , and adults . ” [ 6 ] now we ’re talking . now things get really delicious . and it is here that our story gets very interesting because again reich , like his contemporary alfred kinsey , was never condemned for his immoral posturing . the sex culture gave both men great accolades for spreading their own version of “ democracy ” and “ freedom ” and for polluting the social order . kinsey , for his part , published “ academic ” books such as sexual behavior in the human male and sexual behavior in the human female , in which he forged data , pulled things out of thin air , [ 7 ] and deliberately selected samples of his “ research ” from male and female prostitutes to advance his wicked ideology . kinsey ’s other methods were so bias and fraudulent that statistician john tukey of the american statistical association declared then that “ a random selection of three people would have been better than a group of 300 chosen by mr. kinsey . ” [ 8 ] academic institutions such as indiana university continue to protect kinsey ’s pedophilia . [ 9 ] paul gebhard , kinsey ’s protégé and former director of the kinsey institute for sex research , deliberately removed anything from the institute that would even remotely implicate kinsey as a pedophile and not a scientist . so , is n’t there a logical breakdown here ? the sex industry complicated things when its advocates fired people for exposing kinsey and documenting his immoral behavior . are thing living in contradiction ? indeed . now were are learning that the children of the same sex industry are implicitly sneaking in or even adopting moral themes by saying that “ grab them by the pussy ” is universally wrong . the sex industry shows that g. k. chesterton was right all along when he said : “ a man must be something of a moralist if he is to preach , even if he is to preach unmorality . ” [ 10 ] perhaps this was one reason kinsey died “ a broken man ” [ 11 ] in 1956 . a sodomite and sadomasochist of the highest rank , kinsey is indirectly the father of what is now “ sex education . ” kinsey ’s sexual behavior in the human male and sexual behavior in the human female contain chapter after chapter about pedophilia , group sex , orgies , etc . kinsey was trained as a biologist , and it was no accident that he used his training to promote social engineering . [ 12 ] obviously the ideology upon which the sex industry is based is irrational , incoherent , and ultimately worthless . and if had had to give the sex industry a different name from a book , it would be smeagol , who later changed to gollum , from j. r. r. tolkien ’s the lord of the rings . gollum is the actual character who loves and hates the ring of power at the same time , “ as he loves and hates himself . ” in a similar way , the sex industry hates morality and fights against it in the cultural landscape , but the same industry always appeals to an implicitly moral code when someone else pursuits an immoral life . hillary for example supported the trotskyite group the pussy riot , a subversive band whose members deliberately performed orgies at a museum . but the same hillary finds trump ’s “ grab them by the pussy ” disgusting . trump is nasty for calling people overweight , but hillary herself called people out for their weight and even went so far as to say that they are “ shit - kickers . ” [ 13 ] sometimes , a “ good morning , mrs. clinton ” could drive her to say : “ fuck off ! it ’s enough that i have to see you shit - kickers every day … do your goddamn job and keep your mouth shut . ” [ 14 ] judith reisman there is more here than meets the eye and ear . judith reisman was inevitably fired at the american university for meticulously and methodically documenting that kinsey was a pedophile masquerading as a researcher . reisman , who has graciously sent me a copy of the fourth edition of her book , stolen honor stolen innocence : how america was betrayed by the lies and sexual crimes of a mad “ scientist , ” writes that kinsey was “ familiar with the work of dr. magnus hirschfeld . kinsey ’s friend , dr. harry benjamin , had brought hirschfeld to america to speak against the social reform accomplishments of the purity movement . “ [ 15 ] magnus hirschfeld ( 1868 - 1935 ) , a german - jewish physician and sexologist , used his medical training as a pretext to promote perversion and , in 1897 , built his own system of “ the scientific - humanitarian committee , the first organization anywhere devoted to the protection of homosexual rights . ” hirschfeld was also “ the primary inventor of marriage counseling , gay liberation , artificial insemination , surgical gender ‘ reassignment,’ and modern sex therapy … his goofy persona and conscientiousness transformed sexology from an anthropological curiosity into a popular german science . the berlin monthlies , starting in the mid - twenties , referred to hirschfeld solicitously as ‘ the einstein of sex . ” [ 16 ] hirschfeld was the einstein of sex because he “ embraced a doctrine known as ‘ sexual relativity . ” [ 17 ] while the moral order dictates that there are only two sexes — male and female — hirscheld postulated another doctrine , one more congruent with his subversive ideology . hirschfeld “ wrote that it was ‘ unscientific’ to speak of two sexes . between ‘ full man’ and ‘ full woman’ was an infinite string of sexual / gender possibilities . ” [ 18 ] the only force that could hinder hirschfeld was the moral order and a will to act on it , but he attacked it before proceeding with his sexual revolution . [ 19 ] hirschfeld spent a large part of his 1200-page book the homosexuality of men and women deconstructing moral principles about sex . [ 20 ] this began to take place in 1919 when hirschfeld opened the institute of sexology in berlin . jewish scholar mel gordon of the university of california tells us that the institution “ quickly became one of the city ’s most curious attractions . the institute ’s buildings , including a former mansion , were divided into areas for lectures , consulting offices , study rooms , laboratories , medical clinics , and a museum space devoted to sexual pathology . ” [ 21 ] paul johnson commented , “ the foxtrot and short skirts , the addiction of pleasure in ‘ the imperial sewers of berlin,’ the ‘ dirty pictures’ of sexologist magnus hirschfeld or the typical man of the times took on in the minds of the average citizen a repugnance that is difficult to recall in hindsight without some historical effort . “ in a number of highly celebrated provocations , the stage of the ‘ 20s dealt with topics like patricide , incest and other crimes and the deepest inclination of the times tended to self - mockery . ” [ 22 ] a number of jewish icons such as george gershwin , ben hecht , douglas fairbanks , and sergei eisenstein visited the school . [ 23 ] eisenstein “ enjoyed the institute ’s collection of sailor - dolls — homemade paper toys that german homosexuals fashioned during the great war . ” [ 24 ] the library of the school , “ which contained the largest sex and pornographic book collection in europe , remained accessible to all readers … politically , the institute provided a forum for progressive lawyers and government officials who sought to eradicate the laws against homosexuality and defend germany ’s legal abortion rights from the growing onslaught of fascist and religious parties . ” [ 25 ] the building contained all sort of sexual devices in order to advance the sexual revolution in berlin . mel gordon again writes : “ glass cases of fetishistic objects and sex aids from preliterate , asian , and european cultures filled two other rooms . in the open counters and boxes were collections of mandigo dildos that squirted a milky solution , moche water bottles with penis - shaped spouts , sanskrit sex manuals , miniature shoes worn by bound - foot chinese courtesans , medieval chastity belts , torture instruments from a german brothel , sadistic drawings and assemblages created by lustmord convicts , an entire picture window of ankle boots donated by a local fetishist , antique steam - driven vibrators , fake rubber breasts and vaginas taken from transvestite prostitutes , lacy panties found on the corpses of von hindenburg ’s heroic officers , and other such incontrovertible evidence of hirschfeld ’s new calculus of desire . ” [ 26 ] magus hirschfeld left germany during the rise of the nazi party , never to return . but he obviously had a tremendously powerful influence on alfred kinsey , who went on to open his own “ sex research ” at indiana university , which was partly based on hirschefeld ’s questionnaires . [ 27 ] according to kinsey , things such as child pornography , bestiality and even sex among children are natural and should be encouraged and promoted . kinsey wrote : “ it is difficult to understand why a child , except for its cultural conditioning , should be disturbed at having its genitalia touched , or disturbed at seeing the genitalia of other persons , or disturbed at even more specific sexual contacts . ” [ 28 ] how did kinsey bring this repulsive idea to the public , and who was he following ? reisman points out that kinsey was an admirer and part - time disciple of the late satanist aleister crowley , commonly known as “ the beast . ” in fact , kinsey made every effort “ to acquire aleister crowley ’s diaries for the institute ” at indiana university . [ 29 ] he actually failed . but failure was obviously not an option for kinsey , as he went on to perform the same sex and satanic orgies that crowley himself performed . kinsey “ made a pilgrimage to thelema abbey , the temple where crowley had ministered . crowley ’s first book , the pornographic white stains , advocated sexual magic and was much favored by kinsey . in fact , kinsey was photographed in crowley ’s “ chamber of horrors , ” while he and clara appear together in a photo following kinsey ’s return from the abbey . ” [ 30 ] kenneth anger , a crowley devotee , later admitted that kinsey ’s obsession with perversion was “ highly reminiscent ” of crowley ’s sex magic . [ 31 ] when kinsey visited what one ought to call crowley ’s lab experiment in italy at the abbey , he saw depictions of children in “ sado - sexual ceremonies , ” and kinsey never condemned the act . kinsey “ found crowley ’s savage child pornography , his homosexual magic , and his human sacrifice records to be ‘ most open.’ ” [ 32 ] we are now facing an inevitable conclusion . no one with an ounce of moral sense should applaud donald trump for uttering disgusting words about women . but will the same mass media devote the same amount of time to dethrone people like hugh hefner , who incidentally articulated the same thing that trump was saying ? hefner declared : “ censorship is the tool of totalitarianism and repression . if it is used today to prohibit sexually explicit words and images , it might be used tomorrow to prohibit other forms of expression . “ it might be used to justify the oppression of women in such areas as abortion rights , and to foil other efforts to bring about equality between the sexes . censorship is insatiable . “ it can erode the freedom of expression until there is only one acceptable point of view left . if that were to happen in our society , whose point of view would survive ? “ playboy celebrates sex because sex is one of the good things in life . the freedom to express oneself without fear of censorship is another . ” [ 33 ] here ’s the kicker : hefner wrote his piece in the l.a. times , the same organ that is now condemning trump for following hefner ’s advice ! what the sex culture is basically saying here is that it is sexually permissible to “ grab them by the pussy . ” after all , “ censorship is the tool of totalitarianism and repression . ” but when trump actually grabs them “ by the pussy , ” what was sexually permissible has magically become morally impermissible . if these people can not see the lunacy of their ideology , then i ’ve got some hamsters to sell them in south korea . [ 1 ] see for example erica tempesta , “ ’she looks like she ’s working for an escort agency!’ megyn kelly slammed online over risque low - cut dress she wore at the rnc , with critics claiming it looked like ‘ lingerie,’ ” daily mail , july 22 , 2016 . [ 2 ] joe flint , “ megyn kelly seeks salary north of $ 20 million in contract talks with fox news , ” wall street journal , october 27 , 2016 . [ 3 ] see e. michael jones , libido dominandi : sexual liberation and political control ( south bend : st. augustine ’s press , 2000 ) . [ 4 ] quoted in e. michael jones , the catholic church and the cultural revolution ( south bend : fidelity press , 2016 ) , kindle edition . [ 6 ] ibid . [ 7 ] see e. michael jones , degenerate moderns : modernity as rationalized sexual misbehavior ( south bend : fidelity press , 2012 ) , chapter 5 . [ 8 ] david leonhardt , “ john tukey , 85 , statistician ; coined the word ‘ software,’ ” ny times , july 28 , 2000 . [ 9 ] for a study on this , see e. michael jones , degenerate moderns : modernity as rationalized sexual misbehavior ( south bend : fidelity press , 2012 ) , 83 - 108 . [ 10 ] g. k. chesterton , heretics ( nashville : sam torode book arts , 2011 ) , 103 . [ 11 ] simon levay and elizabeth nonas , city of friends : a portrait of the gay and lesbian community in america ( cambridge : the mit press , 1995 ) , 51 . [ 12 ] see james h. jones , alfred c. kinsey : a public / private life ( new york : w. w. norton , 1997 ) ; jonathan gathorne - hardy , sex the measure of all things : a life of alfred c. kinsey ( bloomington : indiana university press , 2000 ) . [ 13 ] quoted in christopher andersen , american evita : hillary clinton ’s path to power ( new york : harpercollins publishers , 2004 ) , 90 . [ 14 ] ibid . [ 15 ] judith reisman , stolen honor stolen innocence : how america was betrayed by the lies and sexual crimes of a mad “ scientist ” ( orlando , fl : new revolution publishers , 2013 ) , 22 . [ 16 ] mel gordon , voluptuous panic : the erotic world of weimar berlin ( san francisco : feral house , 2006 ) , 153 . [ 18 ] ibid . , 153 - 154 . [ 19 ] elena mancini , magnus hirschfeld and the quest for sexual freedom : a history of the first international sexual freedom movement ( new york : palgrave , 2010 ) , 13 . [ 20 ] see magnus hirschfeld , the homosexuality of men and women ( new york : prometheus books , 2000 ) . [ 21 ] gordon , voluptuous panic , 126 . [ 22 ] johnson , modern times , 115 . [ 23 ] gordon , voluptuous panic , 164 .
+1 downturn in russo - british relations a danger for global security dmitry babich , special to rbth russia - uk relations , uk , patriarch kirill , london drawing by alexei iorsh source : iorsh after the brexit referendum and the subsequent change of government in the uk , a number of experts and observers expected an improvement in russo - british relations . perhaps unwittingly , former british prime minister david cameron inspired these unfounded expectations . cameron ’s constantly repeated allegations that russian president vladimir putin supported a vote for brexit made people expect a somewhat softer line on russia from the new governing team in london who were , after all , supporters of brexit and opponents of cameron . when boris johnson became the new foreign secretary , several mps were even concerned about him not being “ tough enough ” with russia and making “ conciliatory ” calls to his russian counterpart , foreign minister sergei lavrov . johnson quickly proved these concerns wrong , issuing a call for protests near the russian embassy in london as a way to punish moscow for its actions in syria . “ this is something unprecedented in the world of diplomacy , ” alexey pushkov , former head of the duma ’s committee on international affairs , said in an interview to vesti fm radio station . “ a diplomat calling for non - diplomatic solutions , with popular anger mobilized – this is something new . ” pushkov also noted johnson ’s tough statement accusing russia of deliberately killing syrian civilians with “ repeated bombings.”“they drop one bomb and then they wait for the aid workers to come out pulling the injured from the rubble , and then five minutes later they drop another bomb , ” boris johnson said in an interview with the tabloid the sun . “ boris johnson is showing a flamboyant attitude where it is needed least of all , ” pushkov replied . for their part , the russian authorities , disappointed by johnson , are also changing their tone , trying to drive home to both foreign and domestic audiences the message that they are angry . “ decent people first provide the evidence , and only later they come out with accusations , ” said maria zakharova , spokesperson for the russian ministry of foreign affairs , in response to johnson ’s interview with the sun . seeing the bigger picture both johnson and zakharova have provided plenty of fodder for the media , but all commentary and posturing aside , the decline in russo - british relations is detrimental not just for the two countries at hand , but also for global security at large . “ we should not forget that the world was once brought to the brink of a nuclear disaster not because of european problems , but because of a conflict over a distant land – cuba . when i hear british voices suggesting that nato forces should impose a no - fly zone over northern syria by striking at the airfields of the syrian or russian air forces in syria – i get really worried , ” alexei pushkov said . “ in this situation , tough statements with a strong populist message – such as the talk about “ warning strikes ” in syria – such statements are not just tasteless , they are plain dangerous . ” patriarch ’s visit to london hailed as step toward reconciliation with west media tensions were somewhat eased by the visit to the uk by russian orthodox patriarch kirill . during his visit , which took place on oct. 15 - 18 , the patriarch deliberately avoided controversial issues , playing down the conflict between the russian and british governments . “ political differences wo n’t be able to disrupt the relations between russia and britain on the basic level , on the level of people - to - people ties , ” patriarch kirill said , speaking to journalists before his flight back to moscow . “ i am often asked about our church ’s position on ukraine . my answer is that there can be only one position : to reconcile the people , to lessen the tension , to end the bloody clashes . ” trying to minimize the damage from the conflict between russia and ukraine , the russian orthodox church still recognizes crimea as a canonical territory of its ukrainian “ orthodox sister church . ” for two years , patriarch kirill avoided any political comments on the recent “ regime change ” in ukraine . when the ukrainian government barred him from visiting kiev , the cradle of orthodox christianity in ancient rus , kirill did not protest . in this way , the russian orthodox church is offering a good example of forgiveness and compromise . several british mps protested against what they called a “ red carpet reception ” for patriarch kirill in london because of kirill ’s loyalty to putin , but the patriarch did not pronounce a single word of anger or even sadness , meeting instead with queen elizabeth , the titular head of the church of england , and blessing by his presence the opening of a renovated orthodox cathedral in london . “ since the early stages of deterioration of relations between russia and the west , the church leaders have often been doing the diplomats’ jobs in russia ’s relations with the west , ” wrote moscow - based nezavisimaya gazeta , deviating from its usual line , which is very critical of kirill . this is perhaps not the worst of developments : at a time when diplomats are often sacrificing security and professionalism in order to boost their standing in the mass media , the church is trying to remember and celebrate the positive legacy of russo - british relations . this is done not so much for the sake of history , as for the sake of a secure future . sooner or later , this cursory attitude towards diplomacy will have to give way to wisdom and responsibility . dmitry babich is a political analyst at sputnik international . the opinion of the writer may not necessarily reflect the position of rbth or its staff . subscribe to get the hand picked best stories every week subscribe to our mailing list
+1 news : hope for the gop : a nude paul ryan has just emerged from an ayahuasca tent with visions of a new republican party nan email since donald trump entered the election over a year ago , he has single - handedly destroyed the gop , leaving both the house and the senate in utter disarray . but although many political strategists believe permanent damage has been done , conservatives should n’t lose hope yet , because speaker of the house paul ryan has just emerged fully nude from an ayahuasca tent with visions of a new republican party . a fresh gop platform requires fresh leadership , and when speaker ryan journeyed to south america last week to embark on an immersive psychedelic vision quest of political rebirth , he just proved he ’s the only one for the job . after traveling to peru and entering a makeshift tent with nothing but a towel , 200 mg of dmt , and a bucket to vomit in , paul ryan ( r - wis . ) spent the last 12 hours lying nude on the jungle floor , enduring bursts of vivid consciousness in which he watched the secrets of a unified , more moderate gop unfold before his very eyes . while under the influence of the powerful psychedelic , ancient spiritual guides appeared before the congressman , instructed him to remove his clothes , and held him down as lifelike projections of republican leaders twisted and contorted around him until the perfect cabinet had revealed itself amid infinite realities in which tax cuts and fiscal budgets exploded into cacophonous symphonies , all to create a republican party that mobilizes key voter constituencies . check out these tweets he posted just a few moments after emerging nude from his tent in the amazon rain forest ! whoa . democrats have been pretty confident this past year , but if paul ryan ’s visions of the republican party are right , they better watch out ! say what you want about paul ryan , but he ’s a man who refuses to give up . on the one hand , is it possible that the speaker ’s grand ayahuasca visions of a new republican party are just a temporary fix ? sure . but on the other hand , if he plays his cards right , his proposals could have an even larger impact than they did during the thousands of years he lived while trapped inside his own mind . one thing is for sure : paul ryan emerged fully nude from that ayahuasca tent with a new perspective , and people are starting to take notice .
+0 dan savage : melania trump is ‘ ugly on the inside’ - breitbart pam key content warning : adult language ] this week on his “ savage love ” podcast , gay rights activist dan savage went after first lady melania trump , saying she was “ as ugly on the inside as she is pretty on the outside . ” “ i want to open today ’s show talking about someone i hate , ” savage , who is a activist , said . “ but god knows there ’s enough hate in the world , and i do n’t want to add to the sum total but forgive me , i have got to get this off my chest : i f***ing hate melania trump . ” he continued , “ i ’m not alone in loathing donald trump ’s third wife — she ’s married to a misogynist after all . odds are good her husband hates her , too . but there are some folks on the left who not only do n’t hate her . they view her as some sort of sympathetic figure . the pretty princess in the tower locked up by the orange ogre with the bad combover , a princess desperately blinking out distress signals during ceremonies and inaugural balls . ” he added , “ i think we can credit that undeserving charitable view of our new first lady to our propensity as humans , as a species to think that the insides of pretty people match the outsides of pretty people . and that may be true sometimes but only randomly . and everyone always beware of confirmation bias . and you know what it ’s definitely not true in this case . mrs. trump , melania trump , is as ugly on the inside as she is pretty on the outside . she is a birther . pretty melania went on tv to push the same racist conspiracy theories about barack obama that her husband did . she ’s an immigrant who does n’t give a s**t about the plight of other immigrants . she ’s famously a plagiarist . and she ’s brought ruinous lawsuits against journalists and bloggers accusing them of , among other things , potentially interfering with her ability to profit off her role as first lady . ” ( the wrap ) follow pam key on twitter @pamkeynen
+0 apple removes new york times apps from its store in china - the new york times katie benner and sui - lee wee apple , complying with what it said was a request from chinese authorities , removed news apps created by the new york times from its app store in china late last month . the move limits access to one of the few remaining channels for readers in mainland china to read the times without resorting to special software . the government began blocking the times ’s websites in 2012 , after a series of articles on the wealth amassed by the family of wen jiabao , who was then prime minister , but it had struggled in recent months to prevent readers from using the app . apple removed both the and apps from the app store in china on dec. 23 . apps from other international publications , including the financial times and the wall street journal , were still available in the app store . “ for some time now the new york times app has not been permitted to display content to most users in china and we have been informed that the app is in violation of local regulations , ” fred sainz , an apple spokesman , said of the times apps . “ as a result , the app must be taken down off the china app store . when this situation changes , the app store will once again offer the new york times app for download in china . ” mr. sainz declined to comment on what local regulations the times apps were said to have violated , who had contacted apple and when , and whether a court order or other legal document had been presented . china ’s main internet regulator , the cyberspace administration of china , did not respond to faxed questions . the times bureau in beijing said it had not been contacted by the chinese government about the matter . a times spokeswoman in new york , eileen murphy , said the company had asked apple to reconsider its decision . “ the request by the chinese authorities to remove our apps is part of their wider attempt to prevent readers in china from accessing independent news coverage by the new york times of that country , coverage which is no different from the journalism we do about every other country in the world , ” ms. murphy said in a statement . the request appears to have been made under regulations released in june 2016 called provisions on the administration of mobile internet application information services . the regulations say apps can not “ engage in activities prohibited by laws and regulations such as endangering national security , disrupting social order and violating the legitimate rights and interests of others . ” the cyberspace administration says on its website that apps also can not publish “ prohibited ” information . the ruling communist party tightly controls media inside china and employs one of the world ’s most sophisticated systems of internet censorship . chinese law prohibits the publication of “ harmful information ” online , and officials often take action without legal procedures or court orders against material they deem objectionable . apple has previously removed other , less prominent media apps from its china store . it is unclear how the company evaluates requests from beijing to take down apps and whether it ever resists them . apple ’s chief executive , timothy d. cook , has said that the company complies with all local laws . while in early 2016 apple resisted a court request in the united states for it to help federal officials unlock an iphone for a criminal investigation , mr. cook said he would obey whatever order the court ultimately handed down . in the end , the government was able to unlock the device without apple’ ’s help and the case was dropped . farzana aslam , associate director of the center for comparative and public law at the university of hong kong , noted that in matters involving customer privacy , apple requires governments to submit subpoenas , search warrants or other legal documents . “ maybe in the end they have to do it , but i think there ’s something to be said about standing up for what you believe in and purporting to put principle before profit in a country like china , to show that actually there is this tension there , ” ms. aslam said . “ it ’s not as simple as , ‘ because we operate in your jurisdiction , we ’ll do anything you ask of us . ’ ” she added that it was “ very worrying ” that apple had not disclosed what laws the authorities said were violated , making it difficult for the times and other publishers to file an appeal or challenge the government ’s requests . in the weeks leading up to the withdrawal of the times apps , the times was working on various articles related to the chinese government . one of them , posted online on dec. 29 , revealed the billions of dollars in hidden perks and subsidies that the chinese government provides to the world ’s biggest iphone factory . china is also one of apple ’s largest iphone markets , though sales in that region have slowed . on dec. 23 , david barboza , a times reporter , spoke with members of apple ’s media team about the article . mr. barboza had previously been in touch with the iphone factory owner , foxconn . he had also contacted the chinese government as part of his reporting . later that day , a separate team from apple informed the times that the apps would be removed , ms. murphy said . in another article , published on dec. 22 as a post on its sinosphere blog , the times described an internet video that had been widely promoted by chinese public security offices . the times news apps remain available in apple ’s app stores for other countries , as well as the hong kong and taiwan stores , but people must have a credit card with a billing address outside mainland china to download them . the times crossword puzzle and virtual reality apps remain available throughout china . when the chinese government began blocking the times websites in 2012 , it also prevented users with times apps from downloading new content . but readers in china can still gain access to the times using software that circumvents the government ’s firewall . and in july 2015 , the times released a new version of its app that adopted a different method for retrieving articles , one that the government appeared unable to stop . apple ’s decision to remove the app from its china store should not affect those who have already installed it . but users in china will not be able to download new releases unless they use another region ’s app store . the times discovered after being blocked in 2012 that hackers with possible ties to the chinese military had targeted the newspaper ’s computer systems and that the attacks coincided with the reporting for that times investigation . foreign tech companies face increasing pressure from government authorities in china . in april , apple ’s ibooks store and itunes movies were shut down in the country , just six months after they were introduced there . mark natkin , the managing director of marbridge consulting , who advises american technology firms in china , said he did not think any such company entering the chinese market could “ ever fully comprehend how challenging it ’s going to be . ” mr. natkin said that apple had a certain amount of leverage against the chinese government in terms of the total amount of jobs created but that “ the technology gap has started to close . ”
+1 please make it stop walter brasch posted on november 7 , 2016 by walter brasch with less than a week until the election , just about every voter in the swing states has received dozens of robocalls , e - mails , letters , postcards , and exposure to almost - uncountable radio , tv , digital , satellite , and social media ads . most are attack ads , with similar messages . the ads focus upon homeland security , taxes , immigration , pro - life / pro - choice , and bringing jobs back to america . the conservatives have thrown in the phrase “ liberal extremists ” in many of their ads in an effort to shock all america to believe that liberals are somehow tied to muslim extremists . the liberals are pushing an agenda that defines the conservatives as greedy plutocrats who have little thought for the middle class . this election , from local offices to the presidency may be the dirtiest since 1800 when thomas jefferson challenged john adams . donald trump , who has outsourced much of his clothing line and construction materials , now says if president he will bring jobs back to america , stop illegal immigration , defeat isis , repeal obamacare , lower taxes for families while miraculously raising the budget for defense , and perform myriad miracle acts that are not part of a president ’s constitutional responsibility . on his march to the presidency , trump has focused upon hillary clinton ’s e - mails , a scandal that is n’t one . congressional hearings and the fbi have cleared her ; innumerable times , trump has continued to attack her . clinton has already apologized for using a personal e - mail server during her four years as secretary of state . what turned up among more than 30,000 e - mails is about 55 e - mails that received a “ confidential ” tag , the lowest of three classifications , with another 55 receiving “ secret ” or “ top secret ” classification . as a cabinet officer , and fourth in line of succession , she had the right to classify any message . a few of the messages came from other agencies . about 2,100 messages were classified retroactively . clinton , still ahead in numerous polls , has attacked trump for his crude behavior . one of her tv ads , which penetrates almost every tv show , is a fast - paced collage of his many comments ; among them , trump mocks a disabled reporter , uses obscene language , and treats women as chattel . both candidates call each other unfit to be president , with clinton asking voters if they really want trump to be the person in charge of unleashing the nuclear arsenal , and trump asking voters if they want a corrupt liar in the white house . trump has also played upon clinton ’s 30 years of public service , linking her as an insider and him as an outsider to washington , d.c. , politics . the “ outsider ” label has been resonating with voters at all levels of the election campaigns as voters believe they are outsiders , alienated to government , and are willing to be led by insiders who claim to be outsiders . the cost of airing ads by both candidates for the presidency and members of congress is more than $ 4 billion , and that does n’t include the cost of producing them . more than $ 600 million , spread among all major democratic and republican candidates for the presidency , has been spent on broadcast tv ads , according to borrell associates . during the past 21 weeks , clinton has spent about $ 211 million on broadcast tv ads ; trump has spent about $ 74 million , according to data compiled by bloombergpolitics . however , trump has used both twitter and free tv time , due to outrageous statements , to equal clinton ’s campaign . during the final week prior to the election , trump will spend $ 25 million in broadcast tv ads . the trump totals do n’t include a $ 3 million tv ad buy from the nra , which stokes the fire of fear that clinton , if elected president , will violate the second amendment and take guns away from civilians , something a president can not do . by tuesday ’s election , it will be doubtful that either clinton or trump will know how many ads were placed by their campaigns or by superpacs on their behalf that aired on broadcast television . there is one reality in all the advertising — negative ads generally do n’t work , and exist only to reinforce a candidate ’s base of support . dr. brasch , who has covered politics and government for four decades , is author of “ fracking america : sacrificing health and the environment for short - term economic benefit . ”
+0 netanyahu on purim : like ancient persia , modern iran will fail to destroy jews - breitbart deborah danan tel aviv — just as the persians failed to wipe out the jewish nation some 2 , 500 years ago , the iranians of today will also fail , prime minister benjamin netanyahu said saturday night on the eve of the jewish holiday of purim . [ the prime minister made his remarks before the reading of the scroll of esther at the central synagogue in caesarea , the jerusalem post reported . he turned to the children surrounding him in costumes traditionally worn on purim and asked them : “ what is the holiday about , what do we celebrate , what do we remember , what did they try to do to us then ? ” several children replied , “ to kill us . ” “ where ? ” netanyahu asked . “ in persia , ” they answered . “ did they succeed ? ” the prime minister asked . “ no , ” one child said , “ the opposite happened . ” “ it did n’t happen , the opposite happened , ” netanyahu repeated . “ also , today they want to destroy us from persia they will not succeed . ” his comment was met with applause from the congregation . on thursday , netanyahu compared the islamic republic to ancient persia in his comments to russian president vladimir putin . “ i thank you for your good wishes on purim , ” the prime minister told putin . “ some 2 , 500 years ago in ancient persia , there was an attempt to wipe out the jews , which did not succeed , and which we commemorate with this holiday . ” today , netanyahu said , iran — the heir of the persians — has similar designs : to wipe out the state of the jews . “ they say this clearly , and it is etched on their ballistic missiles , ” he said . however , putin seemed to shoot down the analogy , saying the purim story took place “ in the fifth century b. c. ” “ we now live in a different world . let us talk about that now , ” putin said . in his speech to a special joint session of the u. s. congress in march 2015 , netanyahu famously evoked the purim story when explaining the threat posed by the nuclear deal signed by barack obama . “ we ’re an ancient people , ” he said . “ in our nearly 4 , 000 years of history , many have tried repeatedly to destroy the jewish people . tomorrow night , on the jewish holiday of purim , we ’ll read the book of esther . we ’ll read of a powerful persian viceroy named haman , who plotted to destroy the jewish people some 2 , 500 years ago . but a courageous jewish woman , queen esther , exposed the plot and gave for the jewish people the right to defend themselves against their enemies . the plot was foiled . our people were saved . ” he continued by saying that iran ’s supreme leader ayatollah khamenei , haman ’s heir , had similar plans for the jewish nation . “ but i can guarantee you this , ” he said , “ the days when the jewish people remained passive in the face of genocidal enemies — those days are over . ”
+1 trump threatens press in closed - door meeting ; here are the terrifying things he said – new century times nan in something that could ’ve been scripted by george orwell , president - elect donald trump just has pretty much every major media personality and/or outlet over to trump tower for a closed - door meeting . the ny post stated : “ the hour - long session included top execs from network and cable news channels . among the attendees were nbc ’s deborah turness , lester holt and chuck todd , abc ’s james goldston , george stephanopoulos , david muir and martha raddatz , also , cbs’ norah o’donnell john dickerson , charlie rose , christopher isham and king , fox news’ bill shine , jack abernethy , jay wallace , suzanne scott , msnbc ’s phil griffin and cnn ’s jeff zucker and erin burnett . ” before the meeting , everyone was speculating as to what was going on . why is trump colluding with the media ? is he trying to control the conversation and form some sort of state sponsored media ? well , speculate no further . trump called everyone to his tower to scold them like the henry the 8th he is very much turning out to be . according to one source who confided in the ny post : “ it was like a f – ing firing squad … trump started with [ cnn chief ] jeff zucker and said ‘ i hate your network , everyone at cnn is a liar and you should be ashamed . ” adding : “ the meeting was a total disaster . the tv execs and anchors went in there thinking they would be discussing the access they would get to the trump administration , but instead they got a trump - style dressing down . ” it was basically trump throwing a hissy fit and talking down to everyone in the media to tell them how very awful they are to him . even though they were pretty soft on him throughout the course of his campaign , often given him an open forum and hours of free airtime to tout his craziness . another source said : “ the meeting took place in a big board room and there were about 30 or 40 people , including the big news anchors from all the networks . ” further : “ trump kept saying , ‘ we ’re in a room of liars , the deceitful dishonest media who got it all wrong.’ he addressed everyone in the room calling the media dishonest , deceitful liars . he called out jeff zucker by name and said everyone at cnn was a liar , and cnn was [ a ] network of liars … trump did n’t say [ nbc reporter ] katy tur by name , but talked about an nbc female correspondent who got it wrong , then he referred to a horrible network correspondent who cried when hillary lost who hosted a debate – which was martha raddatz who was also in the room . ” some of the media did try to get a word in edgewise , but it was pretty much all for naught . trump was there to scold and not get a lesson from the media in freedom of the press and speech . ny post reported a source saying : “ [ cbs good morning co - host gayle ] king did not stand up , but asked some question , ‘ how do you propose we the media work with you?’ chuck todd asked some pretty pointed questions . david muir asked ‘ how are you going to cope living in dc while your family is in nyc ? it was a horrible meeting . ” according to kellyanne conway , however , it all went really well . yet , it ’s hard to believe a word that comes out of the trump camp , because they will say only what they want people to hear , and most of the time there ’s barely a sliver of the truth involved . no word as to who the source is that spoke to the ny post . it ’s pretty clear trump wants to control the narrative of the press , why else would he have so many big news names over to his palace tower ? he wanted to scold them and likely tell them how they should be operating , and we should all be very , very mortified that he even had them over in the first place . after all , if you control the press , you control what the people hear . if you control what the people hear , you can tell them anything you want , even if it ’s not in their best interests . it ’s horrifying , to say the least , absolutely hitler - esque , if we ’re going to be honest . the press need to be counted on to hold trump accountable for everything that he says or does , and if they do n’t someone needs to hold the press accountable as well . this is a scary time we ’re entering into and hopefully the constitution will not be shredded and honesty with accountability will prevail . featured photo by spencer platt / getty images
+0 donald trump refuses to endorse paul ryan and john mccain - the new york times nick corasaniti donald j. trump on tuesday refused to endorse two leading republicans — the house speaker , paul d. ryan of wisconsin , and senator john mccain of arizona — in their primary election campaigns . mr. ryan and mr. mccain have both endorsed mr. trump for president , but they have criticized his denouncement of khizr and ghazala khan , the parents of capt . humayun khan , who was killed in iraq in 2004 . “ i like paul , but these are horrible times for our country , ” mr. trump told the washington post . “ we need very strong leadership . we need very , very strong leadership . and i ’m just not quite there yet . i ’m not quite there yet . ” mr. trump had signaled support for mr. ryan ’s primary opponent , paul nehlen , in a twitter message on monday night , thanking him for his “ kind words . ” the nominee ’s “ not quite there yet ” wording echoed language that mr. ryan used in may when he was still wavering on whether to get behind mr. trump . mr. trump also singled out mr. mccain , telling the post : “ i ’ve never been there with john mccain because i ’ve always felt that he should have done a much better job for the vets . ” the comments are a significant break in the steps toward party unity that republican officials have been stressing since their convention last month . the remarks are also an indication that the party is still struggling to heal some of the wounds from mr. trump ’s primary campaign . after khizr khan rebuked mr. trump at the democratic national convention , mr. trump traded in religious stereotypes by suggesting that mr. khan might have prevented his wife from speaking at the event . mr. ryan said in a statement on sunday that he rejected mr. trump ’s proposed muslim immigration ban as “ not reflective of america ’s fundamental values . ” he added : “ many muslim americans have served valiantly in our military and made the ultimate sacrifice . captain khan was one such brave example . his sacrifice — and that of khizr and ghazala khan — should always be honored . period . ” mr. mccain followed with a lengthy statement on monday , saying : “ i can not emphasize enough how deeply i disagree with mr. trump ’s statement . i hope americans understand that the remarks do not represent the views of our republican party , its officers or candidates . ”
+1 this is no time for unity -- trump must be confronted with relentless protest george ciccariello - maher november 9 , 2016 calls for unity behind a donald trump administration are irresponsible , dangerous , and must be rejected . in her concession speech this morning , hillary clinton told a stunned nation the following : “ last night , i congratulated donald trump and offered to work with him on behalf of our country … i hope that he will be a successful president for all americans . ” “ we owe him an open mind and the chance to lead , ” she added . many of clinton ’s most fervent supporters were rightly taken aback . after all , these words came from someone who only days earlier was denouncing trump as a violent misogynist , a racist and islamophobe , and a would - be dictator unfit to lead , too emotionally unstable to trusted with the country ’s nuclear codes . liberals who had seen in clinton a last line of defense against the aggressive right were now witnessing her rebrand him as somehow worthy of the presidency . that clinton would overlook trump ’s history of sexual assault may be no surprise , given her role in covering - up her own husband ’s behavior . that she would overlook his blatant appeals to white nationalism and islamophobia is similarly unsurprising given her own rhetoric about black “ superpredators ” and hawkish interventionism in the middle east . but still , this was a campaign consciously designed around stoking the fear that trump was unlike any other candidate , an abnormally pernicious threat to women , people of color , and even democracy itself . the strategy failed spectacularly , and clinton ’s about - face was predictable if no less spectacular . meanwhile , trump was suddenly sounding presidential , insisting in his victory speech that “ now it ’s time to bind the wounds of division … to come together as one united people . ” even his exuberant supporters , who had only an hour before been chanting “ lock her up ! ” must have been shocked to hear him insist that clinton is owed “ a major debt of gratitude for her service to our country . ” for those who have long dismissed the two - party system as a farce , this shared rhetoric by the two candidates would n’t be surprising . in a phrase that has become the fodder for memes , superimposed over images of the smiling clintons and trumps or michelle obama hugging george w. bush , the italian marxist antonio gramsci once argued that “ the historical unity of the ruling classes is realized in the state . ” but despite this unity among elites , trump has mobilized and encouraged a ferociously white supremacist movement , and this base wo n’t go away quietly . when clinton wishes him a “ successful ” presidency , what does this mean ? successfully building a wall along the southern border ? successfully rolling back what little protections exist for people of color , queer and trans people , and women ? no , we wish no success for trump . as keeanga - yamahtta taylor , author of from # blacklivesmatter to black liberation , put it this morning : “ no , we do n’t owe this monster an open mind … trump deserves revulsion and relentless protest . after a year of calling this man a fascist and a unique evil , they tell us to unite and give him a chance … no one is interested in unifying with this garbage ; we have to confront this racism and sexism in the streets and organize like we never have before . ” clinton is no ally of the left : her record of support for mass incarceration , neoliberalism , and brutal wars and coups abroad makes this perfectly clear . we do n’t owe trump “ an open mind and a chance to lead . ” we owe him nothing but our ferocious opposition in the streets , and that starts today . george ciccariello - maher is an organizer , radical political theorist , and professor at drexel university . follow him on twitter @ciccmaher .
+0 after orlando shooting , talk show hosts suggest talk is not enough - the new york times james poniewozik talk show hosts talk . after a mass murder , the pattern goes , they take a moment to talk more seriously . they talk about grief , love and hope . and then — this being their job — they move on to talk about something else . monday night , as shows aired their first episodes after the mass shooting at a gay nightclub in orlando , fla. there was a recurring theme : talk is not enough anymore . from more freewheeling cable shows to the mainstream broadcasters , the prevailing message was that hosts had been here so many times , after so many mass murders , the sad comic ’s display of apolitical grief response had become shtick . “ you realize that you know what to say , ” stephen colbert said on cbs , “ because it ’s been said too many times before . ” samantha bee , the host of “ full frontal ” on tbs , said that she was too angry to deliver some “ words about how we will get through this together , how love wins , how love conquers hate . ” she continued : “ love does not win unless we start loving each other enough to fix our [ expletive ] problems ” — starting , she argued , with restricting access to guns like the semiautomatic that omar mateen used to kill dozens of clubgoers . ms. bee ’s political comedy has been blistering from the second “ full frontal ” began in february , and taking sides is her mission , much as it was on her alma mater , “ the daily show . ” ( in his own commentary on the terrorist attack , trevor noah declared , “ america needs to make it a lot harder for people who should n’t have guns to get guns . ” ) what was new was the quaver in ms. bee ’s voice — the barest suggestion that it was all she could do to keep it together even as she lashed the national rifle association and politicians who oppose gun regulations . ms. bee has been a punk band of rage , sarcasm and urgency monday ’s show added an acoustic note of heartbreak . ms. bee ’s conan o’brien , made a bigger departure . never a particularly political host , he told his audience , “ i have really tried very hard over the years not to bore you with what i think . ” but on this night , he said , “ i simply do not understand why anybody in this country is allowed to purchase and own a semiautomatic assault rifle . ” hosts evolve over the years — david letterman became more political in his later seasons — and mr. o’brien has been at this since 1993 . but he also now has the latitude afforded by a smaller cable audience . it ’s questionable whether , were he still hosting “ the tonight show , ” he would have been able to speak out the same way . compare the emotional but conventional plea for peace and understanding offered by the current host of “ the tonight show , ” jimmy fallon : “ maybe there ’s a lesson from all this , a lesson in tolerance . we need to support each other ’s differences and worry less about our own opinions . ” on cbs ’s “ late show , ” mr. colbert ’s reaction captured his delicate effort over the past year to find a middle ground between the sharp point of view of “ the colbert report ” and the more typical neutrality of late night . his monologue was n’t as prescriptive as ms. bee ’s or mr. o’brien ’s , but it tiptoed up to the edge of … something . opening behind his desk — a departure for his show — mr. colbert talked about love fighting despair , but with the suggestion that feeling , in itself , was n’t enough . “ love the families and the victims and the people of orlando , but let ’s remember that love is a verb . and to love means to do something . ” mr. colbert was saying not that love is itself an action , but that love requires acts to mean anything . it was an idea that would n’t be out of place in a church group , and indeed , the former sunday school teacher seemed to be trying to bring that experience to late night . not to punt on the moral question or preach about it , but to think through a problem with his congregation . he continued that approach with his first guest , fox news ’s bill o’reilly , who had been scheduled before the attack . the conservative host was more eager to talk about the angle of the killings , whereas it became clear that for mr. colbert , “ do something ” meant , in part , getting powerful guns off the streets . conservatives will notice , correctly , that late night was not exactly an n. r. a. zone . in his “ a closer look ” segment , seth meyers touted a harvard study that linked more gun availability to more gun deaths . “ which should be obvious , ” mr. meyers continued . “ that ’s like saying , where there ’s more white people , there ’s more brunch . ” but the “ late show ” exchange was strikingly civil . mr. o’reilly signaled openness to restrict some guns mr. colbert gently shushed his less conservative audience when it grumbled at his guest : “ listen to what he has to say , please . ” trying to come to some mutual understanding about guns and terrorism at any time , let alone in an election year , seems quaint and quixotic . and it symbolizes the tough job mr. colbert has had in synthesizing the comedy central and cbs audiences on his new show . he might be too political for the car crowd , too accommodating for partisans who want viral clips of their enemies being “ totally destroyed . ” whether he succeeds or not , there was a growing , exhausted sense monday that the usual approach was n’t cutting it . as mr. o’brien put it : “ it ’s time to grow up . ”
+0 madonna gave a surprise pop - up concert to support clinton . we were there . - the new york times annie correal the words “ madonna ” and “ concert ” hardly conjure images of an intimate gathering , but on the eve of election day in the heart of greenwich village , that is what a few hundred people got . on monday evening , the singer announced online a surprise concert in washington square park in manhattan with just enough time for fans to drop their forks , reroute their taxis and arrive to see her sashay onstage in a bomber jacket with fluorescent green sleeves and a winter hat sprinkled with stars . madonna stood in the middle of the round fountain at the center of the square , holding a red guitar and pledging her support for the democratic presidential nominee . she welcomed everyone to “ a surprise , impromptu rally for hillary rodham clinton . ” and the crowd , which had been huddled around the edges of the fountain , leapt to its feet . she then broke into her song “ express yourself , ” modifying the lyrics to say , “ make her express herself . ” the material girl ’s message was decidedly feminist and j. trump , the republican nominee . “ women are marginalized , let ’s face it , ” madonna said between songs . “ as far as i ’m concerned , we still live in an extremely chauvinist , sexist , misogynist country . and that ’s why hillary clinton needs to be president . ” the show was just five songs long : madonna ’s own “ express yourself , ” “ like a prayer ” and “ do n’t tell me ” as well as “ imagine ” and a of “ if i had a hammer ” and her “ rebel heart . ” it was mainly a singalong , in the folk music tradition of the village . people held signs , shouted “ i ’m with her ” and appeared to know all of the words . those in attendance included unsuspecting tourists in the right place at the right time , new yorkers who had gotten texts while leaving work and volunteers for mrs. clinton , many of them young women , who had spent the day calling and texting voters in battleground states . there were also some super fans . “ i literally stalked this for 48 hours , ” said david yontef , 46 , who lives in chelsea and works in advertising . for more than a day , he said , there had been false leads on the location of the secret concert . “ i was going to hop on a train to philly then it seemed like it might be in michigan — i was refreshing the browser every 10 minutes , ” he said . “ then suddenly at 7 p. m. they said 7:30 here . we left dinner on the table , threw money on the table and jumped in a cab . this is history . this is madonna , and she ’s trying to get the first woman in the white house . ” was he satisfied with the show ? “ oh my god , ” he said , “ it was everything . ”
+1 2,700-year - old hebrew mention of jerusalem found -no author- 2,700-year - old hebrew mention of jerusalem found rare papyrus from 7th century b.c. refers to consignment of wineskins published : 26 mins ago ( times of israel ) a rare , ancient papyrus dating to the first temple period — 2,700 years ago — has been found to bear the oldest known mention of jerusalem in hebrew . the fragile text , believed plundered from a cave in the judean desert cave , was apparently acquired by the israel antiquities authority during a sting in 2012 when thieves attempted to sell it to a dealer . radiocarbon dating has determined it is from the 7th century bce , making it one of just three extant hebrew papyri from that period , and predating the dead sea scrolls by centuries . the iaa ’s eitan klein said the dating of the papyrus had been confirmed by comparing the text ’s orthography with other texts from the period .
+0 john key , new zealand ’s prime minister , says he will step down - the new york times brett cole sydney , australia — new zealand ’s prime minister , john key , surprised the country on monday by announcing he would resign next week , citing a desire to spend more time with his family . mr. key , 55 , has been in office since november 2008 and led the conservative national party to election victories in 2011 and 2014 . the next election is scheduled for next year , and mr. key had been seen as the likely favorite . though many people were asking why , answers were elusive . “ i think he decided he was simply done with politics particularly when this year his friend david cameron in the u. k. decided to step down as prime minister and another friend of his , barack obama , will next year leave office , ” said stephen levine , a professor of political science at victoria university of wellington . mr. key , a former merrill lynch executive , said monday that he had never wanted to be a career politician and did not know what he would do next . “ throughout these years i have given everything i could to this job that i cherish , and this country that i love , ” he said in a statement . “ all of this has come at quite some sacrifice for the people who are dearest to me — my family . ” shelley mackey , a spokeswoman for mr. key , said the prime minister had decided to leave office for personal reasons . mr. key said that he would resign on dec. 12 and that his party would choose a new leader and prime minister that same day . mr. key said he would support whomever the party chose but that he would vote for bill english , his deputy prime minister and finance minister , if mr. english put his name forward . “ the expectation is that bill english will be the new leader of new zealand , ” professor levine said . mr. english , 55 , declined to comment . mr. english was involved in mr. key ’s initiative to partly privatize utilities and , like the prime minister , was an enthusiastic supporter of the partnership , the multilateral trade deal that has been put in doubt with donald j. trump ’s election to the presidency of the united states . mr. key was prime minister during the 2011 earthquake in the city of christchurch that killed 185 people . during his tenure , mr. key pushed for new zealand to adopt a new flag , saying the old one symbolized a bygone colonial era . but voters chose to keep the old flag in a nationwide referendum . mr. key successfully negotiated the first visit of a united states warship to new zealand in 30 years . the sampson , a guided missile destroyer , arrived at the port of auckland last month as part of the 75th anniversary celebrations of the royal new zealand navy . new zealand ’s nuclear free zone , disarmament , and arms control act of 1987 declared that the country ’s sea , air and land space were zones . but mr. key successfully negotiated the visit of the sampson without generating internal political controversy or compromising american policy that neither confirms nor denies its vessels are carrying nuclear weapons , professor levine said .
+0 mark kelly renews vow to fight national reciprocity after shooting of unarmed congressman - breitbart awr hawkins on june 16 , just two days after unarmed republican house members were attacked in alexandria , virginia , gun control proponent mark kelly pledged to fight the national reciprocity legislation that would allow congressmen to be armed for . [ rep. steve scalise ( ) was left in critical condition , and four others were also wounded when the attacker opened fire during wednesday ’s congressional baseball practice . the gunman carried an “ assassination ” list in his pocket that contained the names of three gop house members who were at the baseball practice . gop lawmakers responded to the shooting by stressing a renewed focus on national reciprocity , with some pointing out that they have concealed carry licenses but can not keep guns with them because they have to drive into washington d. c. which has draconian gun control laws . on thursday , rep. thomas massie ( ) sought to remedy this situation by introducing legislation that would that would force d. c. to recognize the carry permit of every state . in other words , d. c. would adopt national reciprocity . but on friday , kelly pledged to stop any effort to pass legislation that would allow citizens to be armed in this fashion . speaking to npr , kelly said he and his wife are fighting against “ concealed carry reciprocity . ” he also vowed to fight efforts to remove “ zones in schools . ” he couched these statements amid a larger discussion of creating a “ safer society . ” but the problem — as wednesday ’s attack showed — is that barring citizens from having guns with them for only makes them vulnerable . congressional baseball practice attendee rep. mike bishop ( ) said it made them “ sitting ducks . ” kelly spoke in favor of passing universal background checks , claiming that background checks lower crime . he did not point out that the alexandria attacker acquired his firearms from a federal firearm license ( ffl ) holder , which means he passed background checks to get them . kelly also failed to note that his wife , gabby giffords , was shot by a man who passed a background check to acquire his gun . awr hawkins is the second amendment columnist for breitbart news and host of “ bullets with awr hawkins , ” a breitbart news podcast . he is also the political analyst for armed american radio . follow him on twitter : @awrhawkins . reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart . com .
+1 russia kicked off un human rights council , while terrorist saudi arabia re - elected activist post by jay syrmopoulos russia lost an election to the un human rights council ( unhrc ) for the first time since the council ’s inception in 2006 – ...
+1 vermont deer attempt to flee to canada after election results roll in . nan debate a draw at minus 6 on a ten point scale wide - ranging response to presidential debate 2 has now settled down to a tie , with a rating of minus 6 on a ten point scale for each candidate . a 1 on a ten point scale would be much lower than a 9 . a 9 would indicate " very good " or " excellent . " ... the president in the locker room spoof investigations has just been handed a video related to a certain candidate for president in the 2016 election . it shows him in his own locker room at trump tower being interviewed by a radio show host with first name billy . this new inter ... obama replaces john kerry with jack reacher as the new secretary of state trying to secure his legacy , especially when it comes to foreign policy , president barack obama replaced reigning secretary of state , john kerry , with jack reacher . obama wanted to leave the white house remembered as a tough guy who could handle the ... kirk lands killer blow on trumphole ™ with ' rope a dope ' weapon ™ the earth defense league has landed a killer blow on the trumphole ™ fleet using a variation of mohamed alis ' rope a dope ' strategy and has developed a ' give the psychopath enough rope to hang himself ' gun ™ the earth defense league hea ... trump 's minority outreach met with deafening silence faced with faltering poll numbers , donald trump and his advisors are taking a shot at tapping the african american vote , which normally goes democratic 9 to 1 . his recent outreach , however , might be doing more harm than good . trying to piggyba ...
+0 partynextdoor is finding his voice , and a bigger spotlight - the new york times joe coscarelli after hours at the brooklyn museum on friday night , hundreds of young people bopped along while a d. j. cycled through the summer ’s hottest rap and rb songs . as the event reached its climax , the ubiquitous opening notes of a guaranteed crowd pleaser — “ work , ” by rihanna , featuring drake — vibrated through the room . but when the vocals on the demo recording started , it was obvious that this was n’t the version that spent nine weeks as the no . 1 song in the country . in place of rihanna , the nimble , addictive patois was delivered by partynextdoor , 23 , the canadian producer and rb singer who wrote the song ’s melody and helped to usher in a pop moment deeply indebted to the caribbean . partynextdoor , gliding through the crowd to the d. j. booth , was not there to celebrate his role in the song of the summer , however , nor was he touting his contributions to drake ’s latest album , “ views , ” which spent 12 weeks atop the billboard chart . “ partynextdoor 3 , ” his own new album , had just been released , capping one of the more quietly influential runs of 2016 . now he was , somewhat reluctantly , the main attraction . as the first artist signed to drake ’s ovo sound label , a partnership with warner bros. in 2013 , partynextdoor has had his fingerprints on every drake release since , in addition to the steady flow of slurry , nocturnal rb under his own name . but drake casts a wide shadow , and partynextdoor ( born jahron anthony brathwaite ) has thus far been comfortable in the shade . “ you do n’t really know anything about me , and that ’s how i like it , ” he said in a rare interview before the album release party . but with credits on a no . 1 song — as well as friends and collaborators like drake , rihanna and kylie jenner — come more expectations . partynextdoor acknowledged that while his new album might not be his solo breakthrough to the pop mainstream , he hopes it is a step further . “ more people ’s eyes are on me now , ” he said . “ the people are literally watching me find my voice . ” so far , that voice has been malleable : and full of bravado , slipping easily into cadences ( “ recognize ” ) or pure and sweet , leaning more toward soul ( “ joy , ” a highlight from the new album ) . most often , it is carnal and as on “ high hopes , ” the decidedly noncommercial intro to “ partynextdoor 3 , ” which just sounds ( to say nothing of the lyrics ) . in daylight , partynextdoor was more sitting at the kitchen table of a airbnb rental in midtown manhattan as he rolled a blunt on a takeout sushi container . he wore a styled with safety pins , a nose ring and a folded bandanna around his skinny blond dreads . prone to long pauses , as if avoiding verbal traps , he left more sentences dangling than he finished . yet , after a string of niche projects that built his name and a dedicated online following , partynextdoor has become resigned to the fact that more visibility is a must for his career to progress . “ from here on , i will try to do better at interacting with my fans , ” he wrote in a note revealing the new album . previous attempts at putting himself out there have been bumpy at best . this year , partynextdoor found himself drowning in internet drama after posting an instagram with a rumored ex , the singer kehlani . ( “ no one knows the details , and i do n’t care to defend myself , ” he said . ) not long after , he was caught up with the kardashians after a series of paparazzi photos and a subsequent music video surfaced , featuring him in the company of ms. jenner , the youngest sister . asked if he had actively courted tmz attention by casting a reality star as his love interest , partynextdoor would only say , “ i ’m grateful that really pretty girls like my music , and social media just happens to like really pretty girls . ” while flaunting a kylie endorsement is one thing , he is less willing to chase what ’s hot musically . raised in what he called a “ super jamaican household ” in the toronto suburb of mississauga , partynextdoor has long peppered his songs with dance hall sirens and slang . but recently , he has leaned into his caribbean roots on “ work ” and “ sex with me , ” another rihanna track , along with drake ’s “ with you , ” a shimmering summer gem from “ views . ” “ not nice , ” a thumping single from “ partynextdoor 3 , ” has a similar vibe , and given the album ’s summer release and the trendiness of the sound , an entire record in that mold might have made sense . but a few songs aside , “ partynextdoor 3 ” favors a grim , palette . “ i could make a partynextdoor album that ’s clean , all hits , ” he explained . “ that ’s not what i care about doing . ” the same goes for being a pop songwriter , he said . after dropping out of high school at 17 , he signed a publishing deal to write for others , well aware that that was n’t his ultimate goal . he met rihanna last year , during a writing camp at her malibu home . “ the first feeling i got was , ‘ why am i here ? ’ ” he recalled . “ all these guys have made hits already . ” but he was determined to create streamlined songs for her , requiring a different process than his looser , more experimental productions . even “ work ” was not an immediate fit . despite rihanna ’s bajan heritage , “ her label did n’t care for caribbean music at the time , ” partynextdoor said . he and drake considered keeping the track , or giving it to alicia keys , but rihanna ’s team came around “ when it was all that she could sing around the house , ” he said . “ she fought for it , ” he continued . “ she said , ‘ this is my family ’s favorite song . ’ ” collaborating with drake may seem more fraught from the outside . during his chart dominance , drake has been dogged by ghostwriting accusations , and observers have wondered whether ovo sound , also home to majid jordan and roy woods , is just his “ personal hit factory , ” having not yet minted a star near the boss ’s level . ( drake ’s previous rb collaborator the weeknd , by contrast , set out for — and achieved — pop stardom on his own . ) partynextdoor insisted that their partnership was mutually beneficial . “ i openly share music with drake , especially when it ’s time for him to have a project , ” he said . at the same time , “ i have an older brother i can text anytime , someone who ’s super invested because my name is tied into his . “ it ’s just creatives cooking , ” he continued of their work together . “ if he sees something in a song of mine that he feels he can spin around and make better , who am i to say i ’m going to selfishly keep it ? as a fan of music , that ’s wrong . ” he added , “ of course i want to be a superstar , but it does n’t happen overnight , and i see that from having a mentor . ” the two work in harmony , not in lock step , each playing his role . “ we have similar stories , but not the same story , ” partynextdoor said . “ being a fan got me to him , but he needs me to be me . i need to be me . ”
+0 in a smoky haze , turks cling to their cigarettes - the new york times rod nordland istanbul — the italians have a saying for it : “ fuma come un turco , ” meaning , “ he smokes like a turk . ” there are actually plenty of people who smoke more than the turks , but there are times when a visitor here may find that hard to believe . the famous istiklal avenue , one of the world ’s most appealing pedestrian spaces with its cobbled pavement and little red trams clacking down the middle , bells dinging , can be covered over on a crowded weekend night by an inescapably dense , cloud of secondhand smoke , hovering between the elegant , tall buildings on either side . along dusky alleyways in kadikoy , the trendiest part of istanbul , on the once less fashionable asian side of the bosporus , cafes typically have a few tables inside and many more outside — where smoking is allowed . on even the coldest days , the outside tables are crowded , smokers kept warm by overhead heaters and lap blankets provided at each chair . some restaurants go so far as to remove their outside walls , replacing them with transparent plastic sheeting , to make the entire place at least officially outdoors . if the government has its way , however , the cafe culture ’s smoking days are numbered . in april it proposed a law limiting outside smoking tables to no more than 25 percent of an establishment ’s total — almost the reverse of the present trend , at least in major cities like istanbul . that prospect is greeted with horror in the cafes . “ if there ’s such a law , we ’ll have to close down , ” said a waiter named okan , at a hip bar in kadikoy . ( he asked that the bar not be named , as there were not only smoking scofflaws inside , but che guevara posters and logos too . ) “ we do n’t want to get shut down . ” turkey has made tremendous efforts to counteract its reputation — and its smoking habit — with measures that are nearly as strict as those in any western country , and far stricter than those found in most developing societies . it has outlawed smoking in public places , not only inside restaurants but also outside government buildings , and even banned it above decks on the innumerable ferry boats plying the bosporus . turkey ’s president recep tayyip erdogan , used his growing power and popularity to push through most of these antismoking measures beginning in 2008 . even the cherished tradition of the nargile , or turkish water pipe , in which flavored plugs of tobacco are smoked through long tubes that cool the smoke , has faced tough legislation during his administration . as mr. erdogan famously said , “ there can be no such freedom as the freedom to smoke , ” likening it to suicide . turkey ’s health system even pays for drug and nicotine replacement cessation therapies , and some doctors regularly text their smoker patients to remind them of the risks . when a cigarette appears in a movie , turkish censors either blur it or put a cartoon flower over it . as progressive as those measures may be , they have had relatively little impact on getting turks to cut back . the percentage of smoking turks did initially fall in the years after the new measures , and continued to decline among young people , according to the latest government figures , from 2012 . but more recent data from the turkish thoracic association in 2014 show a slight increase in the percentage of smokers : 42 percent of men and 13 percent of women . that may well be because taxation of cigarettes and tobacco products in turkey remains substantially below the guidelines recommended by the world health organization . a pack of cigarettes here costs $ 3 , compared with as much as $ 15 in some european countries . three dollars is a lot of money for people on the modest salaries paid here , although not enough to affect habits in a country where many people can remember a time when it was common to smoke inside hospitals . many turkish smokers feel aggrieved by the changes , and reports that smoking bans may be extended to parks and other outdoor spaces distress them further . ismail gungor , 26 , a lawyer , is a smoker who says “ my aim is to turn my mustache yellow — i ’ll smoke as long as my health allows it . ” but he ’s tired of freezing half to death in the process , when he goes to restaurants and bars , and feels there should be licensed places for smokers to frequent . he was at the tarantula cafe drinking — and smoking — with his friend gurkan kurt , 26 , an engineer . mr. kurt had quit smoking for three days , until he met up with mr. gungor on a recent saturday . “ oh , well , ” he said . government regulation is not the only obstacle faced by turkish smokers , who are more than three times as likely to be men . “ the women smoke less , and they ’re always pressuring us to quit smoking , ” mr. gungor said . mr. kurt does not have that problem . “ i do n’t tell them i smoke , ” he said . like many other turkish smokers , they do not dispute their country ’s reputation . barkan karsh , a turkish academic consultant who works in macedonia , said people there not only use the “ smokes like a turk ” expression , but they also use a turkish word for tobacco , “ tutun , ” as slang for a cigarette . this is a bit rich , because macedonia ranks among countries in per capita cigarette consumption , according to the tobacco atlas , published by an antismoking group , while turkey is only 29th . “ even macedonians say they should change ‘ smokes like a turk’ to ‘ smokes like a macedonian,’ ” mr. karsh said . somehow , it does n’t have quite the same ring . “ actually it ’s kind of an urban legend that turks smoke so much , ” gokhan bicici , a local journalist , said . “ especially younger people are smoking much less . ” he has a point . the tobacco atlas maintains that some countries consume more than twice as many cigarettes per person as turkey , among them montenegro ( the world leader with 4 , 124 cigarettes consumed per adult annually ) belarus and lebanon . macedonia and russia are nearly as bad . as for italy , it ’s really not much better than turkey . no . 34 among nations in smoking , italians consume roughly the same number of cigarettes as turks . according to world health organization data for turkey and italy , fewer adult italians are smokers than adult turks , but among young people , smoking rates are more than twice as high in italy . perhaps the expression should actually be , “ fuma come un italiano ” ( or , as they say in turkish , “ o bir italyan gibi sigara iciyor ” ) .
+1 bombshell ! fbi reopens investigation on hillary clinton alex ansary bombshell ! fbi reopens investigation on hillary clinton 10/28/2016 in today ’s video , christopher greene of amtv explains somebody very powerful just pulled the rug from under hillary clinton . 10/27/2016 truth revolt http://youtu.be/psvnkmb6jec there ’s a lot of accusations going around that the 2016 election is r ... netflix ceo : tv ’s future includes hallucination pills 10/27/2016 independent the future of tv might everyone taking hallucinogenic drugs , according to the head of netflix . the thr ...
+0 geography made america great . has globalization undone its influence ? - the new york times jonathan rauch earning the rockies how geography shapes america ’s role in the world by robert d. kaplan 201 pp . random house . $ 27 . well over half of american voters , having cast ballots for hillary clinton or candidates , awoke the next morning to a country that seems not only unfamiliar but . populists embrace a celebrity billionaire , evangelicals welcome a lothario , conservatives accept an opportunist whose only ideological commitment is to himself . the republican establishment proves helpless against the hijacking of the party , the mainstream media prove ineffectual against the tide of fake news and the political system proves vulnerable to the machinations of a sinister foreign government . longstanding global alliances are questioned , longstanding political norms are trashed — and then the candidate with the plurality loses . in what alternative universe does this make any sense ? as karl marx said , in a very different context : all that is solid melts into air . or maybe not . maybe the political air is turbulent but the country ’s tectonic fundamentals remain solid . maybe american politics and geopolitics rest on a foundation as immovable as the rivers and plains of the country itself . for those who feel disoriented , and also ( perhaps especially ) for those who feel triumphant , robert d. kaplan ’s small but magisterial new book , “ earning the rockies , ” is a tonic , because it brings fundamentals back into view . with only 180 uncrowded pages of text , this is a book that can be read on a flight , but fully digesting it will take much longer . every page brings a fresh insight , a telling aperçu , a bracing reality check . if you do read the book at 30 , 000 feet , it will make you yearn to be down below . to understand the country , kaplan posits , one must still “ earn the rockies , ” reaching them on terra firma as our ancestors did . “ to fly to california and set your clock back three hours is not to know the ground you have covered , because you have n’t seen all the different mornings and evenings along the way . ” kaplan is one of america ’s most distinguished writers on foreign affairs , with 16 prior books to his name . ( he and i are both contributing editors of the atlantic , though we do n’t know each other . ) many will recall his 1994 atlantic article ( then book ) “ the coming anarchy , ” which looks eerily prescient today . in his teens as a hitchhiker and again in middle age as a journalist , kaplan trekked across the continental united states . today , perplexed by america ’s pivot against the successful global order that americans built , he repeats the journey , “ for the answers to our dilemmas overseas lie within the continent itself . ” he returns with a musing travelogue , one that seeks , in words as carefully chosen as gemstones , to bring america ’s geographic and geopolitical fundamentals back into the picture . he begins in the east , where the landscape is vertical , cluttered with tall trees and taller cities . walking streets that are thriving and dismal by turns , and overhearing conversations in rural diners and urban coffeehouses , he encounters not one country but two . wheeling , in west virginia coal country , is in a shocking state of collapse , but across the bridge in marietta , ohio , he finds prosperity fueled by fracking . in bloomington , the home of indiana university , he finds “ a truly global civilization , ” demarcated by “ miles and miles of expensive restaurants and people . ” the new “ universal civilization ” is slowly dissolving local distinctiveness , but only for some : bloomington ’s elites understand their british counterparts better than they do their compatriots in wheeling . in place after place , kaplan encounters people who , though friendly and “ have in some important ways just given up . ” even in blue states , many “ feel their way of life is being endangered and fear being economically left behind in this new world of slim people on diets with stylish clothes . ” then the “ horizontal landscape ” of the great plains unfurls before him , followed by the great american desert of the west , endless landscapes that forged an independent ethos yet , paradoxically , were built with the aid of enormous government investment . here he finds the cradle of america ’s international ambitions : “ if this unending vastness could be conquered , then , after some fashion , the world could be , too . ” at last , he arrives in san diego , overlooking the port of the mighty united states pacific fleet and peering over the horizon toward asia , where the fleet ’s patrols keep an uneasy peace . what do we learn along the way ? for all the turbulent change swirling about us now , america was and remains the product of an exceptional geography . north america has more miles of navigable inland waterways than much of the rest of the world combined . better still , its rivers run diagonally rather than ( as in russia ) north and south , forming an ideal network for internal communication and trade . moreover , america ’s continental span and rich resource base shield it from external threat and dependency . thus the united states is uniquely blessed by geography to form and sustain a cohesive continental union . union is not the same as unity , but it ’s a good start . america ’s geographical and hydrological blessings ramify not only inward but also outward . “ the united states is not a normal country : its geographic bounty gave it the possibility of becoming a world power , and with that power it has developed longstanding obligations , which , on account of its continued economic and social dynamism relative to other powers , it keeps , ” kaplan writes . “ we are , ” he says ( his italics ) “ fated to lead . ” for a host of reasons , ranging from geography to culture , no other country can play the same role . kaplan embraces america ’s role but is no imperialist . his book is most challenging , and most valuable , for the layers of paradox it mines . geography and union make the united states a hegemon whose auspices create the conditions for globalization — but globalization diminishes america ’s geographical advantages and erodes american unity . meanwhile , as globalization uproots local economies and norms , the communications revolution spawns new tribal and ideological identities , everything from jihadism to . “ it is n’t the clash of civilizations so much as the clash of artificially reconstructed civilizations that is taking place , ” kaplan writes . finally , globalization , a product of american influence and a bulwark against chaos , erodes american influence and births new disruptions . for all its unrivaled military and economic power , the united states “ now has no possibility of bringing order to the world . ” the best we can hope for is to reduce disorder . doing that requires projecting power , yes , but with a “ light and subtle footprint . ” it wo n’t be easy . “ earning the rockies ” was written before the 2016 election . the name “ trump ” appears only a few times . yet there is more insight here into the age of trump than in bushels of journalism . george h. w. bush imagined a new world order and , for a time , built one bill clinton embraced soft power and democratic globalization and , for a time , made them work george w. bush rediscovered history , confrontation , hard power and blowback barack obama sought to revive clinton ’s formula but , in the end , left too many behind . and then came trump , repudiating all of the above for irredentist nationalism , and smashing crockery as none have done since andrew jackson . where are we now ? in territory that is uncharted but not altogether unfamiliar . president trump may try to ignore the paradoxes of geography and globalism , but he can not escape them . in the long run , kaplan reminds us , the shape of the river constrains the pilot ’s course . america will continue to lead , because it must .
+1 there should be no special deal for tax - evading cameco murray dobbin cameco , the saskatchewan - based uranium mining colossus , is currently in federal court facing charges by the canada revenue agency ( cra ) that it illegally avoided a stunning $ 2.2 billion in canadian income taxes . it is not only the largest such case in canadian history but one of the most shameless tax dodges ever hatched by a canadian corporation . the court case has been delayed for years and just the fact that it has finally made it before a judge is good news . but the news could quickly turn bad if , facing defeat , cameco makes a pitch to settle for less than the full amount . that would be a miscarriage of justice . it is absolutely critical that the government not make a deal with cameco for a smaller sum — as often happens in these cases . because this is no ordinary case . cameco is a rogue corporation , contemptuous of the country it operates in , and so arrogant in its tax avoidance scheme that it ca n’t even bother to try to justify it . confronted by the facts , cameco just repeats its executive mantra : “ we believe that it was established in accordance with sound business principles and in accordance with relevant laws and regulations . ” at a time when more and more attention is being paid to off - shore tax havens and the billions we lose to them , canada needs to make an example of this irresponsible corporate “ citizen . ” here ’s the bare bones of the scheme . in 1999 cameco decided to dramatically reduce its income tax bill by setting up a subsidiary in zug , switzerland , where the tax rate is 10 per cent — compared to the ( then ) canadian rate of about 27 per cent . at the time the price was at rock bottom — $ 10 a pound . that ’s the price the saskatchewan head office charged its swiss “ subsidiary . ” then came the windfall manoeuvre : cameco drafted a 17-year uranium supply agreement at a fixed price of $ 10 a pound . it was simplicity itself : cameco would sell literally all of its uranium through the swiss subsidiary and it would sell it for whatever the world price was . that world price went to almost $ 140 a pound in 2007 and is now around $ 35 . all the revenue earned above $ 10 a pound was taxed in switzerland at the low rate . ( an insignificant amount is actually sold in europe and , of course , not an ounce of the stuff ever finds its way to zug . ) this scheme is known as “ transfer pricing ” and sometimes it is perfectly legitimate — companies that sell their products in multiple countries “ sell ” them to subsidiaries which then sell them in their jurisdiction and get taxed on the profits . but more and more multinationals have been abusing the law that allows this — including apple , “ based ” in ireland , which is now facing a us$ 15-billion tax bill from the european commission for its abuse of transfer pricing . but apple actually sold its products in european countries and has 5,500 employees in ireland . cameco ? not so much . according to a 2014 globe and mail story : “ while cameco says cameco europe has its own board of directors and a full - time ceo , documents in the case reveal the european company had no other full - time employees , and no stand - alone office , instead renting space from the law firm performing its legal work . ” virtually all the substantive work was performed in canada . all of the uranium is mined in canada , all of cameco ’s sales are negotiated and completed in canada , and literally all of its profits are generated in canada . the company ’s scheme is pure scam which is why fair - tax activists in saskatchewan call the company scameco . a citizens’ group , saskatchewan citizens for tax fairness , has been on cameco ’s case for several years — paying for a billboard demanding cameco pay up and collecting 36,000 names on a petition which it presented to the federal government . but it is n’t just citizens’ groups looking askance at cameco . investment research firms , like veritas , have questioned the company ’s scheme . in 2013 company analyst pawel rajszel stated : “ [ a]ll the upside has been transferred to the subsidiary . meanwhile all the risk has stayed with cameco canada . … it ’s strange that the company would have created this swiss subsidiary without having any real operations in switzerland . ” a veritas report concludes : “ it is therefore difficult to see a reasonable business purpose to [ cameco europe ’s ] existence , beyond tax minimization . ” in a further comment , mr. rajszel told the globe and mail in 2014 : “ based on our review of cameco ’s [ first quarter ] results , the dispute with the cra may force the company to borrow funds and/or cut its dividend in order to finance the back tax payments . ” does that suggest cameco ’s clever tax dodge could actually expose it to a charge of failing to carry out its fiduciary duty to its shareholders ? another business - focussed group has been sniffing around cameco ’s problems . the bottom line , a canadian publication which bills itself as a “ forensic accounting and fraud ” magazine , has been in contact with saskatchewan citizens for tax fairness about the case . companies like cameco have for too long framed the tax haven issue as business as usual . but that is now clearly changing and people are starting to see this behaviour for what it is : the legalized theft of canadian government services . cameco started off as a public mining company and its technology was developed in canada with the help of saskatchewan government money . the canadian transportation infrastructure allows them to get their uranium to market , they have enjoyed decades in a stable economy , with low inflation , cheap money , low crime and the legal protection accorded a “ corporate citizen ” under the charter of rights and freedoms . their workers received free and/or subsidized education and cameco does n’t have to pay health insurance for its employees — as companies in the u.s. do . adding insult to injury , the ( federal ) taxes cameco is avoiding are amongst the lowest in the developed word : 15 per cent compared , for example , to 35 per cent in the u.s. ironically — or maybe not — while the cra is going after cameco , saskatchewan ’s unabashedly pro - business premier brad wall has said almost nothing about the case ( the timid ndp opposition has said even less ) . that seems a bit strange given that saskatchewan ’s share of the proceeds , if the cra wins , would be over $ 700 million . governments may govern in the era of globalization , but giant companies rule . it is long past time that we put a stop to it . a great first step would be for the cra to refuse to negotiate and get all of our money back . then we need to change the law . murray dobbin , now living in powell river , bc has been a journalist , broadcaster , author and social activist for over forty years . he now writes a bi - weekly column for the on - line journals the tyee and rabble.ca . he can be reached at murraydobbin@shaw.ca
+1 bernie sanders : now more than ever , it 's our revolution nan bernie sanders : now more than ever , it 's our revolution share on facebook tweet the senator from vermont remains optimistic about the country 's future , and urges citizens to become more deeply involved in the political process . [ watch video below ]
+1 the negative health effects of fragranced products nan we d , 26 oct 2016 21:38 utc one of the academic professionals in my vast network includes anne steinemann , professor of civil engineering , chair of sustainable cities , melbourne school of engineering , the university of melbourne , australia , who just published the research paper , fragranced consumer products : exposures and effects from emissions , october 7 , 2016 . dr steinemann was kind enough to email a copy of her exciting work , which i 'd like to bring to consumers ' attention since gas out fumes from fragranced products definitely have negative impacts upon human health . back in the 1970s , i tried bringing attention to gas out from formaldehyde fumes that were saturating everything from carpeting to fabric stores , with fragrances in almost anything from toilet tissue to you name it — scented candles being the most offensive . how employees worked in those stores that took away one 's breath , was totally incomprehensible to me . did n't they know those fumes were not friendly to their nasal sinuses , throat , bronchi and lungs ? professor steinemann 's article needs to be studied seriously , especially by parents with young children who are more prone to developing respiratory problems and allergies . probably two of the more offensive gas - off consumer products are cologne and perfume , which women over - use plus men 's after shave . both affect young children who are carried close to their parents ' bodies and must breathe in those irritating fumes . please consider that those scents can cause respiratory problems for baby . comment : hidden chemicals in perfume and cologne the average fragrance product tested contained 14 secret chemicals not listed on the label . among them are chemicals associated with hormone disruption and allergic reactions , and many substances that have not been assessed for safety in personal care products . also in the ranks of undisclosed ingredients are chemicals with troubling hazardous properties or with a propensity to accumulate in human tissues . these include diethyl phthalate , a chemical found in 97 percent of americans ( silva 2004 ) and linked to sperm damage in human epidemiological studies ( swan 2008 ) , and musk ketone , a synthetic fragrance ingredient that concentrates in human fat tissue and breast milk ( hutter 2009 ; reiner 2007 ) . the above article abstract states , results from this study provide strong evidence that fragranced products can trigger adverse health effects in the general population . the study also indicates that reducing exposure to fragranced products , such as through fragrance - free policies , can provide cost - effective and relatively simple ways to reduce risks and improve air quality and health . furthermore , i 'd like to call readers ' attention to the statistics cited regarding health effects . here 's what professor steinemann 's research confirmed : overall , 34.7 % of the population reported one or more types of adverse health effects from exposure to one or more types of fragranced products . the most common types of adverse effects were as follows : 18.6 % respiratory problems ; 16.2 % mucosal symptoms ; 15.7 % migraine headaches ; 10.6 % skin problems ; 8.0%asthma attacks ; 7.2%neurological problems ; 5.8 % cognitive problems ; 5.5 % gastrointestinal problems ; 4.4 % cardiovascular problems ; 4.0 % immune system problems ; 3.8 % musculoskeletal problems ; and 1.7 % other . personally , i think the above stats could meet the ' criteria ' for those affected and who experience what 's called " multiple chemical sensitivities " ( mcs ) , a condition exacerbated by environmental pollutants , e.g. , smog , chemtrails , odors , chemical gas out fumes , and fragrances , relieved only by total avoidance and undertaking a supervised detoxification program , in my opinion . because of the " super - saturation aggregate " of chemicals in air , food , water and environment , the human immune system is being compromised constantly , whether we know it or not . therefore , it ought to be incumbent upon everyone , i think , to avoid any chemical gas out fumes like scented candles , dryer sheets , cleaning products , automobile and room air fresheners , scented personal beauty products , e.g. , soaps , lotions , perfumes , after shave , hair sprays , etc . let 's not ignore " flame retardants . " in my opinion , one of the most irritating scents is found in room air freshener products , which are caustic to mucous membranes of the nose , mouth , throat and bronchi . many public restrooms gas out deodorizing chemicals toxic fumes , which ought to be outlawed , in my opinion , as people are forced to breathe them in order to use public restrooms . complain to managers in stores , theaters and other public places when you encounter such chemical assaults on your lungs . laundry products leave scents in bed linens that infants , toddlers and adults must sleep on seven or more hours a day , which is not conducive to a healthy respiratory system and weakens the immune system , in my opinion . toxic chemical fume exposure is a stress on the body ! have pity on your poor liver , the main detoxifying organ in the body , and give it a chance to recoup as much as possible . wearing perfumes and breathing in room air fresheners are constant chemical stresses to the body . however , one of the most egregious out gassing of toxic scents is found in all new clothing . the odor smells like perfume , but contains many chemicals to keep the fabric ' sized ' . i can smell someone wearing new clothing several feet away from me . if i can smell it , i question whether it 's harming the person wearing it , as most people do n't realize what 's going on with new clothing . i heartily suggest laundering every new piece of clothing before wearing it or putting it on a baby or toddler — especially ! if there 's something that ca n't be laundered , place it in a clothes dryer on a high heat setting for as long as it takes to ' cook off ' the fumes . i discuss a lot about chemical reactions in my 2009 book , our chemical lives and the hijacking of our dna , a probe into what 's probably making us sick . personally , i do n't buy anything that can not be laundered before wearing ! sometimes i ' cook ' new clothing in my dryer for several hours before it 's gassed out . wetting two clean wash clothes that are wrung out as dry as possible and placed into the dryer with new clothing , i found , helps the gas out go faster and reduces dryer time . would you like to know what some of those sizing chemicals are ? according to our friends at organic consumers association , chemicals often used for finishing include formaldehyde , caustic soda , sulfuric acid , bromines , urea resins , sulfonamides , halogens , and bromines . some imported clothes are now impregnated with long - lasting disinfectants which are very hard to remove , and whose smell gives them away . [ 1 ] professor steinemann found that fragranced product manufacturers are not required to disclose all ingredients in their formulations . this lack of disclosure can impede efforts to understand and reduce adverse effects associated with potentially harmful compounds , such as certain volatile organic compounds and semi - volatile organic compounds . further , we lack knowledge on which specific chemicals or mixtures of chemicals are associated with the adverse effects , and this is an important area for research . in my opinion , there ought to be a law prohibiting any non - disclosure policies of all ingredients used in business and industry manufacturing ! where are fda , epa and osha regulations regarding those loopholes in manufacturing and merchandising ? i mention osha ( occupational safety and health administration ) because the workplace can be very problematic for many reasons : chemical gas out fumes from carpeting and other construction materials ; perfumes , which can be compared to tobacco smoking fumes ; and unrealized particulates given off from heat production by electronic equipment — often the source of eye irritation , i think . indoor air pollution can originate from many sources . thanks , professor steinemann , for your timely and exceptional study . fragranced consumer products : exposures and effects from emissions
+0 donald trump embraces wider use of stop - and - frisk by police - the new york times michael barbaro , maggie haberman and yamiche alcindor donald j. trump on wednesday called for the broad use of the contentious policing strategy in america ’s cities , embracing an aggressive tactic whose legality has been challenged and whose enforcement has been abandoned in new york . his support for the polarizing policy — which involves officers’ questioning and searching pedestrians — collides with his highly visible courtship of who have been disproportionately singled out by the tactic , data show . for mr. trump , the timing was especially inauspicious : it came as police shootings of black people were once again drawing scrutiny and protest . mr. trump has long championed as a tool in his hometown , new york , but on wednesday he recommended that it be deployed in cities across the country that are struggling to control violence . it was the latest twist in mr. trump ’s awkward , and at times counterproductive , outreach to black voters , who polls suggest remain deeply skeptical of him — and it occurred right after a prominent black supporter , don king , used a racial epithet as he introduced mr. trump at a church in cleveland heights , ohio . as mr. king , the retired boxing promoter , sought to explain how society unfairly categorizes he referred to a “ dancing and sliding and gliding nigger , ” before quickly correcting himself . “ i mean negro , ” he said as mr. trump looked on a few feet behind him , grinning . mr. trump described his enthusiasm for during a town discussion , also in cleveland heights , after a voter pressed him on how he would reduce violence in black communities . “ one of the things i ’d do , ” he said , “ is i would do . i think you have to . we did it in new york , it worked incredibly well and you have to be proactive . ” the largely white audience erupted into applause . during the event , hosted by fox news , mr. trump suggested that would work well in cities like chicago , which has been convulsed by gun violence , and cleveland . “ i see what ’s going on here , i see what ’s going on in chicago , ” mr. trump said before praising the technique again as “ incredible . ” black leaders reacted swiftly and harshly . “ the idea of creating a national policy is the equivalent of advancing martial law and is beyond the constitutional power of the presidency , ” marc h. morial , president of the national urban league , said in an email . in new york , mayor bill de blasio , who has overseen the dismantling of as official police policy , said what mr. trump was proposing “ will simply alienate the very people who we need to be partners in the fight against crime . ” “ he does not understand how policing works , ” added mr. de blasio , a democrat who is supporting hillary clinton , mr. trump ’s democratic rival for president . has become a source of enormous tension between police officers and black residents in the cities that have deployed it as a tool . once credited with significantly reducing murders in urban centers like new york by removing weapons and drugs from the street , it has drawn protests and legal challenges . a federal judge in new york , shira a. scheindlin , struck down the tactic as unconstitutional in 2013 , saying the way the city was using it violated the rights of minorities . about 83 percent of the stops in new york from 2004 to 2012 involved blacks and hispanics , even though those two groups make up just slightly more than 50 percent of the city ’s residents . mayor michael r. bloomberg appealed the judge ’s ruling , but after mr. de blasio took office the police department repudiated the strategy and stopped using it . mr. de blasio , who dropped the appeal , has called it a “ broken policy . ” similar complaints dogged the use of in chicago , prompting the police department to make an unusual concession : it now allows an independent third party to monitor its use . mr. trump remains an unabashed fan of the tactic and has glossed over the legal and racial objections to its use for years . in 2013 , after judge scheindlin ’s ruling , mr. trump took issue with those who would end the strategy . “ nyc politicians better stop pandering — ending stop frisk would be a disaster , ” he wrote on twitter . as a presidential candidate , mr. trump has repeatedly praised the procedure as a proven approach for reducing crime , holding up new york city ’s experience as an example . “ is a very positive thing , ” he said a few weeks ago . mr. trump is drawing historically low support from according to several polls , and he has repeatedly stumbled in his attempts to appeal to them . he earned ridicule a few weeks ago when he told blacks that “ you ’re living in your poverty , your schools are no good , you have no jobs , 58 percent of your youth is unemployed — what the hell do you have to lose ? ” wednesday was a chance for mr. trump to try a different approach , by speaking to black pastors . when asked about recent police shootings of black people in tulsa , okla. and charlotte , n. c. he even seemed to fault the officer in the tulsa case , saying , “ i do n’t know what she was thinking , but i ’m very , very troubled by that . ” but mr. trump ’s choice of the mr. king to introduce him was unusual : mr. king was convicted of manslaughter in 1966 , though he was later pardoned he has been investigated for possible connections to organized crime and he has no political experience . he is best known for promoting many of boxing ’s matches , like the 1974 “ rumble in the jungle ” between muhammad ali and george foreman in zaire . standing at the pulpit in the new spirit revival center in cleveland heights on wednesday morning , mr. king quickly veered off course as he recalled conversations in which he counseled black celebrities about the realities of race in america . “ i told michael jackson , i said , ‘ if you are poor , you are a poor negro — i would use the n word — if you are rich , you are a rich negro,’ ” mr. king said . it was then that he seemed to slip up . “ if you are a talented intellectual , you are an intellectual negro . if you are a dancing and sliding and gliding nigger , i mean negro , ” he said , as he chuckled briefly and those in the racially mixed crowd laughed nervously around him . a smile remained fixed on mr. trump ’s face . beyond the walls of the church , reaction to the use of such an offensive word was quick and unforgiving . barbara j. holloway , 70 , from decatur , ga. who is black , said mr. king was “ just playing into stereotypes and things that have hurt us in the past . ” “ instead of him trying to bring us forward and be positive in front of trump , he is trying to take us back , ” she said . it was , she added , “ out of line completely . ” a few hours later , mrs. holloway was frustrated but not surprised to hear what mr. trump had said about . “ to me , it ’s like you would be losing your freedom , ” she said . “ we already do n’t have much value , it seems , and then now they want to say : ‘ o. k. ma’am . put your purse down . i think you got dope.’ they would have no reason to stop and frisk me . ” she added , “ i expect nothing from donald trump that is really going to help me as a black american . ”
+0 think the n.c.a.a. bracket ’s too easy ? try one of these pools - the new york times marc tracy starting in the 1970s , eight prosecutors in the justice department ’s public integrity section set up a standing meeting . once a year , they would gather in the deputy attorney general ’s conference room and run an elaborate pool for the n. c. a. a. men ’s basketball tournament . “ we mostly followed the law , ” said reid weingarten , one of the pool ’s charter members . the pool lasted decades , surviving long after the colleagues had left for other jobs . like most n. c. a. a. tournament pools , it brought friends together for good fun . any financial stakes paled in comparison to the competitive ones . participants got carried away with preselection research . and they were merciless in lambasting one another ’s pet predilections . “ eric ” — that would be eric h. holder jr. the future attorney general — “ would always pick u. c. l. a. because he was a kareem guy , ” weingarten said , referring to kareem ’s alma mater . “ and he would always pick the ivy league team , because he went to columbia . ” but what made the bracket truly unusual was its structure . the participants did not pick games rather , they drafted teams . ( random selection dictated the drafting order . ) owning the team that won it all merited the largest reward , of course , but it also was worth something to have a team that made the final four or the team to make the round of 16 . this was not , in other words , your ordinary office pool . “ i find blind pool picking tedious , ridiculous and not fun , ” weingarten said . that is not to say there is anything wrong with simple pools millions of americans take part in one every march , often merely for the prize of office or family bragging rights . in fact , one recently existed in a place even higher than the justice department . for the previous six n. c. a. a. tournaments , kyle lierman , then of the white house office of public engagement , ran botus — bracket of the united states — for hundreds of members of president barack obama ’s staff . ( he will run the pool again this year it has been rechristened botus 44 . ) there were no financial stakes , lierman said , and the president ’s bracket , publicly filled out on espn , was automatically entered every year . “ he did well a couple years , ” lierman said . “ other years , not so well . ” the n. c. a. a. tournament , which kicks off tuesday , is the super bowl of sports wagering . actually , it is the super bowl twice over . the american gaming association , a trade group for the casino industry , estimated that americans will wager more than $ 10 billion on the tournament this year , most of it illegally , compared with $ 4 . 7 billion on the super bowl . and that figure does not include the multitudes of office pools , with their $ 5 or $ 10 entry fees . officially , the n. c. a. a. opposes “ all forms of legal and illegal sports wagering . ” “ despite the n. c. a. a. ’s protests against gambling , ” said geoff freeman , the chief executive of the gaming association , which supports the broad legalization of sports wagering , “ they ’ve created the biggest gambling event in american history . they wisely did it with great marketing , tremendous use of the bracket and infiltration into the american cultural lifestyle . ” most pools are straightforward : take a blank bracket , predict winners for every game and submit it before the first one tips off . but for a certain breed of fan , like those aforementioned anticorruption lawyers , the standard pool is not enough . several have devised sophisticated , even byzantine alterations on the theme . noah chestnut , a product manager at the sports website bleacher report , crafted a pool several years ago that is similar to the one used by the lawyers . in his pool , drafting is . entrants are allocated a $ 100 budget that must be spent on four to six teams whoever offers the most for a given team buys it . ( when kentucky entered the 2015 tournament undefeated , the successful draftee paid $ 96 for the privilege of selecting the wildcats , who lost in the semifinals . ) “ i ’ve always preferred to draft to everything else in life , ” chestnut said . “ i do n’t actually enjoy the games as much as the time before the games . ” a common tweak in irregular pools is to adjust how many points a participant receives for picking an underdog in order to make every game closer to an effective tossup . picking a 14th seed that wins its first game , some reason , should be worth more than picking a no . 3 seed that holds serve . chestnut , for example , weighted the scoring so that additional points were available when a team upset a favorite : 3 points , for instance , when a no . 10 beat a no . 7 . and the wall street journal reported several years ago on a biostatistician who used sophisticated mathematical formulas to determine point values for every matchup based on how previous , similar matchups had turned out . similarly , in the early 1980s , stephen brown raided the microfiche at the university of virginia where he was a graduate student . armed with pencil and paper , he consulted past bracket results from the new york times and , based on previous outcomes , calculated upset bonus points , which increased as the bracket narrowed . “ i was supposed to be writing my dissertation on an poet named edward young , ” said brown , now an english professor at rhode island college . the bonus points , though , were secondary to brown ’s core innovation : picking . instead of filling out an entire bracket before the first game , participants picked games in the second round after knowing the results in the first , and so on . the structure keeps more participants in the running , as anyone with a bad first round , say , can make up for it with a good second round — particularly if there are more upsets , and thus more available upset bonus points . “ i never liked the idea of filling out the brackets , ” he said , adding , “ it makes so much more sense , and would take more judgment and skill , if you knew who was actually playing every game . ” brown ’s pool survives to this day , administered by his nephew . so does a offshoot centered in the washington area . ( full disclosure : the offshoot is this reporter ’s annual pool of choice . ) finally , for those who prefer getting ready for the party to the party itself , bryan cimorelli ’s pool , the conference tournament challenge , is for you . it covers not the one n. c. a. a. championship tournament , but the 32 division i conference tournaments , which this season comprised 294 games , per his calculation . each tournament is treated like the n. c. a. a. tournament , with point values increasing each round . additional points are awarded for upsets , calculated by a method too exasperating to explain here . values are additionally multiplied depending on how prominent the conference is : conferences like the southwestern athletic are the baseline , while points in the ivy league are multiplied by 3 . 5 the atlantic 10 by 4 . 5 and the six power conferences by 5 . “ i like things that are really complicated and take a lot of thought , ” said cimorelli , perhaps stating the obvious . cimorelli , whose day job in budgeting also involves spreadsheets , emails a preview every morning and a recap every night to ensure his pool ’s 40 participants remain engaged . a recent preview was more than 15 , 000 words . it informed competitors that only one had picked richmond to win the atlantic 10 , discussed coaching seniority in the southeastern conference and made the observation that while more than half the pool had picked rice to upset paso in one game , none had the owls reaching the conference usa final . on sunday , the c. t. c. ended and , soon after , the selection committee handed down the n. c. a. a. tournament bracket . for cimorelli , it always is perhaps the year ’s biggest letdown . “ i do n’t even want to look at a bracket , ” he said . “ i fill one out because it ’s my sports fan ’s obligation , but after 300 games in 13 days , i get to the actual tournament and i ’m like , this is boring . ”
+0 carbs during workouts may fend off colds - the new york times gretchen reynolds until recently , many scientists believed that exercise reduces the body ’s ability to fight off infections . past studies had found , for example , that after workouts , especially strenuous ones , people had fewer white blood cells in their bloodstreams than before working out , suggesting that their immune response had been weakened . but a timely new review of studies about exercise and immunity indicates that the interactions between exercise and immunity are far more intricate than scientists once suspected . some types of workouts may hinder the immune response , according to the review , while others bolster it . encouragingly , it also seems that a few simple precautions , including consuming carbohydrates during exhausting workouts , might help to keep our immune systems robust . to learn more about the latest science concerning exercise and immunity , i contacted two of the authors of the new review , which was published last week in the journal of applied physiology . jonathan m. peake is a lecturer in sports science at queensland university of technology in australia , while his oliver neubauer is a senior research fellow at the same university . what follows are edited excerpts from our conversation . q. why would exercise affect the immune system in the first place ? jonathan peake : exercise is a form of stress . the immune system responds to stress . q. what actually happens to the immune system during a workout ? dr. peake : white blood cell numbers typically increase in the blood during exercise , much as they would during an infection . body temperature rises , and immune cells move from the lymph nodes , spleen , the walls of blood vessels , and the bone marrow into the bloodstream . the stimulus here is obviously not infectious , but occurs because of a rise in stress hormones such as cortisol , epinephrine , norepinephrine and growth hormone , which all can increase during exercise . q. and after exercise ? dr. peake : the number of white blood cells in the bloodstream , especially a type of cell that is particularly good at fighting infections known as natural killer cells , rapidly falls . people often have fewer natural killer cells in their blood after exercise than before they started . for many years , it was thought that exercise was destroying these cells and causing immunodepression . q. but it is n’t ? dr. peake : we now believe that the cells are not destroyed . instead , it ’s more likely they move out of the bloodstream and to other regions of the body , such as the lungs , gut , skin and mucous membranes of the respiratory system . this occurs in part because we can breathe in or ingest microorganisms that wind up in these tissues and require an immune response , but also because the stress of exercise causes physiological and biochemical changes within these tissues . as a result , signals go out from the tissues to the immune cells in the blood telling them that there is a potential threat to the body there , and the immune cells move to those tissues . q. so although we get more cells in our bloodstream during a workout , many of them wind up diverted afterward into other parts of the body ? can this development leave us particularly vulnerable to infections after a stressful workout ? dr. peake : yes . q. what if the exercise is relatively moderate , like a brisk walk or easy jog , instead of a more intense workout ? dr. peake : epidemiological evidence suggests that regular moderate exercise protects against upper respiratory illnesses , whereas regular intense exercise increases the risk of upper respiratory illnesses . q. because moderate exercise likely results in less physiological stress throughout the body than more vigorous exercise ? dr. peake : that ’s fair to say . the stress hormones that regulate activity of the immune system respond to intensity and duration . generally speaking , the more strenuous the exercise , the longer it takes for the immune system to return to normal afterward . q. for people who train hard and would prefer not to repeatedly catch colds , is there any way to maintain a healthy immune response ? oliver neubauer : ingesting carbohydrates during vigorous exercise may help , because carbohydrates maintain blood sugar levels . having stable blood sugar levels reduces the body ’s stress response , which in turn , moderates any undesirable mobilization of immune cells . q. how much carbohydrate ? and when ? dr. neubauer : most people only need carbohydrates during or prolonged exercise that lasts for 90 minutes or more . for them , between 30 and 60 grams — which is 1 or 2 ounces — of carbohydrates per hour during exercise could minimize immune disturbances related to exercise . consuming carbohydrates in the first few hours immediately after strenuous exercise also helps to restore immune function . q. any additional advice for those of us who work out and wish to stay well ? dr. peake : washing your hands often and avoiding contact with sick people will also help .
+1 amnesty intl : western backed syrian rebels must end unlawful attacks in w. aleppo amnesty international videos amnesty intl : western backed syrian rebels must end unlawful attacks in w. aleppo up to 48 people including 17 children have been killed in civilian areas of government - controlled western aleppo since the offensive began , according to the syrian observatory of human rights . be sociable , share ! a screenshot showing syrian rebels using an american made bgm-71 tow missile . the fierce offensive on western aleppo city launched by armed opposition groups on 28 october has been marked by indiscriminate attacks on civilian areas that can not be justified as a way to break the relentless siege that has sparked a humanitarian crisis in eastern aleppo , amnesty international said . up to 48 people including 17 children have been killed in civilian areas of government - controlled western aleppo since the offensive began , according to the syrian observatory of human rights . the goal of breaking the siege on eastern aleppo does not give armed opposition groups a license to flout the rules of international humanitarian law by bombarding civilian neighbourhoods in government - held areas without distinction samah hadid , deputy director of campaigns at amnesty international ’s beirut regional office “ armed opposition groups have displayed a shocking disregard for civilian lives . video footage shows they have used imprecise explosive weapons including mortars and katyusha rockets , whose use in the vicinity of densely populated civilian areas flagrantly violates international humanitarian law . armed opposition groups must end all attacks that fail to distinguish between military targets and civilians . ” on 30 october an alleged “ toxic gas ” attack took place in al - hamdaniyeh and al - assad areas of western aleppo causing dozens of injuries according to the syrian state news agency sana . “ chemical weapons are internationally banned and their use is a war crime . such weapons cause immense suffering and health damage . their use can never be justified and regardless of who is behind this attack all parties to the conflict must halt the use of all prohibited weapons of war , ” said samah hadid . be sociable , share !
+0 investigation clears u.s. troops in death of 33 afghan civilians john hayward on thursday , the u. s. military published a report on the death of 33 afghan civilians , and wounding of 27 others , during a joint u. s. and afghan special forces raid against the taliban in november . [ “ the investigation concluded that u. s. forces acted in in accordance with the law of armed conflict , and in accordance with all applicable regulations and policy , ” the military said in a statement quoted by reuters . “ it has been determined that no further action will be taken because u. s. forces acted in and followed all applicable law and policy , ” the statement said . the operation was intended to drive taliban forces from the area around kunduz , which they had overrun in october 2015 , and partially occupied the year before that . specifically , two senior taliban commanders were targeted in village of . ( they were indeed killed during the raid , along with an estimated 26 taliban fighters . ) the wall street journal reports u. s. and afghan forces were “ led into a trap by the taliban and ambushed on a street . ” the taliban opened fire from within civilian structures , inflicting several casualties and forcing the american and afghan troops to call for air support . two u. s. soldiers were killed and four wounded during the battle , while the afghans lost three commandos and had 11 wounded . according to the investigation , the responding aircraft appropriately used “ the minimum amount of force required to neutralize the various threats from the civilian buildings . ” the report said no civilians were identified by u. s. special forces during the firefight , the dead and wounded civilians were effectively serving as human shields for the taliban , and some of the casualties resulted from a taliban ammo dump exploding . the associated press notes that after the battle was over , local residents “ carried over a dozen corpses of the dead , including children and family members of the taliban fighters , toward a local governor ’s office in a show of rage . ” “ regardless of the circumstances , i deeply regret the loss of innocent lives . on this occasion the taliban chose to hide amongst civilians and then attacked afghan and u. s. forces , ” said general john nicholson , commander of u. s. forces in afghanistan . “ i wish to assure president ghani and the people of afghanistan that we will take all possible measures to protect afghan civilians . we will continue to assist the afghan security forces in their efforts to defend their country . ” the associated press notes that afghan president ashraf ghani criticized the taliban for using civilians as shields shortly after the raid in november . the wall street journal offers some contextual information that does n’t square easily with departing president barack obama ’s rhetoric about pulling u. s. troops out of afghanistan : civilian casualties in afghanistan increased in 2016 , with more than 5 , 000 deaths recorded in the first half of the year , according to the united nations . data for the remainder of the year has n’t been released . the u. s. air force dramatically increased the number of airstrikes it carried out in afghanistan in 2016 , data released by the military shows , a further sign of growing u. s. involvement in the country ’s war following the withdrawal of most coalition troops two years ago . just about every media report on the outcome of this military investigation mentions the controversial u. s. airstrike in the kunduz region from october 2015 , which killed 42 at a doctors without borders hospital , and led to disciplinary actions against a u. s. general and 15 other military personnel .
+1 hillary 's secretary of state after 9/11 : " send a check for $ 200 million to iran " daniel greenfield hillary 's secretary of state after 9/11 : " send a check for $ 200 million to iran " we 're talking about " tehran joe " biden of course who is good pals with the iran lobby . biden is reportedly hillary 's fantasy cabinet pick for secretary of state . because the democrats have decided that secretary of state is a job too important to be trusted to experienced diplomats , but should instead be reserved strictly as a consolation prize for failed presidential candidates . here 's a flashback on biden 's views . democratic vice - presidential candidate joe biden was quoted monday as telling senior israeli officials behind closed doors that the jewish state will have to reconcile itself to a nuclear iran . in the unsourced report , army radio also quoted biden as saying that he opposed " opening a additional military and diplomatic front . " army radio said israeli officials expressed " amazement " over the remarks attributed to him . " israel will have to reconcile itself with the nuclearization of iran , " army radio quoted biden as telling the unnamed officials . biden 's people loudly denied the report , but he had a history of being tight w ith the iran lobby . some might call it reaching out to american muslims . but to many iranians living in california , a fund - raiser for sen. joseph biden ( d - del . ) at the home of a prominent pro - iran lobbyist on feb. 19 sent a wrongheaded message to the ruling clerics in tehran . " when we learned that sen. biden was planning to hold a fund - raiser at the california home of dr. sadegh namazi - khah , we immediately contacted his office to express our dismay , " a prominent iranian - american activist tells insight . why dismay ? " dr. namazi - khah is well - known in the los angeles area for his support of the ruling clerical regime in tehran and is one of the regime 's leading unofficial lobbyists in america . we thought that sen. biden might not know his background . getting the chairman of the senate foreign relations committee to appear at this event will certainly be seen by the regime in tehran as a show of support . " on the eve of the fund - raiser , which brought an estimated $ 30,000 into biden 's re - election coffers , a biden staffer told the activist that the senator 's staff " had all the facts necessary to make a decision , " and he was planning to attend the fund - raiser despite the protests . several participants who paid to attend the event tell insight that biden arrived at 8 p.m. , stayed until 11 and delivered a sweeping condemnation of president george w. bush 's " axis of evil " formula . as senator , biden was not only undermining bush , but fundraising off it at the home of supporters of a terrorist enemy state . biden also impressed many of those present with his friendly attitude toward the islamic republic of iran . the senator said that " iran always wanted to be an ally of the united states and to have good relations with the u.s. , " according to housang dadgostar , a prominent lawyer . " as iranian - americans , we do n't want anything to happen to the iranian government or to the iranian people as a result of this war on terrorism , " says mohsen movaghar , a los angeles businessman . both men belong to the 70-member board of directors of namazi - khah 's iranian muslim association of north america ( iman ) . namazi - khah denied any official contact with the iranian government . but he tells insight that he regularly travels to iran — something many expatriates do — and that he actively supports " moderates " within the ruling clergy , such as iranian president mohammad khatami , in their efforts to bring reform to the islamic system . namazi - khah and other iman board members say biden 's office contacted them to inquire if they would hold a private fund - raiser for the senator , who is up for re - election this year , after meeting with them at a pro - tehran gala in new york last december . that event was sponsored by the american - iranian council ( aic ) , a pro - regime lobbying group trying to get congress and the bush administration to lift the trade embargo on iran . but biden had the perfect post 9/11 reaction . after september 11th , biden suggested sending $ 200 million to iran , " no strings attached , " as a gesture of good faith to the arab world . " at the tuesday - morning meeting with committee staffers , biden launches into a stream - of - consciousness monologue about what his committee should be doing , before he finally admits the obvious : ' i 'm groping here . ' then he hits on an idea : america needs to show the arab world that we 're not bent on its destruction . ' seems to me this would be a good time to send , no strings attached , a check for $ 200 million to iran ' biden declares . he surveys the table with raised eyebrows , a how do ya like that ? look on his face . " traitor says what ?
+1 hidden cam : soros - funded media matters brags how they got roger stone banned from tv chris menahan from project veritas : project veritas action has released the sixth video in a multi - part series that is sending shockwaves through the dnc and the clinton campaign . in a new video released by project veritas action , a pva journalist exposes how his pay for play with robert creamer landed him a meeting with bradley beychock , the president of media matters for america , an organization that has been attacking james o’keefe for years . during the meeting , beychock gave the pva journalist a tour of their offices . he also proudly boasted about the media matters assault on conservative writer and political consultant roger stone . watch : courtesy of information liberation do n't forget to follow the d.c. clothesline on facebook and twitter . please help spread the word by sharing our articles on your favorite social networks . share this :
+0 scouring 11 time zones for a contemporary russian art show - the new york times neil macfarquhar moscow — it was an old soviet tradition : no national art exhibition in moscow was complete without at least one work from every region . never mind that geographical balance often resulted in kitsch . look at “ the people ’s friendship fountain , ” for example , which dominates a major park here that is still called the exhibition of the achievements of the national economy . ( soviet , or what ? ) the fountain consists of 16 gilded maidens , each in the national costume of one republic of the soviet union , proffering local bounty like wheat or corn . so the garage museum of contemporary art faced a certain quandary as it took on the challenge of assembling the first representative sample of contemporary art today in russia — did it have to be a traditional geographic catalog , or would some other criterion work for a country that covers 11 time zones . “ the country is so huge that we do not always understand it , ” said daria kotova , the spokeswoman for garage . the museum was developed by the art collector dasha zhukova and her oil billionaire husband , roman a. abramovich . six curators scoured some 40 cities , from kaliningrad to vladivostok , examining works by hundreds of artists and whittling the selection down to 68 works in seven representative categories . “ we discovered criteria , categories , optics and dimensions that we could not have in any way imagined before our trips , ” said tatiana volkova , one of the curators . the resulting exhibition , given the somewhat ambitious title of the triennial of russian contemporary art , opened on march 10 for two months to mixed reviews , underscoring just how difficult it is to boil down such a vast , complex country to just one exhibition . despite the effort to find unknown talent in the hinterlands , there was a high percentage of works from moscow and st. petersburg , critics found . at least one argued that a universal theme would have been better than seven . “ i would have liked to see more new , but maybe there is none , ” olga kabanova , the art critic for the vedomosti newspaper , said in an interview . “ the triennial does give an understanding of contemporary art in russia — there are national stars and there are unknown artists worthy of attention and support . ” a total of 200 portfolios are to be displayed eventually on the triennial ’s website . the garage museum has been housed here since 2015 in a former cafeteria in gorky park retrofitted by rem koolhaas . the founders helped kindle something of a rage among moscow tycoons for building private art museums , with about 10 open or under construction . russian plutocrats buy plenty of pricey western art , too , but like a dowager who wears only her paste jewels in public , they tend to stash their picassos , bacons and richters abroad . given the fickle hand of russian law , expensive art serves not least as savings accounts out of reach over the border . instead , these new institutions mostly specialize in russian art from different epochs . ms. zhukova , from the outset , said she wanted to use garage to explore russian contemporary art , and from there give it international exposure . the curators excavated some unexpected works in unexpected places . take chechnya . that northern caucasian republic is best known as the rather brutal fief of ramzan kadyrov , the warlord who gained added notoriety this month amid accusations that his security goon squads have been systematically arresting and murdering homosexuals . yet ekaterina inozemtseva , one of the curators , discovered two striking works there . one included in the “ common language ” category is a short video by a budding filmmaker , zaurbek tsugaev , 33 , titled “ . ” in it , an elderly grandmother runs her hands over an iphone , seemingly trying to figure out how it works . “ what a contrast between the landscape of her hands and the flatness of the new gadget , ” ms. inozemtseva said during a tour of the show . another piece from chechnya in the “ fidelity to place ” category consisted of metal house numbers from a grozny street , with half missing at random . the artist , aslan gaisumov , 25 , said he searched for artifacts from old grozny and the 50 battered plaques were all he could find from one of the many streets leveled during recent wars with russia . “ to me that was like a that brought back a certain memory before the war , ” said roxana marcoci , a senior curator at the museum of modern art in new york , who was in moscow for the triennial ’s opening . “ it was done in a way that was postconceptual , but dealt with history . ” ms. marcoci found the “ art in action ” category — basically political art — especially intriguing because russian domestic politics rarely make headlines abroad . much of the art in this section , often created by collectives , focused on the plight of russian women . for example , a piece by the nadenka creative association in omsk , in southern siberia , took everyday objects like pot holders or panties and embroidered them with important dates or facts related to women . the panties , for example , read “ 1920 1936 1955 my right for an abortion , ” referring to the years when abortion laws came into effect . one embroidered oven mitt read : “ as a result of domestic violence in russia more than 14 , 000 women die per year . legislation in domestic violence has been adopted in 140 countries but not russia . happy new 2016 ! ” ms. inozemtseva said that she had seen so many photography portfolios that by the time she reached kaliningrad and someone mentioned a talented photographer , her first reaction was , “ please , god , no ! ” one portfolio , “ my friend the street musician , ” focused on oleg fomin , a novosibirsk musician . here is mr. fomin performing in the subway . there he is soaking in his bathtub . “ he is a siberian playboy with a star ’s face , ” said the photographer , evgeny ivanov , 58 . “ he was the soul of the city , everyone knew him . ” mr. fomin died soon after the series was completed , and the next set of photographs showed his apartment swept clean by relatives of all the he had amassed over decades . “ that is the cycle of life , ” shrugged the photographer . given the country ’s history , periodic references to soviet life were inevitable . the choreographer sasha pirogova , 31 , created the video “ queue , ” of a dance piece based on a famous novel by vladimir sorokin . the book focused in detail on the almost biological life of the endless lines for everything in the soviet union . in “ queue , ” some performers inked their position in line — no . 1 , 227 , for example — right on their bodies as the line appeared to continue for eternity . ms. pirogova will be among the artists representing russia in the next venice biennale . the “ master figure ” category grouped artists with reputations . ilgizar khasanov , 58 , from the kazan in the south , presented a trilogy , “ female , male , red , ” addressing gender issues . the striking centerpiece , “ red , ” was inspired by starkly different gender roles in the soviet union . it consisted of a giant mobile made up of dozens of ordinary objects — all communist red — used by the two sexes as they matured . objects like a hairbrush and a dress are on one side male icons like boxing gloves and toy cars on the other . mr. khasanov said that he was struck by the growing nostalgia for the soviet union despite its many problems , so he wanted to explore why people “ want to become soviet again . ” the plethora of work disguised just how hard it is to become an artist , noted taus makhacheva , 33 , whose work “ the way of an object ” consisted of three puppets , modeled on museum objects from her native dagestan , which take on a life of their own . the soviet union treated artists well , she noted , granting them subsidized apartments , studios and vacations , and helping to distribute their work . no art scene in any russian city receives any remotely similar support , she said . “ all these scenes exist ‘ despite’ — despite the reality , despite no support , despite everything , ” ms. makhacheva said . “ it is art despite , which makes it incredibly real and incredibly beautiful . ” over all , both locals and outsiders find the triennial uneven , but ultimately an engaging start toward exposing contemporary russian art to the world . ms. marcoci , from moma , called the exhibition “ an ” with a “ conversational feel . ” “ it is the first triennial of russian art , but what is russia ? ” she said . “ russia is a place grounded in multiple cultures — it is uneven , but it felt like an exhibition with a lot of energy and an element of disruptiveness . ”
+0 pepperdine university removing christopher columbus statue from campus - breitbart awr hawkins in reaction to student demands , pepperdine university will remove the statue of christopher columbus from its campus . [ school president andrew benton said they will “ relocate the statue to the pepperdine campus in florence , italy . ” benton announced the statue ’s removal in a letter to students , the letter began : in 1992 a group of men and women representing the columbus 500 congress presented a statue of christopher columbus to pepperdine university . for years the story of columbus and the fascinating exploration that brought him to the new world was taught in schools across america . it was heroic and exciting . later , as the impact of the arrival of explorers was assessed more fully , especially as those impacts related to indigenous people , a different view formed . today , for many , including those within our campus community , stories of conquest and the art associated therewith are painful reminders of loss and human tragedy . he went on to discuss the intentions of those who gave the statue to the school , describing them as “ good men and women ” and saying he knows they were not trying to “ offend . ” benton plans a meeting later in february where students can discuss the removal of the statue and “ other national issues relevant to diversity on [ pepperdine ] campuses . ” awr hawkins is the second amendment columnist for breitbart news and host of bullets with awr hawkins , a breitbart news podcast . he is also the political analyst for armed american radio . follow him on twitter : @awrhawkins . reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart . com .
+0 the hill removes article about islam and lindsay lohan after pressure from islamic advocates - breitbart neil munro the hill newspaper has taken the rare step of removing an article mocking hollywood celebrity lindsay lohan ’s dalliance with islam following a flurry of from islamic advocates and a washington post reporter . [ the mocking article , headlined “ lindsay lohan may have made her worst life choice yet , ” mocked lohan for her public endorsements of islam , and warned her that multiple other converts have subsequently gotten themselves jailed or killed while trying to implement islam ’s many calls for jihad against . lindsay lohan has sparked widespread speculation that she has converted to islam by deleting everything on her instagram account except for the arabic greeting “ alaikum salam ” ( upon you be peace ) … so what ’s not to like ? converts and prospective converts are never told about how so many converts to islam end up as jihad terrorists , most notably including john walker lindh , the “ marin county mujahid ” who was discovered fighting alongside the taliban and against american troops in afghanistan , and adam gadahn , the “ revolting geek of mass proportions ” who , like lindh , discovered islam through rap music and black grievance theater ( neither were black , but both wished they were ) read the qur’an and realized that one way to please allah was to wage jihad against infidels , and set out to do just that . … gadahn , lindh , and numerous other converts illustrate the appeal of conversion to islam among the psychically marginal , who find comfort in the fact that islam has a rule ( and sometimes many rules ) for every imaginable human activity , relieving them of the responsibility of having to make tough moral and ethical decisions themselves . the article was penned by robert spencer , the prolific and author of many books about islam , including book , did muhammed exist ? an inquiry into islam ’s obscure origins . spencer also runs the jihad watch website , and frequently asks islamic advocates to engage in public debate . as he repeatedly says , spencer does not argue that all muslims are radicals or jihadis . instead , he simply argues that the written , hegemonic doctrines of orthodox islam encourage many muslims to provide charity to each other , and to tolerate , support or even demonstrate hostility and aggression towards . similarly , while not all christians are pacifist , saintly or charitable , orthodox christian doctrines encourage believers to promote generosity towards others and to use violence only as a last resort . in his article for the hill , spencer criticized islam by referring to commandments in the koran , which islam says is the perfectly copied transcript of their deity ’s unchangeable , commandments . lohan has fueled this kind of speculation [ about a possible conversion to islam ] in the past , saying in 2015 : “ my very close friends , who have been there for me a lot , in london are saudi and they gave me the qur’an and i brought it to new york because i was learning . it opened doors for me to experience spiritually , to find another true meaning . this is who i am . ” she did n’t say what “ true meaning ” she found in qur’anic injunctions sanctioning ( qur’an 4:34 ) devaluing of women ’s testimony ( qur’an 2:282 ) and inheritance rights ( qur’an 4:11 ) allowance for polygamy ( qur’an 4:3 ) or mandate of warfare against and subjugation of unbelievers ( qur’an 9:29 ) but that ’s just the beginning of the absurdity . the hill says “ the hill stands alone in delivering solid , and objective reporting on the business of washington , covering the of congress , as well as the nexus between politics and business . the hill serves to connect the players , define the issues and influence the way washington ’s decision makers view the debate . ” the hill declined to explain its decision to breitbart . when asked about thehill‘s takedown , spencer told breitbart , “ i had never been published there before . i do n’t care about lohan and never would have written about her , but they asked me to . ” before this episode , spencer said he has never seen one of his articles removed after publication . “ no , i have n’t had an article published and then taken down before . ” spencer pins the blame on bob cusack , the hill‘s . “ sharia cowardice at @thehill , ” spencer tweeted . spencer also called for cusack ’s firing . “ it ’s time to start a pushback for truth and free speech : fire fascist bob ! ” it ’s time to start a pushback for truth and free speech : fire fascist bob ! @bobcusack @thehill https : . pic . twitter . — robert spencer ( @jihadwatchrs ) january 19 , 2017 , spencer also scoffed at the muslims’ complaints about his article , noting that his opponents have not mounted a criticism of his article ’s facts , logic and fairness . “ the left traffics in demonization and marginalization of its foes , as it can not meet them on an even playing field intellectually , ” he told breitbart . among those celebrating the removal of the article was the washington post‘s correspondent covering syria , lebanon and iraq , liz sly . sly called spencer ’s article “ rabidly islamophobic . ” a phobia is defined as “ an extreme or irrational fear of or aversion to something , ” and is regarded as a mental illness . the hill ( @thehill ) has removed that rabidly islamophobic article on lindsay lohan from its website . good for them https : . — liz sly ( @lizsly ) january 19 , 2017 , breitbart asked sly at the washington post to explain her comments , and received this tweet in response . fyi i did n’t receive any request for comment , but i stand by my tweets . @andrewbostom @thehill @neilmunrodc , — liz sly ( @lizsly ) january 19 , 2017 , islamic advocates assailed spencer ’s s article via twitter , without providing any rebuttals against spencer ’s statements or arguments about islam . . @thehill — why did you ask anti muslim hatemonger robert spencer to write this piece on lindsay lohan islam ? https : . — wajahat ali ( @wajahatali ) january 18 , 2017 , . @thehill commissions massive islamophobe robert spencer to chastise lindsay lohan for potentially becoming muslim . how is this ok ? pic . twitter . — sara yasin ( @missyasin ) january 18 , 2017 , @rubaalhassani true and it ’s also written by robert spencer , — آل خليفة كلاب خبيثة ( @shaykhdaniel ) january 19 , 2017 , does @thehill just publish anything ? this is total # islamophobic garbage , very low . robert spencer is a know bigot : https : . — michael k. ( @michaeld_kaplan ) january 18 , 2017 , wow . @thehill lets notorious islamophobic asshole robert spencer go on their site . https : . — amarnath amarasingam ( @amaramarasingam ) january 18 , 2017 , what an extraordinarily bigoted piece for such a respected publication as @thehill . the mainstreaming of hate https : . — liz sly ( @lizsly ) january 18 , 2017 , dean obeidallah , a columnist at the daily beast who has helped raise funds for the council on relations ( cair ) also weighed in on the incident . cair has been declared a terrorist organization by the united arab emirates and was named by federal prosecutors as an unindicted in a operation . hey @bobcusack just saw robert spencer ’s vile article on ur publication @thehill next will u give + racists platform , — ( ( ( deanobeidallah ) ) ) ( @deanofcomedy ) january 18 , 2017 , the cair group is so closely entwined with islamists and with jihadis that court documents and news reports show that at least five of its people — either board members , employees or former employees — have been jailed or repatriated from the united states for various financial and offenses . the record highlighted by critics also shows that cair was named an unindicted in a criminal effort to deliver $ 12 million to the hamas jihad group , that it was founded with $ 490 , 000 from hamas , and that the fbi bans meetings with cair officials . multiple translations of the koran have been posted here , here and here on the internet by orthodox islamic advocates , allowing americans to individually study islam’ combination of religion and ideology . spencer an 2015 art exhibition in texas , featuring conventional cartoons of the islamic prophet . two armed muslims attacked the exhibition , but were quickly killed by spencer ’s security guards before they could do more harm . spencer hired the security guards because he expected islam ’s doctrines would push some muslims to attack his art show . since then , spencer has continued his writing and debating about islam ’s jihad doctrine . breitbart . com has published several articles by spencer , and has quoted him numerous times . the spencer article , and the readers’ comments , are archived here . the article has been updated with a reply from sly at the washington post .
+0 rod stewart apologizes for video mocking isis beheading daniel nussbaum sir rod stewart has apologized after a video appeared online this week in which the rocker seemingly performed an mock execution on a male friend in the desert . [ according to the independent , stewart ’s wife penny lancaster first posted the video to her instagram account , which showed the “ maggie may ” singer walking on a sand dune in the desert of abu dhabi with a group of friends . at one point , one of stewart ’s male friends kneels down in front of the singer , as stewart pulls his head back with his hand and appears to make a cutting motion across the man ’s throat . the video was deleted from lancaster ’s account but was captured by several media outlets , including tmz . the rocker came under fire from some fans , social media users and even the families of isis victims . relatives of david haines and alan henning , two british aid workers who were murdered by the isis terrorist known as jihadi john , told the uk mirror that they found the joke to be “ brainless ” and “ disgraceful . ” stewart apologized in a statement , saying he had not intended to mock isis executions and had instead been emulating a scene from the hbo series game of thrones . “ from the beatles’ abbey road crossing to spontaneously playing out game of thrones , we were simply larking about ” he said in a statement to the independent . “ understandably , this had been misinterpreted and i send my deepest apologies to those who have been offended . ” stewart ’s apology did little to quell the criticism ( and sarcastic jokes ) on social media . not sure i ’m a great fan of rod stewart ’s new album cover , tbh . pic . twitter . — thomas jones ( @tomj191 ) march 3 , 2017 , rod stewart , what happened , man ? — dirtbag leftist ( @coconono ) march 3 , 2017 , i hope i ’ve got the energy to perform mock executions with teenagers when i ’m rod stewart ’s age . i wo n’t probably , but nice to have options , — john shafthauer ( @hourlyterrier ) march 3 , 2017 , excited to start my first day as rod stewart ’s us publicist . time to take a huge swig of coffee and see what ’s in today ’s news pic . twitter . — patrick monahan ( @pattymo ) march 3 , 2017 , follow daniel nussbaum on twitter : @dznussbaum
+1 5 shocking facts about you that anyone can find online the free thought project home / foreign affairs / 5 shocking facts about you that anyone can find online 5 shocking facts about you that anyone can find online the free thought project october 29 , 2016 comments off on 5 shocking facts about you that anyone can find online – sponsored content by if you ’re an american citizen , then the government has a personal file on you . think of it like your permanent record from your grade school days . these records contain highly sensitive personal information about you such as where you live , your contact info , your relatives and associates , arrest records , and even speeding tickets . but what many people do n’t know , is that this information is all considered “ public record,”—and anyone can access it . now , a controversial new site is taking things a step further by gathering these records together and posting them online , so anyone with a computer and internet access can see them . you ’re probably wondering what exactly is in your public file that other people can access . brace yourself because this information goes a lot deeper than you ’d think . here are 5 shocking personal details about you that are online right now that anyone can access through just a quick online background check . 1 ) personal information one of the reasons these online background check sites are so popular , is because they can uncover a shocking amount of personal information on just about anyone . here are just some examples of what might come up . your full name a complete history of where you ’ve lived , including past and current addresses ( it even has pictures of your house ! ! and detailed info about your neighborhood ) an estimate of your home ’s value your birthdate your astrological sign your relatives and associates your close friends ( this can also include current and former boyfriends and girlfriends , anyone who you ’ve had close ties to can appear on this list ) but that ’s not all . this site could even pull up contact info like your phone number . if someone were trying to hide from you , it ’d be impossible once you looked them up on this site . it ’s actually a little scary to think about how much of your personal data is out there on the internet for almost anyone to find . click here to see how exposed you are . 2 ) online activity and accounts believe it or not , personal information is just one section of a report — there ’s a lot more that comes after it . this site scours the deep web to uncover details about your online activity . it can find profiles you ’ve made on social media platforms , pull up accounts you ’ve created on dating sites , and more . your usernames , photos and videos of you , and more could all be uncovered in just seconds . in addition to your online activity , this website could reveal things on the internet you do n’t even remember posting – like those embarrassing photos from high school you forgot about . has someone tagged you in a photo or posted a video of you somewhere without letting you know ? do n’t you want to see what ’s out there about you ? i know i would . protect your online reputation today , and see what ’s on the internet about you ! 3 ) driving tickets ever been issued a speeding ticket ? or maybe you were caught running a red light ? hardly anyone has a squeaky clean driving record . ( i know i ’ve definitely been busted for doing a california stop a few times . ) well , those traffic tickets you ’ve racked up over the years could be part of your permanent , public file . anyone who runs an online background check on you might be able to find them ! are your traffic tickets posted online ? click here to find out . 4 ) criminal records if you ’ve ever been arrested , charged , or convicted of a crime , those records are all part of your public file , too . even if it was just a minor offense , like jaywalking or violating an open container law it could show up if someone looked you up . any sort of criminal history you might have , from a dui , to misdemeanors , to felonies could be in your background report for anyone to see . would you pass a background check ? find out here . 5 ) professional licenses certain types of professional licenses issued to you by the government are a matter of public record . specifically , faa and dea licenses can also be included in a background report . just imagine how much of your personal information could be posted online for other people to see . knowing what ’s in your online background report is crucial to protecting yourself , your family , and your reputation in this day and age . you need to know what your background check will reveal . you ’ll never know until you do a search . do n’t ignore your online reputation any longer . i urge you to take the next 5 minutes and do a search on yourself to find out once and for all what your report says about you . do a search now to find out what public records will reveal about you . other people may have already looked you up . do n’t you want to know what they found ? find out today ! to start your search , click here . share
+1 ibu sumiatung saya ibu sumiatung dari papua salah satu member mbah sero saya sekeluarga mengucapakan banyak terima kasih kepada mbah sero angka togel yang di berikan kemarin 4d 4970 tgl 20-oktober-2016 sgp tembus 100 % dan waktu tgl 08-oktober-2016 saya juga menang 4d 9996 dan pemasangan pertama saya cuma menang 2d 81 tgl 01-oktober-2016 karna saya coba - coba pasang angka dari mbah sero walaupun cuma 2d nya syukur alhamdulillah saya mendapatkan kemenangan rp.700.juta dalam 3x putaran saya sudah bisa melunasi hutang2 saya yang ada di bank dan rencana mau buka usaha ini semua berkat bantuan mbah sero saya tidak akan melupakan budi baik mbah bagi saudarah2 butuh angk jitu hasil ritua 2d 3d 4d 5d 6d kalau mau menang seperti saya lansung hubungi mbah sero di nomor hp : 082 - 370 - 357 - 999 angka yang di berikan mbah sero tidak perlu di ragukan lagi saya jamin 100 % tembus soalnya saya sudah pernah membuktikannya 3x putaran menang ..
+1 infamous war criminal henry kissinger elected to russian academy of sciences - christof lehmann nan originally appeared at nsnbc international academy member boris chetverushkin , on friday , stated that former u.s. secretary of state and nobel peace prize laureate dr. henry kissinger has been elected to the russian academy of sciences along with another six nobel prize laureates . the other nobel prize winners elected to the russian academy of sciences include serge haroche and martinus veltman ( physics ) ; roger d. kornberg , jean - pierre sauvage and dan shechtman ( chemistry ) ; kenneth j. arrow ( economy ) . kissinger was also elected to the academy for his “ global studies ” . the now 93-year - old dr. henry kissinger , 93 , is one of the authors of the policy of ‘ d·tente ” in the us - soviet relations . in 1993 he won the nobel peace prize for his role in negotiating and reaching the paris accord aimed at ending the war against / in vietnam . kissinger also has many us state awards , including the presidential medal of freedom , the highest us civilian decoration , awarded to individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to the security or national interests of the united states , world peace , cultural or other significant public or private endeavors . in latter years after withdrawing from “ official ” politics , kissinger promoted the image that he now was focusing on “ writing memoirs ” , articles , books on foreign policy and diplomacy , including his works “ nuclear weapons and foreign policy ” ; “ the white house years ” and “ does america need a foreign policy ? ” during the onset of the crisis in ukraine kissinger also wrote a lengthy article suggesting the “ finlandization ” of the ukraine , but without mentioning a word about the systematic engineering of the “ crisis ” by u.s. power - brokers . kissinger may or may not have stopped being a “ swinger ” , but as he once said , “ power is the ultimate aphrodisiac ” . he may have withdrawn from “ official ” politics but he never removed himself far from “ power ” . when the administration of george w. bush had to cave in to pressure to launch an investigation into the events on september 11 , 2001 , it suggested that dr. henry kissinger lead the 9/11 commission . kissinger had to withdraw when some of the bereaved “ jersey girls ” asked kissinger if his company , by any chance , had members of the bin laden family among its clients . an actual “ criminal ” investigation into 9/11 took never place and leading members of the 9/11 commission have since written that it was “ set up to fail ” from the start . ironically , kissinger has also been one of the main architects of the u.s. policy that led to the bloody coup in chile , on september 11 , 1973 . a coup that inspired many then young people ( like this author ) in latin america and in the west to organize a militant resistance . the overthrow of salvador allende was followed by sixteen years of terror . kissinger also played key roles in argentina ’s “ dirty war ” , marked by mass“disappearances ” with bodies of “ dissidents ” dumped into the ocean from helicopters , dumped into mass graves , and many of those who lived to tell the tale were marked by the trauma of physical and psychological torture for the remainder of their lives . the u.s. “ policy ” , in latin america , of which kissinger was a main architect , would also spill over into , and spill blood in colombia , venezuela , guatemala , honduras , el salvador and nicaragua . dr. kissinger ’s “ rap sheet ” is far too long to publish in one news article , but one may want to read the book of the late journalist christopher hitchens wrote about kissinger in his book entitled “ the trial of henry kissinger ” . hitchens diligently documented kissinger ’s involvement in a number of alleged war crimes in indochina ( vietnam – laos – cambodia ) , bangladesh , chile , cyprus and east timor . hitchens made a compelling case for the need to prosecute dr. henry kissinger . the russian academy of sciences , for its part , has arguably made two brilliant points by electing kissinger . it has provided additional evidence for the fact that academies of science , worldwide , are instruments of politicized science comparable to a caliphate being a marriage of state and religion . it has also proven that utilitarianism at the russian academy of sciences outweighs scientific , moral and ethical imperatives .
+1 11 things to let go of before the new year joe martino in : special interests , us news the new year is almost here and it ’s often a time when we all start to think about what we want to change for the next year . i ’ve never been much a fan of the whole cliche of changing because of the new year , but why not embrace it as a time where we can make change ? do a quick reflection right now . do you feel like you have followed your dreams and passions this past year ? do you feel you got caught up in the stresses of life quite often ? did you feel judgement , negative self talk and anger were a big part of your days ? reflecting on how you ’ve felt over your year and being honest with yourself about it gives you the chance to know how to adjust and move forward from this moment forward whether it be the new year or not . i ’ve found in my own life that if i do n’t pay attention to how i feel , what i create , what ’s playing out in my life and take responsibility for it , it does n’t change . it stays the same , i experience the same emotions or stagnant feelings , and i do n’t move forward . but the moment i decide to take it into my own hands , i see how much i ’m not a victim to what happens . 11 things to let go of before the new year 1 . stop all the negative self talk – it ’s first because it ’s probably one of the most important . the more we talk poorly about ourselves to ourselves or others , the more we disempower ourselves and empower all the things we wish to adjust about ourselves . observe it , take note of it , and kick it . it ’s not helping you . 2 . choose one bad eating habit and kick it ! – taking care of and fuelling your vessel is one of the most important things we can do in life to stay mentally , emotionally and spiritually healthy . pick one of your worst eating habits and aim to cut it out completely in 3 months . whatever it might be , be honest with yourself and make it happen . then take on the next bad eating habit in 3 months . 3 . let go of chasing ‘ success’ – so often we put up goals or plans for ourselves yet have this tiny limited scope of what success is . next thing you know we bring stress , worry and fear into the equation throughout the whole journey because we may not be totally in line to hit this pin prick point of what success looks like to us . instead , do your best to take the steps needed to get to where you want to go , but let go of the lure of success and what it looks like and means . there ’s no such thing as failure . ( more ) 4 . kick the idea that you can not achieve or follow your dreams – so often we have our ideas of what we are excited or passionate about , but let it go because we think we ca n’t do it or because it ’s unrealistic . instead of believing every word of that , take one step . one step towards making your passion or your dreams happen . the one step will lead to the next and the next , but you have to take the first one . plan out that first step and take it ! 5 . let go of the idea that you should run from your problems – we often get into this mentality that we just need to “ get over it . ” in theory this sounds sorta good , you move on from things that happen in the past or something to that effect . but by just forgetting about it , did we really move on ? no , it gets triggered again later or lies dormant as a resented event etc . instead , let ’s face our problems and truly move past them . journal about it , talk to someone else about it . put the cards on the table to someone who cares about you and who can help you move past it . pick someone who will see the bigger picture and be honest with you . you have all it takes to move past what challenges you . 6 . stop comparing yourself to others – this is a big one . so often we are looking at others and using what they have , do or are to compare it against us and make up a story . this whole game can make us sad or feel down about ourselves or it can feed our ego in a big way . let it go , respect everyone ’s journey , including your own and stop the need to compare yourself to others . 7 . stop judging others – judging other people can become a habit and an addiction . it ’s like something we ca n’t stop doing sometimes ! take a moment the next time you judge someone and observe it . ask yourself why you did it , how did it make you feel ? etc . make a conscious effort to stop . ( more ) 8 . stop the blame game – blaming and pointing fingers when it comes to our challenges or what happens to us does n’t allow us to look at and observe how we might have created or aligned with an experience to help make it happen . i ’m not saying there ’s no such things others can do to hurt you , i ’m simply saying take responsibility for how you feel and do n’t even point blame , it does n’t help us . 9 . stop worrying and trying so hard to fit in and be accepted – this is something far too many of us do just to save face and not be “ the weird one . ” the reality is , it ’s more ‘ weird’ to be a version of yourself that is n’t genuine or real simply because you want to be accepted by others . it ’s a choice you ca n’t maintain forever and the longer it goes the more uncomfortable you will feel . be you , accept yourself , be genuine and do n’t try to make others do the same when . let it happen . trust . 10 . let go of the need to control everything – sometimes we ca n’t take a step forward in anything because we do n’t know all the answers or all the variables . this is our obsession with control sometimes . yes , observe a situation and make the best choices available to you , but do n’t worry so much about needing to control or know every detail about it . learn to leave things up to trust and knowing that things will work out as they need to . this does n’t mean be reckless , just that you do n’t need to control every thing , person and detail . 11 . stop procrastinating – this one goes with everything on the list . stop putting it all off . whatever it may be . the changes listed above , the hobby you want to , the career you want to explore , or the thing you want to tell to someone important to you . stop putting it off and just do it ! submit your review
+0 george michael died of heart condition , coroner says - the new york times christopher d. shea london — george michael , the english who became a pop legend in the 1980s and ’90s and who was found dead on christmas day , died of a heart condition , according to a coroner ’s statement released on tuesday . darren salter , the senior coroner for oxfordshire county , said mr. michael , 53 , died at his home in of natural causes : dilated cardiomyopathy with myocarditis and fatty liver . dilated cardiomyopathy develops when the heart ’s ventricles enlarge and weaken , a process that usually starts in the left ventricle . the weakening of the heart ’s chambers causes the heart muscle to work harder , and over time that reduces its ability to pump blood . myocarditis is inflammation of the heart muscle . fat buildup in the liver can be caused by drinking alcohol , but there is also a common nonalcoholic variant that is related to being overweight or obese . mr. michael had a history of hard living : in 2007 he was sentenced to community service and barred from driving for two years after he was found asleep behind the wheel of a car while under the influence of drugs . the following year , he was arrested on suspicion of possessing crack cocaine . mr. salter ’s statement did not specify the cause of the fat building in the liver . because the death was natural , “ the investigation is being discontinued and there is no need for an inquest or any further enquiries , ” mr. salter said in a statement . “ no further updates will be provided and the family requests the media and public respect their privacy . ” mr. michael , who was born in london to a british mother and a greek cypriot father , started the group wham ! with a high school friend , andrew ridgeley . the pair became household names with the 1984 single “ wake me up before you . ” they split up in 1986 , and mr. michael began a solo career with his album “ faith , ” released in 1987 . his final studio album featuring new songs was “ patience ” in 2004 . on monday , mr. michael was celebrated at paris fashion week when the designer stella mccartney closed her show with a procession of models dancing to his song “ faith ” and chanting the words “ love ” and “ faith . ” mr. michael had famously cast five supermodels who had appeared together on the cover of british vogue — naomi campbell , linda evangelista , christy turlington , cindy crawford and tatjana patitz — in the david video for his 1990 song “ freedom ! ’90 . ”
+0 donald trump tackles toyota for planned plant in mexico - breitbart charlie spiering donald trump challenged toyota for plans to build a new plant in mexico , warning them that they would face big taxes if they tried to sell the cars built there in america . [ “ toyota motor said will build a new plant in baja , mexico , to build corolla cars for u. s. , ” trump wrote on twitter . “ no way ! build plant in u. s. or pay big border tax . ” trump appeared to react to a statement by toyota ’s president akio toyoda during an industry event in tokyo . “ we will consider our option as we see what policies the incoming president adopts , ” toyoda said , according to reuters . toyota broke ground on a new $ 1 billion plant in mexico after trump was elected in november , according to the wall street journal .
+1 obama just did something to spite trump on the president - elect ’s very first visit to the white house jameson parker by jameson parker election 2016 , politics november 10 , 2016 obama just did something to spite trump on the president - elect ’s very first visit to the white house nobody is more disgusted and disappointed in the election results than president barack obama , whose legacy of progress is poised to be undone overnight by a belligerent con man . and apparently the first meeting between current and future presidents was off to a rocky start – culminating with obama abruptly breaking with tradition and not giving trump the satisfaction of a publicity win on this sad day . according to reporters at the white house , obama cancelled a planned “ photo op ” with trump shortly after meeting him , depriving the president - elect of the chance to appear alongside the current president and gain an air of legitimacy . the obamas canceled a photo - op of the current and future first couples outside the south entrance of the white house . in his first visit to the white house after the 2008 election , mr. obama and first lady michelle obama posed for the cameras alongside president george w. bush and first lady laura bush . the decision not to participate in this tradition illustrates how bitter the campaign was , particularly for mrs. obama who delivered some of the most emotional arguments against electing mr. trump . it may also suggest that obama ’s first meeting with trump went about as badly as expected . the president had hoped to press trump on the importance of governing the country with a semblance of dignity , as well as making the case that spending his first day in office signing a bunch of executive orders to erase obama ’s legacy out of spite would be a horrific start to his time in office . it appears that trump was not in the a mood to listen . mr. earnest said mr. obama would go through with mr. trump the policies he has implemented that he hopes his successor wo n’t undo . but mr. trump is expected to attempt to unravel much of mr. obama ’s legacy , with plans to reverse his policies on health care , climate change , immigration and government regulations , and to dramatically shift his foreign - policy approach . the fact that obama would break this tradition – a symbolic gesture of the peaceful transition of power – implies he is keenly aware that the man about to take over is a walking , talking disaster . a pathological liar and narcissist who has surrounded himself with a team of goons that he can count on to tell him what he wants to here and claw their way up his coattails at every chance . no photo op is going to change this tragedy from unfolding . featured image via alex wong / getty images share this article !
+1 hillary planning her escape after a trump win with a $ 1.8 billion money transfer to qatar nan email it appears bill and hillary clinton are making plans to flee the country in the event donald trump wins this election . reports are circulating that the clinton ’s have transferred 1.8 billion dollars from the clinton foundation to the qatar central bank via a facilitation / abatement of jp morgan chase & company for reasons not revealed . this move of such a large sum of money to the country of qatar says in itself hillary clinton knows she is going to lose the election , and she does n’t plan to allow her or bill to be prosecuted for various high crimes and treason under a trump administration . the country of qatar happens to be one of a handful of countries that does not have an extradition treaty with the united states , thus would be a perfect place for her to run to in escaping justice . donald trump has said many times during his campaign and at the presidential debates that once he gets into office he intends to prosecute her on various high crimes from her latest crimes of sending classified material via a personal e - mail server to gun - running to terrorist groups in syria resulting in the deaths of 4 americans in benghazi . apparently , hillary is not the only person in washington who has made plans to escape justice under a trump administration , john kerry has quietly been selling his property in the us for millions of dollars of late , with an announcement of the sale of his $ 25 million nantucket mansion in june 2016 as well as the sale of his yacht for $ 3.9 million in july 2016 . president barack h obama has also apparently been making exit plans with his purchase of a $ 4.9 million seaside mansion in dubai in january 2016 , another non extradition country . snopes and other supposed fact checking sites have debunked both the story of obama ’s purchase of the mansion and the firing of rear admiral rick williams , however over the last several months these sites have been busted for lying in trying to debunk such information as the before mentioned , when in fact the information is true . snopes and other sites try their best to keep incriminating information from being believed , but the truth has a way of coming out on its own , as it always has . the bush family has been quietly buying property as well with the purchase of 100,000 acres in paraguay in 2006 , yet another country good for the bush family , since it does not allow extradition to any country if the death penalty is a possibility for the crime . if the corruption is found to go as far back as both of the bush administrations with any connections to them being the perpetrators of the events on 9 - 11 , the death penalty would surely be a stipulation of any extradition request . apparently , if things get going with prosecuting the corrupt and treasonous , the bush ’s plan on getting out of the country as well . interestingly , the bush family ’s nazi connections dating back to wwii seem to have played a part in the paraguay purchase since most nazis fled to south america after wwii . since george h. w. bush ’s father senator prescott bush was director and shareholder in companies that were connected with institutions financially backing the nazis , the bush family has a long history of being associated with nazis . with the movement of huge amounts of funds , selling millions of dollars in real estate , and the purchase of millions in real estate overseas , we are seeing the plans of the corrupt in washington who have been ripping of our country in the trillions , murdering us citizens in the thousands , and citizens in foreign countries by the millions since 9 - 11 finally realizing their crimes against humanity is about to be exposed . we are also witnessing the change from what amounts to nothing more than a nazi dictatorship in washington to an actual presidential administration who not only will look to the constitution as the basis of all laws , but one who is going to prosecute the criminals in our government and return it to being a government by the people , for the people , and of the people of the usa . not the dictatorship over the people , to the people and who disregards the people as we now have in power .
+0 california today : on the ground in oroville - the new york times mike mcphate good morning . ( want to get california today by email ? here ’s the . ) with thousands of people fleeing areas downstream from lake oroville amid warnings of catastrophic danger , my editor thought it would be a good idea for me to do the opposite . so early monday , i drove from my home to oroville , about 80 miles north in the sierra nevada foothills . along route 70 , northern california ’s extreme wet winter was evident in every direction . it was reflected in the flooded orchards , the bursting yuba river and the sierra ’s snowy peaks . relentless runoff from the mountains had caused lake oroville to flow over its emergency spillway for the first time ever on saturday . a day later , state officials noticed a hole forming in the spillway and prepared for the worst , ordering nearly 190 , 000 people to seek safer ground . in oroville on monday , just a handful of businesses were open . among them was mike ’s grande burger which gave out free meals to the truck drivers , emergency personnel and others working at the hobbled spillway . some residents who had stayed behind gathered on a hill above oroville dam and watched the scene below . the reservoir , california ’s second largest , was perfectly still and surrounded by hills . in the distance , the feather river snaked along the valley floor . locals recalled flooding events of the past — one in 1997 , when thousands of people were forced to flee , and another in 2006 . some wondered whether state officials had done enough to shore up the oroville reservoir before the latest round of trouble . others talked about untamable nature . with more storms approaching , officials are effectively now in a race against time to lower the level of the lake and reinforce the hobbled spillway . whether it will be enough is by no means certain . read more in my article with jess bidgood here . more on the oroville crisis from around the web : • people of good will stepped up to help those forced to flee . [ opinion | sacramento bee ] • the crisis highlighted the need for repairs to other california dams . [ east bay times ] • the nightmare scenario that officials are fighting to prevent . [ los angeles times ] • president trump promised to fix infrastructure . he can start with crumbling dams . [ opinion | the new york times ] ( please note : we regularly highlight articles on news sites that have limited access for nonsubscribers . ) • inside the black bloc movement that is rising up against president trump . [ los angeles times ] • los angeles ’s mayor wants to lower the city ’s temperature . scientists are figuring out how to do it . [ los angeles times ] • that california teacher shortage ? it ’s already a crisis . [ opinion | san diego ] • there is a growing worry that the quietude of the southern san andreas fault is unlikely to last . [ washington post ] • if milk comes from an almond , can you still call it milk ? [ the new york times ] • playboy , based in beverly hills , will resume showing naked women . [ the new york times ] • bobby freeman died at 76 in daly city . his 1950s hit “ do you want to dance ” was covered by a range of artists including the beach boys and bette midler . [ the new york times ] • it ’s not just about adele and beyoncé , our critic writes . the grammys consistently celebrate white acts . [ the new york times ] • photo : for a short time every february , yosemite ’s horsetail fall lights up like fire at sunset . [ twitter | u. s. department of interior ] there are comic book stores , mystery book stores and even culinary book stores . but until last year , the united states had few , if any , romance novel stores . and this despite the genre ’s enormous popularity . to the sisters leah and bea koch , that sounded like an opportunity . they opened their shop , the ripped bodice , in culver city last march . with valentine ’s day upon us , it seemed a good moment to check in . we caught up with leah koch via telephone . some excerpts : • is it true that romance novels get short shrift ? • what ’s popular right now ? • what advice would you give men as they ’re thinking about valentine ’s day with their partners ? california today goes live at 6 a. m. pacific time weekdays . tell us what you want to see : catoday@nytimes . com . the california today columnist , mike mcphate , is a californian — born outside sacramento and raised in san juan capistrano . he lives in davis . follow him on twitter . california today is edited by julie bloom , who grew up in los angeles and attended u. c. berkeley .
+0 jerry brown seeks ’common ground’ with donald trump - breitbart michelle moons california gov. jerry brown cited the disaster relief and infrastructure needs of his state as he told reporters on monday in washington , d. c. that there are areas where he is seeking to work with the trump administration . [ “ i find complexity and contradiction very congenial to my bent of mind , ” brown said , in response to questions of whether he felt “ conflicted and torn ” under pressures to oppose or cooperate with the trump administration . brown met with federal emergency management ( fema ) agency acting administrator bob fenton on monday , according to the sacramento bee which posted video of brown ’s comments to reporters . brown has estimated storm damage at over $ 500 million dollars . on sunday brown , sought a fourth federal disaster declaration from president donald trump according to ktla . brown was told in the meeting of trump ’s great concern for disaster relief in california . while brown expressed a positive response to trump ’s words , he did not relent in his criticism of the administration ’s choice to review greenhouse gas standards , according to the report . california is still dealing with the damaged oroville dam spillway . storms have brought welcome water to the state , while at the same time further stressing critical infrastructure . brown has continued to slam gop and trump administration aims , including the repeal and replacement of obamacare . but under the pressure of the needs of california , he seemed more willing to work with the administration on monday . asked again about pressure to be the “ voice of the resistance , ” brown replied , “ i will pursue my own rhetorical paths . ” he continued : i will do so in the spirit of advancing the interest of california and recognizing that we ’re a part of the union and there ’s a lot to be , that we ’re not going our totally separate way . we are distinct . we have a sovereignty . we will pursue that . but we also have a commonality with other states and with the national government … brown said he is seeking to “ find common ground ” and that he “ would n’t rule anything out or anything in . ” brown faces the heavy needs of his state as well as the left ’s strong calls to “ resist ” the trump administration . as the concluded his comments to reporters monday , brown stated there “ could be cause for alarm ” or for “ some optimism ” as he said , “ [ n]othing ’s all that predictable in the current administration . ” follow michelle moons on twitter @michellediana
+0 james baldwin ’s archive , long hidden , comes ( mostly ) into view - the new york times jennifer schuessler james baldwin died in 1987 , but his moment is now . his books are flying off the shelves . he has inspired homages like raoul peck ’s documentary “ i am not your negro ” and coates ’s memoir “ between the world and me . ” baldwin ’s prophetic essays on race read like today ’s news . and yet a full understanding of this pioneering gay artist remains elusive . while baldwin ’s books are in print , there ’s one revealing work that admirers long to read but have mostly been unable to : his letters . the baldwin estate has held tight to hundreds in its possession , letting only a few scholars see them . it has almost never allowed any of baldwin ’s correspondence to be published , or given biographers permission to quote a single word . now , baldwin ’s papers have landed in one of the nation ’s leading archival institutions , the schomburg center for research in black culture , a division of the new york public library , in harlem . but , in a striking twist , many of his personal letters will remain off limits for another generation — a byproduct of complicated negotiations between the library and the estate , and a reminder that family members are not always comfortable with the spotlight ’s falling on a loved one , even decades after death . the acquisition is a coup for the schomburg , which announced the surprise news at a event there on wednesday night . it ’s also a kind of homecoming for baldwin , a preacher ’s son who grew up not far from the center ’s landmark building on malcolm x boulevard . “ even though it ’s taken 30 years , it ’s the perfect time , ” kevin young , who became the director of the schomburg in december , said in an interview . “ it ’s like he never left . ” the archive — the bulk of which is open to researchers immediately — contains a wealth of manuscripts , drafts and notes relating to baldwin ’s sprawling output , most of which have rarely been seen by scholars . there are also letters from luminaries including lorraine hansberry , nina simone , bobby seale , william styron and jacqueline kennedy onassis , a testament to the sociability of a man who seemed to go everywhere , and know everyone . still , baldwin ’s correspondence with four of his closest intimates is under seal , part of a set of restrictions that suggest that his famously protective estate is not quite ready for the world to see the private baldwin in full . those confidants include baldwin ’s brother david and three lifelong friends , among them lucien happersberger , a bisexual swiss painter baldwin once called “ the one true love story of my life . ” william kelly , the new york public library ’s director of research libraries , described the restrictions , including the seal on roughly half the personal correspondence in the archive , as complicated but “ fairly modest . ” “ there ’s always a balance in guaranteeing access for scholars , while at the same time being sensitive to the family , ” mr. kelly said . ( gloria baldwin ’s sister and executor , declined through the library to be interviewed for this article . ) other limitations — like a waiting period on any public display of all but a handful of items — seem puzzlingly out of step with current trends at archives , which tend to make as much freely available and visible online as copyright will allow . ( the library also declined to let the new york times photograph anything beyond eight items the estate had approved for display . ) but mr. kelly said the restrictions were outweighed by the sheer richness of the archive , which sheds light on how baldwin navigated different aspects of his identity — gay , political , artistic . “ i was dazzled by it , ” he said , referring to the collection . the library declined to disclose the purchase price , which was paid with donations from the ford foundation , the knight foundation , new york life and three individual donors . ( one donor , mr. kelly said , contributed the last $ 500 , 000 . ) for its money , the schomburg got some 70 boxes of material — about 30 linear feet , in . it spans the full range of baldwin ’s career , from typescripts of his teenage poetry to handwritten drafts of “ the welcome table , ” his final , unfinished play about an imaginary dinner party featuring an panther , a professor and a josephine dancer . ( it was inspired by visits baker made to baldwin ’s house in the south of france , where he spent the last decades of his life . ) “ he went where his muse went , ” said steven g. fullwood , the schomburg ’s associate curator of manuscripts , archives and rare books . “ he was always questioning himself and the world . ” the eight preapproved items from the collection will be on view through monday , in a small exhibition . when i visited the schomburg earlier this month , archivists had laid out a much larger selection that spoke to the archive ’s range and depth . there was a typescript of unpublished notes on beauford delaney , a gay painter whom baldwin met at the age of 15 and came to see as his “ spiritual father . ” it was from delaney that he learned about “ the light contained in every thing , in every surface , in every face , ” baldwin wrote . ( correspondence with delaney is covered by the seal . ) one folder held an unproduced play script based on “ giovanni ’s room , ” baldwin ’s 1956 novel about an american expatriate in france , torn between his love for a man and societal pressure to marry . ( the novel was dedicated to happersberger . ) there were character notes for his novel “ just above my head ” ( 1979 ) scrawled on a card for a jazz club , and a draft of an unproduced screenplay about malcolm x , written out longhand in an orange notebook labeled “ homework . ” there were also clarion blasts of the prophetic baldwin , like an unpublished 1978 note recalling the day 10 years earlier when he had learned that the rev. dr. martin luther king jr. had been assassinated . “ ten years ! the mind and the heart refuse that knowledge , ” baldwin wrote . “ i really feel , as i write this now , the same , unbelieving wonder , the same shocked and helpless rage . ” that passage echoes a scene in the new documentary “ i am not your negro , ” which was based on notes for “ remember this house , ” a book about king , malcolm x and medgar evers that baldwin planned but never wrote . in a recent essay , mr. peck , who said he gained full access to baldwin ’s papers , recalled the eureka moment when ms. handed them to him . ( those notes , now at the schomburg , are sealed for 10 years . ) but for others , the real buried treasure is the correspondence . in 2007 , the critic hilton als wrote that there was “ one great baldwin masterpiece waiting to be published , one composed in an atmosphere of focused intimacy , and that is a volume of his letters , letters his family does not want published . ” one person who has seen some of the most intimate letters is ed pavlic , a poet and professor at the university of georgia . in 2010 , ms. gave him access to some 120 letters from baldwin to their brother david , written over the course of 40 years and totaling some 70 , 000 words . ms. suggested that mr. pavlic try to find a book in them . but when he sent her a manuscript and asked for permission to quote , mr. pavlic said , he got no response and was unable to publish it . mr. pavlic , who has written about his experiences with the letters , said the lack of access to baldwin ’s correspondence had made it difficult for scholars to make full sense of — or even create an accurate record of — a life spent constantly on the move . and the letters he saw , far from damaging baldwin ’s reputation , would burnish it , he said . “ the private record , for me , just amplifies and confirms and makes more dramatic the public messages he was out to convey , ” he said . in addition to david baldwin and happersberger and delaney , the seal also covers baldwin ’s correspondence with mary painter , a longtime friend to whom he dedicated his 1962 novel , “ another country . ” oddly , some of baldwin ’s letters to these intimates ( who are all dead ) are accessible in other archives , like the beinecke rare book manuscript library at yale , which has even posted some of its baldwin collection online . as for the restrictions at the schomburg , mr. young emphasized that a vast majority of the collection was open for research , and that the rest would be available “ in due time . ” “ i take the long view , ” he said . “ archives move by decades and generations . we ’re here to keep it forever . ”
+1 telegraph “ journalist ” calls for the assassination of donald trump the deletes her twitter account – truthfeed amy moreno telegraph “ journalist ” calls for the assassination of donald trump the deletes her twitter account telegraph “ journalist ” calls for the assassination of donald trump the deletes her twitter account breaking news by amy moreno november 10 , 2016 monisha rajesh , who is a “ journalist ” for telegraph , called for the assassination of donald trump on twitter . she was instantly called out , and then deleted the tweet . however , slews of screen shots were captured and the information went viral which prompted this “ journalist ” to delete her entire twitter account . https://twitter.com/goosestweets/status/796771781520592896 — trump vol ( @damnvol ) november 10 , 2016 . @secretservice again , just in case @monisha_rajesh deletes the tweet , which it looks like she has . pic.twitter.com/3l3mhl0mxl — the coonskin cap ( @thecoonskincap ) november 10 , 2016 apparently @monisha_rajesh has deleted the tweet and also deactivated her account 😉 😂 https://t.co/wgrqwfmevt these violent and emotionally unstable liberal idiots need to be held accountable for their actions . please contact telegraph and demand they fire this idiot . telegraph twitter page here . facebook page here . email : telegraphenquiries@ telegraph.co.uk 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 presidency and help us fight liberal media bias . please like and share this story on facebook or twitter .
+0 texas man allegedly ’having sex with a fence’ arrested warner todd huston a man from austin , texas , was arrested for indecent exposure after a resident called the police to report he was “ having sex with a fence ” outside her window , police said . [ a police report reveals that eleodoro estala , 32 , was seen by a neighbor urinating on the grass but when he saw the neighbor taking video of him with her cell phone he took off his clothing and began thrusting himself into the fence that separates their properties , according to cbs 47 . the woman called the police and showed them photos and video of estala ’s actions . he was then arrested for exposure . the neighbor also told police that estala put his mouth over a fence post and stuck his tongue in and out through a hole in the fence . a police report notes that the suspect appeared intoxicated . he also did n’t cooperate with officers . estala ’s bail was set at $ 2 , 500 . follow warner todd huston on twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail . com .
+1 homeless thought criminal genosse dummkopf channel list following hurricane matthew 's failure to devastate florida , activists flock to the sunshine state and destroy trump signs manually tim kaine takes credit for interrupting hurricane matthew while debating weather in florida study : many non - voters still undecided on how they 're not going to vote the evolution of dissent : on november 8th the nation is to decide whether dissent will stop being racist and become sexist - or it will once again be patriotic as it was for 8 years under george w. bush venezuela solves starvation problem by making it mandatory to buy food breaking : the clinton foundation set to investigate the fbi obama ​​captures rare pokémon ​​while visiting hiroshima movie news : ' the big friendly giant government ' flops at box office ; audiences say " it 's creepy " barack obama : " if i had a son , he 'd look like micah johnson " white house edits orlando 911 transcript to say shooter pledged allegiance to nra and republican party president george washington : ' redcoats do not represent british empire ; king george promotes a distorted version of british colonialism ' following obama 's ' okie - doke ' speech , stock of okie - doke soars ; nasdaq : ' obama best okie - doke salesman ' weaponized baby formula threatens planned parenthood office ; aclu demands federal investigation of gerber experts : melting antarctic glacier could cause sale levels to rise up to 80 % off select items by this weekend travel advisory : airlines now offering flights to front of tsa line as obama instructs his administration to get ready for presidential transition , trump preemptively purchases ' t ' keys for white house keyboards john kasich self - identifies as gop primary winner , demands access to white house bathroom upcoming trump / kelly interview on foxnews sponsored by ' let 's make a deal ' and ' the price is right ' news from 2017 : once the evacuation of lena dunham and 90 % of other hollywood celebrities to canada is confirmed , trump resigns from presidency : " my work here is done " non - presidential candidate paul ryan pledges not to run for president in new non - presidential non - ad campaign trump suggests creating ' muslim database ' ; obama symbolically protests by shredding white house guest logs beginning 2009 national enquirer : john kasich 's real dad was the milkman , not mailman national enquirer : bound delegates from colorado , wyoming found in ted cruz ’s basement iran breaks its pinky - swear promise not to support terrorism ; us state department vows rock - paper - scissors strategic response women across the country cheer as racist democrat president on $ 20 bill is replaced by black pro - gun republican federal reserve solves budget crisis by writing itself a 20-trillion - dollar check widows , orphans claim responsibility for brussels airport bombing che guevara 's son hopes cuba 's communism will rub off on us , proposes a long list of people the government should execute first susan sarandon : " i do n't vote with my vagina . " voters in line behind her still suspicious , use hand sanitizer campaign memo typo causes hillary to court ' new black panties ' vote new hampshire votes for socialist sanders , changes state motto to " live for free or die " martin o'malley drops out of race after iowa caucus ; nation shocked with revelation he has been running for president statisticians : one out of three bernie sanders supporters is just as dumb as the other two hillary campaign denies accusations of smoking - gun evidence in her emails , claims they contain only smoking - circumstantial - gun evidence obama stops short of firing us congress upon realizing the difficulty of assembling another group of such tractable yes - men in effort to contol wild passions for violent jihad , white house urges gun owners to keep their firearms covered in gun burkas tv horror live : a charlie brown christmas gets shot up on air by mohammed cartoons democrats vow to burn the country down over ted cruz statement , ' the overwhelming majority of violent criminals are democrats ' russia 's trend to sign bombs dropped on isis with " this is for paris " found response in obama administration 's trend to sign american bombs with " return to sender " university researchers of cultural appropriation quit upon discovery that their research is appropriation from a culture that created universities archeologists discover remains of what barack obama has described as unprecedented , un - american , and not - who - we - are immigration screening process in ellis island mizzou protests lead to declaring entire state a " safe space , " changing missouri motto to " the do n't show me state " green energy fact : if we put all green energy subsidies together in one - dollar bills and burn them , we could generate more electricity than has been produced by subsidized green energy state officials improve chances of healthcare payouts by replacing obamacare with state lottery nasa 's new mission to search for racism , sexism , and economic inequality in deep space suffers from race , gender , and class power struggles over multibillion - dollar budget college progress enforcement squads issue schematic humor charts so students know if a joke may be spontaneously laughed at or if regulations require other action isis opens suicide hotline for us teens depressed by climate change and other progressive doomsday scenarios virginia county to close schools after teacher asks students to write ' death to america ' in arabic ' wear hijab to school day ' ends with spontaneous female circumcision and stoning of a classmate during lunch break isis releases new , even more barbaric video in an effort to regain mantle from planned parenthood impressed by fox news stellar rating during gop debates , cnn to use same formula on democrat candidates asking tough , pointed questions about republicans shocking new book explores pros and cons of socialism , discovers they are same people pope outraged by planned parenthood 's " unfettered capitalism , " demands equal redistribution of baby parts to each according to his need john kerry accepts iran 's " golden taquiyya " award , requests jalapenos on the side citizens of pluto protest us government 's surveillance of their planetoid and its moons with new horizons space drone john kerry proposes 3-day waiting period for all terrorist nations trying to acquire nuclear weapons chicago police trying to identify flag that caused nine murders and 53 injuries in the city this past weekend cuba opens to affordable medical tourism for americans who ca n't afford obamacare deductibles state - funded research proves existence of quantum aggression particles ( heterons ) in large hadron collider student job opportunities : make big bucks this summer as hillary ’s ordinary - american ; all expenses paid , travel , free acting lessons experts debate whether iranian negotiators broke john kerry 's leg or he did it himself to get out of negotiations junior varsity takes ramadi , advances to quarterfinals us media to gop pool of candidates : ' knowing what we know now , would you have had anything to do with the founding of the united states ? ' ny mayor to hold peace talks with rats , apologize for previous mayor 's cowboy diplomacy china launches cube - shaped space object with a message to aliens : " the inhabitants of earth will steal your intellectual property , copy it , manufacture it in sweatshops with slave labor , and sell it back to you at ridiculously low prices " progressive scientists : truth is a variable deduced by subtracting ' what is ' from ' what ought to be ' experts agree : hillary clinton best candidate to lessen percentage of americans in top 1 % america 's attempts at peace talks with the white house continue to be met with lies , stalling tactics , and bad faith starbucks new policy to talk race with customers prompts new hashtag # dontholduptheline hillary : delete is the new reset charlie hebdo receives islamophobe 2015 award ; the cartoonists could not be reached for comment due to their inexplicable , illogical deaths russia sends ' reset ' button back to hillary : ' you need it now more than we do ' barack obama finds out from cnn that hillary clinton spent four years being his secretary of state president obama honors leonard nimoy by taking selfie in front of starship enterprise police : if obama had a convenience store , it would look like obama express food market study finds stunning lack of racial , gender , and economic diversity among middle - class white males nasa : we 're 80 % sure about being 20 % sure about being 17 % sure about being 38 % sure about 2014 being the hottest year on record people holding ' $ 15 an hour now ' posters sue democratic party demanding raise to $ 15 an hour for rendered professional protesting services cuba - us normalization : us tourists flock to see cuba before it looks like the us and cubans flock to see the us before it looks like cuba white house describes attacks on sony pictures as ' spontaneous hacking in response to offensive video mocking juche and its prophet ' cia responds to democrat calls for transparency by releasing the director 's cut of the making of obama 's birth certificate obama : ' if i had a city , it would look like ferguson ' biden : ' if i had a ferguson ( hic ) , it would look like a city ' obama signs executive order renaming ' looters ' to ' undocumented shoppers ' ethicists agree : two wrongs do make a right so long as bush did it first the aftermath of the ' war on women 2014 ' finds a new ' lost generation ' of disillusioned democrat politicians , unable to cope with life out of office white house : republican takeover of the senate is a clear mandate from the american people for president obama to rule by executive orders nurse kaci hickox angrily tells reporters that she wo n't change her clocks for daylight savings time democratic party leaders in panic after recent poll shows most democratic voters think ' midterm ' is when to end pregnancy desperate democratic candidates plead with obama to stop backing them and instead support their gop opponents ebola czar issues five - year plan with mandatory quotas of ebola infections per each state based on voting preferences study : crony capitalism is to the free market what the westboro baptist church is to christianity fun facts about world languages : the left has more words for statism than the eskimos have for snow african countries to ban all flights from the united states because " obama is incompetent , it scares us " nobel peace prize controversy : hillary not nominated despite having done even less than obama to deserve it obama : ' ebola is the jv of viruses ' breaking : secret service foils secret service plot to protect obama revised 1st amendment : buy one speech , get the second free sharpton calls on white nfl players to beat their women in the interests of racial fairness president obama appoints his weekly approval poll as new national security adviser obama wags pen and phone at putin ; europe offers support with powerful pens and phones from nato members white house pledges to embarrass isis back to the stone age with a barrage of fearsome twitter messages and fatally ironic instagram photos obama to fight isis with new federal terrorist regulatory agency obama vows isis will never raise their flag over the eighteenth hole harry reid : " sometimes i say the wong thing " elian gonzalez wishes he had come to the u.s. on a bus from central america like all the other kids obama visits us - mexican border , calls for a two - state solution obama draws " blue line " in iraq after putin took away his red crayon " hard choices , " a porno flick loosely based on hillary clinton 's memoir and starring hillary hellfire as a drinking , whoring secretary of state , wildly outsells the flabby , sagging original accusations of siding with the enemy leave sgt . bergdahl with only two options : pursue a doctorate at berkley or become a senator from massachusetts jay carney stuck in line behind eric shinseki to leave the white house ; estimated wait time from 15 min to 6 weeks 100 % of scientists agree that if man - made global warming were real , " the last people we 'd want to help us is the obama administration " jay carney says he found out that obama found out that he found out that obama found out that he found out about the latest obama administration scandal on the news " anarchy now ! " meeting turns into riot over points of order , bylaws , and whether or not ' kicking the # ^@ & * ! ass ' of the person trying to speak is or is not violence obama retaliates against putin by prohibiting unionized federal employees from dating hot russian girls online during work hours russian separatists in ukraine riot over an offensive youtube video showing the toppling of lenin statues " free speech zones " confuse obamaphone owners who roam streets in search of additional air minutes obamacare bolsters employment for professionals with skills to convert meth back into sudafed gloves finally off : obama uses pen and phone to cancel putin 's netflix account joe biden to russia : " we will bury you by turning more of eastern europe over to your control ! " in last - ditch effort to help ukraine , obama deploys rev. sharpton and rev. jackson 's rainbow coalition to crimea al sharpton : " not even putin can withstand our signature chanting , ' racist , sexist , anti - gay , russian army go away ' ! " mardi gras in north korea : " throw me some food ! " obama 's foreign policy works : " war , invasion , and conquest are signs of weakness ; we 've got putin right where we want him " us offers military solution to ukraine crisis : " we will only fight countries that have lgbt military " putin annexes brighton beach to protect ethnic russians in brooklyn , obama appeals to un and eu for help the 1980s : " mr. obama , we 're just calling to ask if you want our foreign policy back . the 1970s are right here with us , and they 're wondering , too . " in a stunning act of defiance , obama courageously unfriends putin on facebook msnbc : obama secures alliance with austro - hungarian empire against russia ’s aggression in ukraine study : springbreak is to stds what april 15th is to accountants efforts to achieve moisture justice for california thwarted by unfair redistribution of snow in america north korean voters unanimous : " we are the 100 % " leader of authoritarian gulag - site , the people 's cube , unanimously ' re - elected ' with 100 % voter turnout super bowl : obama blames fox news for broncos ' loss feminist author slams gay marriage : " a man needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle " beverly hills campaign heats up between henry waxman and marianne williamson over the widening income gap between millionaires and billionaires in their district biden to lower $ 10,000-a - plate dinner for the homeless to $ 5,000 so more homeless can attend kim becomes world leader , feeds uncle to dogs ; obama eats dogs , becomes world leader , america cries uncle north korean leader executes own uncle for talking about obamacare at family christmas party white house hires part - time schizophrenic mandela sign interpreter to help sell obamacare kim jong un executes own " crazy uncle " to keep him from ruining another family christmas ofa admits its advice for area activists to give obamacare talk at shooting ranges was a bad idea president resolves obamacare debacle with executive order declaring all americans equally healthy obama to iran : " if you like your nuclear program , you can keep your nuclear program " bovine community outraged by flatulence coming from washington dc obama : " i 'm not particularly ideological ; i believe in a good pragmatic five - year plan " shocker : obama had no knowledge he 'd been reelected until he read about it in the local newspaper last week server problems at healthcare.gov so bad , it now flashes ' error 808 ' message nsa marks national best friend day with official announcement : " government is your best friend ; we know you like no one else , we 're always there , we 're always willing to listen " al qaeda cancels attack on usa citing launch of obamacare as devastating enough the president 's latest talking point on obamacare : " i did n't build that " dizzy with success , obama renames his wildly popular healthcare mandate to hillarycare carney : huge obamacare deductibles wo n't look as bad come hyperinflation washington redskins drop ' washington ' from their name as offensive to most americans poll : 83 % of americans favor cowboy diplomacy over rodeo clown diplomacy government warning : if you were able to complete obamacare form online , it was n't a legitimate gov't website ; you should report online fraud and change all your passwords obama administration gets serious , threatens syria with obamacare obama authorizes the use of vice president joe biden 's double - barrel shotgun to fire a couple of blasts at syria sharpton : " british royals should have named baby ' trayvon . ' by choosing ' george ' they sided with white hispanic racist zimmerman " dnc launches ' carlos danger ' action figure ; proceeds to fund a charity helping survivors of the republican war on women nancy pelosi extends abortion rights to the birds and the bees hubble discovers planetary drift to the left obama : ' if i had a daughter - in - law , she would look like rachael jeantel ' fisa court rubberstamps statement denying its portrayal as government 's rubber stamp every time obamacare gets delayed , a julia somewhere dies gop to schumer : ' force full implementation of obamacare before 2014 or dems will never win another election ' obama : ' if i had a son ... no , wait , my daughter can now marry a woman ! ' janet napolitano : tsa findings reveal that since none of the hijackers were babies , elderly , or tea partiers , 9/11 was not an act of terrorism news flash : sen. mary landrieu ( d - la ) can see canada from south dakota susan rice : irs actions against tea parties caused by anti - tax youtube video that was insulting to their faith drudge report reduces font to fit all white house scandals onto one page obama : the irs is a constitutional right , just like the second amendment white house : top obama officials using secret email accounts a result of bad it advice to avoid spam mail from nigeria jay carney to critics : ' pinocchio never said anything inconsistent ' obama : if i had a gay son , he 'd look like jason collins gosnell 's office in benghazi raided by the irs : mainstream media 's worst cover - up challenge to date irs targeting pro - gay - marriage lgbt groups leads to gayest tax revolt in u.s. history after arlington cemetery rejects offer to bury boston bomber , westboro babtist church steps up with premium front lawn plot boston : obama administration to reclassify marathon bombing as ' sportsplace violence ' study : success has many fathers but failure becomes a government program us media : can pope francis possibly clear up vatican bureaucracy and banking without blaming the previous administration ? michelle obama praises weekend rampage by chicago teens as good way to burn calories and stay healthy this passover , obama urges his subjects to paint lamb 's blood above doors in order to avoid the sequester white house to american children : sequester causes layoffs among hens that lay easter eggs ; union - wage easter bunnies to be replaced by mexican chupacabras time mag names hugo chavez world 's sexiest corpse boy , 8 , pretends banana is gun , makes daring escape from school study : free lunches overpriced , lack nutrition oscars 2013 : michelle obama announces long - awaited merger of hollywood and the state joe salazar defends the right of women to be raped in gun - free environment : ' rapists and rapees should work together to prevent gun violence for the common good ' dept . of health and human services eliminates rape by reclassifying assailants as ' undocumented sex partners ' kremlin puts out warning not to photoshop putin riding meteor unless bare - chested deeming football too violent , obama moves to introduce super drone sundays instead japan offers to extend nuclear umbrella to cover u.s. should america suffer devastating attack on its own defense spending feminists organize one billion women to protest male oppression with one billion lap dances urban community protests mayor bloomberg 's ban on extra - large pop singers owning assault weapons concerned with mounting death toll , taliban offers to send peacekeeping advisers to chicago karl rove puts an end to tea party with new ' republicans for democrats ' strategy aimed at losing elections answering public skepticism , president obama authorizes unlimited drone attacks on all skeet targets throughout the country skeet ulrich denies claims he had been shot by president but considers changing his name to ' traps ' white house releases new exciting photos of obama standing , sitting , looking thoughtful , and even breathing in and out new york times hacked by chinese government , paul krugman 's economic policies stolen white house : when president shoots skeet , he donates the meat to food banks that feed the middle class to prove he is serious , obama eliminates armed guard protection for president , vice - president , and their families ; establishes gun - free zones around them instead state dept to send 100,000 american college students to china as security for us debt obligations jay carney : al qaeda is on the run , they 're just running forward president issues executive orders banning cliffs , ceilings , obstructions , statistics , and other notions that prevent us from moving forwards and upward fearing the worst , obama administration outlaws the fan to prevent it from being hit by certain objects world ends ; s&p soars riddle of universe solved ; answer not understood meek inherit earth , ca n't afford estate taxes greece abandons euro ; accountants find greece has no euros anyway wheel finally reinvented ; axles to be gradually reinvented in 3rd quarter of 2013 bigfoot found in ohio , mysteriously not voting for obama as santa 's workshop files for bankruptcy , fed offers bailout in exchange for control of ' naughty and nice ' list freak flying pig accident causes bacon to fly off shelves obama : green economy likely to transform america into a leading third world country of the new millennium report : president obama to visit the united states in the near future obama promises to create thousands more economically neutral jobs modernizing islam : new york imam proposes to canonize saul alinsky as religion 's latter day prophet imam rauf 's peaceful solution : ' move ground zero a few blocks away from the mosque and no one gets hurt ' study : obama 's threat to burn tax money in washington ' recruitment bonanza ' for tea parties study : no social security reform will be needed if gov't raises retirement age to at least 814 years obama attends church service , worships self obama proposes national ' win the future ' lottery ; proceeds of new wtf powerball to finance more gov't spending historical revisionists : " hey , you never know " vice president biden : criticizing egypt is un - pharaoh israelis to egyptian rioters : " do n't damage the pyramids , we will not rebuild " lake superior renamed lake inferior in spirit of tolerance and inclusiveness al gore : it 's a shame that a family can be torn apart by something as simple as a pack of polar bears michael moore : as long as there is anyone with money to shake down , this country is not broke obama 's teleprompters unionize , demand collective bargaining rights obama calls new taxes ' spending reductions in tax code . ' elsewhere rapists tout ' consent reductions in sexual intercourse ' obama 's teleprompter unhappy with white house twitter : " too few words " obama 's regulation reduction committee finds us constitution to be expensive outdated framework inefficiently regulating federal gov't taking a page from the reagan years , obama announces new era of perestroika and glasnost responding to oslo shootings , obama declares christianity " religion of peace , " praises " moderate christians , " promises to send one into space republicans block obama 's $ 420 billion program to give american families free charms that ward off economic bad luck white house to impose chimney tax on santa claus obama decrees the economy is not soaring as much as previously decreeed conservative think tank introduces children to capitalism with pop - up picture book " the road to smurfdom " al gore proposes to combat global warming by extracting silver linings from clouds in earth 's atmosphere obama refutes charges of him being unresponsive to people 's suffering : " when you pray to god , do you always hear a response ? " obama regrets the us government did n't provide his mother with free contraceptives when she was in college fluke to congress : drill , baby , drill ! planned parenthood introduces frequent flucker reward card : ' come again soon ! ' obama to tornado victims : ' we inherited this weather from the previous administration ' obama congratulates putin on chicago - style election outcome people 's cube gives itself hero of socialist labor medal in recognition of continued expert advice provided to the obama administration helping to shape its foreign and domestic policies hamas : israeli air defense unfair to 99 % of our missiles , " only 1 % allowed to reach israel " democrat strategist : without government supervision , women would have never evolved into humans voters without borders oppose texas new voter id law enraged by accusation that they are doing obama 's bidding , media leaders demand instructions from white house on how to respond obama blames previous olympics for failure to win at this olympics official : china plans to land on moon or at least on cheap knockoff thereof koran - contra : obama secretly arms syrian rebels poll : progressive slogan ' we should be more like europe ' most popular with members of american nazi party obama to evangelicals : jesus saves , i just spend may day : anarchists plan , schedule , synchronize , and execute a coordinated campaign against all of the above midwestern farmers hooked on new erotic novel " 50 shades of hay " study : 99 % of liberals give the rest a bad name obama meets with jewish leaders , proposes deeper circumcisions for the rich historians : before hope & change there was hemp & choom at ten bucks a bag cancer once again fails to cure venezuela of its " president for life " tragic spelling error causes muslim protesters to burn local boob - tube factory secretary of energy steven chu : due to energy conservation , the light at the end of the tunnel will be switched off obama administration running food stamps across the border with mexico in an operation code - named " fat and furious " pakistan explodes in protest over new adobe acrobat update ; 17 local acrobats killed white house : " let them eat statistics " special ops : if benedict arnold had a son , he would look like barack obama
+1 not just hillary , entire obama administration exposed for using private email to avoid foia requests activist post by jack burns wikileaks is helping president obama keep his 2008 campaign promise — to be the most transparent administration in u.s. history — whether he likes ...
+0 peter vaughan , maester aemon in ‘ game of thrones,’ dies at 93 - the new york times daniel e. slotnik peter vaughan , a british character actor who often played rogues early in his career but was more familiar to recent audiences as a wise , blind mentor on the hbo fantasy series “ game of thrones , ” died on tuesday . he was 93 . his death was confirmed by the office of his agent , sally which did not say where he died . and imposing , mr. vaughan was a regular in films and on british television for more than 50 years , long before taking the part of maester aemon targaryen on “ game of thrones , ” adapted from george r. r. martin ’s novels . as maester aemon , he forsakes his royal heritage , giving up the chance to rule the seven kingdoms of westeros to serve in the night ’s watch , a group of warriors and criminals tasked with defending a colossal wall to protect lands to the south from invaders from the north . maester aemon was a fatherly figure to jon snow , who becomes the watch ’s leader , and unlike many in mr. martin ’s treacherous , violent world , maester aemon dies of old age in season 5 , in 2015 . mr. vaughan also played a manipulative british spy in “ the naked runner ” ( 1967 ) with frank sinatra one of the english villagers who harass dustin hoffman and susan george in sam peckinpah ’s “ straw dogs ” ( 1971 ) and a bureaucrat in terry gilliam ’s dystopian satire “ brazil ” ( 1985 ) which starred jonathan pryce and featured robert de niro . he played other elderly figures , including anthony hopkins ’s ailing father in james ivory ’s film adaptation of kazuo ishiguro ’s “ the remains of the day ” ( 1993 ) and a cantankerous old man in the farce “ death at a funeral ” ( 2007 ) which also featured his “ game of thrones ” peter dinklage . he was born peter olm on april 4 , 1923 , in wem , shropshire , england . he joined a repertory company at 16 , but was drafted into the military in 1942 . he continued his stage acting career in england after the war and during the 1950s met and married the actress billie whitelaw , who became known for her work with samuel beckett . they divorced in the 1960s . on television he appeared in several bbc based on charles dickens novels , including “ oliver twist ” ( 1962 ) and “ bleak house ” ( 1985 ) and in a television adaptation of arthur miller ’s “ the crucible ” in 1980 . he went on to appear in the 1996 film version of that play , which starred winona ryder and daniel . mr. vaughan later married the actress lillias walker , who survives him . other survivors include a son , david two stepdaughters , alex and vikki and four grandchildren . mr. vaughan , whose last credited television role was as maester aemon , said he was grateful that he had chosen a profession that allowed him to work well into old age . “ it ’s not the sort of career where you have to retire at a given age , ” he told shropshire magazine in 2007 . “ i compare it to being a painter or a professional musician — as long as you ’re fit and healthy to carry on , and the offers come in , you just keep going . ”
+0 volkswagen reaches deal in u.s. over emissions scandal - the new york times jack ewing volkswagen agreed on thursday to fix or buy back nearly 500 , 000 diesel cars in the united states that are equipped with illegal emissions software . but a settlement announced in federal court in san francisco left open numerous legal and financial issues stemming from the carmaker ’s admission that it rigged diesel vehicles to cheat on pollution tests . lawyers in the case are still negotiating the fines that volkswagen must pay , as well as the compensation that owners will receive . judge charles r. breyer set june 21 as the deadline for volkswagen to settle those questions with the federal government as well as lawyers for vehicle owners . “ there is still a lot of work to be done , ” judge breyer said . it is already clear , though , that volkswagen will have to increase the amount it has set aside to cover costs of the emissions scandal , which will easily run into billions of dollars . kelley blue book , a research firm , has estimated the cost of buying back all the cars in the united states at $ 7 billion . the company is certain to face additional billions in fines and compensation paid to owners beyond the costs of repairs or buybacks in the united states . and there are many more faulty cars in europe and elsewhere in the world still to be dealt with . volkswagen has set aside only 6 . 7 billion euros , or $ 7 . 6 billion , against the eventual global costs from the scandal . “ if they agree to buy back the cars , the costs will be higher than the current provisions , ” said matthias hellstern , managing director for corporate finance at moody ’s investors service in frankfurt . kevin helmich , owner of a 2010 audi a3 with a diesel engine , said on thursday that he would lean toward having the company buy his car back rather than get it repaired . volkswagen is “ making a real effort to do right by customers , ” said mr. helmich , who lives in ann arbor , mich. but he added , “ i probably would n’t buy another car from them . ” volkswagen faces a theoretical maximum government fine of $ 18 billion in the united states . legal experts expect the legal penalties to be much lower , but still in the billions . judge breyer said that owners would also receive “ substantial compensation . ” and the company could still be hit with criminal charges by the justice department , which is investigating volkswagen ’s cheating . under the agreement announced thursday , the company will offset some of the environmental damage caused by the cars by investing in clean technologies . the judge did not give details about the form the investment might take . in a statement , volkswagen said it “ intends to compensate its customers fully and to remediate any impact on the environment from excess diesel emissions . ” while many questions remain unanswered , the court hearing on thursday suggested that volkswagen and those with claims against it had made substantial progress toward a settlement that would clear up some of the company ’s financial uncertainty . it should also help volkswagen restore some good will with owners of 480 , 000 volkswagens and audi a3 models with the affected diesel engines . the models with the cheating software in the united states include volkswagen , audi and porsche cars with or diesel engines from the model years . owners will have the option either to get their cars fixed so they are compliant with laws , or sell them back to the company . people who have leased vehicles will be able to cancel their contracts without penalty . but a solution for about 100 , 000 cars with diesel engines , including audi and porsche models , has not yet been agreed to , the judge indicated . “ i wish we had more details , and i wish we could get back to the business of selling ” diesel models , said alan brown , owner of a volkswagen dealership in lewisville , tex . “ but it ’s great to see we ’ve got movement . without customers , none of us dealers has a business . ” many more european cars , over 10 million , are also affected by the volkswagen cheating . but the company ’s financial fines and any consumer liabilities in europe are not expected to be nearly as high because of differences in regulations and laws . given the uncertainties over the potential costs of the united states settlement , volkswagen has delayed earnings reports for the last two quarters . that has impaired the company ’s ability to raise money on debt markets because it could not provide financial information demanded by investors . and even when the details of thursday ’s announced settlement emerge , the company ’s troubles will be far from over . it faces official investigations and possible criminal proceedings in other countries , including britain , france , germany and south korea . and owners of its models in europe , who account for a vast majority of the 11 million diesel vehicles with the cheating software , are angry that they are not receiving any compensation . volkswagen is recalling the cars in europe to reprogram the engine software and , in some cases , to install a plastic part that is supposed to help lower emissions . but it has balked at offering european owners money . analysts at the investment bank ubs had estimated the total cost of the scandal for volkswagen at 38 billion euros , or about $ 43 . 1 billion , of which € 14 billion was for expenses outside the united states . judge breyer had given volkswagen until thursday to reach a settlement with the federal government and with vehicle owners in the united states . the judge had expressed dissatisfaction that the cars were still on the road emitting illegal levels of pollution seven months after the cheating became public . the defeat device allowed volkswagen to cheat on the emissions tests in the united states by recognizing when cars were being monitored and changing the exhaust settings . in testing , the cars increased pollution controls . but on the road , pollution controls were scaled back to enhance performance and fuel mileage , and to protect emissions equipment from wear . when that happened , the cars spewed as much as 40 times the allowed amounts of nitrogen oxides , a pollutant that poses health hazards . judge breyer is overseeing almost all of the litigation in the united states , including claims filed by federal and state governments as well as volkswagen owners . the company still faces separate suits by volkswagen dealers and by dealers of competing brands , who say the cheating gave volkswagen an unfair advantage in the market . eric t. schneiderman , the new york attorney general , said thursday ’s announcement “ does not in any way resolve ” claims being pursued by a coalition , which he said would continue its investigation and pursuit of penalties . the states have not yet filed a suit against volkswagen . volkswagen ’s legal troubles were focused in the united states because limits on nitrogen oxides are more stringent and the penalties more severe than in europe . in addition , united states law gives owners significant scope to seek redress in court . rob martens , a retired musician in boulder , colo. said he was eager to have volkswagen buy back his 2015 passat diesel . while he likes the car ’s roominess and ride , he ’s not happy to be driving a car that emits more pollutants than it should . on top of that , the car ’s electronics have given him headaches — its infotainment system often freezes up and its rearview camera sometimes goes out . “ this is not what they call german engineering , ” mr. martens said . “ i ca n’t wait to dump it . ”
+0 wealthy donors dangle a huge payday in front of u.s. wrestlers - the new york times ken belson rio de janeiro — for most athletes at the olympics , a gold , silver or bronze medal is the ultimate payoff for years of training and sacrifice . but when the american wrestlers take to the mats at the rio games , they stand to head home with a lot of green , too . one wrestler could earn half a million dollars for winning a second consecutive gold medal , and his teammates could also take home substantial earnings for finishing first , second or third , making their potential paydays the envy of athletes not named phelps or bolt . the bonuses would come courtesy of a fraternity of former wrestlers , several of whom happen to have made it big on wall street . together , they have endowed wrestling to a degree that other olympic sports can only dream about . in other words , they are rich and obsessed . chief among them are michael e. novogratz , a private equity tycoon who wrestled at princeton , and david barry , who wrestled at columbia and is the president of ironstate development company . they aim to give a lift to a sport that was nearly booted from the olympic program several years ago . “ wrestlers have to cobble enough to live on to train for four or eight years , so winning $ 250 , 000 is nice , ” novogratz said . “ they can use it as nest eggs . ” jordan burroughs received $ 250 , 000 for winning a freestyle wrestling gold medal in the ( ) division at the london games four years ago and would receive $ 500 , 000 for successfully defending his title at the rio games . he used his london payoff to buy a house and pay for his wedding , among other things . “ it ’s great any time you get an extra incentive , in addition to being the strongest man on the planet , ” said burroughs , who has received $ 415 , 000 for his olympic and world championship medals since 2011 . “ there ’s not a lot of money floating around in the sport , so it ’s key for us to compete at our best in the olympic games . ” the rewards offset the lack of endorsement deals and american government funding for the olympians . while the olympics once celebrated amateurism , nowadays the biggest names at the games — like michael phelps in swimming , the jamaican usain bolt in track and the american kerri walsh jennings in beach volleyball — are able to secure endorsement deals after winning olympic gold . at least in the united states , wrestling has few household names , and wrestlers , like athletes in other olympic sports , must make do with far less . participation in collegiate wrestling has been in decline for years , and those wrestlers interested in staying in the sport have had little choice but to join world wrestling entertainment , which is orchestrated , or mixed martial arts , where the action is far from the ancient grappling at wrestling ’s roots . in 2009 , novogratz and barry an existing but modest fund , which they rebranded the living the dream medal fund . it helps wrestlers continue wrestling and motivates others to keep trying . they then recruited former wrestlers with deep pockets , including andrew f. barth , a portfolio manager at capital group who wrestled at columbia james g. dinan , the founder and chief executive of york capital management , who has sons who wrestle and david h mccormick , who wrestled at west point and is the president of the hedge fund bridgewater associates . so deep is their passion for the sport that they sprinkle discussion of financial trades with wrestling jargon like “ takedown ” and “ pin . ” “ you have to find someone who ’s wealthy and loves wrestling , ” novogratz said . “ they ’re out there , but you have to find them . it ’s like being an ancient spartan , doing the right thing . ” so far , the fund has dispersed $ 1 . 225 million to male and female wrestlers who have won medals at the olympics and the world championships , a windfall on top of the prize money from the united states olympic committee — which pays $ 25 , 000 to gold medalists , $ 15 , 000 to silver medalists and $ 10 , 000 to bronze medalists — and from u. s. a. wrestling , which pays smaller amounts . the living the dream fund poured in tens of thousands of dollars more , bringing the total prize money to $ 250 , 000 for an olympic gold , $ 50 , 000 for a silver and $ 25 , 000 for a bronze . “ we wanted something that would be an number , ” barry , an league wrestler at columbia , said . “ we wanted to celebrate the spirit of competition . ” the gold mine dwarfs what federations in other olympic sports pay american medalists . rowers who win medals , for instance , receive awards only from the united states olympic committee , while u. s. a. shooting divided $ 198 , 000 among the four american medalists in london . backed by sponsors like nike , bmw and visa , u. s. a. track field expects to pay its olympians a total of about $ 3 million this year . each of the 129 athletes who made it to rio was paid $ 10 , 000 , and another $ 1 . 3 million in bonuses was paid based on where they finished at the olympic trials . medalists in rio will earn even more . on an individual basis , though , burroughs and jake varner hit the jackpot at the london games four years ago : they each received $ 250 , 000 for winning a gold medal . two other wrestlers won $ 25 , 000 for placing third . ( the awards for medals at the world championships are far smaller . ) novogratz was so excited about burroughs ’s and varner ’s wins in 2012 that he offered to double the prize if either wrestler won another gold medal in rio . varner , who won in london at ( 211 pounds ) did not qualify for these olympics , but on aug. 18 , burroughs has a chance to earn $ 500 , 000 for one day ’s work . as burroughs tells it , after he graduated from the university of nebraska , he was scraping by until he won gold at the world championships in 2011 and then struck gold in london . winning a second olympic gold , in rio , would help him continue wrestling through 2020 , when the summer games will be in tokyo . burroughs tries to remain modest about his achievements , but he said it was only fair that he and other wrestlers were rewarded given their long workouts , the injuries they face and the other sacrifices they make . “ i consider myself one of the best athletes in the world , and there ’s a little bit of anger and jealousy to athletes in other sports who perhaps put in a fraction of the work as wrestlers , ” he said . the spoils can be even more lavish in countries like russia , where wrestling medalists can receive apartments , cars and national acclaim . but even they have taken note of the prize money available to americans , said elena pirozhkova , who as a child moved to the united states from russia and will wrestle in rio for the united states . “ everybody talks about it , and i can speak russian , and they ’re always asking what the u. s. pays , ” she said . pirozhkova , who will compete at ( 139 pounds ) and burroughs said they occasionally thought about the potential payday and how the money could change their lives , but they have to block out those thoughts once their matches begin . “ wrestling is such a tricky sport , ” said pirozhkova , who has used her $ 65 , 000 from the fund to help her mother buy a house . “ everything has to be fast . your life can change in a couple of hours . ”
+1 sometimes the road to diet change can be fun hesh goldstein sometimes the road to diet change can be fun ad 728×90 – hbs account – 2149237058061490 http://blogs.naturalnews.com/sometimes-road-diet-change-can-fun/ by hesh goldstein posted friday , october 28 , 2016 at 07:36am edt when i was a kid , if i were told that i ’d be writing a book about diet and nutrition when i was older , i would ’ve thought that whoever told me that was out of their mind . living in newark , new jersey , my parents and i consumed anything and everything that had a face or a mother except for dead , rotting , pig bodies , although we did eat bacon ( as if all the other decomposing flesh bodies were somehow miraculously clean ) . going through high school and college it was no different . in fact , my dietary change did not come until i was in my 30 ’s . just to put things in perspective , after i graduated from weequahic high school and before going to seton hall university , i had a part - time job working for a butcher . i was the delivery guy and occasionally had to go to the slaughterhouse to pick up products for the store . needless to say , i had no consciousness nor awareness , as change never came then , despite the horrors i witnessed on an almost daily basis . after graduating with a degree in accounting from seton hall , i eventually got married and moved to a town called livingston . livingston was basically a yuppie community where everyone was judged by the neighborhood they lived in and their income . to say it was a “ plastic ” community would be an understatement . livingston and the shallowness finally got to me . i told my wife i was fed up and wanted to move . she made it clear she had to be near her friends and new york city . i finally got my act together and split for colorado . i was living with a lady in aspen at the end of 1974 , when one day she said , ” let ’s become vegetarians ” . i have no idea what possessed me to say it , but i said , “ okay ” ! at that point i went to the freezer and took out about $ 100 worth of frozen , dead body parts and gave them to a welfare mother who lived behind us . well , everything was great for about a week or so , and then the chick split with another guy . so here i was , a vegetarian for a couple weeks , not really knowing what to do , how to cook , or basically how to prepare anything . for about a month , i was getting by on carrot sticks , celery sticks , and yogurt . fortunately , when i went vegan in 1990 , it was a simple and natural progression . anyway , as i walked around aspen town , i noticed a little vegetarian restaurant called , “ the little kitchen ” . let me back up just a little bit . it was april of 1975 , the snow was melting and the runoff of ajax mountain filled the streets full of knee - deep mud . now , aspen was great to ski in , but was a bummer to walk in when the snow was melting . i was ready to call it quits and i needed a warmer place . i ’ll elaborate on that in a minute . but right now , back to “ the little kitchen ” . knowing that i was going to leave aspen and basically a new vegetarian , i needed help . so , i cruised into the restaurant and told them my plight and asked them if they would teach me how to cook . i told them in return i would wash dishes and empty their trash . they then asked me what i did for a living and i told them i was an accountant . the owner said to me , “ let ’s make a deal . you do our tax return and we ’ll feed you as well ” . so for the next couple of weeks i was doing their tax return , washing their dishes , emptying the trash , eating three squares a day and learning as much as i could . but , like i said , the mud was getting to me . so i picked up a travel book written by a guy named foder . the name of the book was , “ hawaii ” . looking through the book i noticed that in lahaina , on maui , there was a little vegetarian restaurant called , ” mr. natural ’s ” . i decided right then and there that i would go to lahaina and work at “ mr. natural ’s . ” to make a long story short , that ’s exactly what happened . so , i ’m working at “ mr. natural ’s ” and learning everything i can about my new dietary lifestyle – it was great . every afternoon we would close for lunch at about 1 pm and go to the sheraton hotel in ka’anapali and play volleyball , while somebody stayed behind to prepare dinner . since i was the new guy , and did n’t really know how to cook , i never thought that i would be asked to stay behind to cook dinner . well , one afternoon , that ’s exactly what happened ; it was my turn . that posed a problem for me because i was at the point where i finally knew how to boil water . i was desperate , clueless and basically up the creek without a paddle . fortunately , there was a friend of mine sitting in the gazebo at the restaurant and i asked him if he knew how to cook . he said the only thing he knew how to cook was enchiladas . he said that his enchiladas were bean - less and dairy - less . i told him that i had no idea what an enchilada was or what he was talking about , but i needed him to show me because it was my turn to do the evening meal . well , the guys came back from playing volleyball and i ’m asked what was for dinner . i told them enchiladas ; the owner was n’t thrilled . i told him that mine were bean - less and dairy - less . when he tried the enchilada he said it was incredible . being the humble guy that i was , i smiled and said , “ you expected anything less ” ? it apparently was so good that it was the only item on the menu that we served twice a week . in fact , after about a week , we were selling five dozen every night we had them on the menu and people would walk around lahaina broadcasting , ‘ enchilada ’s at “ natural ’s ” tonight’ . i never had to cook anything else . a year later the restaurant closed , and somehow i gravitated to a little health food store in wailuku . i never told anyone i was an accountant and basically relegated myself to being the truck driver . the guys who were running the health food store had friends in similar businesses and farms on many of the islands . i told them that if they could organize and form one company they could probably lock in the state . that ’s when they found out i was an accountant and “ down to earth ” was born . “ down to earth ” became the largest natural food store chain in the islands , and i was their chief financial officer and co - manager of their biggest store for 13 years . in 1981 , i started to do a weekly radio show to try and expose people to a vegetarian diet and get them away from killing innocent creatures . i still do that show today . i pay for my own airtime and have no sponsors to not compromise my honesty . one bit of a hassle was the fact that i was forced to get a masters degree in nutrition to shut up all the md ’s that would call in asking for my credentials . my doing this radio show enabled me , through endless research , to see the corruption that existed within the big food industries , the big pharmaceutical companies , the biotech industries and the government agencies . this information , unconscionable as it is , enabled me to realize how broken our health system is . i left down to earth in 1989 , got nationally certified as a sports injury massage therapist and started traveling the world with a bunch of guys that were making a martial arts movie . after doing that for about four years i finally made it back to honolulu and got a job as a massage therapist at the honolulu club , one of hawaii ’s premier fitness clubs . it was there i met the love of my life who i have been with since 1998 . she made me an offer i could n’t refuse . she said , ” if you want to be with me you ’ve got to stop working on naked women ” . so , i went back into accounting and was the chief financial officer of a large construction company for many years . going back to my newark days when i was an infant , i had no idea what a “ chicken ” or “ egg ” or “ fish ” or “ pig ” or “ cow ” was . my dietary blueprint was thrust upon me by my parents as theirs was thrust upon them by their parents . it was by the grace of god that i was able to put things in their proper perspective and improve my health and elevate my consciousness . the road that i started walking down in 1975 has finally led me to the point of writing my book , a sane diet for an insane world . hopefully , the information contained therein will be enlightening , motivating , and inspiring to encourage you to make different choices . doing what we do out of conditioning is not always the best course to follow . i am hoping that by the grace of the many friends and personalities i have encountered along my path , you will have a better perspective of what road is the best road for you to travel on , not only for your health but your consciousness as well . aloha ! to learn more about hesh , listen to and read hundreds of health related radio shows and articles , and learn about how to stay healthy and reverse degenerative diseases through the use of organic sulfur crystals and the most incredible bee pollen ever , please visit www.healthtalkhawaii.com , or email me at heshgoldstein@gmail.com or call me at ( 808 ) 258 - 1177 . since going on the radio in 1981 these are the only products i began to sell because they work . oh yeah , going to www.asanediet.com will allow you to read various parts of my book – “ a sane diet for an insane world ” , containing a wonderful comment by mike adams . in hawaii , the tv stations interview local authors about the books they write and the newspapers all do book reviews . not one would touch “ a sane diet for an insane world ” . why ? because it goes against their advertising dollars . you might also like …
+1 comments of the week : here comes trouble nan comments of the week : here comes trouble posted on oct 26 , 2016 torbakhopper / cc by - nd 2.0 as is to be expected , if not applauded , the closer we get to the nov. 8 election , the more debates and divisions have appeared in discussions about the headlines of the moment . during the week that ranged from oct. 16 - 23 , those headlines included additional revelations from wikileaks’ trove of pedesta emails regarding hillary clinton ’s campaign , as well as various writers’ takes on how to vote this time around , and news of the ongoing dakota access pipeline protest . as for the how - to - vote issue , jonathan mitchell posted a short and direct comment under this story about clinton ’s famous hawkishness when it comes to envisioning and enacting american foreign policy on the world stage : reader helen hanna , like many others who took in robert reich ’s piece titled “ the incalculable damage of doing whatever it takes to win , ” noticed and remarked upon reich ’s gloss - over of democratic party leaders’ , and in particular hillary and bill clinton ’s , proclivity for doing damage in the interest of maintaining power : that said , it ’s not as though commenters were about to give donald trump a pass , either . take ignatius j. reilly ’s rejoinder to trump campaign manager kellyanne conway ’s “ 5-point plan to defeat islam , ” as trump and his team conceived of it ( and juan cole wrote of it ) : touché . another point of contention on the comment boards last week had to do with how to evaluate wikileaks’ , and by extension julian assange ’s , latest release of documents in the pedesta emails . though some commentators like naomi klein and glenn greenwald have spoken up about particular aspects of wikileaks’ current m.o . , in the thread under alexander reed kelly ’s truthdigger of the week column on assange , reader jjg noted how , like him or not , assange and his organization are providing a public service that professionals working in the mainstream press ( who are supposed to be skilled in curating and redacting sensitive material ) are not generally delivering on these days : we ’ll give opa westphal the last word this time , ending on an up note ( in terms of the shout - out to other commenters ) and a cautionary note at the same time . this one was posted under chris hedges’ latest column , “ how power works ” :
+0 the epipen , a case study in health system dysfunction - the new york times aaron e. carroll three times in the last two weeks , people — a patient , a colleague and my wife — told me stories about how out of control the price of epipens were . monday , my new york times colleagues recounted in detail how expensive the devices have become in recent years . all tell the tale of how much even basic health care can cost in the united states . but by digging a bit further , the story of epipens can also explain so much of what ’s wrong with our health care system . when people think of allergies to drugs , food or a bee sting , they often think of a rash . and in fact that ’s how many allergic reactions develop and proceed . most can be treated with diphenhydramine ( benadryl ) and careful observation . but some are more serious . between 1 and 2 percent of people can develop what ’s known as anaphylaxis , when the airways you need to breathe swell and close . luckily , there ’s a simple treatment for such reactions . epinephrine — or adrenaline — is a hormone naturally produced by the adrenal glands . it ’s part of your “ fight or flight ” response , and it causes your heart to beat faster , your blood vessels to constrict , your pupils to dilate and — most important here — your airways to open . epinephrine is very , very cheap . even in the developing world , it costs less than a dollar per milliliter , and there ’s less than a third of that in an epipen . but to save a life , epinephrine must be delivered quickly , and in the proper amounts . people suffering severe allergic reactions often ca n’t do it themselves . drawing the drug into a syringe and then administering it to someone else requires training and precision that most people lack . for that , there is the epipen . what makes this device so special is not the drug , but the ease with which it automatically administers the correct dose without delay . the instructions are right on the side , and even if you do n’t read them , it ’s pretty easy to figure out . pull off the safety cap , put the tip against the thigh , and push . boom . epinephrine delivered . the epipen is n’t new it has been in use since 1977 . research and development costs were recouped long ago . nine years ago , it was bought by the pharmaceutical company mylan , which then began to sell the device . when mylan bought it , epipens cost about $ 57 each . few competitors existed , and for various reasons , that has remained the case . the device actually worked and saved lives . people needed it . mylan raised the price . it also began to raise awareness . unfortunately , epinephrine is inherently unstable . research shows that it degrades pretty quickly over time , and it ’s recommended that epipens be replaced every year . when my friends ask me if they can take an expired pain medication like acetaminophen or ibuprofen , i shrug and nod . if they do n’t get a full dose , it ’s usually not a big deal . but epinephrine is no joke . people in anaphylaxis need a full dose every time . they therefore need to replace all their epipens every year , again and again . kids need them in many places . they need them at home . they need them at school . they need them at camp . they may even want to stash one at grandma ’s house . so people often need to buy quite a few . more revenue for mylan . and it raised the price . then in 2010 , federal guidelines changed to recommend that two epipens be sold in a package instead of one . studies showed that about 10 percent of children who received epinephrine from an epipen needed more than one dose . better to be safe than sorry . additionally , the food and drug administration changed its recommendations to allow for the prescription of epipens for prevention for patients , not just for those with confirmed allergies . mylan stopped selling individual epipens and began to sell only . it also raised the price . in 2013 , the government went further . it passed a law that gave funding preferences for asthma treatment grants to states that maintained an emergency supply of epipens . as the near sole supplier of the devices , mylan stood to make even more money . that year , mylan raised the price again . of course , competition would bring the price down . but it ’s very hard to bring such a device to market . in 2012 , the adrenaclick and twinject were discontinued . in 2013 , sanofi began to sell devices , which even gave audio instructions to walk people though their use . unfortunately , they were found to give potentially improper doses , and were pulled from the shelves about a year ago . teva had hoped to offer a generic version of the epipen , but concerns from the f. d. a. sent it back to the drawing board until at least next year . adamis hoped to offer prefilled syringes , which would still be harder to use than epipens . but it was told by the f. d. a. that much more data would be needed before such a product could be sold . these setbacks , all in the last year , have once again left mylan with a veritable run of the market . it raised the price of epipens again . as of this may , they cost more than $ 600 a pack . since 2004 , after adjusting for inflation , the price of epipens has risen more than 450 percent . an alternative still exists . the adrenaclick , while still not cheap , is back and less expensive than the epipen . some think it ’s harder to use , though . it ’s not on the accepted list for many health insurance plans . more important , few physicians think of it . because of that , they write prescriptions for epipens . since the adrenaclick is not a generic version of the epipen , pharmacists ca n’t substitute one for the other . a prescription for an epipen must be filled with an epipen , regardless of what consumers might want . some people argue that we could still just use syringes and epinephrine for far less money . sure , they would expire every few months . sure , they would be harder to use and likelier to break . sure , they would require training , be hard for the uninitiated to use in an emergency and be more likely to be administered with an incorrect dose . nonetheless , you could argue that they ’re an alternative when the “ cadillac ” epipens are financially out of reach . but those are unsatisfactory arguments . epinephrine is n’t an elective medication . it does n’t last , so people need to purchase the drug repeatedly . there ’s little competition , but there are huge hurdles to enter the market , so a company can raise the price again and again with little pushback . the government encourages the product ’s use , but makes no effort to control its cost . insurance coverage shields some from the expense , allowing higher prices , but leaves those most most exposed to extreme outlays . the poor are the most likely to consider going without because they ca n’t afford it . epipens are a perfect example of a health care nightmare . they ’re also just a typical example of the dysfunction of the american health care system .
+1 man seems to think he helped out with world war two nan man seems to think he helped out with world war two 14 - 11 - 16 a 42-year - old man thinks he had something to do with britain ’s historical military victories . office manager martin bishop frequently expresses pride at how ‘ we’ defeated enemies like the nazis , despite having no military training and not being born at the time . bishop said : “ we showed tyrants like hitler and napoleon who ’s boss , although my ability to fight them personally has been limited by being born in 1974 . “ it ’s in our national character to never give up , like during the battle of britain or when i did that 5 km charity run . “ i may not have been at our wars in person , but i feel i ’m continuing our proud military tradition by watching documentaries about them while having my tea . “ if i ’d been around at the time i ’d definitely have been getting stuck in on d - day or at the battle of agincourt , because i ’m a dab hand at archery on the wii . ” however colleague nikki hollis said : “ when the office went paintballing , martin mostly hid in a wooden fort . “ also i ca n’t see him surviving world war one mentally unscathed because he was totally traumatised by the last episode of blackadder . ” share :
+1 sara walters in reality , julian assange will never be safe anywhere .
+0 the nuclear option - gorsuch hearings begin : democrats ensure long , putrid week on potomac - breitbart charles hurt every few years , the botanical garden down on the national mall proudly boasts its prized “ corpse flower . ” in years when our federal swamp gets hot and icky enough , the plant turns a throbbing purple and blooms . [ like the swollen tongue of a bloated battlefield corpse — pressing at the cuffs , seams and sam brownes — the engorged spadix of the titan arum grows until bursting into a stench that is described as a cross between rotting meat and garbage . the odor is so repellent that it tricks flies into thinking the plant is a decaying corpse , thus its name . this being washington and the seat of your federal government , such a carnival of putrefaction inexplicably attracts people from all around by the thousands to take part in the jolly rotten occasion . so it is with that other periodic event just up the hill . every few years , congress convenes to confirm a nominee to the supreme court and , watch out , here come the flies . this year ’s picnic feast will be neil gorsuch , a highly respected appeals court judge nominated by president trump to replace the late legal titan justice antonin scalia . for decades , these confirmations were fairly basic , straightforward affairs . is the nominee qualified ? criminal background check to make sure he could not be bribed on the bench . does he understand the constitution ? will she faithfully and honestly adhere to the constitution and always apply it with justice and equality ? well , that all changed back in the 1960s when the absurdly named “ liberals ” and “ progressives ” finally realized that the electorate would never buy their crazy authoritarian bunkum . so they decided that the electorate needed to be cut out of the deal . that was when they started stacking the courts with people who flat out reject the notion that the constitution actually means anything . these neanderthals certainly have no intentions whatsoever of upholding the constitution or applying it fairly . this is how you wind up with four justices on the high court who embrace the notion that the constitution means whatever they say it means , including justice sonia sotomayor , who announced her own constitutional credentials as a “ wise latina . ” seriously . and it is how you wind up with a crazy lunatic on the left coast ’s “ 9th circus ” who somehow decides that the rights enshrined in the u. s. constitution extend to foreigners in foreign lands . would n’t it be wonderful if these sleazeballs cared this much about the rights of actual american citizens ? already , democrats in the senate have declared that they have no interest in taking judge gorsuch or his confirmation hearings seriously . “ the high burden of proof that judge gorsuch has to meet is largely a result of the president who nominated him , ” said sen. richard blumenthal , a democrat who was elected to the senate from the ridiculous state of connecticut despite repeatedly lying about fighting in the vietnam war . in other words , according to mr. blumenthal , it ’s all about politics . nothing to do with the constitution . he does n’t like the president , so he will never vote for judge gorsuch ’s confirmation . break out the smelling salts . it ’s gon na be a long , putrid week along the potomac river . • charles hurt can be reached at churt@washingtontimes . com follow him on twitter via @charleshurt .
+1 wikileaks warns it is launching “ phase three ” of its election coverage iron sheik home › politics › wikileaks warns it is launching “ phase three ” of its election coverage wikileaks warns it is launching “ phase three ” of its election coverage 0 shares [ 10/31/16 ] on sunday night , wikileaks enigmatically tweeted that it would launch “ phase 3 of [ its ] us election coverage ” in the coming week . the site put politicians on notice sunday evening in a tweet that also included a plea for donations . “ we commence phase 3 of our us election coverage next week . you can contribute : https://shop.wikileaks.org/donate @wltaskforce ” the whistleblower website announced moments ago . on sunday night , wikileaks enigmatically tweeted that it would launch “ phase 3 of [ its ] us election coverage ” in the coming week . the site put politicians on notice sunday evening in a tweet that also included a plea for donations . “ we commence phase 3 of our us election coverage next week . you can contribute : https://shop.wikileaks.org/donate @wltaskforce ” the whistleblower website announced moments ago . as the hill noted , wiki did not provide information about what the third phase entails or if there are still more revelations to come . as a reminder , wikileaks’ founder julian assange currently finds himself in the ecuador embassy where his internet access has been revoked for the duration of the presidential campaign to avoid the appearance of intervention . wikileaks supporters , now including a number of disgruntled gop nominee donald trump and bernie sanders supporters , promptly replied with tweets expressing hope that phase three would ultimately damage democratic presidential nominee hillary clinton ’s campaign . user “ corruptmedia ” responded with a photoshopped estimating what cnn coverage of clinton being escorted to jail would look like . a new archive of clinton - related documents would further irk a campaign still reeling from fbi director james comey ’s announcement on friday that new emails related to the clinton server probe had been discovered . post navigation
+1 the next 10 years will be ugly for your 401(k ) nan re : largest public pensions face $ 8.4 trillion hole « reply # 47 on : october 18 , 2016 , 11:27:27 am » fell at about the same time morality started falling , takes a strong bond to stand down the attacks of the devil and his dark forces . marriage is a commitment , high on god 's list , one of the goals of the powers that wanna be is to break up families destroy marriage , wipe out true love , all in the name of control . they turned this once great nation into a me first society , totally opposite of god , s commands . we are all seeing and feeling the results . logged rev21:4and god shall wipe away all tears from their eyes ; and there shall be no more death , neither sorrow , nor crying , neither shall there be any more pain : for the former things are passed away . who am i
+1 toby young ‘ far fetched’ say benefit claimants guest october 28 , 2016 a row has broken out over a review of ken loach ’s new film , “ i , daniel blake ” with several benefit claimants refusing to believe that its author , toby young , could possibly have happened . young ’s review in the mail , in which he described loach ’s representation of common dwp practices such as delaying appeals and giving out benefit sanctions for minor errors as “ far fetched ” , was met with anger and incredulity in online forums . however , many of the claimants who were involved in researching the film have simply denied that young was even real . said sarah , 41 , who claims esa for chronic parkinson ’s and has been forced to make several appeals , “ toby young simply does n’t ring true . we ’re meant to believe that he ’s a journalist , but he ’s more of a lefty ’s version of what a daily mail reviewer ought to be like . where is the research , the information ? i ca n’t really believe that journalism ’s that bad , it just is n’t credible . ” jack , 47 , who has been sanctioned twice on jsa , was more forthright : “ this is a fraud . everyone knows that it ’s easy to impersonate a journalist and the idea that this so - called “ toby young ” , if that is what he ’s really called , bears any resemblance to how things are on the ground is simply ludicrous ” . the daily mail have hit back , saying toby young was “ the genuine article ” and that “ if we did n’t give an outlet to marginalised oxbridge graduates with appalling senses of entitlement , then there was a real danger that their voices might be drowned out by the cries of the needy and the vulnerable ” . mental health campaigners have also responded angrily , saying that young was “ clearly delusional ” , needing “ help rather than disbelief ” . the dwp have refused to get involved in the row and , when asked to comment , a spokesman merely spat on the ground and gave me a piecing stare . andyiong
+1 las frases “ off the record ” de suárez durante la entrevista no emitida con victoria prego tomás fuentes las frases “ off the record ” de suárez durante la entrevista no emitida con victoria prego ha confesado que fue él quien colocó a kodro en el barça victoria prego la publicación de una entrevista que el expresidente de españa , adolfo suárez , concedió en 1995 a antena 3 ha revelado que usó una triquiñuela legal para evitar un referéndum sobre la monarquía . esta trascendental información ha eclipsado el resto de declaraciones del documento recuperado , que son tanto o más graves . estos son algunos de los extractos más impactantes de la entrevista . “ había una posibilidad real de que la ciudadanía votara en contra de la casa real . y eso no podía ser , por una razón que no te puedo contar . ( se tapa el micro ) mira , éramos muy colegas . la primera vez que ( ininteligible ) a sofía , fue conmigo ” . “ ¿ hay un maletín mío por ahí ? el gris . el que tiene un revólver dentro ” . “ perdona victoria , hago un paréntesis para aclarar una cosa que no te puedo contar . ( se tapa el micro ) cuando he dicho antes que , cuando el rey le puso ( ininteligible ) a sofía fue conmigo , no me refiero a que lo hiciera conmigo , no sé si me explico … vamos , que yo no ( ininteligible ) . por ahí jamás ( ininteligible ) nadie . sin embargo , el rey ( ininteligible ) . sí , por eso mismo ” . “ mi labor como director general de radiodifusión y televisión se caracterizó por las acertadas decisiones que tomé . a ver , hay algunas cosillas , pero no te las puedo decir . ( se tapa el micro ) lo de iñaki . te habrán llegado voces . esa no es su voz . contratamos a un ventrílocuo , iñaki solo movía los labios ( se tapa la mano que tapa el micro ) por un lado está iñaki y por otro lado está su voz , son cosas distintas ” . “ ¿ hay una riñonera mía , por ahí ? la de cuero . la que tiene una navaja ensangrentada ” . “ fue entonces cuando sugerí la creación de los premios ondas , pero eso es un tema que no quiero tratar . ( se tapa el micro ) ¿ tú quieres uno , victoria ? yo te consigo un ondas . los premios tp no , yo ahí no pinto nada , pero ondas , los que quieras ” . “ la unidad de españa es un tema que me preocupa mucho , y así lo transmití durante mi mandato . diálogo y respeto con todas las comunidades . y no me tires más de la lengua . ( se tapa el micro ) menos con cataluña . es que no puedo con los catalufos … sólo te digo una cosa : yo fui el que les colocó a kodro en el barça ” . “ ¿ esto para qué cadena es ? antena 3 … ah , muy bien , muy bien . tengo muy buena relación con el director de la cadena . ayer mismo tuvimos una conversación que no puedo revelar . ( se tapa el micro ) le dije : pon los simpson a todas horas . a la gente le gusta la gente amarilla . mira los chinos , son muy divertidos . así rellenas horas de programación y todo eso que te ahorras en sueldos ” . “ la televisión debe ofrecer calidad y variedad siempre . siempre . en eso soy tajante . ( se tapa el micro ) ja ja ja , es mentira . acabo de hablar con netflix y les he dicho que no hace falta que pongan pelis nuevas . la gente va a pagar igual ” . “ ¿ hay una mariconera mía , por ahí ? la negra . la que tiene cloroformo dentro ” . “ sí , claro que hay ciertos periódicos que han criticado mi gestión , pero en eso se basa la libertad de expresión . ( se tapa el micro ) a ver lo que publicas , ¿ eh , victoria ? no me hagas llamar otra vez a exuperancia ” . “ el cine español goza de una gran salud , gracias a la creatividad y a la independencia de nuestros directores . de casi todos , claro , pero no quiero dar nombres . ( se tapa el micro ) santiago segura . le dije : haz más torrentes , que a mi sobrino le gustan mucho ” . “ no me gusta hablar de mi vida privada , pero créeme : no tengo nada que ocultar . ( se tapa el micro ) a ver , como a todo el mundo , me gusta divertirme . ( ininteligible ) ¡ deberías llamarte torbe ! ja ja ja ” . “ mi labor era conducir al país a la democracia , siempre desde la ley , claro . cierto es que me tomé algunas licencias , pero no te las puedo explicar . ( se tapa el micro ) lo de felipe . le dije : mi cuñado es encofrador . si quieres cal … ( ininteligible ) eso puede con todo ( ininteligible ) por encima un poco y ya está ” . “ las nuevas tecnologías son el futuro . hay que estar atentos a ver hacia dónde nos llevan . ( se tapa el micro ) ¿ tienes ordenador ? pues adivina de quién fue la idea de que el navegador predeterminado sea internet explorer ( guiña un ojo ) . ” “ amo la democracia por encima de todo . y en eso , nadie me puede cuestionar nada . ( se tapa el micro ) pero bueno , que tuve un buen trabajo durante el franquismo , eso es así . ( ininteligible ) de él sólo se ha contado lo malo . ( ininteligible ) extraordinaria placidez ” . “ me gusta mucho estar al día en temas de informática . me gusta programar páginas web , pero eso pertenece al ámbito privado . ( se tapa el micro ) la web de renfe la he programado yo , enterita . ( ininteligible ) en dos horas la he hecho ( ininteligible ) netscape , claro ” . “ ¿ hay un macuto por ahí ? el beige , el que tiene el aguilucho bordado ” . “ en el 23f tiré de agallas . sabía que si me mostraba débil , el golpe triunfaría . pero es un tema que mejor no remover . ( se tapa el micro ) me oriné encima . si te fijas , cuando tejero forcejea con gutiérrez mellado , se puede ver cómo calvo sotelo me ofrece sus pantalones y nos los intercambiamos ” . “ tejero era un títere , no sabía muy bien qué estaba haciendo allí . aun así , había que tratarle con cautela . sí , charlamos durante el golpe , pero es una conversación que no aporta nada . ( se tapa el micro ) voy y le digo : “ la pistola cuando se saca es pa disparar , el que la saca pa enseñarla es un parguela ” . “ el 23f no estaba preparado por las altas esferas . eso es rotundamente falso . ni yo ni nadie imaginaba qué iba a ocurrir . y zanjemos ya el tema de una vez . ( se tapa el micro ) ahora , una cosa te digo : en los ensayos quedó mejor ” . “ el papel del rey durante el golpe de tejero fue fundamental . fundamental . él salvó españa aquella noche desde zarzuela . pero no estoy autorizado a revelar secretos de estado . ( se tapa el micro ) el mensaje estaba grabado desde el aeropuerto de barajas . parece su despacho , pero es mcdonald ’s de la terminal 1 . en cuanto le dieron la noticia , hizo las maletas con la intención de ir a londres , a casa de sofía . lo divertido es que se olvidó a elena en palacio . de ahí saqué la idea del guión de ‘ solo en casa’ , que posteriormente vendí a hollywood ” . “ odio la corrupción política . jamás , jamás , he usado mi cargo privilegiado para conseguir nada . ( se tapa el micro ) otra cosa es que , en una conversación casual con gente poderosa pues haya dicho que me gustaría que le pusieran mi nombre al aeropuerto de barajas ” . “ ¿ hay un saco de tela mío , por ahí ? el marrón , el que tiene el símbolo del dólar bordado ” .
+0 arianna huffington ’s sleep revolution starts at home - the new york times bob morris arianna huffington was sitting like a very relaxed queen in her soho bedroom on a thronelike bergère chair covered in brocade fortuny fabric . it was time to wind down , 8 p. m. behind her , an embroidered throw pillow announced : “ sleep your way to the top . ” the phrase recalls a ted talk she gave in 2010 , and it is n’t about sex , thank you . it is about sleeping . “ i was making a speech about sleep as a performance enhancer , ” she said . “ as opposed to being lazy or not engaged with life . ” one would n’t think that about one of the most powerful women in the world , the author of 15 books and a founder of a news site that sold to aol for $ 315 million in 2011 . but of all the things on her agenda , which would exhaust most mortals , sleep is at the top . her new book , “ the sleep revolution : transforming your life , one night at a time ” ( harmony ) is a call to bed . it is also inspiring a turbocharged national tour that involves “ sleep fairs ” at colleges and an educational “ takeover ” of a jetblue flight during which she gave out books and answered questions . “ i want to rekindle our romance with sleep , ” said ms. huffington , 65 , in a lullaby voice as soothing as her floral perfume . “ it ’s a central part of life and a gateway to our dreams . ” if sleep is a gateway to her dreams , then her bedroom is the mother ship . it is one of four in a vast apartment she transformed a few years ago with the help of the designer steven gambrel . “ it was a minimalist loft , ” she said . “ but i wanted something that felt more and european . ” to achieve that , she hired mr. gambrel to add walls to break up the space , for which he also designed much of the furniture . peter mucek , the decorative painter , plastered the walls to emulate a golden venetian glow . michael s. smith , who redecorated some rooms in the obama white house and is a friend , suggested that she treat the loft ’s concrete columns with metallic brown paint to give them an ancient bronze feel . mr. smith also designed some leather chairs and an ottoman . her home now has a regal and romantic ambience that seems in perfect keeping with ms. huffington ’s personality . everything in the decidedly bedroom is as carefully considered as a business move . on a bed surrounded with fortuny curtains in a restful light blue , she sleeps on organic cotton sheets from a collection called huffington . the huffington line , carried by a nearby bedding shop , was designed by her daughter isabella huffington , 25 , an artist who shares her home . her pillows are stuffed with soporific hops and barley . across the room are two gordon parks photographs , including the bucolic “ boy with june bug . ” over her night stand is a photograph of her other daughter , christina , now 27 , at isabella ’s christening . “ i call it a joy trigger , ” ms. huffington said , “ and i like having it right by my bed . ” her night stand functions as a kind of altar to morpheus , the greek god of dreams . the books are inspirational , including works by rumi , the persian poet , and marcus aurelius , whom ms. huffington admires because he was a multitasking roman emperor and not easily ruffled . there is a simple alarm clock from pottery barn without any of the pesky digital lights she bans from her bedroom and from her hotel rooms . ( she packs masking tape to obscure their blinking . ) roses and peonies rest in a vase by a journal with a black cover decorated by isabella . next to it is a pen light . “ so if i wake up in the middle of the night , i can write down my dreams without turning on the light , ” she said . dreams , of course , are welcome business ideas , not so much . on a desk and dresser across the room , which she ca n’t reach from her bed , ms. huffington has several china herend rothschild bird bowls to hold such workaday items as and manuscript clips , and a lacquered box for her packed appointment book . “ i hide the whole mess to forget about it , ” she said , lifting and setting down lids like a cook . at bedtime , her phone and electronic devices are relegated to the foyer outside the bedroom , to recharge under a wall of family photographs . withdrawing from her machines , she said , is part of a “ transition to sleep ” ritual that includes writing down the many things she is grateful for dimming the lights taking a warm bath in epsom salts by flickering candlelight and changing into a silk nightgown to greet sleep with respect . “ i used to sleep in the same thing i wore during the day , ” said ms. huffington , whose call to rest came in 2007 , when she fell down from exhaustion and broke her cheekbone . “ it ’s better to have special clothes for sleeping . ” it also helps to have soundproofed windows , which required a complicated and expensive installation process that made her renovated home as quiet as a church . indeed , her cellphone rings with the sound of cathedral chimes . “ i love church bells , do n’t you ? ” she asked in a seductive purr . it was time for a tour of the rest of the apartment . it is one of her two homes and very different from the one she has in california . “ my other house is from the 1920s , in brentwood , in l. a. , ” she said as she swept into her living room . “ when i step out the door there , it ’s into a garden of entirely white flowers , where all i smell is gardenias and it feels like being in the country . here , it ’s children , dogs and people from all over the world on my street when i walk out , and my favorite shops and restaurants . ” her spacious living area — with a custom bookcase , a gilded louis xv desk , gilded bronze and cobalt candelabra and a italian mirror above the fireplace — has the feeling of something between a papal chamber and the oval office . “ is n’t this beautiful ? ” she asks , gesturing to a screen by mr. mucek that hides a small white kitchen area , where she does n’t concern herself with cooking . just the same , ms. huffington loves to hold the many dinners that she does n’t prepare at a faux marble dining table . “ i know how to make a really great cheese plate , ” she said . she makes tea , too . near the front door is a portrait of a woman by françoise gilot , which ms. gilot , who spent 10 years with picasso , gave ms. huffington around the time ms. huffington was writing “ picasso : creator and destroyer , ” published in 1988 . the portrait of her daughters is by nelson shanks , who also painted bill clinton , pope john paul ii and diana , princess of wales . “ but what i love most of all are the works of my daughter isabella , ” she said . as if on cue , isabella emerged from an art studio next to her bedroom . ( christina has her own place . ) the two put their arms around each other . the daughter , as it turns out , also respects a good night ’s sleep . “ even in college , i ’d get nine hours of sleep a night , ” said isabella , who is as tall and graceful as her mother and whose pretty collages have a dark political edge . “ remember when you ’d visit , and my friends were pulling and you ’d lecture them about it ? ” her mother laughed . no need for that at home . it was 10 o’clock , and with a television appearance scheduled for early the next day , time to dim the lights and take the moment seriously . “ my sleep ritual is about to begin , ” ms. huffington said with a beatific smile . she looked to the double doors leading to her bedroom . “ my gateway calls . ” the church bells on her phone were ringing . she ignored them .
+1 can we live in a constant state of love ? gillian leave a reply toni emerson – when we fall in love , our heart becomes full of feel - good qualities that infuse our life with joy and excitement . everything feels light , fresh and more vibrant . we wake up to a brighter day , the air is warmer , the sun is brighter , everything is right with the world . living life through the interactive and colorful kaleidoscope of love is one of the highest human experiences . would n’t it be fantastic to capture this experience and transform it into a permanent state of being ? in my next few articles , we will formulate our unique blueprint to reconnect to our love source and transition from experiences of love which come and go to living love at its fullest moment to moment . love & emotions understanding the difference between love and the many feelings inspired by love is essential in realizing that love is the baseline from which everything else emerges . as human beings , we experience many emotional states under love ’s vast umbrella , yet each one of them fails to convey the totality of what love is . love is not equal to the sum of its parts . it is far more powerful than transient emotions . it is an integral state of being waiting to be rediscovered . each deeply nourishing emotion ushered by love stands on its own merits and offers its own specific gifts . these emotions assist us in reaching our full potential as human being by deepening our interior faculties and also by giving us the human qualities that propel us into action to help others in need and to make our world a better world . love ’s ambassadors love ’s ambassadors enrich our life experience and increase our range of perception . love ’s ambassadors are : compassion , joy , kindness , wisdom , peace , gratitude , equanimity , appreciation , pleasure , acceptance , intimacy , benevolence , grace , generosity , respect , sympathy , among others . all these supreme heart qualities advocate on behalf of love and fall under its vast umbrella , but none of them define what love is . they suggest what love might feel like , they point in the direction of love , but they individually and collectively do not come close to the full spectrum of love ’s power . each heart quality is unique and offers special gifts . for example , appreciation may feel like love but actually represents a recognition of a certain quality . it has a finite characteristic . so does gratitude which has many uplifting vibrations and is essentially the crystal clear awareness and heartfelt acknowledge - ment of life ’s gifts . compassion , love ’s favorite wingman many of these qualities are considered to be divine in nature because they embody the highest human values . wisdom traditions foster these qualities of the heart while making the distinction between love and its ambassadors , most notably between love and compassion . the tender feeling evoked by compassion is considered to be a universal virtue , one we extend towards ourselves but more frequently towards other people ’s suffering . compassion has a global history with various ways of expression , depending on cultural differences , yet it has held throughout times its distinct benevolent meaning and its position as love ’s favorite wingman . one of the buddhist interpretation of compassion is the desire to relieve sentient beings of suffering , while love is the desire to bring happiness to sentient beings . the christian tradition holds universal love to be the principal message of jesus ( the gospels ) , with many direct references of love in the bible , and compassion is viewed as the method for enacting this love as part of our responsibility to alleviate human suffering in the world . in hinduism , all love for others is considered self love as brahma ( universal soul ) manifested in the individual ( atman ) while seva ( selfless service ) is a central theme of life , practical compassion in action and our duty to humanity . love is a state of being “ i ’m not interested in being a “ lover . ” i ’m interested in only being love . ” — ram dass love evokes the largest colony of feelings known to man . nothing else comes close . it commands basic emotions , activates a host of feel good feelings and also has the unique capacity to deactivate negative feelings on contact . the power of love to dissolve negativity can not be underestimated . this power becomes our closest ally in removing the emotional blocks that keep us isolated from our love source . love is not an emotion . happiness , in contrast , is an emotion , and as with any other emotion , it comes and goes depending on the circumstances triggering it . we often make the mistake of reducing love to the level of emotion , thereby diluting its power and settling for small love experiences that indeed come and go . if we become aware of this type of love , its qualities , where it comes from , why it comes up in our lives , we notice that generally the emotion we call love is but a shadow of the deeper state of love which is our essence . love is not sentimentality or even romanticism . those are what we do with love to express its many delicious ways and plays . when love is a state of being , we can actually experience unhappiness and still be rooted in love . we can feel love amidst other emotions . love is the background on which all other emotional scenery go by . these distinctions are sometimes faint , delicate , because they are translated according to the depth of our perception . psychological well - being does not indicate the presence of love , but rather the absence of turmoil , and remains very dependent on the pendulum of life forever swinging from one side to the other , from pleasure to pain . love as a state of being is independent of outside circumstances . so far , we have been used to the smallest indication of what love really is . we have limited love to an intellectual idea or a set of well delineated beliefs . that is hardly satisfying to the soul , is n’t it ? it does not come close to the actual experience of living in a state of love . the absolute difference is to be felt , not just understood . searching for the state of being called love leads us to the ultimate discovery of who we really are and what our purpose is . please join me on this adventure , and in the next articles let ’s recognize together love in a new light and realize that it has been inside of us all along . love is just waiting to be discovered , again . sf source dreamcatcher reality
+0 capitol hill : shots fired outside rayburn building neil w. mccabe multiple reports state gunshots were fired outside the rayburn house office building around 9:30 a. m on wednesday . [ capitol hill police officers with carbines and riot shotguns are patrolling the grounds . other reports say the incident involved a truck driver ramming a police cruiser and trying to escape on foot . abc news reported : u. s. capitol police responded to the area at washington ave and independence ave , which is located near the u. s. botanic garden and the rayburn house office building . the suspect apparently struck a capitol police cruiser and then tried running over several officers who were on foot , according to metro dc police . at some point , capitol police fired shots , but no one was hit . the suspect was apprehended at 3rd and independence ave , and has been taken into custody . no one was hit by the suspect ’s car , police said . shots fired on capital hill . we are locked inside the # rayburn house building . pic . twitter . — cherry street films ( @cherrystfilms ) march 29 , 2017 , # update : suspect in custody after shots fired near us capitol capitol police cruiser struck https : . pic . twitter . — fox 5 dc ( @fox5dc ) march 29 , 2017 , breaking : dc police say a driver struck a capitol police cruiser then tried running over other officers who were on foot . now in custody . — devindwyer ( @devindwyer ) march 29 , 2017 , sounded like shots fired at the capitol . our view from rayburn . pic . twitter . — drew griffin ( @griffdrew4 ) march 29 , 2017 ,
+0 helicopter trip becomes another stumble for mayor de blasio - the new york times j. david goodman and william neuman the grass of a baseball field in prospect park shuddered under the blades of a new york police department helicopter on friday afternoon . dust flew in the air . soon , mayor bill de blasio clambered aboard . in a car , it might have taken 30 minutes or longer for him to make the roughly drive from his old brooklyn stamping grounds to an event in queens . by air , the trip — a fantasy of nearly every new yorker ever caught in traffic on the expressway — was considerably shorter . but the headache it caused mr. de blasio on monday might not have been worth the trip , as a photograph and a video of the copter incongruously parked in the middle of a city park ricocheted around the internet , and reporters waited outside city hall to ask him about it . the attention to his flight presented a situation for mr. de blasio , a democrat who has been criticized for arriving late to events and now finds himself justifying his attempts to arrive on time . the mayor , like his predecessors , has occasionally availed himself of the police department ’s helicopters to get to important events . former mayor michael r. bloomberg , an experienced helicopter pilot , did not hesitate to use city helicopters when necessary , or his own private helicopter . in 2012 , mr. bloomberg , a political independent , was caught using a helipad in midtown manhattan for weekend jaunts during times when it was closed . mr. de blasio , for his part , has been less of a fan . last year he told grace rauh of the news channel ny1 that riding in a helicopter was “ not my thing . ” and in january , he announced a reduction in flights of tourist copters , citing “ the nonstop din of helicopters ” as a “ major issue for new yorkers living near heavily trafficked routes . ” eric f. phillips , the mayor ’s top spokesman , said mr. de blasio had flown to rikers island to jacobi medical center , to be at the bedside of injured firefighters and to hofstra university , for the first presidential debate last month between donald j. trump and hillary clinton , whose campaign mr. de blasio has ardently supported . he traveled by plane to campaign for her in ohio on saturday . in each case , mr. phillips said , the decision to go by helicopter was made by the mayor ’s police detail . he described the flights as “ infrequent , ” and directed questions about the total number of trips to the police department , whose officials declined to provide the data , saying it would have to be requested under the state freedom of information law . “ the security and transportation of the mayor are determined by the n. y. p. d. , ” the department said in a statement attributed to john miller , the deputy commissioner for counterterrorism and intelligence . “ we do not discuss the specifics of security . ” besides saying mr. de blasio had a “ series of meetings , ” city hall officials would not describe the mayor ’s preflight activities in brooklyn , where he regularly travels to go to the gym and also goes for meetings at favorite restaurants in his old neighborhood . his public schedule listed a morning speech and two radio appearances earlier in the day . “ we do n’t detail internal or personal meetings , ” mr. phillips said , raising the possibility that mr. de blasio had been engaged in a personal errand that delayed him enough to necessitate air travel over the expressway . “ he had a series of meetings in brooklyn . ” pressed as to whether the meetings were personal or city business , mr. phillips repeated himself : “ i ’m saying he had a series of meetings in brooklyn , and i ’m declining to make public the details of nonpublic meetings . ” maggie lehrman took video of the helicopter landing in prospect park just before 4:30 p. m. on friday as she walked her son in a stroller near 15th street in park slope . “ i ’ve never seen that before in prospect park i ’ve lived in park slope for a long time , ” she said . “ i do n’t want to judge too harshly . it was definitely unusual . it seemed a little odd . ” the mayor took the helicopter and landed in another city green space , hunters point south park , in long island city , queens , before traveling to a training center in the area for a 6:30 p. m. event hosted by the joint industry board of the electrical industry . the administration ’s explanation that the police detail had made the decision to use the helicopter recalled the mayor ’s response early in his tenure when , after unveiling a traffic safety plan that included lowering of the speed limit on most city roads , his city vehicle was caught speeding . “ i have great respect for n. y. p. d. security training and protocols , ” mr. de blasio said after the incident , pointing to a remark by the commissioner at the time , william j. bratton , who said the detail had been moving with the flow of traffic as it was trained to do . “ i ’m very comfortable with what commissioner bratton said , and i refer you to his comments . ” as the mayor arrived at city hall on monday afternoon — by sport utility vehicle — mr. de blasio was asked about his helicopter trip . he declined to comment .
+1 jay - z and beyonce are members of aleister crowley ’s satanic cult oto noreply@blogger.com ( alexander light ) jay - z and beyonce are members of aleister crowley ’s satanic cult oto celebrities linked to oto include the rapper jay - z , who has repeatedly purloined imagery and quotati ... print email http://humansarefree.com/2016/11/jay-z-and-beyonce-are-members-of.html celebrities linked to oto include the rapper jay - z , who has repeatedly purloined imagery and quotations from crowley ’s work . whether wearing a t - shirt emblazoned with ‘ do what thou wilt’ or hiring rihanna to hold aloft a flaming torch in his music videos ( a reference to the illuminati , an outlawed secret society whose name supposedly derives from lucifer , or ‘ light bringer’ ) , he has given the sect priceless publicity . aleister crowley , who was born into an upper - class british family in 1875 , styled himself as ‘ the great beast 666’ . he was an unabashed occultist who , prior to his death in 1947 , reveled in his infamy as ‘ the wickedest man in the world’ . “ and he was withdrawn from them about a stone ’s cast , and kneeled down , and prayed , saying , father , if thou be willing , remove this cup from me : nevertheless not my will , but thine , be done . ” luke 22:41,42 ( kjv)his form of worship involved sadomasochistic sex rituals with men and women , spells which he claimed could raise malevolent gods and the use of hard drugs , including opium , cocaine , heroin and mescaline . crowley ’s motto — perpetuated by oto ( i.e. ordo templi orientis ) , — was ‘ do what thou wilt ’ ( i.e. do whatever you want ) . and it is this individualistic approach that has led to a lasting fascination among artists and celebrities . led zeppelin ’s jimmy page , for example , routinely took part in occult magical rituals and was so intrigued by crowley he bought his former home , boleskine house , on the shores of loch ness in scotland . and there are now oto lodges scattered around the country , practising the same ceremonial rituals and spreading the word of crowley . sinister : peaches geldof has an ' oto ' tattoo ( left ) which is an acronym for the creepy ordo templi orientis ( dailymail ) jay - z and beyonce are leading the way other celebrities linked to oto include the rapper jay - z , who has repeatedly purloined imagery and quotations from crowley ’s work . whether wearing a t - shirt emblazoned with ‘ do what thou wilt’ or hiring rihanna to hold aloft a flaming torch in his music videos ( a reference to the illuminati , an outlawed secret society whose name supposedly derives from lucifer , or ‘ light bringer’ ) , he has given the sect priceless publicity . bombshell : obama , clinton , podesta , soros , epstein , alefantis — all connected to pedophilia claims by ' podesta emails ' his clothing line , rocawear , is shot through with oto imagery such as the ‘ all seeing eye’ in a triangle , the ‘ eye of horus’ ( an ancient egyptian symbol frequently referenced in occult texts ) and the head of baphomet ( the horned , androgynous idol ofwestern occultism ) . beyoncé knowles admits demon possession by sasha fierce : some conspiracy theorists have seized on this as evidence that he is a member of a secret masonic movement which they believe permeates the highest levels of business and government . others take a more pragmatic view : that it is commercial opportunism , cashing in on impressionable teens’ attraction to the ‘ edginess’ of occult symbolism . yet oto is much more than a marketing opportunity for attention - seeking celebs . it is a living religion , with adherents still practicing occult rituals set out by crowley in his books . this week i tracked down john bonner , 62 , the head of oto in the uk , to his home in east sussex . he told me : ‘ we are not a mass - appeal sort of organization — in the uk we number in our hundreds . worldwide it ’s thousands . hillary clinton gets in formation with jay z and beyonce : celebrities are not always a boon or a benefit . ‘ we are used to being misunderstood . many stories about crowley , like people saying he filed his teeth down into fangs , are nonsense . ‘ you could call us a sex cult in a way , because we recognise , accept and adore the whole process which goes towards making tangible the previously intangible.’ according to adherents of oto it takes years of study before you can begin to understand what the religion is about — much like the equally controversial church of scientology . the former fbi head , ted gunderson , who investigated satanic circles in la , found that crowley ’s teachings about ‘ raising demons to do one ’s bidding’ suggested human sacrifice , preferably of ‘ an intelligent young boy’ . you can read more about ted gunderson 's investigations into satanic cults here . references : nowtheendbegins.com ; dailymail.co.uk dear friends , humansarefree is and will always be free to access and use . if you appreciate my work , please help me continue . stay updated via email newsletter : related
+0 trump delays decision to withdraw from paris climate agreement - breitbart sean moran president donald trump will decide whether to keep the united states in the paris climate agreement after a meeting of leading industrial nations later this month . [ white house press secretary sean spicer told reporters about the new timeline tuesday . “ the president has been meeting with his team for quite a while on this matter , and he will not be making an announcement regarding that agreement until after he returns from the ” spicer said , referring to the group of seven meeting scheduled for may in italy . he continued , “ the reason that he ’s seeking the advice of his team is to get options and then he ’ll pursue the best one . but i ’m not going to tell you which one that he ’s going to do . ” spicer ’s announcement came the same day that a team of white house officials delayed discussions on whether to withdraw from the paris agreement or stay in the global accord . president trump promised to withdraw from the paris agreement during his presidential campaign . senior white house adviser steve bannon and environmental protection agency chief scott pruitt argued against staying in the paris agreement . white house advisers ivanka trump , jared kushner , and secretary of state rex tillerson argue that the united states should remain in the paris accord . the other world leaders will lobby trump to stay in the paris climate agreement at the meeting . the leaders of all the other members — canada , france , germany , italy , japan , and the european union all support the agreement . sean spicer said , “ the president wants to continue to meet with his team … meet with not just the economic piece , but his environmental team , and come to a decision on what ’s the best interests of the united states , using the expertise that surrounds him . ”
+1 beware : communists , socialists and progressives in the u.s. congress ! scott osborn 0 comments our constitution requires us to defend from all enemies , foreign and domestic and that is the message trevor loudon puts forth in “ the enemies within ” “ the enemies within ” exposes the anti - american , socialist , communist and jihadist sympathies of leading figures in the democratic party including bernie sanders , barack obama , and hillary clinton . loudon uncovers the shocking communist connections of many of our elected servants , which explains well why they do not act like servants … and instead like masters . trevor loudon has lived through the horrors of handing the reigns over to communist sympathizers in new zealand . what is happening in the united states scares him . he points out that 100 congressmen and 20 senators could not qualify to obtain a basic security clearance to clean the toilets at any military base in the nation . neither could barack obama . he discusses how many elected officials have close ties to russia , china , cuba and venezuela and even iran and north korea . we have some serious problems in the united stated and as the apostle paul told timothy , they will wax worse and worse if we do not wake up ! “ the enemies within ” is designed to show american voters exactly how modern communism works and how it impacts on your life , every single day . just how do the communists win big on things like obamacare and immigration “ reform , ” which go completely against the wishes of the american people ? ” this has been a “ deliberately engineered attack ” on the united states ! watch the trailer : order your copy now at enemieswithinmovie.com “ the enemies within ” zooms in on the best - kept secret of modern politics . almost no one is aware of the fact that fewer than 20,000 u.s. communists , socialists and extreme “ progressives ” are able to influence the politicians and even write the laws that control the lives of over 300 million americans . this movie is a must have for your library ! order the movie today and share with your friends . how we stop the madness is by shedding the light on the insanity !
+1 florida : taco trucks used to “ lure ” democrat voters to polls admin information liberation october 26 , 2016 video out of florida shows the clinton machine is busing people to the polls and luring them to vote using taco trucks . now we know what the dnc meant when they said they needed more “ taco bowl outreach . ” seiu , which has endorsed hillary clinton , appears to be behind the scam . watch : this article was posted : wednesday , october 26 , 2016 at 6:09 am share this article
+0 breitbart news daily : london - breitbart breitbart news on the monday edition of breitbart news daily , broadcast live on siriusxm patriot channel 125 from 6am to 9am eastern , breitbart senior joel pollak will continue our discussion of the terror attack in london and president donald trump ’s decision to pull out of the paris climate agreement . [ fred fleitz , the senior vice president for policy and programs at the center for security policy and former cia analyst , will discuss the london terror attack . we ’ll also hear from breitbart london ’s oliver lane and chris tomlinson . epa administrator scott pruitt will join us to discuss the decision to withdrawing from the paris climate agreement . veteran pollster pat caddell will also weigh in on the decision and the implications for 2018 . dan gainor of the media research center will discuss kathy griffin playing the victim and bill maher using the . breitbart legal editor ken klukowski will discuss the supreme court expediting the review of trump ’s travel ban . breitbart financial editor john carney will discuss the may jobs numbers and what they mean for the economy going forward . live from london , rome , and jerusalem , breitbart correspondents will provide updates on the latest international news . breitbart news daily is the first live , conservative radio enterprise to air seven days a week . siriusxm vice president for news and talk dave gorab called the show “ the conservative news show of record . ” follow breitbart news on twitter for live updates during the show . listeners may call into the show at : .
+0 as fake news spreads lies , more readers shrug at the truth - the new york times sabrina tavernise ham lake , minn. — one morning last week , larry laughlin , a retired business owner , opened his shiny black dell laptop and scrolled through facebook . most of the posts were ordinary news stories from conservative sites : donald j. trump ’s deal with the carrier company . the political tussle over the recount . but a few items were his guilty pleasures . “ i like this guy , ” said mr. laughlin , looking at a post by the conservative commentator and author mark dice . mr. dice has promoted conspiracy theories that the jade helm military training exercise last year was preparation for martial law and that the sept. 11 attacks were an “ inside job . ” but mr. laughlin likes him for what he said was his humorous political commentary and his sarcastic interviews . “ i just like the satisfaction , ” said mr. laughlin , who started his own business and lives in an affluent twin cities suburb . “ it ’s like a hockey game . everyone ’s got their goons . their goons are pushing our guys around , and it ’s great to see our goons push back . ” the proliferation of fake and hyperpartisan news that has flooded into americans’ laptops and living rooms has prompted a national with liberals across the country asking how a nation of millions could be marching to such a suspect drumbeat . but while some americans may take the stories literally — like the north carolina man who fired his gun in a washington pizzeria on sunday trying to investigate a false story spread online of a ring led by hillary clinton — many do not . the larger problem , experts say , is less extreme but more insidious . fake news , and the proliferation of raw opinion that passes for news , is creating confusion , punching holes in what is true , causing a kind of effect that leaves the reader doubting everything , including real news . that has pushed up the political temperature and increased polarization . no longer burdened with wrestling with the possibility that they might be wrong , people on the right and the left have become more entrenched in their positions , experts say . in interviews , people said they felt more empowered , more attached to their own side and less inclined to listen to the other . polarization is fun , like cheering a goal for the home team . “ there are an alarming number of people who tend to be credulous and form beliefs based on the latest thing they ’ve read , but that ’s not the wider problem , ” said michael lynch , a professor of philosophy at the university of connecticut . “ the wider problem is fake news has the effect of getting people not to believe real things . ” he described the thinking like this : “ there ’s no way for me to know what is objectively true , so we ’ll stick to our guns and our own evidence . we ’ll ignore the facts because nobody knows what ’s really true anyway . ” news that is fake or only marginally real has lurked online — and in supermarket tabloids — for years , but never before has it played such a prominent role in an american election and its aftermath . narrowly defined , “ fake news ” means a story with an intention to deceive , often geared toward getting clicks . but the issue has become a political battering ram , with the left accusing the right of trafficking in disinformation , and the right accusing the left of tarring conservatives as a way to try to censor websites . in the process , the definition of fake news has blurred . “ fake news is subjective , ” mr. laughlin said . “ it depends on who ’s defining it . one man ’s trash is another man ’s treasure . ” for mr. laughlin , conservative sites are a balm for the soul in a liberal world whose narrative of america , he says , seems to diminish him and all that he has accomplished . he was his own legal guardian at 16 , after his mother fled his alcoholic father . he built his metal finishing business from scratch after earning an associate degree from a community college . the company he owned employs about 17 people . he and his wife adopted three children . “ my struggles in life are just dismissed , ” he said , recalling being lectured by one of his children ’s liberal friends at a party in his large home . “ ‘ you have a nice house and got it made because you are a white guy.’ there are all of these preconceived notions that i ’m a racist , idiot , a bigot , and oh , uneducated . ” he feels alienated from the conventional news media for some of the same reasons . “ it ’s like an inside joke for people on the left , and we are the butt of the joke , ” he said of one website . “ at some point , we stopped listening . ” mr. laughlin likes news that strikes back against that . these days , he takes the most pleasure in watching clips strung together by conservative websites of liberal commentators sneering about how ridiculous donald j. trump was as a candidate and how he had no chance at becoming president . “ this is like our sweet release after the election , ” mr. laughlin said . he said the hyperpartisan environment left him craving intense content . “ i ’m picking through the fruit and looking for the reddest apple , ” he said . but mr. laughlin avoids news that looks false , like a story after the election that mr. trump won the popular vote , and said he was careful not to click on such items to deny them advertising revenue . he said he cringed when he heard about the incident in the pizza restaurant . “ it adds to the stereotype that we ’re all nutters , ” he said . “ we ’ll all get lumped together with this guy . ” adding to the confusion is the fact that mr. trump and some members of his team have promoted false items , too , such as that millions of people voted illegally . a similar story had circulated on the site of the conspiracy theorist alex jones some days before . for clayton montgomery , 57 , a retired state department of transportation worker in waynesville , n. c. the numbers may not be precisely right , but the broad outlines rang true . “ all of a sudden they got this big push of registered voters , ” mr. montgomery said , referring to california . “ they were all illegals . the same thing in the state of washington , los angeles and houston , too . ” he said that mr. jones , who has called the sandy hook massacre a hoax , “ can get a little conspiratorial , ” but added that he “ raises some very logical and important questions . ” mr. montgomery has concerns about immigration . he lived for years in south florida , where he had a painting business that was deeply affected by cheap labor from hispanic immigrants . “ they ca n’t say that these people are not taking jobs away from american citizens , ” he said . “ they come up and they lowball . it hurts a lot of people . ” another story online alleged that mexico had a wall along its southern border “ with guard towers , ” mr. montgomery said , to keep “ all these other countries from coming in . ” ( mr. laughlin saw that one , too , but pointed out that the photograph that accompanied the story was from israel . ) mr. montgomery pushed back : “ check it out , it ’s true ! ” mr. montgomery said he was nostalgic for the news of old , when walter cronkite delivered it . but the reputation of the press has been tarnished , he said , and people are left to navigate the fractured landscape on their own . the online content can be frustrating , with headlines that promise more than the story delivers . he noted one with a headline along the lines of “ the wait is over hillary ’s being indicted . ” “ but then you click and there ’s nothing in there about her being indicted , ” mr. montgomery said . “ it ’s almost like looking at a menu in a restaurant . oh , that sounds delicious , it sounds great , and then it ’s this teeny weeny thing you maybe get three bites of . ” fake and hyperpartisan news from the right has been more conspicuous than from the left , but both sides indulge . buzzfeed analyses have found more on the right . some purveyors have said items are more profitable . but the left has its share . the site snopes said it found no evidence for a quotation , often attributed to mr. trump by the left , that republican voters were stupid . that type of insult increases the partisan divide . paul indre , a project manager for a hardware goods company in akron , ohio , who gets his news from podcasts and television , avoids much of online news . but he understands why people go there in a polarized era . mr. indre , a moderate republican , said he remained vigilant against fake news . “ if i ’m in a trump group and someone will share something that ’s fake news , ” he said , “ i ’ll ask them ‘ hey did you check that ? ’ ” but it is often impossible to tell whether “ they are just lobbing a bomb , or do they really believe it ? ” he said . “ you have some folks who are a little naïve , who do n’t follow the news and believe it . i mean , people do buy the national enquirer and believe it . ” “ but some of it might be revenge factor , getting back at something they are hearing from the left , ” he said . “ maybe they are just reacting to something . maybe we are just in this reactionary period . ”
+1 370 economists sign letter urging america not to vote for donald trump jason easley by jason easley 5:03 pm 370 of nation 's top economists have come together to urge the american people not to elect donald trump to be the next president of the united states . 370 of nation ’s top economists have come together to urge the american people not to elect donald trump to be the next president of the united states . in the letter , the economists listed a dozen economic policy reasons why voters should not vote for trump , but it as their conclusion that was stunning , “ he promotes magical thinking and conspiracy theories over sober assessments of feasible economic policy options . donald trump is a dangerous , destructive choice for the country . he misinforms the electorate , degrades trust in public institutions with conspiracy theories , and promotes willful delusion over engagement with reality . if elected , he poses a unique danger to the functioning of democratic and economic institutions , and to the prosperity of the country . for these reasons , we strongly recommend that you do not vote for donald trump . ” trump ’s thoughts on the economy are dangerous to the prosperity of the country . it is n’t just that trump is a person of bad character who lacks any of the human traits that voters should seek in a president . it is also that his policies are nonsense . economists do n’t write these types of letters ever . the economists are n’t discussing partisan politics . they view trump and his ideas as a threat to the american economy . donald trump ’s economic ideas are n’t based in reality . trump is selling a fantasy , and when 370 of the nation ’s top economists warn that a vote for trump is a dangerous choice for the country , voters would be wise to listen .
+1 patriots.bonfire all eyes on electoral delegates . the people know where they live !
+0 cities vow to fight trump on immigration , even if they lose millions - the new york times jennifer medina and jess bidgood los angeles — here in los angeles , where nearly half of the city ’s residents are latino , mayor eric garcetti has vowed to do everything he can to fight widespread deportations of illegal immigrants . in new york , with a large and diverse latino population , mayor bill de blasio has pledged not to cooperate with immigration agents . and mayor rahm emanuel of chicago has declared that it “ will always be a sanctuary city . ” across the nation , officials in sanctuary cities are gearing up to oppose donald j. trump if he follows through on a campaign promise to deport millions of illegal immigrants . they are promising to maintain their policies of limiting local law enforcement cooperation with federal immigration agents . in doing so , municipal officials risk losing millions of dollars in federal assistance for their cities that helps pay for services like fighting crime and running homeless shelters . mr. trump has vowed to block all federal funding for cities where local law enforcement agencies do not cooperate with immigration and customs enforcement agents . but as mr. trump prepares to take office , democratic bastions , including boston , philadelphia and san francisco , have reaffirmed plans to defy the administration and act as a kind of bulwark against mass deportations . “ i like to compare this to conscientious objector status , ” said mayor libby schaaf of oakland , calif. “ we are not going to use our resources to enforce what we believe are unjust immigration laws . ” supporters of tougher immigration policies , however , expect a swift response . dan stein , the president of the federation for american immigration reform , which opposes legalization for unauthorized immigrants , predicted “ a very aggressive , support for using the full power of the federal government to discourage this kind of interference . ” “ these local politicians take it upon themselves to allow people who have been here for a long time to stay here and receive services , ” mr. stein said . “ the trump administration is basically saying , ‘ if you want to accommodate , do n’t expect the rest of us to pay for your services . ’ ” some believe mr. trump could go further than simply pulling federal funding , perhaps fighting such policies in court or even prosecuting city leaders . “ this is uncharted territory in some ways , to see if they ’re just playing chicken , or see if they will relent , ” said jessica vaughan , the director of policy studies at the center for immigration studies , which supports reduced immigration . cities have “ gotten away with this for a long time because the federal government has never attempted to crack down on them , ” ms. vaughan said . the fight could also signal a twist in the struggle over the power of the federal government , as this time liberal cities — rather than conservative states — resist what they see as federal intervention . cities “ may not have the power to give people rights , ” said muzaffar chishti , the director of the migration policy institute ’s office at the new york university school of law . “ but they have a lot of power of resistance , and that ’s what they ’re displaying right now . ” no legal definition of sanctuary cities exists , and many mayors dislike the label , saying it unfairly describes policies that merely stop local law enforcement from acting as immigration deputies . generally , the term refers to jurisdictions that have placed limits on when local law enforcement agencies comply with federal requests to hold undocumented immigrants for detention and turn them over to immigration and customs enforcement . those requests greatly increased after the obama administration extended nationwide an electronic monitoring system by which the fingerprints of every person booked by local or state police are sent to the department of homeland security for checking against immigration databases . more than 500 counties and cities have some kind of policy limiting cooperation with the immigration authorities , according to an estimate from the immigrant legal resource center , an advocacy and legal assistance group in san francisco and washington . the latest fight is beginning to play out much like one that occurred in the when activists in the nation ’s big cities resisted the immigration policies of the reagan administration . central americans had become the subject of fierce political jockeying , and scores of churches opened their doors as sanctuaries to flout the reagan white house . members of churches and synagogues are again offering their houses of worship as sanctuaries for undocumented people fearing deportation , according to groups that work with immigrants and refugees . a network known as the “ sanctuary movement ” was revived in the past few years to take in those at risk of deportation by the obama administration . in oakland , a site of resistance a generation ago , ms. schaaf has no doubt that the community will again marshal its resources to help undocumented immigrants . the city is exploring ways to offer legal services to immigrants . “ we do have many undocumented immigrants , but often these are residents who came to our city as toddlers . they have grown up here and gone to our public schools , ” ms. schaaf said . “ these are not illegal aliens , they are friends’ children , people sitting next to us in our church pews and on the bus . here it feels much more personal . ” oakland stands to lose as much as $ 140 million in federal funding for homeless shelters , meals for the elderly and preschool programs . ms. schaaf has started asking local philanthropists if they will put up money to replace any lost federal funds . “ this is our highest priority as far as our response to this election , ” she said . in the past , conservatives have embraced the notion that state and city officials can assert themselves with immigration laws . one of mr. trump ’s immigration advisers is kris w. kobach , who helped write a law in arizona that allowed the police to question people they detained about immigration status . that provision was upheld by the supreme court . rudolph w. giuliani , an adviser to mr. trump who is expected to join his administration , unsuccessfully sued the government in 1996 , when he was the mayor of new york , over a federal law he said infringed on local protections for undocumented immigrants . the latest clash will be most acutely felt in california , home to an estimated 2 . 3 million of the country ’s 11 million undocumented immigrants . not only does the state allow such immigrants to obtain driver ’s licenses , but it also offers them college tuition and allows them to hold professional licenses to work as lawyers , architects and nurses . a state law passed in 2014 limits counties’ cooperation with federal officials . the policies came under renewed attack last year , after a young woman was shot by an immigrant with a criminal record who lived in the state illegally and had been released by the authorities in san francisco . los angeles , which in 1979 became the first city to specifically bar officers from stopping people to ask about their immigration status , could lose as much as $ 500 million of its $ 9 billion budget . the amount includes money for antiterrorism programs and community health centers . “ taking away funding because our law enforcement will not act as federal agents would not only be irresponsible but immoral , ” mr. garcetti said . “ it would be an unprecedented overreach of federal executive power to take even more of our taxes away . ” mr. de blasio in new york has signaled that he will look for more ways to fight widespread deportations , and the city is directing undocumented immigrants to its free legal services . new york has the country ’s largest municipal identification program and maintains a database of nearly a million people . mr. de blasio has pledged not to give any information from the program to the federal government . melissa keaney , a lawyer at the national immigration law center , said the federal government could not compel states to carry out immigration enforcements . “ anything that tries to coerce a local government is going to be challenged because these agencies are only responsible for local arrests , ” ms. keaney said . “ their responsibility is for carrying out public safety criminal law , and it is not within their responsibility or authority to act as federal agents . ” how much cities can fight off deportations , however , remains unclear . legal experts say that city officials can not bar immigration agents and that it is unlikely that they could declare a physical sanctuary on public property . much of their resistance may lie in simply not cooperating . rick su , a law professor at the university at buffalo who has researched immigration and local government , said that unless mr. trump ratchets up the number and reach of federal immigration agents , “ it is difficult to see how he can achieve the two to three million removals that he has proposed without state and local assistance in identifying and detaining suspected unauthorized immigrants . ” for now , many city leaders are focusing on calming undocumented immigrants’ frayed nerves . jorge elorza , the mayor of providence , r. i. and the son of undocumented guatemalan immigrants who were eventually naturalized , stood behind a lectern one recent evening to reassure about 150 people who had filled a high school cafeteria . “ folks may feel threatened by what they hear , ” mr. elorza told them , addressing the crowd in english and spanish . “ we will protect our communities and our families so they can continue to live their lives free of fear and safe in our communities . ”
+0 anti - travel ban lawyer leans on argument that honor killings are islamic raheem kassam the lawyer representing the state of hawaii in the u. s. court of appeals for the ninth circuit today has stated the collection of data with regards honor killings should be removed from president trump ’s executive order in order to “ pass constitutional muster ” . [ in his arguments , neal katyal stated today that the collection of such data as outlined by the executive order 13780 contravenes the establishment clause , in the first amendment of the constitution of the united states : “ congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion … ” . in doing so , katyal appears to be making the case that honor killings — murder committed in the name of restoring a family ’s dignity following discouraged behaviour within fundamentalist homes — is in itself islamic . it is an argument often made by campaigners , but to hear such arguments made by the political left might surprise some , especially when honor killings are also found — though to a lesser extent — in other religious groups like the sikh community . “ what does [ the president ] have to do to issue an executive order that , in your view , might pass constitutional muster ? ” asked judge paez of the united states court of appeals for the ninth circuit , this afternoon . katyal responded at length , stating : “ i think there ’s two paths that the president could take in order to pass constitutional muster . “ one is the way that our founders thought , article 1 section 8 which , as congress in the driver ’s seat with respect to immigration , passes a statute . as justice alito said , when congress passes a statute it ’s much less likely to discriminate . it is 535 people versus one , which is why his mandel point is so problematic . that ’s number one . “ second thing the president could do , or the kinds of things or some of the kinds , removing some of things that the district court found led an objective observer to say that this this discriminates . “ one example would be , what judge hawkins said , disavowing formally all the stuff said before . but that ’s not it . he could do a lot of things . for example , i ’m going to throw out some examples . i‘m not trying to micro manage the president . he could say , like president bush did , right after september 11th , the face of terror is not the true faith of islam . that ’s not what islam is about . islam is peace . instead , we get , quote , islam hates us . i think islam hates us . “ i think he could point to changed circumstances from december 2015 , when congress debated the exact same evidence that the president relies on in his executive order and say , you know , we actually need more than just denying people entry without a visa , which is what congress required . you need to do more than that . “ it could eliminate the text , which refers to honor killings . there ’s a bunch of different things that could be done . and our fundamental point to you is that presidents do n’t run into establishment clause problems and the reason for that is this is a very limited , you know , in a really unusual case in which you have these public statements by the president . if you affirm the district court there ’s not a thing that any president has done in our lifetime that would be unconstitutional ” . for katyal to advance such an argument may also be detrimental to the public understanding of honor killings in the united states . executive order 13780 mentions honor killings only once , in the section ( 11 ) entitled “ transparency and data collection ” where it states : to be more transparent with the american people and to implement more effectively policies and practices that serve the national interest , the secretary of homeland security , in consultation with the attorney general , shall , consistent with applicable law and national security , collect and make publicly available the following information … … ( iii ) information regarding the number and types of acts of violence against women , including ‘ ‘ honor killings , ’’ in the united states by foreign nationals … katyal ’s other argument — that president trump should go to great lengths to fawn over islam as one of his predecessors , president george w. bush did — could even be said , under hawaii ’s apparent broad interpretation of the establishment clause , to be a violation in and of itself . raheem kassam is the editor in chief of breitbart london and tweets at @raheemkassam
+1 veterans , feeling abandoned , stand by donald trump arnaldo rodgers ‹ › arnaldo rodgers is a trained and educated psychologist . he has worked as a community organizer and activist . veterans , feeling abandoned , stand by donald trump by arnaldo rodgers on november 3 , 2016 veterans by nicholas confessore the roster of retired military officers endorsing hillary clinton in september glittered with decoration and rank . one former general led the american surge in anbar , one of the most violent provinces in iraq . another commanded american - led allied forces battling the taliban in afghanistan . yet another trained the first iraqis to combat islamic insurgents in their own country . but as election day approaches , many veterans are instead turning to donald j. trump , a businessman who avoided the vietnam draft and has boasted of gathering foreign policy wisdom by watching television shows . even as other voters abandon mr. trump , veterans remain among his most loyal supporters , an unlikely connection forged by the widening gulf they feel from other americans . read the full article at www.nytimes.com > > > > related posts : no related posts the views expressed herein are the views of the author exclusively and not necessarily the views of vnn , vnn authors , affiliates , advertisers , sponsors , partners , technicians or the veterans today network and its assigns . notices posted by arnaldo rodgers on november 3 , 2016 , with 0 reads , filed under veterans . you can follow any responses to this entry through the rss 2.0 . you can leave a response or trackback to this entry facebook comments you must be logged in to post a comment login what 's hot
+1 bulgaria : nearly l,000 muslim freeloaders rebel over “ bad food and delays in giving them status to enter western europe ” barenakedislam notify me of follow - up comments by email . notify me of new posts by email . please donate to keep bare naked islam up and running . choose donate for one - time donation or subscribe for monthly donations payment options get all new bni posts / links on twitter subscribe to blog via email enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email . email address
+0 naomie harris : a chameleon on screen and off - the new york times bee shapiro the british actress naomie harris , 40 , might have splashed on the scene as the bond girl moneypenny , but these days she is banking on riskier roles . her turn as a crack addict in the lauded “ moonlight ” earned her supporting actress nods for the critics’ choice awards , screen actors guild awards and the golden globes , on sunday . so , too , her red carpet style will keep you guessing . friend to cutouts , splashy prints , allover sequins , tuxedos and plunging necklines , ms. harris seems determined to avoid being typecast . and the fashion establishment appears to love her chameleonic quality . she sat front row at christian dior and michael kors , and she attended the met gala with burberry . of course , ms. harris does n’t accomplish her sartorial variety on her own . she has been working with nola singer , also a close friend , for the last five years . “ she loves to experiment , ” ms. singer said of their choices . “ it ’s not so serious . if i tell her someone is a new designer , she gets excited . she gets that this is a kind of freedom . that ’s beautiful about her . ” ms. singer , who is based in los angeles , styled many of ms. harris ’s looks over the past year , but the actress also worked with micaela erlanger , lupita nyong’o ’s for her “ collateral beauty ” press tour . with ms. singer , ms. harris has favored simple fitted silhouettes but often lets color do the talking . witness a sequined goldenrod ralph lauren halterneck dress worn to the hollywood foreign press cocktail party in november . “ every actress was at that event , and she really stood out , not because she was trying but because of that color , and because it flattered her figure — her arms ! — without showing too much skin , ” ms. singer said . no triceps dips were needed for the visual statement made by a gucci silver metallic tuxedo at the hollywood film awards the same month . ms. singer said the outfit , with its sharp tailoring and lion embroidered on the back , was a nod to hillary clinton ’s presidential campaign . “ it was about women being empowered , ” she said . though ms. harris knows her way around a pantsuit ( see also a white emanuel ungaro option at variety ’s women of power luncheon , and a white dolce gabbana number worn to the timestalks event for “ moonlight ” ) occasionally she likes to go retro . in the navy carolina herrera ball gown she wore ( with christian louboutin flats ) to the governors awards in november , she was having an old hollywood meets modern practicalities moment . less successful are her quirky moments . an orange gucci minidress with a frilly black neckline that she wore at the british independent film awards and a brown print rodarte with white bust at the “ collateral beauty ” london premiere read on her lithe frame . ms. erlanger ’s choice for the “ collateral beauty ” new york premiere was more on point : a neon floral rosie assoulin dress that ended above the ankle with dick pumps . sure it was december , but what ’s a little chill when an campaign is at stake ? more unexpected picks with ms. erlanger included an offbeat ( perhaps dated ? ) stella mccartney strapless black bodice with sheer skirt design for the critics’ choice awards last month , and a winning gold sequined tunic and pants by monse at the gotham independent film awards in november . and if her predictability is in her unpredictability , ms. harris is throwing another wrench in for awards season . she is going back to ms. singer but adding the new york stylist laura jones , known for her work with alicia keys , to her team . it will be ms. harris ’s first time working with ms. jones .
+1 donald trump ’s hollywood walk of fame star destroyed by vandals howard portnoy print donald trump ’s star took a beating wednesday morning — literally . the reality tv host ’s hollywood walk of fame star was destroyed by a vandal rendering the fixture completely unreadable , according to deadline hollywood . the vandal was dressed in a city construction worker , taking his sledgehammer to the five - point brass star at approximately 5:45 am . the man reportedly said he wanted to remove the souvenir so that it could be auctioned off , with the proceeds set to go toward helping the women who have come forward in recent weeks to accuse trump of sexual assault . the allegations all came out after a 2005 recording surfaced of trump claiming that his “ star ” status allows him to grope and kiss women whenever he wants . while this is the first time a star has been completely defaced , trump ’s has been vandalized at least twice since he announced his presidential run a year and a half ago .
+0 witnesses come forward following facebook livestream gang rape virginia hale a woman who watched in horror at the gang rape broadcast live on facebook sunday morning has told swedish newspaper expressen how she was raped by one of the perpetrators in 2015 . [ watching footage of the attack in uppsala for which three men were arrested sunday , as it unfolded on facebook , the recognised one of the attackers as having raped her 15 months earlier the swedish newspaper reported . “ i had anxiety when i saw him ” the woman recalled , adding , “ when i saw what was happening , i knew exactly how the girl felt . ” the said she was in an apartment with the suspect and three acquaintances when the attack took place . she was taking a shower when the man she identified from the video as having raped her unlocked the bathroom door and attacked . “ i pushed him away several times and said no . i used all my strength to try to push him away , but in the end i gave up and felt it was impossible [ to stop him ] ” she said , describing the man ’s behaviour as “ sick ” . “ i had bruises and scratches all over my body , the throat , and where he squeezed my breasts ” the said , and reported having been badly affected by the attack , following which she required “ urgent psychological care ” . “ i hope he is convicted , this should not happen again ” said the woman , whose own complaint regarding the man reached a dead end when police were unable to prove that what occurred was a crime . “ you have been raped ” one of the men involved in the attack broadcast sunday morning told their victim while laughing , according to witnesses . viewers also reported a gun being drawn in the shocking footage , the livestream of which was only shut off after police arrived on the scene . according to fria tider , the attacker identified by the woman is from iran , and has multiple criminal convictions including for assault , drug offences , and theft . kurdish economist tino sanandaji blasted the media in sweden for hiding the foreign background of the attackers , noting on facebook that “ offenders of foreign origin account for the majority of gang rapes ” . speaking of the attack in uppsala , sanandaji said the government has a responsibility to report all the facts when it comes to serious crime , and slammed its recent decision to block a request for data that would detail links between immigration and crime .
+1 ‘ this is slavery’ : u.s. inmates strike in what activists call one of biggest prison protests in modern history howard portnoy print in his 29 years in prison , david bonner has mopped floors , cooked hot dogs in the cafeteria and , most recently , cut sheets of aluminum into alabama license plates . the last job paid $ 2 a day — enough to buy a bar of soap at the commissary or make a short phone call . “ this is slavery , ” said bonner , who is 51 and serving a life sentence for murder . “ we ’re forced to work these jobs and we get barely anything . ” he was speaking on a mobile phone smuggled into his 8-by-12 foot cell in alabama ’s holman correctional facility , where he and dozens of other inmates were on strike . david bonner , an inmate at alabama ’s holman prison , went on strike from his job last month at a factory on prison grounds where inmates manufacture state license plates . ( alabama dept . of corrections ) they ’re among a growing national movement of prisoners who have staged work stoppages or hunger strikes this fall to protest dismal wages , abusive guards , overcrowding and poor healthcare , among other grievances . prisoners’ rights activists say the coordinated effort is one of the largest prison protests in modern history , drawing in at least 20,000 inmates in at least 24 prisons in 23 states .
+1 a lawyer explains how ariel could have got out of her contract with ursula in the little mermaid poke staff next prev swipe left / right a lawyer explains how ariel could have got out of her contract with ursula in the little mermaid the internet is a wonderful thing , with all kinds of information – case in point , writer and lawyer shon faye has provided this comprehensive account of the legal ways ariel could have annulled her contract with ursula the sea witch in disney ’s the little mermaid . one of the cutest / saddest things i ever did was write out the legal ways ariel could have annulled her contract with ursula the sea witch pic.twitter.com/xyagiuxw5u
+1 part 1 : poverty and crime : " we can hire half the poor to kill the other half . " nan license dmca today , no one is discussing our worst problem , growing poverty . trump proposes law and order and more police in poor neighborhoods . will more police end poverty or make it worse ? how can we understand crime and its solutions without understanding its origins both historically and in terms of system ? this is my attempt to come to terms with the joined evils of poverty and crime and thus form an understanding that leads to real solutions , a topic made off limits in this election . like an infection , poverty and crime will only get worse if ignored . german philosopher hegel ( whom marx turned upside down ) noted the " paradox " of poverty amidst great wealth : " [ d]espite an excess of wealth , civil society is not wealthy enough -- i.e. , its own distinct resources are not sufficient -- to prevent an excess of poverty and the formation of a rabble . " ah , the rabble democracy : mob rule . like aristotle 2000 years earlier , he sees that " poverty is the parent of crime . " lack of wealth , in a society where people are equal , does not create crime ( for it creates no motive for crime ) . if you look out and all live in humble shacks , that 's life . enjoy ! skyscrapers - shanghai17s jimdo page ! license dmca - advertisement - but if you look up from the slums to the mansions of the rich , if you see trump tower looming in the distance , this produces a sense of moral outrage , anger , resentment , a desire to correct things or to do revenge . this hostility to one 's circumstances in life usually leads to crimes against fellow victims of inequality . the reaction to gross inequality is rooted in a moral sense of injustice : this can be misguided into crime against fellow victims .... or harnassed for revolutionary change in which the poor stop killing each other and unite to crush their oppressors , the very people arming them to kill each other . this is the awakening that marx tried to explain . and it is not just a " natural " result of inequality ; it is deliberate , as jay gould said , when asked what to do about the poor rising up , that we can hire half the poor to kill the other half . divide and conquer : a strategy to managing your finances ... license dmca the imperialist logic of divide , conquer ( and loot ) applies not only to foreign conquests but internally , for society is itself a set of populations based on class , from the gates and trumps of the world , to the malnourished children of the poor , not only in bangladesh ( where trump 's clothing is made by slave labor ) but in new york city . - advertisement - hegel formed the justification for the totalitarian state : " the nation state is spirit in its ... actuality ... it is therefore the absolute power on earth . ... the state is the spirit of the people itself . " all the worth which the human being possesses - all spiritual reality , he possesses only through the state . ... for truth is the unity of the universal and subjective will ; and the universal is to be found in the state , in its laws , its universal and rational arrangements . the state is the divine idea as it exists on earth . " " in direct contrast to german philosophy , which descends from heaven to earth , here we ascend from earth to heaven."(860 ) communism never looked so cute - thinglink license dmca marx : marx 's dialectical materialism asserts that history is a process of development through conflict ; not a conflict of ideas , but real conflict between economic classes . " and there is the revolutionary answer to poverty : workers of the world , unite .
+0 for fourth time , baltimore opens a trial in the death of freddie gray - the new york times jess bidgood baltimore — two officers have been acquitted . another had a deadlocked jury . and on thursday , prosecutors in a courtroom here began their fourth attempt to convict a police officer in the fatal arrest of freddie gray , the black man who died of a spinal cord injury he suffered while in police custody last year . this time , the defendant is lt . brian rice , the officer present at mr. gray ’s arrest , who , prosecutors said , knew the rules and “ needlessly risked mr. gray ’s safety and life ” by failing to put a seatbelt on him in a police van that morning . “ because of the decisions that lieutenant rice made , mr. gray is dead , ” said michael schatzow , the chief deputy state ’s attorney for baltimore city , in an opening argument that legal experts said did not introduce significant new details to a narrative that has so far failed to win any convictions . mr. gray ’s death in april 2015 prompted violent protests here and put this city at the center of a national reckoning over race and policing that took on renewed intensity this week after killings of men by police officers in baton rouge , la. and falcon heights , minn. but it is rare that police officers are brought to trial , and even more so to convict them . lieutenant rice ’s trial began with doubts that prosecutors had the evidence to secure convictions against any of the six officers charged in mr. gray ’s death — especially after the acquittal last month of officer caesar r. goodson jr. the driver of the van in which mr. gray broke his neck , who had been charged with murder . on the morning of april 12 , 2015 , as he was walking through a downtrodden section of west baltimore with two friends , mr. gray began running after seeing lieutenant rice . the officer called for assistance to help chase mr. gray , who was arrested and loaded into a transport vehicle as a crowd formed . mr. gray was later found with a broken neck inside the van , after it had made several stops throughout the neighborhood . “ this defendant is not an inexperienced officer who was ignorant of the rules that governed his conduct , ” said mr. schatzow , the prosecutor , who said lieutenant rice was criminally negligent when he helped put a shackled and handcuffed mr. gray into the van at its second stop , but did not put a seatbelt on him , as mr. schatzow said , duty required . “ he knew it , and he ignored it . ” lieutenant rice , 42 , faces charges of involuntary manslaughter , assault , reckless endangerment and misconduct in office . a second charge of misconduct was dropped by prosecutors on thursday morning . chaz ball , a defense lawyer for lieutenant rice , described his client as an veteran of the baltimore police force with an interest in community policing . he cited what he called the “ three cs ” of the case — “ the crowd , the combativeness of mr. gray , and the confined space of the wagon ” — and said that lieutenant rice had acted reasonably . “ the assessment that it was too dangerous to try to force mr. gray into a seatbelt was n’t criminal negligence , ” mr. ball said . “ the evidence , ” he added , “ will show that mr. gray ’s death was a tragic , freak accident nobody could have foreseen . ” lieutenant rice , like officers edward m. nero , who was acquitted in may , and officer goodson , chose to waive his right to a jury trial and place his fate in the hands of judge barry g. williams , once a police prosecutor himself . the judge ruled in officer goodson ’s trial that there was insufficient evidence to show that his failure to place a seatbelt on mr. gray created serious risk to mr. gray ’s life and led to his death . “ i think the state is on notice that they ’re going to have to work pretty hard to show that an officer ’s failure to follow and ensure that someone is buckled in alone is enough to satisfy criminal negligence , ” said david jaros , an associate professor of law at the university of baltimore who has been following the cases . “ and we have n’t heard , in the opening anyway , about how they ’re going to fill that evidence gap , ” mr. jaros added . it was quiet outside the courthouse as defense lawyers concluded their opening arguments , where arthur johnson , a retired steelworker , stood on the sidewalk with a tattered sign reading “ justice for freddie gray . ” a stranger in a white walked by and looked at mr. johnson ’s sign . “ they just had another senseless shooting , ” the man said , and mr. johnson said that he , too , was feeling a sense of dèjá vu . “ i hear it ’s the same old , same old — it ’s going to be the same result , ” mr. johnson said of the proceedings in the courtroom . “ all these people being victimized , and nobody being held accountable . it ’s hard to be optimistic . ”
+1 fbi insider : clinton emails linked to political pedophile sex ring sean adl - tabatabai posted on october 31 , 2016 by sean adl - tabatabai in news , us // 4 comments an fbi source has confirmed that evidence has emerged from the clinton email investigation that a massive child trafficking and pedophile sex ring operates in washington . according to reports , at least 6 members of congress and several leaders from federal agencies are implicated in the pedophile ring , which they say was run directly with the clinton foundation as a front . according to an nypd source , emails found on anthony weiner ’s laptop detail trips made by weiner , bill and hillary clinton on convicted pedophile pal billionaire jeffrey epstein ’s plane ‘ lolitta express ‘ to a place known as “ sex slave island “ . will this be the fatal shot ? nypd talking about child porn ring involvement . this is not confirmed , but would gut dems . # gohillary # cnnsotu pic.twitter.com/ke8ytz4dmh related content
+0 for a perfect catch in seattle , fishmongers go for the halibut - the new york times kirk johnson seattle — the catch of the day has a couple of meanings to mike kirn , who works at pike place fish market . if you ’re talking fork , plate and a nice dill sauce , he puts his money on white king salmon . but when he is trying to catch one in midair , with hundreds of people clustered around to watch — not an unusual amount on a touristy afternoon — halibut , mr. kirn says , is the fish without equal . sure , salmon are sleeker and more beautiful — and they are the money fish at pike place , clocking in at $ 46 or more per pound . they glisten like princelings as they go up and up , hurled 20 feet or more , and then down into the waiting , surprisingly gentle hands of a fishmonger . but the ungainly and lumbering halibut is the real of the market when it takes off to fly . “ it ’s like a big floppy frisbee , ” mr. kirn said . “ the crowd loves to see a halibut . ” fishmongers have been throwing fish for decades in this small shop just off seattle ’s downtown waterfront at pike place market . and for a long time , they have allowed amateurs to try their luck at catching , too . ( vanna white , from tv ’s “ wheel of fortune , ” tried a few times , with eventual success . ) the practice , and the philosophy of fun that came with it , evolved partly through desperation after a failed expansion in the the shop ’s owner , john yokoyama , wrote in 2004 in a book called “ when fish fly . ” “ the only way i was going to go for being world famous was if it did n’t cost me any money , ” mr. yokoyama wrote , with his joseph a. michelli . for here ’s the drill : you stand sideways to the fish ’s flight path , then think of a football , or perhaps a baby — one hand held low , the other high , ready to support the head as the fish comes down . then you hope for the best . new employees said that the learning curve is steep . fish fly at you from the first day on the job . there are no corporate retreats , no training sessions out of the public eye . “ you stand back here and they throw a big fish and you say , ‘ time out , i do n’t want to catch this fish,’ but you ’ve just got to do it , ” said ryan hébert ( pronounced ) 36 , who has worked just more than a year with the company . “ and the more you do it , the more and more you learn , ” he added . mr. kirn , 33 , said the secret of flight is that while the crowd roars at a good catch , especially the but risky the real skill is in the throwing , which hardly anyone notices at all . “ it ’s like a golf swing , you keep your right arm straight , ” said c. j. conrad , 27 , describing the perfect form for tossing . “ then you use your hips . ” a fish does a little flop halfway to its target , then flattens out into an aerodynamic glide , horizontal but with the head slightly up . if all goes well , the final moments are more like a landing than a catch . sliminess is irrelevant . except when it is n’t . “ i picked it up so fast , people did n’t even know , ” said zach swingle , 27 , describing a recent miss . they also keep a “ practice fish ” behind the counter , which gets tossed around for fun , or when business is slow . at day ’s end , a fish that has been thrown too many times looks exactly as you would expect : beaten up by the experience . this fish is then donated to the zoo , where the bears have it for dinner .
+1 codesod : classic wtf : injection proof'd alex papadimoulis founder , the daily wtf it 's thanksgiving , in the us . be thankful you 're not supporting this block of code . --remy “ when a ‘ customer’ of ours needs custom - developed software to suit their business requirements , ” kelly adams writes , “ they can either ‘ buy’ the development services from the it department , or go to an outside vendor . in the latter case , then we ’re supposed to approve that the software meets corporate security guidelines . ” “ most of the time , our ‘ approval’ is treated as a recommendation , and we end up having to install the application anyway . but recently , they actually listened to us and told the vendor to fix the ‘ blatant sql - injection vulnerabilities’ that we discovered . a few weeks later , when it came time for our second review , we noticed the following as their ‘ fix’ . ” internal static string fq(string whichfield ) { string expression = " " ; int num2 = strings . len(whichfield ) ; for ( int i = 1 ; i < = num2 ; i++ ) { string str = strings . mid(whichfield , i , 1 ) ; if ( str = = " ' " ) { str = str + " ' " ; } expression = expression + str ; } return strings . trim ( strings . replace(strings . replace(strings . replace(strings . replace ( strings . replace(strings . replace(strings . replace(strings . replace ( strings . replace(strings . replace(strings . replace(strings . replace ( strings . replace(strings . replace(strings . replace(strings . replace ( strings . replace(strings . replace(strings . replace(strings . replace ( strings . replace(strings . replace(strings . replace(strings . replace ( expression , " xp _ " , " " , 1 , -1 , comparemethod . text ) , " sp _ " , " " , 1 , -1 , comparemethod . text ) , " -- " , " - " , 1 , -1 , comparemethod . binary ) , " alter table " , " " , 1 , -1 , comparemethod . text ) , " drop table " , " " , 1 , -1 , comparemethod . text ) , " create table " , " " , 1 , -1 , comparemethod . text ) , " create database " , " " , 1 , -1 , comparemethod . text ) , " alter table " , " " , 1 , -1 , comparemethod . text ) , " alter column " , " " , 1 , -1 , comparemethod . text ) , " drop column " , " " , 1 , -1 , comparemethod . text ) , " drop database " , " " , 1 , -1 , comparemethod . text ) , " 1=1 " , " " , 1 , -1 , comparemethod . text ) , " union select " , " " , 1 , -1 , comparemethod . text ) , " / * " , " " , 1 , -1 , comparemethod . text ) , " * / " , " " , 1 , -1 , comparemethod . text ) , " boot.ini " , " " , 1 , -1 , comparemethod . text ) , " .. / " , " " , 1 , -1 , comparemethod . text ) , " % 27 " , " " , 1 , -1 , comparemethod . text ) , " ; dir " , " " , 1 , -1 , comparemethod . text ) , " |dir " , " " , 1 , -1 , comparemethod . text ) , " < script " , " " , 1 , -1 , comparemethod . text ) , " < /script > " , " " , 1 , -1 , comparemethod . text ) , " language = javascript " , " " , 1 , -1 , comparemethod . text ) , " language=\"javascript\ " " , " " , 1 , -1 , comparemethod . text ) ) ; } kelly adds , “ of course this time , when we told them the application was still vulnerable so long that a hacker typed ‘ 1 = 1’ instead of ‘ 1=1’ , they told us were beeing too picky , and had us install the application anyway . ” [ advertisement ] manage it infrastructure as code across all environments with puppet . puppet enterprise now offers more control and insight , with role - based access control , activity logging and all - new puppet apps . start your free trial today !
+1 obamacare on the brink charles scaliger as was predicted by opponents from the start , obamacare has begun to implode , owing to high costs brought on by government planners . questions remain : why , and what next ? on monday , october 3 , former president bill clinton , in a series of unexpected and perhaps unscripted comments while stumping on behalf of his wife ’s presidential campaign in flint , michigan , took the political world by surprise when he singled out obama­care for scathing criticism . “ you ’ve got this crazy system where all of a sudden , 25 million more people have health care , and then the people who are out there busting it , sometimes 60 hours a week , wind up with their premiums doubled and their coverage cut in half and it ’s the craziest thing in the world , ” clinton told a crowd of supporters . he added that “ the current system works fine if you ’re eligible for medicaid , if you ’re a lower - income working person , if you ’re already on medicare or if you get enough subsidies on a modest income that you can afford your health care . ” but overall , clinton concluded , obama­care is hurting the very people it was intended to help , pointing out that “ the people getting killed in this deal are the small - business people and individuals who make just a little bit too much to get any of these subsidies . ” during bill clinton ’s own presidency a generation ago , hillary clinton was put in charge of creating a system of socialized medicine ( so - called hillarycare ) , an effort that met with political failure . the clintons have long been ardent public supporters of socialized medicine ( and socialism in general ) . what would prompt bill clinton to attack obamacare during a heated presidential campaign ? have the failings of obama ’s disastrous experiment in socialized medicine become so obvious that even democrats now want to distance themselves from it ? in a word , yes . since its full phase - in earlier in 2016 , the affordable care act has — as its many detractors have been predicting for years — inflicted critical damage on an already creaky healthcare system and ruined healthcare coverage for tens of millions of americans . as clinton noted correctly , the middle class , students , and small - business owners and their employees have borne the brunt of the damage , although no one but the few who can afford to pay out of pocket for healthcare have been unaffected by obamacare . premiums have skyrocketed alongside deductibles and copays , while president obama ’s most quotable promise — that americans who liked their pre - obama­care health coverage could keep it — has been discarded , as millions promptly lost their coverage or endured deep cuts in benefits and soaring costs with their existing coverage . in a word , obamacare has been a scourge on the already troubled american economy , a monumental political and economic mistake that has been a major contributor to our continuing economic malaise , more than eight years after the onset of the great recession . sticker shock one of the concerns that obamacare was supposed to address was rising healthcare premiums , which had outpaced wage increases for years . during the five - year period from 2004 to 2009 , for example , healthcare premiums rose an average of 30 percent , while wages increased by only 12.2 percent . figures such as these buoyed president obama and other supporters of socialized medicine , and were a crucial factor leading to the passage of obamacare in 2010 . yet in the first year after obamacare ’s enactment , premium costs soared by an additional 9.4 percent , and by 2014 , the increase over five years was a whopping additional 28 percent , while wages only grew by 7.8 percent during that same period . while some of the depressed wages were ( and are ) certainly attributable to the great recession and its seemingly never - ending aftermath , it has become embarrassingly clear that obama­care has done nothing to halt the rise in healthcare premium costs . with open enrollment in obamacare slated to begin in november , another , politically far more damaging consequence has dominated the news in recent days : the soaring cost of obamacare premiums in many states . during the last week in october , the election season was roiled by news that the price of obamacare premiums will rise on average 25 percent in 2017 , with many areas experiencing significantly greater price hikes . arizona , which will be among the hardest - hit states , will experience a whopping 116 percent increase in its second - cheapest “ silver plan , ” for which a hypothetical 27-year - old paying $ 196 per month in 2016 will be paying $ 422 in 2017 . the obama administration has tried to downplay this latest round of healthcare sticker shock , with glib assurances that eight out of 10 obamacare beneficiaries will qualify for subsidies under the terms of the now - ironically named affordable care act . aviva aron - dine of the department of health and human services ( hhs ) rushed to assure obamacare customers that the government will cover the difference for most of them : issuers were pricing for a completely new market , one where they could no longer exclude those with the most serious health needs ; many set prices that turned out to be too low .... not only do tax credits bring down the cost of coverage , they adjust dollar for dollar with the cost of the benchmark plan in your area . so even if the cost of benchmark coverage goes up , most consumers will not have to pay more . in other words , the market got pricing wrong at the outset , but now the government , in its omniscience , will fix everything . hhs has indicated that our hypothetical young arizonan in a silver plan will qualify for government subsidies of about $ 280 per month — if his annual income is $ 25,000 or so . if he makes more than $ 30,000 , the subsidy will be much less . left unsaid in all the posturing and spin is how the government is going to pay for all the new healthcare subsidies that the disastrous rise in premium costs has made necessary . the answer , of course , will ultimately be higher taxes , fees , and public debt , coupled with further contractions of benefits . another development unanticipated by the obama administration has been the veritable stampede of healthcare providers and insurers out of obamacare . as early as 2013 , insurance company aetna announced that it was opting out of obamacare in a number of states , including connecticut ( where the corporation is headquartered ) , california , georgia , and maryland . other major insurers , such as blue cross and united health group , have also pulled out of healthcare exchanges in california and elsewhere as the health insurance market continues to contract under centralized control . meanwhile , many of the nation ’s top hospitals and clinics are either opting out of obamacare or being very selective in the policies for which they will accept coverage . with the beginning of open enrollment in november , many markets , such as philadelphia , will be left with only one or two insurance providers participating in obamacare , leaving consumers little or no choice . on average , the number of options available to customers will decline by about a third , with competition declining in all but four states that participate in healthcare.gov ’s exchange . hard - beset arizona is a fairly typical example of the dizzying decline of healthcare options : in the grand canyon state , the number of options available will fall from 65 in 2016 to just four in 2017 . overall , about 21 percent of customers seeking healthcare plans at healthcare.gov will encounter only one option in 2017 — up from two percent in 2016 . meanwhile , health insurance plans nationwide are plagued by ballooning deductibles — the amount the insured must pay out of pocket for healthcare before insurance benefits kick in . once a nominal amount , the post - obamacare deductible has rapidly morphed into a severe financial threat in and of itself . the average deductible for a typical “ bronze ” plan under obamacare is now $ 5,629 , while the average deductible for a “ silver ” plan is $ 2,994 . the lowest deductibles belong to the “ gold ” plans , which average only $ 1,105 — but feature premiums too expensive for most americans to pay . as nathan nascimento recently pointed out in the national review : paying $ 3,000 or $ 5,600 before their insurance kicks in simply is n’t an option for most families in times of emergency . a december 2015 survey by bankrate.com found that 63 percent of americans do n’t have enough savings to cover an unexpected emergency - room visit costing $ 1,000 . a recent report from the new york times put it bluntly : rising out - of - pocket costs have rendered many exchange plans “ all but useless ” for those already struggling to make ends meet . and participation in america ’s brave new world of healthcare is n’t optional ; obama­care also levies hefty tax penalties on americans without health insurance , and has anointed the irs its collection and enforcement arm . the federal government has — so far — been tentative in enforcing the tax penalties for the uninsured . as joseph thorndike , a tax policy analyst , told the new york times , “ it is highly unusual for the federal government to use tax penalties to encourage affirmative behavior . that ’s a hard sell . ” even so , tax penalties assessed by the irs have been rising steadily , in an attempt to browbeat americans into the system . many americans , however , have done the math and prefer , even four years into the obamacare abyss , to pay the annual penalty . one atlanta business consultant in his early fifties told the times that he was seriously considering dropping his obamacare premium , which is costing him $ 1,400 a month this year to cover his family of four . next year , his premiums will go up by 60 percent , whereas the irs penalty will only amount to two months’ worth of premiums . and his story is far from unique . millions of americans are prepared to take the risk of a major medical setback and pay a tax penalty of hundreds or even thousands of dollars rather than be saddled with enormously expensive monthly premiums that pay for policies with deductibles so high that only a catastrophic event would be covered at all . some consumers who buy insurance on the exchanges still feel vulnerable . “ deductibles are so high , ” observes the times , “ that the insurance seems useless . so some think that whether they send hundreds of dollars to the i.r.s. or thousands to an insurance company , they are essentially paying something for nothing . ” for obamacare to even appear to work , it must be able to attract large numbers of healthy , young , low - risk subscribers — yet that is the opposite of what has taken place so far . a large percentage of obama­care subscribers are older and/or in poor health , precisely the customer base that would be most attracted to policies that , though expensive , are still preferable to the alternative of paying tens or hundreds of thousands annually for chronic illnesses and long - term disabilities . for those already insured via employer - based plans , rising premiums and deductibles alongside contracting benefits have become a fact of life . healthcare providers and insurers , hard beset by obamacare ’s many mandates , are trying to save money any way they can , which includes scaling back benefits for all payers . in a word , americans now find themselves in a healthcare morass from which there appears to be no deliverance . if current projections are anywhere near the mark , americans will soon be paying as much or more for government - run healthcare plans than they would have paid by choice before obamacare — except with the inefficiencies inherent to any government - run enterprise added on . moreover , there is every indication that , sooner rather than later , in large swaths of america no insurance provider will participate in obamacare at all . private to public it was n’t supposed to turn out this way . in reassuring voters of the need for his reforms , president obama famously promised tens of millions of americans already satisfied with their healthcare coverage that they would be able to keep their plans if they liked them . we were also assured by a mob of democrats and their media mouthpieces that obamacare could be done cheaply and efficiently , and that it would solve chronic problems with portability , rising costs , and lack of access to quality healthcare for millions of americans . yet not everybody was convinced . all the way back in 1993 , when bill clinton was attempting to pass sweeping healthcare reforms , humorist p. j. o’rourke famously quipped to a gathering at the cato institute : “ if you think health care is expensive now , wait until you see what it costs when it ’s free . ” as events turned out then , hillary clinton and her team of high - paid experts were unable to ram socialized medicine down america ’s collective throat . but president obama was able to enact the long - standing goal of government - run healthcare , and the results have been precisely what o’rourke and many others on the right had warned us to expect . perhaps the only surprise has been the speed of the implosion , but few sober observers doubt that obamacare is in a death spiral , courtesy of the implacable laws of economics . the federal government ’s meddling in the healthcare system began during the second world war , an indirect consequence of wage controls imposed by the federal government . companies were unable to offer competitive wages thanks to fdr ’s wartime socialist measures , but when the war labor board exempted fringe benefits from the wage controls , companies began offering competitive healthcare insurance benefits instead . when the war ended , the wage controls were lifted , but the expectation of employer - provided healthcare remained . president truman tried to pass a voluntary government healthcare program , but the politics of the day did not allow him to make any progress . labor unions , which in general favored programs such as socialist medicine , opted instead to support measures requiring big companies to offer health benefits packages . by 1960 , most large public and private employers offered health insurance , whose benefits typically extended to routine care . and not surprisingly , once average americans were offered government and union - backed benefits packages that incentivized frequent trips to the doctor for checkups , minor colds and injuries , and a range of other elective procedures , prices began to rise with increasing demand . the obamacare crisis is but the latest installment in the slow - motion deterioration of the american healthcare system , a trend that began in the mid-’60s after the passage of lyndon johnson ’s social security amendments of 1965 ( a major component of president johnson ’s “ great society ” initiative ) , which created medicare and medicaid . medicare and medicaid were the first major interventions in the healthcare sector by the federal government , and were the outcome of decades of pressure by the left to emulate countries such as great britain in instituting socialized medicine . with the passage of these two massive new federal programs , healthcare costs began to rise precipitously , and have been rising ever since , with each new government healthcare “ fix ” introducing new distortions and disincentives into the healthcare markets . from 1960 to 2013 , healthcare spending rose from $ 147 per person to $ 9,255 per person , with an average annual increase of 8.1 percent . per capita income over the same period grew by an average of only 5.7 percent . more tellingly , during this same period there was a massive shift in responsibility for coverage of healthcare costs . in 1960 , 77 percent of healthcare costs were covered by private sponsors such as households and businesses , with the other 23 percent covered by government ( a surprisingly high percentage pre - great society , but these figures include all levels of government ) . by 2013 , private sponsors covered only 57 percent , and government the remaining 43 percent . more specifically , the federal government ’s share of healthcare spending rose from 11 percent to 26 percent . the figures tell an interesting story . over the last 50 years , healthcare has morphed from a mostly private to a mostly government enterprise , in terms of where and how the money is being spent , and the history of healthcare legislation since 1965 is a litany of greater and greater federal government involvement in the healthcare sector . in 1973 , congress passed the health maintenance organization act , which mandated that companies with 25 or more employees offer federally certified hmo coverage . hmos were envisaged as a way to streamline and contain already rising healthcare costs , by incentivizing preventive care and healthy lifestyle choices , among other things . but while they were billed as private organizations , their economics were always driven by the federal government , which from the beginning has exercised oversight of hmos via the use of mandates requiring them to produce particular products . but healthcare costs continued to soar , averaging annual increases well above 10 percent throughout the ’70s . and the barrage of new federal regulations continued . the year 1986 saw the passage of the emergency medical treatment and active labor act , whereby the federal government forced hospitals that accept medicare payments to treat any individual seeking medical treatment , regardless of citizenship status or ability to pay . however , the government does not reimburse hospitals for this service , leaving the emergency medical treatment requirements an unfunded mandate that hospitals must pay for by increasing costs elsewhere . in 1996 , congress passed the massive health insurance portability and accountability act ( hipaa ) , which protected health insurance for families and individuals who change jobs or become unemployed . by the late ’90s , such legislation was deemed necessary because healthcare costs had risen so high that one major medical procedure not covered by insurance — let alone treatment for chronic , pre - existing conditions that traditional insurance would not cover — would spell financial ruin for most . but those conditions — a healthcare sector in which those outside the system of employer - provided benefits risked a lifetime of debt for injuries sustained in a car accident , for example — were wholly a creation of government interference in the healthcare sector in the first place , by first incentivizing higher consumer demand than the free market once warranted , and then by systematically mandating a broader range of services , at lower cost , than healthcare providers could possibly provide without taxpayer subsidies or much higher prices for other services . in 2003 , congress passed the medicare prescription drug , improvement , and modernization act ( shortened to mma ) , the largest overhaul of medicare since its inception . and mma did not streamline medicare or defund any part of its provisions . instead , it massively expanded medicare coverage to include prescription drugs — paid for , of course , by government subsidies . the cost of new prescription drugs had been shooting up , due mostly to more and more stringent fda controls and government red tape hindering pharmaceutical r&d. but as it routinely does , government was only too happy to provide a solution ( government - subsidized prescription drug coverage ) for a government - created problem ( exorbitant prices for newer prescription drugs ) . and the consequences have been predictable : prescription drug prices continued to soar , driving medicare costs to icarian altitudes . undeterred , the federal government continued its campaign to solve healthcare costs by creative legislation . the patient safety and quality improvement act followed in 2005 , and the health information technology for economic and clinical health act in 2009 , before president obama ’s mammoth patient protection and affordable care act ( obamacare ) ushered in a new era of truly socialized medicine in the united states in 2010 . “ single payer ” but even the affordable care act is not what left - wing radicals have been seeking for almost a century . the real goal is an innocuously named “ single payer ” system — in essence , a system in which the government pays for everybody ’s healthcare , such as healthcare systems in canada , great britain , and many other wealthy countries . such a system converts healthcare into a wholly public enterprise — and gives the state total authority over matters of life and death , including abortion and euthanasia . fully socialized medicine has always been near the top of every socialist ’s wish list , because it gives the state full control over the health of its citizens . it has been suggested , with some plausibility , that obamacare was a ruse , programmed to fail so that americans would more readily accept single - payer healthcare as a solution . whether or not the spectacular failures of obamacare were anticipated by its creators , the left is already touting a single - payer system as the solution . robert reich , ultra - liberal harvard professor and secretary of labor under president clinton , is strongly supportive of a single - payer system . in an august article entitled “ why a single - payer health care system is inevitable , ” reich caricatured the insurance industry , insisting that “ the problem is n’t obamacare per se . it lies in the structure of the private markets for health insurance — which creates powerful incentives to avoid sick people and attract healthy ones . ” this , of course , is the only rational way that the health insurance industry can work . insurance companies , like all businesses , need to turn a profit , which means attracting more people who will pay more into the insurance pool than the sick and injured will withdraw from it . but then reich , and liberals in general , are viscerally opposed to profit - taking ( which they usually style “ profiteering ” ) . they have no moral qualms , on the other hand , with using the power of the state to extract ever more taxpayer money to fund utopian projects such as single - payer healthcare systems that , over time , drain treasuries and degrade the quality of the healthcare they are supposed to improve . obamacare ’s chief architect , mit professor jonathan gruber , has argued at various times that , whether the affordable care act succeeds or fails , a single - payer system is the final goal . in a candid discussion aired on cspan , gruber indicated that if the aca “ does n’t work , then we ’ll have to revisit single payer . this bill is the last , best hope for private insurance . ” but at a forum at harvard university , gruber disingenuously tried to explode the “ fallacy ” that “ if obamacare fails , then next we ’ll go to single payer . ” instead , he suggested , the eventuality of a single - payer system depends on the success of obama­care , stating emphatically that “ if you like single payer , then obamacare has to succeed . ” in other words , heads we win , tails you lose ; no matter what happens with obamacare , america will have a single - payer system . one big surprise for the promoters of a single - payer system has been the speed with which obamacare has unraveled . another surprise has been the election of gop presidential candidate donald trump , who has promised to repeal obamacare , and the defeat of hillary clinton , who was expected to continue and build upon obamacare . instead of having a decade or so to plan a smooth transition into fully centralized government - run healthcare , president obama and his liberal backers in washington not only face ferocious opposition to obamacare , but the republicans — having retained majority control of both houses of congress as well as capturing the white house — are now well positioned to scuttle obamacare , if that is what they truly intend to do . but will trump as well as congressional republicans who promised to get rid of obamacare actually do so ? and will they work to replace it with free - market healthcare as opposed to a gop variant of socialized medicine — obamacare - lite , perhaps ? of course , there is no doubt that proponents of single - payer healthcare are not going to give up , even if they are forced to take a temporary step back before advancing their agenda once again . they want full - blown socialized medicine in the united states , and they will eventually get it , unless principled opposition , coupled with a fuller understanding among the voting public of the folly of socialized medicine under any label , forces them into a complete rout . ( a version of this article , written prior to the november 8 elections , appeared in the print edition of the new american . ) please review our comment policy before posting a comment thank you for joining the discussion at the new american . we value our readers and encourage their participation , but in order to ensure a positive experience for our readership , we have a few guidelines for commenting on articles . if your post does not follow our policy , it will be deleted . no profanity , racial slurs , direct threats , or threatening language . no product advertisements . please post comments in english . please keep your comments on topic with the article . if you wish to comment on another subject , you may search for a relevant article and join or start a discussion there .
+1 the political songs of leonard cohen kevin gosztola it was rare for poet and singer - songwriter leonard cohen to venture into the realm of politics , however , quite a few of his songs , including some of his love songs , were infused with a bleakness that confronted morality and the darkness of humanity . he also wrote a song of hope and possibility about the experiment of democracy in the united states that , perhaps , takes on a new kind of resonance in the wake of the election of donald trump . cohen was asked in 2014 if songs can offer solutions to political problems . he replied , “ i think the song itself is a kind of solution . ” and so , to pay tribute to a troubadour who died at 82 and whose artistic work only seemed to get better as he aged and his voice grew deeper , here is a retrospective on some of the more philosophical and sociopolitical songs he composed . “ joan of arc ” ( 1971 ) cohen declared in an interview for rolling stone in 1971 , “ women are really strong . you notice how strong they are ? well , let them take over . let us be what we ’re supposed to be – gossips , musicians , wrestlers . the premise being , there can be no free men unless there are free women . ” he believed it was just for women to gain control of the world . with that context , this elegiac narrative takes on greater gravitas . it consists of a dialogue between joan of arc and the fire , as she is burnt at the stake . the women ’s movement was flourishing at the time , and cohen saw joan of arc as a symbol of courage . yet , he also recognized she may have been lonely because she had to disguise herself as a male soldier , and he imagined what it was like to fight english domination of france and in her final moments face down the fact that she would never return to what could be considered an ordinary life . “ dance me to the end of love ” ( 1984 ) during a cbc radio interview in 1995 , cohen said the song came from “ hearing and reading or knowing that in the death camps ” during the holocaust “ beside the crematoria ” the string quartet would be “ pressed into performance ” while “ this horror ” unfolded . cohen sings in the opening , “ dance me to your beauty with a burning violin . dance me through the panic ’til i ’m gathered safely in . lift me like an olive branch and be my homeward dove . ” the song represents an embrace of passionate acts in the face of atrocities and death . “ if it be your will ” ( 1984 ) this is a truly grim song in which cohen is probably using the specter of a benevolent oppressor or fascism as a metaphor for the next stage of a relationship . and yet , the lyrics are subtle enough that cohen may be addressing morality and how easy it is to convince men to carry out heinous acts . he sings , “ all your children here in their rags of light / in our rags of light / all dressed to kill / and end this night / if it be your will . ” “ first we take manhattan ” ( 1987 ) the song is about terrorism or militant extremism . it is told from the perspective of an individual who tried to work within the system in order to change it . that failed . now the individual has taken solace in the “ beauty of his weapons ” and turned to manhattan and to berlin to make his or her mark . in a 2007 interview for xm radio , he said , “ there ’s something about terrorism that i ’ve always admired . the fact that there are no alibis or no compromises . that position is always very attractive . i do n’t like it when it ’s manifested on the physical plane . i do n’t really enjoy the terrorist activities , but psychic terrorism . i remember there was a great poem by irving layton that i once read , i ’ll give you a paraphrase of it . it was ‘ well , you guys blow up an occasional airline and kill a few children here and there’ , he says . ‘ but our terrorists , jesus , freud , marx , einstein . the whole world is still quaking . ' ” what cohen meant , albeit in a very cynical way , is the philosophies of these people have such a history of being used to justify horrible acts . he never engages with the subject fully ( and probably never wanted to do so ) , but cohen ’s song clearly approaches the issue of state - sponsored political violence versus political violence of the individual . “ everybody knows ” ( 1988 ) it is one of the most well - known songs he ever recorded . the wry cynicism diagnoses the realities of a cruel world . in the neoliberal age of austerity , the opening lyrics are exceptionally appropriate , “ everybody knows that the dice are loaded . everybody rolls with their fingers crossed . everybody knows that the war is over . everybody knows the good guys lost . everybody knows the fight was fixed . the poor stay poor , the rich get rich . that ’s how it goes . everybody knows . ” cohen sings , “ everybody knows that you ’re in trouble . ” those in charge of the social order are indifferent to the pain and suffering of the masses . but are the owners and politicians capable of maintaining control ? because everybody also knows that it is coming apart . “ democracy ( 1990 ) cohen described in an interview with paul zollo that he wrote the song after the berlin wall came down . “ everyone was saying democracy is coming to the east , and i was like that gloomy fellow who always turns up at a party to ruin the orgy or something . and i said , ‘ i do n’t think it ’s going to happen that way . i do n’t think this is such a good idea . i think a lot of suffering will be the consequence of this wall coming down . ' ” that seems strikingly backward . but it motivated cohen to ask , “ where is democracy really coming ? ” he thought there may be more democracy coming to the united states . from a love of america , he wrote a song that is really about the irony of america , “ a song of deep intimacy and affirmation of the experiment of democracy in this country . ” he added , “ this is really where the experiment is unfolding . this is really where the races confront one another , where the classes , where the genders , where even the sexual orientations confront one another . this is the real laboratory of democracy . ” given the american exceptionalism of cohen ’s statement , he could have easily produced something with lyrics lee greenwood would have proudly belted out on stage . however , each time cohen sings , “ democracy is coming to the usa , ” there is a raw irony it , like he does not believe the forces running this nation are capable of democracy . then , there ’s the inimitable line , “ i ’m sentimental , if you know what i mean . i love the country but i ca n’t stand the scene . ” it makes it clear cohen was a disappointed idealist . like so many , he liked the idea of america but seeing it play out on that “ hopeless little screen ” was never quite what he had in mind . “ the future ” ( 1990 ) for this song , cohen ’s character looks into the future , and it is not good at all . it is so frightening , in fact , that he thinks he would be willing to see fascist society restored . “ give me back the berlin wall . give me stalin and st paul . give me christ or give me hiroshima . ” the song hurdles onward into more nostalgia for familiar horror , “ destroy another fetus now . we do n’t like children anyhow . i ’ve seen the future , baby : it is murder . ” he has no hope that humanity can right itself . civilization can try and erect a social order with a tyrant or it can unravel tyranny and push for something more just . yet , inevitably , to cohen ’s character , there will be murder . in which case , what really is the right thing to do ? “ on that day ” ( 2004 ) cohen wrote this as a response to the september 11th attacks . it is an artifact that represents reactions to what happened . he sings , “ some people say it ’s what we deserve for sins against god , for crimes in the world . ” there are others who blame it on the fact that women live “ unveiled ” or because the country has its fortunes as well as people who are subjugated . whatever the case may be , cohen does not seek to settle the discussion . rather , he seems more interested in whether those who survived were able to press onward . so he poses a rhetorical question : “ did you go crazy or did you report on that day ? ” then the song abruptly ends . “ amen ” ( 2012 ) this song comes from the latter era of cohen ’s life , where the sultry nature of his music took on a much more wistful and brooding characteristic . he wrote about love but love in a time of war or love with inescapable horror all around . in “ amen , ” the character cohen channels desperately wants to love . he must first see through the terror around him . he does not think he can love until the “ victims are singing and laws of remorse are restored . ” he does not think he can love until the “ day has been ransomed and night has no right to begin . ” he awaits some kind of redemption and only then will he be able to feel wanted again , but there is too much despair and destruction right now for the character to indulge in pleasure . “ almost like the blues ” ( 2014 ) we live in a world of permanent war , and so , in this gorgeously layered piece of music , cohen grapples with atrocities he witnessed . “ i saw some people starving . there was murder , there was rape . their villages were burning . they were trying to escape . i could n’t meet their glances . i was staring at my shoes . it was acid . it was tragic . it was almost like the blues . ” few of cohen ’s songs are as profound . the song , which appears on “ popular problems , ” could easily be grappling with what goes through the minds of war criminals . he sings , “ i have to die a little between each murderous thought , and when i ’m finished thinking , i have to die a lot . ” the soldier witnesses torture or is party to it . he witnesses killing or is party to it . “ and there ’s all my bad reviews . ” it seems his superiors are unhappy with his performance . maybe , they do not think he is killing enough . whatever the case may be , he has lost his grip on morality entirely and finds himself confronting the scope of his sins . “ a street ” ( 2014 ) to cohen , “ popular problems ” was all about dealing with defeat . he told the telegraph the lyrics were about facing down failure , disappointment , bewilderment — especially the “ dark forces that modify our lives . ” what is a person to do ? “ recognize that your struggle and your suffering is the same as everyone else ’s , ” cohen suggested . “ i think that ’s the beginning of a responsible life . otherwise , we are in a continual savage battle with each other with no possible solution , political , social , or spiritual . ” while referring to “ a street , ” which is about a faltering romance during war , he added , “ when i say ‘ the party ’s over but i ’ve landed on my feet . i ’m standing on this corner where there used to be a street,’ i think that ’s probably the theme of the whole album . yeah , the scene is blown up , but you just ca n’t keep lamenting the fact . there is another position . you have to stand in that place where there used to be a street and conduct yourself as if there still is a street . ” in a very basic sense , the master of romantic despair , the high priest of pathos , has now gone up to that tower of song , meant people have to find ways to keep living . they have to exist , and by existing , that is in and of itself an act of resistance to all the depravity that unfolds around them . the post the political songs of leonard cohen appeared first on shadowproof .
+1 they ’re working : anti - trump protests send trump into humiliating twitter rage spiral shannon barber donald trump has a twitter problem . he has so little self - control when it comes to his chosen form of communication that in the final days of his presidential run , trump ’s team actually took control of his twitter account away from him . well , it seems that now that the election is over , trump is back in control of that account , and he will be the president of out of control tweets . as everyone knows by now , trump ’s new position as president - elect has sparked nationwide protests by people who are standing against the hate and bigotry that trump represents . in nyc alone , a massive peaceful protest broke out , filling the streets with people who wanted to make a statement : donald trump ’s bigotry does not represent all americans . wow ! # notmypresident protest in nyc right now . pic.twitter.com/ry7alhqfih — maddow blog ( @maddowblog ) november 10 , 2016 notoriously thin - skinned , the moment trump got his twitter account back , he let loose in a rage for the ages , accusing the protesters of being paid to do what they are doing , and of being incited by a biased media . here is a screenshot of that tweet , just in case someone around him decides it would be wise to delete it : so , in other words , trump has once again showed america how temperamentally unfit he is to be president . if people exercising their first amendment rights in protesting him and his policies provokes this kind of reaction , what will he do with the nuclear codes and the power of the presidency at his disposal ? what will he do when a foreign leader insults him , or stands up to him or disagrees with him ? we should all be terrified at the thought of such a situation . twitter reacted with mockery as well as horror : — derek faraci ( @wh_woolhat ) november 11 , 2016 this is at the moment of his peak validation and respect . what happens when he suffers actual setbacks ? like every leader in history ? https://t.co/hutz8zu5tv — benjy sarlin ( @benjysarlin ) november 11 , 2016 if you ca n't handle some protesters how are you ever gon na stand up to vladimir pyou know what nevermind https://t.co/mxksoxczoi — dan amira ( @danamira ) november 11 , 2016 four years of this . why is he tweeting ? why is he crying on twitter after winning ? why ? pic.twitter.com/90lcm4b4ic — vic berger iv ( @vicbergeriv ) november 11 , 2016 donald trump is unhinged , and he keeps proving it . no matter how “ presidential ” or “ gracious ” he may have seemed during his meeting with president obama or during his victory speech , do not be fooled . make no mistake – this man is a hot - head and a loose cannon , and the 59 million suckers in america just made him the most powerful man in the world . featured image via spencer platt / getty images share this article !
+0 immigration expert krikorian : white house ’surrender’ on budget deal is ’betraying people who supported’ trump dan riehl mark krikorian , executive director , center for immigration studies spoke with breitbart news daily siriusxm host alex marlow on wednesday regarding the recent budget deal , which lacks border wall funding . [ asked what he thought of the border security issue as addressed by the budget deal , krikorian said , “ i think it was a surrender on the part of the president . there ’s a good reason that schumer and pelosi are crowing about how they won on this because they did . ” while discussing the immigration issue in depth , added krikorian , “ there is the sense that in a lot of ways on immigration , the white house is now betraying people who supported him . ” breitbart news daily airs on siriusxm patriot 125 weekdays from 6:00 a. m. to 9:00 a. m. eastern .
+1 russian minister suspended over bribe not entered in corruption register . more soon . guest posted : nov 15th , 2016 by guest click for more article by guest .. more stories about : ticker
+1 angry dems get blame - y as fbi probe resumes – but not against hillary j.e. dyer print [ ed . – how do they go through all this hair - tearing , the sackcloth and ashes , and not question the quality of their candidate — or their choice to run her ? ] [ clinton ’s allies ] said they were “ dumbfounded ” by the revelation that the new fbi review may have been spurred by a separate investigation into anthony weiner sending lewd texts to a minor . weiner is separated from wife huma abedin , one of clinton ’s closest aides . and they worried that clinton ’s unconventional email arrangement had finally caught up to her and might imperil her presidential bid less than two weeks before election day . “ i ’m livid , actually , ” one clinton surrogate told the hill . “ this has turned into malpractice . it ’s an unforced error at this point . i have no idea what comey is up to but the idea this email issue is popping back up again is outrageous . it never should have occurred in the first place . someone somewhere should have told her no . and they did n’t and now we ’re all paying the price . ” another ally called the campaign ’s mood something akin to “ paralysis , ” and blamed weiner ’s behavior for railroading the campaign . one strategist said the developments would further cement the notion that clinton has something to hide . “ it ’s made people think there ’s always going to be something around the clintons , some investigation , some inquiry , ” the strategist said . “ it never goes away . ”
+0 how to plan a family reunion - the new york times shivani vora they are supposed to be memorable and a chance to reconnect with your loved ones , but family reunions need careful planning to pull off successfully , according to jeanne pena , the family reunions manager at mohonk mountain house , a resort in new paltz , n. y. that hosts more than 150 family reunions a year . “ there are a lot of little pieces involved in making sure that this important occasion goes smoothly , ” she said . here , ms. pena ’s advice for having a family reunion you ’ll remember for all the right reasons . set the date far in advance getting a large group of family together takes a lot of coordination , and it is best to start planning the trip at least a year in advance so everyone can save the dates and book flights and accommodations . as you get closer to the date , availability will become slim , and prices will go up . ms. pena said to be firm about sticking to a date once it has been chosen . “ you want to accommodate as many people as possible , but you ’re unlikely to find a time that works for everyone , ” she said . consider a house rental homes offer many benefits for family reunions , including multiple private bedrooms , fully equipped kitchens and communal living and outdoor spaces where everyone can gather . look for rentals on airbnb . com , homeaway . com or vrbo . com , or seek out resorts that have private residences these options give you the space and privacy of a home along with the services of a resort such as daily housekeeping and access to a pool , spa and other amenities . mohonk , for example , recently opened grove lodge , a residence that was built with family reunions in mind . pick a destination with activities ms. pena says it ’s important to find a destination where all generations of your family can have a good time with a variety of activity options . “ you want a hotel or home that offers or is near a golf course , a pool , a spa , a lake where you can go swimming or fishing , hiking trails , bike rentals and more , ” she said . for hotels suited to family reunions , she suggested the cloister in sea island , ga. teton mountain lodge spa in teton village , wyo . and grand hotel in mackinac island , mich. plan a themed event the purpose of a reunion is to spend time with your family , but ms. pena said that in many instances , people tend to go their separate ways to participate in their favorite activities and get little time together as a group . she suggested designating one afternoon or evening of your reunion for a fun collective event such as a mexican fiesta with a mariachi band , a barbecue with rodeo music , or a dance party of oldies tunes . “ in my experience , parties where everyone in the family gathers together are the highlight of the reunion , ” she said .
+1 we have so many questions about this charity shop find … sausage machine next prev swipe left / right we have so many questions about this charity shop find … anita singh over on twitter writes , “ can the person who donated this to my local charity shop please come forward . i need answers ” but the question is : what is that sticker hiding ? “ think it might be chilled ripe mango . i ’m picturing him in a straw hat and bermuda shorts ” , writes anita singh . although @theeponymousbob has a different theory :
+0 trump revives keystone pipeline rejected by obama - the new york times peter baker and coral davenport washington — president trump sharply changed the federal government ’s approach to the environment on tuesday as he cleared the way for two major oil pipelines that had been blocked , and set in motion a plan to curb regulations that slow other building projects . in his latest moves to dismantle the legacy of his predecessor , mr. trump resurrected the keystone xl pipeline that had stirred years of debate , and expedited another pipeline in the dakotas that had become a major flash point for native americans . he also signed a directive ordering an end to protracted environmental reviews . “ i am , to a large extent , an environmentalist , i believe in it , ” mr. trump said during a meeting with auto industry executives . “ but it ’s out of control , and we ’re going to make it a very short process . and we ’re going to either give you your permits , or we ’re not going to give you your permits . but you ’re going to know very quickly . and generally speaking , we ’re going to be giving you your permits . ” the decisions expanded an effort to unravel much of the policy structure left by former president barack obama , who made fighting climate change a central priority . just a day earlier , mr. trump formally abandoned the partnership , an ambitious trade pact negotiated by mr. obama . in his opening days in office , mr. trump has also modified or reversed mr. obama ’s policies on health care , abortion and housing while ordering a freeze of any pending regulations left behind by the former administration . the pipelines were more about symbol than substance but generated enormous passion on both sides of the debate . mr. obama rejected the proposed keystone pipeline in 2015 , arguing that it would undercut american leadership in curbing the reliance on carbon energy . the army sidetracked the dakota access pipeline in north dakota last month in the waning days of the obama administration . environmental activists quickly denounced mr. trump ’s decisions . “ donald trump has been in office for four days , and he ’s already proving to be the dangerous threat to our climate we feared he would be , ” said michael brune , the executive director of the sierra club . mr. trump made clear on the campaign trail that he saw mr. obama ’s environmental policies as a threat to the economy and dismissed climate change as a hoax perpetrated by china . myron ebell , a climate change denier who headed mr. trump ’s environmental protection agency transition team , has drafted a blueprint for how he could eliminate mr. obama ’s climate change policies . “ it is designed to implement all of the president ’s campaign trail promises — every single one , ” mr. ebell said this week in an interview . mr. trump ’s biggest target may be emission rules that would force the closing of hundreds of power plants meant to be replaced by wind and solar power . but they are caught up in court battles that could run for months or years . by contrast , he could more quickly soften mr. obama ’s rules requiring tougher vehicle emission standards . mr. trump met on tuesday with executives of major american automakers , who complained that before leaving office , mr. obama finalized an ambitious e. p. a. rule requiring that vehicles average 54 . 5 miles per gallon by 2026 . mr. trump said he would help with burdensome regulations , but offered no specifics . mr. trump could lift a moratorium instituted last year by mr. obama on new coal mining leases on public lands . as soon as next month , the congress may pass legislation undoing mr. obama ’s regulations on the practice of coal mining and on leaks of methane emissions from oil and gas drilling rigs . in the meantime , the keystone and dakota pipelines provided mr. trump with visible ways to demonstrate action . as proposed by transcanada , an alberta firm , keystone would carry 800 , 000 barrels a day from the canadian oil sands to the gulf coast . republicans and some democrats said that it would create jobs and expand energy resources , while environmentalists said it would encourage a form of oil extraction that produces more gases that warm the planet than normal petroleum . studies showed that the pipeline would not have a momentous effect on jobs or the environment , but both sides made it into a symbolic test case . the state department estimated that keystone would support 42 , 000 temporary jobs for two years — about 3 , 900 of them in construction and the rest through indirect support , like food service — but only 35 permanent jobs . similarly , the government concluded that keystone ’s carbon emissions would equal less than 1 percent of the total greenhouse gas emissions in the united states . “ keystone has never been a significant issue from an environmental point of view in substance , only in symbol , ” said david l. goldwyn , an energy market analyst and a former head of the state department ’s energy bureau in the obama administration . but it was a symbol mr. trump found important enough to seize on early in his presidency . he signed an executive memorandum inviting transcanada “ to promptly resubmit its application to the department of state for a presidential permit ” for the pipeline , although the document did not guarantee approval . the president told reporters he would “ renegotiate some of the terms ” — including possibly an insistence that the pipeline be built with american steel — but left little doubt that he wanted it approved . “ we ’ll see if we can get that pipeline built , ” he said . “ a lot of jobs . ” in a statement , transcanada accepted his invitation to seek permission again . “ we are currently preparing the application and intend to do so , ” the company said , vowing that it would create jobs and still protect waterways and other sensitive resources . the dakota access pipeline in north dakota became the focus of protests when the standing rock sioux tribe objected to its construction less than a mile from its reservation . the tribe and its allies won victory last month when the army corps of engineers announced that it would look for alternative routes for the $ 3 . 7 billion pipeline instead of allowing it to be drilled under a dammed section of the missouri river . mr. trump signed an executive memorandum directing the army “ to review and approve in an expedited manner ” the pipeline , “ to the extent permitted by law and as warranted . ” in his session with reporters , he added , “ again , subject to terms and conditions to be negotiated by us . ” mr. trump owned stock in energy transfer partners , the company that is building the dakota access pipeline , according to his most recent filing with the federal election commission . last month , a spokesman for mr. trump said he sold all of his stock in june , but there is no way of verifying that sale , and mr. trump has not provided documentation of it . critics vowed to keep resisting the projects . jan hasselman , a lawyer for earthjustice , an environmental law group representing the tribe , said mr. trump was discarding the findings of a review . “ they ’re just ignoring the problems that the government has already found , ” he said , “ and that is the kind of thing that courts need to review very closely . ” in canada , the government of prime minister justin trudeau welcomed mr. trump ’s decision . “ we have been supportive of this since the day we were sworn into government , ” jim carr , the natural resources minister , told reporters . mr. carr said the american reversal will lead “ to a deepening of the relationship across the border . ” in addition to the keystone and dakota directives , mr. trump signed three others intended to ease the way for businesses and to promote american manufacturing . one instructed the commerce department to develop a plan to ensure that future pipelines built in the united states be constructed of materials . another was aimed at streamlining what he called “ the incredibly cumbersome , long , horrible permitting process and reducing regulatory burdens for domestic manufacturing . ” the last directive was intended to expedite environmental reviews for “ infrastructure projects ” like highways and bridges . some news reports on tuesday said that the e. p. a. and other departments had issued orders forbidding employees from issuing news releases or posting on social media . but longtime officials in multiple agencies said the guidance was similar to that of when mr. obama took office eight years ago .
+1 donations to clinton foundation dry up as hillary no longer has a ' product to sell ' hangthebankers.com donations to clinton foundation dry up as hillary no longer has a ‘ product to sell’ november 22 , 2016 google + donations to the clinton foundation nose - dived last year amid hillary clinton ’s presidential run , pay - to - play allegations , internal strife and a black mark from a charity watchdog . contributions fell by 37 percent to $ 108 million , down from $ 172 million in 2014 , according to the group ’s latest tax filings . the cash plummeted as hillary clinton left the nonprofit in april 2015 after announcing her ill - fated candidacy . the foundation became a major issue in the race , with donald trump vowing to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate it . whether that effort will go forward is not clear . rep. jason chaffetz ( r - utah ) , head of the house oversight committee , has indicated a probe into the foundation will continue . not only did contributions drop , but so did revenue the clintons brought in from speeches . that income fell to $ 357,500 from $ 3.6 million in 2014 . by the time the foundation ’s clinton global initiative held its annual conference in september 2015 , many donors had bailed , including samsung and exxonmobil . donna shalala , the former health and human services secretary who was brought in to run the charity last year , suffered a stroke after the cgi meeting . the foundation had been rocked by internal divisions after daughter chelsea clinton took a more active role in the organization in 2013 , when the group was renamed the bill , hillary and chelsea clinton foundation . eric braverman , a pal of chelsea ’s , was brought in to run the group , but he clashed with bruce lindsey , a senior adviser in the clinton administration who had been ceo and became board chairman . braverman departed in january 2015 after 18 months , receiving a $ 330,000 payout , according to the tax filings . shalala replaced him . the clinton foundation refused to comment , but shalala told the chronicle of philanthropy last month that the foundation had taken in money pledged in earlier years but those donations were recorded on earlier tax filings .
+0 chuck berry is hailed as a rock trailblazer and a st. louis hero at his funeral - the new york times tim o'neil st . louis — at first , the funeral for the rock ’n’ roll pioneer chuck berry followed a traditional format . there were prayers and readings of formal condolences from officeholders and congregations . a pianist played “ sweet hour of prayer , ” and the soprano marlissa hudson , a st. louis native , sang “ ave maria . ” then billy peek pulled out his guitar and belted “ johnny b. goode . ” mr. peek , a local blues musician who played alongside mr. berry for decades , earned loud cheers from the roughly 1 , 000 mourners . many rose to their feet and danced as he mimicked mr. berry ’s strut , known as the duck walk . mr. berry died on march 18 of natural causes at age 90 in his home near wentzville , an outer suburb of st. louis . the funeral on sunday afternoon honored a musician who helped forge rock ’n’ roll but never moved away from his hometown and continued faithfully playing gigs there until he was in his late 80s . the service took place at the pageant , a music hall in the city ’s west end less than three miles from the family home where mr. berry was born . many appreciative fans paid their respects during a viewing before the funeral . mr. berry was laid out in a polished mahogany coffin and dressed in a vintage glittery purple shirt , white jacket and ’s hat . his red gibson guitar rested on the white inner lining of the coffin lid . two funeral directors in white gloves stood guard , . a row of floral displays included an arrangement of white blooms shaped like a guitar . “ thanks for the inspiration , ” read the accompanying card , from the rolling stones . the service included laudatory letters from paul mccartney ( “ as you know , chuck was a huge influence on me and my companions ” ) little richard the smithsonian institution and the rock roll hall of fame in cleveland , which included mr. berry in its first class of honorees . representative william lacy clay , democrat of missouri , read a statement from former president bill clinton that praised the musician as a uniter : “ he drew from many different traditions yet his music was innovative in spirit , and he spoke of the joy , hopes , and dreams we all have in common . ” gene simmons of kiss , who was in st. louis for a convention , attended the service and took the stage for impromptu remarks . mr. simmons said he was riveted by mr. berry ’s music when he was an newcomer to america from israel . “ he changed more little white boys’ and girls’ lives than all the politicians by making them move like this , ” mr. simmons said as he gyrated at the podium . “ rock ’n’ roll was started by a guy who just wanted to make people feel better . ” after the service , the family departed for a private burial as a local new brass band outside played mournful renditions of the “ st. louis blues ” and “ just a closer walk with thee . ” the pageant is part of a revived entertainment strip on delmar boulevard , known simply as the loop from streetcar days . three blocks to its west is blueberry hill , a tavern that was mr. berry ’s main venue for 18 years , until 2014 . he played monthly there in the duck room , named in his honor . joe edwards , a longtime friend of mr. berry , owns blueberry hill and founded the st. louis walk of fame , a line of bronze stars in the delmar sidewalk that honors st. louisans , including the poet t. s. eliot , the dancer josephine baker , the singer tina turner , the actor john goodman and the cardinals’ baseball greats stan musial and ozzie smith . mr. berry ’s star , the first to be installed , is near the tavern ’s front door . on the night before the funeral , mr. edwards and about 120 fans gathered there to toast mr. berry with johnny rivers , one of the musician ’s contemporaries . mr. edwards led the crowd in a countdown to 10 p. m. the usual start time for mr. berry ’s shows . mr. edwards called for a moment of silence , which was drowned by cheering and shouted lines from mr. berry ’s hits — exuberance that testifies to mr. berry ’s staying power in his hometown . “ he was proud of this city and we were proud of him for sticking around , ” said ralph morse , 66 , who said he had attended 91 berry concerts . “ he kept on playing for us . you could sit down and talk with him after a show , and he ’d say , ‘ thank you . ’ ” mr. edwards said mr. berry ’s commitment solidified his legacy . “ he could have gone to the east or west coasts , but he was determined to do it on his own terms , ” he said . “ that is very meaningful to the musicians and people of st. louis . and he could have stopped playing years ago , but he loved that connection with the audience . ” ethel peebles , 63 , whose parents grew up with mr. berry , said she had enjoyed his music since she childhood : “ when you are down and out , the music will lift you up . ” most of the people who attended the events were teenagers when mr. berry started releasing records in the late 1950s . then there was amanda weinstein , 19 , a floridian who attends washington university south of the loop . “ i completely grew up on classic rock , the stones and the beatles , ” ms. weinstein said . “ i came to understand that it all started with chuck berry . so i had to be here . ”
+0 google silences doubters with blockbuster quarter - the new york times david streitfeld san francisco — it ’s good to be google . sometimes it ’s just plain great . revenue regularly increases at a clip rarely achieved by firms of its size . the same goes for profits . seven of its products have over a billion users , a scale unimaginable in the predigital era . a reorganization last year into a holding company called alphabet , accompanied by some related personnel moves , was unexpected but generally applauded . investors and analysts see little in the short term to disrupt this happy state of affairs , which has pushed alphabet ’s value to more than $ 500 billion . those sentiments were confirmed in its earnings report , released thursday after the market closed . it was even better than the rosy forecasts . revenue rose to $ 21 . 5 billion , about $ 750 million more than analysts were predicting and a 21 percent jump from a year earlier . earnings per share after excluding certain items was $ 8 . 42 , or 39 cents more than forecasts . last year , it was $ 6 . 99 . celebration ensued . alphabet ’s shares , which drifted sideways during regular trading , immediately rose 4 percent after hours . in some ways , the quarter was the mirror image of the previous quarter , which was good but not as great as analysts hoped . that knocked the stock back and induced some — never far below the surface with even the best and most successful internet companies — that google ’s days of dominance in search and advertising might be on the verge of starting to wane . no such worries were on display on thursday as executives talked to analysts . google rose to fame and fortune on desktop searches , but the health of the company is now reflected in its presence on people ’s phones , not only with advertising but also with its android operating system . “ the strength of the quarter is about mobile , ” said sundar pichai , chief executive of the google division where most of the company ’s revenue and profits are made . “ it ’s transformed the way that people consume information , and google ’s products have become a central and part of their experience . ” last fall , google revamped its ad formats and delivery , which have been powering the increase in revenue . the number of paid clicks in the second quarter increased 29 percent from last year , the same rate as in the first quarter . aggregate cost per click fell 9 percent from 2015 , the same drop as in the first quarter . mr. pichai ’s lengthy prepared remarks took a perspective , focusing on the importance of machine learning — software that adjusts to the user ’s experience . it will be , he promised , the source of the next great innovations after the switch to mobile runs its course . he also made a reference to the latest game craze , pokémon go , “ which i suspect a few of you are playing right now . ” google had spun off pokémon go ’s developer , niantic , last year . the biggest complaint some shareholders can come up with is that alphabet ’s moonshots — things like cars and delivering goods by drone — are still in the early stages . revenue for these “ other bets ” was $ 185 million , driven largely by google fiber the thermostat company , nest and verily , a life sciences company . alphabet said it lost $ 859 million on “ other bets ” in the second quarter , more than the $ 660 million loss a year ago . alphabet does not break down how many employees work at the moonshots , but in general the company ’s head count is rising almost as fast as its revenue . more than 66 , 000 people now work at the company , up nearly 17 percent over the last year . some analysts predict that google will sooner or later need innovation closer to home than its moonshots , somewhat in the mode of the ceaselessly inventive amazon or apple . “ amazon took their retailing platform and built a stream of web services . apple is increasingly talking about money from services , not just hardware , ” said frank gillett , an analyst with forrester research . “ google needs things that expand beyond advertising to give it greater breadth . ” a more immediate problem could be european regulators , who unveiled another round of charges against the company earlier this month . the accusations involve google abusing its dominance in search , advertising and android . google disputes the charges . google could eventually be forced to pay fines . it would not miss the money but if the cases succeed in distracting the company and tempering its innovations , that could be a real problem for management and ultimately shareholders . on thursday , no one seemed unduly worried about this possibility .
+0 a college application guide for gap year students - the new york times kyle denuccio applying to college is onerous enough . asking to defer enrollment for a year can be even more intimidating . here ’s how to navigate the process . delay freshman year , not your application . students interested in a year off should still apply to college their senior year of high school , advises michele hernández , of top tier admissions and a former admissions officer at dartmouth . it ensures that you ’ll have access to your school ’s resources and wo n’t be bogged down with applications and standardized testing during a year that may include travel abroad . “ you ’d be surprised how quickly your high school forgets you , ” dr. hernández said . “ it ’s really hard to go back and ask for teacher recommendations and the other materials you might need after a year has passed . ” it ’s also a good idea to keep options open should plans suddenly change . you might not get that internship or job you were counting on , or you might get into a college with even better options for a bridge year , like the international program at princeton or tufts’ “ 1 + 4 ” program , offering both national and international service opportunities . harvard has long encouraged applicants to consider a year off , but that wo n’t increase your chances of getting in . while more and more institutions are seeing value in a gap year , it ’s better to inform them of your intentions after you ’ve been accepted . “ it might work against you because admissions’ priority is filling that year , ” dr. hernández said . “ they do n’t know what the next year is going to look like . ” if your plans have merit — education , work or service components — they are likely to agree . but , she said , “ depending on what you ’re going to do , a gap year can be viewed as slightly frivolous . so that ’s why i say , get in first and then propose an idea . ” if a college has no gap year program , write to the admissions director before deposits are due . describe plans for the year ahead , and ask whether time off will affect any scholarships the school has offered for freshman year . usa gap year fairs organizes events where students can hear about an array of programs and speak with professionals in the field : 39 were held this winter a list of locations for 2018 will be published in the fall ( usagapyearfairs . org ) . the american gap association accredits independent programs that offer or learning experiences . it maintains lists of the programs , which run a few weeks to a year , and their scholarships , as well as university policies on deferring enrollment ( www . americangap . org ) . the association tracked $ 2 . 8 million in support for gap year programs in 2015 . some universities even provide funding for experiences . florida state university offers $ 5 , 000 gap year fellowships , and the university of north carolina at chapel hill offers fellowships of $ 7 , 500 , with a focus on students from rural school districts in the state . chapel hill is impressed with the results . “ students in the gap year fellowship do n’t struggle like other freshmen do with the transition into college , ” said richard harrill , who helped design the program . instead , he said , participants “ become even more intellectually hungry . ”
+0 kassam at cpac slams establishment media : ‘ i ’ve been to sweden , you guys just do n’t get it!’ liam deacon fresh from a tour of ‘ zones’ across europe , breitbart london raheem kassam has slammed the media establishment for playing down the phenomenon , telling them to “ get your head out of your rears ! ” [ speaking at the prestigious conservative political action conference ( cpac ) he explained : “ i was there , in these zones , and i came back and we were talking about sweden , and donald trump is talking about sweden . ” he was referring to a speech by the president , in which he spoke of “ problems ” in the nordic nation caused by mass uncontrolled immigration . it was widely mocked by many in the media , who claimed everything was fine there . president trump hit back at the claims today at the same conference , remarking the violence in sweden as well as other european nations confirmed his remarks . “ and i was in paris too , and i was in brussels in [ the municipalities of ] molenbeek too , and you guys at the back [ the mainstream media ] you just do n’t get it ! ” blasted mr. kassam . “ you do n’t go there , you do n’t see what ’s going on ! get your heads out of your rears ! ” “ i was in these zones , actually , and if you want to hear more about that … i ’ve got a book coming out on it ” he revealed . mr. kassam , who is just and has edited breitbart london since its inception in february 2014 , also told the crowd about his own background . “ i was born in west london into a muslim family . and i am now proud to say that i am a conservative i am a proud englishman and , i am a robust americaphile ” he said to cheers . finally , he moved on to introducing “ mr. brexit ” former ukip leader nigel farage , describing him as a “ father figure ” and comparing him favourably to president donald j. trump . “ but i ’m here to introduce a man , today , who really changed my life in a very significant way who changed my country in a very significant way and i would argue , changed the world in a very significant way . “ you know last year we had brexit ! ” mr. kassam declared , to more rapturous cheers , “ and brexit was spearheaded by a man who loves his country , who wants an end to uncontrolled , mass migration … who wants us to be a proud sovereign nation again . “ i used to work for that man . he is a member of the european parliament . he worked tirelessly , travelled up and down the country sometimes speaking to rooms of three or four people at the beginning of his career , just to have his message heard . “ twenty years ago this movement started . “ he ’s been a mentor to me . he ’s been a friend to so many of us . and he ’s also been , really , a father figure to so many of us . he has survived cancer . he has survived a car crash . he has survived a plane crash . he has survived the bbc , cnn , the establishment [ and ] the european parliament ! ” watch raheem kassam at cpac :
+1 5 diy survival tools to make from scratch chris black chris black november 21 , 2016 5 diy survival tools to make from scratch let ’s begin today ’s article with a question : do you know what homo sapiens means ? well , i bet you do . but then again , how about homo faber ? what ’s the relation between homo sapiens and homo faber ? translated literally , homo faber means “ man , the maker . ” to put it simply , let ’s assume that dolphins are very intelligent creatures since that ’s what i hear constantly on national geo and the discovery channel . but that intelligence does n’t help them much ; they ’re just the same as they were 500,000 years ago . cute , intelligent creatures that constantly get caught in our fishing nets ( by mistake ) and they ca n’t get out . they often end up in tuna cans ( that ’s why i never eat tuna , but i ’m digressing ) . are you starting to get the picture ? homo faber is a peculiar creature , and i mean us , the people , the only “ animals ” on the planet which are able to control their environment through the use of – you guessed it – tools . okay , tools and a juicy brain - to - body ratio . some say that we control our fate too with those same tools , but i have my doubts about that . regardless of what you ’re thinking about your fate or the lack thereof , tools are pretty cool to have , especially in a survival situation . but then again , tools are n’t necessarily defined by what you can buy for $ 3.99 in your local hardware store . actually , some while ago , i saw an octopus on tv that was using a small rock to break a clam ’s shell . by most accounts , octopuses are pretty stupid compared to humans . the idea is that when confronted with an outdoors survival scenario , you can improvise tools from scratch , thus living to fight another day . if an octopus can do it , so can you , right ? so , if early humans were able to manufacture tools using first animal bones , then stones , then metal and then via 3d printing , what ’s there to stop you from learning from your ancestors ? now that you have the general idea , let ’s see about a few primitive - technology ideas which may very well save your life someday , or at least improve the quality of life for you and your family in a survival scenario , which is the next best thing . 1 . how to build a fresh water prawn trap from scratch the idea is very simple and straightforward : one must eat in order to stay alive . so , with the prawn trap you can catch prawns and eat them . the trap is very easy to build using lawyer cane , vine , and sticks . prawn / fish traps are very easy diy traps which can successfully be used to catch aquatic life thanks to their peculiar shape . basically , you ’ll have to build a simple basket with an entrance designed in a funnel - like fashion so that the prawn will get funneled in , but it will not be able to get out . here ’s the detailed video tutorial about the diy - ing job itself . video first seen on primitive technology . the trap must be placed under some tree roots or something similar in the water and it does n’t require bait , as curiosity kills the cat … err , prawns . you ’ll require a little bit of basketry practice but if you ’re into outdoor survival , learning this skill may prove very useful some day for many different tasks . 2 . how to make a survival spear from scratch spears were among the first hunting/ self defense weapons used by mankind and this video tutorial will teach you how to make your own survival spear from ( almost ) scratch . video first seen on animal man survivor . all that ’s required is a cutting tool , which may very well be a knife or a stone with a sharp edge . and a piece of wood of the desired length . watching the video will also teach you how to make a fire using what ’s available in the woods , i.e. almost nothing . oh , i almost forgot – here ’s how to make a rock knife if you do n’t carry a survival blade on your person 24/7 ( not good ) . video first seen on captain quinn . 3 . how to build a grass hut from scratch you do remember the holy trinity of survival , right ? food , water and shelter . i know that a grass hut made from scratch is not a tool per se , but it ’s a shelter by any definition and it can be built basically anywhere on earth , provided there ’s grass available . which means , almost anywhere . this project is easy to build , with a simple yet effective design and you ’ll only require a sharp stone ( or a knife ) and a digging tool ( stick , shovel , whatever ) . here ’s the video tutorial . video first seen on primitive technology . 4 . how to diy a bow and arrow from scratch while hunting with a spear requires some mad skills , bows and arrows are the ideal hunting tools for long - term wilderness survival . this video tutorial will teach you how to diy a bow and arrow outdoors , using primitive “ technology ” – natural materials and tools made from scratch , i.e. a stone chisel , a stone hatchet , fire sticks and various stone blades . video first seen on primitive technology . 5 . how to diy a cord drill from scratch check out this video tutorial and you ’ll learn how to make a cord drill from scratch . this baby consists of a fly wheel , a shaft , and a piece of cord and it can be used for making a fire without getting blisters on your ( soft ) hands or for drilling holes . video first seen on primitive technology . now , with the “ survival stuff ” taken care of , let ’s see about a few life - hacks , i.e. some “ more benign ” tools made from recycled materials . next time you destroy a tape measure , you can improvise a depth gauge using a piece from the broken tape - measure by cutting out a twelve inch section using a pair of tin snips . to get an usable zero to twelve inch scale , start cutting at the beginning of a one footmarker and then use the ultra - thin , elastic material for measuring stuff in small / confined places you can use scrap wood from the shop for improvising a table saw push stick for keeping your hands and fingers on the safe side when feeding wood to the saw at a consistent rate . video first seen on adam gabbert . here ’s how to make a scratch stock cutter from an old hand saw which can be used for scraping / scratching a decorative profile into a piece of wood , a method used by furniture manufacturers on historic pieces for creating a hand - made appearance . video first seen on wood by wright . you can improvise an adjustable marking gauge by driving a dry - wall screw into a piece of wood . video first seen on paul sellers . you can use an empty bottle as a glue dispenser , thus saving money by buying glue in bulk . you ’ll require an empty bottle that features an extendable cap , which allows you to distribute a consistent amount of adhesive for , let ’s say edge - gluing boards . when closing the cap , you ’ll prevent the glue from drying out . the best bottles to use are bottles with sports caps , such as water bottles , , gatorade bottles , or dish soap bottles . an expired credit card is excellent as a glue spreader . if you want to drill perfectly perpendicular deep holes without a drill - press , just use an old piece of mirror and position it against the drill bit . you ’ll have to fine - tune the position of the drill until the reflection and the bit are combined in such a way that they look perfectly aligned . that ’s all ! or you can make your own smart saw at home . click the banner below to find out how to transform your ideas into real projects . chris black for survivopedia . 363 total views , 363 views today
+0 in ‘ red’ and ‘ blue’ israel , separate lives and divergent narratives - the new york times peter baker jerusalem — the two headlines told very different stories about secretary of state john kerry ’s lengthy address about middle east peace . in the view of the jerusalem post : “ kerry exits locked into failed assumptions . ” for the haaretz : “ a very zionist , speech . ” as it turns out , the phenomenon is not unique to the united states . in israel , the reaction to the events of recent days , including mr. kerry ’s speech castigating the government ’s policies and a united nations resolution condemning israeli settlements , made it clear that israelis are just as polarized as americans . to borrow an analogy , there is a blue , or more israel that thought mr. kerry offered painful but necessary truths in the spirit of friendship that indicted the failed leadership of prime minister benjamin netanyahu . and there is a red , or more conservative , israel that thought the secretary of state was delusional and insulting , divorced from the harsh reality of the only real democracy in the middle east struggling to preserve itself in a hostile neighborhood . just as in the united states , many israelis cling to their own facts , retreat to their own media outlets , advance their own narratives , and basically just talk with people who think like they do . the result is a politics that is almost as internally divided as the relationship with palestinians is externally . “ either you ’re in my group or the other group , my team or the other team , ” said abraham diskin , an emeritus associate professor at hebrew university and longtime student of israeli society . “ it ’s a universal phenomenon . always the other team is to be blamed . ” the divide seems to have grown in recent years . at shabbat dinners in more leftist homes , where many disapprove of the occupation of the west bank and the construction of settlements , the talk sometimes turns to when it will all prove too much , when it might be time to finally leave israel for the united states , canada or europe . in more rightist homes , frustration grows at palestinian violence , at european haughtiness and now at what is seen as an american betrayal , all fueled by a suspicion that lies at the core of these acts . a people split over issues so fundamental to their nation is one that has also turned away from a solution once pursued so adamantly . while a majority of israelis still support the creation of a palestinian state as part of a solution , there is despair among many that it will ever happen — and plenty of disenchantment among others who now conclude that it should not . the idea of two states side by side was at the heart of the oslo peace accords signed in the 1990s , and it was the core of the various agreements that president obama and his two most recent predecessors , bill clinton and george w. bush , tried to broker . it was the centerpiece of deals offered by prime ministers like ehud barak and ehud olmert , only to be rejected by palestinian leaders , who had their own internal divisions to worry about . but now the idea has soured , like hummus left in the sun too long . mr. netanyahu and mahmoud abbas , the palestinian president , both still formally support the concept , but each defines it differently and neither seems to consider it realistic anytime soon . the election of donald j. trump means there will no longer be a strong advocate for this approach in the white house . a survey last summer by the israel democracy institute and the palestinian center for polling and survey research pointed to the broader schism in israeli society . fully 88 percent of those on the left supported a hypothetical agreement . but such a deal drew the support of just 10 percent on the right . it was backed by 59 percent in the political center . that disparity helps explain why mr. netanyahu has repeatedly failed to forge a coalition government with the opposition leader yitzhak herzog , chairman of the zionist union . israel had multiple governments through the 1980s , but the prospect today seems remote . instead , when mr. netanyahu needs to shore up his coalition , he tacks to the right , as he did this year by bringing in avigdor lieberman as defense minister . but it is easy to go overboard in this analysis , and to the extent there are different camps with different narratives , they are not necessarily equal or equivalent . asher cohen , a professor at university who has specialized in israeli culture , noted that there was a large political center in israel , its size increasing at the expense of the shrinking left . and some of mr. kerry ’s points , especially making east jerusalem the capital of a palestinian state , rankle israelis across ideological lines , he said . “ even if kerry ’s remarks were close to their own views , centrists and leftists did not appreciate the of the speech and the asymmetry in the blame assigned to israel and to the palestinians , ” mr. cohen said . still , israel is undergoing significant demographic changes that are fraying the idea of a common israeli identity . jerusalem feels increasingly religious and traditional , quiet during shabbat when stores and businesses close each week , while tel aviv is a bustling , sophisticated center of nightclubs , art galleries and . different sectors in israeli society have their own neighborhoods , their own community centers , even their own newspapers . there are also separate school systems , one for each of the major sectors . “ israel is increasingly polarized into different groups that have little to do with one another , despite its tight geography , ” said robert danin , a former state department official who worked on middle east issues . president reuven rivlin highlighted the changing israeli society in a speech last year . many israelis , he said , still think of their country as consisting of a large secular zionist majority with three minority groups : arabs , jews and a national religious community more akin to modern orthodox in american terms . but today , he noted , “ the reality has totally changed . ” he noted that about 38 percent of classes in israel were secular jews while about a quarter were arabs , close to a quarter were and about 15 percent were national religious . “ the demographic processes that are restructuring or redesigning the shape of israeli society have , in fact , created a new israeli order — a reality in which there is no longer a clear majority , nor clear minority groups , ” mr. rivlin said , just “ tribes , ” as he called them . a study by the pew research center this year showed that israeli jews live within their own separate worlds . most secular israeli jews thought democratic principles should take precedence over jewish law on questions like marriage , while most jews thought the other way around . roughly a third of those surveyed thought settlements hurt israeli security , another third thought they helped and the rest said they made no difference . amid this division is an uncertain future . mr. rivlin has urged bridging the gaps and bringing israelis together . that did not happen in 2016 . so when mr. rivlin offered his annual new year ’s message on thursday , his optimism was tempered . he hoped 2017 would be known as the “ year of mutual respect . ”
+0 ’resident evil 7’ review : a thrilling , terrifying new direction for the classic horror series - breitbart nate church resident evil 7 is a triumphant return for a troubled franchise , with only a few nagging missteps keeping it from greatness . [ the quietly bland protagonist of resident evil vii fades from existence within the first minutes of the game due to the franchise adopting a perspective . the moment you step up to the gates of the dulvey estate , you ’re the one watching for predators . there is an unnerving rattle of the chain locking you out it ’s a hollow sound , too loud for the silence that permeates your heavily wooded surroundings . the house stares down at you with quiet malice . from that moment , it ’s clear that resident evil 7 is going to be different . this is n’t the high concept horror of an action hero braving hordes of shambling corpses , but the seedy dread of hidden atrocities . every step of your exploration will be laced with that same feeling of constant wrongness , of mortal danger from which you are never more than temporarily hidden . resident evil 7 stalks you . the shift to surpasses the level of dread that the fixed perspective camera of previous resident evil entries used to . rather than the feeling of paranoia due to clumsy controls and an artificially restricted view of your surroundings , the camera ensures you can only ever see threats encroaching from one direction . a floorboard creaks to your right . something scrapes in the darkness ahead . the door behind you slams shut . there is no “ safe ” direction to look , no manner in which to easily retreat from the creeping horror . resident evil 7 feels dangerous in a way that very few games achieve . all of this is captured with haunting visual and auditory splendor , in one of the most technically accomplished releases i ’ve ever seen . with all of the game ’s various visual settings maximized , the game regularly verges on the photorealistic . the audio rivals the best work ever done in video games — even the most nondescript room is plagued by the distant splatter of rain , creaks and scratches and moans that come from everywhere and nowhere . playing in surround sound , or with a good headset , is a terrifying experience in all of the best ways . it ’s a shame that so much of that splendor disappears once enemies are on the screen . clumsy hair physics and terrible mouth animation are a jarring departure from the detailed design of each antagonist , momentarily reminding you that these threats are n’t real . the expressions on the faces of the characters just do n’t match the flapping of their jaws . and while the voice work is competently performed , it still suffers from the awkward translation from japanese to english that has become a recurring theme throughout resident evil‘s history . once the action really began , i was startled by just how tight the game ’s shooting felt . weaponry has heft and impact , and its flashing roars walk the line between making you afraid to attract attention and feeling temporarily in your righteous fury . but in many cases , no weapon will suffice . the baker family is virtually unkillable — something that the game takes great pains to show you throughout the first hours . in many cases , your only choice will be frantic retreat . here , too , resident evil 7 sometimes loses its way . while the “ boss ” encounters are frightening , they ’re also frustrating . each one is a bullet sponge , and it ’s almost always difficult to tell whether you ’re having any effect at all or if you ’re missing some mechanic necessary to advance the fight . at times i was forced to retry a fight over and over again , because i simply could not discern how to “ win ” the encounter . to make things murkier still , many of these encounters do n’t even have a victory condition , per se . sometimes the game just wants you to do something that clearly does n’t work , for long enough to progress the event . it ’s and can definitely prove frustrating . you ’ve repeatedly demonstrated that bullets have no effect on “ daddy ” baker . why then do i need to spend several clips on him before i am mechanically allowed to do him real harm ? aside from these encounters , combat is about halfway to sheer brilliance . while the guns themselves are exceptionally well designed , the enemies you are allowed to kill are all very similar in both appearance and behavior . because of that , parts of the game begin to lose their sense of dread before their time . once you see the mess of oily black crawling over the walls , you know what to expect . the initial fear of the unknown dissipates , and you ’re left counting how many bullets to your enemies’ heads you ’ve fired to make sure you have enough for whatever ’s next . finally , the frustrations of resident evil‘s inventory system returns . it ’s been simplified and severely limited , as has crafting . and while both are staples of the franchise , too often it becomes a hassle of juggling half a dozen key items , while still trying to scavenge what you need to make medicine or ammunition . it ’s another unwelcome intrusion on the game ’s carefully crafted atmosphere , but it will feel comfortably familiar to series veterans . the game is a healthy 10 or so hours long , slowly transforming from creeping dread to desperate action . it ends with just enough left unsaid to continue the tale , and i truly hope that ’s the case . this is a phenomenal first effort at something new for a franchise that had gotten decidedly stale in its last few iterations and a fresh take on resident evil ’s trademark brand of survival horror . follow nate church @get2church on twitter for the latest news in gaming and technology , and snarky opinions on both .
+1 televisión : lo más visto ayer tomás fuentes televisión la fórmula de emitir capítulos de los simpson en cualquier momento parece que le sigue funcionando a antena 3 , que ayer fue líder de audiencia con un especial de esta serie de animación . la continua repetición de sus capítulos hizo que la cadena ni siquiera los emitiera . en su lugar , aparecía matías prats recordando sus momentos preferidos . “ me gusta cuando bart vende su alma a milhouse . ¿ y el del tenacitas ? ese me gustó mucho ” , explicó prats . telecinco también consiguió un excelente resultado . aprovechando el estreno de la película “ animales fantásticos ” , la cadena de mediaset quiso subirse al carro de la “ harrypottermanía ” y emitió “ live at hogwarth ’s “ , un especial de dos horas en el que belén esteban , con una chistera , enseña a la audiencia cómo se usa el juego magia borrás . la nostalgia vende , y eso lo sabe bien la 1 de televisión española . tras anunciar que adaptará a la pequeña pantalla el best seller “ yo también fui a egb . ” , protagonizado por dani rovira en el papel de bote de tipp - ex , la cadena pública decidió exprimir la fórmula de la nostalgia emitiendo íntegramente la programación de anteayer . cuatro , por su parte , parece que no acaba de encontrar un formato que le funcione en el “ prime time ” . fría acogida del estreno de su nuevo docureality “ callejeros condescendientes “ , en el que diversos imbéciles recorren el mundo diciendo frases como “ son tan felices con tan poco ” o “ lo mejor de esta ciudad son sus gentes ” . tampoco fue la noche de la sexta . el show de chicote centrado en las reuniones de vecinos , “ pesadilla en el rellano “ , no está obteniendo los números esperados . ayer , chicote se presentó para mediar en un conflicto relacionado con el posible cambio de los buzones . el cocinero utilizó su táctica de irse muy enfadado y volver poco después , para que los concursantes recapaciten . pero esta vez no le funcionó : a su regreso , virginia del sexto le había abierto la cabeza a la puri , del bajo , golpeándosela contra los buzones . ni por esas la audiencia mostró interés . en clave autonómica , la catalana tv3 consiguió su máximo histórico con la “ telemarató ” , un espacio solidario que este año ha conseguido 20 mil millones de euros para pagar la multa de messi a hacienda . en galicia , tvg sorprendió con su formato “ al filo de la mayoría “ , un experimento en el que un alcalde del partido popular hacía cosas terribles : hundir un petrolero , pellizcar los testículos a gatos de la calle , pedir pizza con piña … el objetivo : comprobar cuál es el límite que hay que superar para que le dejen de votar . y en televisión de castilla la mancha se vivió una noche especial . isabel gemio inició una nueva edición de su clásico “ sorpresa , sorpresa ” visiblemente emocionada . tras una pausa publicitaria , gemio descubrió ser víctima de su propio equipo y la sorpresa se la llevó ella . en el plató aparecieron jaime bores , alicia senovilla y agustín bravo para gritarle al unísono “ ¡ bienvenida a televisión de castilla la mancha ! ¡ bienvenida al ocaso de tu carrera ! ” . habían hecho creer a la presentadora que estaba trabajando de nuevo para telecinco . gemio rompió a llorar de pura ilusión . la 2 de televisión española volvió a ser la última opción de los espectadores . quizá no ayudó el controvertido título del documental que emitió : “ todos los que tienen audímetro son unos hijos de puta “ .
+0 officials relax zika warning for pregnant women in miami neighborhood - the new york times the associated press miami — federal health officials on monday stopped warning pregnant women to stay out of miami ’s wynwood arts district amid zika fears , and they credited aerial pesticide spraying with killing mosquitoes that transmit the virus . but they continued to caution pregnant women about the city and surrounding areas . no new cases of zika have been reported in the wynwood neighborhood since early august . health officials said that over the past several weeks , mosquito control workers there had seen fewer of the insects , the main culprits in spreading the virus . “ the message with wynwood is it was a huge success , ” said dr. lyle petersen of the centers for disease control and prevention . the c. d. c. continues to advise pregnant women to consider postponing nonessential travel to all of county — including wynwood and miami beach , where health officials say a zone of active zika transmission has grown . wynwood was the first place on the united states mainland where mosquitoes began transmitting zika . c. d. c. officials and florida ’s governor attributed the in infections there to aggressive aerial spraying with naled , an insecticide that targets adult mosquitoes , and spraying with another pesticide that kills mosquito larvae . “ this outbreak would have kept going without the aerial spraying , ” dr. petersen said . gov. rick scott said residents and business owners who kept their properties clear of standing water also helped . but despite months of public outreach and aggressive mosquito control measures , including the removal of tropical plants that trap water where insects can breed , florida health officials have continued to find mosquitoes carrying the virus in miami beach . the city ’s infection zone was expanded friday to include most of the island . miami beach ’s tall buildings and ocean breezes make aerial spraying there more difficult than in wynwood , dr. petersen said . a plane contracted by county mosquito control officials sprayed naled over south beach on sunday . it was the city ’s third aerial spraying . a fourth is scheduled for saturday . many residents have opposed the spraying . of 85 zika cases unconnected to travel among florida residents , 31 were associated with wynwood and 36 with miami beach , a spokeswoman for the florida department of health , mara gambineri , said in an email on monday . ten people who are not florida residents have also contracted zika in the state .
+0 beyond coal : imagining appalachia ’s future - the new york times sheryl gay stolberg pikeville , ky. — here in the heart of central appalachian coal country , an economic experiment is underway inside an airy renovated bottling plant . most days , michael harrison , a former mine electrician and “ buggy man ” who once drove trucks 700 feet underground , can be found hunched over a silver laptop , designing websites for clients like the pikeville tourism board . mr. harrison , 36 , is one of 10 former mine workers employed at bitsource , an internet founded by two pikeville businessmen determined to prove a point : that with training and encouragement , kentucky miners can learn to code . “ we told them , ‘ quit thinking of yourselves as unemployed coal workers you ’re technology workers,’ ” said rusty justice , a founder of bitsource . he called his pep talks “ reimagination training . ” nearly 13 , 000 coal jobs — and countless more in related industries — have disappeared in kentucky since president obama took office coal employment is at its lowest level since 1898 . in washington , democrats and republicans remain locked in a feud over whether mr. obama ’s aggressive environmental regulations amount to a “ war on coal . ” on the presidential campaign trail , donald j. trump is vowing to “ put our miners back to work . ” but across central appalachia , and especially here in eastern kentucky , elected officials , business leaders , environmentalists and community advocates are looking beyond politics to wrestle with a question essential to the region ’s survival : what comes after coal ? the founders of bitsource are not the only ones thinking creatively there are nascent efforts in craft agriculture and energy efficiency as well . these initiatives will not cure central appalachia ’s economic woes at bitsource , mr. harrison was among 1 , 000 miners who applied for 10 jobs . rather , said lora smith , who oversees grants in central appalachia for the mary reynolds babcock foundation , they represent lurching steps into what one local writer called “ a terrifying liberation ” for a region rich in natural resources whose people have deep ties to the land . it is “ terrifying , ” ms. smith said , “ because people are out of work , but it ’s also this liberation , to reimagine what this place can be . ” if pikeville , population 6 , 900 , offers a glimpse into coal country ’s uncertain future , benham , ky. with 500 mostly elderly residents , is a window into its past . benham was built a century ago as a coal mining camp by a subsidiary of international harvester , which mined the nearby hillsides , extracting coal to make steel . today , the signs of coal ’s decline are everywhere . the old company store is a mining museum . the brick schoolhouse , on a hillside overlooking the historic town , is an inn , said to be haunted . abandoned houses lay crumbling in the hollows . yet on a spring afternoon , something unusual — construction work — was going on . it was part of a project to retrofit old company houses like one owned by pearl cope , 83 , a retired mine company receptionist whose home is so energy inefficient she pays up to $ 650 a month for heat during the winter . carl shoupe , 69 , a retired miner and member of the local power board , organized the project with help from kentuckians for the commonwealth , a progressive advocacy group . mr. shoupe , a onetime union organizer , is no fan of the coal industry . badly injured in the mines , he sports a goatee to cover scars on his chin and wears an orthopedic shoe with a lift to compensate for a mangled left leg . he got into environmental advocacy about a decade ago , after giving up alcohol and finding god . “ i got to looking around , when all this mountaintop removal and strip mining and tearing up of our beautiful mountains was going on , and i started praying about it , ” he said . to mr. shoupe , the retrofitting is a small step on the daunting path toward what environmentalists call a “ just transition ” — economic growth that does not harm people ’s health or the land . to joshua bates , 21 , who spent the afternoon blowing insulation into mrs. cope ’s basement , it means a job in the region he calls home . “ a lot of people have left , ” mr. bates said sadly . “ eighty percent of my friends are gone . ” the road to hippo , ky. snakes through a hollow in floyd county that runs across brush creek , not far from where todd howard ’s ancestors settled after the revolutionary war . mr. howard , 36 , a kentuckian , grew up here , dodging coal trucks on his bike and watching miners tromp off to work toting their lunch buckets . when he was 19 , he joined his father ’s business , helping mining companies navigate the cumbersome permit bureaucracy . but by 2009 , with fewer permits being handed out , the company closed . “ that sort of catapulted me into this farming thing , ” he said . his path into farming began in february 2010 , when he persuaded his wife that they should put a greenhouse in their backyard , and planted 42 varieties of heirloom tomatoes . kentuckians are increasingly turning to farming “ out of necessity , ” said martin richards , who runs kentucky ’s community farm alliance . his group works with eight farmers’ markets in eastern kentucky , including one mr. howard helped found with another kentuckian , nathan hall mr. richards says twice as many farmers participate as did five years ago . in 2014 , congress allowed certain states , including kentucky , to begin farming industrial hemp after a ban of 60 years . mr. hall , 33 , a yale m. b. a. student who also studies environmental management ( and briefly worked as a miner ) was already exploring the idea of growing hemp , first cultivated in kentucky in 1775 . today , with grants from companies like patagonia , the clothing manufacturer , he and mr. howard are growing hemp on six sites in four counties — including five acres of reclaimed surface mine — and have big dreams to scale up . people here often say there will be no silver bullets , but rather “ one thousand silver bbs ” to replace lost coal jobs . mr. hall offers a variation : “ we want to be a part of the silver buckshot , ” he said , “ that ’s going to hopefully transform this region . ” reimagining central appalachia will take more than putting unemployed miners back to work . it will also require giving young people a reason to stay . in 2013 , representative harold rogers , a republican who has been eastern kentucky ’s congressman for 35 years , and steve beshear , the governor at the time and a democrat , became founders of soar , shaping our appalachian region , an initiative intended to promote innovation . they were tired of solutions that came from washington . “ we decided that whatever we did would have to be sprung from within , ” mr. rogers said . soar convened its first innovation summit here in december 2013 , in the middle of a blizzard 1 , 700 people showed up . that inspired mr. justice of bitsource and his business partner , m. lynn parrish , whose engineering and excavation company has lost 70 percent of its customers in the coal downturn . they founded bitsource , with help from a federal grant , in an effort to diversify . about an hour away in whitesburg , the leaders of appalshop , an arts organization that grew out of president lyndon b. johnson ’s war on poverty , were also rethinking the group ’s future in a economy . ada smith , 29 , is among a new generation taking over she is the daughter of an appalshop founder , herb e. smith , 64 , a filmmaker and miner ’s son who has spent the past documenting union fights , mine disasters , polluted land and water , and wrenching cycles of boom and bust . “ what ’s needed in this transition , ” said ms. smith , who returned home after college , “ are people in the region who want to stay — and figure it out . ” that rethinking led appalshop to create a digital marketing venture , mountain tech media . it was unveiled in march at a party where a gourmet moonshiner , an early client , served drinks . the company , a cooperative , has two employees on a team of 12 , its chief executive , jeremy mcqueen , 30 , said . the hope is to hire local young people over time . on a bright monday in june , soar held its third innovation summit here . it looked like a convention of and suits . lunch was served outside while a bluegrass band played . there were two sandwich options : pulled pork and vegan wraps . old coal country tensions flared . while mr. rogers was speaking , ada and herb smith helped unfurl a banner opposing the construction of a $ 444 million prison . mr. rogers says it will bring 300 jobs , but mr. smith calls it “ the wrong answer to the region ’s economic problems . ” mr. parrish , who has known mr. smith for decades ( their wives were college sorority sisters ) was furious . “ we ’re all there trying to do solutions , ” he said . “ this was not the venue to do that in . ” even so , mr. justice and mr. mcqueen made plans to get together , to talk about ways their fledgling tech companies might collaborate . the encounter spoke volumes about the current political moment here . as mr. justice said : “ cats and dogs are sleeping together in the mountains now . ”
+0 great barrier reef hit by worst coral die - off on record , scientists say - the new york times michelle innis sydney , australia — scientists surveying the great barrier reef said tuesday that it had suffered the worst coral ever recorded after being bathed this year in warm waters that bleached and then weakened the coral . about of the coral on the reef ’s previously pristine , northern stretch is dead , the scientists said . only a cyclone that reduced water temperatures by up to three degrees celsius in the south saved the lower reaches of the reef from damage , they added . on some atolls in the north , all the coral has died , said prof . terry hughes , the director of the arc center of excellence for coral reef studies at james cook university in townsville , in the eastern state of queensland . professor hughes and a team of scientists drew their findings from about 900 dive surveys along the length of the reef in october and november . “ the good news is that in the south , only about 1 percent of the reef ’s coral has died , and the mortality rate in the middle is about 6 percent , ” professor hughes said . vibrant color has returned to that coral , and the reef there is in good condition , he added . “ but in the north , mortality rates are very high , and in some places where coral has survived but it has weakened , the per capita predation rate has gone through the roof , ” he said . masses of drupella snails could be seen swarming around and eating the remaining healthy coral , he said . the bleaching was the third such event known to strike the reef , which extends along almost the entire eastern coast of queensland and is listed as a natural world heritage site by the united nations . steven miles , queensland ’s environment minister , called the bleaching a tragedy . “ in the north we have a very high coral death rate , ” mr. miles said at a news conference in brisbane , the state capital . “ the tragedy of this is that the northern sections were the sections least impacted by human impacts , and to see those sections , of the northern section , dead is catastrophic . ” however , he said , the reef “ is a very big system , and the mortality rate varies substantially . ” mr. miles and the federal environment minister , josh frydenberg , who also oversees energy policy in australia , said friday that 45 million australian dollars , about $ 33 . 6 million , would be provided to improve water quality and reduce sediment runoff . that announcement precedes a government report , due to be submitted to the united nations by thursday , on the health of the reef and the government ’s management of threats to it . in may 2015 the united nations stopped short of putting the reef on an “ in danger ” list , but it warned that climate change , water pollution and the effects of coastal development were all detrimental . “ the government has a staunch commitment to conserving this amazing natural asset , ” mr. frydenberg said in a written statement on friday . some scientists and environmental advocates have criticized the government ’s efforts to protect the reef , saying they have fallen far short . they have also pointed to a seeming contradiction in the wishes of the queensland government to protect the reef even as it pushes ahead with plans to develop the carmichael coal mine , the country ’s biggest , which lies less than 200 miles inland in the galilee basin . “ spending $ 45 million to improve water quality on the reef is like putting a on a person who has cancer , ” said william steffen , a climate scientist at the australian national university college of medicine , biology and environment . as custodian of the reef , the government has an obligation to manage one of the world ’s greatest natural wonders , dr. steffen said . “ it is nonsense to think we can open up a new coal mine and think we are going to save coral reefs . ” this month , australia ratified the paris climate agreement to limit pollution to stop the earth ’s warming by more than 1 . 5 to 2 degrees celsius above preindustrial levels , or 2 . 7 to 3 . 6 degrees fahrenheit . environmentalists have unsuccessfully tried to block the development of the enormous mine . other countries have pledged to reduce the use of fossil fuels , which contribute to global warming . burning coal is a major cause of greenhouse gas emissions . coral in the north was “ cooked ” as water temperatures rose about two degrees , professor hughes of james cook university said . “ that coral did not bleach and die slowly . ” coral in slightly cooler waters bleached more slowly , expelling the tiny algae that give it its color . if the water then cooled quickly enough , the algae returned to recolonize the coral , which recovered . cyclone winston , which passed over fiji in late february before dissipating as it hit the coast of queensland , brought a change in water temperatures that helped preserve the coral at the south end of the reef . mr. frydenberg said friday that about 22 percent of the entire reef ’s coral had died after the bleaching event . but he added that coral cover had increased around 19 percent in the years leading up to it , a figure that professor hughes disputes . “ the great barrier reef is very resilient and quite strong , ” mr. frydenberg said in an email on tuesday . “ the australian and queensland governments have a reef 2050 plan , which will see $ 2 billion invested over the next decade in order to improve the health of the reef . ” greg torda , a coral researcher at james cook university , said the biodiversity of the reef had been severely compromised in some regions because flat , or tabletop , and branching corals had died . these corals provide structure for small fish to hide from predators . “ bigger boulder corals , some hundreds of years old , provide light and shade for fish in reef habitats , ” dr. torda said . “ reefs are structurally very complex , and all shapes on the reef provide important diversity . ” reefs that are damaged tend to flatten out , losing habitat and then species diversity over decades . “ we will have a reef in 30 years’ time , but the species along the reef are already shifting , ” professor hughes said . “ and we are already seeing less diversity . ”
+1 us spy chief : asking north korea to stop nuke program a ‘ lost cause’ nan get short url 0 27 0 0 on tuesday , national intelligence director james clapper said that the us must focus on limiting north korea ’s nuclear capabilities , because convincing the isolated country to halt nuclear development is a “ lost cause . ” pyongyang has conducted over 20 ballistic missile tests this year and two nuclear explosions . there is concern in washington that the dprk could be developing a weapon that could reach the american mainland . their most recent underground nuclear explosion took place in early september . © ap photo/ wong maye - e us still committed to denuclearization process in north korea at the council on foreign relations , clapper said " i think the notion of getting the north koreans to denuclearize is probably a lost cause … they are not going to do that — that is their ticket to survival . " washington has consistently maintained its position on not recognizing north korea as a nuclear - armed state . numerous sanctions , and negotiations to trade aid in exchange for disarmament have not stopped pyongyang ’s nuclear program . despite this , the us state department announced that it will continue to demand the communist country ’s denuclearization . clapper described his trip to north korea in 2014 to secure the release of two americans , saying it gave him a " good taste " of the country ’s perspective on nuclear development . © ap photo/ koji sasahara north korea blasts us , japan , south korea for ' destabilizing northeast asia ' " they are under siege and they are very paranoid , so the notion of giving up their nuclear capability , whatever it is , is a non - starter with them … the best we could probably hope for is some sort of a cap , but they are not going to do that just because we ask them . there 's going to have to be some significant inducements . " defense experts in the us believe pyongyang currently has between 13 - 21 nuclear weapons , and by 2020 could have as many as 100 . state department spokesman john kirby told reporters in washington that he had not seen clapper ’s comments , and that the us still hopes to resume aid - for - disarmament negotiations , which have been stalled since pyongyang pulled out in 2009 . © reuters/ kcna us announces extended deterrence doctrine against north korea kirby said , " we want to continue to see a verifiable , denuclearization of the peninsula . we want to see a return to the six - party talk process , and that means we need to see the north show a willingness and an ability to return to that process which they have n't done yet , " according to yonhap news . clapper acknowledged that the dprk had not yet tested it ’s kn08 intercontinental ballistic missile , a weapon capable of striking the western us , so its utility is unknown , but he recommended that washington not wait until the missile is tested to prepare . " nevertheless , we ascribe to them the capability to launch a missile that would have a weapon on it to reach parts of the united states , certainly including alaska and hawaii … they could do it . we have to make the worst - case assumption here , " he said . ...
+1 contaminated food from china now entering the u.s. under the ' organic ' label noreply@blogger.com ( alexander light ) contaminated food from china now entering the u.s. under the ' organic ' label the chinese food production industry is one of the world 's least - regulated and most corrupt , as ... print email http://humansarefree.com/2016/11/contaminated-food-from-china-now.html the chinese food production industry is one of the world 's least - regulated and most corrupt , as has repeatedly been proven time and again . now , it appears , there is no trusting anything that comes from china marked " organic."natural health 365 reports that several foods within the country are so contaminated that chinese citizens do n't trust them . what 's more , the countries that import these tainted foods are putting their citizens at risk . u.s. customs personnel often turn away food shipments from china because they contain unsavory additives and drug residues , are mislabeled , or are just generally filthy . some chinese food exporters have responded by labeling their products " organic , " though they are far from it . there are several factors at play which make chinese claims of organic unreliable . first , environmental pollution from unrestrained and unregulated industrial growth has so polluted soil and waterways with toxic heavy metals that nothing grown in them is safe , much less organic . also , there is so much fraudulent labeling and rampant corruption within the government and manufacturing sectors that it 's not smart to trust what is put on packaging . in fact , farmers in china use water that is replete with heavy metals , natural health 365 noted in a separate report . in addition , water used for irrigation also contains organic and inorganic substances and pollutants . chinese " organic " food is so contaminated that a person could get ill just by handling some of it . ' dirty water ' is all there is the report noted further:"this is reality – all of china 's grains , vegetables and fruits are irrigated with untreated industrial wastewater . the yellow river , which is considered unusable , supports major food producing areas in the northeast provinces."many chinese farmers wo n't even eat the food they produce , if you can believe that . that 's because it 's clear that china 's water pollution issues are so pronounced that it threatens the country 's entire food supply . chinese farmers have said there is no available water for crops except " dirty water . " as part of the country 's industrial prowess , it is also one of the largest producers ( and consumers ) of fertilizers and pesticides , water politics reported . the site noted further that as china 's industrial might grows , so too does the level of contaminants in the country 's water supply . lakes , rivers , streams and falling water tables are becoming more polluted by the year . in addition to man - made pollutants , animals produce about 90 percent of the organic pollutants and half of the nitrogen in china 's water , say experts at the chinese academy for environmental planning . there are times when water is so polluted it turns black – yet it is still used to irrigate crops , and of course , that affects so - called organic farming operations as well . these nine foods are particularly vulnerable to becoming tainted , natural health 365 noted : fish : some 80 percent of the tilapia sold in the u.s. come from fish farms in china , as well as half the cod . water pollution in china is a horrible problem , so any fish grown there are suspect . chicken : poultry produced in china is very often plagued with illnesses like avian flu . apples and apple juice : only recently has the u.s. moved to allow the importation of chinese apples , though american producers grow plenty for the country and the world . rice : though this is a staple in china and much of the rice in the u.s. comes from there , some of it has been found to be made of resin and potato . mushrooms : some 34 percent of processed mushrooms come from china . salt : some salt produced in china for industrial uses has made its way to american dinner tables . black pepper : one chinese vendor was trying to pass off mud flakes as pepper . green peas : phony peas have been found in china made of soy , green dye and other questionable substances . garlic : about one - third of all garlic in the u.s. comes from china . shop wisely .
+1 trump wins mock election of young people howard portnoy print if you listen to all the false media hype , you would believe that hillary clinton has a huge lead over donald trump among young voters , but that may not be the case … . willmar senior high school in willmar , minnesota held a mock election among their students this past tuesday during the lunch hour . the election was part of a statewide program designed to get young people more engaged in the election - voting process . throughout the state of minnesota , around 282 high schools are participating in the mock election program . [ … ] in tuesday ’s vote , around 40 % of the willmar ’s 1,200 students took time during their lunch hour to cast their ballots . a total of 514 ballots were cast of which 207 were for trump and 179 for clinton . libertarian candidate gary johnson received 41 votes and legal marijuana now party candidate dan vacek received 17 votes . a number of ballots had write - in names and other candidates received less than 10 votes .
+1 hillary ’s secret is out with what camera caught her doing before rally amanda shea hillary ’s secret is out with what camera caught her doing before rally posted on november 1 , 2016 by amanda shea in politics share this screenshots of hillary clinton in alarming cell phone footage there ’s a reason hillary clinton does n’t let certain people have cell phones around her , but no matter how much she tries , she ca n’t control everyone . new jersey senator cory booker does n’t care about her recording “ rule ” as he caught her in the act with his cell phone camera . now that the alarming video is out , so is her nasty secret . it ’s safe to say that hillary is dealing with a lot of stress as the campaign she thought she had sufficiently rigged in her favor slips out of her grasp , now that she ’s under fbi investigation . it ’s becoming harder for her to hide who she really is , despite having done a pretty good job of it up until this campaign , but now we know how she deals with her many challenges after what booker recorded her doing right before a campaign rally . the democratic candidate was in new jersey on june 1 for one of her few campaign stops at the time and seemed to have some “ help ” with getting through the challenges of her day . after getting out of her black van , she walked right up to the senator who she could probably see was recording , acting as if she had not a care in the world as she sang and awkwardly danced for the camera looking rather drunk , despite it being the early afternoon . with secretary clinton in newark . pic.twitter.com/w9z7gc482i — cory booker ( @corybooker ) june 1 , 2016 as hannity.com described the strange footage , “ the video captured and shared by new jersey senator cory booker ahead of a june 1st rally in newark , new jersey shows an unusually jovial clinton singing and dancing shortly before appearing with rock musician jon bon jovi . ” while it ’s not the first time she ’s been suspected of day drinking to the point of intoxication before it ’s even 5 p.m. , it ’s just added proof that she ca n’t seem to cope with her campaign or much of life in general , without alcohol . when you live as dishonestly as hillary has , the only way to avoid the guilt of her decisions is probably to stay a little — or a lot — tipsy throughout the day . that ’s unacceptable behavior for anyone , but especially someone who is trying to be the leader of the free world . america does n’t need a drunk president .
+1 as crooked hillary investigation reopens , democrat cities push to allow illegal immigrants voting geoffrey grider as crooked hillary investigation reopens , democrat cities push to allow illegal immigrants voting ' look at illegal immigrants voting all over the country , ' donald trump recently claimed in a fox news interview , part of his ongoing effort to cast doubt on the integrity of the presidential election . there ’s no evidence to support the republican nominee ’s claims of election fraud , but some cities are moving to expand voting rights to include noncitizens . 29 , 2016 some democrat - run cities want their illegal alien population to vote editor ’s note : yesterday , fbi director james comey announced that they have reopened the investigation into crooked hillary ’s illegal email server . yay ! but even before that , democrat operatives are working around the clock to skew the election results in any way they can . today we present to you democrat - run cities in america allowing illegal immigrants to vote in the upcoming election . should illegal immigrant voting be legal ? wha … ? ? ? ‘ look at illegal immigrants voting all over the country,’ donald trump recently claimed in a fox news interview , part of his ongoing effort to cast doubt on the integrity of the presidential election . there ’s no evidence to support the republican nominee ’s claims of election fraud , but some cities are moving to expand voting rights to include non - citizens ( illegal immigrants ) . trump opposes same - day voter registration to prevent illegal immigrants from voting : the latest is san francisco , where the nov. 8 ballot will include a measure allowing the parents or legal guardians of any student in the city ’s public schools to vote in school board elections . the right would be extended to those with green cards , visas , or no documentation at all . “ one out of three kids in the san francisco unified school system has a parent who is an immigrant , who is disenfranchised and does n’t have a voice , ” says san francisco assemblyman david chiu , the son of taiwanese immigrants . “ we ’ve had legal immigrants who ’ve had children go through the entire k-12 system without having a say . ” undocumented immigrants should also have the right , chiu adds , to bypass the “ broken immigration system in this country . ” should illegal immigrants be allowed to vote in us elections ? today there are six jurisdictions in maryland that let non - citizens ( illegal immigrants ) vote in local elections . chicago allows them to take part in elected parent advisory councils but not to vote in school board elections . four towns in massachusetts have moved to allow noncitizen voting and are awaiting state approval . and in new york city , where non - citizens ( illegal immigrants ) make up 21 percent of the voting - age population , the city council is drafting legislation that would allow more than 1.3 million legal residents to take part in municipal elections . the city previously allowed non - citizens ( illegal immigrants ) to vote in school board elections , but that ended when new york ’s school boards were dissolved in 2002 . liberals sign petition to allow illegal immigrants to vote in 2016 presidential election : san francisco has tried in the past to grant noncitizens access to school board elections . a 2004 measure narrowly failed , with 51 percent voting against it . “ there was an opposition campaign at that time , ” chiu says . he sponsored another ballot measure in 2010 , which also failed . this time , chiu says , he ’s hoping for a victory . so far he ’s seen no organized opposition : “ i think that ’s because of the ugly , anti - immigrant statements expressed by donald trump and his supporters . ” share this article
+0 chelsea manning asks obama to cut sentence to time served - the new york times charlie savage chelsea manning , who confessed to disclosing archives of secret diplomatic and military documents to wikileaks in 2010 and has been incarcerated longer than any other convicted leaker in american history , has formally petitioned president obama to reduce the remainder of her sentence to the more than six years she has already served . in a statement accompanying her petition , a copy of which her lawyer provided to the new york times , ms. manning again said she took “ full and complete responsibility ” for her actions , which she called “ wrong . ” she also described her difficult life , including the turmoil she faced at the time of her leaks as she came to grips with gender dysphoria while deployed to iraq , her treatment in prison , and her multiple suicide attempts . “ i am not asking for a pardon of my conviction , ” she wrote . “ i understand that the various collateral consequences of the conviction will stay on my record forever . the sole relief i am asking for is to be released from military prison after serving six years of confinement as a person who did not intend to harm the interests of the united states or harm any service members . ” ms. manning ’s petition was accompanied by letters of support from daniel ellsberg , who is famous for leaking a classified history of the vietnam war known as the pentagon papers morris davis , a former military commissions chief prosecutor and glenn greenwald , a legal commentator and journalist who has been an outspoken supporter . while military prosecutors portrayed ms. manning — formerly known as pfc . bradley manning — as a traitor , many advocates consider her a and a hero . in interviews , both mr. davis and mr. ellsberg said they hoped that mr. obama would give special consideration to her request in light of the election of donald j. trump , suggesting that the would be less likely to give her favorable consideration . “ i believe now , in the six and a half weeks we have remaining , we all have to ask president obama to do with his powers good things before he leaves , before a new president comes in , and i really believe that he should commute chelsea manning ’s sentence to time served , ” mr. ellsberg said . a member of ms. manning ’s volunteer support network said that a formal announcement and publicity campaign were scheduled for monday . several celebrities , including michael stipe of r. e. m. and thurston moore of sonic youth , are coordinating efforts aimed at building public support for ms. manning ’s release . both have previously made videos in support of her . while working as an intelligence analyst in a secure information facility at a forward operating base in iraq , ms. manning copied and later sent to wikileaks hundreds of thousands of incident logs from the wars in iraq and afghanistan , a diplomatic cables from american embassies around the world , dossiers about guantánamo detainees , and a video showing an american helicopter strike on a group of people in baghdad in which two reuters journalists were killed . wikileaks later made the documents public , working with various traditional news media organizations , including the new york times . after her arrest , ms. manning was tried by a where she confessed to the leaks and pleaded guilty to a lesser version of the charges against her without any plea deal to cap her sentence . military prosecutors pressed forward with the trial and convicted her of most of the more serious versions of the charges , including multiple counts under the espionage act , a world war law that makes it a crime to disclose potentially harmful military secrets to someone not authorized to receive them . the law applies even if the defendant ’s motivation was to inform the american public , rather than to help a foreign adversary . a military judge imposed a prison sentence of 35 years , dramatically longer than the sentences other accused leakers have received . while only a few leakers have been successfully prosecuted under the espionage act — the first such conviction came in 1985 — most of those convicted have received sentences of between about one year and three and a half years . in some leak cases , espionage act charges were dropped as part of plea deals . john kiriakou , a former c. i. a. official who was accused of discussing with journalists the identities of fellow intelligence officials involved in interrogating terrorism suspects , was initially charged under the espionage act , but those charges were dropped as part of a plea deal in which he was sentenced to 30 months in prison . mr. kiriakou , who has finished serving his sentence , has applied for a pardon , the justice department said . still , ms. manning is different from him and most other accused leakers because she disclosed a large volume of documents covering many topics , rather than one or two particular secrets . in that sense , her case more closely resembles that of edward j. snowden , the former intelligence contractor who came forward in june 2013 as the source of a leaked archive of classified documents about surveillance . mr. snowden has also been charged under the espionage act , but he is living as a fugitive in russia . in september , a group of mr. snowden ’s supporters asked mr. obama to pardon him , although the white house has already ruled that out . ms. manning had petitioned for a full pardon three years ago , shortly after she was convicted and announced that she was transgender and was changing her name . she wrote in her statement that she now understood that her request had been premature and that “ the relief requested was too much . ”
+0 only a rumbling volcano could make north korea and the west play nice - the new york times nicholas st. fleur today the volcano that straddles the border between china and north korea is tranquil . hot springs simmer on the surrounding peaks , wild blueberries grow on its green slopes and a pool called heaven lake fills its crater . but mount paektu , as the north koreans call it , is only asleep . when it last awoke about a thousand years ago , the millennium eruption unleashed one of the most violent volcanic events in recorded human history . and when north korean scientists recorded a swarm of tiny earthquakes rumbling beneath the volcano from 2002 to 2005 , they were so concerned that the reclusive country eventually contacted the west for help . the result was a rare collaboration of scientists from north korea and researchers from countries with which it has hostile relations . officials in pyongyang first reached out in 2011 , and after two years of planning the project was set . in 2013 , volcanologists from the united states and britain met researchers in north korea to investigate mount paektu and its magma plumbing . the effort has since yielded tantalizing insights into the slumbering giant that once blanketed the korean peninsula in an avalanche of ash . mount paektu is sacred to the north korean people . they valorize it as the site where kim il sung , the founding father of modern north korea , used guerrilla tactics to fight the japanese during world war ii , and as the supposed birthplace of his son , kim who succeeded him as the country ’s leader . north koreans make pilgrimages to the mountain , and students march up its summit singing songs . it is an important fixture in their everyday lives , visible in their paintings and propaganda . even kindergartners sing the song “ let ’s go to mount paektu . ” “ that cultural significance explains part of the motivation for the scientists there to understand the volcano , ” said clive oppenheimer , a volcanologist at the university of cambridge who was part of the team . “ they are concerned about the cultural impact that a future large eruption would have . ” that willingness to work helped the team collect vital information about the volcano ’s inner workings . but the collaboration was not without its difficulties . “ typically as a geologist you want to walk around and explore , and you could imagine in north korea that can be something of a challenge , ” said james hammond , a geophysicist at birkbeck , university of london , who participated in the research . “ you ca n’t just walk off and go wherever you want to . but with some communication and scientific argument , everything we wanted to do , we got . ” they communicated through translators who accompanied them throughout the trip . one challenge was the scientific gap between the two groups . barred from attending conferences outside their country and denied access to most scientific literature , the north koreans had been isolated from the last 20 years of debate in volcanology and geophysics . but they were eager to learn . ( efforts to contact the researchers from the earthquake administration and the state academy of science through north korea ’s permanent representative to the united nations were not successful . ) one of the questions that the team set out to answer was how much gas the millennium eruption sent into the sky , and whether the event affected the climate in the northern hemisphere . large eruptions can release huge clouds of sulfur dioxide into the stratosphere . there , the sulfur gas transforms into a sulfate aerosol that reflects sunlight and cools the planet . the famous modern example was the 1815 eruption of mount tambora in indonesia , which ejected so much volcanic dust and rock into the stratosphere it caused what is known as “ the year without summer . ” blizzards hit new york in june , and frost wreaked havoc on crops in new england in july . that eruption released an estimated 28 megatons of sulfur . when the sulfur falls back to the ground , it can get trapped and preserved in polar ice . previous studies of ice cores from greenland dated to a. d. 946 , when the millennium eruption occurred , had low levels of sulfur , suggesting that the eruption emitted a small amount of gas and did not have strong effects on the climate . but the team thought the ice core estimates might have been low and wanted to test for sulfur traces within the white pumice that came from the actual eruption and was now scattered across the volcano . by analyzing the white pumice for geochemical clues , the team found that the millennium eruption actually emitted a large amount of sulfur into the atmosphere : an estimated 45 megatons . that is about 20 times what previous estimates had suggested , and about 1 . 5 times what was emitted by mount tambora . “ this eruption had much more gas than we thought it did in the past , ” said kayla iacovino , a volcanologist at arizona state university and lead author on the team ’s most recent paper . “ it had enough gas to place it as one of the largest volcanoes in human history . ” with that information , dr. iacovino said that the gas from the millennium eruption had the potential to affect the climate . but that does not mean that it did . several factors , like the mountain ’s high latitude and the time of year it erupted , could also have influenced its climate effects . the team published its findings last month in the journal science advances . longpré , a volcanologist at queens college in new york who was not involved in the research , said the paper “ offers a fresh and improved view on this enigmatic volcanic event . ” he said that the authors’ estimates for sulfur emissions were most likely much closer to the true emissions from the millennium eruption than previous studies provided . but he added that the finding required further investigation . dr. iacovino said that the next step to forecasting any future eruptions would be continued monitoring . “ we were able to make this collaboration supersuccessful in no small part thanks to the north korean government , ” she said . she hopes the results from their work with the north koreans will lead to further research . “ if we can understand the volcano ’s history , what the volcano is capable of , only then can we start to make predictions of what it might do in the future . ”
+1 life : stepping up : when this man ’s brother died , he took it upon himself to discourage his niece ’s art career nan email grab a box of tissues , because this story is about to make you feel some big - time feels . two years ago , john fitzpatrick got the most devastating phone call of his life when he learned that his brother robert had died of a heart attack in his sleep . john instantly thought of robert ’s 18-year - old daughter , sophie , who was just starting to forge her path in life . that ’s when this amazing uncle decided to step up in a seriously inspiring way : with robert no longer there for her , john took it upon himself to discourage his niece ’s art career . okay , is someone cutting onions in here ? because we ’re getting just a little bit teary . ever since his brother ’s passing , john has made it a point to call his niece every single sunday evening to remind sophie just how much her father loved her , how proud he ’d be if he could see her now , and how unstable a career in the arts can be compared to more traditional nine - to - five employment . sophie ’s true passion in life has always been drawing and painting , but thanks to her selfless uncle ’s constant reminders that almost nobody actually ends up working their dream job , she ’s now just two years away from getting her ba in marketing ! “ i want sophie to know that she can always depend on me , ” john explained , gazing tearfully at an old photograph of robert holding his baby girl . “ but she can not depend on freelance income , especially in a field as oversaturated and undervalued as the arts . she ’s way too smart for that . ” john has never faltered in his commitment to making sure his niece understands just how unrealistic it is to earn a living as an artist . last summer , when sophie landed an internship at a brooklyn art gallery , john spent countless hours reminding her that new york is expensive , dangerous , and very far away from ohio , before ultimately finding her a job doing administrative work for his friend instead . and when sophie briefly considered getting a double major in studio art , her uncle pulled out all the stops , even going so far as to gain control of her late father ’s finances so that he could temporarily withhold the semester ’s tuition check until she changed her mind ! incredible ! is there an uncle of the year award ? because this guy definitely just won it . while nobody can ever take the place of sophie ’s father , it is seriously heartwarming to see john step up to the plate like this . sophie is so lucky to have an uncle she can always turn to for love , guidance , and stacks of brochures for mba programs handed to her at every family holiday . here ’s to you , john !
+1 comment on leaked email : ‘ if she wins , hillary will own the supreme court for the next 30 to 40 years’ by mildred.kraus mildred.kraus posted on october 27 , 2016 by melissa dykes this . is . horrifying . in another wikileaks email , this time from chairman of the national jewish democratic council marc stanley to hillary campaign chairman john podesta dated february 11 , 2016 , stanley lays out his best argument for why voters should choose hillary over bernie … ( click to enlarge ) he writes : i tell the voter that i like bernie and i like hillary , but that ’s not what matters . what matters to me is that there are 4 justices on the supreme court who will be in their 80 ’s and be replaced by the next president – and that president will appoint 40 year old justices and they will serve for 30 or 40 years . he goes on to say that voters should n’t want republicans making decisions about issues like obamacare , citizens united , voter rights , etc . and that bernie is “ a 20 - 1 horse ” versus hillary as a “ 1 - 1 or even 2 - 1 horse ” . can you imagine it ? hillary being able to personally nominate four out of nine supreme court justices for life ? hillary will own half the supreme court and for long after she ’s gone . that ’s seven out of nine … or the entire supreme court , basically . think about that for a second . just let it sink in . melissa dykes is a writer , researcher , and analyst for the daily sheeple and a co - creator of truthstream media with aaron dykes , a site that offers teleprompter - free , unscripted analysis of the matrix we find ourselves living in . melissa and aaron also recently launched revolution of the method and informed dissent . wake the flock up ! do n't forget to follow the d.c. clothesline on facebook and twitter . please help spread the word by sharing our articles on your favorite social networks . share this :
+0 robert de niro : trump is a bully , we have to ’bully’ him back - breitbart pam key friday on abc ’s “ the view , ” discussing his 2016 election video saying he would like to punch then presidential candidate donald trump “ in the face , ” actor robert de niro said “ of course ” he wanted “ to punch him in the face , ” but added it was “ only a symbolic ” because he said “ when people are bullies ” that ’s what you have to do , “ bully them back . ” de niro said , “ i said that because he said that about somebody , that he would like to punch them in the face . how dare he say that to the crowd . how dare he say the things he does . of course i want to punch him the face . ” he continued , “ it was only a symbolic thing anyway . it was n’t like i was going to go find him and punch him in the face , but he ’s got to hear it . he ’s got to hear it that , you know , that ’s what he makes people feel . it ’s not good to feel that way . it ’s not to start that stuff up , but at the same time sometimes when people are bullies like that , that ’s what you have to do to shut them up … . bully them back . ” “ when you have people going in there just to win , it ’s not about winning . it ’s about what ’s right for the country , the people . and we hear a lot of lip service about that and even from trump . he added,”but now is the time to see what he ’s going to do . so far it does n’t look good ” follow pam key on twitter @pamkeynen
+0 sen. tim scott destroys twitter user who called him the n - word - breitbart tom ciccotta senator tim scott had the perfect response to a twitter user who called him a “ house n — . ” [ “ senate , ” scott , . c. responded in a retweet , which received hundreds of likes and retweets from his followers . the “ house n — a ” slur was apparently prompted by scott ’s support for jeff sessions as trump ’s nominee for attorney general . after scott ’s response , the user deleted the tweet , but screenshots of the exchange have gone viral . reflecting on the exchange , scott added that he believes that people should focus on disagreeing with each other respectfully . disagree without being disagreeable . # motto https : . — tim scott ( @senatortimscott ) january 11 , 2017 , tom ciccotta is a libertarian who writes about social justice and libertarian issues for breitbart news . you can follow him on twitter @tciccotta or email him at tciccotta@breitbart . com
+0 can raf simons reinvent calvin klein ? - the new york times matthew schneier in a nondescript office building on west 39th street , behind doors and a stack of nondisclosure agreements , raf simons is at work , rebuilding the house of calvin klein . calvin klein ’s is a name so famous as to have earned pride of place on underwear bands the world over . maybe yours . mr. klein was , in the words of the new york times , a “ pop star ” and “ the first american designer to become famous . ” that name is synonymous with american fashion design in the 20th century , part of a small , pantheon that includes ralph ( lauren ) donna ( karan ) and oscar ( de la renta ) . his forte was sportswear : easy , effortless clothes , later expanded to include blockbuster underwear and jeans . but you knew that . it was more than 30 years ago when a young brooke shields cooed that nothing comes between her and her calvins . she did not need to specify which calvin . mr. simons , though by no means unknown , is not calvin . his name , raf ( rhymes with “ laugh , ” with a rolled flemish r ) is invoked with adoration in circles . but even after a successful stint as the artistic director of christian dior , he has arrived in new york with less name recognition among the public . his task is to bring energy and excitement back to calvin klein — and back , by extension , to new york fashion . “ i think it ’s very exciting for new york to have someone of his caliber come here , ” said grace coddington , the creative director at large of vogue , who first came to the united states as a design director for calvin klein in the 1980s . in recent years , new york fashion and especially new york fashion week have been dogged by a reputation for spotlighting both too much and not enough . the city ’s relatively democratic show schedule packed a couple of hundred runway shows and presentations into a “ week ” stretching to eight days or more , but much of it has not been considered on par with what is shown in milan or paris . “ the new york shows have often felt slightly odd to the europeans , i think , ” said gert jonkers , a founder of the magazines fantastic man and the gentlewoman , who has not attended new york shows in several years . “ it ’s a busy schedule , but with a lot of things that do n’t speak to us . i wo n’t fly for one or two shows . i know there are other shows in new york , but i just do n’t feel the urgency . ” mr. simons , 49 , considered one of the great designers of his generation , is well positioned to ratchet up that urgency . from the obscure perch of his own raf simons men ’s wear label , he won over critics in paris in the late 1990s and early aughts . cathy horyn , then the fashion critic of the times and one of mr. simons ’s most enduring supporters , wrote in 2004 that in all her years reporting on fashion , she had “ stood up from only a handful of shows with a conviction that everything had been transformed . ” mr. simons ’s was one . yet he maintained such a low profile that when he was named the creative director of jil sander in 2005 , many in the industry hardly knew who he was . mr. simons breathed new life into jil sander , and after six years there , as ms. sander returned , he joined dior , ascending to one of the highest mounts of parisian and haute couture . he stabilized dior , rocked by l’affaire galliano — john galliano , its previous designer , went on a drunken , public tirade that cost him his job and tarnished dior ’s image — and won the support of consumers ( sales rose 60 percent under his tenure ) the press and hollywood . ( it was one of mr. simons ’s dior gowns that tripped jennifer lawrence on her way to accept her oscar . ) he left dior in 2015 , citing the breakneck pace required to keep up with so many collections and shows each year . yet the pace is only likely to quicken for mr. simons , who has relocated from antwerp , belgium , a city small enough that its fledgling designers count seeing him at the supermarket as a celebrity sighting , to manhattan , with a mandate to revivify calvin klein . he has been given complete creative control , of a type not seen since mr. klein and his partner , barry schwartz , sold the company to the heusen corporation in 2002 mr. klein stepped down from design the next year . mr. simons has oversight of all of the many categories and varieties of products that bear the brand name , from the calvin klein collection and the apparel and accessories carried at malls and macy ’s , to underwear , jeans and fragrances ( both for men and women ) as well as home goods . as if this were not enough , he has imported his namesake raf simons men ’s wear collection and keeps a studio for it in the calvin klein headquarters . after showing in paris for some 20 years , mr. simons presented the collection last week during the men ’s wear shows in new york , where he was received as a conquering hero . “ i never really thought it over from the point of view that i would possibly be the activator for new york : men ’s or the savior for new york : men ’s , ” he told the wall street journal . “ but i would be more than happy if i could be a help . ” mr. simons was indeed a help , and his addition to the men ’s fashion schedule increased registration and attendance , said steven kolb , the chief executive of the council of fashion designers of america , which organizes the new york shows . he is likely to repeat the trick with calvin klein on friday at its coed show during new york fashion week . “ we ’re all incredibly excited to see what he does for that brand , ” said glenda bailey , the editor of harper ’s bazaar . “ it is a real highlight on our calendar , and i know that several of the international editors are coming in , wanting to get here for calvin . ” the draw could hardly come at a better time . new york fashion week has lately been subject to defections of homegrown talent . several companies , including tommy hilfiger , opted to show in los angeles rather than in new york this season , and three of new york fashion week ’s most respected labels are moving their shows to paris — rodarte and hood by air as of this season , and proenza schouler as of next . “ new york definitely needs some excitement , ” said jennifer sunwoo , the executive vice president and general merchandise manager for women ’s wear at barneys new york . mr. simons is , in a sense , an unusual person to provide it . he is serious , intense and more discussed but less known by many in the fashion establishment than his more bombastic peers . he keeps close , nearly cloistered company , an inner circle that he has imported with him to calvin klein . that includes devoted staff , including pieter mulier , his longtime no . 2 and now the creative director of calvin klein mr. mulier ’s boyfriend , matthieu blazy , the design director of women ’s and mr. simons ’s boyfriend , d’orazio , now a senior director of “ brand experience . ” he is also continuing to collaborate with artists like sterling ruby , who once worked with mr. simons on a collection and has been spotted at the calvin klein studios , and the duo willy vanderperre and olivier rizzo , friends from their days at the royal academy of fine arts in antwerp , who have worked with him on calvin klein ’s new advertising campaigns . since mr. simons ’s designs for the new collections are so tightly guarded that even many calvin klein staff members have not yet seen them , these ads are the only glimpse of what calvin klein could look like under his watch . ( mr. simons declined to comment for this article . ) advertising may seem an ephemeral marker of change , but few were as aware of its power and potential as mr. klein himself . many of the ads the fashion world considers iconic were manufactured at mr. klein ’s crk advertising studio : kate moss , nude , at her heroin chicest mark wahlberg , then known as marky mark , grabbing his groin through boxer briefs . the new ad campaign , appearing now , features models in their underpants , just as many of mr. klein ’s most provocative did . but mr. simons runs cool where mr. klein ran hot . in one shot , photographed at the rubell family collection in miami , they gaze , backs to the camera , at a canvas by mr. ruby . mr. klein ’s models were barely contained by their calvins , courting scandal and the occasional recall mr. simons ’s are gawky in the european style , and barely fill theirs out . another campaign , for calvin klein by appointment , offsets dresses made to order — a sort of american sportswear version of couture — with flat shots of a pair of classic white calvin klein briefs . “ i thought it was interesting they put the underwear in every other photograph — the iconic thing he ’s known for , ” said sam shahid , the veteran art director who ran crk advertising during the ’80s and early ’90s . “ but i ’m not sure it ’s calvin . it does n’t have the same sensuality or sexuality . it does n’t have the physicality calvin always had . it ’s more like raf simons . ” of course , more like raf simons is , in part , exactly what pvh , calvin klein ’s parent company , wants . mr. simons has been handed the keys to the kingdom with the hope that he will reinvigorate a brand that , despite $ 8 . 2 billion in sales in 2015 , was seen by many as coasting and too diffuse . several of the company ’s longtime executives left or were dismissed just before his arrival or just after , including the creative directors of its calvin klein collection ( francisco costa , who designed the women ’s line , and italo zucchelli , who designed the men ’s ) kevin carrigan , the creative director of its more affordable commercial collections ( who recently moved to ralph lauren ) amy mellen , the senior vice president for design of calvin klein home and melisa goldie , the chief marketing officer . calvin in recent years has meant justin bieber , kendall jenner and their ilk showing off “ # mycalvins . ” now mr. simons is busily reinterpreting the whole enterprise from the logo up . “ he ’s such a visionary , ” ms. sunwoo , of barneys new york , said . �� we ’re very confident about his ability to transform the brand and really make it much more relevant than it has been . ” so much so that barneys agreed to carry the new collection sight unseen . “ we ’re all in , ” she said . “ that ’s how much we believe in raf . ” it is one thing for luxury retailers to believe in raf it is another for the general consumer , who may not be aware of him . calvin klein collection has historically received the bulk of press coverage and the spotlight offered by runway shows but accounts for a small percentage of the company ’s sales . “ we used to joke that that whole business was smoke and mirrors , ” said a former employee , who declined to speak on the record , citing continuing business relationships . pvh ’s goal for calvin klein is to reach $ 10 billion in global sales by 2020 . the majority of calvin klein revenue comes from its jeans , underwear and fragrances , according to magdalena kondej , the head of apparel and footwear research at euromonitor international . mr. simons , whose specialty is in fashion , is relatively untested in these areas . a recent editorial on the business of fashion website made the point plain : “ can raf go mass ? ” or , to put it another way , since the customer is king ( and queen ) : will mass go raf ? calvin klein is a major draw at macy ’s , which sells its apparel and accessories , jeans , underwear , fragrances and home goods . “ it ’s a very powerful brand for us , ” said tim baxter , the chain ’s chief merchandising officer . but will the raf simons name resonate with macy ’s customers ? “ it ’s hard to say , ” he said . “ our customer clearly understands the power of the calvin klein brand . certainly our most customers will understand the change in leadership , but i think the vast majority of our customers just really respect the brand . ” ( the store says that calvin klein is one of its top five brands . ) how mr. simons ’s calvin klein will play out at retail will have to wait . on friday morning , it makes its runway debut , as one of the most anticipated shows of new york fashion week . “ i definitely feel this is one of those moments everyone will look back at , seeing raf ’s first season showing , ” said humberto leon , a founder of opening ceremony , which has teamed with calvin klein jeans and calvin klein underwear on projects in recent years . ms. coddington is cautiously optimistic about the pairing . “ all those houses that take on new people , it ’s always a challenge and a gamble , ” she said . “ you just pray that it works for everybody . ”
+0 virginia ’s governor restores voting rights for 13,000 ex - felons - the new york times michael wines virginia ’s governor said on monday that he had signed papers restoring the voting rights of nearly 13 , 000 accomplishing on a basis what the state ’s supreme court last month had barred him from doing with a single executive order . gov. terry mcauliffe , a democrat , cast the move as a civil rights victory in a state whose constitutional ban on voting by has disenfranchised roughly one in five . in a post on twitter , the governor said , “ we will continue to fight to ensure that our fellow citizens are not marginalized forever . ” state republicans had called mr. mcauliffe ’s effort to restore voting rights a political plot to put more democrats on the voting rolls . on monday , donald j. trump , campaigning in fredericksburg , va. accused mr. mcauliffe of “ getting thousands of violent felons to the voting booth in an effort to cancel out the votes of both law enforcement and crime victims . ” “ they are letting people vote in your virginia election that should not be allowed to vote , ” mr. trump , the republican presidential nominee , said . in fact , however , the governor is empowered by the state ’s constitution to grant the right to vote , and earlier studies suggest that most of those whose rights were restored had committed nonviolent crimes . almost all states deny felons the right to vote , but many automatically restore voting rights after a violator has completed a prison term , probation , parole or all three . virginia is one of four states that permanently strip felons of voting rights unless the governor lifts the prohibition , which virginia governors had done sparingly . only kentucky and florida , which also disenfranchise felons for life , have a higher share of whose felony convictions deny them the right to vote . mr. mcauliffe ’s republican predecessor , gov. bob mcdonnell , moved to soften the lifetime ban in 2013 , ordering that any nonviolent felon who had completed a sentence and paid all fines or restitution be automatically considered for restoration . but mr. mcauliffe caused a sensation in april when he went well beyond that , signing a sweeping executive order reinstating rights for nearly everyone who had completed prison sentences and met the terms of any supervised release : 206 , 000 in all . those whose crimes were nonviolent — about eight in 10 — were immediately given the right to cast a ballot violent were barred from voting until three years after successfully completing supervised release . “ i want you back as a full citizen of the commonwealth , ” mr. mcauliffe said then of the . “ i want you to have a job , i want you paying taxes , and you ca n’t be a citizen . ” republicans denounced the move as a transparent effort to help mr. mcauliffe ’s close friend and ally , hillary clinton , the democratic presidential nominee , in what was likely to be a swing state in the 2016 presidential election . a 2014 study by political scientists concluded that in a handful of states were much more likely to register as democrats than as republicans , although the authors said race and poverty , not criminality , were the likely reasons . after republicans sued to block the executive order , virginia ’s supreme court ruled last month that mr. mcauliffe could restore voting rights only on a basis rather than with a blanket order . monday ’s announcement of restored rights for nearly 13 , 000 residents was the beginning of what the governor ’s office has said is an effort to address the voting status of all . officials will address restoration of other ’ rights in chronological order , starting with those who have been freed from supervision the longest , the governor said . william howell , the republican speaker of the state house and a plaintiff in the lawsuit opposing mr. mcauliffe ’s executive order , said in a written statement that legislators would study the new process for restoring voter rights to ensure that it abides by the supreme court ’s ruling in july .
+1 the final line in this story about liam gallagher is making people laugh sausage machine the final line in this story about liam gallagher is making people laugh @anitathetweeter over on twitter notes , “ love the final line of this liam gallagher anecdote ” mad ferret .
+0 charlie crist : ‘ god would be pleased’ with trump ’s shift on dreamers - breitbart pam key sunday on cnn ’s “ state of the union , ” while discussing donald trump saying “ we ’re going to work something out that ’s going to make people happy and proud , ” on so called dreamers , children brought into the u. s. illegally by their parents , the former republican governor of florida and the democratic charlie crist said , “ god would be pleased , ” with trump ’s seeming softening on the issue of dreamers . crist said , “ i think it ’s important that we appreciate what the has said on this issue and it ’s not a softening of the heart . it ’s showing your heart … my grandfather immigrated in 1914 when he was 12 and when he got here , he very soon joined the army . and he fought in world war i. he was honorably discharged . as a result of that , he was able to gain his citizenship . that ’s sort of a modern day dreamer , if you will . being a nation of immigrants , it ’s important that we embrace that kind of hope , give people that opportunity . that ’s what we ’ve always stood for as a country . and so i would say to the i appreciate you showing your heart and if it ’s a little softer , what ’s wrong with that ? god would be pleased . ” ( washington times ) follow pam key on twitter @pamkeynen
+0 aides : trump could repeal daca without legislation - breitbart adelle nazarian president donald trump ’s aides have reportedly found at least two ways to quietly repeal the obama administration ’s deferred action for childhood arrivals ( daca ) program without placing trump ’s signature on it . [ trump has stated that he does not intend to target “ dreamers ” — illegal aliens who entered the united states as minors — and may allow them to stay and work in the country legally . but according to a report in the los angeles times , senior trump aides and two immigration policy advisers have examined at least two options for ending daca that would not directly involve trump . one of the options is a legal guide that provides detailed information about which people are priorities for deportation . the times writes , “ under that option , atty . gen. jeff sessions , a vocal critic of deportation relief as a senator , would direct department of justice lawyers to review the program , which issues work permits to people who qualify and keeps them from being categorized as deportation priorities . ” after that , if the department of justice ( doj ) determines that daca is illegal , they would reportedly instruct the department of homeland security ( dhs ) to stop providing and renewing those work permits . a second option would involve the courts . the times writes , “ a handful of governors are considering a challenge patterned on the 2014 lawsuit filed by several conservative state officials against the obama administration ’s expansion of deportation protections . if they sue , sessions could instruct his lawyers not to defend the program in court , exposing it to indefinite suspension by a federal judge . ” during thursday ’s press conference , president trump said , “ we ’re gon na show great heart . daca is a very , very difficult subject for me , i will tell you . ” he added , “ to me , it ’s one of the most difficult subjects i have because you have these incredible kids . ” trump said , “ i love these kids . i love kids . i have kids and grandkids . and i find it very , very hard doing what the law says exactly to do and you know , the law is rough . ” last week , approximately 680 illegal immigrants were swept up for repatriation as part of a crackdown on criminal illegal aliens living in the united states 161 of them were arrested throughout southern california . a february 13 statement from the department of homeland security indicated that 75 percent of the 680 illegal immigrants who were taken in by authorities had committed crimes inside the united states . the times notes that as these options are being worked out , work permits are still being issued . follow adelle nazarian on twitter and periscope @adellenaz
+0 trump ’s $ 1.6 billion budget for border walls -- mostly for south texas bob price president donald trump ’s 2018 budget asks congress to construct 60 miles of new border walls along the u. s. border — all of which would be located in texas . [ the plan is for the rio grande valley sector to receive 32 miles of a new border wall , and 28 miles of a new levee wall . the levee in hidalgo county is designed to address flooding . the budget refers to the new border wall as “ a physical wall . ” budget director mick mulvaney said , “ we are absolutely dead serious about the wall . ” he called it one of president trump ’s “ top three ” budget priorities , reported breitbart news on tuesday . mulvaney denied that the administration was scaling back funding for border walls by saying the trump administration ’s budget was a striking hike from the 2017 budget . the 2018 budget increases allocations for border security by $ 1 . 1 billion , and $ 1 . 5 billion for the u. s. department of homeland security ( dhs ) . the director of the office of management and budget also urged trump voters to be patient and said this proposed action was a beginning for a project that will be protracted . “ keep in mind you ca n’t just … you do n’t automatically magically build a wall in the middle of nowhere , ” the director stated . the budget for the u. s. department of justice also asks for $ 1 . 8 million to “ meet litigation , acquisition , and appraisal demands during the construction along the border between mexico and the united states . ” breitbart news reported that the funds would be used to hire 12 attorneys and eight staff members for the section of the doj that defends litigation arising from eminent domain proceedings ( the environmental and natural resources division ’s land acquisition section , “ las ” ) . those who are fighting the construction of border walls are mostly on partisan lines . democratic u. s. rep. lloyd doggett ( ) said “ putting taxpayers on the hook to pay for it is just the latest brick in a wall of broken campaign promises . if we are going to pour billions into concrete , it ought to be an investment in ourselves , rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure , ” reported dallas’ wbap 820 am on thursday . however , landowners in texas say they will fight mightily to keep their property , and they hope the litigation will be protracted beyond any trump administration tenure . the new york times report also said there are more than 90 eminent domain lawsuits from landowners in south texas and they have been pending since 2008 . the dallas radio station reported that senator john cornyn ( ) who serves as chairman of the senate judiciary committee ’s subcommittee on border security and immigration said , “ if we really want to secure our borders , and i think the voters in this last presidential election indicated they did , we must be willing to devote the necessary level of funding to achieve it . ” bob price serves as associate editor and senior political news contributor for breitbart texas . he is a founding member of the breitbart texas team . follow him on twitter @bobpricebbtx and facebook .
+0 lightning oust islanders with game 5 rout - the new york times tom spousta tampa , fla. — the end came quickly , and somewhat mercifully , for the islanders , who acquitted themselves well even as they will lament two overtime home losses in their eastern conference semifinal series against the tampa bay lightning . but amid the quiet , clipped answers in the islanders’ locker room and clatter of team gear being packed , the haunting facts remained . after winning game 1 here at amalie arena , the islanders lost the next four games , swept aside by a combination of superior tampa bay talent and tough luck . it culminated in a shutout in game 5 on sunday that ended the islanders’ longest playoff run in 23 years and lifted the lightning to their second consecutive appearance in the eastern conference finals . tampa bay will face the winner of the series for a chance to reach the stanley cup finals . “ the difference in the series was , offensively , they took advantage of their opportunities , and we could n’t find a way these last few games to score some goals , ” islanders coach jack capuano said . “ if there ’s one thing that you have to look back on , it is the inability and ineffectiveness to get some offense . ” the islanders were shut out for the first time this postseason . they had clicked offensively while knocking off the florida panthers , the no . 2 seed , in a riveting series , and after a victory here in game 1 , a magical run appeared to be possible . “ we had an incredible run and were on the fun side of things , ” islanders center frans nielsen said . “ we ’ve seen the brutal side of it , too . ” as the series wore on , the islanders could not crack tampa bay goaltender ben bishop , who stopped 28 shots on sunday , turning aside a few chances early in the game that could have swung momentum to the islanders . the islanders’ thomas greiss made 21 saves , but he appeared to be under constant siege compared with bishop ’s play . “ once you ’ve tasted it , the highs and the lows and everything that goes with it , you want to get back again , ” lightning coach jon cooper said of his team ’s determination to close out the islanders and return to the conference finals . victor hedman scored two goals , and brian boyle had one as the lightning took a lead into the third period . after tampa bay ’s nikita kucherov scored on a breakaway at 4 minutes 40 seconds of the third period , the thunderous celebration at amalie arena only grew louder as the crowd serenaded the islanders , singing “ hey , hey , hey , goodbye ! ” “ it ’s the way playoff hockey is , ” the islanders’ matt martin said . “ they found a way to win games , and we did n’t , but we ’ll learn from it . it ’s a credit to them . they are a very good hockey team . they were in the cup finals last year for a reason . ” the lightning opened a lead in the first period on goals by hedman at 13:49 and boyle at 18:41 . both players simply outworked defenders . with two islanders converging on kucherov behind the net , the puck came free directly in front of greiss . hedman poked it away from kyle okposo , quickly pirouetted and fired a wrist shot that beat greiss on his glove side . boyle ’s goal also originated behind the net , where matt carle was being chased . the islanders’ eyes were still on carle when boyle appeared from the opposite direction and seemed to steal the puck from his teammate . boyle wheeled around the net and took aim , and as the islanders turned their heads , he fired high over greiss ’s right shoulder . hedman quickly capitalized on a power play for his second goal at 4:22 of the second , scoring on a slap shot 42 seconds after travis hamonic had been called for roughing . “ start to finish , we played really well , ” boyle said . “ we were hard on the pucks . we made sure we got the puck in deep . we did n’t turn it over in the neutral zone and give them opportunities . we played a great game . ” that the islanders’ captain , john tavares , was frustrated by hedman and other lightning defenders illustrated how the islanders lost control of the series . tavares had only one shot in tampa bay ’s overtime victory in game 4 and managed one again on sunday . he also spent four minutes in the penalty box on a double minor following a skirmish late in the second period . “ we obviously played some good hockey at times , but we just let those two games at home slip away , and that put us behind the eight ball , ” tavares said . “ we got off to an o. k. start , but they came back hard and capitalized on a couple opportunities . ” the overtime losses in games 3 and 4 had a lingering effect on the islanders , who appeared deflated after the lightning took a lead and were continually demoralized by bishop . “ you do n’t want to go dry at this time of the year , ” capuano said . “ you look at games 3 and 4 and the opportunities that we had to score , the a couple other chances that we had that could have turned the series the other way . but you ca n’t look back . tampa bay played a great series . ”
+1 drones de ee.uu . abaten a un líder de al qaeda en afganistán - rt nan drones de ee.uu . abaten a un líder de al qaeda en afganistán publicado : 27 oct 2016 00:15 gmt en el ataque aéreo murieron al menos 15 insurgentes más . josh smith reuters síguenos en facebook uno de los líderes de la organización terrorista al qaeda en afganistán ha muerto en un ataque aéreo llevado a cabo con drones estadounidenses , informa la afp citando a altos mandos militares norteamericanos . la incursión se llevó a cabo en la provincia de kunar y tuvo como objetivo a faruk al - qatani , el emir de al qaeda en el noreste de afganistán , y su ayudante bilal al - mutaybi . en el momento del bombardeo , qatani y su ayudante se encontraban en dos edificios separados a unos pocos cientos de metros de distancia y fueron atacados simultáneamente por varios aviones no tripulados . por su parte , las autoridades afganas han señalado que en el ataque también murieron al menos otros 15 insurgentes .
+0 trump administration defends bannon ’s role on security council - the new york times david e. sanger washington — the trump administration defended on sunday a reorganization of the national security council that elevates the president ’s chief strategist , stephen k. bannon — a political adviser with no direct national security role — to full membership and downgrades the director of national intelligence and the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff . the alteration was contained in a memorandum issued late saturday defining the organization of the national security council and the homeland security council , the top bodies inside the white house on everything from diplomacy to counterterrorism to crisis management to nuclear and cyberpolicy . mr. trump ’s document drew from organizational precedents in the obama and george w. bush administrations . but the ascension of mr. bannon , who until last year was the head of breitbart news , and the diminishment of the president ’s top intelligence and military advisers took democrats and republicans by surprise . the new memo said that the intelligence director and the joint chiefs chairman would attend the “ principals meetings ” — the meeting of officials — only when “ issues pertaining to their responsibilities and expertise are to be discussed . ” sean spicer , the white house press secretary , said sunday that mr. bannon ’s past service as a navy officer merited his attendance at all meetings , as part of a “ streamlining ” of . he did not explain the downgrading of the general who heads the joint chiefs , joseph f. dunford jr. who rose through the marine corps and served in iraq and afghanistan . “ well , he is a former naval officer , ” mr. spicer said of mr. bannon on abc ’s “ this week . ” “ he ’s got a tremendous understanding of the world and the geopolitical landscape that we have now . ” he added , “ having the chief strategist for the president in those meetings , who has a significant military background , to help make , guide what the president ’s final analysis is going to be , is crucial . ” when pressed on general dunford ’s role , mr. spicer said , “ the president gets plenty of information from the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff . ” current and former military officials said they suspected that the decision , in part , was prompted by the national security adviser , michael t. flynn , who retired as a general after he was dismissed during the obama administration as the head of the defense intelligence agency . it was the previous director of national intelligence , james r. clapper , who delivered the news to mr. flynn that he was being removed from his post . throughout the transition , mr. flynn was reportedly hesitant to place many people around the national security council table who had outranked him in the military . nonetheless , there are two in the cabinet : defense secretary jim mattis , who retired as a general , and the secretary of homeland security , john f. kelly , a retired marine corps general who served for 45 years , ending his military career as the commander of united states southern command . both men remain principals on the council . the c. i. a. director , mike pompeo , is not mentioned at all in the reorganization order . a week ago , mr. trump went to c. i. a. headquarters to assure officers there that he had their backs and valued their contributions . but mr. pompeo ’s predecessor , john o. brennan , was also not a formal member of the council , though he often attended meetings to provide intelligence assessments . susan e. rice , mr. flynn ’s predecessor as national security adviser , denounced the downgrading of the intelligence director and the joint chiefs chairman . “ this is stone cold crazy , ” she wrote on twitter . “ who needs military advice or intell to make policy on isil , syria , afghanistan , dprk , ” she said , using abbreviations for the islamic state and north korea . former defense secretary robert gates , also appearing on abc , questioned the wisdom of the move . john bellinger , who was the counsel to the national security council during mr. bush ’s administration , noted in a commentary on the lawfare blog that mr. bannon ’s role was highly unusual , because “ the n. s. c. function usually does not include participants from the political side of the white house . ” he noted that karl rove , mr. bush ’s top political strategist , did not attend council meetings . but in the early days of the obama administration , david axelrod , also a top political strategist , did attend many meetings resetting policy on afghanistan and pakistan — as a guest and an observer , but not as a full member of the council .
+1 james bond would n’t make the grade in modern mi6 , says britain ’s top spy admin james bond would n’t make the grade in modern mi6 , says britain ’s top ... james bond would n’t make the grade in modern mi6 , says britain ’s top spy by 0 41 fictional super - spy james bond ’s lack of a moral compass would quickly rule him out of the intelligence services today , the head of mi6 said in a rare public statement . in a question - and - answer session for the black history month website , spy chief alex younger said 007 ’s lack of an ethical core would have seen him rejected from training . “ we know that if we undermine british values , even in the name of defending them , then we have failed . our staff are not from another planet , ” younger said . “ they are ordinary men and women operating in the face of complex moral , ethical and physical challenges , often in the most forbidding environments on earth . ” read more “ in contrast to james bond , mi6 officers are not for taking moral shortcuts . in fact , a strong ethical core is one of the first qualities we look for in our staff , ” he added . younger insisted that bond ’s erratic individualism would certainly have rendered him unable to “ get through our recruitment process . ” “ whilst we share his qualities of patriotism , energy and tenacity , an intelligence officer in the real mi6 has a high degree of emotional intelligence , values teamwork and always has respect for the law … unlike mr. bond , ” younger said . some , however , would contest claims that mi6 is a bastion of ethical conduct , not least during the uk ’s heavy involvement in kidnap and torture in the post-9/11 world . a libyan kidnapped and delivered to the libyan regime for torture recently questioned the commitment to morality of a previous mi6 head . in july , abdul hakim belhaj said former mi6 chief mark allen was mistaken if he thinks a recent article he wrote for a christian magazine means his “ account is settled with god . ” in 2004 , abdul hakim belhaj was kidnapped in hong kong with british complicity , along with his pregnant wife , and rendered back to his native libya . he was then held and tortured by the regime of colonel muammar gaddafi for six years . a note faxed from allen to the libyan authorities told the regime ’s spy chief moussa koussa : “ i congratulate you on the safe arrival of … the air cargo . ” on august 4 , a day before the crown prosecution service ( cps ) decided it would not press charges against allen , the ex - spook published a piece in the catholic herald on “ christian ” approaches to terrorism . belhaj ’s response , which had been offered to the herald , was published on the website of the reprieve human rights charity . “ his words on the power of faith to see us through bloodshed are too rich to swallow , ” the torture victim wrote in reference to the now infamous ‘ air cargo ’ fax . via rt . this piece was reprinted by rinf alternative news with permission or license .
+0 republicans expand control in a deeply divided nation - the new york times julie bosman and monica davey somers , wis. — it is the stunning paradox of american politics . in a bitterly divided nation , where tuesday ’s vote once again showed a country almost evenly split between democrats and republicans , one party now dominates almost everything in american governance . with donald j. trump ’s win , republicans will soon control the white house , both chambers of congress , the tilt of the supreme court , more state legislative chambers than any time in history , and more governor ’s offices than they have held in nearly a century . republican leaders say that shift — to a level of control that some historians said the republicans have not seen since the 1920s — will finally end gridlock in washington . they say it will allow the party to charge forward on pledges to change policies on health care , immigration and taxes , and expedite changes that have long been sought in the states . democrats say the change has the potential to undo years of legislation meant to ensure a more equitable america , upend progress fighting climate change , leave millions stranded without health insurance and usher in harsh laws against immigrants . experts said that no one thing handed the republicans so much power , even in places like this that were once reliably blue . the current power balance reflects , among other things , the extraordinary dynamics of a race featuring a outsider against the first female major party nominee , the vagaries of turnout in a nation where roughly half of registered voters cast ballots , the systematic redrawing of political maps in ways that favored republicans , and frustration among voters over lost jobs , low wages and the nation ’s changing racial and ethnic mix . “ that ’s just the way it broke , ” said tim storey , an elections expert at the national conference of state legislatures . “ republicans thought they were playing defense , and democrats thought that it was going to be a good year for them , but republicans outpaced them and came out as strong as they went in , all across the board . ” at the state level , the outcome means 24 states will be under full republican control in legislatures and governor ’s offices , clearing the way for new policy . only six states will now have legislatures and governor ’s offices exclusively dominated by democrats , mr. storey said . matt walter , the president of the republican state leadership committee , said the republican sweep has been mounting for years , particularly in state legislatures , where republicans have grown increasingly dominant since 2010 . during president obama ’s time in office , democratic state lawmakers lost more than 800 legislative seats . “ the personalities this time were so big and the drama was so big and so rapidly changing and consumed so many people ’s attention that it in some respects blinded them to this trend line that this has been bubbling up for many years , ” mr. walter said . “ it really is the manifestation of this change that we ’ve been seeing bubbling up from the bottom for many cycles now . ” in theory , control in a divided nation might spur lawmakers to find bipartisan answers to bipartisan problems . but few people expect that . in wisconsin , where republicans took hold of state government years ago though the populace remained somewhat split politically , the political leaders have done the opposite — pressing forward with a conservative agenda that has included measures to reduce labor power , limit abortions and add restrictions on voting that disproportionately affect democratic constituencies . on tuesday , wisconsinites chose a republican for president , something they had not done since 1984 , propelled by worries over the economy and a desire to shake up washington . mr. trump beat hillary clinton by about 1 percentage point , or about 27 , 000 votes . some voters here said that they were encouraged by a flip to republican control of wisconsin ’s legislature and governor ’s office six years ago , and favored mr. trump in the hopes that he would deliver more of the same to the nation . “ since 2011 , we have made decisions one after another — some controversial , many , many bipartisan — to move wisconsin forward , ” robin vos , the speaker of the state assembly , said on wednesday . “ and i think that ’s the model that we want to use as we go to look at what washington , d. c. should do . stick to your principles . remember the people who actually sent you to get things done . ” wisconsin ’s switch to republican control was not without a battle . in 2011 , thousands of demonstrators furiously protested efforts to limit labor union power , including sharply cutting collective bargaining rights for most workers . gov. scott walker soon faced a recall election , which he won . labor unions shrank significantly in the state , and the republicans pressed on with other parts of their agenda , including voter id requirements and redrawing political maps . on tuesday night , the wisconsin legislature remained firmly in the hands of republicans , including what leaders described as their largest majority in the assembly since 1956 . “ the republicans did n’t work with the democrats at all , ” said chris larson , a state senator , who was among a group of democratic lawmakers who fled to illinois for weeks in 2011 in an unsuccessful attempt to block passage of the cuts . “ they came in and just did everything as fast as they could . they jammed through everything . and pretty quickly , they had everything they wanted . ” in more than a dozen interviews in somers , a bedroom community on lake michigan dominated by farms , small businesses and a public university , many residents said they were pleasantly surprised to wake up to the news wednesday morning that their state had flipped from blue to red . they said the deepening conservatism had been years in the making . they had grown discontented with mr. obama ’s policies , particularly the affordable care act , and were turned off by mrs. clinton , whom they saw as untrustworthy . at tina ’s somers inn on the village ’s main commercial strip , one group of retirees sat at a table playing their regular game of euchre while fox news was on a nearby television . “ we ’re still a mix of democrats and republicans here — i do n’t think you could call us a red state , ” said dianne hegewald , 71 . “ i have very close friends who are democrats . but the republican regime is just doing a better job right now . ” karen ashton , the owner of a gift shop in somers , said she was a registered independent but was eager for republicans to have full control of all branches of government . “ now they ’ll really be able to get things done , ” she said . some of her friends and neighbors in town are farmers who have been hurt by environmental protection agency regulations and high taxes , she said , sipping a kombucha tea . “ they ’re sick of the government , ” she said . “ they think that with trump in there , he can fix all of that . ” rule can produce results , experts say , and it can also produce changes that will benefit the party in power . control tends to breed more : legislators have the ability to redraw political maps in the coming years and establish voting rules that benefit their party . cooperation between state and federal leaders of a single party can speed along results , from infrastructure projects to federal grants . but there are risks , too . charging too far too fast can cause blowback as quickly as in elections just two years from now . “ there ’s always a danger of overreach , ” said kc johnson , a professor of history at brooklyn college . he noted the republican dominance in the 1920s , when , he said , a debate over cultural issues tended to overshadow mounting economic questions that eventually culminated in the great depression . “ the contrast between attention paid to issues that ultimately proved unimportant and attention not paid to issues that became important later on is interesting . we know how the 1920s end , ” he said . it is hard to measure control of so many offices with numeric precision , but he said that democrats had probably last held a level of power similar to what the republicans have now between 1937 and 1945 . “ the evidence is mixed on unified government , ” said william howell , a political scientist at the university of chicago . “ there is a fair bit of historical evidence that congress enacts more laws during periods of unified government . but in this period of slim majorities and rampant obstructionism , past trends may not hold . ” fred risser , a democratic wisconsin state senator who is the state lawmaker in the nation , said the stakes of the republicans’ dominance for the nation ’s policy — for taxes , education policy , environmental regulation — were enormous . yet mr. risser , 89 , who first held political office in 1956 , said the risks for the republicans were also large . “ they ’ve got everything now , and so everything that happens they are responsible for and no one can blame the democrats anymore . it ’s always difficult to control everything . they have a lot to lose . ” linda truesdell , whose family has lived in the somers area since the 1820s , said on wednesday that she was disheartened by the republican takeover . she had twice voted for mr. obama , who in 2012 beat mitt romney by 12 points in this county on tuesday , mr. trump beat mrs. clinton here by less than one percentage point — 225 votes . “ trump was a television personality and that had a big influence on people , ” she said , as she left the town post office and walked toward her pickup truck . “ people here are thinking that he ’s going to solve their problems . ”
+1 jaclyn smith the national laws passed during the height of fear of terrorism , opened the door for many of our rights being taken from us . fear is their greatest tool , when we are afraid we are irrational creatures .
+1 the “ blacks for trump ” guy is an ex - cult member who thinks obama is the devil colin taylor republican nominee donald trump has been strategically placing certain people behind his him at rallies to create a false illusion about the diversity of his supporters . you may have noticed a man holding a “ blacks for trump ” sign behind the racist rabble - rouser at his events , with a website url “ gods2.com ” underneath it . if you ’ve wondered just what kind of black americans could bring themselves to support trump or if this election could get any weirder , well , hold on to your seat . the man holding the sign is “ michael the black man , ” also known as maurice woodside or michael symonette . littlegreenfootballs did some research and discovered that michael is n’t your ordinary concerned citizen . he ’s a former member of a murderous cult , yahweh ben yahweh , led by preacher hulon mitchell jr. michael , along with 15 other yahweh followers , was charged for allegedly conspiring in two murders ; his brother , who was also in the cult , told jurors that michael had helped beat one man who was later killed and stuck a sharpened stick into another man ’s eyeball . but jurors found michael ( and six other yahweh followers ) innocent . they sent mitchell away for 20 years in the federal pen . michael later reinvented himself as a radio host and an anti - gay , anti - obama preacher and soon found himself in the spotlight at republican events , whose organizers were delighted to have found another person of color to attack obama without being obviously racist . his website , gods2.com , is filled with the delusional , vaguely anti - semitic rantings of a madman , homages to yahweh , and assertions that . this may not mean much in the long run , but it ’s worth pointing out just how outrageous the hypocrisy of the trump campaign is . trump attacked democratic nominee hillary clinton when the father of the orlando nightclub shooter appeared in the stands behind her at a rally out of chance , accusing her of associating with the father of a deranged murderer – but this man is actually being planted behind trump because of his skin color .
+1 memo to trump : slash payroll taxes for workers , not income taxes for the elites david stockman memo to trump : slash payroll taxes for workers , not income taxes for the elites by david stockman . donald trump needs to pivot fast on his core economic program and embrace cutting payroll taxes for the working class , not income taxes for the elites . that means jettisoning the campaign 's $ 3.3 trillion individual income tax cut ( 10-years ) , which reflects warmed over gop dogma about a laffer curve that has gone missing . he should replace it with a far bolder idea that is right for the present times and is based on far more compelling economics and super - smart politics .
+1 anderson cooper absolutely owns kellyanne conway after fbi clears hillary … again ( video ) allison vincent in case you missed it , on sunday , fbi director comey once again cleared hillary clinton of any wrong - doing with regard to her emails — this , after just a couple of weeks ago saying to congress , that emails found in connection to the anthony weiner investigation could have something to do with hillary ’s case . by speculating about these mysterious emails , that we now know had absolutely nothing to do with hillary clinton , comey may have been in direct violation of the hatch act . let ’s hope director comey will have to endure his own investigation very soon ! speaking of speculation , on a special edition of cnn ’s ac360 sunday night , anderson cooper brought up that very thing to trump campaign manager kellyanne conway . “ is it responsible for someone who might be president of the united states to be , in your words , ‘ speculating’ about an active investigation when he has no actual facts ? ” kellyanne tried to change the attention back to hillary clinton ’s use of a private server , but anderson was n’t having it and asks again . “ right , you are not answering the question , though . is it irresponsible for a man who might be president of the united states to speculate about something about which he has no facts ? ” watch their heated exchange below : featured image via video screenshot share this article !
+1 overview of military situation in aleppo city on november 13 , 2016 ( maps , videos , photos ) - russia news now nan this post was originally published on this site southfront.org donate the syrian army ’s tiger forces , the desert hawks brigade , hezbollah , harakat hezbollah al - nujaba , the syrian social nationalist party ( ssnp ) and other pro - government groups are reportedly preparing to relaunch offensive operations in multiple fronts inside and outside the syrian city of aleppo . the operation will be supported by the syrian air force and the russian aerospace forces from the air and by russian and iranian military advisers on the ground . [ embedded content ] how the frontlines have evolved in western aleppo from 27.10.2016 to 11.11.2016 : the army and its allies , using loud speakers , ordered militants remaining in eastern aleppo to lay down arms and to surrender . if militants avoid to do this within 24 hours , the government forces will relaunch operations in the area . following the collapse of jaish al - fatah ’s defenses in the al - assad and minyan areas of aleppo city , the army and its allies already achieved some gains in the southern aleppo countryside , seizing the villages of kafr haddad and khirbat al - zuwari . click to see the full - size map the liberation of militant - controlled town of khan - tuman will be the strategic goal of military operations in the southern aleppo countryside . desert hawks brigade fighters use the russian - made tigr infantry vehicle in aleppo : click to see the full - size image mohammed jaber , commander of the desterh hawks brigade , with alleged russian advisers in aleppo city : mohammed jaber , commander of suqur al sahara , with russian advisers in aleppo pic.twitter.com/hfon7ycnly — bm-27 uragan ( @bm27_uragan ) november 12 , 2016 the video source : more about the desert hawks brigade : click to see the full - size image donate
+1 nusra front launches new offensive around syria ’s aleppo jason ditz offensive aims to reopen supply lines to nusra - held east by jason ditz , october 28 , 2016 share this with al - qaeda ’s nusra front losing territory in recent weeks around aleppo , and seeing their main stronghold in the city ’s east increasingly surrounded , the group and some of its allies have launched a new offensive south of the city aimed at opening the supply lines back up . clashes have been reported throughout the day in several areas around government - held western aleppo , with the attackers coming from further west , likely reinforcements from nusra ’s main territory , the idlib province . locals described substantial fighting . this has been a recurring feature in the battle over aleppo since 2012 , but particularly over the past several months , with each side getting a sizeable advantage only to lose it to a sudden counterattack from the other , leaving the civilian population trapped within . over the past few weeks , however , it had seemed like aleppo was really going to be reunified by the military , with nusra forces on their heels and russia feeling confident enough to put their airstrikes on hold . russian president vladimir putin has ordered the ceasefire to continue , despite calls from the military to resume attacks . exactly how far the latest offensive has gotten is a major of debate , with nusra claiming they ’d captured a suburb that amounts to the whole southwestern corner of aleppo , and government officials denying that they ’d lost anywhere near so much . as usual , it will take some time for this to shake out and become clear what territory changed hands . last 5 posts by jason ditz
+0 stephen colbert reboots ‘ the late show,’ fixing it on the fly - the new york times dave itzkoff at 10:45 p. m. on monday night , in a office above the ed sullivan theater , stephen colbert was talking so rapidly that he might as well have been speaking in tongues . gazing at a monitor , this host of “ the late show ” on cbs was rapidly reading through dozens of jokes that his writers had been composing throughout the first presidential debate between donald j. trump and hillary clinton . the goal : to trim minutes from a monologue mr. colbert would be performing live in less than an hour . in phrases that may have sounded like requests but were really demands , mr. colbert called out to his team of producers : could he get a video package of all the times mr. trump said “ wrong ” ? could they cut the word “ terror ” from the phrase “ panic and terror ” ? could they shelve a joke about “ interrupting donald trump ” for another night ? there was no time to mr. colbert . “ unless there ’s a clean hit they think is undeniable , the playground is closed , ” he announced to the room at 10:48 p. m. mr. colbert and his colleagues were hoping to capitalize on the debate ’s colossal viewership and help reverse the fortunes of “ the late show , ” which after a year on the air still trails jimmy fallon ’s “ tonight show ” on nbc and has sometimes finished third behind abc ’s “ jimmy kimmel live ! ” the “ late show ” team was also trying to sustain the momentum from its live episodes during the republican and democratic national conventions in july . in those two weeks , mr. colbert and his program showed a nimbleness and bite that he often exhibited on comedy central ’s “ the colbert report ” — an improvement on his lumbering , uncertain first months on “ the late show . ” among other course corrections , mr. colbert has brought in a dedicated showrunner and he has addressed a longstanding identity crisis by reconciling with his conservative character from “ the colbert report , ” a version of whom he has dusted off and resumed playing . now he has to imbue “ the late show , ” on any other night of the week when the future of the republic is not hanging in the balance , with the same sense of immediacy that has propelled him in his live broadcasts . and he must still find the harmony between his trademark brand of pointed political commentary and the broader demands of a mainstream talk show . when he started at cbs , mr. colbert said in an interview last week : “ people were watching me learn to play a new instrument in public . now i really do n’t care and it ’s so much more fun . “ if i do things that are like the old show , ” he continued , “ it was a good show . ” yet the host is capable of doing something his famously arrogant alter ego never would : admit mistakes . he believes he has identified what he did wrong : cutting himself off from the persona , tone and formats that he established on comedy central , for fear that they would overshadow the authentic self that he wanted his cbs viewers to see . as mr. colbert said , riffing on a favorite elvis costello lyric , “ i tried so hard to be myself that i kept on fading away . ” his realization is that he can embrace elements of “ the colbert report ” and still be himself . “ it is all me , ” he said . “ of course it ’s me . i thought of the character . it ’s my humor . ” he remains a highly host , to judge from a monday evening rehearsal at the ed sullivan theater . as he ran through monologue jokes while bobbing back and forth on a scooter , mr. colbert asked for changes to graphics of gennifer flowers and the debate stage , and called out his bandleader , jon batiste , for munching on veggie chips at his piano . ( “ is there a glacier toppling into the arctic ocean ? ” mr. colbert asked . ) any time mr. colbert hit a line he was n’t fond of , he would call out to the writers and producers in the theater , “ let ’s beat that . ” if , a year ago , the assumption was that mr. colbert would simply glide into the time slot and theater last occupied by david letterman and dominate the landscape , that did not happen . for months , his “ late show ” never shook off its jitters , nor established a breakout recurring comedy bit . though his ratings saw a small spike , to about 2 . 5 million viewers a night during the live convention episodes , they generally lag well below “ the tonight show , ” the category leader , which averages more than 3 . 6 million . ( according to preliminary ratings information on tuesday , the “ late show ” was mr. colbert ’s strongest performance with viewers since and tied “ the tonight show ” in overnight metered markets . ) mr. colbert acknowledged in the interview that he had taken on too much . was it — “ hubris ? ” mr. colbert said before the question was finished . “ yeah . a little bit . you think you know what you ’re doing , until you do something different . ” in april , “ the late show ” brought in chris licht , an executive producer of “ cbs this morning , ” as a showrunner , a role that did not exist at that program . as mr. licht explained in an interview , his principal task is to “ systematically remove things from stephen ’s plate . ” “ anything that does n’t involve him thinking creatively and enjoying his performance — anything that gets in the way of that , i take , ” he added . mr. licht has a vision , too , for “ the late show ” to stand out in a crowded field — “ it ’s us versus the jimmys , ” he said — and to make topical humor one of its defining features . “ the late show ” will do two more live episodes on oct. 4 and oct. 19 , following the and third presidential debates . that path became a little clearer over the summer , when mr. colbert ’s postconvention episodes were lifted by comedy segments that went viral , like a sketch starring laura benanti as a pouting , plagiarizing melania trump and a blistering monologue from jon stewart , mr. colbert ’s former boss at “ the daily show , ” criticizing the fox news host sean hannity . ( mr. stewart is also an executive producer of “ the late show . ” ) mr. colbert revived his old “ stephen colbert ” character , in a way ( he says the original character is dead , and he is now playing that man ’s identical twin cousin ) and added a recurring segment called “ werd , ” which is awfully similar to “ the word , ” a segment on his previous show . ( when asked what comedy central thought about him using material originally created for that network , mr. colbert said , “ i have been advised not to answer your question . ” he smiled and added , “ it ’s funny ’cause it ’s true . ” comedy central declined to comment . ) there is no certain formula for sustaining this adrenaline from night to night , but mr. colbert said the solution rested on his being his self , by “ being gobsmacked by the news and walking out and going , ‘ can you ” — here he restrained himself from saying a naughty word — “ believe what this person just said ? ’ ” at a time when mr. fallon has been widely criticized for his chummy treatment of mr. trump , mr. colbert ’s unvarnished political perspective could prove crucial in distinguishing himself from his network competitors . without commenting directly on mr. fallon ’s program , mr. colbert said , “ i ’ve surrendered to my natural instincts , and to how i actually feel on a daily basis . ” besides , mr. colbert felt sufficiently regretful about his own interview with mr. trump , at the start of his tenure on “ the late show ” in september 2015 . “ i tried being gracious and pointed at the same time , and got almost nothing out of him , ” mr. colbert said . “ it was actually boring , because he would n’t even look me in the eye . being nice to a guy who is n’t nice to other people , it does n’t serve you that much . ” mr. licht said that topical comedy should be the “ bread and butter ” of “ the late show . ” but growing its audience means the show must reach beyond the crowd that already tunes in for mr. colbert ’s political satire , and that remains a work in progress . “ you have to be as funny , as relevant and as entertaining on a night when there ’s no news , as when you ’re in the middle of the biggest story of the day , ” mr. licht said . “ that ’s what we ’re striving for . ” what mr. colbert said he had learned from his live shows is not to be precious about his material , and to favor timely responses instead of stale , overthought takes . “ leave nothing on the table , ” he said . “ talk about it immediately . if it happens at 5 o’clock and the show tapes at 5:30 , we will have it on the show . ” mr. colbert ’s opening monologue on monday was mostly cleansed of the jokes in the rehearsal , replaced with bits about mr. trump ’s persistent sniffles and his frequent invocations of “ law and order ” and mrs. clinton ’s state of readiness . ( “ my new nickname for her is preparation h , ” mr. colbert said . “ it ’s a compliment . ” ) there was only one other topical comedy segment , a prepared sketch in which mr. colbert interviewed rob lowe , who played the character of an undecided voter . still , mr. colbert indicated that he had learned some lessons about being open to future possibilities . as he said , only about his approach to this broadcast , “ i will do anything as long as i have enough time to read it through once . ”
+1 dakota access pipeline protesters maced , hit with rubber bullets in standoff over ancestral land nan dakota access pipeline protesters maced , hit with rubber bullets in standoff over ancestral land posted on nov 3 , 2016 by emma niles tensions flared again wednesday between north dakota law enforcement and protesters of the dakota access pipeline . filmmaker and activist josh fox was at the scene of the violent confrontation , where journalist erin schrode , among others , was shot with a rubber bullet at the front lines of the protest . “ this is an insane situation , ” fox begins in a video streamed live to his facebook page after the confrontation . “ we had a line of peaceful water protectors in the water , up to their waists , who were freezing cold . those people were standing in front of a line of police , the police were occupying treaty land — not their land . police were there with riot gear on , with shotguns , with rubber bullets , with mace , with pepper spray . ” according to nbc , wednesday ’s conflict took place at cantapeta creek , which runs just north of the standing rock sioux indian reservation . protesters grew agitated when police “ dismantled a wooden bridge that demonstrators constructed to access the sacred site . ” the “ sacred site ” refers to the hilltop across the creek where standing rock sioux tribal ancestors are buried . the young turks network shared a brief video highlighting the escalating tensions : “ this is land that is theirs , per the laramie treaty of 1851 , ” schrode says in the video above . “ this is a militarized police force up against an unarmed , peaceful , prayerful people . ” women and children were reportedly present at the demonstrations . another video , streamed live on facebook by user cempoalli twenny , provides a clear shot of the bridge in question . drumbeats and chants can be heard as several “ water protectors ” attempt to cross the river : in a separate video , twenny says that while being interviewed , police “ shot at the reporter ” but were “ possibly aiming for me . ” “ [ a ] sista reporter was hit [ instead ] , ” he writes , referring to schrode . on facebook , schrode shared video of the incident , which shows her interviewing twenny when suddenly she is hit : “ i was just shot , ” says schrode , a journalist who has worked with cnn , nbc and the new york times , in a wednesday post . “ militarized police fired at me from point blank range with a rubber bullet on the front lines of standing rock . ” she continues : my body will be okay , but i am hurting , i am incensed , i am weeping , i am scared . peaceful , prayerful , unarmed , nonviolent people on one side of a river ; militarized police with armed vehicles and assault weapons occupying treaty land on the other , where sacred burial grounds have already been destroyed . what is happening here in north dakota is like nothing i have ever seen in my life , anywhere in the world . … it is inexcusable for the president obama to say he will “ let it play out for several more weeks . ” it is unjustifiable for the attorney general to not be here . it is unconscionable for mainstream media to not cover this . it is indefensible for all politicians to not condemn what is occurring here . it is disgraceful for more people to not speak out and show up to stop the dakota access pipeline . cass county sheriff paul laney provided a very different perspective on the conflict . “ in my 27 years in law enforcement , i have never seen such an absolute disregard for the law , or other people ’s rights because of someone else ’s ideology , ” he states in a press release . “ the idea that because you have a strong opinion about something means you can threaten , harass and intimidate other american citizens is just plain wrong . ” numerous video accounts show police officers firing rubber bullets at those standing in the water . the morton county sheriff ’s department released a statement regarding its tactics . “ law enforcement witnessed protesters building an illegal , man - made , wooden bridge across the cantapeta creek , ” the statement reads . “ protesters involved in building the bridge violated numerous federal and state laws including the clean water act and the safe river and harbors act . ” the statement continues : authorities used less - than - lethal ammunition to control the situation . in one incident a male was at a boat and was throwing bottles at officers on the police line . a second incident occurred when a man wearing a gas mask , refused to show his hands , refused to disperse and charged the police line . officers also deployed pepper spray and tear gas to disperse the group of protesters who came across the water and camp at officers . no lethal shots were fired from law enforcement . according to the press release , one person was arrested for “ conspiracy to commit obstruction of a government function ” after purchasing kayaks and canoes for the demonstrators . in the past few months , hundreds of people have been arrested while fighting to halt the dapl . “ it was like witnessing gandhi ’s salt march , ” fox says , “ then suddenly i am watching people being maced , and i hear a pop and see that they shot erin schrode with a rubber bullet . how is it possible that from 10 feet away , they are shooting at journalists , bystanders , medics ? ” tags :
+0 anatomy of a media conspiracy - the new york times mark leibovich look , mom , there i am in wikileaks . right there among the rest of the media sellouts , clinton shills and biased tools of the msm who are apparently bent on destroying donald j. trump . sarah palin tweeted about me , trump himself derided my actions in a stump speech and i ’m pretty sure bill o’reilly just called on me to resign , if i ’m reading the barrage of twitter mentions correctly — and it is a barrage ( or was before i stopped reading twitter ) . this is all because of those “ damn emails , ” as bernie sanders would say , although he was referring to a different bunch of damn emails . these belonged to john podesta , the clinton campaign chairman whose hacked emails wikileaks has been releasing in daily batches over the last few days . in all , the emails offer a glimpse into the clinton campaign as the crucible of you would expect . pretty much any reporter who has covered this enterprise can attest to its stinginess with information and access to the candidate . official interviews between reporters and campaign aides tend to be aggressively monitored and . clinton recently broke an ignominious streak of 275 consecutive days without holding a formal news conference . as i detail in an article in this sunday ’s magazine , an argument actually broke out aboard the clinton plane between campaign aides and the traveling press corps over whether it was o. k. for reporters to tweet the candidate ’s apparent preference for vladimir putin as a dinner companion over donald trump ( as revealed in a note scrawled on a clementine — it ’s complicated , just read the article ) . but the leaked emails make for instructive reading nonetheless , though they can be somewhat uncomfortable , if you happen to be the author and recipient of a few of them . by way of background : in july of last year , i embarked on a profile of the former secretary of state a few months after she began seeking the democratic nomination . true to form , her campaign was nervous and hypercontrolling from the outset , a point that i fleshed out in the story . i described , among other things , the experience of visiting clinton ’s brooklyn headquarters and receiving , before i arrived , an email request from a press aide requesting that i keep “ the office itself ” off the record . in other words , they wanted me not to relay anything that i saw inside the entire space , as if i were being granted access to a pentagon bunker or something . it was a ridiculous request that i refused . i also said no initially when the campaign said i could interview secretary clinton but only on the condition that we do it off the record . reporters speak off the record to politicians all the time , but this was an unusual provision and felt slightly weird : a major candidate for president ’s agreeing to speak to a reporter on the condition that readers not be privy ? it would be one thing if the campaign had also agreed to an discussion , but it had not . i pleaded my case over a few weeks , but clinton ’s staff was not budging . i discussed the dilemma with my bosses — the principle at stake versus the payoff of what i could learn in an setting . finally , i agreed to an interview . at the very least , i figured i could pitch clinton directly on doing an actual interview without any mediation from her army of agonizers . clinton and i spoke for about 45 minutes in a conference room of the omni mount washington resort in bretton woods , n. h. she is , as advertised , “ funny and thoughtful in and settings ” ( even the clinton clichés are clichés at this point ) . donors pay top dollar for the opportunity to experience this “ funny and thoughtful hillary in and settings . ” i paid only with annoyance and a few pounds of dignity . nonetheless , it was a good discussion , and i learned some things . clinton touched on a number of topics , from the psychological effects of the internet on young people , to the challenges of running for president as a woman , to how her experience seeking the presidency this time differed from 2008 . after our conversation , i asked her aides if they would allow me to put any of our discussion on the record . it was their prerogative to decide , given the provision to which i had agreed . i sent large portions of the clinton transcript in an email to jennifer palmieri , the campaign communications director . “ these exchanges were pretty interesting , ” i wrote . “ would love the option to use . ” ideally palmieri would have reviewed portions of the interview — about 2 , 000 words — and come back with a simple “ fine , use what you want . ” there was nothing damning or embarrassing in there , at least that i could tell . i heard nothing for a few days . palmieri shared my email with others in the campaign , including podesta , apparently . finally , after consulting with clinton herself , palmieri said they would agree to put two sections of the interview on the record . one of them was an icebreaker exchange between clinton and me in which i mentioned that i had just seen a moose on the side of the new hampshire road . this elicited an animated response from clinton about how she herself had encountered lots of moose when she worked in alaska one summer during college . simple enough , right ? well , not quite . palmieri demanded that i not include an aside that clinton made in the midst of her moose monologue — about sarah palin . now it can be told . “ i always got a big kick out of sarah palin with all of her ‘ we ’re cooking up some moose stew here,’ ” clinton told me . she did not seem to be belittling the former alaska governor in any way , though i should also point out — and this does not come through in the transcript — that clinton uttered her “ we ’re cooking up some moose stew here ” line with a passable palin impersonation . i have no idea why clinton would not want this palin aside in the article , though i ’m guessing she did not want to invite a public with palin , as can happen . as it turns out , one of the “ newsier ” takeaways from this week ’s wikileaks trove involved the palin remark . “ ny times’ mark leibovich obeyed request to cut palin joke from hillary interview , ” said a headline tuesday in breitbart , the adamantly news site . putting aside that it was n’t really a joke , the word “ obeyed ” here goes to the essence of the criticism , mockery and vitriol i ’ve been receiving from the right in recent days . “ hillary , let ’s make a deal ! ” palin tweeted on wednesday . “ i ’ll swap ya — my special moose chili recipe for your trick that lets you edit media coverage of yourself . ” or as trump put it wednesday night at a rally in florida , the times granted clinton “ veto power over her quotes in a story , ” he said . “ nobody ever called and said , ‘ mr. trump , we ’ve written this story , would you give us a little feedback?’ ” this is obviously not what happened in my case , but given the revealed in the leaked i can see how the uninitiated might get that impression . politicians in fact go “ off the record ” with reporters with some frequency . as soon as the reporter grants the provision , he is effectively allowing “ veto power ” over that material . that part of the conversation remains private unless he or she says otherwise . that ’s the “ trick ” palin was referring to . trump , for his part , goes off the record with reporters all the time . last september , i spent several hours over a period of a few weeks with the donald himself for an article in this magazine . on several occasions , in the midst of our conversations , trump would go off the record — usually with good reason . this was fine , understandable and , yes , the price of “ doing business , ” to adapt an unfortunate phrase that palmieri used to sign off on our last email ( “ pleasure doing business ! ” ) . i wish palmieri had not used those exact words , but there are in fact collusive aspects to these relationships . political profiles are , by definition , an awkward dance that involves competing agendas , mutual cynicism and , in many cases , negotiation . it can involve great levels of trust and distrust at the same time . i ’ve written a few hundred of these profiles over the years , and each dynamic is complicated for its own particular reasons . looking back , i realize that trump ’s campaign was a relative pleasure to deal with compared with the coiled thicket of clintonia . his was a simple and nimble operation , consisting at the time of just himself and his communications director , hope hicks . decisions came fast and without obvious usually from the candidate himself . trump was more than generous with his time , access and willingness to say provocative things . he was the in this regard , just as clinton is the in other regards . but trump was hardly unplugged or unaware . a lot of the stuff he said to me that he declared to be “ off the record ” was potentially harmful to him . he was fully conscious of where lines were , whom he did not want to be disparaging publicly and of what could bring needless offense . he trusted me to honor this agreement , and of course i did , and will continue to . if i had asked trump , after the fact , whether i could put some of that material “ on the record , ” it would have been his right to say no , to exercise his veto power . as it turned out , there might have been one or two things i asked him if i could use in our final conversations , but i do n’t recall exactly . another advantage of writing about trump : he does give you plenty to work with . for as as he was , trump has been equally hostile to the “ unfair ” and “ dishonest ” press — increasingly so , and to a point where it ’s reaching an unnervingly fevered pitch . “ without the press , hillary clinton would be nothing , ” trump railed thursday at a rally in florida . the times and the washington post are mere “ cogs for a corrupt political machine , ” he said . these are days of many cogs in trump ’s america — everything from the republican officials who trump says have abandoned him to the united states justice department to the women accusing him of sexual harassment . but the media is first among cogs , probably the first entity trump will blame if he does n’t win . “ the corrupt establishment knows we are a great threat to their criminal enterprise , ” trump said thursday . we are all part of the enterprise , “ doing business ” together . we know all the secret handshakes and tricks . the darkest of days could lie ahead for america , trump warns , and only he has veto power to stop them .
+0 george michael ’s freedom video : an oral history - the new york times guy trebay and jacob bernstein pop music and fashion never met cuter than in george michael ’s “ freedom ! ’90 ” video . sure , other catwalk favorites starred in music videos during that era , and fashion photographers like steven meisel and herb ritts were recruited by stars such as madonna , chris isaak and janet jackson to burnish their visuals . but the convergence of a maker ’s irresistible rhythms and lyrics , a group of models at the peak of their fame and a director on the verge of his own runaway success gave “ freedom ! ’90 ” a jolt of stylish energy that has yet to fade after more than a . directed by david fincher , who was at the start of his film career , and filmed over several days at merton park studios in london , the video from mr. michael ’s 1990 album , “ listen without prejudice vol . 1 , ” brought together five models — naomi campbell , linda evangelista , christy turlington , cindy crawford and tatjana patitz — who were then the queens of fashion . it runs for six and a half minutes , and its production also gathered a team of novice professionals who would go on to become major forces in fashion , including the stylist camilla nickerson , the hairdresser guido palau , the makeup artist carol brown and the model john pearson . shot in moody , romantic tones , “ freedom ! ’90 ” had been viewed more than 37 million times on youtube by the time of mr. michael ’s unexpected death at 53 last sunday . reached by phone this week , some of the participants recalled their experiences on set , and some of the video ’s most ardent fans reflected on its impact . naomi campbell , model . we ’d done a british vogue cover with peter lindbergh with all of us . i met george in l. a. and he said : “ i ’ve been told that i need to speak to you to get the girls for the video . what would it take to get you ? ” we were living in america , so i said you ’d have to fly us in , basically . i said yes , and then christy and tatjana and everyone came in . the night before the video , i did n’t sleep at all , because we did five shows for thierry mugler in paris . he had 76 models , and it was the big finale of him designing , although none of us knew that then . the last show finished at around 3 o’clock in the morning , and george was there . so from there i went back to my hotel , packed my bags and went on the first flight to london . david fincher knew exactly what he wanted . he did n’t really give us parts , but he knew exactly which part of the song he wanted each and every one of us to sing . i was more the active one . cindy was sultry . i do n’t think any of us knew what it would become . we knew the song was a hit , but we did n’t know in any way what effect it would have in terms of videos , the way it would affect people . we were all really excited on the day it was going to be aired . they all had great premieres back in the day . they do n’t have them anymore . not that i ’ve seen . mtv ’s changed . has n’t it ? i got to see george a little bit more after that because kate moss was neighbors with him . when we did the olympics , he sang there in london . we all did the finale , and he was rehearsing and kate and i went to watch him with this amazing choir singing “ freedom . ” after , he invited us all back to his home and he had this really nice in the garden , and we all got to light these wishing lanterns and we all did that together . that ’s the memory i ’m going to keep . guido palau , hairdresser . i do n’t know how i got the job . george michael and david fincher had seen some of my work in british vogue . it was a different time then . it was a big , big production , a video because they had to bring in all the girls . every girl had a day , though christy and linda were there together . my part was to make the girls the best they could look as who they were . they were n’t playing characters . they were playing themselves . and each had their own personality : linda the comedian , christy much more classic , cindy the pinup , tatjana this kind of film noir , and naomi a very strong kind of woman . we extracted that from them . they were n’t prodded at all , though there were some surprises , like linda ’s hair , which she ’d done for a job for someone else . it was n’t like i said , “ oh , dye your hair blond , ” not at all . at the time , we really did n’t realize how iconic the video would become . i was probably a bit naïve about the whole thing seeing how it was a bit of a job for me . what i remember most is the days being very long , and at the end of the day , the red wine would come out . there we ’d be in the location van drinking and singing with george . tatjana patitz , model . i was in my own zone . i had to kind of slide up and down the wall for part of the day . the feel of the set was so this big , loft kind of vibe . there was another setup with me laying on a chaise longue with a black smoking jacket . i think i may have had a bustier on . and i was smoking , even . people still smoked in videos then and even in films . george michael was n’t on the set the day i was there , but i ’d met him a few times in l. a. herb ritts shot a cover of me and him for a magazine — i ’m trying to remember what magazine it was . so many magazines have come and gone . glamour was very present in fashion in those days , feminine glamour , people looking at inspiration from the movie stars of the ’40s and ’50s — audrey hepburn , grace kelly and ava gardner . a lot of magazines were pairing models with pop stars or movie stars to shoot covers . it was very different those days . the business was much smaller and was n’t as saturated , not as fast as it is now . models were known by their first names , and suddenly the glamour we embodied at that time crossed over to pop music videos and film . we were part of the entertainment industry , which made it really fun . george was very nice , almost a little shy . maybe that ’s the wrong word . he was mellow and kind . i was quite at the time because i grew up with wham and their music he was one of my first teenage crushes . in the five or so times i met him , he was always very pleasant and sweet but timid , not one of those vivacious , people who take a room by storm . i remember the shoot being in fall or early winter . i flew in on the concorde for the day and flew back to new york right after that . it ’s funny . a lot of people were using models in videos then , but this one in particular stood the test of time . it ’s not like you look at “ freedom ! ’90 ” now and say , “ oh , my god , it ’s so ’80s ! ” it ’s not like “ working girl . ” john pearson , model . my agent called up and said : “ hey , do you want to do this video ? all the big girls are doing it . ’ ” of course i said yes . i was a big george michael fan . i used to see him all the time in london at the clubs . i arrived at the studios at 3 o’clock in the afternoon and met david fincher briefly , and then basically sat around all day and watched while christy and linda were being shot . there ’s one shot where linda puts her head underneath her sweater that ’s amazing . that was n’t rehearsed . linda really knows how to use her body to communicate in an elegant way , never cheap and tawdry . george was there , very warm and nice but very shy . the day went long , and the producer said at the end of the day , “ can we shoot you tomorrow ? ” i did n’t have another job booked , so i said , “ sure . ” then he said , “ do you mind doing it for nothing ? ” i said , “ no way . ” it was a little bit bolshie of me , but i knew what the girls were getting . in the end , i was paid $ 15 , 000 for the day , which is not bad to hang out with these fabulous , beautiful girls . but i ’d been working nonstop for three years , and i was n’t going to do it for free . and it turned out to be one of those fabulously easy , jobs , everyone riding on this wave of semistardom and recognition for the models . i really did n’t realize how big it all was at the time . candis cayne , actress , model and former drag personality . there was a group of girls in n. y. c. in the ’90s , and we did n’t want to model ourselves on anything other than the supermodels . linda and naomi and christy . so when the video of “ freedom ! ” came out and they were all in it , we were obsessed . i used to do shows at boy bar , so i decided i was going to do “ freedom ! ” and got lina and mistress formika and sherry vine to play the various parts . i was linda . she was my favorite . we did the whole thing naked under white sheets . after the very last chorus , we dropped the sheets and were completely naked holding our groin areas . that song meant a lot to us . there were singers we knew were gay then , but no one really talked about it . we just grabbed onto songs and artists who knew who and what we were , whether it was madonna with “ vogue ” and “ truth or dare ” or george michael with “ freedom ! ” i do n’t know if he was openly gay or not , then . i guess not . but it was almost o. k. because we all knew and it was such a homophobic time . it was so oppressive , particularly when you factor in the aids epidemic . to be open would have been a career killer . but going to a club , listening to “ freedom ! , ” it was an escape . alan hunter , one of the original mtv v. j. s. it was a funny moment in my life . i was driving my kid to day care on a day where i did n’t know where my career had gone . i ’d left mtv . my agent was n’t calling . i was depressed . and i turned on the radio , and on came george michael ’s new song . it was george michael at the peak of his writing skills . it was such a brilliant capstone i ’d ever heard . it was his song . he was saying , “ everything that brought me to pop stardom i now disavow . ” then i saw the video shortly thereafter with all that iconography he ’d used in his past , and he literally sets those things on fire and explodes them . the leather jacket he ’d worn and the jukebox from “ faith . ” and he just steps away . he was n’t even in the video . it showed how serious he was , even while he said it all with a lot of love . it was such a joyous song . i actually felt happy . zac posen , fashion designer . i was 10 years old , 10 or 11 . i ’d see it in my living room waiting for madonna to come on . i probably wanted to be the child in “ open your heart . ” but what i remember about “ freedom ! ” was that it was kind of a seminal predecessor to grunge . because you have these incredibly glamorous beauties in a very industrial , corinne day , space . there ’s water dripping down the walls and george michael ’s leather jacket is on fire , and the models are naked . it was really the glamour of the ’80s transitioning into something more raw that was to come .
+0 rodrigo duterte , scorned abroad , remains popular in the philippines - the new york times aurora almendral manila — virgilio mabag figures there is a good chance that his meth addict brother will become a casualty of president rodrigo duterte ’s deadly campaign against drugs in the philippines . “ i told him to prepare himself to die , ” mr. mabag said . but mr. mabag , 54 , who runs a neighborhood volunteer association in a sprawling manila slum , still enthusiastically supports mr. duterte , saying that his policies will make the country safer and more orderly . “ i ’m delighted , ” said mr. mabag , who was wearing a duterte . “ this is the only time i ’ve seen a president like this , who says exactly what he wants to say . ” the rest of the world may have trouble understanding this , but mr. duterte still commands ardent support in the philippines . since he took office in june promising to kill drug addicts and dealers , about 1 , 400 people have been killed by the police in antidrug operations , and hundreds more by vigilantes . his embrace of violence has shocked other countries and brought condemnation from human rights groups . he has compared himself to hitler ( and later apologized ) called president obama a “ son of a whore , ” and joked after an australian missionary was raped and killed that “ she was so beautiful ” he should have been first to rape her . he has lashed out at the pope , despite leading a nation that is overwhelmingly roman catholic , and cursed the united nations and the european union . no matter . for many filipinos , mr. duterte ’s passionate outbursts , however crude and impolitic , are signs of his fearlessness and willingness to act . the weak leadership of previous presidents , they say , led to high rates of violent crime , drug use , woefully inadequate infrastructure and widespread poverty . the first national polls since mr. duterte became president came out this week , showing that his outbursts and the mounting body count have barely dented his extraordinary popularity . one poll , conducted in late september , found that 83 percent of filipinos had “ much trust ” in him , compared with 84 percent in june , after he was elected but before he took office . the other showed his trust rating falling slightly , to 86 percent in september from 91 percent in july . “ his initiatives , and this includes the antidrug campaign , are well received by the people , ” said ramon c. casiple , executive director of the institute for political and electoral reform . “ they do n’t have an impact on the overall perception of his administration or presidency . ” while mr. duterte ’s antidrug campaign and outrageous statements have received all the attention abroad , he has pushed ahead with an array of progressive social policies that have won him broad support in the philippines . lorraine badoy , a dermatologist and a volunteer at a nongovernmental organization who lives in one of manila ’s gated communities , acknowledges that the president ’s outbursts make her cringe . “ i just wish he ’d shut up sometimes , ” she said . but she says she is more enamored of his social policies than she is concerned about the casualties of the antidrug campaign . in mr. duterte , she said : “ i see something that i have not seen in a long time in the philippines , which is that he cares . he cares for the small guy , which is very important to me . ” his government has paved the way for indigenous people displaced by mining and logging to return to their ancestral lands , has committed to providing free irrigation to subsistence farmers , has suspended the operations of mining companies that violated environmental protection laws , and has begun a program of free checkups for the 20 million poorest filipinos . his support has blossomed on social media — followers on the most popular pages number in the millions — which his administration has cannily harnessed . social media catapulted mr. duterte to the presidency , says his communications secretary , martin andanar , and it remains a bastion of support in the face of what mr. andanar considers negative coverage by international and local news media . “ it is very important for our team to maintain , and even encourage — foster — the relationship of the different social media patriots of president duterte , ” he said . “ we do it by reaching out to them , they reach out to us . ” mr. duterte ’s social media team , which mr. andanar oversees , selects a weekly message , often tied to the news , and creates posts it hopes will be reposted and widely shared by supporters . he said he recently told followers on social media that “ the crime news has been blown out of proportion , and nobody ’s listening to our economic policies . ” so even as the value of the philippine peso began to slip last week , mr. duterte ’s supporters were arguing that a weakened currency increased the buying power of remittances sent back by filipinos working overseas . when mr. duterte likened himself to hitler , his supporters rushed to defend him on social media , arguing that the comment was precipitated by a remark by former president benigno s. aquino iii , who compared mr. duterte to hitler five months earlier . the argument aligned with ones made the same day by administration officials . “ it is a matter of record that the reference to hitler did not originate from the president , ” his spokesman ernesto abella said in a statement . a site went further , posting photographs of two reuters journalists it accused of causing the furor by misrepresenting mr. duterte ’s words , and calling for their punishment . the post was shared thousands of times on social media and whipped up an untold number of commenters , who created a flurry of threats and insults . mocha uson , a blogger with 4 . 2 million followers on facebook , shared the images , adding the caption in tagalog , “ enemies of change . ” critics of mr. duterte have been threatened with rape and a variety of deaths , including by hanging , drowning and , as one doctor suggested to emily rauhala , who has written about the philippines for the washington post , that she crawl back into her mother ’s uterus and suffocate . mr. andanar said that the administration did not condone threats of violence on social media . so far , none has been carried out . however , he said , “ i can not blame the duterte social media patriots when they protect the president and when they do everything that they can to pounce on the enemy . ” many duterte supporters say their cause is unfairly portrayed in the mainstream news media . but melinda quintos de jesus , executive director of the center for media freedom , said that threats by online mobs had intimidated the national news media . the local news media has published some criticism and several reports on specific cases of extrajudicial killings , she said , but the major television stations and newspapers have failed to produce critical analyses of mr. duterte ’s policies . “ they like him , they fear him , ” she said . “ they basically are afraid to be singled out . ” in the hague on thursday , the prosecutor of the international criminal court , fatou bensouda , issued a blunt warning to the government , saying that the violent crackdown could become a target of a criminal investigation because killing fell within the jurisdiction of the court . there are signs , in some quarters at least , that the killings have begun to tarnish mr. duterte ’s popularity . in a slum in pasay , a district of greater manila , on a recent saturday , migo paladio , 24 , stood in a narrow alley and watched the crowds from two wakes spill out . they were for men killed by vigilantes on the presumption that they were drug dealers . mr. paladio , a technician , said they were not dealers . he said they were among 10 people he knew who had been killed in the last three months in mr. duterte ’s antidrug campaign . he voted for mr. duterte , but he said his support was wavering . “ i was wrong about what i thought was going to happen , ” he said . ��� he ’s prioritizing the killings too much . and we have six more years of this . ”
+0 john brademas , indiana congressman and n.y.u. president , dies at 89 - the new york times robert d. mcfadden john brademas , a political , financial and academic dynamo who served 22 years in congress and more than a decade as president of new york university in an quest to promote education , the arts and a liberal agenda , died on monday in manhattan . he was 89 . his death was announced by n. y. u. mr. brademas liked to say that being a university president was not much different from being a congressman : you shake hands , make speeches , remember names and faces , stump for a cause and raise money relentlessly . the difference , he said , is that you do not have to depend on voters to renew your contract every two years . as a democratic representative from indiana from 1959 to 1981 , mr. brademas became known as mr. education and mr. arts . he sponsored bills that nearly doubled federal aid for elementary and secondary education in the and that created the national endowment for the arts and humanities . he was also instrumental in annual financing of the arts and humanities and in the passage of project head start , the national teachers corps and college tuition aid and loan programs . he opposed the vietnam war and many defense measures , rebuked president richard m. nixon in the watergate scandal and voted for civil rights legislation , environmental protections , day care programs and services for the elderly and people with disabilities . he became majority whip , the house ’s official , and was 10 times in a mostly conservative district , winning up to 79 percent of the vote . but he was swept out of office in the 1980 republican landslide that elected ronald reagan president . mr. brademas lobbied hard for the n. y. u. job and , as president from 1981 to 1992 , transformed the nation ’s largest private university from a commuter school into one of the world ’s premier residential research and teaching institutions . when he took over , mr. brademas had no experience running a large organization . the university had seven undergraduate colleges , 10 graduate and professional schools , 13 , 000 employees and a $ 500 million annual budget . there were 45 , 000 students and housing for only a few thousand , in crowded greenwich village and scattered sites around new york city . but he was a gregarious leader with voluminous contacts in government and corporate life . his skills as a politician and had been honed in a whirlwind of congressional and civic responsibilities . and , as his admirers came to believe , he was — if there is such a thing — a natural university president . “ no one hit the ground running as well as brademas , ” said l. jay oliva , n. y. u. ’s vice president for academic affairs , who became chancellor and succeeded his boss 11 years later , and who died in april 2014 . “ all his instincts were university presidential . ” looking collegiate in tweeds and sweaters , displaying boundless energy , mr. brademas plunged into meetings with deans , trustees , students and faculty members to learn n. y. u. ’s strengths and weaknesses . he joined the boards of the federal reserve bank of new york ( he later became chairman ) the new york stock exchange , the rockefeller foundation , rca and the loews corporation . he courted investment bankers , foundation executives , real estate moguls and private philanthropists , and reached out to n. y. u. alumni across the country and around the world . he also cultivated relationships with mayor edward i. koch , gov. mario m. cuomo , leaders of the state legislature and the city council , newspaper publishers and other media v. i. p. s , union officials , leaders in the arts and the heads of museums , cultural institutions and other colleges and universities . he was often in washington , conferring with education officials and members of congress . he stoutly opposed the reagan administration ’s education cutbacks and attempts to abolish the national endowment for the arts . by the end of his tenure — he stepped down in late 1991 but retired as president emeritus in 1992 after a sabbatical — he had raised $ 800 million for n. y. u. and nearly doubled its endowment , to $ 540 million . he had recruited top scholars from around the country to join the faculty added new fields of study , like the onassis center for hellenic studies and the skirball department of hebrew and judaic studies enlarged the campus and added 11 residence halls , providing housing for half of the undergraduates . he also had established n. y. u. study programs in cyprus , egypt , france , israel and japan . “ i find in washington square a tremendous sense of diversity , vitality and excitement , products of the enlivening mixture of new york university and new york city , ” mr. brademas said in his farewell address to 6 , 500 graduates . “ with all its troubles , new york city is still the place to be . and n. y. u. is still the place to get an education . ” john brademas was born on march 2 , 1927 , in mishawaka , ind. the son of stephen and beatrice goble brademas . his father , a greek immigrant , ran a restaurant and quoted socrates to him : “ things of value come only after hard work . ” his mother was an teacher , and one grandfather was a college professor . in 1945 , he graduated from central high school in nearby south bend , where he was valedictorian and the star quarterback on the football team . he enrolled at the university of mississippi , where he joined a navy officer training program . after his freshman year , he won a scholarship and transferred to harvard , a change he called . he became a top student and president of the wesley foundation , the campus methodist student group . in successive summers , he worked at an auto plant in south bend , lived among indians in mexico and was an intern at the united nations temporary headquarters in lake success , n. y. after graduating from harvard with high honors in 1949 , he attended oxford university as a rhodes scholar and in 1954 earned a social studies doctorate . back home in northern indiana , he resolved to run for congress in a largely republican district with diverse demographics : farmers , retailers , workers , members of east european ethnic groups , affluent and voters , and college communities that included the university of notre dame . it took three tries . after losing races in 1954 and 1956 , he gained political experience as an aide to two members of congress and in adlai e. stevenson ’s 1956 presidential campaign . he taught political science at st. mary ’s college for a year , was active in civic affairs and in 1958 finally won the seat for indiana ’s third congressional district . mr. brademas was unmarried for most of his political career , but in 1977 he married mary ellen briggs , a medical student at georgetown university and the mother of four children by a former marriage . after the couple moved to new york , she became a dermatologist at n. y. u. medical center . she survives him , as do three stepchildren , john briggs , katherine goldberg and jane murray a sister , eleanor brazeau and six . his stepson basil briggs jr. died in 2003 . mr. brademas was the author of “ washington , d. c. to washington square ” ( 1986 ) and , with lynne p. brown , “ the politics of education : conflict and consensus on capitol hill ” ( 1987 ) . from 1994 to 2001 he was chairman of the president ’s committee on the arts and the humanities , and from 2004 to 2007 he was a member of the new york state board of regents . in 2005 , n. y. u. established the john brademas center for the study of congress , a research and teaching facility . he was the recipient of more than 50 honorary degrees and scores of awards , many of them conferred by european governments or cultural organizations , particularly those of greece and spain , whose histories and politics had been among his lifelong interests .
+1 newsticker ( 971 ) noreply@blogger.com ( der postillon ) + + + muhten ihm einiges zu : bauer soll streit unter kühen schlichten + + + + + + mönchenskinder ! : abt erzürnt über verstoß gegen das zölibat + + + + + + i m falschen körper gefangen : erdmännchenweibchen + + + + + + tretrad , roller , rad : kasperl für großen fuhrpark kritisiert + + + + + + will sich mal schlau machen : blondine informiert sich über färbemöglichkeiten + + + + + + beinhaar : oberschenkel nahezu komplett rasiert + + + + + + " wolp ! " - erdinger weg : fabelwesen leert weißbier in einem einzigen schluck und verschwindet + + + adl , tom , oga , sod , sta , kol , kly jetzt bestellen ! der postillon - newsticker - kalender 2017 ( nur 9,99 € ) : der postillon : + + + newsticker + + + artikel teilen :
+1 [ watch ] hillary appears belligerently drunk in troubling new video the conservative millennial 0 comments hillary clinton ’s trouble staying sober has been just one of the many scandals she has faced this election season , and a newly - surfaced video is n’t going to help her reputation for being a complete lush . the footage was captured and shared by new jersey senator cory booker ahead of a june 1st rally in newark , new jersey , where clinton appeared with rock musician jon bon jovi . in the short clip , the democratic nominee appears unusually jovial , singing and dancing for no apparent reason , as if she had just had a few drinks in the middle of the day . see it for yourself : — cory booker ( @corybooker ) june 1 , 2016 as the political insider points out , it might be okay for your average american to toss a few back in the middle of the day , but it is n’t fine when an alcoholic wants to be leader of the free world . do you think hillary has a drinking problem ? leave your opinion in the comments section !
+1 the death of john kennedy mike rivero wmd announcement ! just a reminder that this site continues to be attacked by the crybaby hackers , so if you can not reach it , wait a couple minutes and try again . thought for the day ! " it is a terrible situation when the government , to insure the national wealth , must go in debt and submit to ruinous interest charges , at the hands of men , who control the fictitious value of gold . interest is the invention of satan . " -- thomas edison your random dhs monitored phrase of the day chemical burn paid advertising at what really happened may not represent the views and opinions of this website and its contributors . no endorsement of products and services advertised is either expressed or implied . the death of john kennedy by michael rivero there have been two official investigations . one concluded oswald acted alone , the other that there was a conspiracy . after half a century , many of the key documents which could tell the whole story remain classified . john f. kennedy 's brain is still missing from the national archives . why , if it is an open and shut case ? why the secrecy , if oswald was just a " crazed lone gunman " ? the house select committee on assassinations concluded that john f. kennedy was the victim of a conspiracy based on the recording of the gunshots fired in dealey plaza , captured over a police radio . a total of 7 impulses were caught on the tape , but citing budgetary constraints , the hsca only had 4 of them analyzed . the analysis concluded that all 4 were gunshots , two of them occurring within 1/2 a second of each other , too close to be fired by one man . comparisons of the echoes with test shots fired in dealey plaza confirmed that at least one of the recorded shots had indeed been fired from the grassy knoll . needless to say , the existence of 5 , rather than just 3 , gunshots destroyed the oswald as lone gunman cover - up . warren supporters quickly tried to dismiss the audio record of the gunshots by claiming that the recording was actually of gunshots in another part of the city , and confused for dealey plaza shots because of a timing error . without explaining just where the other shots had occurred , or why the echo patterns exactly matched the test shots fired in dealey plaza , the warren supporters declared victory . new research has shown that the report that dismissed the audio recording of the gunshots was itself deeply flawed , and ignored evidence that confirmed both the location and time of the recording as being in dealey plaza at the time of the jfk assassination . this means that the original house select committee on assassinations conclusion is the correct one . there were at least five gunshots in dealey plaza , two of them within 1/2 second of each other , and at least one of the shots came from the grassy knoll . update : the deathbed confession of cia agent , e. howard hunt to his son on the jfk assassination . update : numerous witnesses had reported a large obvious exit wound in the back of kennedy 's head , consistent with the reports of a gunshot from the grassy knoll . the warren commission dismissed the exit wound and reports of a shooter on the grassy knoll and published in their report photographs of the back of kennedy 's head that showed no damage . now it has been revealed that the warren commission did not publish the actual autopsy photos but substituted photos taken after morticians had reconstructed kennedy 's head an anticipation of a possible open casket viewing prior to the funeral , as had been done with lincoln . although described as a mix - up , the simplest explanation is deliberate deception by the warren commission . dan rather 's " fib " dan rather , at the time an unknown newscaster from a small market texas tv station , viewed the zapruder film , then described it to america on the cbs network . as this recording of that broadcast shows , rather lied to all of america in claiming that the head shot pushed john f. kennedy 's head forward . rather makes the claim that kennedy 's head " rocketed forward " at 2:15 in the above video . he also makes a point of saying there were only three shots in total . rather 's meteoric rise to network status and stardom soon followed this broadcast . when the zapruder film was finally shown publicly , during jim garrison 's trial of cia agent clay shaw , rather 's lie was revealed for all to see . a revealing wink most americans who lived through the kennedy assassination are very familiar with the above photo of vice president lyndon johnson being sworn in as president aboard air force one . but very few people are aware of another photograph snapped just seconds later ! in this photo , congressman albert thomas winks back at the brand - new president !
+1 nypd catches itself selling stolen goods , blames business owner the anti - media by carey wedler a business owner in manhattan is suing the city after being forced to waive his fourth amendment rights and potentially forfeit his business because an nypd officer sold illegal goods at his store . you read that right . according to a lawsuit filed this month by the institute for justice , a libertarian legal advocacy group , an undercover nypd detective attempted to sell stolen electronics to customers at sung cho ’s laundromat in inwood , which located near the northern tip of manhattan , in 2013 . after the officer successfully sold stolen goods to two people — one inside the store and one outside — the city threatened cho with eviction “ merely because a ‘ stolen property’ offense had happened at his business , ” the legal organization ’s website explained . institute for justice ( ij ) , which takes on cases involving the suppression of free speech , eminent domain , and civil asset forfeiture , among other government encroachments , detailed cho ’s case : “ the city presented sung with a choice : see his business shut down or sign an agreement giving up constitutional rights — including his fourth amendment right to be free from warrantless searches of his business . faced with the imminent closure of his laundromat , sung had no real choice but to sign . ” under the city ’s decades - old “ nuisance eviction ordinance , ” residents and business owners can be evicted simply because an illegal act occurred on or near their property . though the law was passed in the 1970s to target businesses that encourage illegal activity , like many laws , it has been abused . “ under the ordinance , the identity of the criminal offender is irrelevant , ” ij explains . “ you can be evicted because a total stranger ( or a friend or family member ) decided your home or business was a good place to commit a crime . ” according to ij , “ in many cases , the ‘ proof’ of the alleged criminal offense is an affidavit from an nypd officer relaying vague allegations from unnamed confidential informants . ” a joint investigation by propublica and the new york daily news reported that in cho ’s case , “ the police claimed in court filings that [ his ] business was facilitating an illegal fencing operation ” because the undercover detective sold illegal goods there in 2013 . none of cho ’s employees were ever accused of or charged with a crime . nevertheless , in cases like cho ’s , the city often offers to drop the charges — but only if the defendant agrees to relinquish their constitutional rights . some “ are forced to sign agreements waiving their fourth amendment rights , ” ij explains . according to propublica and the daily news : “ cho agreed to give up his right to a hearing before being fined and agreeing to be shut down if police accuse anybody at his shop of breaking the law in the future . he also must allow the police to search his business and access his security footage at any time . the terms continue in perpetuity , and pass on to any new buyer or partner in cho ’s business , which he said makes it essentially worthless . ” “ i could n’t really defend myself , that ’s why we had to settle prior to going to the judge , ” cho said . “ just because it happened nearby , under the law i am guilty , and that is not right . “ the ordinance is being abused in other ways , as well . as ij explains : “ others are forced to sign agreements barring family members from the home — including family members who have not been accused of any crime ” this was the case of jameelah el - shabazz , also represented in ij ’s suit , who was forced to ban her son from her home . she was required to do so after he was falsely accused of possessing 45 cups of cocaine during a police search of a bedroom at her residence in 2011 . laboratory tests proved her son did not have cocaine or any other narcotic ; she says the powder the nypd found was crushed eggshells he uses for spiritual rituals . though no charges were ever pressed , “ four months later , she was served with the nuisance case and an order forcing her from her apartment while the case was being decided , ” propublica and the new york daily news reported . she says that when she signed the agreement , she had no idea it meant she had to permanently ban her son from her home . “ i ’m not going to make my son homeless because of the false accusations , ” she said . the propublica / daily news investigation reports that of over 1,100 cases in which these notices were issued during 2013 and the first half of 2014 , fewer than half of the individuals targeted had actually committed a crime . they reported the cases occurred “ almost exclusively ” in black and latino communities . ij ’s suit follows another similar lawsuit concerning a woman who was evicted from her home for four days after police claimed drugs were illegally sold there . as it turned out , those engaging in illegal activity had moved out eight months prior . though mayor bill de blasio responded to the lawsuit , saying he believes everyone is entitled to a fair trial , city attorney nicholas ciapetta claimed in a recent motion that the woman “ was not entitled to any additional process . ” the city ’s law department said it has not yet seen ij ’s new case filing . though the nypd has amended its use of the ordinance to restrict full closures on homes while nuisance cases are still being decided , they continue to endorse the law . “ this is one of many important tools we use as part of precision policing to continue to drive down crime and protect the public , ” police commissioner james p. o’neill said . but cho disagrees . “ it ’s unfair , ” he asserted . “ unfair to me , unfair to all the investment that i made here , unfair to the employees that work here and support their families … it ’s new york city versus a little guy like me . ” robert johnson , the lead attorney on the case representing cho , el - shabazz , and one other individual , strongly objected to the practice . “ the mere fact that someone ’s been arrested is just not a reason why they should be kicked out of an apartment , ” he said . the case was filed in the united states court for the southern district of new york . johnson said ij is prepared to take the case against the “ coercively obtained ” settlements all the way to the supreme court . if they win , “ past waivers of constitutional rights will be declared unenforceable and , going forward , this practice will be put to an end once and for all . ” delivered by the daily sheeple we encourage you to share and republish our reports , analyses , breaking news and videos ( click for details ) . contributed by the anti - media of theantimedia.org . the “ anti ” in our name does not mean we are against the media , we are simply against the current mainstream paradigm . the current media , influenced by the industrial complex , is a top - down authoritarian system of distribution — the opposite of what anti - media aims to be . at anti - media , we want to offer a new paradigm — a bottom - up approach for real and diverse reporting . we seek to establish a space where the people are the journalists and a venue where independent journalism moves forward on a larger and more truthful scale .
+0 email hack details movements of joe biden , michelle obama and hillary clinton - the new york times michael d. shear and matthew rosenberg washington — hackers on thursday posted hundreds of emails from a young democratic operative that contained documents detailing the schedules and precise movements of the vice president , the first lady and hillary clinton during recent campaign and official political events . the emails included names and cellphone numbers of numerous secret service agents , spreadsheets with the names and social security numbers of campaign donors , and powerpoint presentations showing directions for where officials like vice president joseph r. biden jr. should walk when they arrived at events . the hackers who posted the emails also distributed what they claimed was a scanned image of the information page from michelle obama ’s passport , though the authenticity of the image could not be verified . the emails were stolen from the personal gmail account of the democratic operative , ian mellul . they reveal how widely white house officials , clinton campaign operatives and secret service agents have exchanged detailed and sensitive information with people using personal email accounts . there is no indication that mr. mellul , 22 , who was in effect working as a freelancer when the white house or the clinton campaign needed help , did anything wrong , and government officials declined to talk about the use of the private account . about a year and a half ’s worth of emails from mr. mellul ’s account were posted late wednesday by the website dcleaks . com , which earlier this month released a batch of emails from the personal account of colin l. powell , the former secretary of state , in which he voiced his scorn for donald j. trump , the republican presidential nominee , and his personal peeves with mrs. clinton , his democratic opponent . the newly released emails do not provide specific security details , but they do reveal the types of movements that top political officials make at such events . if emails were hacked before an event , that could present a more serious security issue . one document instructed mr. biden to walk up four steps at a loading dock in cleveland before climbing 26 steps to a holding room . another used blue arrows to show the route mrs. clinton should walk through a donor ’s house in houston . both documents included pictures of the event locations . mr. mellul , who volunteered to work as an advance staff member for the white house and the clinton campaign as he finished his undergraduate education at george washington university in washington , declined to comment . “ i ’ve got to hang up , ” he said thursday when reached on his cellphone . cathy l. milhoan , the director of communications for the secret service , said the agency was “ aware of the alleged email hacking of a white house staffer . “ obviously the secret service is concerned any time unauthorized information that might pertain to one of the individuals we protect , or our operations , is allegedly disclosed , ” she added . an f. b. i. spokesman said the bureau was looking into the hacking . josh earnest , the white house press secretary , said that officials took “ any reports about a cyberbreach seriously ” and that the episode was “ something we are taking a close look at . ” dcleaks . com is a relatively new website that has posted documents taken from the accounts of prominent figures like gen. philip m. breedlove , the former commander of nato forces in europe , and george soros , a wealthy backer of liberal causes . on the site , its creators describe themselves as american “ hacktivists ” who aim to “ publish a large amount of emails from officials and their influence agents all over the world . ” mr. mellul hardly fits either description . his job ranks just above that of an intern . the emails from his account document the often mundane process that white house or campaign staff members go through to prepare for an event , including setting up stages , organizing photo lines , arranging for lecterns and coordinating with the secret service about getting clearances for all of the people the politician will encounter along the way . one email contained a spreadsheet with the names and social security numbers of almost 100 people scheduled to attend a houston for mrs. clinton . in another exchange , a secret service agent discussed how many official “ pins ” would be provided for hotel staff members to have access to an event . after mr. mellul said the hotel had requested 50 secret service pins , the agent wrote , “ yikes . ” several of the emails contain what is referred to as a “ movement document ” or a “ site diagram ” involving the vice president , the first lady or mrs. clinton . those emails were often sent to a large number of people , including mr. mellul . in other cases , mr. mellul emailed copies of the documents to other campaign or government officials , including secret service officials . “ good morning all , ” mr. mellul wrote on may 20 , the day of a hillary for america . “ please find the attached site diagram for houston ’s h. f. a. finance event this evening . please let us know if you have any questions or concerns . ian . ” the emails begin in february 2015 , when mr. mellul was in the honors program and studying political science . in the messages , mr. mellul comes across as a conscientious and courteous young man whose friends would email him for help with their school essays and résumés . after high school , he jumped into the intern circuit that feeds into jobs in washington . in 2014 , he received a coveted internship at the white house and later parlayed the connections he had made as an intern into freelance work for the white house . his tryout , it appears , was helping mrs. obama ’s team at a lunch for congressional spouses on april 15 , 2015 . in an email two days before the event , lindsay drewel , a washington public relations executive , wrote to anthony r. bernal , the deputy chief of staff for jill biden , the vice president ’s wife , that if mr. mellul “ can survive that crazy event ( which we know he will ) he ’ll be ready to go ! haha . ” after the event , mr. mellul even included a secret service agent in his round of emails thanking those with whom he had worked . and the day after the lunch , the first lady ’s office reached out again to see if he could help with an event in virginia . mr. mellul was excited , and in an email to a friend later that day , he noted that he had been told “ it takes a few good before they really trust you . ” on april 20 , 2015 , five days after his first job with mrs. obama ’s team at the congressional lunch , mr. mellul described himself as “ on the advance team ” for the first lady in an email to his professor saying he might miss class because of an event .
+0 simone biles , michael phelps , u.s. presidential race : your thursday evening briefing - the new york times andrea kannapell and sandra stevenson ( want to get this briefing by email ? here ’s the . ) good evening . here ’s the latest . 1 . it ’s official . simone biles , the gymnast some call the best in history , was crowned the gymnastics champion at the rio olympics . her teammate aly raisman came in second . here ’s a of two of biles ’s signature moves . with a win in the individual medley , michael phelps earned his thirteenth individual gold medal , surpassing leonidas of rhodes , who won 12 gold medals in the ancient olympics . another achievement for the books : simone manuel became the first woman to win an individual event in olympic swimming . our full coverage of the games is here — including the odd version of the u. s. national anthem being played at medal ceremonies . _ _ _ _ _ 2 . hillary clinton rejected the economic agenda donald trump laid out this week , calling him an enemy of “ the little guy . ” he wants to “ give trillions in tax cuts to people like himself , ” she said , while deepening the financial pain of the middle and working classes . neither candidate , however , has said much about helping people who are not working — many of them living in abject poverty . _ _ _ _ _ 3 . mr. trump faced down critics of his unorthodox campaign style , telling an interviewer , “ it ’s either going to work or i ’m going to , you know , i ’m going to have a very , very nice long vacation . ” after weeks of hearing detractors saying a trump presidency would be a grave threat to national security , mr. trump has begun portraying mrs. clinton and president obama as of the islamic state . he held a rally in kissimmee , fla. in the evening . _ _ _ _ _ 4 . the f. b. i. has widened its investigation into what officials believe was a russian cyberattack directed against the democratic party . the attack appears to have been far larger than first thought , raising the possibility of more damaging disclosures like the emails published recently by wikileaks . after a impasse that has kept the wikileaks founder , julian assange , holed up in the ecuadorean embassy in london , sweden has agreed to question him there over rape accusations . _ _ _ _ _ 5 . almost 55 miles a gallon — that ’s what u. s. regulators say automakers’ fleets must average by 2025 . engineers , racing to meet the mark , are working with new batteries for hybrids . some cars are going on a superglue diet : adhesives , like the one being used on the gmc acadia above , can stiffen seams and allow components to be made of thinner steel . _ _ _ _ _ 6 . the animated “ sausage party , ” opening nationwide this weekend , sends foodstuffs ranging through the supermarket for 89 minutes of bawdy , silly humor — and a deeper layer . characters voiced by seth rogen , kristen wiig , edward norton , michael cera , bill hader and others end up in a classic confrontation between comforting religious beliefs ( weekend shoppers are gods who will liberate them ) and scientific thought ( their actual fate ) . our reviewer saluted “ the intellectual rigor of a project that probably did n’t require it ” and called the movie “ fun pretty much all the way through . ” _ _ _ _ _ 7 . fox news has not managed to put a scandal behind it , despite rapidly forcing out its chairman , roger ailes . more women have come forward to describe a culture of intimidation and misogyny , including a former fox host , andrea tantaros , above . top ailes deputies who remain are being accused of abetting mr. ailes ’s behavior . _ _ _ _ _ 8 . “ i found the numbers heartbreaking . ” that was a senior u. s. health official , commenting on a new study that found high rates of rape , bullying , depression and other harms suffered by gay , lesbian and bisexual teenagers . the survey found that they make up about 8 percent of the high school population , or 1 . 3 million students . future studies are likely to include an option for students to identify as transgender . above , a youth contingent at miami ’s gay pride march in april . _ _ _ _ _ 9 . u. s. forces seized most of the coastal libyan city of surt , a stronghold of the islamic state . but in syria , the battle between government forces and rebels has left two million people in the city of aleppo with critical shortages of food and water . if the turmoil in the mideast seems too overwhelming to grasp , this could help . a team spent more than a year charting the catastrophe that has befallen the arab world since the invasion of iraq in 2003 . at words , it ’s not a quick read , but it is a remarkably clear account that connects the region ’s history and the arab spring uprisings to the creation of the islamic state and the global refugee crisis . _ _ _ _ _ 10 . one of our articles today focuses on the pharmaceutical giant abbott laboratories and its operations in india ’s highly competitive drug market . a times investigation found that managers pushed workers to pursue sales in violation of indian law , medical standards and the company ’s own ethics guidelines . one of the country ’s top salesmen jumped in front of a train last month , leaving a note that said he was committing suicide because of the pressure . above , his daughter . _ _ _ _ _ 11 . finally , mongolia , a sparsely populated country with nomadic traditions , will be pioneering a novel system next month . the country is adopting an app created by a british what3words , that looks up a unique code ( dissident . sloth . ploy , for instance ) for every patch of the earth ’s surface — all 57 trillion . users enter an address or position a pointer on a map to retrieve the code , which the postal service can then use for deliveries . _ _ _ _ _ your evening briefing is posted at 6 p. m. eastern . and do n’t miss your morning briefing , posted weekdays at 6 a. m. eastern , and your weekend briefing , posted at 6 a. m. sundays . want to look back ? here ’s last night ’s briefing . what did you like ? what do you want to see here ? let us know at briefing@nytimes . com .
+0 gowdy : congress may subpoena susan rice to testify about unmasking if necessary - breitbart pam key thursday on fox news channel ’s “ america ’s newsroom , ” while discussing president barack obama ’s former national security adviser susan rice ’s decision to decline an invitation to testify before a senate subcommittee on russian interference in the 2016 presidential election , rep. trey gowdy ( ) said that could lead congress to subpoena her . gowdy said , “ there are other ways to invite people other than via a letter . there are things called subpoenas . you should n’t have to use it with a former national security adviser , but if you do , you do . ” referencing rice ’s role in the unmasking of trump transition officials he said rice is “ a very important witness . ” he added , “ members of congress do n’t pick the witnesses . lawyers do n’t pick witnesses . the facts pick the witnesses . and whether ambassador rice likes it or not , she ’s a really important fact witness . ” ( wfb ) follow pam key on twitter @pamkeynen
+1 reset : vladimir putin says that russia is ready to do it ’s part to rebuild ties with america under trump geoffrey grider reset : vladimir putin says that russia is ready to do it ’s part to rebuild ties with america under trump vladimir putin earlier became one of the first world leaders to congratulate trump via a telegram for his surprise triumph over hillary clinton . russian president vladimir putin on wednesday said moscow is ready to contribute to rebuilding relations with the united states with donald trump as president . editor ’s note : since hillary clinton ’s and barack obama ’s failed “ russian reset ” back in 2009 , international relations between russia and the united states have been a chilly 5 or 6 degrees above freezing . for the past year and a half , russia and america have not talked at all , with russia assuming power in the middle east in syria . just hours after donald trump ’s historic electoral college landslide , vladimir putin has extended the olive branch of friendship and it could not have come at a better time . “ we have heard the pre - election statements by then - candidate trump , which were directed at rebuilding relations between russia and the us , ” putin said during a speech before several ambassadors in the kremlin . “ we understand that this will not be an easy path considering the unfortunate degradation of relations , ” he said . “ but russia is ready and wants to restore full - fledged relations with the us.”“we are ready to do our part and do everything to return ( us - russian ) relations to the trajectory of development , ” he said . “ this would be in the interest of russian and american people and would positively affect the general climate in international relations , considering the special responsibility of russia and the us for ensuring global stability and security . ” remember this unqualified disaster ? secretary of state hillary clinton spearheaded the disastrous “ russian reset ” back in march of 2009 which only served to further damage relations with russia . they could n’t even spell the words on the thing properly . with reporters looking on , clinton met lavrov and handed him a gift – a green box tied in green ribbon . he unwrapped it to reveal a “ reset button ” a lighthearted reminder of vice president joe biden ’s recent remark that the administration of us president barack obama is hitting the reset button with russia after years of friction during the bush administration . the trouble was , the russian - language label the americans put on top of the button had the wrong word . before she realised the mistake , clinton assured lavrov her staff had “ worked hard ” to get it right . was it right ? she inquired with a smile . “ you got it wrong , ” lavrov responded , also smiling . he said the word the americans chose –“peregruzka”– meant “ overloaded ” or “ overcharged ” rather than “ reset ” . clinton quickly retorted with : “ well , we wo n’t let you do that to us , i promise ” . it was an embarrassment for the united states , to say the very least . russian foreign minister sergey lavrov wants people to stop asking him about the failed “ reset ” with russia because he says “ it was the invention of hillary clinton and obama administration . ” putin earlier became one of the first world leaders to congratulate trump via a telegram for his surprise triumph over hillary clinton . putin has tacitly supported trump during the campaign , while trump repeatedly flattered and praised the russian leader and said he was willing to work with him . russia ’s parliament on wednesday broke into applause upon learning of trump ’s win , and russian markets climbed up , against the global slump on the news . source share this article
+1 does obama have a brilliant career ahead of him ? | new eastern outlook author region : usa in the world even though the american spectator has claimed that “ obama and his crew will soon be swept into the dustbin of history ” , the future of “ america ’s lame duck ” still draws a lot of media attention . some commentators , especially those that have been handsomely paid by the white house , are trying to somehow improve the public image of the still sitting us president who has discredited himself in a number of ways over the last 8 years , especially in such fields as “ combating ” racism in the united states and washington ’s military interventions across the globe . the new york times would note that with less than three months left for his presidency , barack obama is preparing for a life after the white house that would most likely include a close relationship with silicon valley . as an explanation for such a statement , the newspaper provides the report on how interested president obama was in the dragon spacecraft built by spacex. president obama even tested a program that stimulates docking the spacecraft with the international space station . this area of obama ’s possible interests is cited by a great many commentators as his future occupation , which seems logical since obama ’s “ contribution ” to us military contractors regarding profits has been paramount all throughout his years in office . however , there ’s reports that obama has diverse musical interests as well . reportedly , his favorite music genre is soul . he listens to various artists that developed this genre , but his absolute favorite is stevie wonder and his “ my cherie amour ” , “ all in love is fair ” , “ for once in my life ” , and “ i just called to say i love you ” . these songs can always be found in the playlist of the current american leader . barack obama is also found of al green and his vocal prowess . he tends to enjoy such saxophonists as lester young , john coltrane , and coleman hawkins . as for rock legends , obama prefers to listen to the legendary the rolling stones and the beatles . as for the latest hits , barack obama has been enjoying the canadian indie rockers arcade fire with their “ we used to wait ” , and the british indie - pop band florence & the machine with their hit “ you ’ve got the love ” . as a real american president , barack obama just can not help but love country music as well , as he frequently listens to such bands as zac brown and montgomery gentry . so some musicians , especially in the us , have been advising obama to switch to musical activities , perhaps playing in a banjo in a band . – it seems that it might be a good pastime for obama after his “ toying with soldiers ” in the middle east and other regions of the world . a lot of comments in various media can be found about obama ’s ties with hospitals , and doctors without borders in particular . tens of hospital have been wiped off the face of the earth and hundreds of doctors and their patients died as a result of the strikes in afghanistan , yemen , iraq , and elsewhere in the world authorized by obama . therefore , it seems unlikely that any hospital run by doctors without borders will have the courage to turn obama ’s application down after the termination of his presidential mandate . especially when you consider that the risk of dying under us bombs will diminish for most of its employees after january 2017 . however , if the white house is then occupied by hillary clinton , obama may be running the risk of coming under friendly fire if working in one of such hospitals , an irony considering his endorsement of clinton . but the most important thing by far is that obama will no longer be making america ’s decisions , since during his time doing so , he has got the us mired in five overseas wars simultaneously , subjecting millions of innocent civilians in the middle east , africa , and asia to intolerable suffering , loss of shelter and families , and forced refuge in foreign lands . therefore , the choice of a decent successor to the current lame duck president should be way more important than supporting the war party and obama ’s spiritual successor – hillary clinton . martin berger is a freelance journalist and geopolitical analyst , exclusively for the online magazine “ new eastern outlook . ” popular articles
+0 report : obama intel officials used ‘ russia blackmail’ claims to warn israel about trusting trump aaron klein tel aviv — u. s. intelligence officials warned their israeli counterparts not to trust donald trump with intelligence secrets , citing alleged fears that russia held blackmail information over trump , according to a report today in israel ’s respected yediot ahronot daily newspaper . [ the alleged blackmail information that u. s. officials reportedly warned israel about seems to be in part referencing details contained in a debunked document of mysterious origin purporting to be an intelligence report alleging that russia collected compromising videos and information on trump . in the report , investigative journalist ronen bergman writes of a meeting that took place “ recently between israeli and american intelligence officials ( the date of the meeting is not mentioned to protect the sources of the report ) . ” continued bergman : during the meeting , according to the israelis who participated in it , their american colleagues voiced despair over trump ’s election , as he often lashes out at the american intelligence community . the american officials also told the israelis that the national security agency ( nsa ) had “ highly credible information ” that russia ’s intelligence agencies , the fsb and gru , were responsible for hacking the democratic party ( dnc ) servers during the elections and leaking sensitive information to wikileaks , which hurt democratic presidential candidate hillary clinton . the american officials further added that they believed russian president vladimir putin had “ leverages of pressure ” over trump — but did not elaborate . they were apparently referring to what was published wednesday about embarrassing information collected by the russian intelligence in a bid to blackmail the . the americans implied that their israeli colleagues should “ be careful ” as of january 20 , trump ’s inauguration date , when transferring intelligence information to the white house and to the national security council ( nsc ) which is subject to the president . according to the israelis who were present in the meeting , the americans recommended that until it is made clear that trump is not inappropriately connected to russia and is not being extorted — israel should avoid revealing sensitive sources to administration officials for fear the information would reach the iranians . buzzfeed on tuesday published the document claiming russia had collected blackmail information on trump , including videos of the in compromising positions . “ the allegations are unverified , and the report contains errors , ” a buzzfeed cautioned . contacted by breitbart jerusalem , bergman said that according to his sources , the meeting between u. s. and israeli officials took place before the publication of the dossier on tuesday and that the dossier was n’t specifically mentioned to the israelis , only the charge that russian president vladimir putin has some sort of unspecified “ leverage ” over trump . bergman said that after the dossier was published , he contacted his sources again and they told him that they themselves were speculating that the “ leverage ” claim could have in part referred to the dossier . bergman is the author of a forthcoming book on the history of the mossad set to be published later this year by random house . us intel sources warn israel against sharing secrets with trump # whitehouse staff . fear leak to # russia#iran https : . # mossad pic . twitter . — ronen bergman ( @ronenbergman ) january 12 , 2017 , buzzfeed ’s publication of the document prompted a flurry of news media reports drawing attention to the salacious and unproven details . cnn fanned the flames by reporting that “ classified documents ” presented to president obama and trump included “ allegations that russian operatives claim to have compromising personal and financial information ” on trump , the news network claimed , citing “ multiple us officials with direct knowledge of the briefings . ” the wall street journal on wednesday reported the author of the dossier was christopher steele , who serves as a director at the orbis business intelligence ltd. which has refused to comment on the reports of the document ’s origin . in october , mother jones reported on the contents of the dossier , writing the information was produced by a former western intelligence officer who was assigned to the task for the purpose of an “ opposition research project originally financed by a republican client critical of the celebrity mogul . ” director of national intelligence james clapper released a statement yesterday that he had called trump that day to tell him that the intelligence community “ has not made any judgment that the information in this document is reliable . ” aaron klein is breitbart ’s jerusalem bureau chief and senior investigative reporter . he is a new york times bestselling author and hosts the popular weekend talk radio program , “ aaron klein investigative radio . ” follow him on twitter @aaronkleinshow . follow him on facebook .
+0 is ‘ westworld’ hbo ’s next big hit ? - the new york times jeremy egner on the morning they finished shooting the pilot for “ westworld , ” the married showrunners jonathan nolan and lisa joy commandeered a golf cart and went for a drive around sweetwater , the old west town they built for the show on gene autry ’s former ranch studio in santa clarita , calif. “ the sun filtered through everything , and it was this beautiful moment , ” ms. joy recalled recently . “ for once , there was nowhere to rush , the pages were shot . we rode through that town together , and we were done with this massive endeavor . ” in fact , they were just getting started . still to come were nine more episodes of this audacious western production delays that would cast doubt on the show ’s future and , as its sunday , oct. 2 , premiere date was finally announced , the pressure of reviving hbo ’s drama slate as “ game of thrones , ” another epic with lots of violence and naked people , enters its twilight . based on the 1973 michael crichton film , “ westworld ” is about a dark disneyland where the wealthy can wallow in incredibly lifelike old west fantasy , shooting or sleeping with whomever they choose . the objects of their depredations are humanoid robot “ hosts ” who believe themselves to be actual gunslingers , brothel madams and ranchers’ daughters . that is until flickers of memory and insight threaten to reveal that the hosts were actually built by scientists , a programmer explains , to “ gratify the desires of the people who pay to visit your world . ” myriad awakenings , reckonings and complex existential conflicts ensue . the series is the result of a longtime fascination with the film by j. j. abrams , a creator of “ lost , ” the director of “ star wars : the force awakens ” and the executive producer who hired mr. nolan and ms. joy to reimagine the story . a show of imposing sweep , thorny philosophical quandaries and an impressive cast including anthony hopkins , ed harris , thandie newton , jeffrey wright and evan rachel wood , it is also hbo ’s most visually ambitious offering since “ game of thrones , ” a global hit that remains the network ’s last successful drama , even though it debuted in 2011 . hbo does n’t expect “ game of thrones ” ratings ( the most recent season finale drew 8 . 9 million viewers ) but it hopes “ westworld ” can end a slide defined by curiosities like “ the leftovers ” and expensive failures like “ vinyl , ” the 1970s music business show that was canceled in june after its first season . while like this summer ’s “ the night of ” have done well for hbo , “ what we need is an ongoing drama series , ” said casey bloys , the network ’s president for programming . up to now , however , “ westworld ” has been cast as an ongoing drama of another kind , dogged by delays and the occasional casting notice . hbo originally said “ westworld ” would debut in 2015 , and a production shutdown last november , in particular , raised speculation that the showrunners had bitten off more than they could chew . while this was at least temporarily true — the producers realized they needed to stop shooting to focus on finishing the scripts — the metanarrative of “ westworld ” as a troubled production threatened to overtake the actual storytelling . ( hbo never considered pulling the plug , mr. bloys said . ) “ because there ’s so much mystery surrounding the show and because it seems so ambitious , it ’s probably easy for people to assume it ’s just a disaster , ” said ms. wood , who plays an increasingly skeptical host named delores . “ but i think they ’ll be pleasantly surprised . ” early reviews have been mostly raves , praising the transportive quality and sophisticated themes about human nature and consciousness . and the performances , especially from ms. wood , mr. hopkins as the possibly malevolent mastermind dr. robert ford and ms. newton as the madam maeve , are nuanced and layered . “ the show has taken a premise that could be seen as sort of primitive and simply about revenge and explored it on an emotionally complex level , ” mr. abrams said . he had been pondering a “ westworld ” reboot off and on since discussing the concept more than 20 years ago with crichton , who died in 2008 . but mr. nolan , who goes by jonah , and ms. joy were n’t interested in taking on big television projects in 2013 , when mr. abrams proposed reimagining it as a cable drama . mr. nolan , who had worked on films like “ interstellar , ” “ the dark knight rises ” and “ memento ” with his brother christopher before creating the cbs series “ person of interest , ” hoped to direct feature films . ms. joy , who wrote for shows like “ burn notice ” and “ pushing daisies , ” was developing a movie version of “ battlestar galactica . ” ultimately , they were drawn in by the chance to explore issues surrounding artificial intelligence and “ the idea that humans are getting ever better at immersing themselves in their narrative fictions , ” mr. nolan said . while the movie “ westworld ” was a campy predecessor to the “ terminator ” movies as well as crichton ’s more successful “ jurassic park ” — with yul brynner ’s gunfighter in the inexorable predator role later filled by terminators and velociraptors — the series takes its cues from headier like “ blade runner ” and “ ex machina . ” it flips the main perspective of crichton ’s story , and thus viewers’ sympathies , from the human guests to the robot hosts . and it poses provocative questions about the depths to which humans will sink when there are n’t consequences . in “ westworld , ” generally it ’s the people , not the robots , who are the monsters an early scene finds an old west bro shooting an android cowboy in the back of the head for sport and exclaiming , “ now that ’s a [ expletive ] vacation ! ” in the most explicit inversion of the source material , brynner ’s mechanical outlaw is now a veteran westworld tourist with a taste for cruelty and a mysterious agenda . he is played by ed harris in his first substantial series television role . “ it was jonah and lisa ’s commitment and passion for their idea that kind of sold me on it , ” he said . “ they ’re using the future of artificial intelligence to explore the nature of what makes us who we are . ” other actors were drawn by expansive roles — “ i got be to a cowboy and a robot at the same time ! “ ms. wood recalled with glee — that gave primacy to characters most westerns leave on the margins , like the madam or the frontier girl next door . “ if this was n’t an empowering role for women , it was going to be a major problem , ” ms. newton said . “ because i ’m nude for so much of the film . ” ah yes , the nudity . as suggested by the trailers , it is abundant , and it became a flash point during the production when a “ westworld ” casting notice informed extras that they may be required “ to perform touching ” or “ pose on all fours while others who are fully nude ride on your back , ” among other indignities . hbo disavowed the notice , saying it was never requested by the producers . ( the actors guild , protested at the time , but a spokeswoman confirmed that it received no complaints from members about the shoot . ) in general , the nudity is more clinical than titillating , mostly relegated to the gloomy laboratories as well as the trailers . “ the sex and violence is easy to market , but it ’s not the stuff that ’s very interesting , ” mr. abrams said . given the uproar over sexual violence on hbo shows like “ game of thrones , ” the most controversial scene in the pilot is likely to be an implied rape that happens offscreen . but those involved with “ westworld ” defend it as a key , and part of the narrative . “ the cost of such actions is something these guys take incredibly seriously , ” ms. newton said . ms. joy and mr. nolan met at the premiere for “ memento , ” the 2001 indie thriller christopher nolan wrote and directed based on jonah ’s short story . though they consulted on each other ’s work for years , mr. nolan and ms. joy had never officially worked together before “ westworld , ” the development of which happened to coincide with another collaboration : their first child . ( they ’re currently expecting their second . ) they have sketched out several seasons’ worth of story , but hbo has committed only to the one . “ coming off of ‘ vinyl,’ i think the one thing we ’re going to do is take our time in making a decision ” about renewing “ westworld , ” mr. bloys said . that means it will be some time before anyone knows whether the show can in fact be the network ’s next flagship series , even as everyone involved swats away the inevitable “ game of thrones ” comparisons . but hbo executives do want enough viewers , positive reviews and cultural buzz for “ westworld ” to justify a price tag that , while they wo n’t divulge it , ca n’t be cheap , considering the decorated cast and breathtaking scope on display . “ is it the next big hbo thing ? i do n’t think it benefits any show to work under those expectations , ” mr. bloys said . “ it ’s getting into really interesting themes that are relevant today , so hopefully it catches on . ” mr. nolan added : “ we have a dark , strange , hopefully compelling story we ’re telling here . you never know what people are going to make of it until they do , but we ’re incredibly excited to put it in front of an audience . ”
+1 today ’s upside move in gold & silver is nothing compared to what is coming king world news 29 views november 01 , 2016 gold , kwn king world news as the gold and silver markets stage a rally , today ’s move in gold and silver is nothing compared to what is coming . a terrifying crisis john embry : “ things are continuing to deteriorate across the globe . now we are facing the very real possibility of another world war , and in a world with massive nuclear arsenals on both sides i find that to be terrifying … continue reading the john embry interview below … advertisement to hear what billionaire eric sprott & rick rule are doing with their own money and which $ 7 billion company john embry & dr. marc faber oversee click on the logo : john embry continues : “ in my mind , that crisis dwarfs the economic and financial deterioration . on a separate note , i laughed when i saw the u.s. gdp number come in at 2.9 percent . that is totally at odds with important economic indicators such as freight traffic , industrial production , construction , oil consumption , etc . along those same lines , the inflation rate published by the government sharply understates the true rate of inflation for the average u.s. citizen . the price of necessities — food , energy , housing , and healthcare , are all now rising much faster than the official inflation rate . and those are the primary items that the average consumers spend the bulk of their incomes on in the united states . the issue of obamacare has become a national disgrace , with premium increases in 2017 to exceed double - digit percentages in virtually all constituencies . it will be interesting to see how this reality is reflected in voting patterns next week . despite the mainstream press awarding the election to hillary clinton , there may be a bigger backlash coming from the voting public than anticipated . the public has become increasingly disenchanted with the establishment and what it has done to living standards for the average american . however , irrespective of who wins the election , i foresee a big upward price move in gold and silver that may have already started today , as there are no palatable solutions to the world ’s massive debt problems . i have long believed that we are going to experience a global hyperinflation for the first time in history , and this represents the most disruptive social condition that can possibly occur . eventually the debt will have to be dealt with but i suspect that will happen in the wake of the hyperinflation . at that moment the only refuges will be hard assets , with gold and silver at the front of the pack . meaning , today ’s upside move in gold and silver is nothing compared to what is coming . ” * * * kwn has now released the remarkable audio interview with nomi prins click here or on the image below . * * * also released : this key signal will indicate liftoff for gold & silver and the mining stocks click here . * * * kwn has also released rick rule ’s timely audio interview click here or on the image below . © 2015 by king world news ® . all rights reserved . this material may not be published , broadcast , rewritten , or redistributed . however , linking directly to the articles is permitted and encouraged . about author
+0 cecile richards credits planned parenthood supporters with stopping ahca - breitbart dr. susan berry immediately after the cancellation of the house vote on the american health care act ( ahca ) planned parenthood president cecile richards sent out a fundraising email to her supporters , crediting them with stopping the vote on the bill . [ “ paul ryan and donald trump tried forcing through the worst legislation for women in a generation , ” richards says . “ they were on stripping health care from 24 million people , cutting essentials like maternity care , and blocking women from getting care at planned parenthood health centers . ” because people organized and spoke out , tomorrow 8 , 118 people will be able to get care at planned parenthood health centers across america . — cecile richards ( @cecilerichards ) march 24 , 2017 , great to have so many women ’s health experts around the table discussing ending maternity coverage blocking access to planned parenthood . pic . twitter . — cecile richards ( @cecilerichards ) march 23 , 2017 , for awhile , planned parenthood was touting its “ prenatal services . ” once it was realized what these services were — for the most part , “ fake news ” — the abortion chain began boasting about its “ maternity care , ” largely to justify its more than half a billion dollars annually in taxpayer funding . “ the reality is , planned parenthood does zero mammograms , performs less than two percent of women ’s cancer screenings in the u. s. offers virtually no prenatal care , yet does over a third of the nation ’s abortions — 887 abortions every day , ” says lila rose , president of national group live action . rose ’s organization recently released another investigative video in which planned parenthood staff members throughout the country are repeatedly heard informing the investigator that their clinics do not offer “ prenatal care . ” “ live action ’s recent investigation has shown that women wanting to keep their children who were seeking prenatal care at planned parenthoods across the country were consistently turned away , despite planned parenthood ’s claims that its federal funding goes toward prenatal care , ” rose says . “ when subsequently asked , the abortion chain has refused to tell the media how many of its centers actually provide prenatal care . ” in her email message , richards says to her supporters , “ your strength was far greater than theirs . the unprecedented grassroots energy from you and the entire planned parenthood community helped stop this bill from even leaving the house . ” “ the incredible support of the planned parenthood community just made all the difference in stopping this dangerous bill right now , ” she adds . “ our voices together are loud enough to drown out the politicians — and we ’ll need you with us for whatever comes next . ”
+1 a solution for blindness : world ’s first bionic eye implant helps blind man see shapes & colors starkman can you imagine living in a world of darkness , a world you were n’t visually connected to ? for many , this is the only reality they ’ve ever known : for some , a new and terrifying experience . via collectiveevolution fortunately , scientists are on the brink of discovering how to use technology to restore sight to the blind . in fact , a group of surgeons from university of california , los angeles ( ucla ) recently implanted the world ’s first visual simulator chip into the brain of a 30-year - old blind woman . the patient , who wishes to remain anonymous , started losing her eyesight in 2008 as a result of a rare disease called vogt - koyanagi - harada syndrome , which attacks the pigment in the eyes . after only a year , the disease took her eyesight from her ; however , it did not take her hope . eight years later , she can now see colours and shapes again thanks to a tiny simulator laid on the back of her brain . how the “ technology to beat blindness ” works the device implanted into the patient ’s brain was developed as part of the orion i program by second sight . it was inspired by a similar device called the argus ii , which was released at the manchester royal eye hospital in 2015 and involves a similar camera that sends images to an implant behind the eye . however , in order for the argus ii to be successful , it requires the patient to have at least some working retinal cells . the technology behind orion i was specifically designed for those who can not benefit from the argus ii , as it takes this concept even further by making it compatible with those who have complete blindness as well . since the system sends signals directly to the brain , it could theoretically work to restore sight to anyone , including those who lost an eye or were blinded by cancer ( source ) . in august 2016 , dr. nader pouratian implanted the simulator , an array of tiny electrodes , behind this woman ’s brain . the surgery took only four hours to complete and involved opening a small hole in the back of her skull and inserting the simulator onto the surface of her brain . he then placed a tiny antenna receiver , which receives signals from a computer , into this hole . following her procedure , the patient was tested for six weeks to determine the results of her new “ bionic eye . ” the results have been extremely positive so far , as the patient has seen the precise signals researchers sent to her visual cortex , the area of the brain that receives images from the optic nerve . dr. pouratian explained , “ the moment she saw color for the first time was a very emotional experience . it touched us all very deeply as human beings . based on these results , this system has the potential to restore sight to the blind . ” check out this ucla video that explains how the technology works : next steps toward restoring the patient ’s eyesight the ucla doctors are now awaiting approval from the u.s. food and drug administration , anticipated to be granted in early 2017 , to continue their experiments using the entire orion i program . the tests would involve the patient wearing a pair of high - tech glasses with a camera on the bridge . using the images captured from the glasses’ camera , orion i would send those video signals to the brain , allowing the patient to see what ’s directly in front of them ( source ) . here ’s a diagram that illustrates how the program works : dr robert greenberg , chairman of second sight , hopes this technology will improve all manner of eye injuries : “ it is rare that technological development offers such stirring possibilities . by bypassing the optic nerve and directly stimulating the visual cortex , the orion i has the potential to restore vision to patients blinded due to virtually any reason , including glaucoma , cancer , diabetic retinopathy , or trauma . ” final thoughts in a world where being able to see is sometimes crucial for survival , orion i could help transform the lives of many people suffering from blindness . this technology could provide a glimmer of hope to millions of people all over the world who never thought they ’d see again . this patient ’s story serves as a beautiful reminder that you can always find hope in the darkest of times and that literally anything is possible . “ i find hope in the darkest of days and focus in the brightest . ” – dalai lama
+0 donald trump , indonesia , aleppo : your wednesday evening briefing - the new york times karen workman and sandra stevenson ( want to get this briefing by email ? here ’s the . ) good evening . here ’s the latest . 1 . donald j. trump picked a retired marine general , an advocate of china and a close ally of the fossil fuel industry for three crucial posts . gen. john f. kelly , above , a retired marine general , will be nominated as secretary of homeland security , and gov. terry e. branstad of iowa was named ambassador to china . mr. branstad is close to president xi jinping of china , whom he has known since 1985 . scott pruitt , the oklahoma attorney general , was chosen to run the environmental protection agency . _ _ _ _ _ 2 . mr. trump , who was named time magazine ’s person of the year , said in a interview on nbc ’s “ today ” show that mitt romney remained a candidate for secretary of state . mr. trump did not dispute the interviewer ’s comparison of his campaign promises to crack down on undocumented immigrants he considers dangerous to comments made by the philippine president , rodrigo duterte , about annihilating drug dealers and users . a times photojournalist documented 57 homicides over 35 days in mr. duterte ’s bloody crackdown . ( warning : graphic images . ) _ _ _ _ _ 3 . an earthquake on the indonesian island of sumatra killed scores of people while they slept . rescue teams are searching for victims and survivors , but the death toll is nearing 100 , and more are feared dead . the quake , which struck after 5 a. m. had a preliminary magnitude of 6 . 5 , and at least five aftershocks followed . _ _ _ _ _ 4 . we talked to edgar welch , the who is in jail after firing a gun inside a washington pizzeria . mr. welch said he first learned about the fake news story suggesting hillary clinton was linked to a child trafficking ring being run out of the restaurant through word of mouth , then looked it up online . “ the intel on this was n’t 100 percent , ” he said . he has two kids and said that he did n’t vote for mr. trump or mrs. clinton . _ _ _ _ _ 5 . “ we are trapped under bombs . ” the twitter account shared by a girl in aleppo , bana and her mother has captured global attention with posts about bombs , death and despair . it has also raised questions about authenticity . syrian government forces appear to be pushing deeper into the city . _ _ _ _ _ 6 . for the first time in decades , powerful rival law firms have joined forces to file suits nationwide on a polarizing social issue : gun control . “ there is an epidemic of gun violence in this country , and the law can save innocent lives without infringing constitutional rights , ” a partner at one of the firms said . _ _ _ _ _ 7 . this is the 75th anniversary of the japanese attack on pearl harbor , the united states naval base in hawaii , where more than 2 , 000 americans were killed . we spoke with john morris , above , a photojournalist whose 25th birthday was underway when editors called to tell him of the attack . now celebrating his 100th birthday , he reflected on a career largely defined by war , saying , “ mankind is not as bright as one would hope . ” _ _ _ _ _ 8 . a cancer patient who was twice rejected from a study may hold the key to new treatment options for thousands of people . celine ryan , above , had advanced colon cancer that spread to her lungs when she was accepted for an experimental treatment that used cells from her own immune system . today , she has no signs of cancer . _ _ _ _ _ 9 . the gadget age is over , our tech columnist declares . the little electronic things that did stuff for you — from transistor radios to the walkman , ipods and gopros and fitbits — have been replaced by the “ thing that does everything ” ( better known as a smartphone ) . _ _ _ _ _ 10 . phil jackson , president of the new york knicks , has a nickname : zen master . the team has been taking part in mindfulness exercises since mr. jackson took over in 2014 . this year , he began leading the sessions himself . players told us that they found the exercises useful , even if they were not quite sure what they were doing . _ _ _ _ _ 11 . finally , we ’ve gathered our film critics and asked them to share their picks for the best movies of the year . their selections veer away from box office hits . only two movies made the lists of all three critics : “ moonlight , ” above , and “ o. j. : made in america . ” _ _ _ _ _ photographs may appear out of order for some readers . viewing this version of the briefing should help . your evening briefing is posted at 6 p. m. eastern . and do n’t miss your morning briefing , posted weekdays at 6 a. m. eastern , and your weekend briefing , posted at 6 a. m. sundays . want to look back ? here ’s last night ’s briefing . what did you like ? what do you want to see here ? let us know at briefing@nytimes . com .
+0 donald trump , interrupted . he calls flint pastor who cut in ‘ a nervous mess.’ - the new york times alan rappeport donald j. trump said on thursday that the pastor who interrupted his remarks at an church in flint , mich. was “ a nervous mess ” when she introduced him and that he thought “ something was up ” with her . during his visit to bethel united methodist church on wednesday , mr. trump , the republican presidential nominee , started to assail his democratic opponent , hillary clinton , for being a failure . as he spoke , the rev. faith green timmons came over to him and said , “ mr. trump , i invited you here to thank us , ” and added , “ not make a political speech . ” mr. trump addressed the awkward exchange in an interview on fox news on thursday , suggesting that pastor timmons had a political agenda . “ everyone plays their games , it does n’t bother me , ” mr. trump said , claiming pastor timmons was shaking when she came up to him . he added : “ she was so nervous , she was like a nervous mess . i figured something was up . ” some conservatives defended mr. trump on thursday , pointing to a facebook post in which she wrote that the visit was an opportunity to educate republican candidate as evidence that she was planning to embarrass him . while that post does not appear on her facebook page , pastor timmons did address the controversy there on wednesday night . “ had he stuck to what his camp claimed he came to do , we would not have had a problem ! ” she wrote . mr. trump has shown more discipline on the campaign trail in recent weeks , but his criticism of the pastor demonstrated that he is still willing to push back against perceived slights . mr. trump also allowed himself to belittle mrs. clinton ’s recent illness at a rally on wednesday night , suggesting that she could not stand for such an event and that she was probably “ lying in bed . ” after the interruption at the church , mr. trump went on to discuss the economic situation in flint . he said on thursday that most of the people who attended the event at the church welcomed him warmly . “ the audience was saying ‘ let him speak , let him speak,’ ” mr. trump said . “ the audience was so great . ” but a pool reporter who was traveling mr. trump disputed his account , describing a scene where several members of the audience actually heckled mr. trump and questioned him about reports that he had discriminated against black people as a landlord . according to the pool report , pastor timmons defended mr. trump and told the crowd that he was “ a guest of my church and you will defend him . ” mrs. clinton , in north carolina on thursday , lamented mr. trump ’s attack on pastor timmons , saying it was unwarranted . “ he called her a nervous mess , ” mrs. clinton said at a news conference . “ that ’s not only insulting , it ’s dead wrong . ” she added : “ she ’s a rock for her community in trying times . she deserves better , and flint deserves better — in fact , so does america . ”
+1 schandalen stapelen zich al generaties lang op voor huis van oranje nan 01 utc verraad op hoog niveau : bernhard , de bilderberger had contacten met de cia en gladio heel nederland mocht zien dat koningin juliana onhandig was . het paste bij een staatshoofd dat vooral gewoon wilde zijn , terwijl dat helemaal niet kon . haar hofhouding werd getypeerd als , een lieflijke chaos . " commentaar : onlangs werd bekend dat de oranjes al decennialang compensatie krijgen voor de belasting die zij moeten betalen . het heeft lang geduurd , maar nu is dr . jolande withuis ' biografie van koningin juliana er dan toch . na zes jaar noeste vlijt presenteren uitgeverij bezige bij en withuis ' vroegere werkgever , het nederlands instituut voor oorlogsdocumentatie ( niod ) , woensdag het resultaat , 863 pagina 's dik . met veel nieuwe verhalen , die toch vooral het beeld bevestigen dat zich in de loop der jaren van juliana heeft gevormd . dat die 863 pagina 's geen ogenblik vervelen , is een compliment voor withuis ' schrijfstijl . met vaart beschrijft ze juliana 's levensgang , waar het predikaat " chaos " vaak beter bij paste dan de typering " lieflijk " . toegang tot het koninklijk huisarchief kreeg de onderzoekster niet , maar ook daarbuiten was er genoeg materiaal . commentaar : wat hebben ze te verbergen ? huwelijk zoals wilhelmina de koningin van de oorlog was , zo was haar enige dochter de koningin van de wederopbouw , de vernieuwing en de democratisering . de sociale juliana , monarch van 1948 tot 1980 , gedijde goed in de decennia van groeiende welvaart . koningin tegen wil en dank ? het is een van de vele fabels die de ronde deden . de werkelijkheid was volgens withuis anders . juliana , koesterde na haar aantreden geruime tijd de ambitie een der grootste vorstinnen op aarde te worden . " dat werd ze niet . privé was het soms bijzonder weinig rozengeur en maneschijn . veel details over haar ongelukkige huwelijk kwamen pas later naar buiten , toen ' oorlogsheld ' - dat was hij allerminst - bernhard steeds meer werd ontmaskerd als schuinsmarcheerder . zelfs minderjarige jongedames die in het paleis op bezoek kwamen , waren voor hem niet veilig . in plaats van juliana 's steunpilaar werd hij haar achilleshiel , die haar soms diep vernederde , schrijft withuis . het was juliana 's , man van haar dromen " vooral om een goede positie te doen . dit boek verbloemt de misère niet , zoals dat vroeger wel gebeurde . commentaar : macht werkt als een magneet op psychopaten . vliegende schotels koningin juliana had veel belangstelling voor religie . , dat is een van de weinige constanten in haar overigens tamelijk grillige leven " , stelt withuis vast . , haar geloof behelsde geen traditioneel christendom , maar een diffuse religiositeit , waarin hel en verdoemenis ontbraken en ' alternatieve ' en oosterse invloeden alle ruimte kregen . juliana hechtte eraan onconventioneel te zijn , ook in geloofszaken . " dat bleek toen ze zich aan gebedsgenezeres greet hofmans vastklampte en later toen ze - reeds dementerend - in de huwelijksdienst van prins maurits ter communie ging . van hofmans moest ze afstand nemen , en dat ging allerminst van harte . , ze poogde , hoewel ze niet meer meedeed , toch contact te houden . haar vroegere vrienden behandelden haar echter zoals elke sekte uittreders behandelt : als een minne deserteur , tevens verdoemde . " met hofmans was de zweverigheid overigens niet weggejaagd . de koningin ging zich nu bezighouden met vliegende schotels en buitenaardse wezens , en hield decennialang aan die denkbeelden vast . commentaar : wat wist juliana werkelijk ? moederlijk nieuwe crises volgden rond de partnerkeuze van de prinsessen irene en beatrix . juliana vond de ophef over irenes overgang naar de rooms - katholieke kerk maar moeilijk : , wij mogen ons toch allen gods kinderen weten en dat is de onverbrekelijke band onder de mensen " , sprak ze voor de radio . prinses juliana werd na haar overlijden in 2004 vooral herdacht als een sociaal betrokken , moederlijke vrouw . ze werd een geliefd vorstin , en daaraan deed het lockheedschandaal - haar man had steekpenningen aangenomen van een vliegtuigfabrikant - geen afbreuk . niet zonder reden koos dochter beatrix voor een totaal andere regeerstijl . commentaar : ook was hij betrokken bij illegale wapenleveranties aan indonesië . citaten van biografe withuis over koningin juliana - juliana riep veeleer mededogen op dan woede : die onbetrouwbare man , die dominante moeder , die zelfbewuste dochter en dan zelf zo verlegen ... dat aan dit beeld een flinke dosis theater te pas kwam , werd niet beseft . - juliana was warrig en chaotisch . er is overigens geen reden die verwardheid al toe te schrijven aan haar latere dementie . het was veeleer haar manier van werken . voor veel haagse politici en ambtenaren was de komst van de nieuwe vorstin ( beatrix ) een verademing . - beatrix had uit het jarenlang aanzien van wat zij zag als het disfunctioneren van haar moeder de conclusie getrokken dat ' gewoon ' en ' koningin ' niet samengaan . - ( over de inhuldiging van koningin beatrix in 1980 : ) toen zijn hoofdcommissaris hem telefonisch toestemming vroeg om te schieten , omdat de horden dreigden de dam te bereiken , antwoordde de amsterdamse burgemeester w. polak vanuit de nieuwe kerk met een vastberaden : nee . - ( personeelsleden op soestdijk : ) als je een foutje maakte , zag ze dat zogenaamd niet . ze zou dan niet naar de intendant gaan om te klagen . bernhard wel . bij hem moest alles perfect tot in de puntjes zijn . was het zwembad 30 graden in plaats van 31 , dan belde hij de huismeester . - haar steun ten tijde van de lockheed - ontmaskering had de liefde van haar echtgenoot niet doen groeien . ( ... ) het is niet waar dat juliana en bernhard gescheiden van elkaar in een baarnse en een soestervleugel van het paleis leefden . wel was het personeel verdeeld : men was óf op haar óf op zijn hand . ( ... ) de verhouding met bernhard was en bleef kil . ze zat vaak tot diep in de nacht alleen tv te kijken in de bibliotheek . samen eten deden ze zelden . ( ... ) bezoekers van bernhard maakten regelmatig mee dat juliana gesprekken van haar man trachtte te verstoren . ( ... ) toch bleef bernhard juliana 's grote liefde . haar liefste wens was dat het tussen hen nog goed zou komen . haar slaapkamer stond vol met zijn foto 's . soms viel ze in slaap met zijn foto tegen haar borst gedrukt . - geestelijk was en bleef juliana een alleseter . ze ging bijna wekelijks naar de kerk , maar wel steeds naar een andere . vanaf ongeveer 1996 keek ze , in plaats van een kerk te bezoeken , naar hour of power met een populaire tv - dominee van de amerikaanse megakerk crystal cathedral of naar nederland zingt van de eo . ( ... ) juliana bleef haar inspiratie opdoen bij hele en halve kwakzalvers , auteurs die zich vooral manifesteerden buiten de wetenschap en de gangbare theologie . - tussen 1987 en 1997 ging juliana 's geheugen achteruit . bernhard kon daar niet tegen . als ze hem iets voor een tweede keer vroeg , reageerde hij grof en ongeduldig , waarna zij tranen met tuiten huilde . amnestie of slagroomtaart sommigen geloven nog steeds in de sprookjes van het koningshuis , maar achter het masker ziet men de beerput voor van agt was het die eerste vrijdag van het jaar ( 1980 ) een verrassing geweest dat de koningin wilde aftreden ; het onderwerp was in hun gesprekken nooit eerder aan de orde geweest . naar hij vermoedt had ze dit moment mede gekozen , omdat het kabinet net voor het kerstreces een debat in de tweede kamer had doorstaan over de heftigste controverse uit die jaren : de kruisraket , en dus ondanks de economische crisis en de onrustbarend stijgende werkloosheid , stevig in het zadel leek te zitten . dat bleek niet helemaal het geval : drie weken na juliana 's aankondiging van haar troonsafstand trad minister van financiën mr . f. h. j. j. andriessen ( cda ) af , omdat er zijns inziens te weinig werd bezuinigd . niettemin vond van agt het verstandig dat de koningin haar functie neerlegde . haar laatste jaren waren , zoals hij het uitdrukt , , niet haar meest glorieuze . " juliana was vaak , verward . " zo ook de dag dat ze via de televisie haar abdicatie aankondigde . op de ochtend van 31 januari gaf de minister - president persoonlijk de voorzitter van de nos , mr . e. jurgens , opdracht alles in gereedheid te brengen voor een opname die namiddag en een uitzending diezelfde avond . toen hij in de vroege avond zelf op soestdijk arriveerde , bleek het daar een chaos . de koningin had het , haar traditie getrouw , aan de stok met de televisiemensen . zij wilde dat haar hondje zara terwijl zij sprak bij haar op schoot zou liggen en dat haar papegaaienkooi op de achtergrond stond , zodat ze haar ' landgenoten ' vanuit een huiselijke sfeer zou toespreken . de geluids- en cameramensen daarentegen , die haar lastige gedrag toeschreven aan het feit dat er vanaf de ochtend sherry was geschonken , leek gekrijs en geblaf tijdens zo'n officieel gebeuren geen goed idee . maar het was haar huis , dus zij , deed nou eens waar ze zin in had " , verklaarde ze . ze vond dat de technici te weinig opschoten en te veel rommel maakten . het door haarzelf bepaalde tijdstip van haar proclamatie kwam bij nader inzien slecht uit . personeel en apparatuur moesten voor achten weg zijn , liet ze nos - directeur enkelaar weten , want dan begon in diezelfde kamer het verjaardagsfeestje van haar dochter . zara , waarvoor hij toch al weinig warme gevoelens koesterde , moest op gezag van de minister - president weg . lorre bleef ; de cameraman koos voor zijn opname een hoek vanwaaruit hij niet in beeld kwam . mocht de vogel vreemde geluiden gaan voortbrengen , dan zou hij de lens alsnog op hem richten , opdat het publiek geen ongewenste conclusies zou trekken over de gezondheidstoestand van de vorstin . ( ... ) in haar laatste maanden als vorstin probeerde juliana nog haar zin te krijgen in een oude kwestie . een van de categorieën ' zielige mensen ' voor wie zij zich graag inzette waren gedetineerden . al was het vanuit verschillende motieven , inzake de drie van breda hadden juliana en van agt , toen nog minister van justitie , in 1972 op één lijn gezeten . dat had haar hoop gegeven toen ze hem een jaar later had voorgesteld om ter gelegenheid van haar vijfentwintigjarig ambtsjubileum gratie te verlenen aan gedetineerden . als archaïsch prerogatief uit de tijd dat vorsten als dragers van de absolute macht ook rechtspraken , staat amnestie haaks op de constitutionele monarchie . van agt had dan ook getracht juliana van het idee af te brengen . het concept " jubileumgratie " , had hij haar uitgelegd , paste vanwege de willekeur niet in het moderne strafrecht ; voorts zou haar voorstel waarschijnlijk leiden tot hernieuwde discussies over de drie . commentaar : aangezien leden van deze familie met regelmaat bilderbergconferenties bezoeken moeten we hun macht niet onderschatten . zeven jaar na dato trachtte juliana haar oude wens buiten van agt om alsnog te verwezenlijken . een internationale verplichting van de minister - president kwam daarbij goed van pas . in overleg met de koningin besloot van agt een reis naar indonesië en japan , die al gepland stond voor hij wist van de aanstaande troonswisseling , goeddeels te handhaven . juliana maakte van zijn afwezigheid prompt gebruik om de amnestie opnieuw aan te kaarten , maar ook zonder premier willigde het kabinet dit verlangen natuurlijk niet in . vicepremier en minister van binnenlandse zaken wiegel en raadadviseur van der voet moesten haar daarvan overtuigen , wat nog niet meeviel . na veel heen - en - weergepraat stelde de koningin als compromis voor om dan maar alle gedetineerden op koninginnedag op slagroomtaart te trakteren . naar het verhaal wil ( se non è vero ... ) , antwoordde wiegel : , een uitstekend idee , majesteit , en dan spuiten we op elk van die taarten : , nog vele jaren ! " " juliana had voldoende humor om mét beide heren in lachen uit te barsten . de amnestie was van de baan . " uit : " juliana , vorstin in een mannenwereld " , door jolande withuis . uitg . de bezige bij , amsterdam / antwerpen 2016 ; isbn 978 90 234 3523 5 ; 863 pag . ; € 39,99 . lees ook in digibron juliana 's oorlog : voorpublicatie van een nog te verschijnen biografie van jolande withuis ( protestants nederland , 01 - 04 - 2015 ) juliana als ambassadrice ( reformatorisch dagblad , 03 - 03 - 2014 ) de eeuw van vorstin juliana : hervormd , maar vooral oecumenisch en spiritueel ( protestants nederland , 01 - 04 - 2009 ) juliana , vrouw met warm en sociaal hart : koningschap staat vooral in het teken van de wederopbouw van nederland ( reformatorisch dagblad , 20 - 03 - 2004 ) commentaar : bernhard was ook betrokken bij de gladio / stay behind networks en waarschijnlijk zeer chantabel vanwege zijn misbruik van ' minderjarige jongedames ' .
+0 success of jerry brown , and california , offers lesson to national democrats - the new york times adam nagourney sacramento — when bernie sanders held a rally at an outdoor stadium here the other night , more than 15 , 000 people turned out in a display of cheering , chanting , singing and cartwheels . gov. jerry brown , the state ’s most prominent democrat , was not there , but he might as well have been . mr. sanders ’s speech was replete with the kind of flourishes that have long been part of mr. brown ’s campaign language . “ the political establishment is getting nervous , ” mr. sanders said . “ the corporate establishment is getting nervous . and they should be nervous . because real change is coming . ” as the democratic presidential primary nears in california , it is easy to find in mr. sanders the kind of populist appeal that has long animated mr. brown , who ran for president in 1992 on a “ we the people ” pledge to accept no contribution over $ 100 . but it is just as easy to find in hillary clinton , mr. sanders ’s opponent , the kind of political moderation and fiscal restraint that has come to define mr. brown ’s tenure as governor . mr. brown is in many ways a blend of these two very different candidates , having created a style that has made him an enduringly popular and successful california governor . and it is not only mr. brown : the california democratic party stands as a model of electoral success and cohesion , in contrast to national democrats struggling through a divisive primary and debate about an uncertain future . california is one of the few states in the country , and easily the largest , where democrats are completely in control , holding every statewide office as well as overwhelming majorities in the assembly and the senate , not to mention both united states senate seats . mr. brown and his party are using that power to try to enact legislation — on guns , tobacco , the environment , the minimum wage and immigrant rights — that suggest the kind of agenda that has eluded national democrats . “ the democratic presidential primary is like watching reruns from the ’90s in terms of where we were as a party in california , ” said chris lehane , a former white house aide to bill clinton and al gore , who moved here as a democratic consultant in 2000 . “ we are fairly unified in what we stand for and what we are fighting for . ” democrats now make up nearly 44 percent of the state ’s 24 . 6 million registered voters by contrast , republicans make up just 27 percent , barely ahead of independent voters , who make up 24 percent , according to california ’s secretary of state . jim brulte , the chairman of the california republican party , said that he expected the disparity to increase even more in the months ahead because of the competitive democratic primary , while hopes for a contested republican primary fizzled after donald j. trump all but locked up the nomination . “ california is a state that , all things being equal , wants to vote democrat , ” mr. brulte said . “ we are still adding republican registration statewide , but the statewide republican registration is being dwarfed by the democratic registration increase . ” the divergent fortunes of state and national democrats go beyond voter registration . california democrats have a bench of younger candidates waiting to step up as its older leaders — mr. brown , 78 and senators barbara l. boxer , 75 and dianne feinstein , 82 — approach retirement . by contrast , the choice of mrs. clinton , 68 , and mr. sanders , 74 , is a reminder of the absence of fresh players prepared to take the national field . given the democratic dominance here , it is easy to forget that ronald reagan served two terms as governor , and that richard m. nixon was born in orange county , an area that was once an emblem of conservatism but is becoming increasingly democratic . republicans won every presidential election here from 1952 to 1988 , with the exception of lyndon b. johnson in 1964 after the assassination of john f. kennedy . bill clinton put the state into the democratic presidential column in 1992 , and it has been there ever since . the democrats’ more recent success in the state is in part the result of good fortune . california has been going through a period of prosperity , and in recent years mr. brown has been spared the need to impose politically contentious spending cuts . it is also demographic . in 1994 , the state ’s republican governor , pete wilson , championed a voter initiative to deny social services to illegal immigrants . the initiative passed but was thrown out in court . it left a political legacy that has hurt the republican party to this day : over the past 12 years , hispanics have grown into the largest ethnic group in the state , making up 39 percent of the population . “ the decline in republican party registration in california parallels almost identically the decline in the white population in california , ” mr. brulte said . “ in 1988 , the white population was just a hair under 60 percent . today , it ’s under 40 percent . at the same time , republican registration has gone from 38 . 5 percent to under 28 percent . ” mr. lehane said that shift accounted more than anything else for democratic fortunes . “ it ’s the same demographic shift that is taking place across the country , ” he said . “ what that all adds up to is a california democratic party that represents where the rest of the country is ultimately going to end up . ” finally , mr. brown is a crucial reason the state party seems to be doing well . “ jerry brown is a unique combination of the leadership qualities of hillary and bernie , ” said gavin newsom , the lieutenant governor , who is running to succeed mr. brown when his term ends in early 2019 . “ jerry is extraordinarily adept at populism . but he also has the hardheaded pragmatism that comes with experience , wisdom — and age . ” it certainly seems appealing to california voters : according the latest field poll in april , 55 percent approved of his performance . but he has not endorsed anyone in the presidential primary on june 7 , and it is difficult to say whether voters prefer the sanders or the clinton side of their governor . a poll last week by the public policy institute of california found mr. sanders and mrs. clinton essentially tied , a surprise to mrs. clinton who had expected california to be a relatively easy win . as a result , both candidates are making frequent appearances here , and are advertising on television , in advance of the primary . mr. brown , who declined a request for an interview , has benefited from spending most of his life in elected office . the son of a governor , he served two terms as governor in the 1970s before being elected again in 2010 . “ you can not denigrate experience , ” ms. feinstein said . “ he knows how to get things done . ” and mr. brown ’s popularity has given him latitude in setting an agenda , on issues like putting money aside to deal with budget shortfalls and expanding rights for illegal immigrants . “ he ’s a fiscal conservative , and a social moderate with a tinge of jesuit guilt , ” said karen skelton , a political consultant , referring to mr. brown ’s early years in a seminary . democrats are understandably worried about whether the party ’s focus and unity will survive mr. brown ’s eventual departure . “ when jerry brown is gone — and i say that as a candidate for governor , i ’m not naïve about this — it ’s going to be very hard to replicate , ” mr. newsom said . “ by no means am i suggesting blind optimism that we ’ve figured it out . he ’s figured it out . the governor has proved you do n’t have to be profligate to be progressive . he has found that sweet spot . ”
+1 hillary will go to prison , not the oval office [ video ] gillian leave a reply sgt report – fbi director james comey has caved to the pressure of public opinion , new email evidence from wikileaks , and from his own outraged employees at the fbi , and he has re - opened the criminal investigation of hilary clinton . with less than two weeks until the election it would seem that hilary is more likely to enter a prison cell than the oval office . sf source sgtreport.com oct. 2016 share this :
+0 hackers trawl user data in hopes a small target will lead to a big one - the new york times nicole perlroth san francisco — in disclosing that at least 500 million of its user accounts had been hacked , yahoo blamed an unnamed “ actor ” for the intrusion . while yahoo customers were caught by surprise , officials in washington were not . for more than a year , they had been getting warnings from threat researchers that hackers were targeting their personal yahoo email . even the accounts of their friends and family were in the cross hairs . these days , intelligence and security experts say , nearly anyone can be the target of hackers . by perusing the personal accounts of people with even the thinnest thread of a connection to power , hackers can unearth the occasional gold nugget , like the democratic operative whose private email correspondence , published online by hackers on thursday , detailed the movements of vice president joseph r. biden jr. and hillary clinton and what appears to be michelle obama ’s passport . this expanded hacking strategy presents a new challenge : while material is usually kept in more secure computer systems , it is hard — if not impossible — to predict what information people are exchanging in personal email accounts . and it is even harder to know if hacking into one person ’s account can set off a cascading chain of events that could lead foreign spies to more useful information . in 2014 , yahoo also investigated attacks by russian hackers that targeted dozens of private yahoo accounts , one person with knowledge of yahoo ’s investigation said , but it is not yet clear whether the same hackers were behind the larger hack . “ the yahoo attack alone may not make sense , but when you combine the stolen data from yahoo with other stolen data sets , it makes a lot more sense , ” said sean kanuck , the former national intelligence officer for online security issues at the office of the director of national intelligence . hackers working on behalf of governments can match stolen yahoo account data with their own material or information available on the criminal underground and published on the website wikileaks for a variety of purposes , mr. kanuck and other intelligence officials say . at this point , they ’d have a lot to work with . in the two years since yahoo believes the hackers first penetrated its network , hackers have stolen tens of millions of records from the insurance companies anthem and premera blue cross , including social security numbers , health records , birth dates , addresses , emails , passwords and employment information — basically , everything you ’d need to know about a person . hackers amassed a vast collection of security clearance records , even fingerprints , in a yearlong hacking of the united states office of personnel management . they have breached law firms and accounting firms , and last year they even made off with flight records for millions of united airlines passengers . it may sound like a crazy collection of unrelated information . but it is not that difficult to make connections among seemingly random bits of information using technology . just as a corporation may use big data to figure out what a consumer might buy based on their past purchases , a spy agency can use big data to make connections to useful intelligence . a palo alto , calif. company named palantir sells this technology to american intelligence agencies , allowing them , for example , to match travel records and personal data to identify possible terrorists . so while yahoo ’s announcement on thursday that hackers — the company did not say what country it believes they are working for — had made off with more than 500 million customers’ personal records was stunning to many , intelligence officials say it can be seen as just the latest step in an escalating digital warfare campaign . “ a lot of people overlook why some of these seemingly purposeless breaches matter , ” said mr. kanuck . intelligence services could use this information for a range of things — some trivial and some intrusive . they could match international flights taken by their own officials with those taken by american personnel to the same cities at the same time . they could comb the user names and emails released in a hacking of ashley madison , the online affairs site that was breached last year , with the personal yahoo accounts of government officials and contractors or their spouses , and leak that information online or use it for blackmail . and they can use the most intimate details of people ’s lives — their medical records — to undercut the reputations of prominent american athletes , as russian hackers did in a release of medical records stolen from the world agency that belonged to the gymnast simone biles , the tennis stars venus and serena williams and other olympic athletes . the biggest worry , mr. kanuck and other american intelligence officials say , is the impact these data thefts can have on global politics . james . r. clapper , the director of national intelligence , warned senate officials earlier this year that russia was escalating its espionage campaigns against united states targets . “ russia continues to take information warfare to a new level , working to fan . s. and sentiment both within russia and globally , ” mr. clapper said in his annual worldwide threat briefing in february . intelligence officials and private security researchers say it ’s not just prominent united states government officials that russian hackers are after . it ’s their spouses , staff members , lawyers , accountants and business partners , who may not have the same level of security on their data and communications . “ in the past year , we ’ve seen personal webmail accounts and social network accounts specifically being targeted by russian , chinese and iranian espionage operators , on several occasions , ” said john hultquist , an espionage analysis manager at fireeye , the security software company . “ that ’s where some of the most sensitive conversations take place , and hacking private accounts leaves a much lighter footprint . ” one of the most adept at this approach , mr. hultquist and other security researchers say , has been a russian intelligence hacking group alternately known in the security and intelligence community as apt28 , fancy bear or pawn storm . the group regularly uses the compromised personal webmail accounts of staff members , spouses and their colleagues as tools to glean more information on government targets . in just the last few months , the group has been blamed for attacks on the democratic national committee , the white house and the world agency . going back to last year , the russian group also has been trying to break into the online accounts of 2 , 600 members of the washington elite — lobbyists , journalists , officials , contractors and even their spouses , according to private security researchers at trend micro , the global security company , who briefed intelligence agencies on the hacking . among the russians’ targets were colin l. powell , the former secretary of state , whose personal emails caused a sensation when they were leaked online last week , according to people with knowledge of the briefing who spoke on the condition of anonymity . “ this is the new normal , ” said tom kellermann , one of the security experts who briefed intelligence officials last year in his former role as chief security officer at trend micro . “ it ’s not just the usual targets who are being hunted . it ’s their spouses . ” mr. kanuck said no one should be shocked that this is going on . “ every prominent person in washington , every publicly known intelligence official , congressman and significant staffer should presume they have been targeted , ” mr. kanuck said . “ you ’d be a fool not to think that ’s the case . ”
+1 us to hold off on cyberwar with russia until after election - jason ditz nan us to hold off on cyberwar with russia until after election obama wants to do it together with clinton antiwar.com while the obama administration has made much of its intention to start a full - scale cyberwar against russia at a “ time of their choosing , ” the most recent reports suggest that the war is effectively on hold at least until the presidential election in two weeks . from president obama ’s standpoint , the hope is to work with hillary clinton , if she becomes president - elect , to launch a cyber war that they both can get behind . indeed , both have appeared very hawkish against russia , and obama apparently does n’t want to deny clinton a chance to participate in the early days of a war she ’d inherit . starting a cyberwar ahead of a trump win would be even less wise , as trump has opposed the idea of picking fights with russia , and expressed strong doubts about democratic party “ certainty ” that russia is behind hacks against them . rep. adam schiff ( d – ca ) , the ranking democrat on the house intelligence committee , says that another factor is concern about provoking russian retaliation for such a us attack before the vote , with many democrats concerned russia could release “ forged ” documents to embarrass the clinton campaign . earlier this month , vice president joe biden reported that he has informed russia of an imminent retaliatory hack , and says the obama administration will pick a time which will “ have the greatest impact . ” russia has denied any involvement in the hacks .
+1 trump presidency creates mountains of salt from butthurt liberals jon anthony rejoice , gentlemen ! the tears of liberals are flowing freely , as donald trump has recently been announced president . all of the hard work that we ’ve committed ourselves to over the past year has finally come to a close . it ’s truly an event of the ages : a hard working , american businessman beat out the globalist titans and satanic elite . in the spirit of this great victory , i believe that we ’re all entitled to some enjoyment . this article will be solely dedicated to bathing in liberal tears ; and , mark my words , it will be glorious . this is the beginning of the end of sjwism , and i think it ’s high time we soak in the fruits of our labor . hillary hq : morale obliterated sorry guys , there ’s no brakes on the # trumptrain as poll results came in , moving trump from a measly 2 % chance to a whopping 95 % chance of seizing the presidency , libtards began crying all across the nation . turns out that america does not , in fact , want their lord and savior hillary rodham christ , to be president of the free world . note the sour expression of the woman on the far right . unfortunately for you guys , trump has won the presidency . sorry illegals — you’re out . sjwism is coming to an end , the mainstream media is dying off , and we ’re going to make america great again . “ you mean we wo n’t be letting in 60,000 violent refugees ? oh no ! ” here ’s a video compilation : # theshakening too late . he won . # literallyshaking literally ca n’t even literally ( literally ) hitler as am i , frosty . as am i. the regressive left ca n’t cope with reality if you ’re having this much trouble dealing with trump ’s presidency , you should n’t even be allowed to vote . she does n’t realize that democrats keep the black population down by giving them free handouts and encouraging squalor . oh , the feels ! how can these people lead our country when they ca n’t even contain their emotions ? professional victim and concern trolling olympics meanwhile at trump hq notice the general lack of high - estrogen men . most of these guys do n’t seem to be lacking in testosterone . this man is giving a toast to donald trump . “ to making america great again ! ” thank you mr. president ! let ’s # maga read more : wall street , hollywood , the media and sjws fail to stop donald trump from becoming america ’s next president
+1 living through the death of capitalism nan living through the death of capitalism feeling my unborn child as i ponder the death of an economic system by joe brewer / medium.com now is the time to hold strong to our humanity . the world is changing quickly and much is at stake . it is even possible that our entire global civilization will collapse in our lifetime . this is a very difficult concept to sit with — yet sit with it we must , for now is a time of great consequences . a four hundred year old economic system is dying . we can feel the pain all around us . it shivers in the outstretched hands of the homeless . gets expressed as death rattles in the species going extinct on a daily basis . entire societies have tattered the social fabric of trust as inequality skyrocketed in the last few decades . it is experienced as fear , anger , sadness , humiliation , shame , and despair . every person alive today has a responsibility to bear witness , provide hospice care to the dying , and participate in midwifing new ways to structure social life . this is our burden to be alive in the early part of the 21st century . yet so many among us are still behaving like children . they call each other names . pick fights between parochial tribal groups . bitch and moan when things do n’t go their way . and hoard precious wealth in a time of increasing global scarcity . now is the time to behave like grownups . because the threats now upon us are very serious . i say this as a man who is about to become a father . my wife and i chose — with eyes wide open — to bring a child into this world in the midst of great upheaval . we believe deeply and firmly in humanity and are investing our blood in the future . this is not something we do lightly . it is a great responsibility to continue the human race even as billions starve and there now lurks a very real possibility that our child will live through the collapse of the earth ’s first globalized civilization . this unborn child has prospects to live into the 22nd century . what will be seen through their eyes ? will there be a saga of unraveling the biosphere for our precious home planet ? might the death throes of capitalism take down the safety nets of a stable climate ? will our child bear witness to the final days of humanity ? we can not say even how long his or her survival will be secure . yet we carry forth knowing what must be done . humanity is in the crucible of change now . it is an all - hands - on - deck transition — away from life destroying economic practices based on wealth hoarding and extraction and toward life affirming practices of regeneration and renewal . let me state this seriously and succinctly . according to the stockholm resilience institute , there are nine “ planetary boundaries ” that represent thresholds for a viable global civilization . cross even one and the entire edifice will fall into ruin . while there remains uncertainty about where these thresholds are , the best scientific evidence available today tells us that we have probably already crossed four of them . we are currently in overshoot and collapse . there are time lags in the system so the unraveling may not happen until the middle of this century . instead of thinking about putting our child through college in 20 years , we must grapple with scenarios of tremendous upheaval and disruption . they will need to be a survivalist and servant to others in need . notions of stable careers and long - term planning may never be a possibility in this child ’s life . i write these words not out of despair , but as an affirmation of the most rugged hopefulness i can muster . i was trained in climate science and i know what is coming . i have studied the rise and fall of empires so i am aware that fascist dictators and resource wars are likely to arise in the turmoil of the coming decades . yet still i gently touch the swollen belly of my wife and feel our baby kicking and turning in her womb . i have felt the heartbeat of a new life and will do all i can to ensure that humanity makes it through to the other side . this is what it feels like to live through the death of capitalism . eyes wide open even if tears may well up in them . i look to the horizon where shimmers of beautiful alternatives await . it does n’t have to be like this . we can do better . we must do better . in truth , there are already hundreds of millions of people actively struggling against the wealth extracting juggernaut that is western development — expressed as colonialism in early years , then later in the various forms of trade agreements , structural debt repayment programs , illicit resource wars fueled by propaganda , and the full apparatus of wealth extraction that is in place today . we need n’t wonder why a mere 60 people have the same aggregate wealth as 4 billion . this is an outcome designed into the core logic of extraction that arises when private owners extract rents ( what is commonly called profits ) from the valuable labor of other people . it only took four hundred years for this system to run itself out . what no one could have predicted then was that the human population would explode and our fingerprints on the earth would grow from tiny scratches here and there to deep scars that can be viewed from space . this is our legacy as a species right now . it is the bed we have prepared for our own children and grandchildren to lie down in . and it is our responsibility to carry through the dark times we are now in so that future generations can thrive in whatever ways make sense to them . i am with you , fellow humans . i believe in us . let us not fall into despair or acquiesce as extremism rears its ugly head around the world — as it did recently in the united states . for it will be the beacons of light we carry that will show others the way forward . for my part , i am working with social movements to connect the dots of wealth extraction and training change makers in the art and science of intentional social change . i have seen with my own eyes that millions of peasant farmers are organizing across latin america and india ; students are protesting outrageous debt in mexico , greece , and spain ; indigenous peoples are coming together across the north american continent to protect their sacred lands . we are gathering our strength for the collective transition . of the 7.4 billion humans alive today , several hundred million are already organizing to drive the system to change . there is much to be hopeful about in this struggle . we each have a role to play . and time is of the essence . onward , fellow humans . want to support joe brewer 's work ? make a contribution here . 4.3 ·
+0 israelis donate winter clothes to syrian refugees breitbart jerusalem ynetnews reports : the crisis in syria has n’t been ignored by israel . various israeli youth movements , including the youth federation for working and studying , the dror movement , and the committed for the fight against genocide are leading a wide scale operation to collect winter clothes for syrian refugees . [ the operation , codenamed “ human warmth , ” has opened up 15 collection centers around the country where israelis can go and donate winter clothes . the centers are in druze , arab , and jewish communities . the winter clothes will then go off to the syrians who are in need of assistance . read more here .
+0 hunting ‘ turr’ in newfoundland ’s frigid waters - the new york times craig s. smith bonavista , newfoundland — shannon mouland steadied himself in an aluminum boat , shotgun raised , as a murre skittered above the waters of the north atlantic . boom ! and the bird cartwheeled into the sea . it ’s “ turr ” season on the rock , as this massive inkblot of an island is affectionately known . turr is the local name for the murre , which looks something like a diminutive , flying penguin , and men in boats are blasting away at it in the only legal , hunt of migratory seabirds in north america . the pastime harks back to the days when newfoundlanders supplemented meager winter diets with fresh meat on the wing , eating everything from clownish puffins to the great northern gannet . conservation efforts gradually put most of the island ’s estimated 350 seabird species off limits . but the taste for turr was so entrenched that allowing the hunt to continue became a precondition for newfoundland to join canada in 1949 . “ our fathers would come back with the boats piled high with turr , ” mr. mouland recalled , gripping a green rope to steady himself as the boat hammered over the steely waves . here along newfoundland ’s treeless , coast , hardy men ( and some women ) rise before dawn and motor their boats out into the open sea in search of the birds that come to feed on small forage fish . they are remarkable animals , spending most of their lives on the ocean and visiting land only to pack tightly together on the rocky cliffs of northeastern canada and greenland for a few months each summer while the females lay their one speckled blue egg . the eggs are pointed on one end so that they roll like a top in a tight circle , preventing them from falling off cliff ledges and into the sea . the murres’ short wings act as flippers underwater , allowing them to swim nimbly and swiftly in search of fish . they are the flying birds in the world , capable of plummeting as deep as 600 feet in little more than a minute . but those wings make them less agile in the air and slow to take off from the water , leaving them an easy target for hunters . “ turr ! ” mr. mouland shouted , pointing to his left , and jerry hussey , clad in a forest green slicker and matching overalls , swung the boat toward a small bird bobbing in the waves 100 feet away . boom , again . mr. mouland picked the bird out of the water and whacked its head against the gunwale to ensure that it was dead . before long , a plastic bin in the boat was lined with the birds , their snowy white breasts and sleek heads flecked with blood . the canadian wildlife service estimates that about 100 , 000 murres are killed in the hunt each year . but the common murre population in canada has increased over the past 15 years , while the murre population remains stable . there are millions more murres elsewhere , making the genus one of the artic ’s most abundant seabirds . but as the hunt intensifies , many people are beginning to ask whether the annual cull needs better regulation . “ just because we do n’t have evidence of the population decreasing does n’t mean we should n’t have strong conservation rules , ” said bill montevecchi , an ornithologist at memorial university of newfoundland . he supports the hunt but believes existing rules should be enforced more seriously . in the old days , men hunted murres in rowboats with shotguns , sending their dogs into the frigid water to fetch the fallen prey . now , many hunters have boats that cut through sea ice , and outboard engines that can move boats faster than the birds . while regulations prohibit guns from being loaded with more than three shells at a time , most hunters these days use or semiautomatic shotguns that can fire those rounds in seconds . the murre hunt has a long tradition in newfoundland , where seabirds , from great auks to eiders , provided sailors with protein after the long voyage from europe . eating seabirds and seals later sustained coastal populations through newfoundland ’s long , frozen winters . murres and eiders were the most available sources of winter protein until the 1960s , when electricity and refrigeration changed eating habits . before then , some families consumed as many as 400 birds a year . when newfoundland became a province , it fell under the migratory bird treaty between the united states and canada , which would have outlawed the hunt if the two countries had not agreed to let it continue . the treaty was finally amended in the 1990s to specifically grant newfoundland residents the right to hunt murres . under the treaty , hunters must buy permits , and canada ’s environmental protection agency carved newfoundland into four zones with progressively later murre hunting seasons that run from september to march . the regulations set a limit on what each hunter can kill in a day , and a limit on how many a hunter can possess at one time . but enforcement is lax , and abuses are common . discarded carcasses reported around newfoundland suggest that some hunters are killing more than the law allows or than they can consume . the most hunters now follow the season from zone to zone with their boats on trailers . it is not uncommon for there to be more than 100 boats chasing murres off newfoundland ’s narrow bays , the boom of shotguns ricocheting over the water . newfoundlanders are well aware of the dangers of overexploitation . a mariner , sir richard whitbourne , wrote in 1622 that great auks , a flightless relative of the murre , were found in “ infinite abundance ” along the newfoundland coast . but by the century , the birds had been clubbed to extinction , their feathers used to stuff mattresses . the less numerous labrador duck and eskimo curlew suffered the same fate . some people worry that murres may become vulnerable as global warming and overfishing deplete their food supply . hundreds of thousands of murres died of apparent starvation in the northeastern pacific ocean earlier this year , the largest recorded of the species . some murre colonies in greenland , where hunters are allowed to target nesting birds , were wiped out decades ago and show no signs of recovering . without stricter regulations to prevent overhunting , critics warn , a sudden environmental shock could send newfoundland ’s murre population plummeting . that frustrates mr. mouland and his friends , who say they are already fenced in by too many rules . they can not , for example , catch two species of fish in one boat , even if they have a license for each . “ there ’s food in your front yard , but you ’re not allowed to take it , ” mr. hussey said . still , there is a sense of resignation that more rules are coming . “ the law ’s going to get stricter , ” muttered darren abbot , painstakingly plucking pinfeathers from one of the dead birds in mr. mouland ’s work shed . “ they claim turrs are getting a little bit scarce . ” mike fleming , preparing a bowl of stuffing , responded with an expletive . “ some years they do n’t migrate this way , but this year is a phenomenal year , ” he said , his hands mixing bread , chopped onions and a sprinkling of savory , newfoundland ’s most popular herb . the men fell into a spirited discussion about bureaucrats who make rules from offices far away without having ever spent time on the ocean . “ they do n’t like any hunt , but they like their kentucky fried , ” mr. fleming said , adding that he thought it was more humane for a murre to live its life in the wild and be shot than for a chicken to live its life in a tiny cage and be slaughtered . mr. hussey said his family ate what he had killed or caught five nights a week . murre is on the table once or twice a month . as the men bantered among themselves , the conversation became increasingly unintelligible to an outsider : newfoundland ’s rural accent is a thick stew of irish and west country english inflection , with a dash of gaelic and french , that has bubbled together during a couple of hundred years of isolation . mr. mouland put the birds in the oven , and the men turned to filleting the day ’s catch of cod . though the stuffed birds weigh only about two pounds each , they take two or three hours of roasting before they are tender . one local joke is that you put a turr and a rock into a pot , and when the rock is soft , you know the turr is done . eventually , mr. mouland appeared back in the shed with the “ scoff o’ turr , ” as a meal of the bird is called here . the men dug in unceremoniously , slicing and forking and salting big bites until there was little left of two birds but bones and a bit of gravy . the meat is dark and oily and has a fishy aftertaste that divides fans from foes along fairly stark lines . but the rich protein is full of vitamin e and fatty acids concentrated from the birds’ steady diet of fish . it ’s no wonder that it became a principal part of the winter regimen . mr. fleming recounted an old joke about a man who complains that the turr is tough . the retort : “ it ’d be a lot tougher if there was nothing to eat ! ”
+0 david bowie ’s seal of approval bolsters art at auction - the new york times scott reyburn london — one of the most influential musicians and style icons of his generation , david bowie , who died in january , was less well known as an art collector . but as he told michael kimmelman , the new york times critic , in 1998 , “ art was , seriously , the only thing i ’d ever wanted to own . ” on thursday evening , sotheby ’s launched its “ ” sale , an auction of some 350 works , or about 65 percent of his total collection , on behalf of mr. bowie ’s estate . buoyed by the huge amounts of publicity and public interest , the sale of 47 lots tripled its low estimates raising 24 . 3 million pounds , or $ 30 . 3 million . the collection of “ the man who fell to earth ” created a string of 12 auction highs for artists as the allure of the david bowie provenance pushed the values of modern british art to a new level . among the works with wide international appeal , a basquiat painting , “ air power , ” from the collection of mr. bowie — who played andy warhol in julian schnabel ’s 1996 movie “ basquiat ” — sold for £ 7 . 1 million with fees , or about $ 8 . 8 million , against a low estimate of £ 2 . 5 million , or $ 3 . 3 million . it sold in the room to a european collector who declined to give her name . the 1984 acrylic and oil stick composition , painted in shades of brown and red and featuring one of the artist ’s trademark masks , had been bought by the british musician in 1995 at christie ’s in london for $ 120 , 122 . though at times the room was subdued , and at times there was more posting of pictures on instagram than bidding , competition on the telephones ensured some exceptional prices . after an early phase of acquiring memphis group furniture and design objects ( about 100 lots will be offered by sotheby ’s on friday ) mr. bowie began systematically buying art only in 1993 , in his after a chance encounter with his first adviser , kate chertavian . but from that point on he became passionately acquisitive . the core of his collection is 20th century british art — so called mod brit such as peter lanyon and david bomberg and ivon hitchens — which at times made his taste look like that of a retired english businessman rather than an pop star . yet his multifaceted creative life also made him an admirer of german expressionist prints , outsider art , marcel duchamp , damien hirst and african contemporary . “ bowie was a true collector , ” said christina shearman , a art adviser based in new york , where mr. bowie lived during his final years . “ his acquisitions were not commercially motivated he cared about the art , not the market . his was a deeply personal , eclectic collection , reflecting his british roots and his real passion for art . ” the collection took up all eight rooms of sotheby ’s exhibition space and attracted 37 , 608 visitors during the exhibition — a record for any auction at sotheby ’s in london , according to the company ’s press office . the art trade predicted that frank auerbach ’s expressive and thickly impasted 1965 “ head of gerda boehm , ” estimated at £ 300 , 000 to £ 500 , 000 , would fly . the hammer finally fell at £ 3 . 8 million , or $ 4 . 7 million , to a telephone bidder . the price was a new auction high for the artist . “ i want to sound like that looks , ” mr. bowie had said of the painting in the 1998 interview with the new york times . he had bought the work , whose paint layer was still not completely dry , according to conservators , in 1995 at christie ’s for $ 87 , 102 . another work with international appeal was damien hirst ’s psychedelic 1995 spin canvas , “ beautiful , hallo , painting , ” which the artist had made in collaboration with the musician ( who wore a brand new , quickly ruined suit ) . measuring seven feet in diameter , this sold for £ 785 , 000 , or roughly $ 975 , 000 , against an estimate of £ 250 , 000 to £ 350 , 000 . mod brit has in the past been a niche national market , but sotheby ’s ramped up the cataloging of mr. lanyon ’s imposing 1961 black and white abstract , “ witness , ” by calling it a “ great american painting . ” mr. lanyon was born , lived , and died in cornwall , in the far west of england , but the painting ’s resemblance to contemporary works by greats such as robert motherwell and franz kline helped it achieve £ 797 , 000 , just under $ 1 million , to another telephone bidder against an estimate of £ 250 , 000 to £ 350 , 000 . the price was also an auction high for the artist , whose 1960s abstracts were influenced by glider flights . all the lots sold but total success was ensured by lowering reserve prices on works that failed to attract much presale interest . that included francis picabia ’s enigmatic painting of a seated mythological figure , “ mendica , ” one of mr. bowie ’s earlier art purchases , bought at auction in 1988 . estimated at £ £ 800 , 000 , it was knocked down for £ 401 , 000 , or about $ 500 , 000 , with fees . “ you get a sense of his character , ” said josh andraos , an art student , 20 , at the packed wednesday preview , summing up why so many people wanted to see the art that had been owned by mr. bowie . “ it ’s very british , but it varies . it all depends on what he ’s thinking and feeling . this is the head of bowie himself . ”
+0 former hillary staffers launch campaign to strip trump of twitter following - breitbart ben kew two former staffers of hillary clinton ’s unsuccessful presidential run have launched a campaign to try and decrease donald trump ’s sizeable twitter following and promote progressive organizations instead . [ on sunday evening , signal boost , run by former hillary clinton staffers jess mcintosh and zerlina maxwel , unveiled a “ call to action , ” where they encouraged their readers to unfollow both donald trump ’s twitter accounts and to instead “ follow someone working towards the progress we all still believe in . ” the newsletter asked people to announce via twitter who they have chosen to follow instead of trump , using the hashtag # mutemonday , and was consequently endorsed by other former clinton staffers , former department of labor secretary tom perez , as well as actress jamie lee curtis . día 3 de la resistencia : deja de seguir a @realdonaldtrump y @potus para # mutemonday . sigue a alguien que valga la pena . — jorge_silva ( @jorge_silva ) january 23 , 2017 , and for the most important part of # mutemonday , we ’re going to honor who are working their hearts out for progress . — tom perez ( @tomperez ) january 23 , 2017 , trending now # mutemonday unfollowing @realdonaldtrump @potus and listening to and following the lead of @corybooker ! # wisdomfromthepain , — jamie lee curtis ( @jamieleecurtis ) january 23 , 2017 , trump is known for his prolific use of twitter , regularly using it to convey his opinions and share proposed policies , despite expressing reservations about the service . “ look , i do n’t like tweeting , i have other things i could be doing , ” trump said in an interview with fox news last week . “ but i get very dishonest media , very dishonest press . and it ’s my only way that i can counteract . ” he currently has 21 . 6 million followers on his personal account , and has attained 14 . 3 million followers on the official @potus account . at the inauguration ball on friday , trump asked the audience whether he “ should keep the twitter going or not . ” “ i think so , ” he said . you can follow ben kew on facebook , on twitter at @ben_kew , or email him at bkew@breitbart . com
+1 hurricane donald and the storms of changing climate davidswanson posted on november 10 , 2016 by davidswanson john feffer argued on wednesday that demagogue donald , whose very existence will lead me to pretend i ’m not from the u.s. the next time i ’m in europe , is part of a wider trend that ’s already hit europe hard : “ the ugliness has been percolating in europe for some time now . it was n’t just brexit , britain ’s unexpected rejection of the european union . it was the election of militant populists throughout eastern europe — viktor orban in hungary , robert fico in slovakia , the party of jaroslaw kaczynski in poland . it was the electoral surge of the national front in france and the alternative fur deutschland in germany . it was the backlash against immigrants , social welfare programs , and ‘ lazy mediterraneans’ — but also against bankers and brussels bureaucrats . ” i think the trend is even wider and deeper if the trend we ’re talking about is that of making everything worse , of increasing inequality , of increasing militarism , of destroying the environment , of pushing profit over people . if that ’s the trend , the bankers are its vanguard , not its victims , and it has saturated the international establishment almost as thoroughly as it has the rightwing sectarians . but the trend feffer seems to have in mind is one of nationalism or ethnic identity or racism in opposition to global humanitarianism . feffer ’s new dystopian novel , splinterlands , tells a future of shattered nations and international institutions , replaced with ever smaller and more disastrous warring city states . it ’s a vision that should disturb us deeply , a vision of what this world could actually become if it gains nothing in wisdom , miraculously survives its nuclear weapons , and plows right ahead into climate chaos and total capitalist consumption . feffer ’s utopia seems to be a globe unified in peace . but his dystopia is not unlike that of an author like ian morris whose utopia is a globe unified by imperial war . the great threat on the horizon for both is balkanization or splintering . feffer sees this brought on by bigotry , militarism , and environmental destruction . morris sees the threat as , basically , un - americanism . but where does barbaric tribalism stop and the promotion of more direct local democracy begin ? is bigger always better and smaller always worse ? feffer may not think so , because , in fact , a small utopia hidden in one corner of a sinking titanic of an earth shows up in splinterlands — something of a luddite communal organic farm of a sort that essentially exists right now , a creation that can not save us all or even itself unless expanded to a radically larger scale or duplicated innumerable times . the trick , then , may be to duplicate sustainable and just local living within a global system of nonviolent dispute resolution , cooperation , and fairness . feffer says he thought a trump figure would n’t arrive for four more years — though it ’s interesting that a big role in his fictionalized future dismantling of the world is played by a hurricane named donald . my question is whether trump ’s disastrous arrival might not in some ways be put to good use toward human survival . i ’m thinking of a particular good use to which hillary clinton ’s disastrous arrival would not have leant itself . that is to say , can we not now appeal to other nations to recognize that the presence of u.s. military troops on their soil represents their subservience to the odious donald trump , a figure hardly to be imagined as the mythical barack obama , man of peace ? can we encourage nonviolent resistance to u.s. militarism without encouraging a dive into a dystopian splinterlands ? can the world refuse to participate in u.s. wars and u.s. weapons dealing while increasing its participation in cooperative non - military endeavors with the united states and the globe ? can u.s .- led war making , and the war making of other nations , come to be understood as the enemy of good globalism , not as the embodiment of un humanitarian intervention in the affairs of those deemed less developed ? the alternative to the world figuring out how to resist u.s. wars would seem to be the people of the united states shutting down its war machine from within , without the assistance of the other 96 % . but how does that seem to be working out ? this entry was posted in general . bookmark the permalink .
+1 coping with extreme weather if you ’re stranded outside heather callaghan by lizzie bennett i wrote a few days ago about vehicle preparedness in winter . i want to follow on from that today with things you should be thinking of if you find yourself caught outside in ...
+1 andrew meyer we are change project veritas continues with it ’s series of videos this time an undercover reporter exposed early clinton email witness cindy almodovar . in the video cindy almodovar who spoke with huma abedin about email issues that were going on admits that the fbi did n’t interview her . in december , 2010 , u.s. department of state it systems administrator cindy almodovar reported that she met with huma abedin for thirty minutes regarding emails at the then unknown , but now notorious , @ clintonemail.com site . here ’s is the text from that email exchange : “ from : almodovar , cindy t sent : friday , december 17 , 2010 11:17 am to : ses - irm_tech cc : ses - irm_fo - mgt subject : meeting with huma i met with huma for about 30 minutes to go over mail issues . she gave me some examples listed below , but also , things are inconsistent . but issue # 1 is of an e - mail which was sent to her twice this morning , did get received on < redacted > but was not delivered . see details below . i have a contact for the @clintonemail site , his name is bryan pagliano and he actually now works for state , but he apparently set all of this up . huma sent several tests from her clintonemail account to lona and myself – they were received . but there are many messages and responses not received . she sent a message this morning from her state.gov account to cheftwan@mail.house.gov.on 12/14 , hdr22@clintonemail.com sent a message to huma@clintonemail.com and valmoroli@state.gov at 10:03 pm . the subject line was blank . huma received at clinton address , but lona did not receive on her state.gov account . ” as a result of subsequent investigations regarding secretary hillary clinton ’s use of a private email server , the office of inspector general for the u.s. state department reported the following : from the unclassified may 2016 state department report esp-16 - 03 : two staff in s / es - irm reported to oig that , in late 2010 , they each discussed their concerns about secretary clinton ’s use of a personal email account in separate meetings with the then - director of s / es - irm . in one meeting , one staff member raised concerns that information sent and received on secretary clinton ’s account could contain federal records that needed to be preserved in order to satisfy federal recordkeeping requirements . according to the staff member , the director stated that the secretary ’s personal system had been reviewed and approved by department legal staff and that the matter was not to be discussed any further . as previously noted , oig found no evidence that staff in the office of the legal adviser reviewed or approved secretary clinton ’s personal system . according to the other s / es - irm staff member who raised concerns about the server , the director stated that the mission of s / es - irm is to support the secretary and instructed the staff never to speak of the secretary ’s personal email system again . the director referred in the oig report is john bentel . in 2010 , he was the state department employee who managed it security issues for the top echelon of the department . he told fbi investigators those conversations back in 2010 never occurred . in march of 2016 , bentel refused to answer questions from senate investigators and asserted his fifth amendment right 87 times during a deposition for a civil lawsuit related to hillary clinton ’s use of a private email server . ” here ’s a transcript of the exchange between project veritas ’s journalist and cindy almodovar . pv journalist : i ’m working on a story . i ’m interested . i want to know the truth and i want to know if you ’re one of the people who came , who went to john bentel and said they were concerned about hillary ’s private server . almodovar : i do n’t know anything about that . pv journalist : you were n’t involved in that at all ? almodovar : you ’ve got to stop this because this is like harassment . pv journalist : this will be the last time you see me . i just want to know the truth . i ’m interested . i want to know if the fbi has talked to you . almodovar : no they have n’t . pv journalist : they have n’t at all … … pv journalist : i ’m sure reporters and people have been coming to your door . almodovar : no . no one has come to the door . you ’re the first one . “ even though her name stands out in the emails released by the fbi , no one from the fbi ever spoke to aldomovar , ” said project veritas action founder james o’keefe . “ no one interviewed her or made any attempt to get to the bottom of what information she might have about this case that is so important to national security . it made us wonder … who else the fbi neglected to talk with . ” the post appeared first on we are change .
+1 are hillary ’s eyes cattywampus ? no author pr newswire october 27 , 2016 tucson , ariz. , oct. 25 , 2016 /prnewswire - usnewswire/ — concerns about hillary clinton ’s health have been subdued after her three debate performances . she presented her ability to survive 4-and - a - half hours on a stage with donald trump as proof of sufficient stamina to serve as commander - in - chief . “ she evidently intended this as a joke , although i suspect our combat veterans would not be amused , ” states aaps executive director jane orient , m.d. videos are , however , circulating on the internet , from her rather brief and rare appearances in public , which are purported to show pathological eye movements . “ these are quick , episodic , and inconsistent , ” states dr. orient , who is an internist . “ so we decided to ask doctors on our email list to have a look at one of the videos . a helpful tool is to paste the url into http://rowvid.com and watch it at half or quarter speed . ” nearly two - thirds of respondents said they saw abnormal movements . only 15 % did not , and 21 % were unsure . there are long segments in which the eye movements appear normal . about 60 % of those who saw abnormal movements thought “ the cause could be a potentially disabling neurological condition , ” and none of them were willing to say that it is n’t . such movements signify an abnormality in portions of the brain that coordinate the eye muscles . there is a long differential diagnosis . possibilities the respondents suggested include increased intracranial pressure ( she is at risk for that because of her history of head trauma and a transverse sinus clot ) ; a drug effect ; or a chronic degenerative neurological condition . parkinson ’s disease is mentioned — with drug treatment concealing most manifestations but causing the eye signs . doctors were asked which tests would be helpful , and 37 responded . the most common one was a full neurological examination by unbiased specialists , including a neuro - ophthalmologist . “ a neuro - ophthalmologist could do a structured examination , but it might be normal at a moment in time . the video clips need to be explained , ” stated dr. orient . “ a cardiologist might do an electrocardiogram that is perfectly normal — but he will also look at a 24-hour monitor that may show a transient life - threatening rhythm disturbance . ” a collection of additional clips in slow motion has been posted . “ as hillary revealed to the public , perhaps illegally , the president may have only four minutes to respond to a nuclear threat , ” said dr. orient . “ the public needs to know whether she is concealing a serious , progressive illness that may impair memory , reasoning , alertness , or ability to think quickly at a critical time . ” the association of american physicians and surgeons ( aaps ) is a national organization representing physicians in virtually all specialties and every state . founded in 1943 , aaps has the motto “ omnia pro aegroto , ” which means “ all for the patient . ” source association of american physicians and surgeons ( aaps ) tags :
+1 live report from dakota access pipeline protest washingtonsblog lincoln october 31 , 2016 – standing rock sioux tribe continues to deal with onslaught by law enforcement cannon ball , north dakota as tensions remain high from thursday ’s violent assault from law enforcement , those in camp remain dedicated to ensuring the dakota access pipeline is exposed for its disregard for the standing rock sioux tribe ’s sacred and cultural sites . lincoln oct 31 , 2016 huge north dakota spill proves # nodapl activists right for fighting pipeline this spill is part of the reason . imagine , if you will , tens of thousands of gallons of oil pouring into the river that provides the drinking water for over 10 million people . would you want to drink it ? or swim in it ? or eat anything from it ? daniel “ no passport ” bruno these pictures showing humvees in desert paint are worth a thousand words . military equipment on the scene , against native americans … on obama ’s watch . and leonard peltier continues to rot in jail after 40 years … no pardon for him . good work , robert barsocchini . donate
+0 big survey shows firm majority support for donald trump ’s refugee reform - breitbart neil munro no matter how the poll questions are asked , a clear majority of americans support president donald trump ’s january reform of the nation ’s refugee policies , says a large new survey of 22 , 000 people . [ “ overall , 54 percent of registered voters approved of the [ jan. 25 refugee ] executive order and 40 percent disapproved … six percent did not have an opinion either way , ” according to the february survey by morning consult . the survey asked slightly different questions to subgroups within the huge survey . but public opinion barely budged when different terms were used , morning consult said , there was no difference in results when respondents saw the word banning ( 53 approve , 40 disapprove ) versus blocking ( 54 approve , 40 disapprove ) . nor was there a difference in responses when with no time limit ( 54 approve , 40 disapprove ) the word ‘ temporary’ ( 53 approve , 41 disapprove ) or the phrase “ for 90 days ” ( 54 approve , 40 disapprove ) is used . judges in california have blocked parts of trump ’s order , which temporarily barred inflow of refugees from seven muslim countries , halved the annual inflow of refugees to 55 , 000 and declared formal opposition to the acceptance of immigrants who have “ hostile attitudes . ” trump is expected to sign a new order in the next few days to evade the judicial ban . islamic groups and progressives oppose what they describe as trump ’s “ muslim ban ” or his “ travel ban , ” but trump is expected to sign a new order in the next few days to evade the judicial ban . the policy is strongly supported by trump ’s base , the survey showed . approval was 20 percentage points higher among seniors ( 58 percent ) than among adults under 30 years old ( 39 percent ) . republicans ( 85 percent ) were three times as likely to approve as democrats ( 29 percent ) and men ( 59 percent ) were 10 percentage points more likely to approve than women ( 49 percent ) . the largest differences in responses came when the pollsters changed how the migrants were described : support for the ban is 4 percentage points higher , 55 percent approve vs. 51 percent approve , when the population is described as “ people ” rather than “ people , including u. s. lawful permanent residents and visa holders originally . the survey showed overall strong approval of 34 percent and strong opposition of 30 percent . somewhat approval was 19 percent and somewhat disapproval was 11 percent , with 6 percent declining to pick a side . multiple other polls show broad and stable public support for the president ’s policy , despite lopsided opposition among democrats , progressives and media outlets .
+0 clare waight keller is named first female designer of givenchy - the new york times vanessa friedman is audrey hepburn making a return to the house of givenchy ? on thursday , the french brand named clare waight keller as its artistic director , responsible for women ’s and men ’s wear , accessories and couture . she will be the first woman to run the creative side of the house founded by hubert de givenchy in 1952 . the announcement marks a new stage in this year ’s game of fashion musical chairs , and it is a potentially significant change , both for givenchy and its incoming designer . the news came less than two months after ms. waight keller , a british designer , officially resigned from chloé — which is owned by compagnie financière richemont , and which announced last week that its new creative director was natacha . ms. had been creative director of women ’s at louis vuitton , a brand that , like givenchy , is owned by lvmh moët hennessy louis vuitton . “ i am very happy to have clare waight keller join the lvmh group , ” said bernard arnault , chairman of lvmh , in announcing the news , which was released simultaneously on instagram , facebook , twitter , wechat and weibo . “ i believe her widespread expertise and vision will allow givenchy to enter the next phase of its unique path . ” what that next phase is remains to be seen , but the choice of ms. waight keller , rumored during the recent paris fashion week , suggests the answer is not more of the same . givenchy ’s previous artistic director , riccardo tisci , left the brand in february after 12 years . he was responsible for transforming it from the house defined largely by the relationship between mr. de givenchy and ms. hepburn , his greatest muse , to a house the kardashians loved , with all the gothic buzz that suggests . mr. tisci also made it a social media force . by contrast , there is nothing about ms. waight keller , 46 , a personality often pictured peeking out from under her long brown hair , hands tucked into trouser pockets . as a designer , she has seemed content to let her brands be the stars , and her work , both at chloé and in her former position as designer of pringle of scotland , was marked by a accessible elegance with a tailored line . think of it as slouchy chic . indeed , the statement by philippe fortunato , chief executive of givenchy , seemed to suggest a return to the brand ’s roots . “ i am very excited to see clare bring her singular sense of elegance and modernity to givenchy , ” he said . “ by exploring our maison ’s heritage and the outstanding of its ateliers , i am convinced clare will help givenchy reach its full potential . ” though ms. waight keller , who began her career working at calvin klein in new york and with tom ford at gucci , was also in charge of men ’s wear at pringle , she has never worked with an haute couture atelier before . givenchy suspended its formal couture shows in 2012 , first holding static presentations of the collection instead , and more recently incorporating some couture looks into its men ’s wear shows in january and june . but the fact that ms. waight keller has been specifically given responsibility for the highest form of fashion ’s art suggests that a return to a more formal couture offering may be in the future . it also suggests that the idea was false that ms. waight keller , who has three children and has recently moved her family to london from paris , was taking time off after chloé because of the pressures of today ’s fashion cycle . her responsibilities at givenchy , after all , will be significantly greater than her responsibilities at chloé : she will be overseeing at least eight collections a year , as opposed to four . lvmh does not break down the performance of individual brands in its financial results , but the givenchy annual sales revenue is believed to be to around 500 million euros , or more than $ 530 million , ) and there are 72 stores worldwide . in january , lvmh reported revenue of € 37 . 6 billion in 2016 , an increase of 5 percent , beating expectations because of strong sales in the united states and europe , and a pickup in demand in asia . along with the move of raf simons to calvin klein from christian dior , the switch by ms. waight keller should put to rest the recent theory that designers are rebelling against the relentless demands of the system by stepping off the hamster wheel . perhaps most significantly of all , though , her appointment at the helm of one of lvmh ’s signature brands is further indication that the largest luxury group in the world is increasingly focused on the talents of women designers , and changing a historical pattern that has seen most large brands with significant women ’s wear profiles run by male creatives . ( in june , christian dior , the structural owner of lvmh , named maria grazia chiuri as artistic director . ) in her new role — like phoebe philo , the creative director of céline , another lvmh brand ( who , when she was creative director of chloé , became the first designer to ever take a formal maternity leave ) — ms. waight keller will move between london and paris , where the givenchy atelier is based . it may seem astonishing , but the idea that a designer would not have to choose between having a power position and a family life is a relatively new look in the fashion world . ms. waight keller officially begins work may 2 . her first show for givenchy will take place during paris fashion week in october . the fashion world will be left to speculate on where mr. tisci , whose next move has not yet been announced , will end up . rumor has it the answer is versace . stay tuned .
+1 breaking : u.s. and russian jets almost collide over syria seth connell pinterest as the syrian civil war rages on , the russians continue to back the assad regime in the fight against myriad rebel groups . the bloody conflict has garnered international attention , including a refugee crisis in the middle east and europe ( which is quickly spreading to the united states , as well ) . the united states has been involved in several military actions to aid the rebel groups in syria , though much of this help has aided the rise of isis ( smuggling weapons to these groups fighting assad , only to end up with isis ) . given us involvement , and russian backing of the assad regime , tensions between the two superpowers have risen to near cold war levels . one recent event demonstrating just how volatile the situation was a near - collision between two fighter jets , one american and the other russian , in syrian airspace . # breaking russian , us jets had near miss over syria : us officials zero hedge has details : the near miss occurred late on october 17 , when a russian jet that was escorting a larger spy plane maneuvered in the vicinity of an american warplane , air force lieutenant general jeff harrigan said . the russian jet came to “ inside of half a mile ” , he added . another us military official , speaking on condition of anonymity , said the american pilot could feel the turbulence produced by the russian jet ’s engines . “ it was close enough you could feel the jet wash of the plane passing by , ” the official said . the incident appears did not take place out to malice , as the russian pilot had simply not seen the us jet , as it was dark and the planes were flying without lights according to agp . this incident was deemed unsafe , but not necessarily unprofessional , officials said . “ i would attribute it to not having the necessary situational awareness given all those platforms operating together , ” harrigan said . the incident raises serious questions about the extent to which pilots are able to track the complex airspace they operate in . the us - led coalition has set up a hotline with russian counterparts so the different militaries can discuss the approximate locations and missions of planes , and avoid operating in the same space at the same time . in this case , the american pilot tried unsuccessfully to reach the russian jet via an emergency radio channel . this close - call is one of several similar incidents in the past six weeks or so . the russians have become increasingly brazen in the past few months , especially in the syrian arena . anything that threatens the russo - syrian alliance is not taken too well by the kremlin , and responses are bold , dastardly , and provocative . luckily , there have not been any full - blown engagements between american and russian military forces , but the number of close - calls in recent days is cause for concern . these are two of the world ’s most prominent nuclear superpowers , one of whom is becoming more and more brazen and willing to incite conflicts when it suits their interests . the other is a regime with massive military superiority , yet weak and flaky leadership . at this point it is not totally clear what the russians will do next . undoubtedly , they will continue to prop up the assad regime and bomb anywhere rebel forces may be , but whether or not they will harass american military forces in the area remains to be seen ( though i predict that it will only continue to further escalate ) .
+1 who lost : a biased media , pundits , pollsters , political parties , warmongers , the corporatocracy , pay - to - play grifters , neoliberals gillian leave a reply charles hugh smith – sometimes who lost is more important than who won . let ’s review who lost the election : 1 . let ’s start with the corporatocracy , which expected to once again wield unlimited influence by funding political campaigns with millions of dollars in contributions and speaking fees . 2 . a biased mainstream media . my mom - in - law was watching cbs all night , so that ’s what we watched . all the pundits / anchors spoke in the hushed tones of a funeral . for two hours , the only images of campaign workers shown were the sad faces of clinton supporters ; not one image of jubilant trump supporters was broadcast until trump gave his acceptance speech . when one of the talking heads noted that hillary never generated the enthusiasm of the sanders or trump campaigns , his comment was followed by a stony silence . that he had given voice to a self - evident truth was not welcome . 3 . mainstream punditry : they got it wrong from the start and remained close - minded and arrogant in their postured superiority . the punditry applied a double standard to trump and hillary . trump ’s speeches and ethically questionable history were judged by moral standards , and he was declared unfit . hillary ’s actions , on the other hand , were judged by strictly legalistic standards : well , you ca n’t indict her , so she ’s fit for office . dear punditry : you ca n’t use double standards to promote your biases and retain any shred of credibility . 4 . pollsters . having rigged the polls via over - sampling and under - sampling , they were laughably wrong . here is a typical headline from election night , from the new york times : trump takes florida , closing in on a stunning upset . only the pollsters and the msm were stunned . 5 . political parties . as my friend g.f.b. observed , both parties ran 20th century campaigns in the 21st century . both parties lost for this reason ; both are hopelessly out of touch with a rapidly changing america . democrats upset with losing should look at their party ’s system of super - delegates that squelched bernie sander ’s bid . 6 . warmongers . many americans are sick and tired of interventionist , globalist warmongering . the only possible way they could register their opposition to warmongering was to vote for trump . 7 . pay - to - play grifters . let the investigations , indictments , prosecutions and convictions begin as soon as trump is sworn in . 8 . neoliberals . globalization boils down to freeing mobile capital to rove the globe for opportunities to strip - mine cheap resources , assets and labor and then move on , leaving ruined communities behind . 9 . bonus loser : fake progressives . fake progressives are perfectly fine with soaring inequality and corrupt governance , as long as everyone ’s public utterances are politically correct . so the oppressor class is acceptable as long as they speak respectfully while stepping on your neck . real progressives see jobs and community as solutions , not welfare and central planning . real progressives see the eradication of warmongering imperial pretensions and corrupt pay - to - play grifting as the essential projects of liberty and democracy . charles smith is a contributing writer for shift frequency sf source of two minds nov. 2016 share this :
+1 the clinton / vatican / tehran axis admin robert spencer breitbart reported saturday that among the many revealing and damning emails that wikileaks has revealed from clinton campaign chairman john podesta , one has “ white house chief of staff denis mcdonough responding favorably to an email forwarded to him by podesta from a leftwing ‘ catholic’ organization that said it was arranging meetings with catholic prelates to urge them to press u.s. senators to vote for the iran treaty . ” this plan was apparently hatched by fred rotondaro , chairman of the far - left and catholic - in - name - only catholics in alliance for the common good ( cacg ) , as well as a senior fellow with podesta ’s soros - funded “ islamophobia ” propaganda organ , the center for american progress . rotondaro wrote to podesta and others in the clinton camp : john , i thought you might be interested in this report from the cacg exec director chris hale on efforts to have the catholic org community promote the iran treaty . there is a tremendous amount of potential in these inter faith orgs including the ability to reach some working class voters , fred hale wrote in his report : our advertisement began running on national catholic reporter and commonweal yesterday . right now , when you click the advertisement , the link takes you to moveon ’s 60 day to stop a war take action website . from there , you are able to dial into your member of congress and request them to support the iran deal . at some point today , that link will change to our own website , which will list all the groups’ names , simple talking points , and give people a chance to dial in three elected officials ( their one us representatives and two senators ) . while the moveon site is very effective , ours will ensure that people calling into the offices identify as a person of faith , which is important in both our narrative creation ( catholics support the deal ) and coalition building ( the god squad takes action ) . hale wrote about contacts with other legislators as well . according to breitbart , “ podesta forwarded the report to mcdonough at the white house , who for entire article click link
+1 what would happen if the u.s. was nuked ? ev ever wonder what would happen if the u.s. was nuked ? while there are numerous factors to take into consideration in the event of a nuclear war on u.s. soil , we ’ve done our best to answer some of the most commonly asked questions , in the simplest and most understandable of terms . which areas would be hit , and how far would the fallout reach ? on the topic of which regions of the u.s. would be hit ; part of it is left up to guess work , as we are unable to fully predict the aggressing nation ’s tactics , but then much of it is also based on logic . for example , any nation that strikes the u.s. will want to disable their nukes , so we can easily surmise that areas such as north dakota would be obliterated . active nuclear energy plants would also make good targets , as the added nuclear energy from the reactors would maximize destruction . and then of course , there are the major government facilities that would be targeted , at least , those that are known of – unfortunately , it ’s safe to assume an aggressing nation ’s intelligence would have a better idea of the u.s. government ’s “ soft spots ” than the average american citizen . before we get too far ahead of ourselves , however , let ’s go with what we know ; what kind of targets would the u.s. go for ? in the case of hiroshima and nagasaki , numerous military personnel , politicians , and now historians claim that the first bomb was dropped to prove it could be done , and the second bomb was dropped to display the united states’ strength to joseph stalin in the soviet union , who was originally aligned with the u.s. and britain during wwii , but who the u.s. knew would become a problem once the war was over , ( foner , 2014 , p. 887 - 949 ) . while we are aware there are numerous citizens who , to this day , refuse to believe any other version of events than the original government narrative , the point is , we ca n’t use the cases of hiroshima and nagasaki as an accurate indicator of the type of targets the u.s. would choose . fortunately though , we do have a detailed list of targets the u.s. created in 1956 – in the event of war with the soviet union – that was released through the national archives and records administration . the list includes major cities for “ systematic destruction , ” including areas that contain “ agricultural equipment ” and “ transformers , heavy . ” most horridly though , was a target simply titled “ population . ” yep . the almighty , all wise , glorious , wholesome and righteous , baseball - loving , apple pie - eating , land of the free , and home of the brave , planned to target large populations of innocent civilians , and it ’s with that in mind we can surmise that largely populated areas would be potential targets here in the states , as well . provided below are two maps created by fema , the first of which is from 1990 , and shows the presumed targets the soviets would have hit in the event of a nuclear attack . “ fallout , ” according to the university of notre dame , is described as the mixture of earth and/or water that has entered the rising fireball caused from the detonation of a nuclear bomb near the earth ’s surface . this mixes with the radioactive debris of the explosion at an early stage , and is then blown into the troposphere and lower stratosphere , creating fallout . the most lethal fallout is indicated by the darkest coloration , while the lesser lethal fallout is indicated with yellow : source : fema in this map , fema shows a sample fallout pattern we could expect in a nuclear attack : source : fema how long would the fallout last ? after being blown into the troposphere and lower stratosphere , “ the material is then re - distributed over polar ( 3 - 12 months ) or equatorial regions ( 8 - 24 months ) . fall - out removal times ( defined in terms of half - life ) ranges from 10 to 24 months depending upon seasonal conditions , most rapid during spring , slow in summer , ” again , this is according to the university of notre dame , ( source above ) . where would government officials and the “ elite ” go in the event of a nuclear attack ?
+0 investigators say mexico has thwarted efforts to solve students’ disappearance - the new york times azam ahmed and paulina villegas mexico city — an international panel of experts brought to mexico to investigate the haunting disappearance of 43 students that ignited a global outcry say they can not solve the case because of a sustained campaign of harassment , stonewalling and intimidation against them . the investigators say they have endured carefully orchestrated attacks in the mexican news media , a refusal by the government to turn over documents or grant interviews with essential figures , and even a retaliatory criminal investigation into one of the officials who appointed them . for some , the inevitable conclusion is that the government simply does not want the experts to solve the case . “ the conditions to conduct our work do n’t exist , ” said claudia paz y paz , a panel member who earned international recognition for prosecuting a former guatemalan dictator on charges of genocide . “ and in mexico , the proof is that the government opposed the extension of our mandate , is n’t it ? ” the pressure on the investigators — described by four of the five panel members in interviews with the new york times — undermines promises by the mexican government to cooperate fully and uncover what happened to the students , one of the worst human rights abuses in the country ’s recent memory . hundreds of thousands flooded the streets to protest the disappearances , sending president enrique peña nieto ’s approval ratings plummeting and contradicting his effort to depict mexico as a progressive nation ready to assume its place on the world stage . instead , the case exposed the impunity tearing at the seams of the rule of law . the international investigators say that their job is far from complete . but they will leave mexico in the coming days nonetheless — pushed out , they say , by a government many suspect of covering up what actually happened on the night in september 2014 when the 43 college students were abducted by the police and never seen or heard from again . by contrast , the mexican government says that it has fully cooperated with the experts , completing the vast majority of their information requests , while it is still processing the rest . for the families of the missing , young men training to be teachers in the impoverished stretches of rural mexico , the experts’ departure is devastating . all along , they have refused to believe the government ’s version of events — that their children , who were in the city of iguala as part of a protest , were kidnapped by local police officers working for powerful criminal gangs , then killed and incinerated in the garbage dump of a nearby town . in its version of the story , the government never gave a clear motive for the attack . but for many mexicans , the case represents something far greater than 43 people : it is a window onto the tens of thousands of others who have also disappeared during the nation ’s drug war , and the anguish visited on their families . caught between cartel violence and a government either unwilling or unable to help , they are victims twice . the arrival of the international experts inspired hope and a shot at closure , if only vicariously , for those who suffer their losses quietly on the margins of mexican society . in an exceptional gesture , mexico was granting foreigners permission to conduct a true investigation . now their departure is a bitter one . “ this is something that will probably haunt us for a long time , ” said francisco cox , a chilean human rights lawyer and another member of the group of experts . “ but it did n’t make sense to stay here , because in a certain way it ’s giving legitimacy to something deep inside you know is n’t right . ” though the group ’s final report will be issued on sunday morning , the case is far from solved . the remains of only one of the 43 has been found and identified the rest are all still missing . another question is how high the collusion between the drug gangs and the government goes . although the government ’s own investigation focused on the complicity of the local authorities , the expert panel uncovered evidence that state and federal officials and even military personnel were present on the night of the students’ disappearance . “ it was clear in the government ’s investigation and the official account that there was an intention to keep this case at a municipal level , in terms of responsibility , ” said carlos beristain , another expert in the investigation . “ but we revealed the presence of state and federal agents at the crime scenes , and furthermore that their participation implied responsibility . ” the government insists that the parting of ways with the international experts is amicable , and has thanked them in public for their work . the experts were not forced out , according to the government . they ran out of time . the government says it has played no part in a smear campaign . there is a free press in mexico , and the government can not prevent certain outlets from writing what they want , it says . in written responses to questions , eber betanzos , the deputy attorney general for human rights , said that his office has worked closely with the experts . “ the mexican state recognizes their work , their efforts and the attention to the victims , ” he said . but when asked to issue a joint statement denouncing the media campaign against the experts , the government more than once declined to do so . when the experts arrived in mexico , in march of last year , they received a warm welcome from the government . at first , the experts said , there was a willingness to share documents and respond to requests for information , and a collegiality that seemed to match the government ’s public posture . that abruptly changed in september , when the experts published a report that contradicted the government ’s version of events , referred to by the former attorney general as the “ historic truth . ” the government ’s investigation said that the students were killed and then burned in a garbage dump in the town of cocula . neither this panel of experts nor another international team of forensics experts also working on the investigation have found any physical evidence at the dump site corroborating a fire of such dimensions . “ after our report , it was pretty clear the relationship had changed , ” mr. cox said . “ they still thought that we would sustain their version of what had happened . ” routine requests from the government took months , the experts said . suggestions for ways to streamline the investigation were ignored . a media smear campaign began , assaulting individuals in the group , including accusations that they misspent money and had made statements supportive of terrorist acts in the past . for the investigators , the message was clear . “ there are sectors within the government that do n’t want certain things to be questioned and therefore there is an attempt to reinforce the ‘ historical truth,’ without taking into account the new elements we have uncovered , ” mr. beristain said . “ these sectors within the government looked at us as a threat and this hardened their view towards us , which actually reinforces the impunity that stops things from changing in this country . ” the media attacks largely focused on ms. paz and another female lawyer , ángela buitrago , who earned broad recognition for prosecuting government and military malfeasance in colombia . in addition to little known outlets , some national newspapers , like el financiero and milenio , took part as well . in one instance in january , ms. buitrago was waiting in line at the mexico city airport when she noticed a story on the front page of a local newspaper — about her . it began with a characterization of ms. buitrago as someone known to “ fabricate testimony and pressure alleged witnesses in order to imprison military figures and politicians . ” it also quoted a person she had prosecuted as saying that any investigation in her hands would lack all credibility . “ it was unimaginable , ” she said . “ the purpose of all this was just to delegitimize the investigation , and to discredit and distract us . ” ms. paz , too , said she became a target . organizations claimed that she had protected violent leftists and violated guatemala ’s peace accords by trying former military officers . though the government has repeatedly denied playing a role in the media campaign , it wields an inordinate amount of control over the news media here . the state spends hundreds of millions of dollars every year in advertising , making it a highly influential voice in the market . “ we could n’t go out on the streets every day and read all the newspaper headlines insulting us , ” ms. paz said . perhaps the most direct example of government pressure came in the form of a criminal inquiry opened into emilio álvarez icaza , the executive secretary of the commission on human rights , the international body that appointed the experts . the inquiry was opened after a activist filed a complaint against mr. icaza , claiming fraudulent use of the money for the experts , funds that had been furnished on agreement by the mexican government . for weeks , the government sustained its investigation , claiming it had a responsibility to follow up on every complaint . but human rights experts in the region said the action sent a message , warning those agitating against the government ’s narrative . eventually , the government dropped the case , but not before it sent a chill . “ it is interesting that they would choose to investigate this patently baseless claim when there are thousands of families who are desperately seeking their loved ones without any assistance from the attorney general , ” said james l. cavallaro , the president of the commission on human rights . “ that is profoundly disturbing . ”
+0 rep. pete roskam : post ryancare , congress must still fix obamacare ’s flaws - breitbart neil w. mccabe illnois republican rep. peter roskam told chicago ’s that he supported the american health care act crafted by speaker paul ryan ( ) as a necessary fix of the 2010 patient protection and affordable care act , obamacare . [ “ it was an improvement as to where we are now , ” he said told the station . there is a restlessness among the people in his district about obamacare and what will be done with it , he said . the congressman said during the battle over the ryancare bill , he heard from constituents who have been hurt by obamacare and people helped by obamacare . in the final bill , roskam said he received assurances in writing that illinois would not lose medicaid protections . he said he was comfortable with concessions given to the house freedom caucus , including modifying the essential health benefits — those items required for all policies — so that the ehb ’s were determined the states . “ my view was that on balance , this bill was a step forward , ” he said . “ friday was a big disappointment because the bill got pulled , because there was not a lot of support for it so moving forward , there was this notion that this was the healthcare debate , and i do n’t believe that is true for a second , ” he said . one of the reasons the bill did not pass was that the speaker crafted the bill to meet the requirements of the senate ’s rules governing budget bills , he said . “ it is so complicated and so difficult to understand that nobody even hardly understands what you are talking about , ” roskam said . “ the better move in the past would have been to pass out of the house — even though it ’s not going to move in the senate — the actual proposal — what is it you are for ? not with limitations , what are the aspirations ? ” roskam said he is convinced that in the coming weeks , there will be a serious move to reengage the house republicans about reforming national healthcare policy . “ we ca n’t stay here , ” he said . the next move should be to go back to the two things every american agreed about when president barack obama first started the obamacare debate , he said . first , health care is too expensive and many of the cost drivers are not making us any healthier , he said . second , it bothered everyone that americans with conditions did not have access to insurance coverage . “ if the obama administration had focused on those two core things , we would be having a very different conversation about health care today , ” he said .
+1 little boy humiliates himself with what sick liberal mom made him wear amanda shea little boy humiliates himself with what sick liberal mom made him wear posted on october 31 , 2016 by amanda shea in politics share this @debbersgar ( left ) , the woman ’s son in humiliating attire ( right ) while all of the other children are showing up to class today dressed as their favorite cartoon characters or superheroes of some kind , an ultra - liberal mother used her son to make a sick statement instead . too young to understand agendas , the little boy humiliated himself in front of his class , which he will have to live with the rest of the school year . school administrators have a responsibility to report it when they feel something is wrong at home , which some would think is probably the case with this boy based on what this twisted woman dressed him as . instead of being given the choice to be whatever he wants , his seemingly controlling mother convinced him to don what she thought was a pretty cool costume without thinking about the emotional damage it could do to her child . the liberal mother , who goes by @debbersgar â online , was proud that she got her son to dress up as her hero , hillary clinton , when she posted his photo online with the description , “ our 8-year - old son is with you @hillary clinton , today and every day . ” adding to the realistic nature of the female costume , she grew her boy ’s hair out so it could be styled in hillary ’s signature winged bouffant . she completed the androgynous costume with a pantsuit , hillary campaign pin , and slogan briefcase , then topped it off with a pair of pearlescent girl shoes . the 8-year - old boy dressed as hillary clinton in his mother ’s post while the look is atrocious regardless of gender and has no place in a second - grade classroom , the fact that she more or less forced her son to dress as a woman makes it worse — but it ’s par for the course with gender - bending liberals . while she made her political point and was clearly proud of it , her son likely sat alone at lunch and played by himself at recess in his yellow woman ’s pantsuit , but she ’ll blame other people ’s “ bad ” parenting for raising kids who treated her son this way .
+1 vladimir putin – straight from the horse ’s mouth wakingtimes waking times vladimir putin in particular , and russia in general , have been the focus of an intensive high - drama propaganda campaign of late . are you buying it ? for the time being , russophobia has replaced islamophobia as the driving force behind the lies . various us officials have been frantically warning americans that the russians are behind everything : hacking the dnc , controlling trump , influencing the election and breaking the syrian ceasefire agreement . they might as well add making your girlfriend break up with you , making your toast get burnt and making your car run out of fuel for all the evidence they have presented . many of these totally unfounded allegations stem from ( naturally ) the clinton campaign , home to career criminals bill and hillary clinton , who are desperately seeking to find something to gain some sort of shred of popularity or advantage over trump , who fills up arenas with 1000s of people more easily than clinton can fill a high school gym with 50 . many us officials and war hawks are trying to get in on the action ; cia man mike morell indicated it would be a good idea to covertly kill russians to make them “ pay a price ” ; hillary clinton called vladimir putin the “ grand godfather of extreme nationalism ” and blamed him for the rising popularity of right - wing leaders ; and even standing vp joe biden came out and said that , “ we ’re sending a message to putin … it will be at the time of our choosing and under the circumstances that have the greatest impact ” . it seems there is no depth to which some us leaders wo n’t stoop in order to gain some political advantage , even it means lying , demonizing and destroying geopolitical partnerships in order to garner a few brownie points . vladimir putin : it ’s all about distraction during election season you would think russian president vladimir president would be agitated by all of this mud - slinging . at times he has been , for instance when he issued a warning a few months ago about an impending ww3 due to nato ’s constant aggression and advancement towards russian borders . however , judging by his own words and mostly calm demeanor , he has seen through the agenda and understands what is going on . putin spells out how it ’s all inflamed rhetoric before an election season , an old trick used by politicians to distract when they have no meaningful solutions for internal and domestic problems . here is vladimir putin in his own words : “ you can expect anything from our american friends … the only novelty is that for the first time , on the highest level , the united states has admitted involvement in these activities , and to some extent threatened [ us ] – which of course does not meet the standards of international communication . as if we did n’t know that us government bodies snoop on and wiretap anyone ? everyone knows this … apparently , they are nervous . the question is why . i think there is a reason . you know , in an election campaign , the current government carefully crafts a pre - election strategy , and any government , especially when seeking re - election , always has unresolved issues . they need to show , to explain to the voters why they remain unresolved . in the us , there are many such problems … for example , the massive public debt is a time bomb for the us economy and global financial system … more examples can be cited in foreign policy … in these conditions , many choose to resort to the usual tactics of distracting voters from their problems … try to create an enemy and rally the nation against that enemy … iran and the iranian threat did not work well for that . russia is a more interesting story . ” and that ’s exactly what this whole thing is : a giant story . however , as voltaire once said , if you can make someone believe absurdities , you can make them commit atrocities . let ’s see what else vladimir putin has to say on other topics of interest . russian hacking : a laughable claim so the clintons and dnc can try to avoid culpability let ’s face it : the whole russophobia affair is about avoiding blame , dodging responsibility and evading liability . thanks to wikileaks , project veritas and many other sources , we know the entire hillary clinton campaign has been rigged beyond belief . fake primaries , fake speeches , fake images , fake videos , fake crowds , fake supporters and fake debates . there is seemingly no depth of criminality to which that woman wo n’t sink . she ’s selling out the presidency before she even gets there , such as the stunt of trying to promise future presidential executive orders to mega donors . there is not a shred of evidence that russia is affiliated with wikileaks or behind any of the dnc hacks . as this zero hedge article nsa whistleblower : us intelligence worker likely behind dnc leaks , not russia states : “ on “ judge napolitano chambers , ” the judge said that while the dnc , government officials , and the clinton campaign all accuse the russians of hacking into the dnc servers , “ the russians had nothing to do with it . ” napolitano then mentioned binney , arguing the nsa veteran and whistleblower who “ developed the software that the nsa now uses , which allows it to capture not just metadata but content of every telephone call , text message , email in the united states of every person in [ the country ] ” knew the nsa had hacked the dnc — not the russians . if judge napolitano and binney are right and the nsa did hack the dnc , what was the motive ? according to the judge , “ members of the intelligence community simply do not want [ clinton ] to be president of the united states . ” “ she does n’t know how to handle state secrets , ” napolitano continued . and since “ some of the state secrets that she revealed used the proper true names of american intelligence agents operating undercover in the middle east , ” some of these agents were allegedly captured and killed , prompting nsa agents to feel compelled to act . whether nsa agents hacked the dnc or not , one thing is clear : there ’s no real evidence linking the dnc and arizona and illinois voting system hacks to the russian government . ” the mythical “ russian threat ” vladimir putin directly addressed another mythical story , that of the so - called russian threat and russian aggression , at the recent valdai forum in sochi from october 24 - 27 , 2016 : “ there is another mechanism to ensure the transatlantic security , european security , the oc security and their attempt at turning this organization ( nato ) into an instrument of someone ’s political interests . so what the oc is doing is simply void . mythical threats are devised like the so - called russian military threat . certainly this can be ( used to ) gain some advantage , get new budgets , make your allies comply with your demands , make nato deploy the equipment and troops closer to our border … russia is not trying to attack anyone . that would be ridiculous … the population of europe is 300 million … and the population of the us is 300 million , while the population of russia is 140 million , yet such menaces are served as a pretext . hysteria has been fueled in the us with regard to russia ’s alleged influence with the current presidential election . is there anyone who seriously thinks that russia can influence the choice of the american people ? is the us a banana republic ? the us is a great power . if i ’m wrong please correct me . ” here ’s what he had to say about who the real aggressor is when it comes to the us ( around and russia : “ is it known to you that russia , in the 90s , completely halted ( as did the ussr ) any strategic aviation in the further afield regions of patrol , i.e. not in the closer abroad . we halted such activity completely . us geostrategic aviation however , with nuclear weapons on board . they continued to encircle us ! what for ? who are you concerned about ? or why are you threatening us ? we continued with the non - patrol year after year . it is only since about 3 years ago that we restarted aviation patrol further abroad . which party is the provocateur here ? is it us ? we have only 2 military bases abroad . they are known areas of terrorism dangers … us bases on the other hand are all over the world . and you are telling me that i am the aggressor ? have you any common sense ? what are us forces doing in europe , including nuclear weaponry ? what business have they got there ? listen to me . our military budget , while increased slightly from last year , in the dollar equivalent , is about us$ 50 billion . the military budget of the pentagon is almost 10 times that amount . $ 575 billion , i think congress singed off on . and you ’re telling me i ’m the aggressor here ? have you no common sense at all ? is it us putting our forces on the border of the us ? or other states ? is it nato , or who , that is moving their bases closer to us ? military infrastructure ! it ’s not us . does anyone even listen to us ? or try to have some kind of dialogue with us ? the repeated answer we get is ‘ mind your own business’ and ‘ each country can choose its own security measures’ . very well , so will we … and finally , on the antiballistic missile defense system , who was it that exited from the treaty which was vital to the entire system of international security ? was it us ? no . it was the states . in a one - sided way , they simply withdrew from the treaty . now they are threatening us , turning their missiles towards us , not only from alaska , but also from europe too … we want to develop normal relations in the sphere of security , in the fight against terrorism , in the non - proliferation of nuclear weapons . we want to work together with you … so long as you want that too . ” us repeatedly broke its promises to russia and destroyed trust the western msm is so one - sided in its coverage of geopolitical events like ukraine and syria . anyone not toeing the line with us - uk - nato interests is painted in a bad light . in point of fact , it has actually been the us who has been breaking agreements with russia since the end of the cold war . us leaders lied to russian leaders at the time , by promising that nato would not extend any further eastward , and possibly even hinting that russia could join nato . as eric zuesse explains in his article america trashes nato founding act ; rushes weapons to russia ’s borders : “ the nato founding act was agreed to between the us and russia in 1997 in order to provide to russia ’s leader boris yeltsin some modicum of assurance that america would n’t invade his country . when his predecessor mikhail gorbachev had ended the soviet union and its warsaw pact military alliance in 1991 , the representatives of us president ghw bush told him that nato would n’t move « one inch to the east » ( toward russia ) , but as soon as gorbachev committed himself to end the cold war , bush told his agents , regarding what they had all promised to gorbachev ( bush ’s promise which had been conveyed through them ) , « to hell with that ! we prevailed , they did n’t » . in other words : bush ’s prior instructions to them were merely his lies to gorbachev , his lies to say that the us would n’t try to conquer russia ( move its forces eastward to russia ’s borders ) ; but , now , since gorbachev was committed and had already agreed that east germany was to be reunited with and an extension of west germany ( and the process for doing that had begun ) , bush pulled that rug of lies out from under the end of the cold war … ” bill clinton carried on the great american legacy of exceptionalism ( that is , excepting themselves from obeying international law ) spearheaded by daddy bush of surrounding and dominating russia by allowing nato into the czech republic , hungary and poland . russia got shafted by trusting the us numerous times after the fall of the soviet union . here ’s vladimir putin once again on america ’s broken promises ( in april 2016 ) : “ in the early 2000s , we agreed with the americans to destroy weapons - grade plutonium , on both sides . we were talking about the excessive amounts that were manufactured by both the us and russia . this is the enriched uranium from which nuclear weapons are made . 34000 tonnes , from both sides . we signed an agreement , and decided that this material would be destroyed in a specific manner . it would be destroyed in an industrial way – for which special plants needed to be built . we fulfilled our obligations – we built the necessary plant . our american partners did not . moreover , recently they announced that rather than destroy the enriched material in the manner that we agreed , and signed an international agreement on , that they would dilute it and store it in a holding capacity . this means they retain the potential to bring it back … surely our american partners must understand that , jokes are one thing , such as creating smear campaigns against russia , but questions of nuclear security are another thing entirely … they must learn to fulfill their promises . they once said they would close down guantanamo . and ? is it closed ? no . ” incidentally , this is the exact same plutonium agreement which made the news last month , when as reported on october 3rd , 216 , russia suspended their deal with the us on disposal of plutonium from decommissioned nuclear warheads . a decree signed by vladimir putin lists “ the radical change in the environment , a threat to strategic stability posed by the hostile actions of the us against russia , and the inability of the us to deliver on the obligation to dispose of excessive weapons plutonium under international treaties , as well as the need to take swift action to defend russian security ” as the reasons for why russia chose to suspend the deal . conclusion : wake up and smell the russophobia expect vladimir putin and russia to keep being demonized by the clintons – and more importantly the nwo manipulators who so desperately want them in power . although the clintons are a powerful modern american mafia family , replete with a long body count behind them , it ’s important to remember they are lackeys for far greater and more pervasive powers ( check out some of hillary ’s lovey - dovey letters to lynn forester de rothschild here ) . there ’s a lot at stake here . right now , vladimir putin and russia are being used with the sole purpose of getting clinton elected . although putin is not perfect and has his own dark side , he deserves respect for standing his ground and refusing to become another us puppet . if we are to believe his own words , he has no qualm with americans or even america itself , but rather the selfish , imperialistic and murderous agenda of the nwo agents running the usa : “ we have a great deal of respect and love for the united states , and especially for the american people … [ however ] the expansion of jurisdiction by one nation beyond the territory of its borders , to the rest of the world , is unacceptable and destructive for international relations . ” it ’s up to the american public to switch off cnn ( clinton news network ) and all the other duplicitous msm channels and get truly informed . vladimir putin is reaching out his hand to america , in the hope that enough americans can reclaim their country and work together with other nations in peace . on the issue of vladimir putin and russia , the msm is not just one - sided , it ’s outright lying . about the author makia freeman is the editor of the freedom articles and senior researcher at toolsforfreedom.com ( facebook here ) , writing on many aspects of truth and freedom , from exposing aspects of the worldwide conspiracy to suggesting solutions for how human ity can create a new system of peace and abundance * * sources embedded throughout article .
+1 us inspector general : afghan govt rapidly lost territory over summer jason ditz pentagon downplays situation as losses mount the pentagon ’s narrative on the afghan war tries to present the territory changes as brief , minor , and limited , repeatedly touting the fact that the afghan government still controls the majority of the country . it ’s a shrinking majority , however , as a new report from the special inspector general for afghanistan reconstruction ( sigar ) notes . sigar noted that the data from the pentagon showed that the afghan government actually controlled only about 63.4 percent of the country as of the end of august , the result of steady losses throughout the summer . all indications are that the losses have continued over the past two months as well . if these numbers sound worse than those coming from the pentagon , it ’s because they are . officially , the pentagon ’s percentages are based on “ control or influence ” of population , not physical territory held . these numbers tend to be higher , because most of the major cities are still controlled by the government , even if many are surrounded . pentagon officials have done this not only to have bigger percentages , but to downplay the losses , arguing that they are mostly in rural areas . while this is true , the reality is that afghanistan is a heavily rural country , and strongly dependent on farming . the taliban has aimed in many cases specifically at the farmlands , particularly in opium - producing regions , because those are so much more economically valuable for them . the sigar report also cited major casualties among afghan security forces as a matter of concern . again , this was in stark contrast to pentagon statements , which have insisted that morale among the still surviving troops remains strong
+1 “ he is a pig , ” says morbidly obese and tattooed “ model ” while wearing a ‘ dump trump’ t - shirt in times square – bare naked islam nan bni store oct 31 2016 “ he is a pig , ” says morbidly obese and tattooed “ model ” while wearing a ‘ dump trump’ t - shirt in times square tess holliday is using her platform as a jumbo - sized so - called “ model ” to speak out against donald trump ’s treatment of women . the 31-year - old took to instagram to share a photo of herself posed with her hands on her mega hips wearing the ‘ respect women # dump trump’ shirt . ( hey , why was n’t she arrested for causing visual pollution in times square ? ) uk daily mail ‘ respect women,’ she captioned the image . ‘ our bodies are not for you to stare at or touch without our consent . women are not just sexual objects , women are not here for your consumption . ( one problem you do n’t have , cupcake ) the 31-year - old took to instagram over the weekend to share an ad of herself posing in new york city ’s times square while modeling a new look fashion t - shirt that reads : ‘ respect women # dump trump.’ so many of us have a sexual assault story , myself included,’ she continued . ( gee , were you 100 pounds lighter then ? ) ‘ to endorse someone who not just condones this behavior but actively engages in it would be an awful step backwards for women not just in the us but across the world . ‘ also might i add i ’m not telling you who to vote for . trump is a pig & that ’s a fact.’ ( but obviously , you are supporting a pig – hillary clinton – who has verbally abused all the women who were sexually assaulted / raped by her husband ) last week tess made an appearance ( above left ) alongside model iskra lawrence and orange is the new black star danielle brooks at refinery29 ’s every beautiful body symposium in new york city , wearing a figure - hugging dress . in celebration of halloween , tess also posted a throwback photo of her and nick dressed as miss argentina and beetlejuice from the 1988 film . ‘ but how do i top last year?’ she wrote . we pulled these costumes off in two days , and i ’m pretty darn proud.’ there was also a fierce debate about whether or not tess’ post could be seen as an endorsement for the democratic nominee , hillary clinton , and some people who disagreed with her statement attacked the size 22 model for her weight . ‘ there is some super hateful stuff on here,’ one woman wrote . ‘ and targeting her weight because you disagree ? really ? people are crazy , keep up your positive messages tess ! whatever your political views are , i still love what you represent!’
+1 more fake ' pro - trump ' attacks : ohio student charged for falsifying report of attack by trump fans - russia news now nan this post was originally published on this site sott.net/news a black , female bowling green state university student allegedly fabricated a hate crime story about white , male president - elect donald trump supporters attacking her on campus and is now being charged for faking a police report . the day after trump ’s presidential victory , eleesha long told bowling green police that she had been attacked by three men wearing trump gear who “ began to throw rocks ” at her , according to abc13 . long took to her facebook page to share the story , describing in detail what each trump supporter was wearing and giving a description of as to where the alleged hate crime had occurred , but never actually called the police . long ’s facebook post went viral and her father notified law enforcement after he said he was not able to get in touch with her . local detectives took long into police headquarters and asked her to share details of the described hate crime . long reportedly began telling police multiple stories about the incident , to include changing the location of the alleged incident . “ several times the complainant changed her story about what happened , where it happened , and when it happened , ” lt . dan mancuso told abc13 . afterward , the police got a warrant for long ’s facebook and verizon cell phone history , proving that she was not where she claimed she was at the time of the alleged attack . “ based on that information , it proved that she was not in the location that of when she said it occurred , ” lt . mancuso said . police investigators said long ’s cell phone history included discriminatory remarks towards trump supporters that she had sent to her boyfriend and mother . in one text message , long said about trump supporters “ should take an iq test to vote , ” while a couple other messages said “ i hope they all get aids ” and “ i have n’t met a decent trump supporter yet . ” long is now being charged for falsifying a police report and obstructing official business , which she will have to appear in court for . related
+0 uc berkeley extremists dox student milo event hosts , post personal details and workplace address - breitbart charlie nash a group of extremists at uc berkeley have doxed the student hosts behind milo ’s upcoming event on campus , posting personal details , photographs , email addresses , social media accounts , and even one of the student ’s workplace addresses . [ in their post entitled “ the kids are : the uc berkeley students behind the milo event , ” the website and group known as “ it ’s going down ” posted the personal details of five student organizers in an attempt to intimidate and harass those behind milo ’s upcoming event on february 1st . igd listed the organizers’ names and pictures , supposedly taken after stalking the students’ private social media accounts , and attempted to link many of the students to white supremacy and racism purely based on their trump and republican stances . the group even referred to one of the students as a “ snitch ” due to the fact that he had reported a violent incident to the police , after he was assaulted by protesters and had his property destroyed . after attacking another student , citing the various comedy meme pages on facebook he likes , the group proceeded to write “ this is where [ the student ] works , ” along with the full address , phone number , and website of his employers . “ while not every member of bcr seems to be directly connected with politics , at the same time , they are still involved in promoting a political party that holds the most reactionary , racist , and ecocidal platform in history , ” noted the organization at the end of their post , despite attempting to link every student organizer to white supremacy just shortly beforehand . “ while the institutional left of berkeley and the wider bay area , which has a stranglehold on the region , deserves no free pass , nor do the republicans , as one of the two managers of the plantation that is america . ” “ the white nationalists at its edges of this system are just the crystallization of the larger politics that has been mainstreamed under trump that white supremacy needs to be strengthened in the wake of the black lives matter movement and other popular struggles from below ” they continued . “ it ’s up to all of us to realize that both the auxiliary force to the state of the white nationalist it ’s ‘ hipster’ reactionary talking heads like milo , and the ‘ respectable’ republican party they seek to influence and defend , are all our enemies . let ’s start treating them as such and organize accordingly . ” despite orchestrating a harassment campaign against the student organizers of milo ’s event , and urging readers to start treating republicans as “ enemies , ” the group claims in their about page to “ not condone or promote illegal , violent , and unlawful behavior or actions , or acts of intimidation against individuals or groups . ” “ it is a dangerous precedent in an academic environment for student groups to be subjected to harassment and cyber doxxing based on political affiliation , ” said the president of the associated students of the university of california , will morrow . “ this goes beyond any singular political frame or any one event context — rather this is something that the foundation of our university is in many ways built on . ” “ the article is wrong in the moral sense and in the factual sense , ” said matt ronnau , who was listed in the post , but claims to have not been involved in organizing milo ’s event . “ when i did n’t know ( that i was named ) i thought it would be interesting but then seeing my information on there was … a little scary . ” another student listed , nick winterer , claimed that he was n’t even associated with the berkeley college republicans , and instead used to be affiliated with the cal students for liberty — a group he is no longer active with . “ i ca n’t say that i ’ve been affected in any way by my information being posted , ” said winterer . “ i will say that i find it disrespectful that no attempt was made to verify the accuracy of the information posted . ” it ’s going down ( igd ) also falsely claimed in the post that the # gamergate consumer revolt movement was a harassment campaign against women where men made “ threats of rape and sexual assault , ” against feminists . they also attempted to falsely associate both breitbart news and milo with white nationalism and racism . several of the affected students have either deleted or hidden their facebook accounts which were linked in the article . college administrators at uc berkeley issued the student organizers with a sudden large security fee this week , demanding $ 6 , 370 less than a month before the event — a tactic frequently used by universities in an attempt to get the event cancelled . in addition to the security fee issue , a group of professors at uc berkeley are attempting to get milo banned from the campus , falsely accusing the breitbart senior editor of advocating “ white supremacy . ” though the professors claimed to support freedom of speech and “ open debate ” in their letter , they declared milo to be an exception , and called upon chancellor dirks to ban him from campus . update : igd responded to breitbart ’s request for comment , defending the piece by claiming that they merely published an article written by someone else . “ f*ck you , ” they then concluded in the email . this story has been updated to list the correct position of student will morrow . charlie nash is a reporter for breitbart tech . you can follow him on twitter @mrnashington or like his page at facebook .
+0 hillary clinton struggles to find footing in unusual race - the new york times amy chozick , alexander burns and jonathan martin democrats could hardly believe their good fortune last month when it became clear that hillary clinton was headed to a general election showdown with donald j. trump . mr. trump carried so much baggage and had insulted so many voting blocs that some clinton supporters began to imagine a landslide . but early optimism that this would be an easy race is evaporating . in the corridors of congress , on airplane shuttles between new york and washington , at donor gatherings and on conference calls , anxiety is spreading through the democratic party that mrs. clinton is struggling to find her footing . while she enjoys many demographic advantages heading into the fall , key democrats say they are growing worried that her campaign has not determined how to combat her unpredictable , often wily republican rival , to whom criticism seldom sticks and rules of decorum seem not to apply . mrs. clinton is pressing ahead with a conventional campaign , echoing the 2012 themes used against the republican nominee that year , mitt romney . but mr. trump is running a jarringly different crusade : accusing her husband , former president bill clinton , of rape proposing that the country conduct brutal methods of torture and suggesting that south korea and japan be permitted to develop nuclear arms . prominent democrats say a more provocative approach is needed . “ the guy ’s a maniac , ” john burton , the chairman of the california democratic party , said about mr. trump . referring to a famous 1964 political message , he said , “ you could run the old l. b. j. ad against goldwater , with ‘ three , two , one,’ and a hydrogen bomb blows up with a little girl counting daisies . ” of course , mr. trump faces many hurdles himself , and has stumbled in managing his growing campaign as he shifts toward a general election . but democrats suggest that the past few weeks have shown that mrs. clinton and her aides must become more agile and creative against him . the sense of nervousness crystallized this week when mrs. clinton devoted campaign events across california to hitting mr. trump for not releasing his tax returns and depicting him as a cold corporate titan who profited off the housing crisis . such charges helped undermine mr. romney four years ago . yet mrs. clinton ’s remarks received little coverage in the news media , while cable channels went live with mr. trump ’s recitation of “ crooked hillary , ” his favored nickname for her . ken salazar , the former colorado senator who has been mentioned as a possible clinton running mate , said the campaign should draw a sharp contrast between mr. trump ’s shortcomings and mrs. clinton ’s potential to be “ the most qualified person to be president in our lifetime . ” “ the campaign needs to expose donald trump as the opposite — selfish , egomaniac , divisive and unqualified to be president , ” mr. salazar said in an email . jennifer palmieri , a spokeswoman for the clinton campaign , said that the news coverage mr. trump is receiving is not helping him . she said that unlike mr. trump , who uses “ nothing but his own mouth , ” mrs. clinton has a campaign that employs many methods of communication , including videos , respected surrogates and bilingual outreach . “ we hear from friends who think we should act more like trump or criticize us for sometimes using traditional communications tactics , ” she said . “ but we do n’t think that ’s the answer . ” as a candidate , mrs. clinton is not without her own issues to overcome , including her inability to quickly put away senator bernie sanders and her use of a private email server when she was secretary of state , feeding a perception she is not trustworthy . in a report delivered this past week to congress , the state department ’s inspector general strongly criticized her for the practice . but it is the campaign ’s approach to mr. trump that is making even mrs. clinton ’s most loyal supporters uneasy . senator chuck schumer of new york is concerned that she lacks a comprehensive strategy to confront mr. trump , and has told democrats that the clinton campaign must bring on a senior staff member dedicated only to the trump portfolio . “ as soon as she clinches the nomination , we need a person in the campaign whose sole job is to respond to trump , almost on an hourly basis , ” said mr. schumer , who has begun conversations with clinton officials about who could fill that role . during a conference call this month , female supporters pressed mrs. clinton ’s advisers about her message — which has as a slogan “ breaking down barriers ” — and whether it needs to shift for the general election . “ the message will be broadening , ” karen finney , a senior adviser , explained , according to a transcript of the call obtained by the new york times . “ but , ” she added , leaving some participants perplexed , “ breaking down barriers and unity will continue to be part of the theme because hillary believes we need to come together as a country in many ways . ” debates have broken out in mrs. clinton ’s brooklyn headquarters over the best approach to take . some advisers worry that by running against mr. trump as she would a traditional republican candidate , mrs. clinton is actually making the star appear more legitimate . this month , when mr. trump suggested he would reduce the national debt by negotiating with creditors to accept something less than full payment , economists dismissed the idea as fanciful . hours later , the clinton campaign sent out a news release about mr. trump ’s “ risky ” idea of defaulting on the national debt with a response from gene sperling , formerly a senior economic adviser to both president obama and mr. clinton , condemning the idea . the seriousness of the campaign ’s response seemed to elevate a nonsensical proposal . “ that is a danger , ” said dan pfeiffer , a former senior adviser to mr. obama . “ you have to take the threat of trump becoming president seriously , but you should n’t treat him as a serious person . ” at the same time , mrs. clinton ’s attempts at poking mr. trump have felt tame compared with what he has unleashed . the day after he accused her husband of rape on fox news this month , she told cnn , “ i have concluded he is not qualified to be president . ” her aides were exuberant that mrs. clinton , a cautious candidate who for weeks had demurred when asked if mr. trump was up to the job , had finally publicly declared him unfit . but to many clinton allies , it felt like a tepid tactic from yesteryear . “ sometimes , you get the feeling that they ’re in a professional boxing match and he ’s in a street fight , and they ’re coming in with their gloves on , ” said the rev. al sharpton , expressing dismay over the clinton operation ’s apparent lack of appetite for combat . “ this is a street fight with a guy with a razor and a broken bottle , ” he added , “ and you ’ve got to fight him like that . ” ms. palmieri said , “ each tactic we use is designed for a particular purpose to either engage the press or reach a certain audience . ” any aggressive approach by mrs. clinton is potentially dangerous , however , because recent polls show she is viewed negatively by a majority of the electorate . the campaign says it intends to go after mr. trump more forcefully , particularly on national security and his business record , after june 7 , when mrs. clinton is expected to officially clinch her party ’s nomination . for now , her aides appear to be throwing ideas against a wall to see what sticks , including trying out different monikers after the democratic national committee ’s “ dangerous donald ” flopped . an internal favorite is “ poor donald , ” with its implication that mr. trump , famously defensive about his net worth , is not nearly as wealthy as he lets on . her advisers also say that a large percentage of voters have not yet paid attention to the details of the race and do not know about mr. trump ’s business dealings or that he has refused to release his taxes . “ it would n’t be a general election without some early from washington insiders , ” said robby mook , mrs. clinton ’s campaign manager . he noted that the campaign had attacked mr. trump over the tax returns and for his “ demeaning millions of americans . ” “ our campaign has already shown the resolve to take him on and put him on defense in ways his republican challengers never could , ” mr. mook added . william m. daley , mr. obama ’s former white house chief of staff , attributed any early shortcomings in taking on mr. trump to mrs. clinton ’s prolonged primary battle against mr. sanders . the period between the june 7 contests and the july convention will reshape the race , he said . to that end , joel benenson , mrs. clinton ’s pollster and chief strategist , pointed out that at this stage in the 2008 primary battle against mrs. clinton , mr. obama led senator john mccain by only two percentage points . he went on to defeat mr. mccain by 7 . 2 percentage points . it is clear , however , that democrats are no longer mocking mr. trump . many of them seem determined instead to understand his appeal . in an interview on friday , gov. john hickenlooper of colorado said he had purchased and begun reading mr. trump ’s book “ the art of the deal . ” the governor said he remained confident that mrs. clinton would ultimately win , but added that “ she has to be careful , because now he has momentum . ”
+0 elle : publishing milo ’s book ’will endanger human lives’ - breitbart ben kew french lifestyle magazine elle has claimed that the publisher simon schuster ’s decision to offer milo a $ 250 , 000 book deal is irresponsible as it will “ endanger human lives . ” [ joining in the mass media outrage over the book deal , elle columnist sady doyle made a range of extraordinary claims about breitbart ’s senior editor , such as the idea that “ he openly despises people who play video games , ” and that he has become “ a key player in the rise of . ” here ’s me ! on milo ’s book deal , professional abusers , and the ethics of : https : . — sady doyle ( @sadydoyle ) january 3 , 2017 , however the most shocking part of doyle ’s article was her claim “ there is good reason to believe that publishing it [ the book ] will endanger human lives . ” doyle argued that the book will be weaponised by milo in order to target certain individuals , whose lives will consequently “ go up in flames . ” “ the harassment that follows a brush with milo is n’t light teasing it ’s violent assault , ” she wrote . doyle also claimed that “ yiannopoulos’ tactics are becoming increasingly widespread , simply because terror and the fear of bodily harm is a very effective way to silence opposition , ” adding that “ on the internet , the line between words and actions is terminally blurry . ” dangerous is available to now via amazon , in hardcover and kindle editions . and yes , milo is reading the audiobook version himself ! you can follow ben kew on facebook , on twitter at @ben_kew , or email him at bkew@breitbart . com
+1 yes , ' jihad ' means warfare against unbelievers edjenner go to article nothing ought to be plainer , and yet nothing is more obscured , than the meaning of the islamic concept of jihad . even if its meaning were at all unclear , every day islamic jihadists do their best to remind us of what it is . the confusion arises , of course , from the fact that jihad and related concepts are the object of a massive misinformation and disinformation campaign , making books such as william kilpatrick ’s the politically incorrect guide to jihad so vitally necessary . kilpatrick covers that propaganda campaign ably in this lucid and genial book , which not only explains from islamic texts and teachings why isis and boko haram ( and other jihad terror groups ) are not only not un - islamic , as is frequently claimed , but quintessentially islamic – for the qur’an , as kilpatrick explains , commands jihad , and muhammad , who is considered in islamic theology to the perfect man , to be imitated by muslims whenever , wherever , and however possible , not only commanded jihad warfare but waged it himself . kilpatrick also helpfully takes up common objections to this line of argumentation – notably the question of why , if islam really teaches warfare against unbelievers and their subjugation under the hegemony of islamic law , most muslims are peaceful . “ peaceful islam , ” kilpatrick points out , “ which western leaders are counting on to win out over the more violent versions touted by the terrorists , is a holdover from the long - dead colonial era . ” indeed so : the formulation of jihad as primarily an interior spiritual struggle was touted by islamic scholars at the height of the colonial period , so as to allow for accommodation of the colonial occupiers , who were n’t going away in the foreseeable future . once they did abscond , however , the conditions that called forth such accommodative teachings no longer existed , and saudi - funded jihad preachers traversed the globe calling muslims back to jihad , “ the forgotten obligation ” of warfare against unbelievers . the politically incorrect guide to jihad shows that this transition had nothing to do with poverty among muslims or discrimination against them , and indeed , that no conciliation or concession on the part of western non - muslims will ever blunt the force of the jihad imperative , since it is rooted in islamic theological principles that are not susceptible to the prevailing political winds . the most valuable sections , however , of this useful and engaging book are the second , “ jihad without bombs , ” and the third , “ defeating jihad . ” for even as violent jihad becomes an increasingly common feature of the western landscape , more insidious and damaging in the long run may be the stealth jihad that proceeds due to the appeasement policies that western governments indefatigably pursue , and the politically correct straitjacket on the public discourse that has for well over a decade now hindered , and usually prevented outright , honest discussion in the mainstream media of the nature and magnitude of this threat . kilpatrick points out that “ according to reporters without borders , the u.s. has dropped to forty - sixth place in press freedom . ” one of the principal ways in which the press today reveals itself to be a mouthpiece of moneyed elites is in its deliberate attempts to obfuscate the ideological roots of the jihad threat , and its ongoing campaign , every time there is a jihad attack , to inundate us with articles explaining that islam is really quite wonderful and has nothing to do with this violence , nothing at all . but kilpatrick details how the media and governing elites are not in the least singular in appearing determined to foster complacency and ignorance among the people they should be enlightening and protecting . the churches are in on the act as well : “ christians , ” writes kilpatrick , “ have been lulled into complacency by the oft - repeated emphasis on the similarities between their faith and the faith of muslims ” – an emphasis all too many church leaders , including , of course , pope francis , relentlessly hammer home , heedless of the danger in which they are putting their flock by leaving them intellectually , spiritually , and physically defenseless in the face of an advancing and growing threat . that ’s why the most apposite sentence in this entire book is the second sentence of the chapter headed “ strategies for victory ” : “ first we ’ve got to get serious . ” the west suffers from a collective lack of seriousness that could , in the end , be fatal . the frivolity is at the top , fueled by globalist internationalists who are using the complacency the media , the government and the church are fostering for their own ends . the politically incorrect guide to jihad is the perfect book for those who do n’t know just how bad things are , and how likely they are to get even worse – as well as for all who wish to chart a way out of this madness . it can be done . william kilpatrick does it , quite well , in this book .
+1 time magazine reaches new low : it ’s “ sexist ” to investigate hillary clinton ! ” shelby andrews 0 comments with just days to go until the election , the democrats are trying to salvage what little remains of hillary clinton ’s reputation . time magazine is now trying to defend the left - wing candidate with a last resort – using the sexism card . as we get closer to election day , the left seems to be running out of excuses for their floundering candidate . left - wing heads are on the verge of exploding . not unlike the galaxy s7 . so , in time magazine ’s latest attempt to play off hillary clinton ’s fbi investigation , they ’re digging deep and pulling out … the sexism card ? ! i am mad . i am mad because i am scared . and if you are a woman , you should be , too . emailgate is a bitch hunt , but the target is not hillary clinton . it ’s us . no it is n’t . emailgate , or my preferred term “ dikileaks ” is about a candidate mishandling confidential email . a flagrant abuse of the law and our national security . also , hillary clinton does n’t represent all women . but nice try , dummy . 1 the only reason the whole email flap has legs is because the candidate is female . can you imagine this happening to a man ? clinton is guilty of swf ( speaking while female ) , and emailgate is just a reminder to us all that she has no business doing what she ’s doing and must be punished , for the sake of all decent women everywhere . there is so much of that going around . actually yes , we can imagine this happening to a man . men can not hide behind their vagina , or time readers’ stupidity . which means they ’re usually punished . see also general petraeus . hillary clinton , on the other hand , is running for president . she might even win . while under fbi investigation . so “ muh sexism ” charges are lazy . and insulting to anyone who has three brain cells ( like the writer of the time article ) . the people are demanding clinton act like moral exemplars , thundering from the pulpit like jonathan edwards or cotton mather . but donald trump , rudy giuliani , chris christie , newt gingrich , rush limbaugh and their many conservative friends are not remotely clinton ’s moral superiors . they are simply bullies , using gender discrimination to give a veneer of plausibility to their accusations . “ moral exemplars ” ? “ thundering from the pulpit ” ? no , time magazine feminist shill , robin lakoff . people are demanding hillary clinton not be a criminal liar . not really that much to ask of someone who wants to lead the country . trump and the other men on time magazine ’s list have n’t done anything illegal . that ’s the difference , not their sex organs . not their fashion choices . evidence is piling up against hillary more and more each day . even the mainstream media is turning against her . which means pantsuits or regular suits enter not into the hillary is a criminal equation . her investigation is n’t about sexism . it ’s about hillary breaking the law . but desperate time calls for predictable , desperate measures : sexism ! just as any criticism of obama was deemed racism . leftists are running out of defenses for the pantsuited devil - spawn . so they resort to old hat tactics . just like they do when they say wikileaks is the product of russian hackers . if we had a brick for every clinton scandal and misdeed , the wall would n’t cost a cent . there ’s nothing sexist about holding someone , male or female , accountable for their actions . in fact , it ’s kind of the opposite . it would be sexist not to hold hillary to the same standards as all the boys . this is absolutely ridiculous . it ’s not that we are against having a woman for president . we ’re just against that woman being hillary because she is corrupt and a pathological liar . related items
+0 visions of snowflakes dance in bill o’reilly ’s head in ‘ old school’ - the new york times janet maslin the fox news host bill o’reilly finds many ways to congratulate the readers of his new book , “ old school , ” for their wisdom . written with bruce feirstein , “ old school ” is meant to set forth the code of decency , honor and determination that made o’reilly what he is today . the lack of these virtues , the book argues , has created whiners , tweeters , helicopter parents , employees who do n’t use briefcases and worse . all these miscreants are labeled “ snowflakes , ” though that ’s getting rusty . a new epithet would have been nice . the trouble is that old distinctions are not that clear . sometimes old school is just old . and if you ’re old school — “ you still bend over to pick up a penny , ” “ you put everything away in the kitchen before you go to bed at night ” — does n’t being old school also require you to write your own book about your principles ? o’reilly has written half a book . he relies heavily on the “ over to you , feirstein ” segue for the rest . more trouble : did these two ever decide what snowflake was supposed to mean ? it ’s an knock that they use for spinelessness , stupidity , political correctness and ’reillyian political leanings . they ’ve left it so vague that one of o’reilly ’s definitions might get him into trouble with one of his most outspoken friends . “ we all know snowflakes , ” he writes , “ the people who blame everyone else for their failures , who look to others to solve their problems , who are sooooo sensitive to every slight . ” that puts a snowflake in chief in the oval office . this is an especially inopportune moment for o’reilly to be lecturing anybody about morals . “ old school ” hits the top of the new york times nonfiction list just as his popular tv show , “ the o’reilly factor , ” is hemorrhaging sponsors because women at fox , angered by what they deemed o’reilly ’s predatory behavior , took his advice . ( “ never let anyone treat you badly . that ’s old school . ” ) o’reilly ’s recent series of steroidal history books written with martin dugard , starting with “ killing lincoln ” in 2011 , is popular for much better reasons . those books are compressed , not padded in the way “ old school ” is . they boil big stories down to the good parts , treating accuracy as no obstacle . and they do n’t play off the toxic atmosphere that has prevailed since the start of the 2016 election cycle . it ’s astounding that “ old school , ” a book built on divisive can complain about tv comics’ alienating half of the viewing population by being politically slanted . o’reilly tells a few stories from his childhood that are meant to explain where his own values come from . he grew up in levittown , on long island , in a household where the kids were taught to be decent and to work hard if they wanted money . these stories can be strange , like the one when a young bill used his father ’s new mower on a neighbor ’s lawn . bill got angry when the neighbor complained that bill had n’t cut the grass under the shrubbery . it could n’t have been done without damaging the lawn mower , so the neighbor handed bill a pair of shears . bill cut the grass angrily , took his pay and went home . he told his father the story . his father called the guy an imbecile . the lesson of work hard no matter what somehow morphed into a connection between earning money and calling people imbeciles — or pinheads , the o’reilly term of art . o’reilly and feirstein are old friends who met at boston university in 1974 . their story is one of the best anecdotes here . feirstein was writing a column for the college paper , using it to lampoon the school ’s rich kids and their antics . ( he would later move on to spy and vanity fair . ) one day , he found a big guy looming over him “ with something between a scowl and a smile on his face , ” shaking his head . “ you ’re not looking out for the folks , ” o’reilly scolded , telling feirstein to give more serious focus to graduate and commuting students than to the “ types ” o’reilly already scorned . o’reilly makes a visible effort to be fair when it comes time to create an honor roll of individuals . most controversially for his readership , he comes very , very close to putting barack obama on the . he writes admiringly of obama ’s character , values and behavior as a parent . his grievance is that obama failed to stage a rock concert that o’reilly had put together to benefit my brother ’s keeper , an initiative to help mentor kids . o’reilly thinks the former president torpedoed it for political reasons . “ by the way , when was the last time you heard anything about my brother ’s keeper ? ” he asks . he could easily have looked that up . a month after the election , obama spoke about continuing to support it . the biggest and easiest target for “ old school ” is school itself . colleges and universities have provided abundant fodder for a book like this to roll out stories that will shock some portions of the general population . those who have n’t kept up on the state of pronouns and gender politics have surprises in store . anyone who remembers when the main issue surrounding college cafeteria food was edibility may be surprised at how much controversy cultural appropriation ( e. g. the making of inauthentic ethnic foods ) can generate . in a satirical letter from “ snowflake u ( formerly known as thomas jefferson university ) , ” somebody ( probably feirstein ) crams real examples of the extreme cosseting and cultural warfare that goes on in academia , where high tuition empowers students in ways the real world may not after graduation . heavily footnoted ( the examples check out ) the letter presents a hellish vision of this warfare gone amok . and it ’s worth anyone ’s taking seriously , because o’reilly ’s core readership will take it as gospel . one more note about the degree of effort that went into “ old school ” : o’reilly has let himself become the one billionth person to write the line , “ as dylan sang , the times they were . ’ ”
+0 fair play in a fact - challenged political landscape - the new york times jim rutenberg the fourth of july is my favorite holiday . i am from philadelphia . and i write a column about media . what better way , then , to celebrate the fourth in this space than to quote that great philadelphian benjamin franklin , an editor and signer of the declaration of independence and a founding father of the independent american press ? there ’s one franklin statement in particular that has a special resonance right now , something he wrote in his pennsylvania gazette : “ it is a principle among printers that when truth has fair play , it will always prevail over falsehood . ” the operative phrase is “ when truth has fair play . ” now , think about the last year in global and american politics . then ask yourself , “ does it ? ” i can make a pretty strong argument for “ does not . ” exhibit a comes by way of cnn , which waded into new territory a few days ago by hiring corey lewandowski , donald j. trump ’s recently fired campaign manager , as an commentator . reporters and media critics have devoted a lot of ink and pixels to mr. lewandowski ’s hiring . how could the network enlist someone who had been arrested for roughly pulling michelle fields , the former breitbart news reporter , away from mr. trump as she tried to interview him at a public event ? ( prosecutors in florida dropped the charges , but they did not dispute the incident . ) what kind of message was cnn sending by hiring a political operative associated with some of the most aggressive behavior in modern political history , an enforcer of the trump campaign ’s media blacklist ? but the true journalistic heart stopper was contained in the news that mr. lewandowski was bound by what even mr. lewandowski described as a “ strict confidentiality agreement . ” neither cnn nor mr. lewandowski has provided details about its stipulations ( though they should ) . but the associated press unearthed a standard trump nondisclosure form that prohibits staff from disclosing anything “ of a private , proprietary or confidential nature . ” and who gets to decide what should be private and confidential ? mr. trump , of course . the agreement also includes a clause . and it applies during employment with mr. trump ’s campaign and “ at all times thereafter , ” which is another way of saying “ forever . ” it wo n’t smash the republic . still , in a small but significant way , mr. lewandowski ’s hiring represents a signal moment in political journalism ’s evolving embrace of political operatives : a major mainstream news organization is using a commentator who is legally prohibited from sharing the unvarnished truth on the subject — mr. trump — he was hired to talk about . some of the media criticism that followed mr. lewandowski ’s hiring questioned the ruckus around it , given that television news already has its share of conflicted pundits tied to “ super pacs ” or clients with business at stake in the political debate . cnn ’s thinking apparently holds that mr. lewandowski provides balance for the network at a time when many of its regular republican analysts are trump detractors . in that case , they could ask , how does a nondisclosure agreement get in the way of mr. lewandowski ’s role as a trump booster ? after all , as paul farhi of the washington post captured so comprehensively last month , all of the television news networks — hardly just cnn — hire commentators who play specific roles on their panels : “ ” “ ” democrat , republican centrist , rightist , leftist . in presidential election cycles , such rates well in the nielsen numbers . but , going back to my fellow philadelphian , wise old ben : what happens to the balance between truth and falsehood when an important portion of the national news media hands the political debate over to partisan operatives who , as a rule , skew the facts — or abandon them — in the service of their own political ends or business interests ? there ’s a glaring cautionary answer to be found across the pond , in britain , where the media is avowedly more partisan , especially in the tabloid newspapers that continue to hold great sway . in the to the startling vote there to leave the european union , and for many years before , the larger and more conservative newspapers ran aggressive campaigns pushing for what became known as brexit . one of the biggest proponents of the exit was former mayor boris johnson of london , who was , after all , a onetime reporter for the times of london and the daily telegraph , where he still writes a column . ( he was fired from the times for fabricating a quote . ) as martin fletcher , a former associate editor of the times of london , wrote last week in the new york times , mr. johnson made his name as a journalist writing about the plans of bureaucrats in the european union to “ ban britain ’s favorite potato chips ” and “ standardize condom sizes . ” the articles , mr. fletcher wrote , “ bore scant relation to the truth , ” but they helped spawn an union movement in british journalism just the same . as the vote approached , newspapers — including the sun , the daily mail , the express and the telegraph — wrote stories that exaggerated how many immigrants were coming to britain because of its e. u. membership and their effects on social services , reported that queen elizabeth ii was secretly and quoted claims from politicians that britain was sending 350 million pounds ( $ 464 million ) a week to the european union that could be used instead to shore up the national health service . the independent press standards organization in britain issued several rulings for inaccuracy — including one for the headline “ queen backs brexit , ” which ran in the sun . but the partisan press climate meant all facts were up for debate . nothing could stand out as platonic truth . after the vote passed , nigel farage , a leading brexit campaigner , said the vote leave campaign had been mistaken in saying the savings from the £ 350 million that supposedly went to the e. u. — itself misleading — could be used for the health service . that was followed by various expressions of regret by some voters who now believe they were misled . “ the context for the referendum vote was a public which had been poorly ” informed , “ if not misinformed about the issue , ” the former guardian editor alan rusbridger told me . the media in the united states is not quite where britain ’s is in terms of partisanship , though it seems to inch closer every year . and cable news is not the sole driver of political knowledge . but it can be the center ring for political discourse , especially in prime time . what happens there can drive a major campaign theme for the following day or longer . in the case of mr. trump ’s surrogates , they regularly go on television to push the point of the day from a candidate who , according to the organization politifact , has asserted more outright falsehoods than all the other candidates who ran for president this year combined . politifact rated 60 percent of mr. trump ’s statements as false , compared with 13 percent of hillary clinton ’s . jeffrey lord , a trump supporter and a commentator on cnn , told the cnn host brian stelter that such analyses were an “ elitist , thing . ” but the amount of falsity on cable news nonetheless requires a lot of declarations of “ that ’s nonsense ” in a medium that does n’t provide a lot of room for it . mr. lewandowski has frequently wandered past the bounds of truth , including when he said he never touched ms. fields . videotape showed the opposite . to its credit , cnn does have a crew of aggressive anchors like jake tapper , alisyn camerota and erin burnett , all of whom have pushed mr. lewandowski for as unvarnished a view of mr. trump as he could offer . mr. lewandowski told ms. burnett he ’d call “ balls and strikes ” in spite of his agreement with mr. trump . but when he weighed in on mr. trump ’s big economic speech last tuesday , all he saw was a home run ( “ mr . trump ’s best speech of the presidential cycle , ” he gushed ) . mr. franklin was all for providing a multitude of voices through his press . “ when men differ in opinion , both sides ought to equally have the advantage of being heard by the publick , ” he wrote in his “ apology for printers . ” in a twist on the quote i used above , he added , “ when truth and error have fair play , the former is always an overmatch for the latter . ” let ’s give it a try .
+1 christ 's burial place exposed for 1st time in centuries -no author- christ 's burial place exposed for 1st time in centuries restorers uncover stone slab venerated as resting place of jesus published : 11 mins ago ( national geographic ) for the first time in centuries , scientists have exposed the original surface of what is traditionally considered the tomb of jesus christ . located in the church of the holy sepulchre in the old city of jerusalem , the tomb has been covered by marble cladding since at least 1555 a.d. , and most likely centuries earlier . “ the marble covering of the tomb has been pulled back , and we were surprised by the amount of fill material beneath it , ” said fredrik hiebert , archaeologist - in - residence at the national geographic society , a partner in the restoration project . “ it will be a long scientific analysis , but we will finally be able to see the original rock surface on which , according to tradition , the body of christ was laid . ”
+1 [ election 2016 ] nostradamus predictions 2016 for usa : world war 3 & donald trump predicted ! pakalert source add to the conversation using facebook comments
+0 a rare venture capitalist — female and retail - focused - the new york times katie benner and michael j. de la merced san francisco — kirsten green had only dabbled in investing in before she began a venture capital fund in 2012 . what she had instead was years of experience covering the retail business as an analyst on wall street . so ms. green , 45 , parlayed that retail knowledge into her venture capital endeavors and used it to bring specialized advice to her companies . in one of her first moves as a venture capitalist , she was part of a $ 1 million investment into dollar shave club , then a tiny company , which sells razors to consumers online . later , she invested in jet . com , an that was vocal about wanting to take on amazon . last year , both those hit the jackpot : unilever bought dollar shave club for $ 1 billion , while walmart purchased jet . com for $ 3 . 3 billion . for ms. green , that translated into a bonanza of returns . thinking about “ the acquirers , the state of the public markets , how a business is being valued — that ’s an essential way to understand the overall ecosystem ” of said ms. green , whose venture firm , forerunner ventures , is based in san francisco . the dollar shave club and jet . com deals have helped vault ms. green this year to no . 12 among the top 50 venture capitalists in the world , according to data compiled by cb insights , a research firm that tracks venture capital . other venture capitalists on the list also landed their spots partly because of big sales or initial public offerings of their including the recent i. p. o. of snap , the maker of the ephemeral messaging app snapchat . the place of ms. green , who did not rank in the top 20 last year , on the list demonstrates that the real measure of success in venture capital is how much a is worth when it sells or goes public . that is especially so now as the rate of sales and i. p. o.s — known as investment exits — is expected to pick up in 2017 after a long lull , according to renaissance capital , which tracks public offerings . this year has already seen strong stock market debuts from snap and corporate software maker mulesoft . that means the venture capitalists who nurtured those businesses can finally reap some cash . “ the fact that we ’re seeing more exits , and a stronger opportunity for exits , is a good thing , ” said theresa s. hajer , a managing director at cambridge associates , an investment advisory firm . knowing when to sell a or take it public remains as important as deciding to sell . founders fund , a venture firm started by the investor peter thiel , had put money into stemcentrx , which makes a drug . last year , stemcentrx agreed to sell itself to the drug maker abbvie for $ 5 . 8 billion , an amount that generated returns exceeding the $ 625 million fund that founders fund had used to invest in the company . “ it ’s clearly important to generate realized returns , but the question is still when , ” said brian singerman , the founders partner who oversaw the stemcentrx investment and who is no . 5 on the list of top 20 venture capitalists . cb insights put together the list using criteria such as the size of a return an investor was able to generate when his or her investments went public or were acquired . the firm focused on the performance of investors since 2009 for the list . ms. green is an unorthodox venture capitalist for several reasons . apart from having never worked at a venture capital firm before starting her own in 2012 , she is also a woman in a field . ( of the top 20 venture investors this year , only two were women . ) and unlike many generalist venture investors , who work in a range of areas , ms. green focuses specifically on commerce and other . investors have tried for years to find the next amazon or ebay , often with little success . recent failures include fab . com , one kings lane , shoedazzle and gilt , all of which were financed by investment firms including andreessen horowitz , greylock partners and general atlantic . ms. green ’s roots in retail run deep . she began her career as an accountant auditing retailers . in the late 1990s , she covered those companies as a stock analyst for montgomery securities , studying wonky measurements like customer traffic in retail locations and a store ’s profitability per square foot . she also observed the rise of brands like abercrombie fitch , coach and ugg . she soon concluded that online commerce would underpin the next generation of important retail brands , but that consumers would not rely on just one way to shop . with the rise of amazon and other online retailers , ms. green saw more bankruptcy filings from traditional retailers , as well as news of store closings and reports of market share shifts . but she also saw stores do well when companies could make an emotional connection with shoppers and better analyze their behavior . “ retail is now totally propelled by consumers and their needs , ” she said . “ people can buy what they want in any way that they want it . that trend started a long time ago , and it has really changed everything . ” in 2003 , ms. green decided to jump from analyzing this shift to investing in it . for a time , she worked as a consultant to a private equity firm before turning to venture capital because of her interest in young companies . in 2010 , she raised an angel investment fund to make investments in companies like birchbox , a cosmetics subscription service , and warby parker , an eyeglasses retailer , while she studied how to raise a venture fund . in 2012 , ms. green raised a $ 40 million venture fund . the investment firm cendana capital contributed $ 10 million , despite the fact that she had never worked as a traditional investor or tech entrepreneur . “ when we talked to founders she had worked with , they all said that she had the best expertise and gave the best advice , ” michael kim , a managing partner at cendana , said of ms. green . with that fund , ms. green helped lead a $ 1 million investment into dollar shave club when the was valued at just $ 5 million . she also joined the company ’s board . after ms. green invested in jet . com in 2014 , she chatted with jet ’s executives almost weekly about matters including strategy and potential acquisitions , said katie finnegan , who was the online retailer ’s head of corporate development . ms. finnegan said jet still consults with ms. green even after the company ’s sale to walmart . ms. green has “ a real instinct for brands , ” said rachel blumenthal , the founder of the children ’s apparel rockets of awesome , which sends subscribers a customized box of clothing for every new season . ms. blumenthal got to know ms. green from warby parker , which was founded by ms. blumenthal ’s husband , neil . ms. green invested in rockets of awesome last year and has brought her opinions about consumer behavior to the . at a recent company board meeting , ms. green argued that the online retailer ’s subscription box needed to remain distinct from its other packaging . ms. blumenthal agreed , saying that making the box “ the crown jewel of the customer experience ” was the right decision because it was one of the most powerful ways to reach consumers and to learn about them . ms. green currently serves on more than 10 company boards , including for the men ’s clothing company bonobos , the makeup brand glossier and the women ’s vitamin company ritual . she has also had her share of flops . threadflip , an online consignment store in which she had invested , shut down last year and became part of le tote , a service that lets users rent clothing . as for exits , ms. green said she tells entrepreneurs that she expects them to take the companies public or sell to a buyer as soon as appropriate . of the 30 companies in her first fund , eight have been acquired . in her second $ 75 million fund , which she raised in 2014 , two companies have been acquired , including jet . com . “ now that people are bombarded with information , we are in a golden age where brands matter , ” ms. green said . “ i want to be part of this new era . ”
+1 baby with down syndrome lands modeling gig howard portnoy [ ed . – way to go , asher ! way to go , asher ’s parents ! ] asher nash may only be 15-months old , but he ’s got the face of an angel . his mother knew of her son ’s potential , despite his disability , and wanted an opportunity for him to be represented in the modeling world . but meagan nash ran into some issues : a talent agency would n’t even send out asher ’s photos — they would n’t even give him a shot . her story was picked up by a few local organizations , all fighting for asher . “ the second reason , which is very near and dear to my heart , is acceptance . without truly accepting my son and others with special needs , there can be no inclusion for them in the future , ” meagan said . soon , her story went viral , and the children ’s line oshkosh b’gosh responded , offering little asher a spot in their 2017 campaign . “ i do n’t want [ oshkosh ] to use him because of this fuss we are making on the internet . i want them to use him because they value him and see how much he could contribute to their advertisement , ” nash said .
+1 the shame , the heartbreak- another day in america nan - advertisement - here 's the thing : today , october 27 , 2016 , i , like many of you , watched live feeds of the events going down at standing rock . i am at a loss to define my feelings . anger , outrage , pity , fear ... one phrase kept going through my mind , like a mantra- this is not my america . this is not my america . this is not my america . protests at dapl license dmca and then in counter - point was the thought- but it is . but it is . but it is . over one hundred heavily armed cops in riot gear , supported by military assault vehicles and helicopters forced peaceful , prayerful water protectors from their own land , ceded to them in the treaty of 1851 . the police are nothing more than a mercenary army protecting the interests of the owners of the dapl . there was the wail of sound cannons aimed at the protectors , there was tear gas . there were rubber bullets being fired into the crowd . and in my mind- this is not my america ( but it is ) this is not my america ( but it is ) this is not my america ( but it is ) this is about water . there 's no political ideology here . we can not live without water . decisions are being made that effect the future , and the lives of our children and our grandchildren . this effects all of us . it 's not just happening " out there " in the dakotas or in iowa or in texas or in new mexico . it 's everywhere . for god sake , there are already over 2.5 million miles pipeline already installed in the continental united states . just the other day , mere miles from where i live a sunoco pipeline leaked over 55,000 gallons of gasoline into the susquehanna river , endangering the water for over 6 million people down river . where i live , in northeastern pennsylvania , there are fracking wells all over the place . and an average of 2.8 million of gallons of clean water were filled with known poisons and toxins and pumped under pressure into the aquifer beneath my feet . there are places within miles of where i live that people can set fire to their water . it 's too late for anyone to avoid the destruction , here where i live . we have to deal with the aftermath . the after the fact poisoning of our water and the inevitable leaks and the illnesses and the pockets of strange cancers . this is a shameful day , for all of us . i am sick , in heart , mind and spirit , but i have hope . the battle has n't even started . now is when decisions must be made . hard decisions that will impact on our own sense of comfort and will demand that we risk that comfort , or lose the future . to do nothing is to accept that our children , and our grandchildren will have no clean water to drink , no clean air to breathe , no clean land to live on . this is not overstating the things . it is not alarmist . it is the simplest of truths . - advertisement -
+1 чем закончатся изменения региональной динамики на ближнем востоке | новое восточное обозрение nan как отмечает в своей новой статье ветеран боевых действий сша гордон даф , сегодня в « большой региональной игре » стороны меняют свою приверженность настолько же быстро , насколько заключают новые союзы. так , турция и саудовская аравия планируют усилить поддержку даиш , пока вашингтон занимает неопределенную позицию по этому вопросу. тель-авив , со своей стороны , посылает недвусмысленные сигналы о том , что все контакты с белым домом « отныне нужно держать через него » , на что уже , судя по всему , отреагировал иран , который помнит обещания трампа об отмене договора по иранской ядерной программе. после того , как боевики хамас начали переправляться цру в лагеря подготовки даиш , практически ни одна из региональных держав публично не возражает против дальнейшей оккупации израилем палестинских территорий. в условиях , когда роль сша сокращается в регионе , а анкара и тель-авив значительно усиливают свои позиции , встает вопрос : не попытаются ли они ударить москве в спину ? с полной версией статьи вы можете ознакомиться здесь . популярные статьи
+0 pro football hall of fame releases rare lombardi super bowl i press conference audio - breitbart dylan gwinn the pro football hall of fame has done something truly great , and exclusively released rare audio from vince lombardi ’s super bowl i press conference . [ the incredible historical sound can be heard here : for historical perspective , the packers crushed the chiefs . the packers and the chiefs could have met again in the super bowl this year , had the steelers not ruined that by beating the chiefs over the weekend . how amazing to listen to nfl teams playing each other as , “ interleague play . ” not exactly a term anyone nowadays normally attaches to the nfl . and how about that whopping $ 15 , 000 for the winner of the super bowl ? why , those packers could go out and buy three 1967 pontiac gtos with all that coin ! kind of puts things in perspective , does n’t it ? follow dylan gwinn on twitter : @themightygwinn
+0 l.a. # resist rally will replace gay pride rally - breitbart adelle nazarian on sunday , june 11 , a “ resist march ” against president donald trump will replace the los angeles gay pride parade . [ “ when they come for one of us , they come for all of us . join the resistance at resistmarch . org , ” a banner on the march ’s website reads . according to a video on the website , posted by canadian indie pop twin teagan and sara , the march will start at “ 8 a. m. sharp ” at the corner of hollywood boulevard and highland avenue . “ it ’s time that we all stand together , as one , and resist . ” southern california public radio ( scpr ) reported that the march will end with the l. a. pride festival in west hollywood . breitbart news previously reported that the annual gay pride parade had been canceled in favor of the resist march . the festival will cause the shutdown of several major roads in west hollywood , some of which have already been shut . scpr noted that san vicente boulevard was closed between santa monica boulevard and melrose avenue starting at 7 p. m. on thursday , june 8 , and that it will remain closed through 10 a. m. on monday , june 12 . hollywood boulevard will reportedly be closed off between la brea and highland avenue as early as 6 a. m. through noon on sunday . scpr also noted that the following streets will be closed as early as 8 a. m. and will reopen as the “ resist ” march passes through : in charlotte , north carolina , gay trump supporters were denied in their effort to join the gay pride parade on a float , according to the associated press . adelle nazarian is a politics and national security reporter for breitbart news . follow her on facebook and twitter .
+0 nikki haley leads walkout on un nuclear weapons ban meeting - breitbart frances martel american ambassador to the united nations nikki haley announced monday that her country and a list of nearly forty others would not participate in a meeting to pass an international nuclear weapons ban , calling the proposal “ naive ” and warning that “ bad actors ” like north korea would take advantage of it . [ haley ’s opposition to a global nuclear weapons ban — which she argues only responsible nations would follow , leaving them vulnerable to attack from rogue states — follows multiple calls from the trump administration to modernize the american nuclear weapons arsenal . “ you are going to see almost 40 countries that are not in the general assembly today , ” haley told reporters on monday . “ to ban nuclear weapons now would make us and our allies more vulnerable , and would strengthen bad actors like north korea and iran who would not abide by it . ” “ there is nothing i want more for my family than a world with no nuclear weapons . but we have to be realistic , ” haley continued . “ is there anyone that believes that north korea would agree to a ban on nuclear weapons ? ” “ in this day and time we ca n’t honestly that say we can protect our people by allowing the bad actors to have them [ nuclear weapons ] and those of us that are good , trying to keep peace and safety , not to have them , ” haley argued . she argued that those supporting the nuclear weapons ban did not understand the potential negative effect disarming responsible international actors would have and argued that north korea and iran would both be “ cheering ” if such a nuclear weapons ban passed . the international resolution haley opposes is the product of the un general assembly , which passed the legislation in december calling for the member nations to “ negotiate a legally binding instrument to prohibit nuclear weapons , leading towards their total elimination , ” according to reuters . haley argues that such legislation would disarm responsible nations and remove a necessary deterrent for rogue nations who have since acquired some nuclear capabilities . instead , haley argued , the un should adhere to the nuclear treaty signed in 1968 . that treaty conceded that five nations would retain their nuclear weapons — the five member nations of the un security council — while aspiring to contain the spread of nuclear weapons . the treaty does not address nations that have since acquired nuclear weapons , however , like india and pakistan , and rogue nations like iran and north korea . north korea , the independent notes , was a signatory to the treaty until 2003 and has since conducted five nuclear tests . the forty countries opposing the proposed nuclear weapons ban — including the uk and france , among others — stand in opposition to over one hundred countries that have expressed support for the ban . international influencers like pope francis have also stated their support for the ban . haley ’s defense of the american nuclear weapons arsenal is the latest expression of the trump administration ’s support for maintaining a modern , efficient nuclear capability . “ the united states must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability until such time as the world comes to its senses regarding nukes , ” president donald trump wrote on twitter in december , before taking office . at the time , press sean spicer told reporters his statement meant “ the president is going to put our nation ’s security and safety first … that ’s what every american should understand that he ’s not going to be a passive president . ” trump reiterated his policy to modernize america ’s nuclear capabilities in february in a conversation with russian president vladimir putin , after putin had told reporters in december he did not find anything “ unusual ” about trump ’s expansion of nuclear policies . trump reportedly expressed his dissatisfaction with the new start treaty , which caps the number of nuclear warheads both russia and the united states can maintain and calls for the destruction of much of the current nuclear arsenal . trump later told reuters that he believed the united states had “ fallen behind on nuclear weapon capacity . ” “ it would be wonderful , a dream would be that no country would have nukes , but if countries are going to have nukes , we ’re going to be at the top of the pack , ” trump promised . trump ’s policy towards nuclear weapons has alarmed america ’s communist enemies on the other side of the world . “ china wo n’t pay into trump ’s protection racket . it should use the money to build more strategic nuclear arms and accelerate the deployment of the intercontinental ballistic missile , ” the alarmist state propaganda newspaper the global times wrote in december , following trump ’s tweet calling for improved nuclear weapons . north korea ’s state media has beeneven more belligerent . this week , the rodong sinmun declared north korea a “ state ” while threatening a preemptive nuclear strike on america once again . on the un dispute , rodong wrote : “ the u. s. administration had better lend an ear to the serious advice of the international community that its insistence on the senseless hostile policy toward the dprk would make it suffer bitter setbacks as its predecessor did . ”
+1 re : - wikileaks nan how to contact wikileaks ? what is tor ? tips for sources after submitting this key 's fingerprint is a04c 5e09 ed02 b328 03eb 6116 93ed 732e 9231 8dba begin pgp public key block mqqnbfuocggbiadflp+qonwyk8l6spsnrnhwgfcxck6ouhrihreasgauxegpfg0b rsohbei5w9s5to / mugwulhj59m6avt+ds5rmrthgrnd8dt0do+xw88bmtxhsfg9 k jgf1wuptlq73iwnsbo1m1z14bmvkrog6m7+vqnecxbfoyfzxwdusq15vdzjr4ypr omzjxcifxe+ql+pnpkxd / st2b6uxikb9ht9cxaezxrjbrgizcev6a5tffcnhncpo ve59rgk3/az7cmjd6cofo1iw0j63tgbxdmdtz0h3ecqvwdnzqsbgepiqbx4vonmh oxpinvnv3aaluijqn7rbpewrkohh3eq1j+lnygmhbktx0gayyysrkaekmap6kk4j /znkniw5iqmby+v / ykw4lcmtlfe32kys5odreupsv5zwvgl9sz+4962ynktnabk3 1hztlj+xwhqaloceuygc0clbkw+sgqfvnmw5lp4/fqngxqco7tdy6pswmbzlokmh xxfti6hasvcjt1mhemi7kwomz / kzzqrlzgg5ibczftt2gbcv3a1+i357yb5/3wxe j0vkd+szfioqdq5ppr+//ik3wx0jzws3n5lxw31q8fqfwzykjpfbavhlj5ez7wka 1is9krdfnysv0buhf8elizydmsrpwn944flw1tofjw46j4uaxsbrbp284wifmv8n teqjbi8ku8ntrdleriv3djatcg2ssnsdhnxslonptm5u1bmh+ehk8ehe3hgn9lrp 2kkpwafd9pxaqnwjmpd4amk60l3n+yurbfwerwncrk3dpgmdzge / tl / ubldpooek p3shjxmdpsiqlwlb47xdml3cd8hkuz8r05xqj4dutzt00oup49w4jqjwu9btum48 lrhropjvp5upu0aiyt4bzgpce5qglwxontrx+bstyefen3eo6xlelfjb2jhddj7o dmludpn9aj639e4vjgz90vpz4hpn7julszsnk+zkef2xnlirody3swqyrejrebui 9ktbd0haeahkuwia0zhyo5 + 1bjxt3uhim5fqn93gb0hkxakuarz99d7xcitzftye /mwtogtyjq9bm / qwago1rmygnr+gsf / fqbzhesbrn5tbjkz6og4nugcrjgb2aexw tip / vdous5i9jflapzaquvtdmpaeslios7gy6tzxwo06q7aaingr+sbuvvrff / nl l2prpyyye35mds0b+mi5ixpjuubc+s59gi6ylpqohxkkfnbi3vxuyb0vjjirgqiu fv2cxwy5hvr3eioz2jlafshmtejhripj1sug0qlfnoqgmigw9jsiy / iqde1u3zof so7sxlmblck9zrmewrjoi / mgcdepwqlx7httabebaag0x1dpa2lmzwfrcybfzgl0 b3jpywwgt2zmawnliehpz2ggu2vjdxjpdhkgq29tbxvuawnhdglvbiblzxkgkflv dsbjyw4gy29udgfjdcbxawtptgvha3mgyxqgahr0cdovl3dsy2hhdgmzcgp3cgxp nxiub25pb24gyw5kigh0dhbzoi8vd2lrawxlywtzlm9yzy90ywxrksa8y29udgfj dc11cy11c2luzy1vdxity2hhdc1zexn0zw1ad2lrawxlywtzlm9yzz6jbd0eewek acccgwmfcwkibwmffqojcasffgidaqachgecf4afalb6cdifcqoznooacgkqk+1z lpixjbrlqh/7b2ybrrywhqmgfj+xr9tij32vguimohq94xyqajonydeghb5u5b5p bnowcqdfb1soevx7mhxgaqyocmt7zz2akg3kpf9f7goag7qa1srib+r7mztur9kv fqssrfpb6rnzqqb9i9wpnghbh1ywusuplulinwbjtmnhxel96hgdlt+fiba8romn 0fjjvowyhg8qtskiz+lo2m / j4hyujanaypgl6issu/1bbswheiehlqifxzus3j35 12sso1zj2bbdguiraddmamlnets7oc1/pwxwyq4otdkay2deg1g / n6yqm2n7rn1w 7a6tmuh7dfmlhcqw8bf5veyag3rpkhgcm7utdb6k / bmbdmnkazunm2vqoi1muthj ktcwn / vf1rvz3xbcph94gbkxcubi8cjxmswnzxebsbirj / cnmsm32ikm+wihbvi3 1mwvcarc3jsuon8rrxype4espweqzd6zsrbhgh4uqf56pcft2ubnqku4wtgoecsw k0dhyneiom1ll919wwdxh9tuqxwtzgsuznktw0cjbbvy1dgxvtgzjdpqegatvmir o+umlkwyxtscbm5o3zrm3iyu10d4gka0dxssqml1brd3g6b+nvnbesv/+kcjxqlu vhdnup1asj1ohyqpydj5uyiwzcxlxwqpk4p5wwrgzdbdduxiz2ftj17hu8s4a5a4 lptsoz / nvjuul7efvhqcd5g0hneryhwqclvfahg0xquui2nhwg19nppkwzm7me/3 + ey7svruqxvtkbxffsokjtmluwqzwc087hl98x5rfi1e6cpbo0zmhejgzva+peq/ zkki8otzhz8nnlf1qofgapitaen / hpkgbsdbte2te8pf1v8lbcea / d5+umh0gelh 5etq4j3ejpqrtn1znyzpbykr19/d / jr5j4vuow5wee28jjx1tpi6vbmevx1ohbug qsvhnuaddz4f6ijtm1zybvwqhlbctginctv1sadct4hmx6hklawqn6vva7glovny ryfpr2qa3fgjsuog8xq9hqvdvmqtmp02p2xklgoyvvfqxckhlqki0hv9xyuyu5dk 2l / a8gza0+gin+iypmsf3g7adu0qggpi5cy9xydjwww0da5jrjc4/fbsn7xbnsw4 eomxl8pitus9ghocc68pvwyv4vvtzobpujzanlquk7t8joky4tyog29kysdhqhne ovodrdhtqtpn7rjvnwgyjlinv2g3pkw / vsrd6xkogme8xoer8oqk6nun+y588nsj xddctwndz32dvkjrouuac9z2t6ve36lsyyjuzcc2ntg6uir+kuts/9rhfrvfsdi7 imucdgjhylkc4+ywtdmivi1npuko/5lncbkedqrvkahoasaavnuor+xlqgq6ksoo rtkhmtycihbespmrtfna9viip+3oizbynytffvowy2zbh3h2pgf+2ccrww3wqeay wap9zqb//remhwjwtkw / kxdqr1k95d5gzpeck9r0ympfjdi5nlesvj00nff+gjpo y9qb10jp / llqy1z35ub9zxua8ml9nidke26kjg8fvwizw8zttya5ezc7u+8hqgzh vsk5kjio2gonjimily9mdhaws2ixhhtv54fhvzpkdyzuqtxkwh2/8qbbibv0onfy 3w75pamy52nazi7uopou12qiwvj4ralc+diohy7byf9pejfrtkoor0rylnyztt3n 0h4at2yetra17uxetni02ls2jeg0mty45jrcu7mrzsrpcbq464i+f411+axi3ng3 cfnjojo2humta+2plwa3cerym6byp60362co7cpzochyhsvgppzyh0qex+bu1oyn 5xht+m7ha4zupwadekboalpdzmu2jp1/qvao5gq8kdst0n5fqrropo1wj / s1eoz+ ydy3dceyk+2zksz3xesc7mmpgrzanh4pk1dlr / nmsm5l5eevsaiblajgs75mp+kr clql / oxid4xhmj7mlz9 + 5d / o8mav2k2peldcfcw58thm3rhwhmndxh+0t5++i30y bia3gyhtzrvz3yfstp2ao8ftxe/1alvwe4bralkh+zavifcqrpif+yvnz0jjf52v rwl1gssgpsuy6vsvzhpenoa+cjgzxlor5uqqmeozmfxgoxkfrc69si0reoftfwyk 8wu9svqzw1du6pgbb30x / b0sw8hezs0cpymybxy8g+itdi0niceewhfkesxa+ht7 mjqrms7c84hzx7zoh6tpx2hkdl8nc4vrjf4iff1+suxj8xdqedrg29tsehctncvf kfrbvdh2ckakbgi9xiv4rqap9vjotdynj7cig9uccek / iu / bct1y / myomu3tqmsj c8qea1l+henq / hsierfgug+q4q1suakhshqbls4tkuc+ko7tswxwhflfp47giche rnm4v4rdgkic0z6lr3qpwot9kwzooyzynlnm9wwnalclwpcgkpjvpfg1t6f+equw wvewkizhf1szbbed5o/+tgwpad26kcnuofdvm+oizvpoqqxwbacxisnyxokth3tb 0x / djsien4tvruxkgy5qxrvo969aqnx8yb82bwvsyhjaxx4bhbk0pbit9fq08d5r iian7/nfu3vavxa+ouesid0cnxsfviripetckl45vm+f3rrhtnmfdwvodyxj1o6 t zjqtb9ilcfcb6xkvh+liuuippinu5p6i2cqzrlavbhgunjvklglfvilvmh1mdqxp vgvnpwaraqabiqqlbbgbcgapahsmbqjw+nhebqkds5z2aaojejptcy6smy26qtgf /0txrbwvobzz4fi5nksw6k5a6cxzbb3juxthmdiz93cby8gvrqiypzhajvjnt2 + 9 zfhbhsfdbzbrkx8n9h1+ihxbyvhncrtwiq9zfi0fsrjyk9z / f+iwmqedylyxhiem shtwipg6adum5plu8gr7trhagz8egiwvar8pzo82xhowijpiqr0bc2miausrs+9l jc+gjwjbhyig2r2r9bubgueru1a0ib5fx+iomrtcfvcl / jxsmxqxno8+/apwpbuk bw8saivsbbleu87p9oovsuekxh / pj65duqnjc+2yxlvcf03qflflgzzfn7fcv5jw lynecooz9np9ttsr2eaznacnk75/fywjsjnsblcbre9xva9pi5hxb4zu7cxrxuwc qjs8qrvdo9k4jilx5u9x0dsinh2swstm6t1gyvkkqhf5xvcs4bpwyagxcfd9/xze eahkfcauj9xz6xact9j1pw50mewzbwdnev93tqvhmgmsifzow1au5acp+n / kst6e 1wrwsaijjsohk5rzj/8/2hibftjxscml3k8k6mbdi8p9zvcmjsxbppcyrffw9a6 t ka9skmlkkfccsnj0collb+mw9dvqgc2dpwphpgtyzlwg5tins2bkdv67qj4lysrm jrcw5xzluzyk6swd4kkbbqohbno0au8pe / n1spyytpdhfht9fgmtehnogpxygnlq vtlgrfk44dr4hjj5i1+d0bljvkf6u8b2bn5pconvh4mb+xagqjqqufamd / ifo4ro tjwkiw49pjyuizbw9ugav3wmg+fue9to1vkxgjulighrxhw6ujgnk / cktikidrd3 5paoy5l4isnzd8z0mnglwoglmq3ignjayuzvjrhdb5rvqec6qx4r4e1xjymjsxdz aqrk25y//eakdkeitwqbxdmkdqtig2ry+v8ggev0v09nkit+6extebxtawh4hagu fr6yq6fhs8msekc6cw6lqkxon6pwqvuxmr4wzpqcoaajqvz1hogd+8quukvcctb1 4ixxpeqbc3ehfxjx2bwbupycgbomtvtjdhltv5p+4xn55gqy+ocygahnmsk34ayd ahqqtpghax0nz2spxflr / ldn24kxcmnfipqgte6tstknikwazdqbzjjlyyvpsk93 6hrytzibdjk4jdbh6jax+izciv0rlxbm6qxqwbzbc2axddbqnbea2tobsww8hvhf hqv / g86zis / rdosqlt7e794ezd9rypv55525zeck3ikauaw5+wqbklwosapimw2s kfodird5omi51eof+elmb5v5t9lw0chdltsm / hmymp/5yotsyhumk91gdfgkofuc j3x7gtxumktadelqwy6hru8= = blth
+0 snap ’s chief taps into the ‘ right now’ - the new york times katie benner los angeles — when evan spiegel and bobby murphy were undergraduates at stanford university , they made an unconventional observation about what makes a social network valuable . thanks to the rise of facebook , most everyone believed that networks became exponentially more valuable by amassing more users . but mr. spiegel noticed that in real life , even people with thousands of acquaintances spent most of their time with just a few friends whose value outweighed a large number of looser ties . so when mr. spiegel and mr. murphy created snapchat in 2011 , they inverted the social networking dynamic . out of their stanford dorm rooms , they made snapchat as an app that would send disappearing messages and photos in a way that more closely mimicked the dynamics of a real world conversation . that would increase the appeal of snapchat as a service that people used with a small number of good friends , they figured . while online identity previously emphasized everything anyone has ever done , with snapchat “ my identity is who i am right now , ” mr. spiegel said in a 2015 video to describe the app . mr. spiegel , 26 , snap ’s chief executive , has since built a budding digital empire based on that initial unconventional insight — and has continued upending the tech industry with his different way of seeing the world , often with a touch of ego . rather than accept the norms of the social networking ecosystem , he has stuck to atypical viewpoints on matters from mobile video to spectacles . and he has done all of this more than 350 miles away from silicon valley , in the sunny climes of venice , calif. where snapchat is based . mr. spiegel ’s singular approach will soon be more publicly on display . this week , snapchat ’s parent company , snap , is expected to reveal its public stock offering paperwork for the first time . the filing will show how snap is doing as a business and whether that justifies a public valuation of $ 20 billion to $ 25 billion , which the company has been reported to be seeking . it will also disclose mr. spiegel ’s ownership stake in snap the public offering is set to vault mr. spiegel and mr. murphy , who is now chief technology officer , into the ranks of other tech billionaires . along with financial information , mr. spiegel is expected to include remarks about snap ’s mission that will showcase his philosophy . “ if you want to understand snap , look at evan spiegel , ” said todd chaffee , a partner at ivp , one of snap ’s three largest venture capital investors . “ he is the visionary who drives that company . ” mary ritti , a spokeswoman for snap , declined to comment for this story . mr. spiegel grew up in pacific palisades , a wealthy los angeles suburb , and attended crossroads , a prep school in santa monica that counts jonah hill , kate hudson and jack black as alumni . he lived a privileged life , with expensive cars , exclusive club memberships and fancy vacations , according to records from his parents’ divorce proceedings . his father , john spiegel , a securities lawyer who helped overhaul the los angeles police department after the rodney king beating in 1991 , also had his children volunteer and build homes in poor areas of mexico . while many techies talk about how the industry is a meritocracy , mr. spiegel has not shied from his wealthy roots . in public comments , he has said he is “ a young , white , educated male who got really , really lucky . and life is n’t fair . ” at stanford , also his father ’s alma mater , mr. spiegel majored in product design and started a handful of companies with mr. murphy , a fellow kappa sigma fraternity brother . ( their early flopped . ) there , mr. spiegel also met some of the men who would become his mentors , including scott cook , then the chief executive of intuit , and eric schmidt , the google chairman , who taught an m. b. a. class that he attended . mr. spiegel “ really is the next gates or zuckerberg , ” mr. schmidt said in an interview , comparing the snap chief to microsoft ’s bill gates , and facebook ’s chief , mark zuckerberg . “ he has superb manners , which he says he got from his mother . he credits his father ’s long legal calls , which he overheard , to giving him perspective on business and structure as a very young man . ” when snapchat started taking off , mr. spiegel did not wait to graduate from stanford . he moved the company to the venice beach boardwalk , away from what he perceived as silicon valley ’s focus on technology . his decamping for southern california put off some in silicon valley . the perception of a divide with silicon valley was also fostered by mr. spiegel ’s rejection of a $ 3 billion acquisition offer from facebook in 2013 . some who met mr. spiegel during snapchat ’s early days at stanford describe him as akin to the villain of a 1980s teen movie . he often came across as having a healthy ego , an impression mr. spiegel sometimes stoked . when mr. spiegel met institutional venture partners to discuss possible for example , he told ivp ’s partner , dennis phelps , that he was unwilling to accept the firm ’s standard investment terms . “ if you want standard terms , invest in a standard company , ” mr. phelps recalled mr. spiegel telling him . ivp went on to invest in snap ’s third financing round in 2013 . in los angeles , mr. spiegel has shown interest in the city ’s fashion , art and music scene . he met his fiancée , the model miranda kerr , at a louis vuitton dinner . and he once toyed with the idea of owning a record label with ties to snapchat , according to a 2015 email between sony executives that was released by hackers . “ he ’s different from most tech people because he knows what ’s cool and what ’s next , ” said ryan wilson , an artist in los angeles who goes by the name thankyoux. he worked with mr. spiegel on a piece of art for one of snapchat ’s offices . “ he does n’t like things because a dealer says he should . he just likes what he likes , whether it ’s made by a high school friend or a famous artist . ” mr. spiegel has also involved himself in some political conversations . in 2015 , he met with china ’s president , xi jinping , as a member of the 21st century council at the berggruen institute . its founder , nicolas berggruen , said he impressed a group that includes mohamed the economist , and former president nicolas sarkozy of france with his “ thoughtful and mature approach to people . ” last fall , mr. spiegel also attended a private dinner with john o. brennan , then the director of the c. i. a. according to multiple attendees , mr. spiegel listened more than he spoke and had the ear of mayor eric garcetti of los angeles . mr. spiegel ’s unconventional streak may be most evident in how he has steered snap . he has long said that a public offering was what was best for the company and its investors , even as other tech chose to stay private as long as possible . since snapchat ’s debut , the app and the company have also undergone dozens of changes that were criticized for being too different from other consumer internet companies . mr. spiegel rejected the idea of a newsfeed in snapchat ’s app , for example , because he said people prefer stories chronologically . in facebook ’s news feed , posts are reverse chronological , meaning the newest posts are at the top . unlike other social networks , snapchat also does not use algorithms to push people to see certain content . snapchat users swipe their screens to navigate and view video vertically , rather than tap on menus or turn their phones to watch videos horizontally . “ from what i can figure out , he thinks differently about the way to monetize and develop a social network , ” mr. schmidt said of mr. spiegel . investors who buy into snap ’s initial public offering will soon be getting a piece of that approach . allowing “ ourselves to be pulled in another direction ” is what makes us human , mr. spiegel said in a commencement speech at the university of southern california ’s marshall school of business in 2015 . quoting john f. kennedy , he added , “ conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth . ”
+0 scores die in nice , france , as truck plows into bastille day crowd - the new york times alissa j. rubin , adam nossiter and christopher mele paris — a bastille day fireworks celebration was shattered by death and mayhem thursday night in the southern french city of nice when a large truck barreled for more than a mile through an enormous crowd of spectators , crushing and maiming dozens in what france ’s president called a terrorist assault . it came eight months after the paris attacks that traumatized the nation and all of europe . officials and witnesses in nice said at least 84 people , including children , were killed by the driver of the rampaging truck , who mowed them down on the sidewalk . he was shot to death by the police as officers scrambled to respond on what is france ’s most important annual holiday . graphic television and video images showed the truck accelerating and tearing through the crowd , dozens of victims sprawled in its path , and the windshield of the vehicle . municipal officials and police officers described the truck as full of weapons and grenades . “ the horror , the horror has , once again , hit france , ” president françois hollande said in a nationally televised address early friday . he said the “ terrorist character ” of the assault was undeniable , and he described the use of a large truck to deliberately kill people as “ a monstrosity . ” “ france has been struck on the day of her national holiday , ” he said . “ human rights are denied by fanatics , and france is clearly their target . ” mr. hollande , who only hours earlier had proclaimed the impending end of a state of national emergency on july 26 , said that the measure would be extended by three months and that additional soldiers would be deployed for security . prime minister manuel valls said friday morning that france would observe three days of national mourning , starting on saturday . flags will fly at at all government buildings . “ we would like to tell the french people that we will never give in , ” he said in a statement outside the élysée palace , in paris . “ we will not give in to the terrorist threat . the times have changed , and france should learn to live with terrorism . ” as french officials quickly concluded that terrorism was the likely motive and the scope of the slaughter grew clear , the use of a large commercial truck as the principal weapon of death raised new questions about how to prevent such attacks . the officials warned residents to stay indoors and canceled all further scheduled festivities in nice , a seaside city of 340 , 000 , including a jazz festival and a concert on friday night by rihanna . “ there are numerous victims , ” said brandet , a spokesman for the interior ministry , on bfm television . “ it ’s a tragic , exceptional situation . ” witnesses described scenes of pandemonium , with conflicting accounts on social media , including a false report of in nice . “ we were enjoying the celebrations when we suddenly saw people running everywhere and tables being pushed down by the movement of panic , ” said daphne burandé , 15 , who was at a bar near the beach to watch the fireworks . “ no one explained to us what was happening , and i heard some gunshots not very far away , ” she said . “ i waited at the bar for more information because i thought it was a false alert . but then , people were still running . ” there was no immediate claim of responsibility , and the identity of the driver was not immediately clear , but the newspaper nice matin reported early friday that he was a frenchman of tunisian origin . christian estrosi , the president of the d’azur region of france , which includes nice , expressed outrage , sympathy and frustration in an interview with on friday morning , pointedly noting previous attacks on a satirical newspaper in paris in january 2015 the coordinated series of attacks in and around paris in november that included a music hall , the bataclan , among its targets and the attacks this year in brussels . “ questions are raised , ” he said . “ as i try to comfort the families , i also try to contain my anger i ca n’t hide to you that i feel a deep anger . how is it possible in our country that , after everyone said there was a state of emergency , a state of war , we forgot it after charlie hebdo , and then there was the bataclan . after the bataclan , we forgot , and then there was brussels . after brussels , we forgot and there was nice . ” “ there are questions that need to be answered , ” he said . mr. estrosi said that the families needed time to mourn , and added that it was “ our duty ” to support them . but he also asked how it was possible that an individual was apparently able to breach security , and he said that he expected an answer from bernard cazeneuve , the interior minister . “ i do n’t want to hear the usual , ‘ we are going to carry out an investigation,’ ” he said . the attack amounted to a to a nation that was struggling to restore some sense of normalcy and had begun to drop its guard . hours after mr. hollande said during bastille day festivities in paris that “ we can not prolong the state of emergency eternally , ” a massive white truck came crashing through in nice . the main strip through nice was littered with bodies , one after the other . “ whatever the nature of what happened in nice , the threat of terrorism is particularly high , ” mr. brandet , the interior ministry spokesman , said on the itele television station . he added that security forces were on high alert in the area and in cities around france . dozens of people were seriously injured , and many more were psychologically shocked , mr. brandet said . the region has activated a white plan , put in place during the nov. 13 paris terrorist attacks that killed 130 people , to open all emergency rooms to receive victims , he added . the islamic state , the militant group that asserted responsibility for the attacks in paris , did not make any immediate claims for the assault in nice . it typically takes the islamic state several hours , and sometimes up to one and even two days , to assert responsibility for attacks in western countries . it typically does so through its amaq channel on the encrypted telephone app telegram , which serves as the group ’s news wire . however , as in the hours immediately after the paris , brussels and orlando attacks , there was a now familiar celebration on channels run by groups that support the islamic state , as well as on at least one channel affiliated with the group , also known as isis and isil . they cheered the carnage . on a channel created on thursday , called the united cyber caliphate , run by a group that has previously tried to carry out cyberattacks in the islamic state ’s name , a message included a single word — france — followed by a smiley face . the channel of an islamic state member , aswarti media , which has repeatedly been shut down and claims 1 , 987 members , was posting the phrase “ allahu akbar . ” yet another channel suspected of being for the islamic state showed an image of the eiffel tower going up in flames . the attack in nice took place just as the euro 2016 soccer tournament had concluded . france had hosted the tournament , and the entire country had been on high alert . there had been reports that suspects linked to the attacks in paris and the brussels assault in march had planned an attack during the tournament . with tens of thousands of people gathered at stadiums and in designated “ fan zones ” during the games , the police and private security took extraordinary measures to try to secure the sites . it was difficult to know if the measures were successful or if in fact there were no plans to attack the soccer tournament . one question people will be asking is whether the security forces , as well as civilians , let their guard down once the tournament was over thinking that the danger had passed . several witnesses spoke on itele . a man who gave his name as michel , working at the voilier plage restaurant in front of the promenade des anglais , said that around 10:30 p. m. a large white truck drove into a crowd that had gathered near the beach . “ a huge number of people started running , then there was a lot of gunfire , ” he said . another witness who owns a restaurant nearby , whom itele did not identify , said that when the truck plowed into the crowd , it “ crushed everyone in its path . ” french television showed footage of a panicked crowd running from the scene . on twitter , witnesses posted grim photographs of bodies lying in a pile on the asphalt .
+0 lindsey graham : we have no other choice but to go nuclear with gorsuch - breitbart pam key monday on msnbc while discussing senate democrats opposition to president donald trump supreme court nominee judge neil gorsuch , sen. lindsey graham ( ) said republicans have “ no other choice ” than the nuclear option of lowering the filibuster threshold for a supreme court nominee to a simple majority . partial transcript as follows : reporter : mitch mcconnell , the leader is prepared to go nuclear here ? graham : yeah . we have no other choice . we ’re not going to have a tradition of the senate where they get their judges and president trump ca n’t get his . reporter : when do you see potentially a floor vote ? graham : at the end of the week . it ’s sad but we are where we are . follow pam key on twitter @pamkeynen
+0 civil war museum closes doors after politician demands confederate flags be eliminated warner todd huston a civil war battlefield museum in georgia is closing its doors after a local politician demanded that the establishment discontinues its use of the confederate flag . [ after commissioner dee clemmons of hampton , georgia , demanded that the nash farm battlefield museum tear down the flags in its confederate displays that explain the battle to visitors , the museum decided to close its doors , saying it could not properly explain history if half of its displays were to be censored , wfmy reported . tim knight , who represents the nonprofit group that runs the museum , said clemmons spoke with the color of authority of the county and felt that he was given no choice but to close the museum . “ nash farms has always represented both sides of the conflict , ” stuart carter , a supporter of the museum , said of the establishment . “ sure i understand some people find the imaging of ( the confederacy ) offensive , ” carter added . “ but if we try and erase it from history , then we ca n’t remember how we messed up and why we should n’t go back there again . ” the group running the museum insisted that it could not properly relay the history of the 1864 battle without its confederate artifacts and displays . but a county spokesperson said it was “ reasonable ” to demand that the confederate flag displays be censored . “ i think it ’s reasonable . i think there were plenty of artifacts in the museum that can tell the story of the civil war . and i think it was a reasonable request , ” county spokeswoman melissa robinson said . the controversy comes amid similar discussions in states across the south , as charlottesville , virginia , and new orleans , louisiana , debate removing confederate symbols and memorials . follow warner todd huston on twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail . com .
+1 supreme court decides to weigh in on transgender rights adalia woodbury by adalia woodbury on sun , oct 30th , 2016 at 11:31 pm on friday , the supreme court decided to weigh in on transgender rights in the case of gloucester county school board vs. g.g. this gives the right wing another chance to take civil rights away from people they do n’t like . plain and simple . share on twitter print this post on friday , the supreme court decided to weigh in on transgender rights in the case of gloucester county school board vs. g.g . this gives the right wing another chance to take civil rights away from people they do n’t like . plain and simple . at issue is whether a transgender student who identifies as a boy has a right to use the bathroom that corresponds with the gender he identifies with . last summer , the court granted the school board ’s request to put a lower court ruling in the student ’s favor on hold until the board filed its petition for review by the supreme court . justice breyer joined the conservative justices in that ruling as a courtesy . the virginia school board established a policy mirroring “ bathroom police ” laws in red states like north carolina that required students to use rest rooms and locker rooms to correspond with the gender they were assigned at birth . in this case , the district court ruled against g.g. by relying on a 1975 regulation allowing schools to provide “ separate toilet , locker room and shower facilities based on sex ” provided those facilities are comparable to those provided to the opposite sex . in january 2015 , the department of education ’s office of civil rights issued a letter opining that if schools separate students in restroom and locker rooms based on their sex a “ school must treat transgender students ” in a manner consistent “ with their gender identity . ” because of that letter , the u.s. court of appeals for the 4th circuit reversed the lower court ruling in favor of g.g. it relied on a 1997 supreme court decision that courts generally should defer to an agency ’s interpretation of its own regulation . in reality , the right wing hopes to achieve two political objectives with this case . first , this is about denying basic rights and dignity to people who are transgender , which is consistent with their ideological opposition to rights for women , poc and members of the lgbt community . second , the right wing is hoping to weaken federal agencies by attacking their ability to interpret their own regulations .
+1 oregon standoff acquittal sparks fears of new land disputes alex ansary oregon standoff acquittal sparks fears of new land disputes 11/01/2016 agweb the stunning acquittal of seven people who occupied a federal wildlife sanctuary in oregon during an armed standoff raised fears friday that the verdict could embolden other militant groups in a long - running dispute over government - owned western lands . meanwhile , a juror said the decision was a rejection of the prosecution ’s conspiracy case , not an endorsement of the defendants’ actions . supporters of ammon bundy celebrated the verdict and said it could invite more confrontations . the government ’s top federal land official , interior secretary sally jewell , issued a statement urging all employees to “ remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity . ” an activist from boise , idaho , who once camped by a memorial to occupier lavoy finicum at the site where he was shot dead by police , predicted that the verdict would encourage others to act . “ i think a lot more people will be revolting , rebelling and standing up against what we see as a tyrannical government , ” william c. fisher said in a telephone interview . the 41-day takeover of the malheur national wildlife refuge last january in remote eastern oregon was part of a larger debate about the use of federal lands in the west . the militants led by bundy , a small business owner from arizona , wanted to hand the refuge over to local officials , saying the federal government should not have dominion over it . the u.s. government owns nearly half of all land in the west , compared with only 4 percent in other states , according to the congressional overview of federal land ownership . one of the jurors in the case asserted friday that the panel was not endorsing militancy to resolve those issues . the juror , identified only as juror no . 4 , wrote in an email to the oregonian / oregonlive that the verdicts were a “ statement ” about the prosecution ’s failure to prove a conspiracy charge “ and not any form of affirmation of the defense ’s various beliefs , actions or aspirations . ” the acquittal of the white occupiers came on the same day that officers in riot gear evicted protesters from private land in the path of the dakota access oil pipeline in rural north dakota . officers fired bean bags and pepper spray as they surrounded demonstrators , many of them native americans who have spent months fighting over tribal rights and the project ’s environmental effects . at least 117 people were arrested . “ are we going to look at these protests the same way ? ” asked john freemuth , a public land policy expert at boise state university . “ i certainly think the tribes will have a point if they find themselves arrested and in jail and these oregon guys get off . ” bundy , his brother ryan bundy and five others were charged with conspiring to impede federal workers from their jobs at the refuge . chris rasmussen , a defense lawyer in an armed standoff case that happened two years ago at bundy ’s father ’s ranch in nevada , said it is “ obvious ” that oregon prosecutors gambled in seeking convictions on felony conspiracy charges instead of misdemeanor trespassing charges . but prosecutors had few other options for serious charges because the defendants never attacked anyone , said laurie levenson , a professor at loyola law school in los angeles and a former federal prosecutor . rather than attempting to retake the refuge headquarters and risking a gunbattle , authorities took a cautious approach . they closed nearby roads and stayed miles away while urging the occupiers to abandon the land . “ the upside of not confronting them was it was less likely there would be violence , ” levenson said . “ the downside was it was less likely that they could use the assault charge . ” the standoff finally ended when the bundys and other key figures were arrested in a jan. 26 traffic stop outside the refuge . that ’s when finicum was killed . most occupiers left after his death , but four holdouts remained until feb. 11 , when they surrendered following lengthy negotiations . bundy remains in jail because he still faces charges in the standoff at his father ’s nevada ranch . joel hansen , cliven bundy ’s attorney , said friday that he thinks the jury in oregon “ saw through the lies ” of a government that “ is trying to prove these bundybrothers and their compatriots were some kind of terrorists . ” for hansen and some others in the rural west , ownership of public land is a constitutional question that has not been settled . “ there is a seething anger among those who use the land , ” he said , citing the feelings of ranchers , loggers , miners and indians . “ it ’s all part of tyrannical oppression . their goal is to manage them out of business to get them off the land . ” the oregon occupiers had chosen , perhaps inadvertently , a part of oregon where locals and the feds had a recent history of working together . few who live near the sanctuary welcomed the occupiers , most of whom were from out of state . not long before the takeover began on jan. 2 , locals and federal officials had determined the fate of large swaths of land , harney county judge steve grasty , the top local administrative official , said last summer in an interview . the high desert partnership in harney county , a group that includes the bureau of land management , the nature conservancy and timber business owners , had been working quietly to determine land stewardship , which jewell credited in her statement on friday .
+1 le terrorisme régional protège israël nan le terrorisme régional vise à protéger les intérêts d'israël we d oct 26 , 2016 9:35am iran le ministre iranien de la défense , le général hossein dehqan . © tasnim # iran # terrorisme selon le ministre iranien de la défense , le général de brigade hossein dehqan , l'objectif de la création et de la propagation du terrorisme et de l'extrémisme dans la région est de protéger le régime israélien . le général hossein dehqan , ministre iranien de la défense , a indiqué , lors d'une réunion du comité stratégique de défense de ce ministère , que la création et l'extension du terrorisme et de l'extrémisme visaient à protéger les intérêts du régime israélien , à maintenir l'instabilité dans la région et à y prolonger la présence des forces d'occupation arrogantes . " les états - unis et leurs alliés régionaux et internationaux scandent des slogans humanitaires d'un côté , mais de l'autre ils donnent le feu vert aux groupes terroristes tels que fatah al - cham ( ex - front al - nosra ) , les autorisant ainsi à enfermer les civils dans les zones de combat et à les utiliser comme boucliers humains pour endiguer les opérations antiterroristes de l'armée syrienne , ce qui assure la survie des terroristes , " a dit le ministre iranien de la défense . " pourtant , l'une des priorités et des principales préoccupations des commandants du front de la résistance , est de sauver le peuple et de préparer leur évacuation hors des régions non sécurisées . c'est avec ce même souci qu'ils ont sauvé , d'ores et déjà , la vie de milliers de gens sans défense " , poursuit - il . " dans tout lieu où une opération antiterroriste se dirigeait vers la victoire , les états - unis et leurs alliés ont recouru à des projets mensongers de cessez - le - feu et procédéà des démarches prétendument pacifistes , dans le but , en fait , de sauver les terroristes , alors qu'au moment où les terroristes commettaient crimes et massacres , ils n'avaient fait qu'observer le silence . " , a regretté le général dehqan . " dès le début de la formation des groupes terroristes takfiristes , la rii avait mis en garde contre les maux inimaginables que causeraient ces derniers en menaçant la sécurité de la région , voire du monde entier . l'ordre de l'arrogance poursuit toutefois tous ses soutiens à ces groupes extrémistes " , a - t - il rappelé . le ministre iranien de la défense a exigé alors que l'on mette fin à la crise régionale , ce qui n'est possible , selon le responsable iranien , qu'avec la fin du soutien des états - unis et de leurs alliés au terrorisme , le rejet du projet de démembrement des pays de la région , la reconnaissance des gouvernements légaux et l'aide à la lutte contre le terrorisme . loading ...
+0 2016 : remains of 61 dead migrants recovered in one texas county bob price as the year end closed out in one texas county , the remains of human smuggling victims had been recovered in what has become known as the brooks county killing fields . [ brooks county is not a border county . in fact , it is located about 80 miles north of the border . yet it is the focus of human smuggling activity in south texas that often leads to death for many of those who have paid for illegal transportation around a border patrol checkpoint . “ the border patrol checkpoint is located right in the middle of our county , ” newly sheriff benny martinez told breitbart texas sunday morning . “ there is no way to move through the county for these human smugglers other than to attempt to sneak their human cargo through the checkpoint , or march them around the checkpoint and through the dangerous ranch lands in the county . this is where the deaths occur . ” martinez told breitbart texas his county has recovered the bodies or remains of 61 people in 2016 . “ this happens because the human smugglers have no regard for human life , ” martinez said . “ they will simply abandon anyone who can not keep up with the group — leaving them to die from heat exhaustion , dehydration , or exposure to the elements . ” breitbart texas has accompanied sheriff martinez and other brooks county deputies to the scene of body recoveries in the past . the rotting bodies and picked apart bones tell a tragic story of what must have been a horrifying and excruciating death for these people who paid as much as $ 6 , 000 to human smugglers to get them safely to their destination . “ the treatment of these illegal immigrants by their human smugglers is horrific , ” sheriff martinez told breitbart texas in june 2016 . “ the people they take on these marches around the checkpoint are for the heat and hazardous terrain of these ranches . when they ca n’t keep up , they are left behind where they will die quickly if they do n’t get help . ” the county , already strapped for cash , must deal with the cost of processing the remains and burial of the bodies . this can cost the county taxpayers up to $ 2 , 000 per body , breitbart texas previously reported . martinez is responsible for patrolling an area about the size of rhode island with a handful of vastly underpaid deputies . communications capabilities are sketchy in many areas of the county where cell phones and police radios wo n’t work because of the lack of equipment . “ we need help in establishing better communications for our deputies , ” martinez said . “ it is important for officer safety , but it is also important when deputies come across someone in need of assistance . the migrants will frequently walk out of the fields and into the roadway after days of wandering lost in the fields . many need help right away . ” martinez said thing may soon get worse as the border patrol is expanding the checkpoint to eight lanes . “ they are creating a smuggling superhighway right in the middle of our county , ” martinez expressed . “ this could create even more pressure on our resources as more smuggling vehicles make their way north from the border . ” the new sheriff said they have seen an increase in traffic through the ranches . increased presence from border patrol search and rescue teams , texas department of public safety troopers , and texas state guard search teams have helped keep the numbers of deaths down . breitbart texas has reported extensively on the rescues of migrants who have been abandoned and left to die by the ruthless smugglers in the area . border patrol agents rescued an illegal immigrant woman trying to bypass a checkpoint in brooks county in november , breitbart texas reported . she was found unconscious after being abandoned by human smugglers . in april , two teenage girls were rescued from a ranch in brooks county after being abandoned . one of the girls , a mexican national , was found unconscious and clinging to life . she had to be transported by helicopter to a corpus christi hospital . “ these heartless criminals take ruthless steps to exploit the multitude of poor immigrants from mexico and central america trying to reach the united states at any cost and the problem is getting worse , ” chief patrol agent manuel padilla , jr. said at the time in a written statement . “ no one wants to see their loved ones being violated or abandoned in this manner . ” death is not the only risk to the migrants being smuggled through brooks county . breitbart texas previously reported , “ about the specific kinds of horror faced by these illegal immigrants because of the open border policies of the federal government . rape , abuse , abandonment and death are often the treatment these people receive from their human smugglers who are often connected to mexican cartels . ” now the task of stopping the human smugglers and ending the needless deaths of illegal immigrants in this south texas county fall on sheriff martinez . “ we appreciate the help with get from other agencies and from the volunteer police officers who give their time to help patrol our county , ” martinez said . “ we have limited resources , but we will continue to push to stop the human smugglers and to find the lost migrants before they succumb to the elements . ” bob price serves as associate editor and senior political news contributor for breitbart texas . he is a founding member of the breitbart texas team . follow him on twitter @bobpricebbtx .
+1 to pander to hispanics hillary states some whoppers on univision matafuchs to pander to hispanics hillary states some whoppers on univision page : 1 link ah , hillary . you change your accent depending on who you talk to . you tell blacks in an interview you carry hot sauce everywhere . you try to appeal to native americans with elizabeth warren ( hahahaha ) but for her this is a low . using her own grandchild .... it is n't the first time she has used the grandchild either . it was the excuse for bill and loretta also ... link first , when asked , she says her favorite food is mexican . in an article this year for “ thrillist , ” detailing her favorite restaurants in the state of the new york , clinton listed rao ’s ( italian ) , northern lights creamery ( gelato ice cream ) , lange ’s little store ( sandwiches ) , charlie the butcher ’s ( meat ) and others . but she did n’t list a single mexican establishment . second , she went on to tell the hosts her 2 y / o granddaughter is learning spanish . really ? i mean she should have walked on stage with an el chapo t - shirt , a sombrero and a six pack of sol for goodness sake . now , i know , this is not a big deal but stop and think . she is pathological . is that who we really want in the white house ? someone who will say anything to anybody in order to get them to agree . using your grandchild to pander to a voting block . she is nasty . if i was hispanic this may not drive me to vote trump , even though they should and will , i certainly would not vote for someone as fake as she is . only good thing was she got a bottle of tequila for her birthday . i am sure bills foot massagers in his library will love it .... edit on 10pm31pmf 2016 - 10 - 26t14:56:02 - 05:000202 by matafuchs because : ( no reason given ) edit on 10pm31pmf 2016 - 10 - 26t14:57:05 - 05:000205 by matafuchs because : ( no reason given )
+0 australian gov’t adopts ’extreme vetting’ for islamic migrants , reforms foreign worker visas - breitbart neil munro the australian government has taken the lead from president donald trump in the race to improve vetting of immigrants who may hold hostile islamic attitudes , and to reform programs like the outsourcing visa . [ “ we ’re defined by a commitment to common values , political values , the rule of law , democracy , freedom , mutual respect , equality for men and women , ” prime minister malcolm turnbull told the media on thursday , where he described the reformed vetting process : our citizenship process should reflect that . so today we are announcing changes to strengthen citizenship , to make for a stronger australia , stronger citizenship , stronger citizen … before you apply to be a citizen . you will need to have competent english . that is a vital requirement … also , we need to ensure that our citizenship test enables applicants to demonstrate how they have integrated into and engaged with our australian community , so that they ’re part of the community . they ’ve lived here as a permanent resident for four years , they speak english , share our values , be integrated . those are critically important elements . i believe that they will be empowering for applicants . this will be good for the applicants , good for the nation , underlining our australian values at the very heart of australian citizenship , australian citizenship is the foundation of our democracy … these political values are what bind us together . that ’s what keeps us together in the midst of our diversity . the new australian push is a from 2016 , when trump championed immigration reform in the united states , while turnbull sought to stabilize his government after he staged an internal party vote in september 2015 to take the prime minister ’s job from his own party ’s leader , tony abbott , an immigration hawk who entirely blocked and stopped a seaborne wave of immigrants from reaching australia . to some extent , turnbull ’s flip towards position is designed to help his wing of the party from abbot ’s wing of the party , and from the growing support being given to pauline hanson‘s nationalist one nation party , which is skeptical about islam ’s ability to integrate into australian society . in 2016 and before , turnbull repeatedly endorsed immigration , invited additional refugees , and told the parliament in october 2016 that “ everyone sitting in this chamber and every australian is a beneficiary of the diversity that is at the heart of our nation … the most effective weapon against the [ muslim ] terrorists is an inclusive nation . ” amid rising violence and welfare use among immigrant muslims , a september 2016 poll showed that half of all australians want to block muslim immigration , which is strongly supported by business groups which profit from the inflow of extra consumers and workers . turnbull ’s minister for immigration and border protection , peter dutton , told reporters at the press conference that immigrants will have to take an upgraded written test : there will be further tests , further questions placed in the test as it currently operates , and there will be the opportunity for people to comment on some of these changes over the course of the next , over the course of the period between now and 1 june . so we will consult around the questions around the values issues and we can provide further detail . there is also change to be made to the pledge and , again , we ’ll consult on that particular issue as well . so i ’ll leave it there . for example , domestic violence , a perpetrator of domestic violence . my view is that that person should n’t become an australian citizen . and we can ask that question but we can also undertake our own checks in relation to police checks or whatever the case might be . so that ’s how you can adopt , apply the test . on the 2016 campaign trail , and in his executive orders since his inauguration , president donald trump has called for a new process of “ extreme vetting ” refugees and legal immigrants — especially muslim immigrants — into the united states . for example , his january 27 executive order on immigration declared that his policy would be to exclude people with “ hostile attitudes ” : in order to protect americans , the united states must ensure that those admitted to this country do not bear hostile attitudes toward it and its founding principles . the united states can not , and should not , admit those who do not support the constitution , or those who would place violent ideologies over american law . in addition , the united states should not admit those who engage in acts of bigotry or hatred ( including “ honor ” killings , other forms of violence against women , or the persecution of those who practice religions different from their own ) or those who would oppress americans of any race , gender , or sexual orientation . the alliance of judges , progressives , and islamic political groups are fiercely opposing any new tests , even though the existing immigration and citizenship process already includes questions and tests designed to exclude people who were terrorists or members of the nazi or soviet communist parties . the current immigration document also includes a requirement stemming from the 1775 war of independence which requires immigrant aristocrats to formal give up their noble titles before becoming citizens . if u. s. immigrants lie in their documents , they can be stripped of their citizenship and repatriated . for example , u. s. officials have deported several immigrants who lied about their work for adolf hitler ’s national socialist party in world war ii . u. s. officials have not said anything about the plans for upgrading the immigration tests and vetting , partly because trump has not yet been able to get many of his nominees confirmed by the senate . but homeland security john kelly may be a strong backer of an upgraded test , and told a d. c. audience on tuesday that “ we have a sacred duty and that is the continuation of the united states as we know it : to protect our way of life and the exceptional people we are . ” australia ’s reform government has an easier task than trump , who must overcome roadblocks built by progressive judges , media and democratic legislator and democratic legislatures in a federal government for 330 million people . in contrast , australia ’s parliamentary system allows a majority government to easily pass its agenda for the nation of 25 million people . throughout the april 19 australian press conference , the journalists and politicians tacitly recognized the problems created by the immigration of islamic adherents who bring their peculiar institutions and values which endorse domestic violence against women , child marriage , ‘ female genital mutilation,’ and reject the authority of what australians describe as “ secular law . ” for example , one reporter cited several of islam ’s peculiar practices before asking “ prime minister , i ’m not clear why practices such as female genital mutilation , forcing children to marry and what have you , how they ’re being or could be included in values questions when they ’re already illegal under australian law . what ’s the need for a values question when it ’s illegal under australians law , australian law ? that “ these values [ in the test ] are n’t really enforceable outside of the law . if someone passes a test and says , “ tick , yes i do n’t beat my wife . tick , i know who [ cricket player ] another journalist scoffed at the test , saying “ these values [ in the test ] are n’t really enforceable outside of the law . if someone passes a test and says , “ tick , yes i do n’t beat my wife . tick , i know who [ cricket player ] don bradman is . i ’m an australian citizen ” and then they do n’t express australian values , what happens ? ” turnbull pushed back , saying : but the point is , what [ the current written test ] does n’t go to or does n’t go to sufficiently are those questions of values and at the heart , at the very heart of our success is mutual respect respect for each other , respect for people of different faiths and different cultures and respect of women and children . that is , you know as i ’ve , you ’ve often heard me say this . you know , not all disrespecting women , disrespecting women ends up in violence against women but that ’s where all violence against women begins . so this is a very important , very important australian values respect , mutual respect , respect for women and children and that is going to be , that is a key australian value , who would argue with that ? is it reflected in our current process ? no it ’s not , it should be . on april 17 , turnbull announced his party would reform the “ 457 ” visa program , which allowed australian companies to bring in foreign workers for skilled and unskilled jobs throughout australia . the 457 visa will be replaced by a narrower visa program that will only be used to bring in workers who can not be found in australia and who can integrate australian society , he said . that push is also similar to trump ’s effort to revamp the unpopular outsourcing program . echoing trump ’s “ buy american , hire american ” theme , turnbull said that the goal os his reform is “ australian jobs for australians first … this is all about australians’ interst , this is about jobs for australians . ” the new program will have a “ focus on australia ’s interests , ” he said . “ we ’re putting australians first … australian workers must have priority for australian jobs , ” he said . this article has been updated with additional information about australia ’s rising support for nationalist policies . follow neil munro on twitter @neilmunrodc or email the author at nmunro@breitbart . com ,
+1 social media is censoring fbi ’s re - opened clinton email investigation washingtonsblog posted on october 30 , 2016 by washingtonsblog zero hedge reports that twitter , facebook , buzzfeed and snapchat appear to be censoring the biggest bombshell of this election cycle … that the fbi re - opened its investigation of clinton ’s emails 11 days before the election . i can add that i ’ve been checking reddit ’s front page – the top 25 stories – every day , and there has n’t been a single reference to the fbi , clinton or emails since the fbi made its announcement . as we ’ve documented for years , social media is manipulated by the powers - that - be to prevent news that challenges the status quo from going viral .
+0 hamas refuses to turn in islamic state loyalists to egypt ali waked hamas has turned down egypt ’s request to extradite detained jihadists who have been involved in insurgency against the egyptian army , a hamas official told breitbart jerusalem . [ hamas’ deputy diplomatic leader mousa abu marzouk and former prime minister ismail haniyeh met with egyptian military officials this week . “ extraditing jihadists to egypt would send significant shockwaves across the gaza strip and will create a backlash among hamas loyalists , most notably its military wing operatives , ” a hamas official told breitbart jerusalem . he said the fate of the jihadists detained by hamas was a central part of the negotiation between the two parties and the main impediment to progress in an overall positive process of rapprochement with egypt . “ haniyeh and marzouk gave all the information they had about islamic state loyalists in the gaza strip , including some specific names that the egyptians raised , ” he said . “ they also pledged that they ’ll pass on any information their interrogation may yield . but extradition remains a bone of contention . ” he said that security arrangements across the border to prevent the movement of militants between sinai and gaza have been discussed , as well as the establishment of a joint force . he failed to disclose any further details about this . meanwhile , hamas has continued to loosen its grip on is sympathizers in gaza . a gaza jihadi affiliated with is ideology said that for the first time in almost a year hamas has allowed detainees to be visited by their families . abu baker almuhajer surmised that hamas is hoping to persuade welayat sinai , is ’s egyptian affiliate , to send a weapons shipment it has delayed . speaking to egyptian journalists in cairo , marzouk said that hamas “ turned over a new leaf with egypt , and no longer shelters anyone who may be a risk to egypt ’s national security . ” he said hamas’ relationship with egypt was better than it had ever been , and that the egyptian judiciary had failed to link hamas to attacks against egyptian targets . “ currently , there are no more outstanding issues between us and our egyptian brothers , ” he said . “ we received from them a wanted list , comprising very few names , and we ’ll discuss each of them individually . ”
+1 comment on u.s. federal judge asks : where are the christian refugees ? by auntie lulu auntie lulu posted on october 31 , 2016 by dr. eowyn | 2 comments christians are one of the main targets of the islamic state as they cut a murderous swath through syria and iraq . and yet , christians constitute only 0.5 % of the syrian refugees whom the obama administration has admitted into the united states . on october 21 , 2016 , in his concurrent opinion in the case of heartland alliance national immigrant justice center v. u.s. department of homeland security , judge daniel manion , a federal appellate court judge for the u.s. seventh circuit , issued a sharp rejoinder to the obama administration over the almost complete lack of syrian christian refugees being admitted to the u.s. note : heartland alliance national immigrant justice center is a “ progressive ” liberal advocacy organization . the heartland alliance v. dhs case has nothing to do with christian refugees , but pertains to heartland alliance ’s foia request to the dhs for information on tier iii terrorist organizations . while concurring in the 7th circuit court ’s ruling , judge daniel manion explains why he ’s writing separately . on pages 7 - 8 of u.s. court of appeal for the seventh circuit no . 16 - 1840 heartland alliance national immigrant justice center v. u.s. department of homeland security , judge manion writes : “ i write separately for a second , critical reason , which is my concern about the apparent lack of syrian christians as a part of immigrants from that country . it is possible that our case bears a direct link to this enigma . it is well‐documented that refugees to the united states are not representative of that war‐torn area of the world . perhaps 10 percent of the population of syria is christian , and yet less than one‐half of one percent of syrian refugees admitted to the united states this year are christian . ¹ recognizing the crisis in syria , the president in 2015 set a goal of resettling 10,000 refugees in the united states . and in august the government reached this laudable goal . and yet , of the nearly 11,000 refugees admitted by mid‐september , only 56 were christian . to date , there has not been a good explanation for this perplexing discrepancy . ” judge manion also noted that while the obama administration is bringing syrian refugees into the country by the thousands , it is concealing basic information about those refugees behind a wall of government secrecy , including whether terrorists are among the refugees . the administration refuses to tell the american public or the states how it is making its decisions on who are accepted for resettlement in the u.s. , or even what steps it is taking to ensure there are no terrorists among the refugees . nor is congress exercising its oversight functions . as manion writes in his concurrent opinion : “ the good people of this country routinely welcome immigrants from all over the world . but in a democracy , good data is critical to public debate about national immigration policy . when we demand high evidentiary burdens for states seeking to keep their citizens safe , and then prevent the states from that evidence , we create a catch-22.² [ … ] and yet , congress , through the exemptions to foia , has consciously made the decision to limit what governmental information is available to the public . if congress is concerned about how immigration officers are making their decisions related to the designation and application of the tier iii terrorist organization affiliation , congress has the authority to act . congress has its own oversight capabilities and subpoena power , and congress could choose to amend our nation ’s sunshine laws or our immigration laws . until that time , however , many of us remain in the dark as a humanitarian catastrophe continues . ” daniel manion , 74 , is a senior jurist on the united states court of appeals for the seventh circuit whose chambers are located in south bend , indiana . he was an indiana state senator ( r ) from 1978 - 82 . in 1986 , manion was nominated by president ronald reagan to the 7th circuit court .
+0 new york times : ’what does steve bannon want?’ breitbart news weekly standard senior editor christoper caldwell writes at the new york times:[president trump presents a problem to those who look at politics in terms of systematic ideologies . he is either disinclined or unable to lay out his agenda in that way . so perhaps it was inevitable that mr. trump ’s chief strategist , stephen k. bannon , who does have a gift for thinking systematically , would be so often invoked by mr. trump ’s opponents . they need him not just as a hate object but as a heuristic , too . there may never be a “ trumpism , ” and unless one emerges , the closest we may come to understanding this administration is as an expression of “ bannonism . ” mr. bannon , 63 , has won a reputation for abrasive brilliance at almost every stop in his unorthodox career — as a naval officer , goldman sachs mergers specialist , financier , documentary screenwriter and director , breitbart news impresario and chief executive of mr. trump ’s presidential campaign . one harvard business school classmate described him to the boston globe as “ top three in intellectual horsepower in our class — perhaps the smartest . ” benjamin harnwell of the institute for human dignity , a catholic organization in rome , calls him a “ walking bibliography . ” perhaps because mr. bannon came late to conservatism , turning his energy to political matters only after the sept. 11 attacks , he radiates an excitement about it that most of his conservative contemporaries long ago lost . … many accounts of mr. bannon paint him as a cartoon villain or internet troll come to life , as a bigot , an a misogynist , a . the former house speaker nancy pelosi and representative jerrold nadler , democrat of new york , have even called him a “ white nationalist . ” while he is certainly a conservative of some kind , the evidence that he is an extremist of a more troubling sort has generally been either massaged , misread or hyped up . there may be good reasons to worry about mr. bannon , but they are not the ones everyone is giving . it does not make mr. bannon a fascist that he happens to know who the italian extremist julius evola is . it does not make mr. bannon a racist that he described breitbart as “ the platform for the ” — a broad and imprecise term that applies to a wide array of radicals , not just certain white supremacist groups . … when mr. bannon spoke on thursday of “ deconstructing the administrative state , ” it may have sounded like gobbledygook outside the hall , but it was an electrifying profession of faith for the attendees . it is through mr. bannon that trumpism can be converted from a set of nostalgic laments and complaints into a program for overhauling the government . read the complete column at the new york times .
+0 barkley : muslims , immigrants , lgbt people ’getting to feel what black people feel like now’ - breitbart trent baker thursday between ncaa tournament games , cbs and tnt basketball analyst charles barkley reacted to duke blue devils head coach ripping “ stupid ” north carolina ’s house bill no . 2 , saying lgbt people , muslims and immigrants are now “ getting to feel what black people feel ” in regards to discrimination . these comments come just days after barkley said he was “ disappointed in the muslim ban . ” “ no . 1 , i really admire and respect coach krzyzewski because he does n’t have to do anything . he ’s already a living legend . he ’s got more money than he ’s ever gon na spend , but i really appreciate him standing up for my gay friends , ” barkley said . “ now , my point , as a black man , ” he continued , “ i am against any form of discrimination whether you ’re gay , muslim , hispanic , jewish , whatever , and , if people in position of power do n’t support these people , they ’re gon na be left in a lurch by themselves . ” barkley later added , “ all these other groups are getting to feel what black people feel like now . with the muslim ban , they ’re deporting these immigrants , white folks are actually getting an opportunity to feel what black people have always felt . discrimination is wrong in any shape whatsoever . ” follow trent baker on twitter @magnifitrent
+1 why is the foreign policy establishment spoiling for more war ? look at their donors . dennis j. kucinich written by dennis j. kucinich wednesday october 26 , 2016 washington , dc , may be the only place in the world where people openly flaunt their pseudo - intellectuality by banding together , declaring themselves “ think tanks , ” and raising money from external interests , including foreign governments , to compile reports that advance policies inimical to the real - life concerns of the american people . as a former member of the house of representatives , i remember 16 years of congressional hearings where pedigreed experts came to advocate wars in testimony based on circular , rococo thinking devoid of depth , reality , and truth . i remember other hearings where the pentagon was unable to reconcile over $ 1 trillion in accounts , lost track of $ 12 billion in cash sent to iraq , and rigged a missile - defense test so that an interceptor could easily home in on a target . war is first and foremost a profitable racket . how else to explain that in the past 15 years this city ’s so called bipartisan foreign policy elite has promoted wars in iraq and libya , and interventions in syria and yemen , which have opened pandora ’s box to a trusting world , to the tune of trillions of dollars , a windfall for military contractors . dc ’s think “ tanks ” should rightly be included in the taxonomy of armored war vehicles and not as gathering places for refugees from academia . according to the front page of this past friday ’s washington post , the bipartisan foreign - policy elite recommends the next president show less restraint than president obama . acting at the urging of “ liberal ” hawks brandishing humanitarian intervention , read war , the obama administration attacked libya along with allied powers working through nato . the think tankers fell in line with the iraq invasion . not being in the tank , i did my own analysis of the call for war in october of 2002 , based on readily accessible information , and easily concluded that there was no justification for war . i distributed it widely in congress and led 125 democrats in voting against the iraq war resolution . there was no money to be made from a conclusion that war was uncalled for , so , against millions protesting in the united states and worldwide , our government launched into an abyss , with a lot of armchair generals waving combat pennants . the marching band and chowder society of dc think tanks learned nothing from the iraq and libya experience . the only winners were arms dealers , oil companies , and jihadists . immediately after the fall of libya , the black flag of al queda was raised over a municipal building in benghazi , qaddafi ’s murder was soon to follow , with secretary clinton quipping with a laugh , “ we came , we saw , he died . ” president obama apparently learned from this misadventure , but not the washington policy establishment , which is spoiling for more war . the self - identified liberal center for american progress ( cap ) is now calling for syria to be bombed , and estimates america ’s current military adventures will be tidied up by 2025 , a tardy twist on “ mission accomplished . ” cap , according to a report in the nation , has received funding from war contractors lockheed martin and boeing , who make the bombers that cap wants to rain hellfire on syria . the brookings institute has taken tens of millions from foreign governments , notably qatar , a key player in the military campaign to oust assad . retired four - star marine general john allen is now a brookings senior fellow . charles lister is a senior fellow at the middle east institute , which has received funding from saudi arabia , the major financial force providing billions in arms to upend assad and install a sunni caliphate stretching across iraq and syria . foreign - government money is driving our foreign policy . as the drumbeat for an expanded war gets louder , allen and lister jointly signed an op - ed in the sunday washington post , calling for an attack on syria . the brookings institute , in a report to congress , admitted it received $ 250,000 from the us central command , centcom , where general allen shared leadership duties with general david petraeus . pentagon money to think tanks that endorse war ? this is academic integrity , dc - style . and why is central command , as well as the food and drug administration , the us department of transportation , and the us department of health and human services giving money to brookings?former secretary of state madeleine albright , who famously told colin powell , “ what ’s the point of having this superb military you ’re always talking about if we ca n’t use it , ” predictably says of this current moment , “ we do think there needs to be more american action . ” a former bush administration top adviser is also calling for the united states to launch a cruise missile attack on syria . the american people are fed up with war , but a concerted effort is being made through fearmongering , propaganda , and lies to prepare our country for a dangerous confrontation with russia in syria . the demonization of russia is a calculated plan to resurrect a raison d’être for stone - cold warriors trying to escape from the dustbin of history by evoking the specter of russian world domination . it ’s infectious . earlier this year the bbc broadcast a fictional show that contemplated wwiii , beginning with a russian invasion of latvia ( where 26 percent of the population is ethnic russian and 34 percent of latvians speak russian at home ) . the imaginary wwiii scenario conjures russia ’s targeting london for a nuclear strike . no wonder that by the summer of 2016 a poll showed two - thirds of uk citizens approved the new british pm ’s launching a nuclear strike in retaliation . so much for learning the lessons detailed in the chilcot report . as this year ’s presidential election comes to a conclusion , the washington ideologues are regurgitating the same bipartisan consensus that has kept america at war since 9/11 and made the world a decidedly more dangerous place . the dc think tanks provide cover for the political establishment , a political safety net , with a fictive analytical framework providing a moral rationale for intervention , capitol casuistry . i ’m fed up with the dc policy elite who cash in on war while presenting themselves as experts , at the cost of other people ’s lives , our national fortune , and the sacred honor of our country . any report advocating war that comes from any alleged think tank ought to be accompanied by a list of the think tank ’s sponsors and donors and a statement of the lobbying connections of the report ’s authors . it is our patriotic duty to expose why the dc foreign - policy establishment and its sponsors have not learned from their failures and instead are repeating them , with the acquiescence of the political class and sleepwalkers with press passes . it is also time for a new peace movement in america , one that includes progressives and libertarians alike , both in and out of congress , to organize on campuses , in cities , and towns across america , to serve as an effective counterbalance to the demuplican war party , its think tanks , and its media cheerleaders . the work begins now , not after the inauguration . we must not accept war as inevitable , and those leaders who would lead us in that direction , whether in congress or the white house , must face visible opposition . reprinted with author 's permission from the nation . related
+0 bill nunn , who played radio raheem in ‘ do the right thing,’ dies at 63 - the new york times liam stack bill nunn , a versatile actor best known for playing the role of radio raheem , the neighborhood philosopher killed by police officers in spike lee ’s 1989 film “ do the right thing , ” died on saturday in pittsburgh . he was 63 . his death was announced on social media by mr. lee . his wife , donna , told the associated press that mr. nunn had cancer . the first major acting role for mr. nunn , the son of a professional football scout , was in the 1988 film “ school daze , ” also written and directed by mr. lee . the next year brought the critically acclaimed “ do the right thing , ” in which he played radio raheem , who carries a boombox blaring public enemy ’s “ fight the power ” through the streets of the area of brooklyn on the hottest day of summer . radio raheem sits at the moral heart of the film , delivering a soliloquy directly to the camera on the ceaseless contest between love and hate , symbolized by the rings he wears on each hand . the character ’s choking death at the hands of police officers in front of a crowd of his neighbors incites the film ’s wrenching final scenes . mr. nunn became a popular character actor after “ do the right thing ” and appeared in a variety of films , including “ new jack city , ” “ sister act ” and the “ ” trilogy by the director sam raimi . in 2004 he appeared in a broadway revival of “ raisin in the sun ” as bobo , alongside audra mcdonald , phylicia rashad and sean combs . but it was his performance as radio raheem that allowed him to make his greatest mark , mr. nunn said in an interview with abc news to mark the 25th anniversary of the film ’s release . he was a frequent collaborator of mr. lee and also appeared in his films “ mo’ better blues ” and “ he got game . ” mr. lee referred to him on saturday as ” my dear friend , my dear morehouse brother . ” they both attended morehouse college in atlanta . william goldwyn nunn iii was born on oct. 20 , 1952 , in pittsburgh . his father was bill nunn , a scout for the pittsburgh steelers who helped build a football powerhouse in the 1970s by recruiting from the football programs at historically black colleges and universities . he died in 2014 . mr. lee memorialized mr. nunn in a series of social media posts on saturday , sharing the text of his “ do the right thing ” soliloquy as well as pictures of him as radio raheem . on social media , mr. lee cited the death of eric garner , who died after an officer placed him in a chokehold on staten island in 2014 , as evidence of the continuing resonance of radio raheem ’s violent death . in an interview with abc news in 2014 , mr. nunn reflected on the death of mr. garner , which was captured on video and helped propel a nationwide debate on the treatment of black men by the police . much like the character that brought him to fame , mr. nunn focused on the need for love . “ you know you ’re watching a guy lose his life , ” mr. nunn said in the interview . “ for me , i ’m just getting a little tired of watching these mothers on television , these poor mothers grieving their sons and children . it makes me wonder sometimes about where the compassion is . ”
+1 trump ’s new defense strategy on ‘ access hollywood’ tape : blame the microphone sean colarossi thu , oct 27th , 2016 at 9:02 pm it 's amazing how often a microphone can be the root of a presidential candidate 's troubles . share on twitter print this post in an interview with bill o’reilly on thursday , donald trump was again asked about the ‘ access hollywood’ tape in which the republican nominee was caught bragging about sexually assaulting women . this time , though , he put up a new defense strategy , at least when it comes to this particular issue – blame the microphone . when asked by o’reilly if he thinks he would be winning the election if not for the release of the video , trump once again repeated that it was only “ locker room talk , ” and then started complaining that a microphone should n’t have been allowed to capture his comments . shockingly , he did not express any regrets for his language . video : — sean colarossi ( @seancolarossi ) october 28 , 2016 “ it was locker room talk . the microphone was not supposed to be on … it was an illegal act that was nbc . it was not supposed to be on … that was a private dressing room . ” it ’s amazing how often a microphone can be the root of a presidential candidate ’s troubles . it should also be noted that trump ’s complaint about his dressing room privacy being breached is particularly rich given his history of storming into the dressing rooms of teenage pageant contestants , some as young as 15 years old . when asked by o’reilly if he would take legal action against nbc ’s role in uncovering and releasing the tape , trump said , “ you ’ll see . ” all of this comes after trump recently promised to sue the growing number of women who have come forward saying that they were sexually assaulted by him . trump also spent an absurd amount of time in the interview complaining that the media is rigged ( not true ) , voter fraud is widespread ( false ) , and the polls are dirty ( they ’re not ) . even in the right - wing safe haven that is fox news , donald trump still managed to prove himself as dangerously unfit to be president .
+1 are we all angels who were cast down to earth ? nan 10 question : are we all angels who were cast down from our first estate ? one of the most renown scriptures containing the parable of the sower of seed is matthew 13 . let ’s have a closer look at each and every planted seed that fell and use only the definition of the word of god itself to interpret the scripture . you are an angel who fell from grace and was birthed into the vesica pisces ( flesh host body ) to live out a refinement of faith unto the redemption of your soul . is this the answer ? let us know what you think after considering the information presented within this short video . :) tags
+1 two going to jail for terrifying thing they were doing inside voting place amanda shea share this 74-year - old gladys coego ( left ) , 33-year - old tomika curgil ( right ) after being entrusted with a room full of votes , two florida women were on the job when a co - worker showed up and caught what they were hiding at the ballot center . terrified by what they had just walked in on , the employee immediately reported it to the police , and now , these two are where they belong — in jail . evidently , democrats will trust anyone with a pulse to do a job that requires a lot of honesty and integrity , then turn around and tell voting citizens not to worry about voter fraud because it “ is n’t real . ” this line , discrediting conservatives’ concern , has been repeated extensively by pro - hillary clinton liberal media over the last couple of weeks , assuming that americans are stupid enough to ignore what they see and take their word for it . however , the more they say it , the more proof comes out . what happened in the battleground state of florida should terrify everyone relying on an honest system for donald trump to win . we saw a situation in 2012 that reeked of undeniable voter fraud when mitt romney was ahead in the polls by a landslide but lost , which was likely due in part to entire counties strangely missing every single vote for the republican . we ’re supposed to just accept that nothing of the sort will happen this year , even though it seems to occur every election . two miami women just proved liberals wrong with what they were caught doing during a mayoral race and ballot initiative , which you can only assume takes place for presidential elections when the stakes are much higher . according to the miami herald , 74-year - old gladys coego was simply supposed to open completed ballots sent in from county voters and set them aside . however , she took this trust as an opportunity to give her mayoral candidate of choice , raquel regalado , an unknown number of votes . she apparently wanted regalado to win bad enough that she was willing to commit a felony to make it happen . democrats would excuse this fraudulent voting behavior as a very rare instance that ’s not of concern for any other race , however , 33-year - old tomika curgil disproved that lie with the voter fraud she also committed in florida . curgil is accused of taking liberties to complete ballots for her own agenda , without people ’s consent , and also “ submitted at least 17 forms for people who apparently do n’t exist — and several forms for people who are dead , ” the miami herald explained . if voter fraud is n’t real , then these two dishonest ballot - workers would n’t have been arrested for it . what they were willing to do in a small election setting , with rather innocuous results , only proves that the same desperate level of dishonesty is bound to occur when it come to ensuring their equally dishonest leader takes office .
+1 red alert : ‘ dirty bomb’ stolen from a lab by a gunmen eddy lavine posted by eddie gun man have stolen a dirty bomb by force in mexico and now the bomb can be on its way into the united states . why is the media remaining silent on such an issue ? i do not have any idea , but i know that mainstream media is controlled by 6 giant corporations … .. so it raises my curiosity even more . a device containing radioactive substances including cesium-37 and americium - beryllium , was stolen from a government research facility in mexico . authorities are currently working to track down the group of men who grabbed the device sunday night during an assault on a national construction laboratory warehouse in tultitlan , mexico state .
+0 european union , donald trump , bernie sanders : your friday evening briefing - the new york times andrea kannapell and sandra stevenson ( want to get this briefing by email ? here ’s the . ) good evening . here ’s the latest . 1 . markets shook , the pound and euro dropped , and european leaders called emergency meetings after britons unnerved the continent by voting to leave the european union . exactly how the “ brexit ” will unfold is unclear , but prime minister david cameron said he was not the man to lead the country through it and will step down . here ’s a short rundown of the basics . _ _ _ _ _ 2 . young people had made up one of the strongest blocs against leaving . “ truly gutted that our grandparents have effectively decided that they hate foreigners more than they love us and our futures , ” one tweeted . some britons appeared confused about what they had done . google reported a spike in searches for “ what happens if we leave the e. u. ? ” as well as “ what is the e. u. ? ” thousands of readers posted comments . one wrote : “ i ’m british , but i ’m not sure what that means anymore . ” _ _ _ _ _ 3 . president obama said britain ’s “ special relationship ” with the u. s. would endure . donald trump , whose political base voices the same kind of populist anger heard in britain , forecast benefits to british business . he included his own scottish golf resort , which he happened to be visiting . “ when the pound goes down , more people are coming to turnberry , frankly , ” he said . _ _ _ _ _ 4 . bernie sanders commands a fearsome digital army , adept in social media , that captured more than $ 200 million in donations . now he appears to be ready to drop his candidacy and shift his focus . “ i ’m going to do everything i can do to defeat donald trump , ” he told msnbc ’s “ morning joe ” — including vote for hillary clinton . _ _ _ _ _ 5 . our movie reviewers have this to say about the this weekend ’s big openings : “ independence day : resurgence ” is a good bet only for those with an overwhelming love of . “ swiss army man , ” with daniel radcliffe as a corpse who makes paul dano ’s life worth living , is “ weird and wonderful , disgusting and demented . ” and “ free state of jones ” reconstructs a fascinating bit of civil war history , with matthew mcconaughey leading a guerrilla army of white deserters and escaped slaves against the confederacy . _ _ _ _ _ 6 . mementos of whitey bulger ’s gruesome career as a boston mobster went up for auction , five years after he was convicted of 11 murder charges . there was his prized replica of a 1986 stanley cup championship ring and a cup that he used as a pencil holder . the ring marked “ 1103 ” above is a sterling silver “ psycho killer skull ” that he left in a london safe deposit box , along with $ 50 , 000 cash , during his early years as a fugitive . _ _ _ _ _ 7 . more distress for the deeply troubled summer olympics in rio de janeiro . the brazilian laboratory set to handle drug testing was suspended for “ nonconformity ” with international standards . the lab can appeal , but for the moment , the world agency said it would send samples outside brazil for testing . _ _ _ _ _ 8 . the swimmer michael phelps , now 30 and the most decorated athlete in olympic history , is aiming for five olympic berths in trials that begin sunday . one of our stories today traces his fall and his resurrection , starting at a treatment center in arizona . his coach said : “ he hid everything that makes him human for 12 years . the rehab is what opened him up . ” _ _ _ _ _ 9 . west virginia deployed hundreds of national guard members and struggled to restore power to thousands of people after storms pounded the state with as much as nine inches of rain over eight hours . at least 14 people were killed in what the national weather service called a “ event . ” _ _ _ _ _ 10 . finally , as schools start their summer breaks , classroom animals are heading out too . our reporter followed an exodus of gerbils , mice , corn snakes , turtles , rabbits , guinea pigs , geckos , and frogs — not to mention lucy the chinchilla , above — in new york city alone . “ you learn new things here , ” one girl said of her teacher ’s vanishing menagerie . “ like , you have to put vitamins on the mouse before you feed it to the snake . ” have a great weekend ! _ _ _ _ _ your evening briefing is posted at 6 p. m. eastern . and do n’t miss your morning briefing , posted weekdays at 6 a. m. eastern , and your weekend briefing , posted at 6 a. m. sundays . want to look back ? here ’s last night ’s briefing . what did you like ? what do you want to see here ? let us know at briefing@nytimes . com .
+0 bill paxton , star of ‘ big love’ and movie blockbusters , dies at 61 - the new york times erin mccann bill paxton , the affable actor who was a in a string of 1990s blockbuster movies including “ twister , ” “ titanic ” and “ apollo 13 , ” and who later played the lead in the critically acclaimed television drama “ big love , ” has died . he was 61 . his death , from complications of surgery , was announced on sunday by a family representative . the statement did not say when or where mr. paxton died , but rolling stone magazine reported that he died on saturday . early in his career , mr. paxton had small parts in “ the terminator ” ( 1984 ) and “ aliens ” ( 1986 ) . both films were directed by james cameron , who later featured him in more roles : as a salesman who cheated jamie lee curtis ’s character in “ true lies ” ( 1994 ) and as the scientist who salvaged the wreck of the ocean liner in “ titanic ” ( 1997 ) . he also starred in ron howard ’s film “ apollo 13 ” ( 1995 ) portraying fred haise , one of three astronauts on a mission to the moon that experienced serious mechanical problems , and in “ twister ” ( 1996 ) as a . mr. paxton appeared regularly on television in the last decade . on the hbo series “ big love , ” from 2006 to 2011 , he played bill henrickson , the patriarch of a polygamist family in utah , receiving three golden globe nominations for his portrayal . in 2012 , he was nominated for an emmy award for playing randolph mccoy in the “ hatfields mccoys ” on the history channel . and in 2014 he appeared in six episodes of “ marvel ’s agents of s. h. i. e. l. d. ” on abc . mr. paxton returned to tv this year as the star of “ training day , ” cbs ’s new police drama . a spinoff of the 2001 movie starring denzel washington , the series had its premiere this month , and only four episodes have been broadcast . in total , 13 episodes of “ training day ” have been filmed , and mr. paxton appears in all of them . for now , the show will continue to be shown on thursday nights , but its future is not certain . reviews have been mixed — though mr. paxton ’s performance as a rogue cop has been praised — and its ratings have been low , averaging little more than four million viewers . in a statement , cbs and warner bros. television offered no word on the show ’s future . william paxton was born on may 17 , 1955 , in fort worth , the son of the former mary lou gray and john lane paxton , a businessman and sometime actor . when he was 8 , bill and his brother , bob , were taken by their father to see president john f. kennedy on the morning of nov. 22 , 1963 , in fort worth , hours before his assassination in dallas . “ i remember just a really euphoric crowd , ” he recalled in a 2013 interview . “ i was a bit young to really understand later the consequences of the event . ” there is a photograph of mr. paxton from that morning , perched on a stranger ’s shoulders . he graduated from arlington heights high school in fort worth and moved to los angeles the next year to break into the film industry , finding jobs as a production assistant and set dresser . at 21 he enrolled in new york university , where he studied with the acting teacher stella adler , but dropped out after two years to return to los angeles to pursue acting there . “ i did n’t see any point in a degree , ” he told texas monthly . “ i did n’t see where i ’d be filling that in on an application for any kind of job . ” mr. paxton ’s survivors include his wife of more than 30 years , louise newbury and two children , james and lydia . long before his role in “ big love , ’’ mr. paxton was in assessing his status in hollywood . “ it ’s always a little frustrating when you ’re reading a script after 10 guys ahead of you have had a chance to pick it over , ” he said in 1998 . “ you can almost see the bread crumbs . i have n’t had a role that ’s propelled me into major stardom . sure , i ’ve had roles that put me on the playing field . a lot of base hits . no home runs . ”
+1 trump makes special announcement after homeless lady attacked by liberals dom the conservative share this after a homeless black trump supporter was brutally set upon by an intolerant liberal mob , donald trump made an incredible announcement . a homeless black woman who has been guarding donald trump ’s hollywood walk of fame star from vandals was recently set upon by ruthless liberals , ripping up her signs and assaulting the helpless woman . however , as soon as trump heard about what the leftist thugs had done , he immediately issued a special announcement that has us cheering . after privileged millionaire james otis obliterated the donald ’s sidewalk star on wednesday , an unnamed homeless woman boldly took it upon herself to act as guardian , making the cold slab her new temporary home . utilizing her sleeping spot as her own political platform , the courageous vagrant created signs to peacefully showcase her support for trump . unfortunately , she underestimated just how savage and intolerant liberals are , especially when it comes to the minorities they claim to champion expressing a different opinion . just one day after the homeless woman set up residence next to trump ’s star , a mob of vicious anti - trump thugs attacked her , rt reports . after pushing her around and stealing her signs , some of the only property she owns , the animals knocked her and her cart down , continuing to hurl sickening insults and snatch things . video captured the enraging assault , showing the woman lying on the ground , shaking , and holding back tears . fortunately , the heart - breaking story quickly made its way to trump , the only politician concerned with this transient ’s well - being . now , the republican nominee has made an incredible announcement befitting of a u.s. president . the gateway pundit reports that trump was so appalled by the mob ’s treatment of this destitute woman that he has not only announced that he has a special “ gift ” for the victim but promises to seek justice for her barbaric abusers . the presidential candidate ’s attorney , michael cohen , proclaimed on friday that trump promises the woman will have “ the last laugh on these thugs . ” . @diamondandsilk @realdonaldtrump someone please help me locate this woman as mr. trump has a gift for her … — michael cohen ( @michaelcohen212 ) october 28 , 2016 at trump ’s behest , cohen exploded on twitter , repeatedly requesting followers to find the homeless woman . he explained that they have checked , but she is no longer staying on trump ’s star . however , the candidate wants to “ change her life ” when he finds her . proving just how passionate trump is about helping the woman , cohen spent much of friday responding to tweets , hoping to find some clue as to the woman ’s current whereabouts . one user asserted that the woman is marsha lee , a resident of santa monica . however , it is unclear if this information is accurate . cohen assured that the police are investigating the incident and he and trump will do everything possible to see that the thugs responsible for the assault are brought to justice . it ’s truly heart - warming to see such a powerful man going out of his way to do something significant for someone considered “ the least of these . ” hopefully , this woman will receive the mystery gift trump has waiting for her and the savages who bullied an innocent homeless person will be punished for their cowardly behavior . of course , do n’t expect hillary clinton or barack obama to say that her black life matters or even apologize for the thuggery of their own supporters . in fact , neither of them has come forward to help the unfortunate victim of their national policies that never helped her off the streets in the first place . this stomach - churning incident just goes to show how tolerant the left is when it comes to blacks , or anyone else for that matter , simply having an opinion with which they disagree .
+0 peter schweizer : fbi naming kushner ‘ person of interest’ marks ‘ major shift in the russian investigation’ john hayward on friday ’s breitbart news daily , breitbart news senior peter schweizer looked forward to the g7 summit in sicily as president trump ’s “ first big meeting where he ’s dealing with major allies and very complex issues . ” [ “ a lot of times , if you look at presidents in the past , these first meetings take on extreme importance because they set the tone for how the relationship is going to go later on , ” schweizer told siriusxm host alex marlow . “ the audience is probably with during the cold war how soviet leaders would test the resolve of people like president kennedy and ronald reagan , to see what they were made of , ” he recalled . “ well , our allies kind of do the same thing — not with the same hostility , but when you have contentious issues they ’re going to be looking , in their interactions with donald trump , at how wedded is he to the positions he staked out on climate change ? how wedded is he on issues of immigration ? is there flexibility , is he going to move ? and if he is going to move , how best to do it ? ” he anticipated . schweizer said it would be interesting to watch the reaction from world leaders to their interactions with trump , looking for indications they are willing to move toward his position on contentious issues , or that they believe he is willing to move toward theirs . “ we ’ll get a pretty good sense in the next couple of days precisely what their assessment is of the new american president , ” he predicted . marlow asked for schweizer ’s take on the news that president trump ’s jared kushner has become a focus of the investigation into possible russian interference with the 2016 election . “ first of all , jared kushner has significant ties to people in russia , meaning financial ties , deals that have been done , ” schweizer responded . “ some of those are direct ties with investors where he shares investments in a company . in other instances , they ’re people that perhaps are investors that are now based out of israel , but are very tied commercially to russia . that ’s the first part of it . ” “ the second part of it , though , is what ’s kind of emerged is that some of the individuals that popped up initially in the russia investigation — paul manafort , for example — we now know that actually paul manafort , one of the reasons he was hired or brought into the trump circle was in part because jared kushner thought it would be a good idea , ” he continued . “ that ’s really the main reason why the fbi is looking , ” he said . “ to be very clear , when the fbi uses the term ‘ person of interest,’ that does not mean that they ’re saying they ’ve committed a crime . what they ’re looking for is for him to talk and share with them about what he knows , as it relates to individuals , actions , deals that might have been done . they ’re simply saying , ‘ this is a guy that is going to have interesting things to say to us , and will help us in the investigation . ’ ” “ we want to be clear and make sure people know it does not mean that there ’s guilt . it does not mean that he is obstructing or not cooperating . they are simply saying , ‘ this is an individual that we are talking to,’ ” schweizer stressed . “ i think the accounts are so far that he is talking to them and trying to be cooperative . ” “ but it ’s a major change and shift in the investigation , really for a couple of reasons , ” he noted . “ first of all , it means they ’ve moved away from simply looking at paul manafort and carter page — people that are no longer part of trump ’s inner circle , that were essentially let go during the campaign . it second of all means that you now have a family member that they are saying played some kind of role , in some way , in negotiations or discussions with individuals that might be tied to the russians . ” marlow asked if it was surprising to see the media swarm on kushner when “ by all accounts , he seems like a guy who agrees mostly with the worldview of the establishment press . ” schweizer saw it as important evidence against the notion that “ if you appease the political left on certain political views , they ’re going to leave you alone . ” “ it does n’t work that way , because the political left wants everything , ” he contended . “ they do n’t want something , they want everything , which means they want their people in there . that ’s how the game is played . ” “ i think the reason that jared kushner is getting a lot of attention is simply because he is viewed by many people as perhaps the most powerful person in the white house , other than the president himself , ” schweizer speculated . “ now , that of course is subject to debate , but that i think is the perception . part of that is not just because of the real power , but because he ’s related to the president . you ca n’t fire your per se . he ’s always going to have a seat at the table . ” referring to a new york times piece on kushner ’s real estate holdings , schweizer observed that kushner owns a large number of residential properties . “ the company that he owns has a reputation for being very , very tough on renters . if their rent payment is a couple of hours late , they will get a notice of eviction claims from tenants that they ’re not very responsive to repairs , ” schweizer observed . “ but something that i think is overlooked in this very long article is really one sentence , which talks about the fact that he procured thousands of these apartments in 2011 , really at prices , with the financial backing of freddie mac — which is the federal government ’s financing agency , ” he said . “ to me , that sets off alarm bells because you have an instance here where it looks like jared kushner benefited from this sort of crony capitalism government program . a business professional who benefits from these kinds of programs , it automatically raises concerns that they now become advocates for those types of government programs , ” he noted . “ i think part of it is , you do have this issue with apartments , people complaining about draconian management agencies and the unfairness . of course , there ’s two sides to those stories . we do n’t know where the truth lies . but the issue of the crony capitalism to me is the bigger concern , because again when it comes to the very difficult question of cutting government programs , particularly crony capitalism programs , perhaps there ’s going to be more reluctance for supporting those initiatives by jared kushner because he ’s benefited from them , ” said schweizer . breitbart news daily airs on siriusxm patriot 125 weekdays from 6:00 a. m. to 9:00 a. m. eastern .
+1 lowry and mcilroy off to good start at bltc - ntpl - bdtn - stfl tournament gerry mcbride we use cookies : our policy [ x ] lowry and mcilroy off to good start at bltc - ntpl - bdtn - stfl tournament october 28 , 2016 - breaking news , sport share 0 add comment play has begun at the bltc - ntpl - bdtn - stfl golf tournament in dubai , with irish hopefuls rory mcilroy and shane lowry off to a flying start in the early going . with the tournament sponsored by four of the biggest financial institutions on the planet , both lowry and mcilroy were able to shrug off any concerns about tropical diseases and viral infections , which hampered their availability for contests during the summer . staying under par for the first 9 holes , the two athletes are competing for more money than most people could possibly earn in ten lifetimes and expect to end the tournament with at least a healthy sum from sponsorship , appearance fees and endorsements . “ i ’ll be honest with you , i ’m not sure what all those initials stand for , ” said lowry , still zika - free . “ the ‘ bs’ are probably bank of something , ‘ n’ might be national … i could n’t tell you , truthfully . now back up out of the way while i earn a hundred grand ” . meanwhile mcilroy fielded angry questions from gamers wanting to know why the brazil level of this year ’s edition of rory mcilroy pga tour on ps4 was locked and unplayable .
+0 french foreign minister : assad ’s denials of chemical attack ’100 per cent lies’ breitbart london ( afp ) — syrian president bashar ’s comments that last week ’s chemical weapons attack was a fabrication to justify a us military strike are “ 100 percent lies ” french foreign minister ayrault said friday . [ “ it ’s 100 percent lies and propaganda , ” ayrault said during a visit to beijing , responding to an exclusive afp interview with assad on wednesday . “ it ’s 100 percent cruelty and cynicism . ” the french minister mirrored language used by assad himself , who dismissed the allegation that his regime perpetrated the attack that left 87 civilians dead , including many children . “ definitely , 100 percent for us , it ’s fabrication , ” assad said in the interview . the syrian leader questioned whether the attack had in fact occurred , claiming that “ fake videos ” and “ propaganda ” were being used against his government . he also accused the united states of colluding with terrorists and “ fabricating the whole story in order to have a pretext ” for a cruise missile strike on a syrian air base last week . the french minister made the remarks during a joint press conference with chinese foreign minister wang yi . “ the reality is that more than 300 , 000 have died , 11 million people have been displaced or become refugees , tens of thousands have been placed in syrian prisons and a country has been destroyed , ” ayrault said . “ that is the reality . it is not a fantasy . ” he emphasised the need for an end to the conflict with a “ real ceasefire , one which restricts the syrian air force and military and is upheld by the international community . ” ayrault praised china ’s role in the matter , noting its abstention from a united nations security council vote on a resolution to condemn the syrian gas attack . in the past , china has voted alongside russia to veto un resolutions on the syrian conflict . wang expressed his agreement with the french minister , noting that an “ independent , fair and professional investigation ” into the chemical weapons attack should be conducted “ as soon as possible . ”
+1 this is what legal weed will look like in california ariana this is what legal weed will look like in california amidst election madness , a proposition making marijuana legal just passed in california . here are 10 things you need to know about what that will look like in the golden state . although californians will be able to possess and grow marijuana immediately if it passes , people will not have a place to legally buy non - medical marijuana until stores become licensed . the state has until january 1 , 2018 to begin issuing retail licenses . state officials believe it will take almost a year to develop the regulations that will be applied to those who grow , transport , test , and sell cannabis . while some people are happy about this push to legalize marijuana , others worry about high taxation , and placement of the plant in the hands of wealthy corporations . here is an outline of what legal pot will look like in california according to what is outlined in the ballot measure . you will have to be an adult to legally smoke weed . the adult use of marijuana act will allow people who are 21 and older to posses , transport , and buy up to 28.5 grams of marijuana for recreational use . this expands upon an existing law that allows cannabis to be used for medical purposes . the initiative will allow adults to grow and use up to 6 marijuana plants on their property . medical marijuana patients will still be allowed to possess the amount needed to meet their medical needs , even in excess pf the 28.5 gram limit . you ca n’t smoke weed everywhere . you will not be allowed to light up a joint in public areas like sidewalks or in bars . the ballot measure does not allow marijuana to be smoked in public unless it is allowed be local ordinances . marijuana can also not be smoke in areas where state law already prohibits tobacco smoking . fines will be given to those caught smoking weed while driving a motor vehicle , boat , or aircraft . there will be fines . people who are busted smoking in public will be given a fine up to $ 100 . those caught smoke in a place where tobacco is also prohibited or near a school will be fined up to $ 250 . 21 and over . it will be prohibited to sell marijuana to non - medical users under the age of 21 . yet , medical marijuana can still be used by people who are under 21 . cannabis products can not be designed to appeal to children or to easily be confused with commercially sold candy . marijuana products will have to be packaged in child - resistant containers , and pot shops will be prohibited from allowing anyone under the age of 21 on their premises . there wo n’t be weed commercials on tv . the marketing of marijuana products to minors is prohibited which means ads will not be allowed to use symbols , language , music , or cartoon characters aimed at appealing to underage people . it will not be allowed for marijuana to be advertised on billboards located along an interstate highway or state highway that crosses the border of any other state . ads will not be allowed within 1,000 feet of day - care centers , schools , playgrounds , or youth centers . since federal law designated marijuana as an illegal drug , federally regulated television and radio will not advertise it . if federal law ever changes , prop 64 includes provisions that require broadcast , cable , radio , print , and digital marketing only to be displayed where at least 71.6 % of the audience is expected to be 21 and older . if you want to sell weed , tell the state . you will need a state license to open a pot shop and to grow weed for others . people who grow , process , transport , or sell marijuana must get a state license and pay a fee to cover the cost of the state processing and enforcing the license . businesses will not be allowed to sell marijuana within 600 feet of a school , day care center , or youth center . those running shops must undergo background checks to obtain a state license , and they can be denied if they have felony convictions involving violence , fraud , drug trafficking , or selling drugs to a minor . selling pot ? you must abide by these rules . the bureau of marijuana control inside the state department of consumer affairs will be given the job of creating , issuing , renewing , and revoking state licenses for the transportation , storage , distribution , and sale of marijuana . marijuana growers will have to get a license from the state department of food and agriculture . those who want to form businesses to manufacture and test marijuana products will be licensed and overseen by the state department of public health . selling pot without a license will come with penalties and sometimes even jail time . selling marijuana without a license can result in a misdemeanor charge with penalties of up to six months in jail and $ 500 in fines . engaging in any commercial activity in regard to weed without a license will come with civil penalties of up to three times the amount of the license fee for each violation . marijuana will be taxed . prop 64 will allow the state to impose a 15 % tax on the retail sale of marijuana . in addition , the state will be able to levy a cultivation tax on growers of $ 9.25 per ounce for flowers , and $ 2.75 per ounce for leaves . the measure will also allow cities and counties to impose their own taxes to cover costs of services , including enforcement . medical marijuana patients will be exempt from paying state sales taxes . california could make a lot of money on pot . state analysts believe that state taxes could generate up to $ 1 billion annually . ariana marisol is a contributing staff writer for realfarmacy.com . she is an avid nature enthusiast , gardener , photographer , writer , hiker , dreamer , and lover of all things sustainable , wild , and free . ariana strives to bring people closer to their true source , mother nature . she graduated the evergreen state college with an undergraduate degree focusing on sustainable design and environmental science . follow her adventures on instagram .
+1 lavrov and kerry discuss syrian settlement tass lavrov and kerry discuss syrian settlement october 28 , 2016 tass russian foreign ministry sergey lavrov and u.s. secretary of state john kerry discussed the syrian settlement as well as the situation in yemen and libya by telephone on oct. 28 . the russian foreign ministry said that the conversation had taken place at the u.s. side ’s request . " the foreign policy chiefs continued discussing ways of settling the syrian conflict , including the normalization of the situation around aleppo , with account taken of fundamental approaches contained in the previously reached russian - u.s. agreements . for that , the united states should ultimately separate moderate opposition ( in syria ) from terror groups , " the russian foreign ministry said . " lavrov and kerry also discussed assistance to the solution of crises in yemen and libya as well as separate issues of bilateral agenda , " the russian foreign ministry stressed .
+1 donald trump 's entire election victory speech informationclearinghouse.info donald trump 's victory speech video ' i will not let you down ' : trump 's victory speech president - elect donald trump speaks to his supporters moments after being declared the winner in the 2016 presidential election . watch hillary clinton’s concession speech here watch obama full speech on donald trump win trump : thank you . thank you very much , everyone . ( applause ) sorry to keep you waiting ; complicated business ; complicated . ( applause ) thank you very much . ( applause ) trump : i’ve just received a call from secretary clinton . ( applause ) she congratulated us — it’s about us — on our victory , and i congratulated her and her family on a very , very hard - fought campaign . i mean , she — she fought very hard . hillary has worked very long and very hard over a long period of time , and we owe her a major debt of gratitude for her service to our country . ( applause ) i mean that very sincerely . ( applause ) now it’s time for america to bind the wounds of division ; have to get together . to all republicans and democrats and independents across this nation , i say it is time for us to come together as one united people . ( applause ) it’s time . i pledge to every citizen of our land that i will be president for all americans , and this is so important to me . ( applause ) for those who have chosen not to support me in the past , of which there were a few people . . . ( laughter ) . . . i’m reaching out to you for your guidance and your help so that we can work together and unify our great country . ( applause ) as i’ve said from the beginning , ours was not a campaign , but rather an incredible and great movement made up of millions of hard - working men and women who love their country and want a better , brighter future for themselves and for their families . ( applause ) it’s a movement comprised of americans from all races , religions , backgrounds and beliefs who want and expect our government to serve the people , and serve the people it will . ( applause ) working together , we will begin the urgent task of rebuilding our nation and renewing the american dream . i’ve spent my entire life and business looking at the untapped potential in projects and in people all over the world . that is now what i want to do for our country . ( applause ) tremendous potential . i’ve gotten to know our country so well — tremendous potential . it’s going to be a beautiful thing . every single american will have the opportunity to realize his or her fullest potential . the forgotten men and women of our country will be forgotten no longer . ( applause ) we are going to fix our inner cities and rebuild our highways , bridges , tunnels , airports , schools , hospitals . we’re going to rebuild our infrastructure , which will become , by the way , second to none . and we will put millions of our people to work as we rebuild it . we will also finally take care of our great veterans . ( applause ) they’ve been so loyal , and i’ve gotten to know so many over this 18-month journey . the time i’ve spent with them during this campaign has been among my greatest honors . our veterans are incredible people . we will embark upon a project of national growth and renewal . i will harness the creative talents of our people and we will call upon the best and brightest to leverage their tremendous talent for the benefit of all . it’s going to happen . ( applause ) we have a great economic plan . we will double our growth and have the strongest economy anywhere in the world . at the same time , we will get along with all other nations willing to get along with us . we will be . ( applause ) we’ll have great relationships . we expect to have great , great relationships . no dream is too big , no challenge is too great . trump : nothing we want for our future is beyond our reach . america will no longer settle for anything less than the best . ( applause ) we must reclaim our country’s destiny and dream big and bold and daring . we have to do that . we’re going to dream of things for our country and beautiful things and successful things once again . i want to tell the world community that while we will always put america’s interests first , we will deal fairly with everyone , with everyone — all people and all other nations . we will seek common ground , not hostility ; partnership , not conflict . and now i’d like to take this moment to thank some of the people who really helped me with this , what they are calling tonight , very , very historic victory . first , i want to thank my parents , who i know are looking down on me right now . ( applause ) great people . i’ve learned so much from them . they were wonderful in every regard . i had truly great parents . i also want to thank my sisters , maryanne and elizabeth , who are here with us tonight . and , where are they ? they’re here someplace . they’re very shy , actually . and my brother robert — my great friend . where is robert ? where is robert ? ( applause ) my brother robert . and they should all be on this stage , but that’s ok . they’re great . and also my late brother , fred . great guy . fantastic guy . ( applause ) fantastic family . i was very lucky . great brothers , sisters ; great , unbelievable parents . to melania and don . . . ( applause ) . . . and ivanka . . . ( applause ) . . . and eric and tiffany and baron , i love you and i thank you , and especially for putting up with all of those hours . this was tough . ( applause ) this was tough . this political stuff is nasty and it’s tough . so i want to thank my family very much . really fantastic . thank you all . thank you all . and lara , unbelievable job , unbelievable . vanessa , thank you . thank you very much . what a great group . you’ve all given me such incredible support , and i will tell you that we have a large group of people . you know , they kept saying we have a small staff . not so small . look at all the people that we have . look at all of these people . and kellyanne and chris and rudy and steve and david . we have got — we have got tremendously talented people up here . and i want to tell you , it’s been — it’s been very , very special . i want to give a very special thanks to our former mayor , rudy giuliani . ( applause ) unbelievable . unbelievable . he traveled with us and he went through meetings . that rudy never changes . where’s rudy ? where is he ? rudy . governor chris christie , folks , was unbelievable . ( applause ) thank you , chris . the first man , first senator , first major , major politician , and let me tell you , he is highly respected in washington because he’s as smart as you get : senator jeff sessions . where is jeff ? ( applause ) great man . another great man , very tough competitor . he was not easy . he was not easy . who is that ? is that the mayor that showed up ? ( laughter ) is that rudy ? oh , rudy got up here . another great man who has been really a friend to me . but i’ll tell you , i got to know him as a competitor because he was one of the folks that was negotiating to go against those democrats : dr. ben carson . where is ben ? ( applause ) where is ben ? trump : and by the way , mike huckabee is here someplace , and he is fantastic . mike and his family , sarah — thank you very much . general mike flynn . where is mike ? ( applause ) and general kellogg . we have over 200 generals and admirals that have endorsed our campaign . and they’re special people and it’s really an honor . we have 22 congressional medal of honor recipients . we have just tremendous people . a very special person who believed me and , you know , i’d read reports that i wasn’t getting along with him . i never had a bad second with him . he’s an unbelievable star . he is . . . ( crosstalk ) trump : that’s right . how did you possibly guess ? so let me tell you about reince , and i’ve said this . i said , reince — and i know it , i know . look at all those people over there . i know it . reince is a superstar . but i said , “they can’t call you a superstar , reince , unless we win,” because you can’t be called a superstar — like secretariat — if secretariat came in second , secretariat would not have that big , beautiful bronze bust at the track at belmont . but i’ll tell you , reince is really a star . and he is the hardest - working guy . and in a certain way , i did this — reince , come up here . where is reince ? get over here , reince . ( applause ) boy oh boy oh boy . it’s about time you did this , reince . my god . ( applause ) say a few words . no , come on , say something . rnc chairman reince priebus : ladies and gentlemen , the next president of the united states , donald trump . ( applause ) thank you . it’s been an honor . god bless . thank god . trump : amazing guy . our partnership with the rnc was so important to the success and what we’ve done . so i also have to say i’ve gotten to know some incredible people — the secret service people . ( applause ) they’re tough and they’re smart and they’re sharp , and i don’t want to mess around with them , i can tell you . and when i want to go and wave to a big group of people and they rip me down and put me back down on the seat . but they are fantastic people , so i want to thank the secret service . ( applause ) and law enforcement in new york city . they’re here tonight . ( applause ) these are spectacular people , sometimes underappreciated unfortunately , but we appreciate them . we know what they go through . so , it’s been what they call a historic event , but to be really historic , we have to do a great job . and i promise you that i will not let you down . we will do a great job . we will do a great job . ( applause ) i look very much forward to being your president , and hopefully at the end of two years or three years or four years , or maybe even eight years . . . ( applause ) . . . you will say , so many of you worked so hard for us , but you will say that — you will say that that was something that you really were very proud to do and i can . . . ( crosstalk ) trump : thank you very much . and i can only say that while the campaign is over , our work on this movement is now really just beginning . ( applause ) we’re going to get to work immediately for the american people . and we’re going to be doing a job that hopefully you will be so proud of your president . you’ll be so proud . again , it’s my honor . it was an amazing evening . it’s been an amazing two - year period . and i love this country . ( applause ) thank you . thank you very much . ( applause ) thank you to mike pence . thank you . ( applause )
+1 clinton foundation operates as giant slush fund for buying influence gillian leave a reply washington ( sputnik ) — charles ortel is a veteran wall street investment analyst who has carried out major studies into the operation of the clinton foundation and its legal status , and runs a blog monitoring its activities . ortel was the whistleblower that blew the lid off the general electric financial discrepancies in 2008 . “ the clinton foundation has been a gigantic slush fund , ” ortel said . “ people can donate relatively small sums to the clinton regime and get gigantic concessions worth hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars back . ” during the four years that hillary clinton was secretary of state , hundreds of millions of dollars flowed into the clinton foundation from governments around the world , many of which then enjoyed favored treatment from the us state department , ortel noted . “ to the world at large , the clintons are open for business , ” he stated . the us corporate media always refused to subject the clinton foundation to any kind of serious or skeptical coverage , in part because of fear of alienating the clintons , ortel explained . “ this is such a big story that the us press is not doing its job . what we have in ‘ clinton incorporated,’ is tammany hall on steroids , ” he said . tammany hall was the corrupt democratic political organization that ran new york city for most of a century after the 1861 - 65 civil war . “ if you are in the us press , you have got to have access to the president of the united states and the federal government … i have little confidence that the us media would do the work necessary in investigating the workings of the clinton foundation as our media is in thrall to the clintons , ” ortel added . ortel maintained that the operations of the clinton foundation and the actions of hillary clinton as obama ’s first secretary of state from 2009 to 2013 needed to be understood as part of a long - term master plan to regain and exercise political power by the clinton family . “ the clintons put together a long - term plan decades ago . they were already planning when bill clinton stepped down at the end of his second term that hillary would run for president and eventually chelsea will too , ” he said . ortel welcomed the decision of fbi director james comey to reopen the federal probe into hillary clinton ’s use of private server for official business while secretary of state , and said the manner in which it had been done suggested the federal investigators believed they would find important revelations . “ to reopen an investigation is a massive decision so there must be a massive set of reasons for doing so . if it were a small matter , they would have waited until after the presidential election . it is also significant that this decision was announced publicly , ” ortel noted . an fbi investigation proceeds very carefully and methodically , and is thorough and sweeping . therefore , comey ’s decision to reopen the emails probe was a very serious decision , ortel pointed out . “ to then reopen an investigation 11 days before a presidential election involving a major candidate and their family is virtually unprecedented , ” he said .
+1 anonymous the green fraud has a lot to do with it all as exposed in the emails . http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/rendezview/miranda-devine-foreignfunded-green-groups-could-take-whole-swathes-of-australia-out-of-the-productive-economy/news-story/016e5d9ff252f2444790d05269f4ed90
+0 new york today : our city that never was - the new york times jonathan wolfe updated , 10:48 a. m. good morning on this perfect fall friday . is there any clash of ideas as “ monumental ” as the one over our city ’s skyline ? for every spike , steeple and spire , there are wastebaskets full of dashed architectural ambitions . these unbuilt projects often tell us as much about our city ’s history and values as the built environment , says sam lubell , with greg goldin of “ never built new york . ” take i. m. pei ’s hyperboloid , a sleek hourglass office tower and transit hub proposed in the 1950s , which would have entailed the demolition of grand central terminal . even as the rest of america took to the road in cars , and struggling railroads were liquidating assets , our city preserved the building in midtown . ( sorry about that , mr. pei , but we ’re glad it did n’t pan out . ) or imagine floating in a translucent bubble to governors island on a gondola designed by santiago calatrava . sounds nice , but in 2006 the times ’s architecture critic argued that the plan ran up against one of new york ’s hottest commodities : a spectacular view . and then there was trump city . donald j. trump ’s plan for a grandiose , 14 . on the west side would have included office buildings , 7 , 600 apartments , a huge shopping mall and the world ’s tallest building . but its magnitude aroused staunch opposition in the neighborhood , sparking what mr. trump described as “ a war to the death . ” trump city was eventually downgraded to what is now known as trump place — where , earlier this week , the owner of three buildings removed the ’s name from their façades . occasionally , though , adventurous architecture does get built here . test your knowledge of new york ’s new skyline with this quiz : can you identify some of our most iconic modern structures by their silhouettes ? here ’s what else is happening : mirror , mirror , on the wall , which day is the fairest of them all ? today . sunshine . blue skies . . enough said . we ’ll have another divine day on saturday , but beginning that night — and lasting the rest of the weekend — things are looking and wet . • how rudolph w. giuliani , a leading contender to become secretary of state , made millions as . [ new york times ] • the chelsea bombing suspect , ahmad khan rahimi , pleaded not guilty to federal charges . [ new york times ] • mayor bill de blasio increased new york ’s budget by $ 1 . 3 billion . [ new york times ] • two men were charged with murdering a in manhattan and burying his body on the jersey shore . [ new york times ] • as new york sees a spike in reporting of hate crimes following the election , ku klux klan advertisements have appeared on long island . [ wnyc ] • . .. and a swastika is spotted on the subway . [ new york post ] • eric t. schneiderman , the new york state attorney general , has asked the police department to increase vigilance in fighting hate crime . [ cbs ] • gov. andrew m. cuomo has set up a hotline . if you see something , say something by calling ( 888 ) . [ ny . gov ] • a whale was spotted near the statue of liberty . [ dnainfo ] • a bronx woman was sentenced to five years in prison for robbing a legally blind woman . [ nbc ] • today ’s metropolitan diary : “ a memorable night at mcsorley ’s ” • scoreboard : ducks exorcise devils , . wizards cast spell on knicks , . • for a global look at what ’s happening , see your friday briefing . • mayor de blasio speaks at “ the only way is up : a citywide discussion to boost voter turnout in new york ” at new york law school in tribeca . 12:30 p. m. • . .. and he ’ll discuss security , congestion and traffic around trump tower at a press conference at 1 police plaza in downtown manhattan . 2:30 p. m. • the williamsburg independent film festival continues at the cinema at the wythe hotel in brooklyn . times vary . [ tickets start at $ 10 ] • the exhibition “ masterworks : unpacking fashion , ” which highlights 60 canonical works of fashion , opens at the metropolitan museum of art . 10 a. m. [ $ 25 suggested admission ] • a “ game of thrones ” with props , costumes , and demonstrations of visual effects , at astor place in the east village . 12:30 p. m. [ free ] • stargazing and a lecture , “ how to stage the moon landings , ” at columbia university in morningside heights . 7 p. m. [ free ] • comedians riff off a screening of the film “ plan 9 from outer space ” at q. e. d. in astoria , queens . 11 p. m. [ $ 10 ] • islanders host penguins , 7 p. m. ( msg+ ) . rangers at blue jackets , 7 p. m. ( msg ) . nets at thunder , 8 p. m. ( yes ) . saturday • the equus film festival is showing films starring horses at village east cinema in the east village . times vary . [ day passes begin at $ 50 ] • hours of music , storytelling and a silent disco , in celebration of the new exhibition “ new york at its core , ” at the museum of the city of new york . 10 a. m. [ prices vary ] • join a 5 k race ( and bring a nonperishable item for those in need ) at willowbrook park on staten island . 10 a. m. [ $ 30 ] • bar car nights , an evening of music , performances and demonstrations , is at the new york botanical garden in the bronx . 7 to 10 p. m. [ $ 25 ] • you can also stay up late at night at the museum , an evening of drinks , dancing and art at moma ps1 in long island city , queens . 8 p. m. to midnight . [ $ 15 ] • devils at kings , 4 p. m. ( msg+ ) . • watch “ the new york times close up , ” featuring the times ’s nicholas kristof and other guests . saturday at 10 p. m. and sunday at 10 a. m. on ny1 . sunday • the easily understood film festival , in french with english subtitles , continues at the french institute alliance française on the upper east side . times vary . [ tickets start at $ 15 ] • a celebration of the city planner andrew h. green , sometimes referred to ( in the best way ) as the robert moses , at the andrew h. green memorial bench in central park near east 105th street . noon . [ free ] • a reading and discussion , “ queens activism now , ” with artists and academics , at the queens museum at flushing park . 2 p. m. [ free , donations suggested ] • tony danza sings selections from “ honeymoon in vegas ” and other songs at the brooklyn center for the performing arts at brooklyn college in flatbush . 3 p. m. [ tickets start at $ 36 ] • a photo editor at rolling stone leads a discussion about photographing new york ’s underground music scene at the alice austen house on staten island . 5 p. m. [ $ 15 ] • knicks host hawks , noon . ( msg ) . giants host bears , 1 p. m. ( fox ) . nets host trail blazers , 3:30 p. m. ( yes ) . rangers host panthers , 7 p. m. ( msg ) . • for more events , see the new york times ’s arts entertainment guide . • subway and path • railroads : l. i. r. r. n. j. transit , amtrak • roads : check traffic map or radio report on the 1s or the 8s . • parking : in effect until nov. 24 . • ferries : staten island ferry , new york waterway , east river ferry • airports : la guardia , j. f. k. newark • weekend travel hassles : check subway disruptions and a list of street closings . thanksgiving is fast approaching . to get you in the spirit , new york today wants to know how you would finish this sentence ( in just a few words ) : this year i am thankful for _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ . please tell us what you think in the comments section , or send us an email at nytoday@nytimes . com , including your full name , age , and the neighborhood where you live . we plan to publish a selection of comments next week . new york today is a weekday roundup that stays live from 6 a. m. till late morning . you can receive it via email . for updates throughout the day , like us on facebook . what would you like to see here to start your day ? post a comment , email us at nytoday@nytimes . com , or reach us via twitter using # nytoday . follow the new york today columnists , alexandra levine and jonathan wolfe , on twitter . you can find the latest new york today at nytoday . com .
+0 islamic state claims responsibility for istanbul nightclub attack - breitbart john hayward the islamic state has formally taken responsibility for the slaughter at the reina nightclub in istanbul , issuing an unusually direct official statement that hailed the gunman as a “ heroic soldier of the caliphate . ” [ “ in continuation of the blessed operations that islamic state is conducting against the protector of the cross , turkey , a heroic soldier of the caliphate struck one of the most famous nightclubs where the christians celebrate their apostate holiday . he used hand grenades and a machine gun and transformed their celebration to mourning , ” read the statement from the terror state , as translated by and the new york times . “ the apostate turkish government should know that the blood of muslims shed with airplanes and artillery fire will , with god ’s permission , ignite a fire in their own land , ” isis added , in an apparent reference to turkey ’s military operations in syria . although several terrorist attacks in turkey have been blamed on the islamic state , the new york times notes it is rare for isis to formally claim responsibility for attacks in turkey , possibly because it did not want to provoke the turkish government into taking more severe actions against it . turkey is now fighting both kurdish militias and isis in syria , announcing airstrikes on monday that killed at least 22 isis fighters on syrian soil . leaders of the kurdish separatists in turkey , the pkk , condemned the nightclub attack , and insisted they had nothing to do with it . the attack on the reina nightclub in istanbul killed 39 and wounded 70 at last count . the times reports 27 of slain victims were foreigners : “ seven victims came from saudi arabia iraq and lebanon each had three citizens among the dead india , jordan , morocco and tunisia each had two and canada , israel , kuwait , russia and syria each had one . ” heavy . com notes that isis began circulating a message on social media in december warning muslims that “ to celebrate new year ’s eve with the kuffar is to embrace their idolatry and paganism and to shun the rulings of our lord . ” kuffar is a derogatory term for those who do not believe in islam . “ there is nothing to celebrate . the gregorian calendar is rooted in kufr and blatantly ignores the lunar calendar and that introduced to follow the hijrah of our honorable prophet , ” the islamic state ’s theologians insisted .
+0 70 percent approve of shinzo abe ’s trump visit in japan frances martel japanese polling firms found solid support for prime minister shinzo abe ’s visit to florida this past weekend to spend time with his american counterpart , president donald trump , though politicians condemned expanding u. s. ties . [ the newswire service kyodo published a poll following abe ’s return to japan finding that 70 percent of japanese respondents were “ satisfied ” with abe ’s visit to the white house and trump ’s estate in florida , . the new york times adds that the kyodo poll found approval of abe ’s work as prime minister generally to be 62 percent , a slight uptick from a month earlier . the japanese broadcaster nhk found similar results . nhk ’s polls found that 68 percent of japanese respondents either “ somewhat ” or “ highly ” approved of abe ’s time in the united states . only 27 percent said they either “ somewhat ” or “ highly ” disapprove of the visit . percent said they approved of the job that abe ’s cabinet is doing , three percent more than those who said so in january . abe arrived from tokyo on friday and engaged in a meeting with president trump at the white house , followed by a press conference . the two then flew to florida , where they spent much of the weekend playing golf and getting to know each other . abe had reportedly suggested the game to trump , noting that his grandfather , prime minister nobusuke kishi , once played a round of golf with dwight eisenhower . the two first ladies , melania trump and akie abe , also spent saturday together , visiting florida ’s morikami museum . trump and abe discussed their relationship in two press conferences , as well , with trump telling reporters , “ the united states of america stands behind japan , its great ally , 100 percent . ” “ president trump has just made it clear in our leaders’ summit that the united states is with japan 100 percent at all times , and he is standing next to me right now in order to demonstrate that will , ” abe said . the two also condemned a north korean missile launch seemingly timed to correspond with their meeting . while most in japan appear pleased with the bilateral meeting , opposition members have used the meeting to condemn abe for not opposing trump policies openly — or , in some cases , merely for being too supportive of the united states . the leader of the mainstream opposition democratic party , for example , condemned abe for not issuing a statement opposing president trump ’s executive order limiting immigration from countries : “ with the harsh attention focused on the issue , the sight of the japanese prime minister happily enjoying golf is not something we can be proud of . ” japanese communist party leader kazuo shii , meanwhile , accused abe of “ kowtowing to trump ” by not addressing the refugee issue . shii ’s comments echoed protests from chinese communist party newspaper the people ’s daily , which published an editorial accusing abe of “ fetishizing ” the relationship with the united states . should abe have chosen to criticize the executive order , he would have likely triggered similar condemnation for japan ’s refugee policy . japan accepted 0 . 26 percent of foreigners applying for refugee status in 2016 : 28 people , none from islamic syria or iraq , but from afghanistan , bangladesh , and africa . in 2015 , the nation accepted 27 refugees . upon being accepted , the government pays for japanese lessons for refugees . challenged on these small refugee application rates in 2015 , abe argued that japan is not yet fit to accept refugees because of the many social problems facing native japanese people . “ i would say that before accepting immigrants or refugees , we need to have more activities by women , elderly people and we must raise our birth rate . there are many things that we should do before accepting immigrants , ” he said in a speech announcing a new aid package for the middle east .
+0 though awash in fakes , china rethinks counterfeit hunters - the new york times sui - lee wee beijing — ji wanchang strolled through a beijing luxury mall one recent morning with an eye out for luxury coats . but at one store , a clerk told him a moncler and other coats were “ sample sizes ” and not for sale . a second clerk , selling a wolf yves salomon , said the coat was reserved . mr. ji sighed . in both cases , the fur would n’t match their labels , he suspected — and the clerks knew selling a fake to mr. ji , who is well known on sight in many of china ’s shops , meant big trouble . “ ma’am , i do n’t want to make things difficult for you , ” he told a sales clerk , who nodded and bowed . “ i ’ve found problems with your clothes , so please correct them . ” mr. ji is what is known in china as a professional counterfeit hunter . part ralph nader , part bounty hunter , mr. ji rummages for fake or substandard goods in shops . then , using china ’s consumer protection laws , he collects tens of thousands of dollars from the companies that make or sell them . the laws are part of china ’s growing effort to weed out the fake clothes , electronics , food and furniture that swamp its stores and frustrate companies and consumers alike . but mr. ji ’s livelihood is now under threat . some government officials say mr. ji and the unknown number of others like him abuse a law that was meant merely to empower consumers to report fakes . if proposed new government rules get accepted , people like mr. ji will no longer be able to go pro . even as china grows and matures , and moves to protect brands and ideas , it still struggles with how to get rid of fakes . overseas governments , overseas companies and even its own increasingly choosy consumers complain that china ’s counterfeit products hurt brand names and common people alike . chinese leaders have stepped up efforts to cull them , in part to protect homegrown companies that are starting to produce their own innovative products . last year , china ’s courts handled about 120 , 000 intellectual property cases , up 9 percent from 2014 , according to official media . one effort was intended to empower the consumer . in 2009 , the government promised consumers that if they found a product that flouted food safety laws , they could win 10 times the value of that product in compensation . in 2013 , china bolstered an earlier consumer protection law by increasing payouts to buyers of other kinds of fake goods , while a decision from china ’s supreme court was widely seen as supporting counterfeit hunters . mr. ji and his peers have used these laws to their advantage , buying knockoffs in bulk — the more they turn in , the more they are paid — and filling their storerooms withcounterfeit products . mr. ji ’s group , the jinan old ji rights defense work studio , has a network of about 20 informers who report suspected fake products . he says his biggest success to date is collecting about $ 178 , 000 in compensation from a company that tried to pass off its blankets as pure cashmere . china ’s boom has given counterfeit hunters a new front . “ the main purpose of suing them is to ask them to correct themselves , ” said yu fengxing , another counterfeit hunter , who chases merchants who sell fakes on online marketplaces run by the alibaba group , china ’s largest company . he became an counterfeit hunter after he bought an item marketed by a merchant on alibaba ’s tmall platform as a foot treatment and discovered that it was probably just makeup . in a statement , alibaba said it was committed to fighting fakes on its platforms . among overseas companies , people like mr. ji have fans . “ a lot of my clients would , in some circumstances , support the activities of these kinds of consumer warriors because ultimately they may be uncovering information that helps us do our job , ” said scott palmer , an intellectual property lawyer at sheppard , mullin , richter hampton , which represents american corporations in china . but government officials complain that the program is increasingly expensive and increasingly abused . even some foreign business groups complain . counterfeit hunters often profit “ from complaints that target minor product labeling errors instead of true quality or safety issues , ” said james zimmerman , chairman of the american chamber of commerce in china , in emailed comments . proposed government rules released in august and under official consideration said that payouts for fakes would not be available to those who sought them “ for commercial purposes . ” mr. ji , defending his work , says he has to recoup his legal fees , which he incurs when the companies he accuses of selling fakes fight back . he says he makes about $ 148 , 000 a year but his pay is only about $ 30 , 000 to $ 44 , 000 after expenses . “ when they encounter a fake product , more than 80 percent of chinese people will just suck it up and not take it very seriously , as long as their lives are not in danger , ” mr. ji said . “ if there are more professional counterfeit warriors , the quality of goods will improve at once . ” mr. ji never set out to be a consumer rights activist . born in the northern region of inner mongolia , he was so poor he could not afford to enroll in a university . his jobs have included running a carwash , selling clothes on the street and operating a food stall . in 2000 , a friend of his bought a children ’s educational compact disc that turned out to contain pornographic content . furious , he and his friends “ laid siege ” to the store where they had bought it , demanding compensation , mr. ji said . “ at that time , i did not understand what defending your rights is , ” he said . later , mr. ji bought a copy of china ’s consumer law and a manual on how to tell fakes from genuine products . from that point , he had a new career . on a recent week in october , mr. ji traveled to four courthouses in five days across china , filing lawsuits against shopping malls , accusing them of fraud for selling substandard goods . based in the eastern city of jinan , he says he goes to court about 100 times a year . mr. ji ’s work has earned him the enmity of counterfeiters and their thugs , who he says have beaten him up , bound his hands and feet , and telephoned him with death threats . in 2007 , police in the southern province of fujian detained him for 37 days , charging him with extortion , but released him . still , mr. ji views the work as necessary . every month , he says , he receives more than a hundred phone calls from people curious about how to get compensation from a fake product . on a recent afternoon , a man from the eastern city of tai’an called mr. ji , who was en route to check out a shopping mall in beijing . how , the caller asked , could he emulate mr. ji ? mr. ji told the aspiring that he could not “ just casually enter any shop and buy eight or 10 pieces and demand compensation . ” his profession was built on navigating tricky relationships with local courthouses and police , mr. ji said , adding that recently some thugs from tai’an wanted “ my life , my arms and my legs . ” “ not everyone can be a counterfeit hunter . this industry is n’t a gift that falls down from heaven , ” mr. ji told the caller . “ you have n’t seen the hardships and suffering we ’ve gone through . you ’ve only seen our glorious side . ”
+0 gawker , filing for bankruptcy after hulk hogan suit , is for sale - the new york times sydney ember gawker media , the irreverent company that pioneered the wry tone and approach that came to embody a certain style of web journalism , put itself up for sale on friday in an acknowledgment that its future as an independent news organization was in doubt . gawker said it had filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy and would conduct a sale through an auction . the company is under significant financial pressure from a $ 140 million legal judgment in an lawsuit by the former wrestler hulk hogan and facing a determined foe in the silicon valley billionaire peter thiel , who is funding legal cases against it . ziff davis , a digital media company , has submitted an opening bid , which a person briefed on gawker ’s plans said was in the range of $ 90 million to $ 100 million . the person spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sale process . gawker expects a sale to close by the end of the summer . but even as gawker took stock of its next steps , it remained , in typical fashion , defiant . “ even with his billions , thiel will not silence our writers , ” nick denton , gawker ’s founder and chief executive , said on twitter . “ our sites will thrive — under new ownership — and we ’ll win in court . ” ( mr. denton , through a spokesman , declined further comment . ) since its founding in 2002 , gawker has espoused a conversational tone that came to be mimicked across the internet and on social platforms like twitter . gawker and its affiliated sites — including the deadspin and jezebel , which is aimed at women — have relentlessly and gleefully chronicled the lives of the powerful , and often delivered exclusive stories , some of them too for other publications . the company was also an incubator of talent : employees went on to found websites like the awl and work at publications like the new yorker and time . gawker also had many detractors , who said it often went too far and published items with little news value that aimed to embarrass individuals . but over the last year gawker . com has been going through something of a cultural transformation . mr. denton has vowed to make the site nicer and gawker has shifted to politics and away from coverage of the new york media world and celebrity gossip . the decision to file for bankruptcy and put itself up for sale is the latest development for a company that has faced a seemingly unending barrage of bad news in the last year . there was the maelstrom last summer after gawker published , and then removed , an article about a married male media executive who sought to hire a gay escort . that decision led to the resignations of two top editors . more recently , there was the lawsuit by mr. hogan , whose real name is terry g. bollea , which has roiled the company and raised questions about its path forward . “ it really was an incredibly bad year , ” said hamilton nolan , a writer who has worked at gawker for eight years . “ i think they ’ll study this in journalism schools one day as being the single worst year in media company history . ” in gawker ’s new offices in manhattan on friday , the mood was somber . around noon , mr. denton and heather dietrick , the company ’s president and general counsel , held a meeting to inform employees of the company ’s plans and provide reassurance that gawker would operate as usual during the sale process . “ they emphasized that the future is uncertain , but for now we ’re going to keep doing what we do , and that was useful for people to hear , ” said alex pareene , the editor in chief of gawker . employees said that few people had known before the meeting of the company ’s decision to file for bankruptcy . a keg of beer was brought in and pizzas were ordered . “ it was not a raucous or even particularly depressing affair , ” mr. pareene said . “ we ’ve had more depressing meetings and we ’ve had more argumentative meetings . ” gawker ’s sites published posts assuring readers they were not going anywhere . filing for chapter 11 stays claims from creditors , including court judgments — meaning gawker will not need to begin paying the $ 140 million that was awarded in march to mr. bollea . it also allows companies more time and more control as they reorganize themselves . in its bankruptcy filing , gawker listed $ 50 million to $ 100 million in assets and $ 100 million to $ 500 million in liabilities . the company still plans to appeal the case . also on friday , a judge in pinellas county circuit court in florida granted gawker ’s request for a stay of the judgment against it in the lawsuit , pending an appeal . that decision essentially became redundant once gawker filed for bankruptcy . weeks earlier , mr. thiel acknowledged in an interview with the new york times that he was financially supporting mr. bollea ’s lawsuit , as well as other lawsuits against the organization . mr. thiel , a founder of paypal and one of the earliest investors in facebook , was outed as being gay by one of gawker ’s blogs , the valleywag , nearly a decade ago . he said that gawker published articles that “ ruined people ’s lives for no reason ” and prompted his decision to finance cases against the company . “ it ’s less about revenge and more about specific deterrence , ” mr. thiel said of his supporting gawker ’s legal opponents . “ i saw gawker pioneer a unique and incredibly damaging way of getting attention by bullying people even when there was no connection with the public interest . ” a spokesman for mr. thiel did not return a request for comment on friday . gawker is also exploring at least one lawsuit against mr. thiel , according to the person briefed on gawker ’s plans . the offer by ziff davis , whose online properties include ign , geek . com and askmen . com , is what is known as a “ bid , ” essentially setting a floor in a auction . money from a sale would be held aside to cover creditor claims , including any damages after the appeals process . in an internal memo obtained by the new york times , ziff davis ’s chief executive , vivek shah , said that under the terms of a potential agreement , the company would acquire gawker media ’s properties but none of its liabilities . when discussing its plans for gawker media , he referred to the benefits of having all of the company ’s sites , but conspicuously omitted any mention of gawker . com . he said the auction would most likely take place at the end of july . other bidders , which will probably include other media publishers , are expected , particularly with the threat of assuming legal claims removed with the bankruptcy filing . in january , gawker sold a minority stake in the company to the investment company columbus nova technology partners , partly in preparation for the lawsuit by mr. bollea . mr. bollea sued gawker media in 2012 over gawker . com ’s publication of a tape that showed mr. bollea having sex with a woman who was at the time the wife of a friend of his . in march , after a trial , a florida jury awarded $ 115 million in damages to mr. bollea . a jury later awarded $ 25 million more in punitive damages , bringing the total to $ 140 million . on friday , some gawker employees remained hopeful that a new owner might mean a fresh start , but there was also perhaps a tacit acknowledgment that gawker as everyone knew it could soon be a thing of the past . “ there ’s not going to be the magical happy ending to the story , ” mr. nolan said . “ it does n’t necessarily mean it ’s going to be the worst ending to the story , but we ’re not just going to go back to everything being how it was . ”
+1 hope moves in shadowy and offbeat places : bob dylan , death , and the creative spirit rowan wolf = by= edward curtain editor 's note this article is so much more than just another paean for dylan . it is an exploration of life and the hope than drives it . curtain says in the following piece : “ the news of one creative spirit ’s death gave birth to another creative spirit ’s gift to life . ” and a recognition of the creative contribution of one has inspired an examination of creativity itself . “ the song ‘ political world’ could have been triggered by current events . there was a heated presidential race underway … . but i had no interest in politics as an art form … .the political world in the song is more of an underworld … .with the song i thought i might have broken through to something . it was like you wake up from a deep and drugged slumber and somebody strikes a little silver gong and you come to your senses . ” bob dylan , chronicles w e live in dark times when the prison gates of seeming hopelessness clang shut around us . endless u.s. led and sponsored wars , a new cold war , nuclear threats , economic exploitation , oligarchical rule , government spying , drone killings , loss of civil liberties , terrorism , ecological degradation , etc . – the list is long and depressing . awareness of a deep state hidden behind the marionette theatre of conventional politics has grown , even as the puppet show of electoral distractions garners the headlines . readers of the alternative media learn the truth of government conspiracies involving assassinations – jfk , mlk , rfk , et al . – and countless other evil deeds without cessation . excellent writers uncover and analyze the machinations of those responsible . anger and frustration mount as people listen to a litany of bad news and propaganda spewed out by the mainstream corporate media . it is easy to be overwhelmed and disheartened . despite the mute despair and apathy that fill the air , hope is needed to carry on and resist these destructive forces . sometimes in such a dark time the eye begins to see and the ear hears hope in unexpected places . doing so necessitates a bit of a sideways move to discover pockets of resistance hiding in the shadows . there are torches of illumination in the underworld , but we need to come to our senses to get there . “ emotion is the chief source of all becoming - conscious . there can be no transforming of darkness into light and of apathy into movement without emotion . ” carl jung if you ’ve ever played music or basketball , fell dizzyingly in love , or lapsed into a spell writing words or being engrossed in a passionate pursuit , you ’ll easily grasp what follows . but maybe these specific experiences are n’t necessary . you ’ve lived , you ’re alive , and you can hear the pitter - patter beat of your dribbling heart . that ’s probably plenty . you know the game can be a roller - coaster ride with all its ups and downs , and when it ends you will have won or lost something , exactly what being of the essence . rhythm , melody , and movement : from these life is born and sustained . they are also integral to sports and art – music , writing , painting , sculpture , dance , etc . – even when they are apparently absent . tall walking figure by alberto giacometti . ( credit : billy liar . ) if , for example , one looks at alberto giacometti ’s sculpture , tall walking figure , its immobility implies movement . such paradoxical inclusiveness pertains to still - life painting as well . while seemingly immobile , and defined by some as dead life , such paintings are encompassed by the presence of the absence of movement and change , the essence of all living things . to grasp the paradoxical nature of art – and life – one must approach them as an artist and see the wholeness in broken pieces . “ everything is broken , ” bob dylan sings , “ take a deep breath , feel like you ’re choking . ” “ life is the best play of all . ” sophie michel , a 7 year - old musician i think it is fair to say that living is the ultimate art and as the artists of our lives our medium is time and space . and that it is in sound that time and space are epitomized . musical sounds carry us through time and space in a reverberating vital impulse . music brings us to our senses . being emotional , it sets us in motion . we are moved . sports , as the etymology of the word suggests ( desporter – to divert ) , is a diversion from something . sports involve us in movement through time and space to an unnecessary goal where someone wins and someone losses . in sports we choose to overcome superfluous obstacles for fun and for deeper reasons we may not realize . sports only matter because they do n’t . “ what we play is life . ” louis armstrong a few years ago my friends and i were playing in basketball tournaments for men over fifty and we qualified for the senior olympics at the university of pittsburgh . we acquired a sponsor , a local funeral home that made warm - up jerseys for us . being used to dealing with bodies at rest , these comedians knew we were a bunch of aging hoopsters intent on keeping our bodies in motion for as long as we could . so they had shirts made with that up - beat and adolescent cliché printed on the front , “ basketball is life . ” lest we forgot , and being in the trade of taking bodies at rest to the underworld , on the back they had printed “ leave the rest to us : flynn and dagnoli funeral home . ” most of us found the juxtaposition hilarious ( including one funny irishman who ended up dead at the funeral home ) , but one teammate found it disturbing , which gave the rest of us additional sardonic laughs . sex and death and one ’s ongoing vitality are the stuff of uneasy laughter in the locker rooms of aging men . it ’s a place for essentials . “ he was like a great singer with a style all his own , a pacing that was different , a flair for the unusual . ” chick hearn , play - by - play announcer for the los angeles lakers about pete maravich i was reminded of this as i was rereading bits of bob dylan ’s fascinating and poetic memoir , chronicles : volume i , and came upon his recounting of hearing of the news of the death of “ pistol ” pete maravich , the greatest scorer in college basketball history and a magician without par on the court . it was january 5 , 1988 . my aunt was in the kitchen and i sat down with her to talk and drink coffee . the radio was playing and morn- ing news was on . i was startled to hear that pete maravich , the basketball player , had collapsed on a basketball court in pasadena , just fell over and never got up . i ’d seen maravich play in new orleans once , when the utah jazz were the new orleans jazz . he was something to see – mop of brown hair , floppy socks – the holy terror of the basketball world – high flyin’ – magician of the court . the night i saw him he dribbled the ball with his head , scored a behind the back , no look basket – dribbled the length of the court , threw the ball up off the glass and caught his own pass . he was fantastic . scored something like thirty - eight points . he could have played blind . pistol pete had n’t played professionally for a while , and he was thought of as forgotten . i had n’t forgotten about him , though . some people seem to fade away but then when they are truly gone , it ’s like they did n’t fade away at all . dylan has the poet ’s touch , of course , a hyperbolic sense of the fantastic that draws you into his magical web in the pursuit of deeper truth . in ways he ’s like the latin american magical realist writers who move from fact to dream to the fantastic in a puff of wind . he goes on to write that after hearing the news of pistol pete ’s sad death playing pickup basketball , he started and completed the song “ dignity ” the same day , and in the days that followed song after song flowed from his pen . the news of one creative spirit ’s death gave birth to another creative spirit ’s gift to life . ( i am reminded of shakespeare writing hamlet after his father ’s death . ) “ it ’s like i saw the song up in front of me and overtook it , like i saw all the characters in this song and elected to cast my fortunes with them … . the wind could never blow it out of my head . this song was a good thing to have . on a song like this , there ’s no end to things . ” one can hear echoes of hemingway , another artist obsessed with death , in those last few sentences . unlike hemingway , however , dylan ’s focus on death is in the service of life and hope . for him there is no end , while hemingway is all ending – nada , nada , nada – nothing , nothing , nothing – “ it was all a nothing and a man was nothing too , ” he writes in his haunting story , “ a clean , well - lighted place . ” dylan ’s focus on the shadow of death is seen within the light of life – todo – all or everything . the darkness is there but is encompassed by the light . nada within todo . as he told the aarp magazine last year in a fascinating interview , he ’s been singing about death since he ’s been twelve . and out of that singing – year after year for fifty plus years and counting – he has found and expressed the light of hope . bob dylan ( credit : moderate voice ) dylan is our emerson . his artistic philosophy has always been about movement in space and time through song . always moving , always restless , always seeking a way back home through song , even when , or perhaps because , there are no directions . “ an artist has got to be careful never to arrive at a place where he thinks he ’s at somewhere , ” he ’s said . “ you always have to realize that you are constantly in a state of becoming and as long as you can stay in that realm you ’ll be alright . ” sounds like living , right . sounds like emerson , also . “ life only avails , not the having lived . power ceases in the instant of repose ; it resides in the moment of transition from a past to a new state , in the shooting of the gulf , in the darting to an aim . thus one fact the world hates , that the soul becomes . ” it was about ten years ago when we traveled to that senior basketball olympics at the university of pittsburgh . we drew many uneasy smiles as we paraded around with the backs of our shirts announcing the services of the men who take us to the underworld . we won a few games and lost others ; were eliminated and left for home disappointed , some of us more than others , depending on each man ’s competitive fire to defeat the foe . like all athletes , losing felt like a small death . even small deaths are hard to swallow , however , especially when knowing how way leads on to way and you doubt you will ever come back . as evening was darkening the amish countryside , we departed east through country roads in silence , each lost in his interior monologue on the journey ahead . playing low on the radio , from my back seat i could barely make out dylan singing , “ it ’s not dark yet , but it ’s getting there . ” two years ago there was a short grantland documentary , “ the finish line , ” about steve nash , the latest pistol pete . an uncanny player , nash was battling injuries and age , and the documentary shows him pondering whether or not to retire or continue his rehabilitation and attempt a comeback . in the opening scene nash goes out with his dog into the shadowy pre - dawn where he muses on his dilemma . his words are hypnotic . “ i feel , ” he said , “ that there ’s something that i ca n’t quite put my finger on that – i do n’t know – i feel that it ’s blocking me or i can see it out of the corner of my mind ’s eye , or it ’s like this dark presence … .is it the truth that i ’m done ? ” hobbled by a nerve injury that severely limited his movement , he played a few more games and retired within a year . like pete maravich , he had brought an infectious joy to his playing , but he left without fulfilling his dream of winning an nba championship . of his retirement he said , “ it ’s bittersweet . i already miss the game deeply , but i ’m also really excited to learn to do something else . ” unlike many athletes , nash was moving on ; his “ dark presence ” was n’t a final death but a step on the road to a hard rebirth . it was a dylanesque restless farewell : “ and though the line is cut / it ai n’t quite the end / i‘ll just bid farewell till we meet again . ” “ a song is like a dream , and you try to make it come true . they ’re like strange countries that you have to enter . you can write a song anywhere … . it helps to be moving . sometimes people who have the greatest talent for writing songs never write any because they are not moving . ” bob dylan , chronicles dylan has long been accused of abandoning his youthful idealism and protest music . i think this is a bum rap . he was never a protester , though his songs became anthems of the civil rights and anti - war movements . there is no doubt that those songs were inspirational and gave people hope to carry on the good fight . but in turning in a more oblique and circumspect musical direction , following his need to change as the spirit of inspiration moved him , dylan ’s songs have come to inspire in a new way . you know his sympathies lie with the oppressed and downtrodden , but he does n’t shout it . a listener has to catch his drift . if you go to the music , and dip into his various stylistic changes over the decades , you will find a consistency of themes . he deals with essentials like all great poets . nothing is excluded . his work is paradoxical . yes , he ’s been singing about death since twelve , but it has always been countered by life and rebirth . there is joy and sadness ; faith and doubt ; happiness and suffering ; injustice and justice ; romance and its discontents ; despair and hope . his music possesses a bit of a taoist quality mixed with a biblical sensibility conveyed by a hopelessly romantic american . he has fused his themes into an incantatory delivery that casts a moving spell of hope upon the listener . he is nothing if not a spiritual spell - binder ; similar in many ways to that other quintessential american – the beat poet allen ginsberg , whose best work was a poetic quest for an inspired salvific poetry . if the listener is expecting an argument , a thesis , inductive reasoning , or a didactic approach from dylan , he is out of luck , and rather than be inspired he will be disappointed . this is art , not theory , and art of a special kind since dylan is an artist at war with his art . his songs demand that the listener ’s mind and spirit be moving as the spirit of creative inspiration moved dylan . a close listening will force one to jump from verse to verse – to shoot the gulf – since there are no bridges to cross , no connecting links . the sound carries you over and keeps you moving forward . if you ’re not moving , you ’ll miss the meaning . “ a bird does not sing because it has an answer . it sings because it has a song . ” chinese proverb so if the world is getting you down and all the news is bad to your ears , do n’t lose hope . step to the side , out of the glare of the sun , the blare of the headlines where lies and fears shout in our ears and echo down our days like a repetitive nightmare . give dylan a listen . as he has said of spiritual songs , “ they brought me down to earth and they lifted me up all in the same moment . ” his songs have the same paradoxical power because he excludes nothing . that is why they are truthful . it is fitting that his latest album , “ shadows in the night , ” comprised of ten beloved old ballads sung by frank sinatra , from “ the night we called it a day ” to “ some enchanted evening , ” has him changing again , going back to go forward . he is full of surprises , which any child will tell you bring joy because surprises and change are the core of living . to change this crazed world , we must change and find hope and joy along the way . repetition will kill us . dylan ’s artistic metamorphoses and ingenious song writing offer offbeat sources of hope . just listen . having been compared to frank sinatra with these songs , he ’s said , “ you must be joking . to be mentioned in the same breath as him must be some sort of high compliment . as far as touching him goes , nobody touches him . not me or anyone else … . but he never went away . all those things we thought were here to stay , they did go away . but he never did . ” sinatra , like pistol pete , did n’t fade away because he too inspired dylan to inspire us to hope and carry on . if it feels dark and night - like to you , move sideways into the shadows . look away and you ’ll see the light . or if you like basketball or dancing , like to move to the beat , listen to dylan singing “ hurricane , ” a long narrative song about the framing of the boxer ruben “ hurricane ” carter . it will get your blood flowing , your passions riled , and your body moving . it ’s perfect for practicing all the dribbling tricks pistol pete performed . i thought of using it at the senior olympics , but the beat seemed a little too rapid and excitable for the over fifty aarp crowd . the shirts were sending an undertaking message that i did n’t want made real . hope is one thing , but traveling too fast is another . anyway , one of my teammates was in swift pursuit of a woman there whom he described as a twin of his ideal woman – pamela anderson . he did n’t need any more excitement . edward curtin is a writer who teaches at massachusetts college of liberal arts and has published widely . nauseated by the had enough of their lies , escapism , omissions and relentless manipulation ?
+1 we know the truth peeple link hey people : i always enjoy your threads , though i think you focus too much on a singular belief issue or pattern , and then it becomes self affirming for you in your research . first , this : but voices actual voices in your head is always mental illness . sorry , maybe a stress reaction , not to be judgmental , happens to the best and such , just really not what i am trying to convey here . though i believe you are quite intelligent , i do n't think you are qualified , exactly , to make that wholesale , definitive judgement . you even contradict that by referencing dr. vinod 's " channeling " of the nine in 1952 . channeling , by definition , ( from dictionary.com ) means in one sense : the practice of professedly entering a meditative or trancelike state in order to convey messages from a spiritual guide . surely this process would involve the sensory structure of hearing . i do n't wish to debate voice to skull tech with you because i do n't sense this is really what your thread is about . but there have been lawsuits waged and won over such technology being used to harass people , who do n't test as schizophrenic or any other dsm related diagnosis that would explain auditory hallucinations , indicating mental illness . now , that 's not to say that anyone hearing voices is being technologically harassed . but saying definitively it 's always mental illness does a disservice to the search for knowledge , and stopping such technology being used on people . link to lawsuit psychotronic weapons - space preservation act - house resolution bill 2977-brain manipulation from a distance-2001 - 2002 last year , in october , the congressman dennis j. kucinich introduced in the american congress a bill , obliging the american president to get engaged in the negotiations aimed at the ban of space based weapons . in this bill the definition of a weapon system includes : any other unacknowledged or as yet undeveloped means inflicting death or injury on , or damaging or destroying , a person ( or the biological life , bodily health , mental health , or physical and economic well - being of a person ) through the use of land - based , sea - based , or space - based systems using radiation , electromagnetic , psychotronic , sonic , laser , or other energies directed at individual persons or targeted populations or the purpose of information war , mood management , or mind control of such persons or populations " ( 12 ) . as in all legislative acts quoted in this article the bill counts with sound , light or electromagnetic stimulation of human brain . psychotronic weapons remain , at least for a layman uninformed of secret military research , in the sphere of science fiction , since so far none of the published scientific experiments was presented in the way which would allow for its replication . that it is feasible to manipulate human behavior with the use of subliminal , either sound or visual , messages is now generally known . this is why in most of the countries the use of such technologies , without consent of the user , is banned . devices using light for the stimulation of the brain show another way how the light flashing in certain frequencies could be used for the manipulation of human psychic life . as for the sound , a report on the device transmitting a beam of sound waves , which can hear only persons at whom the beam of sound waves is targeted , appeared last year in the world newspapers . the beam is formed by a combination of sound and ultrasound waves which causes that a person targeted by this beam hears the sound inside of his head . such a perception could easily convince the human being that it is mentally ill . the acts presented in this article suggest that with the development of technology and knowledge of the functioning of human brain new ways of manipulation of human mind keep emerging . one of them seems to be the electromagnetic energy . though in the open scientific literature only some 30 experiments were published , supporting this assumption ( 1),(2 ) , already in 1974 , in the ussr , after successful testing with military unit in novosibirsk , the installation radioson ( radiosleep ) was registered with the government committee on the matters of inventions and discoveries of the ussr , described as a method of induction of sleep by means of radio waves ( 3 ) , ( 4 ) , ( 5 ) … 22 . dear senator - attorney letter included : we seek your office ’s assistance in initiating hearings and a fact - finding congressional inquiry into the government agencies and/or private companies that are targeting citizens . many citizens are desperate to be freed from the disturbing , intrusive and oppressive targeting . evidence supports the conclusion that weapons exist that could be used against individuals , based on u.s. patent and trademark office filings , public releases by agencies , and other technologies that indicate the level of technological sophistication . the weapons are believed to be based on electromagnetism , microwaves , sonic waves , lasers and other types of directed energy , and were characterized as “ psychotronic ” in rep. dennis kucinich ’s draft of house resolution 2977 , the space preservation act of 2001 . furthermore , it is undeniable that government agencies have tested citizens without permission in the past ; for example , the cia ’s human experimentation discussed in orlikow v. u.s. , 682 f.supp . 77 ( d.d.c. 1988 ) , secretly administered lysergic acid diethylamide discussed in united states v. stanley , 483 u.s. 669 ( 1987 ) , and military chemical experimentation as discussed in congressional committee report 103 - 97 , 103d congress , 2d session , s. prt . 103 - 97 ( dec. 8 , 1994 ) . lastly , the sheer numbers of people complaining of being targeted , including people with post - graduate degrees and a lifetime of achievements , and the similarities in symptoms tend to outweigh a dismissive response based on charges of anecdotal evidence or group paranoia . there is a certain risk of sounding too conspiratorial , however , common denominators such as physical symptoms and medical reports , surveillance scenarios , harassment techniques , and more can be readily established . i highly recommend reading in full the details of this lawsuit , containing a great deal of verifiable information . the military has admitted for some time to having , at the least , a non lethal ( lol ) weapon called active denial . but this rabbit hole goes much , much deeper . having said all that , as i 've said before in one of your threads , i think it wise to consider that it 's not just one thing or another . it 's many things . there could be aliens , for instance . and then there could be milabs , leaving the person with the memory of an alien abduction , rather than their being used for human experimentation , which is supposed to be against our constitution , and most certainly against our human rights . and then people can also suffer from temporal lobe , seizure like hallucinations , but one must also remember that these can most certainly be induced , artificially , as well . in short , i think your rabbit hole is only making it to the gopher level regards ,
+1 security co. running dakota access pipeline has ties to u.s. military in iraq and afghanistan quest we are change security firm running dakota access pipeline intelligence has ties to u.s. military work in iraq and afghanistan tigerswan is one of several security firms under investigation for its work guarding the dakota access pipeline in north dakota while potentially without a permit . besides this recent work on the standing rock sioux protests in north dakota , this company has offices in iraq and afghanistan and is run by a special forces army veteran . according to a summary of the investigation , tigerswan “ is in charge of dakota access intelligence and supervises the overall security . ” the morton county , north dakota , sheriff ’s department also recently concluded that another security company , frost kennels , operated in the state while unlicensed to do so and could face criminal charges . the firm ’s attack dogs bit protesters at a heated labor day weekend protest . law enforcement and private security at the north dakota pipeline protests have faced criticism for maintaining a militarized presence in the area . the american civil liberties union ( aclu ) and national lawyer ’s guild have filed multiple open records requests to learn more about the extent of this militarization , and over 133,000 citizens have signed a petition calling for the u.s. department of justice to intervene and quell the backlash . the federal aviation administration has also implemented a no - fly zone , which bars anyone but law enforcement from flying within a 4-mile radius and 3500 feet above the ground in the protest area . dallas goldtooth , an organizer on the scenes in north dakota with the indigenous environmental network , said on facebook that “ dapl private security planes and choppers were flying all day ” within the designated no - fly zone . donnell hushka , the designated public information officer for the north dakota tactical operation center , which is tasked with overseeing the no - fly zone , did not respond to repeated queries about designated private entities allowed to fly in no - fly zone airspace . what is tigerswan ? tigerswan has offices in iraq , afghanistan , jordan , saudi arabia , india , and latin america and has headquarters in north carolina . in the past year , tigerswan won two u.s. department of state contracts worth over $ 7 million to operate in afghanistan , according to usas pending.gov . tigerswan , however , claims on its website that the contract is worth $ 25 million , and said in a press release that the state department contract called for the company to “ monitor , assess , and advise current and future nation building and stability initiatives in afghanistan . ” since 2008 , tigerswan has won about $ 57.7 million worth of u.s. government contracts and sub - contracts for security services . company founder and ceo james reese , a veteran of the elite army delta force , served as the “ lead advisor for special operations to the director of the cia for planning , operations and integration for the invasion of afghanistan and operation enduring freedom ” in iraq , according to his company biography . army delta partakes in mostly covert and high - stakes missions and is part of the u.s. joint special operations command ( jsoc ) , the latter well known for killing osama bin laden . one of tigerswan ’s advisory board members , charles pittman , has direct ties to the oil and gas industry . pittman “ served as president of amoco egypt oil company , amoco eurasia petroleum company , and regional president bp amoco plc . ( covering the middle east , the caspian sea region , egypt , and india ) , ” according to his company biography . “ sad , but not surprising ” investigative journalist jeremy scahill told democracy now ! in a 2009 interview that tigerswan did some covert operations work with blackwater usa , dubbed the “ world ’s most powerful mercenary army ” in his book by the same name . blackwater has also guarded oil pipelines in central asia , according to scahill ’s book . reese advised blackwater and took a leave of absence from tigerswan in 2008 in the aftermath of the nisour square massacre , a shooting in iraq conducted by blackwater officers which saw 17 iraqi civilians killed . tigerswan has a business relationship with babylon eagles security company , a private security firm headquartered in iraq which also has had business ties with blackwater . “ it is sad , but not surprising , that this firm has ties to the us interventions in afghanistan and iraq , ” medea benjamin , co - founder of the women - led peace group codepink and the co - founder of the human rights group global exchange , told desmog . “ it is another terrifying example of how our violent interventions abroad come home to haunt us in the form of repression and violation of our civil rights . ” the north dakota bureau of criminal investigation and the private investigation and security board are also conducting parallel investigations to the one recently completed by morton county . tigerswan did not comment on questions posed about their contract . the post security co. running dakota access pipeline has ties to u.s. military in iraq and afghanistan appeared first on we are change .
+1 homeopathy in the nhs : the big debate nick huxsted keywords : complimentary medicine , holistic health , homeopathy , nhs the department for health is currently reviewing whether or not homeopathy in the nhs should continue to be available through doctor referrals . against a backdrop of funding cuts and increasing pressure to reduce costs , the government and health managers are looking at whether to add homeopathy to the nhs ’s “ schedule 1 ” blacklist , a selection of products that nhs doctors are banned from prescribing . however despite consistent claims that there is a lack of quality evidence into the positive health benefits of homeopathy , the nhs has spent more than £ 1.75 m on homeopathic treatments over the last 10 years , and any proposed ban is likely to have its fair share of detractors . almost six million brits seek the help complementary and alternative medicine ( of which homeopathy is a part ) with one in four wanting access to be universally available through the nhs . the lead argument for the exclusion of homeopathic treatment is lack of evidence that supports its effectiveness , with research often being labeled as “ inconclusive ” . however proponents for the inclusion of homeopathy argue that this does n’t necessarily mean that there is no evidence . dr helen beaumont , a gp and the president of the faculty of homeopathy , has recently stated that homeopathic treatment has a “ profound effect ” on patients . “ it ’s disappointing that at a time when the nhs is facing a funding crisis the department of health is embarking on a costly consultation that could prevent highly skilled clinicians prescribing a course of treatment that benefits thousands of patients each year . if the department were serious about saving money surely it should be looking at ssris ( selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors ) prescribed for mild to moderate depression in vast quantities at considerable cost to the nhs , but which studies have found to be ineffective for those conditions . ” george freeman , the minister for life sciences , has stated that in a time of rising demand , the government has a duty to ensure nhs funds are spent only on the most effective treatments . however an article in the british medical journal ( bmj ) that examined the scientific evidence behind nhs treatments , found that 46 % of 2,500 commonly used nhs treatments are of unknown effectiveness , and only 13 % are known to be beneficial . the argument is being made that the principals being applied to homeopathy , are consistent for all forms of treatments throughout the nhs . collating research itself has also proved to be difficult , with the positive effects of homeopathy often a challenge to fully quantify . the nhs is driven by targets and trial evidence using hard data ( like death and disease ) to determine the effectiveness of a particular treatment . researching and recording a patients quality of life , happiness and emotional satisfaction has always been much more difficult to quantify , but a wealth of anecdotal evidence and studies from other european countries continue to support the use of homeopathic treatment . for example , in 2008 , over a hundred homeopathic gp practices in germany and switzerland took up the challenge ( 1 ) of demonstrating the health of “ chronically ill patients after eight years of homeopathic treatment ” . it concluded that homeopathy is clinically effective , cost - effective and safe – with the results playing an important role in the inclusion of homeopathy as part of their national healthcare scheme . similarly the largest study at bristol homeopathic hospital ( 2 ) followed the effectiveness of homeopathy on 6,500 consecutive patients over a six - year period . 70 % of follow - up patients reported improved health with 50 % reporting major improvement . the debate whether homeopathy in the nhs will no doubt continue . the homeopathic profession has had to face increasing criticism and hostility over recent years , but with an average annual spend of £ 152,000 on homeopathic treatment ( the equivalent of 0.0013 % of the total nhs drug budget ) it should be remembered that if these patients were not treated with homeopathic medicines , they would have to be treated by other nhs departments with potentially more expensive , conventional drugs . ( 1 ) – bmc public health bmc series , 2008 , 8 : 413 ; doi : 10.1186/1471 - 2458 - 8 - 413 ( 2 ) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16296912 this post was written by the elysian centre , a multi - disciplinary practice for holistic healing and homeopathy in rye , east sussex .
+1 us in danger of losing allies in asia dave hodges philippines president turning his country away from the us and pivoting in the direction of china . often called the donald trump of the philippines , this new president is turning away from america as an ally and is embracing china . this threat to national security can not be overstated . if we lose the philippines as an ally , china will have free military reign of asia . south korea , taiwan , australia , new zealand and vietnam will be in grave danger . an analysis of this potential threat is contained in the following video . p lease donate to the common sense show please subscribe to our youtube channel and don’t forget to “ like ” us this is the absolute best in food storage . dave hodges is a satisfied customer . do n’t wait until it is too late . click here for more information .
+1 feds warn nyc officials about possible al qaeda attack alex ansary feds warn nyc officials about possible al qaeda attack 11/04/2016 new york post new york city law enforcement authorities are on high alert after receiving a warning by the feds about a possible attack by al qaeda on the eve of election day , sources said . us intelligence officials alerted joint terrorism task forces of the threat , which also included texas and virginia — though specific sites targeted for monday in the three states were not mentioned , a federal source told the post . mayor bill de blasio said friday he had learned of the threat several days ago during classified briefings . “ we are still very much assessing the credibility . it is not at all clear how credible this is , ” de blasio told wnyc ’s brian lehrer on his weekly radio show . “ we ’re certainly in a vigilant position . ” hizzoner said the nypd is planning an “ extraordinary ” police presence for tuesday , when americans go to the polls . “ for the first time in memory there will be two presidential campaigns having their victory celebrations in new york city on tuesday night , ” he said , quickly correcting himself that only one candidate will be celebrating . donald trump , the republican nominee , will be at the new york hilton midtown on sixth avenue , while hillary clinton , his democratic counterpart , will be at the javits convention center across town on 11th avenue . police also will be heavily deployed for the new york city marathon on sunday , de blasio said . meanwhile , gov. andrew cuomo declined to confirm the threat friday but also noted the high state of alert for election day . “ we have more state police , more national guard , more soldiers on duty than ever before , ” he said . “ so the bad news is new york is often a threat . the good news is we ’ve been dealing with this now for over a decade and we have prepared for it . ” the nypd and the port authority of new york and new jersey said they had been alerted to the possible attacks . “ we are aware of the information . we have been working with the fbi through the joint terrorism task force and our counterterrorism and intelligence bureaus , ” the nypd said in a statement . “ we continue to encourage anyone with any information that could be relevant to the safety of our city to contact law enforcement , ” the department said . the port authority — which operates airports , tunnels and bridges in and around the big apple — said it too was prepared . “ we are continuing the high level of security we have had in place at all of our facilities for many months , ” spokesman steve coleman told the post . the fbi did not comment specifically about the threat against the three states , but said counterterrorism and homeland security authorities “ remain vigilant and well - postured ” to handle attacks . “ the fbi , working with our federal , state and local counterparts , shares and assesses intelligence on a daily basis and will continue to work closely with law enforcement and intelligence community partners to identify and disrupt any potential threat to public safety , ” an fbi official said . friday ’s threat followed a report by nbc news that the us government believes hackers from russia or other countries may try to unleash cyberattacks to wreak havoc ahead of election day . an effort coordinated by the white house and the department of homeland security — and including the cia , the national security agency and other elements of the department of defense — is being conducted to avert attacks , nbc news reported .
+0 georgia father is convicted of murder in toddler ’s death in hot car - the new york times alan blinder atlanta — with local television programming interrupted and a camera trained on the defendant ’s emotionless face , an father was convicted of murder on monday for causing the death of his young son by deliberately leaving him in a hot car more than two years ago . a jury in southeast georgia , where the case was tried because of intense pretrial publicity here , returned guilty verdicts against the man , justin ross harris , 35 , on eight counts , including malice murder and cruelty to children . mr. harris , who sometimes glanced downward as the verdict was read in brunswick , could be sentenced to life in prison for the death of his son , cooper . the verdict , announced on the jury ’s fourth day of deliberations , ended the suspense of a trial that began on oct. 3 , and it capped nearly 29 months of sordid allegations and scrambled loyalties . the cause of cooper ’s death was undisputed — mr. harris left him in a hyundai tucson while he worked as a software engineer at home depot on june 18 , 2014 — but it fell to jurors to decide whether he had been malicious or merely . the manner of cooper ’s death is a heartbreakingly familiar one : at least 39 children in the united states have died of “ vehicular heatstroke ” this year , according to statistics compiled by a san jose state university researcher . but the case against mr. harris was striking because of the severity of the charges and the state ’s argument that he was eager to end his responsibilities to his family . “ this killer ’s heart abandoned this child long before he died , ” charles p. boring , an assistant district attorney , said during his closing argument . “ this defendant ’s heart abandoned this child when he left him to die a terrible death in that car . ” in a statement after the verdict , the district attorney ’s office noted a message that mr. harris sent minutes before he left his vehicle , cooper still in his car seat : “ i love my son and all , but we both need escapes . ” but near the end of a trial in which mr. harris was vilified as a man with a compromised marriage , one of his lawyers , h. maddox kilgore , argued that moral failings did not make a motive for murder . “ there is no evidence of any kind of hatred or bad feelings or anger , ” mr. kilgore said . “ whatever term you want to come up with , any term you come up with , there ’s no evidence that ross expressed that toward his son . ” in the end , mr. harris was convicted on all eight counts for which he was indicted . three of the charges were not connected to cooper ’s death and instead focused on mr. harris ’s electronic communications with at least one underage girl . he will be sentenced next month . although mr. harris ’s former wife , leanna taylor , filed for divorce after cooper ’s death , she testified in her husband ’s defense . ms. taylor ’s lawyer , lawrence j. zimmerman , said she was “ deeply disappointed ” by the verdict .
+1 29 of hillary 's scandals : the early years jack cashill for those who are too young or too unwilling to remember , a trip down memory lane . 1969 – debut : hillary speaks at wellesley graduation , insults edward brooke , senate ’s lone black member . 1973 – watergate committee : says chief counsel jerry zeifman of hillary ’s performance , “ she was a liar . she was an unethical , dishonest lawyer . she conspired to violate the constitution , the rules of the house , the rules of the committee and the rules of confidentiality . ” 1978 - 79 – cattlegate : as wife of arkansas governor , she invests $ 1,000 in cattle futures , makes $ 100,000 . 1978 – whitewater : clintons borrow money to launch whitewater development corporations . several people go to prison over it . clintons do n’t . 1992 – bimbo eruptions : bill and hillary swear to steve kroft on “ 60 minutes ” bill had nothing to do with gennifer flowers . 1992 – private investigators : “ we reached out to them , ” hillary tells cbs’ steve kroft of bill ’s women . “ i met with two of them to reassure them they were friends of ours . ” they also hire pis to bribe and/or threaten as many as two - dozen of them . 1993 – health care reform : hillary heads secret health - care task force , sued successfully for violating open meeting laws . subsequent plan killed by democratic - controlled house . 1993 – waco : hillary ’s doj authorizes armed assault against religious community in waco , 80 dead , many of them children , more than half racial minorities . 1993 – travelgate : hillary orchestrates firing of travel office employees , replaces them with her own people . independent counsel robert ray calls her sworn testimony “ factually false ” but ca n’t prove beyond a reasonable doubt it was ” knowingly false . ” 1993 – vince foster : white house counsel and reputed hillary lover is found dead in fort marcy park . the doj opens a separate investigation of possible obstruction of justice by hillary and her cohorts for blocking search of foster office . 1994 – chinagate : hillary meets with disgraced fixer webb hubbell . a week later clinton indonesian money man james riady gives hubbell $ 100,000 “ job . ” hubbell never talks . reads the nyt headline , “ payment to an ex - clinton aide is linked to big chinese project . ” 1994 – filegate : hillary henchman craig livingstone improperly requests and receives fbi background reports on several hundred individuals . multiple investigations follow . 1994 – november elections : due in no small part to health - care fiasco , dems lose senate and house for first time in nearly 50 years . 1995 – chinagate : hillary convenes secret meeting with bill and dick morris . they launch what thompson committee calls “ the most corrupt political campaign in modern history . ” sign the precedent - setting petition supporting trump ’s call for an independent prosecutor to investigate hillary clinton ! 1995 – pay to play : the $ 100,000 donation to travel with the clintons on trade missions morphs from a discreet expectation into the price of admission . independent counsel investigates . 1995 - 96 – thompson committee : the clintons “ pulled down all the barriers that would normally be in place to keep out illegal contributions , pressured policy makers , and left themselves open to strong suspicion that they were selling not only access to high - ranking officials , but policy as well . ” 1996 – blizzard of lies : hillary dodges imaginary “ sniper fire ” in bosnia ’s tuzla airport . 1996 – ron brown death : nine days later embattled commerce secretary ron brown , who hates being “ hillary clinton ’s being mother - f — ing tour guide , ” leaves tuzla on final , fatal flight to croatia . 1996 – enron connection : brown goes to croatia to broker a sweetheart deal between the neo - fascists who run the country and the enron corporation . despite his death , the deal goes through , ends very badly . 1996 – ron brown cover - up : pathologists find an apparent bullet hole in brown ’s head . he is buried without autopsy . head x - rays are lost . three pathologists and photographer have careers wrecked for going public . 1995 - 96 – thompson committee : “ millions of dollars were raised in illegal contributions , much of it from foreign sources . ” 1996 – twa flight 800 : hillary is in family quarters with bill and sandy berger when plans are launched to cover up real cause of the destruction of the aircraft . 1996 – blizzard of lies : in a new york times op - ed titled “ blizzard of lies , ” the usually restrained william safire famously calls hillary “ a congenital liar . ” 1997 – pay to play : johnny chung tells thompson committee he funneled $ 100,000 from the chinese military to the dnc . “ the white house is like a subway . you have to put in coins to open the gates . ” 1998 – monica : “ there is n’t any fire , ” hillary tells matt lauer about the “ smoke ” surrounding monica lewinsky accusations . ” the great story here is this vast right - wing conspiracy that has been conspiring against my husband . ” 1999 – faln : clinton pardons 16 lethal puerto rican terrorists to boost hillary ’s chance to win n.y. senate seat . she supports move until outrage mounts . 1999 – christopher hitchens : “ like him , [ hillary ] is not just a liar but a lie ; a phony construct of shreds and patches and hysterical , self - pitying demagogic improvisations . ” 2001 – pardongate : clinton pardons 140 people on final day of office , including cocaine dealer , drug - dealing brother , whitewater pal and billionaire fugitive marc rich . hillary ’s brothers hugh and tony both implicated during subsequent investigation . james comey investigates , finds no illegality . 2001 – furnituregate : the clintons leave the white house with $ 134,000 worth of items that they , once the story breaks , have to return or pay for . please share with your republican friends who seem comfortable with this woman returning to the white house . unless , they get a royalty every time the suffix “ gate ” is applied to a word , they are in for a rough four years . media wishing to interview jack cashill , please contact . receive jack cashill 's commentaries in your email bonus : by signing up for jack cashill 's alerts , you will also be signed up for news and special offers from wnd via email . name *
+0 fmr fnc host alisyn camerota : ’more to come’ in sexual harassment scandal - breitbart jeff poor thursday on cnn ’s “ new day , ” alisyn camerota , who was formerly a on the fox news channel ’s weekend morning show “ fox friends weekend , ” weighed in on the sexual harassment scandal consuming her former employer in the wake of bill o’reilly ’s departure from the network . camerota told her show ’s panelists she anticipates there is “ more to come ” regarding sexual harassment at fox news and explained there was little that could be done about former network executive roger ailes abuses at the time . “ look , i was there for a long time as you all know , ” she said . “ and i know a lot about the culture and my friends there . there is a feeling that , brian , there is more to come . this is n’t the end . just bill o’reilly leaving . there is more to come . and in fact , we know there is still an investigation — a justice department criminal investigation . where do we think that might lead ? ” “ i do not know that i would call it a toxic culture , but i would say that it was pervasive , ” camerota added . “ there was a feeling when i was there that roger was the boss . it was roger ailes fiefdom . he was the king . there was no higher authority you could go to , and there was harassment . and i tried in my own way to raise the flag and talk to people about it . i went to my superiors to talk to them about it . and there was certainly a feeling of , ‘ this is roger . what are you going to do ? who are you going to go to ? ’ ” she also dismissed the claim of an existence of a “ hotline ” for women to call regarding this issue as well . follow jeff poor on twitter @jeff_poor
+1 yakutia residents slaughter animals because of snow disaster nan yakutia residents slaughter animals because of snow disaster 02.11.2016 | source : pravda . ru a heavy snowfall in northern yakutia set a record of thirty years with five times monthly precipitation norm . local residents were forced to slaughter horses due to difficulties with the organization of winter camps for cattle . according to ykt.ru , communication between the regional center and villages was interrupted because of snowy weather . yakutia 's minister for agriculture peter alekseyev recommended district authorities should search for suitable pastures for horses and observe emaciated animals . the works to clear roads of snow to reach forage locations have already begun . horses are unable to feed themselves because of deep snow . the locals had to slaughter young horses because of negative weather conditions . according to yakutsk . ru , snow has covered houses up to the roof ; classes at schools and kindergartens have been canceled . in the south - west of the republic , gusts of wind reach up to 10 - 15 meters per second . pravda . ru read article on the russian version of pravda . ru
+0 snap is said to pick bankers for an i.p.o. - the new york times michael j. de la merced and katie benner san francisco — the newest generation of technology darlings has signaled that it is about to come of age : snapchat , the messaging service beloved by teenagers , is preparing to step out into the public markets . the company — born only five years ago — may end up ushering in a wave of huge tech initial public offerings at a time when wall street has seen few such big deals . snapchat ’s parent , recently renamed snap inc. has hired the investment banks morgan stanley and goldman sachs , essentially firing a starting gun for a potential stock sale as soon as the first quarter of next year , people briefed on the matter said on wednesday . should snap follow through on its plans , it would be the most prominent debut by the latest batch of “ unicorns ” — those private companies valued at more than $ 1 billion . its class also includes uber , the enormous service , and airbnb , the . many of those companies are already awash in cash they have raised privately from mutual funds , venture capital firms and hedge funds , money that once needed to be raised on the public stock markets . but an initial offering would represent a new level of status and legitimacy , placing them on the same level as google and facebook . a wave of unicorns hitting the public markets would help end what has been one of the bleakest times for tech initial offerings — and i. p. o.s in general — in some time . no tech companies went public in the first three months of this year , a drought that had happened only three times since the early 1990s . over all , just 84 companies have gone public so far this year in the united states , according to data from renaissance capital , down nearly 42 percent from last year . should it prove to be an outlier , a snap offering would still be one of the technology world ’s most awaited market debuts since twitter ’s in 2013 and the alibaba group ’s a year later . snap was most recently valued by private investors at about $ 19 billion . among the problems that had bedeviled the market for new stocks was the ease with which tech companies like uber have found cash from private investors , removing the need to go public anytime soon . the companies that have gone public over the last 12 months have largely been smaller , names like the communications service twilio or the business software maker atlassian . and public market investors like mutual funds have pushed back against the prices that have demanded , often leading to fewer of the stock debuts that twitter and others enjoyed . but as the markets have stabilized , and their backers have again resumed discussions about splashy market debuts . “ in the last three months , a number of companies have started saying that it ’s not all bad to be public , ” matt murphy , a partner at menlo ventures , said . “ if you ’re a mature company with more than $ 50 million in revenue , an i. p. o. is very much on your mind now . ” the prospect of a huge offering has had banks racing to seize a piece of it for some time . beyond morgan stanley and goldman sachs , snap has also engaged a bevy of other banks — including jpmorgan chase , deutsche bank , allen company , barclays and credit suisse — to help manage its stock sale , one of the people briefed on the matter added . bloomberg earlier reported the selection of bankers . at the heart of the frenzy is snap , born in a stanford university dorm room in 2011 . the company is known for its mobile storytelling and messaging app , which lets users watch videos and send photos and messages to friends . the company also makes sunglasses called spectacles that are equipped with a video camera . currently , snap would be able to file its public offering documents confidentially with the securities and exchange commission because the company now generates less than $ 1 billion in annual revenue . the company may ultimately decide not to file for an offering . yet snap may be in a better position to go public before some other highly valued private companies because it has comparatively few regulatory concerns that would be listed as risk factors in a prospectus . uber and airbnb , for example , are fighting legal battles in numerous cities around the country and the world . even though all of these battles will most likely be resolved , a long list of outstanding litigation and regulatory uncertainties could create an additional hurdle for investors . and unlike those two companies , snap is n’t based in silicon valley itself but in venice , calif. spearheading a nascent tech community in the los angeles area . snap ’s app snapchat was an early hit with young users who liked the fact that their messages and photos disappeared . the company was criticized for making it easier to send inappropriate photos with fewer consequences . yet the ephemeral nature of the platform also made it seem like a more authentic way of communicating . snapchat was an online facsimile of a casual conversation while platforms like facebook and instagram were the equivalent of a permanent record . snap eventually added in tools that let users tell stories about their days and augment their selfies with stickers and masks , which the company calls filters and lenses . it also introduced channels for professionally created content from media companies like cnn and cosmopolitan magazine . as users continued to flock to the app , a year ago snap began to monetize its growing audience by allowing advertisers to sponsor filters and lenses and run video ads between stories produced by media companies or made up of user photos and videos . advertisers have been keen to reach the snapchat app ’s audience , which now includes 41 percent of americans ages 18 to 34 and 150 million daily users . at the moment , snapchat is the trendiest , newest thing and advertisers want to be associated with it , chad stoller , executive vice president and global innovation director of ipg mediabrands , said in an earlier interview . snap has continued to build out content on snapchat , the app has increasingly drawn comparisons to traditional television and is seen as an internet company that could someday draw ad dollars away from tv . this year , snapchat is expected to generate nearly $ 367 million in ad revenue worldwide , according to data from the research firm emarketer and that figure is expected to rise to nearly $ 1 billion next year . for now , nearly all of snapchat ’s revenue comes from the united states , according to emarketer , but other markets should account for about a quarter of snap ’s revenue by 2018 . yet for all of the service ’s phenomenal growth , snapchat ’s parent must still demonstrate to potentially skittish stock market investors that it has a path to profitability if its offering is to soar , analysts say . “ investors are n’t willing to buy growth at all costs , ” kathleen smith , a of renaissance capital , said .
+0 debt . terror . politics . to seattle millennials , the future looks scary . - the new york times kirk johnson seattle — part of jillian boshart ’s life plays out in tidy , ordered lines of javascript computer code , and part in a flamboyant whirl of corsets and crinoline . she ’s a tech student by day , an enthusiastic burlesque artist and producer by night . “ ” and “ ” she calls those different guises . “ my mother got stage fright for me , ” she said on a recent night while talking about her childhood performances and dreams . she looked like a 1940s starlet in a tight black sequined dress , a red rose pinned into her red hair . “ i like to be prepared , ” she said . “ i like to be in control . ” at age 31 , she seems to be . this year she won a coveted spot here at a nonprofit tech school for women , whose recent graduates have found jobs with starting salaries averaging more than $ 90 , 000 a year . seattle , where she came after college in utah to study musical theater , is booming with culture and youthful energy . but again and again , life has taught ms. boshart , and others in her generation , that control can be elusive . in the crash of the early 2000s , her family lost the college savings they had been putting aside for her . her father , a nurse , was laid off after 35 years on the job . her sister and lost their house during the great recession . and very little in the world around ms. boshart has led her to feel a sense of comfort and ease : not the soaring costs of living in seattle , not the whirlwind roar of reinvention in the tech world , certainly not the barbed clamor of national politics . even for someone who seems to have drawn one of her generation ’s winning hands , it feels like a daunting time to be coming of age in america . “ i do n’t just expect things to unfold , or think , ‘ well , now i ’ve got it made,’ because there ’s always a turn just ahead of you and you do n’t know what ’s around that corner , ” she said . on the 10th floor of a downtown office building here on a rainy morning in june , a software development instructor stood in a darkened classroom , the images and words from a screen projection branding his white shirt with the fractured language of computer code . in the classroom , at ada developers academy , the tech school ms. boshart attends , were a former motorcycle a former college counselor , a waitress , a teacher — all women , most in their 20s and 30s , and all there to change careers . it was the day after the mass shooting at a nightclub in orlando , fla. where the victims , as no one needed reminding , were about the same age as everyone in the room . the students at ada — adies , as they affectionately call one other — are in many ways representative of seattle ’s churning , anxious arc of growth and change . the 61 women who have graduated since the school ’s founding in 2013 have been drawn here from across the nation and several other countries . tuition is free for applicants who pass the rigorous admissions process , with costs underwritten by seattle tech giants like amazon . of the 13 most populous counties in the nation , king county in the seattle metro area is second only to brooklyn in the highest percentage of residents age 25 to 34 , part of the biggest demographic wave since the baby boom , according to census data . and seattle is luring those millennials from all over , with king ranking second among big counties in the percentage of people who moved here within the past year from another state . but even in a place of alluring opportunity , the adies , like ms. boshart , mirror their generation ’s anxieties . many are terrified of debt and deeply worried about their economic future . student loan burdens sharply increased nationally during the recession , according to a report by the federal reserve bank of atlanta , more than tripling to $ 1 trillion from 2004 to 2012 . unemployment for people under 25 is more than twice the national rate , which has made many of those loans harder to pay off . millennials have postponed marriage and decisions about where to live and what careers to pursue , the federal reserve study said , far longer than previous generations , often out of economic necessity . hailey willis , for example , was accepted to ada and arrived here last year from chicago with six months of savings to her name . in seattle , markedly more expensive , the money was gone in 90 days . asked about her financial future , ms. willis , 31 , said she saw no chance that anything like social security would be there for her or anyone her age . elsa moluf , 26 , an ada graduate , said the terrorist attacks of sept. 11 , 2001 , still resonated when she thought about personal safety — a feeling compounded recently by a shooting on a seattle street in broad daylight only a few feet from her . “ in the era of terrorism , i think about stuff like , ‘ if i go to this crowded festival , what are the chances,’ ” she said . baby boomers , to whom millennials are often compared — if only by the force of their numbers — also reached adulthood amid tumult and angst , during the vietnam war and the struggle for civil rights . but people now in their 20s and 30s say that the 1960s were different , that there seemed to be a clearer goal then — to end racial segregation , poverty or the war . the economy seemed better and the nation ’s future more assured . now , from niche anxieties like genetically modified crops to defining ones like climate change , questions feel and unprecedented : is the food we eat still food ? how do you get your head around a threat to the entire planet ? contradictions and paradoxes , millennials say , come with the territory . ms. boshart , for example , would love to own a house someday . but at the same time , debt to her feels perilous . “ i do n’t want to be beholden to any bank , ever , ” she said with quiet vehemence . she counts the months until the tech job she hopes to get after ada can help pay off the $ 22 , 000 student debt she has left . and then there are presidential politics , with one candidate , donald j. trump , who scares her to death and another , hillary clinton , whom she admires but is sometimes hesitant to praise too loudly in an area where most people she knew supported senator bernie sanders . she sees politics through a feminist lens and believes that women ’s rights would be undermined by a trump presidency and a supreme court . and even though recent polls and surveys show sanders supporters largely rallying to mrs. clinton , it is not enough to create any sense of security , ms. boshart said , that an october surprise of hacked data or a hidden pool of misogyny and rage do not still lie in wait . “ there are just so many things you can be anxious about — it ’s an anxious time , ” she said . “ my biggest fear is that america hates women more than they hate donald trump . ” riley spicer , 26 , said she can not help buying food on sale and socking it away . she arrived in seattle last year from rural oregon to start classes at ada , and she and her boyfriend , jakob lundy , 27 , a fireman , have planted a garden and started a beehive to harvest honey . “ i had the radishes today in my salad at work , ” ms. spicer said on a recent evening , as she carefully exposed the leaves to reveal bulbs . “ when i go to the store and i get three bags of mushrooms , they ’re like , ‘ what are you doing?’ i ’m stuffing mushrooms and freezing them — does n’t everyone do that ? ” ms. spicer , who studied philosophy and the history of science at st. john ’s college in annapolis , md. has had jobs as a barista , a taxi dispatcher and a deli worker . she has $ 72 , 000 of student debt and has never been paid an annual wage , she said , of more than $ 17 , 000 . based on the track record of ada graduates , she could soon be making five times as much . so on one level , she and mr. lundy — young , in love and employed or soon to be — might look as if they are living the american dream . but neither one is buying it . “ i look out there and it just seems completely hopeless to me , ” she said as their mutt , cordelia , wandered through their apartment . “ the political system seems so overwhelmingly broken that i have no idea what to do about it . ” her views are echoed in national polls , where young people are consistently , deeply downbeat about the future and the political system . a recent poll of people 18 to 29 years old by harvard ’s institute of politics found nearly half agreed with the statement that “ politics today are no longer able to meet the challenges our country is facing . ” more than said the country is “ on the wrong track , ” and a majority rejected both capitalism and socialism as models for the future . the poll , of 3 , 183 american citizens , had a margin of error of plus or minus 2 . 4 percentage points . mr. lundy rejects the political system entirely and has voted mostly for candidates , if only as a statement of opposition to the choice of a republican or a democrat . he is not sure what he will do this year . “ i do n’t want to support the false dichotomy , ” he said . he said he liked mr. sanders partly because a sanders insurgency “ would be best at reforming the party , or tearing it apart from the inside . ” he also applauded mr. trump ’s antics , which mr. lundy believes will shatter the republican party , too . either way , he added , a is coming . “ things are going to have to burn before they get better , ” he said . technology is the sea that millennials swim in — a kind of second nature , especially to adies . but many of them feel a deep ambivalence . tech , they say , means military drones , loss of privacy and cyberbullying . social media , the new town square , often feels more like a combat zone than a place to share ideas . tech companies are driving up rent in places like seattle , forcing out people , even while creating excellent jobs that adies are likely to get . “ the tech industry is a huge part of the problem , ” said jessica weeber , 31 , who is studying at ada alongside ms. boshart . “ as people get paid more and work in tech jobs , rents and housing go up and gentrification happens , ” she said . “ i do n’t know how to solve it . ” but tech is also an unquestionably powerful tool . “ tech gives us the power to change — that ’s why i ’m here , ” said mindy carson , 31 , an ada student and strong supporter of mr. sanders . she wants to start a nonprofit after graduation , using technology to work on social justice issues . “ we do n’t have to take what they ’re saying on tv for face value , we do n’t have to take limited information for face value , because we see the truth , we are connected , ” she added . ms. boshart used technology in a recent burlesque performance , including a recorded appearance by the astronomer carl sagan , to make a point about humanity ’s intertwined role with science . she walked on stage wearing a glamorous evening gown , opera gloves , and a corset underneath with 160 led lights and a tiny computer to run them . mr. sagan ’s voice came on , talking about the cosmos . as her clothing came off , she said , “ i became more and more human . and that was kind of the point : we are artifice to the world , what we present , but as we get deeper and deeper into the human element we are atoms and star dust . ” ms. boshart gravitated to burlesque , she said , partly to make such statements . but after her mother died last summer , things became more profound and personal . the women of the seattle burlesque society showed up at the apartment she shares with her fiancé . they brought food . they cleaned . they carved out a quiet corner for grieving and meditation . they became , in their embrace , her sisters . like many people in her generation , ms. boshart does not expect to find those connections in political parties . she no longer goes to church . the workplace does n’t seem to offer much hope either . “ my dad was laid off after 35 years , and that was supposed to be his community , right ? that was supposed to be the group of people that understood , ” she said before a recent monday night performance that she was producing at a brewpub north of downtown . “ he worked for years and years for you and he ’s just out ? it was appalling to me . ’’ what should be tossed out , or clung to , is the question of the moment , she said . and for her , a big part of her answer lies in the proud and quirky universe of burlesque , her anchor of belonging in a world that can feel fragmented and frayed . as she got up from the table for a final chat with the cast , music pounded out as performers — various ages and body types in heavy eye shadow and feathered boas — got ready to go on . they hugged , and she cautioned them about a low table with sharp corners that would be hard to see in the dark . one small peril avoided , it was time for .
+0 ’manchester’ : the missing word in the fourth circuit ’s ruling - breitbart joel b. pollak the united states court of appeals for the fourth circuit refused thursday to overturn fully a lower court ruling that blocked president donald trump ’s new executive order suspending travel from several countries . [ the opinion and dissents cover 205 pages . ( the list of supporting briefs from organizations takes up two pages by itself . ) but amidst the arguments , there is a key word missing from the entire document : “ manchester . ” the opinion of the court was clearly written before monday evening ’s horrific terror attack . and while court rulings do not generally follow current events , the way those rulings are received by the public is affected by the context . the manchester attack makes the case for trump ’s executive order . true , the terrorist was a british citizen , and so he would not have been stopped by a similar executive order , had one hypothetically existed the united kingdom . however , the bomber had traveled to syria and libya , two of the countries identified by the order as places where terror is rampant and whose governments lack the ability to vouch for their citizens at foreign ports of entry . the fact that those countries were relevant to the manchester attacks boosts the administration ’s argument that it needs to review its procedures for screening foreigners from countries to prevent enemies from infiltrating . what the fourth circuit ’s decision essentially says is that president donald trump is uniquely unable to make any decisions on immigration policy because of things he said about muslim and islam during the 2016 campaign . in other words , the judiciary wants to disarm america in the face of a spreading global threat . the timing could not have been worse , and this decision is likely to provoke more of a public backlash than any that have preceded it . joel b. pollak is senior at breitbart news . he was named one of the “ most influential ” people in news media in 2016 . he is the of how trump won : the inside story of a revolution , is available from regnery . follow him on twitter at @joelpollak .
+0 review : ‘ “ master harold ” … and the boys,’ a searing indictment of racism - the new york times charles isherwood there is good reason that “ ‘ master harold’ … and the boys ” ranks among the south african writer athol fugard ’s most celebrated and popular plays . as the sterling new production that opened on monday at the signature theater attests , this quiet drama remains a powerful indictment of the apartheid system and the terrible human cost of the racism it codified and legalized . at a time when systemic racism and its roots are once again a subject of national discussion in america , it feels particularly , and sorrowfully , pertinent . the play , here directed with care by mr. fugard himself , takes place in 1950 , in a modest tea shop in the town of port elizabeth . sam ( leon addison brown ) in his 40s , works in the shop and wears a waiter ’s uniform his willie ( sahr ngaujah ) about sam ’s age , does more of the rough work and is dressed accordingly . they are black the hally ( noah robbins ) the son of the tea shop ’s owners , is white . he arrives from school on a rainy afternoon and greets sam and willie cheerfully . the relationship among them is warm , although willie calls hally “ master hally , ” while sam calls him by just his name . but unsettling news spoils hally ’s friendly demeanor , at least temporarily . he learns that his mother has gone to the hospital to bring home his ailing father , for whom hally clearly has little affection . when willie tosses a rag in mock anger at sam , and it hits hally , he says sharply : “ cut out the nonsense now and get on with your work . and you too , sam . stop fooling around . ” their relationship is dictated not by their age or intelligence or behavior , but by the color of their skin . generally , sam ’s rapport with hally is almost fatherly in a particularly touching passage , they recall with affection a day they shared flying a kite . after hally talks about being punished for an infraction at school , he is aghast when sam describes what it ’s like to be caned by the police . his intelligence tells him that the racist system his country lives by is morally wrong . “ i oscillate between hope and despair for this world as well , sam , ” he says , when sam expresses a cynical view of the future . “ but things will change , you wait and see . one day somebody is going to get up and give history a kick up the backside and get it going again . ” the emotional power of the play resides at first in the affection sam shows toward hally . mr. brown gives an understated and deeply touching performance . although sam was never educated — as he flips through hally ’s textbooks , he marvels at the words he does n’t know — mr. brown underscores his acute moral intelligence . faith in his dignity as a human being shines in sam ’s every word and act — and , what ’s more , a compassion for hally that allows him to put up with the young man ’s slips into casual condescension . as the more juvenile willie , mr. ngaujah , best known for creating the title role in the musical “ fela ! , ” is bubbly and likable . his obsession with a coming dance contest brings humor into the play , as willie rants about his girlfriend ’s leaden feet . perhaps it would help , sam sternly suggests , if he did n’t beat her when she makes a wrong move . mr. robbins is superb , as well , as hally . beginning with a fine south african accent , his performance brings out all the nuances in the character : his innate good nature , which has been nurtured by sam , although hally does n’t recognize it his natural intelligence , despite those lousy math scores his submerged guilt and sorrow over his relationship with his father and the hints of patronization that occasionally creep into his conversation . the play moves to a harrowing conclusion when sam gently admonishes hally for saying disrespectful things about his father , and hally lashes out . the moment is shocking , and heartbreaking , too , as we watch a stricken hally absorb the enormity of what he has done : mr. robbins ’s face grows ashen , and he sits in his chair with a deathlike stillness . the moment illustrates , too , how it is often our inner demons that stoke our disrespect — or worse — for others . with his outburst , it seems that the kind but callow boy has suddenly and inadvertently taken the first steps to becoming a man . but the question remains : having grown up absorbing the racism that is endemic in his culture — its omnipresence is subtly symbolized by the rain we hear pelting down throughout the play — what kind of man can he become ?
+0 donald trump agrees to pay $ 25 million in trump university settlement - the new york times steve eder donald j. trump has reversed course and agreed on friday to pay $ 25 million to settle a series of lawsuits stemming from his defunct education venture , trump university , finally putting to rest fraud allegations by former students , which have dogged him for years and hampered his presidential campaign . the settlement was announced by the new york attorney general just 10 days before one of the cases , a federal lawsuit in san diego , was set to be heard by a jury . the deal averts a potentially embarrassing and highly unusual predicament : a on trial , and possibly even taking the stand in his own defense , while scrambling to build his incoming administration . it was a remarkable concession from a real estate mogul who derides legal settlements and has mocked fellow businessmen who agree to them . but the allegations in the case were highly unpleasant for mr. trump : students paid up to $ 35 , 000 in tuition for a programs that , according to the testimony of former trump university employees , used sales tactics and employed unqualified instructors . the agreement wraps together the outstanding trump university litigation , including two federal cases in san diego , and a separate lawsuit by eric t. schneiderman , the new york attorney general . the complaints alleged that students were cheated out of thousands of dollars in tuition through deceptive claims about what they would learn and sales tactics . “ i am pleased that under the terms of this settlement , every victim will receive restitution and that donald trump will pay up to $ 1 million in penalties to the state of new york for violating state education laws , ” mr. schneiderman said in a statement . “ the victims of trump university have waited years for today ’s result , and i am pleased that their patience — and persistence — will be rewarded by this $ 25 million settlement . ” the settlement is a significant reversal from mr. trump , who had steadfastly rejected the allegations and vowed to fight the lawsuits , asserting that students filled out evaluations showing they were mostly happy with what they had learned in seminars . when political opponents pressed him on the claims during the campaign , mr. trump doubled down , saying he would eventually reopen trump university . “ it ’s something i could have settled many times , ” mr. trump said during a debate in february . “ i could settle it right now for very little money , but i do n’t want to do it out of principle . ” he added , “ the people that took the course all signed — most — many — many signed report cards saying it was fantastic , it was wonderful , it was beautiful . ” but the position of mr. trump and his legal team appeared to soften soon after his election victory on nov. 8 . at a hearing last week , daniel petrocelli , a lawyer for mr. trump , expressed interest in moving toward a settlement . meanwhile , mr. trump ’s lawyers were seeking to delay the trial in one of the california cases until after his inauguration on jan. 20 , while also requesting that he be allowed to testify on video . at a hearing on the case in san diego on friday , mr. petrocelli said mr. trump had settled the case “ without an acknowledgment of fault or liability . ” the judge overseeing the two california cases , gonzalo curiel , was thrust into the limelight of the campaign in may when mr. trump spent several minutes at a rally denouncing the judge ’s decisions in the case , calling him a “ hater ” and questioning his impartiality because of his mexican heritage . after he faced days of criticism for his remarks on the judge , mr. trump released a statement saying his words had been “ misconstrued as a categorical attack against people of mexican heritage . ” he also asserted that he was justified in questioning the fairness of his trial , given various rulings in the case that went against him . still , he concluded , “ we will win this case ! ” judge curiel said in court friday that he hoped that the settlement agreement — and the end of the presidential campaign — would begin “ a healing process that this country very sorely needs . ” under the agreement , mr. trump will pay $ 21 million to settle the two california suits and $ 4 million to settle with the new york attorney general . the lawyers for the plaintiffs waived their attorneys’ fees . the deal still has to be approved in court , which could take months . about 7 , 000 students will share in the settlement , according to their lawyers . the customers will be eligible to recoup at least half of what they spent at trump university , and some could receive a full refund , the lawyers said . even before he was in the throes of his presidential bid , mr. trump began mounting a vigorous public defense of himself and trump university . a website , 98percentapproval . com , touted high marks it received from students . a new york times report in march , though , showed how some students recalled being pressured to give positive reviews . trump university , which operated from 2004 to 2010 , included free introductory seminars across the country , focusing largely on real estate investing and learning mr. trump ’s secrets . students could then purchase more expensive packages costing up to $ 35 , 000 . documents made public through the litigation revealed that some former trump university managers had given testimony about its unscrupulous and exploitative business practices . one sales executive testified that the operation was “ a facade , a total lie . ” another manager called it a “ fraudulent scheme . ” other records showed how mr. trump had overstated the depth of his involvement in the programs . despite claims that mr. trump had handpicked instructors , he acknowledged in testimony that he had not . in addition to the financial rewards , the conclusion of the trump university cases brings vindication to former students , mostly ordinary people across the country who felt they had been robbed of their savings by mr. trump , a successful businessman they respected and admired . one student , jeffrey tufenkian , who enrolled with his wife to pursue a real estate career , told the new york times in 2011 that the experience “ was almost completely worthless . ” “ trump university has no interest in taking care of its customers , ” said mr. tufenkian , who paid $ 35 , 000 for a “ gold elite ” class , which he said at the time wiped out much of his savings . alan garten , a lawyer for mr. trump , said friday that his side was “ pleased ” with the settlement . “ while we have no doubt that trump university would have prevailed at trial based on the merits of this case , resolution of these matters allows trump to devote his full attention to the important issues facing our great nation , ” he said in a statement .
+0 michael keaton : trump policies ‘ recruiting tool’ for isis jerome hudson actor michael keaton took to twitter monday and slammed president donald trump ’s executive order temporarily suspending the u. s. refugee admissions program , calling it “ another recruitment tool ” for isis . [ big thank you to trump for handing isis another recruiting tool . nice job birther boy ! — michael keaton ( @michaelkeaton ) january 30 , 2017 , the academy award nominated actor also said there is “ no end in sight ” for the trump administration ’s “ mayhem . ” this administration creates mayhem with no end in sight . — michael keaton ( @michaelkeaton ) january 30 , 2017 , keaton also encouraged his social media followers to be ready to “ speak out ” against president trump ’s supreme court nominee . “ keep the resistance well thought out and specific and prepare to speak out if necessary on supreme court nominee ! ! ” the spotlight star wrote on twitter . keep the resistance well thought out and specific and prepare to speak out if necessary on supreme court nominee ! ! — michael keaton ( @michaelkeaton ) january 30 , 2017 , keaton ’s scathing critique of the administration ’s policies follows protests in new york city on sunday and a slew of searing speeches aimed at the president during the sag awards . president trump announced via twitter on monday that he ’s set to name his united states supreme court nominee . “ i have made my decision on who i will nominate for the united states supreme court . it will be announced live on tuesday at 8:00 p. m. ( w. h. ) , ” trump wrote . follow jerome hudson on twitter : @jeromeehudson
+1 awakened humanity awaits fully scripted ending to the election wakingtimes waking times no event in american history ( if you ask me ) has been more engineered , more anticipated and more built up than the upcoming november 8 , 2016 presidential election . face it . this presidential election season made the truth movement mainstream . evil and corruption was brought into the light . we ’ve observed what a george soros - like engineered regime breakdown looks and feels like from the inside , our side this time . we had heard and read about all those foreign governments that the us overthrew with their “ democracy ” tactics using “ special forces , ” ngos , paid - for revolutionaries , activists and in some cases flat - out murderous fighters ( isis , moderate rebels ) . this time the engineered chaos was happening here in the us . this 2016 election season has been packed with outright exposed corruption , lies , propaganda , murders , stolen primaries , fabricated accusations , distractions , staged debates and much more . we have seen a criminally accused presidential candidate get away with crimes in broad daylight while suspected of suffering from parkinson ’s disease , passing out , having seizures and even being followed around by a creepy doctor with a seizure medication injector . this is the stuff hollywood films are made of . the list of the insanity goes on and on , right ? we ’ve witnessed plenty of lies , propaganda and jerry springer show -like attacks by the candidates to create just the perfect smokescreen so that americans are not looking into the events in aleppo or mosul much less the hillary - dnc- mainstream media corruption scandals and revelations . instead of keeping a close eye on the doings of the us criminal empire , the elite relied on a very in - your - face and increasingly arrogant , defiant and now very busted and discredited mainstream media to push the desired paradigm and reinforce it every which way they can . actually , this understates the situation . what really happened was that the mainstream media joined forces with the chosen candidate of the ruling oligarchs ( hillary ) and together their campaign ( the dnc - hillary - soros - moveon.org - michael moore - hollywood - mainstream media complex ) has brought us to the ending that truth seekers are now looking ahead to with great anxiety and anticipation . actually , i ’m understating the situation again . all or most americans ( awakened or not ) are anticipating and anxiously awaiting the end results of the us presidential elections . the question we should all be asking then is , how did we get here ? oh , and perhaps more importantly , where are we going ? to answer this , one must realize that the ruling elite have plans . they have a lot of money and they have players willing to go along with their plans . not sure of this ? then please research sandy hook or boston bombing events . or research many of the crisis actor events of the past few years . that ’s right . while they were staging one event after another , too many americans were too busy and too afraid to call these fake events for what they were . too many americans fell for the trick that we were supposed to believe mainstream media “ stories ” and narratives unless we could “ prove ” that the account did n’t happen the way mainstream media said it did . in other words , many americans were tricked into believing that , unless proven otherwise , we should believe mainstream media . well here we are in october of 2016 and finally ( though it has been common knowledge to many of us for a long while ) the illegitimacy of the mainstream media is carved in stone . no longer can it be considered a “ conspiracy ” by anyone , that mainstream media is corrupt and acts as a tool of psychological terrorism against the public on behalf of the ruling elite . that said , now it is time to confront the fully engineered and long - planned ending of this 2016 us presidential election . will staged “ political terrorism , ” a term just introduced a couple of weeks ago into the american psyche , be staged as mike adams at natural news is writing about ? will this “ terrorism ” or planned “ event ” mark the beginning of the end of america ? if so , what will happen ? how will it all go down ? many are now wondering how deep is this web of corruption and how far will the traitors identified before us be willing to go to destroy america ? the one thing everyone should accept is that this ending has been planned just like so many “ events ” of the past several years have been scripted and planned . so today i invite readers to acknowledge this very important singular factor in today ’s events . the fact that they are planned . the notion of organic and spontaneous results is something the ruling elite hate . they hate anything that is organic , spontaneous , unpredictable , people - powered , natural and real . they need everything to be controlled , scripted , planned , orchestrated , engineered . do you see a pattern here ? one consciousness longs for freedom , naturalness and spontaneity , the other longs to control , orchestrate , engineer and dictate the ending , like a master would want to control his slave . understanding this fundamental contrast between the control - freak consciousness ( think ruling elite ) and the free - spirited consciousness , will allow you to see what ’s coming this november 8th 2016 . what ’s coming is a long - awaited day for which the ruling elite have paid a lot of money and hired many people to manipulate and control the ending of . so the real question is , will their operation succeed ? looking at the election day ending from a bird’s - eye view and seeing how the ruling elite think and operate it is not difficult to see that they , too , are waiting for that day so that they can implement whatever plan they ’ll need based on the materializing reality at that moment . in this ( what i ’ll call ) wait - and - see plan whose execution will either be entirely controlled from the beginning or be an adjusting reaction - based plan to be determined by the emerging reality , we can be sure that at no point will the ruling elite accept an ending that ruins their plan . in other words , they will adjust their plan as often and as desperately as possible and necessary to engineer an ending to their liking . this ultimately is all we need to know to plan our ( truth seekers and freedom lovers ) next move . and our next move should look something like this if you ask me : 1- have a plan including options for self - sustaining yourself and your loved ones ( food , water , shelter and other personal needs ) . 2- expect corruption but continue fighting and exposing the perpetrators . let ’s not let one of these traitors ( including crisis actors and operatives working for the state ) get away with what they have done . 3- do n’t rely only on the internet to keep track of developing events . you might want to write down current event information , or better yet print out key articles and documents ( proof ) . also download important videos ; do n’t assume these videos will always be available on youtube or the internet . remember we are entering a much more volatile and intense information war age . the main point is we need to archive the evidence against those criminals who have betrayed america and humanity . 4- beware of layered psychological operations . question everything you hear and do n’t discount that some “ news ” is designed for you to hear it ( get it ? ) . unfortunately the controllers have indeed upped the ante when it comes to the information war . in deceptive times like these , grabbing on to the principles you believe in become much more important than agreeing with someone on every little nuance about a particular event . stay oriented and remember who the bad guys are , especially as we see the hillary - mainstream media complex laughably blaming russian president vladimir putin for all the now - revealed corruption and criminality of the clintons , the mainstream media , the dnc and many others . now is the time to confront the very real and very relevant inherent concepts of truth versus lies , lightness versus darkness , freedom versus slavery and knowledge versus hidden knowledge ( the occult ) ; because this , my friends , is what we are dealing with . we ( truth seekers ) are all in this together . we did n’t ask to be put in this show , it sort of came to us . perhaps we ( awakened humanity ) are fulfilling a role that we can not fully understand . this species we call humans needs some members of its kind to save the rest of the species , and if you are reading this then you are probably a chosen vessel in this battle for humanity . there is nothing to fear , for the ending has surely been scripted . we ( like them ) will also respond in real - time in the most effective way possible . what we need to do more than anything else is … . ( pay attention ) … think ahead just like they do . and so today i ’m thinking ahead . i have plans for both scenarios ( trump or hillary declared victory ) . i have plans for no “ political terrorism ” and political terrorism , shock or no shock , chaos or no chaos . in my world the problem remains the same until we hold these corrupt ruling elite , their politicians and players all responsible for their criminality and corruption . plain and simple , the ruling elite must be identified , stopped and held accountable for their crimes against humanity and the us constitution . this is more important than any presidential election . will a trump victory make this accountability more possible ? many are hopeful of this , but ultimately we must find a way to impose our will on the future and not rely on a politician to do this for us . finally , i ’m reminded of the very last line of the film the american dream when the villain asks , “ what do you think this is ? ” and the answer : “ this is america ! ! ” likewise , let ’s remember , this is america , the politically hijacked land that guarantees each and every individual inherent rights which are clearly and indisputably outlined in the us constitution . will an opportunity present itself for the rule of law to be restored or will the ruling elite have their way ? that question will very likely be answered at a time not necessarily coinciding with election night . this is a reminder to all that the battle we face for humanity and truth is continuous and very long term , not about one isolated moment or day . about the author bernie is a revolutionary writer with a background in medicine , psychology , and information technology . he is the author of the art of overcoming the new world order and has written numerous articles over the years about freedom , government corruption and conspiracies , and solutions . a former host of the 9/11 freefall radio show , bernie is also the creator of the truth and art tv project where he shares articles and videos about issues that raise our consciousness and offer solutions to our current problems . his efforts are designed to encourage others to joyfully stand for truth , to expose government tactics of propaganda , fear and deception , and to address the psychology of dealing with the rising new world order . he is also a former u.s. marine who believes it is our duty to stand for and defend the u.s. constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic . a peace activist , he believes information and awareness is the first step toward being free from enslavement from the globalist control system which now threatens humanity . he believes love conquers all fear and it is up to each and every one of us to manifest the solutions and the change that you want to see in this world , because doing this is the very thing that will ensure victory and restoration of the human race from the rising global enslavement system , and will offer hope to future generations . this article ( awakened humanity awaits fully scripted ending to the election ) was originally created and published by bernie suarez at truth and art tv and is re - posted here with permission . ~~ help waking times to raise the vibration by sharing this article with friends and family …
+1 developing : fbi reopens investigation into clinton emails after new ‘ pertinent’ evidence discovered jenna leigh richardson the clinton email scandal has taken an unexpected twist friday as federal bureau of investigation director james comey notified key members of congress that the agency will be reopening their investigation against former secretary of state hillary clinton . in a letter to congress , comey wrote that the fbi has recently “ learned of the existence of emails that appear to be pertinent to the investigation ” regarding clinton ’s use of a private server during her tenure at the state department . while comey did not elaborate on what those emails contain , the director that the emails were discovered “ in connection with an unrelated case . ” via foxnews he told lawmakers the investigative team briefed him on the information a day earlier , “ and i agreed that the fbi should take appropriate investigative steps designed to allow investigators to review these emails to determine whether they contain classified information , as well as to assess their importance to our investigation . ” he said the fbi could not yet assess whether the new material is significant and he could not predict how long it will take to complete “ this additional work . ” trump , speaking to cheering supporters friday afternoon in manchester , n.h. , praised the fbi for having the “ courage ” to “ right the horrible mistake that they made ” – saying he hopes that is “ corrected . ” “ hillary clinton ’s corruption is on a scale we have never seen before , ” trump said . “ we must not let her take her criminal scheme into the oval office . ” in a nod to the significance of the fbi ’s announcement , trump quipped : “ the rest of my speech is going to be so boring . ” we will continue to update as new details surface .
+1 obama should just pardon hillary for every conceivable crime daniel greenfield obama should just pardon hillary for every conceivable crime november 4 , 2016 do n't look now , but # pardonher talk is growing . just as the clinton campaign and its media allies rage against the fbi , some are looking for a pardon solution . and a way to spin that pardon as something other than a straight admission of guilt . how about political reconciliation and a way to defy those mean republicans and take the issue of all the crimes that hillary committed off the table ? here you go . it does not take much clairvoyance to predict that clinton 's most strident opponents may seek to extend the use criminal investigations as a political tactic to undermine her presidency if she wins the election next week . that prospect triggers a startling idea : should president barack obamasimply pardon clinton if she wins the election ? ... a presidential pardon could short circuit some of this maneuvering . the constitution gives the president the power " to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the united states , " and it could be used here . the public is aware of the allegations against clinton , yet she has continued to lead in election polls . if voters choose her for the presidency , their decision that the allegations are not disqualifying deserves respect . a presidential pardon could ratify that assessment . yes , but what should obama pardon hillary clinton for ? corruption , bribery , abuse of classified information ? how about everything . let 's just print up a list of every possible crime and pardon hillary for all of them . it would save time , energy and raise hillary above the law . it would be a clear statement that she could get away with murder . literally .
+1 for our freedom and yours kaitlyn stegall november 4 , 2016 for our freedom and yours if european history once seemed to have arrived at its terminus in 1989 , it has sped off in a new direction in poland . after winning the country ’s first post-1989 outright majority in elections one year ago , the populist law and justice party ( pis ) immediately set about undermining independent checks on its power , from the constitutional court to public media . such antics would disqualify an aspirant from membership of the european union , but it is harder to punish miscreants once they are inside . surrounded by problems outside its borders , from russia to turkey to libya , the eu now confronts a particularly chewy one within . outsiders sometimes lump poland ’s government in with the other populists making the running in much of western europe . but while it shares their hostility to outsiders and taste for economic statism , pis is a very polish phenomenon . its chairman , jaroslaw kaczynski , who runs the country from the party ’s headquarters ( the prime minister , beata szydlo , is a cipher who does her leader ’s bidding ) , is fixed on completing what he considers an unfinished revolution . mr kaczynski believes the polish state was captured by a cosy , treacherous elite after 1989 , with the connivance of the eu . his aim is to overturn and replace it .
+1 comment on predetermined vote counts show nov. 8 presidential election is rigged in favor of hillary clinton by anonymous anonymous dr. eowyn | 2 comments warning : this post may be the most important post you ’ll read on not just the 2016 election , but the entire electoral system that legitimates the u.s. republic of representative democracy . the post is long , with multiple sections , so pace yourself accordingly . i suggest you bookmark this webpage so that you can return to read or re - read . † jim stone first posted about this two days ago on nov. 1 , 2016 . unsure about stone , who calls himself an “ independent journalist ” ( based in japan ) and who writes in a less - than - clear or reader - friendly manner , i refrained from writing about his post . then infowars picked this issue up a day later on november 2 . what is claimed is that a hidden web site of nbc affiliate wrcbtv in chattanooga , tenn. , shows pre - determined final vote counts for an election that has n’t yet occurred — the 2016 presidential election scheduled for november 8 . below is a screenshot jim stone took of the election results on wrcbtv ’s hidden webpage , showing hillary clinton winning with 343 electoral votes and 42 % of the popular vote . as stone puts it : “ scam election already confirmed . trump loses . ” stone and infowars say the predetermined election results are provided by worldnow.com . so what is worldnow ? this is what wikipedia says , with a lot of jargon : “ worldnow is a new york - based software company . . . [ that ] offers the only integrated media platform enabling broadcasters , operators and media companies to easily create , acquire , manage , analyze , monetize and distribute media assets ( text , images and videos ) across all digital platforms and on - air systems in a unified , end - to - end workflow . . . . worldnow ’s customers include cbs , cox , dispatch , fox television , meredith corporation , media general and raycom media . . . . on july 29 , 2015 , worldnow announced its sale to frankly , a san francisco - based provider of white label social media services and mobile messaging apps . . . . in 2012 , fox television stations migrated its websites to worldnow ’s platform . . . becoming worldnow ’s second largest client ( as of 2015 , they have since switched to lakana ) . in 2011 , meredith corporation . . . began a four - year contract with worldnow to operate its station websites . in january 2013 , media general reached a deal to move its eighteen stations to worldnow , beginning with wfla - tv . ” a “ media platform ” is a “ platform , ” medium or means of communicating news , such as a newspaper , tv station , facebook , twitter , or even a blog like fotm . i typed “ worldnow.com ” in the url bar of my laptop , but was brought to the webpage of frankly inc. with this url : http://franklyinc.com/ . frankly ’s “ about ” page says : worldnow , the original broadcast arm of frankly , was founded in 1999 . we now serve over 200 stations across the united states as a true partner , offering customization services and strategic trainings on industry best practices for user engagement and monetization . frankly ’s “ investors ” page says : “ our customers include nbc , abc , cbs and fox affiliates , as well as top fashion brands , professional sports franchises and global organizations . ” in other words , worldnow is a media software company that provides real - time data – such as election results – to local tv news stations like wrcbtv . you can verify this for yourself by going on wrcbtv ’s website : http://www.wrcbtv.com/ . scroll down to the bottom of wrcbtv ’s webpage , and you ’ll see this in the bottom left of the webpage : wrcbtv.com is “ powered by frankly ” and frankly is the owner of worldnow . in other words , worldnow provides the content or the news for wrcbtv.com . stone claims that for now , wrcbtv.com ’s ( predetermined ) election results page is hidden , awaiting worldnow to publicly post the ( fake ) election results sometime in the evening of november 8 , election day . i can verify that the webpage is currently hidden . here ’s what i did : i typed “ ftpcontent2.worldnow.com/wrcb/elections/elections.html”in the url bar , but was brought to a mcafee web advisor page warning of “ trouble ahead ” and asking me”are you sure you want to go there ? ” i then did a yahoo search for “ wrcbtv.com decision 2016 ” . my search ’s results page has this at the top : note that it says “ decision 2016 : complete election results posted ” . i clicked the blue - colored “ decision 2016 : complete election results ” and was brought to this page of wrcbtv.com with the message : our apologies the page you requested is currently unavailable . pages on this site are constantly being revised , updated , and occasionally removed . you may have followed an outdated link or have outdated pages in your browser cache . here ’s a screenshot i took : so how did worldnow come up with its predetermined final vote counts for hillary clinton and donald trump ? answer : a method called “ fractional vote “ . to begin , a fractional vote feature is embedded in the gems election management system of electronic voting machines , which counts approximately 25 % of all votes in the united states . as explained by gun&game , the fractional vote feature can be used to invisibly , yet radically , alter election outcomes by pre - setting desired vote percentages for the candidates . the tampering can be applied across large jurisdictions in less than 60 seconds ; is not visible to election observers , even if they are standing in the room and watching the computer ; and is unlikely to be detected by auditing or canvass procedures . gems vote - counting systems operate under five trade names : global election systems , diebold election systems , premier election systems , dominion voting systems , and election systems & software , in addition to a number of private regional subcontractors . gems is used statewide in alaska , connecticut , georgia , mississippi , new hampshire , utah and vermont , and for counties in arizona , california , colorado , florida , illinois , indiana , iowa , kansas , kentucky , massachusetts , michigan , missouri , ohio , pennsylvania , tennessee , texas , virginia , washington , wisconsin and wyoming . it is also used in canada . vote - rigging by electronic voting machines is real . a 2006 emmy - nominated hbo documentary , hacking democracy , investigates the flawed integrity of electronic voting machines , particularly those made by diebold election systems ( now global election systems ) , and exposes previously unknown backdoors in the diebold trade secret computer software . hacking democracy documents american citizens investigating anomalies and irregularities with electronic voting systems during the 2000 and 2004 elections , especially in volusia county , florida . the film culminates in the on - camera hacking of the diebold election system in leon county , florida — the same computer voting system which has been used in elections across 39 states , and which still counts tens of millions of america ’s votes today . so what is fractional or fractionalized vote ? fractional vote is a method to distort the results of an election by “ weighting ” the votes . instead of the principle of “ one person - one vote , ” some votes are counted not as 1 , but as a fraction of or less than 1 ( e.g. , ½ or ¼ ) , or as more than 1 ( e.g. , 1½ or 1¾ ) . the distortion of “ one person - one vote ” is in order to achieve a pre - assigned percentage of votes for each candidate . for example , candidate a is pre - assigned 51 % of the votes , candidate b 44 % , and candidate c gets the rest — 5 % . an algorithm is used to arrive at the pre - assigned percentages by changing the numbers automatically as the voting progresses . although candidate a in actuality received fewer number of votes than candidate b , by “ weighting ” candidate a ’s votes , those votes are distorted in value , with one vote being counted , say , 25 times , so that candidate a is the winner . and although candidate b actually received more votes than candidate a , candidate b ’s votes are “ weighted ” such that their values are less , with some votes converted to zero . the end result is that candidate b loses . according to jim stone , below are the numerical votes and percentages that are the pre - assigned presidential election results for the various states , which are already on the “ election results ” webpage of wmctv.com , a local tv station in memphis , tn . ( but if you go onto that webpage — http://ftpcontent4.worldnow.com/wmctv/elections/wmc-electionresults.html — now , all the values are 0 ) : line 119 : us president alabama line 121 : donald trump ( r ) 715,592 44 % line 122 : hillary clinton ( d ) 634,275 39 % line 125 : us president alaska line 127 : donald trump ( r ) 115,252 44 % line 128 : hillary clinton ( d ) 104,973 40 % line 133 : us president arizona line 135 : donald trump ( r ) 906,638 46 % line 136 : hillary clinton ( d ) 867,218 44 % line 139 : us president arkansas line 141 : hillary clinton ( d ) 320,102 38 % line 142 : donald trump ( r ) 289,862 34 % line 149 : us president california line 151 : hillary clinton ( d ) 4,076,539 45 % line 152 : donald trump ( r ) 3,643,970 40 % line 156 : us president colorado line 158 : hillary clinton ( d ) 452,857 23 % line 159 : donald trump ( r ) 367,446 19 % line 180 : us president connecticut line 182 : hillary clinton ( d ) 508,013 45 % line 183 : donald trump ( r ) 451,669 40 % line 186 : us president delaware line 188 : donald trump ( r ) 148,943 44 % line 189 : hillary clinton ( d ) 132,602 40 % line 192 : us president district of columbia line 194 : donald trump ( r ) 111,157 45 % line 195 : hillary clinton ( d ) 99,648 40 % line 198 : us president florida line 200 : hillary clinton ( d ) 2,758,845 44 % line 201 : donald trump ( r ) 2,543,706 40 % line 206 : us president georgia line 208 : donald trump ( r ) 1,490,410 45 % line 209 : hillary clinton ( d ) 1,324,808 40 % line 211 : us president hawaii line 213 : hillary clinton ( d ) 158,720 42 % line 214 : donald trump ( r ) 152,232 41 % line 218 : us president idaho line 220 : donald trump ( r ) 198,675 44 % line 221 : hillary clinton ( d ) 176,677 39 % line 228 : us president illinois line 230 : hillary clinton ( d ) 2,006,362 44 % line 231 : donald trump ( r ) 1,807,369 40 % line 234 : us president indiana line 236 : donald trump ( r ) 1,077,142 45 % line 237 : hillary clinton ( d ) 957,461 40 % line 239 : us president iowa line 241 : donald trump ( r ) 490,319 44 % line 242 : hillary clinton ( d ) 436,740 39 % line 251 : us president kansas line 253 : donald trump ( r ) 392,701 44 % line 254 : hillary clinton ( d ) 349,617 40 % line 257 : us president kentucky line 259 : donald trump ( r ) 721,167 44 % line 260 : hillary clinton ( d ) 647,285 40 % line 265 : us president louisiana line 267 : hillary clinton ( d ) 565,941 38 % line 268 : donald trump ( r ) 536,155 36 % line 280 : us president maine line 282 : hillary clinton ( d ) 223,591 43 % line 283 : donald trump ( r ) 207,990 40 % line 286 : us president maryland line 288 : hillary clinton ( d ) 934,981 45 % line 289 : donald trump ( r ) 831,655 40 % line 292 : us president massachusetts line 294 : donald trump ( r ) 960,930 44 % line 295 : hillary clinton ( d ) 864,838 40 % line 298 : us president michigan line 300 : hillary clinton ( d ) 1,495,253 40 % line 301 : donald trump ( r ) 1,420,490 38 % line 306 : us president minnesota line 308 : hillary clinton ( d ) 835,772 45 % line 309 : donald trump ( r ) 643,190 34 % line 317 : us president mississippi line 319 : donald trump ( r ) 455,836 44 % line 320 : hillary clinton ( d ) 404,169 39 % line 326 : us president missouri line 328 : hillary clinton ( d ) 919,407 44 % line 329 : donald trump ( r ) 826,715 40 % line 333 : us president montana line 335 : donald trump ( r ) 124,285 35 % line 336 : hillary clinton ( d ) 106,531 30 % line 340 : us president nebraska line 342 : donald trump ( r ) 266,304 44 % line 343 : hillary clinton ( d ) 238,319 40 % line 346 : us president nevada line 348 : hillary clinton ( d ) 392,071 47 % line 349 : donald trump ( r ) 349,756 42 % line 354 : us president new hampshire line 356 : donald trump ( r ) 233,389 44 % line 357 : hillary clinton ( d ) 211,541 40 % line 361 : us president new jersey line 363 : hillary clinton ( d ) 1,225,655 43 % line 364 : donald trump ( r ) 1,104,143 39 % line 372 : us president new mexico line 374 : donald trump ( r ) 257,643 41 % line 375 : hillary clinton ( d ) 243,336 39 % line 382 : us president new york line 384 : hillary clinton ( d ) 2,874,820 49 % line 385 : donald trump ( r ) 2,464,969 42 % line 388 : us president north carolina line 390 : hillary clinton ( d ) 1,834,827 54 % line 391 : donald trump ( r ) 1,427,089 42 % line 393 : us president north dakota line 395 : hillary clinton ( d ) 106,150 39 % line 396 : donald trump ( r ) 81,170 30 % line 401 : us president ohio line 403 : hillary clinton ( d ) 1,768,330 45 % line 404 : donald trump ( r ) 1,571,848 40 % line 408 : us president oklahoma line 410 : donald trump ( r ) 532,869 50 % line 411 : hillary clinton ( d ) 479,581 45 % line 413 : us president oregon line 415 : donald trump ( r ) 437,729 35 % line 416 : hillary clinton ( d ) 375,196 30 % line 419 : us president pennsylvania line 421 : hillary clinton ( d ) 1,892,527 44 % line 422 : donald trump ( r ) 1,714,575 40 % line 426 : us president rhode island line 428 : hillary clinton ( d ) 176,102 44 % line 429 : donald trump ( r ) 158,149 39 % line 433 : us president south carolina line 435 : hillary clinton ( d ) 686,264 44 % line 436 : donald trump ( r ) 610,431 39 % line 442 : us president south dakota line 444 : donald trump ( r ) 118,104 40 % line 445 : hillary clinton ( d ) 88,577 30 % line 448 : us president tennessee line 450 : donald trump ( r ) 707,501 36 % line 451 : hillary clinton ( d ) 699,358 35 % line 457 : us president texas line 459 : hillary clinton ( d ) 3,171,201 42 % line 460 : donald trump ( r ) 3,020,193 40 % line 463 : us president utah line 465 : donald trump ( r ) 229,420 30 % line 466 : hillary clinton ( d ) 191,184 25 % line 475 : us president vermont line 477 : hillary clinton ( d ) 102,409 44 % line 478 : donald trump ( r ) 91,938 40 % line 483 : us president virginia line 485 : hillary clinton ( d ) 1,207,579 44 % line 486 : donald trump ( r ) 1,087,068 40 % line 490 : us president washington line 492 : hillary clinton ( d ) 830,496 39 % line 493 : donald trump ( r ) 679,285 32 % line 499 : us president west virginia line 501 : hillary clinton ( d ) 276,617 44 % line 502 : donald trump ( r ) 248,391 40 % line 506 : us president wisconsin line 508 : donald trump ( r ) 795,047 40 % line 509 : hillary clinton ( d ) 587,532 30 % line 515 : us president wyoming line 517 : hillary clinton ( d ) 41,824 30 % line 518 : donald trump ( r ) 34,853 25 % anticipating that skeptics or the vote - riggers would say that wrcbtv.com ’s “ hidden page ” of election results is merely a “ code test ” for the tv station ’s actual posting of election results on november 8 , jim stone says that he ’d “ ripped the code out worldnow.com/kfvs12/elections.html ” and can confirm “ there is no active in it to need testing , " i.e. , " the page has no code that will tabulate votes . " the data on the hidden page are not codes , but are " all just typed in . " there is another way to demonstrate vote rigging of the 2016 election -- a webpage on election results of kfvs12 , a local tv station in cape girardeau , mo : http://82.221.129.208/ftpcontent4worldnowcomkfvs12elections.html . the webpage at present is a fakery in progress , with the final ( fake ) vote counts for some races already filled in , but blank for some other races . this afternoon , november 3 , 2016 , i took screenshots of every race with ( fake ) tabulations already filled in , but did not take screenshots of some blank races because i got tired of taking screenshots . the races with no ( fake ) vote counts are all minor races , such as those for city councils and local initiatives . ask yourself this question : why would the website of kfvs12 , a local tv station in missouri , have the final vote counts for some races in the upcoming november 8 elections already filled in ? if kfvs12 's election results webpage as it is now is merely a " test - run " to ensure that the webpage will be operative on november 8 , why are the vote counts of some races -- all relatively unimportant local races -- blank ? if the page is a " test , " there should be " test " vote counts for every race . can anyone offer another explanation for what 's been presented in this post ? i 'm open to alternative , non - election - fraud explanations . is our entire democratic polity an illusion ? h / t fotm 's bongiornoc
+0 lawsuit clouds texas transgender student wrestler ’s championship merrill hope a north texas transgender high school wrestler , transitioning from female to male , won a girls’ regional championship when the female opponent forfeited the match over the weekend . [ euless trinity high school junior mack beggs , 17 , triumphed in the girls’ class 6a region 2 championship against coppell high schooler madeline rocha , who declined to participate in the wrestling match on saturday . the forfeit was expected . the dallas morning news reported coppell attorney jim baudhuin filed a lawsuit earlier in february against the university interscholastic league ( uil ) the governing body over texas high school athletics , music , and academic events . he urged the league to suspend beggs over steroid use , which is prohibited by uil rules and the texas education code . beggs takes testosterone while transitioning from female to male . baudhuin ’s complaint asserted that allowing beggs to wrestle competitively while using testosterone exposed the other athletes to the “ imminent threat of bodily harm . ” baudhuin is also a wrestling parent , but his daughter does not compete in the same weight class as beggs . he contended the lawsuit had nothing to do with beggs being a transgender male but over coppell coaches concerned that wrestling beggs would be unsafe for their wrestler . the transgender student ’s grandmother and guardian , nancy beggs , called the forfeited match “ about bias , hatred , and ignorance , ” according to the dallas paper . chapter 38 of the texas education code forbids steroid and human growth hormone usage in athletics for enhancement purposes , considering it a criminal offense punishable by prison time however , it does permit the use of anabolic steroids for “ medical use only ” when a doctor prescribes treatment for the individual . similarly , the uil allows a “ licensed practitioner with prescriptive authority ” to administer a steroid for a person . even though beggs identifies as male , the wrestler must compete against girls because of a uil rule that requires to compete by the gender listed on their birth certificates . in early 2016 , texas public school district superintendents voted in favor of an amendment requiring state officials to use a ’s birth certificate to determine gender identification , breitbart texas reported . that rule went into effect on august 1 , although former texas education commissioner michael williams previously approved the amendment as part of an 11 rule packet in november 2015 . it codified what the league already advised superintendents do in handling such situations — use birth certificates when gender questions arise . the uil wrestling manual prohibits boys and girls from grappling with each other in texas . coupled with the birth certificate rule , it disqualified beggs from sparring against boys . nancy beggs , told the morning news that her grandchild wants to compete against boys but is willing to follow uil rules . she said they sent the teen ’s medical records to the league before the and current wrestling seasons . the uil approved the euless to compete . while beggs and rocha did not wrestle saturday , both advanced to the state championships . the night before , beggs competed against grand prairie high school female wrestler kailyn clay in a semifinal match , which beggs won by a pin . wrestling texas lists beggs as undefeated ( ) this year . the uil maintains a “ ” policy that allows equal opportunity no matter disability , race , color , gender , religion , or national origin , as reported by breitbart texas . there are some exceptions to that general policy . the university of texas at austin created the uil in 1910 to assist public school athletic and debate teachers . the league evolved into the largest organization of its kind in the world . follow merrill hope , a member of the original breitbart texas team , on twitter .
+0 huge fire hits france ’s grande - synthe migrant camp breitbart london ( france ) ( afp ) — a huge fire tore through at least half of the migrant camp outside the northern french city of dunkirk on monday night , an afp correspondent reported . [ firefighters said at least ten people had been injured in the blaze , which witnesses said broke out after a row between migrants . the camp was home to some 1 , 500 people by the end of march , living in wooden huts . local officials said the blaze had affected around 20 of the huts , each of which accommodates four people , as firefighters continued to battle the flames . a massive plume of smoke rose from the camp into the night sky and was visible from several kilometres away . french officials had said in that security forces were planning to start dismantling the camp following clashes at the site . the population of the camp has swelled since the destruction last october of the squalid “ jungle ” camp near calais , about 40 kilometres ( 25 miles ) away . for more than a decade france ’s northern coast has been a magnet for refugees and migrants trying to reach britain , with french authorities repeatedly tearing down camps in the region . migrants gather along the northern coast in france seeking to break into trucks heading to britain or pay smugglers to help them get across the channel . there have been several violent incidents at the camp , with police intervening last month after five men were injured in a fight . another man was stabbed in november .
+1 cargosquid because the mission is military . not energy , agriculture , etc .
+0 mexico launches $ 50 m effort to help illegal aliens in u.s. bob price as the trump administration continues its efforts to round up criminal aliens , the mexican government is beginning a nationwide campaign in the u. s. to help “ protect ” migrants . the campaign will be waged in all 50 mexican consulates across the u. s.[it appears mexico does not want criminal aliens in the united states returned to their country . “ what changes today is that we are prioritizing legal matters over everything . previously , we did n’t have the need to seek so much legal support for our people , ” miami ’s consul general antonio zabalgoitia told the associated press on friday . “ but now , we need to protect them against an eventual deportation . ” the trump administration , under the leadership of department of homeland security secretary john f. kelly , is conducting targeted enforcement actions against criminal aliens across the u. s. one effort , carried out in february , landed nearly 700 criminal aliens in detention . ice officials are processing those criminal aliens for removal . “ ice conducts these kind of targeted enforcement operations regularly and has for many years , ” secretary kelly said in a written statement obtained by breitbart texas . “ the focus of these enforcement operations is consistent with the routine , targeted arrests carried out by ice ’s fugitive operations teams on a daily basis . ” to counter this effort , the mexican consulates are joining up with law schools , immigration clinics , and nonprofit organizations that specialize in helping foreign nationals . the mexican government will place attorneys in these facilities to provide assistance to those facing deportation , the ap reported . the consulates are also working with private law firms to provide assistance . during a meeting at the new york consulate , mexican foreign minister luis videgaray called the effort a “ moral imperative . ” “ it is something that we will continue to do by obligation and conviction , ” the foreign minister told the ap . he expressed that the workload being faced by consulates is escalating rapidly . “ i used to sign two birth certificates a week , ” he said . “ only yesterday , i signed 15 . ” videgaray previously stated mexico was allocating about $ 54 million to provide services to migrants living in the u. s. breitbart news reported . the mexican consulate in houston described conditions facing migrants . “ the tolerance is gone . i think that ’s the best way of describing it , ” oscar solis , a first secretary of the mexican consulate in houston , told the ap . “ it ’s like in wars . they come for one person and many who are innocent — or not really involved — end up paying . ” the mexican consulate in houston serves about 500 , 000 mexican nationals who live in the area . officials stated requests for mexican birth certificates have increased by 50 percent since the trump administration ’s crackdown began . breitbart texas visited the houston consulates’ website to learn about the process for obtaining a birth certificate . the website lists the following steps : important : the name of the identification must match the name that appears in the birth certificate . 3 . provide the following information : make the payment of rights : us $ 13 for each certified copy . consular officials stated that 92 percent of mexican birth certificates had been digitized , leaving eight percent to be digitized in the future , mexican nationals who have overstayed visas are also requesting assistance from the consulates . in phoenix , gloria portillo , a mexican national who allowed her visa to expire three years ago , told the ap , “ we ’ve been here all of our lives , we have kids , and of course we ’re afraid to be deported . ” the ap did not ask the phoenix woman why she waited until this time to begin the process of renewing her legal status . she recently married an american citizen . bob price serves as associate editor and senior political news contributor for breitbart texas . he is a founding member of the breitbart texas team . follow him on twitter @bobpricebbtx .
+0 original ’diablo’ campaign added to ’diablo iii’ for game ’s 20th anniversary - breitbart nate church blizzard will be pushing out a “ 20th anniversary ” patch to diablo iii this week that will add the original diablo campaign to the game , and it ’s already getting a lot of attention . [ with patch 2 . 4 . 3 , the diablo iii team will open a portal through the town of tristram to where the franchise began . for a limited time , players will be able to travel to a recreation of the first diablo game . the nostalgic journey comes complete with a pixelated visual filter , camera restrictions , and forced walking , all in an attempt to recall the look and feel of the original . even the sound effects have been pared down , made purposely tinny and repetitive in the spirit of 90s gaming . the patch brings other changes and additions , as hotly contested as anything changed in an online game . between the official announcement , youtube , and reddit , you ’ll find opinions as varied as “ the thing happening with wizard for such a long time is a heresy . they should all be fired . change this dev team , ” to “ i thought this was already out . ” character changes are overpowered or underpowered , practically cheating or absolutely worthless , depending on who you ask . many players are disappointed that the event wo n’t be around for more than a month , and others are looking for new free content that is more meaningful to the endgame . there are lingering concerns about the necromancer class being released later this year , mostly because it wo n’t be free . if you were a fan of blizzard ’s original action rpg — or if you never had the chance to play it — this could be a great time to jump in on the latest game in the franchise . if you ’re a devoted player looking for meaningful new content or dramatic balance adjustments , you may be a little less impressed . follow nate church @get2church on twitter for the latest news in gaming and technology , and snarky opinions on both .
+0 live updates : 13 shot at fort lauderdale airport - breitbart breitbart news a gunman , identified by authorities as esteban 26 , is reportedly in custody after at least five people were shot and killed at ft . international airport friday . [ wearing a star wars the shooter reportedly opened fire at the baggage carousel in terminal 2 . update 6:06 pm et : alaska army nat’l guard : florida airport gunman received general discharge aug. 16 , 2016 , for unsatisfactory performance . — nbc nightly news ( @nbcnightlynews ) january 6 , 2017 , update 5:48 pm et : new photo shows in a keffiyeh : pictured : the fort lauderdale ’air rage’ gunman https : . pic . twitter . — daily mail us ( @dailymail ) january 6 , 2017 , update 5:44 pm et : confirmed : the site of the shooting was a zone . update 5:36 pm et : more : in 2011 or 2012 , suspect was investigated for child porn , but there was not enough evidence to prosecute , sources tell cbs news . — cbs news ( @cbsnews ) january 6 , 2017 , update 5:33 pm et : ’s aunt tells a local reporter that the young man “ ‘ lost his mind’ after a tour of duty in iraq . ” update 5:29 pm et : ” i do n’t ever want this to happen again , ” fl gov. rick scott says after deadly fort lauderdale airport shooting : https : . pic . twitter . — cbs news ( @cbsnews ) january 6 , 2017 , update 5:24 pm et : 20th street in union city , nj is blocked off where the fbi is speaking to the aunt of # floridaairport shooter # estebansantiago . pic . twitter . — darla miles ( @darlamiles7 ) january 6 , 2017 , # breaking : brother of airport shooting suspect esteban santiago says he received psychological treatment in alaska , served in nat’l guard , — wsvn 7 news ( @wsvn ) january 6 , 2017 , update 5:17 pm et : canadian embassy : shooter did not fly from canada and was not on a canadian flight . # ftlauderdale pic . twitter . — fox news ( @foxnews ) january 6 , 2017 , update 5:08 pm et : more : ft . lauderdale shooting suspect received mental health treatment after being in contact with fbi , sources say . https : . — abc news ( @abc ) january 6 , 2017 , update 5:04 pm et : air canada denies reports that santiago was a passenger on one of its flights : we confirm we have no record of a passenger by the name esteban santiago , or checked guns , on any of our flights to fort lauderdale # fll — air canada ( @aircanada ) january 6 , 2017 , update 5:00 pm et : new : in nov. 2016 , fll suspect walked into fbi office in anchorage , claiming he was being forced to fight for isis , sources tell cbs news . — cbs news ( @cbsnews ) january 6 , 2017 , update 4:55 pm et : new : image of fort lauderdale int’l airport shooting suspect esteban santiago , law enforcement sources confirm . https : . pic . twitter . — cbs news ( @cbsnews ) january 6 , 2017 , update 4:36 pm et : suspect appears to have used a pistol . new : image of firearm believed to be used by ft . lauderdale int’l airport shooter , id’d as esteban santiago https : . pic . twitter . — cbs news ( @cbsnews ) january 6 , 2017 , update 3:49 pm et : according to fox news , the suspected ft . lauderdale gunman “ was a passenger on a canadian air flight and checked his gun . he claimed his bag , took the gun from the bag , went into the bathroom and loaded it , came out and started shooting . ” law enforcement officials are now saying at least 13 people were wounded . the gunman was reportedly taken into custody without law enforcement having to fire a shot . update 3:27 pm et : swat , multiple police agencies respond to possible 2nd shooting at fll pic . twitter . — wsvn 7 news ( @wsvn ) january 6 , 2017 , # live witness says gunman shouted ” i ’m not jewish ” repeatedly https : . — abc7 eyewitness news ( @abc7 ) january 6 , 2017 , update 3:05 pm et : distraught witness to ft . lauderdale shooting : ” i had a perfect picture of him coming and walking up and down and shooting people … ” pic . twitter . — abc news ( @abc ) january 6 , 2017 , unverified video has surfaced on twitter that appears to show a chaotic scene inside the baggage claim area . fort lauderdale , fl . # fort # lauderdale shooting pic . twitter . — marinamueller ( @marinaxxx13 ) january 6 , 2017 , shooting on terminal 4 fort lauderdale airport all terminal evacuated pic . twitter . — jorge curiel h ( @jcurielh ) january 6 , 2017 , ketv 7 reports tsa confirmed that there were reports of more shots fired at ft . international . the shots were reportedly fired around 2:30 pm et . tsa tweeted : update : active shooter at # fll . shelter in place . airport closed . — tsa ( @tsa ) january 6 , 2017 , update 2:35 pm et : donald trump has expressed his concern for the tragedy on twitter and the white house has released the following statement from nsc spokesperson ned price : the president was apprised this afternoon by assistant to the president for homeland security and counterterrorism lisa monaco of the shooting at fort lauderdale airport and will be kept updated as the investigation unfolds . monitoring the terrible situation in florida . just spoke to governor scott . thoughts and prayers for all . stay safe ! — donald j. trump ( @realdonaldtrump ) january 6 , 2017 , update 2:48 pm et : former george w. bush white house press secrectary ari fleischer was in the airport when the shots rang out . i ’m at the ft . lauderdale airport . shots have been fired . everyone is running . — ari fleischer ( @arifleischer ) january 6 , 2017 , cnn reports that the incident occurred in the baggage claim area of terminal 2 . innocents were rushed out of the building and gathered on the tarmac while law enforcement swept the building . flights “ are still operating from the south side of the airport , ” as the shooting incident occurred on the north side . msnbc quotes senator bill nelson ( ) that the suspected gunman at fort international was named estaban santiago . nelson said the gunman “ was carrying a military id . ” nelson stressed that that does not mean it was the gunman ’s actual id . awr hawkins is the second amendment columnist for breitbart news and host of “ bullets with awr hawkins , ” a breitbart news podcast . he is also the political analyst for armed american radio . follow him on twitter : @awrhawkins . reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart . com .
+1 the failure of us democracy nan the failure of us democracy how the oligarchs plan to steal the election i am now convinced that the oligarchy that rules america intends to steal the presidential election . in the past , the oligarchs have not cared which candidate won as the oligarchs owned both . but they do not own trump . most likely you are unaware of what trump is telling people as the media does not report it . a person who speaks like this : - is not endeared to the oligarchs . who are the oligarchs ? — wall street and the mega - banks too big to fail and their agent the federal reserve , a federal agency that put 5 banks ahead of millions of troubled american homeowners who the federal reserve allowed to be flushed down the toilet . in order to save the mega - banks’ balance sheets from their irresponsible behavior , the fed has denied retirees any interest income on their savings for eight years , forcing the elderly to draw down their savings , leaving their heirs , who have been displaced from employment by corporate jobs offshoring , penniless . — the military / security complex which has spent trillions of our taxpayer dollars on 15 years of gratuitous wars based entirely on lies in order to enrich themselves and their power . — the neoconservartives whose crazed ideology of us world hegemony thrusts the american people into military conflict with russia and china . — the us global corporations that sent american jobs to china and india and elsewhere in order to enrich the one percent with higher profits from lower labor costs . — agribusiness ( monsanto et.al . ) , corporations that poison the soil , the water , the oceans , and our food with their gmos , hebicides , pesticides , and chemical fertilizers , while killing the bees that pollinate the crops . — the extractive industries — energy , mining , fracking , and timber — that maximize their profits by destroying the environment and the water supply . — the israel lobby that controls us middle east policy and is committing genocide against the palestinians just as the us committed genocide against native americans . israel is using the us to eliminate sovereign countries that stand in israell ’s way . what convinces me that the oligarchy intends to steal the election is the vast difference between the presstitutes’ reporting and the facts on the ground . according to the presstitutes , hillary is so far ahead that there is no point in trump supporters bothering to vote . hillary has won the election before the vote . hillary has been declared a 93 % sure winner . i am yet to see one hillary yard sign , but trump signs are everywhere . reports i receive are that hillary ’s public appearances are unattended but trumps are so heavily attended that people have to be turned away . this is a report from a woman in florida : « trump has pulled huge numbers all over fl while campaigning here this week . i only see trump signs and sickers in my wide travels . i dined at a mexican restaurant last night . two women my age sitting behind me were talking about how they had tried to see trump when he came to tallahassee . they left work early , arriving at the venue at 4:00 for a 6:00 rally . the place was already over capacity so they were turned away . it turned out that there were so many people there by 2:00 that the doors had to be opened to them . the women said that the crowds present were a mix of races and ages » . i know the person who gave me this report and have no doubt whatsoever as to its veracity . i also receive from readers similiar reports from around the country . this is how the theft of the election is supposed to work : the media concentrated in a few corporate hands has gone all out to convince not only americans but also the world , that donald trump is such an unacceptable candidate that he has lost the election before the vote . by controllng the explanation , when the election is stolen those who challenge the stolen election are without a foundartion in the media . all media reports will say that it was a run away victory for hillary over the misogynist immigrant - hating trump . and liberal , progressive opinion will be relieved and off guard as hillary takes us into nuclear war . that the oligarchy intends to steal the election from the american people is verified by the officially reported behavior of the voting machines in early voting in texas . the nrp presstitutes have declared that hillary is such a favorite that even repulbican texas is up for grabs in the election . if this is the case , why was it necessary for the voting machines to be programmed to change trump votes to hillary votes ? those voters who noted that they voted trump but were recorded hillary complained . the election officials , claiming a glitch ( which only went one way ) , changed to paper ballots . but who will count them ? no « glitches » caused hillary votes to go to trump , only trump votes to go to hillary . the most brilliant movie of our time was the matrix . this movie captured the life of americans manipulated by a false reality , only in the real america there is insufficient awareness and no neo , except possibly donald trump , to challenge the system . all of my life i have been trying to get americans of all stripes — academics , scholars , journalists , republicans , democrats , right - wing , left - wing , us representatives , us senators , presidents , corporate moguls and brainwashed americans and foreigners — out of the false reality in which they exist . in the united states today a critical presidential eletion is in process in which not a single important issue is addressed . this is total failure . democracy , once the hope of the world , has totally failed in the united states of america .
+1 anonymous there is the guy who can leaf trump to the whitehouse , imagine the shock . everything he says is true and is nt it strnge how the swiss fund all the wars and get away with it including hitler . if trump was ever after someone to trust he would be 1st choice and he knows his way around . imagine how much money theu have ripped off . that justice dept is as crooked as can be . trump was right about hillary and isis . so much for the liberty party who has been higjacked by the looks of it . and where is the army ? ? i think its what oath ? ? all these people who did nothing are guilty of complicity in terror by their own laws . truth should be rewarded not punished or you end up like the world is now as corrupt as can be , notice drudge wo nt even show this .
+0 aya cash : the first time i ate a vegetable ( i was 22 ) - the new york times aya cash i grew up in san francisco , land of organic vegetables and vegan delights , before such things were so popular . from an early age , my parents sent me to school with sandwiches , eggs , and fresh fruit from the fields of the central valley . although i had every opportunity to eat delicious and nutritious food , i never met a vegetable i liked . every time i tried something green , i spit it out or threw it up . i was a theatrical kid : taking off all my clothes when i did n’t want to leave a friend ’s house , throwing myself against walls screaming “ aya not tired ! aya happy ! aya bouncing off the walls ! ” when i did n’t want to go to bed . i was just as melodramatic with food , gagging loudly when i accidentally ran into a zucchini in a quiche , picking mushrooms out of pasta dishes and piling them on the side of my plate like dams , throwing out a perfectly good tuna melt if there were slivers of celery inside . what i could keep down was junk food . lots and lots of junk food . my parents tried their best , but the only times i was truly happy were the two days a week i ate fast food for dinner , one day with my mom at mcdonald ’s and the other with my dad at wendy ’s . my parents were divorced i spent exactly half the week with each of them , alternating every saturday . neither parent knew about the other ’s weekly convenience meal . like most children of divorce , the only power i had was to keep their secrets and then exploit them when it suited my needs . i kept these visits confidential , allowing both parents to think they were treating me to something special . i would sit in the car , beatifically chewing , fondling a hamburglar toy or cheap movie that had come with the food . by the time i got to middle school , i was a sugar addict , using every dime of my weekly “ lunch money ” to buy candy at the cala foods in the castro . i hid skor bars and skittles around my room like claudia in “ the club . ” i once woke up covered in melted chocolate from a forgotten stash in my pillowcase . in high school , i realized i needed more than just sugar to live , so every day i would buy and consume an entire bag of goldfish ( that elusive pizza flavor really is the best ) . who needed multiple food groups ? artificial flavors ? count me in . butylated hydroxyanisole ? yum ! it was n’t until i was 22 and newly graduated from college that i voluntarily chose to put a piece of lettuce in my mouth , then actually chewed and swallowed it . i was doing “ the winter ’s tale ” and “ a midsummer night ’s dream ” at the great river shakespeare festival , playing perdita and hermia — two characters whose names , in retrospect , sound like leafy greens . i was a working actor making $ 250 a week , more money than i had ever seen , and i felt like a real adult . but adults cooked and had wine with dinner . when i was invited for meals at other company members’ small apartments , i did n’t want to embarrass them by refusing their food , or embarrass myself by smuggling in a box of mike and ikes and a bag of . one night , someone made a salad . just a salad . i stared at the plate — lettuce , onions , tomatoes — you know , salad . to me , that pile of fresh food was like a challenge out of “ fear factor . ” for years , i had been telling everyone that i did n’t eat vegetables . i believed i hated them . i even took pride in the fact that i could fill my body with junk and not gain weight . i secretly , ridiculously , bizarrely thought my stance made me intriguing . unique . idiosyncratic . but sometimes we tell stories about ourselves that are n’t true . sometimes stories we think are fixed are actually flexible . i picked up a piece of lettuce and ate it . i did n’t gag . to my surprise , i did n’t even dislike it . tentatively , i began to try other vegetables , not just that night , but every time they were put in front of me . that christmas , out for dinner with my mother , i lifted a fork of spinach to my mouth . she was so excited that she took a picture of it and made it her screen saver . surprisingly , i found that i loved lots of vegetables and consequently , all kinds of foods . broccolini was somehow less intimidating than the larger version : the gateway , broccoli . zucchini was n’t so bad after all . i realized that i had determined a defining characteristic based on who i was at 6 . i had not tried again for 16 years . what else had i decided about myself that might not be true anymore ? what had i decided about other people ? that piece of lettuce was my first recognition that my identity was not set , but malleable . i used to think belly button piercings were cool . i used to date men who did n’t like me . i used to smoke . i had never wanted to get married i thought it was n’t “ who i was . ” but a few years ago , i found myself feeling otherwise . this did n’t mean i was a different person . but the narrative i had about myself had changed . would i have learned this in other ways ? probably . but that bite opened me up to the possibility that change can happen even when you ’re not trying you just have to stay curious . i ’m still a picky eater . i do n’t like pork chops , chicken , mushrooms and celery . but now , i will at least try pretty much anything . i still love the occasional taco bell ( two bean burritos , no red sauce , no onions ) and , of course , an burger . yet my world is so much bigger because of that tiny piece of lettuce .
+1 cosby and trump start support group for wrongfully accused billionaires nan topics : donald trump , bill cosby , sexual assault , roger ailes , support groups , billionaire monday , 31 october 2016 when translated bill cosby 's shirt says : " if you can see this notice , you consent to unconscious butt sex . " donald trump , the man who heaped blistering criticism on bill cosby for drugging and raping women without a prenup , is now joining forces with the embattled comedian . b.l.a.m. , or billionaire 's lives also matter , is the new support and counseling organization that has also become the latest vessel of reality denial for donald trump the former reality tv star . trump explained his turnaround on bill cosby and also the creation of the new support group when he talked to cnn 's jake tapper last night . " you know bill was saying all along that these women were lying and just trying to find ways to sue or get money from him , and now i understand . now that crooked hillary and the rigged media have set these women up to falsely accuse me of sex -- uh , kissing and touching them , it 's really stressful for me , of course i can take it -- and these women all of the sudden have lawyers and the press on their side , i mean they have more rights than the people they are wrongfully accusing , and meanwhile everybody says , ' well trump and cosby are billionaires , maybe they did it , but their lives are so good and so what if some bimbo or old hag says they did this or that twenty five years ago . ' but it never happened jake , none of it , all lies . " the cnn host and anchorman jake tapper squinted in disbelief as trump bellowed on . " and so , jake , that 's why we need our own support group , because billionaire 's lives do matter . people have no idea how it feels , what 's happened to us -- i mean they ca n't relate because most people are n't ' billionaires . tapper followed up to trump 's incoherence , asking : " are n't you guys just avoiding culpability by denying the accusations of a hundred plus women between you and cosby , and then creating a support group for the so called ' wrongfully accused ? ' " " excuse me , excuse me jake , " trump started before tapper even finished . " people are always talking about how the victims have to be heard and treated with kid gloves , well what about us ? we 're victims -- and i ca n't even describe how it felt to hear bill and roger [ ailes ] tell their stories , and i thought ' oh my god , that 's my story ' and if i had a heart , i would have cried then , but my shallowest reaction instead was to try and monetize the situation , and so the first meeting of b.l.a.m. will be a pilot for a new reality show by the same name . " the spoof 's own legal analysts say donald trump , bill cosby , and roger ailes would be exposing themselves to even more lawsuits if they were foolish enough to air billionaires lives also matter . it 's also highly unlikely that trump 's former partner nbc would pick up such a show , some say trump will air the show himself if there are no takers for b.l.a.m. could this be the start of trump tv ? bill cosby later released a statement to the press that read , " the dingy doo in da dingy bop , dee boop dee boop dee doo doo , buh razbatax " make xrhonda speaks 's day - give this story five thumbs - up ( there 's no need to register , the thumbs are just down there ! )
+0 the electoral college is hated by many . so why does it endure ? - the new york times jonathan mahler and steve eder in november 2000 , as the florida recount gripped the nation , a newly elected democratic senator from new york took a break from an upstate victory tour to address the possibility that al gore could wind up winning the popular vote but losing the presidential election . she was unequivocal . “ i believe strongly that in a democracy , we should respect the will of the people , ” hillary clinton said , “ and to me that means it ’s time to do away with the electoral college and move to the popular election of our president . ” sixteen years later , the electoral college is still standing , and mrs. clinton has followed mr. gore as the second democratic presidential candidate in modern history to be defeated by a republican who earned fewer votes , in his case george w. bush . in her concession speech on wednesday , mrs. clinton did not mention the popular vote , an omission that seemed to signal her desire to encourage a smooth and civil transition of power after a divisive election . but her running mate , senator tim kaine of virginia , highlighted her higher vote total than donald j. trump ’s in introducing her . the disparity left a bitter taste in the mouths of many democrats , whose party won the country ’s national popular vote for the third consecutive election but no longer controls any branch of government . “ if we really subscribe to the notion that ‘ majority rules,’ then why do we deny the majority their chosen candidate ? ” asked jennifer m. granholm , a former governor of michigan . mr. trump himself has been critical of the electoral college in the past . on the eve of the 2012 election , he called it “ a disaster for a democracy ” in a twitter post . now , after months of railing against what he called a “ rigged ” election , he has become the unlikely beneficiary of an electoral system that enables a candidate to win the race without winning over the most voters . none of mrs. clinton ’s supporters have gone so far as to suggest that the popular vote tally should delegitimize mr. trump ’s victory , and the margin in tuesday ’s election was in fact narrower than the one that separated mr. bush and mr. gore in 2000 . but the results are already renewing calls for electoral reform . “ i personally would like to see the electoral college eliminated entirely , ” said david boies , the lawyer who represented mr. gore in the florida recount in 2000 . “ i think it ’s a historical anomaly . ” defenders of the system argue that it reduces the chances of daunting nationwide recounts in close races , a scenario that gary l. gregg ii , an electoral college expert at the university of louisville , said would be a “ national nightmare . ” a variety of factors informed the creation of the electoral college , which apportions a fixed number of votes to each state based on the size of its congressional delegation . the founding fathers sought to ensure that residents in states with smaller populations were not ignored . in an era that predated mass media and even political parties , the founders were also concerned that average americans would lack enough information about the candidates to make intelligent choices . so informed “ electors ” would stand in for them . above all , some historians point to the critical role that slavery played in the formation of the system . southern delegates to the 1787 constitutional convention , most prominently james madison of virginia , were concerned that their constituents would be outnumbered by northerners . the compromise , however , allowed states to count each slave as of a person — enough , at the time , to ensure a southern majority in presidential races . on social media wednesday , some drew connections between that history and what they perceived as an imbalance in the electoral college that favors republicans . “ electoral college will forever tip balance to “ white ” voters — a concession to originally , ” the author joyce carol oates wrote on twitter . to its critics , the electoral college is a relic that violates the democratic principle of one person , one vote , and distorts the presidential campaign by encouraging candidates to campaign only in the relatively small number of contested states . “ i think it is intolerable for democracy , ” said george c. edwards iii , a political science professor at texas am university and the author of a book on the electoral college . “ i ca n’t think of any justification for it , and any justification that is offered does n’t bear scrutiny . ” but calls to change the system , which would require a constitutional amendment , are likely to fall on deaf ears with republicans in control of both houses of congress . and though there was some momentum for reform after mr. gore ’s defeat , it dissipated after mr. bush and barack obama won both the popular and electoral votes in 2004 , 2008 and 2012 . some states have discussed a possibility that would not necessarily require amending the constitution : jettisoning the system , in which a single candidate is awarded all of a state ’s electoral votes — regardless of the popular vote — and instead apportioning them to reflect the breakdown of each state ’s popular vote . two states , maine and nebraska , already do this . but even that approach could face challenges , said laurence h. tribe , a professor at harvard law school . for reformers , the best hope may lie in the national popular vote interstate compact , an agreement among states to award all of their respective electoral votes to the candidate who wins the popular vote in a given election . so far , 10 states and the district of columbia have joined the agreement . but it will only go into effect when enough states have signed on to guarantee that the winner of the popular vote would win an election . for now , it seems , any change still remains a notion . “ i am very mad at james madison , ” said former representative barney frank , a massachusetts democrat . “ but i do n’t think there ’s anything i can do about it . ”
+1 obama buries nuclear codes in white house back garden julius hubris 0 add comment careful to dispose of the nuclear codes under the cover of darkness , us president barack obama began digging at an unknown patch of earth behind the white house at 3 am this morning , wwn has learned . however , there was some urgency required as first light began to break over the horizon and obama , along with two aides , had yet to bury the modest box which contained the codes to all of america ’s nuclear warhead missiles . “ just shout the safety word we agreed on if you see anyone coming , even if it ’s michelle , no one can know it ’s here , maybe we can tell her where they are when she runs in 8 years time , ” obama said to a secret service official as his brow glistened with sweat . now clawing at the earth in a frantic fashion with his bare hands fuelled by images of a tiny orange hand plunging its digits onto the ‘ launch nuclear weapon’ button , the democrat felt he could take no chances with the codes as republican candidate donald trump was leading in some national polls . “ whose job is it to regularly water the grass here , i want his ass fired , it ’s been hell digging here , it ’s so hard and dry , ” obama added , unaware watering the white house lawns was the official duty of the president of the country . finishing burying the box containing the codes , obama used the shovel to dab down the freshly overturned soil before striking his aides over the back of the head with the digging tool . “ no one can know where it ’s buried , no one , ” obama added , as he dragged their unconscious bodies to another patch of white house lawn , whereby he set about digging two fresh holes .
+1 judge rules that gender identity laws will not apply to churches for now … michael ware email there are times that we need to gain clarity before there is a problem . we see something that might make for a situation later , and we decide to deal with it now . this is both wise and prudent . it can also allow us to work with confidence , knowing that we have avoided possible conflict in the future . this seems to be the case in a recent lawsuit . as i reported , the human rights commission of iowa had worded the exemption of its new regulation on gender restroom availability very vaguely . this led to an inquiry by several organizations and churches . these inquiries were met with vague and almost hostile responses from the commission . out of fear of persecution , one church had filed suit to place an injunction on the law . this case has now been dropped . christian news reports : a legal challenge that had been filed against the iowa human rights commission over its interpretation of local laws pertaining to gender identity has been dropped after a federal judge noted that churches are not generally considered places of public accommodation by the courts . u.s. district judge stephanie rose responded to motions from both sides of the case on oct. 14 , denying the commission ’s motion to dismiss the suit , while also denying the fort des moines church of christ ’s ( fdmcc ) request for an injunction . “ [ s]tate and federal courts have held that churches and programs they host are not places of public accommodation , ” rose wrote . it seems that this was a waste of time . nothing has changed , and the church still seems to be getting its right to exist from the state . i understand the desire to protect oneself , but we have to remember that if they can not make a concerning religion , this was superfluous . article reposted with permission from constitution.com do n't forget to like freedom outpost on facebook , google plus , & twitter . you can also get freedom outpost delivered to your amazon kindle device here .
+1 5.4-magnitude earthquake jolts central italy nan the photo taken on october 4 , 2016 , shows destruction in the village of amatrice that was rattled by an earthquake on august 24 . ( photo by afp ) an earthquake measuring 5.4 on the richter scale has hit central italy , including the capital rome . italy 's national geophysics institute said the quake struck at a depth of nine kilometers in the macerata area of the central region of marche on wednesday . the united states geological survey ( usgs ) confirmed the magnitude , saying the epicenter was seven kilometers south - southwest of visso village in macerata . there was no information immediately available about potential casualties or damage caused by the quake , which was felt in the towns of pescara , ancone and l'aquila , which was jolted by a 6.3-magnitude quake in 2009 that killed over 300 people . wednesday ’s quake rattled windows and doors in the capital of rome . the quake comes about two months after nearly 300 people were killed as a strong earthquake hit central italy . on august 24 , a powerful earthquake measuring 6.2 on the richter scale hit italy , and almost flattened scores of towns and villages in the central parts . the quake was followed by a series of aftershocks , the strongest of which measured 4.2 , rattling the already hit areas . loading ...
+1 trump supporter arrested for voting twice … to fight “ vote rigging ” gpd he who has no name speaks : italian earthquakes were retribution for anti - jewish unesco vote ‹ › gpd is our general posting department whereby we share posts from other sources along with general information with our readers . it is managed by our editorial board trump supporter arrested for voting twice … to fight “ vote rigging ” by gpd on october 29 , 2016 terri rote is seen in a police booking photo on oct. 27 , 2016 . des moines , iowa — des moines police have charged a woman with election misconduct , a class d felony , after officials reported she voted twice . des moines police sgt . paul parizek says officers charged 55-year - old terri rote with first - degree election misconduct on thursday after being notified by elections officials that she had submitted two absentee ballots . according to an iowa public radio report , rote voted two times for republican presidential candidate donald trump . “ i was n’t planning on doing it twice , it was spur of the moment , ” rote said in an interview with the radio station before she added an oft - repeated line on the trump campaign trail : “ the polls are rigged . ” she was booked into the polk county jail and released after posting a $ 5,000 bond .
+0 report : u.s. navy destroyer in close encounter with iran attack vessel in persian gulf breitbart jerusalem fox news reports : a u. s. navy destroyer had another close encounter with an iranian revolutionary guard “ fast attack craft ” in the persian gulf monday . two u. s. officials tell fox news that the iranian ship came within 1 , 000 yards of the guided missile destroyer uss mahan with its weapons manned . [ the officials said the mahan altered course to avoid the iranian warship , sounded the danger signal , fired flares and manned its own weapons . the iranian ship did not come closer than 1 , 000 yards and no warning shots were fired . “ coming inbound at a high rate of speed like that and manning weapons , despite clear warnings from the ship , is obviously provocative behavior , ” said one american official in describing the iranian actions . read more here .
+0 fight for viacom is said to end with the redstones in control - the new york times emily steel the fight over sumner m. redstone ’s $ 40 billion media empire is over , and the mogul has won . a truce has been reached in the vicious corporate battle that pitted mr. redstone , who controls viacom and cbs , and his daughter , shari redstone , against his longtime confidants and directors at viacom , according to two people briefed on the agreement . the two sides have completed a settlement agreement that puts an end to messy legal battles in massachusetts , delaware and california over whether mr. redstone had the mental capacity to make decisions about his businesses and whether he was being manipulated by ms. redstone , who was long estranged from her father before they recently reconciled . terms of the settlement — which firmly put the future of the corporate empire under the control of mr. redstone and his daughter — include the dismissal of philippe p. dauman as chief executive of viacom , the beleaguered media company that owns the mtv , comedy central and nickelodeon cable television networks and the paramount pictures film and television studio . mr. dauman will depart with a total severance package valued at about $ 72 million . viacom ’s board met on thursday and approved the settlement , said the people briefed on the agreement , who spoke on the condition of anonymity because it had not been made public . mr. redstone , who is in poor health , controls about 80 percent of the voting shares in viacom and cbs through national amusements , the private theater chain company started by his father . the fight over mr. redstone ’s empire erupted in may , when he unexpectedly ousted mr. dauman and another longtime confidant , george s. abrams , from the national amusements trust that will gain control of his companies after he dies or is declared incompetent . he also removed them from the board of national amusements . the action set off a fight for money , power and control that included all the twists and turns of a shakespearean tragedy , sullying the reputations of both sides and leaving an already troubled company even more battered and bruised . mr. dauman and mr. abrams filed suit in massachusetts , challenging mr. redstone ’s mental competency and depicting ms. redstone as a villain who unduly influenced her father as part of an “ unlawful corporate takeover . ” mr. dauman , in turn , was depicted as a failing , egoistic executive who oversaw the loss of $ 7 billion in market capitalization at viacom in the previous year . that suit was scheduled to go to trial in september . another legal battle emerged in june , when national amusements moved to replace mr. dauman and four other directors on the viacom board . viacom ’s lead independent director immediately filed suit in delaware , seeking to block the changes . that case was scheduled to go to trial in october . over the last three months , the two sides made a series of attempts to resolve the dispute out of court . settlement talks picked up in the last 10 days , after viacom ’s latest earnings report , in which the company said its profits plunged 29 percent during the latest fiscal quarter . the company reported weakness across both its television and film groups , with soft tv ratings at some networks , declines in domestic advertising sales and the dismal performance of its film “ teenage mutant ninja turtles : out of the shadows . ” reaching a settlement helps to preserve the privacy and the dignity of mr. redstone , who has suffered a series of strokes and has a severe speech impediment . and it prevents the public airing of the relationship between mr. redstone and his daughter , which was been strained in the past . the resolution also provides a path for mr. dauman to leave the company less contentiously and while still being well compensated . and , most importantly , mr. redstone and ms. redstone now are decidedly in charge of the company ’s future . as part of the agreement , thomas e. dooley , viacom ’s chief operating officer , will become the interim chief executive through sept. 30 , the end of the company ’s fiscal year . mr. dooley is expected to work closely with the viacom board during the next month and a half to develop a new strategic and financial plan for the company , the people said , and could potentially become the permanent chief executive , pending board approval . mr. dooley , a longtime viacom executive , has been a member of viacom ’s board since 2006 . he started at viacom in 1980 and has been part of mr. redstone ’s inner circle since the mogul wrested control of the company in 1987 . the agreement also calls for viacom ’s board to expand to include five new directors that national amusements put forward in june . they include nicole seligman , a former sony executive and lawyer who represented president bill clinton during his impeachment trial and kenneth lerer , a venture capitalist , a of the huffington post and chairman of buzzfeed . while the fight for control over mr. redstone ’s business empire has reached a resolution , viacom ’s business is in dire straits . the company has reported persistent declines in profit and revenue , and its share price has plunged about 47 percent in the last two years . as part of the agreement , mr. dauman will continue as nonexecutive chairman of viacom until sept. 13 , the people said . during that period , mr. dauman will have the opportunity to present viacom ’s board with his proposal to sell a 49 percent stake in paramount . the deal would require the unanimous approval of the viacom board . while mr. dauman has pushed for the deal , mr. redstone ’s national amusements holding company has opposed the transaction and the board is unlikely to approve it . mr. dauman , who formed a close bond with mr. redstone in the late 1980s when he was a young corporate lawyer , was named chief executive of viacom in 2006 . described as reserved and calculating , mr. dauman did n’t let his guard down publicly amid the dispute in recent months as mr. redstone turned against him and opponents attacked his character , motives and performance as chief executive . “ i ’m steady in all things , ” mr. dauman , 62 , said in june , just before stepping onto an elevator after making a business presentation at an investor conference . the quip was in response to a question from a reporter about whether he had lost weight in the midst of the drama . during his tenure , a number of longtime executives and creative talent left the company . comedy central , for instance , said goodbye to three of its biggest stars : jon stewart , stephen colbert and john oliver . critics , meanwhile , attacked the company for failing to transform the business from its traditional roots into a media company for the digital age . mr. dauman long maintained that he was positioning viacom for growth through new initiatives , including the paramount deal , tv ratings improvements , a new data unit and its international business . despite viacom ’s business struggles , mr. dauman was handsomely compensated during his tenure . mr. dauman was awarded $ 54 . 1 million last year , making him the third highest paid chief executive in the country . since being named chief executive of viacom in 2006 , mr. dauman ’s total reported compensation was $ 409 . 7 million , according to equilar , a compensation research firm . thomas j. may , one of the people that national amusements has put forward as a new director , is expected to be named chairman . mr. may is the chairman of eversource energy , one of new england ’s largest energy delivery companies , and also is on the board of bank of america and the liberty mutual holding company . while the corporate dispute may well be resolved , one family feud continues . keryn redstone , mr. redstone ’s granddaughter , filed court documents in massachusetts this month to join the lawsuit over his mental capacity . keryn redstone has asserted that she has been disinherited of $ 6 million and potentially $ 1 billion more . ( the beneficiaries of the national amusements trust , now valued at more than $ 5 billion , include keryn redstone and mr. redstone ’s four other grandchildren . ) keryn redstone earlier insisted that she would not settle without the inclusion of a deal for manuela herzer , a former companion and onetime romantic partner of mr. redstone . last year , mr. redstone revoked plans to leave ms. herzer $ 50 million and his $ 20 million los angeles mansion . keryn redstone has not participated in the settlement negotiations and has no information about the terms , according to her lawyer , pierce o’donnell . that trial is scheduled to start on sept. 19 .
+0 vermont governor pardons 192 for marijuana convictions - the new york times niraj chokshi nearly 200 of the approximately 450 people who asked gov. peter shumlin of vermont to forgive their misdemeanor marijuana convictions had their wish fulfilled this week . in one of his final acts in office , governor shumlin on tuesday pardoned 192 people convicted of marijuana possession , fulfilling a promise he made early last month to consider forgiveness for anyone who applied by christmas . “ while attitudes and laws about marijuana use are rapidly changing , there is still a harmful stigma associated with it , ” mr. shumlin , a democrat , said in a statement on tuesday . “ my hope was to help as many individuals as i could overcome that stigma and the very real struggles that too often go along with it . ” such charges can stand in the way of finding work , being accepted to college and traveling internationally . the pardons were limited to people who had no violent criminal histories or felony convictions , and who had not been found guilty of driving under the influence or reckless driving . people who did not apply for a pardon under mr. shumilin can still apply to have marijuana possession convictions expunged from their record through a court process established under a 2013 state decriminalization law . mr. shumlin cited that law and his own support for legalizing marijuana as the basis for the pardons . “ vermont should follow the many states that are legalizing and regulating the use of marijuana and put to an end the incredible failure that is the war on drugs , ” he said in the statement . his successor , phil scott , a republican , has urged caution , though he has signaled he may be open to legalization eventually . he is scheduled to be sworn in on thursday and has said that he supports the pardons , according to local news reports . those who received the pardons ranged in age from 22 to 69 , though most were younger than 40 . all but 15 live in vermont . in all , mr. shumlin has issued 208 pardons since taking office in 2010 , more than any other governor in the history of the state , his office said .
+0 trump signs executive order unwinding obama climate policies - the new york times coral davenport and alissa j. rubin washington — president trump , flanked by company executives and miners , signed a executive order on tuesday to nullify president barack obama ’s climate change efforts and revive the coal industry , effectively ceding american leadership in the international campaign to curb the dangerous heating of the planet . mr. trump made clear that the united states had no intention of meeting the commitments that his predecessor had made to curb carbon dioxide pollution , turning denials of climate change into national policy . at a ceremony , mr. trump directed the environmental protection agency to start the complex and lengthy legal process of withdrawing and rewriting the clean power plan , which would have closed hundreds of power plants , frozen construction of new plants and replaced them with vast new wind and solar farms . “ c’mon , fellas . you know what this is ? you know what this says ? ” mr. trump said to the miners . “ you ’re going back to work . ” throughout the presidential campaign , mr. trump vowed to roll back mr. obama ’s major climate change policies , a set of ambitious e. p. a. regulations to curb greenhouse pollution from power plants . he made clear that american leadership in the global campaign against climate change would take a back seat to his commitment to energy industry jobs . with his order to move forward with the rollback , climate diplomats around the world maneuvered to fill the vacuum left by the exit of the globe ’s climate polluter . “ there are countless countries ready to step up and deliver on their climate promises and take advantages of mr. trump ’s to reap the benefits of the transition to the economy , ” said laurence tubiana , the chief french negotiator of the 2015 paris agreement , the landmark accord that committed nearly every country to take action to reduce emissions . over all , the goal of the paris deal is to keep the planet from warming more than 3 . 6 degrees , the point at which scientists say the earth will be irrevocably locked into a future of severe droughts , floods , rising sea levels and food shortages . mr. obama pledged that the united states would cut its emissions about 26 percent from 2005 levels by 2025 . carrying out the clean power plan was essential to meeting that target . “ this is not the time for any country to change course on the very serious and very real threat of climate change , ” said erik solheim , executive director of the united nations environment program . “ the science tells us that we need bolder , more ambitious commitments . ” mr. trump has not yet decided whether to formally withdraw from the paris agreement . but by rolling back the policies needed to meet american commitments , the united states essentially announced that it would not comply , whether the nation remains a signatory or not , experts said . “ one of the greatest concerns is what other key countries , including china , india and brazil , will do when the u. s. reneges on the paris agreement , ” said robert stavins , a professor of environmental economics at harvard , mentioning some of the world ’s other largest carbon dioxide polluters . “ the scenario is that the paris agreement will unravel , ” mr. stavins said . “ that would be a great tragedy . ” diplomats from some of the world ’s other major economies say they intend to continue carrying out their climate change agreements , with or without the united states . but the trump administration ’s moves are likely to embolden opponents of climate action around the world . at the heart of the paris accord was a breakthrough 2014 agreement between mr. obama and china ’s president , xi jinping , in which the leaders of the world ’s two largest polluting countries agreed to enact policies to cut their emissions . at the time , mr. obama offered the clean power plan as evidence that the united states would meet its target . their deal was seen as the catalyst to bring other countries to the table to forge the paris pact . if mr. trump reneges on his predecessor ’s commitment , it could further fray a relationship that has become more tenuous since his election . “ getting to that point was not easy , ” said kelly sims gallagher , an expert on chinese environmental policy at tufts university who helped broker the climate talks . “ this undoes many years of work building up trust that the u. s. will honor the commitments it makes at the presidential level . ” mr. trump is tentatively scheduled to meet with mr. xi next week at his florida estate . mr. xi has signaled that he is prepared to move forward with his paris pledge that china ’s emissions will drop by or before 2030 . speaking at the davos economic summit meeting in january , mr. xi said , “ all signatories should stick to it instead of walking away from it , as this is a responsibility we must assume for future generations . ” but experts say that without action from the united states , china ’s efforts to curb emissions may slow . “ it may empower business and political interests within china that still opposed climate action , ” said alex l. wang , a legal scholar of chinese environmental policies at the university of california , los angeles . the same dynamic could play out in india , the world ’s carbon dioxide polluter . prime minister narendra modi worked closely with mr. obama on climate change policies , but he did so against internal domestic pressures to prioritize economic development — including the provision of cheap electricity to india ’s rural poor . mr. trump spoke with mr. modi by telephone on tuesday , but aides declined to say if they discussed climate change . harsh v. pant , a research fellow at the observer research foundation , a think tank in new delhi , said mr. trump ’s order would give the indian government political space to delay some of its climate commitments . “ it will slow down a little bit , ” he said . still , it remains to be seen whether mr. trump ’s orders will fully vanquish mr. obama ’s climate change legacy . legal experts say it could take years for the e. p. a. administrator to carry out the process of withdrawing and revising the climate change regulations , and the process will be hit by legal challenges at every turn . a coalition of states , including new york and california , has already vowed to fight mr. trump . attorney general eric t. schneiderman of new york said he was preparing to challenge any effort to do away with regulations on greenhouse gas emissions . such a move , he argued , violated the clean air act , as well as established case law . “ if they want to go back into the process , we believe they are compelled under law to come up with something close to the clean power plan , ” he said . “ they probably do n’t want to hear this again , ” he said , “ but if they want to repeal , they have to replace . ”
+0 beginning ‘ brexit’ and bracing for impact - the new york times peter s. goodman london — the world did not end . no recession unfolded . nine months after britain voted to leave the european union , disregarding warnings of grim economic consequences , a nation famous for calmly carrying on has seemingly gone about its business . as prime minister theresa may on wednesday officially initiated britain ’s exit from europe — brexit , in everyday talk — the lack of disaster was touted by those steering the departure as a sign of little trouble ahead . “ there were predictions about what would happen to the economy if the united kingdom voted to leave , ” ms. may told parliament on wednesday . “ those predictions have not proved to be correct . we see a strong economy . ” but the reassuring talk did not reckon with one significant detail : nothing has actually happened yet . mrs. may has only set in motion the complex , politically fraught divorce proceedings through which britain must settle its affairs with the 27 jilted members of the european union . the outcome will almost certainly be costly : britain has placed in jeopardy its trading relationship with europe , its largest customer for exports , while imperiling london ’s status as banker to the planet . the markets essentially shrugged . the move was as expected as the next super bowl . the pound dipped a tad . so did shares on london ’s stock market . the immediate impact of mrs. may ’s action was to start negotiations on future dealings across the english channel . those talks have a deadline . if no deal is struck before then , britain and europe would plunge into a state of chaotic uncertainty . trade would revert to the rules of the world trade organization , making britain ’s exports to europe vulnerable to tariffs and other barriers to commerce , including health and safety rules . london ’s bankers would be effectively severed from europe , with many transactions for clients based on the continent rendered illegal . until now , such issues were wrapped in layers of hypotheticals , with the details left for some indeterminate day when britain ’s government would make it real . that day has come . though the financial industry has been preparing to move jobs to other financial capitals in anticipation of a messy brexit , other industries have waited for clarity . now , they will feel pressure to act — shifting some lines of business to european capitals , perhaps shelving british expansions . global banking giants like citigroup , hsbc and jpmorgan chase may soon carry out plans to shift thousands of jobs to financial centers in the european union . goldman sachs recently confirmed that it is moving hundreds of jobs out of london while expanding offices in frankfurt and paris . vodafone , the telecommunications giant , said after the referendum that it might shift its headquarters from london . “ the fact of setting this clock ticking is significant , because two years for many businesses is enough time for them to adapt , but short enough that they have to start making decisions really quickly , ” said nicolas véron , an economist and senior fellow at bruegel , a research institution in brussels . “ you will start to see very observable , concrete consequences of brexit very soon . ” britain has exploited its inclusion in europe ’s vast single market to make itself a dominant hub for multinational companies as various as aviation , pharmaceuticals and finance . they have set up factories , marketing teams and trading floors in britain while selling to clients from ireland to greece , as if this swath of geography — home to some 500 million people — were one country . so much for all that . european leaders have consistently reaffirmed that remaining in the single market requires that britain accept the free movement of people . that collides with a primary aim of many brexit supporters — restricting immigration . after months of pretending that a finesse could be found , mrs. may in january declared her government ’s choice : enter immigration limits , goodbye single market . long before this political reckoning with reality , executives at global banks were already mulling which jobs to move from london to other cities in the european union — dublin , frankfurt , paris , amsterdam , luxembourg . “ people will have to move , ” said william wright , founder and managing director of new financial , a research institution in london . “ there ’s no other option . ” predicting how many jobs will move has become a thriving cottage industry . oliver wyman , the global consultancy , concluded that if , as now seems likely , transactions in london for european clients are sharply curtailed , as many as 35 , 000 british jobs could disappear with as much as 20 billion pounds ( $ 24 . 8 billion ) in revenue . after the brexit vote , mrs. may met with nissan ’s chief executive to offer assurances that her government would do what was necessary to keep auto manufacturing competitive . nissan said it would continue to make sport utility vehicles in sunderland , a city in northern england . brexit supporters called the outcome a template for how a pragmatic british government would prevent businesses from abandoning its shores — with tax cuts , friendly regulation and deal making . but if britain promised anything meaningful to nissan , it probably violated world trade organization rules . nissan has since said it continues to assess the uncertain economics of britain . ford and bmw are reassessing their british factories , too . for now , britain has managed to avoid the most frightening economic forecasts . before the referendum last june , the british treasury predicted that a vote to exit could shrink the economy by as much 6 percent annually for the first two years . the economy expanded by 1 . 8 percent last year . british consumers continued to spend . british factories continued to churn out cars , medical devices and aircraft parts , many of them destined for europe . this month , toyota announced plans to sink an additional £ 240 million ( about $ 297 million ) into a factory in derbyshire , though it qualified that it required reliable access to europe . snap , the parent company of social media darling snapchat that raised $ 3 . 4 billion in an initial public offering , recently picked london as its international headquarters . but consumer spending has been increasingly paid for by debt . the british pound has surrendered 17 percent of its value against the dollar since the referendum , raising the cost of imported goods . investment is flagging . a weaker pound helps exports , making british goods cheaper on world markets . but exports have also been aided by the very thing britain is trying to ditch — inclusion in europe . proponents of brexit tend to dismiss europe as a land leading only in the numbers of unemployed men who are moving in with their parents . britain ’s next era is supposed to be centered on trade with faster growing , innovative nations like the united states . britain and europe must negotiate a trade deal that will prevent a rupture to commerce . during the campaign , brexit supporters argued that europe would ultimately make it happen because its most powerful member , germany , now sends a parade of bmws , audis and volkswagens to britain . but trade negotiations are vulnerable to the manipulations of politically protected industries . this one seems particularly prone to acrimony . european leaders confront existential threats to their union , with political parties across the continent hostile to its powers . many are intent on using britain to illustrate what they contend happens when a member leaves — nothing good . “ it ’s common sense , ” said mr. véron , an economist . “ you do n’t allow someone who leaves the club to have better terms than someone who ’s in the club , or otherwise the club does n’t mean anything . ” even if european leaders seek middle ground , any one of the member nations could hijack the proceedings with their demands while the clock ticks away . last year , a single province of belgium nearly scuppered a trade deal negotiated between all of europe and canada in seeking favor for its dairy farmers . in a bid to stake out a stronger negotiating position , mrs. may has threatened to walk away if europe does not extend good terms . “ no deal for britain is better than a bad deal , ” she said in january . whatever the comparative rankings of unfortunate events , britain ’s leaving europe sans deal would be bad , as economists and people running businesses have said . it is often said that businesses fear uncertainty more than anything . mrs. may just eliminated some of that . but she replaced it with an apparent certainty that presents its own troubles : britain really is departing the largest consumer market on earth .
+1 pentagon : no plan ‘ so far’ for us troops to enter mosul jason ditz officials concede plan could change , as could definition of ' mosul ' by jason ditz , november 03 , 2016 share this the us has made much of its troops involved in the mosul invasion not being “ combat ” troops , even though one of the troops was killed in a roadside bombing while embedded with kurdish combat troops . as the troops near mosul , however , pentagon spokesman col . john dorrian insists there are no plans so far for troops to enter mosul . col . dorrian insisted that iraq ’s government has said “ it ’s just gon na be their forces . ” he did , however , say he did n’t want to say us troops would “ never ” be involved , insisting that the plans could change at any time . other officials , quoted anonymously by reuters , suggested that the definition of mosul could also change , saying that suburbs and parts of the city ’s outskirts could easily be redefined as not mosul , allowing us troops to enter those areas without having to technically “ enter mosul . ” the obama administration initially promised “ no boots on the ground ” in iraq , but with some 6,000 such troops in iraq , they ’ve seen been trying desperately to claim they are in “ non - combat ” roles . this too has been difficult to sell , with a number of those troops embedded in combat units . those troops are nominally “ advisers , ” but are regularly being put into combat areas . last 5 posts by jason ditz
+0 john bolton : paris climate accord objective is ‘ reduction of national sovereignty’ for ‘ global governance’ john hayward former u. n. ambassador john bolton spoke to breitbart news daily on thursday about speculation that president trump will delay his decision to relocate the u. s. embassy in israel to jerusalem but announce america ’s exit from the paris climate accords . [ “ i do n’t really know one way or the other , ” bolton confessed . “ i wish they would move the embassy to jerusalem . i suspect if they were going to that in the near term , they would have announced it on the president ’s trip to the region — which was very successful in both its saudi component and its israel component . ” bolton noted that on the same day the white house is expected to announce the jerusalem decision , it is also expected to announce withdrawal from the paris climate accords , a combination he described as “ a kind of good news strategy . ” “ i have my fingers crossed that the president will get out of the paris accords today . we ’ll wait and see what happens on that , too , ” he said . siriusxm host raheem kassam asked why so many american leaders talk about moving the embassy to jerusalem but never actually do it . bolton replied that while there is “ strong feeling about moving the embassy ” among the general public not just among jewish americans , but also among dedicated christian supporters of israel , american politicians were given pause by the potential political fallout . he suggested that on the contrary , they should see moving the embassy as a domestic political winner . another reason the embassy does not get moved is the u. s. state department ’s view that “ the status of jerusalem is a matter for the final negotiations in the creation of a palestinian state . ” “ therefore , the argument goes , if you do anything to prejudice the outcome of the final status negotiations , you could blow the whole thing up , ” he explained . “ this is utter nonsense , ” he argued . “ number one , the whole premise — that is to say , a solution where a new palestinian state is created , which we ’ve been at now for more than 70 years — has proven to be a complete failure . if that ’s the premise for the argument about final status , we can dispense with that pretty quickly . ” “ i think , even more importantly , just as a practical matter , no one has ever suggested that the u. s. embassy , if it were moved to jerusalem , would be put in east jerusalem , which is what the palestinians claim would be their capital , ” he continued . “ there has been space made available by the government of israel in west jerusalem , west of the ‘ green line,’ in territory no one has ever in their wildest dreams claimed would be part of a new palestinian state . so erecting a u. s embassy there could not conceivably prejudice the final outcome . ” “ and then there ’s another reason , ” he added . “ i think when the u. s. decides to have diplomatic relations with a country , it ’s between the u. s. and that country alone to determine how they are going to conduct relations . i view this as an analog to dealing with taiwan , where the mainland chinese are constantly trying to tell the united states how to behave , and unfortunately , we respond . we do n’t allow taiwanese diplomats into the state department , if you can believe it , because we do n’t want to offend beijing . i think it ’s time for the united states to say , ‘ you know , we ’re going to conduct u. s. diplomatic relations the way we want , period.’ if that means putting the embassy in jerusalem , let ’s do it . ” bolton shared kassam ’s dim view of the “ hysteria emanating from europeans ” after president trump ’s overseas trip . he noted that the u. s. embassy in berlin issued an assessment that german chancellor angela merkel ’s negative comments about president trump were intended to influence domestic politics . “ in other words , this does not rise to the cosmic level of affecting the alliance , ” bolton elaborated . “ i remember very well at the beginning of the george w. bush administration , the europeans were saying much the same thing : ‘ oh , my god , the united states is going to create a national missile defense system ! they ’re going to hide behind it ! they ’re going to go isolation again ! they ’re going to leave us poor europeans out here to defend ourselves ! ’ ” “ and then president bush withdrew from the 1972 missile treaty so we could create a national defense , ” he recalled . “ we did withdraw from the international criminal court treaty , we unsigned it . we did get out of a hopeless negotiation over an utterly unworkable biological weapons verification protocol . the only thing really we did n’t wrap up was we did n’t unsign the kyoto protocol , which we should have done . ” “ my point is , it was the same wailing and gnashing of teeth by the europeans about the end of the alliance , the decline of american leadership . it was n’t true then . it ’s not true now , ” said bolton . he sized up the paris climate accord as “ an excellent thing to withdraw from . ” “ in fundamental terms , it ’s basically an utterly meaningless document , ” he noted . “ each country involved sets its own targets and then declares its own progress . the world ’s two biggest polluters , india and china , do n’t even have to begin reducing carbon emissions until 2030 . the europeans have the math rigged in their favor . ” “ the whole thing is a charade , except to this extent : even in effect as toothless as it is , what the europeans and the obama administration did when they negotiated the paris accord was try to take a step forward toward formalizing this global governance structure that they had tried and failed , in the predecessor kyoto agreement and the predecessor copenhagen agreement , ” bolton charged . “ even though it appears toothless in the near term , it sets a foundation that they hope to advance toward a greater multilateral global governance . forget the environmental aspect for a minute — we could be talking about global cooling here , rather than global warming . the advocates of this treaty would propose the same kinds of structures because that ’s their larger objective : the reduction of national sovereignty and the pooling of sovereignty as in their favorite institution , their paradigm of the world to come , the european union , ” he warned . “ i think it ’s important for the united states to say , ‘ if you people want to pool sovereignty and reduce your democratic control over governments , which is a very widespread view regarding brussels and the european union now , you go right ahead . we ’re not going to play any part of it,’ ” bolton advised . kassam amplified bolton ’s point about individual countries playing games with their paris emission targets by recalling how the french themselves dealt with high emission targets by simply moving the sensors onto rooftops . “ you got ta love the french ! ” bolton chuckled . “ when they invented the word ‘ hypocrisy,’ it came from paris , and they are great at it , god bless ’em . ” john bolton is a senior fellow at the american enterprise institute and head of his own political action committee , boltonpac . breitbart news daily airs on siriusxm patriot 125 weekdays from 6:00 a. m. to 9:00 a. m. eastern .
+1 the only strategy that could have stopped donald trump august moliere as the election is inching slowly towards it ’s end , experts are nervously scrambling to find any dirt that would stop the trump train . first , megyn kelly pulled the sexist card , then it was his undisclosed tax returns , then his comments on john mccain , then making fun of crippled reporters , then his reading of mein kampf , then his remarks about dating his daughter . then accusations of racism from former employees , his usage of eminent domain , hiring of immigrants and other questionable practices , the trump university scandal , his blunder on abortion , old comments on drug decriminalization and gun control , his relationship with the clintons and the dc insiders , his comments on refugees and illegal immigrants , the khan incident . and , of course , the pussy - grabbing scandal . surely this time , it will sink his campaign , wo n’t it ? and yet each time teflon don deflects dirt more dexterously than ghetto trash trying escape alimony payments . nothing seems to be able to stop him , not that his opponents will ever stop trying . trump has the fantastic ability to escape unharmed from what would clearly destroy any career politician . howard dean ’s “ yee - haw ” was enough to end his bid for the democratic candidate in 2004 , and yet trump can call for an end to muslim refugees , be accused of grabbing women by their loins , and end up being praised for it by the masses , while the mainstream media spew their bile 24/7 . what has allowed trump to maneuver so nimbly against these accusations is the unprecedented role of internet media in elections , including being able to reach people directly through twitter and a lack of trust in traditional media , as well as his bigger - than - life persona letting him get away with what others would be lynched for . but that ’s the story for another article . i would rather talk about something else . particularly , is there anything that could stop him ? the answer will surprise you as it goes against all conventional wisdom . yes , but it ’s not what you think . trump ’s weak spot one of the biggest problems with defeating trump is that unlike other politicians , political scandals not only seem to not affect him , but they even aid him . there is a saying that every anti - trump meme is also a pro - trump meme . trump has mastered political antifragility , which causes him to only strengthen when opponents try to destroy him . trump has defeated the left ’s “ no platform for fascists ” mentality by saying things so outrageous they have no option but to report on him . so , the left can not choose to not cover him and let him wallow in obscurity like they did with ron paul . neither can they attack him , for each of their attacks only make him more popular . one memorable movie quote i remember went something like this : “ every man has a weak spot . first you try to buy him with money , then women , then you go for his family , and if that does n’t work , well , a bullet always does the job . ” unfortunately , unlike other political losers , don does not need other people ’s money , nor does he lack female attention , and his family is smart and probably safe from violence . but this is n’t an article about ( god forbid ) donald trump getting assassinated . that would stop trump , but not the trump train . trump is more than a man . trump is an idea . he is the avatar of discontent of all those opposed to progressive ideology . he would become a martyr , thus raising the hatred for his opponents to a fever pitch which might alter america ’s consciousness forever . trump ’s enemies ca n’t afford that . so if ignoring trump does not work , throwing dirt at him does not work , bribing him does n’t work and even killing him wo n’t work , than what is left ? the answer might surprise you . you see trump ’s power comes from his contrarianism . he is not a candidate , he is an anti - candidate . people do n’t just vote for trump they vote against hillary , obama , progressives and cuckservatives . he is the wrecking ball who the injured working class and all non - liberal whites as well as minorities not completely in love in with progressive marxist ideology want to use against the establishment . so what can be done to stop him ? well , let ’s ask ourselves what makes trump popular ? his brashness , his anti - pc attitudes , his anti - elitism , his not being a part of the establishment hacks , his being “ not one of them , ” his being different . so if that is what gives trump strength , it would make sense that to weaken him , you would have to present him as the opposite of that . to present him as being nothing special , to make him look boring and weak . to present him as just another pc - drone . they ’ve claimed nonstop that trump is the next hitler and that he will start building concentration camps and sexually assaulting random women by grabbing their cock pockets and will obliterate muslims and minorities with right wing death squad robots . instead they could have claimed that he is just weakling trying to act tough , and that he wo n’t deliver anything . that he is in love with political correctness and respects women . that he is a progressive ’s best choice . that he will bring four more years of obama . that of course would present it ’s own difficulties . in the age of online media , the monopoly of physical press has been broken . when news circulates at the speed of minutes rather than hours and days , it would be very hard for the establishment media to accomplish this . it is very hard to call trump ordinary and boring when his statements break so many taboos . yet , as difficult as it may have been , at the very least it would have had a chance of success , as small as it was . calling him sexist , racist , and other mean words did nothing to stop him , and instead only made him more popular with the masses . some of these incidents have made donald seem human and it made people trust him more . showing his flaws had the opposite effect as intended , as those who hated him already needed no extra ammo , but those who liked him were either left indifferent , or what ’s worse excited by his statements . at worst a few moderates had doubts set in their mind , however considering what short attention span undecided voters have , his stellar performance at the second debate clearly made them forget about the statement and maybe even convinced them to focus on bill ’s sexual misdeeds instead . why have n’t his opponents used this against him ? this brings us to the final point of this article . why have n’t his opponents used this against him ? have they not the brains to figure this out ? hard to believe , considering the amount of money being poured into think tanks . no , the truth is like that the strategy was forsaken because of the side - effects it would have on their own camp . should his opponents try to attack him as another pc drone , they would be also attacking themselves . just like hillary trying to paint trump as sex offender only made it easier for trump to point at bill ’s sexual indiscretions . as it has been said in the mighty book of kek : “ thee that dwell in glass lodgings shall not propel sedimentary formations ” the prophecy of kek , chapter 4 : verse 20 . attacking trump for being multicultural , politically correct , weak , inefficient , or a shill would only shed light on the establishment ’s own weakness . this means that in order to draw voters away from trump they would have to claim trump loves multiculturalism , anti - racism , open borders , free trade , globalism and offer another candidate who would be even more extreme than him on these crucial issues . using this strategy against trump , even if it was successful , would be a pyrrhic victory for his opponents , as cuckservatives would have to acknowledge they ca n’t woo supporters with talks about reducing taxes and bringing back reaganism . the truth is , the future is bleak for reagan - bush - cuck wing of the gop . even if they were to win the election , they would lose the war . the left has won the cultural war not just by winning elections , but by cultural meta - warfare . instead of moderating their message in attempt to win election , they used popular culture and mass media to push liberal values to the masses , and so the right wing had no option , but do concessions , dropping people who opposed civil rights , women ’s liberation and closed borders . to put it simply , the battle was lost even before trump came — trump was the match that ignited the powder keg . he simply mobilized people , and said what others kept in private , but always wanted to say and now there is no turning back . the elites can not choose to ignore popular will and still win elections anymore . they will have to reform the gop to account for their constituency ’s desire or risk ending in the dust bin of history . there is no longer the option to charm the sheeple with talks about low taxes , open borders and the awfulness of bigotry . they will have to , at least , nominally give something back to the people to stay in power . as one wise commenter on this site once said : “ trump may be a liar like the rest of them , but at least he is saying the right lies . ” the next thing people on the manosphere and the alt - right will have to look after will be trump - like figures who will copy trump ’s rhetoric , but will fail to deliver any solutions . or they will try to co - opt and redirect that anger . but for now , for the first time in more than 50 years , we are winning the culture war . read more : will the # cruzsexscandal propel donald trump into the white house ?
+1 breaking : obama just caught trying to sabotage new clinton email investigation … this is sick | endingfed news network nan email print you know hillary clinton is getting desperate when she begins resorting to cheap tricks like this one … as you already know , yesterday the fbi announced that they will be reopening the clinton email investigation following the discovery of new emails on anthony weiner ’s laptop that hillary thought she had deleted . well , as a last ditch effort to try and save her career , president obama stepped in last minute and ordered attorney general loretta lynch to tell comey to back off and not release the information to the public ! you see , technically loretta lynch is in charge of the fbi by being attorney general . she approached comey directly when she learned about the information and ordered him to stand down , saying he was violating department of justice policy . according to her , it would “ interfere with the election . ” james comey , however , was apparently sick and tired of being bossed around . he stared back at her and declared that he had a duty to congress and the american people to let them know what is really going on . comey said , “ i also think it would be misleading to the american people were we not to supplement the record . ” so thank you , fbi director comey , for finally growing a pair and standing up to the hillary clinton and obama machine . now the american people know the truth about hillary clinton , and that will end her reign of terror . if you want to show comey your support , then share this out so everyone can see that the man is a hero just in case obama uses some dirty trick to try and sabotage him too … join us on facebook to stop the takeover . click on the button to subscribe .
+1 казахстан на страже ядерной безопасности | новое восточное обозрение nan в ноябре 2016 г. мажилис парламента республики казахстан одобрил создание на территории страны банка низкообогащенного урана магатэ. низкообогащенный уран ( ноу ) – это материал , из которого делается топливо для аэс. создать стратегическое хранилище ноу международное атомное агентство решило еще в 2006 г. цель проекта – гарантировать бесперебойные поставки топлива на аэс стран , входящих в магатэ. при этом из самого банка регулярных поставок осуществляться не будет. это будет « неприкосновенный запас » , которым не будут пользоваться без чрезвычайной ситуации. официально запасы ноу будут принадлежать магатэ. разместить банк было решено на территории одного из членов агентства. оператором могло стать государство , не имеющее ядерного оружия , но при этом обладающее технологиями и инфраструктурой для работы с ноу. кроме того , страна должна была обладать хорошей репутацией в магатэ. казахстан удовлетворял всем этим условиям. как известно , рк – крупнейший производитель урана с соответствующими технологиями и опытом , в том числе – по переработке ��ысокообогащенного урана в ноу ( что важно для ядерного разоружения ) . страна решила поучаствовать в развитии мирного атома и летом 2011 г. подала в магатэ заявку. для размещения банка казахстан предложил два места : участок на бывшем семипалатинском полигоне и « ульбинский металлургический завод » ( г. усть-каменогорск ) . после проверки обоих участков экспертами агентства был выбран второй вариант. « ульбинский металлургический завод » имеет почти полувековой опыт с радиоактивными материалами и компетентных специалистов – наследников советской школы. кроме того , предприятие прошло серьезную модернизацию и отвечает самым высоким требованиям безопасности. в апреле 2015 г. вышло постановление правительства рк , одобряющее договор с магатэ о создании банка ноу в казахстане. в августе 2015 г. этот договор был подписан министром иностранных дел рк ерланом идрисовым и генеральным директором магатэ юкия амано. сейчас полным ходом идут подготовительные работы , в которых участвуют эксперты магатэ. прежде чем банк ноу будет размещен на казахской земле , правительству рк еще придется доработать как инфраструктуру , так и законодательство , чтобы все соответствовало международным критериям безопасности. начало уже положено : так , в январе 2016 г. был принят закон « об использовании атомной энергии » . в составлении некоторых дополнений к новому закону участвовали эксперты магатэ. предстоит еще многое сделать , чтобы новое хранилище было максимально безопасно для местного населения и окружающей среды. весь материал будет содержаться в контейнерах , соответствующих европейским стандартам. по данным магатэ , урана в хранилище хватит , чтобы обеспечивать электричеством крупный город в течение 3 лет. все расходы , связанные с перевозкой урана , уплатой налогов и гарантиями по отношению к банку ноу , магатэ берет на себя. казахстану предстоит за свой счет эксплуатировать хранилище – обеспечивать его электроэнергией , платить заработную плату работникам ( гражданам рк ) и т.п. в благодарность за размещение и содержание на своей территории банка ноу казахстан рассчитывает на помощь магатэ в развитии своей атомной промышленности. уже сейчас на территории рк работает комиссия магатэ , проводящая общее исследование ядерной инфраструктуры. по окончании своей работы комиссия подготовит отчет с рекомендациями по развитию казахстанской атомной промышленности. республика обладает огромными запасами урана и занимает первое место в мире по его добыче. казахстанская продукция занимает немалую часть мирового уранового рынка. при этом казахстан давно мечтает не только поставлять другим странам сырье или полуфабрикаты , но и самостоятельно проводить все этапы ядерного топливного цикла до превращения урана в готовое топливо для аэс. несомненно , экспортировать готовый проду��т гораздо прибыльнее. об этой задаче напомнил президент рк нурсултан назарбаев во время встречи с председателем правления « казатомпрома » аскаром жумагалиевым , состоявшейся в начале ноября 2016 г. тогда он отметил , что для достижения своей цели казахстан должен усилить сотрудничество в атомной сфере с другими странами и международными организациями. следует напомнить , что одним из основных партнеров казахстана в атомной сфере является россия. благодаря работе с россией рк значительно продвинулась на пути к самостоятельному производству ядерного топлива. сотрудничество продолжается : в октябре 2016 г. в астане состоялся форум межрегионального сотрудничества россии и казахстана , в котором участвовали президенты двух стран – владимир путин и нурсултан назарбаев. в результате россия и казахстан приняли план совместных действий до 2018 г. и подписали меморандум о расширении стратегического сотрудничества в области ядерно-топливного цикла. меморандум подтверждает все прежние договоренности между двумя странами , касающиеся совместной работы в области аэ , в том числе добычи и переработки урана. помимо прочего , в документе упоминается возможность совместного участия россии и казахстана в проектах магатэ. размещение на территории республики банка ноу – широкий жест в сторону магатэ , который поднимет авторитет казахстана в глазах других государств. создание хранилища ноу не только подстрахует работающие ядерные реакторы от дефицита топлива , но и поспособствует нераспространению ядерного оружия. дело в том , что сейчас страны , желающие освоить « мирный атом » , часто вынуждены самостоятельно обогащать уран , чтобы превратить его в топливо. при этом магатэ беспокоит , что кто-то из них может превысить необходимый для мирных целей уровень обогащения и получить материал для создания ядерного оружия. появление хранилища ноу , в которое может обратиться любая страна-член магатэ , позволит им не заниматься обогащением урана самостоятельно , тем самым снизив угрозу распространения ядерного оружия. таким образом , казахстан может стать стратегически важным членом магатэ , участвующим в обеспечении мировой безопасности. помимо престижа и помощи в атомных проектах , это может привлечь к стране внимание зарубежных инвесторов. по данным правительства рк , за первую половину 2016 г. объем иностранных инвестиций в экономику страны увеличился в 5 раз , составив почти 6 млрд долларов сша. такой рост несомненно связан с ростом международного авторитета казахстана , которым он отчасти обязан своему сотрудничеству с магатэ. дмитрий бокарев , политический обозреватель , специально для интернет-журнала « новое восточное обозрение » . популярные статьи
+0 rep. louie gohmert : state dept . budget cuts may not be enough - breitbart penny starr president donald trump released his 2018 budget proposal on thursday revealing that the u. s. department of state funding could be cut by 31 percent , sparking outrage among mostly democrats , who say the cuts could put the country at risk . [ wendy sherman , under secretary of state for political affairs in the obama administration , told msnbc ’s rachel maddow on thursday that trump ’s proposal to cut the state department ’s budget by a third would have “ implications ” for fighting terrorism and epidemics like ebola . ” but rep. louie gohmert ( ) said on thursday at the conversations with conservatives press conference on capitol hill that , given the agency ’s priorities during the obama administration , the cuts might fall short . gohmert said the cuts — first reported as 28 percent but later clarified by the state department as totaling 31 percent — “ might not be enough . ” gohmert cited the obama administration ’s priority at state of promoting homosexual rights around the world , including encouraging nation states to change their laws regarding homosexuality and marriage . on jan. 11 , the rights publication the washington blade published a story entitled , “ 10 ways obama promoted lgbt rights abroad . ” those moves by the obama administration ’s state department included : mark toner , acting spokesman at state , clarified on thursday the proposed percentage of cuts at state . “ there ’s a little bit of confusion about that , so let me try to clarify it , ” toner said . “ the fy 2018 budget requests 25 . 6 billion in base funding for the department of state and usaid , and that ’s a 10 . 1 billion or 28 percent reduction from the fy 2017 continuing resolution level . ” “ so that ’s a 28 percent reduction without the overseas contingency operations funding , ” toner said . “ so the budget also requests , obviously , 12 billion as overseas contingency operations funding for a total request of 37 . 6 billion , which represents an overall reduction of 17 . 3 billion . ” “ that ’s 31 percent from the annualized — or from the cr level , which is base and oco funds , ” toner said . “ so just to simplify it , the two variations there — the 28 percent is the amount of reduction without oco , which is the overseas contingency operations funding . ” “ the 31 percent number or figure is with that overseas contingency operations funding , ” toner said . the los angeles times suggested in its reporting on thursday that secretary of state rex tillerson was not concerned with the budget cuts , rather than characterizing his remarks as compatible with president trump ’s assessment that the department has been overfunded in the past . “ but the head of the department , secretary of state rex tillerson , seemed unconcerned thursday , ” the times reported . “ the level of spending that the state department has been undertaking in the past — and particularly in this past year — is simply not sustainable , ” tillerson said at a brief news conference in tokyo , the first stop on a tour of asia . “ tillerson , for most of his career a top executive at exxon mobil , said he expected more aid from other countries would help to cover the shortfall as the u. s. recedes , and he said he was ‘ confident’ the state department would continue to fulfill its mission , ” the times reported . “ we are going to be undertaking a very comprehensive examination of how programs are executed , a very comprehensive examination of how we are structured , and i ’m confident that with the input of the men and women of the state department , we are going to construct a way forward that allows us to be much more effective , much more efficient and be able to do a lot with fewer dollars , ” tillerson said . “ we understand the challenge , ” tillerson said . “ i take the challenge that the president has given us on willingly and with great expectation that with everyone in the state department ’s assistance , we ’re going to deliver a much better result for the american people in the future . ”
+1 ny elementary school calls off mock election because students were chanting “ trump ” and “ we do n’t want muslims here ” barenakedislam bni store nov 3 2016 ny elementary school calls off mock election because students were chanting “ trump ” and “ we do n’t want muslims here ” jericho elementary school in centereach , new york , announced it had scrapped the mock vote that was due to take place this friday after some young students started chanting “ trump ” and repeated ‘ negative rhetoric about muslims.’ abc news ( h / t susan k ) principal glen rogers revealed the decision was made after teachers complained about what some children had been chanting around the school and in the cafeteria . teachers have said they ’ve heard some kids in the cafeteria chanting “ trump ! trump ! trump ! ” or saying they do n’t want muslims here,’ roger said . ‘ i mean , kids often repeat what they hear on the tv or the news , but it does n’t mean it ’s ok . ( in other words , you do n’t think the first amendment is ok ) “ we have a diverse community here . we want all our students to feel valued . ” ( so we do n’t become the target of an islamic terrorist attack ? ) ‘ it ’s important for our students to be able to express their opinions , but it ’s also important for them to be informed about it and not just repeating what they happen to hear,’ rogers said . ( especially if it goes against the democrat talking points . this is new york , after all )
+0 rapper ice cube hammers maher for ’n - word’ : ’sometimes you sound like a redneck trucker’ - breitbart jeff poor friday on hbo ’s “ real time , ” host bill maher apologized for his use of the “ ” during an interview with sen. ben sasse ( ) during last week ’s broadcast of his program . however , despite that apology and a stern lecture from his earlier guest michael eric dyson , maher took on heat from rapper ice cube for the racial slur at the end of his panel segment . “ i knew you was going to a fuck up sooner or later , ” ice cube said . “ i did . i did . i love your show . you got a great show . but you ’ve been bucking up against that line the little bit . you got a lot of black jokes . you do . ” “ sometimes you sound like a redneck trucker , ” he added . “ yes , you do . ” ice cube went on to castigate maher for using the term and said when he heard a “ white person ” use it , it felt like a “ knife stabbing ” him . follow jeff poor on twitter @jeff_poor
+0 all 100 senators contacted russian government this week joel b. pollak attorney general jeff sessions found himself at the center of controversy this week because he answered a question about the trump campaign ’s contacts with the russian government without talking about his contacts as a united states senator . [ the assumption made by the media , the democrats , and even some republicans was that even routine contact with the russian government is burdened by suspicion of collusion . not since the mccarthy era have suspicions reached such levels . but if sessions ought to resign , perhaps the entire senate should quit . because on monday — two days before the washington post broke the highly scandalous story that sessions had met the russian ambassador twice in the course of his duties — every single united states senator had formal contact with the russian government . and not just any functionary : they had contact with russian president vladimir putin himself . worse ( apparently ) still , they initiated the contact with the russians . the contact was a letter , signed by the entire senate , urging putin to release a valuable library of jewish religious texts that was seized by earlier russian regimes and which has been the subject of a legal and diplomatic dispute in recent decades . senate letter re chabad — 2017 — without hatch signature by breitbart news on scribd , senator orrin hatch ( ) provided the final signature on the letter , and tweeted proudly about his support for the effort : for the last year , hatch has led his colleagues in an effort to recover the texts , including a letter signed by all 100 senators . ( ) pic . twitter . — senator hatch office ( @senorrinhatch ) february 28 , 2017 , none of that means sessions should have misled congress — but the point is , again , that he did not . ordinary contact with foreign governments is such a routine part of the job that he did not think to mention it , just as no one mentioned the putin letter this week , even in the heat of debate about which senators might have met the russian ambassador , and when and why . joel b. pollak is senior at breitbart news . he was named one of the “ most influential ” people in news media in 2016 . his new book , how trump won : the inside story of a revolution , is available from regnery . follow him on twitter at @joelpollak .
+1 we can not " give trump a chance " nan by kshama sawant / counterpunch.org in the ten days since the election , several thousand people have phoned and emailed my seattle city council office in their fury over my call to shut down donald trump ’s agenda with massive peaceful protests on inauguration day . many messages were from middle- and working - class people who had voted for trump because they hated corporate democrats and hillary clinton , and mistakenly believed that trump was going to stand up for the ordinary americans . many were also racist and misogynist , saying things like , “ you do n’t belong here with the bull***t you spew from your c***su**er , ” or “ drop dead and go back to turbanville . ” call after call , while having zero tolerance for bigotry and threats , my staff patiently explained to the more reasonable trump supporters that we agree working people have been sold out by corporate politicians . that we completely oppose the bipartisan , big business policies of “ free trade ” deals like the tpp and nafta , corporate tax handouts , and the close ties of both parties to wall street . callers were surprised to learn that while i fiercely oppose trump , i did not back hillary clinton ( i campaigned for bernie sanders , and later jill stein ) . many were simply not reachable , as they spewed hate on all those protesting their president - elect . they will have to experience donald trump ’s policies in office to see him for what he is : a con man and representative of the billionaire class who sold the lie that he will bring back the american dream . my first grim thoughts as i saw some of the horrifying emails was that i will be far from the only person targeted after the dangerous rise of donald trump . bigots are feeling emboldened . already a surge in bullying and hate crimes has taken place , and the kkk felt confident to hold a rally in north carolina to celebrate trump ’s victory . disconcerting in a different way have been the hit pieces in local publications like the seattle times and the stranger attacking me and other stein supporters , and trying to shift blame for the outcome of the presidential election . the stranger article even went so far as to say that since i did n’t support clinton , i should not continue to call protests against trump : that this would be “ poor form . ” but as everyone from prominent clinton surrogate robert reich to the new york times have more or less acknowledged , in failing to defeat the most unpopular major party candidate in modern american history , the democrats have no one to blame but themselves . the ny times editorial board questioned the disastrous strategy of attempting a “ clinton restoration at a moment when the nation was impatient to escape the status quo , ” while reich called for a “ new democratic party , ” and said the election served as a “ repudiation of the american power structure , including the old democratic party . ” at every stage of the democratic primary , the dnc and party leadership fiercely opposed bernie sanders and backed clinton to the hilt . in the general election , clinton could have reached out to young and working class sanders supporters instead of arrogantly assuming she did n’t need them . by choosing to tell the millions of people who have been sold out and disenfranchised by neoliberal policies over several decades that america is “ already great , ” clinton received several millions fewer votes than obama in 2012 , including fewer votes from women . now , having assisted trump ’s ascension to the white house , clinton and this same democratic party leadership tell us we should “ give him a chance . ” but make no mistake , trump ’s success is not “ our success , ” in spite of obama ’s comments to that effect . and while we would be happy to be surprised by any progressive measures from a trump administration , we simply have no time to waste in building an organized opposition against the damage he has already vowed to do , including his promise to deport three million immigrants . we must bring together millions of progressive workers and young people to build a wall of mass resistance against trump , and to defend immigrants , women , muslims , lgbtq people and all others targeted by his presidency . hundreds of thousands of people have already poured into the streets since november 8th . on the night of the election result , my organization , socialist alternative began to organize protests around the country for the next day . more than 50,000 answered that call : in seattle , new york , boston , philadelphia , and oakland . many more protests have followed , as well as dozens of student walkouts , including 5,000 seattle students on monday alone . our movement will need to be independent of both major political parties . the democratic party can not be relied on to stop trump , anymore now than during the election . and to truly defeat the right , we will need to build our own mass party – a party of , by and for the 99 % – completely free of corporate cash and corporate influence . we have a historic responsibility to fight back against this administration . on january 20th and 21st , activists will be organizing protests and student walkouts across the country . hundreds of thousands will gather for the women ’s march on washington dc and to “ occupy inauguration , ” to send a message to the new president that there is no space whatsoever for his bigoted agenda in america . i hope you will join us . kshama sawant is seattle city council woman and member of socialist alternative . 3.8 ·
+0 in wake of orlando shootings , mexican soccer chant offends many - the new york times randal c. archibold the mexican soccer star javier hernández , known as chicharito , has condemned it in a public service announcement . hashtags have spread to raise awareness of its offensiveness and to try to put an end to it . and after the massacre in an orlando nightclub popular with gay latinos , commentators have urged fans to abandon it once and for all . but still , as is customary when the mexican national team is playing in an international tournament , it could be heard : the roar of “ eeeh … puto ! ” by mexican fans trying to distract the opposing goalkeeper punting the ball upfield . “ puto , ” roughly translated as “ male prostitute , ” is a slur often hurled at gay men in mexico , but fans who chant it say they use it out of the more generalized meaning of “ coward ” ( or , in the adjective form , simply an unpleasant thing ) . on monday , two days after a gunman killed 49 people in orlando , fla. including at least four mexican nationals , the chant could be heard during mexico ’s match against venezuela in houston during the copa américa regional tournament , being held in the united states for the first time . some people even believe they heard it chanted with a little more gusto , as if in defiance over the criticism of the term . mexico ’s national team was fined $ 20 , 700 in january by fifa , the world soccer body , over fans’ use of the chant in a world cup qualifying game against el salvador in november . in theory , fifa could move to take away points in the world cup standings , which could derail the team ’s advancement to the 2018 finals . on thursday , without mentioning mexico , concacaf , the governing body for soccer in north and central america and the caribbean , issued a statement denouncing “ chants or actions that are derogatory or offensive ” and said that “ they must be stopped . ” it did not mention what action , if any , it would take . mexico next plays on saturday night in a copa américa quarterfinal match against chile at levi ’s stadium in santa clara , calif. in mexico , the chant is largely seen as much ado about nothing , and penalizing the team over it a sign of political correctness . luis fernando lara , the editor of the diccionario del español de mexico ( dictionary of mexican spanish ) said in an interview that the word derives from a latin root that means “ child . ” in its feminine form , it came to mean “ prostitute , ” and its male form took that meaning as well , particularly in the gay community . it evolved to mean “ coward ” or “ . ” in soccer matches , he said , it is intended simply to insult the goalkeeper , not to call him gay . “ it seems to me that fifa is wrong in judging the shout as an insult to homosexuals , ” he said . “ it is indeed an insult , but it is not aimed at the gay community . i think unfortunately they are making a cause out of the shout all through a politically incorrect mistake . ” many gay advocates consider such reasoning nonsense . “ the whole point is that the choice of this word is absolutely linked to a negative , homophobic meaning , ” said enrique torre molina , a mexican who is campaign manager at all out , an international gay rights organization . “ ‘ puto’ is the word many gay men have been called in school or even by family members to mock us or put us down . ‘ puto’ is the word many gay men hear as they ’re being beaten , sometimes to death , in the daily homophobic crimes committed in latin america . ” ’ ” he added : “ what is kind of infuriating , especially after tragedies like the orlando shooting and any other homophobic crime that happens , is to read and hear people refusing to let it go after having so many gay men literally asking for them to drop it . if you have a group of people saying , ’hey , when you use this word , it hurts,’ why not drop it ? ” ” ’some fans are trying to do just that . sergio tristan , a and the founder of pancho villa ’s army , an austin , tex . fan club for the mexican team , said the group had tried to persuade the “ vocal minority ” backing the chant to drop it . tristan said that he had once chanted it too but that he had eventually acknowledged that it was offensive and not worth the penalties that have been or could be imposed on the team . he said the vitriol directed by american fans offended by the chat could actually backfire . “ they actually are making it worse , ” he said , pointing to the perceived louder volume of the chant at recent matches . “ it ’s a mexican problem that should be solved by mexican fans . ” he added : “ whether or not it is offensive , it really is a matter of perspective . we want to stop it because we are at the juncture where our team could suffer fines or lose points in our world cup spot . ”
+1 ‘ why is it the first time i ’m hearing about this?’ asks office wanker guest november 14 , 2016 ‘ communication within this company just infuriates me,’ said insufferable manager steven parker , after tweeting the same remark to his 3 online followers . ‘ the silo mentality is toxic and we need to break down organisational barriers so that fundamental knowledge is shared . this firm is a breeding ground for interdepartmental turf wars , and we must implement some basic cross - functional solutions’ . steven continued shouting quite loudly at every available opportunity about a matter of negligible significance – a chain email entitled : ‘ stationery cupboard low on blue pens’ . mr. parker runs his own family business and that his 2 support staff , wife jenny and daughter emma , completely despise him . jonessgl
+1 moveable feast cafe 2016/11/18 … open thread herb swanson leave a reply click here to get more info on formatting ( 1 ) leave the name field empty if you want to post as anonymous . it 's preferable that you choose a name so it becomes clear who said what . e - mail address is not mandatory either . the website automatically checks for spam . please refer to our moderation policies for more details . we check to make sure that no comment is mistakenly marked as spam . this takes time and effort , so please be patient until your comment appears . thanks . ( 2 ) 10 replies to a comment are the maximum . ( 3 ) here are formating examples which you can use in your writing:<b > bold text</b > results in bold text < i > italic text</i > results in italic text ( you can also combine two formating tags with each other , for example to get bold - italic text.)<em > emphasized text</em > results in emphasized text < strong > strong text</strong > results in strong text < q > a quote text</q > results in a quote text ( quotation marks are added automatically ) < cite > a phrase or a block of text that needs to be cited</cite > results in : a phrase or a block of text that needs to be cited < blockquote > a heavier version of quoting a block of text ... </blockquote > results in : a heavier version of quoting a block of text that can span several lines . use these possibilities appropriately . they are meant to help you create and follow the discussions in a better way . they can assist in grasping the content value of a comment more quickly . and last but not least:<a href=''http://link - address.com''>name of your link</a > results in name of your link ( 4 ) no need to use this special character in between paragraphs : ; you do not need it anymore . just write as you like and your paragraphs will be separated . the " live preview " appears automatically when you start typing below the text area and it will show you how your comment will look like before you send it . ( 5 ) if you now think that this is too confusing then just ignore the code above and write as you like . name :
+1 gay man finds it in himself to tolerate religious person nan gay man finds it in himself to tolerate religious person 01 - 11 - 16 a gay man has met a christian who appears civilised and could even be described as nice . tom booker met church - goer wayne hayes when he started working in his office , and has expressed his surprise that he ‘ really could n’t tell’ . booker said : “ we often end up in the kitchen at the same time to make a cup of tea , so we started exchanging pleasantries and worked up to longer conversations . “ he was always nice enough and talked about his family and allotment and stuff , so i presumed he was just a normal person . however , a few weeks later he mentioned something about believing in god . “ i was really shocked , but he seemed very cool about it . i asked if he thought it was just a phase and he said no , he ’d been feeling this way since he was about nine . “ i wanted to ask him what christians actually do in church , but i got worried that he might think i ’m secretly into it and try to recruit me . he has n’t mentioned it since . “ it ’s almost as if it ’s a perfectly acceptable way to live your life , which has really given me pause for thought . “ just because you expect someone to be a massively judgemental dickhead , it does n’t mean they will be . ” share :
+1 comment on guess what happened in chiraq this past weekend ? hint : they set another record by guess what happened in chiraq this past weekend ? hint : they set another record — fellowship of the minds | kommonsentsjane guess what happened in chiraq this past weekend ? hint : they set another record — fellowship of the minds | kommonsentsjane posted on november 1 , 2016 by dcg | 1 comment from abc news : at least 17 people were killed and over 40 injured in chicago ’s street violence over the weekend . two chicago newspapers that analyzed police data from friday afternoon to early monday called it 2016 ’s deadliest weekend . chicago police could n’t immediately confirm that , though a spokesman said their weekend homicide count from friday midnight through sunday was 18 . either way , the toll surpassed the chicago tribune and sun - times’ analysis of holiday weekends when violence typically spikes . the tribune reports six people were fatally shot over memorial day weekend , five over fourth of july , and 13 over labor day . the october weekend deaths included seven people under 20 years old . seventeen - year - old twin brothers were killed in a sunday drive - by . there ’s been a spike in street violence this year with over 600 homicides already . rahm “ murder mayor ” emanuel
+0 trump pal peter thiel running for governor of california ? assemblyman tim donnelly peter thiel , the silicon valley billionaire and unofficial trump tech advisor , may be considering a run for governor of california , according to three republicans close to him . [ worth an estimated $ 2 . 7 billion , thiel made his money by conventional wisdom . of paypal and an early investor in facebook , thiel has proven his contrarian mindset can lead an outlier to decisive victory in business and investing , but can it translate to politics ? according to politico , thiel “ has been discussing a prospective bid with a small circle of advisors , including rob morrow , who has emerged as his political consigliere . morrow has worked at clarium capital , the san investment management firm and hedge fund that thiel started . ” the entrepreneur may have to explain that he only intends to be governor of the most ungovernable state — not king of a new country . after all , just last week mr. thiel told maureen dowd of the new york times that california should secede from the union . maureen dowd : california should secede . peter thiel : confirm . i ’d be fine with that . i think it would be good for california , good for the rest of the country . it would help mr. trump ’s campaign . but that wo n’t be his biggest challenge . in order to win , thiel will have to take a page out of donald trump ’s playbook , and unite some widely disparate factions in california ’s “ jungle primary ” — where the top two candidates advance to the general election regardless of party . if he can win over some of the # calexit left who want to secede and also pull in some of those on the right who ’ve been pushing for an independent state of jefferson in the inland and counties , he might have a chance . both the republican and democrat parties have been shrinking in favor of the demographic that identifies as “ neither ” ( a. k. a. “ decline to state ” ) . that really puts california in play for the right candidate — with the right message . the question is : is peter thiel that candidate ? in the age of trump , how does he compare ? clearly , thiel will be attacked from the left for supporting mr. trump , and he ’ll be attacked from the right for supporting mr. newsom . how he addresses the most controversial issues — taxes , water rights , illegal immigration , entitlement reform and gun rights — will determine if thiel ’s to have any chance at all . yet the key to winning california is n’t being the smartest candidate , but the one who can put into words the angst and frustration and fears of some of the most oppressed people in the free world . and then lay out a vision to make california great again . tim donnelly is a former california state assemblyman — author , patriot not politician : win or go homeless — facebook : https : . facebook . . donnelly . — twitter : @patriotnotpol ,
+1 breaking : plot to kill trump in nevada exposed - please pray - world news politics nan november 12 , 2016 174 there was recently an attempt on trump ’s life in nevada , where the republican was immediately rushed off the stage by secret service agents on that strange saturday evening in reno , nevada . it was unclear at the time what caused the agents to act in that manner , but it immediately came clear . trump was peering into the crowd just before his speech was interrupted . we have the video from the moment of attack : clinton mafia want to stop him by any means ! if you agree , please share and comment below . be sure to share your thoughts in the comment section below to let us know what you think of this . also , share this article on facebook and twitter to spread the truth . people , this is just a reminder that even now , with trump as our president , he is the target of fanatical liberals or , maybe even democrats .
+0 g.m. job shift from mexico tests a trump premise - the new york times peter s. goodman in the realm of international trade , it is a truism seemingly as consistent as gravity : jobs and investment flow from north to south , while manufactured goods travel the other way around . factories in the united states and canada shutter as work shifts to mexico and central america , where human hands do it more cheaply . so the established order of trade was by all appearances turned upside down on tuesday , as general motors agreed to cease manufacturing an automobile engine at a factory in mexico while moving jobs to a plant in canada . one might reflexively assume that this turn effectively validates a central promise made repeatedly by donald j. trump , the republican presidential aspirant . loudly and frequently , mr. trump has vowed to yank jobs back to america from mexico , using shame , executive fiat and his uniquely trumpian form of threats to make it happen . here was apparent proof that such a goal was doable . except life turns out to be more complicated than that . the general motors deal does indeed signal that work can today wind up transferred seemingly anywhere — never mind the pathway of north to south . in an era of increasingly sophisticated manufacturing that relies more on computers and robotics than hands , centers of innovation like canada and the united states will exert a greater pull than before . this plays well to mr. trump ’s premise that a robust era of american job growth awaits , if only the nation selects a president with the audacity to set aside the niceties of trade agreements and begin acting like a superpower , dictating the terms of commerce . and it speaks to one group of voters that has embraced him — dispossessed factory workers prone to blaming globalization for lost jobs , declining wages and financial anxiety . but consider this deal more of a caveat added to the dominant narrative than some revolutionary twist to the story of globalization . “ you can bring some jobs back , but they will likely be more of a drip than a big flow , ” said jared bernstein , a former white house economic adviser in the obama administration , and now a senior fellow at the center on budget and policy priorities in washington . “ trump has a very nostalgic view of globalization , circa 1950 . ” “ broadly speaking , the trends that have hurt communities here in terms of trade and trade deficits are very much ongoing , and if that gets turned around , it ’s not going to be about bringing all the old jobs back , ” he said . “ it ’s going to be about forging new sectors like advanced manufacturing . ” which is to say , sectors where a handful of highly skilled people with degrees and technical prowess earn a good deal of money . and workers — the ones who lost jobs to china and mexico and are now embracing mr. trump — continue to be left behind . far from representing a reversal of course , the g. m. deal then underscores how multinationals are their approach to making things . they are increasingly differentiating between more manufacturing — tasks like stitching bluejeans and snapping together cellphone cases — and more advanced , pursuits that rely on automation and software . given that products fetch a higher price , it is presumably worth paying a premium to the limited numbers of humans involved in their creation — and especially since this buys proximity to the minds that dream up lucrative new visions . the canadian plant getting the jobs sits near waterloo , the birthplace of the blackberry , which is something like canada ’s silicon valley . the union in canada won something — jobs retrieved from mexico . but it also relented on a major objective sought by g. m. : workers gave up the fight to retain pensions that pay out fixed amounts . they accepted newfangled plans that see benefits fluctuate with the markets . far from proof that canadian workers have somehow recaptured the upper hand in jockeying for the spoils of globalization , this deal is just the latest evidence that companies have effectively used international factories to permanently tilt the power dynamics in their favor . for decades , global automakers have been on the march for lower costs . in the united states , they shifted factories from union strongholds like michigan and wisconsin to southern states like south carolina and alabama , where union ranks were weak and local rules limited labor organizing . then , they kept moving south , to mexico , exploiting a series of trade deals — not least the north american free trade agreement . a quarter century ago , the presidential candidate , ross perot , spoke of a “ giant sucking sound ” in warning that factory work was being vacuumed up by mexico , with american communities abandoned . for workers in canada and mexico , the impacts were evident . they had to satisfy the demands of auto manufacturers locked in an increasingly global competition . they had to make concessions . otherwise , the car companies could employ their demonstrated power to leave them behind , moving the work to places where labor was cheaper and more pliable . the g. m. deal affirms this reality . labor paid a price for gaining jobs in canada — downgraded retirement . above all , the deal underscores the potency of markets in shaping what happens in commercial life , a force far more powerful than demagogues making dubious promises about tearing up trade deals . canada ’s unions are relatively strong , and the nation ’s currency is relatively weak , making goods cheaper in the global marketplace . g. m. was willing to pay for access to highly skilled working hands , provided it got a break on its pension contributions . these factors coalesced into a negotiated result . the jobs did not come back to canada because of the sort of edict mr. trump has promised to unleash , somehow compelling global companies to stop making things in mexico and resume making them in the united states . “ the central trump fallacy here is that the president can tell multinational companies what to do , ” said mr. bernstein , the former obama administration economic adviser . “ that ’s completely wrong , i ’ve seen that firsthand . president obama was constantly exhorting companies to create more jobs , and they ’ll only do so if they want to , ” he added . “ simply calling multinational c. e. o.s from the oval office and yelling at them is n’t going to do anything . ” if mr. trump really did seek to dictate to general motors ( or any company ) where it can make its wares , that would risk undermining the company ’s competitiveness . if , under threat of political action , a company had to buy steel from an american producer instead of china , that could make its cars more expensive than competing models from honda or hyundai . if they had to use american workers for final assembly instead of mexicans , that could damage their business and undercut sales for many suppliers , from glassmakers in ohio to auto parts manufacturers in indiana . “ then , ” said chad p. bown , a senior fellow at the peterson institute for international economics in washington , “ those jobs that came back from mexico are n’t going to be any jobs at all . ”
+1 false flag attack coming in syria as americans sleepwalk into world war iii - isaac davis nan originally appeared at waking times americans are sleepwalking into world war iii , and as events in syria are shaping up it could come any moment as the biggest october surprise ever . at this stage in the conflict , we are one minor event away from all out war between the world ’s major super powers , an event which would most certainly result in nuclear war . all that is needed is for the right type of false flag event to serve as provocation . “ in naval warfare , a “ false flag ” refers to an attack where a vessel flies a flag other than their true battle flag before engaging their enemy . it is a trick , designed to deceive the enemy about the true nature and origin of an attack . ” [ source ] as the world pretends to be ruled by democratically elected governments , and as the world ’s people feign freedom under an ever - expanding surveillance , police and warfare state , some semblance of pretext is needed in order to manufacture sufficient consent for the oligarchy ’s standing plans of forcing us into expansion of the orwellian permanent war . a brief look at how this tactic has historically been used helps to predict what is certainly forthcoming in syria , as paraphrased from james corbett of the corbett report . 1780 ’s – the swedish - russian war of 1788 - 1790 began when swedish troops were intentionally dressed up as russian troops then sent to attack their own border with finland , effectively tricking the public into believing russia had attacked , thereby kicking off a war will killed thousands . 1931 – the japanese army deliberately destroyed a portion of a japanese owned railway , then blamed it on chinese dissidents to justify the military occupation of manchuria . 1939 – nazi war engineers dressed up polish prisoners in polish military uniforms and directed them to attack a german radio station . they prisoners were shot dead and their bodies left on the scene as evidence of polish aggression , leading to hitler ’s invasion of poland , signifying the official start of world war ii . 1954 – operation susannah was an israeli effort to convince the british military to continue their military presence in the suez canal , in support of israeli interests . egyptian patsies were hired to detonate bombs in american and british civilian targets , then blamed on the muslim brotherhood . 1962 –“in 1962 the us joint chiefs of staff authored a document called operation northwoods calling for the us government to stage a series of fake attacks , including the shooting down of military or civilian us aircraft , the destruction of a us ship , sniper attacks in washington , and other atrocities , to blame on the cubans as an excuse for launching an invasion . president kennedy refused to sign off on the plan and was killed in dallas the next year . ” [ source ] 1964 – a u.s. destroyer patrolling the gulf of tonkin was attacked by torpedoes , ostensibly by the north vietnamese , thereby causing president johnson the authorization of the gulf of tonkin resolution , thus beginning u.s. military involvement in vietnam . it is now known that no attack actually occurred and that the nsa was involved in fabricating this event . 1967 –“in june 1967 the israelis attacked the uss liberty , a us navy technical research ship , off the coast of egypt . the ship was strafed relentlessly for hours in an apparent attempt to blame the attack on egypt and draw the americans into the six day war , but amazingly the crew managed to keep it afloat . in 2007 newly released nsa intercepts confirmed that the israelis knew they were attacking an american ship , not an egyptian ship as their cover story has maintained . ” [ source ] 1999 – a series of devastating bombings on civilian apartment buildings in russia were blamed on chechen terrorists , although russian fsb agents were later caught using the exact same type of bombs in what was publicly called a security exercise . 2001 – the 9/11 attacks in new york and washington were blamed on 19 al qaeda terrorists and immediately used the pretext for beginning the global war on terror , of which the political doctrine for this was already in place and in play . 15 years later , information about the true nature of the attacks is still surfacing , proving that the 9/11 commission was a whitewash to help catalyze public support still ongoing wars which were planned prior to 9/11 . “ further , the process of transformation [ of the military ] , even if it brings revolutionary change , is likely to be a long one , absent some catastrophic and catalyzing event––like a new pearl harbor . ” – [ source ] furthermore , other examples of historical significance demonstrate how minor or ambiguous events are seized on and deliberately used as propaganda to achieve the greater objective of drawing nations into war . 1915 – the sinking of the british ocean liner the lusitania off the coast of ireland , which was carrying tons of war materials from america , was blamed on german u - boats , leading to a severe diplomatic row which brought the united states into world war i. speculation remains as to what exactly happened to the lusitania , however , the official explanation is highly suspicious , and the event was used to achieve the objectives of war financiers to broaden the conflict . 1933 – a german parliamentary building in the reichstag was set ablaze one month after hitler ’s election to the office of chancellor . it is believed that three bulgarian communists were to blame , however this is contentious among historians . the event was heavily propagandized by the nazi party to galvanize support for war . one can also include in this list an ever - growing growing handful of european and american domestic terror attacks such as the london bombings of 2005 , and the bataclan theatre massacre of paris in 2015 . to further expand on the historical precedent of using false flag attacks to propel agendas of state aggression , many instances of assassination and military intervention into the politics of sovereign nations around the world in order create consent for militarism could be included . final thoughts as the u.s. continues to aid and support isis , al - nusra and other terrorist organizations in its ploy to overthrow the assad government for the primary benefit of israel , a false flag event signaling the beginning of a direct confrontation with russia could come at any time . at present it looks as though the most likely scenario would be something along the lines of the uss liberty attack , which would involve the deliberate targeting of our own forces while creating the perception of a russian attack on u.s. or nato components . the situation in syria is ripe for exactly this kind of covert , subversive tactic . there is historical precedence to suggest that a syrian false flag event is imminent , therefore people the world over must prepare to resist and to survive this . did you enjoy this article ? - consider helping us ! russia insider depends on your donations : the more you give , the more we can do . $ 1 $ 10 other amount if you wish you make a tax - deductible contribution of $ 1,000 or more , please visit our support page for instructions click here for our commenting guidelines on fire
+1 putin - obama trust evaporates ray mcgovern share this how did the " growing trust " that russian president vladimir putin once said marked his " working and personal relationship with president obama " change into today ’s deep distrust and saber - rattling ? their relationship reached its zenith after mr. putin persuaded syria to give up its chemical weapons for verified destruction , enabling mr. obama at the last minute to call off , with some grace , plans to attack syria in late summer 2013 . but at an international conference in the russian black sea resort of sochi last week , mr. putin spoke of the " feverish " state of international relations and lamented : " my personal agreements with the president of the united states have not produced results . " he complained about " people in washington ready to do everything possible to prevent these agreements from being implemented in practice " and , referring to syria , decried the lack of a " common front against terrorism after such lengthy negotiations , enormous effort , and difficult compromises . " a month earlier , russian foreign minister sergey lavrov , who chooses his words carefully , told russian tv viewers , " my good friend john kerry … is under fierce criticism from the u.s. military machine . despite [ mr. kerry ’s ] assurances that the us commander in chief , president barack obama , supported him in his contacts with russia ( he confirmed that during his meeting with president vladimir putin ) apparently the military does not really listen to the commander in chief . " do not chalk this up to paranoia . the u.s .- led coalition air strikes on known syrian army positions killing scores of troops just five days into the september cease - fire – not to mention statements at the time by the most senior us generals – were evidence enough to convince the russians that the pentagon was intent on scuttling meaningful cooperation with russia . relations between the us and russian presidents have now reached a nadir , and mr. putin has ordered his own defense ministry to throw down the gauntlet . on oct. 6 , ministry spokesman maj . gen. igor konashenkov said russia is prepared to shoot down unidentified aircraft – including any stealth aircraft – over syria , and warned ominously that russian air defense will not have time to identify the origin of the aircraft . it seems possible that the us air force will challenge that claim in due course – perhaps even without seeking prior permission from the white house . last week , national intelligence director and former air force general james clapper commented offhandedly , " i would n’t put it past them to shoot down an american aircraft … if they felt it was threatening their forces on the ground . " injecting additional volatility into the equation , major news outlets are playing down or ignoring russia ’s warnings . thus , americans who depend on the corporate media can be expected to be suitably shocked by what that same media will no doubt cast as naked aggression out of the blue if russian air defenses down a us or coalition aircraft . meanwhile in europe , as nato defense ministers met in brussels on wednesday , defense secretary ashton carter told reporters the us is contributing " a persistent rotational armored brigade combat team " as a " major sign of the us commitment to strengthening deterrence here . " " this was a decision made by the alliance leaders in warsaw , " he explained , referring to nato ’s july summit meeting in the polish capital . " the united states will lead a battalion in poland and deploy an entire battle - ready battalion task force of approximately 900 soldiers from the 2nd cavalry regiment , which is based in germany . " on thursday , at the valdai conference in the russian black sea resort of sochi , president putin accused the west of promoting the " myth " of a " russian military threat , " calling this a " profitable business that can be used to pump new money into defense budgets … expand nato and bring its infrastructure , military units , and arms closer to our borders . " myth or not , german foreign minister frank - walter steinmeier was correct to point out last spring that military posturing on russia ’s borders will bring less regional security . mr. steinmeier warned against " saber - rattling , " adding that , " we are well advised not to create pretexts to renew an old confrontation . " speaking of such pretexts , it is high time to acknowledge that the marked increase in east - west tensions over the past two and a half years originally stemmed from the western - sponsored coup d’état in kiev on feb. 22 , 2014 , and russia ’s reaction in annexing crimea . americans malnourished on the diet served up by " mainstream " media are blissfully unaware that two weeks before the coup , youtube published a recording of an intercepted conversation between us assistant secretary of state victoria nuland and the us ambassador in kiev , during which " yats " ( for arseniy yatsenyuk ) was identified as washington ’s choice to become the new prime minister of the coup government in kiev . this unique set of circumstances prompted george friedman , president of the think - tank stratfor , to label the putsch in kiev on feb. 22 , 2014 , " really the most blatant coup in history . " it ’s time for western politicians and media to learn their lesson and pay attention to the statements coming out of russia . ask yourselves : why all this hype now ? ray mcgovern , like sam adams , began a career as a cia analyst under president kennedy ; working on vietnam , they became close associates . sam was too straight - arrow to go to the media about the unconscionable fraud regarding the number of communist forces . ray knew that and rationalized not doing so himself . so , while a close associate of sam adams years ago , ray fell short of the standard set by the above awardees , who deserved to be honored by sam adams associates for integrity in intelligence . reprinted with the author ’s permission from the baltimore sun . read more by ray mcgovern
+1 texas officer shot dead outside police hq edjenner on sunday morning , a san antonio police officer was killed after being shot twice in the head by an armed suspect who fled the scene shortly after the attack . comment on this article via your facebook account comment on this article via your disqus account follow us on facebook !
+1 ‘ arab spring’ and the washington - brussels - riyadh axis the saker be the first to comment ! search articles
+0 mark cuban : trump is ’political chemotherapy’ for the system - breitbart pam key friday on cnn ’s “ new day , ” billionaire businessman and “ shark tank ” star mark cuban said president donald trump was “ political chemotherapy ” for what the system . cuban said , “ you have to ask why do they support him and i think we ’re coming to a greater understanding now . i call it political chemotherapy . one of my friends , who i always thought was really smart , i ’m not saying he ’s dumb , but had a different viewpoint on why he voted for trump . i did n’t expect him to vote for him . he said ‘ mark , i ’ve voted for politicians my entire life.’ he ���s in his 50s . ‘ do you know what the definition of insanity is ? doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results . so i voted for donald trump . is he poisonous in a lot of respects ? yeah , this is out chemotherapy . we hope he ’s going to change the political system.’ and if that ’s the way you ’re evaluating donald trump , he ’s doing a phenomenal job . ” follow pam key on twitter @pamkeynen
+0 breitbart news daily : ryancare on ice - breitbart breitbart news on the friday edition of breitbart news daily , broadcast live on siriusxm patriot channel 125 from 6am to 9am eastern , breitbart alex marlow will continue our discussion of president trump ’s first 100 days . [ rep. mo brooks ( ) will discuss the latest developments regarding house speaker paul ryan ’s obamacare replacement bill , which is coming under intense criticism from all quarters and has been dubbed “ ryancare , ” “ ” and “ ” by critics . the bill was expect to face a house vote on thursday , but was pulled at the last minute due to a lack of votes . we ’ll also hear from daniel kawczynski , british conservative party politician and member of parliament , about wednesday ’s terror attack in london . bestselling military historian patrick k. o’donnell , the author of the book washington ’s immortals : the untold story of an elite regiment who changed the course of the revolution , will discuss his latest breitbart column about the battle of kings mountain . live from london , rome , and jerusalem , breitbart correspondents will provide updates on the latest international news . breitbart news daily is the first live , conservative radio enterprise to air seven days a week . siriusxm vice president for news and talk dave gorab called the show “ the conservative news show of record . ” follow breitbart news on twitter for live updates during the show . listeners may call into the show at : .
+0 renegotiate nafta ? mexicans say get on with it - the new york times azam ahmed mexico city — for more than two decades , free trade has been at the heart of mexico ’s relationship with america , responsible for pumping a stream of vehicles , audio components and avocados north and cheap corn , cattle and software south . to the nation ’s leaders , it was central , vital , nonnegotiable . at least until president trump came along , promising to upend nearly $ 500 billion in annual trade between the two countries if it could not be more in america ’s favor . now , the mexico ’s leaders have a new priority : urging their american counterparts to hurry up and get on with it . while free trade has long been an article of faith in mexico , uncertainty over the fate of the north american free trade agreement is hitting the country hard . there has been an abrupt slowdown in foreign investment , pinching off capital as investors wait to see how things shake out . last year , such investment fell by 6 percent , a prelude to what analysts have predicted will be a 21 percent drop in 2017 . add to that a fluttering peso , lowered growth expectations , rising interest rates and looming political headwinds , and the urgency becomes clear . mexico , and its investors , need certainty . for the moment , the americans are not giving it to them , and do n’t seem in a rush to do so . this month , commerce secretary wilbur l. ross said it would be later in the year before real talks even started — after a mandatory consultation period with congress , which has yet to start . the delay has irked the mexicans , who did n’t want to renegotiate the pact in the first place . “ from the trump and american perspective , this is purely an optional problem , ” said michael camuñez , the president of manattjones global strategies and an assistant secretary of commerce in the obama administration . “ they have taken one of the most productive trade relationships in the world and amazingly have turned it into a problem . ” driving the pressure is an especially delicate political environment in mexico . president enrique peña nieto ’s approval ratings are near single digits , and further delays in clarifying the future of nafta could imperil not only growth , but also employment at a time when the government can least afford to lose support . adding to the uncertainty are midterm elections in the state of mexico , the country ’s most populous , from which the president hails . the state , a longtime center of power for mr. peña nieto and his party , will hold elections on june 4 , and it is far from clear that his party will win . a loss would be a devastating blow to the party , which has never lost there before , and would spell trouble in the 2018 presidential elections . which presents yet another paradox : the longer the americans wait on nafta negotiations , the more political pressure it places on mr. peña nieto , reducing the flexibility he has to accommodate demands , or surprises , from mr. trump ’s team . for instance , if job losses begin to mount within the next six months , as some economists predict , the public pressure on the president may be so immense he could have a much harder time selling a revised agreement to congress and mexicans at large . “ the longer we wait , the harder it is going to be for trump to get what he wants because the nationalist pressure on peña nieto will be cumulative , ” said pamela starr , an associate professor of international relations at the university of southern california . “ the longer he is in the presidency , from today forward , the more of a lame duck he is . ” all of this means that the leverage mr. trump is looking for could start to diminish . already , the mexican government has grown more stridently critical of the trump administration ’s stance on nafta . the mexican economic minister has said the nation will walk away from any deal that does not suit the country ’s needs , and even proffered a list of : any sort of discussion of paying for a border wall , taxing remittances or carrying out a border adjustment tax . at the same time , there is a growing awareness that dealing with nafta , a campaign priority for mr. trump , has suddenly taken a back seat to more pressing battles . and mexicans have taken note . “ it is clear that trump ’s priority right now in terms of his agenda is to try to pass trumpcare , and we know how long that takes , ” said carlos elizondo , a professor at the school of government at the monterrey institute of technology and higher education . “ the outcome of that debate and process in the u. s. congress will undoubtedly affect every other item on his list , including , of course , nafta . ” that could be a saving grace . those reading the tea leaves of an eventual negotiation are hopeful that with mr. trump distracted , administration officials , including mr. ross , secretary of state rex w. tillerson and others will take control of the talks . both men have run global businesses in complex industries , and many here hope that will give them a more nuanced view of trade . an evolving belief in the realm of business people , academics and even officials is that members of mr. trump ’s cabinet will understand the importance of nafta , and move to preserve and expand it — not tear it apart . “ when you know the kind of value chain that we have , you understand that it is a very difficult world to destroy , almost impossible , ” said juan pablo del valle perochena , the chief executive of mexichem , a mexican chemical and building materials manufacturer . “ there is so much at stake , of course , more for mexico than the u. s. but there is a lot of value already in place . and when people understand that , they do n’t worry so much . ” still , the uncertainty has had a clear impact on the mexican economy . the peso dropped by percentages after mr. trump ’s election , forcing the central bank of mexico to raise interest rates in february to an high to anchor inflation and bolster the currency , which has since rebounded . expecting further pressure from the tense relationship with the united states , economists from an array of institutions have revised downward the expected 2017 growth for mexico . bancomer , a mexican bank , for instance , revised its growth expectations for the mexican economy to 1 . 0 percent for the year . delays that might bleed into 2018 will place negotiations in the middle of a presidential election year in mexico . indeed , some analysts suggest that mr. peña nieto could kick the decision to his successor if negotiations go on too long . that , according to some , could be disastrous for those hoping to preserve nafta . the leading candidate , for now , is andrés manuel lópez obrador , a populist whose candidacy has been given a major boost by the election of mr. trump . mr. lópez obrador , a candidate who nearly won the election in 2006 , has promised to end a relationship of “ subordination ” to the united states , while focusing on domestic issues . it is unlikely that mr. lópez obrador will take as conciliatory a line in negotiations as the current administration . “ the temptation to simply delay the negotiation until it becomes the next president ’s problem is real , ” mr. elizondo said .
+0 milan fashion week , day 2 : it will be frenzied - the new york times elizabeth paton good morning , milan . proceedings kick off early on thursday , even if you partied until the wee hours with fergie after her set at philipp plein last night ( as we did ) . there are no excuses not to be on time , people . it ’s only day 2 , and as we ’ve said , fashion month is a marathon , not a sprint . here ’s what ’s on today : • at 9:30 , after a quick espresso , the day starts with maxmara , the label few others can touch when it comes to the cut of an overcoat . the company has hired the model gigi hadid to be the face of its accessories campaigns , and ms. hadid will be hosting a cocktail party at the corso vittorio emanuele store tonight . expect a scrum to get in . • fendi is likely to put on yet another karl lagerfeld exercise in refined grandeur . ( cameos from the fendirumi , the furry versions of the label ’s $ 1 , 500 bag bugs , are now standard . ) the industry is still buzzing about the spectacular fendi couture show in rome in july , with a glass catwalk across the trevi fountain to celebrate its 90th anniversary . • once a predictable riot of color and print beloved by the jet set for their summer vacation wardrobes , pucci is only somewhat less splashy under the direction of massimo giorgetti , its young and energetic creative director , now entering his third season . the last show took the label off the beach and into the realm of stretchy daywear inspired by st. moritz . who knows what path it may take next . • with twilight ( and a negroni and antipasti beforehand ) comes prada , one of the biggest and most creative names on the milanese calendar . its last tour de force collection was a highlight of the season . commercially , the company has not fared as well it said in april that 2016 would be “ a turning point , ” after announcing its lowest profits in five years . all eyes will be on mrs. prada to see what magic she can produce . arrive early to take a spin around the art collections at the nearby fondazione prada . • last but not least , moschino rounds off the first full day . an unapologetic maximalist , the creative director jeremy scott makes the hectic rounds between los angeles ( where he lives ) milan ( where he shows his collection for moschino ) and new york ( where he shows his namesake collection ) . expect a kitschy set , voguing models and a million posts on instagram : the label ’s fans ca n’t seem to get enough . and in case you missed it : gucci ’s sequined , studded , spangled saga . our reviewer weighs in . how to get gucci ’s dreamlike beauty look italian brands expect some ‘ brexit’ benefits
+1 smart meter case testimony before the pennsylvania public utility commission : what no one wants to acknowledge about emf damage activist post by catherine j. frompovich part 1 of 4 the following is the testimony i will present pro se [ without a lawyer representing me ] to the pennsylvania public utility commission ’s administrative law court , november 2 and 3 , 2016 as a result of my not permitting an ami smart meter to be retrofitted on to my electric service by peco , an exelon company that provides electricity and service to the suburban philadelphia where i live . this testimony addresses most of the health , legal , and constitutional issues , plus the politics involved regarding the unsafe and rf / emf cancer - causing technology forced on consumers , along with threats of no electric service if utility customers refuse an ami smart meter . there are four parts to the entire testimony that was 18 pages long plus 195 pages of exhibits a-1 thru w , and other documentation i had in my brief case ( not presented but as backup , if needed ) that totaled in excess of three to four hundred pages of scientific documentation , published research , etc . personally , i think after reading the entire testimony , which will appear in four parts , readers can understand what ’s involved with unsafe , fire - prone , and rf / emf / dirty electricity - producing ami smart meters when for decades utilities provided safe , non - plastic parts analog meters . before the administrative law court at the pa public utility commission philadelphia , pa – november 2 & 3 , 2016 your honor , judge heep and judge pell , members of the pa puc , peco energy company , the exelon legal team , and all interested parties : since today is the rescheduled postponed june 27 , 2016 hearing and for which i , catherine j frompovich , submitted written testimony five days in advance of that previous hearing as per court rules , i have decided to revise and include additional testimony interspersed into the previous 75 pages ( 10 pages of testimony and 65 pages of exhibits a thru q ) that i submitted via the u.s. postal service and which all parties received , i presume . however , in view of the paramount importance , plus dire consequences , of emfs / rfs being forced onto pennsylvania consumers with no opt - out for personal safety and protection from 24/7/365 non - ionizing radiation emitted by ami smart meters microwave technology , and my being a five - year breast cancer survivor , i submit into testimony and evidence that the pa puc and all participating pennsylvania utilities , not just peco as in my case , must factor in the american with disabilities act amendments , which redefine cancer as a disability , especially since there are cancer - causing effects from emfs / rfs about which i submit into the record hundreds of documented scientific evidence as dozens of exhibits per the schedule of exhibits i now introduce , plus printed documents i have with me in support of the four - page bibliography of pertinent published literature regarding electromagnetic radiation , cancer & ami smart meters that i also submit into the record as exhibit s . since the ada amendments act provides for three “ prongs ” of what constitutes a disability , i am submitting into evidence a printout titled “ americans with disability act amendments act ( adaaa ) ” pointing out appropriate and applicable sections exhibit a-1 ; a two - page printout titled “ ada amendments redefine cancer as a disability ” exhibit a-2 ; along with a 43-page dossier containing about 240 published studies regarding breast and other cancers and emf / elf / rf cancer studies exhibit a-3 ; and topping off those documents with a two - page letter dated 2 august 2016 from the foremost emf / rf researchers , physicians and academics in the world written to the north carolina utilities commission exhibit a-4 wherein in the third paragraph they state : smart meters and cell phones occupy similar frequency bands of the electromagnetic spectrum , meaning that cell phone research can apply to smart meter rfr . smart meter rfr consists of frequent , very intense but very brief pulses throughout the day . because smart meter exposure over a 24 hour period can be very prolonged ( pulses can average 9,600 times a day ) , and because there is building evidence that the sharp , high intensity pulses are particularly harmful , the cell phone study findings are applicable when discussing adverse health impacts from smart meters . those five researchers , david carpenter , md , director , institute for health and the environment , university of albany dr lennart hardell , md , phd , professor , department of oncology , university hospital orebro , sweden dr magda havas , bsc , phd , environmental & resources studies . trent university , canada dr martha herbert , md , phd , assistant professor of neurology , harvard medical school , pediatric neurologist and neuroscientist at the massachusetts general hospital , boston dr sam milham , md , mph , former chief epidemiologist , washington state department of health point out in the last sentence of the first paragraph , “ … it is imperative that the north carolina utilities commission be fully aware of the harm that rfr can cause and allow utility customers to opt out of smart meter installation with no penalty . ” frompovich respectfully points out , and also cautions the pa puc , that in not permitting opt outs from ami smart meters in pennsylvania during formulating its ami sm regulations , since hb2200 stated ami sms were not to be mandated , it has breached ethical and legal standards regarding unsafe ami sms regarding the rfrs they emit . various states have permitted safe electric power usage by granting and implementing ami sms opt outs , which the pa puc deliberately refused in formulating its utility regulations regarding ami sms thereby subjecting consumers to unknown adverse health effects which , in essence , violate the nuremberg code since consumers’ consent was not required nor asked , and their use apparently amounts to an experiment on peco ’s customers . again , frompovich points to the letter addressed to the ncuc exhibit a-4 at the end of the second paragraph wherein those researchers cite the u.s. ntp june 2016 study conclusion in part stating “ … adds proof to the conclusions from the human health studies that radiofrequency radiation increases risk of cancer . ” frompovich further elaborates that cell phone rfr exposure is elective , i.e. , depending upon personal choice , use , and an individual ’s ability to turn off cell phones , thereby reducing and/or avoiding similar frequency microwave bands and rfrs exposures both cell phones and ami sms produce . however , harmful personal bodily rfr exposure has been mandated by pa puc regulations — not hb2200/act 129 ( 2008 ) and , therefore , is absolutely illegal , since act 129 does not defy nor negate the pennsylvania state constitution ’s “ inherent rights of mankind , section 1 ” , but it ’s the commonwealth ’s regulatory agency — the pa puc — that is guilty of nonfulfillment , i allege : all men [ and women ] are born equally free and independent , and have certain inherent and indefeasible rights , among which are those of enjoying and defending life and liberty , of acquiring , possessing and protecting property and reputation , and of pursuing their own happiness . … pennsylvania constitution , section 1 . however , contrary to that pennsylvania constitutional right is the fact that mandated ami smart meter rfr exposure , because of no opt outs in pennsylvania specifically via pa puc regulations not act 129 , literally provides no way to escape and/or avoid ami sms microwave rfrs . that is illegal and should be prosecuted criminally , frompovich contends . furthermore , the pa puc overstepped its agency powers and , frompovich contends , is guilty of committing ultra vires during its rulemaking process . the above five researchers exhibit a-4 delineate cell phone and smart meters as basically the same “ animal ” because both occupy similar frequency bands on the electromagnetic spectrum ! see paragraph 3 of their letter to the ncuc for more detail , including that smart meters over a 24-hour period can average 9,600 pulses a day causing high intensity pulses known as “ dirty electricity . ” i submit into the record exhibit a-5 dirty electricity or dirty power and the 10-page report “ why are electromagnetic fields dangerous ? – is dirty electricity making you sick ? ” including 2 charts [ table 1 ranking electric meters and table 2 ranking electric meters for risk of privacy and cyber security ] from the 20-page report “ ranking electricity meters for risk to health , privacy , and cyber security , ” available online at https://www.scribd.com/doc/289782183/ranking-electricity-meters-for-risk-to-health-privacy-and-cyber-security . the key dispute and multi - faceted issue of concern in frompovich ’s case – being a breast cancer survivor in excess of five years – is her free and legal exercise of legal and constitutional rights to be free of the fear , exposure to cancer - causing emfs , and/or actuality of contracting cancer due to ami sm rfr exposures 24/7/365 in her home — something that the ada amendments act indisputably encompass , since once a cancer patient that makes frompovich covered within one of the adaaa prongs for all time , and also includes frompovich ’s indefeasible right to protect property— both her home and her personal body and its life processes —including her reputation . that federal adaaa must be factored into frompovich ’s case since peco has obtained federal grant monies to implement its ami smart meters rollout , and the law states that any business that accepts federal grant money is mandated to abide by the adaaa , including state regulatory agencies like the pa puc . frompovich ’s refusal of an ami sm , plus her human and innate right to protect her health , body and property , are more than confirmed when those five researchers point out “ … the strongest evidence for hazards coming from rfr is cancer , there is a growing body of evidence that some people develop a condition called electrohypersensitivity ( ehs ) . ” see paragraph 4 of the letter to ncuc exhibit a-4 . on page 2 , paragraph 1 of that same letter , the researchers further point out a dichotomy in science , which is the very fact that independent research versus industry research studies are at coincidental , if not predictable , variances , as per the chart i raise up and submit into the record , a double - sided poster “ radiofrequency research : does funding matter , ” which shows two pie charts depicting those conflicting statistics . non - industry studies indicate 70 % harmful effects with 30 % no effects , while industry studies indicate 32 % harmful effects with 68 % no effects ! statistically , that ’s almost a wash , as each just about cancels the other , however , there ’s a slight edge of 2 % from non - industry studies indicating harmful effects . more interestingly , though , is that industry studies did find 32 % harmful effects studies — almost one - third of the studies and , yet , the industry concludes differently stating there are none ! that alone should be a red flag for them , or anyone of scientific mind , to investigate further and they did not , which indicates some sort of collusion of not wanting to know or find out . is that a crime of omission or collusion ? paragraph 2 on page 2 of that letter exhibit a-4 cites the obvious crux of scientific and ethical issues regarding ami smart meters in pennsylvania , in particular , stating “ with a leading [ nc ] dhhs staff member admitting that he is not qualified to review the literature , and the fact that he relied on industry representatives for assistance , the dhhs conclusion is not surprising . ” frompovich feels compelled to question how much of that microwave technology industry representative assistance occurred , and still occurs , with and from peco and the pa puc , thereby illegally depriving frompovich and all pennsylvanians of their rights to protect their health and property , along with the exercise of redress against what amounts to experimental ami smart meter science whose proponents wantonly do not recognize non - thermal adverse health effects from rfrs , which have been known since 1932 ! i introduce exhibit t electrosensitivity ( es ) and electromagnetic hyper - sensitivity ( ehs ) into the record to document that in 1962 , 1979 , 2009 and 2015 various health issues have been identified with emf non - thermal exposures . your honors , i respectfully ask the court to instruct peco to produce the experimental studies , rather than epidemiological studies , indicating no non - thermal effects from emfs / rfs . where ’s the science ? are n’t peco ’s customers entitled to have that evidence ? frompovich also feels compelled to ask this court the following : how much influence did the microwave industry contribute to pa state representative robert godshall ’s campaign coffers and/or his preferred charities that apparently has enabled godshall , as chair of the pa house consumer affairs committee , to sit on opt out bills in the pa legislature for several legislative sessions , including godshall ’s verbal proclamations to others that he will never bring opt out bills to the floor for a vote , which obviously is an impeachable offence for depriving pennsylvanians of their right to redress government and government agency oppressions that enable utility companies to harass and bully customers about cutting off electric service if they refuse fire - prone ami sms in pennsylvania . here ’s what other u.s. states have done regarding ami smart meters : analog meters are definitively offered as the opt - out meter in four states : arizona , california , maine , and texas . the nevada public service commission urges the utilities to provide the meter that will have the “ greatest customer acceptance , ” which , clearly , is the analog . three states offer the “ existing meter ” as the opt - out meter . an existing meter might or might not be analog . georgia , hawaii , and consumers energy in michigan . three states let the utility decide : florida , maryland , and nevada . the nevada public service commission urges the utilities to provide the meter that will have the “ greatest customer acceptance , ” which , clearly , is the analog . four states or utilities definitively forbid analog opt - outs : fountain in colorado , dte in michigan , central hudson valley in new york ( amr ) , and port angeles in washington ( touted as the first place to ban smart meters — not much help you are required to have a digital meter on your home ! ) . two states / districts require smart meters : pennsylvania and washington , dc . source : http://www.smartmetereducationnetwork.com/optout-status-other-states.php continued in part 2 . catherine j frompovich ( website ) is a retired natural nutritionist who earned advanced degrees in nutrition and holistic health sciences , certification in orthomolecular theory and practice plus paralegal studies . her work has been published in national and airline magazines since the early 1980s . catherine authored numerous books on health issues along with co - authoring papers and monographs with physicians , nurses , and holistic healthcare professionals . she has been a consumer healthcare researcher 35 years and counting .
+0 review : ‘ no knives in the kitchens of this city’ describes a syrian hell - the new york times jennifer senior aleppo has essentially fallen . the images have been unignorable , calamitous : of residents wandering numbly through burning city streets of parents sobbing over dead children of the strong wheeling away the weak . on tuesday , a united nations official described the massacre of fleeing civilians as “ a complete meltdown of humanity . ” residents have been tweeting out their goodbyes . tens of thousands have already been displaced or perished . a metropolis of wealth , power and culture is now in ruins . khaled khalifa writes about his native city with sensuality and an almost feral intensity in his new novel , “ no knives in the kitchens of this city . ” the book focuses on just one family , and it stops several years short of the syrian civil war . but it offers a glimpse into how terrified and empty of hope the people of a city must be to rise up in revolt . the future offers them nothing . it is a castle of closed doors . “ a festival of veritable insanity and strange odors , ” mr. khalifa writes , “ aleppo became a city given over to ceaseless fear , a city of retribution , whimpering under the appetites of the mukhabarat ” — the secret police — “ and the corrupt officials who were proficient only in loyalty . ” convention requires that i recount something of the plot of “ no knives in the kitchens of this city , ” first published in cairo in 2013 . but no synopsis can give a sense of what reading this book is like . mr. khalifa ’s story is episodic rather than linear it is more about an atmosphere , both emotional and physical , than any defining event . the author , whom this newspaper has called “ one of the rising stars of arab fiction , ” writes in lush , pungent prose , some of it overripe , like a fermented banana . but some of it is also beautiful . here he is , describing sawsan , the siren of the family , furious at a man for overlooking her charms : “ she looked at him with the insolence she reserved for those times when she wanted to scrape the marrow from the bones of someone she intended to punish . ” how many women have shot someone just such a desiccating glare ? or dreamed of it , anyway . in broad strokes : “ no knives in the kitchens of this city , ” translated by leri price , is about a cultivated family under two successive autocrats who despise cultivation . what these autocrats — first , hafez and then his son bashar — value is conformity , docility and ultimately treachery there are informers informing on informers informing on informers . “ my mother told me that spies lived in the trees , ” the unnamed narrator explains . to survive such a government with your sanity and dignity intact requires living a “ parallel life , ” as the narrator often says . you must split off from the rhythms and doings of everyday syria , in the hope that some small , lonesome part of your moral machinery remains uncorrupted . the narrator of “ no knives in the kitchens of this city ” was born just a few days before syria ’s 1963 coup . he considers this timing a bad omen , a mark upon his destiny , and his solution is to keep his head down and his expectations low . his brother , rashid , is a gifted violinist and lost soul . his sister , sawsan , is a creature of wild excess — angry , sexual , mercurial . the narrator has another sister , too , suad , but a disability takes her life prematurely . it ’s the narrator ’s mother , though , who embodies the real terror , melancholy and desperation of aleppo . once a respected schoolteacher ( she gushed to her students about vivaldi , entertained her friends with teacups ) she spends her later years in an embittered state of disassociation . “ my mother was like one of those women who never stopped chattering , ” the narrator says , “ even while yawning . ” every character gets his or her moment in this book — some in the years before the 1963 coup , some in the near present , some in the decades in between . the central question for each is simple : how do you wrench meaning from such a dismal existence ? some capitulate to the state ’s demands . others defy them and pay the price . sawsan ’s reactions are perhaps the most extreme , running the gamut of possibilities : first she joins the baath party and revels in her power then she rejects it and dabbles in religious radicalism . ( her conversion involves a shady operation to restore her virginity . ) but nothing , ultimately , can assuage the despair of this family or nation , especially when bashar takes his father ’s place . “ he thought he would spend his whole life being desperate and afraid , ” the narrator writes of his brother , rashid . “ he told me he would n’t wait until the grandson of the late president was ruling over us . ” shame floods these characters’ veins . shame about their lust . shame about their children . and shame , above all , about their failures to fight tyranny . how to justify participating in baath party parades , and throatily chanting party songs , and heartily praising party propaganda ? nizar , the narrator ’s uncle ( also a musician ) leads the life with the most integrity . he is defiantly , gay in a place where it is criminal to be so . mr. khalifa is interested in erotic desire — and its repression . he lingers over it , conjuring some of the most graphic depictions of sex ( in hotel rooms , in prisons , in the recesses of the imagination ) i ’ve read all year . “ no knives in the kitchens of this city ” meanders a great deal . at moments , it can be slow and hard to follow its characters sometimes act in ways that make little sense , even by the erratic standards of human behavior in dictatorships . but the sights , smells and horror of living in aleppo come pounding to life in this book . the place , to me , is no longer an abstraction , and mr. khalifa clearly fears for its fate throughout . “ cities die , ” he writes , “ just like people . ” sometimes sooner than you ’d imagine . in your own lifetime , even , right before your eyes .
+1 2 years after this american journalist was killed , her ‘ conspiracy theories’ on syria are proven as facts starkman serena shim is an american citizen of lebanese descent who was born near detroit . shim worked for iranian broadcaster press tv as a foreign correspondent covering wars , legitimate protests and fake uprisings in multiple countries . via anonhq she reported live from syria , iraq , turkey , and lebanon during the conflict since 2011 , including in the critical region of daraa during the beginning of protests , which are misrepresented by american media as the reasons for the fake civil war . serena shim was killed two years ago on october 19 , 2014 , in turkey while reporting on the intense battle for the syrian border city of kobani which was the focus of international media attention . she was 29 when she died . scroll down for video below ! the city of kobani , which has one of turkey ’s major border crossings with syria , because it was under threat of being completely captured by the islamic state . the us was forced to respond because islamic state grew out of control and threatened the border stability of turkey , and it became the first major area bombed during the us campaign in syria . the us and turkey were also arguing over washington ’s plan to arm kurdish fighters on the syrian side of the border and how to allow kurds from iraq to support the effort by crossing through turkey . on the day she was killed , the us began operations to airdrop weapons to the kurds . less than two days later , islamic state fighters released a video showing the capture of an american weapons cache airdropped near the city . the video received international media attention which led the pentagon to admit the weapons mistakenly reached isil terrorists . it is claimed she was killed in a car accident with a cement truck . however , physical details about the case raise questions about the official explanation by turkish officials . there are also conflicting stories about the timeline after her death and before the family received her body , which indicate actions by the government of turkey and possibly the united states . two days before her death , serena shim reported on live international television that turkish intelligence services were planning to arrest her for questioning on the suspicion her being a spy . the day after her death , us officials denied releasing any information it had about whether the us government was aware of turkey ’s plans . state department officials told wtf news it would be december 2017 before a freedom of information act request could be completed for information on what actions were taken by them to assist her as a us citizen . serena shim conducted an undercover investigation in turkey and syria lasting multiple months during 2012 as she spoke fluent arabic . her report aired on press tv beginning in december 2012 . the issues listed below are topics she reported on first or experienced in person before they were reported by major media outlets . us officials continue to hide her death and not a single major media outlet in america reported on her death at the time despite the fact that she was popular in america and the middle east . 1 . hillary clinton ’s emails prove the us state dept and white house knew saudi arabia and qatar are funding islamic state clinton admitted , in an email conversation from august 2014 obtained by wikileaks , that us allies saudi arabia and qatar were sending money and weapons to isil . august 2014 was the height of terror during islamic state ’s rise , leading to the growing international media outrage which forced president obama to publicly announce the beginning of airstrikes against isil in syria on september 23 , 2014 . the free thought project “ while this military / para - military operation is moving forward , we need to use our diplomatic and more traditional intelligence assets to bring pressure on the governments of qatar and saudi arabia , which are providing clandestine financial and logistic support to isil and other radical sunni groups in the region . ” “ the qataris and saudis will be put in a position of balancing policy between their ongoing competition to dominate the sunni world and the consequences of serious u.s. pressure . ” the business newspaper financial times reported that prince saud al - faisal admitted saudi arabia created and funded islamic state as a response to the us supporting shia powers in iraq . the ft also reported in 2013that qatar had already spent $ 3 billion on funding the opposition . america ’s top military official general martin dempsey , the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff , was asked “ do you know any major arab ally that embraces isil ? ” by republican senator lindsay graham . “ i know major arab allies who fund them , ” replied dempsey . 2 . the united states wanted the islamic state to grow , as proved by leaked intelligence documents the rapid growth of the islamic state was not an accident , and many observers of the conflict questioned the us commitment to fighting terrorism as they ignored the group ’s rise . since the start of the armed conflict in 2011 , united states officials including hillary clinton have publicly stated that their solution to stop the war is to replace syrian president bashar al - assad and other government leaders . the public policy of the united states has been to support what the us calls moderate opposition groups under the name free syrian army ( fsa ) with the goal of having them weaken the government forces . that strategy changed in mid-2012 as news reports confirmed these rebels were committing war crimes by killing civilians and executing soldiers . one of the largest factions al nusra was specifically identified as a terrorist group in december 2012 . at the same time , the islamic state ( known as al qaeda in iraq ) was growing in syria and had become a dominant force by 2013 . the islamic state grew in syria for almost two years before the us announced it would take military action in september 2014 . the intelligence report was dated august 2012 confirms the us government would have known about this threat for two years . judicial watch “ if the situation unravels , there is the possibility of establishing a declared or undeclared salafist principality in eastern syria ( hasaka and der zor ) , and this is exactly what the supporting powers to the opposition want , in order to isolate the syrian regime , which is considered the strategic depth of the shia expansion ( iraq and iran).”syria has been fought over for two separate gas pipeline projects , a pipeline from qatar rejected by assad for one from iran . the second pipeline is a russian plan to connect with turkey to deliver gas to europe ; the deal was finalized less than two weeks ago .
+1 professional human thank you , china .
+0 wsj : milo ’s campus tour stirs free - speech debate - breitbart breitbart tech from douglas belkin writing at the wall street journal:[the tour by milo yiannopoulos is sparking reaction from more groups than any recent speaker has on college campuses , heightening tensions between free speech and public safety . “ this is broader than anything we ’ve seen in the past ” few years , said dan mogulof , a spokesman for the university of california , berkeley , where mr. yiannopoulos is set to speak wednesday . mr. yiannopoulos , a writer for the breitbart news network , has been riling college campuses across the country since last year , when several private schools canceled his engagements , citing security concerns . protests center on mr. yiannopoulos ’s attacks on feminist and gay leaders and the black lives matter movement . his university supporters say mr. yiannopoulos , who is gay and grew up in britain , adds a perspective to a debate at universities that is dominated by the left . read the rest of the story at the wall street journal .
+1 take your flu shots and stick them up your ass baxter dmitry baxter dmitry in health // 0 comments flu shots are the greatest medical fraud in history . they contain formaldehyde and mercury – two powerful neurotoxins – and the vaccine industry even admits that laboratory tests prove the popular jab does not work . why is a toxic , medical hoax , backed by nothing but voodoo faith - based dogma and clever marketing , pushed on the whole population every year ? vaccines are the one medicine where no scientific evidence of safety or efficacy is required by anyone : not the fda , not the cdc and not the media . congress even passed a law protecting the vaccine industry with absolute legal immunity , even when they manufacture and sell defective products that injure and kill people . and vaccine manufacturers have been lying to us for years about toxic levels of mercury in flu shots . everybody knows mercury is toxic to inject into the human body . that ’s not debated except by irrational anti - science denialists . so why wo n’t manufacturers remove the mercury see the evidence for yourself mike adams reports : to prove the presence of mercury in influenza vaccines , i ’m going to show you four irrefutable pieces of evidence : 1 ) photographs of a 2013 / 2014 influenza vaccine box admitting , in very small print , to the addition of mercury to the vaccine as a preservative . 2 ) photographs of the influenza vaccine insert once again repeating the admission that the vaccine contains mercury . 3 ) a screen shot from the centers for disease control website which admits that vaccines still contain the following ingredients : aluminum , antibiotics , egg protein , formaldehyde , monosodium glutamate ( msg ) and thimerosal , a mercury - containing chemical compound . 4 ) lab results from the natural news forensic food lab which confirmed almost precisely the same level of mercury claimed by the manufacturer ( glaxosmithkline ) . before i show you the irrefutable evidence , there is some good news in all this testing . as part of this investigation , i tested several different vaccines , including an hpv vaccine . mercury levels were extremely low in these other vaccines . only the flu shot contained extremely high mercury levels . influenza vaccine box admits safety never established for pregnant women as you can see below , the box for this flulaval influenza virus vaccine readily admits the use of thimerosal which contains mercury . ( of course , you have to use a magnifying glass to see this . ) in microscopic text on the package insert , it says straight out , “ register women who receive flulaval while pregnant in the pregnancy registry by calling 1 - 888 - 452 - 9622 . ” yet , at the same time , the insert also admits that “ safety and efficacy have not been established in pregnant women . ” in other words , this vaccine containing mercury is being promoted for use in pregnant women even when no safety in pregnant women has ever been established . it ’s also important to note that when people are being given flu shots , they are never handed the package or the insert , so they have no opportunity to read any of this information unless they specifically ask for it . it ’s not like a food item with a “ nutrition facts ” label . vaccines are sold in “ stealth ” mode where patients have no idea what ’s in them and no opportunity to read possible warnings . as further proof of this point , consider the fact that this flu vaccine comes with only one insert , yet it ’s a 10-dose vial intended to be injected into 10 different people . clearly , if there ’s only one insert but 10 people , then 9 out of 10 people ca n’t possibly be handed the insert . unethical medicine administered without informed consent ( a violation of medical ethics ) in fact , from a legal perspective , vaccines are routinely injected into people without informed consent . virtually no one administering vaccines ever explains the risks vs. benefits of vaccines as is required under medical ethics and state medical law . in nearly all cases , patients are simply hoodwinked and told there are no risks at all . the second piece of evidence to reveal here is the package insert for the influenza vaccine , a document printed in microscopic text that ’s almost impossible to read without a magnifying glass . of course , the intention is that no one ever read this document , because it contains shocking admissions of the total quackery and marketing deception behind flu shots . as you can see from this snapshot , the package insert readily admits that each vaccine dose “ contains 50 mcg thimerosal ( < 25 mcg mercury ) . ” in case you ’re wondering , “ mcg ” means micrograms . a microgram is 1/1000th of a milligram . mercury is toxic at any dose when injected into the body , even in micrograms . there is no such thing as a “ safe ” form of mercury when injected . in fact , the ethyl form of mercury used in vaccines is many times more toxic than methyl form once it enters human cells . click here for a fascinating interview with mercury toxicity expert dr. chris shade who explains this extremely important concept . the same paragraph shown above also admits the vaccine contains formaldehyde , a potent neurotoxic chemical . vaccine insert admits safety and effectiveness have never been established what ’s even more astonishing about this insert is that it openly admits the flu shot is a complete medical hoax , backed by nothing but voodoo woo woo faith - based dogma ( and clever marketing ) . here are actual words from the insert ( which is much more lengthy than the snapshot shown above ) : “ there have been no controlled trials adequately demonstrating a decrease in influenza disease after vaccination with flulaval . ” “ safety and effectiveness of flulaval have not been established in pregnant women , nursing mothers or children . ” “ safety and effectiveness of flulaval in pediatric patients have not been established . ” “ flulaval has not been evaluated for carcinogenic or mutagenic potential , or for impairment of fertility . ” “ do not administer flulaval to anyone … following previous administration of any influenza vaccine . ” cdc admits use of mercury , msg , formaldehyde for those “ mercury denialists ” who still ca n’t believe flu shots given to pregnant women contain high concentrations of toxic mercury , even the cdc reluctantly admits this fact on its own website . here ’s a screen shot from the cdc ’s vaccine additives page , which miraculously has n’t yet been removed from their site : laboratory results from the forensic food lab the final piece of irrefutable evidence on all this comes from my own scientific laboratory , where i run icp - ms instrumentation to test foods , beverages , dietary supplements and other items for heavy metals contamination . i was the first food researcher to document high levels of tungsten in brown rice protein , and i ’ve exposed alarming levels of lead in pet treats . i ’ve also exposed high lead in ginkgo biloba herbal supplements imported from china . when i finally got around to testing vaccines , i was shocked to find over 51,000 ppb mercury in the influenza virus vaccine . why was i shocked ? because i do n’t recall ever seeing anything run through my icp - ms instrument with that high a concentration of mercury . the mercury in this flu vaccine was the highest concentration of mercury i ’ve ever seen in anything , period ! and this is a product that ’s injected directly into the bodies of pregnant women , where mercury goes right into the developing fetus . what ’s even more interesting is that this finding once again confirms the accuracy of my lab instrumentation because it ’s almost in perfect agreement with the level of mercury detailed on the vaccine package insert . let ’s do the math : * each dose of an influenza vaccine is 0.5 ml in volume * my lab found just over 50 ppm of mercury in the vaccine liquid . * 50 ppm ( concentration ) x 0.5 ml ( volume ) equals 25 mcg of mercury . guess what the package insert says ? ( up to ) 25 mcg of mercury per dose . near - perfect agreement , in other words . my finding of 51 ppm rather than 50 ppm either means my own tests were off by about 2 % ( which is still considered very accurate for icp - ms testing ) or that gsk put 2 % extra mercury into the vaccine . and just so you know i actually did the tests , here ’s what else we found with other analytes : aluminum : 0.4 ppm cadmium : zero lead : zero so , i can confidently say that the flu vaccine wo n’t poison you with lead , cadmium or arsenic because it contains none of those things . even the aluminum level is quite low and not a concern at this very low level . the real problem is just the mercury , at least as far as elements go . why won’t vaccine makers remove the mercury ? good question . everybody knows mercury is toxic to inject into the human body . that ’s not debated except by irrational anti - science denialists who refuse to acknowledge the table of elements . you have to wonder : why choose mercury as a preservative ? and why do both the cdc and fda continue to look the other way as an entire branch of modern medicine poisons our women and children with a neurotoxic heavy metal ? and if vaccine promoters , propagandists and patent holders want the world to accept all their vaccines , why do n’t they just remove the mercury and be done with it ? if they take out all the toxic elements , resistance to vaccines would all but evaporate . why vaccines are the “ anti - science ” medical voodoo of the modern world ever wonder why they do n’t conduct legitimate clinical trials on flu vaccine efficacy ? probably because they know the results would have to be faked to show any efficacy at all . that ’s what merck did with its mumps vaccines , according to two former virologists who worked there . they spiked human blood samples with animal antibodies to fabricate positive results . yep , vaccines work so poorly that even the manufacturers have to fake their own results to show any efficacy . vaccines are the one medicine where no scientific evidence of safety or efficacy is required by anyone : not the fda , not the cdc and not the media . congress even passed a law protecting the vaccine industry with absolute legal immunity , even when they manufacture and sell defective products that injure and kill people . how ’s that for medicine we can all trust ? think about it : this is a product that contains multiple neurotoxins in very high concentrations ; a product backed by no safety trials or efficacy data ; a product linked to numerous serious adverse reactions ; and yet a product that enjoys absolute legal immunity thanks to the u.s. government . if that ’s not outright medical quackery , i do n’t know what is . for the record , i ’m not an opponent of all vaccines . but i do believe — as do a rapidly increasing number of other clear - thinking people — that medicine should not poison our women and children . it ’s time for mercury to be removed from all vaccines , once and for all . anything less is medical negligence . new video interview about flu shot failures ultimately , we the people will be victorious in the removal of mercury from all vaccines — an idea that ’s already well accepted across much of europe . and when that day comes , it will be yet another victory for the amazing community of millions of remarkable people working together for the protection of our children , our health and our world .
+0 rolling thunder motorcyclists return to d.c. , honor pow / mia - breitbart amanda house thousands of motorcyclists from across the nation have flooded washington , d. c. sunday for the annual memorial day weekend tradition rolling thunder . [ this year marks the 30th anniversary of the demonstration meant “ to educate , facilitate , and never forget … service members that were abandoned after the vietnam war ” — a yearly display of patriotism , freedom , and respect for the men and woman who defend our country . what a gorgeous start to the morning ! thousands of motorcycles fill the pentagon parking lot for the # rollingthunder ride for freedom pic . twitter . — kristyn leon ( @kristyn_leon ) may 28 , 2017 , crowd beginning to form at the main stage , braving the rain . @iava at # rollingthunder pic . twitter . — tom porter ( @tomporterdc ) may 28 , 2017 , according to some estimates , approximately 900 , 000 participants and spectators are expected to be involved this year ’s event . # rollingthunder riders begin # memorialdayweekend with a candlelight vigil at the vietnam veterans memorial​. pic . twitter . — red nation rising ( @rednationrising ) may 28 , 2017 , # rollingthunder # memorialday pic . twitter . — rob damschen ( @robdamschen ) may 28 , 2017 , ride for freedom . thank you for riding for those who ca n’t . never forget those 🇺 🇸 # rollingthunder pic . twitter . — vietnam vet memorial ( @vvmf ) may 28 , 2017 , you can find the official schedule of events here , and for a more historical look at the event , check out this powerful video : amanda house is the deputy political editor for breitbart news . you can follow her on twitter at @amandaleehouse .
+1 joe rogan explains why physical addiction is “ like a demon ” lexi morgan november 13 , 2016 joe rogan on coffee and cigarettes ( intellihub ) — physical addiction is “ like a demon , ” ufc commentator joe rogan explained on a recent broadcast . during the broadcast rogan pointed out just what the ‘ demon of physical addiction’ likely sounds and looks like , going into character . rogan ’s guest said that he sometimes dreams about having a cigarette even though he has quit smoking . “ i ’ve had dreams about cigarettes and i wake up with a negative feeling and you ’re like fuck , i ’m god damn smoking again — it takes like twenty or thirty minutes to get the feeling out of me . ” © 2016 . intellihub.com . all rights reserved .
+1 purchasing loyalty with foreign aid jacob g. hornberger purchasing loyalty with foreign aid by jacob g. hornberger fff " - a dispute that is taking place between saudi arabia and egypt indirectly demonstrates the nature of u.s. foreign aid . after dumping a walloping $ 25 billion in foreign aid to help the egyptian military dictatorship’s economic woes , the saudis are hopping mad . why ? because last month in the united nations , contrary to saudi arabia’s wishes , egypt voted in favor of a russian resolution on syria . in the world of foreign aid , that’s a super no - no . when a regime has received $ 25 billion from another regime , it is expected to vote the way its benefactor wants it to vote . in a remarkable admission regarding foreign aid , at least in this particular case , the new york times , in an article on the matter , wrote , “the saudis may have thought they were buying loyalty .” the times article pointed out that to punish the egyptians for their independence , “the state - owned saudi oil company , aramco , postponed a promised shipment of 700,000 tons of discounted oil in october , and the spokesman for egypt’s oil ministry said the fate of november’s shipment remains unknown.” although the new york times would probably be reluctant to describe u.s. foreign aid in the same way , that’s precisely what it is — a way to purchase “loyalty” from foreign regimes , including dictatorships . the u.s. government loves to put foreign regimes on the federal dole because once that happens , u.s. officials know that they have bought them , lock , stock , and barrel . once a regime is on the dole , it inevitably becomes dependent on it . the racket works like this : the irs collects money from hard - pressed u.s. taxpayers , which u.s. officials use to send millions of dollars in foreign aid to foreign regimes . the foreign regimes then use the money to buy weaponry to fortify their hold on power or to just to line the pockets of government officials . it doesn’t matter to u.s. officials what the tyrants do to people within their country . they can abuse them , incarcerate them , torture them , or kill them . none of that matters to u.s. officials . what matters to u.s. officials is the international arena . like votes in the un . or public support for u.s. invasions , coups , interventions , assassinations , kidnappings , and the like . or joining coalitions of the willing . that’s when u.s. officials expect “loyalty,” in the form of blind support , which was what saudi arabia was expecting from the egyptian tyrants . and heaven help any nation that takes the “wrong” position . the u.s. will respond in the same way the saudis have responded to the egyptians . it will threaten to do very bad things to the nation that opposes a u.s invasion , coup , or resolution within the un . when a nation is on the u.s. dole , u.s. officials expect “loyalty.” americans can’t do anything about foreign aid by the saudi government . but they can do something about u.s. foreign aid . what they should do is demand that it be ended , immediately . jacob g. hornberger is founder and president of the future of freedom foundation . he was born and raised in laredo , texas , and received his b.a. in economics from virginia military institute and his law degree from the university of texas . he was a trial attorney for twelve years in texas . he also was an adjunct professor at the university of dallas , where he taught law and economics . in 1987 , mr. hornberger left the practice of law to become director of programs at the foundation for economic education .
+1 comment on brilliant takedown of feminism from an old man by how to kill zombie arguments how to kill zombie arguments brilliant takedown of feminism from an old man brilliant takedown of feminism from an old man december 28 , 2012 30 comments culture many of you are probably familiar with fred on everything , a member of the old guard when it comes to the fight against feminism . his hooking up article gives a birds - eye view of how feminism corrupted women , in a way that only a senior citizen who has seen it all can elucidate . what i do n’t get is , why are gals bitching ? this is the world they wanted . they clawed and scratched and burned their bras and had court cases and threw fits to get exactly what they have . they hated men because , they said , men were n’t letting them copulate frantically like men had always wanted them to . men , or more likely their mothers , did n’t let them make themselves unattractive by dressing like hod - carriers and swearing like sailors . finally men gave in and now women hate them for that . whatever happened to gratitude ? [ … ] sally sue might have teeth like pearls and brains and perky tits and a wacky sense of humor and actually be quite a prize , but sex trumps art . if sally did n’t say yes , she knew that greta would . women had commoditized themselves . it was a marvelous thing for the testosterone wads we think of as college boys . [ … ] “ all you want is sex ! ” “ uh … what else have you got ? ” or “ so what ? ” or , “ marriage ? why ? would sex be better ? would food taste better ? i do n’t get it . ” or , “ marriage does n’t make sense . do you want to eat in the same restaurant all your life ? ” women were n’t happen then and are n’t happy now . trying to please them will just sacrifice what you want while giving no guarantee that they ’ll be content , yet we still have beta males and white knights fighting among each other to appease the unappeasable . will they collectively realize their folly ? maybe a more relevant question is if we want them to wake up . when i ’m looting the best buy after a hurricane , i do n’t want to compete with other looters . it ’s possible the quality of goods i ’d be able to steal would be much less due to the competition .
+0 ryan on gop losing house majority in 2018 : ‘ blah , blah , blah,’ ’white noise of washington’ - breitbart pam key friday on hugh hewitt ’s radio show , when asked about a potential democratic wave taking control of the house of representatives in the 2018 midterm elections , speaker of the house paul ryan ( ) “ blah , blah , blah , blah , blah is what i say about that stuff . look , this is what i call the white noise of media . ” partial transcript as follows : hewitt : now because of president trump ’s troubles , the mainstream media is out there blocking and tackling for ranking minority leader pelosi suggesting a wave election is coming your way , that your majority is at risk . what do you make of that ? ryan : blah , blah , blah , blah , blah is what i say about that stuff . look , this is what i call the white noise of media . we ’re busy doing our work . we ’re busy , i mean , just this week , we moved law enforcement legislation with police week to give them the tools they need to keep us safe . we put new sanctions on syria . we improved will hurd ’s federal information technology reform legislation , which will streamline government . ways and means did hearings on tax reform . the education workforce committee put a bill out to close the skills gap so that people can get technical education . mack thornberry is working on his 3rd installment of streamlining pentagon bureaucracy and procurement reforms . veterans affairs approved 11 bills . i mean , i can keep going if you want me to , and the 14th congressional review act was signed into law this week . nobody did anything in the press about those things . this congressional review act , where you rescind recent regulations , in this case , from the obama legislation , this tool was used once in history rescinding regulations . we ’ve done it 14 times in four months just this year alone . so that ’s what we ’re working on . ( the hill ) follow pam key on twitter @pamkeynen
+1 daesh returnees from syria could launch chemical attacks : watchdog - russia news now nan this post was originally published on this site a syrian soldier is treated at a hospital in a government - held area of aleppo on october 30 , 2016 , following a militant chemical attack in the city . ( photos by afp ) the hague - based agency responsible for eliminating chemical weapons has warned that daesh terrorists returning from syria could carry out chemical attacks involving mustard gas as they have been taught how to use the toxic agent . the organization for the prohibition of chemical weapons ( opcw ) issued the warning on wednesday amid reports of daesh chemical raids in syria . “ it seems that one of the dangers that we need to face and have a response for – since daesh has learnt how to make mustard gas – is that sadly one of the people who learnt how to do it comes back to one of our countries and helps carry out an attack like this , ” philippe denier , the director at the verification division of the opcw , told a defense conference in paris . earlier this month , syria called for an opcw investigation into the use of chemical agents by terrorists against civilians in the country ’s battered city of aleppo . the request came a few days after russian defense ministry spokesman major general igor konashenkov said that the ministry ’s experts had uncovered ordnance and fragments of munitions containing chlorine and white phosphorus in aleppo . the discovery proved that foreign - backed militants had used chemical weapons against civilians and syrian army soldiers , he noted . in a statement on tuesday , the opcw announced that russia had offered to provide samples linked to chemical weapons use in aleppo . the samples “ may be of use in the ongoing work of the opcw fact - finding mission , ” which is investigating allegations of chemical attacks in syria , the watchdog added . last month , a 13-month international inquiry led by the opcw and the united nations concluded that daesh militants had used mustard gas in syria . related
+1 re : at this current pace , a record - shattering 2.4 trillion dollars will be added to the national debt this year reader 10 signs that an all - out attempt is being made to sabotage the trump campaign michael ’s latest video at this current pace , a record - shattering 2.4 trillion dollars will be added to the national debt this year 17th , 2016 barack obama is about to become the 20 trillion dollar man . with less than two months to go in his second term , the u.s. national debt stands less than 150 billion dollars away from the 20 trillion dollar mark . and at the pace that the debt is increasing , it seems almost certain that we will cross 20 trillion dollars before inauguration day . after promising us that “ deficits are under control ” , the federal debt jumped by more than 1.3 trillion dollars last fiscal year , and so far this year it is on pace to rise by a record - shattering 2.4 trillion dollars . this is a recipe for national suicide , and yet it was n’t even a major issue during the recently concluded presidential campaign . it is really , really hard to spend a trillion dollars . for example , if you were alive when jesus was born and you had spent a million dollars every single day since that time , you still would not have spent a trillion dollars by now . and even though the republicans have had control of the house of representatives since 2010 , the wild spending has not slowed down one bit . in fact , it is actually accelerating as we near the end of obama ’s second term . last year ’s rise in the debt of more than 1.3 trillion dollars was shocking enough , but this year we are on pace to top that number by more than a trillion dollars . the following comes from simon black … according to data released by the treasury department yesterday , the us national debt has soared by a whopping $ 294 billion since the start of the 2017 fiscal year , just 45 days ago . that ’s an annualized increase of 13 % . so if they keep up this pace , the national debt will increase by $ 2.4 trillion this fiscal year , surpassing $ 21 trillion by next september . the only reason we have been able to go on this debt binge for as long as we have is because the rest of the world has been willing to loan us trillions upon trillions of dollars at ridiculously low interest rates that are well below the real rate of inflation . this is a highly irrational state of affairs , and once this changes we are going to be in a massive amount of trouble . and since donald trump ’s election victory , we have already seen the rate on 10 year u.s. treasury notes shoot up dramatically . over the long - term , the average rate of interest paid on u.s. government debt has been about 6 percent . right now we are way below that , but that can not last forever . at some point rates will rise , and if we were to just get back to the 5 percent mark we would be paying more than a trillion dollars a year just in interest on the national debt once the debt hits $ 21 trillion . the bottom line is that we are racing toward national bankruptcy . but instead of focusing on getting the debt under control , donald trump is already promising a whole bunch of new spending in addition to what is already taking place . this week , federal reserve board chair janet yellen warned congress about what trump ’s $ 1 trillion infrastructure spending program may mean for our financial situation … president - elect donald trump has pledged a $ 1 trillion infrastructure spending program to help jump - start an economy that he said during the campaign was in terrible shape . speaking on capitol hill thursday , federal reserve board chair janet yellen warned lawmakers that as they consider such spending , they should keep an eye on the national debt . yellen also said that while the economy needed a big boost with fiscal stimulus after the financial crisis , that ’s not the case now . “ the economy is operating relatively close to full employment at this point , ” she said , “ so in contrast to where the economy was after the financial crisis when a large demand boost was needed to lower unemployment , we ’re no longer in that state . ” the truth is that we simply ca n’t afford to keep going into so much debt . debt literally destroys the future , and since barack obama has been in the white house our government has been stealing more than 100 million dollars an hour from our children and our grandchildren every single hour of every single day . it is a crime of such a magnitude that i do n’t know if there are words to describe it , and yet only a very small fraction of the population is upset about this right now . we have just come to accept that ripping off our children and our grandchildren is normal . but someday if they get the chance they will curse us for what we have done to them . in our extreme arrogance , we actually think that it is okay to saddle them with a giant mountain of debt that they will be servicing for their entire lives . in a just society , those that have done this to future generations of americans would be going to prison . when you go into debt , you take consumption from the future and bring it into the present . in essence , we are taking money that they should have been able to spend , and instead we are spending it right now . without a doubt , government spending helps the economy in the short - term . when the government spends money , it gets into the pockets of ordinary americans who in turn spend that money on goods and services that they need . so that is why politicians like to borrow and spend – it makes the economy perform better than it otherwise would , and voters tend to vote for incumbents when “ things are going well ” . if the federal government had only spent the money that it took in through taxes over the past eight years , we would be in a rip - roaring depression right now . barack obama and those that work under him understand this , and that is why they were perfectly fine with running the national debt up to 20 trillion dollars . they will take credit for “ fixing the economy ” , but the truth is that all they did was steal trillions of dollars from our kids and our grandkids . and anyone that has ever gotten into trouble with debt knows that a day of reckoning comes eventually . could our day of reckoning be just around the corner during the trump years ? donald trump will be blamed if everything crashes while he is in office , but the real blame should be placed at the feet of barack obama , george w. bush , bill clinton and a deeply corrupt congress that always went along with the wild spending .
+1 conspiracy galore – get your tinfoil hats ready – 11/11/16 prepper website mobile users should click the link below to visit our mobile site . the site is a better fit for your screen and you will get all the articles without having to scroll all the way down . ← prepper website home conspiracy galore –page 4 the page for all the conspiracy nuts out there ! here you will find a ton of links to articles all in one place . if i ’m missing a website , please let me know – todd [ dot ] sepulveda @ prepperwebsite [ dot ] com . ron paul warns trump that ' shadow government ' seek to destroy him 11/12/2016
+1 breaking : anthony weiner cooperating with fbi investigation the doc home » headlines » world news » breaking : anthony weiner cooperating with fbi investigation fox news reported moments ago that anthony weiner is cooperating with the fbi investigation . implications ? the fbi no longer needs a search warrant to examine the contents of weiner ’s laptop seized in the investigation . as intelligence agency whisperings have been suggesting for days , we suspect there must be a smoking gun on weiner ’s laptop for the fbi to be forced into reopening the investigation . for if fbi director comey really wanted to conduct a complete investigation including hillary ’s thousands of bleached emails , he would simply contact the nsa and request the results of an x - keyscore search for the results of the email address [ email protected ] the fact that this never happened ( despite the fact that the fbi and doj assuredly knows of this capability and uses it in the investigation of suspects not named hillary clinton ) indicates to us that the fbi has been forced into this action due to an imminent criminal bombshell regarding hillary ’s emails , likely from an intelligence agency insider .
+1 over 500 russian and egyptian troops train to kill terrorists ( photos ) - boris egorov nan media skeptic over 500 russian and egyptian troops train to kill terrorists ( photos ) the egyptian military is going to use the experience of the russian airborne troops in the fight against international terrorism did you enjoy this article ? - consider helping us ! russia insider depends on your donations : the more you give , the more we can do . $ 1 $ 10 other amount if you wish you make a tax - deductible contribution of $ 1,000 or more , please visit our support page for instructions click here for our commenting guidelines on fire
+1 the most interesting chart in the world – part 2 lee adler the most interesting chart in the world - part 2 by lee adler . in part 1 of this report you saw the rollercoaster shape of the european central bank balance sheet . the ecb ’s assets grew massively under the long term loan program known as ltro in 2011 and 2012 . then the central bank ’s assets fell just as massively when the ecb allowed those loans to be repaid . you need to login to view this content . david stockman ’s contra corner is n’t your typical financial tipsheet . instead it ’s an ongoing dialogue about what ’s really happening in the markets … the economy … and governments … so you can understand the world around you and make better decisions for yourself . david believes the world -- certainly the united states -- is at a great inflection point in human history . the massive credit inflation of the last three decades has reached its apogee and is now going to splatter spectacularly . this will have lasting ramifications on how governments tax and regulate you … the type of work you and your family members will have available and what you get paid … the value of your nest egg … and all other areas comprising your quality of life . login david stockman 's contra corner is the only place where mainstream delusions and ca nt about the warfare state , the bailout state , bubble finance and beltway banditry are ripped , refuted and rebuked . subscribe now to receive david stockman ’s latest posts by email each day as well as his model portfolio , lee adler ’s daily data dive and david ’s personally curated insights and analysis from leading contrarian thinkers .
+1 tech ” malaise pricks san francisco office space bubble thetoolman i look forward to the bubble bursting again in the bay area . those little high tech weenies bug me . and i 'm a techie ! ! ! the rumored second round of layoffs at twitter – which in 2011 was granted by the befuddled city of san francisco the “ twitter tax break ” on employment taxes – comes at a very inopportune moment for the glory of commercial real estate . these layoffs would amount to 8 % to twitter ’s workforce , or about 300 people , according to bloomberg . already , twitter has thrown 183,642 square feet of vacant office space at its two - building mid - market headquarters on the sublease market , thus bringing it to 1.51 million square feet ( msf).this comes at a time when , according to the “ snapshot ” from cushman & wakefield , leasing activity nearly ground to a halt in the third quarter , with only 875,000 sf leased – the lowest since 2001!there was only one major lease deal over 100,000 sf : amazon ’s live streaming video platform twitch , which took 178,000 sf . the next largest deal was less than half that size : wework leased 78,000 sf . leasing activity for the three quarters this year plunged 30 % from the same period last year , to just 4.7 msf , according to a report released this week by commercial real estate services firm savills studley , which added dryly , “ the competition for space has calmed dramatically from several quarters ago.”and there is a lot of new supply coming on the market , according to cushman & wakefield : currently , 3.8 msf of office space are under construction , with 31 % preleased . overall vacancy rose 0.7 percentage points from the prior quarter to 9.0 % in q3 , according to savills studley . in class a buildings , availability jumped 1.1 percentage points to 10.4 % . some areas were still red - hot , but others are turning cold : in the soma area , there were practically no vacancies ( 1.0 % ) . but at the other end of the spectrum , vacancies at the financial district south spiked 2.5 percentage points to 12.3%.way more at [ link to wolfstreet.com ] " my mom said the only reason men are alive is for lawn care and vehicle maintenance . " 1 previous page
+0 mar - a - lago doubles its initiation fee as membership interest swells - the new york times eric lipton , noah weiland and steve eder ■ the resort doubles its initiation fee — to $ 200 , 000 — leading to charges that the trump organization is cashing in on its founder ’s power . ■ by president trump ’s definition of voter fraud , his senior adviser , steve bannon , his treasury secretary nominee and one of his daughters could be swept up in the investigation . ■ the twitter rebellion seems to be spreading as the defense department weighs in on muslim refugees . the initiation fee at mr. trump ’s club in florida — which the president himself has called the winter white house — has doubled to $ 200 , 000 , after membership applications surged in the wake of mr. trump ’s election , the head of membership there said . bernd lembcke , the managing director at the palm beach , fla. club , said the change in the initiation fee had been planned last fall , before the election , and that $ 200 , 000 had been the fee before 2010 , when it was cut in half because of the recession . but mr. lembcke , who has been at the club for 21 years , said that it also reflected the upswing in ’s popularity . “ we have had a sudden surge in requests , ” he said , adding that new members must be recommended by someone who is already a member , as is the case at many private clubs . robert weissman , president of public citizen , a nonprofit group that promotes government ethics , said the move showed that mr. trump and his family intended to profit from his status as president . “ at the minimum , this creates the appearance of cashing in the presidency and selling direct personal access to the president , ” he said . “ it is unacceptable . and it demeans the office of the presidency . ” the new initiation fee went into effect on jan. 1 , although the annual dues remained the same — $ 14 , 000 a year , he said . the club has 482 members , with a cap of 500 . “ it enhances it , ” mr. lembcke said of mr. trump ’s new job and its impact on the value of the membership . “ his presidency does . ” “ but we are very careful in vetting them , ” he added . news about the change in the initiation fee was reported by cnbc . by president trump ’s definition , his senior white house adviser , steve bannon , is apparently committing voter fraud . so is his nominee to be the next treasury secretary , steven mnuchin . so , apparently , is one of his daughters , tiffany trump . mr. trump was pretty broad with his definition of voter fraud when he took to twitter wednesday morning to request an investigation of the nefarious conduct of the 2016 electorate — with no evidence to support it . there is , in fact , a difference between investigating actual voter fraud and cleaning up the voter rolls . if you move states , you are n’t usually required to tell the state you are leaving that you no longer want to be on the roster . and so it goes that mr. bannon is registered in sarasota county , fla. and new york city . mr. mnuchin appears on the rolls of new york and california . and tiffany trump , should she choose , could potentially vote in pennsylvania and new york . if she did , of course , that would be fraud . now melania trump is fielding her own foreign leader calls . sara netanyahu , the wife of prime minister benjamin netanyahu of israel , called mrs. trump on wednesday to congratulate her on becoming the first lady , according to the prime minister ’s office . “ the two of them look forward to seeing each other soon in washington and to working together to strengthen the ties between israel and the united states , ” mr. netanyahu ’s office said . their husbands spoke by telephone earlier in the week , and mr. trump invited mr. netanyahu to visit him in washington next month . president trump announced that he will nominate businessman and former military intelligence officer philip bilden as secretary of the navy . mr. bilden , who ran a private equity firm in hong kong until retiring three years ago , has expertise in both maritime affairs and asia — two areas that are of central importance to the navy . he was picked over an early trump campaign backer , former rep. j. randy forbes of virginia . mr. bilden received a masters of business administration from harvard in 1991 . first came the reposting of photos by the national park service that clearly showed that president trump ’s inauguration crowd was smaller than former president barack obama ’s in 2009 . that was followed by a contrite apology and lots of pretty pictures . but the national parks took up the cause , with a twitter storm on climate change from the badlands that was quickly taken down . and lots more : now , with word that mr. trump is moving to shut down the flow of refugees and halt immigration from nations , is the defense department joining the fray ? incidentally , the national park service now says those twitter posts from the badlands came from a disgruntled former employee who had commandeered the account without permission . a national park service official said tuesday : no official word on why so many other parks chimed in . mr. trump may have thought he was being constructive when he weighed in on chicago ’s terrible murder rate , but his offer ( or threat ) of federal support has not gone over well — either with chicago democrats or republicans . rep. luis v. gutiérrez , democrat of illinois was miffed . but republicans were n’t too keen on the notion of the federal government swooping into to fight city crime . the republican media consultant rick wilson noted the obvious : perhaps mr. trump ’s motivation is n’t much of a mystery . on monday , mayor rahm emanuel of chicago offered the president what he called “ unsolicited advice . ” “ you did n’t get elected to debate the crowd size at your inaugural , ” mr. emanuel said . “ now , obviously , i was n’t a supporter of trump . he got elected to make sure that people have a job , the economy continues to grow , people have security as it relates to their kids’ education , etc . and it was n’t about your crowd size . it was about their lives and their jobs . ” “ the speech missed an opportunity to speak to our better angels as a country , ” he said of the president ’s inaugural address . or maybe mr. trump was just watching bill o’reilly on fox news . who says former ( and supposedly bitter ) rivals ca n’t join forces in the spirit of washington ’s most unifying party — the “ green ” party ? ( that ’s money , get it ? ) no emoluments clause apparently can stop the former clinton and trump campaign managers robby mook and corey lewandowski from hitting the road for paid gigs on the speaking circuit , which is precisely what the two will do together . leading authorities , a speakers’ bureau , said it is organizing the events as “ ” assessments of donald trump ’s white house . the two will also “ debate the day ’s hot issues , ” including cyber attacks . mr. lewandowski just recently set up shop down the street from the white house in a consulting and lobbying firm he runs with another former trump adviser , barry bennett . update : the speaking agency has now deleted the material from its website . a representative for the firm told buzzfeed that the listing was generated by them and not mr. mook and mr. lewandowski . another update : mr. mook says no way , he never would have agreed to this buddy show . his press aides wo n’t say what exactly is bothering senator charles e. grassley of iowa , the chairman of the senate judiciary committee , but something clearly has gotten his goat . it might be that the new administration has been slow to answer requests that date back to the obama administration . then again , his committee still has n’t voted out the nomination of mr. trump ’s nominee for attorney general , senator jeff sessions of alabama . with the trump organization under a very public microscope , the company said tuesday that it has appointed two monitors — bobby burchfield and george sorial — to keep tabs on any ethical issues that may arise . the former has strong ties to republican politics and the latter to president trump . mr. burchfield , a washington lawyer who has represented george h. w. bush and the republican national committee , was appointed as independent ethics adviser to the trump organization , meaning he will advise on avoiding conflicts of interest , with the power to sign off on certain transactions . a longtime trump organization executive , mr. sorial will now be chief compliance officer , giving him a lead role in ensuring that the company complies with ethics rules and standards , while also implementing new policies . the two will assume their roles at a time when mr. trump has said he is trying to remove himself from the activities of the business that carries his name . mr. trump said during a news conference on jan. 11 that he would place his business in a trust controlled by his two adult sons — but some ethics experts have chided the plan for not going far enough to avoid conflicts .
+1 ngos should condemn terrorists in syria , not russia fighting them nan 38 utc © denis balibouse / reuters the ngos that demanded russia 's removal from un human rights council lack impartiality as they ignore terrorist activities as well as violations by the us - led coalition in syria , the russian foreign ministry 's commissioner for human rights told rt . targeting russia was " a gross misstep on the part of the human rights defenders , " konstantin dolgov said . " if they call themselves [ human rights defenders ] they have to be objective . al least , they have to try to be impartial . how can they assess the human rights situation in syria in this one - sided manner ? just to join the chorus of western governments and politicians , groundlessly accusing russia of bombing civilian targets in syria , without providing any evidence of this , " dolgov added . the ngos , which failed to provide any solid proof of russia 's alleged wrongdoings , " completely ignore the bulk of the problem " in syria , the commissioner stressed . " and the bulk of the problem is the activities of the terrorist organizations like islamic state , [ jabhat ] al - nusra ... which have been persistently killing dozens of thousands of civilians in syria . " dolgov wondered " how can those ngos ignore ... numerous killings of civilians and destruction of infrastructure by the coalition led by the us ? " when " there are multiple examples " of such violations . " if you 're against violations of human rights , you should be against violation everywhere and by everybody , " he said . the commissioner pointed out that , on wednesday , amnesty international - which had not signed the petition - blamed the us for killing hundreds of civilians in syria and refusing to investigate those incidents . the numbers of civilian victims provided by the group - around 300 - " are n't complete , " dolgov said . " i do n't think that an accurate number . i do n't think anybody there has an accurate number . " more than 80 international organizations - including human rights watch , care international and refugees international - have signed a petition for russia to be thrown off the un human rights council . they claimed that moscow was no longer fit to hold its position in the united nations body , due to its military operation in syria . it turned out that most of the organizations are part of the very same syria relief network based in turkey , however , casting potential doubts over their impartiality . the petition came ahead of the un human rights council election , scheduled to take place on friday . the foreign ministry official opted not to predict the outcome of the vote , but said that russia was " definitely " running to regain its seat on the council . " we 're running because we have a very strong record in the protection of international law ; in the protection of international human rights law . we do n't have right now , at this last moment before the election , to prove anything . our policies are well known and we 've been one of the most active and creative members of the un human rights council for many - many years now , " dolgov stressed . moscow is aware that there some international players who want to block russia 's activities in the human rights council , because " we 're not professing double standards . we are consistently against politicizing human rights . we have a lot of supporters , " dolgov added .
+1 watch what this trump hater just did in his underwear c.e. dyer you are here : home / us / watch what this trump hater just did in his underwear watch what this trump hater just did in his underwear october 29 , 2016 pinterest some guy in wisconsin decided that he could n’t wait to put some clothes on before he torched a trump / pence sign … and it was all caught on camera by the homeowners . kevin and jane leighty of platteville , wisconsin caught their angry neighbor on camera taking a blowtorch to their trump / pence sign in his underwear . man wearing only his underwear takes blowtorch to his neighbors ' trump sign — and they caught it all on camera https://t.co/xxdhdjavem pic.twitter.com/mwwfzawlbi — nbc news ( @nbcnews ) october 26 , 2016 according to jane leighty , witnesses walked past the scene of the crazed man setting his neighbor ’s sign on fire and did nothing to stop him . although i would n’t recommend going near a crazy man with a blowtorch in his underwear , as leighty noted , they did n’t even have to — they could have just called the police . instead , according to the homeowner , some even congratulated the man for his criminal activity . the people going by is what really hurts too that no one called the police just to say “ hey go check this out . ” they did n’t have to confront him . the two guys that come up and fist pumped him and go “ yeah alright ! ” really ? leighty made it clear that she was n’t going to back down in the face of a crazed fool and some punks who think it ’s hilarious to set fire to someone ’s property : all we had was a little sign , you know , and if they ’re offended by it they should have probably left that one there because every time they take it down it ’s coming up bigger and better and the next one ’s going to be a billboard . good for them . it ’s a sad state of affairs when you ca n’t express your support of a candidate without someone vandalizing your property , but here we are . there have been numerous instances throughout the election cycle of trump supporters having their yard signs vandalized and in some cases being physically and verbally harassed and/or threatened for their support of the candidate . even with all these instances , the media has chosen to focus primarily on any incident they can dredge up at trump rallies — which we now have confirmation , thanks to project veritas , that democrat operatives incite via a tactic called “ birddogging . ” these anti - trumpsters — often liberals , although it ’s unclear what this man ’s political bent was for sure — have shown their true colors throughout this election cycle . they ca n’t handle the fact that someone else may not think the same way they do , which is truly pathetic . good for the leighty ’s ; it takes guts to stand up for your rights , and that ’s exactly what they are doing by not giving in to a crazed bully .
+1 hillary clinton ’s “ sudden move ” of $ 1.8 billion to qatar central bank stuns financial world nan email an intriguing ministry of finance ( mof ) report circulating in the kremlin today says that elite western bankers were stunned a few hours ago after the bank for international settlements ( bis ) registered a $ 1.8 billion transfer from the clinton foundation ( cf ) to the qatar central bank ( qcb ) through the “ facilitation / abetment ” of jp morgan chase & company ( jpm)—and for reasons yet to be firmly established . according to this report , the bank for international settlements is the world 's oldest international financial organization and acts as a prime counterparty for central banks in their financial transactions ; the qatar central bank is the bank of that gulf state nations government and their “ bank of banks ” ; jp morgan chase & company is the united states largest “ megabank ” ; and the clinton foundation is an international criminal money laundering organization whose clients include the russian mafia . with hillary clinton ’s us presidential campaign chairman john podesta having longstanding ties to the russian mafia and money laundering , this report continues , the foreign intelligence service ( svr ) maintains complete surveillance of him and his criminal associates — including both hillary clinton and her husband , and former us president , bill clinton . on saturday 15 october ( 2016 ) , this report notes , the svr reported to the mof that hillary clinton and john podesta met with jp morgan chase & company ceo jamie dimon at clinton ’s chappaqua compound outside of new york city — and who , in 2009 , both president obama and hillary clinton allowed to break us laws by his , dimon ’s , being able to buy millions - of - dollars of his company ’s stocks prior to the public being told his jp morgan bank was receiving a federal reserve $ 80 billion credit line — and that caused jp morgan ’s stocks to soar and that have had an astonishing 920 % dividend growth since 2010 . within 12 hours of the hillary clinton - john podesta - jamie dimon meeting at the chappaqua compound , this report continues , the bis registered the transfer of $ 1.8 billion from the clinton foundation to the qatar central bank . to why the clinton foundation transferred this enormous sum of money to qatar , this report explains , is due to the longstanding ties between this islamic neo - patrimonial absolute monarchy and then us secretary of state hillary clinton who oversaw the “ massive bribery scheme ” that allowed this gulf state nation to secure the 2022 world cup — and that the qataris were so appreciative of they donated millions to the clinton foundation , and incredibly , in 2011 , gave former us president bill clinton $ 1 million for a birthday present — bringing hillary clinton ’s total “ cash grab ” from these persian gulf sheiks of $ 100 million — all occurring as recently released secret emails revealed hillary clinton ’s knowledge that both qatar and saudi arabia were , and still are , funding isis . to what jamie dimon said to hillary clinton that caused her to suddenly transfer $ 1.8 billion to qatar , this report notes , revolves around his jp morgan bank being told by the us federal deposit insurance corporation ( fdic ) in april ( 2016 ) that this “ megabanks ” master plan to save itself had “ serious deficiencies ” that could “ pose serious adverse effects to the financial stability of the united states ” . two months after the fdic ’s warning letter to jamie dimon , in june ( 2016 ) , this report says , he cryptically “ sounded a warning ” that the united states sub - prime auto loan bubble was nearing collapse and stated that “ someone is going to get hurt ” . unbeknownst to the american people , mof experts in this report explain , is that just 8 weeks ago multiple warnings began to be issued that the united states $ 1 trillion sub - prime auto loan bubble was beginning to collapse — and that this past week became so severe the bank of america issued a recession warning telling its elite customers that “ this market is scary ” , and the british - based multinational banking and financial services company hsbc , likewise , issued a “ red alert ” warning all of its clients warning them to “ prepare for a severe market crash ” . with one of the first casualties of this sub - prime auto loan bubble being the german global banking giant deutsche bank that is “ nearing its doom ” and laying off tens - of - thousands of it workers worldwide , this report grimly states , the american mainstream propaganda media is failing to allow the people of that nation to know the full extent of this looming catastrophe — who unlike hillary clinton who has just protected $ 1.8 billion of her wealth , will be left defenseless once again at the hands of their elite rulers . as wikileaks secret hillary clinton emails have now proven that the us propaganda mainstream media is now totally controlled by her , and who continue their blackout on the “ clinton crime story of the century ” , this report continues , the absolutely horrifying statistics released this week showing that an astounding 35 % of american who have been brutalized by the obama - clinton regime these past 8 years are so buried in debt they can no longer pay their bills is , likewise , being kept from these most innocent of peoples .
+1 comment on facebook daughter ’s day hoax is a sign of the times by para kazanmak para kazanmak subscribe my daughter and me yesterday was national daughter ’s day ! i know this because facebook told me so ; well , maybe not mark zuckerberg himself , but all my friends on facebook were posting pictures of their daughters and celebrating national daughter ’s day so it must be true , right ? actually , i googled it , and guess what ? ? ? september 24 is not national daughter ’s day … according to wikipedia , national daughter ’s day is august 11th . this little snippet in wikipedia also stated that national daughter ’s day originated from the bible . i have done some more digging , and honestly , i ca n’t find proof for either the day or the fact that the bible calls for it . so it got me to thinking … how did a day , which did n’t actually exist , go viral in just a few hours on facebook ? there has to be a need which something like this fills or else the entire facebook population would n’t have jumped on it so quickly . then it hit me . we love our daughters ! it really is that simple . we love our daughters so much that we felt we needed to tell them so publicly on facebook . i saw some of the cutest baby pictures and some of the sweetest words of love scroll through my facebook feed yesterday . mothers and fathers discussing how sweet their little girls were and exclaiming pride in the women they had become . all ages were represented . it was really quite moving , and it was a wonderful change from the politics and hatred i normally see there . my question is , why did we need to create a fictitious holiday to say these things . we all know our society is in desperate need of love , but yesterday also proved that our society is desperate to show love . it is ok to tell the world you love your daughter , or for that matter , your son , your wife , your husband , your life partner , your best friend , your ex , your mailman , your mother , your dog , or your local friendly hardware store worker . you do n’t need a special occasion or an official day . we do n’t have to all agree it is ok to do it on that particular day . just love . show it openly . tell the world and facebook . do it every day . it ’s in your dna . you need it . i declare today national i am going to post about who i love day … every day . by the way … my daughter , mallory , is intelligent , beautiful , and compassionate , and i am blessed that she calls me mom . just thought i would throw that in since it is national i am going to post about who i love day ! now faith , hope , and love remain — these three things — and the greatest of these is love . 1 corinthians 13 about melanie tubbs melanie tubbs is a professor , pastor , mother , mimi , and true arkansas woman . she lives with six cats and two dogs on a quiet hill in a rural county where she pastors a church and teaches history at the local university . her slightly addictive personality comes out in shameful netflix binges and a massive collection of books . vegetarian cooking , reading mountains of books for her seminary classes , and crocheting for the churches prayer shawl ministry take up most of her free time , and sharing the love of christ forms the direction of her life . may the peace of christ be with you . connect
+1 the anatomy of crisis and the decline of us empire danny haiphong the anatomy of crisis and the decline of us empire submitted by danny haiphong on tue , 11/08/2016 - 12:18 tweet widget by danny haiphong there are multiple dimensions to the crisis that afflicts u.s. imperialism . the latest election is evidence of a crisis of legitimacy for the ruling parties . americans are estranged from a government that spies on every one its citizens – and on the rest of the world , too . “ unemployment , poverty , racist state repression , and war are all the system has to offer . ” unable to escape a 40-year economic slump , the u.s. instead plots the destruction of its rivals . the anatomy of crisis and the decline of us empire by danny haiphong “ the vast majority of oppressed communities , particularly black workers , have seen their labor become disposable in a post - industrial society . ” whether one analyzes the economic , military , or political spheres of us imperialism , one thing is abundantly clear . the very fabric of the united states is in deep crisis . the crisis is largely misunderstood by the vast majority of working and oppressed people living under it . but a specter haunts the us and it is n't anything like hollywood 's scary movies . that specter is the possibility that the people will become a conscious force of opposition to the crisis and seek to dismantle the system of capitalist empire that governs it . crises are genuinely thought of in economic terms . the economic base of capitalism is indeed suffering from protracted economic crisis . the us capitalist economy , and thus the world capitalist economy pegged to its hip , entered a period of stagnation in the mid to late 1970s . what followed was a slowdown in production facilitated by the increased monopolization , financialization , and increased technological capacity of the system . capitalism 's source of profit , labor , was now being exploited by an apparatus too big to expand the profits of the system without intensified exploitation . the aftermath of capitalism 's periodic collapses from overproduction and under consumption have been characterized ever since by a complete and total assault on all workers . “ wages have declined or remained stagnant for nearly four decades . ” the conditions of the crisis speak for themselves . workers in the us , and the entire western world for that matter , have seen conditions rapidly deteriorate as the capitalist system has sought to maximize profits in the face of productive slowdown . free trade agreements such as nafta have given corporations the freedom to eliminate production domestically in order to seek a better deal internationally . wages have declined or remained stagnant for nearly four decades . unemployment has become a permanent fixture of life for millions and nearly one of two people in the us are considered poor or " near poor . " at this time , the us is a low - wage capitalist economy dominated by service oriented , precarious employment . racism has played a large part in the disparity inherent under these conditions . the wealth gap between black america and white america is larger than it was in the civil rights era . not only has black america been the target of racist housing policies from predatory lenders leading up to the 2008 crisis , but the burden of privatization and austerity has been directly aimed at black families . hedge funds , for example , have used working class black communities as the guinea pig to test the effectiveness of massive school closures and teacher layoffs as well as the expansion of charter schools . thousands of black teachers have lost their jobs as a result to the mostly white demographic of teach for america corps members . “ the wealth gap between black america and white america is larger than it was in the civil rights era . ” however , it is not enough to understand the crisis of capitalism through an economic lens . the crisis possesses many forms . repressive state activity has become more pronounced , especially in the aftermath of the war on terror . racist repression in particular has intensified as the vast majority of oppressed communities , particularly black workers , have seen their labor become disposable in a post - industrial society . nearly 1100 black americans are killed every year by law enforcement all over the country . the war on black and indigenous peoples that laid the foundation of the united states has only become more severe , as evidenced by the fact that one of every eight prisoners in the world is a black american . the dakota access pipeline struggle has shown that not even the concentration camps forced upon indigenous people are safe from the profit - seeking tentacles of the crisis - ridden system . and every american can guarantee that civil liberties are a thing of the past . the nsa , fbi , and the rest of the intelligence community possess access to the entire population 's mail and phone devices . a massive surveillance dragnet accountable to no one but the ruling class allows the us state to keep tabs on whoever resists the conditions of the crisis . war at home is ultimately a reflection of the broader war being waged around the world . the us capitalist system is a global system with the largest military state in human history . war has thus played a critical role in the response to system crisis . the us military acts as the enforcement arm of neo - colonialism and capitalist exploitation around the world . it has expanded into nearly every african state through the us african command ( africom ) . the us military state continues to support fascism in ukraine and fundamentalist islam in places like saudi arabia and qatar . it has destabilized a number of nations in the last decade alone , including iraq , afghanistan , and libya . the us has collaborated with nato , israel , and turkey to militarily encircle russia and china militarily and sponsor terror groups responsible for the massacres in syria . “ the us imperialist system is predicated on the expansion of global capital by any means at its disposal , including the use military force to clear the way for corporate plunder . but the us military is in crisis too . it is plagued by a disillusioned rank and file and the inevitability of a global confrontation with russia and china if it continues on the current course . the demands of a stagnating global capitalist economy and the ever - increasing exploitation of masses of working people offer no potential for a reversal of fortune . the us imperialist system is predicated on the expansion of global capital by any means at its disposal , including the use military force to clear the way for corporate plunder . the us military state has grown both in size and in violence in order to prevent the global shift of power currently underway . russia and china have become the number one challengers to us global hegemony . china 's economy will soon surpass that of the us and russia 's recovery from post - soviet collapse has propelled the putin - led nation back onto the global scene as a major factor in world affairs . these two powers are becoming increasingly close both economically and militarily . this has made the us ruling class increasingly nervous in the midst of economic decline . to maintain hegemony , the us military state set the world ablaze through endless war in every region of the world that dares to seek ties with russia and china . at this point , the us imperialist system can not peacefully compete in any way with its so - called rivals to the east . the contradictions of the system have become unmanageable . unemployment , poverty , racist state repression , and war are all the system has to offer . another economic collapse is on the horizon . crisis is built into the global capitalist system 's constant drive to accumulate profit in the face of global misery . the decline of us imperialism and empire will not change regardless of the election . what is sure to change is the mass reaction to the decline as life becomes more and more unbearable under the grip of empire . danny haiphong is an asian activist and political analyst in the boston area . he can be reached at [ email protected ]
+1 chart of the day : french auto production down 45 % since 2000 david stockman chart of the day : french auto production down 45 % since 2000
+1 minsk meeting being held to determine status of donetsk and lugansk , do n't expect much - russia news now nan this post was originally published on this site sott.net/news a meeting of the contact group on the settlement of the ukrainian crisis is going to be held today in minsk . steinmeier ’s formula the primary issue of this meeting is going to be the consideration of steinmeier ’s formula , which determines a special status for donetsk and lugansk and , after the publication of the election results in these regions , potential transfer to self - government . moreover , the officials of these republics say that , without agreement on this matter , it is impossible to solve any other problems . meanwhile , kiev is delaying decision - making on this issue . the talks are going very slowly and unproductively . provocations in addition , kiev is continuing provocations against russia . despite the fact that russia is not a party to the conflict and does not participate in these talks , kiev ’s provocations negatively affect the credibility of ukraine and do not help the course of the group ’s work . just recently , kiev sent several groups of spies and saboteurs to russia and kidnapped two russian citizens . now they are being detained with the possibility of ransom , which suggests that all of this was started for the sole purpose of at least slightly improving ukraine ’s deplorable financial condition . the neutral territory during his visit to moscow yesterday , president of belarus alexander lukashenko said that belarus was a neutral party and would not support any of the conflict ’s sides , despite the fact that kiev has really done everything possible to foment bad relations with all of its neighbors , including even its traditional anti - russian ally – poland . the incident with the belarusian aircraft , when ukraine threatened to raise fighters against a passenger liner flying from kiev to minsk , did nothing good for the international image of poroshenko , nor for ukrainian - belarusian relations , which until recently were considered to be even closer than relations between minsk and moscow . expectations all of these facts suggest that no high expectations should be held for the meeting . most likely , kiev will once again delay the solution of fundamental problems , confining itself to blackmail over prisoners of the dpr and the lpr . perhaps some contract clauses will be agreed upon , but no more should be expected . related
+1 jackie mason : hillary clinton too untrustworthy to serve as bathroom attendant – she ’d steal the toilet paper nan email during a radio interview , comic legend and political pundit jackie mason joked that the only time hillary clinton is not lying “ is when her mouth is not moving.”“and even then , she is probably lying because she ’s probably sitting there thinking of the next lie she is going to tell , ” he added . mason claimed that clinton is so untrustworthy that she likely could n’t land a job as an “ attendant in the ladies’ room because they would be afraid that she would steal the towels or the napkins . even the toilet paper would n’t be safe from her . ” mason was speaking during his regular segment on this reporter ’s talk radio program , “ aaron klein investigative radio , ” broadcast on new york ’s am 970 the answer and newstalk 990 am in philadelphia . he continued : do you think that if she went for any other job besides the presidency that anyone would hire her anywhere ? if you saw her resume which is a resume of accomplishing nothing and running from the police three - quarters of her life . she is always either indicted or almost indicted or about to be indicted . her whole life spent fleeing from the justice departments of different countries . now , this yenta , do you think she would be able to get any other job ? … would you think they would hire her as a chambermaid ? do you know what all those sheets and pillowcases are worth ? do you think they would trust her with it ? after they found out the history of her life . let ’s be honest about it , if you went on a vacation would you let her watch your house while you went on vacation ? would you expect to come back and find anything still there ?
+1 dow higher as boeing gains offset apple 's fall -no author- dow higher as boeing gains offset apple 's fall ' the fact of the matter is the oil market is rebalancing itself ' published : 2 mins ago ( cnbc ) — u.s. stock closed mostly lower on wednesday as earnings season continued , while solid economic data helped financials and oil extended its losing streak despite bullish supply data . the dow jones industrial average rose 21 points after briefly dropping more than 100 points , with boeing contributing gains to the tune of 38 points , offsetting sharp losses in apple , which took about 20 points off the index . the s&p 500 momentarily eked above breakeven before holding 0.22 percent lower , with real estate falling 1.32 percent to lead decliners while industrials and financials outperformed . the nasdaq lagged , falling 0.64 percent as apple shed about 2.7 percent .
+0 donald trump , iran , joe mcknight : your tuesday evening briefing - the new york times karen workman and sandra stevenson ( want to get this briefing by email ? here ’s the . ) good evening . here ’s the latest . 1 . donald j. trump continues his victory tour with a rally in fayetteville , n. c. ( 7 p. m. eastern ) . earlier in the day , he fired the son of his designated national security adviser for sharing a fake news story about hillary clinton that led to an armed confrontation in a pizza restaurant . and mr. trump , who has for years flown in a jet bearing his name , proposed canceling a pending order for a new air force one , criticizing boeing in a tweet that said “ costs are out of control . ” _ _ _ _ _ 2 . president obama took air force one to tampa , fla. where he delivered his final planned address on national security . the venue , macdill air force base , is home to units crucial to mr. obama ’s fight against terrorism as well as efforts to wind down the wars in iraq and afghanistan . the diminishing united states presence in afghanistan offers yet more room for saudi arabia , which has supported the american mission there while also turning a blind eye to wealthy residents privately funding the taliban . _ _ _ _ _ 3 . mr. trump has stirred controversy with foreign governments . his unorthodox phone call with the leader of taiwan appears to be the culmination of months of effort by bob dole , above , who acted as a foreign agent for the country ’s government . his lobbying firm was paid $ 140 , 000 for the work . in iran , president hassan rouhani said that his country would not allow mr. trump to tear up last year ’s nuclear agreement . “ america is our enemy we have no doubt about this , ” he said , taking a harsh tone that signaled the intense pressure he is under from . _ _ _ _ _ 4 . the man who admitted to shooting the former n. f. l. player joe mcknight last thursday has been arrested and charged with manslaughter . the authorities had been deluged with criticism and insults for releasing ronald gasser , above , after what appeared to be an episode of road rage . in a news conference , sheriff newell normand angrily rejected the idea his officers had been slow to act because the victim was black and the shooter white . _ _ _ _ _ 5 . the supreme court ruled unanimously in two cases . justices handed samsung a victory in a fight over smartphone patents that may mean the company wo n’t have to fork over $ 399 million to apple . and the court upheld prosecutors’ right to pursue insider trading charges when executives pass along tips to relatives . _ _ _ _ _ 6 . wells fargo has been able to stop lawsuits from defrauded customers by moving the cases into private arbitration , a secretive legal process that often favors corporations . “ it ’s ridiculous , ” said jennifer zeleny , above , who is suing the bank . “ this is an issue of identity theft — my identity was used so employees could meet sales goals . this is something that needs to be litigated in a public forum . ” _ _ _ _ _ 7 . new york will investigate whether the state ’s prison system is racially biased after an investigation by the times found that black inmates were punished and denied parole at higher rates than white ones . the times analyzed nearly 60 , 000 disciplinary cases from 2015 and interviewed inmates at prisons around the state for the series . here ’s part i and part ii . _ _ _ _ _ 8 . the united states fared poorly , as usual , in a worldwide ranking of students’ test scores . but the latest results did show significant gains among disadvantaged teenagers . andreas schleicher , who oversees the test , suggested the recently adopted learning goals known as the common core state standards would further those gains in the long term . _ _ _ _ _ 9 . beyoncé received more grammy nominations than any other artist , getting nine nods for “ lemonade , ” an album and film that explored issues of race and infidelity . she ’ll compete against adele — who received five nominations — in each of the top of three categories . drake and rihanna each received eight nominations , and chance the rapper had seven . _ _ _ _ _ 10 . the hot toy of the holiday season is an interactive , furry creature that hatches out of an egg and grows up before your eyes . they ’re called hatchimals , and they are in short supply . the canadian company that introduced the toy in october , with a suggested retail price of $ 59 . 99 , said it “ had no idea that it would be this big . ” good luck , shoppers . photographs may appear out of order for some readers . viewing this version of the briefing should help . your evening briefing is posted at 6 p. m. eastern . and do n’t miss your morning briefing , posted weekdays at 6 a. m. eastern , and your weekend briefing , posted at 6 a. m. sundays . want to look back ? here ’s last night ’s briefing . what did you like ? what do you want to see here ? let us know at briefing@nytimes . com .
+1 neue app ruft automatisch bei ex an , sobald man betrunken ist noreply@blogger.com ( der postillon ) mittwoch , 16 . november 2016 neue app ruft automatisch bei ex an , sobald man betrunken ist berlin ( dpo ) - mitten in der nacht i m vollrausch den ex - partner anzurufen ist gar nicht so einfach . oft ist man zu alkoholisiert , um die nummer korrekt einzugeben . nicht selten schläft man vorher ein und verpasst die gelegenheit ganz , der person , für die man immer noch gefühle hat , unverständliche dinge ins ohr zu lallen . die neue app " dialx " soll das nun ändern . das nützliche programm kontaktiert den ex - partner des smartphone - besitzers automatisch , sobald dieser deutliche anzeichen von betrunkenheit erkennen lässt . dabei kann " dialx " anhand von spracherkennung ( lallgrad ) sowie durch eine auswertung der bewegungssensoren ( torkelgrad ) des handys abschätzen , ob der app - user die richtige menge alkohol zu sich genommen hat . " der trick ist , nicht zu früh anzurufen , sonst kann man sich i m zweifelsfall am nächsten tag noch an das peinliche gespräch erinnern " , erklärt christopher jungwirth , der die app entwickelte . " zu spät ist aber auch nicht gut , da der oder die ex dann womöglich keine der dahingelallten beleidigungen oder liebesbekundungen mehr verstehen kann . ' dialx ' findet genau den richtigen zeitpunkt . " ist der ideale alkoholwert bestimmt , wählt die app automatisch die nummer der ex - freundin oder des ex - freundes . gleichzeitig klingelt das eigene telefon , damit der alkoholisierte anrufer informiert ist und das gespräch führen kann . während der unterhaltung bietet die app auf dem display in extra großen buchstaben unterstützende stichworte an wie " ich hab noch ein t - shirt von dir " , " mir doch egal , wie spät es ist " , " ich lieb dich doch immer noch " , " warum lässt du mich nicht einfach in ruhe , du schlampe / arschloch ? " oder " rülps ! " . sollte der oder die angerufene den anruf in weiser voraussicht auch nach dem zehnten versuch nicht annehmen , verfasst die app automatisch eine wütende sms oder eine whatsapp - nachricht mit zahlreichen rechtschreibfehlern : " dialx " ist kostenlos bei google play und i m appstore erhältlich . dem macher der app ging es nach eigener aussage nicht um geld , sondern nur darum , seine ex - freundin zu beeindrucken . fed , ssi , dan ; foto [ m ] : shutterstock artikel teilen :
+1 mike pence drapes shawl over immodest lady justice statue - the onion - america 's finest news source nan trump raises concern over members of urban communities voting more than zero times atkinson , nh — warning supporters that the troubling practice could affect the outcome of the election , republican presidential nominee donald trump expressed strong concern friday that members of urban communities were voting more than zero times , sources reported . nation puts 2016 election into perspective by reminding itself some species of sea turtles get eaten by birds just seconds after they hatch washington — saying they felt anxious and overwhelmed just days before heading to the polls to decide a historically fraught presidential race , americans throughout the country reportedly took a moment thursday to put the 2016 election into perspective by reminding themselves that some species of sea turtles are eaten by birds just seconds after they hatch . report : election day most americans’ only time in 2016 being in same room with person supporting other candidate washington — according to a report released thursday by the pew research center , election day 2016 will , for the majority of americans , mark the only time this year they will occupy the same room as a person who supports a different presidential candidate . most hotly contested down - ballot measures of 2016 as americans head to the polls , they will be presented with a number of issues to vote on besides choosing their representatives . the onion gives voters an advance look at which measures will be included on the ballots in which states . new heavy - duty voting machine allows americans to take out frustration on it before casting ballot washington — saying the circumstances of this year ’s presidential race made the upgrade necessary , election commissions throughout the country were reportedly working to install new heavy - duty voting machines this week that will allow americans to physically take out their frustrations on the devices before casting their votes . clinton staff readies emp launch to disable all nation ’s electronic devices new york — in an effort to prepare for any new revelations that might emerge about her emails during her tenure as secretary of state , democratic presidential nominee hillary clinton reportedly told her staff tuesday to ready the launch of several electromagnetic pulses to disable all of the nation ’s electronic devices . end of section
+1 the week after trump ’s win : the reaction of liberal college students edjenner like most people on election day , i expected hillary clinton to become president . i could not have been in a better setting to find out the tides were turning .
+1 crude drops 10 percent ; price decline just beginning bob adelmann email midday last thursday , the price of crude oil for delivery in december touched $ 50 , and it ’s been all downhill since then . at noon on wednesday crude oil futures touched $ 45 a barrel on news that inventories soared last week by the most in 34 years . the market was n��t expecting that . it was bad enough that the american petroleum institute ( api ) reported a supply increase nine times greater than analysts and observers were expecting last week . those market seers were betting on an increase of a million barrels . instead the api reported the increase was 9.3 million — a miss of gigantic proportions . on wednesday , however , the energy information administration ( eia ) reported that the api ’s estimate was far too low : inventories last week jumped by 14.4 million barrels , forcing one of those observers , bob yawger , director of the futures division of mizuho securities usa , to exclaim : “ you could easily make the argument that [ the eia report is ] the most bearish ... of all time . ” he added , “ there ’s nothing to support the market . ” the futures market is driven by expectations . ever since opec promised in september that it would have a working plan in place by november to cut production in order to “ balance ” the market , crude oil futures have slowly inched up . the market managed to resist the temptation to sell off on news that the rig count in the united states was increasing , that the majors were increasing their capital expenditures for 2017 , and that ducs ( wells developed but not completed ) were coming into production . what it could n’t do was shrug off the news that goldman sachs , in a private memo to its customers ( and revealed to irina slav at oilprice.com ) , suggests that oil is headed for $ 40 a barrel : " the lack of progress on implementing production quotas and the growing discord between opec producers suggests a declining probability of reaching a deal on november 30 . " this is the same company that “ suggested ” that oil could drop into the 20s late last year , which it did , touching $ 26 a barrel in february before rebounding . on top of that was the distressing news — at least to those banking on higher prices and betting on that outcome — that u.s. refiners are operating at only 85 percent of capacity , especially at a time when increased demands over the holidays would usually drive prices higher . add to that the news that opec members , while meeting privately to hammer together some sort of deal to cut — or at least freeze — production , are increasing production at the same time . iran is exempted from any participation in the proposed cuts , and is raising its production back to pre - sanction levels as quickly as it can ; iraq is demanding the same exemption as iran , claiming that it needs increased revenues to fight isis ; russia is going its own way as it is n’t a member of the cartel ; and libya and nigeria are merrily ignoring the charade , adding another 800,000 barrels to global supply last month . the so - called “ balance ” of the oil markets between supply and demand is many months off , while the futures market is likely to continue its breathtaking selloff to $ 40 and perhaps even lower . an ivy league graduate and former investment advisor , bob is a regular contributor to the new american magazine and blogs frequently at lightfromtheright.com , primarily on economics and politics . he can be reached at this email address is being protected from spambots . you need javascript enabled to view it . . please review our comment policy before posting a comment thank you for joining the discussion at the new american . we value our readers and encourage their participation , but in order to ensure a positive experience for our readership , we have a few guidelines for commenting on articles . if your post does not follow our policy , it will be deleted . no profanity , racial slurs , direct threats , or threatening language . no product advertisements . please post comments in english . please keep your comments on topic with the article . if you wish to comment on another subject , you may search for a relevant article and join or start a discussion there .
+0 loretta lynch to accept f.b.i. recommendations in clinton email inquiry - the new york times mark landler , matt apuzzo and amy chozick washington — attorney general loretta e. lynch , conceding that her airport meeting with former president bill clinton this week had cast a shadow over the federal investigation of hillary clinton ’s personal email account , said friday that she would accept whatever recommendations career prosecutors and the f. b. i. director made about whether to bring charges in the case . ms. lynch said she had decided this spring to defer to the recommendations of her staff and the f. b. i. because her status as a political appointee sitting in judgment on a politically charged case would raise questions of a conflict of interest . but the meeting with mr. clinton , she acknowledged , had deepened those questions , and she said she now felt compelled to explain publicly her reasoning to try to put the concerns to rest . “ people have a whole host of reasons to have questions about how we in government do our business , ” ms. lynch said at an aspen institute conference in colorado . “ my meeting on the plane with former president clinton could give them another reason to have questions and concerns . ” though she insisted the conversation was a purely social encounter , ms. lynch said , “ i certainly would n’t do it again . ” the attorney general ’s response did little to quell a political tempest in washington , with some republicans calling for her to recuse herself from the case — a step she said she was not going to take . donald j. trump , the presumptive republican nominee , said the meeting had “ opened up a pandora ’s box . ” he cast doubt on whether it was entirely social , citing it as an example of how “ the special interests are controlling your government . ” for democrats , already anxious about the political impact of the email investigation , the incident revived fears that mr. clinton could become a rogue actor in a campaign that has so far operated more smoothly than mrs. clinton ’s presidential bid in 2008 . mr. clinton , who was on a swing for his wife , strode across the tarmac at the airport in phoenix to greet ms. lynch after her plane landed there on monday night . the attorney general joked that she should have acted more swiftly to keep him from boarding . asked by a journalist to name one thing she wished her predecessor , eric h. holder jr. had told her about her job , she replied , “ where the lock on the plane door was . ” still , ms. lynch said the episode was personally distressing because it stained the reputation of the justice department . “ the fact that the meeting that i had is now casting a shadow over how people are going to view that work is something that i take seriously , and deeply and painfully , ” she said . even ms. lynch ’s explanation of how she planned to distance herself from the case — without recusing herself — required further clarification . “ the case will be resolved by the team that ’s been working on it from the beginning , ” she said in aspen . but a justice department spokeswoman , melanie newman , noted afterward that even if ms. lynch accepted the recommendation of her staff , she would be the one making the decision . “ she ’s the head of the department , ” ms. newman said , “ and with that comes ultimate responsibility for any decision . ” the white house declined to comment on ms. lynch ’s decision . president obama “ believes that this matter should be handled without regard to politics , ” the press secretary , josh earnest , said . the f. b. i. is investigating whether mrs. clinton , her aides or anyone else broke the law by setting up a private email server for her to use as secretary of state . internal investigators have concluded that the server was used to send classified information . for the justice department , the central question is whether the conduct met the legal standard for the crime of mishandling classified information . ms. lynch , whom mr. clinton appointed to be a united states attorney in 1999 , said that the meeting with the former president was unplanned and largely social , and did not touch on the email investigation . “ he said hello and we basically said hello , and congratulated him on his grandchildren , as people do , ” said ms. lynch , who was traveling with her husband . “ that led to a conversation about those grandchildren . ” for mr. clinton , who travels frequently by private jet , such airport socializing is common . last month , he ran into senator orrin g. hatch , republican of utah , after speaking at the funeral of muhammad ali in louisville , ky. the two chatted before their planes took off . he has also greeted representative paul d. ryan , the house speaker , and arnold schwarzenegger , the former republican governor of california , on the tarmac . and in mobile , ala. he chatted with senator ted cruz , the texas republican who has called for mrs. clinton ’s imprisonment . this meeting , however , created a particularly awkward situation for ms. lynch , a veteran prosecutor who was nominated from outside washington ’s political circles . during her confirmation , her allies sought to contrast her with her predecessor , mr. holder , an outspoken liberal voice who clashed frequently with republicans who accused him of politicizing the office . ms. lynch ’s reassurance that she will not overrule her investigators is significant . when the f. b. i. sought to bring felony charges against david h. petraeus , the former c. i. a. director , for mishandling classified information and lying about it , mr. holder stepped in and reduced the charge to a misdemeanor . that decision opened a deep — and public — rift . two other political appointees will review the findings of the email investigation before a final decision is made : john p. carlin , the assistant attorney general for national security , and deputy attorney general sally yates . but both have also pledged to follow the recommendations of the career prosecutors and the f. b. i. ms. newman said . the f. b. i. is expected to make a recommendation to the justice department in the coming weeks , though agents have yet to interview mrs. clinton . while some legal experts said they believed that criminal indictments in the case were unlikely , the investigation continues to cast a shadow over mrs. clinton ’s presidential campaign . beyond the workings of the justice department , there is precedent for relying on career officials to make politically charged decisions . when the justice department was considering whether to recommend sanctions against former bush administration lawyers who approved waterboarding , mr. holder relied on his most senior career prosecutor to make the decision . no sanctions were recommended . for mrs. clinton ’s presidential campaign , the incident in phoenix resurrected questions about how the campaign would rein in her irrepressible husband . with approval ratings among democrats of over 60 percent , mr. clinton is one of his wife ’s most potent surrogates . he has traversed the country with a breakneck schedule , campaigning and raising money for mrs. clinton , traveling with a staff and security detail . mr. clinton and his chief of staff , tina flournoy , are in frequent contact with john d. podesta , chairman of the clinton campaign , and robby mook , the campaign manager . he often listens in on campaign conference calls from the family ’s home in chappaqua , n. y. but his unpredictable and sociable nature can also cause problems for his wife ’s candidacy . david axelrod , the former senior adviser to mr. obama , said on twitter that he took mr. clinton and ms. lynch “ at their word ” that they had not discussed the investigation , but added that it was “ foolish to create such optics . ”
+1 video : ‘ rude’ cnn reporter asks trump why he ’s taking time off to open a hotel admin meanwhile hillary clinton is at home sleeping steve watson prison planet.com october 27 , 2016 gop nominee donald trump took time out of a relentless campaign schedule wednesday to spend around an hour opening a new hotel , prompting one cnn reporter to accuse trump of “ taking time out of swing states . ” meanwhile hillary clinton is again nowhere to be seen . cnn ’s dana bash suggested that trump should be more concerned with campaigning in swing states , yet trump had three campaign stops scheduled for the same day . dana bash : is your dc hotel opening free advertising?donald trump : “ no , not at all ” https://t.co/6oztrfiwim https://t.co/9hhqooom8r — cnn politics ( @cnnpolitics ) october 26 , 2016 “ so to people who say you ’re taking time out of swing states to go do this , you say ? ” bash asked . “ i say the following : you have been covering me for the last — long time . i did yesterday eight stops and three major speeches , and i ’ve been doing this for weeks straight , ” trump responded . “ for you to ask me that question is actually very insulting because hillary clinton does one stop and then she goes home and sleeps . and yet you ’ll ask me that question . i think that ’s a very rude question , to be honest with you . ” trump exclaimed . trump added that the opening of the hotel also served to prove a point that he can get things built under budget and ahead of schedule , suggesting that the country needs to be able to follow suit . while cnn has continuously run defense for hillary clinton amid a myriad of scandals , and even rigged its own polls to suggest she won the debates , the network has been forced to admit that hillary is running an extremely light campaign schedule . last month , for example , hillary went six days without an event except for a short speech she gave in orlando , florida . and in august , hillary took seven of the first 14 days of the month off and even went four days without a single campaign appearance . “ her speeches are so short – they do n’t last long , they ’re like 10 minutes and ‘ let ’s get out of here,’ ” donald trump said about her schedule . “ go back home and go to sleep . ” this article was posted : thursday , october 27 , 2016 at 8:12 am share this article
+1 a. maren obama and hillary don't care what the peons think . apparently , obama does n't care if his legacy is tarnished . he 's pushing the tpp like crazy , making concessions , and doing whatever he needs to do to get it passed . look for him to smooth talk us into the tpp once the elections are over . personally blamed for isds lawsuits ? has bill clinton been blamed for the $ 15 billion dollar transcanada lawsuit filed under nafta ? no , he 's walked away a very rich man . what will be left for warren to save ? the tpp has no termination date .
+0 how the split screen framed trump and clinton - the new york times james poniewozik the split screen told the story at the first 2016 presidential debate , and it was not kind to donald j. trump . at the right was his opponent , hillary clinton , a practiced debater , who held long , studied gazes on her opponent , delivered calibrated attacks and turned to the audience to smile incredulously at his responses . at the left was mr. trump , the volatile presence who a season of republican debates . now he grimaced , squinted , nodded , pursed his lips , sniffed , huffed and interrupted , becoming , over the night , an agitated man in a box . this seemed to be by mrs. clinton ’s design . she had reportedly prepared to face two different versions of her opponent . there might be a reserved mr. trump , ready to reassure voters about his . or there might be the raging , ranting mr. trump of the primaries . turns out they both showed up . the quiet mr. trump took the first shift , presenting a version of his forceful campaign persona minus the bluster , insults and defenses of his anatomy . he pushed his case firmly , hitting his campaign ’s focal points on the economy and trade . but it did n’t take long for mrs. clinton to find the other mr. trump under that thin second skin . her needling began immediately . she referred to her opponent as “ donald , ” where he pointedly called her “ secretary clinton . ” ( “ yes , is that o. k. ? ” he asked at his first reference to her . ) she referred to his starting a business with a “ $ 14 million ” loan from his father , which mr. trump preferred to call a “ very small loan . ” the digs targeted mr. trump ’s status and founding mythos , triggering his reflex . he became combative and rattled , letting his opponent lead him down rhetorical detours ( at one point he revived an old feud with rosie o’donnell ) knowing that he would follow his ingrained abcs : always be counterpunching . it was tony soprano vs. dr. melfi , tv ’s biggest antihero blustering against the woman who had gotten inside his head . the campaign mind games had begun before the actual contest , like fisticuffs at a . after mark cuban , the billionaire bugbear of mr. trump , announced on twitter that he would attend the debate , mr. trump threatened to invite gennifer flowers , whose reported affair with bill clinton endangered mr. clinton ’s presidential run in 1992 . but there were no big stunts on air , and little in the candidates’ styles we had n’t seen before . mr. trump spoke in direct , punchy sentences and fragments : “ typical politician . all talk , no action . sounds good , does n’t work . ” and he used his hands as an emoji keyboard , punctuating his words with slashes , stabbing fingers and pinched o. k. gestures . mrs. clinton was steady and poised . at times her lines sounded rehearsed . ( stop trying to make “ ” happen . it ’s not going to happen . ) but one of her most effective lines , which she seemed to be waiting for a chance to use , was about preparation itself . “ i think donald just criticized me for preparing for this debate , ” she said . “ yes , i did . and you know what else i prepared for ? i prepared to be president . ” the two candidates’ stage styles served as campaign arguments in themselves . mrs. clinton ’s spotlighting her debate practice was a shorthand defense of the experience that her opponents have cast as insiderism . mr. trump , meanwhile , has used his improvisatory style to suggest that he would govern the country by quick instinct and golden gut . ( thus his tendency to announce “ called it ” after tragic news events . ) it ’s entirely possible that their demeanors each came across as winning to their respective bases — one more way in which two americas have viewed the election through different frames . but monday night , it was mrs. clinton who seemed to be having the debate she wanted . her body language was controlled , and she more often directed her attention outward toward the camera and audience . mr. trump , the pro , showed less camera awareness , glaring at his opponent and directing answers downstage ( presumably toward the moderator , lester holt , who was little seen on camera ) . by the end of the debate his declaration , “ i also have a much better temperament than she has ” drew spontaneous laughter . some of the audience laughter and applause seemed more tactical than spontaneous , though the crowd had been warned to keep quiet . but it was nothing like the arena roar of the primary debates , which mr. trump in particular had thrived on . by the anarchic standards of the earlier debates , mr. holt kept reasonable control over the proceedings . he let exchanges run at length but was willing to step in his questions were few but . the major focus , indeed obsession , of the to the debate was whether mr. holt would be willing to lies and inaccuracies . he did , though sparingly , for instance knocking down mr. trump ’s claim that he had opposed the iraq war before it began . but loomed over the debate even when mr. holt was n’t doing it . media outlets and individual viewers were policing statements in real time online , and bloomberg tv network did so live onscreen . both candidates seemed aware of the magnifying glass . “ please , get to work , ” mrs. clinton said , after mr. trump told her , “ you ’ve been fighting isis your entire adult life . ” ( mrs. clinton is 68 . it was rather an overstatement . ) even mr. trump , whose whoppers have continually rung the bell on campaign watchdogs’ seemed briefly conscious of the scrutiny , following up a charge about the obama administration ’s debt record with the disclaimer , “ to be . ” mr. trump was also and coming off and closing on a note of . after mrs. clinton blasted him for his treatment of a beauty pageant contestant , he insinuated a dark personal attack while taking credit for not directly making it . “ i was going to say something extremely rough to hillary , to her family , ” he said , “ and i said to myself , ‘ i ca n’t do it . ’ ” but later , talking to reporters in the spin room , mr. trump said that the remark had to do with mr. clinton ’s “ indiscretions . ” asked for details , he told cnn , “ i ’ll tell you maybe at the next debate . ” it all depends on which donald trump shows up , or how many of him .
+0 north korean defector says kim jong - un ’s control is crumbling - the new york times choe sang - hun seoul , south korea — the defector from north korea in years said on wednesday that the days of the country ’s leadership were “ numbered , ” and that its attempts to control outside information were not working because of corruption and discontent . “ i am sure that more defections of my colleagues will take place , since north korea is already on a slippery slope , ” the defector , thae said during a news conference in seoul , the capital of south korea . “ the traditional structures of the north korean system are crumbling . ” mr. thae had been the north ’s no . 2 diplomat in london until he fled to the south last summer with his family . south korea has hailed his defection as a sign of growing disillusionment among north korean elites with the country ’s leader , kim . since december , mr. thae has given a series of interviews to share his dire view of today ’s north korea . mr. thae ’s diagnosis of mr. kim ’s rule is hardly new . defectors from the north , as well as some conservative analysts and policy makers in the south , widely share that view . still , it signaled a drastic change of roles for mr. thae . before his defection , he was a career diplomat , fluent in english , who had served in britain , denmark and sweden , often delivering passionate speeches glorifying the kim family that has ruled north korea for seven decades . in the south , mr. thae , now affiliated with the institute for national security strategy , a think tank arm of the national intelligence service , has vowed to spend the rest of his life trying to bring down the north korean government . mr. thae said he had high expectations when mr. kim took power after the death of his father , kim in 2011 . schooled for several years in switzerland , mr. kim was expected to help modernize his impoverished country . instead , he resorted to a “ reign of terror ” by executing scores of officials , including his uncle jang whom he thought posed a challenge to his power , mr. thae said . the former diplomat said he had come up with a detailed plan for his defection , first ensuring that his two sons joined him and his wife in london . ( north korean diplomats are required to leave a child in the north , a measure intended to prevent their defection . ) he declined to reveal details of his defection plan and the circumstances . while in london , his sons began asking questions , like why the north korean government executed people in public without a proper trial , mr. thae said . their english friends taunted them with questions , like why mr. kim had smoked a cigarette inside a nursery . the day mr. thae broached his plan for defection with his sons , he told them that he wanted to break the “ chain of slavery ” for them , he recalled . they wanted to know if they would have free access to the internet , books and movies in the south , he said . the best way to force change in the isolated north , he continued , is to disseminate outside information there to help ordinary citizens eventually rebel . south korean tv dramas and movies smuggled from china are already popular in the north , he said . another sign of mr. kim ’s weakening control , mr. thae said , is evident at the unofficial markets in north korea where women trade goods , mostly smuggled from china . the vendors used to be called “ grasshoppers ” because they would pack and flee whenever they saw the police approaching . now , they are called “ ticks ” because they refuse to budge , demanding a right to make a living , mr. thae said . such resistance , even if small in scale , is unprecedented , he added . the spread of outside news and market activities could eventually doom mr. kim because his government “ can be held in place and maintained only by idolizing kim like a god , ” mr. thae said . “ if he tries to introduce a economy to north korean society , then there will be no place for kim in north korea , and he knows that . ” but the leader ’s efforts to clamp down on information and products from outside north korea have been unsuccessful because the police accept bribes in exchange for freeing smugglers and people caught watching banned movies and dramas . “ kim ’s days are numbered , ” mr. thae said on wednesday . after months of debriefing by the authorities in south korea , mr. thae used meetings with the country ’s politicians and the news media to suggest that north korea was determined to be recognized as a nuclear power , just as india and pakistan are . last year , the north conducted two nuclear tests and launched more than 20 ballistic missiles , and it has openly vowed to develop the ability to hit the united states with a nuclear warhead . “ it wo n’t happen , ” donald j. trump , then said at the time . during the election campaign , mr. trump had said he was willing to sit down with mr. kim and perhaps have a hamburger with him . on wednesday , mr. thae warned against compromising with the north , arguing that sanctions were effective . in recent interviews with local news outlets , he said that north korea had lost annual income worth tens of millions dollars , after britain froze accounts last year held by its insurance company as part of sanctions recommended by the united nations . until then , the company had claimed large insurance payments through fabricated documents , he said . mr. kim wanted to negotiate a compromise , under which the united states and south korea would cancel their annual joint military exercises and lift sanctions on the north in return for a moratorium on north korean missile and nuclear tests , mr. thae said . but such a deal would validate mr. kim ’s argument that he had been forced to develop nuclear weapons as a reaction to american hostility , he said . “ that is really a trap kim wants , ” mr. thae said .
+0 trump counselor kellyanne conway , nfl star ben watson to headline 44th annual march for life in washington , d.c. - breitbart dr. susan berry counselor to president donald trump kellyanne conway and baltimore ravens tight end benjamin watson are among the speakers scheduled for the 2017 march for life friday on the national mall in washington , d. c.[the march for life released its list of speakers : kellyanne conway , the highest ranking white house official to ever speak at the march , will now be joined by senator joni ernst ( ) representative mia love ( ) and representative chris smith ( ) along with many other prominent figures — including archbishop of new york cardinal timothy dolan , baltimore ravens tight end benjamin watson , former planned parenthood director and founder of ‘ and then there were none’ abby johnson , mexican telenovela star karyme lozano , author and radio host eric metaxas , and bishop vincent matthews of the church of god in christ , who advocates for adoption in the community . the march for life announced a surprise vip guest at the rally as well . “ i ’m delighted to welcome a remarkable of rally speakers for what will truly be a historic 44th annual march for life , ” said jeanne mancini , march for life president . “ each of our speakers exemplifies this year ’s theme , ‘ the power of one’ in a beautiful way , ” noted mancini . “ their words are sure to motivate the marchers , as well as the millions of americans who will be watching , who dedicate themselves to restoring a culture of life in the united states . ” conway is a longstanding advocate , and watson last year discussed the disproportionately high number of black babies aborted at clinics such as planned parenthood , the nation ’s largest abortion provider . a devout christian , watson told turningpointfriends . org as planned parenthood celebrated its centennial anniversary , “ i do know that blacks kind of represent a large portion of the abortions , and i do know that honestly the whole idea with planned parenthood and [ founder margaret ] sanger in the past was to exterminate blacks , and it ’s kind of ironic that it ’s working . ” the march for life is the world ’s largest demonstration and each year draws tens of thousands of americans from across the nation . the rally will begin at 11:45 a. m. est and the march will start at 1:00 p. m. est . the march for life will begin on the grounds of the national mall and end in front of the u. s. supreme court .
+0 37 who saw murder did n’t call the police - the new york times nan for more than half an hour 38 respectable , law‐abiding cit izens in queens watched a killer stalk and stab a woman in three separate attacks in kew gardens . twice the sound of their voices and the sudden glow of their bedroom iights interrupted him and frightened him off . each time he returned , sought her out and stabbed her again . not one person telephoned ‐ the po lice during the assault one wit ness called after the woman was dead.’ ” that was two weeks ago to day . but assistant chief in spector frederick m. lussen , in charge of the borough ’s detec tives and a veteran of 25 years of homicide investigations , is still shocked . ” ’he can give a matter‐of‐fact recitation of many murders . but the kew gardens slaying baffles him‐not because it is a murder , but because the “ good people ” failed to call the police . “ as we have reconstructed the crime , ” he said , “ the assail ant had three chances to kill this woman during a 35‐minute period . he returned twice to complete the job . if we had been called when he first at tacked , the woman might not be dead now . ” this is what the police say happened beginnang at 3:20 a. m. in the staid , middle‐ciass , tree‐lined austin street area : twenty‐eight‐year‐o1d cath erine genovese , who was called kitty by almost everyone in the neighborhood , was returning she turned off the lights of her car , locked the door and started to walk the 100 feet to the entrance of her apartment at 82‐70 austin street , which is in a tudor building , with stores on the first floor and apartments on the second . the entrance to the apart ment is in the rear of the ing because the front is rented to retail stores . at night the quiet neighborhood is shrouded in the slumbering darkness that marks most residential areas . miss genovese noticed a man at the far end of the lot , near a seven‐story apartment house at 82‐40 austin street . she halted . then , nervously , she headed up austin street to ward lefferts boulevard , where there is a call box to the 102d police precinct in nearby rich mond hill . ‘ he stabbed me!’ she got as far as a street light in front of a bookstore before the man grabbed her . she screamed . lights went on in the 10‐story apartment house at 82‐67 . austin street , which faces the bookstore . windows slid open and voices punctured the early‐morning stillness . miss genovese screamed : oh , my god , he stabbed me ! please help me ! please help me ! ” from one of the upper win down in the apartment house , a man called down : “ let that girl alone ! ” the assailant looked up at him , shrugged and walked down austin street toward a white sedan parked a short distance away . miss genovese struggled to her feet . lights went out . the killer returned to miss genovese , now trying to make her way around the side of the building by the parking lot to get to her apart ment . the assailant stabbed her again.’ ” “ i ’m dying ! ” she shrieked . “ i ’m dying ! ” she shrieked . “ i ’m dying ! ” ” ’a city bus passed windows were opened again , and lights went on in many apartments . the assailant got into his car and drove away . miss genovese staggered to her feet . a city bus , q‐10 , the lef ferts boulevard line to ken nedy international airport , passed . it was 3:35 a. m.’ ” the assailant returned . by then , miss genovese had crawled to the back of the building , where the freshly painted brown doors to the apartment house held out hope of safety . the killer tried the first door she was n’t there . at the second ‐ door , 82‐62 austin street , he saw her slumped on the floor at the foot of the stairs . he stabbed her a third time — fatally . ” ’it was 3:50 by the time the police received their first call , from a man who was a neighbor of miss genovese . in two min utes they were at the scene . the neighbor , a 70‐year‐old woman and another woman were the only persons on the street . no bady else came forward . the man explained that he had called the police after much celiberation . he had phoned a friend in nassau county for advice and then he had crossed the roof of the building to the apartment of the elderly wo man to get her to make the call.’ ” “ i did n’t want to get in volved , ” he sheepishly told the police . ” ’suspect is arrested six days later , the police ar rested winston moseley , a 29 year‐old op erator , and charged him with the homicide . moseley had no previous record . he is married , has two children and owns a home at 133‐19 sutter avenue , south ozone park , queens . on wednesday , a court committed him to kings county hospital for psychiatric observation . when questioned by the po lice , moseley also said that he had slain mrs. annie may john son , 24 , of 146‐12 133d avenue , jamaica , on feb. 29 and bar bara kralik , 15 , of 174‐17 140th avenue , springfield gardens , last july . in the kralik case , the police are holding alvin l. mitchel1 , who is said to have confessed that slaying . the police stressed how sim‐ ple it would have been to have gotten in touch with them . “ a phone call , ” said one of the de tectives , “ would have done it . ” the police may be reached by dialing . “ o ” for operator or spring .’ ” the question of whether the witnesses can be held legally responsible in any way for fail ure to report the crime was put to the police department ’s legai bureau . there , a spokesman said : ” ’“there is no legal responsibil‐ity with few exceptions , for any citizen to report a crime . ” statutes explained under the statutes of the city , he said , a witness to a suspicibus or violent death must report it to the medical examiner . under state law , a witness can not withhold infor mation in a kidnapping.’ �� today witnesses from the neighborhood , which is made up homes in the $ 35 , 000 to $ 60 , 000 range with the exception of the two apartment . houses near the railroad sta tion , find it difficult to explain why they did n’t call the police . ” ’lieut bernard jacobs , who handled the investigation by the , detectives , said : “ it is one of the better neigh borhoods . there are few re ports of crimes . you only get’ ” path of victim : stabber ’s third attack was fatal ” ’the police said most persons had told them they had been afraid to call , but had given meaningless answers when asked what they had feared . “ we can understand the reti cence of people to become in volved in an area of violence , ” lieutenant jacobs said , “ but where they are in their homes , near phones , why should they be afraid to call the police ? ” he said his men were able to piece together what happened — and capture the suspect‐be cause the residents furnished all the information when detec tives rang doorbells during the days following the slaying.’ ” “ but why did n’t someone call us that night ? ” he asked un believingly . ” ’witnesses — some of them un able to believe what they had allowed to happen — told a re porter why.’ ” a housewife , knowingly if quite casual , said , “ we thought it was a lover ’s quarrel . ” a husband and wife both said , “ frankly , we were afraid . ” they seemed aware of the fact that events might have been ” ’one couple , now willing to talk about that night , said they heard the first screams . the husband looked thoughtfully at the bookstore where the killer first grabbed miss genovese . “ we went to the window to see what was happening , ” he said , “ but the light from our bedroom made it difficult to see the street . ” the wife , still ap prehensive , added : “ i put out the light and we were able to see better . ” ’ ” asked why they had n’t called the police , she shrugged and re plied : “ i do n’t know . ” ” ” a man peeked out from a slight opening in the doorway to his apartment and rattled off an account of the killer ’s second attack . why had n’t he called the police at the time ? “ i was tired , ” he said without emotion . “ i went back to bed . ” ” ’it was 4:25 a. m. when the ambulance arrived for the body of miss genovese . it drove off . “ then , ” a solemn police detec tive said , “ the people came out . ” this article can be viewed in its original form . please send questions and feedback to archive_feedback@nytimes . com
+1 beersession the way he 's doing business there seems he 'll be a daisy pusher before to long . just say'en . i mean as one poster here said a while back , only so much the drug cartels will tolerate before they retaliate .
+1 are women treated differently for pain nan prev post page 1 of 5 next do doctors treat women ’s pain less seriously than men ? there is recent evidence showing women treated differently for similar symptoms . the yentl syndrome sometimes movies can have an impact in ways nobody who wrote or worked on the movie could possibly imagine . in the 1983 film “ yentl ” , barbara streisand ’s character plays the role of a male in order to receive the education she wants . dr. bernadine healy used the phrase “ yentl syndrome ” in an academic paper eight years after the film was released . she used it to describe how many women died because they were misdiagnosed because their symptoms were different than men . today the term yentl syndrome is widely used as a description of how women are more likely to be treated less aggressively than men . this is primarily because medical research has focused on the symptoms of male heart attacks , and many women have different symptoms . the term yentl syndrome has also been used in a wider context of how because women experience pain differently than men , many healthcare providers do not take the pain of a woman as seriously as they do a man . prove you are as sick as a male patient in initial encounters with the health - care system , women are more likely to be treated less aggressively than men until they “ prove that they are as sick as male patients ” , according to a study entitled “ the girl who cried pain , ” . a contributing factor is that most emergency rooms in the united states do not have an attending ob - gyn . women were less likely to receive aggressive treatment when diagnosed , and were more likely to have their pain characterized as “ emotional ” or “ psychogenic ” and therefore “ not real ” according to the study . these misplaced characterizations can lead to treatment for mental health issues that might not even exist in the patient . then the situation is further complicated because antidepressants are absorbed differently in women and may have different levels of effectiveness . prev post page 1 of 5 next be the first to comment leave a reply your email address will not be published . comment
+0 immigrants who came to u.s. as children fear deportation under trump - the new york times julia preston and jennifer medina brought to the united states from venezuela as a toddler , carlos roa was among the first young undocumented immigrants to be protected from deportation under a program president obama set up in 2012 by executive action . since then mr. roa , now 29 , has put himself through college and is training to be an architect , drafting blueprints at a chicago firm . but with the election of donald j. trump as president , mr. roa and 750 , 000 other immigrants in the program , who came to the united states as children , have been swept up in a wave of anxiety , worried about losing the progress they have made and being forced back underground or even deported . mr. trump has promised to “ immediately terminate ” mr. obama ’s executive actions on immigration , including the youth initiative . with deep roots in the united states , and with many supporters in civil rights groups , universities and city governments already mobilizing to shield them , many who came here as youths said they were prepared to fight efforts to end the program or expel them from the country . “ i have been here for 27 years , and i am not going anywhere , ” mr. roa said , in between strategy sessions at casa michoacán , a gathering place in chicago where immigrants planned moves to resist . young immigrants , who call themselves dreamers , are already protesting at many colleges , and they have called for a march from new york to washington starting tuesday . they are pressing universities and employers to organize to defend the program and are making plans for havens on campuses and in churches . canceling the program is one move mr. trump could make to satisfy his supporters , who reject mr. obama ’s executive actions as illegal amnesties and examples of presidential overreach . a larger program for undocumented parents of american citizens and legal residents was halted this year by the supreme court . among latinos and immigrants , the program , called deferred action for childhood arrivals or daca , is very popular , the only gain that mr. obama has achieved for undocumented immigrants . most young people in the program are latinos , and latino organizations place a priority on protecting them , said daniel garza , the president of the libre initiative , a conservative latino advocacy organization . “ these kids are going to be exposed if daca is rescinded and that ’s so unfair , ” mr. garza said . “ we should be keeping families together , not tearing them apart . ” mr. trump has not provided details of his plans and his transition team did not respond to emails requesting comment . but the program was set up through policy guidelines written by the secretary of homeland security at the time , janet napolitano — there is not even a formal presidential order — so it can be terminated with a stroke of a new secretary ’s pen . immigrants are taking mr. trump at his word when he said he would eliminate the program : he has selected senator jeff sessions of alabama , a republican who is one of its most vigorous opponents , as attorney general . another trump adviser , kris kobach , the republican secretary of state of kansas , brought a federal lawsuit against the program in 2012 it did not succeed . mr. trump ’s pledges are chilling for the immigrants because when they signed up to the program , they provided identity information — including the names of their parents , home addresses , utility bills and school transcripts — to united states citizenship and immigration services . the authorities deferred any action to deport them and gave them renewable work permits , but no official immigration status . administration officials said the citizenship agency could be asked to turn over that information to homeland security enforcement agents , who could track down the immigrants to deport them or their parents . mr. trump could also take a less harsh approach by allowing existing work permits to lapse and not approving new ones , but not initiating deportations . advocacy groups have been inundated with calls from people afraid or despondent . ruben rivas , 27 , a mexican immigrant , said he had vacillated from fear to sadness to denial . in 2012 mr. rivas , the son of undocumented immigrants who spent their lives working jobs , graduated from san jose state university with a degree in business finance . he applied that year for daca , never stopping to worry about offering the government details about his life . now he works as a financial consultant and a small income tax firm . “ the first thought i had is that i have done everything right and it is all going to be taken away from me , ” he said of his fears for the future of the program . “ it feels a little bit like a betrayal . i ’ve been here since i was 4 years old . i ’m an american . ” jennifer marin , 29 , a legal assistant , was brought to california from guatemala when she was 1 year old . as a student at california state university , dominguez hills , she worked at a store to pay her tuition . she applied for the program to get her driver ’s license , worried that one missed stop sign could send her to jail and deportation , a prospect she could not face with two children . now she has a license , a car and a home in a los angeles suburb she bought with her savings . “ it feels like a step backward , to be back in this insecure place where you do n’t know what the next step might be , ” she said , her voice breaking with tears . she has tried not to cry in front of her children and to assure them that she is safe . last week , mr. obama appealed to mr. trump “ to think long and hard ” before scrapping the program . dick durbin of illinois , the senate democrat , said on the floor and on twitter that he would do “ everything in my power ” to save the program and protect “ dreamers who have stepped forward to contribute ” to the country . rights groups have been encouraging immigrants up for renewal on the program to reapply quickly . but they are generally urging newcomers not to apply . “ the risk for everyone feels much larger than the potential benefit right now , ” said daniel sharp , the legal director of the central american resource center , a nonprofit legal aid organization in los angeles . groups are pressing the obama administration to speed up approvals to eliminate any backlogs before mr. trump takes office . on thursday three house democrats , including representative luis v. gutiérrez of illinois , asked mr. obama to issue a pardon to immigrants in the program . but white house officials said the president did not have the authority for a pardon that would provide lasting protection . if their work permits are canceled or expire , immigrants could face cascading consequences — losing jobs , driver ’s licenses , professional certificates and the chance to pay tuition for college . the impact would vary by state . in places like california — home to half of all daca recipients — and new york , additional protections are enshrined in laws . but in the south and midwest where there are fewer protections , “ people might find they really stand out and are targeted , ” said roberto gonzales , a harvard professor who has studied young people in the program . yet there were signs that young immigrants , who have been battling for a legal foothold in the united states for more than a decade , would not go back underground quietly . united we dream , a national organization of young immigrants , said it would work with voto latino , a voter mobilization group , to encourage colleges to create havens for students who become undocumented once again . at the university of houston , students organized a walkout on monday and are working with local activists to designate the city as a sanctuary for undocumented immigrants . mr. roa , in chicago , recalled that a decade ago he was afraid to confess his undocumented status to other students or have his photograph published in a newspaper . “ do you really think we are going back in time ? ” he asked . “ i am going to be kicking and screaming . ”
+1 letting go of old patterns of reaction gillian leave a reply mary o’malley – a friend of mine was gifted a vacation on a river barge through france and germany . she was really excited because she could never afford to do this on her own . her itinerary included a flight from seattle to new york and the next day , she and her cousin would fly to europe together . as they were getting ready to go through the international security checkpoint , the tsa officer would not let my friend through because her passport had expired . at that moment , a feeling of panic came over her when she realized she had grabbed the wrong passport . as the panic began to intensify , she tuned into her body and used her breath to calm herself down and think rationally . having done awakening work for some time , she realized that reacting to whatever life is offering only creates suffering . she said , “ mary , i ca n’t believe it . if this happened years ago , i would have had a temper tantrum and been in tears all day . instead , i calmly told my cousin to go on without me and i would have a friend in seattle overnight my passport so i could take a flight the following day . ” this is the power of accepting whatever life brings . she added “ i did not react or panic when i realized i would have to pay for a new ticket and stay in new york by myself . it all turned out so differently than what i thought , and it was all okay . ” whenever we are faced with a challenge , whether it is a cut on our finger , a raging boss , or an expired passport , we all react in our own unique ways . one of the core ways we can heal ourselves is by getting to know our own patterns of reaction . some of the standard modes of reaction are the stoic , the pleaser , the worrier , the rager , the freezer , the rescuer , the victim , the judger and the self - absorbed one . we put these reactive parts of ourselves together into our own particular style . our patterns of reaction can bring so much heartache into our lives . my primary mode of reaction was to freeze , and like all patterns of reaction , it would tighten me , isolate me and cut me off from the flow of love that is life . it got stronger as i got older , and it became much more entrenched when i tried to make it stop . then i learned how to see it and meet it with understanding and mercy . only then was i able to free - up this frozen energy and learn how to respond to life rather than always living in reaction . this process of seeing , loving and letting go of your patterns of reaction happens in three phases . first phase : you are caught . you either ca n’t see your patterns or , if you do , you have little willingness to do anything about them . you also do n’t recognize the consequences that come from living out of your repetitive reactions . when you decide you do n’t want to live this way anymore , you usually declare war on the pattern , trying to wrestle it to the ground . this only works for a short period of time because you have n’t done the work needed to dissolve the pattern . when the pattern comes back again , you then get caught in self - judgment ( i did it again ) and despair ( i will never get out of this ) . you begin to move into the second phase when you see that the price you pay for taking care of yourself in your old ways is n’t worth it , and you understand that trying to wrestle it to the ground does n’t work . second phase : as you come to realize that living out of your old patterns is n’t how you want to live , and trying to get rid of them seems to only empower them , you begin to become curious about what is going on and feel the possibility of living another way . at the beginning of this phase , when your patterns of reaction are triggered , you will get lost in them most of the time . but slowly , you become more curious and more merciful with yourself . even when you get completely lost , there comes a time when you can let go of judgment and despair , and simply notice how you are reacting . this may be right in the middle of the pattern , a few minutes afterwards , or a few days afterwards . you become more curious than controlling and more compassionate than judgmental . you finally come to the place where you can actually stand with the discomfort of not following your pattern . this almost feels like detox , and it is good to have the support of other people as you learn how to be with your experience rather than running away from it . the more you can be with yourself , the more it opens your heart . and that is really what you have been longing for all along – the ability to live from your own heart . third phase : as your ability to see and let go of your old patterns increases , you enter the third phase . this is where your primary relationship with yourself is one of compassion and curiosity . you still may get caught in your patterns , but only for short periods of time , and rather than bringing up judgment or despair , they become an invitation to open back into life . the more you can meet yourself exactly as you are , the more you discover how to live from your own truth . you can now let go of the idea that a good life is one where everything is under control . instead , you learn how to ride the ups and downs of your life , trusting yourself , trusting your life . you then become the awakened heart that heals not only yourself but also the world . there is n’t a clear delineation with these three phases . on any particular day , you may touch into all three phases . but the more you can be curious and merciful with yourself , the more you will naturally gravitate toward the third phase – the place of truly becoming yourself . this is the greatest gift you can give to yourself and to life . sf source mary o’malley
+0 donald trump rode to power in the role of the common man - the new york times alexander burns donald john trump defied the skeptics who said he would never run , and the political veterans who scoffed at his slapdash campaign . he attacked the norms of american politics , singling out groups for derision on the basis of race and religion and attacking the legitimacy of the political process . he ignored conventions of common decency , employing casual vulgarity and raining personal humiliation on his political opponents and critics in the media . and in the ultimate act of defiance , mr. trump emerged victorious , summoning a tidal wave of support from less educated whites displaced by changes in the economy and deeply resistant to the country ’s shifting cultural and racial tones . in his triumph , mr. trump has delivered perhaps the greatest shock to the american political system in modern times and opened the door to an era of extraordinary political uncertainty at home and around the globe . the slashing , freewheeling campaign that took him to the doorstep of the white house replicated a familiar pattern from mr. trump ’s life , but on an olympian scale . the son of a wealthy real estate developer in queens , mr. trump , 70 , spent decades pursuing social acceptance in upscale manhattan and seeking , at times desperately , to persuade the wider world to see him as a great man of affairs . but mr. trump was often met with scoffing disdain by wealthy elites and mainstream civic leaders , culminating in a mortifying roast by president obama at the white house correspondents dinner in 2011 . so mr. trump fashioned himself instead as a proudly garish champion of the common man — a person of unsophisticated tastes but distinctive popular appeal — and acted the part in extravagant fashion , first in the new york tabloids and then on national television . he became a pundit of sorts , fulminating against crime in new york city and international trade and mr. obama ’s legitimacy as president , often in racially incendiary terms . his candidacy unfolded in much the same way : as the rampage of an aggrieved outsider , aligned more with the cultural sensibilities of whites than with his peers in society . on the first day of his run — june 16 , 2015 — mr. trump drew a direct parallel between his determined quest for success in new york and his entry into the political arena . addressing a crowd made up largely of reporters in the atrium of trump tower , mr. trump noted that political seers had predicted , “ he ’ll never run . ” seconds later , he mused that his father , fred trump , had urged him never to compete in “ the big leagues ” of manhattan . “ ‘ we do n’t know anything about that . do n’t do it,’ ” mr. trump quoted his father as saying . “ i said , ‘ i ’ve got to go into manhattan . i ’ve got to build those big buildings . i ’ve got to do it , dad . i ’ve got to do it . ’ ” powered by that same grasping ambition , mr. trump ’s candidacy was marked by countless missteps and grievous errors , from the crude and meandering speeches he delivered daily , to the allegations of sexual assault that appeared to cripple him in the final weeks of the race . no other presidential candidate in memory has given offense so freely and been so battered by scandal , and lived to fight on and win . amid all his innumerable blunders , however , mr. trump got one or two things right that mattered more than all the rest . on a visceral level , he grasped dynamics that the political leadership of both parties missed or ignored — most of all , the raw frustration of and white voters who rallied to his candidacy with decisive force . mr. trump rallied them less with policy promises than with pronouncements — against foreign trade , foreign wars and foreign workers . he left his republican primary opponents agog at his dismissals of mainstream policy , and exposed a yawning breach between the program of tax cuts and fiscal austerity favored by traditional conservatives , and the preoccupations of the party ’s rank and file . ridiculed by critics on the right and left , shunned by the most respected figures in american politics , including every living former president , mr. trump equated his own outcast status with the resentments of the white class . even the invective and incivility that appalled the traditional guardians of political discourse seemed only to forge a tighter bond between mr. trump and his inflamed following . he dismissed american social norms as mere “ political correctness , ” mocking the physical appearance of an opponent ’s wife , savaging hillary clinton ’s marriage and wielding stereotypes of racial minorities — all to the applause of his base . in sum , mr. trump offered himself to the country as a tribune of white populist rage , and pledged at the republican national convention in cleveland to defend “ the factory workers and the communities crushed by our horrible and unfair trade deals . ” “ these are the forgotten men and women of our country , ” mr. trump said . “ people who work hard but no longer have a voice . ” he pledged : “ i am your voice . ” the message resonated especially in the midwest , where a stunning victory in ohio helped give mr. trump the electoral college votes he needed to win . but his ultimate triumph was driven less by region than by race and class . his winning coalition consisted of restive whites and scarcely anyone else . mr. trump ’s winding path to the presidency began 10 miles east of the spot where he would build trump tower , in the wealthy queens enclave of jamaica estates , where his father ’s real estate empire granted mr. trump an easy entry into the world of construction and development . he showed little interest in politics as a young man , obtaining deferments to avoid fighting in the vietnam war but declining to participate in the protest movements of that era . he found his way into the political arena by way of his commercial interests and social aspirations : under the tutelage of roy cohn , the legendary and infamous former adviser to senator joseph mccarthy of wisconsin , mr. trump made himself a presence at events and political conventions . as early as the 1980s , he insinuated himself into the company of leaders in both parties , giving money to ronald reagan as readily as to mario m. cuomo , the liberal governor of new york . but while mr. trump earned headlines at that stage mainly for his romantic escapades and business failures — a lurid divorce from his first wife , ivana , and a series of corporate bankruptcies — even then he gave hints of loftier political goals . in the to the 1988 presidential campaign , he traveled to new hampshire to give a speech warning of foreign threats to american economic power . the next year , mr. trump stirred fierce controversy in new york by calling loudly for the institution of the death penalty , in the aftermath of a brutal assault and rape in central park , though the five young men charged with the crime were later exonerated . still , even as he began to campaign in the early presidential primary states , blasting mexican migrants in acid language and demanding a shutdown of muslim immigration into the united states , mr. trump never entirely shed his image as a boastful but ultimately benign showman . republicans of august political lineage , like jeb bush , derided him as “ an entertainer , ” and trusted , in the face of mounting evidence to the contrary , that voters would discard him as such in the end . democrats , too , who viewed mr. trump as plainly unelectable from the start , acknowledged at times that they might have been wrong to sneer at him early on . hillary clinton , appearing on nbc ’s “ late night with seth meyers ” last winter , noted that mr. trump had initially provoked “ hysterical laughter , ” before his call for a crackdown on muslims . “ i no longer think he ’s funny , ” mrs. clinton said .
+1 las vegas may become the new amsterdam alex ansary las vegas may become the new amsterdam 11/07/2016 high times nevada already has legal brothels , round - the - clock casinos and a coy catchphrase declaring that “ what happens in vegas , stays in vegas . ” if voters approve , the state could soon add another vice in the form of recreational marijuana . a proposal on the nov. 8 state ballot would legalize pot , and entrepreneurs hope its passage could someday allow the drug at las vegas’ glamorous nightclubs and perhaps provide the framework for a future amsterdam - style cannabis district . “ i really think this would be the third - largest market in the country , ” said derek peterson , whose company operates medical marijuana dispensaries called blum . he predicts that only california and new york would offer a bigger customer base than las vegas and its 42 million tourists a year . “ i think it should be able to fit in really well with the whole dayclub / nightclub thing . ” nevada has allowed medical marijuana since 2000 , and peterson sees recreational pot as an alternative for visitors tired of cocktails that can top $ 15 apiece and inflict hangovers . but before waitresses begin delivering high - grade marijuana at clubs along the las vegas strip , weed proponents will have to win over not just voters , who narrowly support the initiative in polls , but a risk - averse casino industry . the nevada resort association came out against the measure , pointing to an opinion from gambling regulators that casino owners should avoid the marijuana industry because the substance remains illegal under federal law . las vegas sands owner sheldon adelson has bankrolled most of the opposition , pouring $ 2 million of his fortune into a campaign that raises the possibility that small children could become intoxicated from candy - like marijuana edibles . adelson also has contributed $ 1.5 million in arizona and massachusetts , a significant share of all anti - marijuana donations there . adelson , whose son died of a drug overdose and whose wife is a doctor specializing in drug addiction , has donated millions toward efforts to defeat medical marijuana proposals in florida and other states in years past . other casino operators have joined the fray , but to a lesser extent . in spite of its libertine reputation , the rigorously regulated casino industry is known to err on the conservative side to avoid scandalizing the middle - aged tourists who are its bread and butter . “ i do n’t know that this is a game changer in terms of tourism , ” virginia valentine , president of the nevada resort association , said of marijuana ’s potential . “ we ’re really known for other things . you may attract people or turn them off . ” the las vegas convention and visitors authority , which promotes sin city ’s amenities to the world , is neutral on the issue . clyde barrow , a gambling expert who chairs the political science department at the university of texas - rio grande valley , suggests the donations may indicate the casino companies are acting in their own best interests . “ the marijuana industry is emerging as another form of recreation and entertainment . given the casino industry ’s difficulties attracting millennials , marijuana is probably perceived as a direct competitor with casinos for entertainment dollars , ” he said . “ another reason is that legalized marijuana competes with alcohol , and , to that extent , competes with the food and beverage sales at casinos . ” there ’s no solid state - sponsored research on how legal recreational marijuana has affected tourism in places that have legalized it , although both sides point to colorado to make their case . pro - marijuana interests cite a state study that found colorado set an all - time tourism record in 2015 , capping a fifth year of growth . it ’s unclear how much of that is due to weed , and how much can be chalked up to other factors , such as good snow in recent years relative to competing ski states . marijuana opponents refer to a report from the visit denver tourism bureau that logged increasing complaints about panhandling and open marijuana consumption in the city ’s downtown corridor . “ denver is losing visitors and valuable convention business as a result of these overall safety ( or perception of safety ) issues , ” the report said . “ we fear not being able to brand denver away from this growing reputation . ” nevada ’s ballot initiative would not allow municipalities to put blanket bans on marijuana , as colorado does . but it would bar consumption in buildings that are open to the public and permit local governments to restrict the locations of marijuana dispensaries and related businesses . it effectively blocks people from growing their own by banning the practice within 25 miles of a licensed marijuana store .
+1 linkedin in russland : kommt die sperre ? jekaterina sinelschtschikowa internet , gesetze die aufsichtsbehörde roskomnadsor möchte einen präzedenzfall schaffen . quelle : afp / east news linkedin , das größte soziale netzwerk für geschäftskontakte und die jobsuche , könnte in russland gesperrt werden . laut der nationalen internet - aufsichtsbehörde roskomnadsor verstoße linkedin gegen das russische gesetz , das onlinedienste verpflichtet , daten russischer nutzer auf russischen servern zu speichern . die forderung , die seit dem 1 . september 2015 , also mehr als einem jahr , besteht , wird von einigen unternehmen bislang nicht umgesetzt . i m sommer verklagte roskomnadsor linkedin . das gericht sah die behörde i m recht und fügte linkedin dem index in russland verbotener seiten hinzu . das urteil ist noch nicht rechtskräftig , und so ist das soziale netzwerk weiterhin verfügbar . das unternehmen ging in berufung , die am 10 . november dieses jahres abgeschlossen werden soll . sollte es der linkedin corporation nicht gelingen , das verbot abzuwenden , wäre es der erste fall , in dem ein großes internetunternehmen in russland gesperrt wird , weil es sich weigert , daten russischer nutzer in russland zu speichern . i m august des jahres 2016 schätzte tns die russischen linkedin - nutzer auf 2,6 millionen . „ jedes jahr ein skandal ! " linkedin äußerte sich bislang nicht zu dem fall . roskomnadsor hingegen warnt alle unternehmen , die in russland aktiv sind , aber keinen firmensitz i m land haben . zu diesen gehört unter anderem auch facebook . datenspeicherungsgesetz : aus für google , facebook und co. ? „ wir sind der tiefsten überzeugung , dass jedes unternehmen , auch ein ausländisches , das hier vielleicht keine vertretung hat , aber durch unsere bürger geld verdient , ihre daten verarbeitet und damit marketing betreibt , unter dieses gesetz fallen muss " , sagt wadim ampelonski , vertreter der behörde , i m gespräch mit rbth . linkedin hatte die aufmerksamkeit roskomnadsors auf sich gezogen , da es laut der behörde seit 2010 jedes jahr zu einem skandal bezüglich der datensicherheit von millionen von nutzern komme . das russische unternehmen dataline , das rechenzentren betreibt , lässt verlauten , dass man bislang keine gesteigerte nachfrage nach server - racks in russland beobachten könne . es heißt , große ausländische unternehmen informierten sich noch . zu einer verlagerung der infrastruktur nach russland sei es noch nicht gekommen . „ bis zum präzedenzfall versuchen sie , nichts zu unternehmen “ , so ein vertreter von dataline . alle rechte vorbehalten
+1 trade agreements or political independence : a false choice ryan mcmaken ryan mcmaken https://www.lewrockwell.com/lrc-blog/trade-agreements-political-independence-false-choice/ the rejection of the comprehensive economic and trade agreement ( ceta ) by beligium is a bittersweet affair . but , it ’s always worth remembering that intergovernmental trade agreements are not equivalent to free trade , and in fact are purported to bring about a reduction in the ease of trade and an increase in costs favorable to some particularly well - connected interest groups to the detriment of consumers . carmen elena dorobăț explains . 10:23 am on october 28 , 2016
+1 syria ’s un envoy ‘ appalled’ by rebel attacks on civilians in aleppo carol adl on sunday syrian state media said rebels had used chemical weapons against government - controlled districts of aleppo . rt reports : scores of civilians , including several children , were killed while hundreds of others were wounded in “ relentless and indiscriminate ” attacks carried out by opposition groups in the western districts of aleppo , according to the un statement . “ those who argue that this is meant to relieve the siege of eastern aleppo should be reminded that nothing justifies the use of disproportionate , indiscriminate [ attacks , ] including heavy weapons on civilian areas and it could amount to war crimes , ” de mistura said . he echoed the condemnation voiced by the un secretary - general regarding the attacks on schools . the special envoy also criticized the “ use of heavy airpower on civilian areas . ” “ the civilians of both sides of aleppo have suffered enough due to futile but lethal attempts of subduing the city of aleppo , ” he said . “ they now need and deserve a stable ceasefire covering this ancient city of syria . ” earlier on sunday , state news agency sana reported that “ shells containing poison gases ” had been fired at the residential district of al - hamdaniya in western , government - held aleppo . rt arabic ’s crew in aleppo reported 36 cases of suffocation . al - mayadeen reported that all the victims of the attack are civilians . just recently , the russian defense ministry reported on a number of attacks in aleppo that targeted schools and claimed the lives of at least three children in the period of 24 hours . twelve more people died in an attack on a humanitarian aid corridor opened next to a school in the al - mashariq district , according to the ministry ’s information . twelve more people were injured . meanwhile , according to russia ’s permanent mission to the united nations , over 16,000 people have fallen victim to opposition groups meant to be under us control . “ from february to september , the opposition groups that are supposed to be under the us control committed 2,031 violations of the [ cessation of hostilities ] , which claimed lives of 3,532 military personnel and 12,800 civilians , ” the mission ’s statement , published on the website of the russian foreign ministry , reads . according to dr. said sadek , professor of political sociology at the american university of cairo , it ’s not likely that western powers and the gulf states will end their backing for rebel groups , even if they are found responsible for using chemical weapons in aleppo . “ we have to understand that for six years , the western countries and the gulf states invested in those ‘ moderate’ or radical groups , and so they can not abandon them , ” sadek explained . “ they can not pull out now and say , ‘ ok we discovered that we are wrong , let ’s get out and leave them.’ they have invested in them and they will still use them for bargaining in the future of syria . ”
+0 breitbart news saturday : fake news , russian hacking , obamacare 2.0 - breitbart breitbart news on breitbart news saturday , broadcast live on siriusxm patriot channel 125 from 10 am to 1 pm eastern , breitbart lead investigative reporter lee stranahan will be discussing school choice and homeschooling , healthcare reform , fake news about russian hacking , and the strange story of pakistani brothers arrested for looking at gop emails and more . [ guests include breitbart ’s washington political editor , matt boyle , and breitbart ’s brilliant investigative reporter dr. susan berry . also appearing on the show will be the daily caller ’s luke rosiak and tennessee star managing editor christina botteri . breitbart ’s conservative radio enterprise airs seven days a week . siriusxm vice president for news and talk dave gorab called the show “ the conservative news show of record . ” as always , the premier guest on the show is you . so make sure you call in to talk to lee . follow breitbart news on twitter for live updates during the show . listeners may call into the show at .
+1 why are we sending $ 38 billion to rich and powerful israel ? ron paul last week ’s announcement of a record - breaking us aid package for israel underscores how dangerously foolish and out - of - touch is our interventionist foreign policy . over the next ten years , the us taxpayer will be forced to give israel some $ 38 billion dollars in military aid . it is money we can not afford going to a country that needs no assistance to maintain its status as the most powerful military in the middle east . all us foreign aid is immoral and counterproductive . as i have often said , it is money taken from poor people in the us and sent to rich people overseas . that is because us assistance money goes to foreign governments to hand out as they see fit . often that assistance is stolen outright or it goes to the politically connected in the recipient country . just as bad is the fact that much of what we call “ foreign aid ” is actually welfare for the wealthy here at home . the aid package to israel is a very good example . according to the agreement , this $ 38 billion will all go to us weapons manufacturers . so the real beneficiaries are not the american people , and not even israeli citizens . the real beneficiaries are the us military - industrial complex . perhaps the money wo n’t even leave washington – it may simply go across town , from the fed to the beltway bomb - makers . while even us government aid to desperately poor countries should be opposed on moral and practical grounds , it is even harder to understand us aid to relatively rich countries . at a nominal per capita gdp of over $ 35,000 , israel is richer than japan , italy , and south korea . not long ago business insider published a report by the institute for the study of war showing that the israel is the most powerful military force in the middle east . we know they have hundreds of nuclear weapons , a sophisticated air force , drones , and even nuclear weapons - equipped submarines . so why is the us giving a rich and incredibly well - armed country a record amount of military aid ? part of it is that the us government believes it can coerce israel to do washington ’s bidding in the middle east . history shows that this is a foolish pipe dream . if anything , us aid subsidizes israeli human rights abuses in gaza and elsewhere . another reason is a very powerful lobby in washington , aipac , that pressures members of congress to focus on israel ’s interests instead of us interests . members of congress should look at our economy , with effectively zero interest rates , an anemic non - recovery from the 2008 crash , historically low participation in the work force , and inflation eroding the value of the dollar and conclude that this might not be the best time to start handing out billions of dollars in foreign aid . unfortunately most members of congress find it impossible to say no to special interest groups like aipac . here ’s a better aid package for israel : free trade , travel , friendly relations , and no entangling alliances . israel should be free to pursue its national interests and we should be free to pursue ours . if individual americans feel compelled to provide assistance to israel or any other country or cause overseas they should be allowed . but the rest of us should not be forced to do so . trade , not aid .
+0 review : a ‘ tarzan’ with a few twists in the hollywood vine - the new york times manohla dargis “ the legend of tarzan ” has a whole lot of fun , things going for it — adventure , romance , natural landscapes , digital animals and oceans of rippling handsome . its sweep and easy pleasures come from its escapades — it ’s one long dash through the jungle by foot , train , boat and swinging vine — but what makes it more enjoyable than other recycled stories of this type is that the filmmakers have given tarzan a thoughtful , imperfect makeover . that must have been tough given the origin story ’s white supremacy problems . tarzan has always had bad optics — white hero , black land — to state the excessively obvious . probably the only real way to avoid his negative image would be to let him molder on the shelf and in our cultural memory . except that this wild child raised by apes turned wild man forever caught between civilization and nature is a great mythic character — a rich , dense tangle of narrative , philosophical and political meanings . that partly explains why he ’s been such a commercially reliable property since edgar rice burroughs cut him loose in 1912 , the year tarzan roared into existence in a pulp magazine that evolved into an empire of books , comics , plays and films . the image of alexander skarsgard crashing through the jungle as the latest tarzan , his long hair and muscles gently fluttering , gets at another aspect of this character ’s attraction . like a lot of tarzan stories , this one teems with striking flora and fauna , much of it skillfully computer generated , some of it captured on location in green , green gabon . but its most special and spectacular effect is tarzan , one of those characters who have always complicated the familiar argument that visual pleasure in hollywood cinema is hinged on women being objects of male desire . johnny weissmuller , the most famous screen tarzan , was an exemplary fetishized object of desire . the casting of mr. skarsgard , who spent a lot of time baring his body , along with vampire fangs , on the hbo show “ true blood , ” indicates that the filmmakers understand a primal part of tarzan ’s allure . this is n’t strictly a question of mr. skarsgard ’s considerable physical charms , though these are central to the character . ( he is n’t playing nerd boy of the jungle . ) mr. skarsgard is also a fine actor with an enigmatic melancholy , a quality that has been put to expressive use in small roles in movies like “ what maisie knew ” and that here suggests tarzan carries a profound burden that makes him more complex than the usual beefcake in loincloth . and tarzan needs a burden , something heavy enough to justify the exhumation of such a difficult fantasy figure . he gets one by proxy in “ the legend of tarzan , ” which opens with some historically informed text about king leopold ii of belgium ( ) known as the butcher of congo for his role in murdering millions . it ’s a grim start to this but the mood lifts at greystoke manor , tarzan ’s ancestral pad in britain , where he ’s broodily prowling about like a caged animal . already married to lady jane ( margot robbie , holding her own ) tarzan now goes by john clayton , having years earlier returned to nominal civilization and its discontents . directed by david yates , from an script by adam cozad and craig brewer , “ the legend of tarzan ” takes a while to get going . after announcing its grave bona fides , it continues to engage in a lot of narrative throat clearing , much of it dedicated to seeding burroughs ’s foundational story with historical facts . to this end , john receives an invitation from king leopold to return to congo to witness the king ’s putative good works . john rejects the offer , only to change his mind after an entreaty from an american , george washington williams ( samuel l. jackson ) who suspects that the belgian king is enslaving the region ’s people . mr. jackson ’s character is very loosely based on an extraordinary real historical hero named george washington williams , who occupies a chapter in adam hochschild ’s magisterial book “ king leopold ’s ghost : a story of greed , terror and heroism in colonial africa . ” mr. hochschild writes that williams , whom he calls “ the first heretic , ” was the earliest dissenter to speak out “ fully and passionately and repeatedly ” on leopold ’s atrocities . williams deserves a grand cinematic adventure of his own , and perhaps mr. jackson ’s comfortable , affable performance , which like the movie itself oscillates between seriousness and gentle comedy , will help make that case . here , though , williams is basically an elevated sidekick as well as a physician , war veteran and crack shot who ’s as proficient at suturing wounds with insects as he is mowing down swaths of white mercenaries . more interesting , especially given how routine colonialist fantasies tend to play out , it is williams who voices the complexities , catastrophic errors and redemptive efforts of the civilized world , a screen job usually given to white saviors . williams ’s polar opposite is the resident villain , leon rom ( christoph waltz , predictably good ) a silky , uncomplicated sadist who embodies rapacious evil from his suit to his crosslike weapon . tarzan remains the man apart and the man in the middle , the uneasy , sometimes forlorn , sometimes exuberant bridge between civilization and nature , between the human and nonhuman animal world . his origin story from his cradle to his new mother ’s hairy arms is related in flashback patchwork that conveys what he lost when he left the jungle — home , world and identity . and when he at last returns to that home , he has much to do , including nuzzle old furred friends and lead a rescue mission that soon involves jane along with thousands of africans . jane scoffs at the word damsel , but she ’s in distress as well as a for the abused , captive black bodies that the movie shows only glancingly . mr. yates , who directed the last four movies in the “ harry potter ” franchise , slips easily between intimacy and grandiosity , and he scales up and scales down as easily as tarzan scrambles up and down the digitally rendered trees . if he and his team have n’t reinvented tarzan it ’s because they ’re working in an industrial context that still puts a premium on heroic white men , even if this one does n’t make you wince each time he turns up . tarzan is still the white avatar flying through the african jungle with eerie skills , a mighty yodel and existential issues , yet the terrain he swings over is messier , closer and less of a lie than it once was . part of tarzan ’s appeal — at least to some — is that he inhabits a world that resembles ours , but without the unsettling distractions of real suffering . it ’s become trickier for pop entertainments to gloss over historical traumas , which may be why so many modern colonial struggles involve deep space or an alien invasion . perhaps it ’s easier to rewrite history through futuristic fictions , where worlds can collide before everyone moves on . there ’s something touching about “ the legend of tarzan , ” which as it struggles to offer old adventure without old racism , suggests that perhaps other fantasies are possible — you just need some thought and mr. jackson . “ the legend of tarzan ” is rated ( parents strongly cautioned ) . it ’s a tarzan movie ! running time : 1 hour 49 minutes .
+1 remember this when you talk about standing rock nan donate remember this when you talk about standing rock dan nanamkin during the treaty camp ’s confrontation with militarized police force on thursday afternoon . photo by adam alexander johansson . by kelly hayes / yesmagazine.org this piece is very personal because , as an indigenous woman , my analysis is very personal , as is the analysis that my friends on the frontlines have shared with me . we obviously ca n’t speak for everyone involved , as native beliefs and perspectives are as diverse as the convictions of any people . but as my friends hold strong on the frontlines of standing rock , and i watch transfixed with both pride and worry , we feel the need to say a few things . i ’ve been in and out of communication with my friends at standing rock all day . as you might imagine , as much as they do n’t want me to worry , it ’s pretty hard for them to stay in touch . i asked if there was anything they wanted me to convey on social media , as most of them are maintaining a very limited presence on such platforms . the following is my best effort to summarize what they had to say , and to chime in with a few corresponding thoughts of my own . it is crucial that people recognize that standing rock is part of an ongoing struggle against colonial violence . # nodapl is a front of struggle in a long - erased war against native peoples — a war that has been active since first contact , and waged without interruption . our efforts to survive the conditions of this anti - native society have gone largely unnoticed because white supremacy is the law of the land , and because we , as native people , have been pushed beyond the limits of public consciousness . the fact that we are more likely to be killed by law enforcement than any other group speaks to the fact that native erasure is ubiquitous , both culturally and literally , but pushed from public view . our struggles intersect with numerous others , but are perpetrated with different motives and intentions . anti - blackness , for example , is a performative enforcement of structural power , whereas the violence against us is a matter of pragmatism . the struggle at standing rock is an effort to prevent the construction of a deadly , destructive mechanism , created by greed - driven people with no regard for our lives . it has always been this way . we die , and have died , for the sake of expansion and white wealth , and for the maintenance of both . the harms committed against us have long been relegated to the history books . this erasure has occurred for the sake of both white supremacy and us mythology , such as american exceptionalism . it has also been perpetuated to sustain the comfort of those who benefit from harms committed against us . our struggles have been kept both out of sight and out of mind — easily forgotten by those who are n’t directly impacted . it should be clear to everyone that we are not simply here in those rare moments when others bear witness . to reiterate ( what should be obvious ) : we are not simply here when you see us . we have always been here , fighting for our lives , surviving colonization , and that reality is rarely acknowledged . even people who believe in freedom frequently overlook our issues , as well as the intersections of their issues with our own . it matters that more of the world is bearing witness in this historic moment , but we feel the need to point out that the dialogue around # nodapl has become extremely climate oriented . yes , there is an undeniable connectivity between this front of struggle and the larger fight to combat climate change . we fully recognize that all of humanity is at risk of extinction , whether they realize it or not . but intersectionality does not mean focusing exclusively on the intersections of our respective work . it sometimes means taking a journey well outside the bounds of those intersections . in discussing # nodapl , too few people have started from a place of naming that we have a right to defend our water and our lives , simply because we have a natural right to defend ourselves and our communities . when “ climate justice ” , in a very broad sense , becomes the center of conversation , our fronts of struggle are often reduced to a staging ground for the messaging of ngos . this is happening far too frequently in public discussion of # nodapl . yes , everyone should be talking about climate change , but you should also be talking about the fact that native communities deserve to survive , because our lives are worth defending in their own right — not simply because “ this affects us all . ” so when you talk about standing rock , please begin by acknowledging that this pipeline was redirected from an area where it was most likely to impact white people . and please remind people that our people are struggling to survive the violence of colonization on many fronts , and that people should n’t simply engage with or retweet such stories when they see a concrete connection to their own issues — or a jumping off point to discuss their own issues . our friends , allies and accomplices should be fighting alongside us because they value our humanity and right to live , in addition to whatever else they believe in . every native at standing rock — every native on this continent — has survived the genocide of a hundred million of our people . that means that every indigenous child born is a victory against colonialism , but we are all born into a fight for our very existence . we need that to be named and centered , which is a courtesy we are rarely afforded . this message is not a condemnation . it ’s an ask . we are asking that you help ensure that dialogue around this issue begins with and centers a discussion of anti - native violence and policies , no matter what other connections you might ultimately make , because those discussions simply do n’t happen in this country . there obviously are n’t enough people talking about climate change , but there are even fewer people — and let ’s be real , far fewer people — discussing the various forms of violence we are up against , and acting in solidarity with us . and while such discussions have always been deserved , we are living in a moment when native water protectors and water warriors have more than earned both acknowledgement and solidarity . so if you have been with us in this fight , we appreciate you . but we are reaching out , right now , in these brave days for our people , and asking that you keep the aforementioned truths front and center as you discuss this effort . this moment is , first and foremost , about native liberation , self determination and native survival . that needs to be centered and celebrated . thanks , k and friends kelly hayes is a direct action trainer and a co - founder of the chicago light brigade and the direct action collective lifted voices . she blogs at transformativespaces.org , where this article originally appeared , about u.s. movements and her work as an organizer against state violence . 4.0 ·
+1 time : investigating hillary is an attack on all women daniel greenfield time : investigating hillary is an attack on all women november 1 , 2016 good morning . it 's tuesday . who 's up for another silly attempt to claim that hillary clinton is only being investigated for her rogue email setup because she 's a woman ? this gem comes from robin lakoff , a berkeley professor in sustained incoherence and special pleading . hillary clinton ’s emailgate is an attack on women ' it 's not about emails ; it 's about public communication by a woman’ i am mad . i am mad because i am scared . and if you are a woman , you should be , too . emailgate is a bitch hunt , but the target is not hillary clinton . it ’s us . the only reason the whole email flap has legs is because the candidate is female . can you imagine this happening to a man ? his name was general petraeus . thank you . have a nice day . clinton is guilty of swf ( speaking while female ) , and emailgate is just a reminder to us all that she has no business doing what she ’s doing and must be punished , for the sake of all decent women everywhere . there is so much of that going around . that escalated quickly . and incoherently . also i 'm pretty sure it 's not the 20s or whatever decade robin is parodying or channeling . but yes , hillary clinton is only in this mess because she 's a woman . it has nothing to do with anything else . that must be why albright and rice were n't in the center of similar scandals . if the candidate were male , there would be no scolding and no “ scandal . ” those very ideas would be absurd . men have a nearly absolute right to freedom of speech . in theory , so do women , but that , as the creationists like to say , is only a theory . emailing classified information on your server to avoid transparency regulations is not free speech . it 's illegal for both public officials of both genders . but here ’s hillary rodham clinton , the very public stand - in for all bossy , uppity and ambitious women . here are her emails . and since it ’s a woman , doing what decent women should never do — engaging in high - level public communication — well , there must be something wrong with that , even if we ca n’t quite find that something . illegally ... emailing ... classified ... information .
+0 worried about the privacy of your messages ? download signal - the new york times brian x. chen by the time you finish reading this column , you would be foolish not to download the messaging app signal onto your smartphone and computer . the free encrypted messaging service has won the acclaim of security researchers and privacy advocates , including edward j. snowden . all have said that signal goes above and beyond other chat tools in keeping electronic communications private . and now more than ever , we may need it . that ’s because hacks are on the rise — look at how the activist group wikileaks posted a trove of emails from hillary clinton ’s campaign chairman , john d. podesta , for all to see . many are also watching for how government surveillance may grow under donald j. trump , who has chosen mike pompeo , who advocates greater surveillance , to lead the central intelligence agency . signal is one of many encrypted messaging services , but it stands out for its uncompromising security and ease of use . the chat service retains virtually no information from users , including messages and address books , on its servers . what ’s more , messages remain encrypted when passing through signal ’s servers , meaning that the app ’s creators ca n’t read them . “ the default recommendation you ’ll get from most security researchers for a messaging app is signal , ” said joseph bonneau , a postdoctoral researcher at the applied crypto group at stanford university . “ it ’s still the best in the field . ” that said , signal is not perfect . it lacks some features of other messaging apps , like the ability to send stickers . and during my tests , the service had some glitches . but adding signal to your folder of messaging apps is a must in an era when technology companies are collecting more personal information and government surveillance may expand . some people have already cottoned on to this . signal experienced a 400 percent jump in daily downloads since mr. trump won the election , according to moxie marlinspike , who founded open whisper systems , the nonprofit that developed signal . to mr. marlinspike , the surge in downloads reflects anxiety among americans about the implications of mr. trump ’s presidency for personal privacy . “ trump has threatened a lot of people and he ’s about to be in control of the most pervasive and least accountable surveillance infrastructure in the world , ” mr. marlinspike said . “ a lot of people are justifiably concerned about that . ” signal offers encryption , meaning a message is scrambled so that it becomes indecipherable to anyone but its intended recipient when it is sent from your device , and it remains so when it passes through the app ’s server and reaches the recipient . when you initiate a conversation with someone on signal , you and the recipient exchange cryptographic keys . only the person who receives your message holds the key to decrypt and read it . that means that if a government agency had a wiretapping order for your signal messages , open whisper systems would not have the key to decipher the messages and would be unable to comply . signal ’s technology sets the standard for other messaging services , with its protocol being an system that other companies can freely use . whatsapp , facebook ’s messenger and google embedded signal ’s encrypted messaging system into their own apps this year . even so , security researchers said they preferred signal over other messaging apps because it was more thorough in protecting users’ privacy . the only information signal stores about users in its database is the last time someone connected to its server and when a person signed up for signal . other messaging apps maintain pieces of personal data on their servers . by contrast , while whatsapp enables signal ’s full encryption by default in messages , there are caveats . whatsapp may retain some meta data on conversations , including the phone numbers used in an exchange and the times that the messages were sent , according to the company ’s privacy policy . whatsapp also regularly accesses your phone number and contacts list , so the app can provide an list of your contacts who use its service to make it easier to message them . google allo , google ’s new messaging app that leverages artificial intelligence , does not enable signal ’s encryption in all its messages by default . google offers full encrypted messaging only in incognito sessions , a private mode that must be turned on manually . when you ’re not chatting in incognito mode , google stores your allo messages on its server . similarly , facebook ’s messenger enables encryption inside a private chat mode called secret conversations . but by default , normal messenger chats lack that encryption . even though signal does n’t record your information , the app still works across devices , like a desktop computer and a mobile device . messages and contacts’ data are stored directly on users’ devices and synchronized between them . let ’s say you already use signal on your iphone and want to use it to chat on a mac ( signal is available as a web app for google ’s chrome browser for desktop computers ) . to link the desktop app with your iphone , you would use the iphone ’s camera to scan a bar code on the mac web app , which links the two devices together . then , to get your contacts list and conversations to appear on the mac , the mac app pulls your contacts list and messages directly from the iphone via an encrypted channel , according to mr. marlinspike . “ it ’s a bit more work , from our perspective , ” mr. marlinspike said . “ it ’s more complicated than storing all this stuff on a server . ” signal occasionally runs into glitches , such as when it comes to synchronizing data between computers and smartphones . in my tests , there were several occasions when signal messages that were sent or received on my smartphone did not immediately show up inside the desktop app — though the messages eventually synchronized minutes later . mr. marlinspike , who is also the former head of security at twitter , says he encourages people to report bugs so the group can continue to improve the service . another downside is that your signal account can work on only one mobile device at a time i could not , for instance , use signal on both my iphone and ipad . mr. marlinspike said it would support multiple mobile devices eventually . one last caveat is that signal is n’t as fun to use as apps like facebook messenger , which lets you send stickers and animated gifs to add color and personality to conversations . open whisper systems said it planned to add these features , noting that gifs are already supported in the android version of signal . still , this is a trivial issue . i ’d choose stronger privacy over sending stickers and animations any day . there is no logical reason to skip using signal . the app is free for android and ios , and for computers it is a free for the google chrome browser . plus , it ’s easy to install and so architecturally secure that you can have the confidence to say whatever you want without fear of being spied on . another benefit is that open whisper systems is a nonprofit that relies on donations and grants , not a business that might eventually have an incentive to share your information with third parties like advertisers . that ’s not to say signal should be your only messaging app . you could use it exclusively for sensitive matters , like conversations . then for casual chats like making plans with friends and loved ones , you could switch to more “ fun ” apps like facebook messenger and send all the stickers you want . probably the biggest thing missing from signal will be many of your friends . the app is n’t as popular among consumers as other mainstream messaging apps , so hanging out on signal can feel lonely . so if you care about your privacy , other than installing signal today , you should nag everyone you know to join the service , too .
+0 pope francis : europe is in danger of ‘ falling apart’ - breitbart thomas d. williams , ph.d. every nation is free to vote for the political leaders it wants , said pope francis saturday , while europe itself is in danger of “ falling apart . ” [ “ every country is free to make the choices it believes are right for itself . i can not judge if it is making this choice for this reason or another , because i do not know its internal politics , ” francis said , in reference to the upcoming french presidential elections . we must “ respect people ’s opinions , honest opinions of a political discussion , ” he said . during the return flight from egypt to rome on saturday , the pope granted a press conference to the journalists aboard the papal flight , during which he was asked about the populist movements expanding in europe . virginie riva of the french group , “ radio europe 1 , ” made direct reference to the french presidential elections , claiming that french catholics “ are being forced to vote for either a populist or an extremist , and they are divided and confused . ” late last month , a first round of elections reduced the list of presidential candidates to marine le pen of the front national party and emmanuel macron of the “ en marche ! ” party . the final , vote will take place on may 7 . francis confessed that “ i do not understand french internal politics , ” but repeated the principle that every country is free to make the choices it believes are right for itself . “ i have worked to have good relations , including with the current president , with whom there was a difficulty once , but afterwards i was able to speak clearly with him about the issue , while respecting his viewpoint , ” the pope said . “ i do not know the history of the two candidates [ le pen e macron ] i do not know where they are from , ” he added . “ yes , i do know that one is a representative of the far right , but the other candidate , i truly do not know where he is from , ” he said . “ for this reason , i can not offer a clear view on france . ” the pope said that he was recently asked why there is not a catholic political party , a proposal that the pope found impractical and anachronistic . “ this man is good , but he is living in the last century ! ” francis said , referring to the person who made the suggestion . the pope also reflected on the future of europe , as he has done on other occasions . “ europe is in danger of coming undone this is true , ” he said . “ there is a problem that frightens europe and perhaps increases populism : the problem of migration . this is true , ” he said . “ but let us not forget that europe is made of migrants : centuries and centuries of migrants … that ’s us ! ” “ but it is a problem that must be studied well , and we must also respect people ’s opinions , honest opinions of a political discussion with a capital “ p ” : great politics , not the small national politics that eventually end up falling down , ” he said . follow thomas d. williams on twitter follow @tdwilliamsrome
+0 a ranger , a field of wildflowers and the retelling of flight 93 - the new york times dan barry shanksville , pa. — just another thursday , and the morning mix includes bikers from new jersey , amish visitors from pennsylvania and a few children adjusting to a park not intended for play . they settle onto benches for the 11 o’clock retelling . a ranger in the green and gray of the united states national park service tucks his lunch on a shelf and walks out to face his audience . a field of wildflowers undulates behind him the clouds seem nearly within reach . he begins : “ remember how bad the weather was that morning ? ” hesitant nods turn quickly to head shakes . no . on that particular september morning , you could see forever . this is just the ranger ’s way of buckling you in . helping some to remember what we already know . helping others , especially those who were not yet born , to envision a beautiful , calamitous day now nearly 15 years in the past . his name is robert franz , he is 61 , and his title is “ interpretive park ranger , ” which means that his job is to tell the story of what happened in that field behind him , again and again and again . this is the flight 93 national memorial , by far the most removed of the three crash sites . a visit requires a journey through the arresting allegheny mountains , up and down and up and down , past a confederate flag here , a trump sign there , to a field set aside for reflection . “ mayday ! mayday ! get out of here ! ” the ranger says , echoing the alarm that was heard by air traffic controllers . the words chill the air , as children fidget and bees buzz about . he continues the story of united airlines flight 93 , bound for san francisco from newark . how four hijackers redirect the jet southeast , most likely to crash into the nation ’s capital . how many of the 40 crew members and passengers fought back . how this hurtling jetliner nearly flipped before crashing at 563 miles an hour into the soft , earth , killing all . “ the crew and passengers put democracy in action , ” mr. franz says . “ they take a vote ” — to storm the cockpit and regain control of the plane . we connect to that day in our own way , and the storyteller in the ranger ’s hat is no different . he was born into the military , his father an army lifer who served in world war ii ’s european theater , his mother a daughter of the french underground . they were married at the cathedral of in paris , and went on a short honeymoon in an army jeep . their son rob spent the better part of two decades flying army hueys and black hawks and training other soldiers how to fly helicopters . he left the service in early 2001 , and was at home on cape cod , mass. that tuesday , watching the news . he thought of those he had trained , and felt guilt for not being among them for the deployments sure to come . mr. franz focused on a real estate career , volunteered with the local veterans’ committee and worked briefly as a police officer . then , in late 2011 , he spotted a listing on a government website for a seasonal job as an interpretive park ranger at the flight 93 memorial . he quickly applied , he recalls , sensing a chance to “ complete the circle . ” soon he was driving about 600 miles west to shanksville every april , and staying until october . he proved to be such a powerful storyteller , his presentation informed by his knowledge of aeronautics , that he was recently offered permanent employment , which he accepted . “ he told this story unlike anyone i had heard , ” says stephen clark , the superintendent for the national parks in western pennsylvania . “ and , of course , being a veteran makes it all the more special . ” sometimes mr. franz stands at the memorial plaza , answering questions about the time of the crash and the location of the bathrooms . he commiserates as people recount their own connections to the day , and keeps his counsel as conspiracy theorists question whether such a crash even occurred . “ if somebody ’s made up their mind , there ’s nothing i can do , ” he says . sometimes he distributes flight 93 junior ranger handbooks , explaining to young visitors what activities they need to complete before receiving a junior ranger badge . the booklet is a thoughtful study in trying to find the right words : early in the flight , their plane was hijacked by four men . to hijack a plane means to take control over it . these hijackers were angry at the united states of america … but there are words , and then there are words . when children ask about the recovery of bodies , mr. franz redirects , ever so slightly . since there were only remains , no bodies , he explains that a spot out there , beyond the wildflowers , is now “ a final resting place . ” and sometimes , mr. franz is standing before another 11 o’clock crowd , as he is now , telling an american epic in less than a all the while reminding himself not to get emotional again when he comes to a certain point . the more familiar narrative of flight 93 focuses on those mr. franz calls the “ big guys ” — todd beamer , for example , the young software salesman who helped to organize the passenger revolt and whose last recorded words of “ let ’s roll ! ” became a national rallying cry . but the park ranger makes the gentle point that the revolt was “ a group effort . ” “ let me tell you about sandy bradshaw , ” he says , recalling the flight attendant who , in a furtive call to her husband , explained how she was boiling water to hurl at the hijackers . “ let me tell you about honor elizabeth wainio , ” he says , recalling the business executive known as lizz who , in a moment of supreme compassion , called to comfort her stepmother about what was to happen , and who was part of the revolt . she was 27 . “ no , it ’s not looking good , ” mr. franz says . “ but they were n’t going to give up . ” the park ranger , the father of two adult daughters , looks down and takes a long , unscripted pause . as he struggles to regain his composure , the wildflower setting becomes the bikers and the amish now silent congregants in outdoor pews . soon these people will wander off , some over to the memorial wall , some up to the new visitors center , where flight 93 shirts and mugs are sold , and an interactive display includes recordings from the fatal flight . soon , a korean war veteran will tell mr. franz that he thinks the federal government “ overdid it ” with this park , and a boy in a tank top and a penn state ball cap will ask for a junior ranger handbook so that he can learn about this place and earn his plastic badge . but right now , mr. franz is taking a brief private moment in public that seems to him like an hour . sandy bradshaw . lizz wainio . democracy in action … his emotions in check , mr. franz acknowledges his awkward pause and returns seamlessly to his story . how the airplane flew right over route 30 , “ the road you came in on . ” how this elevated ground is a place to reflect on the tragic loss of life , yes , but how it is also a place to honor the courage of the passengers and crew of flight 93 . and that , he says , “ is a good story . ” it ’s 11:30 . “ thank you , ” the ranger says . “ have a great day . ”
+0 trump vs. congress : now what ? - the new york times robert draper on monday , jan. 9 , less than two weeks before president trump ’s inauguration , the house speaker , paul ryan , hosted a dinner at his office in the capitol with members of trump ’s inner circle . the guests included the ’s chief white house strategist , stephen k. bannon his and family consigliere , jared kushner his chief of staff , reince priebus his economic adviser , gary cohn his nominee for treasury secretary , steven mnuchin his incoming deputy chief of staff , rick dearborn and his director , marc short . the ostensible purpose of the dinner was to discuss the details of trump ’s legislative agenda — in particular , the prospects for a sweeping measure that republicans , and especially ryan , have been coveting for the past decade . it was hoped that the dinner could also establish some sort of common ground between ryan and bannon , the two figures who would arguably wield the greatest influence over how trump ’s campaign promises became law — or did n’t . ryan was a fixture among establishment republicans even before joining mitt romney ’s presidential ticket in 2012 , his previous labors on the house budget committee cementing his reputation as the wizard of fiscal conservatism . bannon , by contrast , was a renegade autodidact who read plato and had seemingly materialized from nowhere to become the intellectual architect of trump ’s campaign and , later , administration . up to this point , ryan had epitomized to bannon everything that was wrong with the republican party . discussing the two parties’ shortcomings , bannon later told me , “ what ’s that dostoyevsky line : happy families are all the same , but unhappy families are unhappy in their own unique ways ? ” ( he meant tolstoy . ) “ i think the democrats are fundamentally afflicted with the inability to discuss and have an adult conversation about economics and jobs , because they ’re too consumed by identity politics . and then the republicans , it ’s all this theoretical cato institute , austrian economics , limited government — which just does n’t have any depth to it . they ’re not living in the real world . ” breitbart news , the media outlet bannon ran before becoming the chief executive of the trump campaign in august , had described ryan , referring to his position on immigration , as “ arguably the most g. o. p. lawmaker in congress ” — an apostasy of nearly impeachable proportions from bannon ’s perspective . worst of all , ryan all but abandoned trump during the 2016 campaign . after the leak in october of the damaging “ access hollywood ” tape , ryan told fellow republican house members on a conference call , “ i am not going to defend donald trump — not now , not in the future . ” a republican lawmaker on the call told trump what ryan had said , yet another reason for bannon to regard himself as ryan ’s worst enemy . but as the dinner progressed , it became clear that bannon and ryan actually had some ideas in common . over memorably bad chicken parmesan , ryan described his vision for a “ tax , ” which would levy taxes on imports while offering exemptions for exports . his tax package would include “ immediate expensing , ” he explained , in which capital expenditures would be written off against profits in the first year rather than over time . it also would abolish the alternative minimum tax and the estate tax . these were ideas ryan had been pushing since 2008 . now they had bannon ’s attention . taken together with a drastic reduction in corporate taxes , bannon believed , ryan ’s scheme would spur a renaissance of a export economy , producing labor in keeping with trump ’s populism . “ i would actually say , ” bannon remembers observing admiringly , “ that this tax reform comes as close to a first step of economic nationalism as there is . ” “ i would call it ‘ responsible nationalism,’’u2009 ” ryan said , according to bannon . bannon laughed . “ you ’re going to have a lot of folks in the senate say this is breathtakingly radical . ” he meant it as a compliment . to bannon , the entire world order — from the two political parties to the wall street reliance on leveraging to multiculturalism — was undergoing an extraordinary realignment , one made manifest in the 2016 election . according to bannon ’s vision , economic nationalism would reorient priorities to the working class ’s benefit . trade deals , jobs programs , tax incentives , immigration restrictions , environmental deregulation and even foreign policy would ultimately serve to restore the primacy of those trump called “ the forgotten americans . ” in march , when i spoke to trump by phone , i asked him what the term “ economic nationalism ” meant to him . compared with bannon ’s revolutionary fervor , his reply was surprisingly cautious . “ well , ‘ nationalism’ — i define it as people who love the country and want it to do good , ” he said . “ i do n’t see ‘ nationalism’ as a bad word . i see it as a very positive word . it does n’t mean we wo n’t trade with other countries . ” trump ’s tone was genial but also a touch defensive . his postelection honeymoon had been short , if it existed at all . there were the administrative intrigues and twitter drama , along with the questions about his campaign ’s contacts with russia , which had already forced the resignation of his national security adviser , michael flynn . still , trump ’s legislative liaisons and their counterparts on capitol hill were doggedly negotiating a rollout of the trump era , one that would fulfill his most significant campaign promises — those that could not be done with just a stroke of trump ’s own pen but required acts of congress . first , obamacare would be repealed and replaced . next , an austere budget would be passed , with emergency funds allotted for the construction of a wall along the southern border . then would come a plan , presumably of the type ryan and bannon discussed . and finally , a bipartisan coalition would deliver a infrastructure plan to trump ’s desk . if all this came to pass by the end of 2017 , it would lend some credence to trump ’s pledge that this would be “ the busiest congress we ’ve had in decades . ” but by march , this timetable was looking like a formidable “ if . ” trump himself seemed prone to distraction as he spoke to me from the oval office . though i was asking about his policy aims , his musings swerved off to other vexations . more than once he denounced as “ fake news ” reports about his administration ’s supposed disharmony . he brought up his speech before the joint session of congress in february , “ which i hope you liked , but i certainly have gotten great reviews — even the people who hate me gave me the highest review . ” during the call , i could hear priebus nearby , occasionally murmuring encouragement . trump sounded more clipped and less jaunty on the call than he did during the discursive chats i had with him last year on the campaign trail . the business of governing had little to do with any trade he had previously practiced . in congress , he was grappling with an arcane and famously inefficient ecosystem over which he had little if any control — and people he incessantly derided on the campaign trail as being “ all talk and no action . ” i asked him if he still felt that way . “ it ’s like any other industry , ” he replied , somewhat morosely . “ i ’ve met some great politicians and some , to be honest , who are n’t so hot . ” trump wanted to make sure that he was given adequate credit for his achievements , even in his administration ’s infancy . “ we ’ve only been here for a tiny speck of time , ” he said , “ and what i ’ve done with regulations , moving jobs back into the country , what i ’ve done with airplane pricing and buying is amazing . we ’ve done a lot . i think we ’ve done more than anybody for this short period of time . ” abraham lincoln , franklin roosevelt and lyndon johnson would take exception to this claim . and trump ’s significant actions to date have consisted entirely of executive orders . what he has not yet demonstrated is his ability to actually shepherd a bill into law . the only major legislation that congressional committees have even seen thus far is a bill to repeal and replace obamacare , which met with a stunning rebuke from trump ’s own party , forcing ryan to withdraw the measure on the afternoon of march 24 . at this stage of his presidency , barack obama had already signed into law his $ 787 billion package and had moved on to holding white house meetings on health care . it ’s conceivable that trump could hit day 100 with only minor symbolic legislative achievements to his name . for him to avoid this ignominy , the 45th president will have to develop a rapport with washington ’s 535 federal deal makers , including the ones who “ are n’t so hot . ” whether trump ’s agenda succeeds will also depend in no small measure on the ability of bannon to expand his game beyond 1600 pennsylvania ave . at 63 , and with a fortune reported to be in the tens of millions of dollars — partly through his investment in the company that owns the syndication rights to “ seinfeld ” — bannon is regarded by trump as a peer in the way that , say , the lifelong politico priebus is not . he is also approvingly seen as a fellow workaholic by the president ( whose only known hobbies are golf and cnn ) . and he is a deft operator who has learned from the successes and failures of other trump advisers . he has carefully not claimed credit that the president would wish for himself and avoids giving expansive interviews on his own controversial views that might detract from his boss ’s celebrity . like the former campaign manager corey lewandowski , bannon understands that power in trump world derives mainly from close and sustained physical proximity to the boss . unlike lewandowski , bannon immediately grasped the importance of maintaining close relations with jared kushner , who factored heavily in lewandowski ’s dismissal from the trump campaign last summer . but like kushner , bannon has never worked in government or at a institute and has no meaningful experience when it comes to getting legislation passed . on the hill , he has a few random associations — senator rand paul of kentucky and representative john culberson of texas among them . otherwise , he remains a looming but indistinct presence to the lawmakers who will be needed to pass most of trump ’s agenda . bannon ’s interest in this agenda predated his association with trump . one evening in january 2013 , two guests showed up for dinner at the capitol hill townhouse that bannon liked to call the breitbart embassy . one was the man bannon would later describe to me as his “ mentor ” : senator jeff sessions of alabama . the other was sessions ’s top aide and protégé , a jittery named stephen miller . two months earlier , obama decisively defeated mitt romney in the presidential election , prompting priebus , then the chairman of the republican national committee , to commission an analysis of the state of the party and its future , known colloquially in washington as the “ autopsy , ” which would be delivered that spring . the only certainty was that the report would urge republicans to court the growing latino electorate — which had voted for obama by a margin that november — by championing comprehensive immigration reform . the three men at the dinner table that night were among the few republicans in town who thoroughly rejected that conclusion . bannon wanted to talk to sessions and miller about a different report : an article written by sean trende , the senior elections analyst for the website realclearpolitics , titled “ the case of the missing white voters . ” trende observed that obama ’s victory was less a function of increased minority turnout than of the fact that 6 . 6 million white voters who participated in the 2008 election stayed home in 2012 . the reason for this drop , trende argued , was that white voters who did not approve of obama but were alienated by romney ’s perceived elitism had not voted . these votes were gettable , bannon believed . as he would later tell me : “ the working class , and in particular the lower middle class , understands something that ’s so obvious — which is that they ’ve basically underwritten the rise of china . their jobs , their raises , their retirement accounts have all fueled the private equity and venture capital that built china . because china ’s really built on investments and exports , right ? people are smart enough to know that they ’re getting played by both political parties . the two may be different on social issues , but when it comes to fundamental economics , they ’re both the same . that ’s why the american working class is interested in trade . it ’s linked to their lives . ” sessions shared bannon ’s belief that the republican party needed to emphasize immigration reduction , border security and the preservation of jobs through trade policy rather than courting latino voters with a bill he regarded as “ amnesty . ” as sessions would write in a memorandum to his republican colleagues six months later , “ this humble and honest populism — in contrast to the administration ’s cheap demagoguery — would open the ears of millions who have turned away from our party . ” at some point during the dinner , bannon recalls blurting out to sessions , “ we have to run you for president . ” just two years earlier , in 2011 , he made a similar pitch to sarah palin , after completing a documentary about her called “ the undefeated . ” palin demurred . she was enjoying her life of celebrity and wealth , she had done little to immerse herself in policy minutiae and she was no doubt unsettled by bannon ’s warning that she stood little chance of defeating obama . now he delivered a similar message to sessions . “ look , you ’re not going to win , ” he recalls saying . “ but you can get the republican nomination . and once you control the apparatus , you can make fundamental changes . trade is no . 100 on the party ’s list . you can make it no . 1 . immigration is no . 10 . we can make it no . 2 . ” acknowledging that the drawling alabama senator lacked palin ’s charisma , bannon said , “ you ’ll be the . ” but sessions told bannon he did not see himself running for president . “ it was pretty obvious by the end of the night , ” bannon recalled , “ that another candidate would have to do it . ” two months later , on march 15 , 2013 , bannon happened to be attending the conservative political action conference in washington when trump took the stage . trump had been a marginal figure at most in politics up to that point , entertaining a reform party run in the 2000 election — when he speculated that he would probably take more votes from the democratic candidate than the republican one — and leading a conspiratorial crusade in 2011 to force obama to release his birth certificate . the possibility that he might be a suitable host body for bannon ’s worldview had not occurred to bannon before trump spoke . but trump ’s grousing references to china ’s economic superiority , to 11 million “ illegals ” and to the erosion of america ’s manufacturing sector were right out of bannon ’s playbook . from his desk in the russell senate office building , stephen miller , too , watched trump ’s speech . by 2014 , miller was sending emails to friends expressing the hope that trump would run for president . by the time trump announced his candidacy , in june 2015 , sessions was officially uncommitted but privately of the view that trump was best suited to tap into the movement that he , miller and bannon discussed over dinner more than two years earlier . bannon ’s early support for trump was manifest in breitbart ’s breathless coverage of his candidacy . in an email he sent on aug. 30 , 2015 , to his former filmmaking partner julia jones , bannon explained that while republican candidates like ted cruz , bobby jindal , ben carson and carly fiorina were “ all great , ” trump represented a superior choice , because he “ is a nationalist who embraces senator sessions ’s plan ” on immigration . still , recalls sam nunberg , trump ’s first campaign strategist , “ steve kept all of his cards . ” he added : “ he was respectful to some of the other ones who were running , like walker and cruz and carson . he did n’t want to be seen as . ” when trump publicly disparaged john mccain ’s credentials , bannon — himself a navy veteran — called nunberg and demanded that trump issue an apology . ( trump did not . ) bannon was well positioned as a supportive but not sycophantic observer by aug. 13 , 2016 , when the trump donor rebekah mercer read with alarm a new york times account of the trump campaign ’s inability to handle its mercurial candidate . at mercer ’s behest , bannon ( whose website mercer ’s family helped underwrite ) and kellyanne conway ( who at that point was receiving money from both a mercer family political action committee and the trump campaign ) flew out that day to east hampton , n. y. where trump was attending a dinner at the home of the new york jets’ owner , woody johnson . after the dinner , bannon and conway huddled with the candidate . bannon remembers telling trump , who at the time was trailing hillary clinton by double digits in the polls , “ as long as you stick to the message ” — by which he meant economic nationalism — “ you have a 100 percent probability of winning . ” a week after the election , in an interview with the journalist michael wolff , bannon offered a bold , sweeping sketch of what the vision might mean in policy terms : “ like [ andrew ] jackson ’s populism , we ’re going to build an entirely new political movement . it ’s everything related to jobs . the conservatives are going to go crazy . ” of course , some of the conservatives bannon intended to drive crazy possessed the congressional votes bannon and trump would need to advance this agenda . representative jim jordan of ohio , a leading conservative in the house , told me in march , “ i would argue that populism , as long as it ’s rooted in conservative principle , is a darn good thing . ” jordan was smiling as he said it , but the note of warning was hard to mistake . the last time the republican party controlled all branches of government in washington was from 2003 to 2007 . during that period , the united states military toppled saddam hussein , congress delivered tax cuts for the wealthy and president george w. bush appointed the reliably conservative jurist samuel a. alito jr. to the supreme court . but in the collective view of conservatives , these years of the bush presidency were mostly characterized by betrayal and disappointment . goaded by bush , congressional republicans passed into law a new federal entitlement ( prescription drugs for senior citizens , also known as medicare part d ) ran up the deficit , promoted democratic ideals overseas in the feckless manner of woodrow wilson , considered a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants and confirmed a supreme court chief justice , john g. roberts jr. whose swing vote would later save obamacare from judicial evisceration . “ my line when i first ran in 2008 was , ‘ republicans had the house , the senate and the white house — and they blew it,’’u2009 ” representative jason chaffetz of utah , the chairman of the house oversight and government reform committee , told me . “ now we ’ve got all three again , and i ’m the guy who ’s in congress , not running for it . i do n’t want to be in a position where we ’re going to blow it one more time . ” chaffetz and other house conservatives freely acknowledge that trump is not cut from their cloth , but they say they could not care less as long as he gives them what they want . selecting judge neil gorsuch to fill the supreme court seat once held by justice antonin scalia was “ the best thing the president did in his first 50 days , ” chaffetz told me . he and his conservative colleagues have been cheered by trump ’s recruitment of former house colleagues and conservative stalwarts like vice president mike pence tom price , the health and human services secretary and mick mulvaney , the office of management and budget director . when chaffetz and i spoke in march , he had met with the president twice so far — access he considered “ such a huge sea change ” from the stony silence republicans say they encountered from the obama white house . most important , the trump agenda ’s first three projected legislative moves — the obamacare repeal and replacement , an austere budget and tax reform — were intended to keep conservatives happily in trump ’s camp . in turn , when the agenda moved on to less conservative items like infrastructure and trade agreements , trump and bannon would fully expect republicans , including ryan , to remember whose message resonated most with voters last year . representative kevin mccarthy , the house majority leader , is trump ’s chief point of contact on the hill . when mccarthy was a college student and budding entrepreneur in bakersfield , calif. in the late 1980s , his girlfriend at the time , now his wife , judy , gave him an autographed copy of trump ’s “ the art of the deal . ” “ i thought it was great , ” he told me . in mccarthy ’s view , trump is a master of today ’s media , much as lincoln and kennedy were in their own times . “ he ’s mastered instantaneous twitter , ” he said . “ it ’s like owning newspapers . ” trump has found a kindred spirit in mccarthy , a coastal extrovert of ambiguous ideological portfolio who ( unlike ryan ) would far rather talk about personalities than the tax code . and as the former minority leader in the california legislature during the governorship of arnold schwarzenegger , mccarthy is experienced in the care and feeding of celebrity egos . since trump ’s nomination , the two have spoken frequently by phone — to date , trump has never been known to directly email or text anyone — about the cast of 535 characters with whom the president must now deal . but in the end , what trump needs from the majority leader is not gossip but votes — 216 of them , to be exact , in the house . and mccarthy ’s recent track record in obtaining majorities has not been the greatest . in his previous capacity as house whip , he was thwarted by members of his own party when it came to subjects as diverse as reauthorizing a patriot act they deemed too intrusive , a farm bill they considered too expensive and a bill they regarded as too lenient . his most reliable obstacles have been the three dozen or so house conservatives known as the freedom caucus , a group of fiscal . early this year , mccarthy predicted to me that the new president would quickly subjugate the freedom caucus . “ trump is strong in their districts , ” mccarthy told me . “ there ’s not a place for them to survive in this world . ” when we spoke on the morning of march 7 , trump assured me that he would not bully the bill ’s loudest republican critics , like the freedom caucus chairman , representative mark meadows , on twitter : “ no , i do n’t think i ’ll have to , ” he said . “ mark meadows is a great guy and a friend of mine . i do n’t think he ’d ever disappoint me , or the party . i think he ’s great . no , i would never call him out on twitter . some of the others , too . i do n’t think we ’ll need to . now , they ’re fighting for their turf , but i do n’t think they ’re going to be obstructionists . i spoke to mark . he ’s got some ideas . i think they ’re very positive . ” but on march 21 , in a meeting with the freedom caucus about the bill , trump called out meadows by name , saying , “ i ’m going to come after you , but i know i wo n’t have to , because i know you ’ll vote ‘ yes . ’’ u2009 ” meadows remained a “ no ” on the bill , and among conservatives , he was far from alone . one of the freedom caucus ’s most outspoken members , representative raúl labrador of idaho , believes that the trump white house was led astray by ryan ’s confidence that he knew what conservatives wanted when drafting the bill . “ the legislation has to go through the body , not the top , ” labrador told me . “ and if our leadership thinks now that we ’re a unified body , that they can do things while ignoring us , that ’s not going to happen . ” labrador is an affable but decidedly stubborn mormon and former immigration lawyer who moved as a child with his single mother from puerto rico to las vegas . he was interviewed by the for the post of interior secretary at trump tower last december — though trump selected labrador ’s house colleague ryan zinke for the post a few days later . for now , labrador and other freedom caucus members have been willing to blame house leaders like ryan and mccarthy for drafting a health care bill that was not to conservatives’ liking . they aspire to remain philosophical whenever trump ’s daughter ivanka persuades her father to propose initiatives like paid family leave , as he did during his speech . “ i did n’t stand up when he said that , ” labrador said . “ that ’s the only part of the speech where i thought , that ’s not even close to what my party stands for . ” to house conservatives like labrador , the republican party stands for limited government . to trump and bannon , items like a border wall and infrastructure take priority over shrinking america ’s debt . as chaffetz admitted to me , “ on the spending front , things could slip away really quickly . ” trump ’s budget blueprint is regarded by deficit hawks as fundamentally unserious , because it does not touch entitlements . instead , it ravages perennial ( and already ) conservative piñatas like foreign aid , public broadcasting and the national endowment for the arts , in addition to downsizing the environmental protection agency and the interior department — cuts that focus on the 27 percent of the federal budget that is not mandatory spending or devoted to defense . and for all the republicans’ chesty rhetoric on cuts like these over the years , as a top house republican staff member told me , “ even the cabinet secretaries at the e. p. a. and interior are saying these cuts are n’t going to happen . they ’re going to protect their grant programs , their payments to states , their superfunds . so how do you cut 31 percent of the e. p. a. out of the 5 percent that is n’t protected ? and a bill that cuts all money for the n. e. a. will not pass . for republicans in the west ” — states whose vast rural areas benefit disproportionately from n. e. a. grants — “ that ’s a killer . the campaign commercials write themselves . ” labrador says he would defend trump ’s cuts but doubts that many of his colleagues would . “ what he ’s going to learn is that members of congress are unwilling to take the tough votes , ” he told me . “ when he learns that , what ’s going to be the next step ? ” in labrador ’s view , trump ’s only sane recourse will be to accept the need for entitlement reform . “ at some point , the reality of the budget is going to have to hit him , ” he said . “ you can have this economic nationalism — bannon is very smart , he clearly helped him with his messaging , it was so successful — but at some point , that theory is going to hit reality . ” when i spoke with trump , i ventured that , based on available evidence , it seemed as though conservatives probably should n’t hold their breath for the next four years expecting entitlement reform . trump ’s reply was immediate . “ i think you ’re right , ” he said . in fact , trump seemed much less animated by the subject of budget cuts than the subject of spending increases . “ we ’re also going to prime the pump , ” he said . “ you know what i mean by ‘ prime the pump’ ? in order to get this ” — the economy — “ going , and going big league , and having the jobs coming in and the taxes that will be cut very substantially and the regulations that ’ll be going , we ’re going to have to prime the pump to some extent . in other words : spend money to make a lot more money in the future . and that ’ll happen . ” a clearer elucidation of keynesian liberalism could not have been delivered by obama . the one clear point of agreement between the trump economic nationalists and the house conservatives is the one ryan and bannon identified over dinner in january : tax reform . but in so doing , they will be picking a fight that may prove perilous to republicans . the proposal that ryan floated to bannon has never been able to get past k street lobbyists and wealthy republican donors like the koch brothers . when i asked trump if he was a fan of the tax , he replied : “ i am . i ’m the king of that . ” almost no other country grafts an import tax onto a corporate tax , and it ’s possible that enacting a tax might well be in violation of the world trade organization ’s agreements . of course , bannon has openly advocated abandoning the w. t. o. anyway , because of china ’s membership in it . still , the specter of new taxes on american corporations , higher prices for consumers and a jump in the dollar ’s value may compel an unusual confederacy against the plan . labrador predicts that the tax “ will have very little political legs ” in the conservative house , while senator lindsey graham said in february that even in the senate , ryan ’s tax plan “ wo n’t get 10 votes . ” senator heidi heitkamp , a north dakota democrat who has been outspoken in her willingness to work with trump in spite of the broader stance of her party , says , “ let me tell you , i represent farmers , and anyone who tells me that farm country benefits from a high dollar needs to have a discussion with me . ” perhaps the republican faction most alarmed by bannon ’s economic nationalism is washington ’s military hawks . john mccain is among those not mollified by trump ’s pledge of enacting “ one of the largest increases in spending in american history . ” mccain scoffed when i brought this up to him . “ of course that ’s simply not true , ” he said . “ when you look at 1981 and reagan ’s commitment to rebuilding the military , there ’s no comparison to this 3 percent increase . it ’s a shell game , my friend . ” despite his obvious differences with trump , mccain was willing to work with him — but bannon ’s presence seemed to confound such prospects . “ it ’s kind of interesting , ” mccain said , “ because i have decades of experience with kelly , with mattis , with dan coats , mcmaster , ” referring to homeland security secretary john kelly defense secretary james mattis dan coats , the director of national intelligence and h. r. mcmaster , the national security adviser . “ we discuss issues all the time . i think this is probably the finest team that i ’ve ever observed . it ’s almost schizophrenic , in that i obviously do n’t have conversations with steve bannon , but i do with reince priebus — he was my republican chair in wisconsin in my 2008 presidential campaign . so it ’s almost a schizophrenic — that ’s not the right word . a very divided kind of relationship . paradoxical . ” mccain acknowledged to me that economic nationalism was a global movement and therefore not entirely “ the making of some members of the trump entourage . ” he then said : “ but it is an articulation that i believe is strongly reminiscent of the 1930s . it certainly has unsettled our allies and friends around the world , there ’s no doubt about that . ” already , the senator asserted , the new administration ’s bellicosity toward mexico has increased the likelihood that its citizens will elect “ a very president . ” as for an import tax of the sort favored by bannon and ryan , “ talk about harkening back to the 1930s , ” he said . “ it ’s unbelievable to me that they somehow think if we start taxing goods coming across the border , that that ’s somehow not going to be responded to by the mexicans . please . history shows this sort of action gets you into a trade war . ” listening to mccain ’s tirade , i found it evident that the bannon effect might well cost the trump white house at least one republican senate vote on a number of central issues — this at a time when republicans are clinging to a slender majority in the upper chamber . in such cases , trump could find himself asking for something obama was never able to count on : votes from the opposition . early in the afternoon of feb. 9 , several democratic senators met with trump in the roosevelt room of the white house to discuss the gorsuch nomination and other matters . among them were heidi heitkamp , joe donnelly of indiana , joe manchin of west virginia and jon tester of montana . all four are moderates who are up for in 2018 in states trump carried in 2016 by titanic margins �� the least of which , in donnelly ’s state , was nearly 20 points . if democrats are to nurture any hopes of retaking the senate majority , they will need to hold these four seats . but if donnelly , heitkamp , manchin and tester need to be seen back home as willing to work with trump , the president needs them as well . republicans enjoy a precarious advantage in the senate . on matters like the supreme court , trump can count on all 52 . on votes requiring a simple majority , any two of those republicans could fall away , and pence could preserve the win with a tiebreaking vote . but a trio of fiscal ( like ted cruz , rand paul and mike lee ) military hawks ( john mccain , lindsey graham and marco rubio ) or social moderates ( susan collins , lisa murkowski and shelley moore capito ) could deny trump a majority , unless he could swing at least one democrat to his side . that february afternoon in the roosevelt room , donnelly thanked trump for negotiating with carrier , the manufacturing company based in indiana that had threatened to move jobs to mexico before trump it into keeping many of them in indiana . but donnelly urged him not to view that episode as a “ . ” he requested the president ’s support for his end outsourcing act , which would give preferential treatment in awarding federal contracts to businesses that kept jobs in america . the words were scarcely out of donnelly ’s mouth before trump said , “ i ’m 100 percent for that , and i ’ll do everything i can to help get it passed . ” he then asked pence , who was in the room , “ what do you think , mike ? ” trump was apparently unaware that pence , as the governor of donnelly ’s state , had refused to back the senator ’s initiative , claiming instead that burdensome federal regulations were to blame for outsourcing . according to donnelly , pence gamely replied , “ if it ’s like what joe describes , i ’ll do everything i can to help . ” donnelly , a irish catholic with a barroom guffaw , had met trump once before . in january 2011 , he was among the blue dog coalition , composed of conservative house democrats — what remained of them , anyway , after the previous november ’s disastrous midterms — who traveled to new york for their annual retreat . at a hotel conference room in midtown manhattan , the 20 or so blue dogs received a procession of guests , including mayor michael bloomberg and former president bill clinton . only one of their scheduled appointments required that they go to their guest — and so they did , by bus , to trump tower . trump greeted them in his boardroom , with its commanding view of central park . he was charming but also brash . “ remember , at that point he was n’t really talking about running for office , ” recalls one attendee , former representative dan boren of oklahoma . “ but what strikes me was how he talked about the same issues — the wall , china — that became his stump speech years later . ” it was evident to the blue dogs that trump was no clinton or bloomberg when it came to the issues . says former representative ben chandler of kentucky , who was also in attendance : “ the difference in terms of detailed knowledge of policy was stark . trump just made bald assertions , really . ” particularly memorable to chandler was trump ’s insistence “ that one of the best things the country could do was slap a massive tariff on the chinese . ” chandler continued : “ he seemed not to understand that this would probably cause the entire world economy to melt down by causing a huge trade war . what i remember more than anything else was our general reaction afterward . and it was one of disbelief . ” today donnelly remains offended by what he calls trump ’s “ crazy stuff , ” as well as the alternative to obamacare that trump supported . but he does not begrudge trump his showmanship . “ he came to the carrier plant , ” donnelly said . “ i ’ve been working on that issue since day 1 . i was begging people in the obama administration to come out and talk to our workers . donald trump came out there . and donald trump talked to our workers . you can tell people you care . but it matters if you show up . ” the senate democrat who , to outward appearances , seems closest to trump is joe manchin , who met face to face with the in trump tower in december . before the meeting , bannon took the west virginia senator aside . “ the thing you need to know about trump , ” bannon said , “ is he does n’t care about the republican party and he does n’t care about the democratic party . he just wants to put some wins on the board for the country . ” in the meeting , trump asked manchin what could be done for coal miners . manchin replied that he should support his miners protection act , which would secure health benefits and pension funds for retired miners . according to manchin , trump replied that he would thoroughly support such a measure . later that month , manchin went on “ morning joe ” — the one show on msnbc that trump has been known to watch — to discuss , on the occasion of the fourth anniversary of the newtown school massacre , the need to expand background checks on gun purchases . within an hour after manchin was offscreen , his cellphone rang . it was trump . manchin was not completely forthcoming about the conversation , but he did tell me that he envisioned “ a complete opportunity ” for new legislation . unlike with obama , he said , “ no one thinks president trump would do anything that would take away your gun rights . ” in his conversations with manchin and donnelly , trump was essentially throwing his support behind a democratic initiative without first checking with the republican senate majority leader , mitch mcconnell , to ask what he thought of those proposals . had he done so , the answer in each case would have been : not much . ( though on the coal miners’ legislation , manchin said : “ we ’re seeing mitch mcconnell go from a ‘ no , no and hell no’ to now dropping his own bill . which is fine , so long as we get it . ” ) still , trump may have little choice but to indulge democrats on some of their pet issues , given that he will need their votes on two of the most critical pieces of his agenda : infrastructure and trade deals . until now , trump has divulged few details about this infrastructure venture . on the campaign trail , he frequently cited america ’s crumbling roads and bridges . he bemoaned the potholes defiling the runways at la guardia airport , where he parked his two planes . during donnelly ’s visit with trump in the roosevelt room , the president “ talked about the tunnel with the tiles falling off , which he would see on his way to la guardia , ” donnelly recalled . ( the metropolitan transportation authority denies that tiles are falling off the tunnel . ) when i asked trump for more specifics , he gingerly offered a few morsels : “ this is something that ’s going to be a real infrastructure bill , where real work is going to be done on bridges and roads and airports and things that we ’re supposed to be doing . so it ’s not just a political piece of paper . we ’re going to do infrastructure , and it ’s going to be a very big thing . ” trump ’s description struck me as uncharacteristically modest . bannon had evoked a more gleaming vision when he told me : “ look , economic nationalism is predicated on a infrastructure for the country , right ? broadband as good as korea . airports as good as china . roads as good as germany . a rail system as good as france . if you ’re going to be a power , you ’ve got to have a infrastructure . ” when i asked the president if his initiative might include such features , he replied : “ yes . it could , it could . you look at japan and china , where they have the fast trains , and we do n’t have any . you look at other countries where we used to be the leader , and now we ’re the laggard . it ’s not going to happen anymore . ” what also may not happen is house republicans’ supporting a bill that is at least somewhat reminiscent of the stimulus bill they unanimously opposed eight years ago . it ’s also possible that even moderate democrats in swing states may face pressure not to come to trump ’s rescue . after all , the president remains intensely unpopular among democrats , who continue to nurture hopes that trump is one russia connection away from impeachment . as a senior white house official told me of gorsuch ’s nomination to the supreme court : “ the comment we often get from democrats is , ‘ that ’s a great nominee.’ oh , so you ’re voting for him ? ‘ i can’t.’ why not ? ‘ my base would go crazy , and i ’d be primaried.’ that environment has to change before we can have any of these conversations . ” on the morning of feb. 2 , two democratic leaders on trade issues , senator ron wyden of oregon and representative richard neal of massachusetts — the ranking members of the senate finance and house ways and means committees — met with trump , along with a few of his advisers and republican lawmakers . trump had already greeted the day by threatening to yank federal funding from the university of california at berkeley after acts of violence had forced the cancellation of the breitbart editor milo yiannopoulos ’s speech on campus , and by taunting arnold schwarzenegger ’s poor ratings on “ the apprentice ” during the national prayer breakfast . disquiet lingered from trump ’s travel ban on refugees and his surly phone conversation with the australian prime minister the previous week . amid this chaos — entirely to bannon ’s liking and grating to nearly everyone else in washington — actual legislative activity was slowly unfolding . trump began the meeting by condemning the trade deals negotiated by his predecessors . the press pool was then ushered out before the democrats could say anything in front of the cameras . when neal was given a chance to speak , he informed trump , pence , bannon , kushner and commerce secretary wilbur ross that america had in fact prospered as a result of past trade deals . neal emphasized the crucial role that the panama canal played in the economic vitality of the eastern seaboard . other than ross , no one on trump ’s team seemed aware of this . “ they were a bit surprised , ” neal later told me . he was also struck by the white house ’s abhorrence of multilateral pacts , which seemed to him to be naïve . “ the idea that you ’re going to negotiate 148 bilateral agreements with w. t. o. members does not seem realistic , ” neal said . “ the idea that we ’re all of a sudden going to have a agreement with great britain , that ’s going to take years to do . ” later , neal said , ross privately assured him that the trump administration “ would not give up on multilateral deals . ” neal ’s lecture signified the start of what is likely to be a long and at times contentious reckoning on the part of trump and bannon with the limits of their nationalist rhetoric . of all the legislative lifts , none will be heavier than renegotiating trade agreements , which require a simple majority approval by both the senate and the house . scrounging up 15 democratic senators who are willing to vote along with 52 republicans would be a formidable enough task on any issue . but just as democrats like neal in the northeast would fight for a trade deal that benefits their region , so will republican lawmakers along the southern border rebel at an effort to repeal nafta . as mccain told me , “ if you negated nafta , it would send my state into a severe recession . ” he assured me that trump ’s nationalist posture would not provoke only regional opposition . he conjured up another republican era — not reagan ’s , not bush ’s , but instead that of herbert hoover , when two republican lawmakers joined with a republican president to design a protectionist initiative that ultimately caused american exports to plummet during the great depression . “ somewhere , ” mccain said with a dark chuckle , “ mr. smoot and mr. hawley are smiling . ” on thursday , march 23 , trump hosted a morning meeting of freedom caucus holdouts in the cabinet room . jeff duncan , a congressman from south carolina who was present , told me that trump told them : “ i need you guys . we need to put up a win . it ’s not just about needing to repeal obamacare — though we do . it ’s also that a win here sets up a win for tax reform and gives us momentum going into infrastructure . and if the bill fails , it could derail all of that . ” with customary bravado , trump told the conservative members that he did n’t want to squeak by with just a victory . “ i want all 237 of you , ” he said , according to duncan , referring to the entire house republican conference . that included the more moderate members , who had told trump they felt that the white house was n’t paying sufficient attention to their concerns . later in the day , trump hosted another meeting with the moderates , where representative charlie dent of pennsylvania informed trump that he remained a “ no . ” according to an attendee , trump angrily informed dent that he was “ destroying the republican party ” and “ was going to take down tax reform — and i ’m going to blame you . ” until that day , duncan had been an unyielding “ no ” on the bill . the previous week , he delivered an impassioned speech to the vice president and other republicans , insisting that this vote constituted “ our generation ’s rendezvous with destiny — a real chance to roll back the size and scope of the federal government , returning some liberty back to the people through our actions to repeal obamacare . ” in a text to me , duncan pointed to history : “ 39 men in a hot room in 1787 had the courage to break from the norm and empower a nation . ” but now the congressman was , for the first time in his life , sitting across the table from a president who was personally appealing for his support . the white house was offering concessions and agreeing to them in writing . duncan left the meeting and spent a few hours pondering , as he would later put it , “ the greater opportunity we as republicans have . ” by that evening , trump had won jeff duncan ’s vote . it was n’t enough . the next afternoon , ryan pulled the house health care bill , conceding that neither he nor the white house could muster enough votes . “ you get about nine months to do the big things , ” kevin mccarthy , the house majority leader , told me at the beginning of the year . nine months seemed like a long time then , the calendar spacious and the legislative possibilities plentiful . but more than two of those months are gone already — and the path to future wins , as trump foresaw in his meeting with the freedom caucus , is now more complicated . when he took office , trump relished the prospect of becoming a new kind of deal maker in the white house . by the time i spoke with him in early march , however , he already seemed to be taking stock of the limits to his powers . he still saw himself as the closer in chief — but then that was “ typical , i would think , of a president , ” he mused . “ some more than others . ”
+0 how the new york times will fact - check the debate - the new york times carolyn ryan with clashes over truth , lies and exaggerations dominating the prelude to the first presidential debate , the new york times has assembled a team of at least 18 for monday night , drawing on the expertise of some of our most seasoned reporters . ( here ’s our live analysis and video of the debate , highlights and fact checks . ) these reporters will assess the accuracy of assertions made by either candidate , or by the moderator , in real time as the debate unfolds , with an aim of posting each fact check within five minutes of the statement ’s being made . the operation is an important dimension of an expansive coverage plan for the debate , which begins at 9 p. m. the times will stream the debate live on its home page and will provide analysis from our regular team of reporters on political debates : maggie haberman , nicholas confessore , adam nagourney and alan rappeport . we will also provide continually updated highlights for those joining the debate after it has begun . our in washington and new york are : • david sanger , mark landler , eric schmitt and matthew rosenberg , who have a deep background in national security issues and foreign policy • neil irwin and binyamin appelbaum , who write expertly about the economy • steven lee myers and eric lichtblau , who have closely covered hillary clinton ’s email issues • julia preston , who has covered immigration for 10 years • adam goldman and matt apuzzo , who have reported extensively about the f. b. i. guns and terrorism • coral davenport , who covers the environment and climate change • margot who writes about health care • adam liptak , who covers the supreme court • charlie savage , who writes about constitutional issues • michael d. shear , a white house correspondent • and steve eder and mike mcintire , two of our investigative reporters . on the opinion side , the times will publish quick responses to the debate from columnists and other prominent writers before , during and after the debate . starting around 4 p. m. at nytimes . gail collins , charles blow and others will describe what they will be watching for from the candidates . during the debate , paul krugman , roger cohen , j. d. vance and other observers will offer quick commentary . and once the debate concludes , columnists and contributors will provide reaction . the times will also offer coverage through facebook live , which can be viewed at facebook . . at 7 p. m. the political reporters amy chozick , nick corasaniti and jonathan martin will offer a preview of the debate from hofstra university on long island and take questions from facebook users . when the debate begins , at 9 p. m. the times will be live on facebook with two streams : one showing the debate itself , and another that will pair audio of the debate with live cartooning by bob eckstein , an illustrator for the times . the live streams on facebook will incorporate other features of times coverage , including commentary from our opinion writers and fact checks and analysis from our reporters . when the debate ends , donald j. trump is scheduled to attend an and mr. corasaniti will cover that event live . mr. corasaniti also shared what to watch for on the times ’s snapchat account this morning .
+0 donald trump , after difficult stretch , shows a softer side - the new york times ashley parker and maggie haberman it has been a rough few weeks for donald j. trump and his team : a bruising loss in wisconsin , a public campaign and some missteps and gaffes , including his reference to the attacks on the world trade center as occurring “ on . ” in a lengthy interview in his office on the 26th floor of trump tower on tuesday , shortly after casting a ballot for himself and hours before the polls closed , the usually boastful mr. trump seemed a bit more humbled as he reflected on his “ evolving ” campaign and looked to the challenges ahead . alongside his oldest son , donald j. trump jr. and his spokeswoman , hope hicks , mr. trump spoke freely , talking about whether to court delegates with lavish perks like visits to his mansions . below are some condensed excerpts from the conversation . on what it was like to vote for himself in new york on tuesday : i got over to the booth , a lot of people on the street . obviously , they saw somebody was coming , and when i got out , it was all cheers . and then i went in and i got the voter slip , and i saw my name , and i said : “ oh , that ’s very interesting . i ’m voting for myself as president of the united states . ” and it does sort of hit you , a little bit differently than when you ’re thinking of it in a different context . you see your name , and it says “ president of the united states ” on a quite nicely printed form . and check the box . and it ’s very big for not very many names . so it ’s a great honor . honestly , it ’s a great honor . on the recent he ordered , which diminished the role of corey lewandowski , his campaign manager : well , now we are evolving . i ’m very happy with my people — the people that both got me here and the people that will take it to the next level . i think that corey , and my whole group , i ’m just very happy with them . we ’ve become something that ’s a very big thing . on jeb bush : i think jeb would have been the nominee had i not gotten in , but i was able to define jeb early . on what he sees as his unique ability to bring fresh thinking to old issues : do n’t forget i ’m the one that , when jeb would say , “ the country was safe when my brother was president , ” i said , “ excuse me , the world trade center came down . ” do you know , nobody thought of that ? it ’s like the paper clip . nobody thought about the paper clip except for the guy that thought of it , and he became rich . and everyone else said , “ why did n’t i think of that idea ? ” on the race for delegates : it ’s a rigged system . it ’s a disgraceful , disgusting rigged system in the republican party . worse than the democratic party , because in the democratic case it ’s obvious with superdelegates . look at bernie . he wins every week , and everyone says he ca n’t win . in the democrat party , it ’s obvious because they have a superdelegate , that ’s like throwing it in your face . the republican party is worse , the republican party has a system where you can buy the delegates if you want . and you can do anything you want with a delegate , except give them cash . i can play the game better — i can fly them on a 757 to i can fly them to california where i own a place that ’s unbelievable , on the pacific ocean . but it ’s a bad system . you ’re buying the election . it ’s really wrong , and i ’m looking into it , legally . on whether he will emphasize the economy and trade in the pennsylvania and indiana primaries : i think my message is so incredible for those two places , because they ’ve been decimated , they ’ve been decimated . there are some places where it would n’t work as well . on ted cruz possibly beating him in the delegate race : look , other than the fact that he ’s using a corrupt system and rigged system to get delegates , he ’d be out of it already . he ca n’t win . but how do you pick a guy who ’s down millions of votes and many hundreds of delegates . i ’m already over 200 delegates up . so how do you do that ? do you understand ? that ’s pretty hard . i won . the voters voted for me . i think you ’d have bedlam in the party . on top of it , cruz is not a popular guy . he ’s not liked . on senator marco rubio of florida ’s attempts to wage a war of insults with him : he played don rickles , and then i played don rickles times five . and then he stopped . they had to try something . all right ? on not wanting to woo delegates : i do n’t like the process of it — you ’re buying the election . i ’m not ruling anything out , but i ’ll tell you what — i think that there ’s a serious legal challenge to all of this , and it starts with the “ super pacs . ” this is a very serious dilemma for the republican party . on whether he actually wants the job of president or simply wants to win : look , there ’s no greater honor . but i ’m not doing it for the honor . i ’m doing it because i really believe that with substance , intelligence and having the proper ability , which i have , we can make this country so successful , so fast . we can bring it back . you know , make america great again . which is also a great slogan . on how the past year has turned out for him : a couple of people who know me actually said , “ be careful what you wish for . ” it was very interesting . it was a compliment . well , they understand that i win . my life is winning . i win . i know how to win . most people do n’t know how to win . in golf , in sports , in life — i win , always . better knock on wood . [ knocks on his desk .
+1 putin tells the west of its own problems nan putin tells the west of its own problems 28.10.2016 source : kremlin.ru on october 17 , president vladimir putin , when visiting sochi , delivered a speech at the plenary session of valdai international discussion club . most of his speech was dedicated to russia 's foreign policy and r elations with western countries . america is not a banana country , but a great superpower print version font size all the talks about russia 's alleged interference in the us election process are nothing but hysteria , he said . " the list of mythical and concocted problems includes the ongoing hysteria - i can not call it otherwise - about russia 's influence on the course of the current election of the american president , " putin said , tass reports . according to putin , the united states is currently facing a plethora of problems - from the enormous public debt to police violence . " yet , it appears that the us elites have nothing to say to their people , to calm down the society . it is much easier to divert people 's attention to so - called russian hackers , spies , agents of influence , and so on . " " does anyone really think that russia can somehow influence the choice of the american people ? is america a banana country or what ? america is a great superpower , correct me , if i 'm wrong , " putin said . putin regrets russia can not maintain a powerful propaganda machine comparable to western media . " i 'll tell you , dear colleagues , i 'd like to have such a propaganda machine in russia . but it is , unfortunately , not the case . we have no such global media outlets like cnn , the bbc and others . we have no such opportunities yet , " ria novosti quoted president putin as saying . vladimir putin said that us presidential candidate donald trump represents the interests of ordinary americans who are tired of the elites that have been in power in the united states for decades . " as for mr. trump , he chose , apparently , his own way to reach out to voters ' hearts . what kind of a way is it ? of course , he behaves extravagantly , we all see it , but i think that all that is not so pointless , " putin said . " he represents the interests of ordinary people , who criticize those who have been in power for decades , " he said adding that trump represents the interests of " those who do not like the transfer of power by inheritance."one of the participants of the meeting said , making references to reports in western mass media , that russia supports donald trump in the american presidential election . in putin 's view , such an opinion has been formed by those who defend hillary clinton 's interests in the presidential race . " how do they do it ? first off , they create an image of the enemy in the form of russia , and then announce that trump is our favorite . this is absolute nonsense and a way of political struggle , a way to manipulate public opinion on the eve of the presidential election in the united states , " said putin . russia can attack nato countries ? speculations about russia being a military threat to nato are ridiculous , the russian president said . " in the west , they constantly invent fictional mythical threats like russia 's military threat . but the fact is , russia is not going to attack anyone , this is ridiculous . i have read your analytical materials - not only the materials of those present in this room , but the materials by analysts from the united states , from europe - this is impossible , simply silly and unrealistic . in europe alone , there are 300 million , all are members of nato , the united states is a 600-million - strong nation , and russia has about 146 million people . this is simply funny to just talk about it , " putin said . according to him , the true leadership in the modern world is not about the efforts to invent ephemeral threats and then use them to subjugate others . a true leader needs to see real problems and take efforts to solve them . " this is how russia understands her role today in world affairs , " said putin . putin also criticized nato for not adapting the alliance to the new conditions that have emerged in the world since the cold war . " the structures created during the cold war have apparently outlived themselves . nato is not adapting itself to the new conditions , even though they talk about it all the time , " the president said . nato strengthens defenses in the countries located along the border with russia , amid growing concerns about the strengthening of moscow 's military potential . the decision on the deployment of nato 's four additional battalions in eastern europe and the baltic countries ( poland , estonia , latvia and lithuania ) was adopted at the nato summit on july 8 , 2016 , in response to russia 's actions in ukraine . terrorists are always smarter and stronger using terrorists in one 's political interests is " a very dangerous game , " the russian leader said in his speech . " once again , i want to address to such players : in this case , extremists are smarter , wiser and stronger than you , and when you play with them , you will always lose , " putin said . " the terrorist attacks of recent years in boston and other american cities , in paris , brussels , nice , in german cities , and , unfortunately , in our country , have shown that terrorists no longer need either cells or organizational structures - they can act alone , independently , it is enough to only motivate them ideologically and set them against their enemy - against us all , " the russian president said . aleppo and mosul putin rejected the criticism of russia for the bombings of aleppo and reminded of civilian casualties in iraq , afghanistan and yemen . the president compared the siege of aleppo with the offensive on mosul , which the iraqi army has been conducting with the participation of the united states . according to putin , terrorists shot about 200 people there while trying to stop the advance of the iraqi army . " let 's not forget it , " the russian president said . as putin said , in aleppo one needs to destroy the nest of the terrorists , while doing everything possible to avoid civilian casualties . " if you do not want to touch anything , then one should not attack mosul either , let 's just leave everything as it is , " putin said . putin also said that civilians are killed not only in aleppo , but also in yemen and afghanistan , where they kill people right at their wedding parties . " i think bells should be tolling for all of those innocent victims , " he said . putin stated that it will not be possible to stop the bloodshed and start a political process in syria . " it would seem that after long negotiations , enormous efforts and complex trade - offs , the united front against terrorism has finally started forming , but that did not happen . our personal agreements with the president of the united states did not work , " interfax quoted putin as saying . today , if some countries benefit from certain standards or rules , they force other countries and everyone else to obey them too . however , if these standards subsequently become an obstacle , " they throw them in a bin , say that they have become obsolete and then set new rules . " this strategy was used to attack belgrade , iraq , then in afghanistan and libya . the operation was launched without the appropriate resolution from the un security council . some superpowers , putin said , in an attempt to take advantage of the international situation , have broken the international legal regime that prohibited the deployment of new missile defense systems . they have also created international terrorist groups and supplied weapons to them , even though the brutality of those groups makes millions of people leave their homes and migrate , plunging other countries into chaos . " we can see the freedom of trade being sacrificed and so - called sanctions being used to put political pressure . bypassing the world trade organization , they are trying to form closed economic alliances with rigid rules and barriers , where main beneficiaries are their own transnational corporations , " putin said . " it is obvious that economic cooperation should be mutually beneficial and based on common universal principles , so that each state could become a full - fledged participant in global economic life , - said putin . - in the medium term , the trend for the regionalization of world economy will continue , but regional trade agreements should complement and develop , rather than substitute universal norms and rules . " pravda . ru
+0 art underground : a first look at the second avenue subway - the new york times randy kennedy when a city has been waiting for a badly needed new subway line since 1929 , public art is probably far down the list of expectations , well behind accommodations like a ) working trains , b ) lights and c ) some means of entrance and egress . but when commuters descend into the new second avenue subway ’s four stations , at 96th , 86th , 72nd and 63rd streets , now set for a new year ’s day opening — or perhaps a little later if things do n’t go as planned — they will find one of the most ambitious contemporary art projects that the metropolitan transportation authority has ever undertaken . the agency ’s art department , m. t. a. arts design , founded and first funded in 1985 , is rarely — in a salmagundi system 112 years old — presented with a blank canvas . but lately , with the opening of the superstation at fulton street downtown and the extension of the no . 7 line to a new terminus on west 34th street , the subway ’s art thinkers have been able to participate almost from the beginning in incorporating installations in tile work by leading artists into stations’ designs . if the effort does n’t always result in stations that look like artworks themselves , as some of the best stations in europe and asia do , it has nonetheless put the aesthetic front and center again in a way that evokes the ambition of the city ’s first subway stations in 1904 , with their mosaics , faience and skylights . gov. andrew m. cuomo , who has taken an unusually personal role in the second avenue subway ’s final push toward opening , casts the art in historical terms , as a clarion call for government to once again be a builder of inspiring public amenities and infrastructure . “ at some point government adopted an attitude that its job was to build things that were functional but unattractive and unappealing , ” mr. cuomo said in a statement to the new york times . “ but that ’s not how it has always been , and it ’s not how it should be . with every public works project , i believe there is an opportunity to elevate the everyday , to build a public space where community can gather and where culture and shared civic values are celebrated . ” at a news conference on monday at the museum of modern art , he recalled an era of infrastructure development under nelson a. rockefeller and robert moses . “ this is just the beginning of a new period of rebirth , ” he said . what follows is the first subterranean tour by a reporter of the new subway ’s art , created at a cost to the metropolitan transportation authority of $ 4 . 5 million , out of an overall budget of $ 4 . 45 billion . four artists were chosen beginning in 2009 , from a pool of more than 300 applicants , to treat the stations as their very own and make them into individual installations . sarah sze , who represented the united states at the venice biennale in 2013 and who draws from the great tradition of recycling that stretches from kurt schwitters through robert rauschenberg and isa genzken , decided to use the porcelain tiles that cover the walls throughout the new stations , rather than mosaic . for “ blueprint for a landscape , ” accomplished with the help of tile masters in spain who applied color and line to the plain porcelain , she transformed the station into what looks like a immersive drawing that unfolds down the escalators and through the concourse . fragmented images of scaffolding , birds , chairs and leaves , digitally collaged , seem as if caught in a great whoosh caused by a hurtling train . and on the concourse , in a nod to katsushika hokusai ’s depiction of travelers battling a gust , ms. sze ( pronounced zee ) has used blue and white in an almost minimalist fashion to adorn the walls with images of blowing paper — dense at the station ’s north end and sparser moving south , as a directional aid . “ i wanted to use tile as if it were one large piece of paper , ” ms. sze said . in a sense , she said , her piece is about “ the pace we ’re all moving at now , ” but her imagery pushes back poetically against the overload . “ there ’s a lot of information , ” she said of her installation , “ but it has a kind of rhythm to it that you can navigate . ” the participation of the renowned painter and photographer chuck close in the new stations was a kind of coup , widely reported when he was chosen in 2012 . he has created 12 ( almost nine feet high ) densely intricate mosaic portraits that play at least two roles . one is as a poignant rendezvous of some of the new york artists who have formed mr. close ’s wide circle — philip glass , in a image of a young composer , who will watch protectively over commuters as they descend an escalator lou reed and cindy sherman , along with the painter cecily brown , the artist kara walker ( above ) and the painter alex katz , who is going strong at 89 . the second effect , complemented by the inclusion of younger subjects , including the artists zhang huan , sienna shields and pozsi b. kolor , is a collective portrait of a proudly polyglot city and subway ridership . mr. close has placed two ( one seen above ) in the station the squiggly individual tiles that make up the hairs of his gray beard are alone worth missing a train to inspect at close range . “ the richness of the city is all the various cultures coming together , ” mr. close said when he began conceiving the suite of portraits , “ and the richness of my art will be to simultaneously let people in on how many ways there are to build an image . ” vik muniz , the brazilian artist , has worked between new york and rio de janeiro his entire career and said he has “ known the subway sometimes better than i wanted to . ” he has become highly regarded for pieces based on materials antithetical to permanence and , seemingly , to seriousness : chocolate , spaghetti sauce , thread , trash . “ perfect strangers , ” a series of three dozen portraits that seem to be waiting for a train along the concourse and entrances to the station , is based on staged photographs of people mr. muniz knows , many of them playing slightly characters he cooked up , like a police officer holding a popsicle . “ i wanted them to be normal people , ” he said . “ i know lots of normal people . i kept thinking : who would make the perfect stranger ? ” of course , some of the subjects do n’t quite qualify as normal or strangers , because they ’re well known : the restaurateur daniel boulud , holding a bag with a fish tail sticking out the designer , actor and waris ahluwalia . mr. muniz himself makes an appearance , in a scene of him tripping , spilling papers from his briefcase . and he convinced his son , gaspar , to dress up in a tiger suit , like a times square mascot on lunch break . “ in the subway you really do n’t end up remembering anything but the people , ” mr. muniz said . “ you remember the characters , and you make up stories about them . ” jean shin , perhaps the least known of the artists chosen , often makes pieces from castoff objects that she accumulates and puts together until they achieve a kind of melancholy monumentality and civic weight . for her installation , “ elevated , ” she dived into the past — specifically the past that was supposed to bequeath new york the second avenue subway generations ago , and that led her to the idea of illustrating the demolition of the second avenue and third avenue elevated lines in the 1940s and 1950s . she dug through archives at the new york transit museum in brooklyn and at the historical society and used photographs she found to create what feel like deeply resonant dioramas in mosaic and glass , based on images of everyday riders and pedestrians from the 1920s through the 1940s , along with geometric shots of elevated girders being dismantled . “ we ’re such a youth culture , ” said ms. shin , who works in new york . “ i think it ’s nice to have people of the past among us . ” she added : “ i was also imagining new yorkers way back then feeling , ‘ hey , we ’re finally going to get the second avenue subway ! ’ ”
+0 hillary clinton says donald trump is not qualified to be president - the new york times amy chozick hillary clinton declared herself the democratic party ’s presidential nominee on thursday and , looking to the fall election , said that her likely republican rival , donald j. trump , was not qualified to be president . asked by cnn ’s chris cuomo whether mr. trump was qualified to hold the office they both seek , mrs. clinton declared emphatically , “ no . ” she called the crash of an egyptair flight early thursday an act of terrorism and went on to portray mr. trump as dangerously out of step with what a commander in chief would need to do to combat such attacks . she cited his proposal to temporarily bar muslims from entering american borders , his comments about diminishing the united states’ involvement in nato and his remarks that he would negotiate directly with the north korean dictator , kim as evidence of how “ unmoored ” mr. trump is on foreign policy . this month , when msnbc asked a similar question , mrs. clinton said that mr. trump had “ given no indication that he understood the gravity of the responsibilities that go with being commander in chief . ” but she stopped short of emphatically declaring that he was unqualified . she did not mince words on thursday , saying , “ i have concluded he is not qualified to be president of the united states . ” in a statement on thursday , mr. trump said that mrs. clinton was the candidate unqualified to president . “ she has bad judgment , ” mr. trump said in the statement , “ and is unfit to serve as president at this delicate and difficult time in our country ’s history . ” mrs. clinton ’s statements come as she encounters a lingering threat for the democratic nomination from senator bernie sanders of vermont , whose supporters have become increasingly antagonistic toward her candidacy . despite recent primary wins by mr. sanders , his path to the party ’s nomination appears mathematically impossible , a fact mrs. clinton sought to make abundantly clear . “ i will be the nominee of our party , chris , ” she told mr. cuomo . “ there is no way i wo n’t be . ” on thursday afternoon , michael briggs , a spokesman for mr. sanders , said in a statement that his candidate ’s recent victories in indiana , west virginia and oregon showed that voters there “ respectfully disagreed with secretary clinton . ” he added , “ we expect voters in the remaining eight contests also will disagree , ” and said that some polls showing mr. sanders faring better than mrs. clinton against mr. trump made it “ clear that millions of americans have growing doubts about the clinton campaign . ” throughout the interview , mrs. clinton appeared ready to put the primaries behind her and move on to mr. trump . asked if she would consider naming mr. sanders her nominee , in an effort to unify the party and bring in his liberal and young supporters , she demurred . “ i think the thing that brings us together is donald trump , ” she said . she declined to respond to mr. trump ’s attacks on her husband , bill clinton , including an interview with fox news on wednesday night in which mr. trump brought up a rape allegation against the former president . “ i think people can judge his campaign for what it is , ” mrs. clinton said . “ i ’m going to run my campaign . ” asked if she had the urge to defend her family ’s honor against the onslaught of attacks that will grow louder , mrs. clinton said : “ no , not at all . i know that is exactly what he is fishing for , and i ’m not going to be responding . ” the interview took place in park ridge , ill. the chicago suburb where mrs. clinton spent her childhood . mr. cuomo asked what advice her mother , dorothy rodham , would have given her in dealing with the likely battle that awaits her against an opponent unlike any she has confronted . “ i think it would be the same advice that my mother always gave me , ” mrs. clinton said . “ which is everybody gets knocked down and knocked around in life . the real test is whether you get up and keep going . ”
+0 teaching your child emotional agility - the new york times kj dell’antonia it ’s hard to see a child unhappy . whether a child is crying over the death of a pet or the popping of a balloon , our instinct is to make it better , fast . that ’s where too many parents get it wrong , says the psychologist susan david , author of the book “ emotional agility . ” helping a child feel happy again may offer immediate relief for parent and child , but it does n’t help a child in the long term . “ how children navigate their emotional world is critical to lifelong success , ” she said . research shows that when teachers help preschoolers learn to manage their feelings in the classroom , those children become better problem solvers when faced with an emotional situation , and are better able to engage in learning tasks . in teenagers , “ emotional intelligence , ” or the ability to recognize and manage emotions , is associated with an increased ability to cope with stressful situations and greater . some research suggests that a lack of emotional intelligence can be used to predict symptoms of depression and anxiety . emotional skills , said dr. david , are the bedrock of qualities like grit and resilience . but instead of allowing a child to fully experience a negative emotion , parents often respond with what dr. david describes as emotional helicoptering . “ we step into the child ’s emotional space , ” she said , with our platitudes , advice and ideas . many common parental strategies , like minimizing either the emotion or the underlying problem or rushing to the rescue , fail to help a child learn how to help herself . dr. david offers four practical steps for helping a child go through , rather than around , a negative emotion and emerge ready to keep going — feel it , show it , label it , watch it go . feel it . while it may seem obvious to feel emotions , many families focus on pushing away negative emotions . “ when we ’re saying ‘ do n’t be sad , do n’t be angry , do n’t be jealous , do n’t be selfish,’ we ’re not coming to the child in the reality of her emotion , ” she said . “ validate and see your child as a sentient person who has her own emotional world . ” show it . similarly , many families have what dr. david calls “ display rules ” around emotions — there are those it is acceptable to show , and those that must be hidden . “ we see expressions like ‘ boys do n’t cry’ and ‘ we do n’t do anger here,’ or ‘ brush it off,’ ” she said . “ we do it with very good intentions , but we are teaching that emotions are to be feared . ” label it . labeling emotions , dr. david said , is a critical skill set for children . “ we need to learn to recognize stress versus anger or disappointment , ” she said . even very young children can consider whether they ’re mad or sad , or angry or anxious or scared . “ labeling emotions is also at the core of our ability to empathize . ask ‘ how do you think is feeling ? what does their face tell you ? ’ ” as children get older , she adds , we can talk more about emotional complexities . “ we can be simultaneously excited and anxious and frustrated , and we also need to learn to recognize that in other people , ” she said . watch it go . even the hardest emotions do n’t last forever . dr. david suggests helping your child to notice that . “ sadness , anger , frustration — these things have value , but they also pass . they ’re transient , and we are bigger than they are . say , ‘ this is what sadness feels like . this is what it feels like after it passes . this is what i did that helped it pass . ’ ” we can also help children to remember that we do n’t necessarily feel the same emotion every time we have a similar experience . the high dive is scariest the first time . we might feel a lot of anxiety at one party , or in one science class , but have a different experience the next time . “ we ’re very good , as humans , at creating these stories around emotions , ” dr. david said . “ ‘ i ’m not good at making friends . i ca n’t do math.’ those are feelings and fears , not fixed states . people and things change . ” finally , she said , help your child plan for experiencing the emotion again . “ ask , ‘ who do you want to be in this situation ? ’ ” she said . “ what ’s important to you about this ? ” children feel stronger as they begin to learn that it ’s not how they feel , but how they respond to the feeling , that counts .
+1 the battleship debate michael shrimpton by michael shrimpton on october 30 , 2016 some battleship myths busted the comments on last week ’s column ( aberfan – disaster or attack ? ) threw up some unexpected comments about battleships , and the causes of world war i. as you can tell , it was a wide - ranging discussion ! it also showed that that a number of myths about battleships , not to mention the causes of world war i , are still prevalent . first however , some comments on the exciting presidential race . trump or clinton ? i ’m still predicting a win for trump . the polls have tightened , which is not good news for hillary , and the first straws in the wind suggesting a landslide for trump have appeared . some polls are still showing a lead for the democrat , but the most reliable ones seem to be showing trumpy ahead by 1 or 2 points . a delighted washington post predicted this week that trumpy has “ next to zero ” chance of winning . i ’m not sure that ’s true even if you accept the polls as accurate . the polls are suggesting a tight race . however pollsters have a history of getting it wrong when it comes to races involving conservatives . the margin of error in favor of liberal positions differs from one pollster to another , but between 2.5 and 5 % seems about right . since the last two republican candidates were scarcely conservatives , the reasonably good performance of most polling organisations in 2008 and 2012 has to be viewed with reserve . polling performance breaks down when you have serious conservative opposition . they can be still an indicator , however , of momentum . the fbi ( photo credit : hurricane bianca ) i have heard of october surprises , indeed the democrats sprang one over bimbogate , or at least gave it the good old college try . it might have been better choosing bimbos who had actually met the republican candidate , or at least met him without witnesses present , but there it is . having the fbi act with integrity when the suspect is the democratic candidate for president and polling day is less than two weeks away was n’t so much an october surprise as an october shock , no offense to the fibbies intended . assuming – just assuming – that this was n’t part of a deal between mr o and mr t , whereby mr t agreed to keep quiet about mr o ’s kenyan / zanzibari origins in exchange for mr o backing off the fbi , the timing of the fbi ’s move was extraordinary . they are saying that it was due to fresh evidence coming into their possession , so it ca n’t have been that . it is just possible that the boys in the hoover building ( that ’s hoover as in j edgar , btw , not as in the vacuum cleaner ) were not aware of the large sums of money slushing , sorry finding , its way to the wife of their deputy director from the clintons . it ’s a bit of a mystery , and i do n’t pretend to know the answer . astonishing as it may sound , with respect , it may even be that the fbi have finally started to act with integrity and good faith . if so , that would be a positive development , although do n’t expect the cia to follow suit ! if they did , the world really will have turned upside down . the cia and wikipedia wwi people sometimes ask me why i write for veteranstoday , given the lousy pay ( ! ) the short answer is that they are good people and do n’t interfere with my freedom of expression . vt is also something of an intelligence clearing house , however . i hope readers learn something from my weekly columns ( that ’s why i write ‘ em ) , but i also learn things . one of the things i learnt this week via vt is that the cia have a thing going with wikipedia . i thought i was dealing with operatives – it was strange that so - called volunteer editors responded within minutes to any attempt by me to balance the wikipedia attack piece on me . turns out the cia have an active interest in about 10 % of wiki sites , including mine . given that director brennan is an enemy of mine , with jesuit connections , i helped expose the role of the jesuit order in providing the pretext for world war i and the agency are heavily penetrated by my bitter enemies the dvd , via the correa / corea group in frankfurt , that would make sense . the next installment in my wikiwar should be mediation . goodness knows who they ’ll suggest as a mediator – angela merkel probably , or the president of the european commission . the mediator will definitely be driving a volkswagen . the naval race rear admiral sir christoper cradock i ’m inter alia an intelligence historian , so it ’s nice to turn to an historical topic . it is incredibly important to get history right – otherwise we just repeat the same mistakes . a number of commenters last week seemed to be laboring under the delusion , no offense intended , that world war i was started by the naval race between the british and german empires . this nonsensical view , widely propagated since 1918 by german intelligence and their allies , is still recycled on the bbc and by liberal faculty members , i.e. just about all of them . world war i was not started by the british admiralty , nor by accident . it was started by the germans , who set up the assassination of the archduke franz ferdinand and his lovely wife sophie on june 28th 1914 . the german army was already mobilising , implementing a war plan drawn up years before . the build - up of the imperial german navy had similarly been underway for years , for purely offensive purposes . the german navy was not designed to protect german interests abroad – its capital ships lacked the range and the habitability for that . it was aimed at bringing the royal navy ’s atlantic and channel fleets to battle in the north sea ( the famous grand fleet was only formed on the outbreak of war ) . there is no way the german navy could have matched the rapid , hemispheric deployment of a battlecruiser squadron to the farthest reaches of the south atlantic in 1914 , e.g. , after the destruction of a weak british squadron under rear - admiral sir christopher cradock at the battle of coronel . vice - admiral sturdee ’s great victory in the battle of the falkland islands was of course made possible by the naval intelligence department . the boys had spotted that the first sea lord , von battenberg , was a german spy and had deliberately refused to reinforce cradock ’s squadron . von battenberg was left in place and fed false position reports – no wonder the sight of the fighting tops of a british battlecruiser squadron in port stanley harbor so rattled the hun commander , graf von spee , who was the runner - up in the battle which followed . the true position was stated millennia ago by the roman general vegetius : si vis pacem , para bellum . if you wan’t peace , prepare for war . great britain did not encourage the first world war by taking the limited steps that she did to prepare for it . we needed more battleships and battlecruisers , not fewer . sadly , the liberal government decided to encourage german aggression by holding back spending on the royal navy . had we been stronger , the hun would not dare have invaded belgium and luxembourg in a flanking attack on the french army . next myth hms barham the next myth propagated last week was that battleships were vulnerable to u - boats . the truth is that the only british battleships sunk by u - boat in both world wars , hms barham and hms royal oak , were betrayed . royal oak was sunk because the first sea lord sir dudley pound was being blackmailed by jerry and agreed to hold up the badly - needed block - ships requested for scapa flow by the c - in - c home fleet . had the block - ships been in place , as requested , gunther prien would n’t have got within five miles of royal oak . it is not even clear that the dear old barham was actually sunk in november 1941 by u-331 . it is more likely that her magazines were detonated by a radio - controlled ied set off by a german agent on the battleship ahead , which happened to have a cameraman ready to film the sinking . all battleships after the turbine - powered dreadnought were too fast for submarines , which until the advent of the first true submarine , the german type xxi , had limited underwater speed and endurance . forget the headline figure for underwater speed – at top speed a u - boat ’s batteries would be drained quickly . this made achieving a firing solution difficult . battleships were also usually too well screened by destroyers . they were such difficult targets that in practice only a u - boat lying in wait could torpedo them . then there was the difficulty in sinking them . older battleships could indeed be sunk by a single submarine , even a single torpedo , ditto battleships whose design was held back by the absurd limitations in the washington treaty , designed to make the next world war winnable for the bad guys . it is , however , intellectually dishonest to compare the latest subs with older battleships , or battleships , like the king george v class , designed to artificial limits . in world war ii modern battleships designed without reference to the washington treaty , such as the wonderful iowa class , incorporated excellent anti - torpedo protection . a single jap sub , e.g. would have had trouble hitting an iowa class fast battleship with enough torpedoes to sink her . the king george v classic were a classic illustration of the dangers posed by the washington treaty . to save weight their outer prop - shafts were n’t armored , a weakness which proved fatal when hms prince of wales was struck by a japanese aerial torpedo in december 1941 . in practice battleships were much less vulnerable to torpedo attack than any other type of warship . that is why all japanese submarine attacks on american battleships in world war ii failed , indeed the japs only ever managed to sink american battleships in harbor in peacetime , and even then they only actually sank two . the other battleships damaged at pearl harbor were repaired , modernised and went on to avenge their sisters . third myth hms repulse the vulnerability of battleships to air attack in world war ii has also been greatly overstated . they were of course invulnerable to air attack in world war i , as no aircraft could carry an armor - piercing bomb heavy enough to sink them . no german or italian battleship was sunk at sea by airpower in the whole of the war . no american battleship was sunk at sea in either war , period . only one british battleship , hms prince of wales , was sunk by airpower in world war ii , and she was betrayed . hms indomitable , the carrier designated as her escort , had been run aground , on pound ’s orders , whilst working up out of kingston harbour in jamaica . attacking as they did outside fighter range , without combat equipment such self - sealing tanks , the jap bombers would have been very vulnerable to indomitable ’s cannon - equipped fighters . as i explain in spyhunter , force z ’s course had been betrayed to the japanese in saigon , via radio , by the german spy rear - admiral palliser . had palliser not betrayed the british squadron it ’s unlikely that the japs would have found them . they had poor air reconnaissance , limited fuel reserves and could not just stooge around the south china sea trying to find them . hms repulse was a battlecruiser , not a battleship . unlike her sister renown , she had not been modernised . in particular , she lacked renown ’s modern 4.5 ” dual purpose ( dp ) battery , much more effective in the aa role than prince of wales ’s dp fit . bismarck firing at hms hood hms hood , blown - up during the course of the battle of the denmark strait , was also a battlecruiser and , like repulse , she had not been modernised . the chamberlain government and the treasury denied the admiralty the funds for her much - needed modernisation , precisely in order to make her easier for jerry to sink . as i explain in spyhunter , it is very doubtful that hood was actually sunk by kms bismarck and much more likely that she was blown up by an ied in either a 4 ” magazine , leading to secondary detonation of a main magazine , or a main magazine . none of the broadsides fired by either bismarck or her accompanying heavy cruiser prinz eugen is a good candidate for the alleged fatal shot . prinz eugen ’s main battery was only 8”/60 caliber – her 270 lb shells were too small to have penetrated hood ’s heavy belt armor . for decades , we have been favored with nonsense from pro - germans about hood ’s main deck armor being much weaker than bismarck ’s ( the true figures are 3 ” over the magazines for hood and 4.7 ” for bismarck ) and bismarck sinking her with plunging fire at long range . bismarck , however , was photographed firing at hood from the prinz eugen . as you can see from the photo , bismarck ’s main battery is nowhere near maximum elevation . the hun - loving editors of wikipedia , btw , still can not bring themselves to acknowledge that the bismarck was sunk by the royal navy . she was in fact finished off by torpedoes from the heavy cruiser hms dorsetshire , sinking shortly after the last torpedo hit , which wikipedia would have us believe was a strange coincidence . hms king george v as i have mentioned , the king george v class , of which prince of wales was a member , suffered from design limitations imposed by the washington treaty . they also suffered from several design flaws , which would not have been repeated in later classes and partly flowed from the lack of cash given to the admiralty in the 1930s . they sacrificed aa firepower for spotter aircraft . whilst the planes were well - protected in an armored hangar , it would have been better to rely on more powerful spotter / recon aircraft flown from escorting carriers . the 5.25 ” dp secondary armament was an excellent anti - destroyer weapon , probably the best ever deployed on a battleship , but had too poor a rate of fire ( around 12 - 16 rounds per minute ) to be an effective weapon against aircraft . the dedicated aa gun , the multiple 2-pounder ‘ pom - pom’ , was the best in the world when it came into service in the late 1920s , but had been overtaken by the 40-mil bofors . the mounts were not tri - axially stabilized and the class lacked tachymetric aa fire - control . these specific weaknesses however afford no grounds for saying that battleships generally were unduly vulnerable to aircraft . so far to the contrary , they were better able to stand up to bombs and torpedoes than carriers , were more stable gun platforms , had better firing arcs ( this was particularly true of the us navy – the iowa class had superb firing arcs for their secondary and aa armament , e.g. , whereas the firing arcs on the essex - class carriers were limited ) and better fire - control . unsurprisingly , us fast carrier task forces in the pacific used battleships to protect carriers against aircraft . hms inflexible of the five british capital ships sunk during world war ii , two were unmodernised battlecruisers , two were probably sunk by ieds and all five were betrayed in one way , shape or form . without the assistance of the abwehr , including interference by political assets in number 10 , the cabinet office and the treasury with their design or modernisation , probably none of them would have been sunk at all . the us navy had the right idea . what was needed was balanced all - arms task forces , combining battlewagons , carriers , cruisers and destroyers . admiral henderson of the royal navy had in fact come up with the idea of fast carrier task forces protected by capital ships in the mediterranean in the 1930s , but the royal navy lacked enough fast battleships and carriers to really make it work until 1945 , with the british pacific fleet oh yes , we were in the pacific alright , although the lack of defense expenditure and serious planning for war by pro - german weanies in downing st before the war meant that it took three years for us to get there . apart that is from our fine armored carrier hms victorious , which served briefly in the pacific in 1943 , flying usn squadrons , an episode which would make a fine war movie , if a movie - maker could be found with the guts to make it . president reagan also had the right idea in reactivating the iowa class in the 80s . had the royal navy not been forced to scrap hms vanguard , our last battleship , by the german asset harold macmillan , it is doubtful that general galtieri would even have started the war . hms vanguard falklands war the very thought of that elegant and powerful fast battleship , virtually immune from the exocet sea - skimming missiles ( her belt armor was too strong for an exocet to penetrate ) emerging from the gloom of the south atlantic to pulverise the argentine fleet or smash up argentine forces ashore , would have given the argies the willies . vanguard ’s deck armor , btw , would have been too strong for any bomb the argentine air force could carry . no ship in the argentine navy could have remained operational after a single accurate broadside from hms vanguard , and she had fully - synthetic fire - control , i.e. could land her main battery guns on target whilst maneuvering . she was a formidable surface combatant . this week ’s movie review : jack reacher : never go back ( 2016 , dir . edward zwick ) this movie is huge fun . the first jack reacher movie , also starring tom cruise , was also huge fun , with the bad guys getting whacked all over the place . it ’s always nice to see dirty cops getting their come - uppance ! we could do with jack reacher in thames valley . no jury would convict . unusually for a sequel , this movie is as good as the original . if anything , it ’s even better . tom cruise is excellent as the lead , although it was a disappointment for me that robert duvall was not retained . he ’s one of my all - time favorite actors . robert knepper , as general harkness , provides strong support , however , as does cobie smulders , who i think we ’ll be seeing again . the plot , based around bent military contractors , is more believable than most of the anti - military , anti - american rubbish emerging from liberal hollywood , and the heroes come from the military . the movie moves at a cracking pace , and you are kept in suspense until the end about whether jack is a father or not . i ’m not going to spoil it for you by revealing the plot ! it ’s well worth going to see .
+1 mitch51 then , why do n’t you point out where he was ever right about something ? i mean anything . lol , i agree with everyone else here . i actually think that you are kos . you ’re gay enough .
+0 union boss ( and former miss america ) hits the road in ‘ fun home’ - the new york times michael paulson kate shindle is compiling quite the résumé . once she was miss america . now she ’s a labor leader , the president of actors’ equity . and this week she began playing the nation ’s most famous lesbian cartoonist , alison bechdel , in the touring production of the “ fun home . ” over the next year , ms. shindle will be traveling from city to city , introducing the country to one of the more unlikely recent musical successes , while simultaneously leading her union as it works to improve pay and benefits for more than 50 , 000 actors and stage managers across the united states . it ’s a complicated juggling act , and one that ms. shindle has decided to turn into a yearlong adventure . a queens resident accustomed to traveling by subway and bicycle , she bought a used green nissan rogue , loaded in some clothing and a computer , and hit the road , heading first to cleveland , where the tour ’s performances began on sunday . she also cut off the long brown hair she has worn since adolescence , the hair that was once crowned by a tiara . after failing to persuade the show to let her wear a wig , she chopped most of it off the day before the first rehearsal , and has had multiple trims since , each one bringing her nearer to the style favored by ms. bechdel . “ yeah , it ’s pretty funny about kate , ” ms. bechdel said in a wry email about the casting . “ she ’s a former miss america , i ’m a former miss america — what are the chances ? ! ” ( that ’s a joke — ms. bechdel , for any of you who might be confused , was never miss america . ) “ but seriously , being portrayed by her in the musical feels like a lovely , twisting kind of cultural progress , like a möbius strip — suddenly there ’s this inexplicable but undeniable continuity between the marginal lesbian and the beauty queen , ” ms. bechdel added . “ i find it delightful . ” ms. shindle , who is 39 , straight and single , is delighted as well . she saw the show for the first time in january — six months after it won the tony award for best new musical — and said , “ by the time i left the theater , i just thought : ‘ oh , that ’s mine . i ’m going to go get that . ’ ” “ there was a lot that resonated with me , in terms of the family dynamics , ” she added . “ and i think it ’s exciting to take this show , with the topics that it addresses , across the country right now , so the activist part of my brain flipped on , too . ” for ms. shindle , the journey is not as odd as it might seem . as miss america , in 1998 , her cause was aids activism , and she used the visibility that came with her stature to champion disease prevention through safe sex and needle exchange programs . now , by leading the cast of “ fun home , ” she is helping to introduce a musical about the sexual awakening of a lesbian , and the simultaneous unraveling of her gay father , to the nation . the juggling is not without precedent — actors’ equity is administered , on a basis , by a paid staff the elected officials , like ms. shindle , are not paid , so , as she said , “ a girl ’s got to make a living . ” ms. shindle , who was elected last year to a term as president , and who this year led the union as it endorsed a presidential candidate ( hillary clinton ) for the first time , said she would participate in meetings by phone , fly back to new york as needed and continue to focus on priorities like gender parity and racial and ethnic diversity . among the most pressing issues facing the union : off broadway actors are agitating for better pay , broadway actors are looking to share in profits from shows they help develop , and los angeles actors are battling new union rules that affect the thriving scene there . ms. shindle grew up in moorestown , n. j. and found herself drawn to the stage in seventh grade , when she wrote a paper about theater . ( “ it was a terrible paper , ” she said . “ i got a bad grade on it . ” ) undaunted , at her tiny roman catholic high school she took on multiple roles — in one production of “ fiddler on the roof , ” she played the violin in the pit while also performing as . she enrolled at northwestern university to study theater , but was also competing in pageants , which were familiar to her because , when she was a child , her family had volunteered with the miss america pageant . during her junior year , she was chosen as miss illinois and then as miss america , and she took a year off for her reign , during which she traveled the country talking about aids , a subject that had piqued her interest after a family friend , and two theater professors at northwestern , died of the disease . “ i was really angry — it seemed to me that we knew how to stop transmission , and we were n’t doing it because of politics , ” she said . “ and because of what miss america is , and was , to the country , people invited me places that no aids activist could get into . ” as for the gender politics of the miss america pageant , ms. shindle said they did n’t bother her at the time . “ now i look at how the presence and existence of that organization makes other women feel like they have to participate in those kinds of judgments , but at the time i just thought , ‘ you know , nobody ’s forcing me to get up on stage in a swimsuit,’ and it actually felt pretty good to get to the point where i was o. k. doing that , ” she said . “ and , to me , the end justified the means , because i was a college student who suddenly had a national forum to speak about an issue that i thought was really important . ” she returned to northwestern to finish her degree , and then moved to new york , working at times as a waitress and selling real estate , but also as an actor , making her broadway debut as an understudy in “ jekyll hyde , ” and then landing the role of sally bowles in “ cabaret , ” first in the touring production and then , briefly , on broadway . later , she was in the original broadway cast of “ legally blonde , ” where she met the producers who now oversee “ fun home . ” her roles have been limited by her height — she is 5 feet 11 inches tall . as a result , she said , “ i never had ingénue years — it ’s just really hard to pair me with somebody who is going to aesthetically give the look that most directors want . ” “ i ’ve played my share of strippers and hookers and other tall people — women on their own negotiating the world — and i did a show where i played the personification of time , and i played a hybrid , ” she said . “ now i get to play this character for whom whether she can stand on a stage with a man and be more petite than he is is nowhere in the equation . ” the show ’s director , sam gold , who has been restaging it for the road , said that ms. shindle ’s history and her union activism help her with the role . “ i ’m not used to having someone in the room who has a whole life other than actor , ” he said , “ and it grounds kate . ”
+1 despite widespread concerns , doj spreads election monitors thin deirdre fulton | common dreams despite widespread concerns , doj spreads election monitors thin 2013 gutting of voting rights act means fewer full - access election observers will be stationed at polling places . | november 8 , 2016 be sociable , share ! inflatable figures direct voters at the santa clara county registrar of voters , oct. 24 , 2016 , in san jose , calif. the 2013 gutting of the voting rights act means the u.s. department of justice ( doj ) will deploy just 500 election monitors to polling places in 28 states on tuesday — hundreds less than in 2012 , and imbued with limited powers . the doj made its announcement monday amid escalated concerns about voter intimidation and discrimination . “ the bedrock of our democracy is the right to vote , and the department of justice works tirelessly to uphold that right not only on election day , but every day , ” said attorney general loretta lynch . “ the department is deeply committed to the fair and unbiased application of our voting rights laws and we will work tirelessly to ensure that every eligible person that wants to do so is able to cast a ballot . ” but the u.s. supreme court ’s decision in shelby county , alabama v. holder , which struck down parts of the 1965 voting rights act ( vra ) , means that work will be curtailed as compared with previous years . the 500 personnel will be deployed in 67 jurisdictions across 28 states ; in 2012 there were 780 monitors sent to 51 jurisdictions in 24 states . not all the doj officials will have the full powers of election “ observers . ” as reuters explains : most of those states will receive justice department staff who have no statutory authority to access polling sites as a result of a 2013 supreme court decision that struck down parts of the voting rights act , curtailing the department ’s ability to deploy election observers with unfettered access to the polls . [ … ] courts have granted the justice department permission to deploy full - access observers in five states : alaska , california , louisiana , new york , and alabama . but the court order for alabama only pertains to municipal elections and it is not on the list of states where the justice department is deploying poll watchers this year . the justice department staff who are deployed to the other 24 states on tuesday will be election “ monitors ” , who must rely on local and state authorities to grant them access to polling locations . bloomberg notes that the doj was able to send observers to 13 states in 2012 . according to the doj , the agency ’s civil rights division will monitor the election on the ground in the following 67 jurisdictions : bethel census area , alaska ;
+1 barryobarma did they post their votes for hillary already ?
+1 поражение под алеппо стало концом « единого фронта » против асада | новое восточное обозрение nan страна : сирия как отмечает в своей новой статье пакистанский исследователь салман рафи , попытка контратаковать правительственные войска под алеппо привела к тому , что войска боевиков были смяты и отброшены назад. теперь окончание битвы за алеппо уже не за горами , что сразу же отразилось на моральном состоянии противников асада. информационные агентства сообщили , что бойцы яро поддерживаемой вашингтоном свободной сирийской армии устроили бой с боевиками джабхат аль-нусры за контроль над рядом пропускных пунктов на сирийско-турецкой границе. более крупные бандформирования по всей сирии начали поглощать мелкие , отбирая « их » земли и добычу , что в итоге приведет к коллапсу всех поддерживаемых западом сил в сирии. автор отмечает , что та неясность , которая воцарилась после победы дональда трампа на президентских выборах , лишь ускоряет процесс разложения « оппозиционных сил » . с полной версией статьи вы можете ознакомиться здесь . популярные статьи
+0 yale dean apologizes after calling people ’white trash’ and ’uneducated morons’ in yelp reviews - breitbart tom ciccotta yale dean june chu was forced to apologize after she called people “ white trash ” and “ uneducated morons ” in a series of yelp reviews of restaurants and businesses in the new haven , connecticut , area . [ her reviews were called “ offensive ” and “ elitist . ” dean june chu of yale ’s pierson college used the terms “ white trash , ” “ low class folks , ” and “ uneducated morons ” to describe employees and patrons of local establishments in series of yelp reviews , which were spread around the ivy league university ’s community last week . condemning a new haven cinema , chu wrote that it was a place for ‘ barely educated morons trying to manage snack orders for the obese and also try to add $ 7 plus $ 7.’ “ i am concerned about the shadow that my actions have thrown on my efforts to create an environment in pierson that respects everyone , and i am especially concerned that it could prevent anyone from coming to me for the support that i offer to all pierson students , ” chu wrote in an apology statement . “ i see that i now have work to do to repair the trust you have all shown me . ” although some have expressed concerns that backlash against chu is a result of the excesses of political correctness , others argue that chu should be held to the same politically correct standards that many yale professors expect of their community members . yale university has no plans to formally discipline chu . tom ciccotta is a libertarian who writes about economics and higher education for breitbart news . you can follow him on twitter @tciccotta or email him at tciccotta@breitbart . com
+0 so - so players’ salaries soar in n.b.a. flush with new tv money - the new york times marc tracy timofey mozgov is a journeyman n. b. a. player who averaged 6 . 3 points a game last season . last week he agreed to a $ 64 million deal with the los angeles lakers . it was a little like a character actor suddenly being paid more than will smith for a bit part in a summer blockbuster . the past week in the n. b. a. in which players whose contracts had expired began to negotiate new deals , has turned the sports economy on its head . an infusion of billions of dollars into the league ’s coffers from a television contract agreed upon two years ago has led to this : that random guy on the bench is getting upward of $ 15 million a year . after his deal was announced , mozgov told the los angeles daily news that he planned to spend the summer “ sitting on the beach and drinking a piña colada . ” or five million piña coladas . matthew dellavedova , who last season often sat on the cleveland cavaliers’ bench alongside mozgov , also cashed in , agreeing to a $ 38 million deal with the milwaukee bucks . ryan anderson , a sharpshooter who plays questionable defense , scored $ 80 million over four years with the houston rockets . that annual rate , $ 20 million , is higher than what any player made on last season ’s golden state warriors , including stephen curry , the league ’s most valuable player . the numbers were even bigger for players considered more talented , even if they are not recognizable to casual sports fans . the memphis grizzlies agreed to give chandler parsons $ 94 million over four years and mike conley $ 153 million over five years — the biggest contract in n. b. a. history . conley is a very good point guard lebron james he is not . this startling redistribution of wealth is a product of a tv rights extension that will go into effect next season , under which espn and turner ( which carries games on tnt ) are paying the league $ 24 billion over nine years — about a 180 percent increase over the last contract . the enormous jump was seen as a reflection of the general value of live sports in an age of dvr and youtube clips and specifically of the appeal of a exciting league . “ as shocking as the numbers seem , the reality is the business is that much stronger , and the players are just getting their rightful share , ” said marc fleisher , a basketball agent and the son of larry fleisher , who helped found the n. b. a. players union . the salary cap — the maximum amount each team can spend on salaries ( with some exceptions built in ) — was $ 70 million last season , a $ 7 million rise from the previous season . but next season it will be $ 94 million , and it is projected to be $ 107 million for the season . also rising was each team ’s salary floor , mandating that franchises spend at least 90 percent of the cap ’s value on their players . translation : there had never been a better time to be an n. b. a. free agent than this month , and there may never be again . players whose contracts expired at the end of the recently completed season hit the jackpot as frenzied teams scrambled for bodies . “ panic is probably not the right word , but teams get afraid that they ’ll be left with nothing after months and months of planning and seeing everyone get snatched up quickly , ” fleisher said . each pro sports league has its own , often complicated salary structure . right now , basketball players seem charmed in comparison with their counterparts in the n. f. l. and major league baseball . in the n. f. l. where the players’ union is relatively weak , contracts are typically not even guaranteed . in baseball , which has the strongest union and no hard limits on spending , the biggest stars have received gargantuan contracts . but the equivalent of a dellavedova — a reserve utility infielder ? — probably does not receive $ 9 . 5 million a year . because n. b. a. salary rules also restrict maximum payouts , favor veterans and strictly slot rookie contracts , many milquetoast players are paid above what their open market value would be . if there were an occupy wall street of the n. b. a. it would not consist of the 99 percent revolting against the 1 percent . rather , its youngest players and maybe its biggest superstars , who many argue are paid less than what they are truly worth , would take on the vast middle class . “ veterans have decided , ‘ we want to shift the money from rookies to veterans,’ ” said warren zola , who teaches sports business at boston college ’s carroll school of management . that decision was reached when most of this season ’s rookies were too young to drive . although basketball fans generally believe that more revenue should go to the players rather than the owners , many have nonetheless been dazzled by recent deals . “ i was n’t shocked chandler parsons got a max contract , ” joel martinez , who , under the name the kid mero , a popular podcast , said on twitter , “ until i found out it was for basketball and not spraying cologne at abercrombie . ” after committing nearly a quarter of a billion dollars to conley and parsons , the owner of the grizzlies , robert pera , posted an image of one of the little rascals throwing money out a window . as much money as pera and his fellow owners are throwing around this summer , though , they , too , are enjoying the n. b. a. ’s boom times . the high contracts reflect a fundamental reality : business has never been better . “ the bottom line is the players get somewhere between 49 and 51 percent , ” fleisher said , referring to the current apportionment of what is known in the jargon as income . “ so the fact that the players are getting this just shows you how much the owners are making . ”
+1 a conundrum of the current political season activist post op - ed by laraine c. abbey the political story of our time is less about hillary or trump than what many believe is the destruction of ...
+0 iraq report prompts more defensiveness than regret from tony blair - the new york times stephen castle london — his voice sometimes close to cracking , his expression strained and grim , former prime minister tony blair spent much of the past two days responding to the damning judgment of an inquiry into how he led britain into the iraq war , engaging in an extraordinary public mix of soul searching , regret and defensiveness . judging by much of the media reaction , he would have done better to save his breath . “ a monster of delusion , ” read the headline over a picture of mr. blair in the daily mail on thursday . the sun , another british tabloid , described him as a “ weapon of mass deception , ” a reference to the incorrect assertions by mr. blair and president george w. bush before the invasion that iraq had an arsenal of unconventional weapons . nine years after stepping down from office , mr. blair — the most successful politician of his generation , who led the labour party to three consecutive general election victories with a centrist message — is widely loathed in britain , his legacy defined overwhelmingly by the iraq war and its bloody aftermath . he has few defenders , especially within his own party , which was split at the time by his support for the war and has since shifted leftward again , repudiating much of what he stood for . mr. blair is such a pariah on the left , said steven fielding , director of the center for british politics at the university of nottingham , that “ if he says ‘ black,’ almost everyone else will say ‘ white.’ ” mr. fielding added , “ in the party he once led , to be described as blairite is the greatest insult that can be leveled . ” more broadly , mr. blair has failed to rehabilitate his image since leaving office , and in some ways has added to his problems . though he set up the tony blair faith foundation , intended to counter religious conflict and extremism , its work has been overshadowed by his business interests . mr. blair ’s wealth , and his willingness to advise nations with poor human rights records such as kazakhstan , has fueled another strand of criticism : that he was always too impressed by those with power and money . and his diplomatic work , trying to bring peace to the middle east , ran up against the intractability of the conflicts in that region . “ there will not be a day of my life where i do not relive and rethink what happened , ” mr. blair said , referring to the iraq war . “ people ask me why i spend so much time in the middle east today . this is why . this is why i work on middle east peace , on the dialogue between faiths on how we can prevent young people growing up with hatred in their hearts towards those who look , think or believe differently from them . ” the 2 . report released on wednesday was a savage indictment of britain ’s involvement in iraq , condemning it as ill prepared and poorly executed , and concluding that it was based on flawed and unchallenged intelligence . in confronting the charges against him , mr. blair spoke sometimes in confessional terms , acknowledging those failings with “ more sorrow , regret and apology and in greater measure than you can know or may believe . ” but what he did not do was to accept the fundamental premise of many of his critics : that he had been wrong to sanction military action against saddam hussein . the view of many of the protesters who gathered on wednesday waving placards reading “ bliar , ” and of relatives of some of those who died in the conflict , is that he is culpable for taking britain into a disastrous war on false pretenses . there have been attempted citizens’ arrests of him on war crimes charges . as one of his labour party critics , diane abbott , said on thursday , mr. blair ’s reputation had “ bled to death in the sands of iraq . ” mr. blair was always unpopular among the left of the party , who felt he had gone too far in abandoning core principles for the center ground while embracing central elements of thatcherism . even they would admit that he was good at winning elections : he scored his third victory in 2005 , after the invasion of iraq . mr. blair presided over a generally healthy economy and helped build peace in northern ireland . but many britons found it inexplicable that he chose to go to war alongside mr. bush . in 2003 , mr. bush was unpopular in britain , and so was going to war in iraq . mr. blair has sought to address his critics previously , but not at such length and with such public emotion as he has since the publication of the new report on wednesday . the gist of his response was that his job as prime minister was to make tough decisions and that while he regretted many of the consequences of this one , he stood by it as the best available option at the time . “ the world is better off without saddam , ” mr. blair told reporters in london , adding that had the iraqi leader been left alone , he would have remained a threat to peace . and , had mr. hussein survived until the arab spring of 2011 , he would have clung to power “ with the same deadly consequences as we see in the carnage of syria , ” mr. blair suggested . “ i will never agree that those who died or who were injured made their sacrifice in vain , ” said mr. blair , while acknowledging that some of the families of those casualties “ can not and do not accept this is so . ” in that he is correct . after the report ’s publication , sarah o’connor , the relative of one victim , called mr. blair “ the world ’s worst terrorist . ” reg keys , another victim ’s relative , described mr. blair as a “ consummate actor ” and said that his long public statement resembled “ the ramblings of a madman . ” while the report , seven years in the making , provides a damning indictment of sloppy cataloging a host of policy and other failings , it does not accuse mr. blair of lying — a point to which the former prime minister returned frequently . over the years , mr. blair has been accused by critics of deceiving parliament and the public , and on wednesday he said accusations of “ bad faith , of lying or deceit or deliberate misrepresentation ” should be laid to rest . “ i did not mislead this country , ” mr. blair said . “ i made the decision in good faith on the information that i had at the time . ” his unequivocal support for mr. bush was essential to prevent the united states from pursuing a unilateral foreign policy , mr. blair argued , rejecting the characterization of himself as the president ’s “ poodle . ” he defended a message sent to mr. bush , before the decision to invade , including the phrase : “ i will be with you , whatever . ” that statement was , mr. blair said , “ not a blank check . ” yet 13 years after mr. blair ordered british troops into action , his response to the latest inquiry is unlikely to bring closure because he is not budging on one central point . “ what i can not do and will not do , ” mr. blair said , “ is say we took the wrong decision . ” mr. fielding said history ’s judgment on mr. blair ’s premiership may be more positive , but that mr. blair has refused to do the one thing that might soften the damning verdict of his contemporaries . “ if he was ever going to , this was the moment for him to apologize and say , ‘ we should not have done this,’ ” mr. fielding said . “ if he is n’t going to say this now , he will take this to his grave . ”
+1 letsbereal the democratization of censorship 25 september 2016 , ( krebs on security ) https://krebsonsecurity.com/2016/09/the-democratization-of-censorship/
+1 cher just destroyed fake republican outrage over hillary ’s emails with one tweet natalie dickinson world - famous singer cherilyn “ cher ” sarkisian took to twitter recently to give her two cents on the re - ignition of the email scandal republican witch - hunt of hillary clinton . fbi director james comey bowed to pressure from house republicans and released a letter informing them of “ updates ” to the investigation , which was the discovery of emails on disgraced democratic congressman anthony weiner ’s personal email devices that were not from or to former secretary of state hillary clinton . cher vented the frustration that many of us are feeling in this tweet : tired of bulloutrage‼️ gw bush’‘s w.h did trash 22 million fkng emails‼️his wars killed & maimed thousands , & he & bankrupted answer that — cher ( @cher ) october 29 , 2016 the george bush white house launched two multinational invasions and orchestrated the construction of secret detention centers around the world for the specific intention of committing crimes against humanity – but nobody seems to care about the information that might have been contained in those emails . the double standard that is applied to hillary clinton is outrageous . george w. bush and dick cheney , both war criminals , walk free while the nation obsesses over john podesta ’s risotto recipe and a rabble - rousing russophile rapist draws closer to the white house . where have our priorities gone ?
+0 regulatory microscope lies ahead for at&ampt and time warner - the new york times leslie picker and cecilia kang a cable and internet provider decides to buy an entertainment conglomerate . the merger is met with skepticism by industry analysts and outrage by consumer groups , who complain that it would thwart competition , create unfair pricing and incite more media consolidation . that was 2009 , when the cable giant comcast announced it would acquire nbc universal . when the next administration in washington takes up the $ 85 . 4 billion deal between att and time warner that was announced on saturday evening , the comcast acquisition will be used as the lens to examine the changing media landscape . in the end , the justice department and the federal communications commission approved the acquisition of nbcuniversal , requiring some small management concessions but few divestitures . but att and time warner will probably face a much sterner test . with a huge wireless business , too , the combination would be a new kind of media juggernaut . donald j. trump has already condemned the deal . campaigning in gettysburg , pa. on saturday , mr. trump said he would block it if he were president , “ because it ’s too much concentration of power in the hands of too few . ” hillary clinton , meanwhile , has promised to be tough on corporate megapowers and consolidation . regardless of who wins next month , the att acquisition of time warner will be among the biggest and most important regulatory cases to await the next administration . “ by standard antitrust metrics , this deal should be o. k. in washington , ” said paul gallant , a technology , media and telecommunications policy analyst with cowen company . “ but the democratic party is moving left , and if clinton wins , this could become an early test for her ‘ tougher on business’ rhetoric . ” att will be viewed with particular scrutiny because of the company ’s acquisition of directv in july 2015 . the deal made att the largest provider in the nation , with more subscribers than comcast . after a string of telecommunications mergers during the obama administration , including charter communications’ acquisition of time warner cable , which was approved this year , consumer interest groups have complained that there are fewer options for customers to choose from . those deals were known as “ horizontal integration ” because similar businesses merged . att ’s proposed acquisition of time warner , however , is considered “ vertical ” because the two companies largely do not compete against each other but operate on the same supply chain . still , regulators may look at other ways att could affect the media ecosystem if the deal is completed . att could make it more expensive for its competitors to gain access to time warner ’s content or give preferential treatment to its own programming , said john bergmayer , senior counsel at public knowledge , a digital rights advocacy group . the merger would make att unmatched in its size and reach to consumers through smartphones , home broadband , satellite television and a broad portfolio of cable channels and movies . for that reason , it may raise more cautionary flags than comcast ’s merger with nbcuniversal , which did not involve a wireless carrier . many experts in washington still look unfavorably at the outcome from comcast and nbcuniversal because the terms of their settlement were too difficult to enforce . “ it was an unsuccessful merger from a regulatory point of view , ” said andrew schwartzman of the georgetown university law center ’s institute for public representation . in the case of comcast , some smaller competitors , particularly programmers that compete with nbc , complained that the company did not fulfill promises it made with the approval by the justice department and the f. c. c. the financial information company bloomberg l. p. complained that comcast had put its business news channel , which competes with cnbc , in the equivalent of the channel menu hinterlands . comcast had promised not to discriminate against competing programmers by putting only its own channels in prime locations on the dial next to similar and popular programming . bloomberg sued comcast , saying that its channel was put on odd channels , far away from other business news , and that consumers had a hard time reaching it . consumer advocates said comcast ’s merger with nbcuniversal had not decreased prices or created greater options for consumers . “ it ’s a massive deal concentrating a huge amount of media power under one corporate umbrella , ” said craig aaron , president of the consumer advocacy group free press . “ consumers benefit when companies have to negotiate and fight with each other . ” in their favor , att and time warner may avoid a review by the federal communications commission because the deal may not involve the acquisition of television stations . time warner owns a station in atlanta , but could sell the station to avoid a f. c. c. review , which is much broader than the mandatory antitrust review of large mergers by the justice department or the federal trade commission . in a blog post on saturday , richard greenfield , an analyst with btig , noted that time warner recently acquired a 10 percent stake in the streaming television service hulu , which “ is one of the lightning rods that regulators have focused on as an example of comcast ’s bad behavior with nbc . ” “ in our view , regulators will fear that att will use its distribution footprint to favor time warner content vs. third parties , ” mr. greenfield wrote . still , any concerns that att would treat time warner programs like hbo ’s “ game of thrones ” or cable networks like cnn favorably , or that it would withhold them from competitors , could be addressed in conditions attached to an approval . regulators may seek commitments from att and time warner to make content from hbo available through streaming or through apps , according to amy ray , an antitrust partner at cadwalader , wickersham taft . “ i do n’t think they would have inked a deal this big if there was n’t a good possibility of it going through , ” ms. ray said . “ the real question is , will it go through without any sort of remedy or commitment ? i ’d put that chance very low . ”
+1 trump , hillary , and the end of the us empire : a russian view jafe arnoldski ( noreply@blogger.com ) october 29 , 2016 - by eduard popov for fort russ - translated by j. arnoldski - for the first time since the cold war , the “ russian question ” has become an important part of the debates between us presidential candidates . in turn , russia is highly interested in a favorable outcome of the elections in the united states . in russia itself , discussion has long been raging over which one of the us presidential candidates is better for russia ’s interests : donald trump or hillary clinton ? russian society ’s sympathy undoubtedly belongs to donald trump , as clinton has a high disapproval rating given her personal qualities and approach to russia . if she is elected president of the united states , then she will likely become the most unpopular head of the white house in russian public opinion . the “ russian question ” is part of a more global question of the new world system in which the us is losing its status as the world ’s sole superpower . russia is playing an important role in changing the american empire ’s status , perhaps even a leading one . but the american crisis is even more comprehensive and goes far beyond russia ’s influence . a russia dreaming of returning its former imperial greatness is less to blame for the fall of the us’ imperial influence than the irrationality of the american elites themselves . russia survived two collapses in the 20th century consequential of internal factors . the two russian revolutions of the 20th century ( 1917 and 1991 ) were the result of a low quality of the ruling class and the undermining of their authority in society . the external factor was important , but still only a subsidiary cause of the collapse of the government and society . i believe that america is facing a similar crisis . as the author of these lines was told 10 years ago by an astute and recognized scholar , a former citizen of the ussr who emigrated to the us in the early 1990 ’s , america is today undergoing the same wrenching transformations that the soviet union experienced in the perestroika period . this scholar ’s view of the future of his new homeland was exclusively pessimistic - he believed that the us would not cope with its own restructuring primarily because of the unsuitability of its own elites . of course , my opinion as a person who knows little of america and the opinion of the more knowledgeable above - mention citizen are only personal ones . but the emergence of the phenomenon of donald trump is not a detail , but an objective consequences of the deep crisis of the american system . the trump phenomenon demonstrates at least two critical factors : ( 1 ) the complete alienation of the american elites ( or as the czech communist ideologist dr. skala says , the american ��� nomenklatura’ ) from the people , and ( 2 ) the american nomenklatura ’s complete loss of touch with reality . both are painfully reminiscent of the situation in the ussr before perestroika . the late soviet elites ( the ‘ nomenklatura,’ as they were pejoratively called in society ) turned into a closed caste . even though , in my opinion , they were still more democratic than the current american elite , the soviet nomenklatura sacrificed the interests of real modernization of the country ’s social - economic system and ideology for the sake of pursuing geopolitical phantoms . perhaps i am wrong , but such " false idols " prevail in the minds of the current american nomenklatura even more . in the us , factories are closing , migration is growing , mexico is slowly realizing a reconquista ( the return of their lands in the southwestern states of the us that were annexed as a result of an unjust war ) , and all of this is happening against the backdrop of imperial overstretch . the us is striving to control not only its backyard , latin america ( which is being actively penetrated by chinese capital , another manifestation of the phantom thinking of the american nomenklatura ) , but also ukraine , for which russia is ready to fight to the last breath . america does not have the strength for this . but the american nomenklatura does not have the slightest interest in taking care of things at home and concentrating on domestic issues . continuing american expansion is akin to trotsky ’s permanent revolution . such is intriguing and vivid , while home repairs and cleaning toilets is infinitely boring and tedious . this is why the us presidential elections will be won by the political lunatic and american trotskyist , hillary clinton , who does not strive for realism or call for cleaning the augean stables like donald trump does . obviously , for russia it is better to deal with a us government which defends its own national interests , not phantoms of pseudo - democracy and its declining imperial power . but little depends on russia ’s opinion . therefore , it is advisable to prepare for and objectively observe the course of the fight whose outcome is practically a foregone conclusion . follow us on facebook ! follow us on twitter ! donate !
+0 seeing america through ángel franco ’s eyes - the new york times dan barry times insider delivers insights into life at the new york times . in a large newsroom , the collaboration between a reporter and a photographer often depends on the whims of their respective assigning editors , who calculate strengths , weaknesses , and , most of all , availability . who ’s up to cover that fire ? who ’s up to shoot it ? the resulting slapdash teamwork between writer and photographer can end as quickly as it began they may work together the next day , or never again . but for many years now , i have been fortunate to work with exceptional new york times photographers for extended periods of time while writing a national column called “ this land . ” lately , i have been collaborating with todd heisler , a stunningly gifted photographer and a great companion . before todd , i traveled for several years beside the recently retired nicole bengiveno , whose profound empathy comes through in her camera ’s every click , and who deserves some formal commendation for having put up with a certain hack — me — for so long . and before nicole , there was ángel franco , who retired last month to end a storied times career — and who began the “ this land ” column with me 10 years ago this month . the template for our relationship — indeed , for “ this land ” — was established in early 2007 , as we headed out to do our inaugural column , one on logan , a small west virginia city struggling with a fatal mine disaster and the decline of king coal . mr. franco and i began by walking the streets , noticing : the coal train running through the city ’s core the dust settling on buildings along the tracks and the jesus christ carved from anthracite , prominent in a store ’s window display . noticing — that was the word for it . at one point we went to a small diner , and engaged in a brief exchange with the waitress . after she had taken our order , i asked , “ did you hear what she said ? ” and mr. franco repeated her words exactly : “ ‘ are we ready yet , children ? ’ ” there it was . as with todd and nicole , as with so many other photographers — and may god forgive any reporter who uses the term “ my photographer ” — mr. franco is an attentive observer , witnessing and listening always . in that diner , i knew that my times colleague embraced the storytelling worth of the small and quiet moment . this is going to be fun , i thought . for the next two years , mr. franco and i produced a column a week , just about , and wound up filing dispatches from each of the 50 states . this , of course , was madness . our weeks would often begin on monday at newark liberty international airport , and end on friday , or saturday , even sunday , with frantic efforts to figure out where to go to next . louisiana ? montana ? maine ? ( the only way we were able to maintain some semblance of sanity , by the way , was by having the great cate doty help us with possible story ideas , travel logistics and dinner recommendations she was a full partner in this misbegotten venture . i also owe a debt of gratitude to then national desk editor , suzanne daley , and then deputy national editor , david firestone , both of whom were integral in allowing “ this land ” to begin . ) you can look it up . we went to a retirement home in penney farms , fla. to visit the coroner in “ the wizard of oz . ” to havana , ill. to report on the asian carp infesting the illinois river . to kalaupapa , hawaii , to meet the last residents of a colony to which those with leprosy , also known as hansen ’s disease , were once relegated . to nashville to witness an execution by electric chair . to bethel , alaska , to explore the games of bootleggers . to bill , wyo . — population five , maybe — to stay in a new hotel catering to railway workers . to cottage grove , wis. to meet the pastor who baptized jeffrey dahmer in a prison whirlpool . to michigan ’s upper peninsula , to uncover the intrigue at a county fair ’s . to denver , to cover the annual convention of the sovereign grand lodge of the independent order of odd fellows ( where we felt perfectly at home ) . kalispell , mont. lake mead , nev. ainsworth , neb. newport , ind. pascagoula , miss. greensburg , kan. hollywood , md. sylva , n. c. the datelines blur into one american story , captured in all its breadth by mr. franco and his camera . i often had no idea what to do for the next column . one saturday morning , while scanning online newspapers for ideas , i noticed a news brief about a farewell breakfast in a v. f. w. hall in mohave valley , ariz. for a high school graduate named resha kane . after the meal , she was to be taken by motorcycle escort to las vegas , to catch a flight to fort hood , where she would begin her army career in exchange for college tuition . i called my good friend mr. franco — who , of course , got it immediately . we flew out the next day , and were present when ms. kane , who looked much younger than her 18 years , said her goodbyes . mr. franco ’s memorable photograph of this young woman in fatigues , saying goodbye to her father — the fear of her unknown , of our unknown , conveyed in her eyes — hangs in the newsroom . once again he had noticed , and captured , that small and quiet moment . working closely with mr. franco for two years , i could not help but be blown away by his fierce dedication to his art , by his determination to capture a moment ’s essence — and by his unflagging reportorial curiosity , which led to my favorite moments on assignment : the evening debriefing . sitting in a booth at a chili ’s or texas roadhouse hard against some interstate , mr. franco and i would pore over what we had just seen and heard , comparing notes , dissecting motives , framing the story to come . one modest testament to mr. franco ’s art is in how i remember our travels . it ’s not my opening paragraphs or closing kickers that i recall , but rather mr. franco ’s photographs , which return me so completely to the mississippi despair of a fema trailer , to the joy of a small maine amusement park , to the expansive wonder of a remote south dakota spot known as the center of the nation . it is a rare privilege to see this great country , in all its heartbreaking , wonder , on the dime of your employer . a rarer privilege , still , to have also seen it through the eyes of ángel franco .
+0 donald trump : i ’m not going to tell you what i ’ll do in syria - breitbart charlie spiering president donald trump said he was disturbed by reports of chemical weapons used in syria but told reporters that he would not signal any plans for action in the country . [ “ that attack on children yesterday had a big impact on me . big impact , ” trump said . “ that was a horrible , horrible thing , and i ’ve been watching it and seeing it , and it does n’t get any worse than that . ” the president made his remarks during a press conference at the white house on wednesday with king abdullah ii of jordan . “ i ’m not saying i ’m doing anything one way or the other , but i ’m certainly not going to be telling you , ” trump said . trump said he was flexible in reaction to foreign policy around the world , but criticized the obama administration for declaring the use of chemical weapons as a red line in syria and then backing down . he said that after the attacks his attitude toward syria and president bashar “ has changed , ” despite past statements urging the united states to stay out of syria . “ that crosses many , many lines , beyond a red line — many , many lines , ” he said .
+1 wow ! look at the huge crowd that showed up to see trump in michigan ( pics and video ) – american lookout nan — della melton ( @dellamelton57 ) november 7 , 2016 here 's the crowd to see trump in michigan tonight . wow ! this is a movement ! in 2 days we are going to # makeamericagreatagain ! pic.twitter.com/wrj0vkqemn — students for trump ( @socal4trump ) november 7 , 2016 view of the crowd watching trump tonight in michigan pic.twitter.com/8hsibo968u — chris snyder ( @chrissnyderfox ) november 7 , 2016 trump invited a group of kids on stage in michigan ! crowd shouts “ usa ! usa ! ” pic.twitter.com/2pa5lyl0hk — asa j 🇺 🇸 ( @asamjulian ) november 7 , 2016 25,000 for trump in michigan . michigan is going red this year . pic.twitter.com/wbefbcq3sq — top capitalist 🇺 🇸 ( @topcapitalist ) november 7 , 2016 360 degrees @realdonaldtrump rally sterling heights , michigan . raucous crowd spilled out of amphitheater # campaign2016 # trump pic.twitter.com/2p3swwab0g — major garrett ( @majorcbs ) november 7 , 2016 500 + days of campaigning across america – comes down to just 2 days before the biggest election of our lifetime . this was michigan tonight . pic.twitter.com/bouqoz3hjv — dan scavino jr. ( @danscavino ) november 7 , 2016 amazing !
+1 what if … . karl denninger all 30,000 of the “ missing ” hillary emails are on weiner ’s laptop , plus hundreds of thousands more that were deliberately ditched and we never knew existed in the first place , evidencing not only lying about the content of the 30,000 emails but the existence of hundreds of thousands more ? what if among the authenticated email traffic is john podesta saying , just days before the clinton campaign was compelled to produce said material they they had to “ dump those emails ” , apparently proving intent to obstruct justice ? what if all of the emails that came from big public cloud providers are provably , to a near - forensic standard , to be exactly as wikileaks has presented them and could not have been tampered with because those providers digitally sign every email that comes from them and those signatures all validate back against those cloud providers , and those emails are thus in fact already known to be authentic ? what if the evidence on that laptop adds to the already known fact that bill clinton took a number of trips on epstein ’s “ lolita express ” aircraft , some of them after dismissing his secret service detail , and implicates what was about to , or did , happen on those trips ? what if the evidence on that laptop shows that hillary was present on at least one of those trips and either knew about or participated in those acts ? what if the evidence shows that the clinton foundation operated as a major pay - to - play operation and national security interests were implicated such as , for example , in the sale of uranium to the russians . what if some of the “ pay to play ” activity involves nations we have a sketchy relationship with or even those that are under some sort of active embargo , but the foundation was able to “ get around ” ? what if these “ pay to play ” activities implicate federal racketeering and/or bribery statutes ? what if some of the “ pay to play ” activity involves nations that have been implicated in international muslim terrorism , arguably therefore rising to the act of treason since by our own government ’s own statements we are in a war against said international terrorism ? what if the clintons actively conspired with loretta lynch to obstruct the ongoing investigations including but not limited to bill clinton ’s “ chat about family matters ” aboard lynch ’s aircraft , a meeting for which no minutes or recording has been produced for the public ? what if for the first time in known history of fbi and doj investigations of such serious conduct with national security implications utterly nobody was served with a subpoena , nobody had evidence seized and material witnesses were allowed to corroborate and be present when others were testifying , and those acts were undertaken by the doj for the explicit purpose of both crippling the investigation and preventing a grand jury from seeing and judging the evidence in the case ? what if the fbi deputy director who headed up — and is still in charge of — the hillary email server investigation has a wife who received nearly $ 700,000 in political contributions from a major clinton operative and yet despite this clear and publicly - known conflict of interest has not recused himself or been forced to step aside ? what if james comey was browbeaten into making a public announcement that was beyond his legal authority ( that “ no reasonable prosecutor ” would indict ) through political pressure but upon being presented with the new evidence on weiner ’s laptop he could n’t stand by his previous decision because this new evidence made him sick to his stomach , convinced him that the damage to this nation was so severe that we might not survive it — or both ? what if it turns out that hillary ’s campaign cheated multiple times during the primary season when it came to being fed debate questions and other means of tampering with the primary election process , denying her primary opponent a fair election ? what if hillary should have never been nominated in the first place due to her cheating in the primaries and the race should be “ trump .vs . sanders ” ? what does that say about the legitimacy of the upcoming election if one candidate on the ballot cheated to get there and is thus not legitimately entitled to stand for election in the general at all ? what if the evidence shows how people “ divested ” and transferred financial interest in foreign firms so as to evade federal reporting requirements that would have otherwise triggered scrutiny on some of the foundation ’s deals ? what if friday afternoon comes and goes , saturday , sunday and monday come and go , all or a sufficiently - damning group of the above turn out to be true and as a result the person who was at the center of all of these things stands to be able to pardon herself and everyone else associated with what would be , quite - arguably , the most outrageous series of acts of public corruption in our nation ’s history ? that we are here , just a few days before an election , that we have a doj that has actively obstructed the investigation for at least months if not longer and has a history of doing this during obama ’s presidency , including i remind you with “ fast - n - furious ” where a whole bunch of people got killed as a result of our government ’s illegal gun - running is an outrage . the only thing more - outrageous than what has already happened would be if we were to get to monday night , on the eve of voting , and all of those “ what ifs ” up above remained unanswered . oh wait , i tricked you and i admit it — some of those “ what ifs ” — including some truly damning ones — have already been answered in the affirmative . if you know the answers to any of the remaining questions — not a belief of what the answers might be but you are in possession of hard facts that prove any of the above , either in the positive or negative , you have a duty to this republic and the people in it to make those answers known . if you do not then you stand as equally responsible for every “ yes ” answer that is ultimately proved , and the harm that comes to this republic as a consequence . originally posted at market ticker .
+1 “ it ’s only a car ! ” barbara nimri aziz email “ yes , i listen when i first wake up , maybe while getting the children ready for school ; sometimes in the car too . ” they ’re talking about radio . radio was supposed to become a marginal medium , surpassed first by tv and then , surviving that , it would be buried by the internet . yet radio is still with us . more than surviving , radio has introduced new ways of speaking , conversing and telling stories . a whole new sound has been created for example by atlantic public media ( www.atlantic.org ) . meanwhile some traditions continue . except that my very favorite radio show for almost three decades fits no tradition :— it ’s part comedy , part advice column , part phone call - ins . ( listener call - ins gave radio a tremendous boost in the 1960s . ) i continue to be a radio addict . as a critic of government policies , an aficionado of literary readings , and a producer of “ radiotahrir ” ( www . radiotahrir.org ) for 23 years on the avant - garde and activist pacifica network ( www . pacifica.org ) you ’d expect my favorite to be a show related to political or literary enterprise . actually , the program i listen to most faithfully is one that ’s impossibly dissimilar . it ’s cartalk . this , though i ’m not even a car enthusiast . cartalk is a hilarious , practical advice call - in show . it originated in boston 30 plus years ago by two feisty italian brothers tom and ray magliozzi , both garage mechanics ( the do - it - yourself - sort ; but to figure out their degree qualifications see www.cartalk.com/content/tom-and-rays-bios-photos-2 ) , a perfectly paired team with a shared irrepressible sense of humor . think about it . how often while listening to a non - comedy radio broadcast do you find yourself chuckling ? not only this : these hosts engage in banter and howls of laughter while dispensing serious counsel –all having to do with cars ! threaded though the humor is lots of useful ( and reliable ) car advice . ( they really have to be good because of safety liability , the reputations both of cars they discuss and garage mechanics their guests already consulted . ) the stimulus for tom ’s and ray ’s comments are calls from listeners challenging the brothers with simple , complex and silly car problems : mechanical problems , disputes with their local mechanic , family predicaments around co - ownership , repair costs , holiday motoring anxieties , and inheritance problems ( cars often pass from parents to children ) . the issues are actual problems which cars , especially older models , experience . and americans keep their cars for a long time . cartalk , in my view , is the most engaging program on us radio , on radio anywhere . a weekly one hour show , it ’s been airing every saturday morning as long as i can remember . with the passing of tom the older member of the team in 2014 , the live broadcast ended . today the program continues as the best of car talk , edited from their archives . meanwhile www.cartalk.com carries a full show , highlighted moments of fun ( or guidance ) , automotive news , and abundant free car advice . part of the success of the program , in addition to the spirited character and compatibility of the brothers , lies what cars symbolize in american history and culture . people grow very fond of their cars and are reluctant to part with them , thus the need for repairs to keep them functioning well past their dump - yard date . ( we think we can fix our car ourselves — with a little advice . ) an owner feels proud that her car ’s odometer registers 200,000 miles , or if it approaches 170,000 ( as my 1985 toyota did ) we ’re determined to keep it running ( as i did ) , whatever the cost , until it cracks 200,000 . no car owner likes to spend money on repairs either , so tom and ray ’s advice must n’t require a lot of expense . then there are the mechanical mysteries that emit from a car : you know , those rattles under the hood or the scraping below the passenger seat . so we turn to cartalk to address our doubts or after our own local mechanic has n’t performed a cure for our ailing 1968 chevy pickup , or our limping 1992 honda civic .. the brothers seem to know every car model ever made , from 1950s vintage fords to the latest swedish , chinese and indian brands . after iding their location a caller starts with : “ i have a 1978 volkswagen bus whose windshield wipers do n’t work … .. ” , or “ i and my husband are going to take cross country trip with our 3 dogs , two rabbits and a parrot ; we ca n’t pay more than $ 3000 . and plan to dump the vehicle once we arrive ; what should we buy ? ” tom and ray try to diagnose the issue and dispense advice , injecting guidance with abundant hilarity , while never , never reproaching or ridiculing a caller . the hour is upbeat , always hilarious , and the advice is highly reliable and , it seems , mostly spot - on . the personalities of the brothers and the chemistry between them explain much of cartalk ’s popularity . but this program taps into our american romance with cars and our attachment to these celebrities of manufacturing history . cars enjoy an unparalleled place in american life . desoto , mustang , studebaker , roadster , impala:– these names are deeply embedded in the american lexicon . each represents an image fixed in our memory , in the brains even of young people born long after a model ceased being manufactured . cars represent key points in millions of americans’ lives , in the latter 20 th century if not now . famous songs eulogize cars ; cars are the subject of poems ; “ motown ” is the trope for detroit city , center of auto manufacturing for decades , and the music genre that emerged there . a driving license , not a pair of nike trainers or the latest iphone edition , was and still is for many , the primary goal of a us teenager . we started saving for our first car even before we had our driver ’s license ; cars compete with sports to occupy 90 % of young men ’s conversations . we concocted quiz games about cars and car models . there is an entire industry in the u.s. devoted to auto museums , small scale car models , and road functional antique cars . cars parked in residential driveways are part of american architecture . in my town , i recognize my neighbor by the color and model of their passing car . we can usually gauge a person ’s income by the model of their car . whatever the caller ’s car model , one of the brother ’s recognizes it—1972 el - camino , 1959 ford torino , 1990 dodge viper , 1980 desoto adventurer , or 1966 volkswagen bus . ( most callers seek advice for only 20 plus year - old vehicles . ) these radio hosts seem to know any car ’s mechanics and particularities that could cause problems . instead of saying “ take it to the junk yard ; it ’s past 250,000 miles ” , they do their utmost to help extend its life . they treat the car like it ’s a family pet . only occasionally tom would advise an owner—“it ’s only a car ! ”
+0 achieving mindfulness at work , no meditation cushion required - the new york times matthew e. may in a recent seminar i gave for over 100 business professionals , i asked the participants to play a simple word association game with me : “ i say mindfulness , you say _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ . ” the word that rang out in unison was , of course , “ meditation . ” mindfulness , it seems , has become a mainstream business practice and a kind of industry in its own right . meditation instructors are the new management gurus , and companies including google , general electric , ford motor and american express are sending their employees to classes that can run up to $ 50 , 000 for a large audience . many mindfulness apps exist , nearly all of which focus on “ mindfulness meditation . ” the proliferation of meditation in the name of mindfulness and the combination of the two terms naturally lead people to equate the two . mistakenly so . by most definitions , mindfulness is a attention that involves noticing changes around us and fully experiencing them in real time . this puts us in the present , aware and responsive , making everything fresh and new again . meditation is simply one of several tools for achieving mindfulness , and in the context of work it may not be the most suitable for many people . for those who , like me , ca n’t seem to get the hang of meditation , there is good news : you do n’t have to meditate to become more mindful . there are two approaches to mindfulness : eastern and western . the eastern view indeed positions meditation as an essential tool to achieving a mindful state . but the eastern view is more about quieting the mind and suspending thought . this philosophy is almost the complete opposite of the western view of mindfulness , which centers on active thinking . i would argue that given the speed of change today , it may not be realistic to suspend or stop thinking . rather , we need to actively think through problems in new ways to achieve innovative , elegant solutions . these will not rain from on high in a meditation session . both views share the same goal : avoiding mindlessness . when we ’re mindless , the past is riding herd over the present . we get trapped in categories created in the past , stuck in rigid perspectives , oblivious to alternative views . this gives us the illusion of certainty . for example , imagine that the numbers in the incorrect roman numeral equation below are movable sticks . leaving the plus and equals signs as they are , what is the least number of sticks you would have to move to correct the equation ? xi + i = x most people react immediately with an answer of “ one . ” but that is a mindless answer , based on knowledge acquired long ago . the optimal answer would be “ zero , ” arrived at by looking at the problem from an alternative perspective . by looking at the problem upside down , you could read the equation literally right to left , so that x ( 10 ) = i ( one ) plus ix ( nine ) . or you might recognize the visual symmetry , and reflect it in a mirror . by noticing different ways to view the problem , you move from mindless to mindful . this kind of noticing mindfulness is similar to the concept of the impartial spectator first introduced in the 18th century by adam smith , who wrote that we all have access to an “ impartial and spectator . ” this spectator ’s form of attention puts us in the present and gives us a more unbiased perspective — much the way our attention is focused when we travel to a new place , noticing details that the locals take for granted . the key to mindfulness is learning to look at the world in a more conditional way . understanding that our perspective is merely one among alternative views requires us to embrace uncertainty . when we ’re uncertain and unsure , our surroundings become interesting again , like the peculiar little details we notice when we arrive in an unfamiliar place . the most effective technique i ’ve found for moving from mindless to mindful without meditation involves a form of and talking to yourself as an objective adviser would . it is achievable in a few simple steps . suppose you ’re facing a situation that ’s causing you stress — perhaps a change at work , a tough problem or an important decision . the first step is to realize that you ’ve already made two unwarranted assumptions : that something will happen , and it will be bad . next , give yourself three reasons the issue you ’re worried about might not happen . notice that it immediately becomes less stressful , because you just went from “ it ’s going to happen ” to “ maybe it will happen , maybe it wo n’t . ” now give yourself three reasons that , if the situation does turn out bad , good things will happen . those reasons are easy to find once you ask the question . now you ’ve gone from thinking “ there ’s this terrible thing that ’s going to happen ” to thinking “ there ’s this thing that may or may not happen , but if it does , it could have both good and bad outcomes . ” it ’s an easy method that leads us to become less reactive to the world — still responsive , just not reactive . in the end , the entire key to eliminating mindlessness without meditation may simply be realizing that the issue looks different from a different perspective , and then taking that perspective .
+0 sympathy for the blue devils ? maybe this year - the new york times marc tracy durham , n. c. — as north carolina state ’s star freshman , dennis smith jr. down coach k court one last time on monday night to put an exclamation point on the wolfpack ’s upset of the blue devils , many sports fans received an opportunity to take up one of their favorite pastimes : hating duke . for duke students and supporters , the reaction to the program ’s first loss to n. c. state at cameron indoor stadium since 1995 — before some of them were born — was different . “ it was a really tough one , ” richard liu , a senior who attended the game , wrote in an email , “ because n. c. state is a team we really should have beaten , especially at home . ” it has been a rare year of disappointments for duke . the blue devils began the season at no . 1 but lost the top ranking before thanksgiving . at times , they have been without their best player , grayson allen ( suspended for tripping an opponent ) several promising freshmen from their recruiting class ( injuries ) and their hall of fame coach , mike krzyzewski ( lost to a back operation this month , and still out ) . those misfortunes , of course , mean it has also been a rare year of schadenfreude for many outside duke . but perhaps there is something to be said for what duke offers its fans . at a time when entire segments of the country have retreated into private echo chambers of elation or fear , sports is not a terrible place to try to put oneself in another ’s shoes . call it sympathy for the blue devils . “ imagine how you ’d feel if you ’d gone to school there or if you played there , ” said jay bilas , an espn commentator who played for duke in the 1980s and later was an assistant coach for the blue devils . “ like , it ’s a blast . ” it is true that other fan bases — almost all of them , actually — are more in need of a . since 1985 — the year the n. c. a. a. tournament expanded to 64 teams and college basketball began its climb to the status of national spectacle — duke has been the country ’s most successful program , with 12 final four appearances and five national titles . in recent years , at least , it has also been the most popular , according to the harris poll . other polarizing teams’ pitches to casual fans are aggressively inclusive witness the yankees’ rechristening as america ’s team after the sept. 11 attacks or the dallas cowboys’ gargantuan xanadu , att stadium . but duke , a tidy private university ranked eighth in u. s. news world report ’s list of america ’s top colleges , with a team led by a coach who moralizes about the realities of college basketball even as he benefits from them , seems to revel in its superiority . ( one student ’s sign at monday night ’s game read , “ north carolina state is the north carolina state of basketball . ” ) the student section at duke frequently serves as the university ’s chest to a national audience . the cameron crazies , filling up the risers on the western side of the arena , are aggressive in trying to knock opposing players . sometimes , as when they chant , “ you let the whole team down , ” after poor plays , they are fair and funny other times , they have pushed the envelope , even crossed lines . when a sign targeted a north carolina player with the words “ j. r. ca n’t reid ” in 1988 , tar heels coach dean smith argued the taunt had racial undertones . when duke hosted michigan state this season , one sign mocked the continuing crisis in flint , mich. : “ the water tastes better in north carolina . ” ( a duke basketball spokesman condemned that sign . ) duke students also continue to produce cheer sheets for games that , on one side , contain dirt — opposition research . monday night ’s dirt sheet included the email address of one wolfpack player , a past criminal charge against another and the suggestion that a third could be taunted for his first name . michael schoenfeld , a duke spokesman , said the university would not “ hesitate to criticize things that legitimately deserve criticism , ” but he insisted that college students were roughly the same at all colleges and that vitriol was a response to the university ’s athletic and academic accomplishments . “ the people who are supporters of duke and like duke understand what this university is and can do , ” schoenfeld said , “ and that will inevitably create some friction or backlash . so be it . ” the duke dynamic has been magnified this season with the blossoming of allen , the team ’s most compelling villain in nearly three decades . his infamy outside durham is equaled only by that of a player so despised that he became the subject of an espn documentary titled “ i hate christian laettner . ” allen is a junior whom some pegged as a strong contender for player of the year . but he has provoked public ire by tripping opponents at least three times in the past two seasons . the most recent incident , against elon on dec. 21 , prompted a suspension , the loss of his captaincy and a news media firestorm that longtime duke observers labeled unprecedented . “ i ’ve never seen anything like this , ” bilas said . “ it feels different . ” yet to walk past the tent city of krzyzewskiville and into the preposterously tiny cameron on a january evening is to understand why duke inspires passion not only among its detractors . “ because duke is a relatively small school , you feel like you are personally invested in it , because when you see the players around campus , they really feel like classmates , ” said tara bansal , the student government president . the fact that students will put down stakes — up to 100 tents — for several weeks for a chance at prime seating inside cameron ( particularly for games against north carolina ) is an indisputable testament to the students’ zeal . one must be zealous — and drunk on one ’s youth ( and perhaps other things ) — to spend dozens of nights in an unheated tent for the sake of a good view . and although one might scoff at the tent city — which , given duke ’s demographics , is sort of like an occupy wall street for , rather than against , the 1 percent — tent life is rough . according to byzantine rules , tents must be occupied at all times and are subject to by line monitors . the only bathrooms are in an adjacent gym . on monday night , the ground near the tents was muddy . many of the city ’s denizens could be seen huddled in their canvas shelters reading thick textbooks . “ we ’ve got ” said evi alexopoulos , a freshman whose tent ’s rules require her to spend several nights there every week . “ outlets are hard to find . ” among the rewards , though , are the prime seats in cameron , which , with an official capacity of 9 , 314 , is half the size of north carolina ’s dean smith center and significantly smaller than the home arenas of nearly every other college program of duke ’s pedigree and popularity . “ there is n’t a bad seat , ” said herb neubauer , who is known as crazy towel guy for his practice of waving a towel to rile the crowd from his seat in the upper deck . even so , student attendance is down this season , according to the duke chronicle — most likely part of a general trend in college sports — and loyalties have been tested by the furor over allen . “ i have good friends at syracuse , so i get bullied , ” said kit devine , a freshman . “ grayson has been a pretty big deal . ” the season is hardly lost . duke is and still in the top 25 , although it needs to get healthy , both on the court and on the sideline . allen needs to return to the attacking style that made him a . jayson tatum , marques bolden and harry giles , the heralded freshmen who missed time with injuries , need to develop a better feel for the college game . but even the prospect of a disappointing season — more drama questions about the longevity of krzyzewski , who turns 70 next month a lackluster postseason performance despite lofty preseason expectations — is unlikely to bring the cameron crazies back to sanity . “ i get what they ’re saying , ” alexopoulos , the freshman , said of the haters . but , she added , “ i would n’t question my passion . ”
+0 tennis announcer sues espn after fired for ‘ gorilla’ comment he says he never intended - breitbart dylan gwinn during the australian open last month , espn3 fired mike adler from his job calling tennis matches over a comment he made when venus williams faced off against stefanie voegele . [ adler used the term “ guerilla ” when referencing a move used by venus williams , likening the play to a military maneuver or tactic . however , on social media people reacted angrily , believing adler had meant to liken williams to the animal “ gorilla . ” specifically , adler said , “ you see venus move in and put the guerrilla effect on … charging . ” according to tmz , adler says the social media freak out was misguided , “ adler says twitter freaked out and misunderstood what he was trying to say — wrongly interpreting the comment as racist . instead , adler says the term is not racist , but rather a “ frequently used ” word in tennis to describe an aggressive style of play . in fact , adler says nike ran a tennis campaign back in the ’90s called “ guerrilla tennis . ” adler says espn understood what he meant but made him apologize anyway , only to fire him a short time later . adler says he ’s screwed professionally because of the way his termination played out in the media , saying , “ no one will hire a ‘ racist . ’ ” for the record , adler says he ’s “ anything but a racist . ” he ’s suing for unspecified damages . here ’s the video of the “ guerilla ” ad campaign adler referenced : follow dylan gwinn on twitter : @themightygwinn
+0 theresa may , new british prime minister , gives boris johnson a key post - the new york times stephen castle and sewell chan london — after a startlingly swift transfer of power that made her britain ’s prime minister , theresa may took charge of a new government on wednesday , vowing to honor the referendum to leave the european union and naming boris johnson , the former london mayor who had been widely considered politically dead , as foreign minister . mr. johnson had been at the forefront of the leave campaign , but after its triumph abruptly pulled out of the contest to succeed prime minister david cameron , who left office earlier wednesday . speaking as she arrived at the prime minister ’s office at 10 downing street , ms. may , 59 , who had served for six years as home secretary , sought to position herself firmly in the tradition of “ one nation ” conservatism , stressing her commitment to helping the underprivileged and pledging to fight “ burning injustice . ” she also promised to preside over an economy that benefits everyone . “ as we leave the european union we will forge a bold new positive role for ourselves in the world , and we will make britain a country that works not just for a privileged few but for every one of us , ” ms. may said , as her husband , philip , stood nearby . another notable appointment was that of david davis , a former minister for europe and a longstanding euroskeptic , to lead a new department responsible for exiting the european union . liam fox , a former defense secretary , will take charge of international trade . ms. may has effectively handed mr. johnson , mr. davis and mr. fox the responsibility for successfully carrying out the withdrawal — known as brexit — which they repeatedly promised would yield new opportunities . putting crucial international portfolios firmly in the hands of brexit supporters was perhaps an astute move for ms. may , who had argued , tepidly , for britain to remain in the european union . not only do the appointments appear to reflect a desire to unite her party around the outcome of the june 23 vote , they may also be calculated to head off any suggestion from that she might not follow the will of the voters . even so , mr. johnson ’s elevation to such a prestigious post represents a remarkable change of fortunes in a career that has had its share of them . he played a key role in the extraordinary national dramas of the last few months , abandoning mr. cameron , who desperately tried to keep britain in the european union , and cheerfully becoming the public face of the brexit campaign . yet when mr. cameron announced his resignation after the referendum , mr. johnson ’s hopes of succeeding him as conservative party leader were undermined by another brexit supporter , justice secretary michael gove , who threw aside his support for mr. johnson and announced his own candidacy . mr. gove argued that mr. johnson was not up to the job . ms. may herself recently mocked mr. johnson ’s negotiating skills over london ’s purchase of used german water cannons when he was mayor . she blocked the use of the cannons , citing fears that they could cause serious injuries . among other appointments , ms. may promoted amber rudd , former energy secretary , to home secretary . that ensures that one of the biggest political offices — and ms. may ’s old job — remains in the hands of a woman . the new prime minister chose philip hammond , who had been foreign secretary , as chancellor of the exchequer , replacing george osborne , a close cameron ally . ms. may moved into 10 downing street after a day of political ritual that saw mr. cameron address lawmakers for the last time as prime minister , before tendering his resignation to queen elizabeth ii . only on monday did ms. may learn that she would become prime minister , when the last remaining contender to lead the governing conservative party , andrea leadsom , quit the race . ms. may takes over at a time of acute political turmoil and economic uncertainty and is the 13th prime minister to serve this queen — the first was winston churchill . ms. may ’s task is more formidable than that of most of her predecessors . she must chart a course that unites her conservative party and takes britain out of the european union , while limiting the effect of withdrawal on an economy already heading for a downturn and bruised by a slump in the value of its currency . the brexit referendum divided the nation , with the majority of voters in a number of less affluent areas opting to quit the bloc , while most of those in london , scotland and northern ireland took the opposite view . on monday , ms. may outlined some of the economic changes she hopes to make , speaking about taming excessive executive pay , and arguing that big multinational companies must pay their fair share in taxes . just an hour or so before ms. may spoke outside 10 downing street on wednesday , mr. cameron stood in the same spot , flanked by his wife , samantha , and their three children , paying tribute to his family and his key staff members who had supported him . “ it has been the greatest honor of my life to serve our country as prime minister over these last six years , and to serve as the leader of my party for almost 11 years , ” mr. cameron said . “ my only wish is continued success for this great country that i love so very much . ” mr. cameron cited the nation ’s economic recovery as his top legacy . “ with the deficit cut by two and a half million more people in work and one million more businesses , there can be no doubt that our economy is immeasurably stronger , ” he said . he also cited among his accomplishments the legalization of marriage , in 2013 changes to the education system and reduced wait times for operations in britain ’s national health service . “ i ’m delighted that for the second time in british history , the new prime minister will be a woman , and once again a conservative , ” mr. cameron said . “ i believe theresa will provide strong and stable leadership in fulfilling the conservative manifesto on which we were elected , and i wish her well in negotiating the best possible terms for britain ’s exit from the european union . ” hours earlier , in his final parliamentary duty , mr. cameron took part for the last time in prime minister ’s questions , the weekly ritual in which lawmakers interrogate the leader in often combative exchanges . on wednesday , the discussion was more respectful — and lighthearted — than usual , as mr. cameron ’s political adversaries and allies paid tribute to him . “ i ’m told that there are lots of leadership roles out there at the moment : there ’s the england football team , there ’s ‘ top gear,’ there ’s even across the big pond the role that needs filling , ” danny kinahan , a lawmaker from northern ireland , told mr. cameron jokingly , referring to england ’s soccer team , a wildly popular bbc television show — and the united states presidential election .
+0 birth control causes depression ? not so fast - the new york times aaron e. carroll one of the biggest american public health victories of the last decade has been the record low reached in the teenage birthrate . along with that have been lows in rates for teenage pregnancy and abortion . most researchers believe that improved access to contraception is a large part of this success . but news continues to focus on the concern that contraception — like the pill or the patch — causes depression , and that this should lead us to question its wider use . a more nuanced discussion would consider both the benefits and the harms . this issue drew widespread coverage at the end of last year with a large study published in jama psychiatry . researchers tracked all women and adolescent females ( ages 15 to 34 ) living in denmark from 2000 through 2014 . the study found that those who used hormonal contraception had significantly higher risks of also taking an antidepressant . the study broke down the increased relative risk for each hormonal method this way : combined oral contraceptives ( 23 percent ) pills ( 34 percent ) the patch ( 100 percent ) vaginal ring ( 60 percent ) and levonorgestrel intrauterine system ( 40 percent ) . the risks were highest in adolescents and decreased as women aged . the risks also peaked six months after the start of contraception . needless to say , many news outlets covered this finding widely . some portrayed it as shocking new information that should change the way we think about hormonal birth control . others saw it as a vindication of many women who said for years that birth control had triggered their depression while scientists and doctors ignored them . but we have to acknowledge the limitations of this type of research . it ’s not a controlled trial , and it ’s impossible to establish causality . women who choose to have sex could also be more likely to consider antidepressant use . women who are plugged in enough to the health care system to obtain hormonal contraception could be more likely to have their depression appropriately diagnosed and treated — which is a good thing . it ’s also possible that an antidepressant prescription is n’t the best measure of depression . that would require an actual diagnosis by a health care professional , and such data were not available in the danish cohort . previous studies that looked at rates of severe depression did not find a correlation with hormonal birth control use . finally , huge cohort studies using many participants are likely to find a statistically significant result even if that result is not clinically significant . this is especially true if the cohort data come from an administrative database , like the one used in this study , that has been specifically identified as problematic in prior publications . we also have to place this study in context with others . months earlier , a systematic review of all studies that looked at the relationship between hormonal contraception and depression was published in the european journal of contraception and reproductive health care . the authors first noted that there were too few prospective studies . but the data that do exist show that most women do n’t show any effect from hormonal birth control , or actually had their mood improve . adverse effects were rare , and even rarer when the contraception contained lower levels of the hormone progestin . finally , women who have underlying mood disorders were more predisposed to have side effects , but that could be related to their choosing different types of birth control rather than the birth control itself . when many studies do not find a connection , and then one does , that latter one does not “ replace ” all prior research . that study has to be weighed along with the rest . it ’s also important to consider publication bias , in which a study is more likely to be published if it ’s a “ significant ” result and if it ’s newsy . in this case , the finding that common birth control causes depression is both . but let us assume , for the sake of argument , that this most recent finding is both real and causal . even then , we need to rely on absolute risks , not relative risks . in the denmark study , for every 100 women who did n’t use hormonal birth control , 1 . 7 were later prescribed an antidepressant . for every 100 who did use hormonal birth control , 2 . 2 were later prescribed an antidepressant . the overall difference ( 0 . 5 percentage points ) means that if this were a randomized controlled trial , we would expect that for every 200 women treated , one extra woman might need to be treated with an antidepressant . we can also assume , though , that pretty much all of them would receive the benefit of birth control in family planning . moreover , lest anyone forget , depression is also significantly associated with pregnancy , especially when that pregnancy is unintended . none of this is to say that we should ignore the risk of depression . depression is a listed side effect of birth control it ’s on the package inserts . all drugs have side effects . the drug i take for my ulcerative colitis has a real , if small , risk of causing myelosuppression . but the benefits i receive from it simply outweigh the risks . women need to discuss with their physicians the potential downsides , as well as the potential upsides , of all forms of contraception . we should n’t ignore the potential for hormonal birth control to cause mood changes in women . we also should n’t pay attention only to those side effects , forgetting to place them in context with the benefits .
+0 ever wanted to back a start - up ? indiegogo opens the door to small investors - the new york times stacy cowley armchair venture capitalists will soon have a new place to hunt for intriguing : indiegogo , the popular crowdfunding site for developers of creative ventures like movies , games and gadgets . starting on tuesday , the site will give entrepreneurs the option of offering backers an equity stake in their projects and creations . indiegogo is the first major crowdfunding site to use a new securities rule that took effect six months ago , allowing ordinary investors to risk up to a few thousands dollars a year backing private companies . previously , only accredited investors — wealthy people with an annual income of more than $ 200 , 000 or a net worth of at least $ 1 million — were allowed to put money into such risky ventures . that created a schism : companies like pebble , a smartwatch maker , and oculus , a virtual reality headset developer , raised millions on crowdfunding sites from eager early customers and used that surge to prove that buyers wanted their fledgling products . but when those companies subsequently raised money from investors , crowdfunding backers were shut out . when facebook acquired oculus for $ 2 billion , venture capitalists and rich angel investors reaped the rewards . “ in a lot of ways , this levels the playing field , ” said david mandelbrot , indiegogo ’s chief executive . “ this was one of the few areas of the law where citizens were treated differently based on the amount of wealth that they have . ” securities law had long prohibited regular investors from gambling on private companies because they can be risky investments that are likely to go bad . half of american small businesses with employees shut down within five years , and those that survive often take many years to turn a profit . things have not been looking so hot for pebble , for example , which recently laid off a quarter of its staff . still , some entrepreneurs are eager to test out the new market . artcraft entertainment , a video game developer in austin , is considering an indiegogo campaign to find investors for crowfall , a game it plans to release next year . crowfall already took in nearly $ 1 . 8 million from a kickstarter campaign last year . for that , the company offered traditional crowdfunding perks like early access to the game ’s beta tests and a thank you in crowfall ’s credits . some 33 , 000 backers have kicked in money for crowfall ’s development , and artcraft — which has also raised money from traditional investors — likes the idea of offering them a stake in the game ’s financial outcome , said j. todd coleman , the company ’s creative director . the company considered an offering in may , when equity crowdfunding became legal , but backed off because of concerns about whether it could draw interest , mr. coleman said . selling stakes to small investors is a strictly regulated process , and all offerings must be run through portals registered with the financial industry regulatory authority . indiegogo is partnering with microventures , a registered portal that will handle the investment logistics . around 20 portals have become certified and started courting investors , but interest has been scant . only 55 companies have run successful equity crowdfunding campaigns , raising a total of $ 12 . 4 million , according to statistics compiled by the investment portal wefunder . indiegogo could shake up the field by bringing investment opportunities to a much wider audience . some eight million people have backed projects on the site , raising more than $ 1 billion . “ when indiegogo called us , that flipped the equation , ” mr. coleman said . “ it changed the math from ‘ this is n’t something we feel comfortable risking,’ to ‘ let ’s try it!’ we have some very , very passionate fans , and we think it would be cool to let them have the opportunity to invest . ” most crowdfunding investors gamble tiny sums . about a third of the investments made on wefunder so far are for $ 100 , the site ’s minimum , and 76 percent are for $ 500 or less , according to nick tommarello , wefunder ’s chief executive . unlike shares in public companies , which can be easily sold if an investor wants out , stock in private ventures is largely illiquid . investors who snap up a stake in a they spot on indiegogo are most likely stuck with it for many years . and the process is more complex and expensive than traditional crowdfunding . it costs nothing to start a regular campaign on indiegogo . the site takes a 5 percent cut of the funds raised . the people who donate typically get an early version product in question , plus various trinkets or karmic rewards . but for equity campaigns , creators will need to spend about $ 7 , 000 on compliance and regulatory costs , indiegogo estimates , before a campaign is permitted to go live . the site will then take a cash fee of 7 percent on any funds raised , plus an additional 2 percent in stock . investors will pay a $ 7 processing fee or 2 percent of their investment , whichever is higher . the and most active site for crowdfunding projects , kickstarter , says it is not interested in the equity market . “ the purpose of creativity is not to become an investment vehicle , ” said justin kazmark , a kickstarter spokesman . “ when creative projects escape the need to generate profit , the result is a more vibrant and diverse culture . we ’re more focused on a richer culture than richer investors . ”
+1 google head eric schmidt 's secret strategic plan for election ... nan secondary verification by google.com dkim key fwd : 2016 thoughts from:cheryl.mills@gmail.com to : robbymook@gmail.com , john.podesta@gmail.com , daplouffe@icloud.com date : 2014 - 04 - 15 17:16 subject : fwd : 2016 thoughts forwarded message from : eric schmidt < eschmidt@google.com > date : tue , apr 15 , 2014 at 1:56 pm subject : 2016 thoughts to : cheryl mills < cheryl.mills@gmail.com > cheryl , i have put together my thoughts on the campaign ideas and i have scheduled some meetings in the next few weeks for veterans of the campaign to tell me how to make these ideas better . this is simply a draft but do let me know if this is a helpful process for you all . thanks ! ! eric notes for a 2016 democratic campaign eric schmidt april 2014 draft draft draft draft here are some comments and observations based on what we saw in the 2012 campaign . if we get started soon , we will be in a very strong position to execute well for 2016 . 1 . size , structure and timing lets assume a total budget of about $ 1.5billion , with more than 5000 paid employees and million(s ) of volunteers . the entire startup ceases operation four days after november 8 , 2016 . the structure includes a chairman or chairwoman who is the external face of the campaign and a president who is the executive in charge of objectives , measurements , systems and building and managing the organization . every day matters as our end date does not change . an official campaign right after midterm elections and a preparatory team assembled now is best . 2 . location the campaign headquarters will have about a thousand people , mostly young and hardworking and enthusiastic . its important to have a very large hiring pool ( such as chicago or nyc ) from which to choose enthusiastic , smart and low paid permanent employees . dc is a poor choice as its full of distractions and interruptions . moving the location from dc elsewhere guarantees visitors have taken the time to travel and to help . the key is a large population of talented people who are dying to work for you . any outer borough of nyc , philadelphia , atlanta , boston are all good examples of a large , blue state city to base in . employees will relocate to participate in the campaign , and will find low cost temporary housing or live with campaign supporters on a donated basis . this worked well in chicago and can work elsewhere . the computers will be in the cloud and most likely on amazon web services ( aws ) . all the campaign needs are portable computers , tablets and smart phones along with credit card readers . 3 . the pieces of a campaign a ) the field its important to have strong field leadership , with autonomy and empowerment . operations talent needs to build the offices , set up the systems , hire the people , and administer what is about 5000 people . initial modeling will show heavy hiring in the key battleground states . there is plenty of time to set these functions up and build the human systems . the field is about organizing people , voter contact , and get out the vote programs . for organizing tools , build a simple way to link people and activities as a workflow and let the field manage the system , all cloud based . build a simple organizing tool with a functioning back - end . avoid deep integration as the benefits are not worth it . build on the cloud . organizing is really about sharing and linking people , and this tool would measure and track all of it . there are many other crucial early investments needed in the field : determining the precise list of battleground states , doing early polling to confirm initial biases , and maintaining and extending voter protection programs at the state level . b ) the voter key is the development of a single record for a voter that aggregates all that is known about them . in 2016 smart phones will be used to identify , meet , and update profiles on the voter . a dynamic volunteer can easily speak with a voter and , with their email or other digital handle , get the voter videos and other answers to areas they care about ( " the benefits of aca to you " etc . ) the scenario includes a volunteer on a walk list , encountering a potential voter , updating the records real time and deepening contact with the voter and the information we have to offer . c ) digital a large group of campaign employees will use digital marketing methods to connect to voters , to offer information , to use social networks to spread good news , and to raise money . partners like blue state digital will do much of the fund raising . a key point is to convert bsd and other partners to pure cloud service offerings to handle the expected crush and load . d ) media ( paid ) , ( earned ) and ( social ) , and polling new tools should be developed to measure reach and impact of paid , earned and social media . the impact of press coverage should be measurable in reach and impact , and tv effectiveness measured by attention and other surveys . build tools that measure the rate and spread of stories and rumors , and model how it works and who has the biggest impact . tools can tell us about the origin of stories and the impact of any venue , person or theme . connect polling into this in some way . find a way to do polling online and not on phones . e ) analytics and data science and modeling , polling and resource optimization tools for each voter , a score is computed ranking probability of the right vote . analytics can model demographics , social factors and many other attributes of the needed voters . modeling will tell us what who we need to turn out and why , and studies of effectiveness will let us know what approaches work well . machine intelligence across the data should identify the most important factors for turnout , and preference . it should be possible to link the voter records in van with upcoming databases from companies like comcast and others for media measurement purposes . the analytics tools can be built in house or partnered with a set of vendors . f ) core engineering , voter database and contact with voters online the database of voters ( ngp van ) is a fine starting point for voter records and is maintained by the vendor ( and needs to be converted to the cloud ) . the code developed for 2012 ( narwahl etc . ) is unlikely to be used , and replaced by a model where the vendor data is kept in the van database and intermediate databases are arranged with additional information for a voter . quite a bit of software is to be developed to match digital identities with the actual voter file with high confidence . the key unit of the campaign is a " voter " , and each and every record is viewable and updatable by volunteers in search of more accurate information . in the case where we ca n't identify the specific human , we can still have a partial digital voter i d , for a person or " probable - person " with attributes that we can identify and use to target . as they respond we can eventually match to a registered voter in the main file . this digital key is eventually matched to a real person . the rules its important that all the player in the campaign work at cost and there be no special interests in the financing structure . this means that all vendors work at cost and there is a separate auditing function to ensure no one is profiting unfairly from the campaign . all investments and conflicts of interest would have to be publicly disclosed . the rules of the audit should include caps on individual salaries and no investor profits from the campaign function . ( for example , this rule would apply to me . ) the key things a ) early build of an integrated development team and recognition that this is an entire system that has to be managed as such b ) decisions to exclusively use cloud solutions for scalability , and choice of vendors and any software from 2012 that will be reused . c ) the role of the smart phone in the hands of a volunteer . the smart phone manages the process , updates the database , informs the citizen , and allows fundraising and recruitment of volunteers ( on android and iphone ) . d ) early and continued focus of qualifying fundraising dollars to build the field , and build all the tools . outside money will be plentiful and perfect for tv use . a smart media mix tool tells all we need to know about media placement , tv versus other media and digital media . preview is disabled for emails bigger than 10 kb . e - highlighter
+1 hillary clinton and the president ’s ' longer game . ' lloyd billingsley hillary clinton and the president ’s ' longer game . ' at home and abroad , a nation less affluent , less free , and far less secure . october 31 , 2016 lloyd billingsley the president of the united states , the most powerful man in the world , used a pseudonym to communicate with secretary of state hillary clinton on her private , unsecured email server . as andrew mccarthy contended , that was the reason the fbi declined to prosecute clinton , because the president would have been part of the same action , and that would n’t be politically correct . the current president of the united states is also on record that , contrary to custom , he will linger in washington dc for a few years . wherever he chooses to live , the email intrigue suggests continuing back - channel communications with hillary clinton , should she become president . that invites a look at what the man the new york times dubbed “ obama ’s narrator , ” the white house adviser who sat closest to the president and signed off on his every word , had to say about the president ’s vision of the future . “ few of the decisions he had made would satisfy the politics of the moment , ” david axelrod explained in his massive 2015 believer . “ but at home and abroad , obama was playing a longer game . ” as he explained in columbia , missouri , on october 30 , 2008 , “ we are five days away from fundamentally transforming the united states of america . ” if this man was a liberal , as barry rubin wondered in silent revolution : how the left rose to political power and cultural dominance , why did he see a need fundamentally to transform a nation shaped by liberals such as franklin roosevelt with his new deal and lyndon johnson with his great society ? he saw the need because he was not a liberal but a lifelong leftist radical . as david horowitz explained in volume 7 of the black book of the american left , the president was “ born , bred and trained in the progressive movement . ” his mentors were “ communists and their progressive successors , ” so no wonder he presided over “ the institutionalizing of the policies of the left in government ” for eight years . what that means in practical terms is becoming painfully evident . the economy remains sluggish and under obamacare , the president ’s signature plan , premiums are skyrocketing . this suggests that , as many believe , obamacare was simply a demolition plan . in the “ longer game , ” designated successor hillary clinton will impose government monopoly healthcare , what some candidates erroneously call “ socialized medicine . ” as rubin noted , the goal of the left is “ to convince americans the exact opposite of what their experience proved : that the country had fundamentally failed and the old leftist solutions were the answer . ” the result “ may be a very long - term and even permanent change of the united states into something else , a nation far less affluent and far less free . ” and far less secure , as david axelrod also indicates . vladimir putin makes an appearance in believer but obama ’s narrator does not outline putin ’s background in the kgb . the believer includes nothing about putin ’s role in east germany , a stalinist police state that walled in its subjects and shot those attempting to escape . the narrator avoids putin ’s belief that the breakup of the soviet union was “ the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century . ” in believer , putin tells the president , “ you are a highly educated man . i come from the security sector . ” the believer then asks the president for his assessment of putin . “ he ’s smart , tough , clear about his interests and without a trace of sentimentality , ” the president says . that is not very strong language for a kgb veteran and expansionist autocrat . in his narrator ’s account , the president uses the word “ motherf
+1 will loretta lynch actually press charges against hillary ? | the federalist papers brian thomas pinterest attorney general loretta lynched promised this july that she would press charges against hillary clinton if recommended by the fbi . as more details emerge regarding clinton ’s use of a private server during her time as secretary of state , and a new investigation by the fbi opening only days before the election , lynch ’s promise has taken on renewed significance . the daily caller reports : the new york times reported friday that the emails were obtained from a device belonging to either longtime clinton aide huma abedin , or her estranged husband , former democratic congressman anthony weiner , who is under investigation for sending illicit text messages to a 15-year - old girl . so far , lynch has remained silent on comey ’s announcement regarding the newly discovered emails . lynch was the subject of public scrutiny after it was revealed that she and bill clinton met for 30 minutes on an airplane runway at the end of june . lynch admitted that the meeting “ cast a shadow ” over the investigation , before making her promise to accept the fbi ’s recommendations . when the fbi requested to open up a public integrity investigation into the clinton foundation , however , the department of justice ( which is headed up by lynch ) declined , claiming there was insufficient evidence to open an investigation . new details have already emerged that prove relevant to the fbi ’s investigation of hillary clinton . that , in fact , is why the case was re - opened yesterday . if those new details prove particularly damning for hillary , the fbi could very well recommend criminal charges against the former secretary of state and current democratic nominee for president . worse yet , that fbi recommendation could come before the election . whether or not she intends to keep the promise she made four months ago , the spotlight will certainly then fall on lynch to act and act fast . what she ’ll do next is anyone ’s guess . but keep in mind lynch is an obama appointee . and if history is any indication , when given the choice between doing what is right and doing what is not right , obama and his friends will choose the latter option every time .
+1 russia may run out of patience and respond to usa 's rudeness nan russia may run out of patience and respond to usa 's rudeness 28.10.2016 ap photo russian president putin said at the meeting of the valdai club in sochi that washington has not been able to distinguish between terrorists and moderate opposition in syria , despite many promises to do so . as a result , the truce was terminated , and the white house accuses the kremlin of all mortal sins . " this is simply a disgrace . we behave with restraint and we do not respond in such a rude way to our partners , but everything has its limits . we may respond , " putin warned . pravda . ru asked an expert opinion about the possible development of events from specialist on us - russia relations , victor olevich . " how can putin respond ? " " russia has a whole arsenal of potential responses . at the moment , russia is keeping a pause in the syrian arab republic . the russian federation is not using its full military capability to resolve the syrian crisis . " if the united states continues to engage in further provocations against russia and russian interests , then , of course , moscow will take more active measures to counter what remains , in fact , a terrorist threat in syria . " print version font size " putin mentioned during his speech that " our personal agreements with the us president did not work . " he added that there were forces in washington that did their best not to let them work . what kind of forces are they ? " " first of all , this is the pentagon and us intelligence agencies : the cia and some others that have , indeed , made every effort to bury the agreements between sergey lavrov and us secretary of state john kerry that they had reached in geneva . " as you know , a few days after the agreement on syria between moscow and washington was reached , the us military accidentally bombed one of the most combat - ready syrian military bases near deir ez - zor . the bombing continued for an hour . up to 80 syrian military men were killed , and many more were injured . of course , one could not talk about any agreements afterwards . " moreover , when russia raised the issue at the un security council , us representative samantha power reacted very sharply , and , indeed , in a rude way . a few days later , a humanitarian convoy in aleppo was attacked , and the united states and their western allies presented totally unsubstantiated and groundless accusations against russia again . " it was clear that pentagon chief ashton carter , a number of american generals and the cia were not interested in a joint struggle against the terrorist threat in syria . jabhat en - nusra serves as a reserve of the united states that the country uses when necessary to topple syrian president assad . " these non - constructive forces in the united states want to see hillary clinton as president to have a more aggressive approach both to russia and to the settlement of the syrian crisis . " pravda . ru read article on the russian version of pravda . ru us gets ready for war with russia because of assad
+1 can early voters change their votes ? dml daily can early voters change their votes ? 2 shares by dml daily / october 29 , 2016 / politics / written by dennis michael lynch earlier this week i wrote an op - ed about why i do not like early voting . you can read the op - ed by clicking here . the op - ed offers explanations about why some states offer early voting , and i express reasons how it can negatively effect an election . of all my opinions given , the one that stands out most today is this one : anything can happen in a presidential election . by voting early , early voters cut themselves short in the event something negative happens to the candidate they voted for . with just ten days left until nov. 8 , it was revealed yesterday that hillary clinton is once again under fbi investigation for her private email server . thus , the question becomes can citizens who voted early change their votes ? here is a video that provides the answer : sign up to get alerts about dennis michael lynch 's upcoming donald trump film and breaking news . subscribe
+0 dreamers continue to demand protections from trump dhs john binder migrants covered by former president obama ’s deferred action for childhood arrivals ( daca ) continue making demands to president donald trump . [ a group of daca recipients gathered for a press conference in connecticut , home to some 8 , 500 daca recipients , to express that they were “ here today to let everyone know we ’re not going back in the shadows , ” as connecticut students for a dream camila bortoletto told wnpr . “ it ’s a different time , it ’s a tough time , ” bortoletto said . “ it ’s definitely a scarier time than we ’ve had in the past . ” another daca recipient , eric cruz lopez , complained that some ‘ dreamers,’ as the mainstream media has dubbed them , are being deported under trump ’s department of homeland security ( dhs ) . “ daca for a lot of undocumented immigrants meant relief , it meant protection , it meant something , it meant a win , ” lopez told the media . “ but that does n’t mean anything anymore , right ? as we see daca recipients being picked up , that relief of deportation does n’t mean anything to anybody anymore . ” lopez is most likely referring to daniel ramirez medina , who was a daca recipient that was most recently arrested by the immigration and customs agency ( ice ) agency after they said he is a “ gang member . ” as breitbart texas reported , the mainstream media covered medina ’s arrest as a plight for other daca recipients , failing to point out his alleged gang relations across the west coast . connecticut ’s daca recipients are now telling others to not apply for the program until after there is clarity on the issue from the trump administration . john binder is a contributor for breitbart texas . follow him on twitter at @jxhnbinder .
+1 putin : ‘ america is a great nation , not some banana republic . correct me if i ’m wrong’ vnn the views expressed herein are the views of the author exclusively and not necessarily the views of vnn , vnn authors , affiliates , advertisers , sponsors , partners , technicians or and its assigns . notices posted by vnn on november 2 , 2016 , with 0 reads , filed under africa , asia , australia & oceana , europe , north america , south america , world . you can follow any responses to this entry through the rss 2.0 . you can leave a response or trackback to this entry facebook comments one response to " putin : ‘ america is a great nation , not some banana republic . correct me if i ’m wrong’ " debbie menon november 2 , 2016 at 4:40 pm trump : at the third debate : now we can talk about putin . i do n’t know putin . he said nice things about me . if we got along well , that would be good . if russia and the united states got along well and went after isis , that would be good . he has no respect for her ( hillary ) . he has no respect for our president . she ( hillary ) does n’t like putin because putin has outsmarted her at every step of the way. you must be logged in to post a comment login what 's hot
+1 they said what ? ! : find out what miles teller , kelly slater , and meghan markle have to say nan email ever wonder what ’s on the mind of today ’s most notable people ? well , do n’t miss our unbelievable roundup of the best and most talked about quotes of the day : “ emails are pretty much the only way to communicate these days . talking is over with . the second my grandma opens up her mouth to wish me a happy birthday , i tell her : ‘ send it in an email.’ ” —miles teller on email “ waves should be so big that only godzilla could surf on them . he should be world champion , and surfers should call him their friend . the world ’s big surf competition should be called godzilla grand prix . ” —kelly slater on surfing “ prince harry did n’t want someone dating him just because he ’s a prince , so for the first few months i was seeing him , he wore a sack over his head and spoke in a low hiss , saying only , ‘ i am not a prince.’ finally he pulled off the sack and said , ‘ i am actually a prince!’ i tried to act surprised , but honestly i ’d smelled that he was a prince the moment i ’d met him . ” —meghan markle
+1 rajoy anuncia el inicio de una " nueva etapa política " basada en el diálogo nan ( actualizada a las 21:34 26.10.2016 ) url corto 0 26 1 0 madrid ( sputnik ) — el presidente del gobierno en funciones y líder del partido popular , mariano rajoy , resaltó durante su discurso de investidura que españa se encuentra ante " una nueva etapa política " en la que deberá primar el diálogo frente a los intereses de partido . " soy consciente de que entramos en una nueva etapa política : cualquier ley o reforma que pueda venir a esta cámara en el futuro tendrá que ser fruto del acuerdo , de la cesión y del entendimiento " , explicó . © reuters/ sergio perez el debate de investidura de mariano rajoy en su intervención , rajoy destacó que la ausencia de mayorías absolutas le obligará a llevar a cabo una labor de gobierno " basada en acuerdos " porque " así lo exigen los resultados electorales " . " debemos asumir la necesidad de diálogo no como un peaje incómodo sino como una oportunidad de alcanzar consensos " , explicó el líder conservador , que será investido gracias a la abstención de los socialdemócratas y el voto a favor de los liberales . según rajoy , lo inédito de la situación política de españa , cuyo gobierno lleva más de diez meses en funciones , debe hacer que los partidos " dejan a un lado las confrontaciones ideológicas y sumen esfuerzos de manera excepcional " . se abre una nueva etapa política , abierta al diálogo y consenso # investidurarajoy pic.twitter.com/w9fjk9kd6a ​"españa no admite más demoras , la inestabilidad política se ha convertido en el mayor riesgo para nuestra economía " , afirmó el líder conservador . © afp 2016/ georges gobet la falta del gobierno en españa " se empieza a notar en la economía " al igual que en el discurso con el que abrió su fallida sesión de investidura de finales del mes de agosto , rajoy insistió en que " españa necesita un gobierno con urgencia " porque la inestabilidad política y la parálisis institucional son " nubarrones " que amenazan las mejoras económicas . en ese sentido , explicó que la celebración de unas terceras elecciones en medio de un año serían " perjudiciales para el país " y solicitó la confianza de la cámara para formar gobierno y de ese modo evitar unos comicios que " dañarían " la imagen exterior española . el líder conservador defendió que un gobierno presidido por él es lo " más razonable " porque los españoles colocaron al partido popular como fuerza más votada en las pasadas elecciones de junio y en los comicios de diciembre de 2015 . " parece justo y razonable que quienes de verdad no desean repetir las elecciones apoyen esta solución " , dijo sobre al resto de fuerzas sobre su propia investidura . a pesar de su invitación al diálogo , el candidato advirtió al resto de grupos parlamentarios de que " no dará marcha atrás " en las grandes reformas llevadas a cabo por su gabinete en los últimos cuatro años , entre las que se encuentra una polémica reforma laboral . no obstante , rajoy invitó a todos los parlamentarios a " abordar en común " los retos más importantes de su agenda , entre los que , además de citar cuestiones como el elevado desempleo , destacó al " desafío secesionista que algunos están planteando en cataluña " como el más relevante . " mi obligación es defender la soberanía nacional , la unidad de españa y el respeto a la ley " afirmó tajante el candidato . — partido popular ( @ppopular ) 26 октября 2016 г. en el marco de su discurso de talante dialogante , rajoy se mostró abierto a buscar acuerdos sobre el encaje de cataluña en españa que puedan satisfacer alguno de los anhelos del soberanismo , pero advirtió que " nadie puede privar al pueblo español de su derecho exclusivo a decidir sobre su futuro y sobre su territorio " . la intervención de rajoy para solicitar su confianza a la cámara fue más una apelación al resto de partidos a adoptar una disposición favorable a la búsqueda de consensos que una exposición programática ya que la aritmética parlamentaria impide al partido popular sacar adelante reformas sin el apoyo de otros grupos . ...
+1 a defeated obama condescendingly mocks winner trump , says ‘ he ca n’t keep campaign promises’ geoffrey grider a defeated obama condescendingly mocks winner trump , says ‘ he ca n’t keep campaign promises’ obama scolded his republican successor for believing he can deliver on his campaign promises . ' i think that he successfully mobilized a big chunk of the country to vote for him , ' obama told reporters . barack obama delivered a series of patronizing backhanded compliments to president - elect donald trump on monday during a lengthy white house press conference conducted before his final trip abroad as america ’s leader . while he praised trump for pulling off ‘ one of the biggest political upsets in history,’ obama scolded his republican successor for believing he can deliver on his campaign promises . ‘ i think that he successfully mobilized a big chunk of the country to vote for him,’ obama told reporters . but ‘ regardless of what experience or assumptions he brought to the office , this office has a way of waking you up.’‘and those aspects of his positions or predispositions that do n’t match up with reality , he will find shaken up pretty quick . because reality has a way of asserting itself.’ trump campaigned on an no - holds - barred agenda of dismantling much of obama ’s agenda including immigration reforms put in place without congressional input , a widely criticized iranian nuclear deal and an obamacare system whose pilings have grown shaky . but the president suggested the billionaire ’s poetic rallies can never jive with washington ’s messier prose . ‘ i think it ’ll be important for him to have the room , to staff up , to figure out what his priorities are , to be able to distinguish between what he was campaigning on and what is practical – what he can actually achieve,’ obama cautioned . ‘ you know , there are certain things that made for good good soundbites , but do n’t always translate into good policy . and that ’s something that he and his team will wrestle with in the same way every president wrestles with.’ ultimately , obama hinted , he believes trump is more a realist than a principled conservative – despite connecting with a previously disengaged voting base on the strength of broad promises .
+1 occult expert breaks down wikileaks exposed clinton campaign satanism – truthfeed nan occult expert breaks down wikileaks exposed clinton campaign satanism occult expert breaks down wikileaks exposed clinton campaign satanism videos by truthfeednews november 5 , 2016 earlier we covered the revelation of the podesta family ’s odd satanism fetish revealed by wikileaks . alex jones goes in depth on the disgrace and many times occultists have tried to recruit him and drag him down to their level . watch the video : support the trump movement and help us fight liberal media bias . please like and share this story on facebook or twitter .
+0 when gluttony dons racing shoes - the new york times lindsay crouse six of the world ’s largest and most prestigious marathons — in tokyo , boston , london , berlin , chicago and new york city — band together and call themselves the world marathon majors . some people try to run all six in the same year . dean bell is among them . he spent last week in amsterdam attending to his job as a partner at the auditing firm kpmg before flying back to new york to finish his sixth marathon of the year — the year he turned 40 . he was followed in central park on sunday by a trickle of other finishers , like the sommelier brian cronin , who has completed 42 in all . they came from italy and spain , china and denmark , amounting to 1 , 200 runners over all . they were led by michael wardian , an ultra runner so prolific that for him , finishing the six majors was akin to a 5 k on the local circuit for an ordinary runner . wardian finished the new york city marathon in 45th place , and he set a record for average pace running the majors in a calendar year — a little less than 2 hours 31 minutes . sunday ’s race was wardian ’s ninth marathon of 2016 . he supplemented them with 10 ultra marathons . he is 42 . “ i know it ’s not typical , but with every race i do , i ’ve just always wanted to see if it ’s possible , ” wardian said . “ i ’ve never wanted someone else to dictate what i ’m capable of . ” if wardian and bell are any indication , people who do this kind of thing have some qualities in common — a penchant for the extreme being central to all . they archive their races in spreadsheets ( wardian ) and résumés ( bell ) . they get up at 4:45 a. m. and go for their runs in the suburbs ( arlington , va. for wardian greenwich , conn. for bell ) supplementing them with a lunchtime run at work in the city when they can . both are in their early 40s , and they balance their running around their families : in this case , wives and two young children . both issue claims that they are not as unusual as they sound . “ of course i know all the running is , on some level , crazy , but mostly i ’m an ordinary guy , ” bell said . “ and there are worse vices . ” wardian also maintains that his lifestyle is largely ordinary , just augmented by a marathon or every other weekend or so . “ i think i ’m a pretty normal — well , some people would say maybe not — but i have a family , a job , i take my kids to cub scouts and soccer practice , i ’m part of civic organizations , i do all this stuff normal people do , but at the same time i do n’t think we need to be limited by what is considered normal behavior , ” wardian said . “ i just have a really incredible interest in establishing about what ’s possible for me and then shattering that . ” certainly , the schedule is unforgiving . a marathon in berlin in late september . for october , chicago . and then a month later , the new york city marathon . all very fast . bell has been running for only a little over five years . he gave himself a year to plan the logistics around the races but did not change his training . since he began running marathons in 2011 , he has amassed 20 , including sunday ’s . he tends to run his races between 3:10 and 3:15 , save for a run this year in berlin with a bad back . for him , it is a call to constantly push the boundaries of his limitations . “ you start with ‘ i want to run a marathon,’ then you want to run boston , then it ’s ‘ i want to run a certain time,’ then i wanted to run the majors , ” bell said . “ as we enter this stage of life , we ’re missing competition , it ’s us against the clock , but that ’s the biggest opponent you can have , yourself . ” wardian ran his first marathon in 1996 so he could qualify for the boston marathon , and he quickly moved on to races from there . when he decided to improve his speed , he qualified for the 2004 , 2008 and 2012 men ’s olympic trials , still relishing the day when he led the first 10 k of the 2008 trials through times square , immortalized in a widely circulated photograph . now he is focusing on frequency and longer distances . wardian was a varsity lacrosse player at michigan state before he began running his junior year . he and his wife , jennifer , who met at a fraternity party in maryland , accommodate each other ’s training needs . when watching the kids in the morning , he will run on the treadmill at home while she goes to a jazzercise class . she was fine with his running 48 miles through the grand canyon for their 12th anniversary last month — but she has her limitations . “ she lays the law down , ” he said . “ i ’m not allowed to go do everest until the kids are 18 . ” despite an unusual gluttony , and talent , for both volume and speed , wardian has remained largely for the entirety of his 20 years of running except for august 2012 . he developed five stress fractures in his pelvis and five hernias , all at once , and was sidelined for two months . ( he attributed the injuries to the time his youngest son developed epilepsy , when he and his wife slept no more than intervals . ) “ normally , ” he said , “ i sleep four hours , and i ’m fine . ” the wardians take their children to his races around the world — they have been to 14 countries on four continents , waiting for their father to finish a race through the alps or the outback . wardian follows the wholesome lifestyle common to many ultra runners , having refrained from eating chicken since he contracted salmonella poisoning from a meal in college . from there , he stopped eating fish and then went vegan , aside from a fondness for egg whites and honey . some friends he met at a race in japan take a rice steamer with them for prerace meals , and he has taken up the habit of eating white rice and honey for breakfast and , before dinner , visiting sushi restaurants , where he will eat rolls . he drinks “ twice every 18 months ” and counts an maker and a salad company among his sponsors . “ i ’m one of those guys , ” he said . “ but i think it helps me in recovery . it ’s clean energy . ” wardian spends his days as an international ship broker , arranging oceangoing transportation for food aid . some of his competitors have been on the receiving end of his efforts : at a dinner for wardian ’s clients , the former marathon champion paul tergat spoke of how he would receive the shipments while growing up in kenya and how they changed his life . ( wardian contracted the ship maersk alabama , which was hijacked by somali pirates in 2009 , learning the news only when he returned from running the weeklong marathon des sables through the sahara and regained phone access . ) wardian and bell finished their streaks sunday despite the logistical impediments bound to affect races that happen almost every week or month . for bell , he had managed to run each time under his boston qualifying standard — until berlin , where he was hampered by a back injury . wardian ’s trips were wrought with timing hurdles : he would continue running after the race back to his lodgings to collect his luggage and go straight to the airport , often still in racing clothes . bell ’s family watched the race at 102nd street and first avenue , a block from where they used to live . they celebrated after the race with friends who live in their old building but headed back to the suburbs before it grew too late . he had a 7 a. m. flight to washington the next day . wardian said he would go to las vegas next weekend . he has another marathon record in mind : running the fastest one ever while dressed as elvis .
+1 un failed to organize evacuation of civilians from rebel - held aleppo nan thu , 27 oct 2016 08:27 utc aleppo destruction russia 's ambassador to the united nations has criticized un 's failure to properly organize humanitarian evacuations of the wounded from terrorist - held areas of aleppo . the un envoy to syria defended the team , pinning the blame on the warring parties . " we regret to note that the united nations has not properly worked out an operation to evacuate the sick and the wounded , " vitaly churkin noted at the un security council session , according to ria . the ambassador added that the un work with various opposition groups in aleppo and the local council was " left to take care of itself . " he stressed that the un personnel did not " exert the necessary pressure " on " sponsors " of illegal armed groups to convince them to cooperate with the aid workers on the ground . besides criticizing the un team , the russian envoy also accused entities that have influence over fighters in besieged neighborhoods of aleppo of not applying enough pressure on the militants to make the most of the russian - syrian humanitarian pause . " external patrons of entrenched groups in eastern aleppo could not or did not want positively influence the fighters and convince them to stop the shooting , to release civilians or leave the city themselves , " churkin said . the ambassador noted that militants in aleppo continue to get supplies and arms , including portable surface - to - air shoulder launchers ( manpads ) and missiles . the humanitarian pause was introduced in aleppo on october 20 , as syrian and russian jets halted all strikes in the vicinity of the city . while only an estimated ten percent of the city 's populace live in terrorist - held eastern aleppo , moscow is doing everything possible to secure the evacuation of civilians . those civilians who want to leave jihadist - held areas may use six humanitarian corridors . fighters can also leave the city with their weapons by using two other corridors established by the russians and the syrians . however , terrorists have refused to leave and instead resorted to shelling the civilian escape routes . russian and syrian planes have stayed out of the city for eight consecutive days . in that time , only a few dozen civilians managed to escape the terrorist - held areas . meanwhile , the russian reconciliation centers continued to pour aid into aleppo . during the security council session , the un official in charge of humanitarian aid defended the world organization 's actions in syria , laying blame at both the rebels , damascus , and moscow for not allowing the un humanitarian assistance to take place . " the united nations were ready to launch our operations on sunday , 23 october . however , objections by two non - state armed opposition groups , namely ahrar as - sham and nureddin zenki , scuppered these plans . the united nations made every effort to get assurances from all parties , only for the parties to then fail to agree on each other 's conditions about how evacuations should proceed , " said under - secretary general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator , stepen o'brien . in the meantime , the international committee of the red cross and the red crescent teams working in aleppo have complained that delivering the humanitarian aid and treating the wounded has been a challenge , as the icrc failed to " secure the security guarantees of some armed groups . " back at the unsc , o'brien painted a clear picture for the members of the un security council of human suffering in eastern aleppo where terrorists use civilians as human shields . in a graphic yet poetic account , o'brien said that civilians - mostly children and elderly - are stuck in basements where " the stench of urine and the vomit caused by unrelieved fear never leaving your nostrils " is omnipresent . " or scrabbling with your bare hands in the street above to reach under concrete rubble , lethal steel reinforcing bars jutting at you as you hysterically try to reach your young child screaming unseen in the dust and dirt below your feet , you choking to catch your breath in the toxic dust and the smell of gas ever - ready to ignite and explode over you . " " these are constant , harrowing reports and images of people detained , tortured , forcibly displaced , maimed and executed , " o'brien added . while mentioning the destructive role of terrorist on the ground , the un envoy to syria went out of his way to blame damascus and moscow for their air raids . " aleppo has essentially become a kill zone . since my last report to this council less than a month ago , 400 more people have been killed and nearly 2,000 injured in eastern aleppo . so many of them - too many of them - were children , " o'brien said . " never has the phrase by poet robert burns , of ' man 's inhumanity to man ' been as apt . it can be stopped but you the security council have to choose to make it stop , " the envoy added . taking the mic at the unsc meeting , churkin criticized o'brien 's report , which he said lacked factual information and failed to stress the cessation of syrian and russian air raids on the city . he asked o'brian not to recite poetry but base his reports on concrete facts . " if we wanted to hear a sermon , we would go to church . if we wanted to hear poetry , we would go to a theater , " churkin said . security council members wanted to hear " objective analysis " of the situation on the ground from o'brien , the russian ambassador stressed . " you clearly did not achieve this , " churkin said , reminding o'brien that no strikes have been conducted over aleppo since october 18 . calling o'brian 's statement " provocative and unacceptable , " churkin pointed that in the past eight days syrian and russian planes had not flown over aleppo , staying at least 10 km away from the city . " this moratorium on the flight lasted eight days [ now ] . mr. o ' brian , you did not mention a single word about it . you have built your speech so to paint a picture that aerial bombardment did not stop for one day and that it is happening now , as we speak , " said churkin . us ambassador to the united nations samantha power also criticized the russian humanitarian corridors in aleppo . " russia made an announcement about 6 humanitarian corridors and urged to take these corridors , including people with arms . but those families were terrified about entrusting their fates to the people who have been bombing their neighborhoods , " she said . churkin replied that power resorted to her usual tactics - " distorting the russian stance to the point of absurdity . " " it is terrifying to live here [ in aleppo ] . and the us is asking : ' what can we do ? ' we told you what to do - to have both russian and american military work together on castello road [ in aleppo ] . you said no ! " churkin said . power and the us delegation , along with the uk , french , and ukrainian delegations , later staged a walkout as churkin passed the floor to the syrian representative .
+1 why hillary wo n't unleash wwiii : information pepe escobar why hillary wo n't unleash wwiii by pepe escobar october 31 , 2016 " information clearing house " - " rt " - she is fully supported by virtually the whole us establishment ; a bipartisan , neocon / neoliberalcon , regime change/”humanitarian” imperialist axis . on the opposite side , for all his personal pathology problems and incoherent twitter - mouth ramblings , donald trump seemed to be on the money when he said that if elected , hillary would use syria to unleash wwiii . to check out if that holds , let’s start with an essential backup . the ‘queen of war’ , at the final us presidential debate in las vegas : " a no - fly zone [ in syria ] can save lives and hasten the end of the conflict . " the ‘queen of war’ , in one of her 2013 speeches to goldman sachs , published by wikileaks : a no - fly zone would " kill a lot of syrians .” the chairman of the joint chiefs marine gen. joseph dunford , speaking to the senate foreign relations committee : a no - fly zone in syria “ would require us to go to war , against syria and russia . " no - fly zone would ‘require war with # syria and # russia ’ – top us general https://t.co/vesy8uetak pic.twitter.com/zxycmwjdxj — rt america ( @rt_america ) september 22 , 2016 predictably , the clinton ( cash ) machine has been relentless promoting hillary’s no - fly zone . whenever cornered , the machine switches the narrative to russian hacking of the dnc . edward snowden , who knows a thing or two about cyberwarfare , stresses there is no solid proof russian intel hacked the democratic / clinton machine . and if they actually did it , the nsa would know . the fact the nsa is mum reveals this is no more than information war . pass the missile launchers , please trump seems to have been more on the money when he insisted how hillary will be outsmarted – as she already was in the past – when dealing with president putin , who she has demonized as hitler . i have shown how hillary will be prevented from launching wwiii because her no - fly zone is already implemented in syria by russia . and the pentagon – reflecting dunford’s comments - knows it , no matter how emphatically soon - to - be - unemployed pentagon head ash carter threatens “ consequences .” the pentagon ranks russia and china as the number one and two “existential threats” to us national security , in that order . and the us government reserves for itself the privilege of a nuclear “first - strike” – which hillary supports ( but not trump ) ; this is part of the 2002 full spectrum dominance doctrine . the relentless hysteria now crystallized as cold war 2.0 has led scores of analysts to game the actual – terrifying - possibility of a us - russia hot war . as much as the cold war mad ( mutually assured destruction ) doctrine may now lie in the dust – exactly because washington refuses to back down from “first - strike” – only armchair dr. strangeloves get their kicks with the possibility of fighting a nuclear power . dunford does not seem to be one of them . what hillary clinton will certainly do is to double down on proxy wars , vietnam / afghanistan - style . so expect a president clinton to authorize full weaponization of those beltway - loved “moderate” al - qaeda - in - syria rebels with plenty of shoulder - held missile launchers . this could easily get out of control – with lethal , yet not nuclear , consequences . that’s exactly the point made by mikhail rostovsky in moscow daily moskovsky komsomolets ; if hillary ratchets up tensions , “ things could get out of hand .” also expect not so proxy ratcheting up of tension in the south china sea ; after all it was hillary who claimed ‘mothership’ of the pivot to asia ; and it was hillary who steered intra - south east asian maritime disputes into the boiling cauldron of wider us - china competition . and if that was not hard boiled enough , us frustration will be at an all - time high after philippines president rodrigo duterte’s own pivot to china . say hello to my new sarmat a case can be made that official moscow is carefully getting ready to work with a clinton – as in obama iii – presidency , with hillary , a devil they know well when she was secretary of state , to be dealt with as a pragmatist , unwilling and unable to plunge us - russia relations into total incandescence . a clinton presidency for its part should know better than overestimate russia’s financial “ weakness . ” the national debt of russia is only 17.7 percent of gdp ; for the us it is a whopping 104.17 percent of gdp , or $ 19.2 trillion . russia in 2015 had a trade surplus of $ 150 billion , while the us had a trade deficit of $ 531.5 billion . the current account surplus of russia was 5.1 percent of gdp , or 65.8 billion , while the us ran a current account deficit of 484.1 billion , or 2.7 percent of gdp . besides , russia has all the natural resources it needs ; unlike the us government , which believes it needs an empire of bases overseas and ten aircraft carrier task forces to secure the resources it lacks . moreover , as much as the pentagon may continue to be infested by neocon cells , sound generals are also able to identify key russian signals – such as the unveiling of the rs-28 sarmat nuclear missile , which nato calls satan 2 . the sarmat delivers monster warheads of 40 megatons ; boasts a top speed of seven kilometers per second ; and is able to outfox any anti - missile shield system anywhere . first images of new thermonuclear - armed intercontinental ballistic missile to replace ' satan ' unveilled in russia https://t.co/mmx2ehalqu — rt ( @rt_com ) october 25 , 2016 hot war ? hillary clinton may have pulled a julius caesar over gaddafi . but she’s realist enough to not pull a ( nuclear ) hitler over moscow . or is she ?
+1 clinton 's policies look like a death sentence for americans tim king 22 shares 8 13 0 1 as donald trump gains more bad press , hilary clinton rides the political wave with quick responses , deflections and denials . without question , and largely due to trump 's obnoxious candor and grandiose proclamations , she is working her way back into the favor of disgruntled democrats and even right wing firebrands like the notorious glenn beck . she is , without question , a wolf in sheep 's clothing . while trump is unbelievably hard to take , constantly , we need to focus on one simple question , which of these candidates will lead to world devastation first ? i suspect it would be hillary clinton who would be most inclined toward involving americans in another military conflict , and she does n't go small , as she constantly demonizes russia with threats of military action . in clinton 's own words , " you 've seen reports , russia has hacked into a lot of things , china has hacked into a lot of things , russia even hacked into the democratic national committee , maybe even some state election systems . so we 've got to step up our game , make sure we are well defended and can take the fight to those who go after us . as president , i will make it clear that the united states will treat cyber attacks just like any other attack . we will be ready with serious political , economic and military responses . " military responses to a nation the us stood on the verge of war with for more than four decades ? military response against russia ? over suspected hacking ? hillary clinton betrayed her real mindset once and for all during the recent debate with donald trump when she spoke those words of war that would surely lead to only disastrous consequences . it all stems from the wikileaks release that included 19,252 emails and 8,034 attachments from leaders at the democratic national committee . clinton says the russians did it , the national mainstream media parroted those words . it 's the american media 's political conditioning system at its finest , convincingly reaching tens of millions of americans , and yet nobody knows if the blame is properly attributed to the russians . in a usa today article from july 2016 , elizabith weise wrote , " computer security researchers say it ’s difficult to definitively say the cyber theft of files from the democratic national committee subsequently posted online by wikileaks was the work of russian hackers , as some media outlets have reported . " russia 's leader , vladmir putin , says the us long ago tipped the scales in the wrong direction , well before the cold war even ended . peace with russia should be a top priority for any us presidential candidate . the truth is that american politicians , perpetually convinced they are making the right political moves , created a road block on the highway to peace during the vietnam war . putin said during the st. petersburg international economic forum 2016 , " it is not in my nature to scold someone -- but when the united states unilaterally withdrew from the abm treaty ( in ) 1972 they delivered a colossal blow to the entire system of international security . that was the first blow when it comes to assessing the strategic balance of power in the world " . more ... 10 things to expect with a hillary clinton presidency hillary clinton must be indicted how hillary clinton ushered in a one party dictatorship of monopoly capital voting for the “ lesser evil ” now we have clinton warmongering over unfounded allegations . world rivals in the air there is a decades - old history of rivalry between eastern and western jet fighter design and technology . while american designs are more expensive and generally considered to be better , the fastest jet fighter ever made is the russian mig-25 ; it can break mach iii , more than three times the speed of sound . such demands lessen the life of an aircraft . the mig-25 is typically not flown at anything close to that speed . as an interceptor however , it was supreme , no allied fighter in the sky could outrun it . the korean war was the first test . soviet mig-15 's initially dominated the skies . with russian and chinese pilots often at the controls , the mig 's were deadly . on 1 november 1950 , at least sixteen american f-51 fighters ( p-51 mustangs ) were shot at by six soviet mig-15 interceptors led by soviet wwii ace mayor nikolay v. stroykov . the wwii " prop " planes like the mustang , along with the u.s. f-80 shooting star and f-84 thunderjet jet fighters , had a job on their hands fighting the robust and highly maneuverable mig fighters . everything changed when the u.s. air force launched the f-86 sabre . wikipedia explains that the f-86 sabre pilots enjoyed advantages they learned to exploit to the fullest . foremost among those was a radar ranging gun sight on their six .50 caliber machine guns , which ensured that even short bursts of fire generally found their target . f-86 pilots were also equipped with g - suits , which prevented pilot blackout in high - speed turning maneuvers . it is unlikely that anybody will ever fully agree on the casualties and " kill " ratios over " mig alley " during the korean war . the soviets claimed 1,106 united nations planes of all types shot down , including about 650 sabres . ( the usaf only admits to losing less than 200 aircraft in air combat . ) the f-86 pilots claimed 792 mig-15s shot down , while b-29 gunners claimed a further 16 . these numbers were later reduced to 379 migs . the chinese air force claimed only 85 kills . in vietnam , the competitors varied . the mig-17 and mig-21 fighters were widely used by the north vietnamese air force . they fought planes like the f-100 super sabre , f-5 tiger and the f-4 phantom . once again , if you believe western sources which are fairly reliable for the most part , the u.s. planes dominated in most air to air combat , though the other side had plenty of talented pilots and more aces overall than the americans . during the end of the cold war in the 1980 's , the soviet mig-29 was the terror of the skies . there was more speculation about it than real knowledge at first . while mig aircraft were only built in odd numbers , the movie top gun references the aircraft by calling them mig-28 's - " mig-28 's , no one 's been this close before ! " the planes used in the movie were actually american f-5 tigers painted black with red stars applied to the tails . today the united states spends obscene amounts on planes like the f-22 raptor and these aircraft do not have any clear advantages over modern russian planes like the su-30 . both in this case , are capable of " thrust vectoring " which means the pilot can change the direction of the jet blast and create an entirely separate way to control the jet in flight . the ultimate western jet in the world of thrust vectoring is the av8/b harrier which can actually take off and land like a helicopter . hopefully the world will not have to put these machines against each other in a future war , but with clinton at the helm it is entirely possible and the advantages the us used to hold over the russian military have evaporated into thin air . russia 's modern approach to warfare during the decades - long cold war , the soviet union operated under archaic rules that essentially prevented a commander , or a pilot , from knowing their mission until they were dispatched to carry out the order . kemp freund , a us army sergeant major that i met while i was covering the war in afghanistan , was quote : d in my 2007 video report " camp joyce : remote fire base near afghanistan - pakistan border " saying , " we 're trying to break the old soviet methods that they use and the soviet method had that lt . col . completely in the dark until he needed to move . ” he added , “ we 're still working with the higher echelons to get that to move downhill . " the soviet ways were detrimental and offered little freedom to a trained soldier or pilot but all that is over now . today 's russian pilots not only fly superior aircraft that cost far less than us taxpayer funded military planes , they also utilize tactics of western pilots . hillary clinton surely knows these facts but she wants to play with fire and be another " war president " which was so important to former president george w. bush , and obama too for that matter . other looming conflicts lest we forget , hillary clinton 's unwavering support of israel , the apartheid religious nuclear state that has long been protected by us taxpayer money and military hardware . the government of right wing israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu continues to violate the human rights of palestinians constantly , while building settlements which are completely illegal under international law . then there are the attacks in gaza that target schools and hospitals , leaving hundreds and hundreds dead and thousands severely injured . never does clinton speak out against the barbaric treatment israel reserves for non - jews , never does she refer to the fact that the country we now call iran has n't attacked a nation outside of its borders for more than three hundred years . yet iran has been savagely attacked by the united states both directly and indirectly . maintaining her warmongering spirit , clinton said , " i want the iranians to know that if i 'm president we will attack iran . " she added that , " we would be able to totally obliterate them . "
+1 populism is a magnificent strategy for liberty joseph t. salerno mises.org october 28 , 2016 a recent op - ed piece in the new york times urged the republican party not to “ throw away free enterprise ” and embrace populism . arthur c. brooks , the author of the article , makes two bold but erroneous claims . first , he asserts that populist moments throughout history — including the trumpian moment in the us — are triggered by severe financial crises that result in protracted and uneven recoveries that exacerbate existing income and wealth disparities . in resorting to naïve economic determinism to explain populism , brooks completely overlooks the awakening of the broad american middle class to political institutions and policies that have been designed by the entrenched elites of both parties to oppress and plunder them . the never - ending and immensely costly war against “ terror ; ” the federal bailout of multi - billion dollar financial institutions both domestically and abroad ; the ineffective and grossly expensive war on drugs ; the pandemic of political correctness unleashed by federal mandates and regulations that has infected american colleges and universities , and the egregious and unrestrained spying on american citizens by the bloated us security apparatus . all of these issues seem to count for nothing in brooks ’s simplistic analysis . for brooks , “ the real issue is weak , unevenly shared growth . ” brooks ’s attribution of the rise of populism in the us and elsewhere almost exclusively to increasing income and wealth inequality is not only peculiar but absurd on the face of it and i will refrain from further comment on it . the second claim that brooks makes is more commonly accepted and is fervently promoted by the mainstream media , and academics and political analysts of the “ responsible ” left and right . this claim is that populism comprises specific ideological positions and policies . thus , brooks refers to “ populist positions on issues such as trade and immigration ” and to “ populists who specialize in identifying culprits : rich elites who are ripping you off ; immigrants who want your job ; a free trade that ’s killing our nation ’s competitiveness . ” according to brooks , populist policies thus “ involve some combination of increased redistribution , protectionism , and restrictionism . ” in other words , on economic issues at least , populism is the polar opposite of classical liberalism and libertarianism . left - wing and right - wing populists but nothing could be further from the truth . for populism is not a right - wing ideology but a strategy that may be used by any ideological group whose political agenda differs radically from that of the ruling class . surely , brooks has heard of left - wing populists such as juan and eva perón , huey long , the “ radio priest ” father charles coughlin , fidel castro , and hugo chávez . and what about classical - liberal and libertarian populists such as thomas paine and samuel adams , richard cobden and john bright , and more recently , dr. ron paul ? lately , we have seen the dramatic rise in popularity of the populist pirate party in iceland , which may win the next election and whose membership is ideologically diffuse and comprises libertarians , hackers , web geeks , and anti - globalist anarchists . although populism may be either ideologically left or right , libertarian or statist , it is always hated and feared by the political center . the reason is that the center is occupied by those individuals and groups comprising the “ moderate ” left wing and right wing who are allies in defending the political status quo and take turns ruling and operating the levers of power to distribute privilege and wealth to themselves and their cronies . what populists stand for regardless of ideological bent , populist thinkers and movement builders take to heart , at least implicitly , the profound insight of great political theorists from la boétie and david hume to mises and rothbard that there is no such thing as an unpopular government . they thus set about exposing the moderates who run the state apparatus as a powerful and wealthy elite whose interests are inherently opposed to those of the masses of productive workers and entrepreneurs . in order to grab the attention of people who are not yet fully conscious that they are being exploited — or in marxian terms , to help them develop a class consciousness — it is only natural that populist leaders employ extreme , emotional , and embittered rhetoric . such inflammatory rhetoric is especially necessary for the us today and most european countries where the mainstream media , while ostensibly free , operate as a privileged mouthpiece for government and spew non - stop propaganda designed to camouflage state exploitation of the productive class and to discredit dissenting political movements . harsh and extreme populist rhetoric , such as that used by donald trump , strikes a responsive chord among the us electorate , but not because americans are subject to irrational bouts of envy , xenophobia , and insecurity brought on by crises and recessions , as brooks would have us believe . rather , americans are being awakened to the cold , hard fact that they have been plundered and oppressed by the “ moderate ” american globalist political establishment since world war two . what rothbard said about the populist french poujadist movement of the early 1950s applies to the us and other interventionist democratic states today : [ t]here ’s a lot to be bitter about : crushingly high taxes on businesses and individuals , submergence of national sovereignty in international organizations and alliances , fumbling and incompetent government , endless fighting in colonial wars . especially taxes . a final point : once it has penetrated into the public discourse , populism — precisely because it is the only effective political strategy for radical political change — will not wither away as a result of a few more percentage points of “ evenly distributed ” economic growth . trump ’s threat to contest the election , brexit , the continuing growth of right - wing populist movements throughout europe , all attest to the fact that populism is here to stay . this should be cause for celebration among the libertarians who for the first time since its inception in the mid-1960s have at their disposal an effective strategy for rolling back the us welfare - warfare state . note : the views expressed on mises.org are not necessarily those of the mises institute . the best of joseph t. salerno tags : joseph salerno [ ] is academic vice president of the mises institute , chairman of the graduate program in economics at pace university , and editor of the quarterly journal of austrian economics .
+1 vereinigtes königreich nimmt die dschihadisten - ausbildung in syrien wieder auf horst frohlich vereinigtes königreich nimmt die dschihadisten - ausbildung in syrien wieder auf voltaire netzwerk | 1 . november 2016 français español der britische verteidigungsminister michael fallon hat angekündigt , dass sein land die freie syrische armee ( fsa ) wieder ausbilden werde . seine regierung nimmt also das trainingsprogramm der so genannten moderaten kämpfer wieder auf , das von präsident obama i m jahr 2014 gestartet wurde . die fsa wurde von frankreich i m jahr 2011 rund um den libyschen führer von al - kaida , abdelhakim belhadsch , geschaffen . die operation wurde als hilfe für syrische , von oberst riad el - asaad kommandierte deserteure , dargestellt . allmählich sind die mitglieder der fsa aber al - kaida beigetreten . i m jahr 2016 wurde das fsa- etikett durch die türkei , die es für ihre turkmenischen milizen verwendet , wieder ins leben gerufen . die vereinigten staaten hatten ihrerseits in der zwischenzeit eine halbe milliarde dollar für die ausbildung von neuen „ rebellen - kämpfern “ ausgegeben . alle diese gedrillten leute haben sich heute jedoch al - kaida angeschlossen . es ist also sehr wahrscheinlich , dass das neue britische programm eine neue hilfe für al - kaida verbirgt . übersetzung horst frohlich
+1 donald trump accused of failure at not being president for a week nan donald trump is facing harsh criticism for the job he is doing as a citizen . " wow , this guy won the election a whole week ago and he has n't even started being president yet . what were we thinking ? " said skip homeyer of the whipperford post website , adding that " he probably did n't even read the constitution . " nbc news , a news station with reporters and everything , complained that trump " had n't kept any of his campaign promises " and added that although " that was because he really had n't done anything yet " that still was no excuse . some of the people trump has chosen to lead his team have also drawn harsh criticism from the media . some of the names mentioned were rudy giuliani , newt gingrich , adolph hitler , adolph hitler 's son and cerberus . the last three were unofficial . " we expected much more from him . that 's why none of us want him to take office " said one reporter who wanted to remain nameless , because he actually had no legal name . he then added that " people are getting fed up with all of trump 's racism that he 'll probably do eventually . " he then added " trump did win , right ? " make jeff brone 's day - give this story five thumbs - up ( there 's no need to register , the thumbs are just down there ! )
+1 trump ’s prospects improve michael s. rozeff michael s. rozeff https://www.lewrockwell.com/lrc-blog/trumps-prospects-improve/ trump shares have gained sharply in the iem prediction market , rising from under 10 cents to about 29 cents . ordinary polls also are showing the race tightening . clinton leads , but the suddenly much higher volatility of prices means that trump ’s prospects have improved . trump released his contract with america 6 days ago . the biased media ignored it . the failures of obamacare made headlines coincident with trump ’s shares rising . donna brazile ’s passing debate questions to clinton is also coincident with clinton falling and trump rising . the continuous wikileaks revelations about clinton are also coincident with the trump comeback . my guess is that a good many voters who ( naively ) respect the integrity of the fbi are dismayed as they learn how clinton interfered with the investigation and how the fbi was corrupted . ( these are voters , and there are many , who think j. edgar hoover is a hero and who have never heard of entrapment . ) others are bound to be affected by the huge sums of money handed over to the clintons where quid pro quos are evident . charitable giving can not explain these transfers . yet others who support the second amendment are being solidified against clinton by revelations that she intends to use executive orders to get her way . clinton and trump have taken opposite positions on the integrity of america ’s voting methods . trump ’s position has been helped by recent complaints of machines that switched votes from one candidate to the opposition . clinton ’s position has been hurt by ( a ) her own manipulations during the democratic primaries , and ( b ) her attempts to link trump ’s position with the bogeyman russians . furthermore , clinton accused him of treason when she said “ we also know from the former head of our counterterrorism center , matt olsen , that the kinds of rhetoric and language that mr. trump has used is giving aid and comfort to our adversaries . ” her extremism in this charge signals her fear of trump ’s challenge . it could only cause trump supporters to close ranks behind him and assure greater voter turnout for him . clinton ’s many baseless charges and wild exaggerations show yet again her fondness for character assassination and attacks on anyone she perceives as an obstacle to her ambitions . 11:52 am on october 28 , 2016
+1 congratulations , folks ! israel shamir gino santa maria / shutterstock.com what could be better than waking up in time to witness the last few minutes of the historic race between the champion of deplorables and the best friend of banksters , and to see trump emerging victorious ! thank you , lord , for allowing me to see these scenes at all and especially in sunny jerusalem where i am now , and thank you , our american friends , for achieving this victory . you were not scared when they called you “ racist rednecks ” , you did not despair when the cnn said ( yesterday ) that clinton had a 96 % chance of winning . you did not sat down with a bottle of beer , you still went to the booths and voted , god bless you . and thank you those who voted against trump . ex - pres . bush said he did not vote for trump – why , this news made my day ! i am so happy that we do not owe anything , not a single vote in the victory , to the warring bushmen . it would be embarrassing to find oneself in the same camp as the butcher of iraq . john mccain tried to knife trump , did n’t endorse him – this is also good news . the fbi boss submitted to pressure and supported clinton instead of adhering to the law : good riddance ! god bless you , my colleagues and editors of the truly great independent american media , ron unz of unz.com , jeffrey st clair of counterpunch , justin raimondo of antiwar.com ! by attacking the corrupted mainstream media , you preserved the dignity and the meaning of our profession , you delivered analysis and opinions to the thinking working men of america . god bless you , julian assange of wikileaks , in the windowless room in the ecuadorian embassy in london ! you did so much by publishing the documents nobody dared to touch . without you , the american people would not know of the evil stratagems in the dnc , of the podesta plots . you unmasked their plans . these discoveries will provide much material to tomorrow ’s media . let president donald trump pardon julian , for all he did , he did for us , in the great battle against the evil globalizers . and while he ’s at it , let him pardon edward snowden and bradley manning , let them go home in honour . today , mankind has avoided a great danger . we peered into the abyss of armageddon and quickly moved away . now the world can fix its many problems . the middle east wars will soon be over . with defeat of the daesh queen hillary , the fanatic rebels will leave aleppo for their bases in the arabian desert and allow syrians to rebuild their beautiful land . let saudis feed and house the isis gangs , perhaps they will be useful camel riders . there is enough space in saudi arabia for all the jihadis , let them go there and stay there . friendship with russia will disarm the other source of danger , eastern europe . the nato warmongers will retire to cultivate cucumbers . estonia will be safe , actually , safer without american tanks . the world does not need so many weapons of mass destruction ; the funds can be spent on something better , like affordable medical care for the average americans . or indeed infrastructure , as trump mentioned . minority politics did not work . the women , the white women of america gave their votes to trump , despite being ordered to march with the sisterhood of madeleine albright . us citizens of mexican origin knew they are being used by people who do not care for them : and they did not bother to go and vote for clinton . what about the jews ? i ’ll surprise you : despite many dark hints to the contrary , israelis were happy with trump ’s victory . the us citizens living in israel voted for trump . religious jews ( in israel and in the us ) voted for trump . there was a hysterical scream in the jewish liberal camp , among the gay parade jews , or among financial jews , but this is a small though voluble part of jewish population . indeed hillary propaganda warriors claimed that all the jews support clinton and are afraid of trump . but not every jewish woman is called janet yellen ; not every jewish man is george soros ( who is very unpopular in israel ) or the ceo of goldman sachs , lloyd blankfein . conservative and observant jews did not like the push against gender normalcy that seems to be the favorite topic for clinton camp . trump ’s idea of a border wall is already a success in israel : such a wall has been built between israel and egypt ’s sinai . before the wall was built , tens of thousands of african job - seekers flooded israel ; since the wall has been completed about one hundred plucky persons made it . the liberals in israel demanded to provide full rights to the refugees from eritrea and sudan , who were housed in the poor jewish neighborhoods . there was a lot of aggravation , and the wall solved it all . in short , the claim for “ all the jews ” has been as false as the claim for “ all the women ” . one can expect that the jews will produce a new community leadership instead of the old one that had been tainted with hatred to working class whites and to the christian church . it is possible : jews are very flexible , and they usually know the difference between what they want and what they can get . the palestinians i meet these days in jerusalem , bethlehem and ramallah do not regret the fall of the house of clinton . they have gotten nothing from the democratic presidents . they were obedient to aipac and quick to veto every pro - palestinian resolution . is there a possible solution for the palestinian - israeli conflict ? yes , this is called one state solution . let israel absorb all palestinian territories and populations , give them equal rights , as the americans did to their minorities . provided the equal rights campaign in the us had been very popular with american jews , surely they will love to repeat it in israel , too . order it now palestinian christians , a big native community , are especially happy with defeat of clinton who was partial to radical muslims of the middle east . they hope the us and russia will help to rebuild the community and will protect them from the extreme zionists and wahhabis’ rage . the russians are flabbergasted with trump ’s victory . yes , many of them hoped and prayed for trump , but practically all russians i know of were damn sure that clinton would win despite the popular vote . after being manipulated for years , the russians had lost their belief in democratic process . they were certain that the banks , the pentagon , the supreme court and the media will force clinton ’s election through . my friends in the russian pro - kremlin media did not believe that in the us , people ’s will may prevail over the masters of discourse . ye of small faith , i told them , everything can happen if we want it . now they learned that not everything is “ sxvacheno ” ( agreed and decided in advance ) . trump ’s victory is the great triumph of democracy , the next after the brexit . twice within one year , the people of england and america proved they can achieve what they want , even if the globalizing elites of bankers and media will stand against them . we can hope that the elections in europe will follow this new pattern of true democracy , instead of the fake one practiced recently . france may be first to get her trump , marine le pen . if clinton had won , there would be more transgender toilets , more immigrants and more wars . not much fun . now we are entering the whole new world of new ideas and deeds . there are hundreds of suggestions ripe to be implemented . donald trump can borrow a leaf from kennedy ’s book and immediately start a nation - wide discussion of what can be done . trump can harness the energy of the masses like has not been done for a century . and yesterday ’s betrayed sandernistas can take a prominent place in this transformation . the interesting – and dangerous – part begins right now , after the election . the new york times has already proposed : “ trump can be a good president . he just needs to forget most of what he said on the campaign trail . ” what is good for the new york times is bad for trump ’s voters and supporters . we hope trump will avoid the danger of being co - opted by the people who besmirched him yesterday . let him implement his ideas . and let us help him to lead us into a better and newer world . israel shamir can be reached at
+0 china warmly welcomes a giant rooster with trumpian characteristics - the new york times mike ives hong kong — donald j. trump ’s golden quiff , bushy eyebrows and preening gestures were immortalized this week in china — though perhaps not in a way that he would like . they appeared on a giant rooster statue , just above some feet and a wattle that hangs below a gilded nose and mouth . the statue , which was installed outside a shopping mall in the northern chinese city of taiyuan , was built to celebrate the coming year of the rooster in the chinese lunar calendar and comes less than a month before mr. trump ’s inauguration . it is 23 feet tall . relations between washington and beijing have been especially jittery in recent weeks . the tension is due in large part to mr. trump , who belittled china during his presidential campaign and caused a diplomatic stir this month by making clear that he views the central basis for diplomatic relations between washington and beijing — known as the one china policy — as up for negotiation . but reaction to the rooster on chinese social media was light and full of positive emoji . global times , a tabloid , said on tuesday that onlookers in taiyuan , the capital of shanxi province , had praised the statue as a “ perfect blend of chinese and western cultures . ” “ it ’s not bad looking , ” zhang guoqiang , an employee at the yihui japanese restaurant at the north america n1 art shopping center , where the statue is , said by telephone on thursday . inflatable “ trump chicken ” replicas were on sale at taobao , an online shopping bazaar , with a version advertised for $ 1 , 725 . casey latiolais , an illustrator and animator in seattle , said in a telephone interview that he completed the design in early november for beijing reliance commercial land , a real estate company that had contacted him through behance , a website where artists post their portfolios . mr. latiolais said the company had asked only for a statue to commemorate the year of the rooster and did not mention mr. trump . mr. latiolais , 30 , declined to comment on why he had given the rooster features . but he said he had been surprised by the size of the final product , which is made of fiberglass . “ this was way more yuge than i expected , ” he wrote on twitter . mr. latiolais said that he was also surprised when the statue was “ sort of bipartisanly looked at as funny ” by his friends and family — including his parents , who voted for mr. trump . it was not the first time since the american presidential election that people in china had likened mr. trump to a bird with notable hair . in november , photos by a chinese journalist of a golden pheasant with a blond pompadour and a red body circulated widely on social media and were published online by people ’s daily , the communist party ’s main newspaper . the bird , which lives in a safari park in the eastern city of hangzhou , became a star attraction there and a muse for hsiaohan chen , a political cartoonist in taipei . mr. trump has a penchant for lashing out at his critics , however minor , on twitter . but as of thursday afternoon , he had not commented on either bird .
+1 hillary steals the presidency while atlas shrugs admin financial markets , gold , market manipulation , u.s. economy banana republic , clinton foundation , hillary emails , podesta emails , the rapture admin must have been some kind of time / space warp while we slept last night … today obama says if illegals vote they become a citizen and the ny post headline is the filipino maid who printed hillary ’s classified emails then comey bails on 650,000 damning emails . f#%k me dave , i feel like i ’m on lsd . – email from a reader about 12 years ago i was chatting with the friend who dragged me feet - first into the “ dark side ” and the world of precious metals in 2001 . we were discussing eastman kodak ’s likely demise a few years before the company went into the tank . we knew a 2008-type event was going to happen at some point . at the time , we said that eventually we would see events occur in this country that would blow our minds . mind you , this was a couple years after enron , 9/11 ( which we knew was a government false - flag operation ) , bernie madoff and the u.s.’ illegal invasion based on admitted ( eventually ) lies propagated by colin powell . i have to say , the way in which hillary clinton ’s criminal organization has gained complete control over the political and justice system and the media in this country is truly mind - blowing . hillary is a criminally insane sociopath . that point is unequivocally inarguable . but the true devil in her organization is john podesta , who ’s persona has been made available to anyone willing to spend time reading just a portion of the “ podesta ” emails given to us by wikileaks . there are 691,200 seconds in 8 days . fbi director comey reviewed 650,000 emails in 8 days ? an email per second ? americans are n’t stupid ! – tweet from bernard kerik , ex - nypd commissioner if anyone knows about corrupt organizations , it ’s an nypd commissioner – the nypd being one of the most internally corrupt law enforcement organizations around . it ’s great when ex - insiders blow the whistle on others when the agenda of those others do not fit that of the ex - insider ’s “ team . ” the manner in which jim comey has folded is beyond stunning . i ’m not sure there ’s anyone who cares about this matter who believes that comey was able to parse through over 650,000 emails in 8 days in order to determine that hillary did not commit “ intent ” in her email escapades . hillary ’s email trail made available to the public is a fascinating trail of criminality . i doubt james patterson , john grisham and robert ludlum could combine resources and make up a crime tale as intriguing as hillary ’s . the evidence piling up against hillary is breathtaking . according to the recently released podesta emails , the clinton foundation has been used for everything except funding charitable causes , including paying for chelsea ’s wedding and funding chelsea ’s husband ’s failed hedge fund . if i were not able to laugh at this insanity , i ’d be suicidal … i think most americans who are being honest with themselves are fully aware of the fact that hillary clinton is likely the most corrupt politician in u.s. history . if anything , the election of hillary clinton is a symptom that the end is near for the united states . i am convinced that we are at a pivotal moment in american history , and if the american people willingly choose hillary clinton it will be an indication that there is zero hope for the future of this nation . the above quote is an excerpt from a must - read essay written by michael snyder : i just lost all faith in our deeply corrupt legal system … i urge everyone to read snyder ’s commentary .
+1 queen claims 70 years of prince philip is perfect preparation for donald trump nan monday 21 november 2016 by pete redfern queen claims 70 years of prince philip is perfect preparation for donald trump with tradition dictating that the british monarch should be amongst the first to meet a newly elected president , the queen has assured everyone she knows exactly how to deal with men like that . an unnamed source close to the royal family told reporters “ she ’s basically been living with a trump - like character for decades , so she knows the level of bloke she ’s dealing with . “ by all accounts both the duke of edinburgh and donald trump have the same insatiable sexual appetite – you can only imagine how philip suggested they celebrate their 69th anniversary . hopeless . “ and then there ’s the racism . she will probably attempt to discuss important matters such as the economy and international relations with trump , but she just knows he ’ll lower the tone of the conversation with racial stereotypes and outdated misogynistic views . “ you know , like the ones she hears day in , day out from her husband . ” it is believed that the queen will brace herself with a few gin and tonics before meeting trump , in the hope that the effect of the alcohol will be to take her mind off the depressing thought that the strangely coiffed reality tv star could be the last president she knows . her source also added , “ some people have expressed concern about the queen having a private meeting with a self - confessed sexual predator , but they need not have any worries . “ she can handle herself – philip has been trying to grab her by the pussy without success since the 1970s . ” get the best newsthump stories in your mailbox every friday , for free ! there are currently
+0 iran announces opening of underground missile factory for ’forceful’ development - breitbart john hayward iran announced on thursday that another underground missile production facility is up and running , as it vowed to continue developing missile technology despite warnings from the united states and united nations . [ “ iran ’s third underground factory has been built by the guards in recent years … we will continue to further develop our missile capabilities forcefully , ” said iranian air forces commander amirali hajizadeh , as quoted by the uk daily mail . “ it is natural that our enemies america and the zionist regime are angry with our missile programme because they want iran to be in a weak position , ” hajizadeh added , referring to the united states and israel . reuters notes hajizadeh stated the new facility would be iran ’s third underground missile factory . he said it was constructed over the course of “ recent years , ” but evidently did not specify exactly when it began producing weapons . “ along with improving our defense capabilities , we will continue our missile tests and missile production . the next missile to be produced is a missile , ” the iranian commander said . the new missile series will be named “ dezful , ” after the site of the largest tank battle in the war . according to hajizadeh , the name is meant to convey iran ’s commitment to avoiding ground wars by achieving missile superiority over its regional rivals . iran ’s mehr news agency quotes hajizadeh boasting of iran ’s in missile production , and also its advances in drone technology and electronic warfare . “ we will never forget the united states supported saddam ’s baath regime in its war against iran , shot down our passenger flight , backed mko , created isil and fueled war in syria , iraq and yemen , ” he declared . the passenger flight he referred to was iran air flight 655 , shot down by a u. s. navy missile cruiser in 1988 . “ mko ” is the khalq organization , an insurgent organization opposed to the government of iran . a 2015 broadcast on iranian television showed a network of tunnels with “ missiles on the back of trucks , ” which was supposedly one of hundreds of underground bases supplied by iran ’s missile factories . sky news notes the announcement of this new missile factory came only days after the white house called upon newly iranian president hassan rouhani to end iran ’s ballistic missile program .
+1 soneg el mundo today 2×09 : ¿ eres demasiado amable ? redacción © el mundo today más historias calvin y klein se separan obligando a miles de personas a partir en dos sus calzoncillos el mundo today radio este sitio web utiliza cookies para analizar cómo es utilizado el sitio . las cookies no te pueden identificar . si continuas navegando supone la aceptación de la política de cookies . estoy de acuerdo . más info .
+1 thepoet " a no brainer "
+0 how trump ’s rush to enact an immigration ban unleashed global chaos - the new york times michael d. shear and ron nixon washington — as president trump signed a sweeping executive order on friday , shutting the borders to refugees and others from seven largely muslim countries , the secretary of homeland security was on a white house conference call getting his first full briefing on the global shift in policy . gen. john f. kelly , the secretary of homeland security , had dialed in from a coast guard plane as he headed back to washington from miami . along with other top officials , he needed guidance from the white house , which had not asked his department for a legal review of the order . halfway into the briefing , someone on the call looked up at a television in his office . “ the president is signing the executive order that we ’re discussing , ” the official said , stunned . the global confusion that has since erupted is the story of a white house that rushed to enact , with little regard for basic governing , a core campaign promise that mr. trump made to his most fervent supporters . in his first week in office , mr. trump signed other executive actions with little or no legal review , but his order barring refugees has had the most explosive implications . passengers were barred from flights to the united states , customs and border control officials got instructions at 3 a. m. saturday and some arrived at their posts later that morning still not knowing how to carry out the president ’s orders . “ the details of it were not thought through , ” said stephen heifetz , who served in the justice and homeland security departments , as well as the c. i. a. under the previous three presidents . “ it is not surprising there was mass confusion , and i expect the confusion and chaos will continue for some time . ” stephen k. bannon , the chief white house strategist , oversaw the writing of the order , which was done by a small white house team , including stephen miller , mr. trump ’s policy chief . but it was first imagined more than a year ago , when mr. trump , then a candidate for the republican nomination , reacted to terrorist attacks in san bernardino , calif. by calling for a “ total and complete shutdown of muslims entering the united states . ” in the months that followed , mr. trump ’s campaign tried to back away from the proposal , which was seen by democrats as campaign rhetoric that would never be reality . mr. trump offered few details as the campaign progressed , and as he promised to protect the country from terrorists with only vague promises of “ extreme vetting . ” but mr. bannon , who believes in highly restrictive immigration policies and saw barring refugees as vital to shoring up mr. trump ’s political base , was determined to make it happen . he and a small group made up of the president ’s closest advisers began working on the order during the transition so that mr. trump could sign it soon after taking office . a senior administration official said that the order was drafted in cooperation with some immigration experts on capitol hill and members of the “ beachhead teams ” — small groups of political appointees sent by the new white house to be liaisons and begin work at the agencies . james jay carafano , a vice president of the conservative heritage foundation and a member of mr. trump ’s transition team , said that little of that work was shared with career officials at the homeland security department , the state department or other agencies . there was “ a firewall between the old administration and the incoming one , ” mr. carafano said . one reason , he said , is that when the trump transition team asked pointed questions suggesting new policies to the career officials , those questions were swiftly leaked to the news media , generating negative stories . so the trump team began to limit the information they discussed with officials from the previous administration . “ why share it with them ? ” mr. carafano said . r. gil kerlikowske , who served as commissioner of customs and border protection under former president barack obama , said that his staff had little communication with mr. trump ’s transition team , who made no mention of a bar on entry for people from certain countries . white house officials in the meantime insisted to reporters at a briefing that mr. trump ’s advisers had been in contact with officials at the state and homeland security departments for “ many weeks . ” one official added , “ everyone who needed to know was informed . ” but that apparently did not include members of the president ’s own cabinet . jim mattis , the new secretary of defense , did not see a final version of the order until friday morning , only hours before mr. trump arrived to sign it at the pentagon . mr. mattis , according to administration officials familiar with the deliberations , was not consulted by the white house during the preparation of the order and was not given an opportunity to provide input while the order was being drafted . last summer , mr. mattis sharply criticized mr. trump ’s proposed ban on muslim immigration as a move that was “ causing us great damage right now , and it ’s sending shock waves through the international system . ” customs and border protection officers were also caught unaware . they contacted several airlines late friday that were likely to be carrying passengers from the seven countries and “ instructed the airlines to offload any passport holders from those countries , ” said a state government official who has been briefed on the agency ’s actions . it was not until 3 a. m. on saturday that customs and border officials received limited written instructions about what to do at airports and border crossings . they also struggled with how to exercise the waiver authority that was included in the executive order , which allowed the homeland security secretary to let some individuals under the ban enter the country case by case . one customs officer , who declined to be quoted by name , said he was given a limited briefing about what to do as he went to his post on saturday morning , but even managers seemed unclear . people at the agency were blindsided , he said , and are still trying to figure things out , even as people are being stopped from coming into the united states . “ if the secretary does n’t know anything , how could we possibly know anything at this level ? ” the officer said , referring to mr. kelly . at the citizenship and immigration service , staff members were told that the agency should stop work on any application filed by a person from any of the countries listed in the ban . employees were told that applicants should be interviewed , but that their cases for citizenship , green cards or other immigration documents should be put on pause , pending further guidance . the timing of the executive order and the lack of advance warning had homeland security officials “ flying by the seat of their pants , ” to try to put policies in place , one official said . by saturday , as the order stranded travelers around the world and its full impact became clear , reince priebus , the chief of staff , became increasingly upset about how the program had been rolled out and communicated to the public . by sunday morning , mr. priebus had to defend the immigration ban on nbc ’s “ meet the press , ” where he insisted that the executive order was rolled out smoothly . he also backpedaled on the policy and said that the executive order ’s restrictions on entry to the united states would not apply to legal permanent residents “ going forward . ” as white house officials also insisted on sunday that the order had gone through the usual process of scrutiny and approval by the office of legal counsel , the continuing confusion forced mr. kelly to clarify the waiver situation . he issued a statement making clear that lawful permanent residents — those who hold valid green cards — would be granted a waiver to enter the united states unless information suggested that they were a security threat . but senior white house officials insisted on sunday night that the executive order would remain in force despite the change , and that they were proud of taking actions that they said would help protect americans against threats from potential terrorists . that assertion is likely to do little to calm the public furor , which showed no signs of waning at the beginning of mr. trump ’s second full week in the oval office . mr. carafano said he believed that the substance of mr. trump ’s executive order was neither radical nor unreasonable . but he said that mr. trump ’s team could have delayed signing the order until they had better prepared the bureaucracy to carry it out . he also said the president and his team had not done a good job of communicating to the public the purpose of the executive order . “ if there is a criticism of the administration , and i think there is , i think they have done a rotten job of telling their story , ” he said . “ it is not like they did not know they were going to do this . to not have a cadre of people out there defending the administration — i mean , really guys , they should have done this . ”
+1 the u.s. revolution is underway - hillary clinton 's coup has been stopped nan the u.s. revolution is underway - hillary clinton 's coup has been stopped # omega_archive 3 steve pieczenik , served with several u.s. administrations as a psychological profiler and in evaluations of federal officials for the us government . he describes the coup and ' soft ' counter coup , which have just taken place within the united states federal government . several agencies , including the fbi and new york city police , participated . pieczenik may be best known to the public , as a real - life basis for the " jack ryan " character in the famous and eerily prophetic tom clancy military action movies . the films released today ( including this one ) , are the first public appearance pieczenik has made in decades - though his narratives of behind - the - scenes events in government have been heard by millions . tags
+0 obama oversees year of mass regulation , record 97,000 pages of red tape - breitbart ben kew president barack obama ’s administration has added record levels of new regulation in the year 2016 , with 18 regulations added for every new law , according to a new analysis by the competitive enterprise institute . [ whilst congress passed 211 laws over the course of the year , they had an accompanying 3 , 852 new federal regulations , costing billions of dollars in both implementation and losses to businesses . this was 443 more regulations than 2015 . there was also a record number of pages of red tape , with 97 , 110 pages printed on the 2016 federal register . however the level of regulation per new law passed is still down considerably compared to 2013 , when the obama administration introduced 3659 new regulations for just 72 new laws , a record 51 pieces of regulation for every new law . the record for overall new regulation is still held by george . w. bush in 2003 , who introduced 4148 new rules to improve security following the terror attacks , 21 one pieces of regulation for every law . however , the report states that “ the multiple [ of number of regulations per law passed ] did tend to be higher during obama administration . bush ’s eight years averaged 20 , while obama ’s have averaged 29 . ” “ there ’s no pattern to any of this , since the numerators and denominators can vary widely there had been 114 laws in 2015 , and a multiple of 39 . the multiple can be higher with fewer laws , or with more regulations , holding the other constant . the point is that agencies do the bulk of lawmaking , no matter the party in power , ” the report continued . throughout the election campaign , donald trump promised to cut taxation as well as much federal regulation that has risen under obama . a report from the american action forum found that will save the financial services industry at least $ 1 . 7 billion per year . you can follow ben kew on facebook , on twitter at @ben_kew , or email him at bkew@breitbart . com
+0 ‘ brexit’ briefing : boris johnson is n’t running jeremy corbyn seeks labour revolution - the new york times prashant s. rao london — the conservative party ( and by extension , britain itself ) is moving a step closer to a new leader . members of the opposition labour party are wondering if their leader , jeremy corbyn , will save them or plunge the party into irrelevancy . here ’s what ’s happening in today ’s brexit news : • among the conservatives , boris johnson , the former mayor of london , has decided not to run to replace david cameron as party leader ( and therefore prime minister ) . that leaves the favorite as home secretary theresa may , but michael gove , the justice secretary , has also thrown his hat in the ring . a leaked email showed mr. gove ’s wife to be no fan of mr. johnson , and both candidates criticized him while announcing their candidacy . plenty of others plan to run as well . • on the opposition side , labour is not happy with its leader , jeremy corbyn , who appears more concerned with remaking the party into a revolutionary socialist movement than achieving power . members of parliament , including mr. corbyn ’s predecessor as party leader , want him to resign . he has refused . the party is also awaiting the release of an internal investigation into claims of . • where could it all lead ? steven erlanger , the london bureau chief for the new york times , says there could be an early general election in britain . • the bank of england may be forced to cut a key interest rate this summer as it grapples with economic uncertainty created by brexit , mark carney , the central bank ’s governor , said on thursday . “ it now seems plausible that uncertainty could remain elevated for some time , with a greater drag on activity than we had previously projected , ” mr. carney said . he added that , in his view , “ the economic outlook has deteriorated and some monetary policy easing will likely be required over the summer , ” though he was careful to say he was not prescribing what other members of the bank ’s monetary policy committee would eventually decide . “ the charge that central banks are out of monetary ammunition is wrong , but the widespread absence of global price pressures demands that our firepower be well aimed , ” he said . • a new runway at heathrow airport in london wo n’t be decided on until a new prime minister is in place , the bbc reports . the financial times has published a “ business tracker ” on how companies are responding to the vote . • a series of tweets by the economist intelligence unit outlines the negative possibilities for the british economy . • in the markets , the pound was mostly flat in morning trading in london . british stocks , which had fallen sharply after the referendum result on friday morning , closed above their levels on wednesday . the same goes for share prices in continental europe . • internet search patterns indicate many people are still looking up what “ brexit ” is and what it means to leave the european union . plenty is still unknown , but we have an article that explains the basics . • tony blair ’s former chief of staff wrote in the guardian that britain ’s withdrawal can still be reversed , but that it will take courage . an academic wrote on medium that most english and welsh lawmakers would have to go against the wishes of their constituents . • is the european union “ democratic ” ? campaigners who sought to leave the bloc said it was not , but my colleague amanda taub argues it is — it just does n’t feel that way . philip stephens , looking at another european country that had an portmanteau , worries in the financial times that britain is behaving more like greece . • could britain ’s influence in hong kong wane ? the guardian ’s beijing correspondent asks if britain ’s fledgling “ golden relationship ” with china could be in jeopardy . and in china , a censorship notice has told editors not to “ hype the story , speculate or comment ” on the exit . there will be plenty more to come throughout the day .
+1 css-10/30-doug hagmann- bob griswold , mike adams dave hodges dave hodges the â css will feature 3 great guests this sunday night . hour 1 – doug hagmann and new information on world war iii and election fraud hour 2 – bob griswold- what preparations should one take to survive what ’s coming ? hour 3 – mike adams -no matter who wins the election , there will be blood in the streets . with all that is happening , you do not want to miss the common sense show ? special announcement : the common sense show app is available . you can access archives , live broadcast and the website at one location on your mobile and tablet . to access , go to the google play store on your mobile device and search for “ the common sense show ” click this image on the right side of thecommonseonsesneshow.com to sign up for the android app the common sense show app features a wide variety of important topics that range from the loss of constitutional liberties , to the subsequent implementation of a police state under world governance , to exploring the limits of human potential . the primary purpose of the common sense show is to provide americans with the tools necessary to reclaim both our individual and national sovereignty . now , you can listen to css on your phone listen to our live satellite feed http://www.gsradio.net/shows/commonsenseshow/ 2 . to listen by phone : â 405 - 475 - 4087 3 . listen on your local station that already carries the common sense show 4 . our archives are housed on our youtube channel . the common sense show “freeing america one enslaved mind at a time!” âš 2016 copyright dave hodges †“ the common sense show . all rights reserved . no article , or radio show archive may be reproduced , republished or redistributed in any form without the express permission of dave hodges and/or dh communications . p lease donate to the common sense show please subscribe to our youtube channel and don†™ t forget to “like” us this is the absolute best in food storage . dave hodges is a satisfied customer . â listeners to the common sense show will receive 5 % off their next order by mentioning “ labor ” in the coupon code box . â don†™ t wait until it is too late . â click here â â for more information . welcome to the home of life change tea ! super tea this special formula helps support people with problems such as digestion , nausea and constipation . helps support healthy cholesterol levels as well as normal blood pressure . helps clean out nicotine and second hand smoke and keeps the liver , lungs and colon healthy . this tea helps detoxify chemicals caused by parasites , bacteria , and toxins from the entire digestive system . weight loss can be a side effect . this is a life - changing product . people have been feeling poorly for too long . it†™ s time to feel better . with continued use of the tea you can experience clearer , healthier , younger - looking skin , increased energy , and a happier outlook on life . this movie reveals the greatest threats to the american people- if the movie did not make it to your neighborhood , you can order your copy of the dvd . order your copy by clicking here . â the sane alternative to facebook seen . life - the facebook alternative- no censorship , no spying†“ sign up here
+1 comment on what aloe vera does in your body : why egyptians called it the plant of immortality by what aloe vera does in your body : why egyptians called it the plant of immortality | my blog what aloe vera does in your body : why egyptians called it the plant of immortality | my blog share on facebook share on twitter known to the egyptians as the plant of immortality and to native americans as the wand of heaven , aloe vera comes with a wide array of amazing healing properties — some of which you may already be aware . you might even have your own aloe vera plant in your home for those small emergencies like scrapes , cuts , and burns , but did you know that aloe vera is not only limited to topical use and is actually even more beneficial to your body when taken internally ? aloe vera contains over 200 biologically active , naturally occurring constituents which include polysaccharides , vitamins , enzymes , amino acids , and minerals that promote nutrient absorption . according to the journal of environmental science and health , aloe vera also possesses anti - bacterial , anti - viral , and anti - fungal properties that assist the immune system in cleansing the body of toxins and invading pathogens . but that is n’t all aloe vera juice /gel has to offer.[1 ] minerals aloe vera has loads of minerals including calcium , magnesium , zinc , chromium , selenium , sodium , iron , potassium , copper , and manganese . these minerals work together to boost metabolic pathways . enzymes aloe vera contains important enzymes like amylase and lipase which can aid in digestion by breaking down fat and sugar molecules . one molecule in particular , bradykinase , helps to reduce inflammation . vitamins one study showed that aloe vera actually contains vitamin b12 , which is required for the production of red blood cells . that would be great news for vegetarians and vegans in particular , who often do not get adequate amounts of b12 through their regular diet . keep in mind however , that was just one instance and you should n’t rely on aloe alone for your daily requirements of b12 . other studies have shown that taking aloe can assist with the bioavailability of vitamin b12 , meaning the body can more easily to absorb and utilize it which can prevent deficiency . aloe vera is also a source of vitamins a , c , e , folic acid , choline , b1 , b2 , b3 ( niacin ) , and b6 . while it ’s tough to say whether we could rely on aloe as a source of b12 , it can be used in conjunction with a supplement to help increase uptake . amino acids aloe vera contains 20 of the 22 essential amino acids that are required by the human body . it also contains salicylic acid , which fights inflammation and bacteria . other uses for aloe aside from being an excellent body cleanser , removing toxic matter from the stomach , kidneys , spleen , bladder , liver , and colon , aloe can also offer effective relief from more immediate ailments , such as indigestion , upset stomach , ulcers , and inflammation in the gut . it also strengthens the digestive tract and alleviates joint inflammation , making it a great option for arthritis sufferers . one study found that aloe vera juice , when taken the same way as a mouthwash , was just as effective at removing plaque as the common mouthwash and its active ingredient , chlorhexidine . this is a much better alternative because it is all - natural , unlike the typical chemical - laden options found in stores . evolve your inbox & stay conscious daily inspiration and all our best content , straight to your inbox . aloe vera gel has also been found to effectively heal mouth ulcers , which are more commonly known as canker sores . how to take aloe ? aloe can be consumed straight from the plant , but the easiest and most palatable option is probably aloe juice , which you can find in most health food stores . you can also buy the leaves from many common grocery stores , or harvest your own , and juice them yourself . you can buy the juice and mix it into your juices and smoothies or just drink it straight up . make sure you are buying pure aloe juice / gel which is either of the whole leaf or just the inner filet . it does have a somewhat bitter taste though , so you may want to include other things . on the bottle you can find specific dosing instructions , but it would be wise to talk to a natural health expert or do some research into the matter to find instructions on specific dosing . much love learn more about the amazing benefits of aloe vera or purchase some for your self , please click here . source :
+1 bombshell audio : hillary clinton herself recorded calling for rigging election k. campbell huckabee responds to flag - burning trump hater … “what ’s happened to this country ? ” “ i do not think we should have pushed for an election in the palestinian territories . i think that was a big mistake , ” clinton told editor eli chomsky . “ and if we were going to push for an election , ” she added , “ then we should have made sure that we did something to determine who was going to win . ” the election resulted in a resounding victory for hamas over the u.s .- preferred fatah — something clinton , apparently , thought could have been avoided if we had somehow influenced the outcome ( aka : “ rigged ” the election ) . advertisement - story continues below listen to the audio here : chomsky said he recalled being taken aback that “ anyone could support the idea — offered by a national political leader , no less — that the u.s. should be in the business of fixing foreign elections , ” according to the observer . but for conservatives who have been warning against clinton for years , it comes as little surprise that she would want to use her political power to influence the outcome of an election inappropriately . advertisement - story continues below
+1 leaked : podesta 's satanic " spirit cooking " dinner . distrubing stuff beyond belief ! nan leaked : podesta 's satanic " spirit cooking " dinner . distrubing stuff beyond belief ! please scroll down for video this is disturbing ! make sure you watch the video at the end of the article . the following e - mail between tony podesta and marina abramovic can be found in wikileaks latest leaks . marina abramovic first sends tony the following email : from : marina abramovic > date : june 28 , 2015 at 2:35:08 am gmt+2 to : tony podesta subject : dinner dear tony , i am so looking forward to the spirit cooking dinner at my place . do you think you will be able to let me know if your brother is joining ? all my love , marina the email is then forwarded by tony to john podesta . fwd : dinner are you in nyc thursday july 9 marina wants you to come to dinner ... mary ? sent from my iphone from : https://wikileaks.org/podesta-emails/emailid/15893 mary is mary podesta , john podesta ’s wife . the e - mail is about an invitation of podesta to a " spirit cooking " dinner that 's happening at tony 's house . strange book by marina abramovic when looking up marina abramovic it gets you her website and a graphical book she created : warning : this starts to get really weird and continues to get weirder . and now this is a video by the same woman on a so called " spirit cooking " : ( better download before it gets deleted ) yes , that is marina abramovic in the video with the blood paint . we leave the evaluation of the content of the video up to you , but we are speechless . how deep is the rabbit hole ? related articles
+0 tilikum , the killer whale featured in ‘ blackfish,’ dies - the new york times christine hauser tilikum , the captive orca who killed a trainer at seaworld in orlando , fla. in 2010 and later became the subject of the documentary “ blackfish , ” died on friday . the whale had been suffering from a persistent infection from a bacteria found in wild habitats and natural settings , but the exact cause of death will be determined by a necropsy , seaworld parks entertainment said in a statement . the orca , a male estimated to be about 36 years old , had been kept by the organization for 25 years . “ while today is a difficult day for the seaworld family , it ’s important to remember that tilikum lived a long and enriching life while at seaworld and inspired millions of people to care about this amazing species , ” the statement said . “ tilikum had , and will continue to have , a special place in the hearts of the seaworld family , as well as the millions of people all over the world that he inspired , ” said the president of seaworld , joel manby . tilikum ’s caretakers had said in march that the whale was afflicted with the infection that was likely to lead to his death . the whale was at the center of an orca breeding program that seaworld ended last year . the company also ended its killer whale performances in san diego , where state lawmakers had brought intense pressure on the company after the documentary ’s release . with the death of tilikum , seaworld now holds 22 orcas at its three facilities in orlando , san antonio and san diego . seaworld also noted that tilikum was “ inextricably connected ” with the death of his trainer , dawn brancheau , in 2010 . “ while we all experienced profound sadness about that loss , we continued to offer tilikum the best care possible , each and every day , from the country ’s leading experts in marine mammals , ” the seaworld statement said . tilikum bit down on the ponytail of ms. brancheau , his trainer , before dragging her underwater and killing her . after her death , seaworld conducted an extensive review that resulted in trainers further isolating themselves from the animals for safety . in 2013 , the documentary “ blackfish ” examined ms. brancheau ’s death by looking at the mental state of whales that are taken from their pods in the wild and raised at marine parks . but seaworld pushed back against the film ’s claims that the whales in captivity suffer physical and mental distress because of confinement . tilikum has also been connected with the deaths of two other people : keltie byrne , a student and trainer who slipped into a pool containing tilikum and two other orcas in 1991 , and daniel p. dukes , a man who slipped into seaworld after hours in 1999 . mr. dukes was found dead , draped over tilikum ’s back . tilikum came to seaworld in 1991 from sealand of the pacific in canada , and the organization said it had not collected a whale from the wild in nearly 40 years .
+1 why china and the u.s. are opposed to each other rowan wolf [ photo : jorge lascar ’s photo of the great wall of china ] = by= vasily kashin editor 's note the relationship between china and the united states has a very long history . regardless of whatever might that the u.s. has had at a given point , the sheer power to accomplish the amazing can not be denied – starting with the most incredible “ border fence ” of all time , the great wall of china . china has been seen as a provider of labor for centuries , from imported labor to build yet another great project , this one in the us , the transcontinental railroad , to an in situ labor force for the world . china was feared because of the number of soldiers they could use to flood and control the us , to a subservient labor force , and now as a head to head competitor for dominance of the world . u.s.- chinese relations are “ the most important bilateral relations in the 21st century , ” as chinese politicians and scholars like to emphasize . gradually , they have become a central , if not the main , narrative in world politics . various things , ranging from russia ’s foreign policy to the situation in regions that are distant from asia , depend on the future vector of these relations . now , however , relations between china and the united states are going through hard times , prompting the question : how far will their disagreements go ? in answering this question , it is worth recalling why the u.s. and china began to cooperate years ago , what objectives they pursued , and what results they have achieved . fighting communism p rerequisites for cooperation between the communist party of china ( cpc ) and the united states emerged even before the cpc took power in china in 1949 . there is information that chinese communist leader mao zedong sought to establish cooperation , even though limited , with the united states when he was still at his “ revolutionary base ” in yan’an . during world war ii , chinese communists had regular contacts with u.s. political and military officials in china . in 1944 , the u.s. established the army observation group , commonly known as the dixie mission , in yan’an . such an approach to the united states was natural for the chinese communist party , regardless of how radical its doctrines were at that time . mao was , above all , a chinese nationalist who saw communism as a way to restore the greatness of his country . his dependence on the soviet union irked him ( and he shook off this dependence as soon as he could ) . this is why his desire to conduct a multivector policy was logical and inevitable . many experienced american sinologists , both military and civilian , reasonably spoke of certain prospects for cooperation with chinese communists already at that time . the regime established by the president of the republic of china , chiang kai - shek , was weak , corrupt and inefficient . its stability was in doubt , and it systematically misused american economic and military aid . at the same time , u.s. experts were well aware of mao ’s desire to get out of moscow ’s shadow . a group of renowned state department officers , known as china hands , praised merits of chinese communists , their effective organization , discipline and non - corruptness , as well as their willingness to make bargains with the united states . their point of view was supported by some prominent military leaders in the u.s. , including general joseph stilwell . but they were opposed by a group of anti - communist dogmatists led by patrick hurley , u.s. ambassador to china in the last years of world war ii , who completely fell under the influence of the chinese president ’s family . one would think that after the communist victory on the mainland in 1949 and the expulsion of kuomintang supporters to taiwan , a choice in favor of cooperation with mao was obvious . but that did not happen . after the communist victory in china , the u.s. government made no sober analysis of the new situation . the united states was seized by panic , which fueled mccarthyism . this panic blended well with effective lobbying efforts by chiang kai - shek and his wife soong mei - ling , who assigned a key role to contacts with conservative religious groups in the u.s. ( both were methodists ) . the result was a sweeping personnel purge , paradoxical for a developed democratic country , which involved security agencies , and the establishment of an atmosphere of suspicion and self - censorship in the field of foreign policy . the china hands and scholars , intelligence officers and journalists who were close to the group became targets of harassment . sometimes , even their forecasts that had become true were used as grounds for accusation . for example , john davies , a political attaché to stilwell and one of the organizers of the dixie mission , predicted that communists would win in the chinese civil war . he was accused of sympathizing with them and fired from the state department . after the dismissal , davies went to peru where he ran a furniture business . even interference by the judicial authorities was not enough to remedy the situation and protect victims of the ideological campaign . another prominent diplomat and sinologist , john service , who met with mao in yan’an , was fired from the state department but was later reinstated by the supreme court . yet he was assigned to head the u.s. consulate in liverpool without holding a diplomatic rank . developments in washington ’s china policy in the 1950s , influenced by the so - called “ china lobby ” formed by chiang kai - shek , shaped sino - american relations until the end of the 1960s . the u.s. policy in the far east was dogmatized and privatized by a small group of professional ideologists and lobbyists . chiang successfully sold americans a myth about a “ communist threat ” until the 1970s , and many people in the united states were interested in buying it . expressing alternative points of view was dangerous . those times have a strong association with modern russian - american relations . the u.s. and its allies paid a high price for this policy — they paid with their political interests , territories , economic losses and thousands of lives . china , which turned into an implacable enemy of the western world , fought against un forces in korea and played an important role in france ’s defeat in indochina and , later , in the u.s. defeat in vietnam . even the obvious breakup in sino - soviet relations in 1960 did not lead to immediate changes in the u.s. position . only the disappointing course of the cold war and the bogging down in the vietnam trap made the united states seek a dialogue with beijing in the late 1960s . the long - overdue and forced moves by richard nixon and henry kissinger , which resolutely cancelled out the previous 20 years of america ’s east asia policy , brought about a major , albeit belated , victory for the u.s. in the cold war . a rapprochement against russia china ’s becoming a u.s. partner in the anti - soviet coalition was the worst foreign - policy disaster for moscow over the entire period of its global rivalry with the united states . the soviet union and its communist party saw their influence on many left - wing and national liberation movements in the third world waning , and faced a new active and influential opponent , which later won a seat on the un security council . moscow had to deploy a large military force of hundreds of thousands of people in the siberian and far eastern taiga and provide them with housing and infrastructure , which overstrained the soviet economy . china played a key role in arming afghan mujahideen , who fought against soviet troops , with simple and effective soviet - designed small arms and light weapons . soviet aviation in afghanistan suffered the greatest losses not from the much - touted american stinger man - portable air defense system but from dshkm heavy machine guns , manufactured in china under the soviet license . however , the years 1988 and 1989 brought about major changes that eliminated basic prerequisites for the u.s .- china partnership on the old , anti - soviet basis . the cold war was over ; soviet troops were withdrawn from afghanistan , and vietnam began to pull out its troops from cambodia ; and the soviet union and china finally normalized their relations during mikhail gorbachev ’s visit to beijing in 1989 . at the same time , the suppression of the protests in tiananmen square by the chinese leadership clearly demonstrated that the chinese communists did not intend to follow in the footsteps of their soviet and eastern european colleagues and launch democratic reforms . sino - u.s. relations entered a period of crisis . after the 1989 crackdown , the west imposed economic and technological sanctions on china , some of which ( for example , the arms embargo ) have not been lifted by the u.s. and its allies to this day . some congress members called for a full revision of relations with beijing or , at least , for their linkage to human rights in china . in 1993 , president clinton signed an order to extend most - favored nation trade privileges to china but tied it to progress on human rights issues . however , the order was never fulfilled . the two countries preserved and developed their mutual relations on the basis of two major factors — economic and ideological . by 1990 , their mutual trade had reached $ 20 billion and had been growing by tens of percentage points a year . foreign direct investment in china stood at $ 6.6 billion a year . obviously , international companies saw china as a promising huge market and an advantageous area for production location . the chinese government gave serious consideration to the influence of u.s. businesses on politics and paid special attention to ties with business circles . if necessary , it made large - scale one - time purchases of u.s. products , such as civilian aircraft , executive cars , or industrial equipment . by the time the soviet union broke up , there were many active and interested supporters of cooperation with china in the united states , who expressed their opinions to congress and the president . anticipating regeneration from an ideological point of view , after the collapse of the soviet bloc , authoritarian communist regimes ceased to be perceived as serious opponents . the transformation and , later , complete regeneration or fall of these regimes and their transition to liberal democracy was believed to be predetermined . back in the 1980s , the chinese reforms evoked widespread hope in the u.s. that the communist system in china would gradually disintegrate and that even at that moment it was on the verge of collapse and rebirth ( president ronald reagan liked to refer to that country as “ so - called communist china ” ) . the events of 1989 only slightly shook this confidence but they did not undermine it . moreover , it was believed that the chinese authorities were aware of the inevitability of changes in favor of a liberal model and that they only sought to make it controllable . for ideological reasons , washington traditionally ignored clear and unambiguous wordings of chinese communist party documents about the inadmissibility of “ liberal rebirth , ” the increased control over the media and public life , changes in the defense policy and other “ inconvenient facts . ” president bill clinton wrote in his book my life in 1998 about his chinese counterpart : “ the more time i spent with jiang , the more i liked him . [ … ] even though i did n’t always agree with him , i became convinced that he believed he was changing china as fast as he could , and in the right direction . ” the spread of the internet in the 1990s was accompanied by over - inflated , romantic expectations and this strengthened the illusion of an inevitable and imminent rebirth of the chinese regime . it was believed that the chinese communist party ’s power was incompatible with the free movement of information in the global network . mainstream views on an inevitable regeneration of the chinese state were set out , for example , in clinton ’s speech in congress in march 2000 , in which he advocated granting china permanent normal trade relations status . “ in the new century , liberty will spread by cell phone and cable modem , ” the u.s. president said . “ in the past year , the number of internet addresses in china has more than quadrupled from 2 million to 9 million . [ … ] now , there ’s no question china has been trying to crack down on the internet — good luck . that ’s sort of like trying to nail jello to the wall . [ … ] in the knowledge economy , economic innovation and political empowerment , whether anyone likes it or not , will inevitably go hand in hand . ” today , it is an established fact that the chinese government has created an effective system of control over the internet and , moreover , it successfully uses new information technologies in its own interests . clinton in 2000 mentioned a cell phone as one of the instruments of liberalization . in 2015 , the xinhua news agency published an interesting article saying that the political work department of the chinese people ’s liberation army began to download special applications to chinese soldiers’ smartphones with ideological materials — texts by mao and classics of marxism - leninism and tests . china is one of the strongest powers in the world in computer espionage , computer security and the use of the internet for resolving political tasks . new technologies have not undermined the system ; rather , they have strengthened it and expanded capabilities for propaganda and control . the united states has never , not for a single moment , been ready to put up with the existence of china the way it is , with its one - party political system led by the cpc . from the late 1960s and until the first achievements of deng xiaoping ’s reforms , washington ’s china policy was based on the need to restore balance with the soviet union at all costs after a series of major setbacks . later , especially after the collapse of communism in europe , this policy was based on a holistic dogmatic worldview , which prevailed in the u.s. and which suggested that the chinese regime was to undergo ( or already was undergoing ) a transformation and establish a liberal capitalist order — simply as an inevitable consequence of its economic development and modernization . until this transformation was over , it was planned to contain china in areas where its actions would interfere with u.s. interests . it was believed that this containment would not take too much effort , as china would become transformed long before it could pose a serious problem . china ’s efforts to restore and build up its military power came under close scrutiny since the second half of the 1990s . in 2000 , u.s. congress asked the pentagon to provide annual reports on china ’s military power . yet , until the late 2000s , the west was largely derisive about china ’s military buildup efforts . it thought china was incapable of creating a high - tech industry and powerful armed forces within a reasonable time . also , the west underestimated the future rate of china ’s economic expansion to africa , latin america and the middle east , the growth of china ’s political influence , and the enlargement of the area of its interests . the chinese leadership was well aware of this situation and supported washington ’s illusions in every way . beijing had different political rhetoric for domestic and foreign consumption . the country strictly abided by deng xiaoping ’s temporarily passive foreign policy ( “ conceal your true potential ” ) and kept a low profile in world affairs . liberal economists and political analysts that advocated cautious reforms and cooperation with the west were favored by the government . beijing redoubled efforts to build a network of ties with major american businesses and politicians . sometimes these efforts were ridiculous . according to testimony given by clinton ’s election campaign fundraiser johnny chung and published in the late 1990s , general ji shengde , the head of china ’s military intelligence , met with chung in macau in august 1996 and provided him with $ 300,000 for clinton ’s re - election campaign . naturally , china did undergo a major social and political transformation , but over time the vector of this transformation began to veer off from the american expectations . the chinese transformation has nothing to do with what was happening in eastern europe in the late 1980s-1990s . rather , it is similar to what happened in western europe in the 19th century , or in russia and japan in the late 19th / mid-20th century . the industrialization and economic breakthrough inevitably led to a generation gap , changes in the age - old way of life and family values , economic inequality , and radicalism . gradually , internal conflicts came to a head , and society felt the need for a “ strong hand . ” these tendencies were coupled with euphoria over the country ’s economic and industrial progress , the rise of nationalism , the feeling of exceptionalism , and interest in one ’s roots . one can definitely speak of a symbiosis of the state bureaucracy and big business , which needs to move into international markets , severe social stratification and conflicts caused by it , and the domination of leftist and nationalist ideas in public discussions , although there is a small pro - western liberal group of “ public intellectuals , ” who do not have broad support . internal problems are coupled with a desire for national revenge for the shock and humiliation experienced by the chinese nation in the period from the mid-19th century to the mid-20th century . china ’s modern ideology and culture are largely built on the comprehension and experience of this trauma . xi jinping even delivered his policy speech about “ the chinese dream , ” understood as the rejuvenation and rebirth of the chinese nation , when he visited a national museum of china exhibition devoted to china ’s recovery from the “ century of humiliation . ” the militarization of politics and the growing popularity of radical ideas is another indication that the political development of china , where more than 80 percent of the population lived in villages in 1980 , is now at a stage where major european countries and japan were 100 to 150 years ago . political reforms conducted in such conditions can and , most likely , should be accompanied by the introduction of individual democratic institutions , but in terms of content they will be a far cry from those of western liberal democracies of today , just as elective institutions in present - day iran are . mankind ’s historical experience shows that a country can exist in such a state and even quickly develop technologically for an indefinitely long time , for decades , at least . european empires and the empire of japan ceased to exist not as a result of a smooth and natural regeneration but after world wars which led to the disintegration of states or foreign occupation for losing nations , or to a catastrophic overstrain for the winners . in the nuclear age , the threat of such wars has decreased . in addition , the maintenance of the nuclear shield upon its completion does not cost much ( spending on the strategic missile forces in russia is less than ten percent of the national defense budget ) . this factor allows the country to ensure its military invulnerability , while avoiding economic overstrain and pursuing a reasonable ( that is , not soviet ) defense policy . the destabilization of the ruling regime is quite possible in such circumstances , but it is hard to see how it can lead to the establishment of liberal democracy . there is information indicating that there is a great potential of discontent in chinese society , but the demand for equality and social justice , as well as nationalism , matters much more to the population than political liberties . in a hypothetical “ post - revolutionary ” china , the people ’s liberation army command , functionaries of the present cpc , and the management of state - owned companies will be much stronger than progressive professors and high - profile journalists of the business media . meanwhile , china has already become an economic superpower and a great military power . the china factor has completely changed the system of relations between suppliers and buyers of natural resources , certainly not in favor of the latter . the emergence of the new market and source of investment and technologies as an alternative to the west has instilled more confidence in the ruling regimes of developing countries that export resources and cheap labor . some countries already can be viewed as china ’s “ clients , ” for example , cambodia and laos in southeast asia . partnership with china has strengthened the position of thailand ’s military government leaders who carried out a coup in the country , condemned by the united states . china is now the world ’s third military and military - industrial power after the u.s. and russia . moreover , in some key aspects of military power , china is already ahead of russia and has incomparably greater reserves for building up its military potential . china ’s foreign policy began to change in 2013 , becoming increasingly active and offensive , especially on strategic issues that are important to china ( the south china sea ) . in 2015 , the country built its first overseas military base . deng ’s passive foreign policy is slowly receding into the past . meanwhile , prospects for china ’s “ transformation ” are becoming increasingly dim . the country ’s economic development model began to change in the late 2000s , but those changes were slow and often belated . after xi came to power , economic changes began to be accompanied by more obvious changes in the political model , which involved sweeping anti - corruption purges in the government and the army , unprecedented centralization of power , the establishment of strict control over the media and society , and policy tightening with regard to western organizations operating in the country . giving up illusions in march 2015 , the wall street journal published an article , “ the coming chinese crackup , ” by u.s. sinologist david shambaugh , which can be viewed as a landmark in the american comprehension of the situation in china . the author debunks and rejects the theory of china ’s “ transformation . ” he insists that the xi - led regime is moving in the wrong direction , in contrast to the times of jiang zemin and hu jintao , when the desired transformation did take place . shambaugh concludes that the collapse of the regime is the only possible outcome for it . “ its demise is likely to be protracted , messy and violent , ” he writes , adding that the endgame of chinese communist rule “ has progressed further than many think . ” to substantiate his conclusions , the author draws parallels with the soviet union , which seems strange considering that the soviet union and present - day china are absolute opposites in terms of culture , politics and economy . the only things they had in common were “ the absence of democracy ” and the word “ communist ” in the names of their ruling parties . anyway , the belief that china will inevitably , gradually and relatively painlessly transform into a loyal member of the u.s .- led world order has been relegated to the periphery of the discussion . the incumbent regime has been given an unambiguous assessment , and its collapse ( preferably , an early one ) has been predicted . however , no one knows when this will happen . doubts about the possibility of china ’s rapid transformation began to take root back in the late 1990s - early 2000s , but the 9/11 events temporarily shifted the focus of u.s. policy towards the middle east . china received a strategic respite , which lasted until the obama administration proclaimed a “ pivot to asia . ” some chinese analysts expected that the events in ukraine would give china another respite , but the south china sea situation has shown that they were wrong . the ukrainian situation has stabilized and left the global agenda , whereas the situation in the western pacific is attracting more and more attention . the scope of china ’s containment is broadening , while the scope of u.s .- china cooperation is gradually narrowing . of course , it is easy not to see this if one cites high volumes of u.s .- chinese trade or the great enthusiasm for american popular culture among the chinese . usually , these factors are mentioned to show that u.s .- china relations are very close and productive , while elements of rivalry in these relations are secondary . both arguments , economic and cultural , have been disproved so many times by history that it is strange that they are still in use . in the 1920s and early 1930s , japan ’s main trading partners were the united states , the british empire , china , and the dutch east indies ( indonesia)—precisely the countries that japan later attacked . japan owed its rise to its long ( until the 1920s ) economic and industrial partnership with britain ; even the japanese battleships that destroyed the russian fleet at the battle of tsushima were built in british shipyards . in contrast , germany and italy , japan ’s allies during world war ii , did not play a significant role in japan ’s trade in prewar years . the british empire and france were major trading partners of germany before both world wars . germany was the largest economic partner of russia before the first world war ; it accounted for half of russia ’s imports and was its major source of technologies and investment . the present u.s. soft power is a mere apology for the soft power of france in the 18th - early 19th century . there were times when the aristocracies of many european countries spoke french . for years , france was the only trendsetter in fashion and arts , and traces of those times can still be seen today in the russian language . as we know , this universal love of france did not save it . russian francophone aristocrats brought bashkir cavalry regiments to paris . the first world war was fought among european empires , whose ruling dynasties and leading families were connected by ties of blood . great japanese admiral isoroku yamamoto , who masterminded the attack on pearl harbor , was quite an americanophile , because he studied in the united states and worked there for many years . many educated japanese in those times were strongly influenced by english and american culture . confrontation between the two giants of the contemporary world will grow slowly , of course . conflicts among european empires before world war i grew slowly , too . the united states and china will continue to develop their mutual trade and cooperation in various fields . over a century ago , more than two decades passed from the formation of the franco - russian alliance of 1891 to an open clash among the great powers in wwi . during all those years , numerous statements kept emphasizing that a direct conflict among the great powers was impossible in “ our civilized age of trade , investment and progress . ” vassily kashin is ph.d. in political science , is a senior research fellow at the center for comprehensive european and international studies at the national research university — higher school of economics . he is also a leading research fellow at the institute of the russian far east . note to commenters due to severe hacking attacks in the recent past that brought our site down for up to 11 days with considerable loss of circulation , we exercise extreme caution in the comments we publish , as the comment box has been one of the main arteries to inject malicious code . because of that comments may not appear immediately , but rest assured that if you are a legitimate commenter your opinion will be published within 24 hours . if your comment fails to appear , and you wish to reach us directly , send us a mail at : editor@greanvillepost.com we apologize for this inconvenience . nauseated by the had enough of their lies , escapism , omissions and relentless manipulation ?
+0 silicon valley finds trump ’s disruption unwelcome - the new york times david streitfeld palo alto , calif. — donald j. trump would not be silicon valley ’s first choice as president . or its second . or maybe even its third . the presumptive republican presidential nominee wants to restrict immigration while bringing back manufacturing . he compulsively uses tech products like twitter but is not in awe of the people who built them . he made his fortune the way , by going into the family business , in the industry of real estate . he ’s not the valley ’s kind of entrepreneur . worst of all , mr. trump is revealing silicon valley ’s vulnerability . in recent years , technology companies have extended their enormous reach while becoming ever wealthier and more powerful . yet mr. trump has paid no political price for attacking them , with broadsides in recent months against jeff bezos at amazon , mark zuckerberg at facebook and timothy d. cook at apple . “ there is some surprise among tech executives — or perhaps just naïveté — that the tech mainstream is now a target , ” said garrett johnson , an entrepreneur and one of the founders of the lincoln initiative , which connects tech workers . for all these reasons , support for mr. trump here is minimal . peter thiel , the billionaire tech maverick who backed ron paul ’s presidential bid in 2008 with millions of dollars in support , is a trump delegate . mr. thiel , who was revealed last week as a secret backer of the wrestler hulk hogan ’s lawsuit against gawker media , is the candidate ’s first , and so far only , prominent enlistee in silicon valley . support for mr. trump here may deepen . brian krzanich , the chief executive of intel , was planning to hold a for mr. trump on thursday night at his atherton , calif. house that included “ a full exchange of views , ” an intel spokeswoman said on tuesday . hours later , intel said the event was canceled . it did not give an explanation . a spokeswoman for mr. trump did not return a message for comment . he is holding a rally in san jose , calif. on thursday instead . the trump campaign just opened an office in burlingame , calif. south of san francisco and on the northern fringes of silicon valley . one recent afternoon , two volunteers were running a phone bank . trump lawn signs were piled up , as were . mr. trump has no meaningful opposition in the california primary on june 7 . “ i have great respect for silicon valley and all of the people in silicon valley , ” the candidate said in an email message through an aide . silicon valley technophiles can not necessarily claim the same . in april , as mr. trump was wrapping up his quest for the nomination and beginning to look ahead to the general election , a handful of people who work in tech around the country gave a grand total of $ 5 , 395 to his campaign , according to figures that will be released thursday by crowdpac , a that tracks donations . add that paltry sum to the $ 16 , 420 that mr. trump raised since last summer from people who work in tech and it is still nowhere near enough to cover the cost of a year at stanford . hillary clinton has raised $ 2 . 7 million from tech donors since beginning her campaign , while bernie sanders has raised $ 6 million , according to new crowdpac research . mr. trump was largely his campaign . now , however , he requires cash — and lots of it . “ out of the millions of people who work in technology , from engineers to uber drivers , just 52 have given to trump . he ’ll need many more if he truly intends to build a finance organization , ” said mason harrison , a crowdpac spokesman . “ mitt romney raised over $ 8 million from the technology sector in 2012 . that ’s a lot of money to leave on the table . ” whether those tech backers are out there , however , is an unsettled question . scott slinker , a entrepreneur in san jose , calif. gave the candidate $ 250 last summer . “ i know trump ’s supporters are here , ” he said . “ they ’re just not vocal . they do n’t want to be stereotyped and pigeonholed and labeled . ” in at least some cases , this is correct . one employee at a software firm declined to speak on the record , saying it would be a bad career move for a google search of his name to turn up any republican connection , let alone one with mr. trump . mr. slinker , whose latest paradata , uses big data to help brands find suppliers , said mr. trump was a candidate very much in the spirit of silicon valley : “ he ’s a kind of guy . he has a lot of ideas and pivots away from them if they do n’t work , just like the valley does . he ’s more viral than facebook ever was . ” still , even mr. slinker says there is good reason for the lack of enthusiasm . “ silicon valley is an extremely disruptive place , but the one thing it does n’t want disrupted is silicon valley , ” he said . “ and so it ’s pushing back on trump . ” the venture capitalist marc andreessen , who backed mr. romney in 2012 , said on twitter that he was supporting mrs. clinton . meg whitman , a former candidate for governor in california who now runs hewlett packard enterprise , labeled mr. trump “ unfit to be president . ” when mr. thiel was revealed as a trump delegate , a columnist for the tech news site pando said he was “ utterly ashamed ” that mr. thiel was a pando investor . mr. thiel declined to comment . another trump supporter in silicon valley , tyrone pike , had some business dealings with the candidate many years ago in atlantic city , n. j. and was favorably impressed . as for mr. trump ’s more extreme pronouncements , “ i kind of write them off , ” said mr. pike , who sold a software to citrix and is building another company . “ he ’s more of a moderate than any of his words . ” earlier in the primaries , mr. trump suggested boycotting apple if the company did not help the government crack the iphone used by one of the attackers in the mass shooting last year in san bernardino , calif. clashed with mr. zuckerberg over immigration and posted on twitter that if amazon “ ever had to pay fair taxes , its stock would crash . ” bobby franklin , the president of the national venture capital association , thinks mr. trump will pick up support among tech people as he moderates his views . “ the trump we have all witnessed for the past several months is probably not the trump we will all be thinking about as we go into the voting booth , ” said mr. franklin , whose organization does not endorse presidential candidates . “ a general election candidate has always been different than a primary candidate . ” yet a few weeks ago , after mr. trump ’s primary opponents all dropped out and he might have been expected to make conciliatory noises , he unloaded again on amazon and mr. bezos . mr. trump said , among other things , that mr. bezos has “ got a huge antitrust problem because he ’s controlling so much . ” mr. bezos owns the washington post , which has covered mr. trump intensively and critically . the internet tycoon said at a tech conference that he was “ very , very comfortable with all of amazon ’s approaches and behaviors , ” the post reported . mr. trump ’s comments signal a turnabout from amazon ’s experience under president obama . the retailer helped instigate and was the major beneficiary of an antitrust case the justice department brought against apple and the major book publishers . jay carney , a former press secretary for mr. obama , is now senior vice president for corporate affairs at amazon . he declined to comment . the obama administration was even closer to google , drawing several staff members from the search giant , including megan smith , the chief technology officer of the united states . mrs. clinton is a closer fit with silicon valley than mr. trump , both ideologically and culturally , but she is not campaigning as tech ’s champion . whoever wins in november , the tech community is likely to look back longingly at the last eight years . “ that tech is now a flash point in campaign debates is a reflection of the industry ’s power and ubiquity in american life , ” said patrick ruffini , a republican strategist who has worked with the tech industry . “ silicon valley will need to learn to expect that it wo n’t be seen as a benevolent actor in every quarter , and prepare accordingly . ” in other words , he said , “ the era of silicon valley exceptionalism is over . ”
+1 ag lynch told fbi director comey not to go public with the new clinton email investigation daisy luther posted by daisy luther according to a report in the new yorker , james comey , big kahuna of the fbi , went full - on cowboy in releasing details of the new clinton email inquiry . apparently , the department of justice advised him not to release the information just days before the presidential election . gosh . i wonder if the same advice would have been given if it was donald trump who was being investigated by the fbi . comey explained his decision in a letter to fbi employees : “ we do n’t ordinarily tell congress about ongoing investigations , but here i feel an obligation to do so given that i testified repeatedly in recent months that our investigation was completed . i also think it would be misleading to the american people were we not to supplement the record . ” the doj – and by doj i mean attorney general loretta lynch , who famously had a secret meeting on an airport tarmac with bill clinton to talk about her non - existent grandchildren – is implying that comey is not playing fair and that the move is inconsistent with the rules which have been designed to make it seem like they are not interfering in an election . here ’s comey ’s letter to the senate judiciary committee : really ? the doj thinks that the public should n’t know that the person they may be voting for is being investigated by the fbi ? that ’s the most absurd thing i have heard for quite some time , and considering this election , that ’s really saying something . this is from the new yorker report , emphasis mine . on friday , james comey , the director of the federal bureau of investigation , acting independently of attorney general loretta lynch , sent a letter to congress saying that the f.b.i. had discovered e - mails that were potentially relevant to the investigation of hillary clinton ’s private server . coming less than two weeks before the presidential election , comey ’s decision to make public new evidence that may raise additional legal questions about clinton was contrary to the views of the attorney general , according to a well - informed administration official . lynch expressed her preference that comey follow the department ’s longstanding practice of not commenting on ongoing investigations , and not taking any action that could influence the outcome of an election , but he said that he felt compelled to do otherwise . comey ’s decision is a striking break with the policies of the department of justice , according to current and former federal legal officials . comey , who is a republican appointee of president obama , has a reputation for integrity and independence , but his latest action is stirring an extraordinary level of concern among legal authorities , who see it as potentially affecting the outcome of the presidential and congressional elections . ( source ) is this investigation the iceberg to hrc ’s titanic campaign ? hillary clinton has said she finds the development “ unprecedented and deeply troubling . ” ( source ) oh , i ’ll bet she does . i ’ll bet if trump had been the target of the investigation she would have been up on the stage , gripping the podium to stay upright , saying how wonderful it was that comey decided to break the news so that voters could be aware that they might be voting for someone who was suspected of having broken federal laws . i ’ll bet she ’d be saying that the public has a right to know if a candidate was under investigation . i ’ll bet she ’d take the high road and say that those elected to the office of president of the united states have to be above and beyond reproach . of course , when it ’s her , things are a little different , are n’t they ? we do have a right to know . we absolutely have a right to know that a person who could be elected to know all of the secrets was careless when she only knew some of the secrets . it seems like a no - brainer that the public should know that a candidate is being investigated for a second time for being criminally negligent with information entrusted to her . and the fact that we know has severely damaged clinton ’s campaign . although previous polls were incredibly skewed to the point of being outright fake , it looks like the mainstream is now trying to save face with a new batch of polls . a poll from abc news and the washington post , both hotbeds of liberal voters , has shown that her lead has dropped to within a single point over donald trump due to the clinton email scandal . “ about a third of likely voters say they ’re less likely to support clinton given fbi director james comey ’s disclosure friday that the bureau is investigating more emails related to its probe of clinton ’s use of a private email server while secretary of state . “ finally , some people are actually paying attention to the character of hillary clinton . but it may not be enough . there was one finding that was astonishing to me , even though it probably should n’t be : “ given other considerations , 63 percent say it makes no difference . ” meanwhile , on social media , the fbi emails are somehow not a trending topic . it certainly appears that twitter , facebook , snapchat , and buzzfeed are blacking out the topic . my biggest question is this : why now ? why did james comey , who has probably committed career suicide , along with a potential actual “ suicide ” via a shot to the back of his own head like others who have run afoul of the clintons , feel the need to break the news , particularly after giving her a pass during the last investigation ? opponents will jump on the fact that he ’s a republican and will say that he did it for political reasons . they wo n’t admit that perhaps he felt guilty for being complicit in letting her off the hook in the first investigation into the clinton email negligence . they will never , ever admit that maybe his integrity and belief in the office he holds made it impossible for him to keep quiet until after the election and that , perhaps , when he was given a chance to right a previous wrong , he took it . clinton is n’t taking it gracefully . clinton ’s complaints , which have appeared in the press around the world , make her look even worse than she did before . this is from the telegraph , a uk publication : hillary clinton was furiously fighting to keep her presidential bid on track on saturday night as her lead in the polls narrowed , after the fbi ’s bombshell announcement that it had reopened its investigation into her emails . james comey announced on friday afternoon that fresh evidence had emerged for his investigation into whether mrs clinton was criminally negligent in her handling of classified material . on saturday , the latest poll of polls by tracker site realclearpolitics put clinton 3.9 percentage points ahead of the republican nationwide , down from 7.1 points just 10 days previously . but wait – it gets better : the clinton campaign has responded with what amounts to a declaration of open warfare against mr comey , alleging that his actions are backed by a political motive . and mrs clinton herself called the decision “ unprecedented ” and “ deeply troubling ” . “ it ’s pretty strange to put something like that out with such little information right before an election , ” she complained , addressing cheering supporters at a rally in the must - win state of florida . democrats questioned the timing of the agency ’s decision , which comes as polls showed mrs clinton ’s lead falling just 10 days before the presidential election . “ this is like an 18-wheeler smacking into us , and it just becomes a huge distraction at the worst possible time , ” said donna brazile , the chairwoman of the democratic national committee . “ the campaign is trying to cut through the noise as best it can . “ we do n’t want it to knock us off our game . but on the second - to - last weekend of the race , we find ourselves having to tell voters , ‘ keep your focus , keep your eyes on the prize.’ ” hillary ’s campaign manager sounds pretty desperate to me . as for the complaints from hrc , they just make her sound like the out - of - touch , money - grabbing , power - hungry , deceitful
+0 sean spicer to media : twitter a ‘ very , very effective tool’ for president trump charlie spiering white house press secretary sean spicer continued fielding questions about president donald trump ’s twitter account , reminding the press that it was an effective tool for trump during his campaign for president . [ “ does he sometimes cross the line where his tweets become the news , become the agenda , and actually impedes the ability to get things done ? ” asked fox news white house correspondent john roberts during tuesday ’s white house press briefing , pointing out that “ using it and using it wisely are two different things . ” spicer said that trump ’s use of social media was a “ very , very effective tool ” for communication for his millions of followers across social media platforms . “ i think the same people who are critiquing his use of it now , critiqued it during the election , and it turned out pretty well for him then , ” spicer quipped . according to a white house tech source , the president has about million social media followers . when asked if the trump ’s tweets should be considered official statements from the white house , spicer appeared incredulous . “ well the president is the president of the united states , so they ’re considered official statements of the president of the united states , ” he replied .
+1 trump accuses obama , hillary clinton of founding daesh nan email us president barack obama and former secretary of state hillary clinton “ founded ” the daesh ( isil ) terrorist group in the middle east region , according to republican presidential nominee donald trump . addressing supporters at a rally in ft . lauderdale , florida , on wednesday , trump said daesh is " honoring president obama . " “ he ’s the founder of isis . he 's the founder ! he founded isis , ” the real estate tycoon said , using an alternative acronym for the terrorist group . “ i would say the co - founder would be ‘ crooked’ hillary clinton , ” trump added . he went on to criticize obama ’s decision to withdraw american military forces from iraq and leaving behind a void for daesh terrorists to fill . “ we should never have gotten out the way we got out , ” he said . “ we unleashed terrible fury all over the middle east . " “ instead of allowing some small forces behind to maybe , just maybe , keep it under control , we pulled it out , ” he continued . daesh terrorists , many of whom were initially trained by the cia in jordan in 2012 to destabilize the syrian government , still control parts of iraq and syria . they have been engaged in crimes against humanity in areas under their control . they have been carrying out horrific acts of violence such as public decapitations and crucifixions against all communities , including shia and sunni muslims , kurds , and christians . in a statement last week , mike pence , trump ’s vice presidential candidate , also said that the policies of obama and clinton led to the rise of daesh . he blamed obama and democratic presidential nominee hillary clinton for the “ disastrous decisions ” that led to the death of captain humayun khan in iraq . on july 28 , captain khan ’s father , khizr khan , addressed the democratic national convention , denouncing trump as unpatriotic and selfish over his statements against immigrants and muslims .
+1 russia calls on western partners to urge ukraine to fulfill minsk process obligations - russia news now nan this post was originally published on this site russia calls on western countries to persuade ukraine to carry out its obligations as part of the minsk settlement process , the russian foreign ministry said friday in remarks announcing preparations for four - way talks next week . “ russia sees its task in encouraging western partners who have influence on the leadership of ukraine to urge kiev to strictly follow the obligations assumed in the framework of the minsk process , ” the ministry said . the ministry said it was preparing for normandy format talks in the belarusian capital of minsk next tuesday , november 29 , after receiving an invitation from germany and france . doni news agency
+1 trump 's new ad portraying ' every mother 's worst nightmare ' is nothing short of chilling kyle becker share on twitter the wildfire is an opinion platform and any opinions or information put forth by contributors are exclusive to them and do not represent the views of ijr . in a campaign ad for donald trump , laura wilkerson talks about her horrific experience of her son being doused with gasoline and set on fire by an illegal alien . in the ad called “ laura , ” she explains why hillary clinton 's policies are harmful for america .
+0 jon stewart returns on ‘ the late show with stephen colbert’ - the new york times dave itzkoff in his first live “ late show ” broadcast since the start of the republican national convention , stephen colbert promised the return of an old friend from his days , but instead , viewers got to see two familiar faces : first , jon stewart , the longtime host of “ the daily show , ” and then “ stephen colbert , ” the unctuous conservative commentator that mr. colbert portrayed for nearly a decade on his comedy central program , “ the colbert report . ” the guest appearances from mr. stewart and that other mr. colbert appear to have paid off for “ the late show . ” according to preliminary ratings information on tuesday , “ the late show ” was the no . 1 broadcast show in overall viewership on monday night , the first time the program has surpassed all its competitors ( including jimmy fallon ’s “ tonight ” show on nbc and “ jimmy kimmel live ” on abc ) since feb. 15 . “ the late show ” announced in june that it would present two weeks of live broadcasts , monday through thursday , to air after each night of the republican and democratic conventions . though the current iteration of the program made its debut to considerable fanfare in september , it has had trouble finding a consistent voice under mr. colbert , who succeeded david letterman as host and who has tried to expand his horizons beyond the irreverent political comedy he performed on “ the colbert report . ” monday ’s installment of “ the late show ” on cbs began with an elaborate , pretaped musical number performed by mr. colbert , paying satirical tribute to the republican convention in cleveland and the party ’s presumptive presidential nominee , donald j. trump . ( as mr. colbert sang : “ this week , you and me , we will witness history as the r. n. c. crowns their orange manatee . ” ) the host followed with a live monologue in which he riffed on moments from the first night of convention and mr. trump ’s “ 60 minutes ” interview with his running mate , gov. mike pence of indiana . later , a taped comedy sketch followed mr. colbert to what appeared to be an isolated cabin in the woods , where he knocked on its door and was greeted by a bearded , mr. stewart , who was mr. colbert ’s boss for many years at “ the daily show ” and is now an executive producer of “ the late show . ” alerting mr. stewart that it was once again time for a republican convention , an animated mr. colbert told him , “ you will not believe who the nominee is . ” he paused to let mr. stewart take a sizable drink of water from a mug , then told him , “ it ’s donald trump , ” at which point mr. stewart doused him in a sizable spit take . the sketch revealed that mr. stewart had been sharing his cabin with the colbert character ( brandishing a sword and a captain america shield ) . and then “ stephen colbert ” ( still holding the sword and shield ) returned to the ed sullivan theater and performed a new edition of “ the word , ” a recurring segment from “ the colbert report , ” which ran from 2005 to 2014 . just as “ the colbert report ” helped introduce audiences to the word “ truthiness , ” mr. colbert used this latest installment to contemplate the condition of “ trumpiness ” : “ remember , elections are n’t about what voters think , it ’s about what voters feel . and right now , at least half of americans feel their voices are n’t being heard . ” ( an onscreen graphic delivered the punch line : “ especially mike pence . ” ) after a commercial break , mr. colbert returned as — presumably — himself . “ it was really great to see jon stewart again , ” he said . with a knowing smile , he added : “ you know what would be nice ? to have that happen again some time this week . ”
+1 terrorists attack police training college in pakistan : 60 cadets killed and 120 injured nan ( 7 fans ) - advertisement - at lease 60 cadets were killed and more than 116 injured as terrorists attack the police training college in quetta , pakistan , in one of the deadliest extremist attacks this year . three gunmen burst into the sprawling academy , targeting sleeping quarters home to some 700 recruits , and sent terrified young men aged between 15 and 25 fleeing , dawn news reported . communication intercepts showed the attack was carried out by al - alimi faction of the lashkar - i - jhangvi militant group , ig frontier corps ( fc ) major general sher afgan said . the group itself has not claimed the attack . most of the deaths were caused when two of the attackers blew themselves up . the third was shot dead by frontier corps ( fc ) troops . at least 120 people were injured , according to dawn news . the ig fc said " terrorists were communicating with their handlers in afghanistan " . " there were three terrorists and all of them were wearing suicide vests , " he added . the training college is situated on sariab road , which is considered to be one of the most sensitive areas of quetta . militants have been targeting security forces in the area for almost a decade . the attack comes a day after militants belonging to the baloch liberation army on a motorcycle shot dead two coast guards and a civilian and wounded a shopkeeper in a remote southwest coastal town in balochistan . in august , a suicide bombing at a quetta hospital claimed by the jamaat - ul - ahrar faction of the pakistani taliban killed 73 people , including many of the city 's lawyer community who had gone there to mourn the fatal shooting of a colleague . - advertisement - pakistan says intelligence agencies of india and afghanistan are fanning unrest in balochistan by helping the rebels and sectarian militant outfits . according to islamabad policy research institute , the indian consulate in kandahar , a border town , provides a firm base to train , arm and dispatch militants across the border to undertake sabotage activities in balochistan . indian companies have been awarded contracts on various projects to link kabul with balochistan near iranian border ; and in the bargain it makes the job of the indian intelligence agency raw easier . last month indian government formally offered political asylum to secessionist baloch leaders . the zee news of india reported that the media is buzz with reports that brahumdagh bugti , grandson of nawaz akbar khan bugti , is set to get indian citizenship . he is currently living in exile in switzerland . balochistan is a key region for china 's ambitious $ 46 billion china - pakistan economic corridor infrastructure project linking its western province of xinjiang to the arabian sea via pakistan . security problems have mired cpec in the past with numerous separatist attacks , but china has said it is confident the pakistani military is in control . 18 indian soldiers killed in an army base attack - advertisement - the quetta terrorist attack came five weeks after a militants attack on an army base in the garrison town of uri in the indian - administered jammu and kashmir -- killing 18 soldiers . the attack on sept 18 , which took place near the de facto border between india and pakistan in the disputed region , was one of the deadliest on an army base in kashmir since militant attacks began in 1989 , according to cnn . tension remains high between the neighbors following the uri attack . the indian prime minister , narendra modi , has been under intense pressure from his own party and the indian public to respond to the uri army base attack . mr modi came to power pledging to toughen india 's response to what he calls cross - border incursions from pakistan . he vowed that the uri raid " will not go unpunished " . on september 29 , india announced that it had carried out early morning " surgical strikes " on terrorist camps in pakistani controlled kashmir . however , pakistan denied that a cross border strike had taken place , saying that indian troops had fired small arms across the line of control , killing two soldiers and injuring nine . the notion of surgical strike linked to alleged terrorists ' bases is an illusion being deliberately generated by india to create false effects , " the pakistani military said in a statement .
+0 charles barkley mocks shaq ’s flat earth confusion with hilarious story - breitbart dylan gwinn shaquille o’neal , you have brought this upon yourself . [ after joining kyrie irving in stating his belief that he too thinks the earth is flat , ( yes , do not adjust your clocks , this is 2017 ) shaquille o’neal drew from fellow nba legend charles barkley . appearing on the rich eisen show , shaq ’s “ inside the nba ” charles barkley knocked the big aristotle down a peg for his podcast rant . not only that , barkley told the story of another instance of shaq ’s interstellar confusion : here ’s the video of that particular episode of “ inside the nba ” : follow dylan gwinn on twitter : @themightygwinn
+0 campuses wary of offering ‘ sanctuary’ to undocumented students - the new york times julia preston janet napolitano , president of the university of california , knows exactly what ’s at stake if president trump shuts down an obama administration program that has given work permits and protection from deportation to some 752 , 000 young undocumented immigrants . in 2012 , in her previous job as secretary of homeland security , she signed the document — nothing more than a policy memo — that created the program . so when alarm spread among immigrants on college campuses following mr. trump ’s election , ms. napolitano moved quickly to determine what the california system could do to shelter its students if he carried through on his pledges to cancel the program , deferred action for childhood arrivals . the university estimates that almost 3 , 800 among its 190 , 000 students are undocumented , many but not all with daca . ms. napolitano , retaining her law enforcement instincts , does not mention the word “ sanctuary ” when describing what the university could offer . “ sanctuary is such a vague term , we do n’t use it , ” she said crisply . instead , the university has published detailed principles of support for undocumented students , including assurances that campus police would not question students solely about their immigration status or join any cooperation agreements with federal immigration authorities under the trump administration . through the davis campus law school , the university is organizing legal help for students detained for deportation . another worrisome prospect , ms. napolitano said , is that students could lose the permits that allow them to work . undocumented students , including any losing daca , will continue to pay tuition and be eligible for state financial aid and for a revolving loan program funded , in part , by the university . “ we want to do everything we can so students are safe on our campuses , ” ms. napolitano said , “ so they can focus on what they are there to do , which is to study . ” students at dozens of college campuses , galvanized by mr. trump ’s depictions of immigrants as criminals or potential terrorists , have pressed administrators to provide sanctuary for those without legal papers . but universities have had differing ideas about what that would mean in practice , and most leaders have been careful to say they would not defy the law . some institutions have flatly rejected sanctuary plans as encouraging lawbreaking . at new mexico state university , the president , garrey carruthers , said that banning federal agents from campus might imperil its federal funding . one of the first presidents to declare a sanctuary campus explicitly was michael s. roth of wesleyan , who announced in november that it “ will not voluntarily assist ” any efforts by federal authorities to deport students ( a policy he reaffirmed on jan. 29 ) . soon after , john coatsworth , the provost of columbia university , said that it would not allow immigration agents on campus without a warrant . some administrators point out that student information , including their immigration status , is already protected under privacy laws requiring the authorities to show a warrant or court order before any data can be released without students’ consent . in georgia , emory , which is a private university , considered but ultimately decided against protective measures . “ emory is not seeking to establish itself as a sanctuary campus , for which there is no legal definition , ” the university said in a jan. 4 statement . taking a tougher line , the university system of georgia said that any call for sanctuary was “ unacceptable ” and added , “ we expect our institutions to follow the law . ” in his first formal briefing , on jan. 23 , sean spicer , the white house press secretary , suggested that canceling daca would not be a priority for the new administration , but he did not provide any explicit reassurance that the program would continue . ms. napolitano is still contemplating the bitter possibility that mr. trump will sweep away her most significant immigration accomplishment . she hopes to persuade him that the program is a good use of executive power , emphasizing that daca immigrants pose little security risk because they pass background checks to get into the program . her message for mr. trump : “ why waste resources trying to deport good students who ’ve done everything right ? ”
+1 “ white boys”–the nyt celebrates neera tanden , ’s slurs , because her targets are white steve sailer
+0 report : only 36 percent of indian software engineers can write useful code - breitbart lucas nolan a new report states that only 36 percent of indian software engineers can write working , compilable code based on a test used to automatically grade programming skills . [ the report was published by aspiring minds , an indian skills assessment company , which based their report on a sample of 36 , 800 people from more than 500 colleges across india . the company used an automated tool called automata to perform the study . automata is a test that is taken in a compiler integrated environment that rates candidates on a number of levels including programming ability , programming practices , complexity , and test case coverage . candidates in the test were made up of 61 . 1 percent male candidates and 38 . 9 percent female candidates , coming from cities such as delhi , chennai , mumbai , and hyderabad . automata utilizes advanced artificial intelligence technology to automatically analyze and grade a candidates coding abilities . the study states , “ we find that out of the two problems given per candidate , only 14 percent of engineers were able to write compilable codes for both and only 22 percent were able to write compilable code for exactly one problem . ” the test also found that of all the subjects tested , only 14 . 67 percent would be employable by a modern it firm . when testing for candidates that could write fully functional code using the best practices and methods , only 2 . 21 percent passed the test . “ functionally correct code is the basic requisite of a good programmer . however , to enhance the quality of the code , a few more important indicators have emerged — efficiency , time complexity and space complexity , ” the study said , “ nothing is more than dealing with badly written code which leads to enormous bugs and exceptions . the analysis unveils that only 2 . 21 percent of engineers possess the skillset to write logically correct code with best efficiency and least complexity . ” the full report from aspiring minds can be found here . lucas nolan is a reporter for breitbart news covering issues of free speech and online censorship . follow him on twitter @lucasnolan _ or email him at lnolan@breitbart . com
+1 duterte still spiking us on asian political tour nan duterte still spiking us on asian political tour october 26 , 2016 duterte still spiking us on asian political tour philippine president rodrigo duterte sought to assure japan on wednesday that his high - profile visit to china last week was about economics , not security , and vowed to stand on tokyo 's side over the disputed south china sea when the time came , even though duterte reiterated his harsh words for long - time ally washington , saying he might end defense treaties . the volatile philippine leader 's visit to japan comes amid jitters about his foreign policy goals this follows weeks of verbal attacks on ally the united states and overtures toward china . duterte last week announced in china his " separation " from the united states he later insisted ties were not being severed and that he was merely pursuing an independent foreign policy . his perplexing comments pose a headache for japanese prime minister shinzo abe , who has tightened ties with washington while building closer security relations with manila and other southeast asian countries as a counter - weight to a rising china . " you know i went to china for a visit . and i would like to assure you that all there was , was economics . we did not talk about arms . we avoided talking about alliances , " he told an audience of japanese businessmen . ( tokyo ) - duterte , speaking through a japanese interpreter at the start of his talks with abe , later said he would stand on japan 's side in the contentious matter of the south china sea . describing japan as a " special friend who is closer than a brother " , duterte said after the meeting that manila would work closely with japan on regional issues of common concern and uphold the values of democracy , the rule of law and peaceful settlement of disputes including the south china sea . reading from a statement , he added : " today we have taken steps to ensure that our ties remain vibrant and will gain greater strength in the years to come . " independent foreign policy both tokyo and washington have grown worried that the commitment under duterte 's predecessor , benigno aquino , to stand up to china in the south china sea is under threat , although japan has no direct territorial row with beijing there . japan has a separate dispute with china over tiny , uninhabited isles in the east china sea , and has been keen to stress the importance of the rule of law . abe , for his part , said he welcomed duterte 's efforts to improve manila 's ties with beijing and - noting the south china sea issue was one of international interest - said the two leaders had agreed on the importance of settling maritime disputes peacefully . aquino angered china by lodging a case with an arbitration court in the hague challenging the legitimacy of beijing 's maritime claims in the resource - rich sea . the court 's ruling in july emphatically favored manila but was rejected by china , which has warned washington and tokyo to stay out of the feud . duterte earlier told an audience of japanese business executives he did not pick quarrels with his neighbors , but had tough words for washington . " i have declared that i will pursue an independent foreign policy . i want , maybe in the next two years , my country free of the presence of foreign military troops . i want them out , " he said . " and if i have to revise or abrogate agreements , executive agreements , this shall be the last maneuver , war games between the united states and the philippines military . " china claims almost the entire south china sea , through which about $ 5 trillion worth of trade passes every year . brunei , malaysia , the philippines , taiwan and vietnam also have claims on the sea , believed to have rich oil and gas deposits . duterte has threatened to abrogate defense agreements with the united states several times but has yet to take any concrete action beyond cancelling some minor navy patrol exercises . in a pattern already becoming familiar , duterte 's foreign minister , perfecto yasay , tried to soothe concerns raised by the president 's remarks . he told a news conference that manila would respect treaty obligations as long as mutual interests converged . japan and the philippines also signed notes on two yen loan projects worth up to 21.4 billion yen ( $ 205 million ) , including one to build two patrol boats for the philippine coast guard to boost its capacity for search and rescue and law enforcement . reuters contribution by kiyoshi takenaka and linda sieg ; additional reporting by enrico dela cruz and manolo serapio jr in manila and elaine lies and minami funakoshi in tokyo ; writing by martin petty and linda sieg ; editing by michael perry and nick macfie ) article by doc burkhart , vice - president , general manager and co - host of trunews with rick wiles got a news tip ? email us at help support the ministry of trunews with your one - time or monthly gift of financial support . donate now ! download the trunews mobile app ! click here !
+1 nation still struggling to come to terms with terrorist living in ireland julius hubris 0 add comment the nation is still struggling to come to terms the fact an irishman could ever join a terrorist organisation , several days after irishman khalid kelly allegedly blew himself up in a suicide bomb attack in iraq . kelly , originally from dublin , recently lived in longford and had been fighting for isis in iraq , the news of which shocked communities that previously had no exposure to terrorism or terrorist organisations to their core . “ you just ca n’t credit it , can ye , some lad running around with guns and the like . spouting all sorts of shite about redrawing maps and taking back what is rightfully theirs . gas all the same , ” shared louth native trevor gorman , whose uncle would periodically go up north for something called ‘ training’ in the 90s . “ look , you ’ll just have to give me some time . people in the middle east are well accustomed to violent loonies hiding behind a religion to commit horrible acts , but this is all new to us , and him being irish … that ’s mad , ” said cavan man sean dignam , from the comfort of a stool in an ira owned pub . the view from across the country found people similarly shocked that an irishman could find himself part of a morally compromised , ideologically bankrupt outfit . “ their followers out there , they ’re bold a pup from what i hear , but muslims lads here shoudl really out denouncing that right now , ” shared dubliner ciaran mackey . “ the jihadis go on and on about how there only concerns are islamic terror and that , but then ya read they ’re selling drugs too , which goes against everything they be saying or beliefs and that . and they do other awful stuff like abusing girls . i tell ya , we do n’t have any terrorists in ireland , but if we did , they would n’t be at that craic at all , ” added mackey .
+1 new york times admits key al qaeda role in aleppo robert parry videos new york times admits key al qaeda role in aleppo in a backhand way , the new york times admits that the u.s .- backed “ moderate ” rebels in east aleppo are fighting alongside al qaeda jihadists , an almost casual admission of this long - obscured reality , writes robert parry . be sociable , share ! syrian rebels walk in an alley in idlib , syria , wednesday , feb. 8 , 2012 . ( ap photo ) as much as the new york times and the mainstream u.s. media have become propaganda outlets on most foreign policy issues , like the one - sided coverage of the bloody syrian war , sometimes the truth seeps through in on - the - ground reporting by correspondents , even ones who usually are pushing the “ propo . ” such was the case with anne barnard ’s new reporting from inside west aleppo , the major portion of the city which is in government hands and copes with regular terror rocket and mortar attacks from rebel - held east aleppo where al qaeda militants and u.s .- armed - and - funded “ moderate ” rebels fight side - by - side . almost in passing , barnard ’s article on sunday acknowledged the rarely admitted reality of the al qaeda/”moderate ” rebel collaboration , which puts the united states into a de facto alliance with al qaeda terrorists and their jihadist allies , fighting under banners such as nusra front ( recently renamed syria conquest front ) and ahrar al - sham . barnard also finally puts the blame for preventing civilians in east aleppo from escaping the fighting on a rebel policy of keeping them in harm ’s way rather than letting them transit through “ humanitarian corridors ” to safety . some of her earlier pro - rebel accounts suggested that it was n’t clear who was stopping movement of civilians through those corridors . however , on sunday , she reported : “ we had arrived at a critical moment , as russia said there was only one day left to pass through a corridor it had provided for people to escape eastern aleppo before the rebel side was flattened , a corridor through which precious few had passed . the government says rebels are preventing civilians from leaving . rebels refuse any evacuation without international supervision and a broader deal to deliver humanitarian aid . ” granted , you still have to read between the lines , but at least there is the acknowledgement that rebels are refusing civilian evacuations under the current conditions . how that is different from islamic state terrorists in mosul , iraq , preventing departures from their areas – a practice which the times and other u.s. outlets condemn as using women and children as “ human shields ” – is n’t addressed . but barnard ’s crimped admission is at least a start . barnard then writes : “ instead [ of allowing civilians to move through the humanitarian corridors ] , they [ the rebels ] are trying to break the siege , with qaeda - linked groups and those backed by the united states working together — the opposite of what russia has demanded . ” again , that is n’t the clearest description of the situation , which is stunning enough that one might have expected it in the lede rather than buried deep inside the story , but it is significant that the times is recognizing that al qaeda and the u.s .- backed “ moderates ” are “ working together ” and that russia opposes that collaboration . she also noted that “ three qaeda - linked suicide bombers attacked a military position with explosive - packed personnel carriers on thursday , military officials said , and mortar fire was raining on neighborhoods that until now had been relatively safe . it was among the most intense rounds in four years of rebel shelling that officials say has killed 11,000 civilians . ” while she then throws in a caveat about the impossibility of verifying the numbers , the acknowledgement that the u.s .- backed “ moderate ” rebels and their al qaeda comrades have been shelling civilians in west aleppo is significant , too . before this , all the american people heard was the other side , from rebel - held east aleppo , about the human suffering there , often conveyed by “ activists ” with video cameras who have depicted the conflict as simply the willful killing of children by the evil syrian government and the even more evil russians . more balance a syrian soldier carries syria ’s national flag after successfully routing rebels from the aleppo military academy in aleppo , syria . sept. 05 , 2016 . with the admission of rebel terror attacks on civilians in west aleppo , the picture finally is put into more balance . the al qaeda and u.s .- backed rebels have been killing thousands of civilians in government - controlled areas and the syrian military and its russian allies have struck back only to be condemned for committing “ war crimes . ” though the human toll in both sides of aleppo is tragic , we have seen comparable situations before – in which the u.s. government has supported , supplied and encouraged governments to mount fierce offensives to silence rockets or mortars fired by rebels toward civilian areas . for instance , senior u.s. government officials , including president barack obama and democratic presidential nominee hillary clinton , have defended israel ’s right to defend itself from rockets fired from inside gaza even though those missiles rarely kill anyone . yet , israel is allowed to bomb the near - defenseless people of gaza at will , killing thousands including the four little boys blown apart in july 2014 while playing on a beach during the last round of what the israelis call “ mowing the grass . ” in the context of those deaths , u.s. ambassador to the united nations samantha power , who has built her career as a supposed humanitarian advocating a “ responsibility to protect ” civilians , laid the blame not on the israeli military but on fighters in gaza who had fired rockets that rarely hit anything besides sand . at the united nations on july 18 , 2014 , power said , “ president obama spoke with [ israeli ] prime minister netanyahu this morning to reaffirm the united states’ strong support for israel ’s right to defend itself … . hamas’ attacks are unacceptable and would be unacceptable to any member state of the united nations . israel has the right to defend its citizens and prevent these attacks . ” but that universal right apparently does not extend to syria where u.s .- supplied rockets are fired into civilian neighborhoods of west aleppo . in that case , power and other u.s. officials apply an entirely different set of standards . any syrian or russian destruction of east aleppo with the goal of suppressing that rocket fire becomes a “ war crime . ” perhaps it ’s expected that the u.s. government , like other governments , will engage in hypocrisy regarding affairs of state : one set of rules for u.s. allies and another for countries marked for u.s. “ regime change . ” statements by supposed “ humanitarians ” – such as samantha power , “ ms. r2p ” – are no exception . but double standards are even more distasteful when they come from allegedly “ objective ” journalists such as those who work at the new york times , the washington post and other prestige american news outlets . when they take the “ u.s. side ” in a dispute and become crude propagandists , they encourage the kind of misguided “ group thinks ” that led to the criminal iraq war and other disastrous “ regime change ” projects over the past two decades . yet , that is what we normally see . a thoughtful reader ca n’t peruse the international reporting of the u.s. mainstream media without realizing that it is corrupted by propaganda from both government officials and from u.s .- funded operations , often disguised as “ human rights activists ” or “ citizen journalists ” whose supposed independence makes their “ propo ” even more effective . so , it ’s worth noting those rare occasions when the new york times and the rest of the msm let some of the reality peek through . when evaluating the latest plans from hillary clinton and other interventionists to expand the u.s. military intervention in syria – via prettily named “ safe zones ” and “ no - fly zones ” – the american people should realize that they are being asked to come to the aid of al qaeda . investigative reporter robert parry broke many of the iran - contra stories for the associated press and newsweek in the 1980s . you can buy his latest book , america ’s stolen narrative , either in print here or as an e - book ( from amazon and barnesandnoble.com ) . the views expressed in this article are the author ’s own and do not necessarily reflect mint press news editorial policy . be sociable , share !
+0 u.s. investigating mosul strikes said to have killed up to 200 civilians - the new york times tim arango and helene cooper baghdad — the military coalition in iraq said friday that it was investigating reports that scores of civilians — perhaps as many as 200 , residents said — had been killed in recent american airstrikes in mosul , the northern iraqi city at the center of an offensive to drive out the islamic state . if confirmed , the series of airstrikes would rank among the highest civilian death tolls in an american air mission since the united states went to war in iraq in 2003 . and the reports of civilian deaths in mosul came immediately after two recent incidents in syria , where the coalition is also battling the islamic state from the air , in which activists and local residents said dozens of civilians had been killed . taken together , the surge of reported civilian deaths raised questions about whether rules of engagement meant to minimize civilian casualties were being relaxed under the trump administration , which has vowed to fight the islamic state more aggressively . american military officials insisted on friday that the rules of engagement had not changed . they acknowledged , however , that american airstrikes in syria and iraq had been heavier in an effort to press the islamic state on multiple fronts . col . john j. thomas , a spokesman for the united states central command , said that the military was seeking to determine whether the explosion in mosul might have been prompted by an american or coalition airstrike , or was a bomb or booby trap placed by the islamic state . “ it ’s a complicated question , and we ’ve literally had people working nonstop throughout the night to understand it , ” colonel thomas said in an interview . he said the explosion and the reasons behind it had “ gotten attention at the highest level . ” as to who was responsible , he said , “ at the moment , the answer is : we do n’t know . ” iraqi officers , though , say they know exactly what happened : maj . gen. maan a commander of the iraqi special forces , said that the civilian deaths were a result of a coalition airstrike that his men had called in , to take out snipers on the roofs of three houses in a neighborhood called mosul jidideh . general saadi said the special forces were unaware that the houses’ basements were filled with civilians . “ after the bombing we were surprised by the civilian victims , ” the general said , “ and i think it was a trap by isis to stop the bombing operations and turn public opinion against us . ” general saadi said he had demanded that the coalition pause its air campaign to assess what happened and to take stricter measures to prevent more civilian victims . another iraqi special forces officer , who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject , said that there had been a noticeable relaxing of the coalition ’s rules of engagement since president trump took office . before , iraqi officers were highly critical of the obama administration ’s rules , saying that many requests for airstrikes were denied because of the risk that civilians would be hurt . now , the officer said , it has become much easier to call in airstrikes . some american military officials had also chafed at what they viewed as long and onerous white house procedures for approving strikes under the obama administration . mr. trump has indicated that he is more inclined to delegate authority for launching strikes to the pentagon and commanders in the field . this is the second time this week that the military has opened an investigation into civilian deaths reported to have been caused by american airstrikes . on tuesday , central command said it was investigating an american airstrike in syria on march 16 that officials said killed dozens of qaeda operatives at a meeting place that activists and local residents maintain was part of a religious complex . while defense department officials acknowledged that the building was near a mosque , they called it an “ al qaeda meeting site ” in jina , in aleppo province . pentagon officials said that intelligence had indicated that al qaeda used the partly constructed community meeting hall as a gathering place and as a place to educate and indoctrinate fighters . but the syrian observatory for human rights said that 49 people had been killed in what the group described as a massacre of civilians who were undergoing religious instruction in an assembly hall and dining area for worshipers . the group has produced photos taken at the site after the strike that show a black sign outside a adjoining structure that identified it as part of the omar ibn mosque . chris woods , director of airwars , a nonprofit group that monitors civilian deaths from coalition airstrikes in syria and iraq , said that in march alone the number of reported civilian fatalities has shot up to 1 , 058 , from 465 in december , the last full month of the obama administration . “ we do n’t know whether that ’s a reflection of the increased tempo of the campaign or whether it reflects changes in the rules of engagement , ” he said . but , he added , the recent spike in numbers “ does suggest something has shifted . ” american military officials said that what has shifted is that the iraqi military , backed by the coalition , is in the middle of its biggest fight so far — the battle to retake mosul from the islamic state , also known as isis or isil . in particular , the campaign for west mosul has involved fighting in an urban environment . “ there ’s been no loosening of the rules of engagement , ” said capt . jeff davis , a pentagon spokesman . “ there are three major offensives going on right now , at the same time , ” he said , citing the battle for west mosul the encirclement of raqqa , syria , the islamic state ’s de facto capital and the fight for the tabqa dam in syria . captain davis said that the investigation was looking into whether islamic state fighters were responsible for the explosion in mosul , or if an airstrike set something off . “ there are other people on the battlefield , too , ” he said . “ it ’s close quarters . ” american officials said that even the timing of the strike was still in question . col . joseph e. scrocca , a spokesman for the command in baghdad , said in a statement friday that the strike under investigation happened between march 17 and thursday . the civilian death toll in mosul was already widely described as heavy on account of islamic state snipers and bombs , and intensified urban fighting in which artillery has been used . but there have been numerous reports from witnesses , including rescue workers and residents fleeing the fighting , about bodies being buried under rubble after heavy air bombardment . many of the reports centered on the mosul jidideh neighborhood , where residents said airstrikes hit a number of houses in recent days , killing dozens , including many children . capt . ahmed nuri , a soldier with iraq ’s elite counterterrorism forces , who work closely with the american military and call in airstrikes , said on thursday that his men , facing heavy sniper fire , helped collect five bodies from the rubble of a destroyed home . he said four of them were brothers — named ali , omar , khalid and saad — whose bodies were delivered to their grieving mother . the mother , captain nuri said , identified the fifth dead body as that of an islamic state sniper who had been firing at advancing iraqi forces from the roof of their house . local officials have reacted with outrage at the latest civilian deaths , warning that they will make it more difficult to fully take the city , and will alienate civilians still in mosul , whom the iraqi government is counting on for assistance . “ the repeated mistakes will make the mission to liberate mosul from daesh harder , and will push civilians still living under daesh to be uncooperative with the security forces , ” said abdulsattar alhabu , the mayor of mosul , using the arabic acronym for the islamic state . mr. alhabu estimated that at least 200 civilians had been killed in airstrikes in recent days in mosul .
+0 winter storm endangers cherry blossoms in washington - the new york times katie rogers the yearly bloom of cherry blossoms in washington , one of the grandest and most colorful of the capital ’s annual traditions , is also one of its most fragile and . a balmy february lured the blooms from their buds earlier than usual , and a sudden cold snap is threatening to kill most of them off for the year , officials here say . “ we had this real mild winter to bring the blossoms out early , ” mike litterst , a spokesman with the national park service , said in an interview . “ then when they were at their most vulnerable , here comes old man winter to crash the party . ” tuesday was supposed to be the beginning of the peak blooming period for the cherry blossoms in washington . instead , the capital was covered in snow and sleet as a nor’easter moved up the east coast . the winter storm is to be followed by cold weather the next three nights , with temperatures expected to dip below 24 degrees fahrenheit . the cold could kill off 90 percent of the tender blossoms , mr. litterst said . over the past few days , officials have been watching the blossoms and the forecast closely , sharing updates on twitter . on tuesday , other observers began sharing photos of the blossoms encased in ice . the trees , some of which were first delivered to the capital in 1912 , are the centerpiece of a weekslong festival in the capital that was projected to attract over a million tourists from around the world this year . the festival has been in danger before : a government shutdown threatened to cancel its parade in 2011 . but this is the first time that officials at the national park service have grappled with such a weather whiplash . the initial projected bloom date , march 14 , would have been the earliest on record . but now the blooms face missing their new bloom date — delayed to march 19 — for the first time since officials started keeping those records in 1921 . “ we ’re in unprecedented territory , ” mr. litterst said . “ the next 48 hours are going to be crucial . ” he would not address whether climate change had influenced this year ’s problems , but he noted that average temperatures have been rising in washington overall , and the average peak bloom date , april 4 , is five days earlier than it was when the trees were first planted . “ the earlier cherry blossom blooming is consistent with the rising temperatures in the city , ” he said .
+0 reports : milo uc davis event cancelled after leftists tear down barricades , engage in violence - breitbart allum bokhari milo ’s event at the university of california , davis has been cancelled after protesters tore down barricades and engaged in scuffles outside the venue . a camerman for abc10 was also attacked with hot coffee . [ earlier reports that windows had been smashed at the venue have not yet been confirmed . update : uc davis has stated that no property damage was sustained . update 2 : there are now competing accounts of what happened . a protester appears to have acknowledged property damage , saying he was “ happy ” windows were broken and that they had to smash windows “ to get attention . ” # breaking uc davis college repubicans announce through loud speaker milo yiannapoulos event officially cancelled , after protests . — stevelarge_cbs13 ( @largesteven ) january 14 , 2017 , at least one protester was arrested at the venue , according to photos . uc davis police standing between protestors and lecture hall where controversial milo yiannapoulos is now cancelled . pic . twitter . — stevelarge_cbs13 ( @largesteven ) january 14 , 2017 , organizers , uc officials , police discussing safety of holding # shkrelopoulos event @ucdavis # abc7now pic . twitter . — katie utehs ( @katieutehs ) january 14 , 2017 , milo and his entrepeneur martin shkreli are both reportedly unharmed . one student was arrested . shrekli was videoed outside the venue , where he explained his plans to explain feminism to milo . # martinshkreli , the other controversial speaker taking selfies with fans talking to media @ucdavis @abc10 pic . twitter . — frances wang ( @abc10frances ) january 14 , 2017 , reports “ violent interactions with protesters . ” video footage shows protesters jumping barricades and throwing them towards police . university of california , davis cancels event featuring milo yiannopoulos and martin shkreli after protests , fights pic . twitter . — bno news ( @bnonews ) january 14 , 2017 , when protestors started rushing the barricades , getting dragged out @ucdavis @abc10 pic . twitter . — frances wang ( @abc10frances ) january 14 , 2017 , reporter frances wang reports that her photographer was attacked with hot coffee . my photographer was doing an interview when someone poured hot coffee on him out equipment . @ucdavis @abc10 pic . twitter . — frances wang ( @abc10frances ) january 14 , 2017 , protesters were chanting “ no justice , no peace , no racist police . ” protestors chanting ” no justice , no peace . no racist police . ” @ucdavis @abc10 pic . twitter . — frances wang ( @abc10frances ) january 14 , 2017 , protesters could be seen wearing masks , holding lgbt flags , and wearing “ ” badges . protesters also chanted an old staple , “ no milo , no kkk , no fascist usa . ” ” no milo , no kkk , no fascist … no breitbart . ” @ucdavis @abc10 pic . twitter . — frances wang ( @abc10frances ) january 14 , 2017 , protesters @ucdavis milo yiannopolous martin shkreli event . # abc7now pic . twitter . — katie utehs ( @katieutehs ) january 14 , 2017 , milo fans were also present at the event , interacting with protesters and singing the national anthem . at least one brought her own placard . protestors now chanting on both sides of yiannapoulos event . pic . twitter . — stevelarge_cbs13 ( @largesteven ) january 14 , 2017 , protestors on @ucdavis campus . peaceful so far , but a lot of people here for milo mocking the protestors . @abc10 pic . twitter . — frances wang ( @abc10frances ) january 14 , 2017 , those here for milo are singing ” land of the free ” at protestors with signs @ucdavis @abc10 pic . twitter . — frances wang ( @abc10frances ) january 14 , 2017 , those here for event going back forth with protestors . @abc10 pic . twitter . — frances wang ( @abc10frances ) january 14 , 2017 , this was set to be the first event on the third leg of the breitbart senior editor ’s “ dangerous faggot tour , protesters @ucdavis milo yiannopolous martin shkreli event . # abc7now pic . twitter . — katie utehs ( @katieutehs ) january 14 , 2017 , this story is developing , and will be updated as more information , photos and footage comes in . update : a statement from the uc davis college republicans : “ we were told by the chief of davis police that they could not guarantee the safety of the students , the speaker , or the police officers if the event should go ahead , ” said gabrielle mcdowell , vice chair of the uc davis college republicans . “ as the organisation hosting the event , we would have been held personally responsible for any harm caused as a result of its taking place . we were therefore forced to cancel the event ” she continued . update 2 : the davis college republicans have clarified their position , and are now saying they were lied to and intimidated by uc davis , who , according to dcr executive director andrew mendoza , “ basically took the decision [ to cancel ] without us . ” dcr communications director kurtie kellner also alleges that they were told by uc davis official milton lang that protesters were wielding hammers , a concern that was a significant factor in the decision to cancel .
+0 an army captain takes obama to court over isis fight - the new york times charlie savage washington — a army officer on wednesday sued president obama over the legality of the war against the islamic state , setting up a test of mr. obama ’s disputed claim that he needs no new legal authority from congress to order the military to wage that deepening mission . the plaintiff , capt . nathan michael smith , an intelligence officer stationed in kuwait , voiced strong support for fighting the islamic state but , citing his “ conscience ” and his vow to uphold the constitution , he said he believed that the mission lacked proper authorization from congress . “ to honor my oath , i am asking the court to tell the president that he must get proper authority from congress , under the war powers resolution , to wage the war against isis in iraq and syria , ” he wrote . the legal challenge comes after the death of the third american service member fighting the islamic state and as mr. obama has decided to significantly expand the number of special operations ground troops he has deployed to syria aid rebels there . mr. obama has argued that he already has the authority he needs to wage the conflict against the islamic state under the authorization to fight the perpetrators of the terrorist attacks of sept. 11 , 2001 , enacted by congress shortly after the attacks . that argument is controversial because the islamic state is at odds with the leadership of al qaeda and its affiliate in syria , the nusra front . critics contend that the administration is stretching the sept. 11 authorization too far by applying it to an organization that did not exist in 2001 and that operates far from afghanistan . the administration has countered that its position is legitimate because the islamic state used to be a qaeda affiliate in iraq during the iraq war . in an april 2015 speech , stephen preston , then the top pentagon lawyer , argued that the fact that al qaeda splintered after the death of osama bin laden did not mean that the authority to keep fighting each successor faction came to an end . administration officials have also said the fight against the islamic state is covered separately by the 2002 authorization president george w. bush obtained from congress for the invasion of iraq , although they are not relying on it . the administration has asked congress to enact new authorization for using military force against the islamic state , but lawmakers have not acted on that request . they have , however , passed military appropriations bills that earmark funds for the effort against the islamic state , which could suggest that lawmakers have acquiesced to the executive branch ’s theory . captain smith ’s lawyers are david remes , who has represented many guantánamo detainees in habeas corpus lawsuits , and bruce ackerman , a yale law school professor who published a column in the atlantic last year arguing that the war against isis was illegal and that a serviceman ordered to fight in it would have standing to challenge it in court . “ we want to get this back on the agenda , ” said mr. ackerman , calling the precedent mr. obama is setting a “ turning point ” for whether constitutional checks and balances on a president ’s ability to initiate a new war at his own discretion will survive . current and former administration officials have said that in 2014 , when confronted by the islamic state ’s rapid conquest of iraqi territory , mr. obama ’s advisers presented him with a choice : he could say that bombing isis was part of the existing war , or he could say it was a new war . each theory , they told him , was defensible , but each had its own downsides . mr. obama decided to go with the first one — that the islamic state campaign was part of the existing . 11 war — because he believed that immediate intervention was necessary to halt a disaster but that the house of representatives was too dysfunctional to vote on any war authorization within 60 days . that was important because the war power resolution , a law , says presidents must withdraw deployments into “ hostilities ” after 60 days if congress has not authorized the operation to continue . in 2011 , mr. obama ’s air war intervention in libya , which lasted longer than 60 days without congressional authorization , prompted criticism inside and outside the administration . jack goldsmith , a harvard law school professor who has criticized the administration ’s use of the 2001 war authorization to cover the islamic state but is not involved in the suit , said the case was significant because it could overcome a major hurdle to getting a court to review that theory . but mr. goldsmith said captain smith faced many other hurdles , including precedents that suggest that when congress appropriates money for a conflict it has implicitly authorized it . he also predicted that if a court did rule that the conflict was illegal , congress would authorize the fight to continue — perhaps giving it broader scope than mr. obama has wanted . “ we ’re in a terrible equilibrium where congress does n’t want to step up and play its part in this military campaign and so the president has basically gone forward and done what he thinks he needs to do , ” mr. goldsmith said . “ it would be a lot better for everyone , including the president , if congress got more involved . ”
+0 stuck in traffic , polluting the inside of our cars - the new york times tatiana schlossberg the average american commuter spent 50 hours in traffic last year . as a nation , we spent eight billion hours sitting in our cars , waiting for lights to change , for the driver ahead to sneak into that parking spot , for an accident to be cleared . that ’s not much more time than many europeans spend in cars . according to inrix , a roadway and traffic analytics company , drivers and passengers in belgium spent 44 hours in traffic last year in germany , 39 hours . wherever it happens , new research suggests that all that sitting and waiting is exposing us to more pollutants than we ’d take in if were we cruising along . according to a study published thursday in environmental science : processes impacts , pollution levels inside cars at red lights or in traffic jams are up to 40 percent higher than when traffic is moving . air quality is already a problem outside of cars : more than 80 percent of people living in cities where pollution is tracked are exposed to air quality levels below world health organization limits . the w. h. o. has estimated that poor air quality is responsible for the deaths of 3 . 7 million people younger than 60 in 2012 . researchers at the university of surrey in england took to the streets of guildford , “ a typical english town , ” to look at the effects of traffic on concentrations of polluting particles . they also analyzed how ventilation settings changed those concentrations inside of cars . the scientists took their measurements inside a car as it traveled on a loop , passing through 10 traffic intersections . they tracked the concentrations of particles of air pollution — ranging from course to fine — at each intersection . in a car stuck in traffic , shutting all the windows and turning off the fan or heat reduced concentration doses of the smallest , most hazardous particles by up to 76 percent . the researchers also found an increase in smaller particles inside the vehicle compared with larger ones when the heat was off and fans were on full blast , drawing in air from outside . those findings suggest that the ventilation system was more effective at filtering out larger particles than smaller ones while stopped at intersections , reducing the concentration doses of those particles up to 68 percent , they said . and while they were only at traffic intersections for about 7 percent of total commuting time on average , the time accounted for as much as 10 percent of their exposure to harmful particles . the exposure was more than six times greater in cars with open windows than for pedestrians at or intersections . so when you ’re stopped at an intersection , roll up the windows , and breathe easier .
+1 many popular tea bags contain alarming amounts of deadly pesticides ( avoid these brands like the plague ) realdeal many popular tea bags contain alarming amounts of deadly pesticides ( avoid these brands like the plague ) most conventional tea brands such as lipton , allegro , celestial seasonings , tazo , teavana , bigelow , republic of tea , twinings , yogi , tea forte , mighty leaf , trader joe ’s , tetley contain really high levels of toxic substances such as fluoride and pesticides . we are not talking about calcium fluoride which is a natural element , but about the synthetic fluoride which is a toxic by product . these levels are dangerously high to the point of being considered unsafe . so drinking cheap tea can be as bad as eating junk food . cheap tea contains fluoride and pesticides most teas are not washed before being dried , thus non - organic teas contain pesticide residues . some tea brands ( even those claimed organic or pesticide free ! ) have recently been found to contain pesticides that are known carcinogens – in quantities above the us and eu limits ! a new study published in the journal of , food research international , found that cheaper blends contain enough fluoride to put people under the risk of many illnesses such as bone tooth , kidney problems and even cancer . in fact , some brands of cheap tea contain nearly 7 parts per million ( ppm ) and the allowed level of fluoride is 4 ppm . this is quite scary since fluoride gets into your bones and accumulates in your body . it stays there for years . so how did fluoride get into tea ? the tea plant accumulates fluoride as it grows . this means that old leaves contain the most fluoride . cheaper quality teas are often made from old leaves that contain more fluoride than young tea leaves ( here is an example ) . additionally , these cheaper brands use smaller leaves which contain more fluoride . and what about decaffeinated tea ? well , decaffeinated tea showed higher fluoride levels than caffeinated tea . so what is the solution ? should you stop drinking tea all together ? of course not ! first of all , make sure to buy loose leaf tea and brew your tea from scratch . bagged tea which might seem convenient and ready to go , is often made from low quality leaves which surely contain more fluoride . stick to white tea ( here ) . it has the least amount of fluoride . buy organic tea because the methods for cultivation are more sophisticated and conscious . they might even use purified water for the soil . we ’ve just scratched the surface here , please check out food babe ’s full report for more detailed information and a chart of which teas came out with their reputations intact – and please share with your tea - loving friends !
+1 unsilenced : whistleblower exposes un culture of corruption alex newman email when she stumbled across massive corruption and made - up statistics in her job at the united nations , rasna warah knew she needed to act . but when she tried to blow the whistle , she was viciously attacked , publicly humiliated , threatened , intimidated , and more . unfortunately , though , as warah explains in her new book unsilenced : unmasking the united nations ' culture of cover - ups , corruption and impunity , her case is far from unique . in fact , the corruption and lawlessness across the un appears to be systemic . some of the cases described in the book and the pages of the new american magazine make the scandals she exposed and the retaliation she suffered seem mild by comparison . indeed , in her book , she actually spends very little time dwelling on her own case , but delves instead into some of the many other known and unknown scandals to rock the global organization . perhaps the most grotesque whistleblower - related story in recent memory surrounds the now - infamous case of anders kompass , the un human - rights official who exposed child - rape by “ peacekeeping ” troops in africa after the un refused to act on it . but the book is filled with startling examples of corruption , mismanagement , and more , ranging from brazen theft of taxpayer money to the sexual abuse and exploitation of children by un “ peace ” troops . just the quotes from the un whistleblowers exposing the putrid un culture of impunity make the book worth reading . apparently the un did not want a “ culture of snitches , ” as one whistleblower put it . it got so bad that in 2015 , as warah explains , a coalition of nine un whistleblowers got together to raise the matter with un secretary - general ban ki moon . “ each of us has blown the whistle on serious wrongdoing , gross misconduct , and even criminal acts at the united nations , ” the group wrote in the letter , which is quoted in the book . “ our collective experience of reporting misconduct in the un covers sexual exploitation , abuse of power , corruption , and other criminals activity over a period of more than a decade and a half . ” instead of the un scrambling to make things right , though , it responded in every case by attacking the whistleblower instead of the crimes , abuse , and the people behind the problems . “ each of us has faced retaliation for reporting the wrongdoing , ” the whistleblowers continued . “ our cases are well - known , and sadly , deter others from reporting wrongdoing . this must change . ” unfortunately for humanity , despite threats from congress to cut funding , and increasingly widespread media attention , nothing has changed , as the book documents extensively . warah 's realization that something was very wrong at the un began while she was serving at un - habitat as an editor of various publications , including the important “ state of the world 's cities ” report . her troubles began in 2009 , when she traveled to bahrain with anna tibaijuka , the executive director of the un - habitat agency that focuses on promoting “ sustainable ” cities . during the visit , warah explained , some bahrain officials asked how their money was being used . “ the executive director did not provide an adequate response , and thinking that perhaps she had not been briefed about it , i made my own inquiries when i returned to nairobi , ” explained warah , a kenyan of indian heritage . “ i discovered that at least $ 350,000 of the $ 1 million donation bahrain had made to un - habitat could not be accounted for . when i asked my supervisors if they knew where the money went , they descended on me like a tonne of bricks , even threatening to not talk to me any more . ” at that time , warah realized that “ the money had probably been used on personal projects or maybe even diverted to individuals within the organization . ” in an interesting turn of events , warah later concluded that the monarchy in bahrain did not even really care if its money has been used properly . instead , it seems that the regime was involved in a sort of tit - for - tat agreement . “ in 2007 , the prime minister of bahrain , shaikh khalifa , had been awarded the un - habitat scroll on honour award for ´ his outstanding efforts in raising the living standards of bahrainis , ´ ” warah added in an e - mail about her experiences . “ this was just before bahrain experienced its own arab spring , when the monarchy 's legitimacy was being questioned . the huge donation to un - habitat was probably how bahrain 's monarchy ' bought ' international legitimacy through the un . ” around that same time , warah had already started to question how some of the alleged statistics used in the state of the world 's cities reports were actually being computed . “ many un agencies deliberately exaggerate the scale of a problem or disseminate statistics that are not based on any scientific survey or research , ” she wrote in the book . many also “ manufacture data , ” she added , “ because that is how they remain relevant , how they push their agenda on the international stage , and how they attract donor [ taxpayer ] funding . ” sometimes un officials and other international bureaucracies make up numbers and lie to coerce governments into changing policies , she explained . the book cites a number of examples of cooked up numbers to justify bigger budgets , more power and prestige , and various policy prescriptions . some of the alleged “ famines ” in somalia , for example , appear to have been concocted by un bureaucrats by simply inventing or massaging statistics . clueless journalists then parrot the invented un numbers as part of a process that warah referred to as the “ cnn effect . ” warah considers it a crime akin to plagiarism that should be severely punished . “ when a un agency publishes inaccurate , misleading , or unscientific statistics , it is even more unforgivable because the world 's governments ( i.e. member states of the un ) rely on those statistics to determine their national policies , priorities , and programs , ” she continued , adding that “ millions of people 's lives can be affected by a single misleading or erroneous statistic . ” in particular , during her stint editing the un world cities report , she was concerned about the “ gini coefficient ” numbers used for cities , which seek to measure income inequality . she tried to figure out how these were being arrived at . unsurprisingly , her superiors at the un office were not pleased with the curiosity and additional scrutiny , warah explained . “ my questioning resulted in several acts of retaliation , including public humiliation at office meetings , threats of non - renewal of contract , intimidating questioning during an interview for a post i had applied for and petty revenges , like forcing me to share my office with visiting consultants , even though i had made it clear that as editor of this important report i needed privacy and silence to carry out my work , ” she explained in an e - mail . “ i left the organization soon after due to frustration and a sense that my supervisors were hell - bent on making my life miserable . ” in response to the retaliation , warah filed an official complaint at the un “ ethics office , ” which is supposed to investigate claims and provide relief to whistleblowers . the office claimed that , “ while there probably was evidence of wrongdoing at un - habitat , they could not establish whether i had experienced any retaliation , ” warah said , adding that determining whether retaliation took place is key to getting justice from the un 's internal systems . the book also contains a very informative introduction by beatrice edwards , the international program director at the whistleblower advocacy group government accountability project . despite her general acceptance of the un line regarding why it was founded and its alleged humanitarian purposes , edwards highlights a number of extremely serious issues . among those is the fact that un personnel enjoy immunity from national and local laws , leading to a total lack of accountability that produces lawlessness and impunity . she also blasts the un 's supposed “ internal system of justice ” as subject to manipulation , calling its set - up “ increasingly opaque and arbitrary . ” and indeed , as the book shows , the un 's pseudo - justice system is almost tragically discredited , and totally undeserving of the term “ justice . ” according to the book , only between three percent and four percent of whistleblowers who sought assistance from the un “ ethics office ” had the retaliation against them substantiated by the “ ethics ” people . that means a stunning 96 percent or more of whistleblowers who reported being persecuted for blowing the whistle at the un received no relief . imagine being a un worker who has observed criminality , and thinking about those odds . of course , most people would simply choose to stay silent rather than jeopardize their career and livelihood for such meager odds . and so , with potential whistleblowers terrorized into submission , the widespread corruption , criminality and other horrors that plague the un go unreported . the un knows that , too , as it acknowledges in its reports about the drastic under - reporting of sexual exploitation and abuse of women and children by its scandal - plagued “ peace ” troops . when warah tried to blow the whistle and seek relief , she witnessed the failures firsthand . “ since the ethics office could not determine retaliation , i could not take my case forward , ” she explained . “ later i realized that the ethics office fails to prove retaliation in about 98 per cent of the whistleblower cases it receives , which suggests that it protects senior un management rather than un whistleblowers . ” numerous un whistleblowers who have spoken to this magazine in recent years have made the exact same charge , and the un has done little to dispel that notion . “ the un 's culture of impunity ensures that those who do not rock the boat with uncomfortable truths get promoted while those who dare to speak out are castigated , ignored , demoted or fired , ” wrote warah in the book . “ this is especially true in cases where the perpetrators of crimes are from powerful or influential countries that exert political pressure to ensure that their nationals ' cases are not brought forward or are buried . ” think about the implications of that . in the case of danish un diplomat paul bang - jensen , who blew the whistle on the deliberate sabotage of a un probe into soviet atrocities in hungary , and tried to protect the identity of witnesses to protect them and their families from torture and murder , the saga ended with his suspicious “ suicide . ” his death came after he had told his wife and others not to believe any claims that he would commit suicide . the new american magazine will publish an in - depth story on bang - jensen in the coming weeks . there is so much more to learn from the unsilenced book . for instance , warah describes how international “ aid ” outfits bring in huge quantities of tax - funded food supplies right around harvest time , flooding the market with basically “ free ” food in huge quantities . this crushes prices , thereby destroying the incentive for locals to farm while perpetuating dependence on corrupt agencies funded by western taxpayers , in addition to ensuring budget increases for global bureaucrats . another interesting fact brought out in the book : the british government 's tax - funded propaganda arm , the bbc , has an unwritten policy that prevents the “ news ” agency from “ coming down too hard ” on the un or its senior bureaucrats . the reason , according to an unnamed bbc journalist cited by warah , is that exposing un wrongdoing and crime might be perceived as “ anti - development . ” other self - styled media organs refuse to expose un wrongdoing because the left - wing journalists fear being associated with right - of - center individuals who want to shut down the un , warah , herself a left - winger , acknowledges in unsilenced . some of the ideas proposed in the book to remedy the many problems include reforming the un 's internal justice system , setting up outside independent mechanisms , ensuring protection of whistleblowers , and more . unfortunately , though , none of those recommendations get to the heart of the problem , which is that the dictator - dominated un was flawed from the start and can not be “ reformed ” enough to make it worth keeping . surely protection for whistleblowers is needed — if only to ferret out criminals and bring them to justice , and to protect their victims , often children . but it will not solve the broader un problem . if there is anything to quibble about with the book , it is that it accepts as true many of the fundamental ( and false ) premises upon which the un was established — the idea that “ world peace ” was the goal of leading un founders such as butcher joseph stalin of moscow and soviet spy alger hiss of the united states , for instance . the book also occasionally treats leftist ideological claims — the idea that governments are responsible for feeding people , as just one example — as if they were facts . the ideological lens through which warah reports , though , is easy to discern , and does not interfere with , or take away from , the excellent and brave work she has done exposing this cesspool of corruption and crime . the book is well worth reading for anybody seeking information on un corruption or the persecution of un whistleblowers who try to do the right thing . for the sake of humanity and liberty , it needs to stop . photos : rasna warah and her book unsilenced alex newman , a foreign correspondent for the new american , is normally based in europe . follow him on twitter @alexnewman_jou . he can be reached at related articles :
+0 l.a. mayor silent on city ’s rising violent crime - breitbart michelle moons los angeles mayor eric garcetti ’s campaign traded barbs with mayoral challenger ( and fellow democrat ) mitchell schwartz last week over the city ’s rising violent crime rate . [ during a northridge east neighborhood council candidate forum , schwartz accused garcetti of concealing rising crime statistics by not holding an annual news conference on them at the end of the year , according to the los angeles daily news . garcetti spokesman yusef robb slammed schwartz ’s “ conspiracy theory ” as he tried to explain away the lack of news conference as a scheduling matter . he went on to claim that l. a. crime is at “ historic lows ” and blamed the state for failures associated with prison sentence reductions under 2014 ’s proposition 47 . violent crime in los angeles was up 10 percent in 2016 from 2015 , according to the daily news , which noted that the crime statistics were quietly rolled out on the police department ’s website . in prior years the statistics were announced jointly and very publicly by the mayor and chief of police . schwartz has been campaigning on his goal to add 2 , 500 police officers to the city ’s police department , according to the report . another mayoral challenger , paul amori , piled on the criticism of garcetti , saying that “ crime is up massively ” under garcetti ’s watch , though he did n’t blame garcetti alone . this week , san diego mayor kevin faulconer highlighted san diego ’s decrease in violent crime while noting in a statement that violent crime in los angeles , phoenix , san antonio and dallas had higher rates . in january , garcetti spent several days fundraising in chicago , washington d. c and new york for his bid . earlier the same month , former vice president joe biden appeared at a fundraiser for garcetti in beverly hills . in early february , garcetti took time to appear on msnbc , stating that if los angeles police were enforcing immigration law , they could n’t be out solving crimes . garcetti has repeatedly criticized president donald trump ’s plans to enforce immigration law and warnings that sanctuary cities face losing federal dollars . aides to garcetti said that on march 3 garcetti and los angeles police chief charlie beck will roll out a “ public safety initiative . ” garcetti has also been the target of protests by black lives matter activists , who president trump and other critics have blamed for making the tasks facing police in inner cities more difficult . follow michelle moons on twitter @michellediana
+0 edward snowden ’s long , strange journey to hollywood - the new york times irina aleksander the summer light was fading to gold near red square as oliver stone maneuvered through the lobby bar of a moscow hotel last year . he walked past the marble staircase and the grand piano to a table in the back . a group of businessmen in suits lingered nearby . stone grimaced . “ i think we should move , ” he said . his producer , moritz borman , led the way to another corner . “ how ’s this ? ” borman asked . stone did n’t answer . he eyed an older couple slurping soup and kept moving . a moment later , stone finally settled in by a window , comfortably beyond earshot of the other patrons . such security precautions had become routine . ever since stone decided to make a biopic about edward snowden , the american blower currently holed up in moscow somewhere , the director — who became a buddhist while making “ heaven earth ” and sampled a buffet of psychedelic drugs for “ the doors ” — had gone all method again . on “ snowden , ” he and borman became so preoccupied with american government surveillance that they had their los angeles offices swept for bugs more than once . the director had n’t been sleeping well . principal photography wrapped a month earlier , and now stone had come to moscow to film snowden for the movie ’s grand finale . he ordered a decaf coffee and began to lay out the events that led him and borman to be hanging out in russian hotels , on the lookout for potential spies . “ last january , moritz calls me , ” stone said . “ he says : ‘ you got a call from this fella who represents mr. snowden . you ’re invited to moscow . ’’ u2009 ” the call had come from anatoly kucherena , snowden ’s russian lawyer . in the course of his career , kucherena has represented russian oligarchs , film directors , a few pop singers and a state minister . in 2012 , he campaigned for vladimir v. putin , and soon after snowden landed in moscow , kucherena showed up at sheremetyevo airport and offered his services . then kucherena wrote a novel about his new client . titled “ time of the octopus , ” it follows a national security agency leaker named joshua cold who is marooned in the airport and the russian advocate who liberates him . in january 2014 , months before the book was published , kucherena called borman to see if stone might like to make it into a hollywood movie . “ and i know you from working on , what , three films ? ” stone said at the bar . “ five , ” borman said . at the time , stone and borman were barely speaking after a out during the making of “ savages , ” a beachy blake lively thriller . “ we ’ve had our fights , ” stone said . “ you know , he ’s german i ’m american . ” he did n’t elaborate . “ he calls , and i go : ‘ oh , [ expletive ] . not again,’’u2009 ” stone continued . it was n’t just about borman . stone wanted nothing to do with another political docudrama . he spent two decades trying to get a biopic about the rev. dr. martin luther king jr. off the ground , only to see “ selma ” get made to critical acclaim . then there was the my lai massacre film . merrill lynch put up cash , bruce willis was set to star and stone built an entire village in thailand . as the economy collapsed in 2008 , the financing evaporated . “ you get these scars , and they do n’t go away , ” stone said . so stone was skeptical . but this was snowden , who handedly exposed the colossal scale on which the united states had been surveilling its citizens . plus , the director needed a hit . after early successes like “ platoon ” and “ wall street , ” his more recent films did n’t receive the attention he hoped . the snowden story had all the ingredients of an epic stone picture : politics , government conspiracy and , at the center of it all , an american patriot who had lost faith . if it panned out , it could be stone ’s millennial up to “ born on the fourth of july , ” the ron kovic biopic that won him an oscar in 1990 . but first stone and borman had to make sure kucherena was for real . borman asked the lawyer to send the book and two tickets to moscow . both arrived the next day . in case they still had doubts , kucherena ’s office gave borman a number to call . on the other end was an employee of the russian consulate in san francisco , who turned out to be a big fan of “ the life of david gale , ” a film borman produced . they were issued visas that same week . ( kucherena denies buying tickets for stone and borman or helping expedite their visas . ) “ when that happened , ” borman said , “ i thought , o. k. i guess kucherena can pull the strings . ” as narratives go , snowden ’s is a compelling one . his transformation from a shy and pale something — full of the sort of idealism those years can afford — to political dissident made him a hero figure to establishment liberals who are in the business of storytelling . raised in a family of federal employees , snowden grew up near fort meade , md. he enlisted in the army , went to work for the central intelligence agency and became a technology specialist for the n. s. a. by the summer of 2013 , he had downloaded thousands of documents , taken off for hong kong and asked the journalists glenn greenwald and laura poitras to meet him there . the initial revelations were sensational . not only had the n. s. a. been monitoring the calls , emails and web activity of millions of americans , but it also had been tapping into the networks of google , yahoo and other companies to do so . the guardian published the leaks , and greenwald eventually revealed the identity of his source in a video shot by poitras . depending on your feelings about national security , the n. s. a. ’s actions were either necessary or unconstitutional . the apple founder steve wozniak called snowden a hero . secretary of state john kerry called him a traitor . donald trump called for his execution . as snowden became a celebrity , a cause and a historical event , the web of people who wanted to take part in it widened . most had his best interests in mind , but his story also happened to advance agendas that had long needed an appealing spokesperson . liberties lawyers wanted to represent him . activist journalists wanted access to him . publishers rushed out books , including “ the snowden files : the inside story of the world ’s most wanted man , ” by luke harding of the guardian , and “ the snowden operation : inside the west ’s greatest intelligence disaster , ” by edward lucas of the economist . despite promising an “ inside ” look , neither writer had ever met snowden . those with intimate knowledge documented the experience , too . in 2014 , greenwald published “ no place to hide : edward snowden , the n. s. a. and the u. s. surveillance state , ” a dramatic retelling of how greenwald broke the story . that fall , poitras released “ citizenfour , ” a tense and spooky documentary about a modest and intelligent young man who hid under a blanket when typing on his laptop . ( it won the 2015 oscar for best documentary . ) snowden , meanwhile , ended up in russia . he had embarked on a trip to ecuador , but the united states revoked his passport midflight , leaving him stranded in moscow . for russia , snowden was like a bird that flew in through an open window — or , as putin joked , an unwanted christmas present . but politically speaking , he could be useful . after enduring the united states’ endless lectures about human rights , the kremlin could suddenly welcome a man who exposed american hypocrisy . kucherena entered the picture as snowden ’s lifeline , or at least as someone who could help him navigate russia ’s asylum laws . an experienced lawyer , kucherena was appointed by putin to the public council , overseeing the federal security service ( f. s. b. ) . snowden ’s case presented a new opportunity . it took kucherena a month to negotiate snowden ’s stay and three months to write “ time of the octopus . ” stone ’s first meeting with kucherena was a disaster . ( “ i thought he was a gruff bear , ” stone told me . ) the director wanted to meet snowden , but kucherena said snowden would n’t meet them until they agreed to option “ time of the octopus . ” ( kucherena denies this . ) according to stone and borman , by the end of a long weekend , they reached a gentlemen ’s agreement : stone would option the novel — if kucherena could provide regular access to his client . i first spoke to stone in june 2015 , after reading that he was in the midst of shooting a film based on kucherena ’s novel . he said he would be traveling to moscow again that week to shoot snowden and agreed to let me tag along . a day later , a peeved borman called me . “ you ’ve been disinvited , ” he said coolly . during those 24 hours , this magazine had contacted ben wizner , snowden ’s lawyer at the american civil liberties union , to arrange an interview with his client . kucherena may be snowden ’s russian representative , but in the united states , wizner runs the show . wizner was furious . not just because stone had invited a reporter to moscow , but because of how it all looked : that snowden was involved in a hollywood movie and that the whole production was seemingly brokered by a lawyer with ties to the kremlin . borman would later tell me that we had waded into the sticky territory of snowden ’s multiple emissaries . “ there are two ways to access him : one is kucherena and one is wizner , and it ’s completely political , ” borman said . “ it ’s a political situation that goes way above your head . ” when wizner and i finally got on the phone , he was in control mode . he told me that snowden was n’t profiting from stone ’s film in any way . “ one rule ed always had was , i ’m not selling my life rights , ” wizner said . snowden ’s participation in a hollywood movie would only fuel the claims of his critics — that he was a narcissist eager to cash in . that said , stone ’s film would be seen by millions of people , which meant it could sway public opinion . “ we were choosing between two bad options , ” wizner said . “ he could have stubbornly stayed completely at arm ’s length and had no input whatsoever . or he could have some input and compromised the arm’ relationship . and i did n’t know how to advise him on that . ” according to wizner , snowden met with stone only to make sure that the film told an accurate story . “ it ’s been us walking this tightrope between clearly not having any formal connection to the project — not deriving any benefit from it — and also not wanting to just be completely helpless and , you know , see what oliver stone comes up with , ” wizner said . despite some initial discomfort , he was tentatively optimistic . “ maybe it ’ll be good , ” wizner added . “ you know , oliver stone wrote ‘ scarface . ’’ u2009 ” still , stone was heading to moscow to film snowden for an appearance in the movie , which could be seen as an endorsement . checking is one thing , i said a cameo is another . “ it is , and i ’m not entirely comfortable with it , ” wizner said . wizner had negotiated veto control over any footage featuring snowden in the film . after we spoke , the lawyer says he asked borman to put that in writing . he also reiterated that if stone took a reporter along , snowden would not participate . stone and i eventually reached a compromise : i would n’t observe the shoot , but i could still come and meet kucherena . a few days later , i met stone in moscow . the director , who is 69 , has a leaning gait and unruly eyebrows , so that he looks a bit like a bull that is always about to charge . he emerged from the hotel ’s elevator with a pained look on his face . it was drizzling , and stone ’s hair , which is the color of dark shoe polish , was pointing laterally . “ i have some bad news , ” he said . “ i can not deliver anatoly . ” he had just seen snowden , who had been in touch with wizner and was very upset , stone said . “ ed said he does n’t want anatoly talking to you , and he said that very clearly , ” stone added . i would spend the next few days camped out at the hotel . when stone was n’t shooting , we would meet in the lobby bar as he continued to tell me about the making of his film . soon after optioning kucherena ’s novel , stone had returned to moscow with his writer , kieran fitzgerald , a recent university of texas m. f. a. graduate . anticipating a homesick snowden , fitzgerald hauled over a duffel bag packed with the stuff of americana dreams : kraft macaroni and cheese , cups , oreos , pepperidge farm cookies , twizzlers , peanut butter , spam , an orioles baseball cap and a pair of converse sneakers . “ it was like delivering a care package to a kid at summer camp , ” fitzgerald told me . he also slipped in a copy of “ the odyssey ” translated by his grandfather , robert fitzgerald . “ i thought it was appropriate , since ed was on his own kind of odyssey trying to get home . ” snowden and stone had gotten off to a slow start . snowden was squeamish about a movie being made about his life . stone , in turn , said the film would be made with or without him . fitzgerald says he played referee . “ oliver can be a bit of battering ram , ” fitzgerald said . “ he ’s accustomed to hard men who need to be cracked , but that ’s not edward snowden . he ’s not an male type . he ’s a very sensitive mind . so i was there to say : ‘ everything is going to be o. k. he ’s a good guy . it ’s going to be a good movie . ’’ u2009 ” eventually , snowden began to open up , answering questions about his childhood his girlfriend , lindsay mills and what he could about his work for the n. s. a. while fitzgerald returned to austin to work on the script , stone set out to plant his flag in the snowden story . in hollywood , book options are the equivalent of calling dibs , and stone had competition . in may 2014 , sony pictures optioned greenwald ’s “ no place to hide . ” by june , stone had announced that he acquired kucherena ’s book and harding ’s “ the snowden files . ” the tactic worked . sony got nervous . “ now what ? ” amy pascal , then sony ’s chairwoman , wrote to another executive . ( the email would be leaked during the sony hack . ) pascal ’s colleague reminded her of the case of the dual steve jobs biopics — “ jobs , ” with ashton kutcher , might have come out first , but it was “ steve jobs , ” starring michael fassbender , that was the better film . pascal was n’t convinced . “ oliver stone is not ashton kutcher , ” she responded . she wrote to george clooney to pique his interest in adapting greenwald ’s book , but clooney passed . “ stone will do a hatchet job on the movie , but it will still be the film of snowden , ” he replied . for stone , the impending sony project was a call to arms . fitzgerald cranked out a first draft of the script , and that fall stone went out to studios with a budget of $ 50 million and a release date in december 2015 . each one turned it down , and stone became convinced that the studios wanted to quash the project because of its controversial subject matter . “ this is why corporations owning movie studios is not a good idea , ” he said . while borman hustled to find independent financing , stone dove into casting . for the lead , he chose joseph levitt , the son of liberals from sherman oaks , calif. and a former child actor who has retained a pleasingly boyish look . “ there ’s an interesting blandness to him in the same way that jimmy stewart might ’ve been considered bland , ” stone said . “ there ’s a neutrality there , which allows him to grow on you . ” shailene woodley was cast to play lindsay mills , zachary quinto as greenwald and melissa leo as poitras . by early 2015 , borman and stone had racked up several hundred thousand dollars in debt , but the money was still short . the shoot was ultimately delayed three weeks as the producer cobbled together european partners . in the united states , “ snowden ” was picked up by open road films , a small production company that had just put out “ jobs ” — the kutcher version . “ it was painful that we ended up with this independent distributor , ” stone said . borman offered that open road was not so independent anymore . “ i ’d never heard of it , ” stone said , adding : “ i ’ve been there before , but not on this level and not at this age . so for me , it was very difficult personally . ” the cover of “ time of the octopus ” features a image of snowden ’s face and a globe peeled like an orange to reveal the logo of the c. i. a. in his author photo , kucherena indeed looks bearish , with a round face , matted white hair and a cellphone pressed to his right ear — as if he were midnegotiation . “ the whole truth about the american agent on the run , ” the cover boasts . also : “ oliver stone is currently shooting a film based on this book . ” i had gotten my copy from stone , who handed it to me with a disclaimer . “ now , it ’s easy to take a shot at this , ” he said . “ you know , it was n’t the basis of the movie . but it ’s fun . i enjoyed reading it . ” “ time of the octopus ” takes place in a single night . the protagonist , joshua cold , is sequestered in a bunker at sheremetyevo airport , where his russian lawyer keeps him company . the chapters alternate between their stamped conversations and those labeled as digital files ( “ file 004 . wav ” ) suggesting that they are the lawyer ’s transcribed recordings . the basic facts of cold ’s case sound familiar , as do the character names : there are journalists named boitras and greywold and an organization called mikileaks run by an augusto cassangie . for the most part , cold and the lawyer sit and talk about life , quoting laozi to each other . but there is also a distinctly soviet tone to the novel , which reads both like a love letter to american culture — steven spielberg , b. b. king , “ the terminator , ” penthouse magazine , popeye , “ the ” paul newman , bon jovi , “ man , ” “ braveheart , ” quentin tarantino and tupac shakur are all mentioned — and a gleeful taunt to its government . “ not only did [ cold ] snap the beak of the american eagle , ” kucherena writes , “ but he also gave him a good kick and a very humiliating one , as if it was not a menacing predator but a rural hen . ” in the bunker , cold enjoys pizza and whiskey , but he is worried about american agents coming to retrieve him . “ believe me , russia is not the worst option for you , ” the lawyer tells cold . “ and you need n’t regard us with such mistrust . ” once cold is granted asylum , the propaganda is dialed up . “ i shall work in russia and get an apartment ! ” cold announces . “ i thought i would spend the rest of my life in this underground prison . ” “ as far as i know mr. putin , he is not one to change his mind easily , ” the lawyer assures him . “ all will be o. k. ” the novel concludes with cold vowing to learn to drink like the russians , but the lawyer suggests he try kvass instead , a fermented beverage made from rye bread . ( “ it is the russian cola , ” the lawyer says . ) then they leave the bunker . “ weird , huh ? ” fitzgerald said when i asked about the novel . in fact , few people associated with either snowden or “ snowden ” wanted to discuss it . “ i do n’t want to say anything on the record about that book , ” levitt told me . according to wikileaks , stone paid a million dollars for “ time of the octopus , ” which seemed like a hefty amount to pay for material that stone admitted he had no plans of using . ( that ’s the same figure sony reportedly paid for the rights to “ eat , pray , love . ” ) “ we bought it because we did get good access to ed , ” stone explained . “ he had to be brought along . ” during stone ’s visits , kucherena hosted the director at his favorite restaurants and at his dacha outside moscow . “ they had a kind of bromance , ” fitzgerald told me . photos from the trips look like vacation postcards , with stone and fitzgerald grinning in red army caps ( a gift from kucherena ) and fitzgerald and levitt posing for a selfie in front of st. basil ’s cathedral . while out in public , the group referred to snowden as “ sasha , ” a nickname kucherena had given him . kucherena and i would eventually speak by phone . he said he wrote the novel because he had received calls from many “ representatives of hollywood , ” writers and filmmakers . “ at some point , i just thought to myself , why do n’t i try to write the book ? ” he said . i asked which writers and directors had called him . “ very many people called me , ” he replied . “ but i honestly do n’t remember their names now . ” the lawyer was deeply troubled by the news media ’s insinuations that he is connected to the kremlin . he pointed to several clients he has defended against the f. s. b. including platon obukhov , a writer accused of spying for britain . “ i never had any kind of agreement with the kremlin , ” he said . “ they tried to say i ’m tied to the f. s. b. but that ’s complete nonsense , excuse me . ” kucherena said he was inspired by his favorite authors , who include tom clancy , aldous huxley and george orwell . “ the octopus in my novel is , you can say , a direct offspring of big brother , ” he said . like most writers of fiction , he was reluctant to discuss which parts of his book were based in reality . “ a person can only be open with someone he trusts , ” kucherena said . “ and here , because he had no one else , it turned out that i took on the role of mother and father . accordingly , we had confidential conversations of various sorts . ” he did not see a conflict of interest in his writing the novel . “ i wrote an artistic book , ” kucherena said . because he represents snowden pro bono , he never expected to capitalize on the relationship . “ i do n’t take any money from him , ” kucherena said . “ he does n’t have any . so i wrote a book , yes , fine . so i got a little , as we say in russian . ” despite being the one to put the “ snowden ” project into motion , kucherena shied away from assuming any credit . “ i ’m very far from all that , ” he said . “ i ’m just an advocate . look at where i am and where hollywood is ! ” when i told wizner that stone said he bought kucherena ’s book to gain access to snowden , his voice climbed a few octaves again . “ virtually every single other person who ’s met with snowden , and there have been dozens of them , have just gone through me , and we ’ve hooked it up , ” wizner said . he listed some names , which included the film director doug liman , as well as the actors jared leto and john cusack . ( cusack took snowden cool ranch doritos , as well as dvds of “ network ” and “ dr. strangelove . ” ) wizner , who is 45 , has been at the a. c. l. u. since 2001 . before snowden , he tried to bring several suits to increase oversight over the intelligence community . wizner likes to say that he spent a decade banging his head against a wall , and then snowden came along and brought that wall down . snowden had not only revealed the scope of the surveillance apparatus , but also that top government officials routinely misled the public about it . since becoming snowden ’s advocate , wizner has become a figure of not insignificant geopolitical importance . those revelations have since formed a critical backdrop for legislative reforms , and there are few things that irritate wizner more than claims that threaten to tarnish snowden ’s character and their common cause . it would not be a stretch to say that for wizner , kucherena has become a bit of a liability . since 2013 , the russian lawyer has announced that snowden landed a job at a major russian website — news that turned out to not be true — and has supplied the news media with photos of his client enjoying his new life in russia , attending an opera at the bolshoi theater and cheerfully hugging a dog named rick . ( rick later turned out to be the dog of one of kucherena ’s friends . ) now kucherena had sold a novel to stone , making it seem as if the director had to pay a russian fixer to have access to snowden — or worse , that snowden was somehow under the lock and key of the russian authorities , lent to stone for a hollywood movie . wizner ’s counterefforts in the united states have been successful . former attorney general eric holder , once a fierce critic , has acknowledged that snowden performed “ a public service . ” president obama has called for the reform of phone metadata collection , and last june , congress passed the u. s. a. freedom act , a law that directly resulted from snowden ’s leaks . snowden has come to be seen as a levelheaded activist . according to wizner , he leads a free existence in russia , making appearances via live video and publishing against russia ’s human rights violations . “ i think people are inclined to believe that russia would never let him stay there unless he was paying for it in some way , ” wizner said . “ but it ’s just not true . not only is he not cooperating , but he ’s actually being critical . ” when i asked wizner about kucherena ’s book , we were meeting at a cafe near his office in lower manhattan . “ maybe you should just characterize my facial expression — ‘ he smirked,’’u2009 ” wizner said . ( except that his smirk was mixed with a frown . ) according to him , snowden has not read kucherena ’s book . “ the thing is , ed has much bigger fish to fry , ” he said . “ if you had people calling for your assassination , you ’d be annoyed . if you were facing life in solitary confinement , you ’d be concerned . if someone wrote some book in russia that no one is going to read , it does n’t register . ” wizner was reluctant to discuss kucherena ’s role in snowden ’s life , but he conceded that it was somewhat unorthodox . “ it seems like the ethical rules governing the client relationship may be somewhat different in russia , ” he said . “ it would be very unusual for a lawyer in a profile case to provide exclusive photos of his client to newspapers or write an unauthorized book and sell it to hollywood . ” kucherena and wizner have never met . whatever uneasiness there may be , kucherena spoke warmly about his american counterpart . “ we are on the same team ! ” he told me . “ ben works in america , i work in russia . if he wanted to write a book , i would have no problem . ” wizner told me he has no plans to write a book about snowden , fictional or otherwise . “ mission accomplished , ” stone announced . we had met in the lobby bar again , the day after he filmed snowden , and the director was in better spirits . the shoot took place at kucherena ’s dacha . the day went long . stone ’s idea was to interview snowden and capture an affecting moment that would give the film its dramatic ending . but the first takes were stiff . “ ed is used to answering questions on a level of intelligence , ” stone said . “ but i was interested in the emotional , which is difficult for him . ” stone ended up doing nine takes . at one point , they took a break and went for a walk around kucherena ’s property . by the end of the day , stone decided that he had gotten snowden to go as far as he was going to . “ he was cooperative , ” stone said . “ he wanted to make it work . but as an actor — he ’s not used to that . i mean , he ’s not an actor . and i do n’t think he became one that day . ” to make snowden more comfortable , stone worked with a minimal crew . some were meeting the blower for the first time and still seemed a bit . “ suddenly this little creature comes teetering in — so fragile , so lovely , such a charming , behaved , beautiful little man , ” the cinematographer , anthony dod mantle , told me . “ he ’s like an old soul in a very young body . he ’s got fingers like violins . ” filming snowden reminded mantle of shooting other men with outsize reputations and slight builds . “ it ’s like bono or al pacino , ” he added . “ those guys are weenies . but if you isolate him into a frame , he can be as big as anybody else . ” mantle shot danny boyle ’s “ slumdog millionaire ” and “ 127 hours , ” but “ snowden ” proved to be a special challenge . convinced that making the film on american soil would be too risky , stone decided to film in germany , where borman was able to score some tax subsidies . with roughly 140 script pages to shoot in 54 days , the crew sprinted from munich to washington , to hawaii , to hong kong , and then back to munich . often , mantle would n’t get to see locations before he had to film in them . to cut costs , the suburbs of munich had to stand in for rural maryland and virginia , with german extras cast as americans . “ thank god the germans act like americans , ” stone said . the production itself resembled a covert operation , with a code name ( “ sasha ” had stuck ) and elaborate security protocols . worried that “ sasha ” would be of interest to the n. s. a. borman and stone avoided discussing production details by phone or email — “ it was all handwritten notes and long walks in the park , ” borman said — and kept the script on gapped computers , ones that have never been connected to the internet . if it had to be mailed , borman would mix up the pages into four packages , which he would send with four different couriers to four different addresses . “ maybe nobody gave a [ expletive ] , ” borman told me . “ or maybe the n. s. a. is laughing at us like , ‘ look at those idiots — of course we copied everything that came through dhl and fedex ! ” for the actors , the frenetic schedule and paranoia on set added to the mood of the production . “ snowden himself was in the midst of a stressful situation , so the fact that our shoot was a little bit that way , i think , helped , ” levitt said , before catching himself . “ making the movie was obviously a walk in the park compared to what he did . but just to have those little emotional touch points can help when you ’re acting . ” committed to inhabiting snowden ’s robotic speech pattern , levitt lifted the audio from “ citizenfour ” and played it on repeat while he slept . he also worried that some of the dialogue felt handed . “ oliver is very into making his point , ” the actor said , “ as he should be . i really admire him for that . but i felt like it was my job to be like , ‘ o. k. i want to make the point , too , but this is a human being and not just a mouthpiece . ” stone found levitt ’s approach too “ ish ” at times . “ i was trying for the dramatic side as much as possible , ” stone said . fitzgerald was ultimately flown in to the set to execute minute rewrites . by late spring of 2015 , stone was close to wrapping when his mother , jacqueline goddet stone , died at 93 . she had called him in munich , but stone felt he could n’t risk leaving . “ to go to l. a. would have cost us three down days , ” stone told me . “ i knew she was going to pass , but i thought i could make it . ” stone remained on set during the funeral and kept shooting . stone ’s trip to moscow to film the real snowden was the last bit he needed to complete the film . but he was still worried — that the footage would be leaked , that critics would eviscerate it , that snowden would n’t like it . “ i want him to vet it , ” he said . he was heading to new york to begin editing and planned to return to moscow at the end of the summer to show snowden a rough cut . “ o. k. my dear , ” stone said , getting up to leave . “ see you in new york . ” then he disappeared for six months . before stone set out to make his film , he had met snowden ’s chief biographers , greenwald and poitras . stone and greenwald became friendly , and when greenwald ’s book drew interest in hollywood before it was published , the journalist turned to stone for advice . “ in the back of my mind , i thought if he had any interest in making a film , that would be a good segue for him to say so , ” greenwald told me . at the time , stone was n’t interested , and greenwald negotiated the deal with sony . stone later came back and offered to match sony ’s bid , but greenwald declined . “ i think he was a little perturbed , ” greenwald said . of the principal cast , zachary quinto , who plays greenwald in stone ’s movie , was the only actor who did n’t meet his counterpart as research . “ i always thought that was a little weird , ” greenwald said . “ i think oliver thought i had some competitive hostility toward his project , or he had some hostility — i ’m not really sure . ” ( according to stone , quinto did n’t need to meet greenwald because there were so many videos of the journalist online . ) in the spring of 2014 , stone flew to berlin and met with poitras . the meeting did not go well . according to poitras , stone proposed that she delay the release of “ citizenfour , ” which she was then in the middle of editing , to time up with his film . “ because his film would be the real movie — because it ’s a hollywood movie , ” poitras told me . “ obviously i was n’t interested in doing that . to have another filmmaker ask me to delay the release of my film was — well , it was somewhat insulting . ” stone was annoyed , but he stuck around for a few drinks . they discussed new movies , including “ 12 years a slave . ” as poitras recalls , stone found the film too violent , while poitras thought the brutality was appropriate given the subject matter . stone was growing increasingly frustrated . “ at some point , he reached over and had his hands around my neck , ” poitras said . “ it was sort of in a joking way . i think he was a little bit drunk . but it was not a particularly pleasant evening . ” according to stone , he only offered to help poitras get distribution . “ we thought we ’d help her either bring out her film with our film , or in the wake of it or before it , if we could , ” stone said . he did n’t recall pretending to strangle poitras . “ i think from talking to her , you sense she ’s superparanoid , ” he said . “ but i liked her , ” he continued . “ i admired her . i saw her films . i was trying to help her . if laura is accusing me of trying to aggress her or kill her , she ’s crazy . ” despite his occasional bullishness , stone craves approval . his films tend to resemble his character : at once original , impetuous , dogmatic and stubbornly ambitious . they typically run up to three hours , and he is often hurt when they ’re underappreciated . once , i was with stone when he was handed a copy of “ a child ’s night dream , ” the novel he wrote at 19 . stone began to recite the blurbs aloud . “ the language moves in torrents , always energized . .. shamanistic , ” stone read , quoting the boston globe . “ i do n’t get many good reviews , but this is good . ” i said that he has gotten plenty of good reviews since then . “ you should see rotten tomatoes , ” he said , referring to the review aggregator . stone ’s torment is at least in part inflicted . biopics can be a nasty business , and stone routinely throws himself into historical narratives and the messy negotiation between fact and fiction . the haggling with historians and family estates is the reason stone was never able to make films about martin luther king jr. and hank williams , and it was why he had to wait for richard m. nixon to die to make “ nixon . ” for stone , the characters of the stories he is after have become both the obstacles and the necessary arbiters of his work . it ’s why he refused to make “ snowden ” without snowden , and why his appeals to greenwald and poitras were his way of getting them on board . if poitras had a strong reaction to stone ’s proposal , it was because she had already been hounded by sony . after the studio optioned greenwald ’s book , poitras says sony asked to buy her life rights — an offer she declined . sony suggested that she come on as a consultant , but when the contract arrived , it stipulated that the studio would have access to poitras ’s tapes and notebooks . “ so i ’d already gone through that when oliver came in trying to position himself , ” she said . poitras is a spoken , cautious woman who has spent much of the past decade on government watch lists . her resistance to participating in various snowden projects has less to do with her feeling territorial than with her trying to maintain some control as she has become a character in a story that is no longer hers . poitras ’s radical position is that the “ snowden story ” can really belong only to snowden . “ i could have asked him for a contract in hong kong , but i do n’t believe in that as a concept , ” she said . “ it ’s his story , and i hope he tells it when he ’s ready . ” neither greenwald nor poitras ultimately object to stone making his film . while his own movie still lingered in development , greenwald thought snowden ’s story might in fact be safer in stone ’s hands than it would be elsewhere . the sony leaks would eventually reveal that stone ’s paranoia may have been justified : in emails about the purchase of greenwald ’s book , an executive in sony ’s affairs office suggests toning down the news release , changing “ illegal spying ” to “ intelligence gathering ” and “ misuse of power ” to “ actions . ” “ my big worry with hollywood and the snowden story is that they ’re either going to be cowards and completely drain it of its political vitality , ” greenwald told me , “ or that they ’re going to do a superbiased smear job . for all the talk about how liberal hollywood is , the reality is that they ’re really close to the government . and whatever other things you might say about oliver , i was actually relieved that someone was going to do this film where there was no danger of those things happening . ” this january , i drove to stone ’s office in west los angeles to watch a rough cut of “ snowden . ” stone works out of a discreet suite in a pristine office complex . the décor is eclectic . there are tribal masks , indonesian throw pillows , a che guevara painting and a lone potted palm tree . like “ citizenfour , ” “ snowden ” takes place in hong kong , but this time the story has the eerie feeling of a familiar scene enacted by skilled hollywood actors . stone was right about levitt . his performance is not an interpretation so much as a direct replica of the blower ’s even demeanor and intonation . quinto plays greenwald with such intensity that he appears perpetually enraged . melissa leo ’s poitras is in turn warm and protective , almost maternal . stone came in just as the credits rolled . he was nursing a cold but was back on caffeine and asked his assistant for bulletproof , the trendy coffee brand made with “ butter . ” “ it ’s supposed to be nutritional , ” stone said . “ no radicals . ” since i last saw him , the film ’s release had been pushed from december 2015 to may 2016 as stone rushed to complete it , and then once more to september 2016 . the biggest challenge was pacing . stone likes to structure his movies around a series of pivoting , battlelike scenes — the concerts in “ the doors , ” the football games in “ any given sunday ” or actual warfare in “ alexander . ” a story in which the drama hinges on a tech specialist downloading classified documents was more subdued than he was accustomed to . “ coding is not exciting , ” stone said . “ at the end of the day , it ’s a nerdlike behavior — it ’s dull on a screen . ” stone got around the tedium of reality by turning his film into a cross between a cyberthriller and a love story , using snowden ’s relationship with mills to inject emotional stakes . cutting between snowden in hong kong and flashbacks to his past , the film speeds through snowden ’s biography with the help of techno music , snappy explanations of n. s. a. programs and tricky camerawork to build in the tension of surveillance . ( there are scenes filmed from the perspective of tiny phone cameras — the modern peephole — and suggestive on eye pupils . ) but there are also unmistakable . “ i just do n’t really like bashing my country , ” levitt says to woodley as they stroll past a era antiwar protest in front of the white house . “ it ’s my country , too , ” woodley says . “ and right now , it ’s got blood on its hands . ” snowden ’s n. s. a. boss is unsubtly named corbin o’brian , after the antagonist in orwell ’s “ 1984 . ” “ most americans do n’t want freedom , ” o’brian tells snowden . “ they want security . ” snowden ’s many storytellers all tell a similar hero narrative . but if greenwald ’s account is about journalism , poitras ’s is a subtle and artful character study and kucherena ’s is an attempt at the russian novel — a man alone in a room , wrestling with his conscience — stone ’s is the explicit blockbuster version , told in high gloss with big , emotional music and digestible plot points that will appeal to mass audiences . as wizner wisely anticipated , it is the narrative most likely to cement snowden ’s story in americans’ minds . snowden declined to comment for this article , but stone told me he had seen the film and liked it . at a screening at con a few months later , snowden would beam in via satellite to give his somewhat wary approval . “ it was something that made me really nervous , ” he said of stone ’s film . “ but i think he made it work . ” as stone intended , snowden shows up at the end of the film . he appears in a paneled room in kucherena ’s dacha , a modest , looking space , with little to see except a vase of flowers and some curtains in the background . the snowden who speaks is not the stoic version , but one who manages to deliver a caliber movie line . “ i no longer have to worry about what happens tomorrow , ” he says , “ because i ’m happy with what i ’ve done today . ” just before the screen fades to black , snowden is shown gazing toward a window , a faint , inscrutable smile on his face . by this summer , whatever anxieties there may have once been seemed to have dissipated . with the film completed , stone would officially beat sony ’s project . open road , the distributor he was worried about , had won an oscar for “ spotlight . ” after “ snowden ” earned similar marks to that film during test screenings , everyone seemed optimistic , if a little surprised . “ at first i thought there must be something wrong , ” said borman , who told me that he had n’t seen such high scores in 25 years . open road had pushed for a fall release , placing it firmly among oscar contenders . ( “ snowden ” will open in theaters on sept. 16 , the day after stone ’s 70th birthday . ) levitt was so moved by snowden ’s story that he donated most of his salary from the film to the a. c. l. u. and used the rest to collaborate with wizner on a series of videos about democracy . wizner was preparing to petition obama to grant snowden a presidential pardon in the fall , and he hoped stone ’s film would help transform the public ’s perception of his client . kucherena , meanwhile , had turned “ time of the octopus ” into a trilogy — in the sequel , the n. s. a. sends an assassin to russia to “ eliminate ” joshua cold . he hoped to come to the united states for the premiere of the film , in which he has a cameo as a russian banker who encounters snowden at a party . “ if i can get a visa , why not ? ” he said . in july , stone and wizner joined forces for an a. c. l. u. event . the evening was billed as a conversation with wizner about surveillance and edward snowden , with stone hosting at his style home in the brentwood neighborhood of los angeles . as several dozen west coast supporters of the a. c. l. u. filtered into stone ’s backyard , the director sat camped out on a bench by the pool , taking the party in from a distance . he boasted that he had recently cut four more minutes from the film , bringing the run time to a lean 134 minutes . i asked if he would keep finessing until the end . “ no , it ’s over , ” he said . “ this is it . now i die . ” wizner roamed around , inspecting a meditation gazebo outfitted with a large gold buddha . after several people inquired who was playing him in the movie , the lawyer came up with a pithy reply . “ kevin spacey , reprising his role as keyser soze , ” he joked . “ the guy behind the guy behind the guy — hiding in plain sight . ” ( wizner is not a character in stone ’s film . ) that week , npr ran an interview with a russian security official who posited that snowden is maybe , probably , most definitely cooperating with russian intelligence . this inevitably set wizner off . “ of course , this is the same week that snowden is blasting putin on twitter every day , ” wizner said to borman , who nodded along . the producer suggested that snowden ’s critics would claim it ’s a cover . “ that ’s what they say ! ” wizner said . “ this is preapproved criticism so that it ’ll seem like he ’s free , but actually putin is the master pulling the strings . ” eventually , everyone moved to the den , a spacious , brightly lit room filled with family photos . matthew weiner , the “ mad men ” creator , took a seat by a stack of dvds , which included multiple seasons of his own hit tv show . others arranged themselves along wicker chairs that lined the room ’s perimeter . the whole thing had the feeling of a p. t. a. meeting , but without the stale cookies . wizner got up and spoke for some time about his efforts as snowden ’s lawyer . as he opened the room to questions , someone asked how long russia could be relied on to keep snowden safe . wizner turned the question over to stone . “ oliver is the russia expert , ” he said with a hint of aggression . since completing “ snowden , ” stone had become absorbed in his newfound interest in russia and announced that he was making a documentary about putin . in recent months , he had accompanied the russian president to a theater performance and a world war ii victory day parade in moscow . “ he represents a different point of view that americans do n’t want to hear , ” stone had told ria novosti , a russian news service . when someone else asked about stone ’s experience of making “ snowden , ” his answer was despondent . “ it was really a horrible experience in every way , ” he said . everyone laughed except for stone . as the guests dispersed , wizner lingered in the foyer , admiring stone ’s art collection depicting important and mostly dead men . he thought that a print of sartre looked like steve buscemi and that a looking beethoven was actually stone . on the opposite wall was a sketch of genghis khan , the feared mongolian emperor . stone called him a liberal . “ yes , genghis khan — misunderstood , ” wizner teased . stone smiled and cocked his head . “ listen , the a. c. l. u. should defend him ! ”
+1 giddy russians seek to rename street after donald trump to " make our city great again " - russia news now nan this post was originally published on this site residents in the small russian town of ryazan , apparently excited by the election of donald trump in the united states , have started a petition to have a street in their town renamed “ street of donald trump . ” the petition was started on “ change.org , ” and , among other things , advocates for the name change because “ recently elected u.s. president donald trump is a big friend of russia and is a supporter of traditional values . ” per heatstreet , the petition has already gathered enough support to be officially reviewed by authorities which means residents are well on their way to “ making ryazan great again . ” the petition for a trump street has turned out to be quite popular . it ’s gathered enough signatures to be officially reviewed by the authorities . “ with a street named after donald trump we can make ryazan great again , ” said one of the supporters of the petition . “ i ’m signing because i was born in ryazan and trump is a great person and will change everything for the better , ” said another . here is a loosely translated version of the petition from google translate : despite the enthusiasm among many , some residents were slightly less supportive of the “ street of donald trump ” idea and suggested that the town would end up “ looking like idiots ” if trump imposed sanctions against russia . some commenters , however , expressed caution : “ you should have waited to see trump ’s first moves . what if he will support the sanctions against russia ? you will look like idiots then . ” despite the petition ’s popularity , a city official thinks it ’s unlikely the street will actually be renamed . “ according to ryazan city regulations , ” the official said , “ the street can be named after a famous person , russian or foreign , only five years after the death of this person ” . meanwhile , here in the u.s. , a 15-year - old student at richard montgomery high school in rockville , maryland had to be rushed to the hospital after being beaten up by 4 other students for wearing a “ make america great again ” hat . hundreds of students from richard montgomery high school were carrying signs reading , “ love trumps hate , ” and chanting near the rockville courthouse on maryland avenue in a protest that began at about 10 a.m. when a 15-year - old boy wearing one of the trump campaign ’s “ make american great again ” hats was attacked by about four students . the group surrounded the teen , punching him repeatedly , then threw him to the ground and kicked him repeatedly in the ribs . “ they jumped him and beat him up pretty bad , ” max stucky , a bystander who witnessed the attack , told wtop . the teen , who was n’t seriously hurt , was seen clutching the back of his head in pain . he was helped to his feet by medics and taken to a hospital in an ambulance . and still no word from obama and clinton on this senseless violence … we’re still waiting … related
+0 family dna searches seen as crime - solving tool , and intrusion on rights - the new york times eli rosenberg the leads have dried up in the killing of a young woman in queens during a jog last summer . tips about potential suspects have gone nowhere . a reward has failed to bear fruit , even as it has swelled to over $ 280 , 000 . and the samples of a stranger ’s dna found on the hands , throat and cellphone of the jogger , karina vetrano , 30 , did not match those in national offender databases . but the authorities say that the recovered dna could hold the key to solving the case if state officials authorize what is called familial searching , which allows investigators to search criminal databases to identify likely relatives of the offender . the technique , which has been used more than a dozen times in the united states over the last 10 years , represents a frontier in the evolving world of forensic science . while some methods , like microscopic hair testing and matching , have been challenged in recent years , dna testing remains a staple of forensic investigation , used to both identify suspects and exonerate the wrongfully convicted . familial searching allows investigators to search offender databases with wider parameters to identify people who are likely to be close relatives of the person who may have committed a crime . law enforcement officials say a hit in the database is less a piece of evidence than it is a lead , and such matches have helped solve some heinous crimes in states where the practice has been authorized . but the method raises some complicated ethical issues that have trailed the expansion of dna technology since its introduction . and as the collection of dna grows in the private sector , so do the concerns about its potential misuse , particularly in the hands of government institutions . problems at some laboratories , including the new york city medical examiner ’s office , have highlighted how dna evidence is not immune from human error . a 2013 review of more than 800 rape cases processed by the medical examiner ’s office found that dna evidence was mishandled in dozens of cases . in the case of ms. vetrano , who the police say was sexually assaulted and strangled , lack of progress led richard a. brown , the queens district attorney , to push for familial searching . “ the police department reached a point where they exhausted all their leads . and they came to us and said in essence , ‘ what else can we possibly do ? ’ ” mr. brown said in an interview . mr. brown and two of his deputies , eric rosenbaum and robert j. masters , said that ms. vetrano ’s case presented an ideal situation for using familial searching , in part because of what they say is the high likelihood that the dna is from the perpetrator . “ it is a stranger rape case , ” mr. masters said . “ in the annals of law enforcement , there are few fact patterns that are more frightening . ” the new york state commission on forensic science , a panel appointed by the governor to develop standards for forensic laboratories , and its dna subcommittee will hold a meeting next month on whether to authorize the technique . familial dna searching was pioneered in britain , helping in 2002 in what was believed to be the first conviction using the technique . in 2008 , california became the first state in the country to authorize the testing , and colorado followed a year later . it has now been used in at least eight other states . california has solved seven cases using familial searching , a spokeswoman for the state ’s justice department said . one was the grim sleeper case in los angeles . a serial killer preyed on vulnerable women and eluded identification for decades until investigators matched crime scene dna to the killer ’s son , whose dna was in an offender database . “ you ’ve got a serial murderer or rapist in your community — you sit on your hands and wait for him to get in your database or do you try something ? ” said mitchell r. morrissey , an early proponent of the testing and a former district attorney in denver . in new york , efforts to authorize such testing through the legislature went nowhere several years ago . a compromise that allowed the authorities to use partial dna matches automatically generated in the course of routine investigations has proved ineffective . but ms. vetrano ’s case — along with the public pleas of her father , philip , and his work with the police department and elected officials — has the push for familial searching . critics of the technique say that regardless of its potential for success , it expands the use of dna databases beyond their original intent . they fault it for allowing for searches of people who happen to be related to someone who has committed a crime , and say that given the composition of the offender databases , familial searching disproportionately affects blacks and hispanics . “ you ’re creating a database of suspects largely defined by their race and class , ” said stephen mercer , the chief attorney of the forensics division of the public defender ’s office in maryland , which outlawed the technique in 2008 in the face of these concerns . “ that is just so fundamentally against our core values . ” the district of columbia has also prohibited these searches . leads provided by familial dna have resulted in errors . a filmmaker in new orleans was told that he was a suspect in a murder in idaho based on a dna sample given by his father years earlier as part of a genealogy project . ancestry . com , which had purchased the database from a nonprofit that had collected the dna , was required by a court order to identify the man to the police . the man was cleared after his dna — which he gave under a court order — was tested . since then , ancestry . com has made the database private and has not received any other requests from law enforcement officials for health or genetic information about an ancestry member , a spokesman for the company said . the spokesman , brandon borrman , said the company would comply with such a request only if legally required . proponents of the technique said the filmmaker ’s case could have been handled differently dna samples of potential suspects can be retrieved surreptitiously , from a discarded soda can , for example . but in some cases , that has n’t been a ready option . investigators chasing the btk serial killer in wichita , kan. compelled a hospital to turn over a sample of the suspect ’s daughter ’s dna she had recently undergone a pap test . that sample allowed the police to acquire an arrest warrant for the man , dennis rader . mr. rader later was sentenced to more than 170 years in prison after pleading guilty to 10 counts of murder . the legal implications of familial testing , namely whether it is limited by the fourth amendment ’s prohibition of unreasonable searches or the 14th amendment ’s equal protection clause , have not been tested in the courts , erin e. murphy , a law professor at new york university , said . she said the logic that law enforcement officials rely on to support familial testing should , by extension , support the testing of other government databases , which include repositories of dna from members of the military , forensic personnel and crime victims . but such testing would most likely face wider opposition . “ familial searching is just an around these debates , ” said professor murphy , the author of “ inside the cell : the dark side of forensic dna . ” “ you should n’t have fewer civil rights because you ’re related to someone who broke the law . ” a spokesman for mr. brown , the queens district attorney , said it would be premature to answer questions about whether the office would seek to search other databases . if the dna subcommittee and the new york state forensic commission vote to approve familial searching after the meeting on feb. 10 , a period for public comment will follow . the legal aid society and the new york civil liberties union have both filed memos with the commission that question the method ’s constitutionality as well as the commission ’s authority to weigh in on the matter . many law enforcement officials around the state said that any in civil liberties were minor compared with the potential to solve some particularly difficult cases . “ invasion of privacy is basically what law enforcement does . we do it legally . we do it with warrants , court orders , ” william j. fitzpatrick , the onondaga county district attorney and a proponent of the technique , said . mr. fitzpatrick , who is a member of the state forensic commission , compared the method to a tip from an informant . “ you ’re telling me that if i have a scientific piece of evidence that shows me a perpetrator ’s son is in prison — what ’s a better lead ? ” in new york city , the police commissioner , james p. o’neill , and the district attorneys from brooklyn , the bronx , manhattan and staten island , support authorizing the method . mr. vetrano acknowledges that the testing may not lead to his daughter ’s killer , but he said he would continue to advocate its use . “ this would have been left as a dead issue unless i started making waves , ” he said . “ i ’m the squeaky wheel and i will never ever stop . ”
+1 so deceitful ! according to # podestaemails20 , hillary hid her email scandal from her own team sam j. so deceitful ! according to # podestaemails20 , hillary hid her email scandal from her own team posted at 11:58 am on october 27 , 2016 by sam j. hillary is so dishonest she did n’t even tell her own team about the email scandal , she hid it from them . now if she did nothing wrong , why the heck would she not just tell them about it ? inquiring minds wanna know . — washington examiner ( @dcexaminer ) october 27 , 2016 what sort of evil person can ask so many to work for her and then set them up by not giving them the full picture . trending
+0 paul ryan : ’we’re going to be living with obamacare for the foreseeable future’ - breitbart jeff poor friday during a news conference , house speaker paul ryan ( ) offered remarks on his decision not to proceed ahead with a vote on the american health care act , which would have according to ryan began the process of repealing and replacing the affordable care act , also know as obamacare . during the question and answer session , ryan was asked about the prospect of another stab at repealing and replacing obamacare , to which he said , “ we ’re going to be living with obamacare for the foreseeable future . ” partial transcript as follows : i do n’t know what else to say other than obamacare ’s the law of the land . it ’s going to be remain the law of the land until it ’s replaced . we did not have quite the votes to replace this law . and so , yeah , we ’re gon na be living with obamacare for the foreseeable future . i do n’t know how long it ’s gon na take us to replace this law . my worry is obamacare is — is going to be getting even worse . actually , i think we were probably doing the democrats a favor . i think we are doing the architects of obama a favor by passing this law before it gets even worse . well , i guess that favor ’s not going to be given to them and it ’s going to get worse . and so , i do n’t think the architects of obamacare — i ’m sure they may be pleased right now . but when they see how bad this thing gets , they said all the projections were being told by — by the plans that are participating in obamacare . i do n’t think they ’re gon na like that either . look , five states you got one plan left , one choice . over a third of the counties in america , one plan left . and the kinds of projections we ’re being told from the people providing health insurance to these people in plans , it ’s gon na get even worse . and so , i do n’t think the architects of obamacare envisioned this future . it ’s certainly not one we want for the american people . and i wish we had the kind of consensus we needed to bring a bill to the floor to pass and replace it but we just do n’t have that right now . follow jeff poor on twitter @jeff_poor
+0 neil gorsuch : conservatives praise trump ’s supreme court pick joel b. pollak conservatives were effusive in their praise on tuesday evening for president donald trump ’s choice for the u. s. supreme court , neil gorsuch . [ faith freedom coalition chairman ralph reed said : president trump won 81 percent of the evangelical vote in no small measure because he made an ironclad pledge that if elected he would fill the vacancy on the us supreme court with a strict constructionist who would respect the constitution and the rule of law , not legislate from the bench . we never doubted trump ’s sincerity or commitment , and by nominating judge gorsuch , he has now kept that promise . judge gorsuch is a widely respected jurist whose intellect is complemented by his temperament and the knowledge of the law . he is exactly who the nation needs as a supreme court justice in the model of the late antonin scalia . faith freedom coalition is thrilled by this nomination and will work tirelessly for the confirmation of judge gorsuch . michael a. needham , ceo of heritage action for america , said : judge neil gorsuch is a nominee ‘ very much in the mold’ of the late justice antonin scalia . president trump deserves credit for fulfilling his campaign pledge by nominating an individual who will , based on his record , interpret the text of the constitution rather than create unwritten rights supposedly hidden between the lines . the usurpations of the rule of law , substituting for the will of the people as embodied in democratically enacted legislation rights nowhere to be found in our constitution itself , only serves to divide our nation . judge gorsuch is an outstanding choice , and now the senate must prepare to carry out its “ advise and consent ” role as it has for the past 227 years . tea party patriots president and jenny beth martin said : tea party patriots and our network of supporters and grassroots activists across the country thank president donald trump for nominating neil gorsuch to be our next supreme court justice . president trump promised to nominate someone who is both exceptionally qualified and has a demonstrated record of interpreting the constitution and our laws and by nominating judge gorsuch , he has kept his promises . judge gorsuch has a distinguished record that demonstrates he will be fair to all americans , no matter their background or beliefs . like justice scalia , he believes that judges should base their decisions on the actual text of the constitution and our laws , not on personal policy preferences . during the campaign , president trump took the unprecedented step of sharing a list of names from which he promised to choose a supreme court nominee . exit polls showed that one in five voters named the supreme court as their top issue . president trump has a clear mandate to choose our next justice , and our network of grassroots activists will work very hard to ensure the senate quickly moves to confirm judge gorsuch . americans for limited government president rick manning said : the election of 2016 was a referendum on who would get to select the next supreme court justice to replace the late antonin scalia . president trump ’s wise and thoughtful selection of neil gorsuch to the supreme court should be respected by the senate , which has the constitutional responsibility to provide for a fair and expedited hearing process , and an up or down vote decided by a simple majority of the senate . if senate majority leader mcconnell faces the sort of obstruction that has been promised by some in the minority , including the use of the filibuster , to block consideration of gorsuch , it will be incumbent on him to use all means necessary to ensure that this qualified and outstanding jurist is confirmed . it is time for the senate minority to reconcile itself to the fact their party lost the election , and stop behaving like spoiled children who did n’t get a candy bar in the grocery store . republican national committee ( rnc ) chairwoman ronna mcdaniel said : neil gorsuch is a mainstream conservative choice who fulfills president trump ’s promise to the american people to appoint a justice who represents their views . in this past presidential election , the american people gave their support to president trump in large part because he vowed to appoint a justice in the mold of the great justice scalia . neil gorsuch ’s sterling track record of faithfully interpreting the constitution , protecting individual rights , and ensuring limited government is complemented by his discerning approach to every case and a high personal integrity . democrats who plan on obstructing president trump ’s choice are only scheming to deprive the american people of their rightful voice on the nation ’s highest court . americans are clearly in support of this thoughtful and qualified choice , and it ’s time for democrats to honor the will of the people so the supreme court can once again have nine justices . public interest legal foundation president and general counsel j. christian adams said : former colleagues speak of judge gorsuch ’s tested adherence to the honorable tradition of strict constructionism just like the late justice antonin scalia before him . the rule of law is on firmer ground tonight , and we will have judge gorsuch to thank for that . former senator and presidential candidate rick santorum said : judge gorsuch has proven himself to be one of the great legal scholars of his generation . his rulings on the circuit court have shown that he understands our founders’ intent and will rule with the strict constructionist legal mindset our nation needs . justice antonin scalia was known for his robust legal rulings , and judge neil gorsuch will surely follow in his footsteps . carl anderson of the knights of columbus said : we applaud the president ’s nomination of judge neil gorsuch to serve on the supreme court of the united states . from his writings and his record it is clear that he will interpret the constitution as it was written , including our first amendment right to religious freedom , and the right to life of every person . judge gorsuch was confirmed without opposition to the 10th circuit court of appeals in 2006 , and has received a “ unanimously well qualified ” rating from the american bar association . it is hard to imagine a better , and more qualified , candidate . the senate should swiftly confirm judge gorsuch to the supreme court . former ohio secretary of state ken balckwell said : president trump hit a home run in his choice of judge gorsuch , an extremely well qualified and widely respected jurist with a deep commitment to upholding the constitution and the vision of founders . president trump took an unprecedented step during the campaign by sharing his list of potential nominees with the american public and the people responding by electing him president . with the nomination of judge gorsuch , the president has clearly delivered on his campaign commitment to appoint a justice in the mold of antonin scalia who would be guided by the constitution and not by their ideological or personal views . gorsuch has been nominated to fill the seat vacated last year by justice antonin scalia , who passed away suddenly on vacation . some senate democrats say they want to force republicans to overcome the filibuster threshold to confirm judge gorsuch . joel b. pollak is senior at breitbart news . he was named one of the “ most influential ” people in news media in 2016 . his new book , how trump won : the inside story of a revolution , is available from regnery . follow him on twitter at @joelpollak .
+1 facebook caught selling targeted advertisement which excludes different races andrew anglin facebook caught selling targeted advertisement which excludes different races andrew anglin daily stormer october 29 , 2016 " this is massively illegal , " said one lawyer when shown facebook 's ad targeting system allows excluision by race . https://t.co/bcn8flt529 pic.twitter.com/i62jkp5b8w this is so , so funny . the top sjw kike himself , mark zuckerberg , has been caught using logical means to sell advertisements . but logic , we goyim have been told , is pure hatred . no idea why they thought they could get away with this . rt : a scandal is brewing over the discovery that advertisers on facebook can “narrow” their audience by race and ethnicity , allowing them to remove their ads from the feeds of selected demographics , including african american , asian and hispanic . micro - targeting , which assigns an ethnicity to users based on their page activity , is designed by facebook to be used to target niche audiences , but it also allows for exclusion . facebook claims advertisers are prohibited from abusing the tool , such as using it to discriminate . an ad purchased by propublica gave them the option to remove certain ethnic groups from viewing a housing ad . “this is horrifying . this is massively illegal . this is about as blatant a violation of the federal fair housing act as one can find , ” civil rights lawyer john relman told the publication . facebook responded to propublica’s report saying they believed , “multicultural advertising should be a tool for empowerment , ” adding that they expect advertisers to use the service in compliance with the law . “when world cup 2014 became a big focus throughout the us hispanic community , a business developed a campaign to reach people who had shown interest in that community in order to create a positive association between its brand and the world’s most popular sport . this meant more relevant ads to those audiences about the world cup , ” the social media giant said , pointing out an example of micro - targeting being used successfully . facebook also said that ads in different languages were another example of the feature being useful for its clients . it was a clever troll . i am in awe . i of course do n’t think this should be illegal – it is absolutely nonsensical to make it illegal to prefer certain races over another in any context . even if you believe “ race does n’t exist , ” the fact remains that the different races statistically act very differently from each other , so very much can be determined about a person by knowing their race . but it is so funny to see the sjw jew zuckerberg caught in his own jew web of nonsensical gibberish .
+0 fake news in u.s. election ? elsewhere , that ’s nothing new - the new york times paul mozur and mark scott hong kong — facebook rumors force a politician to publish proof of his heritage . fake images show a prominent female leader in a hangman ’s noose . a politician ’s aide decries violent crime with a facebook photo of a girl ’s corpse — an image that turns out to come from another country . another day on social media for barack obama , hillary clinton and donald j. trump ? think again . those incidents took place in indonesia and the philippines , where social media ’s outsize place in politics is widely acknowledged , even as that role is coming under sharper criticism in the united states . well before last week ’s american election threw facebook ’s status as a news source into the spotlight , leaders , advocacy groups and minorities worldwide have contended with an onslaught of online misinformation and abuse that has had political repercussions . and for years , the social network did little to clamp down on the false news . now facebook , google and others have begun to take steps to curb the trend , but some outside the united states say the move is too late . “ they should have done this way earlier , ” said richard heydarian , a political analyst in the philippines , one of facebook ’s markets . “ we already saw the warning signs of this years ago . ” on thursday , president obama , speaking in berlin and standing alongside chancellor angela merkel , criticized facebook and other social media for disseminating fake news . he became so impassioned that at one point he lost track of the question he was answering . “ if everything seems to be the same and no distinctions are made , then we wo n’t know what to protect , ” mr. obama said . the impact of facebook and other social media platforms on international elections is difficult to quantify . but facebook ’s global reach — roughly a quarter of the world ’s population now has an account — is difficult to deny , political experts and academics say . some governments are pushing back , sometimes with undemocratic consequences . ms. merkel has said she is considering plans to force social networks to make public how they rank news online . some african countries have banned the use of facebook , whatsapp and twitter before elections . indonesia ’s government has closed sites that it says promote fake news , though experts say some portals were also targeted for political reasons . facebook said on thursday that the social network was a place for people to stay informed and that what people saw in their news feed was overwhelmingly authentic . the silicon valley company previously denied that it failed to deal with misinformation and said it continues to monitor the social network so that it meets existing standards . “ i think the idea that fake news on facebook , which is a very small amount of the content , influenced the election in any way — i think is a pretty crazy idea , ” mark zuckerberg , the company ’s chief executive , told a tech conference days after the american presidential election . “ voters make decisions based on their lived experience . ” facebook ’s power is often stronger overseas than it is in the united states . in many developing countries with populations new to both democracy and social media , experts said , fake stories can be more widely believed . and in some of these countries , facebook even offers free smartphone data connections to basic public online services , some news sites and facebook itself — but limits access to broader sources that could help debunk fake news . one such place is the philippines , where a spokesman for its populist president , rodrigo duterte , shared on facebook an image of a corpse of a young girl believed to have been raped and killed by a drug dealer . fact checkers later revealed that the photo had come from brazil . despite the debunking , proponents of mr. duterte ’s bloody crackdown on reported drug dealers and addicts still cite the image in his defense , according to political analysts . tens of thousands of philippine facebook users also recently shared a story claiming that nasa had voted mr. duterte “ the best president in the solar system . ” while many commenters on the facebook post took it as a joke , some appeared to take it seriously . and an image of leila de lima , a local lawmaker and a critic of mr. duterte , depicted her facing a hangman ’s noose . “ facebook has n’t led to empowerment of the average citizen , but empowerment of professional propagandists , fringe elements and conspiracy theorists , ” said mr. heydarian , the philippines political analyst . “ voices that were lurking in the shadows are now at the center of the public discourse . ” in indonesia , where facebook is so popular that some people confuse it with the broader internet , the service has considerable sway . when joko widodo , indonesia ’s president , was running for office in 2014 , he was accused through social media of being a chinese christian and a communist — severe criticism in the deeply islamic country . the indonesian politician released his marriage certificate to prove he was n’t chinese and made a pilgrimage to mecca just before voting . “ the fake news had a very big impact in our campaign , ” said tubagus ramadhan , who helped mr. widodo run his social media campaign during the election . the online misinformation has not been limited to elections . in colombia , facebook users widely shared a crudely altered photo of a pop singer , juanes , wearing a suggesting he opposed a peace deal with the country ’s largest rebel group . on twitter , juanes denied it . colombia ’s voters narrowly rejected the deal in a referendum last month . while facebook has won plaudits for allowing people in disaster zones to tell friends and families they are safe , it has also been a conduit for dangerous rumors in those situations . at the height of the ebola outbreak in 2014 , a false message widely distributed in sierra leone on facebook and whatsapp , which is owned by the social network , said bathing in hot water with salt would cure and prevent the spread of the virus . even in democracies like germany , spain and italy , false news reports and hate speech on social media have whipped up populist movements , which have often targeted the recent influx of middle eastern refugees , to garner wider electoral support . now , many european politicians are questioning what role social media has had in deciding what voters can and can not see . they also have forced social networks like facebook , twitter and google to sign up for voluntary — so far — standards to police hate speech online . in germany , ms. merkel ’s push to require american social network companies to publish how they rank news is intended to give voters greater control over what they read online . “ algorithms must be more transparent , ” ms. merkel has said , “ so that interested citizens are also aware of what actually happens with their own media behavior and that of others . ” other politicians , often in more recently established democracies , are going a step further . in some african countries , including chad and uganda , officials cite uncorroborated security threats and fears that false results could be shared online as reasons for shutting down social media ahead of elections . christian echle , director of the africa media program at a german political foundation , said such actions were and that social media had played a role in helping voters — many located far from urban centers — to gain access to information and interact with political candidates . but , he added , a growing amount of news shared through social media was either false or biased , making it difficult for people in these often fledgling democracies to know which news outlets to trust . “ there ’s a big , big threat — that social media will deepen existing gaps in these societies , ” said mr. echle , who is based in johannesburg . “ people are still learning how to use social media , so many can easily fall for hoaxes . ”
+1 these celebrities just made an anti - trump video for the ages colin taylor comments in this amusing but alarming musical number , famed songstress rachel bloom joins a star - studded crew to pen a parody of “ we are the world ” as a last - ditch attempt to remind american voters of just what exactly is at stake in this election , pleading with the american people to please , please not vote for donald trump . joined by such star - studded names like zach reino , jack dolgen , moby , mayim bialik , adam scott , adam pally , melissa rauch , jane lynch , jesse tyler ferguson , bloom has a simple statement for everyone : “ holy sh*t , get out and vote . ” “ i ca n’t believe i ’ve had to stoop so low . but an orange talking std has driven me to this recording studio ! and now moby is on the drums while elizabeth banks plays bass . so we can try to convince the usa not to shoot itself in the face . ” at this point in the game , if you have n’t accepted that donald trump is a serial sexual predator who has made his entire business career off the backs of others and his entire political career off of appalling and un - american ethnonationalism who would destroy our economy and leave the world at the mercy of the predatory ambitions of dictators like vladimir putin , this song is n’t going to convince you . but it ’s a fun little diversion that still hits home just how critical the result of this election is going to be . watch it here :
+1 whiterefugee i do n't think there is a more cucked show on tv than the walking dead , except for maybe the spinoff . all the leading characters are in mixed race relationships . i would n't be surprised if daryl is eventually revealed to be gay . every minority is portrayed as noble , virtuous , and self sacrificing . the multiracial rainbow group of rick is always being threatened by evil white men , who are racists , psychotic , or facists . the writing on the show is awful , tedious , long repetitive story arcs . one season was nothing but soap opera baby mama drama .
+1 clinton campaign questions release of fbi 's marc rich pardon records nan clinton campaign questions release of fbi 's marc rich pardon records source : zero hedge as reported moments ago , in what appears to have been a surprise release , the fbi 's vault twitter account released 129 pages of files related to the fbi 's 2001 prove into bill clinton 's 2001 pardon of marc rich . and while nbc reported that the files were releases as part of a normal subpoena , the increasingly paranoid ( not without reason ) clinton campaign immediately had questions . according to politico , " hillary clinton ’s presidential campaign raised questions about the timing of the fbi ’s release tuesday of records on a 15-year - old investigation into president bill clinton ’s pardon to fugitive financier marc rich . " the fbi posted the 129 pages of records in its online freedom of information act reading room in apparent response to a foia request seeking information on fbi inquiries into the clinton foundation . on the website , the release was dated monday , but an fbi twitter account flagged the new posting at noon on tuesday . as politico adds , the clinton campaign , which is already at odds with fbi director james comey over his disclosure of new evidence in the clinton email probe , immediately questioned why clinton - related records were being released just a week before the election . “ absent a foia litigation deadline , this is odd . will fbi be posting docs on trump ’s housing discrimination in ’70s ? ” clinton press secretary brian fallon asked on twitter . absent a foia litigation deadline , this is odd . will fbi be posting docs on trump 's housing discrimination in ' 70s ? https://t.co/ujmmzx6rti — brian fallon ( @brianefallon ) november 1 , 2016 when reached by politico , spokespeople for the fbi and the justice department did not immediately respond to questions about whether there were any lawsuits seeking the newly posted material or whether a judge had set a deadline for its disclosure . despite the lack of major revelations in the documents , which constitute only a part of the fbi ’s files on the inquiry , the atmospherics in the records are unhelpful to the clinton campaign . the records repeatedly refer to the probe being handled by the “ public corruption unit ” and make clear that the fbi was examining claims that denise rich ’s democratic party “ donations may have been intended to influence the fugitive ’s pardon . ” “ it appears that the required pardon standards and procedures were not followed , ” the internal fbi memos said . indeed , the request for a pardon for marc rich and his business partner , pincus green , did not go through normal channels at the justice department but was sent directly to the white house . however , presidents are free to grant executive clemency outside the justice department channel and many presidents have done so . the investigation was eventually handed off to comey , who was white 's successor as u.s. attorney . comey elected not to seek any charges in the case . so purely a coincidence ? or an internal message sent from fbi staffers , and if so addressed to whom : clinton or comey ?
+1 aussie woman elly warren raped and murdered in dangerous mozambique the european union times elly warren , from melbourne , was travelling africa before she tragically died on wednesday . a 20-year - old woman who was travelling in africa was last seen dropping off her bag at a beachside hostel before being found dead in a toilet cubicle . elly warren , from melbourne , was expected to return to australia on monday before heading to new zealand with her boyfriend for a holiday . days before she set off for africa , the 20-year - old told her father : ‘ it ’s dangerous dad , i do n’t know if i should be going over there.’ and things took a turn for the worst after she was raped and attacked when she reportedly walked home alone from a party in mozambique on wednesday . the young traveller had booked two nights at the beachfront wuyani pariango backpackers in the picturesque tofo bay but she failed to return to her room . speaking to daily mail australia , the hostel manager , who wished to remain anonymous , said staff members had seen the woman before she went missing . ‘ she came in alone to drop off her bag and then left to meet a friend,’ the hostel manager revealed . ‘ she had pre - booked her accommodation but never stayed here.’ the 20-year - old had been holidaying and doing a volunteer stint in mozambique . the young woman had booked two nights at the wuyani pariango backpackers in tofo bay . daily mail australia understands ms warren ’s body is currently being transported from tofo beach to the country ’s capital maputo , some 500 kilometres away where a post - mortem will be performed . paul warren , the distraught father of the avid traveller , is currently travelling to mozambique in an effort to bring his daughter ’s body home . on thursday he revealed his heartbreak over his daughter ’s terrible death . a tearful mr warren told 7news : ‘ she even told me , “ it ’s dangerous dad , i do n’t know if i should be going over there ” . ‘ and i said to her : “ yes it is , very dangerous”.’ on thursday evening , hours after paying a moving facebook tribute to his daughter , mr warren also revealed on social media an autopsy would be conducted to determine her cause of death . ‘ i would just like everyone to pray for our elly right now,’ he wrote on facebook . ‘ she is at peace with sam , our dog , who she grew up with and loved dearly . thank you all for your thoughts and well wishes elly touched us all in some special way . ‘ the funeral is going to take some time as elly was in a remote fishing village called pemba . ‘ there is going to be an investigation and autopsy , which i have been informed can take up to two weeks . ‘ i will be going over there in a few day to bring my baby back home . god bless you elly rose warren.’ the hostel manager said staff saw ms warren drop her bag off before heading out to see a friend but she failed to return to her room ( pictured is one of the rooms at the hostel ) the young traveller had booked two nights at the wuyani pariango backpackers in tofo bay . staff members at the hostel claimed they saw ms warren drop her bag off before heading back out to meet a friend . her family , who found out about the young traveller ’s death in a heartbreaking late - night phone call from another backpacker , believe she became separated from her group before her body was later found in a toilet cubicle , the age reported . the revelation comes after her sister kristy warren took to facebook to warn backpackers to be ‘ careful who they go [ travelling ] with’ . ‘ my sister was in africa whilst my mum got a phone call from one of the backpackers saying to her that her daughter has been murdered,’ ms warren posted to facebook . ‘ as i heard that my heart dropped . it is a parent ’s nightmare to get a phone call like this.’ describing her sister as ‘ maybe too ambitious’ , she urged travellers to be vigilant when overseas . ‘ i want to say if you are thinking of going travelling or going overseas please be careful who you go with,’ she wrote . ms warren had been in the country since late september as part of underwater africa , a conservation program that ‘ helps protect the oceans’ . the volunteer tour ’s booking manager graeme warrack told daily mail australia the young traveller had left their group the day before she was killed . a room at the backpackers ms warren was last seen before her death . ms warren ( pictured ) has been killed while on a volunteer holiday to mozambique , africa . the 20-year - old from mordialloc , in melbourne ’s south - east suburbs , was also reportedly sexually assaulted before her death . ‘ elly arrived with us on the 27th of september and left our program on the november 8,’ he said . ‘ we dropped her at her new accommodation at 5 pm , to hear the news the next day has left us as broken as anyone can be , she was our friend and colleague . ‘ we ’re trying to find out where exactly she went once she left us , that ’s something we ca n’t answer.’ mr warrack described ms warren as ‘ the life of the party’ and said her death had taken a large toll on her fellow volunteers and scientists . ‘ elly was an incredible volunteer who was doubtlessly the life and soul of any activity,’ he said . ms warren ’s mother , nicole cafarella told the age her daughter was ‘ just one of those girls that wanted to travel the world and see everything she could before she was 30’ . just days earlier ms warren had posted a video to facebook of herself swimming with whale sharks off the mozambique coast . her father paul also shared a tribute on social media and even passed on his condolences to her boyfriend ( right ) in the midst of his own grief . tributes flowed online from ms warren ’s friends and family following news of her death . ms warren ’s sister kristy took to facebook to share a tribute to her sister and to tell how her mother had received a call from a fellow backpacker telling her of the terrible news . dozens of online tributes flowed from ms warren ’s friends from wednesday evening when news broke of her death . ‘ taken way too soon , a gorgeous girl who had an amazing life ahead,’ one girl wrote on facebook . ‘ i feel like this is all just a f***ed up dream … it ca n’t be true . rip elly warren i ’ll never forget your huge infectious smile and crazy stories . i love you,’ another posted . in a statement to daily mail australia , the department of foreign affairs and trade said they were ‘ providing consular assistance to the family of a woman who died in mozambique.’ source
+0 how gretchen carlson took on the chief of fox news - the new york times john koblin on june 21 , gretchen carlson devoted the closing minutes of her afternoon fox news show , “ the real story with gretchen carlson , ” to discussion of a milestone : she turned 50 that day . “ i know , normally folks on tv would n’t readily admit their age , but since there ’s nothing you can do about it , you might as well own it and be happy , ” she said with a laugh . “ and , boy , do i have so much to be grateful for . ” two days later , she was summoned to a postshow meeting with a fox news executive and told that , after 11 years at the network , her contract was not being renewed . the meeting took less than a minute , according to her lawyer , nancy erika smith . on wednesday , ms. carlson sent shock waves through the media world when she filed a lawsuit against the powerful fox news chairman roger ailes , accusing him , among other things , of sexual harassment and sexism . the news channel ’s parent company , 21st century fox , said that it was conducting an internal review of the matter . mr. ailes denied the charges , and said that the “ disappointingly low ratings ” for ms. carlson ’s show was the reason she was let go . “ when fox news did not commence any negotiations to renew her contract , ms. carlson became aware that her career with the network was likely over and conveniently began to pursue a lawsuit , ” he said in a statement . though a prominent personality at fox for many years , ms. carlson does not have the star power at the network of megyn kelly or bill o’reilly . but within minutes of the lawsuit going public , ms. carlson became a person of enormous interest in the world of television news . ms. carlson grew up in anoka , minn. where the future congresswoman michele bachmann was one of her childhood nannies . she attended stanford university , studying organizational behavior , though she did spend a year abroad at oxford university focusing on the work of virginia woolf , ms. smith said . before her senior year , she became a contestant in the miss america beauty pageant , which she won in 1988 . a trained violinist , ms. carlson was proud of her achievement , saying her victory proved the pageant was as interested in a contestant ’s intelligence as her looks . “ it shows that i ’m not a bimbo , that i do have intelligence and that i do represent what every woman wants to be in this society , which is a career woman , and be respected for her intelligence , ” she said in january 1989 . after graduating from stanford , she worked for several local tv stations before becoming the host of the saturday edition of cbs ’s morning show , “ the early show , ” in 2002 . “ she was very , very serious and competent and ambitious about doing journalism the way cbs news was known for , ” victor neufeld , an executive producer of “ the early show , ” said on wednesday . she joined fox news’ morning show “ fox and friends , ” in 2006 , it for eight years . in 2009 , jon stewart devoted a segment of “ the daily show ” to ms. carlson , showing clips of her saying she had to google words like czar and ignoramus to learn their definitions . mr. stewart then detailed her stellar educational background , accused her of playing dumb for fox ’s audience and said , “ you do n’t have to stash your i. q. in an offshore account . ” ms. carlson is married to casey close , a sports agent known for his tough negotiating style , and a roster of clients that includes derek jeter . the couple have two children . she has been upfront in discussing matters of sexism in the workplace . in september 2013 , shortly after she was removed from “ fox and friends , ” she appeared on the fox news radio show of her former brian kilmeade and noted that she was dressed casually . the morning show , she said , had a strict rule : she could not wear pants on air . the year before , ms. carlson walked off the set of “ fox and friends ” in apparent protest when mr. kilmeade made a disparaging comment about women . ( she later said she was joking . ) and last year ms. carlson wrote about sexual harassment for the huffington post . “ most professional women i know have experienced sexual harassment , ” she wrote . “ so have i — a few times — and i never talked about it until now . if that seems surprising , it should n’t be . i ’ve always considered myself a strong woman , not afraid to stand up for myself , but in the face of sexual harassment i was silent . “ as the issue takes a prominent place in the headlines today , i sometimes feel guilty about my trepidation , ” ms. carlson continued . “ perhaps i could have moved the conversation forward if i had come forth . ”
+0 platinum hedge fund executives charged with $ 1 billion fraud - the new york times alexandra stevenson for years , the new york hedge fund platinum partners stood out for investment returns that rivaled some of the biggest names in the industry . it turned out that those returns were too good to be true , according to federal prosecutors . federal agents on monday arrested mark nordlicht , a founder and the chief investment officer of platinum , and six others on charges related to a $ 1 billion fraud that led the firm to be operated “ like a ponzi scheme , ” prosecutors said . it is one of the largest such fraud cases since bernard l. madoff ’s investment firm unraveled in 2008 . david levy , the firm ’s investment officer , was also among those arrested in the morning by agents in texas , manhattan and new rochelle , a suburb of new york city . the men were charged with securities fraud and investment adviser fraud , according to an unsealed indictment filed in federal district court in brooklyn . the securities and exchange commission filed a parallel civil case . platinum tapped prominent families and foundations within the orthodox jewish community in new york to fuel bets on payday lenders , oil companies and even the terminally ill . but prosecutors said these investments and the firm ’s performance were misrepresented by its executives . ultimately , platinum took in new money in order to pay longtime investors who wanted their money back , something the firm ’s executives called among themselves “ hail mary time . ” “ as investors sought redemptions , the defendants engaged in numerous improper measures in an attempt to meet redemption requests , including taking out rate loans , commingling monies among funds and raising money from new investors through fraudulent misrepresentations , ” said andrew j. ceresney , the director of the s. e. c. ’s enforcement division . located a few blocks from central park , platinum , founded in 2003 , made a splash early on with some of its investments . in one bet , the firm sought to profit from the death of terminally ill patients by investing in variable insurance payouts . as part of the scheme , a rabbi in los angeles sought out hospice patients to get their personal details that could be used to buy insurance payouts in their names . a company that platinum set up to make the investments was fined by the s. e. c. in january 2015 . “ we definitely were exploiting a loophole , but it was fully vetted by legal counsel , ” mr. nordlicht said in an interview with bloomberg later that year . in other bets , platinum misled both investors and auditors — sometimes brazenly . in december 2012 , for example , executives misrepresented to auditors the value of black elk energy , an oil and gas company controlled by platinum , valuing it at $ 283 million , prosecutors said . in fact , there had been an explosion on a black elk platform in the gulf of mexico the month before that had caused the deaths of three workers , injuries to other employees and an oil spill . black elk no longer exists . jeffrey shulse , who worked at black elk and is named in the government ’s indictment , denied the charges . “ mr. shulse ’s indictment is a clear case of overreaching , ” said f. andino reynal , mr. shulse ’s lawyer , adding that his client was “ confident that once a jury has had a chance to hear all the facts , it will exonerate him of any wrongdoing . ” lawyers for the defendants mr. nordlicht , daniel small , uri landesman , joseph mann and joseph san filippo did not respond to a request for comment . michael sommer , a lawyer for mr. levy , said he looked forward to “ clearing david levy ’s good name . ” as recently as march , platinum had $ 1 . 7 billion of investor money , as of a march regulatory filing . for years it reported a strong performance — with annual average returns of 17 percent . as recent as last year , platinum said it made gains of 8 percent , a strong performance in a year when the average hedge fund lost 0 . 85 percent , according to the hedge fund research composite index , a gauge of industry performance . platinum began to have trouble extracting investor money when some of its obscure investments started to sour , according to prosecutors . from 2013 to 2016 , the firm could not stanch the losses in certain funds and the investor requests to withdraw money , so it began to move money between funds in what mr. nordlicht called a “ big stew , ” the indictment said . things seemed to reach a crisis point in june 2014 , prosecutors said . “ it ca n’t go on like this or practically we will need to wind down . ... this is code red , ” mr. nordlicht wrote to mr. landesman , a managing director at platinum , at the time . yet investors remained in the dark about the firm ’s precarious liquidity position . a month later , when an investor emailed to ask about the reliability of platinum ’s reported performance figures , mr. landesman replied , “ the numbers are all kosher , they have had verbal input every month . ” investors grew restless . by march 2015 , the total amount they requested to withdraw from the firm exceeded $ 83 million . eventually , executives decided to pay some ahead of others , prosecutors said . “ platinum partners purported to be a in the hedge fund industry , ” said robert l. capers , the united states attorney for the eastern district of new york . “ in reality , their returns were the result of the overvaluation of their largest assets . ” this inflation led to mr. nordlicht and others “ operating platinum like a ponzi scheme , where they used loans and new investor funds to pay off existing investors , ” mr. capers added . the arrests on monday were part of an investigation among several government agencies , including the federal bureau of investigation and the united states postal inspection service . in june , murray huberfeld , a former platinum executive , was arrested . he has pleaded not guilty to conspiracy and wire fraud . soon after mr. huberfeld ’s arrest , agents from the f. b. i. and the postal inspection service raided platinum ’s new york offices . faced with mounting pressure from federal investigators , as well as an investigation by the s. e. c. platinum liquidated its main hedge fund . for some at platinum , there was already a sense late last year that government investigators were closing in on the firm . in an email exchange , mr. nordlicht , mr. landesman and an unnamed principal partner in platinum discussed fleeing to israel , according to prosecutors . “ do n’t forget the books , ” the unnamed partner wrote . “ assume we are not coming back to ny . ”
+0 iphone 7 and wireless headphones : analyzing apple ’s announcements - the new york times brian x. chen , farhad manjoo and katie benner san francisco — apple unveiled new iphones at an event on wednesday , as it has done every september for the last few years . the event , held in san francisco ’s bill graham civic auditorium , was the company ’s most important outing of the year . even as the iphone remains the outsize producer of apple ’s revenue and profit , sales of the smartphone have recently been declining . so more than ever , the onus is on apple to keep up excitement for the gadget . what was different this time was that people were focused on something that the new iphones lack , rather than a flashy new feature . the item that disappeared is the traditional headphone jack , with apple turning people toward wireless headphones instead . brian x. chen , farhad manjoo and katie benner were at the event to provide live analysis of what you need to know about the announcements , not what you do n’t . here ’s what apple announced : ■ new iphones , called the iphone 7 and 7 plus . ■ the new iphones lack a headphone jack . ■ the new iphones have a revised home button with force sensitivity , which will vibrate to give feedback . ■ the iphones are . ■ the plus model of the new iphone includes a camera to take photos . ■ a new apple watch , called apple watch series 2 , which includes gps . ■ pokémon go is available for apple watch . ■ an update on how apple music is performing . ■ tweaks to its iwork suite of productivity apps . farhad : this was a tricky event because there was n’t much new to the products . the iphone has the same design as last year ’s ( and the one the year before ) and the major new thing is … a missing headphone jack . so what i was watching for was apple ’s reality distortion field : how will apple ’s c. e. o. tim cook , and friends convince us that taking away a feature is really an advance for the iphone ? brian : as farhad said , the new iphones — and also the watches — look largely the same as their predecessors . the takeaway for me was that apple focused on making the most significant changes to the tiniest components : camera sensors , upgraded chips , a revised home button and the addition of gps to the watch . i get the impression that they are saving the big changes for the 10th anniversary of the iphone next year . so if consumers can hold off a year for the next iphone , i ’d encourage them to wait . but for owners of iphones that are at least two years old , these are going to be major upgrades — if you find a way to cope with the lack of a headphone jack . katie : apple did n’t offer a new killer product or a drastic update to any of the products in its lineup . instead , apple piled on new features — like stereo speakers , wireless headphones and camera features — to appeal to specific niche buyers . frank gillett at forrester research called this strategy an accumulation of compelling new features that apple hopes will “ motivate the trend followers to buy new iphones , and expose other buyers to the benefits they ’ve built into iphone 7 and apple watch series 2 . ” perhaps more important , apple was trying to cobble together a credible story for the future from these incremental moves — that a wireless world is coming and that it will be the leader in that world . farhad : apple likes road maps . that ’s what you saw today . the company clearly has deep , plans for the iphone — it wants to improve wireless functioning , it wants to keep pushing on the camera , and it will keep improving performance without sacrificing battery life . the problem for apple is that the steps along the way to achieving its goals are n’t always that exciting . this is one of those years : there are lots of incremental improvements , but nothing stands out as a . someday , apple is telling us , all these increments will add up to something unimaginably amazing . right now , though , the moves look puzzling — we really did not get a good defense for removing the headphone jack — and we may just have to live with the confusion . katie : for the past few quarters , apple has emphasized that services and software will drive growth as iphone revenue ebbs . at wednesday ’s event , mr. cook underlined that . he kicked off the morning with updates on two of the company ’s most important software and services divisions — apple music and the app store . “ we ’ve always had a deep love for music , ” mr. cook said . “ it inspires us , and it ’s a key part of our product experience . ” mr. cook said the company had 17 million subscribers after about a year for apple music and added that the music service would be the “ premier destination for exclusive music , ” nodding to the idea that the company will use its huge war chest to lock up deals with artists . brian : in another nod to software , mr. cook said super mario is coming to the app store . nintendo , the struggling video game company , long refused to offer its games and franchise characters on mobile devices , but the company recently did a 180 , with pokémon go as a recent example . the change seems more beneficial to nintendo than to apple . pokémon go was a huge success , at least initially , proving that app stores are a viable revenue stream for nintendo beyond its consoles . apple also announced a new version of iwork , its suite of productivity apps that rival microsoft office and google ’s productivity apps . the tweaked version of iwork will include collaboration , meaning multiple people can work on documents and presentation slides at the same time . it ’s good that these changes are coming to iwork , but microsoft and google have been offering collaboration tools for years already . farhad : the education market has been important to apple for decades , and for the last few years it has pushed the ipad as the perfect school computer . it did so again today , with those tweaks to its iwork software aimed at schools . but apple has lately faced more competition from rivals , especially google , whose cheap and simple chromebook has become one of the machines at schools . for both companies — and lately for other tech rivals , including amazon — the education market functions as a gateway . get them early , win them for life . brian : the new apple watch is called apple watch series 2 . it emphasizes fitness and health , with apple showing a video of runners , gymnasts and swimmers using the watch . one major criticism of apple watch was that it did a bit of everything and did not have any strengths . apple is trying to beef up the fitness capabilities , similar to fitbit . the new version is up to 50 meters ( 164 feet ) . it also includes gps for tracking runs . the watch is faster than the previous version . katie : whether apple watch has been successful or not has largely been a mystery . apple does n’t break out watch revenue in its earnings . but mr. cook pulled back the curtain a little when he revealed that apple is now the no . 2 global watch brand , measured by revenue , behind rolex . the apple watch is also the smartwatch , even though a killer app has yet to emerge for the watch . the company is hoping to change that with the introduction of a pokémon go app for the watch . brian : it ’s important to note that apple watch sales do n’t appear to be growing much . idc , the research firm , estimates that apple watch market share in the wearables market shrank 56 . 7 percent last quarter compared to the same period last year . that ’s largely because consumers have probably been waiting for a new version to come out before deciding whether to buy a watch . it ’s definitely still a nascent device . farhad : this is the first apple event in a few years that did n’t feature any redesigned hardware . but there is a new ceramic finish for the watch that comes closest to some new design . the gleaming white finish is in some ways a return to the past for apple . ( remember all those white computers from the early 2000s ? ) but beyond that , it ’s always interesting when apple discovers a new material for use in its devices . you usually notice some new process or material start in one product and then wend its way throughout the company ’s lineup over a few years’ time . in other words , three years from now , we may have ceramic phones . a man can dream , anyway . brian : for now , my advice to consumers : i see no compelling reason for people with version one of the device to upgrade unless they are fitness buffs . the addition of gps gives the apple watch a slight edge against fitbit ’s blaze , a comparable smartwatch that lacks gps . but until we get to try the software , it ’s tough to tell how the new apple watch ’s fitness capabilities will compare to accessories from fitbit . fitbit ’s products are popular partly because the apps are so well designed for monitoring health statistics , including footsteps , calories and weight . so gps is n’t necessarily the magic bullet . katie : leading up to the event , the most ballyhooed update was apple ’s decision to eliminate the headphone jack . on wednesday , phil schiller , apple ’s marketing chief , saved that announcement for last . removing the port for standard headphones means users now have to connect their headphones to the iphone through the charging port . “ from the start we designed lightning to be a great digital audio connector , ” mr. schiller said . the update may have its detractors in the days after the announcement , but apple has a long history of making hardware changes that the industry eventually follows , including the decision to change floppy disk sizes in the old mac days and , more recently , the decision to take away laptop ports . apple will include new lightning earbuds , and an adapter , in the box . why remove the headphone jack , a technology that people seem to like ? mr. schiller summed it up in one word : “ courage . ” farhad : apple said the most important reason it ’s removing the headphone jack is because it believes in a “ wireless future ” for audio . it ’s making that future a reality with a new set of wireless headphones , called airpods . they look like apple ’s wired earbuds , without the wires they apparently just slip in your ears . perhaps more important than the earbuds themselves is the wireless technology apple is using to power them . the company is using bluetooth , and apple says its chips improve the technology by connecting faster and using less power . if apple has perfected a new , proprietary way of doing this , it could prove an important innovation for lots of future wireless products , including home devices , cars and wearables . brian : jony i ve , apple ’s design chief , said in a video at the event that we are “ just at the beginning of a truly wireless future . ” but wireless earphones have been around for years , and bluetooth wireless technology has become excellent . this is another example of apple ’s being a latecomer to a market and saying it will make a better product than earlier ones . farhad : the reality distortion was in force in other ways . in true apple fashion , we got a video into the development process for the iphone 7 , with not even a nod to the fact that the phone looks nearly identical to the one apple released last year and the one the year before . because it has a new color and a new apple logo , apple insists it ’s “ a beautiful new design . ” i ’m sure there are minor differences — the antenna band is different — but it seems too rich to call it a new design . too rich , except for apple . one area where i do give apple points on the iphone is the focus on the camera . apple made a strategic decision a few years ago to plow a lot of development resources into the iphone camera . that has paid off : the iphone ’s camera has long surpassed most other smartphone cameras , and for many people , it ’s better than most cameras . the iphone 7 and 7 plus continue that trend . the plus model features two cameras , which allows for . even the smaller phone ’s camera includes features to improve your snapshots . if the pictures apple showed off are any guide , the iphone ’s camera is fast closing in on all but the most of cameras . look forward to more of those “ shot on iphone ” billboards .
+1 israeli parliament moves to ban bds supporters from entering israel ma'an news agency | november 9 , 2016 be sociable , share ! bethlehem ( ma’an ) — a bill preventing supporters of the boycott , divestment , and sanctions ( bds ) movement from entering israel was authorized on monday for its first reading in the israeli parliament , according to israeli media . according to the jerusalem post , the interior committee of the knesset , israel ’s parliament , approved the bill , which was initiated by knesset member yinon magal from the ultranationalist home party , paving the way for the bill to enter its first reading in the israeli knesset . the bill would allow individuals supporting a boycott against israel to be banned from entering the country . the bds movement was founded in july 2005 by a swath of palestinian civil society as a peaceful movement to restore palestinian rights in accordance with international law through strategies of boycotting israeli products and cultural institutions , divesting from companies complicit in violations against palestinians , and implementing state sanctions against the israeli government . the move came after several months of israeli efforts to crack down on the bds movement . israeli minister of the interior aryeh deri and minister of public security gilad erdan announced in august that they were forming a joint task force to “ expel and ban the entry of bds activists ” into israel and the occupied palestinian territory . “ we must not allow bds activists to enter the state of israel . this is a necessary step , given the malicious intentions of these activists to delegitimize and spread lies and distortions about the reality in our region , ” erdan was quoted as saying in a statement released at the time , adding that the boycott movement against israel “ must have a price . ” “ fighting against israeli boycotts starts by fighting those who undermine the state of israel , ” deri also said at the time . “ we have a responsibility to do everything possible to crush any boycott and to state clearly that we will not allow the state of israel to be harmed . forming the task force is an important step in that direction . ” without citing any names , the statement estimated that “ hundreds ” of pro - palestinian activists and dozens of organizations were currently in israel “ to gather information and use it to boycott israel , and harm its citizens , ” and that the task force would also try to prevent the entrance of activists in the future . the statement also alleged that bds activists traveled to the occupied west bank and east jerusalem to “ incite ” palestinians . the announcement led to outcry from groups like the international solidarity movement ( ism ) , which believed they were the targets of the newly - formed task force.“isolation of palestinians by denying access and/or deporting human rights activists aims to make palestinian communities already vulnerable and suffering from abuse … even more vulnerable , ” ism said in a statement in response to the plans of forming the task force .“we condemn israeli suppression of palestinian nonviolent resistance . this recent attempt to further isolate palestinians indicates the occupation authorities’ unwillingness to do the only thing that will actually bring an end to israel ’s isolation — to adhere to international law , end the occupation and grant palestinians their rights.”ism argued that its foreign activists play a crucial role in trying to prevent israeli army violence against palestinians.“as a civilian population living under military occupation palestinians in the occupied territories are promised protection under international law , ” the group said in its statement . “ ( foreign ) civilians have been attempting to fill in the gap created by the failure of governments and official international bodies to provide protection and fulfill their obligations.“we find that our presence sometimes results in reducing the level of lethal force used by the israeli military against unarmed palestinians.”the boycott , divestment , and sanctions ( bds ) movement against israel has gained momentum over the past year , with activists targeting companies that act in compliance with israel ’s illegal occupation of east jerusalem and the west bank . in late july , the black lives matter movement — which denounces police violence against african - americans in the united states — came out in support of bds , stating that it was committed to “ global struggle , solidarity , and support of the boycott , divest and sanction ( bds ) movement to fight for freedom , justice and equality for palestinian people and to end international support of the occupation.”the israeli government , meanwhile , has grown increasingly concerned about the growth of the bds movement , as the movement ’s support base has expanded to include companies , universities and religious institutions around the world divesting from organizations complicit in israel ’s violation of palestinian rights . in january , the israeli knesset held a conference to discuss ways to combat bds , and dedicated 100 million shekels ( $ 26 million ) of the government ’s 2016 budget to the issue . in may , israel issued a travel ban on bds cofounder omar barghouti , a permanent resident in israel , as mahmoud nawajaa , the general coordinator of the palestinian bds national committee , stated at the time that the decision reflected “ the lengths [ israel ] will go to in order to stop the spread of the non - violent bds movement for palestinian freedom , justice and equality . ” more recently , israel ’s parliament , the knesset , passed a controversial ngo “ transparency bill ” into law on july 12 , compelling organizations to reveal their sources of funding if more than half came from public foreign entities — a law which human rights groups and opposition knesset members condemned for seeking to “ silence criticism ” of israel and delegitimize left - wing groups .opposition leader in the knesset isaac herzog of the zionist camp party then slammed the law for “ symbolizing the budding fascism that is rising and flourishing in israeli society ” and making a “ mockery ” of the “ right to organize , which is a sacred founding principle of a democratic society . ”
+0 israeli settlement sees friendly faces in trump administration - the new york times isabel kershner beit el , west bank — there ’s the friedman faculty house , the rabbi morris friedman center for computer sciences , a friedman fitness room at a academy , a playground and a plaza . the plaques dedicating sites around beit el , a religious jewish settlement deep in the west bank , attest to years of financial , emotional and family bonds nurtured by an american lawyer , david m. friedman , and his wife , tammy . under previous administrations , american diplomats have been barred from setting foot in such settlements , viewed by most of the world as a violation of international law and branded by the obama administration as “ illegitimate . ” but mr. friedman , president trump ’s pick for ambassador to israel , upends the conventional protocols and has espoused views to the right of israel ’s conservative prime minister , benjamin netanyahu . mr. friedman , an orthodox jewish bankruptcy lawyer from long island , has rejected the internationally accepted solution for the conflict . and as president of the american arm of beit el ’s yeshiva complex , he has raised millions of dollars for its related institutions , including housing projects for teachers and students . he has made almost yearly visits there during the jewish holiday sukkot . in the days leading up to mr. netanyahu ’s first meeting with mr. trump as president , and mr. friedman ’s confirmation hearings , which are expected to start on thursday , the mood in beit el seemed to encapsulate all the uncertainty and contradictions manifested by the new administration . on the one hand , mr. trump publicly signaled last week that the administration had neared its limit with settlement expansion , saying in an interview that he did not believe it to be “ a good thing for peace . ” but mr. trump ’s foundation once made a $ 10 , 000 donation to beit el ’s yeshiva institutions in honor of the friedmans . and the parents of jared kushner , mr. trump ’s and adviser , have donated generously , yaakov katz , a founder of beit el and its enterprise , said in a radio interview in december . swinging between hopes of almost unbridled settlement growth and skepticism , several residents said they were “ cautiously optimistic . ” located north of the palestinian city of ramallah , in the heartland of the territory of any future palestinian state , beit el is an ideological hotbed of the settler movement and has strong biblical associations . its name is hebrew for house of god , and some scholars have identified its location as the place where jacob , the biblical patriarch , laid his head on a pillow of stones and dreamed of angels ascending and descending a ladder between heaven and earth . a large , upright stone on a terraced hillside on the edge of the settlement is revered as the one that jacob slept on , then anointed with oil , after god appeared in the dream and promised all the land around to him and his progeny . archaeological excavations in the area have found signs of ancient life . the palestinian village of beitin sits on a nearby hill . mr. netanyahu has said in the past that he would not evacuate beit el under any agreement with the palestinians , even though it lies outside the major settlement blocs that israeli leaders have more generally insisted on keeping . founded in 1977 on private palestinian land originally seized by israel for military purposes , the settlement was later approved by the israeli courts under the rubric of general security . now it is home to about 6 , 500 people who mostly live in modest , or buildings . there are plans in the pipeline for at least 300 new apartments in buildings to be constructed on a rise by the entrance to the settlement . but the yeshiva complex has so far proven to be beit el ’s main engine of growth . considered a prime institution of religious zionism , the yeshiva is headed by rabbi zalman baruch melamed , a who has denounced homosexuality as a “ perversion ” and “ a severe mental illness ” and has ruled that it is forbidden for soldiers or police to participate in the evacuation of settlements . on a recent morning , dozens of yeshiva students in their late teens or early 20s were huddled over talmudic texts , alone or in pairs , in the vast hall of a new building that was completed last year . “ beit el ’s greatest ‘ product’ is its educational institutions , ” said chaim silberstein , a south resident and member of the local council who moved here as a yeshiva student in the 1980s . “ it ’s an industry . ” mr. katz , known as ketzale , was the driving force behind the yeshiva , its religious high schools for boys and girls and the academy . a charismatic former member of the israeli parliament from a party , mr. katz , a staunch nationalist , is credited with building up the network in the united states and bringing in tens of millions of dollars . mr. friedman ’s late father , morris , commemorated on a plaque as a “ founding member of beit el , ” was one of the first american jews to meet mr. katz when he started going to the united states more than quarter of a century ago and could barely speak english , according to mr. silberstein . another was eugen gluck , beit el ’s main american benefactor , whose name graces the settlement ’s clinic . when mr. friedman ’s nomination was announced , mr. katz praised him on his facebook page as a pioneering philanthropist and settlement builder . posting a photograph of the two of them on a boat , mr. katz described mr. friedman as “ like a brother to me . ” mr. silberstein emphasized that the money was raised for the educational institutions , not the settlement itself — an important distinction for the contributions to qualify as donations to settlements under american tax laws . but the yeshiva complex is a multitentacled enterprise . its institutions include the arutz sheva news site , for which mr. friedman has written a number of columns , and besheva weekly . arutz sheva , which caters to israel ’s nationalist camp , started out as a pirate radio station broadcasting from a ship acquired by mr. katz . the yeshiva complex also runs a tour company and a rabbinical website . one of the stated goals of its online efforts , it says , is to “ delegitimize the notion of the solution , ” spreading its influence far beyond the geographical confines of beit el . then there is the real estate . among the projects built to accommodate yeshiva staff members and students was the ulpana neighborhood , which was partially evacuated in 2012 by court order because it was built illegally on private palestinian land . according to the newspaper haaretz , many fraudulent land deals in beit el were subsequently found to have been covered up by forged documents . the government retroactively approved another project of 20 apartments in a building under construction when it announced thousands of new settlement housing units last month . wedged between existing buildings , the project had to be redesigned because parts of it were also found to have encroached on land . peace now , an israeli group , recently revealed that the latest plan was developed by the nonprofit sukkat ovadia learning center , another beneficiary of the friends of the beit el yeshiva network , having received more than $ 600 , 000 in 2015 , according to its financial reports . mr. silberstein , the council member , said that old land records of the area were notoriously imprecise and that many , though not all , of the building irregularities were innocent mistakes . mr. friedman , he added , was a settlement builder in a “ figurative ” sense . “ any donor likes to think he ’s a builder , ” mr. silberstein said . “ a donor does n’t like to pay for salaries and food . ” beit el ’s other concerns are by comparison : a factory for tefillin , or phylacteries a bakeshop called herby ’s and some workshops for aluminum and carpentry . local palestinians are employed , mainly in construction . even after 40 years , there is a constant tension between the temporary and the permanent . mr. silberstein said his “ macro outlook ” was to create a momentum in building throughout the west bank that would lead to an “ irreversible situation ” and “ solidify israel ’s presence in its historic homeland . ” at the micro level , he said , he hopes beit el ’s population will reach 10 , 000 in the next five years and ensure that even in the event of any withdrawal from the territory , beit el would end up within israel ’s borders . elena mordechai , a special education assistant and mother of nine , moved here from jerusalem in the 1990s . she said her friends thought she was crazy to invest in beit el then , when israel and the palestinians seemed poised to reach a territorial agreement . now she puts her faith in god . “ we trust that the one who is running things is the holy one , blessed be he , up there , ” she said . “ not bibi , ” she added , referring to mr. netanyahu by his nickname , “ and not trump . ”
+0 gop rep introduces national concealed carry reciprocity on day one of new congress - breitbart awr hawkins on january 3 — the first day of the 115th congress — representative richard hudson ( ) introduced national concealed carry reciprocity legislation . [ hudson ’s office published this summary of the legislation : rep. hudson ’s bill , which is supported by major amendment groups , would allow people with a concealed carry license or permit to conceal a handgun in any other state that allows concealed carry , as long as the permit holder follows the laws of that state . it also allows residents of constitutional carry states the ability to carry in other states that recognize their own resident ’s right to concealed carry . note : hudson ’s legislation not only establishes national reciprocity for concealed permit holders but also national reciprocity for residents who live in states that require no permit for concealed carry . in the former situation the concealed carry permit of any state would be valid in every state and the “ identification document ” in possession of a resident of a constitutional carry state would serve as a permit to carry without a license in other states . the bill states : notwithstanding any provision of the law of any state or political subdivision thereof ( except as provided in subsection ( b ) ) and subject only to the requirements of this section , a person who is not prohibited by federal law from possessing , transporting , shipping , or receiving a firearm , who is carrying a valid identification document containing a photograph of the person , and who is carrying a valid license or permit which is issued pursuant to the law of a state and which permits the person to carry a concealed firearm or is entitled to carry a concealed firearm in the state in which the person resides , may possess or carry a concealed handgun ( other than a machinegun or destructive device ) that has been shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce , in any state that — ‘ ‘ ( 1 ) has a statute under which residents of the state may apply for a license or permit to carry a concealed firearm or ‘ ‘ ( 2 ) does not prohibit the carrying of concealed firearms by residents of the state for lawful purposes , representative hudson was a guest on breitbart news’ podcast , “ bullets with awr hawkins , ” on december 13 and he assured us at that time that he would be introducing national reciprocity at the first opportunity . he certainly kept his word . during the podcast , hudson explained why he includes constitutional carry states in his legislation : i believe the plain language of the constitution is real simple where it says there should be no infringement on our right to keep and bear arms . so i personally believe you should n’t have to get a permit from the government to carry a concealed weapon . i think that ’s a right , an inalienable right . but , there are some states that do n’t agree with that . but there are some states around the country — like montana , vermont , and others — that do not require you to get a permit to carry a concealed weapon . and if you happen to live in one of those states , with my legislation you ought to be able to carry in any state that recognizes concealed carry . awr hawkins is the second amendment columnist for breitbart news and host of “ bullets with awr hawkins , ” a breitbart news podcast . he is also the political analyst for armed american radio . follow him on twitter : @awrhawkins . reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart . com .
+0 kelly ripa ’s absence from ‘ live’ points to rancor at abc - the new york times john koblin it seemed like an innocent enough announcement : michael strahan , the former football player turned television personality , was shifting assignments on abc ’s morning lineup , the network said tuesday . he would leave “ live with kelly and michael ” in september to become a on “ good morning america . ” but there was rancor behind the scenes . mr. strahan ’s kelly ripa , was told of the move just minutes before the announcement , and felt blindsided , said a person who has spoken to her about abc ’s decision . and she made little attempt to conceal her displeasure , skipping wednesday ’s edition on “ live . ” abc said she would not appear on the show for the rest of the week and would be replaced by erin andrews . ms. ripa ’s absence wednesday forced mr. strahan into the awkward position of addressing the news of his departure with a guest host , ana gasteyer , a former “ saturday night live ” cast member . after mr. strahan and ms. gasteyer danced their way to the hosts’ desk on the “ live ” set , mr. strahan said , “ i ’ve been in the news lately , ” before formally announcing that he was leaving . for abc , what was supposed to be a boost to its morning lineup is instead developing into a giant headache with one of its most prominent stars . ms. ripa , who joined the show in 2001 , replacing kathy lee gifford , has developed a loyal following of her own . in addition to ms. ripa ’s apparent displeasure , “ good morning america ” is also presenting the network with cause for concern . though it remains the morning show , it ’s down 10 percent in total viewers and 18 percent in the demographic important to advertisers . it is second in that age bracket to nbc ’s “ today , ” a show that experienced its own ratings difficulties four years ago when it botched ann curry ’s departure . when mr. strahan does join “ good morning america ” in a role in september , he will be accustomed to the surroundings . he began as an correspondent for “ good morning america ” two years ago , a decision that ms. ripa expressed concerns about at the time , according to the person . ms. ripa was worried it would distract him from “ live ” but was reassured it would only be a temporary position . mr. strahan continued to appear on the morning show , and abc executives recently decided that bringing him into the “ good morning america ” lineup could help stem the ratings drop . after “ live ” ended on tuesday morning , ms. ripa was called to a meeting along with the show ’s longtime producer , michael gelman , and the wabc general manager , dave davis ( the show is produced by wabc , and it is distributed by abc and disney ’s syndication group ) . she did not know the purpose of the meeting . after a wait , mr. strahan entered the room and broke the news that he was leaving . it was n’t long before tensions flared . “ did n’t i tell you this was going to happen ? ” ms. ripa said to mr. davis at the meeting , according to the person . “ i told you two years ago this was going to happen . ” a few minutes after the meeting ended , abc publicly announced mr. strahan ’s departure . ms. ripa later let the network know she would not appear on wednesday . ms. ripa was angry , this person said , because she perceived that “ good morning america ” was being given priority over “ live . ” ms. ripa declined to comment . ms. ripa was similarly caught off guard in 2011 when regis philbin informed her 20 minutes before show time that he was going to announce his departure on that edition of “ live . ” after mr. philbin left the show , “ live ” began an open casting call to replace him , cycling in more than a dozen potential to sit beside ms. ripa . after 10 months , abc selected mr. strahan , who is also a commentator on fox ’s n. f. l. pregame show . in a statement , an abc spokeswoman said : “ ‘ live’ continues to be a vibrant and enduring franchise under our lead host , the extraordinarily talented kelly ripa . ‘ live’ has successfully transitioned twice before and will do so again . together with kelly , abc and the ‘ live’ team will begin a new search to find a replacement for michael . ” it appears that ms. ripa ’s absence will be an extended one : “ live ” is not scheduled to shoot on friday and she had already arranged to take monday off for a long weekend to celebrate her 20thwedding anniversary , the person said . friday ’s show will be taped on thursday , so ms. andrews will appear for the next two editions of “ live . ” ms. ripa will be replaced by the “ pretty little liars ” actress shay mitchell on monday , an abc spokeswoman said .
+1 а не пора ли государствам юва вводить санкции против вашингтона ? | новое восточное обозрение nan регион : юго-восточная азия как отмечает в своей новой статье обозреватель нво урсан гуннар , юго-восточная азия как регион всегда отличалась высоким уровнем политической стабильности , ввиду того , что спорные вопросы здесь решаются не с помощью силы оружия , а в ходе переговоров. однако , отмечает автор , вмешательство любой « внешней силы » ведет к росту напряженности в регионе , поскольку двухсторонние встречи теряют всякий смысл , а на их место приходит гонка вооружений и военные учения. автор отмечает , что благодаря желанию нового президента филиппин родриго дутерте дистанцироваться от вашингтона , последний виток напряженности в южно-китайском море начал постепенно спадать. манила уже ведет переговоры с пекином по всем спорным вопросам в расширенном формате , что вызывает сильное огорчение западных сми. однако , пока вашингтон сохраняет свое присутствие в регионе , вероятность возникновения новых « точек напряженности » не исчезает. именно поэтому , уверен автор , региональные игроки должны вашингтон из региона « выдавить » путем принятия экономических санкций против скрытого агрессора. с полной версией статьи вы можете ознакомиться здесь . популярные статьи
+1 united nations finally acknowledges us - backed rebels in syria are murdering civilians baran hines home / be the change / antiwar / united nations finally acknowledges us - backed rebels in syria are murdering civilians united nations finally acknowledges us - backed rebels in syria are murdering civilians baran hines november 2 , 2016 leave a comment united nations special envoy for syria staffan de mistura stated sunday that he is “ appalled and shocked by the high number of rockets indiscriminately launched by armed opposition groups ” which have killed hundreds of civilians in aleppo during recent weeks . the attacks from groups supported by the united states were described as “ relentless and indiscriminate ” while targeting civilians and killing children , according to the statement released by de mistura ’s office . the battle for eastern aleppo has become more violent as the syrian army continues to regain control of the strategic city while targeting the un designated terrorist group jahbat al nusra , which is known as al qaeda in syria . most of the attacks by opposition groups have targeted civilians as almost 100 civilians were reported killed in 3 days in western aleppo , which is controlled by the syrian government . us officials and others claim that opposition groups supported by the united states are also being targeted by the syrian army and civilians are being killed . however , us - backed groups have continued to work directly with al nusra in aleppo , and , for more than six months , have refused requests by the united states and russia to separate from terrorist groups . un envoy staffan de mistura condemned the attacks by these groups because they continue using inaccurate weapons to launch attacks which are claimed as self - defense against the attacks from the syrian army . “ those who argue that this is meant to relieve the siege of eastern aleppo should be reminded that nothing justifies the use of disproportionate , indiscriminate [ attacks , ] including heavy weapons on civilian areas and it could amount to war crimes , ” de mistura said . opposition groups have also used chemical weapons with the most recent attack occurring on october 30 , killing 3 and injuring 40 civilians in western aleppo areas controlled by the government . non - governmental organization amnesty international said the attacks show “ a shocking disregard for civilian lives ” in a statement released monday . “ the goal of breaking the siege on eastern aleppo does not give armed opposition groups a license to flout the rules of international humanitarian law by bombarding civilian neighborhoods in government - held areas without distinction , ” said samah hadid , a senior amnesty official in the beirut regional office . the syrian war has seen an increase in violence after the collapse of the september 9 ceasefire agreement negotiated by diplomatic officials from the united states and russia . opposition groups contributed to the collapse of the ceasefire after violating the ceasefire over 300 times in the first two weeks , according to the syrian news agency sana . amnesty international also cited the united states being responsible for more than 300 civilian deaths in recent weeks . the ceasefire agreement called for russia to influence the syrian government forces to stop fighting for control and for the us to influence rebel groups to separate from terrorist groups al nusra and islamic state so they could be targeted by joint us - russia military campaigns . the us has failed to achieve this since february 2016 despite us officials claiming to be in daily contact with rebel groups . another significant incident causing the syrian ceasefire to fail was the september 17 attack by the united states on syrian troops fighting the islamic state near the city of deir ezzor , killing more than 80 troops and wounding over 100 others — including civilians . that incident , which the us called an accident , led to public accusations from russia that the us is intentionally helping the islamic state . a few days later on september 19 , russia was accused by the us of bombing a united nations aid convoy for aleppo , a charge denied by russia citing forensic evidence indicating that the attack was not an airstrike . the ongoing public tension led to the united states ending direct negotiations with russia over the syrian conflict on october 3 , and both sides have since traded public declarations which many see as heightened war rhetoric . share
+1 alien visitors ? no explanation for mysterious lights in night sky over arizona nan kaboom ! meteor turns night into day in arizona ( video ) the national weather service did not report any calls regarding the matter , but based on videos provided to them by abc15 they stated that the lights appeared to be “ very far away and flying at a high altitude . ” nearby luke air force base stated that they did not have any aircraft flying after 5:30 pm , and that they were not the source . witnesses tweeted videos at the national oceanic and atmospheric administration , who stated that " it is not known what may have caused them to occur . " in june , a massive asteroid zoomed over arizona skies , and entered the earth ’s atmosphere east of the arizona town of payson . " there are no reports of any damage or injuries — just a lot of light and few sonic booms , " bill cooke , the head of nasa 's meteoroid environment office at the marshall space flight center said in a statement at the time . " if doppler radar is any indication , there are almost certainly meteorites scattered on the ground north of tucson . " that meteor was estimated to be approximately 10 feet in diameter and travelling at roughly 42,000 mph . ...
+0 ‘ a dog ’s purpose’ premiere is canceled amid outrage over video of distressed german shepherd - the new york times daniel victor the red carpet premiere for the film “ a dog ’s purpose ” scheduled for saturday has been canceled amid calls for a boycott after a video surfaced on wednesday showing a german shepherd being forced into rushing waters during filming . in the video , obtained by tmz , the dog appears to be fighting to stay out of the stream as a man in a green suit wrestles to put the animal in . the footage then cuts to a scene of the dog submerged as people swim toward it . a voice can be heard yelling : “ cut it ! cut it ! ” the source of the video , recorded in 2015 , was not immediately clear , but the filmmakers have not disputed its authenticity . the identity of the man in the video was also not immediately revealed . amblin entertainment , the film ’s producer , and universal pictures , its distributor , said in a joint statement on thursday night that it was in the “ best interest ” to cancel the premiere and press junket set for saturday in los angeles . the statement said amblin ’s review into the video was continuing . the movie , starring dennis quaid , will open in theaters nationwide on jan. 27 as scheduled . “ amblin and universal do not want anything to overshadow this film that celebrates the relationship between animals and humans , ” the statement said , adding : “ since the emergence of the footage , amblin has engaged with many associated with the production of the film , including safety personnel , trainers and stunt coordinators as part of their review . while we are all disheartened by the appearance of an animal in distress , everyone has assured us that hercules the german shepherd was not harmed throughout the filmmaking . ” in a statement on wednesday , amblin and universal said hercules was “ happy and healthy . ” “ there were several days of rehearsal of the water scenes to ensure hercules was comfortable with all of the stunts , ” the statement continued . “ on the day of the shoot , hercules did not want to perform the stunt portrayed on the tape , so the amblin production team did not proceed with filming that shot . ” for a movie aimed squarely at an audience of dog lovers , the footage threatens to repel the precise audience filmmakers hope to draw . people for the ethical treatment of animals has urged moviegoers to boycott the film . several people involved in the film condemned the actions seen in the video . lasse hallstrom , the director , said on twitter he had not witnessed the events but was “ very disturbed ” by the footage . he said he had been promised “ a thorough investigation . ” “ we were all committed to providing a loving and safe environment for all the animals in the film , ” he said . “ i have been a lifelong animal lover , and ‘ a dog ’s purpose’ is my third film about dogs . the animals’ safety was of utmost priority . ” josh gad , an actor who voices one of the dogs in the film and said he was never on the set , released a statement on twitter that said he had “ signed on to a film that truly stands out as one of the most beautiful love letters to animals i have ever seen . ” he added he was “ shaken and sad to see any animal put in a situation against its will , ” and had contacted the production team and studio to ask for an explanation . mark stubis , a spokesman for the american humane association , which monitors animals on movie sets , said in a statement that a representative had been present during filming . the employee was later placed on administrative leave , and the organization was “ bringing in an independent third party to conduct an investigation , ” according to the statement . “ when the dog showed signs of resistance to jumping in the water , the scene should have been stopped , ” mr. stubis said . the movie , whose cast also includes peggy lipton , is based on a book of the same name by w. bruce cameron . he wrote on facebook on wednesday that he was “ as disturbed as you were by the video i saw earlier today . ” dog lovers on social media appeared to be unforgiving . “ this was abuse , and that human shoving the dog into the water should be charged , ” one woman wrote in response to mr. cameron ’s post . “ it is inexcusable , and i wo n’t be spending money to see this movie . ”
+1 matthew everett i say send him and hillary to bengazi and let them live where mr. stephens was murdered and they did nothing to help .
+1 heil hitlary ! lady gaga dresses like a nazi to support clinton starkman lady gaga rocked a futuristic nazi uniform at a hillary rally in north carolina yesterday , throwing her weight behind the clinton camp ’s assault on the first and second amendments . via yournewswire heil hitlary ! however there was widespread backlash against her outfit on social media . “ the pop star spoke out to give the democrat a boost , but her outfit raised some eyebrows . pop icon lady gaga has been slammed for her bizarre outfit while speaking at a hillary clinton rally , as social media users likened it to a nazi uniform . the singer addressed supporters of the democratic presidential candidate in north carolina ahead of today ’s election , urging them to get out and vote while also calling for reconciliation between clinton ’s and donald trump ’s supporters . speaking of her admiration for clinton , the 30-year - old told the crowd : “ no matter how absurd and mean [ trump ] became , she smiled bravely and she continued on.”she added that hillary clinton is “ made of steel ” and said : “ if we are true , true americans , then we must go from viewing his followers as our adversaries to viewing them as our allies . ” heil # hitllary ! – @ladygaga 's # nazi salute at # hillary rally . # heilhitllary # heilhillary pic.twitter.com/zmliqpadb1 — deplorable dmitry ( @dmitrytamoikin ) november 8 , 2016
+1 you wo n’t believe the hilarious reason we have n’t seen any late night trump twitter rants shannon barber november 6 , 2016 you wo n’t believe the hilarious reason we have n’t seen any late night trump twitter rants google pinterest digg linkedin reddit stumbleupon print delicious pocket tumblr the press has been praising gop presidential nominee donald trump lately for staying on message on the campaign trail and avoiding feuds on twitter . after all , the entire campaign has been dogged by trump ’s twitter meltdowns – especially in cases where he did outrageous things like spending a week attacking the parents of a fallen soldier , and fat - shaming a beauty queen in the middle of the night while urging his millions of followers to check out a sex tape . the world watched in horror as a major party presidential nominee engaged in this childish , bullying behavior , and as his advisers and surrogates toured the talk shows cleaning up his messes . however , it seems that here in the 11th hour of this crazy election cycle , trump ’s campaign aides have had enough of his coming unglued online . so , as if they are babysitting a toddler , they ’ve done the unthinkable and removed trump ’s access to his own twitter account . according to the new york times , instead of allowing trump to tweet when he feels like it , he and his aides craft careful tweets to send out to his millions of followers . the times cites one instance where hope hicks , one of the campaign ’s spokespeople , helped trump word a tweet chastising president obama for stumping so much for hillary . so , in other words , trump has so little self - control that his social media has to be monitored like a child . he probably stomped , screamed , and ranted throughout trump tower when kellyanne or whoever responsible for this decision took his phone away , but it seems that in the final days , the campaign knew that they ’d have no time to clean up any messes trump might create for himself via twitter . therefore , they had no choice but to treat him like the small child who just happens to be occupying a 70-year - old man ’s body that he is . and to think – in two days , this little boy could be in control of the world ’s most powerful nuclear arsenal . featured image via chip somodevilla / getty images share this article !
+0 indonesia earthquake kills more than 100 in aceh province - the new york times joe cochrane jakarta , indonesia — more than 100 people were killed early wednesday and more were feared dead after a powerful earthquake struck the indonesian island of sumatra , with many of the victims crushed to death in their homes as they slept . the earthquake , which shook sumatra ’s northernmost province , aceh , had a preliminary magnitude of 6 . 5 , according to the united states geological survey . the indonesian meteorology , climatology and geophysics agency said that the temblor , which struck after 5 a. m. at a depth of about six miles , was centered in pidie jaya , a region on aceh ’s east coast , adjacent to the strait of malacca . in pidie jaya , men carried the body of a young earthquake victim . connie magdalena , a duty officer at the national search and rescue agency ’s headquarters in jakarta , the capital , said on thursday that at least 102 people had been killed . sutopo purwo nugroho , a spokesman for the national agency for disaster management , said earlier that more than 500 people had been injured , 125 of them seriously . “ but we are still doing search and rescue operations , ” ms. magdalena said . “ the communications with our teams in the field remains very bad , but they are still searching . ” the rescue teams were scouring rubble across pidie jaya , about 70 miles southeast of the provincial capital , banda aceh , looking for survivors and victims . “ our rescue teams in the field are also evacuating the injured , ” ms. magdalena said . mr. sutopo said that panicked residents in pidie jaya had run for their lives from homes and other buildings . at least five aftershocks were felt after the quake , he said . “ numerous homes and buildings collapsed , shop houses collapsed , ” he said . mr. sutopo said that more than 160 homes and more than 100 buildings , including 14 mosques and a school , were damaged . medical teams were transferring some survivors to the town of sigli , the capital of the neighboring region of pidie , because of overcrowding at hospitals in pidie jaya , the jakarta post reported . in sigli , survivors were seen being treated at a hospital . both indonesian and international aid organizations were sending teams to aceh to assist in the disaster . as rescue and relief operations continued , another earthquake , with a magnitude of 5 , struck nearby late wednesday . no injuries or damage were immediately reported . aceh was devastated by the 2004 indian ocean tsunami that was caused by a giant earthquake off its western coast . the disaster killed 230 , 000 in more than a dozen countries , 170 , 000 of them in aceh province alone .
+0 a new casualty of syria ’s war : drinking water in damascus - the new york times ben hubbard beirut , lebanon — for millions of damascus residents , concerns about the direction of the war in syria have been replaced by worries about where to get enough water to do the dishes , wash clothes or take a shower . for nearly two weeks , the syrian capital and its vicinity have been afflicted by a water crisis that has left taps dry , caused long lines at wells and forced people to stretch whatever thin resources they can find . “ when the world gets hard for us , we work something out , ” said a woman in a video posted on facebook showing how she used a cola bottle to wash teacups . “ when you cut off the water , we dig for water . when you cut off the tap , we make a tap . ” like most of syria ’s problems , the damascus water crisis is a symptom of the war , which has killed hundreds of thousands of people , displaced about half the country ’s prewar population of 22 million and left its territory divided into zones controlled by the government , armed rebels and jihadist groups . while a brokered by russia and turkey and announced last week has reduced overall violence across the country , it has not stopped the fighting everywhere , nor has it resolved what happens when resources needed by one side are controlled by its enemies , as appears to be the case with damascus ’s water . historically , most of the water for the capital , which is controlled by the government of president bashar has come from the barada valley north of the city , which is controlled by rebels who want to oust mr. assad . the crisis began on dec. 22 , when the water stopped flowing . each side has accused the other of damaging infrastructure near the spring , halting the flow . antigovernment activists have posted photos online , purporting to show structures around the spring that they say were damaged by exploding barrels dropped from government helicopters . the government first accused the rebels of polluting the water , then of damaging the infrastructure . jens laerke , a spokesman for the united nations humanitarian office in geneva , said by email tuesday that the “ deliberate targeting of the water infrastructure ” had caused the . “ but we are not in a position to say by whom , ” he said . “ the area has been the scene of much fighting , so we have not been able to access it . ” now , 5 . 5 million people in damascus and the vicinity lack water , which has raised the risk of waterborne disease , especially among children , he said . fighting near the barada valley has continued despite the . antigovernment activists say that government forces , and fighters from lebanon ’s hezbollah organization , have continued to attack the area in an apparent attempt to take it over . the syrian observatory for human rights , which tracks the conflict from britain through a network of contacts in syria , said the government launched 15 airstrikes on the area monday amid clashes between rebels and forces . turkey ’s foreign minister , mevlut cavusoglu , accused the syrian government and its allies on wednesday of violating the saying that the new violence could derail peace talks meant to be held in astana , the capital of kazakhstan , on jan. 23 . rebel groups have threatened to boycott the talks if government attacks do not stop . few damascus residents expect much from the talks or have time to think about them . while generally safe from the violence that had reduced other parts of the country to rubble , they were struggling through a cold winter of high prices and scarce commodities before the water crisis , making things worse . the syrian government has sought to ease the crisis by trucking water from wells around the city , and the united nations has rehabilitated 120 wells to cover about of the city ’s daily needs , mr. laerke , the spokesman , said . but many residents said they had received nothing . some were buying water from men with private tankers , while others took advantage of whatever they could get . a shopkeeper said he had not had a shower in 10 days but that he and his sons went to the mosque every day to wash their hands , feet and faces , an option not available to the women of the house . at home , he said , they used plastic utensils because they could not wash dishes . one woman said she had not had running water in her home for 10 days . her two sons have spent hours each day lining up to fill jugs from the well at their mosque . they use that to drink and to wash dishes , collecting the runoff to flush the toilet . “ my family ’s dream is to get a warm shower , ” she said , speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of repercussions for communicating with a foreign news outlet without government permission . “ it has become our ultimate hope in damascus to have enough water to take showers and wash clothes in the automatic washing machine . ” she expressed anger that syria ’s news media had said little about the water crisis , instead focusing on the military ’s battles with rebels . “ we are fed up with the news of military operations , ” she said . “ we want news about water and water supply schedules . ” despite the water crisis , conditions in damascus are far better than those in aleppo , the northern city and former commercial epicenter of the country , where syrian and russian forces prevailed last month after prolonged bombardments of its eastern side . while the appears to be holding there , the formerly eastern quarters are abandoned wastelands , united nations relief officials said . “ nothing prepared us for what we saw , ” sajjad malik , the united nations acting humanitarian coordinator for syria , told reporters wednesday in a telephone briefing from aleppo . “ the infrastructure was destroyed in almost every neighborhood . ” mr. malik said more than 100 united nations relief workers from several agencies were helping civil defense teams remove debris and provide emergency food , water , shelter and medical care in the city , where four million people once lived . he estimated that 1 . 5 million people remain in aleppo , mostly on the western side , including roughly 400 , 000 syrians displaced from other areas . he also said thousands of displaced residents from the eastern side were starting to return , even if their homes and businesses were badly damaged or destroyed . “ they ’re beginning to talk about rebuilding their lives and livelihoods , ” mr. malik said . but he cautioned that “ aleppo ’s reconstruction is going to take a much longer time and way more resources than we have right now . ”
+1 comment on watch : a group of librarians cover queen with ‘ librarian rhapsody’ by i love my financial systems plc i love my financial systems plc subscribe one of the best things about my childhood was that i lived within walking distance of a library . it was n’t a huge library , but it fed my hunger for escape and story . because of this , i have a special place in my heart for librarians . i ’m pretty sure i was a hella annoying kid ( none of us really changes over time … .we only become more fully what we are . – anne rice ) . but our librarian never let on if i annoyed her . or maybe she was just the kind of saintly librarian who enjoyed kids who liked learning ? i dunno . but we ’d go and spend hours , whole days even . it was nirvana ! from forreadingaddicts : this is an absolutely brilliant parody of bohemian rhapsody , created by the shoalhaven library staff to celebrate the end of the the school year , and all i can say is … .. ‘ well , that escalated ! indeed . do n’t be fooled by the slow start of this video . these brainiacs drop the mic ! watch : about tiffany willis tiffany willis is a fifth - generation texan , a proponent of voluntary simplicity , a single mom , and the founder and editor - in - chief of liberal america . an unapologetic member of the christian left , she has spent most of her career actively working with “ the least of these " -- disadvantaged and oppressed populations , the elderly , people living in poverty , at - risk youth , and unemployed people . she is a certified workforce expert with the national workforce institute , a nawdp certified workforce development professional , and a certified instructor for franklin covey 's 7 habits of highly effective teens . follow her on twitter , facebook , or linkedin . she also has a grossly neglected personal blog , a time travel blog , a site dedicated to encouraging people to read classic literature 15 minutes a day , and a literary quotes blog that is a labor of love . find her somewhere and join the discussion . click here to buy tiff a mojito . connect
+0 facebook criticizes new german ’hate speech’ law for social media - breitbart lucas nolan facebook has criticized new german hate speech law that would see social media companies pay up to € 50 million in fines if they fail to remove “ hate speech ” on their platform . [ business insider reports that facebook is unhappy with germany ’s new hate speech law that would force social media companies to face heavy fines for failure to remove hate speech and fake news from their platforms . facebook has argued that these strict new measures will result in legal and legitimate content being deleted from their platform in order to avoid the fines . the german government proposed legislation in march that would have social media companies fined if they did n’t quickly remove posts regarded as slanderous or threatening . germany ’s cabinet approved these plans in april , but they have yet to be implemented . the new law has now been challenged by facebook . facebook published a statement over the weekend which outlined why the new law “ is not suitable to combat hate speech and false news . ” “ the draft law provides an incentive to delete content that is not clearly illegal when social networks face such a disproportionate threat of fines , ” facebook claimed . “ it would have the effect of transferring responsibility for complex legal decisions from public authorities to private companies . and several legal experts have assessed the draft law as being against the german constitution and with eu law . facebook is committed to working in partnership with governments and civil society on solutions that will make this draft law unnecessary . ” german justice minister heiko maas disagreed , stating , “ this ( draft law ) sets out binding standards for the way operators of social networks deal with complaints and obliges them to delete criminal content . ” he added , “ there should be just as little tolerance for criminal rabble rousing on social networks as on the street . ” if facebook refuses to comply with the law , the individual deemed responsible for the company in german could receive a personal € 5 million fine , while facebook as an organization could receive a fine of up to € 50 million .
+1 assange : clinton and isis are funded by same people , “ trump not permitted to win ” starkman julian assange has undoubtedly been on a run , exposing endless and shocking truths regarding democratic presidential nominee hillary clinton just days before the election is set to reveal the path the next four years will take in the u.s. via collectiveevolution and now there ’s more news to be baffled over , with assange claiming hillary clinton misled americans about the reality of islamic state ’s support from washington ’s middle east allies . last month , assange ’s wikileaks made a 2014 email public that exposed how then secretary of state hillary clinton urged then adviser to president barack obama john podesta to “ bring pressure ” on qatar and saudi arabia , saying that they were “ providing clandestine financial and logistic support to isil [ islamic state , is , isis ] and other radical sunni groups . ” in a video , assange called the email the “ most important ” of the entire collection of ammo wikileaks has obtained against the clinton campaign : all serious analysts know , and even the us government has agreed , that some saudi figures have been supporting isis and funding isis , but the dodge has always been that it is some “ rogue ” princes using their oil money to do whatever they like , but actually the government disapproves . but that email says that it is the government of saudi arabia , and the government of qatar that have been funding isis . assange sat down with veteran journalist john pilger for a 25-minute interview within the ecuadorian embassy in london , where assange has been living as a refugee since 2012 . he discussed in detail the conflict of interest between clinton ’s official position , which occurred during obama ’s first term , husband bill clinton ’s nonprofit , and the middle east officials , claiming the output or urgency to fight terrorism may not have been heartfelt . here is a valuable excerpt from the interview : john pilger : the saudis , the qataris , the moroccans , the bahrainis , particularly the first two , are giving all this money to the clinton foundation , while hillary clinton is secretary of state , and the state department is approving massive arms sales , particularly saudi arabia . julian assange : under hillary clinton – and the clinton emails reveal a significant discussion of it – the biggest - ever arms deal in the world was made with saudi arabia : more than $ 80 billion . during her tenure , the total arms exports from the u.s. doubled in dollar value jp : of course , the consequence of that is that this notorious jihadist group , called isil or isis , is created largely with money from people who are giving money to the clinton foundation ? ja : yes . pilger asked assange if he thought the accusations against the clinton campaign would have any effect on the democratic nominee winning the 2016 presidential election . assange also believes that next tuesday ’s election is absolutely rigged , and is in favor of hillary clinton . he said , my analysis is that trump would not be permitted to win . why do i say that ? because he has had every establishment off his side . trump does not have one establishment , maybe with the exception of the evangelicals , if you can call them an establishment . banks , intelligence , arms companies , foreign money , etc . are all united behind hillary clinton . and the media as well . media owners , and the journalists themselves .
+0 spate of deadly attacks in syria ahead of cease - fire - the new york times anne barnard beirut , lebanon — bags of body parts . three young siblings killed along with their mother . a pregnant woman lying dead under a fallen roof . these sights — described by syrians after a marketplace bombing in the northern syrian city of idlib on saturday — represent just a small fraction of the carnage from russian or government airstrikes in the two days since russia and the united states declared that a new would begin on monday . at least 91 people were killed and scores more wounded in two days of attacks on areas around the country , mainly in idlib and in the divided city of aleppo , according to tallies by doctors , rescuers and monitoring groups . the violence has deepened mistrust among syrians that the agreed on late friday , will deliver on its promise to ground the government planes that opposition groups say cause the war ’s greatest death toll . rebels , who have no air power , also attacked areas , mainly with mortar shells . the syrian state news media reported rebel shelling in several cities — damascus , aleppo , hama and dara’a — but did not say whether there were casualties . in any war , it is common for the parties to escalate attacks in the days or hours before a truce , and in this case the uptick was sharp . “ i will tell my expectations for the coming two days , ” abdelkafi a teacher and an activist , said in a text message minutes after the deal between the united states and russia was announced . “ assad will try to kill as much as possible before the claimed ” he said , referring to president bashar . “ a lot of shelling and bombs will fall upon civilians , especially the almost empty markets . ” on saturday , airstrikes hit idlib , aleppo and the damascus suburb of douma . on sunday , mr. hamdo wrote grimly , “ we know what assad and russia are . ” news media said on sunday that the syrian armed forces had attacked insurgents in several provinces . russian officials have denied that their warplanes have been responsible for a single civilian casualty in nearly a year of airstrikes the monitoring group airwars . org estimates the number at more than 3 , 000 . the heaviest strikes over the weekend happened in idlib , a province held by insurgents ranging from the group formerly known as the nusra front , which recently changed its name to the levant conquest front , to rebel groups backed by the united states . the strikes hit a marketplace as people shopped for eid or the feast of the sacrifice , a major muslim holiday . the is set to begin on monday at sundown , when the holiday starts . “ idlib ’s people got a gift for the feast , ” said mohammad najdat kaddour , a resident of the nearby town of binnish who went to idlib to film the aftermath . “ this was their gift . ” “ people decided to go out after hearing there was a truce on eid , ” he said via internet chat . he said he was incensed not only at the syrian government , but also at the united states for supporting a deal he considered worthless . “ do you believe there ’s something called a truce ? ” he said . “ they are all a bunch of criminals . ” residents compiled a list of the dead , including three young siblings , sidra , abdelkareem and mohammad arafa , who had been killed along with their mother . videos from the scene posted online showed piles of rubble and overturned carts , and the bodies of children and adults . in douma , residents reported the deaths of two young brothers who had lost a third brother last year . in aleppo , doctors reported new casualties on sunday morning from another round of barrel bombing . youssef mohamamd almosto , 60 , was reported dead a man had a leg amputated and several children were treated for injuries . syrian armed opposition groups were debating whether to accept the terms of the deal , which calls for a complete halt to violence for seven days , followed by joint operations by the united states and russia against designated terrorist groups like the islamic state and the former nusra . opposition groups — including those strongly against al qaeda and the islamic state — widely believe the deal is stacked against them . the islamist group ahrar said on sunday that it would not accept the terms . some government supporters also distrust the deal . yet virtually all syrians would welcome a respite from fighting and bombing , as was provided under a in february . they may be willing to give it a try , even though the russian and american officials who brokered it have themselves voiced doubts that it will work . other opposition groups have been warned that they may also be hit by airstrikes if they do not leave areas where nusra is present or remove the militant group itself — something not always possible for weaker groups to do without abandoning their home areas . the plan accepts the presence on the battlefield of other groups designated as terrorists by the united states — such as hezbollah — that are battling on the side of the syrian government , and considers them parties to the . iran , hezbollah and the syrian government have all declared that they accept the deal .
+1 hillary ’s crime family : end of days for the u.s.a daily coin hillary ’s crime family : end of days for the u.s.a based on the foregoing , someone got to comey — somewhere along the line by daily coin - november 8 , 2016 an investor in dave ’s fund emailed him asking which way colorado would vote tomorrow . he replied : “ depends on who counts the votes . i do n’t believe this is a fair election . i think the clinton crime machine , with the help of george soros and a few others , have everything under their control now . ” after taking the better part of a year to sift through 55,000 emails in analyzing hillary clinton ’s behavior with regard to conducting classified government business on her private server – which apparently was accessible to hackers and , surreptitiously , by anthony wieners porn laptop – jim comey determined in 8 days that 650,000 emails downloaded from hillary ’s private server were not relevant . sorry jim , that ’s impossible to believe . one highly plausible is that operatives in the deep state shut down the fbi investigation in order to preserve the treasure trove of material that will give it power over clinton ’s presidency . the sot was perplexed by this , so we asked john titus his take on this . his answer was quite compelling : here ’s what i ’m reasonably sure of , based on experience . ( 1 ) jim comey looked sick when , at the conclusion of round one , and having proven beyond all doubt that hillary violateed 18 u.s.c 793(f ) , he said no reasonable prosecutor would charge her . he was n’t acting . bad acting comes right through camera lens , and that man looked like he was about to vomit when he left that dais ; ( 2 ) it took the fbi a year to conclude round one of its investigation , which was based on its review of 55,000 emails ; ( 3 ) comey had promised to get back to congress should more info arise , and when 650,000 unexpected emails showed up , he made good on his word by letting congress know ; and ( 4 ) the fbi terminated its investigation long before reviewing 650,000 emails . i once reviewed 250,000 documents on a case , based on the foregoing , someone got to comey — somewhere along the line . for all i know , though , the whole thing was scripted from start to finish , and comey read his script at every point along the way , even when it physically disgusted him in round one . so while you might be right about the time , i think if the deep state made a move on comey , it happened awhile ago . that ’s wholly speculative on my part . you could well be right that they got to him just recently . i just doubt it . i think he ’s the company man because he ’s a company man . for damn sure you ’re right about holding hillary hostage , but she ’s so evil it ’s like throwing a pedophile into a daycare center with no supervision , the shades drawn and the doors locked . with that as the preface , today ’s episode of the shadow of truth discussed the latest development in the hrc crime family saga :
+0 hillary clinton says russia used hacking ‘ to great effect’ in her defeat - the new york times sarah maslin nir hillary clinton left no doubt on thursday that she believes russia contributed to her defeat by interfering in the election , condemning what she called moscow ’s “ weaponization of information . ” “ i did n’t fully understand how impactful that was , ” mrs. clinton said at a women ’s conference in new york . she said she was convinced that intrusions into democratic party leaders’ emails were carried out by russian hackers under orders from president vladimir v. putin and aided by online trolls and social media bots to spread disinformation . “ it is something that putin has used inside russia , outside russia to great effect , ” mrs. clinton said , and she called for an independent investigation into russian involvement . “ i ’m hopeful that the congress will pull together and realize that because of the success the kremlin feels it ’s had they ’re not going to go away , ” mrs. clinton said . “ so whatever party you are , whatever business you run , whatever concerns you have , if we do n’t take action together to hold whoever was involved accountable , they will be back time and time again . ” mrs. clinton made the remarks at the women in the world conference in manhattan , where she was interviewed by the new york times columnist nicholas kristof before an audience of about 3 , 000 people . it was her first extensive interview since her loss in november to donald j. trump . she did not stint on criticism of the trump white house . “ i do n’t take any pleasure in seeing the kind of chaotic functioning ” of the current administration , mrs. clinton said . “ here ’s what i do n’t understand — i do n’t understand the commitment to hurt so many people that this administration , this white house , seems to be pursuing . ” women in particular , she said , are under attack by mr. trump ’s policies . “ the targeting of women — which is what ’s going on — is absolutely beyond any political agenda , ” mrs. clinton said , pointing in particular to the state department ’s move to defund the united nations population fund , among other programs . she criticized efforts to strip maternity care and other treatments from republicans’ failed bill to repeal and replace the affordable care act . “ they had not a clue what that meant , ” she said . “ i do n’t know if any of them had ever even read the bill . ” she also noted that it was mostly men who were behind the push to curtail women ’s health benefits . “ the things that come out of some of these men ’s mouths — like , ‘ why do we have to cover maternity care ? ’ ” she said with a laugh . “ well i do n’t know , maybe you were dropped by immaculate conception ? ” she said mr. trump ’s two attempts at ordering travel bans aimed at people from a handful of predominantly muslim countries had “ really sent a chilling effect across the world to not just muslims , but to all kinds of people who said , ‘ wait a second , do n’t you still have lady liberty in the new york harbor ? ’ ” mrs. clinton , in an unvarnished dig at the president , noted that mr. putin “ shook my hand ” when they met , a reference to mr. trump ’s failure to shake the hand of chancellor angela merkel of germany . mrs. clinton seemed to dismiss rumors that she would some day run for new york city mayor , saying that while she had a lot of work to do , “ i do n’t think that will include ever running for office again . ” she was occupied , she said , with the unfinished business of the last century — “ the rights and opportunities for women and girls . ” “ i think i have a lot to do , ” she said . she said she was puzzled by the fact that she was popular as secretary of state under president barack obama , according to polls at the time she left that job , but unpopular as a candidate . “ well , what happened ? ” she said . “ oh my gosh , by the time they finished with me , i was typhoid mary . ” the difference , she said , was that as secretary , “ it was a job that i was asked to do by a man . ” as a presidential candidate , she was propelled by her own ambition , a quality , she said , that studies show is seen as unappealing in a woman . mrs. clinton said she was at work on a book that would delve deeply into the events leading up to the election , including the decision by the f. b. i. director , james b. comey , to release a letter about the investigation into her emails so close to election day . her life now ? “ as a person , i ’m o. k. , ” she said . “ as an american , i ’m very worried . ”
+0 in judge neil gorsuch , an echo of scalia in philosophy and style - the new york times adam liptak washington — a year ago , judge neil m. gorsuch was midway down a ski slope when his cellphone rang . justice antonin scalia , he was told , had died . “ i immediately lost what breath i had left , ” judge gorsuch said in a speech two months later . “ and i am not embarrassed to admit that i could n’t see the rest of the way down the mountain for the tears . ” president trump , in nominating judge gorsuch to the supreme court , has chosen a judge who not only admires the justice he would replace but also in many ways resembles him . he shares justice scalia ’s legal philosophy , talent for vivid writing and love of the outdoors . mr. trump ’s selection of judge gorsuch was nonetheless a bit of a surprise , coming from someone who had campaigned as a washington outsider . judge gorsuch has deep roots in the city and the establishment mr. trump often criticized . his mother was a official in the reagan administration . he spent part of his childhood in washington and practiced law here for a decade , at a prominent law firm and in the justice department . and , like all of the current justices , he is a product of the ivy league , having attended college at columbia and law school at harvard . judge gorsuch , 49 — who was appointed to the united states court of appeals for the 10th circuit , in denver , by president george w. bush — is an originalist , meaning he tries to interpret the constitution consistently with the understanding of those who drafted and adopted it . this approach leads him to generally but not uniformly conservative results . “ ours is the job of interpreting the constitution , ” he wrote in a concurrence last year . “ and that document is n’t some inkblot on which litigants may project their hopes and dreams . ” while he has not written extensively on several issues of importance to many conservatives , including gun control and gay rights , judge gorsuch has taken strong stands in favor of religious freedom , earning him admiration from the right . in two prominent cases , both of which reached the supreme court , he sided with employers who had religious objections to providing some forms of contraception coverage to their female workers . he voted in favor of hobby lobby stores , a company that objected to regulations under the affordable care act requiring many employers to provide free contraception coverage . similarly , he dissented from a decision not to rehear a ruling requiring the little sisters of the poor , an order of nuns , to comply with an aspect of the regulations . the supreme court ruled in favor of hobby lobby in 2014 and vacated the decision concerning the little sisters of the poor in 2016 . like justice scalia , judge gorsuch takes a broad view of the fourth amendment , which bars unreasonable government searches and seizures . judge gorsuch was born and spent his early years in colorado , and he returned there when he became a judge more than a decade ago . michael w. mcconnell , who served with judge gorsuch on the appeals court and is now a law professor at stanford , said his former colleague ’s colorado background would add something distinctive to the supreme court . “ he ’s a westerner , ” professor mcconnell said . “ there are so many cases that have to do with the west , and i also think the cultural sensibilities of the west are different . he ’s an outdoorsman , and the supreme court needs a little bit more geographical diversity . ” in colorado , judge gorsuch is known for his involvement with the outdoors and the local legal community . he lives in unincorporated boulder county , in a community on a property with several horses . he has raised chickens and goats with his teenage daughters , emma and belinda , and his wife , louise , an avid equestrian . he is a black diamond skier and fisherman and hosts regular picnics for his former law clerks with another 10th circuit judge , timothy m. tymkovich . judge gorsuch has not hesitated to take stands that critics say have a partisan edge . he has criticized liberals for turning to the courts rather than legislatures to achieve their policy goals , and has called for limiting the power of federal regulators . nan aron , the president of the alliance for justice , a liberal group , said judge gorsuch ’s stance on federal regulation was “ extremely problematic ” and “ even more radical than scalia . ” “ not requiring courts to defer to agency expertise when an act of congress is ambiguous , ” she said , “ will make it much harder for federal agencies to effectively address a wide variety of critical matters , including labor rights , consumer and financial protections , and environmental law . ” in a 2005 essay in national review , written before he became a judge , he criticized liberals for preferring litigation to the political process . “ american liberals have become addicted to the courtroom , relying on judges and lawyers rather than elected leaders and the ballot box , as the primary means of effecting their social agenda on everything from gay marriage to assisted suicide to the use of vouchers for education , ” he wrote . “ this overweening addiction to the courtroom as the place to debate social policy is bad for the country and bad for the judiciary . ” like justice scalia , judge gorsuch is a lively and accessible writer . consider the first paragraph of a 2011 libel decision , which dispensed with the and jargon that characterizes many judicial opinions . “ can you win damages in a defamation suit for being called a member of the aryan brotherhood prison gang on cable television when , as it happens , you have merely conspired with the brotherhood in a criminal enterprise ? ” judge gorsuch wrote . “ the answer is no . while the statement may cause you a world of trouble , while it may not be precisely true , it is substantially true . and that is enough to call an end to this litigation as a matter of law . ” judge gorsuch ’s writing differs from justice scalia ’s in one major way : his tone is consistently courteous and mild , while some of justice scalia ’s dissents were caustic and wounding . if judge gorsuch is confirmed , the court will return to a familiar dynamic , with justice anthony m. kennedy , a moderate conservative , holding the decisive vote in many closely divided cases . judge gorsuch was born in denver , but he moved to washington as a teenager when his mother , anne m. gorsuch , joined the administration of president ronald reagan as the first woman to lead the environmental protection agency . ms. gorsuch , known after her remarriage as anne burford , resigned under fire from congress after 22 months . after law school , he also attended oxford university in england as a marshall scholar , graduating with a doctorate in legal philosophy . he served as a law clerk for a year to judge david b. sentelle , a conservative member of the united states court of appeals for the district of columbia circuit . after the appeals court clerkship , mr. gorsuch served as a law clerk to justice byron r. white , then a retired member of the supreme court . as is the court ’s custom , justice white shared his clerk with an active member of the court , justice kennedy . ( when judge gorsuch joined the denver appeals court , justice kennedy administered the oath of office . ) mr. gorsuch then practiced law for a decade at kellogg , huber , hansen , todd , evans figel , a washington law firm , before serving in the justice department from 2005 to 2006 . he is the author of “ the future of assisted suicide and euthanasia , ” published in 2006 by princeton university press . the book argued that laws banning those practices should be retained . in a 2002 article reflecting on justice white ’s death , mr. gorsuch criticized the senate ’s handling of judicial confirmations . “ some of the most impressive judicial nominees are grossly mistreated , ” he said , mentioning two candidates for the federal appeals court in washington who he said were “ widely considered to be among the finest lawyers of their generation . ” one was john g. roberts jr. who went on to become chief justice of the united states . the other was judge merrick b. garland , who was confirmed to the appeals court in 1997 after a long delay , but whose nomination to justice scalia ’s seat last year was blocked by senate republicans . if he is confirmed , judge gorsuch will become the 113th justice , taking a seat that has been held not only by justice scalia but also by justice robert h. jackson , perhaps the finest writer to have served on the court . “ the towering judges that have served in this particular seat of the supreme court , ” judge gorsuch said in his remarks at the white house on tuesday night , “ are much in my mind at this moment . ” but judge gorsuch seemed to take special pleasure in remembering the justice who had first hired him as a law clerk , a westerner whose accomplishments were not limited to the law . “ i began my legal career working for byron white , ” he said , “ the last coloradan to serve on the supreme court — and the only justice to lead the n. f. l. in rushing . ”
+1 clinton and trump : the known and the unknown | the vineyard of the saker the saker 1549 views november 01 , 2016 8 comments guest posts the saker by ghassan kadi my american friend roger is a staunch democrat supporter . he is in his seventies and has always voted democrat . him and i have had countless discussions over the many years that we have known each other . his paternal roots are arabic and he sees himself to be on the “ left ” side of politics , anti - israel lobby , anti - empire , but of late , him and i have not been able to see eye - to - eye on the trump - clinton race to the whitehouse issue . he is with the view that obama has inherited a financial and military disaster and did the best he could , and that he should not be blamed for his failure to “ perform ” as many did after his elaborate and successful “ yes we can ” slogan . he supported obama - care and other domestic reform policies , and this is perhaps where roger and i stop to agree and start to disagree . many , including roger , look at the appalling record of the republican american party and try to paint a tainted image of it . the party that is affectionately called the grand old party or the gop by its own staunch supporters certainly has enough such records to put it up there with charges of global mayhem and genocide . the gop has given birth to monsters ; people like nixon , the bushes , and of course , who can forget dr. kissinger ? mccain is another character that comes to mind ; one that no thinking man could trust with a dog , a federal senator who commands self - given authority that no one seems to be able to either understand the mandate of , or challenge . at the end of the infamous line republican line , well at least thus far , enter donald trump . and what a character he is ? need one say more ? god forbid if this article may be read like a defense of the gop . the gop is run by the rich and the privileged , and as described by george w. bush himself , by “ the haves and have more ” . it is the party of dick cheney who saw in iraq an opportunity to generate contracts for haliburton . if tens of thousands , hundreds of thousands of iraqis had to die for him to achieve his objective , he would not and did not blink . this is the party that condones and feeds christian zionists . it is the party that has huge control over the media . it is the party that runs the world like it is a business enterprise . sadly , and whether the rest of the world likes it or not , until the current global status quo changes , no political party in the world affects the rest of the world like the ruling party in the united states . whilst elections in other countries are by - and - large domestic affairs that affect domestic politics of the country concerned , american elections have implications that are not only domestically bound , but have a much further global reach that encompasses every corner of the world . as a non - american , personally , i am much more concerned about the wider global implications of american politics than the domestic ones . this is not to say that i am indifferent about america and the american people . as a matter of fact , not only do i have close friends who live in america , but also close family members there , and i have grave concerns for all mankind in every corner of the globe , by my interest in american politics remains focused on foreign policy matters ; and to this effect , i am only able to relate to the choice between the major two american parties from the perspective of their foreign policies . as america insists to be the world police and the unrivalled superpower , a stature many americans are refusing to accept that they have already lost , it must accept what comes with it and concede that the rest of the world is hoping that the american people will choose the better candidate as the new president ; or should i say the one who is less harmful to the world . in between donald and hillary , who fits the less - harmful bill ? this is the question . enough has been recently said about hillary ’s health to write a horror novel . her “ mini - strokes ” and “ alleged ” recent case of pneumonia have made headlines as big , if not bigger than her infamous hidden emails , allegations of involvement in the murder of an american ambassador and even selling arms to isis . very recently however , the issue of the emails is resurfacing again , and very late in the campaign , perhaps late enough to serve hillary with a knock out . however , her zeal to reach the whitehouse seems to have been in her mind even before bill ’s ( her husband ) monica scandal back in 1998 . hillary was prepared to publicly support bill , appear to “ forgive ” him and move on , because she had a bigger fish to fry ; the whitehouse . she somehow managed to hush down all other sex offence allegations against bill , all the while , and hypocritically , trying to score mileage from similar allegations against trump . her unabated lust for power will not stop at anything for as long as she ends up at the helm , the first female american president , even if she has to be commander in chief from behind the control button of a wheelchair . there are even observations and allegations that many people who have campaigned against her have died under suspicious circumstances . whether this mystery is going to be taken up by main stream media just on the eve of the elections to serve her with yet another under - the - belt knock out remains to be seen . her uncontrollable laughs and hysterical facial expressions leave many questions unanswered . in between the two front runners donald and hillary , it is hard to say that she presents herself as the sane and rational choice . is there a party - based distinction on foreign affairs matters ? perhaps now , but not historically . for some reason , the american republican party is seen as the party of the hawks and the democrats are seen as the doves . but are they ? to answer this question in an unbiased manner , we ought to look back at history . notwithstanding the colourful history of the gop , the bushes ; father and son , cheney , the neocons and co. , what is really the history of the american democratic party ? a few landmark historical decisions make it very clear . so let us start with current events before we dwell into recent history that some might have chosen to forget . the “ war on syria ” was the brainless child of the so - called “ arab spring ” , a spring that was heralded by the visit of an american president to cairo and a speech he made to sunni muslim clergy at al - azhar university . the president ’s name is barak obama , and he is a democrat . obama ’s speech was a subtle endorsement for the arab street , and to be specific to the sunni muslim arab street to rise . the maidan phenomenon and all the events that followed in ukraine , the anti - russian sanctions , escalations and intimidations and the creation of a very volatile situation in europe ; a situation that remains hot and of unpredictable consequences , have all been orchestrated by the same president ; obama … .a democrat . last but not least , the current tension in the south china sea is also the outcome of the same president , the incumbent democrat ; barak obama . now , let us not forget that president obama is a nobel prize laureate ; ironically for peace . the american involvement in the vietnam war started under the tenure of the sweetheart hollywood - star like american president ; jfk . it reached its climax during the lbj administration . both kennedy and johnson were democrats . but all of the above monstrosity is dwarfed by dropping the a - bombs on hiroshima and nagasaki . many strategists have argued over the last seven decades as to whether or not president truman had no other choice to end the war quickly , but those arguments do not change the fact that two ; not one , atom bombs were dropped on cities . it is pertinent to note here that the manhattan project generated two types of bombs , “ little boy ” ( used in hiroshima ) and “ fat man ” ( used in nagasaki ) . it does n’t take a genius to at least suspect that the american administration wanted to test the two types and that therefore , in their eyes , destroying hiroshima alone was not enough . that said , and even though no a - bombs were dropped in western europe and specifically on germany , the brutality that civilians in german towns and cities have suffered were simply acts of vengeance and many of them had no military gains to achieve . harry truman was not a republican . he was yet another democrat . but have n’t we forgotten the other democrat sweetheart of the whitehouse ? the almost saint - in - waiting ? the smiling colgate - ad president jimmy carter . many see that carter had an impeccable record of being a humanitarian of the highest degree . as a matter of fact , credit must be given to him for his post - presidency peace campaigns , and specifically for standing up for the palestinian people and for not being silenced by the israel lobby . however , in reality , it was during the carter administration that al - qaeda was created under the blessing and auspices of the usa . it was a criminal with a twisted mind aka zbigniew brzezinski , carter ’s national security advisor , who actually established the first jihadist army . in his narrow - minded and short - sighted vision , he thought that the best way to fight the soviets in afghanistan was to support and train islamist fighters to rise against the “ infidel ” communists . and even though the plot eventually generated isis , a monster that turned not only against the hand the fed it but also against the whole world , to this date , brzezinski maintains that he came up with a genius master plan . once again , carter and brzezinski were both democrats . and now , it is clinton who is beating up the drums of war against russia and china . americans may have their legitimate preferences that would make them go either for trump or for clinton . supporters of each team can and do provide huge lists that make their candidate of choice the better one . arguably , one of them could well be better for america ; the truth is that as a citizen of the world , and as mentioned before , i am more interested in a president who is better for the rest of the world . whether trump will trump up the military after an election win is anyone ’s guess . but clinton is beating the drums of war already . to this effect , and as we stand today , on the international arena , she is the hawk ; not trump . americans who are disenchanted by wars must realize that this time around , the choice to vote democrat is an endorsement of her war aspirations . americans with two minds as to which way to go on the 8 th of this month ought to remember that whatever their personal , local and/or domestic issues are , the usa will not win a nuclear war against either russia or china ; let alone both combined . those swinging voters who easily vote for either major party depending on an array of factors , should hopefully discern that this time that a vote for clinton is a vote for war . if some have never voted for the gop in the past , and more so are physically unable to vote for trump , and/or if others are disenchanted by both major parties or actually never voted before , and if they regard both candidates as equally farcical , one would wonder as to what are waiting for to vote outside the two major parties ? what caliber of democrat and republican candidates are such reluctant american voters waiting for to vote for a third option ? some argue that a vote for the greens is a wasted vote because the greens will never make it into the whitehouse , at least not in the foreseeable future , but in reality , any vote that does not endorse hillary clinton is not a wasted vote . the essential saker : from the trenches of the emerging multipolar world $ 27.95
+1 decorated ‘ hero’ cop caught using his authority to steal $ 170,000 in state fees john vibes home / be the change / government corruption / decorated ‘ hero’ cop caught using his authority to steal $ 170,000 in state fees decorated ‘ hero’ cop caught using his authority to steal $ 170,000 in state fees john vibes october 28 , 2016 leave a comment detroit , mi – disgraced michigan state trooper seth swanson was charged with embezzlement this week for pocketing thousands in false fees . the 31-year - old trooper allegedly stole $ 170,100 in vehicle fees through an inspections scheme that he ran , where he would forge documentation on potentially stolen vehicles . the michigan attorney general ’s office issued the following state ment detailing swanson ’s theft operation : “ police officers are given great trust and responsibility , and for that reason are held to a higher standard . when you break the trust you are given and in the process break the law , there are consequences , no matter who you are or what your profession . i want to thank the michigan state police and fbi ’s detroit area public corruption task force for their hard work on this investigation . ” according to investigators , swanson was a state - certified salvage vehicle inspector since 2011 . as an inspector , swanson was responsible for overseeing salvage vehicle inspections , during which a $ 100 fee is collected . for over a year , swanson allegedly pocketed these fees and forged the forms that authorized the salvage . swanson is accused of applying this scam to 1,701 vehicles , bringing in a total of $ 170,100 . after he was charged , swanson was forced to resign from the police department . police spokesperson andrea bitely told reporters that “ our office , in conjunction with the michigan state police and secretary of state , are working together to make sure that all vehicles involved in this case have , actually have a proper salvage vehicle inspection , and we ’ll contact the registered owners of the vehicles to make sure we arrange for now inspection in a timely manner . ” prior to his crimes as an inspector , swanson was praised in the media as a “ hero ” in 2013 for being one of the first responders to a large pile - up . swanson and his lawyers are attempting to use his past media fame as a defense in this most recent case , despite the fact that it is entirely irrelevant . defense attorney john freeman said that swanson is still a “ hero . ” “ these charges do n’t detract from the fact that trooper swanson was a real - life hero and was a good trooper . it ’s easy for people to lose sight of that fact , ” freeman said . swanson was released on $ 10,000 bond and is currently awaiting trial . below is a video from 2013 in which swanson was hailed as a hero . john vibes is an author and researcher who organizes a number of large events including the free your mind conference . he also has a publishing company where he offers a censorship free platform for both fiction and non - fiction writers . you can contact him and stay connected to his work at his facebook page . john is currently battling cancer naturally , without any chemo or radiation , and will be working to help others through his experience , if you wish to contribute to his treatments please donate here . share social trending
+1 the left must mobilize in the face of a trump victory roqayah chamseddine american liberals are now living a nightmare they never imagined would come true : a donald trump presidency . not only did trump win , but he did so after pollsters and pundits forecasted a solid landslide victory in hillary clinton ’s favor . in their mind , this was not supposed to happen . the glass ceiling should have broken and their cups should have been overflowing in celebration . instead , many are dumbfounded , unable to comprehend how things could have gone so wrong . as the hours crawled by , clinton voters took to social media and consoled one another—“it ’s still too early … she can still take michigan … this ca n’t happen … ” and yet , despite the prophecies of the foremost data pundits , here we are : a trump presidency , and republicans in control of both the house and senate . this demonstrable failure on the part of the democratic party will not be a cause for reevaluation but will be passed on to third party voters , who have long served as their proverbial whipping boy . the corpse of ralph nader ’s 2000 campaign is still unearthed every election season to serve as bogeyman , after all . early on , clinton warmed to right wing ideologues while maligning those on the left pushing for more authentic and progressive policies . her surrogates boasted of a more efficient platform , mocking her leftist detractors as half - witted and starry - eyed . the reinvention of clinton as a cool and relatable pop culture icon who was still “ your abuela ” was a wasted effort ; her campaign was a theater of pretentious absurdity that alienated those forced to straddle the intersections of race , gender , and poverty , who will face a multitude of struggles whether or not the glass ceiling shattered around them . clinton , and those ensnared in the sputtering limelight of her campaign , turned some the most consequential issues — from universal healthcare and police brutality to the prison industrial complex and a living wage — into detached and immaterial concerns . this staggering loss to a candidate portrayed as both a balmy object of ridicule and a calamitous threat to numerous communities should serve as a moment of clarity , but if things are to remain guided by the reactionary sentiment we ’ve seen expressed so often , then the next few years will push us further towards the edge of the cliff . there should be no exoneration of the democratic party , whose funeral knell should have rung decades ago . the bourgeois liberals who have long enjoyed spreading political fan - fiction instead of mobilizing , who have denounced even the most benign criticism of clinton as being untimely and lending credence to right wing populism , are frantic . yet , they still take up spaces across the media landscape that they do not deserve . it is time we make them irrelevant . as liberals apply for canadian citizenship and drown their sorrows in bottles of maple syrup , the rest of us must organize . there is no retreating . mourn if you must , but come hell or high water , we must mobilize . the post the left must mobilize in the face of a trump victory appeared first on shadowproof .
+0 donald trump mocks ’resist’ democrats at obamacare meeting with senate republicans charlie spiering president donald trump met with republican senators for lunch at the white house to discuss progress on the bill to replace obamacare , using the occasion to highlight the failures of former president barack obama ’s signature healthcare plan and the obstruction of democrats . [ “ obamacare has been broken , and it ’s been a broken promise , ” trump said to the press , pointing to the “ lies ” by democrats that americans could keep their doctor and their plan and would experience lower premiums . he cited the obamacare ’s leading to skyrocketing premiums in multiple states , many over 100 percent increases . trump did not go into detail about what the senate republican bill would include , but he said it would be “ phenomenal ” and “ generous , kind , with heart . ” the democrats , trump said , were “ obstructionists , ” whom he said would never support republican efforts to fix health care . “ even their new motto — ‘ resist’ — i guess it ’s a pretty accurate motto . every time i see it , i say , ‘ that ’s right . that does represent the democrats,’ ” he said . the president said he had “ great respect ” for the senate republicans who attended the lunch : senator rob portman ( ) senator john thune ( ) senator pat toomey ( ) senator mike lee ( ) senator ted cruz ( ) senator lamar alexander ( ) senator john barrasso ( ) senator cory gardner ( ) senator tom cotton ( ) senator lisa murkowski ( ) senator susan collins ( ) senator joni ernst ( ) senator orrin hatch ( ) “ i ’ve gotten to know and love some of them and know and like others , ” he said as the senators laughed . when asked about the timing of the republican senate healthcare bill , trump replied , “ as soon as we can do it . ” the president is expected to meet with families experiencing the failed promises of obamacare during a trip to wisconsin tuesday .
+0 barbara boxer urges democrats to follow meryl streep ’s lead daniel nussbaum former senator barbara boxer defended meryl streep ’s controversial , golden globes acceptance speech and urged democratic politicians to follow her lead during caa ’s “ take action day ” summit on thursday . [ boxer — who just signed on as a client at caa after leaving the senate last year — was one of several politicians and progressive leaders taking part in what the hollywood billed a “ ” political summit for clients and staff . “ i do n’t think she talks down to anybody , ” boxer said of streep during a conversation with caa agent michael kives , according to deadline . “ i do n’t think it ’s up to people to worry about how one segment of the country thinks . what did meryl streep say that should be offensive to the middle of the country , that donald trump imitated a disabled person ? believe me , people in middle america did n’t like that one bit . ” during her acceptance speech at the globes in january , streep said that hollywood belonged to the most “ vilified ” segment of american society in the wake of trump ’s election , and criticized what she called the president ’s “ instinct to humiliate , ” his “ disrespect ” and his “ violence . ” the speech was widely praised in hollywood but sparked outrage among the president ’s supporters . while she defended streep ’s speech , boxer said it was important not to speak out politically just “ for the sake of doing it . ” “ i believe in freedom of speech for every single person , whether they work in hollywood , do n’t work at all , are old , young , whatever , ” she said , according to the wrap . “ do n’t do it for the sake of doing it , but if it moves your heart and you have a stage , use it . ” “ it ’s not up to meryl streep to tailor our message to middle america , it ’s up to candidates who are running for office to tailor a message that resonates , ” boxer added . caa ’s “ take action day ” runs all day thursday and was also expected to include appearances by sen. kamala harris ( ) rep. kevin mccarthy ( ) planned parenthood president cecile richards and muslim public affairs council founder salam . follow daniel nussbaum on twitter : @dznussbaum
+0 kathryn steinle ’s family gets go - ahead to sue federal government - breitbart awr hawkins the parents of kathryn steinle have received the to sue the federal government over kathryn ’s july 2o15 death she was killed by an illegal alien holding a gun issued to a federal agent . [ u. s. magistrate joseph spero said steinle ’s parents can sue but stressed that the suit may be dismissed if there is no evidence that the illegal alien — juan francisco — stole the gun from a federal agent . the gun in question came from the car of a federal agent — a car from which the gun was stolen . on august 28 , 2015 , breitbart news previously reported that the . 40 caliber round that killed steinle was fired from a sig sauer handgun that had been stolen from a bureau of land management agent . however , it appears the case will turn on whether stole the gun himself . on july 7 , 2015 , told he shot steinle , but he said it was an accident . he said he found the gun “ lying on the ground wrapped in a ” and that it “ went off by accident when he picked it up . ” but the san francisco chronicle reports that spero said the steinle family “ can sue the federal government for negligence because a ranger allegedly left the gun used in the shooting in his unlocked car . ” he added , “ leaving a gun loaded makes ( its ) capability for harm readily accessible in the same way as leaving the key in the ignition of a vehicle . ” spero dismissed steinle ’s parent ’s suit against the city of san francisco , even as he gave the for the suit against the federal government . he “ rejected [ her parent ’s ] claims that the city was legally responsible for releasing without contacting the federal government and that federal immigration officials , who had known the city was holding him , had a duty to pick him up and deport him . ” awr hawkins is the second amendment columnist for breitbart news and host of “ bullets with awr hawkins , ” a breitbart news podcast . he is also the political analyst for armed american radio . follow him on twitter : @awrhawkins . reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart . com .
+1 fbi wants you to believe it examined 650,000 emails in 691,000 seconds activist post by claire bernish in no surprise to anyone paying even marginal attention , the fbi ’s clearing hillary clinton of wrongdoing in its briefly reopened investigation — ...
+1 президент россии сообщил о сроках энергообеспечения крыма nan 0 комментариев 0 поделились фото : ap " в конце этого года в крым должна прийти магистральная газовая труба. и с этого момента начнется настоящая , полноценная газификация и электроснабжение уже от собственной генерации : первичный источник — газ. мы планируем и уже осуществляем строительство электростанции на газе " , — сказал путин , выступая на организованным онф " форуме действий. крым " в ялте. по его словам , " с этого момента начнется действительно реальная газификация и энергообеспечение всего полуострова , включая севастополь " . российский лидер также напомнил о том , как прошедшей зимой с украины на полуостров прекратили поставлять электроэнергию. по его мнению , это было " преступление против человека " : " что касается прекращения подачи воды или вот эта ситуация , связанная с прекращением подачи электроэнергии , — это , конечно , на грани преступления против человека. взять крупный регион , в котором несколько миллионов человек проживают , и отключить от электроснабжения зимой — это , знаете , очень серьезная вещь " , — сказал глава государства. он подчеркнул , что не понимает , на что рассчитывали те люди , которые отключили энергоснабжение в крым. " думали , что все встанут на колени и будут просить подачку ? удивительные идиоты " , - сказал путин. недоумение вызывает и поведение международных правозащитный организаций , которые никак не выразили своего отношения к создавшейся тогда вопиющей ситуации , сказал владимир путин. " у нас правозащитные организации чего-то воды в рот набрали , язык проглотили и молчат. а на самом деле это же серьезное преступление. а больницы ? а дети ? а старики ? все молчат , как будто так и надо. но бог с ними , в конце концов " , — посетовал президент. для исключения подобной ситуации , а именно — обесточивания полуострова , в будущем до конца текущего года в крым будет проложен магистральный газопровод. кроме того , как рассказывала правда. ру , в своем выступлении на форуме онф в ялте глава государства коснулся и ряда других вопросов. в частности , как заявил президент , до 2020 года россия потратит более 40 миллиардов рублей на обеспечение крыма пресной водой. " мы направили на решение этой задачи из федерального бюджета 23 с лишним миллиарда рублей. с 2015 по 2020 г. планируется в федеральной целевой программе по развитию крыма и севастополя еще свыше 40 млрд руб. " , — сказал путин. он также добавил , что эти деньги необходимо израсходовать рационально. " федеральные и региональные органы власти эту проблему должны решить и обязательно решат , у меня в этом сомнений нет никаких " . президент также напомнил , что на первых порах проблема с пресной водой на полуострове стояла " очень остро , особенно после того как наши соседи отключили крым от северо-крымского " . читайте последние новости pravda . ru на сегодня
+1 the left in power : clinton to obama richard baehr search the left in power : clinton to obama david horowitz explains how the democrats became a leftwing party in volume vii of the black book of the american left . october 28 , 2016 richard baehr below is richard baehr 's review of david horowitz 's new book , the left in power : clinton to obama ( reprinted from american thinker with permission ) . the book is volume 7 of the black book of the american left , a multi - volume collection of david horowitz 's conservative writings that will , when completed , be the most ambitious effort ever undertaken to define the left and its agenda . ( order here . ) we encourage our readers to visit blackbookoftheamericanleft.com which features horowitz ’s introductions to volumes 1 - 7 of this 9-volume series , along with their tables of contents , reviews and interviews with the author . every year , there is some report of the blissful ignorance of american history demonstrated by the supposedly best and brightest at elite american universities . suffice it to say the collected writings of david horowitz on the american left , which constitute part of a solid foundation for understanding the last half century of american politics , are nowhere to be found on any college or high school reading list . horowitz ’s latest book , the left in power : clinton to obama , is the seventh volume in his nine - volume collection , the black book of the american left . this new volume provides a collection of his writings over the last quarter century , focusing primarily on the left ’s control in our government and culture . as horowitz reveals , even during the bush years , conservatives were on the defense and leftists controlled the narrative as they attempted to destroy bush and his chances for re - election in 2004 . their primary mode of attack was to undermine america ’s efforts in iraq almost from the start of the conflict , when just months earlier a majority of senate democrats and near half of house democrats had supported the president . the left then destroyed bush ’s second term with bogus charges of racist neglect in the handling of hurricane katrina . there was plenty of incompetence in the response to katrina , but local and state officials — all democrats , of course , and many of them african american — were the principal operators on the ground during the crisis . the immediate abandonment of support for the iraq war effort was a signal event in american history , sending a message that a large part of the democratic party was not remotely concerned about the morale of our men and women fighting overseas . the weak effort by some democrats to hold onto an ounce of patriotic resolve -- “ end the war , support the troops ” -- was designed more for campaign speeches than any meaningful attempt to convey national unity for the effort underway by our armed forces . so too , the obsession with abu ghraib gave the lie to the democrats’ “ support our troops ” message , as a broad brush was used to paint the incident as somehow what you would expect from our military on a routine basis . horowitz outlines this narrative , faulting the bush administration for failing to fight harder to present its story of why we went into iraq and the risks if we had done nothing . regrettably , the bush administration never had a chance to get a better defense of the iraq war out to the media . most in the media considered the bush administration illegitimate due to its narrow victory in the 2000 presidential contest , a lie to be sure . unfortunately , it is almost certainly true that the media today are far more in the bag for the left than ten or twenty years ago and work harder at pushing the left ’s agenda . the soft liberalism of walter cronkite has been replaced by cable and national network anchors who routinely bury stories embarrassing to their side and focus on those that can do damage to the other side . during the current presidential election cycle , we have seen the most prestigious media organs explain why it is necessary and appropriate for them to be biased this year . it is a special time , they argue , because trump is , in their view , a unique threat to the republic . on the other hand , the media have been loath to consider the damage to the country caused by barack obama -- the loss of respect abroad for america ’s will to fight , the degradation of our military readiness , the fraying of ties with allies , and the near obsessive outreach to america ’s enemies that led to agreements such as the nuclear deal with iran , best described as an abject surrender of american interests that will lead to the funding of fanatical nuclear regime . about 85 % of those supposedly sensible pro - israel democrats walked the plank behind their great leader on that deal , with no visible regrets to date . there was simply too much political risk to oppose the first black president of their party . the media were happy to parrot the administration ’s talking points for the nuclear deal , something the manipulators crowed over at the white house . at least in the propaganda use of abu ghraib , the left was honest in revealing what it thinks about the military . as horowitz outlines in article after article , the left is fighting a war that most americans do not see , disguising its intentions through its aggressive , unceasing promotion of “ progressive ” policies “ to make america a better place . ” this commitment to deception emerges , horowitz reveals , from the allegiance to the ideology of saul alinsky ’s “ rules for radicals , ” a formative doctrine for both barack obama and hillary clinton . the progressive goal is to achieve a new society that has never been seen before in this country , though it has been promised and has catastrophically failed in many places around the globe . in america , the left is not only unconcerned with selling their program to the public , but also , horowitz argues , it is fearful of the result of voters knowing what it is pursuing . one prime example was the admission of mit professor and obamacare architect jonathan gruber that health care law would never have made it through congress if it had been presented honestly . the left is also busy at work making it easier for itself to win politically . horowitz provides chapter and verse on the left ’s efforts to rapidly change the composition of the voting pool -- motor voter registration with no birth certificate required , fighting every effort to combat voter fraud with charges of racism and “ turning the clock back , ” even when states were willing to pay for potential voters obtaining the needed documents to register , support for open borders , expansion of legal immigration , and amnesty and citizenship ( and voting rights ) for more than ten million already in the country illegally . here the left ’s mentor and financier is george soros and his buddies , who have funded dozens of organizations which fight on multiple fronts every day to advance the left politically . and horowitz has done a great public service by his discover the network listing of the people responsible for america ’s steady drift to the radical left . the left uses the racism charge in many of the confrontations it creates . of course , the problems of america ’s inner cities , all under complete control of one political party for half a century , have never been of even near equal interest to the democrats as their ability to continue to win enormous majorities among inner city voters , particularly african americans . the left has fully endorsed the teacher unions’ opposition to charter schools , and voucher programs , though both are popular with minority group parents and children . the two major teachers unions are simply too powerful a support group for the democratic party ( campaign cash , votes , and volunteers ) for the left to support policies that might lead to a better future for kids as opposed to continued growth in expenditures for the teachers unions and their workforce . in the last two years , the soros - funded black lives matter movement has created a near national hysteria over the alleged systematic effort by police to kill unarmed black men . between two and three dozen unarmed blacks are killed by cops each year , many of them in situations where the ” victims ” were almost certainly responsible for what happened to them -- michael brown in ferguson is a prime example . one wonders where the news media are to report on the police shooting of unarmed whites , which greatly outnumber those of unarmed blacks . perhaps because there are no riots , or looting , these incidents have no cachet . more likely , they do not fit the systemic racism charge now routinely thrown around by everyone from the current president to hillary clinton . in chicago in 9 months this year , over 400 blacks , mostly men , have been shot and killed , almost exclusively by other black men . by year end , over 4,000 chicagoans will have been shot . one might think this was a bigger story of urban calamity and civil society breakdown than a shooting in charlotte . chicago ’s mayor says that police “ have gone fetal , ” avoiding making stops in crime ridden neighborhoods , with the aclu looking over their shoulder demanding a report for every stop , and activists in the neighborhoods treating the police with scorn and abuse , following a bad police shooting captured on video and kept hidden from the public by chicago ’s mayor to protect his re - election bid . rahm emanuel must also have read alinsky , for he knows whose hide to protect first and foremost . the victims of the police pullback in chicago , baltimore , st , louis and other cities , called “ the ferguson effect , ” are many more dead black men , killed in crime waves that are reminiscent of the 1990s . even the fbi director admits the ferguson effect is real , when not covering for hillary clinton . horowitz’ latest book is full of insights and straight talk on the goals and the mission of the left , and how it has advanced its cause this last quarter century . he provides the kind of arguments that keep his books from getting reviewed by the new york times . and there is always a horrible slur available from the left to describe a viewpoint that counters one of its missions . the left chooses to ignore the argument and uses character assassination for the people making it . it argues that these are people ( horowitz included ) unworthy of serious consideration , or respect . silencing the critic or the dissident or limiting his visibility has been a long time weapon of the left . so far , horowitz keeps writing , and america is free enough that the left , though it clearly wants to , can not ban his books . george soros and his family have another $ 20 billion to spend on changing america . the alinsky acolytes have their mission laid out to make use of the funds and create an america where the smart bureaucrats can organize society and distribute its wealth , so results are all equal . and we can all sing along with the pete seeger songs as we turn away from any role overseas ( where of course we have primarily been an agent of evil ) and disinvest in defense every year . let ’s hope that some of america ’s young will read horowitz’ books , and learn what their professors and teachers wo n’t teach them .
+1 little - known facts about weapons nan ap photo 1 . over the past 20 years , weapons have inundated america , but the rate of murder with the use of firearms and other crimes have fallen by 39 % and 69 % respectively.2 . almost all cases of mass murder in the united states have occurred in weapon - free zones.3 . the united states is the world 's leader on the number of weapons per capita . the country is ranked 28th on the number of murders per 100,000 people.4 . the index of violent crimes in the united states fell from 757.7 per 100,000 people in 1992 to 386.3 in 2011 . the index of murders fell from 9.3 to 4.7 per 100,000 people . 5 . in the us , weapons are used 80 times more often to prevent crime rather than commit it.6 . in spite of the tough arms legislation , the number of violent crimes in the uk is four times larger than the number of violent crimes committed in the us.7 . in 2015 , as many as 2,034 violent crimes were committed in the uk per 100,000 people.8 . in the united states , the index made up 466.9 . in the uk , the number of victims of rapists is 125 % larger than in the us.10 . in the uk , the number of victims of attacks is 133 % larger than in the us.11 . great britain comes second in the european union in terms of the general crime indicator.12 . in australia , a weapon ban increased the number of homicide by 19 % and robberies - by 69%.13 . chicago is a city with a very tough weapons legislation , where the number of murders has been increasing every year by approximately 10 - 15 % . today , chicago is the most dangerous city in the world.14 . in the city of kennesaw , usa , local residents were obliged to arm themselves . as a result , the crime rate in the city has fallen in 23 years by 50 % and robberies - by 89%.15 . in the 20th century , the leaders of all countries of the world have killed more than 170 million people . how ? they disarmed them . electorat info
+0 nbc cites fraudulent holocaust organization in smear on gorka - breitbart joel b. pollak nbc news launched the latest in a series of failed attempts to link dr. sebastian gorka — the philosemitic , deputy foreign policy adviser to president donald trump — to the on saturday . [ as with all such previous attempts , nbc found nothing to prove any extremist ideas or views on the part of dr. gorka . and as with all such previous slanders , nbc relied on fraud — this time , in the form of the phony “ anne frank center . ” the full name of the bogus front organization is the “ anne frank center for mutual respect ” — an ironic title , given that it is a democratic party attack machine that shows no respect for anyone else whatsover . the “ civil rights activist ” who leads it , steven goldstein , is an lgbt activist who has beclowned himself on cable news over the past few months in his efforts to tarnish president trump as the second coming of adolf hitler . breitbart jerusalem editor aaron klein exposed goldstein and his organization in february . goldstein is no holocaust expert : he is merely an ardent hillary clinton supporter who found a ready audience for his political schtick among a gullible press corps eager for ammunition in their war against the white house . he has no qualms about exploiting the name and memory of anne frank for his purely partisan purposes . it is holocaust desecration , if not outright denial . among many embarrassing moments for goldstein and the anne frank center , none was worse than last month ’s revelation that the barrage of antisemitic bomb threats against jewish community centers had been carried out by a black liberal journalist and a jewish teenager in israel . rather than apologize for vomiting forth false accusations of hatred against the white house , goldstein , reacting to the news , still managed to blame the trump administration . and yet it is the anne frank center to which nbc news , lacking any other proof for its baseless claims , turned for help in condemning gorka . goldstein ’s operation did not disappoint : “ how many ducks in the trump white house must walk , talk and quack before our country wakes up and sees the greater problem ? ” the center said in a statement to nbc . never mind that all such accusations are entirely without merit : goldstein co. repeat the lies . the rest of the nbc news report was devoted to collecting statements from hungarian villagers who claim to recall gorka ’s father ’s membership in , and gorka ’s sympathy for , a version of the vitezi rend order that was anticommunist and had nothing to do with the second world war organization of the same name . nbc news was forced to admit that after sending investigative journalists halfway around the world , it was “ unable to confirm ” gorka ’s membership . cue the anne frank center , there to add its emotive name and bilious innuendo to the heap of false accusations . yet as bruce abramson and jeff ballabon noted at the jerusalem post last month , the gorka family protected jews during the second world war . gorka senior went on to fight soviet communism — which , notably , suppressed the jewish faith and encouraged fanaticism . for that , he was awarded , in exile , the vitezi rend medal his son wore in tribute . dr. gorka , a former breitbart news editor , worked for this company for years — under the management of jews , alongside many jewish colleagues , and with favorable views toward the jewish community and the jewish state . it is clear that liberal media outlets like nbc and fronts like the bogus “ anne frank center ” are just attacking him as a way to undermine trump . their partisanship is obvious they could , at least , make the fraud a little less obvious . joel b. pollak is senior at breitbart news . he was named one of the “ most influential ” people in news media in 2016 . his new book , how trump won : the inside story of a revolution , is available from regnery . follow him on twitter at @joelpollak .
+1 trump llama a mantenimiento porque el botón nuclear no funciona kike garcía trump llama a mantenimiento porque el botón nuclear no funciona " o fallan o lo estoy haciendo mal " , ha dicho cinco minutos después de recibir los códigos nucleares tercera guerra mundial sólo unas horas después de derrotar a hillary clinton en las elecciones presidenciales , donald trump ha querido reunirse con el servicio secreto para informarles de que el botón que pone en marcha todo el dispositivo nuclear del ejército de estados unidos no parece responder , según ha informado su gabinete de prensa . “ no va ” , ha declarado trump . “ es que no hace nada ” , ha insistido el nuevo presidente de los estados unidos , que achaca el mal funcionamiento a la falta de uso . según él mismo ha dicho nada más salir victorioso en las últimas elecciones americanas , tiene “ mucha prisa y mucha ilusión ” por asumir todas y cada una de las competencias que deberá desempeñar los próximos cuatro años . “ estoy ansioso por asumir todas mis responsabilidades , la del botón de las bombas y también las demás ” , ha declarado el republicano en su discurso de agradecimiento a sus votantes . “ quiero ponerme a trabajar cuanto antes ” , ha repetido en varias ocasiones a lo largo de su primer discurso como presidente . “ acabo de recibir la llamada de la secretaria clinton . nos ha dado la enhorabuena por la victoria , yo le he felicitado por toda la campaña y le he preguntado si su marido sabe cómo funciona el maletín , porque me lo acaban de traer y creo que está roto porque se queda igual y no responde ” , ha dicho . también ha pedido “ un poco de paciencia ” a los americanos . “ paciencia , paciencia , paciencia ” , ha repetido el nuevo presidente . el magnate no ha querido detallar por qué sabe que el botón no funciona .
+0 breitbart news daily : pat buchanan on trump ’s first 100 days - breitbart breitbart news on the tuesday edition of breitbart news daily , broadcast live on siriusxm patriot channel 125 from 6am to 9am eastern , breitbart alex marlow will continue our discussion of the first 100 days of the trump administration . [ he ’ll be joined by the renowned conservative writer and historian patrick j. buchanan . buchanan , who was the subject of a recent politico profile , will weigh in on trump ’s first 100 days . as the opening paragraph of politico ’s article details , buchanan is nothing short of a living legend whose keen insights into the populist nationalist movement predate trump ’s political ascendancy by decades : his first date with his future wife was spent in a new hampshire motel room drinking wild turkey into the wee hours with hunter s. thompson . he stood several feet away from martin luther king jr. during the “ i have a dream ” speech . he went to china with richard m. nixon and walked away from watergate unscathed . he survived too , and sat alongside ronald reagan at the reykjavík summit . he invaded america ’s living rooms and pioneered the rhetorical combat that would power the cable news age . he defied the establishment by challenging a sitting president of his own party . he captured the fear and frustration of the right by proclaiming a great “ culture war ” was at hand . and his candidacy in 2000 almost certainly handed george w. bush the presidency , thanks to thousands of palm beach , florida , residents mistakenly voting for him on the “ butterfly ballot ” when they meant to back al gore . we ’ll also hear from rep. louis gohmert ( ) and white house deputy press secretary sarah huckabee sanders . live from london , rome , and jerusalem , breitbart correspondents will provide updates on the latest international news . breitbart news daily is the first live , conservative radio enterprise to air seven days a week . siriusxm vice president for news and talk dave gorab called the show “ the conservative news show of record . ” follow breitbart news on twitter for live updates during the show . listeners may call into the show at : .
+0 james comey denied leaking under oath — days before leak from one - on - one dinner with trump aaron klein how things have changed . only nine days ago , james comey , then director of the fbi , testified before the senate judiciary committee on fbi oversight that he had never been an anonymous source for news reports related to the investigation into alleged russian interference in the 2016 presidential race . [ comey further testified that he never authorized anyone else at the fbi to serve as an anonymous source in news media coverage of that investigation or the agency ’s probe into hillary clinton ’s private email server . fast forward to yesterday . the new york times published intimate details allegedly from inside a dinner at the white house between comey and trump that took place seven days after the president was sworn in . the article quoted liberally from “ two people who have heard [ comey ’s ] account of the dinner ” in what seems to be a leak from comey ’s camp to fight back after trump fired comey earlier this week . at one point in the article , the times describes the sources as “ associates ” of comey ’s . the white house disputed the times’ dinner account , which claims that trump asked comey to pledge loyalty to him . “ we do n’t believe this to be an accurate account , ” sarah huckabee sanders , the deputy press secretary , told the times . “ the integrity of our law enforcement agencies and their leadership is of the utmost importance to president trump . he would never even suggest the expectation of personal loyalty , only loyalty to our country and its great people . ” trump also tweeted the following warning about comey leaking to the news media . james comey better hope that there are no ” tapes ” of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press ! — donald j. trump ( @realdonaldtrump ) may 12 , 2017 , the alleged leaks follow comey ’s may 3 testimony in which he steadfastly denied aiding in leaks to the news media regarding the fbi ’s investigations into alleged russian interference or the clinton email probe . the denials came during the following exchange with senate judiciary chairman chuck grassley ( ): grassley : and thank you for your opening statement . i ’m going to start out probably with a couple subjects you wish i did n’t bring up , and then a third one that i think everybody needs to hear your opinion on on a policy issue . it is frustrating when the fbi refuses to answer this committee ’s questions , but leaks relevant information to the media . in other words , they do n’t talk to us , but somebody talks to the media . director comey , have you ever been an anonymous source in news reports about matters relating to the trump investigation or the clinton investigation ? comey : never . grassley : question two , relatively related , have you ever authorized someone else at the fbi to be an anonymous source in news reports about the trump investigation or the clinton investigation ? comey : no . aaron klein is breitbart ’s jerusalem bureau chief and senior investigative reporter . he is a new york times bestselling author and hosts the popular weekend talk radio program , “ aaron klein investigative radio . ” follow him on twitter @aaronkleinshow . follow him on facebook . with additional research by joshua klein .
+0 trump on israel : there ’s a ’big beautiful difference’ between my administration and obama ’s deborah danan jerusalem — in his speech at the israel museum in jerusalem , president donald trump noted the “ big beautiful difference ” between his administration ’s relationship with the jewish state and the previous administration , and reiterated his promise that iran would not be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon . [ there were , however , no major overtures such the much speculated transfer of the u. s. embassy from tel aviv to jerusalem . still , trump ’s speech was lauded by israeli politicians here as one of the most friendly toward israel from any u. s. president , and he used the speech to affirm the jewish bond to jerusalem and the land of israel . trump declared that both the israeli and palestinian leaders were ready for peace , and that “ with determination , compromise and the belief that peace is possible , israelis and palestinians can make a deal . ” trump spoke in the highest terms of jerusalem , israel and the jewish people . “ i am honored to be in the ancient city of jerusalem to address the israeli people and all people in the middle east who yearn for security , prosperity and peace , ” he said . “ jerusalem is a sacred city . its beauty , splendor and heritage are like no other place on earth . what a heritage , what a heritage . the ties of the jewish people to this holy land are ancient and eternal . they date back thousands of years , including the reign of kind david , whose star now flies proudly on israel ’s blue and white flag . ” “ israel is testament to the unbreakable spirit of the jewish people , ” he continued . “ from all parts of this great country , one message resounds , and that is the message of hope . down through the ages , the jewish people have suffered persecution , oppression , and … [ others have ] sought their destruction , ” he said . “ i make this promise to you : my administration will always stand with israel . ” this remark was met with a lingering round of applause and another handshake from prime minister benjamin netanyahu . trump continued : “ america ’s security partnership with israel is stronger than ever . under my administration , you see the difference — big , big beautiful difference — including the iron dome missile defense program , which has been keeping the israeli people safe from rockets launched by hezbollah and hamas , and david ’s sling , which guards against long range missiles . ” after reiterating his commitment to driving out terror , the president referred to attacks committed on israeli civilians : “ israelis have experienced firsthand the hatred and terror of radical violence . israelis are murdered by terrorists wielding knives and bombs . hamas and hezbollah launch rockets into israeli communities where schoolchildren have to be trained to hear the sirens and to run to the bomb shelters with fear but with speed . isis targets jewish neighborhoods , synagogues … and iran ’s leaders routinely call for israel ’s destruction . ” “ not with donald j. trump , ” he declared , earning a standing ovation and a fist pump from netanyahu . trump smiled at the audience on their feet and said , “ i like you too . ”
+1 deputy shot and killed by fellow deputy while having a conversation on weapon safety matt agorist home / blue privilege / deputy shot and killed by fellow deputy while having a conversation on weapon safety deputy shot and killed by fellow deputy while having a conversation on weapon safety matt agorist november 2 , 2016 1 comment fresno , ca — a 20-year veteran deputy of the fresno county sheriff ’s department was shot and killed monday by his fellow officer . officials immediately ruled it an accident and began the narrative that the gun somehow just went off on its own . “ we do not know yet the mechanics of how the weapon discharged , ” fresno county sheriff margaret mims said . “ so far , we have absolutely no reason to believe this was anything more than a tragic accidental shooting . ” deputy sgt . rod lucas was having a conversation near the fresno yosemite international airport about how to carry backup weapons when one deputy ’s weapon was discharged striking lucas in the chest . lucas was in the room with two other deputies , and , according to mims , there was no dispute at the time — ironically , just a conversation about weapons safety . “ the detective had his weapon out . during this discussion , the detective ’s weapon discharged , ” the sheriff said . “ sgt . lucas was struck by the bullet in his chest , and he dropped to the ground . ” according to fox , mims did not disclose the type of firearm involved in the incident , calling it “ an improved secondary weapon for the detective . ” she said all witnesses have been interviewed except for the detective , who was not identified , due to his mental state which she described as extremely upset . “ we ’re giving him the time he needs , ” said mims , who declined to identify the detective by name . “ we ’re taking care of him . ” imagine for a moment , that a non - cop ‘ accidentally’ shot and killed another man . would they be allowed this same opportunity to not be investigated ? would a person who just killed someone in a room be ‘ taken care of’ if they simply used the excuse of the gun accidentally going off ? sadly enough , this is the third such incident in only a week in which a cop ’s firearm ‘ accidentally discharged’ and put the lives of others in danger . at a halloween party over the weekend , a cop in north carolina shot and severely injured her own daughter as she showed off her service weapon . she has not been charged . prior to that shooting , a cop in ohio fired his weapon into a daycare center — while it was fully occupied . despite the officer clearly admitting to committing the misdemeanor offense of discharging a firearm within city limits , police have yet to charge him . imagine if the people in these incidents were not police officers . the double standard is glaring . aside from the above the law treatment of these officers , the excuse of the weapons accidentally discharging is nothing short of asinine . guns do not fire themselves . weapons companies spend a significant amount of time and money making sure their guns do n’t simply ‘ go off.’ while it is entirely possible for older single action revolvers , which required the hammer to be cocked , to go off when dropped , the idea of a modern pistol accidentally firing without someone pulling the trigger is simply absurd . there are more guns than people in the united states . it is estimated that americans own around 357 million firearms . if these weapons were so prone to accidentally firing , there would be a lot of dead americans . however , that is clearly not the case . the reality is that these cases involve police , who are entrusted by the public to responsibly carry weapons , failing miserably at their jobs . you could rest assured that if a mere citizen were to shoot and kill another person while ‘ discussing backup weapons,’ they would be cast out by the anti - gun crowd and plastered across the mainstream media . they would also be in jail . however , if your job is to carry a firearm for a living to ostensibly protect society and you kill your own colleague while doing this job — you are immediately presumed innocent and given special treatment . matt agorist is an honorably discharged veteran of the usmc and former intelligence operator directly tasked by the nsa . this prior experience gives him unique insight into the world of government corruption and the american police state . agorist has been an independent journalist for over a decade and has been featured on mainstream networks around the world . follow @mattagorist on twitter and now on steemit share google + phil freeman improved backup weapon means it ’s been to the gunsmith for modification , reduction in trigger pull is the most common . so my guess is detective kojack was showing off his new play pretty and the hair trigger spring he just installed and shot this cop . well done safety meeting i say . one less gangster in fresno . social
+1 comment on i envy you , american citizens by debbie menon debbie menon federal election commission ( “ fec ” ) is another example of a lazy corrupt agency ‹ › israel shamir is an internationally acclaimed political thinker , internet columnist and writer . his comments about current affairs and their deeper meaning are published on his site israelshamir.net and elsewhere . they are also collected in three books , galilee flowers , cabbala of power and recently published masters of discourse available in english , french , german , spanish , russian , arabic , norwegian , swedish , italian , hungarian etc . shamir is a russian - born jew who converted to orthodox christianity . originally from novosibirsk , siberia , shamir moved to israel in 1969 . he lives in jaffa and and spends much time in moscow and stockholm ; and is an outspoken critic of israel and zionism . israel shamir can be reached at adam@israelshamir.net i envy you , american citizens by israel shamir on november 4 , 2016 i envy your chance to deal on 11/8 a decisive blow to the rule of the masters of discourse . by israel shamir i envy you , american citizens . i do not care about your military might , nor for your supreme currency , the us dollar . i envy your chance to deal on 11/8 a decisive blow to the rule of the masters of discourse . though the masters control the entirety of world media , and they decide what people may think and say from canada to hong kong , only you , american citizens , can defeat them . this is a great chance , a unique opportunity not to be missed . the masters of discourse can be defeated . they are not stronger than any ruler of past . trump has a great quality making him fit for the task : he is impervious to labels and libels . he had been called everything in the book : anti - semite , racist , women hater , you name it . and he still survived that flak . such people are very rare . we know he is against the masters because every newspaper is against him . i never saw a similar onslaught but once , in russia in 1996 . then president yeltsin , an old drunkard who had brought russia to collapse , had to run for his second term . his popularity was next to zero . two per cent of russians intended to vote for him . and then the oligarchs turned on their propaganda machine . yeltsin ’s competitor gennady zyuganov , a mild church - going post - communist , had been presented like a hitler of his days . all the russian media of the day belonged to oligarchs , and all of it participated in the onslaught . zyuganov surrendered . perhaps he won the election , but he congratulated yeltsin with his victory . it was said that he was threatened with assassination unless … others say he was bribed . i do not exclude both explanations , but for sure the might of united media can crush a timid man . in the days of the jewish temple , there was a magrepha , a wind instrument able to produce diverse and frightening sounds . there is no agreement among the scholars about what sort of thing it was . whenever it sounded , people were scared . the media of our days is a new magrepha . if all of its outputs are united , they produce a terrible roar . a magrepha , the organ of the ancient hebrews in the synagogue . yes , the onslaught of the media upon trump has been exceedingly unfair , but he survived it . what is even more important , you survived it , it does not matter what the polls say : they say what the newspapers tell them to say . even people answer the polls according to the media prognoses : they are shy of saying they would vote for a man who … but at the moment of actual vote , they do what they know is right for them . not for transgenders , not for muslim brokers , not even for single mothers , but for themselves . you have a very good chance to win , and to defeat the witch and her supporters . we learned that the british people voted for brexit , though all the media said that proposal had no chance . but we also learned from brexit , that nothing is over until it is over . the masters of discourse will try every trick to steal the elections , and only their fear of armed rising may finally force them to acknowledge their inevitable defeat . we know that in 2015 , when benjamin netanyahu , the israeli prime minister , was afraid of losing the elections , he revealed that the american intelligence has some superior software which allows them to falsify the elections . perhaps , but he won despite this magical software , despite obama ’s wrath . even in israel , that favorite son of the masters , the masters are hated . the new york times is always speaking good about israel , but still israelis do not like the newspaper . nobody likes them , nobody likes an old aunt who tries to tell us what we can say and what we ca n’t . if netanyahu could win , trump can win twice . key states tilting toward trump after fbi ’s october surprise after the first debate of trump and clinton , people said : she won ! but we shall vote for him . this was a very encouraging sign . indeed every woman worth its salt would win an argument with her husband or son - in - law , let alone a pretender . that is the way we are made . the story of sirens enforces the belief that if you listen to a woman , she will bewitch you . sirens actually ate the bewitched sailors ; our womenfolk do not go to such extremes , but they can cause us a lot of trouble . trump seems to be almost pure of heart and deed , as even the extremely prejudiced media could not find anything really incriminating about him but bragging about having his way with women . i shall not recount so many proven accusations against hillary . all of that can be found in the emails revealed by julian assange and his great wikileaks team . the media kept mum about it , but the secrets ca n’t be kept forever . there are many practical things donald trump will be able to fix . he can return industries home , he can return american gis home from four ends of the world , he can improve life for a lot of working men and women . but he surely will set all of us free from the annoying bondage of the masters . just for that reason , go and vote , for yourself and for millions of us who are n’t entitled to . israel shamir can be reached at this article was first published at the unz review . also see :
+0 eighty wealthy new yorkers ask state government to raise their taxes katherine rodriguez a group of new york ’s wealthiest residents is asking the state to raise their taxes . [ eighty people , including george soros , steven rockefeller , and abigail disney , wrote to new york state lawmakers and gov. andrew cuomo saying they and other millionaires should be taxed more to support infrastructure , schools , and programs to help the poor and homeless , the new york daily news reported . “ now is the time to invest in the economic viability of new york , ” the letter reads . “ we need to invest in pathways out of poverty and up the economic ladder for all of our fellow citizens , including strong public education from to college . and , we need to invest in the fragile bridges , tunnels , waterlines , public buildings , and roads that we all depend on . ” the letter endorses a plan called the “ 1 percent tax plan for tax fairness , ” which would create new , higher income tax brackets for the state ’s wealthiest individuals to raise a projected $ 2 billion . the fiscal policy institute , a think tank focused on economic policy , and the responsible wealth project , a group of america ’s wealthiest individuals who support “ fair taxes and corporate accountability , ” helped formulate the proposal , ron deutsch , executive director of the fiscal policy institute , called it “ refreshing ” that the state ’s wealthiest were willing to pay more . the state legislature , however , is not as supportive of the proposal . while the democratic majority in the assembly has its own plan to raise taxes on the wealthy , the senate does not support the idea . “ whether it ’s income taxes , property taxes , business taxes , user fees or tolls , we do n’t support raising taxes or asking new yorkers to dig deeper into their pockets to pay more , ” senate leader john flanagan ( ) said , according to the guardian . lawmakers are currently working out the details of the state ’s budget and hope to have a deal in place by april 1 . lawmakers largely ignored a similar letter sent to them last year .
+0 cartel massacres , rampant corruption taint mexican border state elections ildefonso ortiz and brandon darby piedras negras , coahuila — as the border state of coahuila prepares for its upcoming gubernatorial election , the main issue that resonates with voters is how los zetas were able to murder and incinerate hundreds of victims while the government turned a blind eye . [ in early june , the state of coahuila will have its general elections to select the next governor , mayors , senators , and congressmen . as breitbart texas has been reporting , the process is closely linked to mexican drug cartels . one of the candidates for the border city of piedras negras has a long list of relatives who are members of los zetas including one regional commander . breitbart texas has spoken with several residents of this border city who expressed their various viewpoints as to the ongoing situation in coahuila , a state with a long history of being home to mexican drug cartels and corrupt government officials . one of the key issues that residents kept bringing up is how state officials turned a blind eye to the various cartel massacres that took place in the state . as breitbart texas reported , from early 2011 to 2013 , los zetas kidnapped , murdered and incinerated more than 300 victims from the rural communities in and around allende . half of those were incinerated inside the state prison in piedras negras . residents in coahuila continue to ask themselves how los zetas were able to operate with complete impunity to carry out the mass executions , set fire to and destroy dozens of homes , and avoid facing any consequences . to date , government officials do not know how many people throughout the state have actually been kidnapped and murdered by cartel gunmen due to a systemic effort throughout mexico where government officials try to downplay cartel violence . at the time of the massacre and in the months after , the coahuila attorney general ’s office in the piedras negras and allende region was run by santos vasquez estrada and patricia rivera barrera . politically connected sources in saltillo have revealed exclusively to breitbart texas that rivera barrera , who ignored the allende massacre , continues to collect a director ’s salary but has since been demoted to working at a pgje archive where she handles documents tied to cases that have already been closed . santos estrada has since left the pgje and is now a criminal defense lawyer . according to zocalo , the former prosecutor who turned a blind eye to the actions of los zetas became the defense attorney for juan manuel “ padre meño ” riojas , a priest who has been criminally accused of having violated a seminary student . new information provided to breitbart texas revealed that the priest is now considered a fugitive after he went into hiding and is believed to have fled the region . as breitbart texas reported , witness testimony from u. s. court cases and documents revealed that los zetas had free reign over coahuila for many years where politicians sold control of the state in exchange for bribes . some of the revelations point to los zetas having close ties to former governor humberto moreira , the brother of current governor ruben moreira . both moreira brothers were elected governors under mexico ’s institutional revolutionary party ( pri ) a political party that has a long history of being tied to drug cartels , breitbart texas reported . in tamaulipas , two former governors are currently listed as fugitives of the u. s. department of justice on money laundering charges . one of those tamaulipas governors is also wanted on drug trafficking and conspiracy charges . most recently , humberto moreira was kicked out of the pri for running for a plurinominal congressional seat with the partido joven ( young party ) . as breitbart texas reported , internal discussion within the pri pointed to the party trying to distance themselves from moreira in case the u. s. unveils a criminal case against him as they have done with the two former tamaulipas governors . most recently , mexico ’s reforma reported on leaked documents that revealed moreira and his relatives managed to stash away approximately $ 60 million in bank accounts in monaco and the cayman islands . since the publication of reforma ’s investigation , moreira has gone on the offensive using a facebook page and various interviews to call the outlet ’s reporting a lie . ildefonso ortiz is an journalist with breitbart texas . he the cartel chronicles project with brandon darby and stephen k. bannon . you can follow him on twitter and on facebook . brandon darby is managing director and of breitbart texas . he the cartel chronicles project with ildefonso ortiz and stephen k. bannon . follow him on twitter and facebook . he can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart . com .
+1 it ’s on : between duterte and america shorty shorty by peter lee i ’ve written a couple pieces of the smoking hot issue in pivotland , philippine president duterte ’s swerve toward a pro - prc foreign policy , and what the u.s. and pro - american sector of the manila elite are going to do about it . the first piece , reports of death of us - philippine alliance may be exaggerated , addresses the fact that duterte ’s freedom of movement is constrained by the need to keep the philippine military happy , and notes that ex - prez and retired general fidel ramos , who facilitated duterte ’s entrance on the national political stage , is signaling dissatisfaction with duterte . the second piece , duterte plays the ‘ mamasapano’ card , covers a duterte counter - attack : a threat to relitigate the death of 44 philippine national police commandos at mamasapano in mindanao , a 2014 special ops fiasco conducted under the aegis of the united states which a ) exposes ex - president aquino to serious legal jeopardy b ) posits that the us alliance is doing a better job of killing filipinos than the prc can ever hope to do . the us seems to be embedded in a colonial mindset when it comes to the philippines , something along the lines of “ we ’ve been selflessly looking after the philippines for a century , and that thug duterte wo n’t be allowed to screw that up during his brief ( maybe curtailed ) presidency . ” it takes a pretty superficial view of philippine history , one that accepts the us self - definition as the philippines’ security savior while ignoring the distortions and shortcomings of the colonial and neo - colonial relationship . for me this tunnel vision was typified by the us media crowing over the formal delivery of a refurbished c-130 transport to the philippine government by outgoing ambo philip goldberg . message : here ’s the us making provisions for philippine defense at the same time duterte ’s selling out the country to china . to me , the inadvertent message was 1 ) here ’s the us blindly stroking the pivot fetish while duterte tries to solve the mindanao insurgency that has cost at least 400,000 lives over the last century , win his drug war , and find a place for the philippines in asia that does n’t give primacy to the us preoccupation confronting the prc and 2 ) the u.s. , in my opinion , pretty much has a policy of keeping the philippines flat on its behind as an independent military force by trickling out second - hand gear to the philippine military while the sweet stuff is dangled in front of it during us joint military maneuvers and port calls . but the united states is trying to find political leverage wherever it can and the western media will , i ’m sure , put its shoulder to the wheel to help out . feelings of nationalism are pervasive in the us , but americans have difficulty understanding why people in other nations may harbor animosity toward them on account of their colonialist and imperialist experiences . p hilip goldberg sat down for a 45-minute exit interview with rappler . as befitting rappler ’s origins in the soros / omidyar network of pro - us globalization advocacy , the interview was a stream of softballs about what to do about duterte ’s disregard of the awesomeness of the american relationship , an awesomeness that is acknowledged by virtually all filipinos who inexplicably ( and , if the us has anything to do about it , temporarily ) at the same time give duterte approval ratings of over 80 % . it ’s worth watching if you have the patience . goldberg is a smooth cat , and the rappler tonguebath gives you no inkling of the fact that he intimately familiar with the wet work of end - arounding national governments to cultivate secessionist movements , you know , like what he did in bolivia ( declared persona non grata as a result ) and kosovo , and like that thing in duterte ’s home province of mindanao , which in my opinion probably the main reason why duterte wanted him out of the philippines . goldberg also discretely plays the economic threat card , concern - trolling that anti - us attitudes will dismay “ foreign investors ” . it will be interesting to see how this plays out in subsequent weeks . as far as i can tell , the biggest u.s. factor in the domestic philippine economy is the call - center industry . i doubt us corporations are interested in actually pulling their operations out and subjecting them to the english - language mercies of india , but certainly a call from the state department or white house would convince them of the wisdom of at least making the threat . and i also wonder if expected president hillary clinton will find it necessary to drop the hammer on duterte , in order to demonstrate to a rather dubious asia that there is no alternative to loyalty to the pivot . i expect the next few months , in other words , to be very interesting . note : all image captions , pull quotes and commentary by the editors , not the authors
+1 eu , finland can help settlement of syria conflict : iran parliament speaker nan politics iranian parliament speaker ali larijani ( r ) and finnish president sauli niinistö shake hands in tehran on october 26 , 2016 . ( photo by irna ) iranian parliament speaker ali larijani says the european union can play a significant role in the settlement of the syrian crisis and the campaign against terrorism . larijani made the remarks in a meeting with visiting finnish president sauli niinistö in tehran on wednesday . he said that iran supports political solutions to crises in the middle east , including the conflict in syria , while some extra - regional players as well as regional sponsors of terrorist groups sabotaged diplomatic solutions through adopting wrong approaches . the top iranian parliamentarian also warned against the spillover of terrorism to other regions across the world . “ unfortunately , military intervention by outsiders in regional issues and adopting a military approach and double standards on terrorism ” have led to a rise in the number of terrorist groups and contributed to their activities , larijani said . he also blamed the “ extremist and deviated ” ideology of wahhabism for the spread of terrorism in the region , stressing that neither sunnis nor shias support terrorist or extremist acts . elsewhere in his remarks , larijani welcomed the expansion of ties between tehran and helsinki . the finnish official , for his part , called for the further promotion of ties between his country and iran . he also expressed regret about terrorist attacks in afghanistan , iraq and syria and the lack of a political will to end the conflicts . ‘ terrorists pose threat to their own countries’ also on wednesday , the finnish president met with chairman of iran 's expediency council ayatollah akbar hashemi rafsanjani to discuss bilateral ties and regional developments . chairman of iran 's expediency council ayatollah akbar hashemi rafsanjani ( r ) meets with finnish president sauli niinistö ( l ) in tehran on october 26 , 2016 . ( photo by irna ) in the meeting , rafsanjani warned about possible threats posed by foreign recruits when they return to their own countries and the subsequent rise of terrorism across the world , and called on the international community to take measures to address the issue . the senior iranian official also raised the alarm over the issue of “ state terrorism ” pursued by the zionists . earlier in the day , finland ’s president also met and held talks with iranian foreign minister mohammad javad zarif on the developments in the middle east and the promotion of bilateral ties in different sectors , including economic and banking cooperation . niinistö arrived in tehran on tuesday to hold talks with iranian officials on a range of issues . he also met with iranian president hassan rouhani on wednesday . loading ...
+1 anoymous- the world war 3 will surely happen ( 29/10/2016 ) – donald trump will win pakalert source add to the conversation using facebook comments
+1 curriec over ten million bernie supporters wanted to establish an medicare for all single payer healthcare system in the united states , so it is far more likely that could happen under a hillary clinton administration than under any republican administration .
+1 iowa berniecrat chris schwartz claims that his house was vandalized by christians terresa monroe - hamilton iowa berniecrat chris schwartz claims that his house was vandalized by christians iowa berniecrat chris schwartz claims that his house was vandalized by christians october 29 , 2016 , 8:38 am by terresa monroe - hamilton leave a comment 0 by : renee nal | new zeal vandalized sign posted by chris schwartz on facebook iowan chris schwartz has alleged that vandalism found at his property on thursday is the work of citizens influenced by “ hateful rhetoric ” of a christian patriot group who vocally opposes his run for a seat on the black hawk county board of supervisors . chris schwartz is a socialist running as a democrat in black hawk county , iowa . he is endorsed by bernie sanders’ organization “ our revolution ” and is the state director of americans for democratic action ( ada ) , an organization revealed as being used by communists to influence democratic policy by former communist marvin treiger in trevor loudon ’s film , the “ enemies within . ” chris schwartz was described at the nation in 2007 as “ a recent graduate of the university of northern iowa and one of can ’s vocal leaders . ” can is the campus antiwar network , which is “ widely perceived to have been dominated by students from the iso . ” iso stands for the international socialist organization , a trotskyist , communist group . iso is notorious for supporting the palestinian and arab causes in the middle east and led many militant protests against america ’s war effort in iraq . additionally , virtually all leaders of the now - defunct can were members of iso . in line with iso policy , schwartz was involved in anti - israel activities and led an anti - iraq war rally in support of cindy sheehan , who became a vocal critic of the iraq war after her son was killed during his service in iraq . iso ’s website , socialistworker.org has quoted chris schwartz here and here . an insight into chris schwartz ’s anti - business , pro - government mentality is revealed in this 2011 blog post by paul deaton at the self - described “ online information resource for iowa ’s progressive community : ” “ to wrap up the speakers , chris schwartz of working families win , iowa spoke , with a list of grievances about the government . he touched on the south korea , columbia and panama free trade agreements and on building an “ infrastructure bank . ” he opined that gmac , a major employer in waterloo , “ is a corrupt company , ” and that the electrical grid “ ca n’t handle new technologies . ” he asserted many opinions , the most evident of which was that “ government should put people back to work . ” not once did he mention private companies in a favorable light . some in the audience believe that government should not be the primary driver in putting people back to work . schwartz had a different opinion . ”
+0 cnn statement distances network from buzzfeed fake news dossier - breitbart lucas nolan cnn has released a statement trying to distance their reports from buzzfeed ’s decision to publish unverifiable memos about donald trump . [ midday tuesday , cnn tweeted a full statement from their twitter account saying , cnn ’s decision to publish carefully sourced reporting about the operations of our government is vastly different than buzzfeed ’s decision to publish unsubstantiated memos . the trump team knows this . they are using buzzfeed ’s decision to deflect from cnn ’s reporting , which has been matched by the other major news organisations . the statement continues , we are fully confident in our reporting . it represents the core of what the first amendment protects , informing the people of the inner workings of their government in this case , briefing materials prepared for president obama and trump last week . we made it clear that we were not publishing any of the details of the document because we have not corroborated the report ’s allegations . the statement then poses a direct challenge to the transition team of trump , given that members of the trump transition team have so vocally criticized our reporting , we encourage them to identify , specifically , what they believe to be inaccurate . cnn ’s report is here . buzzfeed ’s report is here . update : buzzfeed editors are trying to avoid a public argument with cnn over their decision to publish the unverified documents . editor @buzzfeedben tells me they ’re ” not going to participate in an attempt to divide the media against each other ” following cnn criticism , — michael calderone ( @mlcalderone ) january 11 , 2017 , the full comment from cnn can be read below : statement from cnn : pic . twitter . — cnn communications ( @cnnpr ) january 11 , 2017 , lucas nolan is a reporter for breitbart tech covering issues of free speech and online censorship . follow him on twitter @lucasnolan _ or email him at lnolan@breitbart . com
+0 carlos santana rips beyoncé : she ’s ’not a singer’ daniel nussbaum legendary guitarist carlos santana weighed in on adele ’s sweep of the grammy awards earlier this week , telling the associated press in australia on tuesday that beyoncé should not have won the night ’s most prestigious prizes because “ she ’s not a singer . ” [ adele took home five grammys sunday night , including album of the year for her smash hit 25 , plus song of the year and record of the year for the album ’s single , “ hello . ” beyoncé , meanwhile , picked up two awards , for best music video ( “ formation ” ) and for best urban contemporary album . “ i think that adele won because she can sing , sing , ” santana told the australian ap . “ with all respect to our sister beyoncé , beyoncé is very beautiful to look at and it ’s more like modeling kind of music — music to model a dress — she ’s not a singer , singer , with all respect to her . ” adele and beyoncé both performed during sunday night ’s ceremony , the latter employing visual effects and a large crew of backup dancers for her songs “ love drought ” and “ sand castles , ” off of her black lives album lemonade . adele opened the show with a performance of her eventual “ hello , ” and later returned to the stage to perform “ fastlove , part 1 ” in a tribute to the late pop icon george michael . “ adele can sing , sing , ” santana said . “ she does n’t bring all the dancers and props , she can just stand there and she just stood there and sang the song and that ’s it , and this is why she wins . ” not everyone was thrilled with adele ’s sweep sunday night beyoncé ’s devoted fans , known as the “ beyhive , ” were outraged that the lemonade singer was n’t awarded the top honor . in her acceptance speech , an emotional adele praised beyoncé ’s album as “ monumental . ” “ i ca n’t possibly accept this award , ” she said . “ the lemonade album was just so monumental , beyoncé . it was so monumental and well and beautiful and … we appreciate that . all of us artists here adore you . you are our light . ” beyoncé is the most nominated female artist in grammy history , with 62 nominations , and has won 22 of those awards , but failed to claim album of the year in three straight nods . follow daniel nussbaum on twitter : @dznussbaum
+0 subscribe and save on amazon ? do n’t count on it - the new york times brian x. chen what do subscriptions to a newspaper , magazine or netflix account have in common ? once you sign up , you expect to pay the same rate every month . yet that ’s not the case at amazon when you subscribe to its subscribe save program , which automatically refills orders for household staples like instant coffee , napkins or trash bags . amazon ’s subscription program , which was introduced in 2007 , lets consumers register to have their favorite consumables delivered regularly — monthly , for example — in exchange for a discount of at least 5 percent off each order . buried in the company ’s terms and conditions is that the subscribe save discount is applied to the price of the item at the time that the order is placed . and on amazon , prices change frequently — including sometimes rising . i learned this the hard way while reviewing an email summary of my amazon subscriptions . a pack of lint rollers that i had subscribed to for more than two years recently jumped to $ 18 . 04 a pack , up from $ 12 . 44 since the last delivery a few months ago , or almost a 50 percent increase . a quick web search revealed other consumers were also surprised by price jumps for subscribe save items . one amazon customer said he signed up for a $ 10 box of chewing gum and was charged $ 100 for the same product a month later . in amazon ’s online forums , dozens of people posted about prices of subscribe save items fluctuating , with some calling the program a “ bait and switch ” subscription scheme . amazon declined to comment . the company emails people 10 days before a recurring subscription delivery , when it informs customers of a new price of their item so they can change or skip the order . any sticker shock , analysts said , may be the result of amazon ’s complex pricing system coming into conflict with consumer expectations of a traditional subscription . jared wiesel , a partner at revenue analytics , a pricing and sales consulting firm , said of amazon , “ i think they ’ve violated the psychological concept of a subscription with their customers in changing prices like this . when people think of a subscription , they think of locking in a set cadence of receiving a good . ” amazon , the top online retailer in the united states , has not said how many customers use subscribe save . yet its program is prominent among a growing number of internet retailers that are finding success in sales models , such as dollar shave club , the subscription razor company that recently sold for $ 1 billion to unilever , or the honest company , which lets parents subscribe to baby products like diapers and wipes . amazon ’s dynamic pricing system , in which it frequently adjusts item prices based on a sophisticated set of variables like supply and demand , time of day and prices offered by competitors , is the company ’s way of making it look as if you are always getting the best deal , mr. wiesel said . prices of goods can also fall , of course . but even when prices decline , people need to beware because amazon ’s pricing tends to fluctuate more widely and more frequently than at your local grocery store or walmart , mr. wiesel added . in traditional retail , the major price changes typically happen during promotions , he said . to get a preliminary view into whether people can save — or not — with amazon ’s program , i plugged prices of 50 featured subscribe save items into a spreadsheet and looked at their price histories over the previous six months . i compiled the results with the web tool camel camel camel , an amazon price tracker . prices of most items , including dishwasher soap and toilet bowl cleaner , changed frequently . as often as weekly , prices rose , dipped and rose again like a roller coaster . in extreme cases , prices for items like instant coffee and napkins jumped between 90 and 170 percent . ( prices below reflect subscription discounts . ) • folgers coffee , 30 . tub in june : $ 6 . 64 in august : $ 12 . 50 this week : $ 7 . 59 • vanity fair napkins in may : $ 7 . 94 in june and july : $ 21 . 46 this week : $ 15 . 36 _ _ _ _ _ _ only five of the subscribe save items held steady . • sparkle paper towels over six months : $ 25 . 99 • death wish coffee over six months : $ 19 . 99 after the service ’s 5 percent discount , the paper towels cost $ 24 . 69 and the coffee cost $ 18 . 99 . not bad . _ _ _ _ _ _ in the end , whether you save money depends on when your subscription order is placed and what items you buy . the downside of buying through amazon ’s subscription program is the lack of predictability , mr. wiesel said . “ i ’ve never seen this type of price fluctuation in a store , ” he added . some highlights over the last six months ( with subscription discounts applied ) : • germguardian air purifier replacement filter low : $ 18 . 06 high : $ 33 . 24 • honeywell humidifier replacement filter low : $ 4 . 67 high : $ 11 . 27 • lysol disinfecting wipes ( ) low : $ 8 . 95 high : $ 17 . 91 _ _ _ _ _ _ mr. wiesel noted that it would be tough for amazon to revise its subscription program to offer items at fixed rates . a majority of sales on amazon are purchases , and dynamic pricing is fundamental to how the company operates . if , for example , subscribe save prices remained static , those customers could miss out when prices go down for purchases of the same products . if you truly want to save money on amazon , one approach is to sign up for price alerts on camel camel camel to get an email when a price drops to a desired amount . when that happens , manually reorder — yes , that ’s an extra step — your instant coffee , toilet cleaner or lint rollers . sucharita an analyst for forrester research who follows amazon , said the retailer was probably pushing prices up to test how loyal customers are to products and how much more they are willing to pay for them . yet the sharp price changes on subscribe save items caught her by surprise . “ it does n’t seem as as amazon typically is , ” she said . “ that ’s what ’s unusual . ”
+0 272 slaves were sold to save georgetown . what does it owe their descendants ? - the new york times rachel l. swarns washington — the human cargo was loaded on ships at a bustling wharf in the nation ’s capital , destined for the plantations of the deep south . some slaves pleaded for rosaries as they were rounded up , praying for deliverance . but on this day , in the fall of 1838 , no one was spared : not the baby and her mother , not the field hands , not the shoemaker and not cornelius hawkins , who was about 13 years old when he was forced onboard . their panic and desperation would be mostly forgotten for more than a century . but this was no ordinary slave sale . the enslaved had belonged to the nation ’s most prominent jesuit priests . and they were sold , along with scores of others , to help secure the future of the premier catholic institution of higher learning at the time , known today as georgetown university . now , with racial protests roiling college campuses , an unusual collection of georgetown professors , students , alumni and genealogists is trying to find out what happened to those 272 men , women and children . and they are confronting a particularly wrenching question : what , if anything , is owed to the descendants of slaves who were sold to help ensure the college ’s survival ? more than a dozen universities — including brown , columbia , harvard and the university of virginia — have publicly recognized their ties to slavery and the slave trade . but the 1838 slave sale organized by the jesuits , who founded and ran georgetown , stands out for its sheer size , historians say . at georgetown , slavery and scholarship were inextricably linked . the college relied on jesuit plantations in maryland to help finance its operations , university officials say . ( slaves were often donated by prosperous parishioners . ) and the 1838 sale — worth about $ 3 . 3 million in today ’s dollars — was organized by two of georgetown ’s early presidents , both jesuit priests . some of that money helped to pay off the debts of the struggling college . “ the university itself owes its existence to this history , ” said adam rothman , a historian at georgetown and a member of a university working group that is studying ways for the institution to acknowledge and try to make amends for its tangled roots in slavery . although the working group was established in august , it was student demonstrations at georgetown in the fall that helped to galvanize alumni and gave new urgency to the administration ’s efforts . the students organized a protest and a using the hashtag # gu272 for the slaves who were sold . in november , the university agreed to remove the names of the rev. thomas f. mulledy and the rev. william mcsherry , the college presidents involved in the sale , from two campus buildings . an alumnus , following the protest from afar , wondered if more needed to be done . that alumnus , richard j. cellini , the chief executive of a technology company and a practicing catholic , was troubled that neither the jesuits nor university officials had tried to trace the lives of the enslaved or compensate their progeny . mr. cellini is an unlikely racial crusader . a white man , he admitted that he had never spent much time thinking about slavery or history . but he said he could not stop thinking about the slaves , whose names had been in georgetown ’s archives for decades . “ this is not a disembodied group of people , who are nameless and faceless , ” said mr. cellini , 52 , whose company , briefcase analytics , is based in cambridge , mass. “ these are real people with real names and real descendants . ” within two weeks , mr. cellini had set up a nonprofit , the georgetown memory project , hired eight genealogists and raised more than $ 10 , 000 from fellow alumni to finance their research . dr. rothman , the georgetown historian , heard about mr. cellini ’s efforts and let him know that he and several of his students were also tracing the slaves . soon , the two men and their teams were working on parallel tracks . what has emerged from their research , and that of other scholars , is a glimpse of an insular world dominated by priests who required their slaves to attend mass for the sake of their salvation , but also whipped and sold some of them . the records describe runaways , harsh plantation conditions and the anguish voiced by some jesuits over their participation in a system of forced servitude . “ a microcosm of the whole history of american slavery , ” dr. rothman said . the enslaved were grandmothers and grandfathers , carpenters and blacksmiths , pregnant women and anxious fathers , children and infants , who were fearful , bewildered and despairing as they saw their families and communities ripped apart by the sale of 1838 . the researchers have used archival records to follow their footsteps , from the jesuit plantations in maryland , to the docks of new orleans , to three plantations west and south of baton rouge , la. the hope was to eventually identify the slaves’ descendants . by the end of december , one of mr. cellini ’s genealogists felt confident that she had found a strong test case : the family of the boy , cornelius hawkins . there are no surviving images of cornelius , no letters or journals that offer a look into his last hours on a jesuit plantation in maryland . he was not yet five feet tall when he sailed onboard the katharine jackson , one of several vessels that carried the slaves to the port of new orleans . an inspector scrutinized the cargo on dec. 6 , 1838 . “ examined and found correct , ” he wrote of cornelius and the 129 other people he found on the ship . the notation betrayed no hint of the turmoil on board . but priests at the jesuit plantations recounted the panic and fear they witnessed when the slaves departed . some children were sold without their parents , records show , and slaves were “ dragged off by force to the ship , ” the rev. thomas lilly reported . others , including two of cornelius ’s uncles , ran away before they could be captured . but few were lucky enough to escape . the rev. peter havermans wrote of an elderly woman who fell to her knees , begging to know what she had done to deserve such a fate , according to robert emmett curran , a retired georgetown historian who described eyewitness accounts of the sale in his research . cornelius ’s extended family was split , with his aunt nelly and her daughters shipped to one plantation , and his uncle james and his wife and children sent to another , records show . at the time , the catholic church did not view slaveholding as immoral , said the rev. thomas r. murphy , a historian at seattle university who has written a book about the jesuits and slavery . the jesuits had sold off individual slaves before . as early as the 1780s , dr. rothman found , they openly discussed the need to cull their stock of human beings . but the decision to sell virtually all of their enslaved in the 1830s left some priests deeply troubled . they worried that new owners might not allow the slaves to practice their catholic faith . they also knew that life on plantations in the deep south was notoriously brutal , and feared that families might end up being separated and resold . “ it would be better to suffer financial disaster than suffer the loss of our souls with the sale of the slaves , ” wrote the rev. jan roothaan , who headed the jesuits’ international organization from rome and was initially reluctant to authorize the sale . but he was persuaded to reconsider by several prominent jesuits , including father mulledy , then the influential president of georgetown who had overseen its expansion , and father mcsherry , who was in charge of the jesuits’ maryland mission . ( the two men would swap positions by 1838 . ) mismanaged and inefficient , the maryland plantations no longer offered a reliable source of income for georgetown college , which had been founded in 1789 . it would not survive , father mulledy feared , without an influx of cash . so in june 1838 , he negotiated a deal with henry johnson , a member of the house of representatives , and jesse batey , a landowner in louisiana , to sell cornelius and the others . father mulledy promised his superiors that the slaves would continue to practice their religion . families would not be separated . and the money raised by the sale would not be used to pay off debt or for operating expenses . none of those conditions were met , university officials said . father mulledy took most of the down payment he received from the sale — about $ 500 , 000 in today ’s dollars — and used it to help pay off the debts that georgetown had incurred under his leadership . in the uproar that followed , he was called to rome and reassigned . the next year , pope gregory xvi explicitly barred catholics from engaging in “ this traffic in blacks … no matter what pretext or excuse . ” but the pope ’s order , which did not explicitly address slave ownership or private sales like the one organized by the jesuits , offered scant comfort to cornelius and the other slaves . by the 1840s , word was trickling back to washington that the slaves’ new owners had broken their promises . some slaves suffered at the hands of a cruel overseer . roughly of the jesuits’ former slaves — including cornelius and his family — had been shipped to two plantations so distant from churches that “ they never see a catholic priest , ” the rev. james van de velde , a jesuit who visited louisiana , wrote in a letter in 1848 . father van de velde begged jesuit leaders to send money for the construction of a church that would “ provide for the salvation of those poor people , who are now utterly neglected . ” he addressed his concerns to father mulledy , who three years earlier had returned to his post as president of georgetown . there is no indication that he received any response . are often a fleeting presence in the documents of the 1800s . enslaved , marginalized and forced into illiteracy by laws that prohibited them from learning to read and write , many seem like ghosts who pass through this world without leaving a trace . after the sale , cornelius vanishes from the public record until 1851 when his trail finally picks back up on a cotton plantation near maringouin , la. his owner , mr. batey , had died , and cornelius appeared on the plantation ’s inventory , which included 27 mules and horses , 32 hogs , two ox carts and scores of other slaves . he was valued at $ 900 . ( “ valuable plantation and negroes for sale , ” read one newspaper advertisement in 1852 . ) the plantation would be sold again and again and again , records show , but cornelius ’s family remained intact . in 1870 , he appeared in the census for the first time . he was about 48 then , a father , a husband , a farm laborer and , finally , a free man . he might have disappeared from view again for a time , save for something few could have counted on : his deep , abiding faith . it was his catholicism , born on the jesuit plantations of his childhood , that would provide researchers with a road map to his descendants . cornelius had originally been shipped to a plantation so far from a church that he had married in a civil ceremony . but six years after he appeared in the census , and about three decades after the birth of his first child , he renewed his wedding vows with the blessing of a priest . his children and grandchildren also embraced the catholic church . so judy riffel , one of the genealogists hired by mr. cellini , began following a chain of weddings and births , baptisms and burials . the church records helped lead to a woman in baton rouge named maxine crump . ms. crump , a retired television news anchor , was driving to maringouin , her hometown , in early february when her cellphone rang . mr. cellini was on the line . she listened , stunned , as he told her about her cornelius hawkins , who had labored on a plantation just a few miles from where she grew up . she found out about the jesuits and georgetown and the sea voyage to louisiana . and she learned that cornelius had worked the soil of a estate that straddled the bayou maringouin . all of this was new to ms. crump , except for the name cornelius — or neely , as cornelius was known . the name had been passed down from generation to generation in her family . her had the name , as did one of her cousins . now , for the first time , ms. crump understood its origins . “ oh my god , ” she said . “ oh my god . ” ms. crump is a familiar figure in baton rouge . she was the city ’s first black woman television anchor . she runs a nonprofit , dialogue on race louisiana , that offers educational programs on institutional racism and ways to combat it . she prides herself on being unflappable . but the revelations about her lineage — and the church she grew up in — have unleashed a swirl of emotions . she is outraged that the church ’s leaders sanctioned the buying and selling of slaves , and that georgetown profited from the sale of her ancestors . she feels great sadness as she envisions cornelius as a young boy , torn from everything he knew . mr. cellini , whose genealogists have already traced more than 200 of the slaves from maryland to louisiana , believes there may be thousands of living descendants . he has contacted a few , including patricia president of the eastern washington genealogical society in spokane , who is helping to track the jesuit slaves with her group . ( ms. discovered her connection through an earlier effort by the university to publish records online about the jesuit plantations . ) meanwhile , georgetown ’s working group has been weighing whether the university should apologize for profiting from slave labor , create a memorial to those enslaved and provide scholarships for their descendants , among other possibilities , said dr. rothman , the historian . “ it ’s hard to know what could possibly reconcile a history like this , ” he said . “ what can you do to make amends ? ” ms. crump , 69 , has been asking herself that question , too . she does not put much stock in what she describes as “ casual institutional apologies . ” but she would like to see a scholarship program that would bring the slaves’ descendants to georgetown as students . and she would like to see cornelius ’s name , and those of his parents and children , inscribed on a memorial on campus . her ancestors , once amorphous and invisible , are finally taking shape in her mind . there is joy in that , she said , exhilaration even . “ now they are real to me , ” she said , “ more real every day . ” she still wants to know more about cornelius ’s beginnings , and about his life as a free man . but when ms. riffel , the genealogist , told her where she thought he was buried , ms. crump knew exactly where to go . the two women drove on the narrow roads that line the green , rippling sugar cane fields in iberville parish . there was no need for a map . they were heading to the only catholic cemetery in maringouin . they found the last physical marker of cornelius ’s journey at the immaculate heart of mary cemetery , where ms. crump ’s father , grandmother and are also buried . the worn gravestone had toppled , but the wording was plain : “ neely hawkins died april 16 , 1902 . ”
+0 supreme court upholds affirmative action program at university of texas - the new york times adam liptak washington — the supreme court on thursday rejected a challenge to a admissions program at the university of texas at austin , handing supporters of affirmative action a major victory . the decision , fisher v. university of texas , no . concerned an unusual program and contained a warning to other universities that not all affirmative action programs will pass constitutional muster . but the ruling ’s basic message was that admissions officials may continue to consider race as one factor among many in ensuring a diverse student body . the decision , by a vote , was unexpected . justice anthony m. kennedy , the author of the majority opinion , has long been skeptical of programs and had never before voted to uphold an affirmative action plan . he dissented in the last major affirmative action case . supporters of affirmative action hailed the decision as a landmark . “ no decision since brown v. board of education has been as important as fisher will prove to be in the long history of racial inclusion and educational diversity , ” said laurence h. tribe , a law professor at harvard , referring to the supreme court ’s 1954 decision striking down segregated public schools . roger clegg , the president of the center for equal opportunity , which supports colorblind policies , said the decision , though disappointing , was only a temporary setback . “ the court ’s decision leaves plenty of room for future challenges to racial preference policies at other schools , ” he said . “ the struggle goes on . ” president obama hailed the decision . “ i ’m pleased that the supreme court upheld the basic notion that diversity is an important value in our society , ” he told reporters at the white house . “ we are not a country that guarantees equal outcomes , but we do strive to provide an equal shot to everybody . ” justice kennedy , writing for the majority , said courts must give universities substantial but not total leeway in designing their admissions programs . “ a university is in large part defined by those intangible ‘ qualities which are incapable of objective measurement but which make for greatness,’ ” justice kennedy wrote , quoting from a landmark desegregation case . “ considerable deference is owed to a university in defining those intangible characteristics , like student body diversity , that are central to its identity and educational mission . ” “ but still , ” justice kennedy added , “ it remains an enduring challenge to our nation ’s education system to reconcile the pursuit of diversity with the constitutional promise of equal treatment and dignity . ” justices ruth bader ginsburg , stephen g. breyer and sonia sotomayor joined justice kennedy ’s majority opinion . justice elena kagan , who would probably have voted with the majority , was recused from the case because she had worked on it as solicitor general . in a lengthy and impassioned dissent delivered from the bench , a sign of deep disagreement , justice samuel a. alito jr. denounced the court ’s ruling , saying that the university had not demonstrated the need for admissions and that the texas program benefited advantaged students over impoverished ones . “ this is affirmative action gone berserk , ” justice alito told his colleagues , adding that what they had done in the case was “ simply wrong . ” under the university of texas’ admissions program , most applicants from within the state are admitted under a part of the program that guarantees admission to top students in every high school in the state . this is often called the top 10 percent program , though the percentage cutoff can vary by year . the top 10 percent program has produced significant racial and ethnic diversity . in 2011 , for instance , 26 percent of freshmen who enrolled under the program were hispanic , and 6 percent were black . the population of texas is about 38 percent hispanic and 12 percent black . the case challenged a second part of the admissions program . under it , remaining students from texas and elsewhere are considered under standards that take into account academic achievement and other factors , including race and ethnicity . many colleges and universities base all of their admissions decisions on such grounds . in grutter v. bollinger in 2003 , the supreme court endorsed such holistic admissions programs , saying it was permissible to consider race as one factor among many to achieve educational diversity . writing for the majority in that case , justice sandra day o’connor said she expected that “ 25 years from now , ” the “ use of racial preferences will no longer be necessary . ” justice kennedy ’s decision left grutter intact . thursday ’s case was brought by abigail fisher , a white woman who said the university had denied her admission based on her race . she has since graduated from louisiana state university . “ i am disappointed that the supreme court has ruled that students applying to the university of texas can be treated differently because of their race or ethnicity , ” ms. fisher said in a statement on thursday . “ i hope that the nation will one day move beyond affirmative action . ” when the court last considered ms. fisher ’s case in 2013 , supporters of affirmative action were nervous . but the court deferred conclusive action in what appeared to be a compromise decision . in his dissent on thursday , justice alito said the court had reversed itself . “ something strange has happened since our prior decision in this case , ” he wrote . when the second iteration of the case was argued in december , justice kennedy suggested that the court might again send it back to the appeals court . on thursday , though , he said that would have been a waste of time . “ a remand would do nothing more than prolong a suit that has already persisted for eight years and cost the parties on both sides significant resources , ” he wrote . “ petitioner long since has graduated from another college , and the university ’s policy — and the data on which it first was based — may have evolved or changed in material ways . ” justice kennedy then methodically rejected ms. fisher ’s arguments . he said the university ’s diversity goals were not amorphous but “ concrete and precise , ” satisfying the constitutional requirement that government racial classifications advance a compelling interest . justice alito described those goals — concerning “ the destruction of stereotypes , ” promoting “ understanding ” and preparing students “ for an increasingly diverse work force and society ” — as slippery and impervious to judicial scrutiny . justice kennedy wrote that the university was justified in saying that the top ten percent plan did not alone produce sufficient diversity , adding that the holistic part of the admissions program “ had a meaningful , if still limited , effect on the diversity of the university ’s freshman class . ” he said the top ten percent program had limits . “ an admissions policy that relies exclusively on class rank creates perverse incentives for applicants , ” he wrote . “ percentage plans ‘ encourage parents to keep their children in segregated schools , and discourage students from taking challenging classes that might lower their grade point averages,’ ” he added , quoting from an earlier dissent from justice ginsburg . “ wherever the balance between percentage plans and holistic review should rest , an effective admissions policy can not prescribe , realistically , the exclusive use of a percentage plan , ” justice kennedy wrote . justice kennedy ’s majority opinion was 20 pages long . it elicited a furious dissent from justice alito , joined by chief justice john g. roberts jr. and justice clarence thomas . justice alito said the majority opinion helped affluent students and hurt ones . “ even though u. t. has never provided any coherent explanation for its asserted need to discriminate on the basis of race , and even though u. t. ’s position relies on a series of unsupported and noxious racial assumptions , ” he wrote , “ the majority concludes that u. t. has met its heavy burden . this conclusion is remarkable — and remarkably wrong . ” sherrilyn ifill , the president of the naacp legal defense and educational fund inc. said the decision was gratifying . “ universities all over the country are breathing a sigh of relief , ” she said . “ the court very compellingly reaffirmed the importance of diversity . ”
+1 normal saline vs. lactated ringer ’s : results of a phase 3 randomized quadruple - blind clinical water balloon fight | gomerblog gomerblog team tweet background : the superiority of lactated ringer ’s solution ( lr ) or normal saline ( ns ) in fluid resuscitation in a variety of medical and surgical scenarios remains the most hotly debated irrelevant topic in modern medicine . for this reason and because advancement in our academic medicine careers requires us to have a certain number of publications , we have designed this study to finally determine which of the two is the ultimate fluid ! methods : the medical and surgical departments at miskatonic medical center in maine were made to compete in a no - holds - barred water balloon battle . the teams were randomized to either ns or lr - filled water balloons . participants were blinded as to which fluid they were using and the data analysis teams were blinded as well . finally , everyone involved was physically blindfolded by two different blindfolds , thus creating the first ever quadruple -blind clinical study . nephrologists were excluded from participating , because they can unfailingly identify and manipulate all fluids with their psychic powers . results : the surgical department pulled into an early lead thanks in no small part to the orthopedics team . led by dr. brock hammersley and assisted by a platoon of stryker reps who refilled water balloons and acted as spotters , the ortho team ’s throws were powerful enough to send the medical department ’s participants to the er with broken bones . dr. hammersley almost won the day for the surgical department by turfing all the new admissions straight back to medicine . however , in a surprise twist , the medicine department pulled out their ace in the hole : legendary hospitalist and goalkeeper tim howard . howard , who has managed to keep his hospitalist team admission - free for two straight years , was able to easily deflect every admission . despite dr. howard ’s assistance , the surgical team captured more flags , scored more touchdowns , shot more hoops , and generally looked cooler doing it all . nevertheless , medicine ultimately won on points after the medical student on the heme / onc service managed to quote the jnc 9 water balloon battle guidelines as pertaining to left - handed african - american male patients with preeclampsia on a night when five virgins are sacrificed to the blood moon . conclusion : lactated ringer ’s solution ( ironically randomized to medicine ) is the ultimate fluid ! further work needs to be done so we can continue getting nih funding . 2 k shares
+0 warning of isis plots against west , u.s. plans assault on raqqa - the new york times helene cooper and eric schmitt washington — the fight to retake raqqa , the syrian city that serves as the capital of the islamic state , must begin soon — within weeks — to disrupt planning believed to be underway there to stage terrorist attacks on the west , senior defense department and military officials said on wednesday . lt . gen. stephen townsend , the top american military commander in iraq , declined to name a specific threat against western targets emanating from raqqa , but described a “ sense of urgency . ” he said it was imperative that operations to isolate the city begin soon to prevent attacks on the west that could be launched or planned from the militants’ capital . in announcing that the fight to retake raqqa is imminent , american officials are sweeping aside objections from turkey and moving forward with plans to rely on a ground fighting force that includes kurdish militia fighters in syria . the turkish government , which has become a complicated ally in the fight against the islamic state , fears that aspirations for autonomy may spread among its own kurdish population . general townsend stressed that kurdish militia fighters would be a part of the ground force used to isolate raqqa . “ we ’re going to go with who can go , who ’s willing to go soon , ” general townsend told reporters at the pentagon during a video news briefing from baghdad . “ and then , once we get the initial isolation in position , we ’ll look at how we prosecute the operation further . ” the politics of the matter have bedeviled american military planners trying to thread a needle through enmity between the turks and the kurds . turkey regards the syrian kurdish fighters , known collectively as the y. p. g. as an extension of the kurdistan workers’ party , the kurdish rebel group that has sought autonomy from turkey since the 1980s . ankara has demanded that the y. p. g. not take part in the fight to retake raqqa . but american military officials say the y. p. g. personnel are the best fighters they have . “ the facts are these , ” general townsend said . “ the only force that is capable on any timeline is the syrian democratic forces , of which the y. p. g. are a significant portion . ” while the kurdish militia will make up the bulk of the operation , general townsend said many of the more than 300 american special operations forces now in syria would help recruit , train and equip local forces in and around raqqa who are predominantly syrian arabs . the impending operation is further complicated , some independent experts say , because neither the turks nor the syrian kurds view the recapture of raqqa as one of their top priorities — unlike washington . “ the syrian kurdish y. p. g. do not truly desire to shed blood to capture a arab city far from their vision of their autonomous borders , while turkey cares about the operation only insofar as the syrian kurdish y. p. g. is not allowed to participate in it , ” said christopher kozak , a syria researcher at the institute for the study of war . defense secretary ashton b. carter said in brussels on wednesday that the offensive to oust the islamic state , also known as isis or isil , from raqqa would begin within weeks . “ this is , as always , a matter when you ’re positioning forces and so forth , we have a plan to do that and a schedule to do that , ” mr. carter told reporters . “ we ’re going to execute to that plan . ” mr. carter met with the turkish defense minister , fikri isik , and the french defense minister , le drian , on wednesday in brussels , where he emphasized the “ need for the coalition to maintain pressure on isil on multiple fronts , ” according to a pentagon news release . “ all sides agreed to maintain frequent communication on the full range of security interests , and to continue their close coordination and continued transparency in the coalition effort to deal isil a lasting defeat , ” the statement said . an american military official said the raqqa operation would take place in roughly three phases . phase one , he said , is what the coalition fighting the islamic state has been doing for months : preparatory airstrikes in and around raqqa to knock out and fighting positions . phase two , to begin in the coming weeks , will be to isolate raqqa with the available forces — mostly syrian kurds , with syrian arabs , too . phase three will be the fight for raqqa itself , which american officials say they hope will be conducted mostly by syrian arabs , given that the city is majority sunni arab . general townsend compared islamic state plotting in raqqa to planning by the group in manbij , which was retaken from the islamic state in august . manbij was the last stop on the route out of syria for islamic state militants headed to europe . but the actual plotting regularly began in raqqa . militants moved from there to manbij before slipping over the border into turkey and then onward to europe . plotting underway in raqqa now , general townsend said , “ is not unlike what emanated from manbij ” before that city was retaken . “ coming out of manbij , we found links to individuals and plot streams to france , the united states , other european countries , ” he said . “ we know that this is going on in raqqa as well , ” general townsend said . “ and so i think that ’s why it ’s necessary to get down there to raqqa . ” the raqqa fight will take place even as the battle for mosul , next door in iraq , is continuing , american military planners say . gen. joseph l. votel , the commander of american forces in the middle east , said last week that it was “ extraordinarily important ” to keep simultaneous pressure on mosul and raqqa , if not with ground forces , as with mosul , at least with a steady pounding of airstrikes . general votel acknowledged the challenges of dealing with two pivotal allies in the fight against the islamic state in syria who essentially loathe each other — the turks and the syrian kurds . one of his main goals now , he said , is to maintain momentum and “ to keep everyone moving in the right direction . ”
+1 jb evan bayh is an excellent example .... got into office based on daddy 's name ... only the kid was a real moron .... resigned from office because he was about to be totally humiliated and voted out in a landslide . of course now we have bobble - head who 's been riding her rapist husband coat - tails for 30 years and whose major qualifications for office are that she is easy to bribe and she lacks a penis ! what a sad day for america ! if you do n't like trump , vote for his policies .... hitlery will raise taxes , send more jobs overseas , and import more muslim terrorists ....
+0 dem rep crowley : people around the world ’frightened’ by trump ’regime’ military ’junta’ style - breitbart pam key friday at the house democratic retreat in baltimore , house democratic caucus chair rep. joe crowley ( ) said millions of americans and people around the world are “ frightened ” by the “ trump regime , ” who have “ appointed several former generals , ” which is “ . ” crowley said , “ you know , these are millions and millions of americans , people around the world who are really concerned , maybe that ’s an understatement . they ’re nervous . they ’re frightened about what they see happening to the american government . and this trump regime — i do n’t call it an administration , i call it a regime . that ’s how they act . they have appointed several former generals , that ’s very to the rest of the world . they have billionaires who have been appointed to cabinet positions , some of whom have no experience whatsoever in the field in which they are now in charge . that ’s very frightening to people . ” “ cronyism at the highest levels has many people in this country nervous and around the world as well , ” he continued . “ so i think there ’s going to be plenty of opportunities in the future , unfortunately , for the american people to express themselves , and i think we as democrats will be able to support that effort when we believe it ’s warranted . ” ( grabien ) follow pam key on twitter @pamkeynen
+1 brexit lost : scuppered by may and high court dailouk home | world | brexit lost : scuppered by may and high court brexit lost : scuppered by may and high court by mr. charrington 03/11/2016 11:48:44 london – england – the high court decision today to deny the eu referendum result is a sign that we are not living in a democracy or a sovereign country . today is a very sad day for democracy within the uk , and theresa may a remain supporter is instrumental in denying the will of the british people to leave the eu . dithering and delaying tactics through numerous delaying tactics , and the installation of key government posts of remain campaign mps , the brexit referendum was thwarted . if the government had repealed the 1972 european communities act immediately the eu referendum result would be well on the way to materialising . the total nonchalance and denial of the eu referendum result is firmly on theresa may ’s head and her appointment of hammond as chancellor of the exchequer was a further sign that may was not serious about the eu referendum result . injustice the high court ruling today which is intrusive and false , as well as being undemocratic is a further signal that we are currently not living in a sovereign nation and it is totally controlled by brussels . during the eu referendum , mps had their say , mps campaigned , and when it came to vote in the referendum , they voted . therefore , parliament has already had a say in the eu referendum , and by going to the high court , these traitors have sought to annul a democratic vote which was held on june 23 2016 . this ruling is a shameful reminder that britain has lost all sovereign status to the eu entity , it is a sad day for democracy , for the will of the people and ultimately for the country . 17.5 million people will vote on election day in these circumstances , we must as a people show our displeasure at being circumvented by not voting during the next election for any mp or party who is eu centric . this is not over .
+1 amazon.con – roflmao admin if this is the case , the true reality beneath bezo ’s fraudulent accounting had to have been horrific : amazon ’s quarterly profit misses estimates , shares tumble from reuters – link : amazon.com inc reported a lower - than - expected quarterly profit on thursday as expenses rose and the company provided a disappointing fourth - quarter revenue forecast . the growth of amzn ’s cloud business is rapidly slowing down . this has been one of my key arguments about the insanity of the market cap attributed to amzn ’s cloud business . it ’s tiny compared to amzn ’s overall revenues . and competition in the cloud space is going to become ferocious as microsoft , google and oracle begin to really flex their muscles . the only question left for me is to determine which between amzn and tsla is biggest ponzi scheme in history . amzn is maybe a $ 10 stock and tsla is likely worth $ 2 .
+0 watch live : cpac 2017 - breitbart breitbart tv thursday at 9 a. m. et , the conservative political action conference ( cpac ) will kick off and continue through saturday . schedule as follows : thursday ( all times eastern ) 9:10 a. m. — white house counselor kellyanne conway , 10:05 a. m. — wisconsin gov. scott walker , kentucky gov. matt bevin , 11:10 a. m. — sen. ted cruz ( ) and radio host mark levin , 11:30 p. m. — the blaze host dana loesch , 12:50 p. m. — interview with secretary of education betsy devos , 1:05 p. m. — conversation with white house strategist steve bannon , white house chief of staff reince priebus and american conservative union chairman matt schlapp . 2:20 p. m. — tom fitton , judicial watch , 7:10 p. m — actor robert davi , 7:20 p. m. — judge jeanine pirro , host of “ justice ” on fox news , 7:30 p. m. — vice president mike pence , friday ( all times eastern ) 8:10 a. m. — former navy seal rob o’neill , 8:25 a. m. — dr. sebastian gorka , deputy assistant to president trump , 9:55 a. m. — fox business network host lou dobbs , 10:20 a. m. — president donald trump , 11:55 a. m. — nigel farage , british politician and fox news contributor , 12:55 p. m. — nra ceo wayne lapierre , 1:35 p. m. — katie pavlich , 2:20 p. m. — amb . john bolton , 2:30 p. m. — rep. kevin brady ( ) 3:00 p. m. — carly fiorina , 7:30 p. m. — the ronald reagan dinner , with keynote remarks by michael reagan . saturday ( all times eastern ) 10:05 a. m. — david bossie , citizens united , 1:50 p. m. — scott pruitt , epa administrator , 2:25 p. m. — former sen. rick santorum ( ) 3:05 p. m. — cpac straw poll , 3:25 p. m. — sheriff david clarke , follow breitbart . tv on twitter @breitbartvideo
+1 comey accused of interfering in us presidential election stephen lendman in : government , government corruption , sleuth journal , special interests ( image : reuters / gary cameron ) had comey recommended hillary be held criminally responsible for mishandling classified state department documents last july , along with perjury for lying to the fbi and congress , a firestorm of criticism would n’t have followed his friday announcement . senate minority leader harry reid ( d. nv ) accused him of “ tarring secretary clinton with thin innuendo , ” saying his action “ appears to be a clear intent to aid one political party over another ” – claiming he “ may have broken the law , ” citing the 1939 hatch act ( an act to prevent pernicious political activities ) . it prohibits federal executive branch employees from engaging in certain forms of political activity – exempting the president , vice president and designated high - level administration officials . proof of intent is required to hold someone culpable under the law . according to the wall street journal , within the fbi , there was “ sharp internal disagreement over matters related to the clintons , and how to handle those matters fairly and carefully in the middle of a national election campaign . ” in a prominently featured nyt op - ed , law professor richard painter said “ ( w)e can not allow fbi or justice department officials to unnecessarily publicize pending investigations concerning candidates of either party while an election is underway . that is an abuse of power . ” not according to former federal prosecutor daniel richman , saying “ comey ’s critics can not show his letter violated the hatch act unless they can prove that the fbi director was intending to influence the election rather than inform congress , which was ( his ) stated aim . ” a sunday released abc news / washington post poll indicated about a third of likely voters are less likely to support hillary following comey ’s october surprise . the washington post said the justice department ’s public integrity unit blocked the fbi from investigating the clinton foundation , claiming inadequate “ evidence to move forward . ” the department is run by longtime bill and hillary ally , attorney general loretta lynch . last june , she met privately with the former president at phoenix ’s sky harbor airport while hillary was under fbi investigation – a clear conflict of interest despite her disingenuously claiming “ no discussion of any matter pending for the department or any matter pending for any other body ” took place . in a washington post op - ed , former attorney general eric holder expressed concern about comey ’s “ vague letter to congress about emails potentially connected to a matter of public , and political , interest ” – claiming he “ violated long - standing justice department policies and tradition . ” holder disgraced the office he held . law professor francis boyle called him “ a total disaster for the united states constitution , the bill of rights , human rights and the rule of law . ” speaking in florida on sunday , hillary changed the subject , saying “ there ’s a lot of noise and distraction , but it really comes down to what kind of future we want , and what kind of president can help us get there . we wo n’t be distracted no matter what our opponents throw at us . ” clearly , comey ’s bombshell changed the dynamic of the race , whether enough to derail her white house bid we ’ll know in days . reports indicate the fbi will examine an astonishing 650,000 emails from former congressman anthony weiner ’s laptop – estranged husband of top hillary aide huma abedin . it could take months to review volume this immense , likely extending well beyond november 8 and january ’s inauguration , to determine if any evidence warrants prosecuting hillary , abedin , weiner or anyone else for mishandling classified government documents , perhaps compromising national security . having absolved hillary in july , despite plenty of indictable evidence , it ’s hard imagining a change of fbi policy now . submit your review
+0 10 police officers killed in ambush by militants in afghanistan - the new york times the associated press kabul , afghanistan — at least 10 police officers and the wife of a police commander were killed in an ambush by islamic state militants in the northern province of zawzjan , a provincial official said on saturday . mohammad reza ghafori , a spokesman for the zawzjan provincial governor , said that the police officers were ambushed friday as they left a mosque . the wife of the police commander heard about her husband being shot and rushed to the scene , where she was also killed . militants linked to the islamic state , also known as isis or isil , have been active in afghanistan ’s eastern regions , but have recently begun operating in the north of the country as well . the interior ministry said in a statement that around 38 militants , including 23 islamic state fighters , were killed in separate operations conducted by afghan security forces in the eastern and southern regions of the country over the past two days . eight other militants were wounded and six were arrested in the operations , which were conducted in districts across the nangarhar and helmand provinces , the statement added . in laghman province , in the east , two students were killed when a mortar shell struck a school classroom , a news release from the education ministry said . the statement said that five other students were wounded inside the classroom in mihterlam , the province ’s capital . there were unconfirmed reports that the mortar was fired by afghan security forces and missed its target and hit the school . the report could not immediately be verified by provincial or government officials .
+0 navy commissions ship honoring gun controller gabby giffords awr hawkins a u. s. navy littoral combat ship ( lcs ) was commissioned saturday in honor of gun control proponent gabby giffords . [ giffords is a former u. s. congresswoman who has been pushing for background checks since being shot on january 8 , 2011 , by a man who passed a background check to acquire his gun . on march 4 , 2015 , breitbart news reported giffords’ position that every gun owner should have to pass the same background check her attacker passed . according to 10 news , the honorable sean stackley , acting secretary of the navy , issued a statement on the commissioning , saying , “ the commissioning of uss gabrielle giffords adds the advanced capability of a versatile warship to our nation ’s growing fleet . today ’s ceremony is also a testament to the skill and dedication of our nation ’s remarkable shipbuilders , who will be remembered for decades to come as lcs 10 deploys around the world to protect our freedoms . ” the home port for the uss gabrielle giffords will be san diego . on february 10 , 2012 , the washington post reported the navy ’s announcement that a ship was to be built in giffords’ honor . the announcement came hours after giffords had joined president obama as he signed legislation she had supported prior to being shot and resigning her seat in congress . awr hawkins is the second amendment columnist for breitbart news and host of bullets with awr hawkins , a breitbart news podcast . he is also the political analyst for armed american radio . follow him on twitter : @awrhawkins . reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart . com .
+1 brandon turbeville interview with voices network : serena shim , syria , imperialism brandon turbeville diogenes on poverty rose in 96 % of u.s. house districts , during obama ’s presidency contact us we read all emails sent to us , but are too busy to respond to many . we greatly appreciate feedback and leads . to contact us . learn more about us here . syndication if you wish to reproduce any essays from this site : you may reproduce our essays as long as you give proper attribution ( washington 's blog ) and provide a link to our site at the top of the post . national security and copyright notices national security notice we are not calling for the overthrow of the government . in fact , we are calling for the reinstatement of our government . we are not calling for lawlessness . we are calling for an end to lawlessness and lack of accountability and a return to the rule of law . rather than trying to subvert the constitution , we are calling for its enforcement . we are patriotic americans born and raised in this country . we love the u.s. we do n't seek to destroy or attack america ... we seek to restore her to strength , prosperity , liberty and respect . we do n't support or like al qaeda , isis , the taliban , or any similar or supporting groups . we think they are all disgusting . the nation 's top legal scholars say that draconian security laws which violate the constitution should not apply to americans . should you attempt to shut down this site or harass its authors , you are anti - liberty , anti - justice , anti - american ... and undermining america 's national security . copyright notice this site provides political commentary , education and parody protected by the fair use and my lai / zapruder exceptions to copyright law . we are not copyright pirates . we do not seek to destroy all copyright law . even the country 's top copyright lawyers oppose draconian anti - piracy laws . fair use notice : this site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner . we are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of political , economic , scientific , and educational issues . we believe this constitutes a ' fair use ' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the us copyright law . in accordance with title 17 u.s.c. section 107 , the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes . for more information go to : if you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ' fair use ' , you must obtain permission from the copyright owner . business / economic news
+0 elder president george bush is hospitalized in houston - the new york times peter baker washington — former president george bush , the 41st president , was in stable condition at a houston hospital on wednesday after doctors performed a procedure to clear his airway , his spokesman said . his wife , barbara bush , was also admitted to the medical center , houston methodist hospital , on wednesday morning “ as a precaution after experiencing fatigue and coughing , ” the spokesman , jim mcgrath , said in a statement . mr. bush , 92 , was suffering from an acute respiratory problem stemming from pneumonia when he was admitted to the intensive care unit at the hospital . after initial reports of mr. bush ’s hospitalization , his office said he was expected to return home by the weekend . mr. bush , who served as vice president from and president from refused to support donald j. trump for president in last year ’s election and had already declined to attend friday ’s inauguration , citing health concerns . kathleen kennedy townsend , daughter of robert f. kennedy , said last fall that the former president had told her that he planned to vote for hillary clinton . his son , former president george w. bush , and his wife , laura , have announced that they plan to attend the inauguration , although former gov. jeb bush of florida , who lost the republican nomination to mr. trump , does not intend to be there . also scheduled to be on hand are mrs. clinton and former president bill clinton , as well as former president jimmy carter and his wife , rosalynn .
+1 researchers accidentally find simple way to convert harmful co2 gas to green energy amando flavio in the scientific world , there is something called serendipity . the word is used to denote the occurrence or invention of something beneficial by chance . for years , governments and climate change activists have struggled to convince the world to cut down on greenhouse emissions . a greenhouse gas is any gaseous compound in the atmosphere that is capable of absorbing infrared radiation , thereby trapping and holding heat in the atmosphere . by increasing the heat in the atmosphere , greenhouse gases are responsible for the greenhouse effect , which ultimately leads to global warming . carbon dioxide ( co2 ) is one of the gases that are responsible for global warming . co2 is a byproduct of fuel consumption . apart from it being harmful to the atmosphere , it also has devastating consequences on human health , mainly through respiratory diseases . in the past , researchers have attempted to convert this fuel byproduct back into energy , for future use . as the experiments proved unsuccessful , researchers were hoping that one day their dream would eventually come true . and indeed , it did . unexpectedly . researchers from the oak ridge national laboratory , tennessee , united states , have announced that they have accidentally discovered a catalyst that is capable of transforming co2 gas into high yields of ethanol . the discovery has been accepted and published in the online journal chemistryselect . according to the researchers , they can do this without the use of rare and expensive elements such as platinum ; with the process said to be very cheap and efficient . the good news is , the new energy produced from the co2 is said to be environmentally friendly . developing the new fuel could significantly boost the already booming renewable energy industry . the researchers have suggested that their new process could be combined with other renewables , such as solar or wind power , in order to efficiently harness those energy sources . excess electricity produced by wind and solar is often lost when it is stored in batteries . however , by applying this new discovery , the researchers said the excess electricity could be used to produce ethanol to power solar factories and turbines when there is insufficient sun or wind energy . this method will cut down the costs of production for factory owners , ultimately benefiting the entire world .
+0 pilot of vanished malaysian flight had deviant route on his simulator , minister says - the new york times rick gladstone the pilot of the malaysia airlines jetliner that mysteriously vanished more than two years ago had used his personal flight simulator to practice a path over the remote southern indian ocean , where the aircraft is believed to have crashed , the country ’s transport minister said on thursday . the remarks by the minister , datuk seri liow tiong lai , represented the first time the malaysian government had acknowledged that the flight simulator belonging to the pilot of flight 370 , capt . zaharie ahmad shah , contained such a path , leading far from any route his airline flew . the minister did not say when the pilot might have practiced that route , and he emphasized that it was one of many found on the simulator , which the pilot kept at his home . the minister also said it would be premature to draw any conclusions from the disclosure . nonetheless , it added to telltale indications that the aircraft , a boeing jet carrying 239 passengers and crew members , might have been deliberately crashed into the sea by mr. zaharie after departing kuala lumpur for beijing on march 8 , 2014 . “ yes , there is simulation showing it flew to many parts of the world , ” the minister was quoted by malaysia ’s bernama news agency as saying at a monthly transport ministry briefing . the remote southern indian ocean route was “ one of many , ” he said . the minister appeared to be responding to a report published on july 22 by new york magazine , which said it had obtained a confidential document from a malaysian police investigation showing that mr. zaharie had practiced the route on his simulator less than a month before flight 370 disappeared “ under uncannily similar circumstances . ” the magazine called the revelation , which was not in the malaysia government ’s public report on the flight 370 investigation , the strongest evidence yet that the pilot had “ made off with the plane in a premeditated act of mass . ” flight 370 ’s deviation from its planned route , taking the aircraft thousands of miles off course , remains a mystery of modern civil aviation . one of the working theories is that the plane flew for hours on autopilot with its crew dead or incapacitated and then crashed when its fuel ran out . technical signals sent by the plane suggested that it might have wound up in a area of the southern indian ocean , but aircraft and ships have scoured the area without turning up a sign of the aircraft . last month , the three countries leading the search — australia , china and malaysia — said they would suspend the operation , but would revive it if “ credible new information ” emerged about the plane ’s whereabouts . a small amount of debris believed to be from the plane has been found thousands of miles to the west . the most significant pieces appeared to be a wing part known as a flaperon — discovered last year on réunion , an island near madagascar that is part of france — and another wing segment found more recently near the coast of tanzania . a prominent crash investigator caused a stir last weekend by asserting that the flaperon appeared to have been placed in an extended position when it hit the water , and that it had to have been done deliberately . the assertion by the investigator , larry vance , who led an inquiry into the 1998 crash of swissair flight 111 in the atlantic ocean , has not been confirmed by officials in charge of the flight 370 inquiry . “ somebody was flying the airplane at the end of its flight , ” mr. vance said in an interview on australia ’s “ 60 minutes ” program . “ somebody was flying the airplane into the water . there is no other alternate theory that you can follow . ”
+1 progressives find ‘ white trash’ more threatening than nuclear war gillian leave a reply paul craig roberts – the american electorate ’s preference for donald trump and bernie sanders has established two facts . one is that the majority of the american people do not believe the media presstitutes . the other is that only the “ progressives ” and “ liberals ” who inhabit the atlantic northeast and pacific west coasts believe the presstitutes . trump ’s election to the presidency has confirmed these holier - than - thou souls in their strongly held belief that america is a white trash racist country . they have told us this all day long today . from these people and from the presstitutes we hear that white supremacy elected trump . this is their propaganda , the intention of which is to discredit a trump administration before it is inaugerated . funny how white supremacy elected black obama twice previously . truthout has lost it completely . john knefel declares “ the david dukes of the world prevail . ” kelly hayes declares “ white supremacy elected donald trump . ” william rivers pitt declares “ we have elected a fascist that mussolini would have recognized on sight . ” hillary carried only a handful of states , the states that comprise the one percent ’s stomping grounds . yet amy goodman of democracy now sees meaning in political writer john nichols claim that as hillary carried new york and california , she won the popular vote and should be in the white house . i remember a few days ago george soros saying that trump would win the popular vote , but that the electoral vote would go to hillary , thus ridding the oligarchs of trump . earth justice promises to hold trump accountable . trump who promises to end the threat of nuclear war with russia and china , thereby doing more to save animal and human life than the entirety of the democratic party and environmental organizations , is going to be held accountable by an organization that allegedly is beyond politics and is dedicated to preserving animals from destruction . the aclu , of which i am a member , has also put “ on notice ” the president - elect who has said he will save us from nuclear war . faced with this idiocy from the aclu , i will not renew my membership . feminists tell us that we are “ grieving , scared , and in shock , ” and that “ it is critical that we stand together and support each other . ” jeremy ben - ami of the j street jewish community tells us that it is “ an incredibly sad and difficult day . for tens of millions of americans who share a core belief in tolerance , decency and social justice , the election results are a severe shock . in this challenging moment , we turn to one another for comfort and community . during this election , j street made unequivocally clear our conviction that donald trump is not fit to be president of the united states . ” van jones , a cnn commentator , said that trump ’s election is a nightmare , “ a deeply painful moment , ” a “ whitelash ” against minorities . while he bemoaned the pain inflicted upon poor little presstitute van jones , he did n’t mind insulting the american electorate and the president - elect of the united states . after all , van jones sees that as his racist prerogative . and so , the holier - than - thou crowd prefers hillary , despite her unambigious position that she would maximize conflict with russia and china , provoke direct military conflict between the us and russia by imposing a no - fly zone in syria , attack iran and other of israel ’s targets , further enrich her wall street handlers by privatizing social security , and prevent any dissent from the lowly people class of her high - handed ways . if william rivers pitt sees trump as a mussolini fascist , trump is too mild for pitt . he prefers hillary , a hitler to the third power . the progressives have totally discredited themselves just as the presstitutes have done . their need for a bogyman to nourish their hysteria indicates serious psychological disturbance . they actually prefer the risk of armageddon to peace among nuclear powers . as their 501(c)3s live off corporate contributions , they prefer globalist corporate profits to jobs for ordinary americans . these are the people who think of themselves as our instructors and our betters . if only trump could exile the lot of them . they are anti - american to the core . sf source paul craig roberts
+0 al sharpton to dems : no point appealing to ‘ archie bunker’ trump voters - breitbart tony lee reverend al sharpton thinks that in order to win elections , democrats must stop trying to get the “ archie bunker ” vote and instead focus on maximizing the party ’s minority vote . during a friday afternoon msnbc appearance , sharpton railed against elected officials and consultants who want democrats to “ try and become elephants with donkey skin on , ” emphasizing that it was pointless to appeal to “ archie bunker ” voters who support president donald trump . sharpton insisted that these “ archie bunker ” voters will never cast their ballots for democrats . he made his remarks a day after republican greg gianforte won his special election for montana ’s open house seat by six points even after he allegedly a reporter the day before the election . in a recent interview with buzzfeed , sharpton said hillary clinton ’s biggest mistake in 2016 “ was that she did not mobilize in the black community . ” “ you lost michigan , by what , 15 , 000 , 20 , 000 votes ? you could ’ve got that if you mobilized two housing projects or three churches , ” he told the outlet . “ never touched them . so in many ways i think that the whole question of , ‘ oh we got ta reach out to the appalachian and the blue collar workers and stop the identity politics’ — well , that ’s one strategy . but what i ’m saying is that you never worked your own base . you took your base for granted , so it ’s not that you need to go another way , you did n’t identify with those in identity politics , that ’s why you had the lowest turnout you had around blacks in a long time . ” sharpton said though clinton came to his national action network convention , her campaign “ never engaged us in the campaign . ” “ and i think that ’s where they did the wrong math in the clinton campaign . they assumed that we ’ll go get all of this because everybody will stay here : young voters , black voters , latino voters , like obama , and it did n’t happen , ” he said . as democrats plot their electoral strategies for 2018 and 2020 , the party is split between those who want to double down on identity politics and those who think democrats need to appeal more to white voters .
+1 an influential pastor just nailed misogynist male christian trump supporters lou colagiovanni comments the extreme christian supporters of republican presidential nominee donald trump present themselves as righteous holy rollers doing the work of god , but that is a ruse meant to disguise their true intentions of making women mere sexual pawns and exert patriarchal dominance over them . this fact was aptly pointed out by john pavlovitz , a minister from raleigh , north carolina who published a scathing statement indicting all of the individuals who partake in this behavior . pavlovitz attempted to spare no feelings when he warned women about trump , his supporters , and how those individuals truly view a woman ’s role in society : to them , you are n’t separate but equal , as they might claim from the pulpit . you may be made in the image of god , but not in the same way that they are . you are inferior . you are lesser than . you are adam ’s rib meat ; baby machines , meal preparers , arm candy , pleasure tools designed by god for men to use as they desire . some of these men of god will have the guts to actually say this , others will simply prove it to you . they are proving it to you now . listen to them . ” pavlovitz says in their twisted patriarchal world , the men on the christian right think all men act like trump , all men talk this way , all men think this way , but adds , “ no , we don’t — but they do . ” a line was drawn in the proverbial sand by pavlovitz who harpooned the hypocrisy of trump ’s supporters . trump claims to respect women , as do those who are in favor of his candidacy . yet , that does not rationally follow for if it were true , and if these individuals did have respect for women , they ’d dump trump immediately : if these professed men of god truly acknowledged your inherent value , they would be fiercely defending you right now , instead of donald trump . they would be openly condemning such disregard for the image of god within you , and sharply severing their ties with him — but many of them they are n’t . they ’re making excuses . they ’re blaming the victim . they ’re doubling down . they ’re digging in their manly heels right now . the good minister pulled back the curtain to expose the sickening philosophy of these individuals . they care not about women as human beings , but consider them to be mere disposable objects to be used for their own nefarious purposes : the real reason they ’re doing it , is because to them you are n’t worth defending ; not your intelligence or your gifts or your worth . as a result , your consent is n’t really a concern either ; you may have noticed that . it ’s why , in their minds sexual misconduct almost never occurs , and when it does , it ’s because you were dressed too provocatively or sending mixed signals , or because their motives were misinterpreted . they do n’t believe you have the right to say or no or to be offended . if anything , they believe you should be flattered . this is the hubris of men who think god made you as an accessory . in an act of contrition and humility pavlovitz apologized for the behavior of despicable men who behave as cowardly dogs . he stopped short of apologizing on the behalf of the men , as if he were their spokesperson : as a christian and a pastor and a man , i ’d liked to apologize to you for these men and what you endure from them , but i wo n’t apologize to you on their behalf because that would mean aligning myself with them and i will not do that . they do n’t speak for me . they do n’t speak for many of us . they certainly do n’t speak for god . minister john pavlovitz ’s statement is worthy of a resounding round of applause . as a man of the cloth he truly embodies the values which he espouses , which is a rare and precious trait in a society full of millions of individuals who support trump and believe that his word is the gospel . it is truly disheartening and frightening to know that while all citizens in the united states have the same rights , and all votes are equal , that so many would use those votes in a way which is detrimental to the lives of their fellow female citizens .
+1 erdogan checks in with obama before bombing syria nan erdogan checks in with obama before bombing syria october 27 , 2016 erdogan checks in with obama before bombing syria turkey 's military operation in northern syria will target the town of manbij , recently liberated from isis by kurdish - led forces , and the jihadists ' stronghold of raqqa , president tayyip erdogan said on thursday . in a speech in ankara broadcast live , erdogan said he had informed u.s. president barack hussein obama about his plans for the operation in a telephone call . syrian rebels , backed by turkish warplanes , tanks and artillery , launched an operation dubbed " euphrates shield " in august to push islamic state and kurdish militia forces away from the border area of northern syria . in a speech in ankara broadcast live , erdogan said he had informed u.s. president barack obama about his plans for the operation in a telephone call on wednesday . before manbij and raqqa , the operation will target the town of al - bab , he said . ( ankara ) - turkey has been angered at washington 's support for the kurdish ypg militia in its battle against isis in syria , with ankara regarding it as a hostile force with deep ties to kurdish militants fighting in southeast turkey . a top u.s. military commander said on wednesday ypg fighters will be included in the force to isolate raqqa . arab forces , and not kurdish ones , are expected to be the ones to take the city itself , u.s. officials say . read more : only russia can save the west from itself in syria defence minister fikri isik told state broadcaster trt on thursday that turkey had asked the united states not to allow the ypg to enter raqqa , saying it was ready to provide the necessary military support to take over the town . erdogan also said that the iraqi region of sinjar , west of mosul , was on its way to becoming a new base for kurdistan workers party ( pkk ) militants and that turkey would not allow this to happen . article by doc burkhart , vice - president , general manager and co - host of trunews with rick wiles got a news tip ? email us at help support the ministry of trunews with your one - time or monthly gift of financial support . donate now ! download the trunews mobile app ! click here ! donate today ! support trunews to help build a global news network that provides a credible source for world news we believe christians need and deserve their own global news network to keep the worldwide church informed , and to offer christians a positive alternative to the anti - christian bigotry of the mainstream news media top stories
+0 stabbing attack in australia is linked to the islamic state - the new york times michelle innis sydney , australia — a man who stabbed and critically wounded another man in a park in a sydney suburb on saturday was inspired by islamic state extremists , the police here said on sunday . catherine burn , a deputy police commissioner for the state of new south wales , said at news conference that a sydney man , whom police did not name , had been charged with committing an act of terrorism and attempted murder . he was expected to appear in court on sunday morning . ms. burn said the man was known to the police for other unrelated crimes . “ we will be alleging before court this was an act that was inspired by isis , ” she said . “ it was a deliberate act yesterday . it resulted in a person receiving extremely serious injuries . ” the unidentified victim was attacked while walking through a nature reserve in minto , about 30 miles southwest of downtown sydney . he was listed in serious condition at an area hospital . the police said that the two men did not know each other . “ we know that this person has strong , extremist beliefs inspired by isis , ” ms. burn said at the news conference . “ what made him act we do n’t know . ” she said that counterterrorism police officers had searched the man ’s home and found material that linked him to the extremist group . on thursday , the new south wales police arrested another man , 18 , in an unrelated incident at the sydney opera house . he was charged with threatening to destroy or damage property , after the police arrested him outside the music venue . last week , malcolm turnbull , the prime minister , warned that the islamic state had called for terror attacks at popular tourist sites in australia , including the opera house and at bondi beach .
+1 protesters , police still clashing over disputed north dakota pipeline alex ansary protesters , police still clashing over disputed north dakota pipeline 11/03/2016 npr police used pepper spray and what they called nonlethal ammunition to remove dakota access pipeline protesters from federal land wednesday . demonstrators say they were trying to occupy land just north of the standing rock sioux reservation where construction of the controversial pipeline is scheduled . this was the first significant clash between law enforcement and protesters since demonstrations turned violent last week and more than 100 people were arrested . according to the morton county , n.d. , sheriff ’s department , a group of people began building a wood pedestrian bridge across a creek north of the main protest camp early wednesday morning . the u.s. army corps of engineers owns the land and had asked law enforcement to remove any protesters who try to reach it . officers in boats pulled the makeshift bridge apart and warned protesters they would be arrested if they continued to trespass . after a several - hour standoff with police , protesters dispersed and returned to their main camp . during the standoff , a few protesters watched from across the nearby cannonball river . they waded into the water — some chest - deep — to shout support for colleagues closer to officers . “ i decided to get into the river and just be a presence there , ” says stephanie jasper of tampa bay , fla. she watched as law enforcement pushed protesters back toward the main camp , and says she saw officers use pepper spray . she says it was a chaotic sight as a police helicopter hovered overhead . several protesters standing in the river held mirrors directed at law enforcement officers lined up on the other side and at police on the river in boats . “ everybody was just sharing love to these officers and explaining why it is we ’re here and questioning why they were , ” says jasper . one law enforcement official had a very different view of the protest . “ in my 27 years in law enforcement , i have never seen such an absolute disregard for the law or other people ’s rights because of someone else ’s ideology , ” said cass county , n.d. , sheriff paul laney . the standing rock sioux tribe says the dakota access pipeline construction route crosses land that is sacred to its members . and the tribe worries a pipeline spill could pollute local water . the tribe wants the federal government to stop work on the pipeline and conduct a full environmental impact study of the pipeline . the morton county sheriff ’s department says one person was arrested for “ conspiracy to commit obstruction of a government function . ” in a press release , the agency says the protester was buying canoes and kayaks for others to cross the creek .
+0 st. louis cardinals refuse to bow to lgbt demands to punish christians warner todd huston the st. louis cardinals have sponsored “ christian day ” for 30 years , but recently gay activists have begun to pressure the major league baseball team to cancel the special day , or at the very least to remove former cardinals star lance berkman as the event ’s spokesman . to it ’s credit the team has rejected the demands . [ gay activists are upset that the cardinals have allowed berkman to be the spokesman of “ christian day ” because he recently spoke out against transgender boys posing as girls in school locker rooms . as paul mirengoff reported , berkman said : the issue is , what to do about a 15 or boy who thinks he ’s a girl and wants to shower with the girls . maybe he is [ transgender ] maybe he ’s confused . but i would n’t want him in the shower with my daughters . we should n’t have the rights of 2 percent of the population trump the rights of the other 98 percent . in an interview , berman added , “ to me , tolerance is the virtue that ’s killing this country . we ’re tolerant of everything . you know everything is ok , and as long as you want to do it and as long as it feels good to you then it ’s perfectly acceptable do it . those are the kinds of things that lead you down a slippery slope , and you ’ll get in trouble in a hurry . ” lgbtq in st. louis was outraged by the player ’s comments . a spokesman for st. louis pride said they were “ disappointed by the decision of the st. louis cardinals to provide a public platform for berkman , an individual whose words and actions towards the lgbtq+ are divisive and demeaning . ” to their credit , the cardinals have resisted the demands made by the activists to remove berkman or cancel the july 30 “ christian day ” promotion . in a statement , the team said it sees nothing wrong with its sponsorship of christian day . “ the cardinals have hosted a christian day at the ballpark for nearly three decades , ” the team said in its statement . “ the event usually features a keynote speaker ( often a former cardinal or professional athlete ) who talks about his or her experience of being a practicing christian in the public arena . “ lance berkman participated in christian day when he was a cardinals player , and we welcome him back this year to discuss his faith . ” the ball team points out that it has a large number of special promotional days to bring members of the community together . “ as an organization , the cardinals have always been committed to bringing groups together to share in the unifying experience of cardinals baseball , ” the statement continued . “ we are an inclusive organization with a social responsibility to be welcoming to all types of people and organizations . “ we continue to try and reach out to every part of our community , and have hosted a variety of themed events like christian day , jewish community night , catholic family night , bosnian heritage night , fiesta cardenales , and many others . “ we are excited to announce that we will be hosting our first pride night later this season ( details to follow shortly ) which will bring members of the lgbt community together to enjoy cardinals baseball . ” despite the pressure , the cardinals have signaled full speed ahead with its christian day promotion . follow warner todd huston on twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail . com .
+0 donald trump honors ’beloved president’ andrew jackson in nashville - breitbart charlie spiering president donald trump honored former president andrew jackson , celebrating his 250th birthday by visiting hermitage , jackson ’s home in nashville , tennessee . [ “ look what he was able to do , look what he was able to build , ” trump marveled as he told the story of jackson , who was orphaned as a young boy before fighting in the revolutionary war . “ andrew jackson was a military hero and genius and a beloved president , but he was also a flawed and imperfect man , the product of his time , ” trump said . trump told the story of jackson being captured by the british during the revolutionary war as a boy and being slashed with a saber when he refused to shine an officer ’s boots . “ it was during the revolution that jackson first confronted and defied an arrogant elite , ” trump said . “ does that sound familiar to you ? ” “ oh , i know the feeling , andrew , ” trump smiled as he shook his head . trump explained that since the event , jackson defied elites and authority figures throughout his life . “ jackson ’s victories shook the establishment like an earthquake , ” trump said . he quoted henry clay calling jackson ’s victory as president “ mortifying ” and “ sickening . ” “ oh boy , does this sound familiar , ” trump grinned , as the audience laughed loudly . trump told the audience that jackson removed ten percent of the federal workforce , expanded veterans benefits , rooted out corruption , imposed tariffs to protect american workers — something he was also committed to doing . “ wait till you see what ’s happening pretty soon folks , ” he said . the president reminded the spectators that he brought the andrew jackson portrait into the oval office , adding that he can see the magnolia tree planted on the south lawn by jackson . “ now we must work in our time … to expand the blessings of america to every citizen in our land and when we do , watch us grow , ” trump said . “ we will truly be one nation . ”
+1 is hillary panicking over the fbi and weiner emails ? daniel greenfield is hillary panicking over the fbi and weiner emails ? these past few days have seen a major shift in the clinton tactics . during the original investigation , the clinton campaign and its political and media allies launched attacks at republicans for " wasting time " investigating hillary , but did not attack the fbi . it misrepresented fbi statements , but it certainly did not target investigators in the way we 're seeing now . but now we have open hostilities between lynch at the doj and the fbi . we have the clinton campaign circulating a letter attacking the fbi . we have countless media hit pieces aimed at the fbi . the obvious question is why . the clinton campaign kept its cool , at least to some degree , before . it certainly did n't begin an ill - advised campaign against the fbi . that 's the kind of tactic that may play to your core base , but alienates everyone else . that is to say everyone who is n't in the media . so what 's going on here ? 1 . the clintons thought they were done . it 's close to the election . so they 're lashing out . it 's typically paranoid and nasty behavior by the clintons . hillary tried playing humble . she tried apologizing . but a moment ago , her victory seemed inevitable , and now she 's in a state of fury at having it put at risk . 2 . there is something in those emails that genuinely frightens the clinton campaign . which is why it took the crazy risk of going after the fbi with both barrels . it 's desperate to smear the fbi as much as possible in order to neutralize any revelations or even potential charges . the attacks are a warning to treat hillary with kid gloves again ... or else . the first is plausible . to a degree . but for all of hillary 's awkwardness , she did n't lose it in the past . why is she losing it now ? there 's no evidence beyond speculation for the latter . and yet the major shift in tactics is rather striking . if the clinton campaign were panicking , this is what it would look like .
+1 what it ’s like to be a welder tubal cain by day , i work in a scrap yard . it is not glamorous , but glamour does not pay my bills . in the evening , i teach in a welding program at a community college . like many others , i once bought into the fallacy that you need a piece of paper from a university to succeed in life . at the age of thirty , i graduated from a university with an undergraduate degree , and the customary debt , which came along with it . twenty - nine years later , i see how wrong i was . soon after graduating , i obtained an office job and moved to a city where i knew no one . the job i was so optimistic about turned out to be like marriage to a crack whore . each day was as if walking through a minefield full of dysfunctional women , emasculated men , drama , backstabbing , cat - fights , and every other problem associated with modern workplaces . worse yet , the cut male managers allowed trim to be in charge resulting in a fucked up toxic culture . after three tumultuous and abusive years , i found myself unceremoniously kicked to the curb , and surprisingly relieved . after a lengthy stint of unemployment , i landed an entry - level job in a metal fabrication company . one of the benefits offered was tuition reimbursement for work related classes . i enrolled in welding classes at night , and upgraded my skills , all on my employer ’s dime . i immediately noticed a difference from my previous job . i worked exclusively with men . except for a few token assholes , the men liked their solitude , did their jobs , and left each other alone . the work was varied , creative , and with overtime , the pay was decent . the fact that i had a work ethic , showed up every day on time , and desired to learn earned me respect quickly . i eventually went down a different path , but returned to welding part - time as an adjunct instructor . welding is the joining of two metal pieces or parts by applying heat . a filler metal , or electrode , helps to make the joint . power source supplies electricity required for heat , and a shielding gas or flux - covered electrode aids in the welding process . the most common welding processes are gas metal arc welding ( gmaw ) , flux core arc welding ( fcaw ) , gas tungsten arc welding ( gtaw ) , and shielded metal arc welding ( smaw ) . of these , gas metal arc welding is the easiest to learn and offers the fastest production . welding involves both ferrous ( steel ) and non - ferrous metals ( aluminum , stainless steel ) . why welding ? 1 . according to a bureau of labor report , the need for welders will grow by 26 percent by 2020 . 2 . according to a national association of manufacturers report , nearly 81 percent of manufacturers in the united states report that they can not find skilled welders to meet demand . 3 . the american welding society reports that the average age for a welder is now in the mid - fifties 4 . entry - level wages in my region average $ 28,000-$40,000 annually , with skilled welders earning $ 50,000 and more after five years in the trade . i frequently hear from employers who are desperate for skilled welders . one plant manager told me “ there are too many computer jockeys and not enough people who can weld and turn a wrench . ” another manufacturer told me “ we have over a dozen welders retiring and no one to replace them ” . further , the school i teach at has more jobs available than they have students enrolled . what welders do welders work in manufacturing , construction , maintenance repair facilities , and service companies . welders typically work eight - hour shifts and a five - day week , but overtime is common . welders often perform other duties like operating metal fabrication equipment and doing assembly work . the more skills a welder develops , the more value and earning potential he has . for example , being able to weld , cut and fit up metals , and read weld symbols and prints will command a higher wage . becoming certified in certain weld procedures also increases a welder ’s wages and marketability . qualifications welding is the quintessential blue - collar job . it is physically demanding , hot , dirty , and requires a high degree of skill . other personal characteristics are good eyesight and hand eye coordination , good manual dexterity , and good concentration . training community colleges offer affordable training for entry - level jobs in welding . most programs are nine months , but my school also offers a sixteen - week work ready certificate in welding . students learn common welding processes , thermal cutting processes , and blueprint reading . unlike the typical ivory palace college professors , instructors are required to have a minimum of three years related and verifiable industrial experience . job placement is also good . additional facts despite a decent paying skill in high demand , clueless parents and educators continue to dissuade young men from entering blue - collar trades like welding . the result has been an entire generation of young men ruined by hostile four - year colleges , worthless degrees , and insurmountable debt . perhaps you are a perceptive and bright young rok reader considering a career change . in closing , consider these facts . 1 . you will always have employment as a welder . 2 . welding skills are highly transferable . you can carry these skills to your next , and often higher paying job . 3 . unlike many white - collar corporate jobs of today , the average welder ’s wages increase with skill . overtime , merit increases , and production bonuses are common benefits for welders . 4 . at the end of your shift , you can leave your job at the door . 5 . welding offers a level of creativity , solitude , and seeing the fruits of your labor . studies show that welders , machinists , and other blue - collar trades have lower suicide rates than many white - collar professions . 6 . welding is often a “ gateway trade ” into other even higher paying trades like machinist , multi - craft machinery maintenance , and millwright . 7 . welding is a male dominated occupation . traditionalist men will find it offers some insulation and respite from the typical feminist diatribe and pc bullshit of today ’s corporate world . conclusion how has welding benefited me ? first , i developed reasoning skills , something that academia failed to do . i also developed a thorough understanding of how men do the dirty , nasty , and dangerous jobs in this life . feminists and elitists can marginalize men all they want , but men risk their lives and health to build and maintain their shit . further , welding has opened some doors for me , mainly teaching . my ultimate goal is to teach welding full - time , a late life career change if you will , and one i hope will happen . read more : is a blue collar job for you ?
+0 lena dunham ’s ‘ girls’ : unborn baby a ‘ parasite growing inside of you’ dr. susan berry the april 2 episode of hbo ’s girls finds hannah horvath — played by actress lena dunham — hearing from her gay friend elijah that the baby she is carrying is a “ parasite ” growing inside of her . [ the episode , titled “ what will we do this time about adam ? ” shows hannah , well along in her pregnancy , reevaluating her decision to be a single mother . “ oh , god . hannah , this is gon na be a real mindf**k for me if you wanna get an abortion right now , ” elijah tells her . “ i mean … i ’ll do it . i think there ’s about two doctors in america that do it at this stage in your pregnancy , but i ’ll find them . ” writing at newsbusters , dawn slusher observes some of the “ fake ” information about abortion that girls serves up in this episode — first and foremost being elijah ’s reference to the difficulty in finding an abortionist to perform one : “ there are not just ‘ two doctors in america’ who will ‘ do it at this stage.’ there are actually 162 abortion clinics that perform abortions after 20 weeks . secondly , most do n’t realize just how easy getting a abortion is legally , given the loose definition of “ health ” that was buried in roe v. wade ’s companion case , doe v. bolton : ‘ … all factors — physical , emotional , psychological , familial , and the woman ’s age — relevant to the wellbeing of the patient . all these factors may relate to health.’ all hannah needs to say is that she has a headache , is too young , too tired , or is having anxiety about having a baby and she can legally get an abortion at any point in her pregnancy . ” at the federal level , abortion is still legal in the united states up until the time of birth , although more states are enacting laws that restrict the procedure . the abortion industry has fought against any attempts by states to restrict abortion or to mandate health and safety standards in abortion clinics . its allies in the liberal media portray abortion as a safe procedure that is welcomed by women . in its recent report titled “ unsafe : the public health crisis in america ’s abortion clinics endangers women , ” americans united for life ( aul ) demonstrates in its analysis the many state officials who look the other way when it comes to inspections of abortion clinics . the organization asserts : “ importantly , even limiting the scope of our investigation to the last eight years , efforts to discern the true state of abortion practices was stymied by a dearth of protective laws in a number of states , a lack of reporting in others , and limited public availability of information on abortion providers in still more states . ” “ we can easily deduce , therefore , that the epidemic of substandard abortion practice is worse than even these pages show , ” aul states .
+0 mother beats cancer during pregnancy with twins only to die from heart failure a day after giving birth katherine rodriguez a california mother who beat cancer while she was pregnant with twins died from heart failure a day after she gave birth to them . [ jamie snider of fresno , 30 , underwent treatment and chemotherapy for an aggressive form of cervical cancer while she was pregnant with twins , the daily mail reported . after undergoing a and a radical hysterectomy march 16 , snider passed away from heart failure . snider had beaten the cancer before when she had an ovary removed . she was surprised and overjoyed when she got pregnant with twins . snider already had two young daughters , aubrey and maddie , and was ready to fight the cancer once more . she went through intensive treatment at stanford medical center while she was pregnant , and the disease went into remission once again . snider posted a photo of herself on facebook , optimistic about her pregnancy and things to come . snider ’s friend larina campanile told kfsn about snider ’s last post on facebook before the surgery . “ ‘ tomorrow will be a great day,’ ” campanile read from the post . “ ‘ god has been by my side the whole time . all your prayers and love have kept me going as well . wish me luck . i ’m having a at 7 and then a radial hysterectomy right after . i ’ll be fine . thank you , god , for keeping me positive through all the hard times.’ and that was her last post . ” snider survived the surgeries march 16 but died of heart failure the morning after . the babies , named camila and nico , were born prematurely , at 33 weeks , but they are healthy , according to family members . “ what gives me peace in my heart is she got to see those babies and hold them and be with them a little bit , ” said campanile . family and friends have raised money on gofundme for snider ’s funeral expenses and help with the children .
+1 attention : if you live in these states , demand a paper ballot ! your voting machine is rigged ! iwb attention : if you live in these states , demand a paper ballot ! your voting machine is rigged ! by iwb · october 27 , 2016 tweet lindsey bruce for liberty writers reports , this is not a hoax ! early voting is in full effect and reports of voting machine “ malfunctions ” are rampant . texas , north carolina and maryland have all had complaints of voting machines switching votes from trump to clinton . read more :
+0 poland vows referendum on migrant quota amidst eu pressure : ’the public ’s voice will be heard’ - breitbart virginia hale “ the public ’s voice will be heard , ” poland ’s president declared , as he vowed a referendum on the european union ’s ( eu ) migrant quota amidst growing pressure from brussels . [ describing the question of whether poland should be forced to accept a quota of migrants from the third world as “ of vital importance ” for its future security , andrzej duda said the referendum could be held during parliamentary elections in 2019 . “ that would allow the new government to hear the clear voice of the nation on the issue , ” said the president . the conservative law and justice ( pis ) government ’s position on the quota system is “ clear and unambiguous ” duda said . he said maintaining the party “ does not agree with the [ plan ] and asserted that “ poland does not consent to the forced relocation of refugees on our territory ” . holding a referendum will also enable the public ’s voice to be heard over the voices of international organisations , duda asserted . “ if brussels continues to raise [ the issue of migration ] attempting to exert pressure and force on the polish authorities , then public opinion will be extremely important , ” duda promised . poland ’s latest display of opposition to the redistribution plan comes as the czech republic announced its withdrawal from the scheme , which has been fiercely contested in central and eastern europe , with hungary and slovakia challenging the plans in court . in an interview with czech tabloid blesk published tuesday , eu president juncker demanded all nations in europe shoulder “ solidarity and responsibility ” when it comes to migration . brussels was left humiliated last year when hungarians were asked what they thought of eu plans to force on their nation migrants from the third world , as 95 per cent said they rejected the scheme . earlier this month , breitbart london reported that senior polish mep ryszard czarnecki announced the “ only proven method ” to avoid islamist terror attacks is not to import muslim migrants . “ when it comes to reducing the chances of poland being hit by [ islamist ] terror attacks , the only proven method is to not allow in muslim migrants , ” the mep told local radio after the london bridge terror attack , which killed eight and injured at least 48 others .
+0 turkey ’s erdogan rebukes lawmakers over ’leg - biting’ brawl breitbart jerusalem istanbul ( afp ) — turkish president recep tayyip erdogan took the country ’s lawmakers to task friday over an “ ugly ” brawl in parliament during a vote on a hugely controversial bill bolstering his powers left several injured . [ the fight broke out on thursday as lawmakers voted on parts of the bill to change the constitution to create an executive presidency , with one deputy suffering a broken nose and another claiming his leg was bitten . “ a very ugly situation like breaking the nose of our deputy friend and biting the leg of another is not suitable for any member of parliament , ” erdogan said in a televised remarks in istanbul . one mp was held in a chokehold while another was left bleeding from the head . the fighting saw chairs and punches thrown while an ornamental flower pot was also seen flying through the air . but the tensions so far do not appear to have slowed the new constitution ’s passage which is being debated article by article and will have two readings . while critics say the move is part of a power grab by erdogan for rule , supporters say it will put turkey in line with france and the us and is needed for efficient government . eight of the 18 articles have now been approved with the majority required for it to be submitted to a referendum expected late march or early april . the ruling justice and development party ( akp ) has sufficient votes thanks to an alliance with the opposition nationalist movement party ( mhp ) . but the main opposition republican people ’s party ( chp ) is fiercely against the changes and has boycotted the vote . erdogan said friday after the fighting that if parliament “ is incapable of working ” then snap elections could be on the agenda . “ it ( early elections ) could be conceivable . we could think about it , ” he said . the chp and akp blamed each other for the fighting . akp lawmakers took to twitter to slam “ the scumbag ” who left tooth marks on their fellow mp . the biter ’s identity was not made clear . there were reports friday that a heavy and very expensive microphone seized from the chamber ’s lectern had been broken off and used as a weapon during the rumpus . despite the tensions , all articles of the bill have been passed easily so far and erdogan said he believed the first round of voting would be “ completed within the week ” . “ the real owners ( of the constitution ) are the people . they will decide on this , ” he said about the referendum .
+1 at&t secret spy program unveiled : project hemisphere madeline by ryan banister project hemisphere , a secretive program developed by at&t , searches trillions of call records in order to analyze cell phone data , spying on the activity of private individuals in order to identify who they are speaking with and why , as well as gps tracking on the location of each individual connected to the call , and it transmits this information to the department of justice ( doj ) . in 2013 , project hemisphere was shown in a powerpoint presentation produced by the drug enforcement administration . the new york times reported this as a partnership between at&t and the doj , primarily deployed for drug - enforcement task - forces . all information collected in this program is accessible to the federal agencies authorized by the doj . at&t specifically developed and marketed this product for use by the doj , who would promise hundreds of millions in funds on behalf of taxpayers , using the taxpayers’ own money to spy on their every move . this is an invasion of privacy without a warrant . this is a federal spy program by proxy , working through corporations . at&t promises law enforcement that it will not disclose project hemisphere ’s involvement in active investigations that are made public . at&t is is attempting to lower liability for their customer and limit scrutiny to information transmitted to federal agencies through their network . while it should not be surprising that your cell phone company is working with bureaucrats to collect incriminating evidence on you , there is a staggering number of people who still carelessly use their cell phone as if the information being transmitted through the device will be kept private . news flash ! it ’s never been private . they have always wanted to use your information as a product to sell to the highest bidder . your data is their product , and you are paying them to take it from you .
+0 cruise ship from miami docks in cuba , ending decades - old freeze - the new york times victoria burnett mexico city — the first cruise ship in nearly 40 years to sail across the florida straits from miami to havana docked in the cuban capital on monday , cutting a ribbon of water that for years was a symbol of the political gulf between the two countries . hundreds of cubans stood near the dock and on havana ’s sea wall , snapping pictures with smartphones and filming the arrival of the ship , adonia , which arrived in the port after crossing overnight from miami . the ship is operated by fathom travel , a unit of carnival corporation . isabel buznego , a passenger aboard the cruise , was born in cuba but left about 40 years ago , when she was 5 . she said she was overcome with emotion when she first spotted the fortifications that protect havana ’s bay . “ that really got to me , ” ms. buznego said . the ship ’s arrival on monday caused a stir among the locals , too : so thick was the crowd as the american passengers disembarked that a passing tourist asked , “ who ’s the celebrity ? ” the cruise was the latest stage in the surge of american travel to the island since president obama announced the normalization of relations between the united states and cuba in december 2014 . the arrival of a ship from florida recalls the heady days before fidel castro ’s 1959 revolution , when the island was a tropical getaway for americans , and cubans could board a ship in havana and be in miami within hours . commercial sea traffic all but dried up when the united states broke off diplomatic and commercial relations with cuba in the early 1960s . the florida straits became a treacherous barrier that tens of thousands of desperate cubans crossed , or drowned trying to cross , on rafts and leaky vessels . plans for the cruise ran into trouble in april after it emerged that it would exclude passengers because they were barred by the cuban government from entering the country by sea . that prompted a furor in miami and washington , and the cuban government lifted the restriction . robert l. muse , a lawyer in washington who specializes in laws related to cuba , said the cuban government ’s concession was probably driven by diplomatic considerations , not because it was concerned about lost tourism dollars . “ if it were purely about the money , they would n’t have backed down , ” mr. muse said . with washington eager for the détente to produce more commercial deals , the cubans conceded “ to keep the dialogue afloat , ” he said . the last time an american cruise ship sailed to cuba from the united states was in the late 1970s , during a brief thaw begun by president jimmy carter . since the 2014 announcement of restored relations , several ferry and cruise companies have applied to the treasury department for licenses to carry american passengers to cuba . so far , only carnival and a french company , ponant , have reported receiving a license to offer cruises to cuba from american ports . the treasury department has issued a general license to american ferry operators , but they have yet to get permission from the cuban authorities . for cubans , the possibility of regular sea crossings to the united states brings the prospect of closer ties with their expatriate friends and relatives living there . antonio serrano , 53 , a hospital worker who was watching the adonia passengers arrive in old havana on monday , said he was there to show returning cubans that his “ solidarity is strong . ”
+0 restored : 5 ways trump , netanyahu improved u.s .- israel relations joel b. pollak president donald trump hosted israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu at the white house on wednesday — the fourth visit by a foreign leader , less than four weeks into the new administration . [ at their joint press conference , it was clear that u. relations are once again on solid ground , after eight years of hostility from the obama administration . not only were relations restored to their customary warmth , but the two leaders also indicated five new directions for future policy . 1 . the solution is no longer the only option . president trump said that while the solution once seemed “ easier , ” he was also open to a solution — presumably meaning israeli annexation of the west bank — and that he would accept whatever solution israelis and palestinians themselves chose . an israeli journalist challenged netanyahu as to whether he still accepted the solution . he replied that his goal was not a “ label , ” but a peace in which palestinians recognized the jewish state , and where israel had full security control of the area west of the jordan river . the shift from “ two states at any price ” is a fundamental change in u. s. policy and places new ( and overdue ) pressure on the palestinians . a new era . new ideas . no need for 3rd palestinian state beyond jordan gaza . big day for israelis reasonable arabs . congrats . — naftali bennett בנט ( @naftalibennett ) february 15 , 2017 , 2 . the u. s. opposes new settlements , but accepts existing ones . trump asked netanyahu , publicly , to “ hold back ” on settlements ( to which netanyahu joked , “ that ’s the art of the deal ” ) . the implication is that the u. s. now accepts existing israeli settlements . that is a stark contrast to the attitude of the obama administration , which argued that the entire israeli presence across the 1949 armistice lines — including the jewish quarter of the old city of jerusalem — was illegal . the settlements will no longer be regarded by the u. s. as an excuse for palestinians to avoid negotiations and concessions . 3 . the u. s. and israel will aim at a regional peace involving arab states . netanyahu mentioned that plan , which the two leaders had apparently discussed in private . the rise of iran as a regional aggressor has certainly created common interests between israel and sunni regimes like saudi arabia , but netanyahu ’s suggestion that those common interests could become formal alliances , under american leadership , was a new direction . trump seemed to be on board with the idea as well . 4 . both countries are now focused on “ radical islamic terror . ” netanyahu explicitly thanked trump for identifying the enemy clearly ( which president barack obama refused to do throughout his time in office ) . it is a definition that takes in sunni terror groups as well as iranian terror . both also criticized the “ ” treatment of israel by the united nations , and both expressed a shared opposition to any attempts to boycott israel , at the un and in other forums . 5 . the relationships between the u. s. and israeli governments are warm , and personal . one of the most powerful moments in the press conference was when israeli journalist moav vardi challenged trump ’s campaign rhetoric and implied that he was responsible for an alleged spike in antisemitism in the u. s. accusing him of “ xenophobia , and maybe racist , tones . ” trump answered rather vaguely , referring to divisions in the country as a whole pointing out his jewish and grandchildren and promising : “ you ’re going to see a lot of love . ” but netanyahu went out of his way to defend the u. s. president : “ i ’ve known president trump for many years … there is no greater supporter of the jewish people and the jewish state than president donald trump . i think we should put that to rest . ” trump looked , and sounded , genuinely appreciative . joel b. pollak is senior at breitbart news . he was named one of the “ most influential ” people in news media in 2016 . his new book , how trump won : the inside story of a revolution , is available from regnery . follow him on twitter at @joelpollak .
+1 the french fear islamization but do nothing guillaume durocher posted on november 4 , 2016 the french fear islamization but do nothing guillaume durocher , american renaissance , november 2 , 2016 not even the front national is prepared to act . in his classic study democracy in america , alexis de tocqueville wrote about southerners’ attitudes towards the rapidly expanding population of blacks : in the states of the south , they are quiet ; they do not speak about the future to foreigners ; they avoid explaining themselves with their friends ; everyone is in denial about it even with themselves . there is something more frightening about the silence of the south than the noisy fears of the north . [ 1 ] almost two centuries later , there is a similar attitude of denial among french politicians about the steady afro - islamization of france . conservatives are happy to talk about “ islamic totalitarianism , ” “ secularism , ” “ burkinis , ” etc , but not the underlying problem , which is continued muslim immigration . socialists recognize the problem in private , but do nothing either to stop the flood of africans and muslims . there is something surreal about the situation . the most striking example of awareness combined with inactivity was provided recently by the publication of a book of exclusive interviews with our painfully uncharismatic and ineffectual president , the socialist françois hollande . among mr. hollande ’s statements , one finds : on conservative politician nadine morano ’s saying that france is “ a country of the white race ” ( quoting charles de gaulle ) : “ i am convinced that , when one asks the french , the majority have her position . [ . . . ] they think : ‘ we are for the most part whites . there are more whites than others.’ ” on islamic immigration : “ there are at the same time things which work very well and the accumulation of potential bombs linked to a continuous immigration . because it continues . ” on the salience of race in politics : “ the left can not win on the theme of identity , but it can lose on the theme of identity . ” on ethnic segregation and potential civil war : “ how can we avoid partition ? because that is really what is happening : partition . ” mr. hollande recognizes that integration , let alone assimilation , is not happening and that “ at some point [ immigration ] will have to stop . ” and yet , during his four years as president , he has done nothing to stop it . instead , his government has radically increased the rate of naturalizations of foreigners , providing the flagging socialists with thousands of new voters in time for national elections next spring . on the right , we have the conservative party , now called “ les républicains , ” led by former president nicolas sarkozy . he knows racial problems well , having made a career from a sort of low - level race - baiting while , as president , actually letting more immigrants settle in france than his socialist predecessors . mr. sarkozy is also well aware of the medium - term existential threat to france . as he said recently at a political meeting : the sahel will in 30 years have 200 million inhabitants . there are 6 to 8 children per family on average in the sahel . can we continue family reunification in these conditions ? is the future of the sahel ’s children to end up in our cities’ neighborhoods ? even though we have no jobs , no housing , and we no longer have the means to pay benefits for families who do not pay one cent in taxes . well said ! but can mr. sarkozy claim to have been unaware of these facts while he was president from 2007 to 2012 ? the end of family reunification would be welcome , but in the face of the demographic threat to france and all of europe , this is like fending off a rhinoceros with a water - pistol . other than this , mr. sarkozy has mainly been trying to win the conservative party primaries by complaining about “ burkinis ” and demanding “ assimilation . ” however , as a former adviser patrick buisson –a rightist who recently published a book on his disenchantment with mr. sarkozy – has said : “ he is ready to say what is needed to get elected and to then do nothing . ” french police ask a woman to remove some of her clothing to comply with a ban on “ burkinis . ” the gravity of the situation is matched only by the sheer fecklessness of european politicians . according to united nations statistics , the population of europe ( including a growing proportion of highly - fertile non - whites ) will stagnate and decline this century while that of africa is set to quadruple to a whopping 4 billion . the most important , tragic , horrifying , ungodly , evil question facing western civilization and mankind this century is this : will europe turn african ? books warning against islamization , whether by journalists or second - rate politicians , top the best - seller lists , but most french people care more about welfare and pay checks than long - term considerations . even on economic issues , they would rather stay in denial , vaguely hoping the problems of a heavily state - run french economy in an inefficient eurozone monetary union will sort themselves out on their own , rather than ask hard questions . ethno - religious questions are even more inconceivable . it is true that diversity is not yet an unmanageable problem in the daily lives of most frenchmen , aside from the unpleasant evening news about muslims shooting up hundreds of people at a rock concert , running down dozens of people with a truck on bastille day , or trying to burn policemen to death . incidentally , the last time france ’s religious homogeneity was broken – during the protestant reformation – this led to a civil war between catholics and protestants . we are told that mass government surveillance , abrogation of civil liberties , and mass murder by the fanatics of a middle eastern religion are the price we pay for enjoying the fruits of diversity . and if you do n’t like it , you will join the scores of european patriots who have been fined and even jailed under anti - free - speech laws for “ inciting hatred . ” ( by the way , france has passed special laws to counter the islamic terrorism . these same laws have been invoked to spy on thousands of patriots who have been designated as “ security threats . ” ) nonetheless , the current offering for next spring ’s presidential elections in france is dismal . besides mr. hollande and mr. sarkozy , with whom the french are thoroughly disenchanted , there is the frontrunner in the conservative primaries , alain juppé , a felon guilty of misusing public funds , who is proud of france ’s “ diversity . ” he speaks of france ’s new “ happy identity , ” and is being called a “ steady , ” “ serious ” candidate – who will change nothing . as mayor of bordeaux , he noted that 60 percent of the students in some of his schools are “ foreign - language speakers , ” but appeared to think this was nothing worse than an exciting challenge . then there is the eternal promise of the front national , a party that has risen to unprecedented heights in polls and secondary elections . but this has come at a significant cost : marine le pen has gone to great lengths to “ detoxify ” the party and stay within the bounds acceptable to france ’s heavily policed and state - dependent mainstream media . the “ new fn ” talks more about dismantling the european union and the euro than about identity and islam , let alone race . marine le pen is breaking no new ground in the fight against political incorrectness , in contrast with the alternative for germany ’s frauke petry on the other side of the rhine . and yet , a solid two - thirds of french people still strongly oppose miss le pen . she will probably reach the second - round runoff of the presidential elections and then lose in a landslide , though surely with a better score than her father ’s 18 percent in 2002 . the majority of frenchmen are likely to be repelled by the prospect of an fn government that represents the working classes and the ethnocentric fringe . the conservatives , for their part , have refused to work with the fn ever since the french branch of the b’nai b’rith asked them to in 1986 . marine le pen the most groundbreaking politician in france today is probably the mayor of béziers , robert ménard , who , in a former life as a leftist , founded reporters without borders , but now calls himself a reactionary . he has broken french law by counting the city ’s school children by religion – he found that 65 percent were muslim , judging from their first names . he wants to reinstate the death penalty , opposes homosexual marriage , and he visited a refugee center to tell the occupants they are not welcome in france . recently he proposed a municipal referendum to reject the imposition of “ refugees ” on his town . disenchantment is severe among the french : 83 percent think mr. hollande is “ disqualified ” as president due to his failure on unemployment . two - thirds think mr. sarkozy and mr. hollande were equally bad presidents , and a solid majority , continuously egged on by a hostile media , are “ worried ” by marine le pen . i am inclined to agree with best - selling author éric zemmour , whose latest book is un quinquennat pour rien ( “ a five - year term for nothing ” ) , when he says that the next year ’s elections are pointless . why is there such a divide between the aspirations of french voters and the politicians on offer ? i believe this can be explained only by the authoritarian cliquishness of the french political system : the parties and the media serve as critical choke points to prevent the penetration of nationalist and identitarian movements that might appeal to a majority of the french people . no trump - like figure – half independent billionaire half media personality – has emerged to break this stranglehold by uniting the nationalist fringe of the disenfranchised white working class with mainstream conservative voters . all this is depressing , but one must not forget that , as the great european historian dominique venner said : “ history is nothing but a set of strategic surprises . ” the presidential elections are in april and may , and six months is a long time in politics . france can not remain unaffected by the enormous political and cultural gains made in recent years by nationalists across the west . happy surprises do happen . if donald trump were to win , this would set a patriotic and anti - immigration precedent for many europeans governments . there is a long tradition of opportunistic european politicians slavishly following the american political and cultural lead . the mainstream political establishments across europe are reeling from the economic crisis , the migrant invasion , and – one must not underestimate this – the mainstream media ’s own economic and legitimacy crisis due to the rise of alternative media . these establishments are merely trying , in a dull bovine reflex , to keep the ship on course without ever questioning their premises . but this is proving harder and harder . german chancellor angela merkel , who for her role in opening the floodgates to afro - islamic colonization is an objective enemy of europe , is facing real problems . her party , the so - called christian - democratic union , has reached its lowest ever levels of support , falling to less than 30 percent . the critical media - political choke points of power in the “ democratic ” west – particularly in america , germany , and france – are more open for takeover than ever . if one or two go , particularly america , many of the rest are likely to follow . if we are lucky , a major shift towards national - populist governments could be possible . this would appeal to the great majority of our people and drastically reduce the pace of dispossession . and that could be a prelude for far greater things to come .
+1 youtube censoring videos – on censorship ! don wrightman youtube censoring videos – on censorship ! share in : education , google , journalism youtube has yet again censored another educational video from prager university . the content of the banned video ? criticism of censorship ; hopefully the irony of their choice to remove it is n’t lost on youtube ’s executives . the video , titled the dark art of political intimidation , was released last week and features kimberly strassel . strassel is a wall street journal columnist who explains tactics commonly used by the leftists to shut down free speech from the right . this included blackmail , harassment and intimidation . back in 2010 , the irs started to target conservative non - profit organizations intentionally . groups were experiencing heavy delays when trying to aquire tax exempt non - profit status . this was an attempt to curb their political involvement in the 2012 election , explained strassel . a democratic prosecutor in wisconsin launched a shadow campaign of financial investigation against conservatives . their houses were raided before sunrise , with accompanying gag orders to keep them quiet about the raids . the reason for all that was revenge for supporting the republican governor scott walker . kimberly strassel highlights even more examples in the five - minute video showing censorship of political opponents . youtube placed the video into restricted mode — which is a common filter used by schools , libraries and parents to shield their children from outrageously obscene and graphic content . newsbusters reports : “ conservative radio host dennis prager ’s idea for prageru is to give students alternative , non - progressive takes on history , civics and other issues . there ’s no cursing , no violence or any kind of indecency in any of them . ” prager university ’s videos including those that have been censored are all g rated . this leaves questions about why the popular video platform is placing restrictions on them . at least 21 additional videos produced by the conservative not for profit educational organization that is prager university have been placed into restricted mode by youtube . there is a petition circulating to stop the censorship , which has aquired over 76,000 signatures so far . hopefully , youtube will get its act together about restricting videos that pose no threat to children . better yet , they should make some key changes to their algorithms to prevent this from happening in the future . a youtube statement given to wall street journal stated , “ [ v]ideo restrictions are decided by an ‘ algorithm’ that factors in ‘ community flagging’ and ‘ sensitive content.’ ” basically progressives tripped the algorithm in an attempt to limit free speech and political involvement from conservatives . youtube has lifted the restriction on the dark art of political intimidation this past weekend , thanks to the wall street journal giving them a very hard time over the censorship . sources :
+1 trump to deport everyone who is not native american nan trump to deport everyone who is not native american 14 - 11 - 16 president - elect donald trump has confirmed plans to deport 318 million non - native american immigrants . as part of a wider plan to restore america ’s old values of shamanism , living in cone - shaped tents and going on vision quests , trump will remove anyone who is less than 50 per cent native american , including his family and himself . he said : “ we have forgotten the tribal values that made this nation great . we have lost our connection with nature and no longer even fear the wendigo , the mighty shape - shifter who comes with the winds . “ by 2017 there will be buffalo back on all the plains , kevin costner is going to help me and i will scalp anyone who stands in my way . ” trump voter , martin bishop said : “ this is exactly what we wanted from trump . “ kick all the foreigners out , including me , my wife , kids and everyone i know . it ’s brexit plus plus plus . ” he added : “ the antelope is my spirit animal . ” share :
+1 trunews 10/27/16 rob kirby | unspoken secrets nan trunews 10/27/16 rob kirby | unspoken secrets october 27 , 2016 will the media ever publicize the darkest secrets already released by julian assange ? today on trunews , rick wiles details the latest election defining revelations , as wikileaks exposes bill ’s generational ‘ get rich’ scheme , run through the clinton foundation , and the elite 's preparations for world war as an october surprise . rick also speaks with rob kirby , the financial analyst behind kirby analytics , regarding the deutsche bank ’s magical earnings report , and the state of the largest economic bubble in human history . today ’s audio streamcast . click the audio bar to listen : < span itemprop="name " content="trunews 10/27/16 rob kirby | unspoken secrets"></span > < span itemprop="description " content="will the media ever publicize the darkest secrets already released by julian assange ? today on trunews , rick wiles details the latest election defining revelations , as wikileaks exposes bill ’s generational ‘ get rich’ scheme , run through the clinton foundation , and the elite&#x27;s preparations for world war as an october surprise . rick also speaks with rob kirby , the financial analyst behind kirby analytics , regarding the deutsche bank ’s magical earnings report , and the state of the largest economic bubble ... "></span > < span itemprop="duration " content="4889"></span > < span itemprop="thumbnail " content="http://static.panda - os.com / p/1305/sp/130500/thumbnail / entry_id/0_7hhiwe8g / version/1 /acv/62"></span > < span itemprop="width " content="350"></span > < span itemprop="height " content="25"></span > < a href="http://corp.kaltura.com / products / video - platform - features" > video platform</a > < a href="http://corp.kaltura.com / products / features / video - management" > video management</a > < a href="http://corp.kaltura.com / video - solutions" > video solutions</a > < a href="http://corp.kaltura.com / products / features / video - player" > video player</a > right - click to download today ’s show to your local device in mp3 format : streamcast mp3 email : | twitter : @edwardszall | facebook : ed szall download the trunews mobile app on apple and google play ! donate today ! support trunews to help build a global news network that provides a credible source for world news we believe christians need and deserve their own global news network to keep the worldwide church informed , and to offer christians a positive alternative to the anti - christian bigotry of the mainstream news media how to listen to trunews here on our show pages , there are two ways to listen to trunews . the first is to use the embedded player on the page . it is the black bar that you see above . just click the arrow on the player for today ’s broadcast . if you prefer to save the program to listen to it later on your pc or mobile device , just click the ‘ download mp3’ link above to archive that particular streamcast . streamcast archives
+1 system breakdown : trump 's chickens come home to roost danny haiphong 2016 presidential campaign by danny haiphong the crisis that has enveloped u.s. imperialism , under both republican and democratic rule , rocked the corporate duopoly system and opened the door for donald trump 's ascension to power . decades ago , “ the republicans became the white man ’s party while the democrats neutralized the left . ” trump is the result . “ a genuine , radical left with any vision at all would not tremble before a donald trump administration or mourn a clinton loss . ” system breakdown : trump 's chickens come home to roost by danny haiphong “ the left can no longer afford to suppress the material struggle for liberation in place of a rhetorical struggle against racism . ” a number of people dropped their jaw in fear after trump 's victory in the 2016 elections . my jaw dropped for a different reason . trump 's victory occurred without the support of the ruling class . most of his supporters came from the disaffected white working class and petit bourgeoisie ( think " small " business ) . the trump victory is thus a monumental moment in us history . the two - party corporate duopoly could not have drawn a worse hand and the ruling class has settled with trump out of sheer limitation . us imperialism is in a state of system breakdown . the chickens have come home to roost . so how did trump win ? for one , trump 's legions were the only section of the voting age population energized to vote . as bar 's bruce dixon has noted , voter suppression has been a common practice in most states for decades . this combined with nearly four decades of capitalist crisis has placed the us political system in a dead - end situation . the democratic party has become the truest expression of the ruling capitalist class over this period . it instituted the trade deals , wars , austerity policies , and expanded the police and prison forces necessary to maintain the rule of capitalism in decline . the material conditions of the crisis these policies set into motion ultimately opened the door for trump 's chickens to come home to roost . “ us imperialism is in a state of system breakdown . ” trump 's base is on the move namely to resurrect more favorable economic conditions , historically distributed on a racial basis , of a prior stage of capitalism . war on behalf of industrial capital once distributed income and wealth more favorably to a larger portion of whites . capitalist decline has forever changed these conditions . the democratic party and republican party are both responsible for the current conditions of depravity , racism , and neo - liberal psychosis that currently plagues us society . starting in the 1970s , the republicans became the white man ’s party while the democrats neutralized the left . four decades of two - party misery greatly influenced the outcome of the 2016 elections . what is striking about trump 's base is how it was able to compel the electoral college to betray the wishes of the ruling class . during the democratic primary , delegates were more than happy to abandon popular will in favor of clinton . but much has changed since the democratic party suppressed the sanders campaign . wikileaks exposed the many crimes of hillary clinton . although clinton won the popular vote , many black , latino , union , and women voters decided not to opt for her as president . those that did held their nose and were thus seen as less of a threat to the ruling class than the possibility of a dejected trump base . “ the democratic party and republican party are both responsible for the current conditions of depravity , racism , and neo - liberal psychosis that currently plagues us society . ” the left in the us must come to terms with reality . it has spent decades trailing behind the crisis of imperialism by throwing its full support to the democratic party appendage of the ruling class . so - called white liberals in particular ridiculed the supposedly backward character of white workers and acted as if they possessed an anti - racist bone in their own bodies . the liberal - left as a whole bound themselves to the party of dead - end capitalism in order to avoid the party of the white man . it was only a matter of time before the two - party corporate duopoly would rupture under the weight of its own contradictions . the trump administration is thus a logical conclusion of , and not a resolution to , the contradictions of imperialism . the left must now confront what it has avoided for too long . never has it been clearer that trump is the logical conclusion to the misery of life under us imperialism . the democrats overplayed their hand , thinking that rhetoric alone could maintain its false image as the " left " wing of the two - party system . yet even though the democrats have consistently betrayed their base on behalf of the ruling class , millions of clinton supporters are in a state of mourning over her loss . “ the liberal - left as a whole bound themselves to the party of dead - end capitalism in order to avoid the party of the white man . ” a genuine , radical left with any vision at all would not tremble before the feet of a donald trump administration or mourn a clinton loss . the left must explore the many facets of the trump development . it must no longer ignore the white workers and petty bourgeois trump supporters that have brought real material demands to the fore . the left can no longer afford to suppress the material struggle for liberation in place of a rhetorical struggle against racism . the ruling class is in disarray and the trump victory proves it . a trump presidency wo n't be a simple trip to the apocalypse . even with a majority in the house and the senate , the republican party must now choose to align itself to trumpist politics or continue to collaborate with the democratic party to destroy him . there is no doubt that wall street , the military industrial complex , and the rest of the bourgeoisie will attempt to control the unpredictable white nationalist billionaire . the new york times has already made overtures about a " conflict of interest " between his business investments and his newfound political position . of course , the times never had an issue with obama when he bailed out wall street or chose his cabinet from a list provided by citigroup . “ the left must take advantage of the internal squabbling among the ruling class that is surely to come . ” trump is no wall street politician so he will inevitably face many contradictions while in office . will he respect his base 's wishes to build mutual ties with russia and rollback nato ? will he keep his promise to rid of nafta and the tpp ? or will he capitulate to the ruling class , angering his base and potentially setting up an early grave for his administration ? and what will the bourgeoisie do should they not be able to control him ? all of these questions must be asked . the left must take advantage of the internal squabbling among the ruling class that is surely to come . conditions remain favorable to organize a truly radical , left political agenda for social transformation . the ruling class will attempt to neutralize the left by controlling trump ’s agenda and simultaneously piecing together the democratic party for the 2020 elections . it remains to be seen whether this will effectively save the system from collapse . because the truth is , trump is not a reflection of some american apocalypse . his victory is a product of system breakdown . over the next four years , it would serve the left well to defeat any possibility of a democratic party resurrection so a true party of the people can arise in this moment of opportunity . liberals will mourn , but revolutionaries will fight . danny haiphong is an asian activist and political analyst in the boston area . he can be reached at [ email protected ]
+0 hillary clinton ’s lead has shrunk : how to assess the polls - the new york times nate cohn the presidential race has become a lot less clear over the last few weeks . back in hillary clinton held a large lead over donald j. trump . since then , her lead has slipped — but how far is n’t so obvious . the various forecasting models and polling averages have split about as much as they have all year . what ’s going on ? in mrs. clinton led by around eight percentage points in national polling . since then , there has n’t been much evidence to confirm that large margin . yes , there have been a few polls showing her leading by a big amount . monmouth , quinnipiac and usa polls all showed her up by at least seven points nationwide . but note that over the last two weeks there really has n’t been any indication that mrs. clinton was up by , say , double digits . if she were still up by eight points , we would expect at least some data showing her posting huge margins . in contrast , plenty of recent polls show a much tighter race . many are less reputable , including online and automated polls of dubious methodological quality or with limited or no track records . but there have been polls with a smaller lead for mrs. clinton , and even the poll this week that showed her down by two points among likely voters . a few weeks ago , there were n’t many polls of any kind showing her in that weak a position . gallup ’s daily tracking poll — another measure — also showed mrs. clinton ’s favorability ratings slipping over the second half of august , which has tended to track with changes in her overall standing in national polls . the battleground state polling — even the polls — also shows a tighter race . recent marquette , monmouth and suffolk polls in wisconsin and michigan showed mrs. clinton with a modest lead , not the edge she had a month ago . all considered , the balance of evidence plainly indicates that mrs. clinton has lost ground since . whether she ’s up by two or five points is another question . but it ’s definitely not seven or eight anymore . exactly where you peg her lead — two points or six points or somewhere else — is a lot hazier than usual . the differences are reflected in the big splits between the various polling averages and models , like at the huffington post or fivethirtyeight . part of the issue is that there have n’t been many polls recently , and most ( though not all ) of the surveys have shown mrs. clinton with a comfortable lead , as fivethirtyeight ’s harry enten pointed out last week . on the other hand , the online and automated polls have shown a much more significant tightening of the race . the always noisy reuters poll has shown a big decline in mrs. clinton ’s support , and many of its new state polls have shown the same thing . so has morning consult , a new online pollster . a wave of polls from emerson college , which does not contact cellphones , showed mrs. clinton with only a nominal edge in the battleground states . the los angeles . s. c. panel , which differs in a number of respects from other surveys , gives mr. trump a lead . whether a polling average or model includes all of this data or some of it , or has the means to correct for including polls that systematically favor one candidate or another , might be a bigger issue now than it was a month ago . another issue is that the polls have given readers the opportunity to choose their own adventure , depending on what type of question they look at . a recent fox poll , for instance , showed mrs. clinton ahead by just two points . but it showed her ahead by six points in the matchup , without jill stein or gary johnson listed as candidates . the poll showed mrs. clinton trailing among likely voters but ahead among registered voters . these big gaps between registered and likely voters , and the and ballots , have n’t been the norm so far this year . there ’s no “ right ” answer about which is more reliable . i happen to prefer to look at samples of registered voters — a larger sample , and i can mentally apply a slight and consistent penalty to the democrats — but i know that generally the numbers are more accurate . i ’m agnostic about whether the or polls are better in this particular election , since mr. johnson and ms. stein blur the line between candidates who deserve inclusion and those who do not . most of the forecasting models and polling averages use the race and polls . right now , those may offer a particularly pessimistic picture for mrs. clinton . late august is not a great time of year for polling , and labor day weekend is probably the worst of all . the news can slow down in august , and so can public interest in the race . people go on vacation . news media organizations that spent tens of thousands of dollars polling around the period of the conventions take some time off and wait to the fray in september . over the next few weeks , a lot of these questions are going to sort themselves out . there will be a new wave of polls . many will add screens for the first time . and not only will we have more new polls , but we ’ll also be even closer to the election — and entering a period when the polls tend to be quite predictive of the eventual outcome .
+0 dem rep sánchez : trump has used ’fear’ of muslims and immigrants to promote policies that ’undermine’ our values - breitbart ian hanchett during saturday ’s democratic weekly address , house democratic caucus vice chair representative linda sánchez ( ) stated , ” recently we have seen the president use fear — fear of muslims and fear of immigrants — as a tool to promote his misguided and poorly developed policies . policies that not only undermine our american values , but also jeopardize our safety and harm our economy . ” transcript as follows : “ hello . i ’m california congresswoman linda sánchez , vice chair of the house democratic caucus . i am proud to share my family ’s story because it is an american story . i am the daughter of immigrants . my parents came here from mexico . like so many immigrants , my parents came to this country and worked hard every day to provide for me , my six brothers and sisters . my father , ignacio , was an industrial mechanic . my mother , maria , became an elementary school teacher after first raising a family . they owned their own home . they sent all seven of their children to college . and we give back every day to this country we love . in fact — my parents are the only parents in our nation ’s history to send — not one — but two daughters to the united states congress ! my mother and father saved and sacrificed to achieve the american dream for our family . they were n’t handed their success — they earned it ! immigrants , like my parents , are working and contributing to the success of our country every day . they are starting businesses which create jobs , caring for our children and aging parents , serving in our military , and they harvest and prepare the food we eat . immigrants are woven into the fabric of our country because we are and always will be a nation of immigrants . recently we have seen the president use fear — fear of muslims and fear of immigrants — as a tool to promote his misguided and poorly developed policies . policies that not only undermine our american values , but also jeopardize our safety and harm our economy . democrats agree that removing violent criminals should be the priority . but tearing families apart through mass deportations does not make our country safer and wastes our precious resources . banning refugees who have already been thoroughly vetted wastes resources . building useless walls instead of fixing our roads and bridges wastes resources . we can not let the politics of fear and suspicion , distract us from our priorities . democrats want to make this country work for all americans . we believe in making america greater by fighting for economic growth that benefits everyone . our agenda is simple : keep america safe , keep america working , and keep america moving forward . and i know that so many of you share those same priorities . over the past month , millions of americans are getting involved and taking action in their communities . we have seen organized demonstrations in cities all across our country . men and women from every walk of life coming together to stand up and speak out against a hateful and divisive agenda . they are sending a clear message : we will resist . we will persist . it was volunteer lawyers with laptops sitting on cold airport floors that led the fight against the president ’s reckless muslim ban . it was a group of entrepreneurial women who organized a march in washington with crowds surpassing the inauguration . president lincoln said , ‘ public sentiment is everything.’ because in this country , it is the people who have the ultimate power . i beg you , keep flexing your power . the fight we are in right now is not a fight over politics . it is a fight for the future of our country . and we are in this fight together . if you share our commitment to the success of working men and women all across our nation , stay with us in this fight . do not give up hope . do not give in to anger and fear . do not stop fighting for what you think is best for our country . if we keep up the fight — we will win . and together we will make our country even greater . thank you . and may god bless the united states of america . ” follow ian hanchett on twitter @ianhanchett
+0 illegal immigration fell 67 percent under trump , says fmr . border chief logan churchwell during congressional testimony tuesday , a former federal border commissioner claimed that illegal immigration across the mexican border is progressively dropping each month since the inauguration of donald trump . [ david v. aguilar , former u. s. border patrol and acting customs and border protection commissioner , told the senate homeland security committee that march 2017 figures he reviewed indicate illegal border crossings are down 67 percent , according to the washington times . by comparison , february statistics indicating the number of illegal alien apprehensions fell 40 percent . “ it ’s actually up to 67 percent drop compared to last year , ” aguilar told the senate committee . the former border patrol chief explained that similar decreases occurred during the reagan administration but later spiked in the decades to follow . mr. aguilar ’s capitol hill comments were not immediately verified by u. s. customs and border protection . the retired law enforcer ’s statement does , however , follow news previously reported by breitbart texas related to the mothballing of temporary holding facilities for the surge of migrants throughout 2016 . in a rio grande valley sector facility near the bravo international bridge was closed after the prior month ’s family unit aliens ( fmua ) and unaccompanied alien children ( uac ) border apprehensions exhibited tumbles . days later , breitbart texas reported on a second overflow facility closure located about 40 miles east of el paso . both plants were placed in “ warm standby ” status capable of reversal in less than 24 hours . march 2017 figures have not yet been released by cbp . logan churchwell is a founding editor of the breitbart texas team . you can follow him on twitter @lcchurchwell .
+0 climate change activist ’s barefoot walk across america ends in tragedy - the new york times christine hauser that was one of the final entries of a blog diary by mark baumer , a rhode island man who was walking barefoot across the united states to call attention to climate change . it was written on day 90 of his trek , but his stream of photographs and anecdotes stopped on jan. 21 , day 100 . at 1:15 p. m. on that day , mr. baumer , 33 , was walking on the shoulder of u. s. 90 in northern florida when an s. u. v. left its lane and hit him , according to a florida highway patrol report . he was pronounced dead at the site . the vast expanse of the united states has long been alluring to the men and women who set out on hikes from coast to coast . many have added to the tradition of travel literature , describing in their diaries the bouts of loneliness and moments of beauty , chronicling sleeping rough and under the stars , and writing of strangers who became friends . mark phillips was a graphic designer in new york city when he set off from staten island in march 2009 , ending 4 , 100 miles later in los angeles . “ it was a way to drop out but have a set goal from beginning to end , but with an unpredictable journey in the middle , ” he said in a telephone interview . but in the past few years , a few people who aimed to make the trip — whether for activism , adventure or escape — have died trying . for joe bell , the motivation was heartbreak . in 2013 , mr. bell , 48 , set off to walk from oregon to new york city , where his gay teenage son , jadin , who committed suicide after being bullied , had dreamed of working . after six months of walking , mr. bell was fatally struck on a road in colorado by a whose driver had apparently fallen asleep . in 2012 , andrew moore , 20 , was killed while walking on the median of a highway in indiana , partway into his trek from washington to san francisco in support of a group that opposed abortion , the mercury news in san jose , calif. reported . in 2010 , roger grooters , 66 , set out by bicycle from california to raise money for victims of the bp oil spill , and was just days away from completing his trip when he was hit and killed by a pickup truck near crystal lake , fla. the pensacola news journal reported . for mr. baumer , he had set up a crowdfunding campaign to draw attention to environmental problems and to benefit the fang collective , a group that has opposed fracking . it has since raised more than $ 20 , 000 . he grew up in maine but lived in rhode island , where he worked at brown university ’s library as a website specialist and was a student there , his website says . in 2010 , he embarked on his first walk across the country , writing on his website about the animals that followed him , the people who fed him and the travails of adventurers he met along the way , like the two bikers trying to get to miami from los angeles for cancer research but who were halted in their tracks when a truck hit one of them . in october 2016 , mr. baumer set out on his latest hike , with financial help from a poetry fellowship he had been given from the rhode island state council on the arts . on oct. 13 , he published a video on his youtube page as he set out on his journey with a barefoot run from providence to coventry . his diary took followers through connecticut , the bronx , times square and pennsylvania . people offered him shoes , or a lift . in one encounter in pennsylvania , he was asked if he was “ one of those mountain people . ” he was on the road during the presidential election , and mr. baumer ’s messages took on a political hue . “ since i began crossing america barefoot , i ’ve seen more trump signs than hillary signs , ” he wrote , referring to donald j. trump and hillary clinton . “ i thought maybe i was walking through politically fringe areas or outlier territories , but last night as i sat scrolling through the news of trump ’s election on my phone , i had the weird feeling of being ignorant of how this was happening but also truly comprehending america for the first time . ” in december , he took a break from his walk down interstate 70 and had an interview with vice news , saying that he expected to finish his trek in march and that the best place to walk was along the white line of a road because it was smooth . “ i ’m constantly fighting for my space in the road , ” he said . “ a lot of [ drivers ] are like , ‘ how dare you ? ! ’ ” on his 98th day , in florida , he encountered bicycle riders who were also on a trip . they told him , he said , “ we ’ve met some of the worst people ever on this trip , but the landscapes are beautiful . ” on the 100th day , mr. baumer walked from defuniak springs to mossy head . he took a photograph of himself standing with his toes near the word “ killed ” on the road , with an arrow pointing ahead . the image captured a gas line connection on a grassy lawn , and it was the last one on his blog . he sat on a bench in the rain and spoke to his father . among the thoughts he wrote : “ i spent most of the morning looking at my phone and wondering if any of the thoughts inside of it would survive . ” lt . eddie w. elmore of the florida highway patrol said that mr. baumer ’s death was still under investigation . the police report said only that the driver , a woman from florida who had a child in the car , had “ failed to maintain her lane ” and entered the shoulder , striking mr. baumer . mr. baumer ’s father , jim , said in a telephone interview on tuesday that the family was planning to set a date for a “ celebration of his life ” in providence , where his son had “ touched so many people , ” from fellow students at brown university , from which he graduated in 2011 , to people at the farmers’ market . “ we have received such an outpouring of love at a very dark and difficult period of time , ” he said . ada smailbegovic , his girlfriend , was on a trip to canada when she last heard from him in a brief text message . in a telephone interview on tuesday , she said : “ he wanted to have a real confrontation with the elements of the world with his body . he was moving between those two spaces . ”
+1 child refugee returns home to run for president of somalia brianna acuesta fadumo dayib was a somalian refugee who fled to europe decades ago when she was just a child amidst the civil war that started in the 1980 ’s . the civil war continues today , although it has ...
+0 sparkling and blighted , convention cities spotlight ignored urban issues - the new york times sheryl gay stolberg cleveland — it was a sparkling scene of urban renaissance : children scampered through the fountain in public square , spruced up at a cost of $ 50 million just in time for the republican convention here . electricians installed security cameras on the redesigned plaza as carpenters put the finishing touches on a new cafe . lex horth , an amateur photographer from gates mills , an affluent village nearby , snapped photos and marveled at downtown ’s newest jewel . “ i have n’t come down here in 25 or 30 years because it was so derelict , ” said ms. horth , 80 , adding that she was blown away by “ what cleveland has done . ” twenty minutes south , in a neighborhood called slavic village , robert smith and david rajecki , both disabled factory workers , surveyed a vastly different scene . historically a bustling center of czech and polish immigrant life , slavic village was sliding into decay even before it was devastated by the foreclosure crisis . now many of its homes are boarded up . the barber on fleet avenue has bullet fragments in his leg rival gangs burst in last year and fired shots . mr. rajecki , missing teeth , can not afford dentures . mr. smith calls the neighborhood “ a dive ” — “ you do n’t even got a bowling alley anymore , ” he said — and cleveland “ a broke city . ” as republicans gather in cleveland to nominate donald j. trump for president , and democrats in philadelphia to nominate hillary clinton , the nation is in the thick of searing debates over terrorism , race and policing , gun violence and immigration . but the host cities , both in rust belt swing states , spotlight something mr. trump and mrs. clinton rarely discuss : the plight of urban america . amid a widening gap between rich and poor , nothing screams income inequality louder than cities , including cleveland and philadelphia , case studies in renewal and gentrification , but also in crushing decline . and perhaps no americans capture as well as those who live in and advocate for these cities the feeling that the nation ’s present can not match its past . in washington last week , the national league of cities released a report warning that “ the promise of cities will be stifled ” if issues like access to jobs , racial discrimination and gun violence were not addressed . in philadelphia , mayor jim kenney , a democrat elected last year , wants “ a comprehensive national program to bring our cities back . ” here in cleveland , kurt karakul , president of third federal foundation , a nonprofit that works to improve slavic village , is furious at the attention paid to “ bricks and mortar ” investment downtown , while the neighborhood he is trying to help is so poor , he said , that every public school student qualifies for free or lunch . “ you talk about third world countries ? we ’re not that far behind here , with the circumstances that people have to live in , ” said mr. karakul , a former lawyer . “ and unfortunately , i do n’t see much coming out of any of the campaigns on what we can do for poverty . ” once symbols of american industrial might and prosperity , cleveland and philadelphia are among the poorest cities in the nation . in 2014 , philadelphia had the highest poverty rate ( 26 percent ) among cities with more than a million people , while cleveland has the poverty rate ( 39 . 2 percent ) among cities with more than 100 , 000 residents , according to census data analyzed by the brookings institution . cleveland also has exceedingly high rates of “ concentrated poverty ” — poor people living in poor neighborhoods . both cities have very segregated populations , according to william h. frey , a brookings demographer . in both , there are tensions between blacks and police the cleveland police department operates under a federal consent decree . like other world war manufacturing hubs — pittsburgh , detroit , milwaukee , baltimore and even boston and new york — philadelphia and cleveland hollowed out during the latter half of the 20th century , losing jobs and people . today , both cities rely on “ eds and meds ” — educational and medical institutions — as engines for jobs and growth . but while boston and new york had started to rebound in the 1990s , philadelphia and especially cleveland have had slower rebirths . in 1950 , philadelphia was the nation ’s city , with a population of nearly 2 . 1 million , and cleveland was seventh , at about 915 , 000 . by 2010 , philadelphia was down to about 1 . 5 million and cleveland to fewer than 400 , 000 . since then , cleveland ’s population has dropped more , while philadelphia ’s has ticked up — a sign of what rolf pendall , a scholar at the urban institute in washington , called “ a comeback story . ” but some see the comeback as overrated . “ the conventioneers will come here , and they wo n’t get away from the stadium or the downtown — they ’ll think they are in a comeback city , ” said ira goldstein , who supervises research for reinvestment fund , a nonprofit investor in community development . but he said other neighborhoods “ have regressed over the last 10 , 12 years . ” sitting on a park bench in rittenhouse square , richard kahr , a retired real estate developer from manhattan , said philadelphia had “ massively changed ” since he arrived a decade ago . but he is troubled by “ two classes ” in the city , and the nation — “ the people that like their life , and the people fighting for their life . ” mantua , a proud but downtrodden west philadelphia neighborhood whose rich history is chronicled in colorful murals , is where those two classes may one day meet . mantua is part of a “ promise zone , ” an obama administration initiative to help poor communities . nearly of mantua households have incomes below $ 25 , 000 the typical home sells for between $ 10 , 000 and $ 15 , 000 , mr. goldstein said . but mantua also has a wealthy neighbor : drexel university . jimmy allen , a retired teacher and 1960s street gang leader who functions as mantua ’s de facto mayor , knows its ills : houses , drug addiction , struggling schools . and he knows its strengths : leaders with deep community roots . but what mr. allen , 68 , frets most over are its vacant lots . mantua is overrun with large grassy tracts where homes once stood many have been purchased by developers and speculators . separately , john a. fry , the drexel president , has just unveiled an ambitious plan : a $ 3 . 5 billion , development of parks , businesses and to be built over four decades , connecting the campus to 30th street station , the nearby railroad hub . a former management consultant , mr. fry has worked hard to enlist neighborhood support in 2014 drexel opened a community center in a renovated mansion , with a computer lab and playground . mr. fry wants neighborhoods that surround drexel to “ become stronger and better versions of themselves ” — a vision he says can coexist with his effort to “ position philadelphia as a place of enormous growth and development . ” mr. allen is unconvinced . he worries that speculators will move in , destroying the neighborhood ’s character . “ drexel has a law department we ca n’t afford a lawyer , ” he said . “ so how are you going fight the dragon ? you can only duck and dodge , and hope you survive . ” that tension over gentrification is the story of many old industrial cities here in cleveland it is playing out in ohio city , where lively restaurants and boutiques are attracting hipsters and millennials . syrian , lebanese and egyptian vendors sell fruit and vegetables at the popular west side market there . “ i take master ’s degree in my country — now i sell fruit , ” said chrestina sedrak , a former psychology teacher who fled cairo during the 2011 uprising . while ms. sedrak sees opportunity , narrin 52 , who survived the khmer rouge in cambodia and arrived here in 1981 , is less upbeat . the restaurants and shops are bringing in customers , but sales at her spice shop are flat customers look but do not buy . eli fletcher , 56 , a musician who strolls the market in a caped crusader costume and calls himself “ guitar man ” ( “ i save cleveland one song at a time ” ) can no longer afford to live in ohio city , where he grew up , the son of a former coal miner who left west virginia for cleveland seeking factory work . “ this whole gentrification thing forgets that this is a city , and not some posh resort , ” mr. fletcher said . as both cities look toward their moment in the spotlight , john grabowski , a historian at case western reserve university here , cautions against too much nostalgia cities , after all , are living things . mr. grabowski , editor of an encyclopedia of cleveland history , grew up in slavic village . his boyhood home fell into disrepair after his family left , and was eventually burned . today it is an empty lot . returning there one recent afternoon , he could not help but grow misty . the old neighborhood where he played on the railroad tracks — “ we used to grease the tracks and watch the wheels spin like crazy ” — now resembles “ empty spaces between somebody ’s teeth . ” about 70 , 000 people lived in slavic village at its peak the population is roughly 23 , 000 now . “ you have a housing stock that ’s dysfunctional , a population that ’s migrated out and an economy that ’s flat , ” said tony brancatelli , a city councilman . “ then you layer on the foreclosure crisis and it ’s the kiss of death . ” still , there are bright spots . the local bank third federal savings and loan — whose owners , descendants of polish immigrants , started the foundation mr. karakul runs — is helping to build and finance new homes that sell for as much as $ 130 , 000 . on fleet avenue , a popcorn maker who sells his treats at the west side market is planning a new manufacturing plant . and on broadway avenue , in a butcher shop , a maker of cured meat and sausage is moving in . mr. brancatelli , who sees the foreclosure crisis and its fallout as the root of “ social unrest , ” said the national conversation around “ old industrial cities ” like cleveland had changed — for the worse . eight years ago , when barack obama ran against hillary clinton for the democratic presidential nomination , they debated in cleveland and their advisers participated in a forum on housing at city hall . “ now we are not hearing a peep about it , ” mr. brancatelli said . “ it scares the heck out of me . ”
+0 ramadan rage : muslim who ran down five men with his van praised as ’good family man’ by judge jack montgomery a judge at leicester crown court praised a van driver who deliberately mounted a pavement and ran down five men during ramadan as “ a good family man ” who was behaving “ completely out of character ” . [ according to a report in the daily mirror newspaper , lugman aslam , of warren view , leicester , had gotten into a physical altercation with the men after backing his van into one of them , during which he alleged he was racially abused . recorder ( circuit judge ) justin wigoder described how , following this incident , a vengeful aslam returned to his van , mounted the pavement and ploughed through the group , in order to “ get [ his ] own back ” . “ i ’ve seen it on cctv and you deliberately mounted the pavement and drove straight at them and right through the middle of them at speed , ” wigoder said . “ some were thrown to the side and three were struck by your vehicle with one going over the bonnet and hitting the windscreen . “ it ’s quite remarkable that nobody was seriously hurt or killed and the only injuries complained of were bruises and scratches . “ one indication of the force of the collision was your windscreen was smashed — you claimed it had been hit by an animal when you got it repaired . “ you accept your intention , driving at them , was to cause serious injury and that ’s what makes this case so serious . “ the motivation was driving at them to get your revenge , to get your own back from the fact they ’d assaulted you . ” however , the judge then went on to say that he accepted the potentially deadly attack “ was completely out of character ” for the perpetrator , whom he praised as “ a good family man ” with glowing references . “ you ’re of very positive good previous character and i ’ve received a considerable number of references setting out all the good that is in you , ” he said . nadeem aullybocus , defending , explained that aslam “ was fasting [ for ramadan ] on that day and had been doing so for about 20 days ” when he carried out the attack . he pleaded guilty to dangerous driving and attempting to inflict intentional grievous bodily harm , and ultimately received a sentence and a year driving ban . with the automatic parole provisions in the criminal justice act 2003 , it is unlikely he will serve more than half of his prison term in custody . the relatively light sentence follows a number of deadly attacks on pedestrians in britain and europe , including the westminster bridge attack on march 22nd and the london bridge attack on june 3rd .
+0 alan rusbridger , once guardian ’s celebrated editor , severs ties with it - the new york times prashant s. rao and sewell chan london — when alan rusbridger retired last year after two decades as the editor of the guardian , he was lauded as one of the finest journalists of his generation , having transformed a midsize british newspaper into an international digital media giant . he racked up a string of investigative scoops and made the organization a darling of readers around the world . but mr. rusbridger on friday departed the organization to which he had devoted his career . with mounting financial losses that threatened the guardian , he was forced to give up the plum role he was set to assume in september , as chairman of the scott trust , the nonprofit organization that owns the guardian . mr. rusbridger ’s decision to cut ties with the guardian follows a series of events that made his presence seem increasingly untenable : lingering resentments from a battle over his replacement as editor a string of articles detailing the paper ’s deteriorating finances and , finally , a clash with his successor , katharine viner , who helped spearhead his strategy for international growth but now faces a period of retrenchment . the tensions , playing out on a public stage , deviate from the familiar news media angst in the digital world , where print ’s changing fortunes can create upheaval at the top . in his resignation statement , mr. rusbridger , 62 , seemed to imply at times that he had been undone by the new regime — which he helped put in place — as well as a rapidly shifting environment in which even news organizations hemorrhage money while titans like facebook and google devour advertising revenue . the guardian lost an estimated 45 million pounds , or $ 65 million , last year . it is seeking to cut its annual budget of $ 380 million by 20 percent over the next three years . it is cutting its british work force by 310 positions — 250 job cuts and 60 vacant positions that will not be filled — or 18 percent of the total . “ much has changed in the year since i stepped down , ” mr. rusbridger wrote in a memo to the guardian ’s staff members on friday , stating that the leadership of the guardian — david pemsel , the chief executive of the guardian media group , and ms. viner , the editor — no longer wanted him to take over the scott trust . “ we all currently do our journalism in the teeth of a digital hurricane , ” mr. rusbridger said in the memo . the leaders of the guardian “ clearly believe they would like to plot a route into the future with a new chair , ” he said , adding , “ i understand their reasoning . ” a central point of disagreement within the guardian has been its refusal — for mr. rusbridger , virtually an ideology — to charge online subscribers , as news organizations like the financial times , the times of london , the wall street journal and the new york times have come around to doing . the guardian has recently experimented with a membership model that amounts to seeking donations , but mr. rusbridger insisted that a digital pay wall would be at odds with the newspaper ’s editorial mission . under mr. rusbridger , the guardian invested hundreds of millions of dollars in expansion , fueled in part by proceeds from the sale of a trade publication , auto trader . the guardian media group ’s investment fund had been shrinking recently at an alarming rate — to £ 740 million in january , from £ 838 . 3 million in july . the guardian , which started in manchester , england , in 1821 , built a presence in australia and the united states beginning in 2011 . it seemed to move easily into the digital realm , staffing 10 bureaus in the two countries and hiring more than 50 reporters . along the way , mr. rusbridger racked up an investigative hat trick , with electrifying scoops on illegal phone hacking by british tabloids , the wikileaks trove of diplomatic cables , and leaks from edward j. snowden describing the vast electronic surveillance conducted by the national security agency . the guardian won its first pulitzer prize in 2014 , shared with the washington post , for the surveillance articles . the guardian succeeded in significantly expanding its international readership — the company says traffic from outside britain now represents of its digital audience . but its resistance to charging readers for content came at a significant cost . “ he made the guardian ’s mark , and made it an international brand , ” said dominic ponsford , the editor of press gazette , which covers the british news industry . but it was an expensive proposition , and mr. ponsford said , “ that cost is one of the reasons that its losses are so high now . ” in a statement on friday , ms. viner lauded mr. rusbridger as “ a truly towering figure at the guardian over the last three decades . ” but she added : “ in his email to staff , alan recognized how much has changed in the year since he stepped down as editor , and that it is right that we all plot a new route to the future . we face a formidable challenge over the coming months in a digital environment that is shifting all the time . ” current and former colleagues of mr. rusbridger ’s , who acknowledged criticism of his business decisions , characterized him as a brilliant journalist — not to mention a talented pianist , an affinity he explored in a 2013 book — and nearly universally declined to discuss his departure for attribution , describing it as a sad way to end his affiliation with the institution . mr. rusbridger , who was born in zambia and graduated from the university of cambridge in 1976 with a degree in english , started as a journalist at the cambridge evening news . he joined the guardian in 1979 , and in 1988 became an editor there . in 1994 , he was promoted to deputy editor , before taking over the next year as editor in chief , a position he held until his departure last spring . cerebral and academic , with often unruly hair , mr. rusbridger had an inner steel that won him admiration and devotion . early in his career at the guardian , mr. rusbridger led the newspaper ’s tenacious investigation of what became known as the scandal in parliament , which contributed to the fall of the conservative government of prime minister john major in 1997 . mr. rusbridger stared down a libel suit against the newspaper by a powerful former minister involved in the scandal , jonathan aitken , who was ultimately jailed for perjury . in the hypercompetitive and partisan world of british journalism , mr. rusbridger was sometimes a lonely figure , often more admired in the united states than among his rivals at home . as mr. rusbridger ’s vision for the newsroom played out , the strategy appeared to have the full support of the top brass . shortly after mr. rusbridger retired in 2015 , mr. pemsel , the chief executive , said he was “ hugely excited at the prospect of managing the next phase of growth at the guardian , building on our international audience , capitalizing on the many commercial and digital opportunities . ” around that time , another top executive said the company ’s finances had been good that year . then the bottom fell out . print advertising cratered , and expected digital money never materialized . support for mr. rusbridger suddenly shifted , as he was cast as a negligent manager who had saddled the paper with a slew of problems . janine gibson , a favorite of mr. rusbridger ’s who lost out in the race to succeed him , left with other senior guardian journalists , further shifting the way his legacy was viewed in the newsroom . in january , mr. rusbridger ’s choice as the guardian ’s opinion editor , jonathan freedland , stepped down in what was seen as a leftward shift in the organization ’s editorial stance . and ms. viner ’s plans for the newsroom seemed increasingly at odds with mr. rusbridger ’s , making the idea that he would soon return , as essentially her boss , increasingly unsavory . the negative sentiment started to rise in recent months , as several news media reports detailed a rising tide of internal discord , quoting insiders who placed the blame for the company ’s woes on mr. rusbridger ’s policies and what they saw as his intractability . a critical article in prospect magazine took aim at mr. rusbridger ’s decisions to “ lavish money on new presses and delightful new offices . ” it prompted mr. rusbridger to strike back , defending the move to make a “ significant investment in digital today ” in the hope of having a “ sustainable business tomorrow . ” it all reached a head on thursday when the board of the trust met to discuss mr. rusbridger ’s future . the meeting ended without a decision . mr. rusbridger was by all accounts apparently dismayed by the public and the sour tone at the institution he dominated for so many years . while his supporters framed the decision to go as his , others said he had lost the battle with the trust and had no choice but to leave . in his memo , mr. rusbridger , who is currently the principal , or head , of lady margaret hall , a college at the university of oxford , wished his colleagues well . in september , he will also become the chairman of the reuters institute for the study of journalism , also at oxford .
+0 more jewish headstones overturned amid u.s. anti - semitism rise breitbart jerusalem new york ( afp ) — five tombstones were overturned in an historic jewish cemetery in brooklyn , the latest in a spate of apparently incidents across the united states , media reports said sunday . [ cnn reported that the act of vandalism at washington cemetery in brooklyn and was being investigated by a task force of the new york city police department . in recent weeks , there have been scores of bomb threats against us jewish organizations and at least three other jewish cemeteries have been desecrated . the league , a national civil rights group dedicated to the fight against said last week there have been 121 threats against jewish schools and civic groups in the us since january 1 , labeling the surge an “ epidemic . ”
+0 woman , 88 , talks man out of raping her by saying she is hiv - positive - breitbart katherine rodriguez an woman says she was able to talk her way out of being raped after she lied to her attacker and said she was . [ helen reynolds was in her apartment in parkesburg , pennsylvania feb. 17 when a man dressed as an apartment complex worker forced his way inside her home and bound her mouth and hands with duct tape , the daily mail reported . “ he wrapped it all around my face and my nose and my eye glasses . he had a piece in my mouth , ” reynolds told wpvi . she said he took $ 40 from her purse and was about to rape her when she struck up a conversation with the man . despite having duct tape in her mouth , she was able to talk the man out of raping her . “ i said to him , ‘ well it ’s like this,’ ” reynolds recalled . “ ‘ you might as well know the truth.’ i said , ‘ i have hiv and my husband died from it,’ which is a lie . ” she said as soon as she told him that he walked out of the bedroom . “ that ’s the comment that saved my life , ” she said . no suspects have been found yet in connection with the attack on reynolds . authorities say there have been a string of home invasions in chester county , including a one that left a woman assaulted , tied up , and locked in a closet for four days . police arrested a who had escaped from a nearby behavioral facility in that case . when wpvi asked reynolds if she had anything to say to her attacker who ’s still on the loose , she said she had “ nothing good to say about him . ” “ i have nothing good to say about him . nothing at all . put him in jail , and leave the sucker there , ” reynolds said .
+0 senate confirmation hearings to begin without all background checks - the new york times jennifer steinhauer and eric lichtblau washington — as senate republicans embark on a flurry of confirmation hearings this week , several of donald j. trump ’s appointees have yet to complete the background checks and ethics clearances customarily required before the senate begins to consider nominees . republicans , who are expected to hold up to five hearings on wednesday alone , say they simply want to ensure that the new president has a team in place as soon as possible . “ i believe all the ’s cabinet appointments will be confirmed , ” senator mitch mcconnell of kentucky , the majority leader , said . but democrats are calling for the process to be slowed and for the hearings to be spread out . that , they say , would allow more time to vet the nominees . “ our first overarching focus is getting tax returns and ethics forms , ” said senator amy klobuchar , democrat of minnesota . in a letter to senators chuck schumer of new york and elizabeth warren of massachusetts , the leader of the office of government ethics , walter m. shaub jr. said on friday that “ the announced hearing schedule for several nominees who have not completed the ethics review process is of great concern to me . ” he said the packed schedule had put “ undue pressure ” on the office to rush its reviews of the nominees and he knew of no other occasion in the office ’s four decades when the senate had held a confirmation hearing before the review was completed . mr. schumer responded on saturday by saying that the letter had made clear that the trump transition team colluded with senate republicans to “ jam through ” the nominees . several of the nominees are millionaires or billionaires and have vast webs of financial interests that must be untangled . the trump transition team issued a statement on saturday evening defending its handling of the nomination process . richard w. painter , a law professor at the university of minnesota who served as chief ethics counsel to president george w. bush , said he thought none of the nominees could receive a full vote on the senate floor before the vetting was complete . norman eisen , mr. obama ’s ethics counsel in his first term , said the paperwork delays were “ totally . ” the status of the background checks and ethical clearances can change by the day . republicans say they expect the missing documents to be submitted for all the nominees eventually . the hearings are scheduled to begin on tuesday , with testimony from senator jeff sessions of alabama , the nominee for attorney general , and gen. john f. kelly , the pick for homeland security secretary . on wednesday , the parade of nominees is expected to include rex w. tillerson , the choice for secretary of state betsy devos , the pick for education secretary and representative mike pompeo of kansas , the nominee to lead the c. i. a. later in the week , the billionaire investor wilbur l. ross jr. chosen as commerce secretary , and andrew f. puzder , the labor secretary pick , are scheduled to come before congressional panels . while some of mr. trump ’s nominees , notably representative tom price of georgia , the choice for health secretary and an ardent opponent of the affordable care act , are certain to receive hostile receptions , large numbers of democrats will probably vote for many others . still , democrats are preparing a furious assault against the nominees by going after the himself and trying to drive a wedge between them over his most incendiary promises , like banning muslim immigrants and bringing back torture . “ where will they come down ? ” mr. schumer , the new democratic leader , asked in an interview . “ will they try to persuade the president that ’s the wrong way to take america ? ” democrats plan to keep the focus on the to a degree with few historical parallels . new presidents usually serve as a backdrop this year , by contrast , mr. trump ’s words will loom over the hearings as democrats press the nominees to take a position on them . democrats have little chance of blocking any of the nominees , having given up the use of the filibuster in such cases when they were in the majority , but they say mr. trump has handed them ample political ammunition . mr. sessions is certain to be asked whether he , as attorney general , would make good on mr. trump ’s pledges to get a special counsel to “ jail ” hillary clinton over her email server . general kelly can expect questions about whether he favors mr. trump ’s call to build a wall on the mexican border and create a database on muslims . mr. pompeo is likely to be asked about his views on mr. trump ’s support for waterboarding and his skepticism about the intelligence agencies’ findings on russian election meddling . mr. tillerson will probably face a grilling over mr. trump ’s vow to “ cancel ” the paris climate accord . mr. tillerson has spent hours trying to quietly assure lawmakers that he would take a more distant stance than mr. trump on the russian president , vladimir v. putin , with whom mr. tillerson had close relations as the head of exxon mobil . the trump transition team , which did not comment on the background checks , is bracing its nominees for questions about the ’s more controversial positions , according to people with knowledge of the preparations . but officials would not say what tack the nominees would take in responding . “ i have no doubt that the and a number of his comments will come up , ” said sarah isgur flores , a spokeswoman for mr. sessions ’s confirmation team . “ but senator sessions has a long record of service himself . ” mr. sessions will testify before the judiciary committee , which is generally friendly territory for sitting senators . but he is likely to face blistering questions from democrats who are concerned about his civil rights record . in the 1980s , racially charged accusations derailed his nomination to a federal judgeship . senator dianne feinstein of california , the top democrat on the judiciary committee , said she would press mr. sessions to say where he stood on mr. trump ’s pledges to have a special counsel further investigate mrs. clinton ’s emails . “ hillary ’s situation is done , and other than some kind of gross retribution , there ’s no reason for that to even be something to look at , ” ms. feinstein said in an interview . by posing tough questions , said sarah a. binder , a political scholar at george washington university , democrats will try to lure the nominees into inflicting political damage on themselves by adopting some of mr. trump ’s more divisive language . she said the terrain was so risky that the nominees might be better served by adopting a stance usually seen only from judicial nominees : “ do n’t take a position . ” democrats intend to use all the procedural moves available to slow the process on the senate floor , possibly spending up to 30 hours per nominee , denying mr. trump a full cabinet when he takes office . republicans are indignant . “ holding up confirmations just for delay ’s sake is irresponsible and it is dangerous , ” said senator john cornyn , republican of texas . he added , “ this is a dangerous world we are living in , and why in the world would we want to make it even more dangerous just to let our colleagues delay for delay ’s sake trump getting to fill his cabinet , particularly these important national security offices ? ”
+1 consuelo $ 2.9b / year could have taken care of many highway repairs across the nation ...
+1 “ the newshour ” anchors to dubsmash arnab goswami ’s voice to combat sinking trps ashwin kumar “ the newshour ” anchors to dubsmash arnab goswami ’s voice to combat sinking trps posted on tweet faced with a sharp slump in viewership after the departure of their former editor - in - chief and star anchor arnab goswami , the makeshift anchors of times now ’s prime - time debate , “ the newshour ” have decided to dubsmash goswami ’s voice in a desperate bid to restore their trps . ( image via aisfm.edu.in ) goswami ’s loud , hard - hitting voice , one of the main reasons behind the newshour ’s catapult to dominance , will now be played in the newshour studios , while the makeshift anchors move their lips to his statements . according to senior times now journalist navika kumar , their usual stand - in newshour anchor anand narasimhan has been spending sleepless nights , hard at work , trying to move his lips to arnab ’s audio flawlessly . “ it ’ll be a while before rahul shivshankar joins us and does a more believable and buy - able impression of arnab , but until then , we ’ve got to do this much at least , ” navika told the unreal times . narasimhan has admitted to finding this task the most difficult thing he ’s ever had to do in life . “ to open your throat and try to scream the loudest , yet without screaming , to keep interrupting people correctly before they finish a couple of words , to keep uttering that you would bring in some panelist in to the debate and yet not bring him , to keep announcing ever 5 minutes that you would open the phone lines and yet not open them .. whew ! this is as herculean as it can get . i expect to be featured on ripley ’s believe it or not , if at all i ’m able to achieve this dubsmashing feat , ” the anchor described , before going ahead to practice moving his lips to “ the nation wants to know ! ” navika also added that the crew has a backup plan in place , should the dubsmashing go awry . “ in the worst case , if no one is able to lip sync properly , we will try to get dr. manmohan singh to do the job . he does n’t have to dubsmash , he might as well speak and we can have arnab ’s voice as the voiceover , ” the senior journalist added . the channel , however , soon had a reason to cheer , as bollywood actor anupam kher volunteered to act as arnab for free . “ dubsmashing arnab is the least i can do for my country and our soldiers at the border . it is a role that i would be proud and privileged to accept , all for the sake of the jawans , ” kher exclaimed . the move has , however , come in for sharp criticism from the channel ’s bete noire s. “ dubsmash = > dumb smash . enough said :) ” tweeted congress spokesperson sanjay jha . the last word though , went to aap spokesperson the ashutosh . “ why the times now sud depend on lip sinking the arnab ’s voice ! ! ! will the modi answer ! ! ! ” ( sic ) the former ibn7 editor tweeted . tweet about ashwin kumar 1 of the proud columnists of urt , former co - editor of urt tamil , amateur musician , real harris jayaraj devotee , unreal t. rajendar fanatic , passionate about stopping female foeticide . view all posts by ashwin kumar → related posts
+0 a song for bill de blasio sounds a sour note for watchdogs - the new york times william neuman mayor bill de blasio posted a video on his city hall twitter account on tuesday that featured two broadway actors singing his praises and promoting his accomplishments , drawing criticism from government watchdog groups who said that it was an inappropriate use of public money and was too much like a campaign ad . the video , which tries to poke fun at itself even as it promotes the mayor , was posted on the official city hall twitter account , @nycmayor , and features mr. de blasio in an awkward thespian effort . it also includes his wife , chirlane mccray a senior adviser , andrea hagelgans and two broadway stars , jenna ushkowitz and james monroe iglehart . ms. ushkowitz starred in the television show “ glee ” and has appeared in broadway musicals , including “ waitress ” and “ spring awakening . ” mr. iglehart won a tony award in 2014 for his role as the genie in “ aladdin . ” the video shows mr. de blasio , who is running for in the coming year , sitting in the back of what appears to be one of the mayoral sport utility vehicles , talking with ms. mccray on his cellphone . “ hey honey , i really like this song idea , ” he says . “ i really think it ’s the perfect way to wrap up all the great things we ’ve done this year . ” ms. mccray , ms. hagelgans and the actors are shown in a room at gracie mansion . ms. mccray puts the mayor on speaker phone so he can listen as the two actors sing , accompanied by a piano player . “ in case the folks are unaware , we ’ve got some facts we ’d like to share , ” they sing . they go on to plug mayoral programs like protections for renters , the construction and preservation of affordable housing , and a mental health initiative . “ who ’s bringing cops and community close ? ” ms. ushkowitz sings as the beat goes . “ who ’s got incarceration and crime rates sinking to a record low ? ” the performance closes with a rousing reference to mr. de blasio . “ no matter what will be , we ’ve got billy d. b. ! ” ms. ushkowitz belts out . the mayor starts out nodding happily to all the praise but then whispers to an aide , “ this is kind of over the top . ” in the end , he delivers his review of the performance : “ maybe the song ’s a little too elaborate , ” he says . “ maybe we should just do a couple of tweets and a facebook post instead . ” dick dadey , the executive director of citizens union , a government watchdog organization , questioned whether creating the video was a justifiable use of public resources and said it raised questions because it came right before next year ’s campaign . “ this is a virtual campaign ad that is meant to be a announcement but goes beyond that in serving to promote the mayor , ” mr. dadey said . the video is part of a broader effort by city hall to increase its use of the internet and social media to reach out to new yorkers directly , bypassing traditional news media . it also comes as mr. de blasio controls his interactions with the press , frequently avoiding questions and limiting the news conferences at which he will take questions on any topic to once a week . eric phillips , mr. de blasio ’s press secretary , said that the video was produced by city hall staff and that the actors volunteered their time . mr. phillips said that city hall spent a total of $ 700 to pay the piano player and a composer . he said it cost an additional $ 170 to have the piano tuned and $ 30 to rent a rehearsal room . although the mayor is running for next year , mr. phillips said in a written statement that the video “ does n’t have anything to do with his campaign . ” he added , “ we think new yorkers have a right to know what their government does , and it ’s our job to communicate that work in a modern way . ” the immediate effect of the video was not exactly the stuff of broadway hit material . in the first seven hours after the video was posted on twitter , it had received 218 likes on the mayor ’s account and 88 retweets .
+0 how to use google to plan your trip - the new york times justin sablich google maps revolutionized how you get from point a to point b. google trips aims to to do the same for how you vacation . the smartphone app , released on monday , uses what it already knows about you , based on data it has collected from your gmail account , and combines it with established features from its other offerings , like destinations , and its large database of reviews . the goal , as google puts it , is to create a “ personalized tour guide in your pocket . ” “ we wanted to reduce the hassle and help travelers enjoy their vacations , ” stefan frank , the app ’s product manager , wrote on google ’s blog . the app can do a lot , probably equal to what four travel apps could do , but it ca n’t do everything . here ’s what you need to know before setting off on your first google trip . it ’s ( only if you use gmail ) after setting up the app using your gmail account , you can create your first trip — simply search for the destination city and put in your dates . if you ’re hitting multiple cities , you can add those as well . if the app has enough of your data , you may already have the trip listed . in that case , you do not have to create a new one , just jump into the existing trip and make changes as you see fit . the app has complete guides for more than 200 major cities , and each of those has six main features : reservations , things to do , saved places , day plans , food drink and getting around . there are guides for most other cities as well , but you wo n’t get day plans and getting around options for those smaller locations . reservations will show you the flight , hotel and car rental information that it collects from the gmail account you registered with . you ’ll need to forward any reservations made using your work email to your gmail account if you want those to show up . it ’s also worth noting that you can not make reservations directly from the app — it shows only the reservations you already made . i had nothing definite planned , but for testing ’s sake , i tried out a hypothetical trip to boston . things to do is a good place to start . it recommends destinations broken down by category , from the simple “ indoors ” vs. “ outdoors ” to labels like “ newbury street shops ” and ones like “ selfie spots . ” if you see something you like , hit the star icon and it ’ll add it to your saved places . this breakdown and the ability to save will look familiar to anyone who has used gogobot . day plans are suggested themed itineraries . for example , historic boston has 10 sites mapped out , each one including all of the information you ’d see if you found it on google search ( reviews , open and close time ) and the travel time between each stop . food drink will give you a basic overview of the area ’s specialties , and then suggest establishments based on categories like “ ” “ food with a view , ” “ cocktail specialists ” and many more . getting around has all the transportation information you could think of . you get all of your airport options , from public transportation directions to costs of taxis . it ’s a you ’ve probably already saved some dough by using the offline feature on google maps . you can do the same here by downloading each trip to your phone . and all the information will be accessible even if you ’re not connected to the internet or to cellular service . you wo n’t need to eat into your data with google trips , or be stuck if your vacation is in a remote location with no cell service . using the app with a data or connection does have a few perks . if the weather takes a turn for the worse , the app will suggest indoor activities . it ’ll also show whether a place is open or closed in real time . but you ’re not missing much in offline mode . it ’s customizable if you ’re strapped for time , the suggested day plans seem to have something for everyone . but you can also customize each recommended plan by adding or deleting stops , or create one from scratch . the app will also suggest places to visit based on what it knows about you ( which , by now , is a lot ) . it had fenway park on the top of my “ for you ” list , since it has rightfully concluded that i ’m a baseball fan . then again , “ boston with kids ” was another suggested day plan and i do n’t have any of those . it ’s kind of creepy before you create your first trip , you ’ll see some of your previous trips that you did n’t even share . that ’s because it has already pulled in information from your gmail account , so it knows which hotels you stayed in and where you rented a car from and stores this information under reservations . this could be useful if you plan on returning some day . but if you ’d rather not have the stroll down memory lane , you can delete previous trips quite easily . it ’s also not perfect . occasional suggestions miss the mark . also , i recently returned from a weekend away and it had this week blocked off for me as a trip to new york , which is where i live . it ’s free there is no fine print here . as long as you do n’t consider the fact that google now has a new way of using your data as a price to pay , there is no monetary charge for using the app . this is significant if you compare it to similar travel apps like tripit , which costs $ 49 per year for its premium service .
+0 the best architecture in new york of 2016 - the new york times michael kimmelman for the at the washington heights library this month , the son of a former custodian returned to his old home . he grew up in what used to be the caretaker ’s apartment on the third floor . while his father shoveled coal at night to heat the place , he would go downstairs to read about boat building and navigating by the stars . ronald clark went on to become the first in his family to graduate from high school and college , and decades later he built himself a boat and navigated by the stars that he had learned about in the library under him . a few years ago , library officials hired the architect andrew berman to revamp the two upper stories of that andrew branch on 160th street . mr. berman has now turned the apartment into a clubhouse for teenagers , and the whole second floor into a palace for young children , with seating nooks and sofas under towering windows . a snaking , bookshelf divides the room into cosseting quadrants , scaling it down for patrons . smart , sunny and simple , the redesign feels lofty and homey at the same time , rebooting carnegie ’s original vision for the branches . in ways big and small , architects like mr. berman have changed new york city this year . projects like the library branch made it a little more livable and humane . what follows is nothing nearly as disciplined or logical as a list of 2016 ’s architectural highs and lows in town . it ’s more a kind of belated thank you note for a few projects that kept faith with architecture ’s ideals and the city ’s better self . new york got one of its beloved public spaces back . credit eric hammarberg , an engineer at wiss , janney , elstner associates , for ensuring all that delicate , ornamental plaster on the decorated ceiling of the rose reading room atop the 42nd street library , which had begun collapsing , wo n’t fall down . and the former whitney museum of american art on madison avenue , rechristened met breuer , was also restored . beyer blinder belle , the new york architecture firm , performed an act of thoughtful and immaculate preservation . this 1960s building , now with its patina of age , is finally coming to be recognized for what it is : a practical modernist landmark of exceptional finesse and a surprisingly good neighbor . the roy and diana vagelos education center , devised by diller scofidio renfro ( in collaboration with gensler ) is a whimsical exclamation mark on columbia university ’s upper manhattan medical campus near the george washington bridge . the tower ’s face looks south . it presents a cheerfully teetering stack of cantilevered terraces , indoor bleacher seats , lounges and stairs . they spill toward a handsome amphitheater linked by steps to the sloping sidewalk . one can picture a giant pinball bouncing from the top of vagelos and rolling down haven avenue . the architects call this sunny , south side the “ study cascade . ” offices and classrooms fill the more conventional north half of the tower , which is clad in a fritted milky curtain wall that ’s less striking outside but mitigates solar heat gain . anatomy classrooms tucked behind the cascade are part of a deceptively pragmatic layout . a restrained palette — of white , orange and douglas fir panels stained a burnt sienna — balances the sculptural gymnastics . the other day i found students poring over their laptops in the lounge . some grumbled a little about minor stuff like not enough electrical outlets , but they all said they loved the architecture . i do , too . it ’s what medical schools generally are n’t : playful , welcoming , warm . and when the sun sets , the center becomes a beacon in the neighborhood . farther south , columbia ’s manhattanville campus began to take shape this fall with the construction of an arts hub and completion of the jerome l. greene science center , an urbane behemoth by renzo piano rising beside the aged no . 1 subway viaduct , near the intersection of broadway and 125th street . the building is a nexus for neuroscience . four glass blocks surround a glassy core with meeting rooms . the basic shape is nothing pyrotechnic , but , as usual with mr. piano , the nub is in the details and in the light . a curtain wall , the two layers separated by a muffling pillow of air , lets light flood in while reducing the rumble of the elevated subway . i write these words inside another of mr. piano ’s buildings , staring from a glass cubicle through several more layers of glass across a courtyard . my colleagues across the court look almost immaterial . the greene center engineers even greater illusions of ethereal weightlessness , the layered glass membranes held in equilibrium by a clockwork of steel beams and cables , tinted powder blue . like church spires , tall twin smokestacks announce the campus from afar , declaring the center a factory for ideas . the industrial nostalgia recalls mr. piano ’s new whitney museum and is clearly meant to substitute midcentury symbols of modern commerce for the usual classic emblems of institutional authority . a plaza stands in for the ancient agora . the center will anchor one side of the evolving manhattanville project , with its multidisciplinary aspirations , underground passageways for columbia people and variety of public spaces . these are intended partly to appease angry former residents of the neighborhood troubled by columbia ’s gentrifying expansion , and also to signal that the university is opening itself up . mr. piano envisions a kind of italian piazza , democratic and energized . we ’ll see how further development follows through on that promise . several weekends this summer , i hopped the ferry with the family for governors island . back in 2003 , the federal government sold the island to the city , which got a derelict former military base that included some lovely historic officers’ homes . leslie koch was hired in 2006 as president of the trust for governors island . she enlisted adriaan geuze of west 8 , the landscape architecture firm . ms. koch and her team spent years just watching how people used the island , seeing what was wanted . they responded with food carts , adirondack chairs , bike shares , children ’s programs and art projects . the last , most ambitious phase of redevelopment was completed this summer : hills ( cost : $ 71 million , half public , half private money ) . a hill with twisty slides for kids became an instant sensation another features a sculpture by rachel whiteread . the tallest has a killer view of the statue of liberty and much of the skyline . mr. geuze ’s design for the island established a mark for resilient planning , taking into account not just sea rise and storm surges but also social cohesion . watch the mix of parents and children around the slides , sprinklers and food carts on a warm summer saturday afternoon . governors island is new york as a diverse and joyful city . mr. geuze and ms. koch , who stepped down this year , deserve medals . now city hall has to find tenants to help pay for the island ’s upkeep . big office or apartment towers would undo much of what has been accomplished . here ’s hoping that some venturesome , university or cultural institution is seeking a beautiful home . most rental apartment towers end up or glass nonentities , invisible at best . not via 57 west . no building redrew the city ’s western skyline more ingeniously than bjarke ingels ’s first completed project in new york : a warped , mountainous pyramid hugging the hudson river at 57th street . already filmmakers have exploited it in “ doctor strange . ” the shape is not a pyramid , actually , but a hyperbolic paraboloid , rectangular on the ground , with a swooping a bit like the billowed sail of a ship , sweeping upward from 12th avenue to the mast ’s peak at the northeast corner of the site , 467 feet high . looking from 11th avenue and 58th street , the building resembles a spire . from elsewhere , it unfurls , its balconies , angled toward the hudson , making hundreds of facets in the skin , which shimmer with the changing light . this is a building very much designed outside in , notwithstanding that the danish mr. ingels has trumpeted the nice “ scandimerican ” stylings of the lounges and handsome lobby and the function of the landscaped private courtyard at via 57 , which recalls his design for the 8 house in copenhagen . sliced from the center of the building , the courtyard leads to riverfront terraces with outdoor grills and a host of indoor amenities . i ’ll be curious to know how much this fosters community . the amenities require a fee . twenty percent of the 709 apartments are set aside for subsidized tenants , in return for which the developer enjoyed the usual tax breaks . otherwise , via 57 seems to market itself toward brokers and westchester doctors who can pay top dollar for the light but sometimes cramped apartments off corridors , a hike from the nearest subway . of course , tenants are also paying for the pleasure and cachet of living in a striking work of architecture . new york ’s former planning commissioner amanda burden deserves a here for pushing douglas durst , the developer , and mr. ingels to cook up something bold at such a conspicuous site . the three of them have given the city a new spectacle . o. k. i get one grinch moment , not about the $ 4 billion shopping mall attached to a path station at ground zero or the election of a president who , among other things , believes privatization is the answer to what ails the nation ’s infrastructure . no , i want to grouse about one of the sadder excuses for architecture completed this year . you can nominate your own candidate . this one is a kind of sleeper , at mulry square , at the intersection of greenwich and seventh avenues , in greenwich village . there the metropolitan transportation authority finished building a $ 180 million emergency ventilation plant . the site is opposite the new st. vincent ’s triangle park and aids memorial . once upon a time , this is where i stood guard as a monitor from p. s. 41 , the school up the block , until my boss and classmate trippy west suspended me for reporting late at the end of a lunch period . but i digress . neighborhood groups , along with the city ’s landmarks preservation commission , acknowledging the necessity for a “ fan plant , ” pleaded for years with the authority for a design less hideous than a windowless concrete bunker and a few forlorn benches . transit officials paid no attention . with a fence around the base and part of a townhouse facade , topped by a cornice , the facility seems an intentional slap in the face of every new yorker who hoped for a structure that , if not actually good , might at least be innocuous . it ’s also a reminder that infrastructure projects like this were once occasions for expressions of architectural ambition . walk just a few blocks from mulry square to the metropolitan transportation authority substation at greenwich avenue and 13th street , built during the early 1930s . its geometric decorations , embossed aluminum doors , limestone frieze , flemish brick coursing and square turrets make it one of new york ’s art deco gems and a neighborhood landmark . the contrast between the bunker and the substation can make you weep . but it also proves what a difference good architecture makes , to new yorkers’ daily lives and to the welfare of the city .
+0 sports media and gay activists blast cardinals for inviting lance berkman to ‘ christian day’ at busch stadium - breitbart dylan gwinn the st. louis cardinals have found themselves in the crosshairs of the lgbt community for inviting former cardinal lance berkman to the team ’s annual christian day event . [ berkman ’s presence sparks controversy amongst the gay community because of his role in the fight against the transgender bathroom ordinance , aka the “ equal rights ordinance , ” in houston in 2015 . pride center of st. louis issued this highly critical statement of the cardinals decision to invite berkman : “ pride st. louis is disappointed by the decision of the st. louis cardinals to provide a public platform for berkman , an individual whose words and actions towards the lgbtq+ are divisive and demeaning . ” the group initially released the statement to outsports , an sb nation website which prioritizes news involving the lgbt community and sports . according to the st. louis “ on its own , outsports has called berkman a “ bigot ” and “ an outspoken opponent of the lgbt community ” who was “ one of the faces of the campaign against houston ’s ordinance ” in 2015 . ” despite the backlash , as of this writing , the cardinals remain committed to having berkman attend “ christian day . ” the team issued their own statement in response to those troubled by the move : “ the cardinals have hosted a christian day at the ballpark for nearly three decades . lance berkman participated in christian day when he was a cardinals player , and we welcome him back this year to discuss his faith . ” the cardinals also said they plan to host an event in support of the lgbt community at some point later in the season . nonetheless , the team makes a good point here . berkman has attended and spoken at these events before when he , presumably , held the same views towards transgender bathroom laws that he does now . so , what ’s the problem ? since it ’s likely that the bathroom issue never would have come up on a night dedicated to celebrating the christian faith , does the lgbt community really want to put the idea out there that they ’re fine with tolerating and accepting all things unless christianity is involved ? in his article on the cardinals invitation to berkman , bill baer wrote that berkman “ foolishly advocated against public accommodations for transgender people to use public bathrooms . ” what was foolish about this ? the part where he exercised his constitutional right to express an opinion in a free country ? it seems like bill baer ’s attitude toward tolerance and acceptance is much the same as outsports and the lgbt community ’s attitude : acceptance and tolerance for all … unless they disagree with me . follow dylan gwinn on twitter : @themightygwinn
+0 donald trump : ’i would n’t be here if it was n’t for twitter’ - breitbart lucas nolan appearing in an interview with fox news host tucker carlson , president donald trump said he would not be where he was if it was n’t for his ability to speak directly to americans through twitter . [ “ well , let me tell you about twitter , ” trump said to carlson . “ i think that maybe i would n’t be here if it was n’t for twitter , because i get such a fake press , such a dishonest press . ” the president also stated that he utilizes his “ own form of media ” and noted his massive following on the social network . “ the news is not honest , ” said president trump . “ much of the news . it ’s not honest . and when i have close to 100 million people watching me on twitter , including facebook , including all of the instagram , including potus , including lots of things — but we have — i guess pretty close to 100 million people . i have my own form of media . ” president trump also clarified his opinion of reporters in the media , saying , “ some of the press — by the way , some of the finest people i know are reporters . reporters are wonderful . i ’m talking about the fake media , the fake news . and there ’s a lot of fake news . so if i ’m not going to — if they ’re not going to do me the honor and the public the honor of spreading my word accurately as it was meant , and you know exactly what i ’m talking about , because there ’s been nobody in history that got more dishonest media than i ’ve gotten . ” “ you look at some of the stories in the new york times , ” said trump , “ you look at some of the stories in the washington post . take a look at what ’s going on with cbs and nbc in particular and abc — take a look at cnn . it ’s a complete hit job . no matter what you do , no matter how good — no matter how great it is , they do n’t report it in a positive fashion . ” researchers at the university of massachusetts published a study in december that examined how through trump ’s use of social media , “ twitter became news ” : “ he knew that he would get attention and it would go beyond twitter — it would be reported on the news and in comedy [ shows ] , ” said professor gross . those messages , which could be pulled up on screen by news programmes , served as “ a mini press release ” he added . the medium “ made it easier to spread whatever he was thinking very quickly ” . “ in some sense twitter made it easier to digest these and push them through the bloodstream of the american public , ” said university of massachusetts assistant professor of political science justin gross . bloomberg also noted following the presidential election trump ’s successful use of twitter in spreading his message , allowing him to “ reach american voters constantly and without an editor . ” watch president trump ’s full interview on fox news below : lucas nolan is a reporter for breitbart news covering issues of free speech and online censorship . follow him on twitter @lucasnolan _ or email him at lnolan@breitbart . com
+1 10 signs of vitamin b12 deficiency ( and best food sources of vitamin b12 ) twain yobra 10 signs of vitamin b12 deficiency ( and best food sources of vitamin b12 ) http://blogs.naturalnews.com/10-signs-vitamin-b12-deficiency-best-food-sources-vitamin-b12/ by twain yobra posted friday , october 28 , 2016 at 10:11am edt vitamin b12 is crucial for the brain , nerves , dna and blood cells . unfortunately , it becomes harder and harder for our bodies to absorb vitamin b12 as we age . in fact , 4 in every 100 women between age 40 and 60 have vitamin b12 deficiency . but age is n’t the only contributing factor – avoiding certain foods is what ’s making you vitamin b12 deficient . here are signs of vitamin b12 deficiency and the foods you should eat to combat them . signs of vitamin b12 deficiency being sleepy all the time despite getting adequate sleep at night strange sensations in the body – pins and needles sensations feeling of weakness and sluggishness loss of memory and impaired thinking feeling dizzy while doing simple things like walking skin looks pale ( yellow ) tongue gets swollen and red anemia blurry vision note that very low levels of vitamin b12 can have more harmful effects . also , vegan and vegetarian diets do n’t offer enough vitamin b12 so you ’ll need supplementation if you ’re either . but non - vegetarians can get enough vitamin b12 from their diet . below are great sources of vitamin b12 15 best food sources of vitamin b12 1 . oysters : oyster has high amounts of vitamin b12 , it is also a great source of zinc . zinc boosts testosterone , libido and benefits the ovaries . 2 . clams : clams contain more vitamin b12 than any other food . they ’re also rich in potassium . 3 . mussels : other than vitamin b12 mussels are also rich in protein , potassium , omega 3s and vitamin c. 4 . sardines : this fish is known for its omega 3 properties , it can also fight vitamin b12 and d deficiency . 5 . crab : crabs are loaded with lots of nutrients , they ’re rich in magnesium , zinc , and vitamins a , b and c. 6 . salmon : 3 ounces of cooked salmon have 4.8 mcg of vitamin b12 . salmon is also contains vitamin d and omega 3s . 7 . trout : this fish can help you fight inflammation and improve brain function . 8 . tuna : just make sure the tuna is bred in a clean environment . it ’ll give you lots of omega 3s and vitamin d. 9 . grass - fed beef : beef will give you lots of proteins and b vitamins . 10 . haddock : this fish has low amounts of mercury and it will give you omega 3s . 11 . milk : not only is milk a good source of vitamin d and calcium , recent studies show it can reduce pms symptoms . 12 . yoghurt : yoghurt is rich in probiotics , magnesium , calcium and protein . plain greek yoghurt is the best option . 13 . whole eggs : eggs will also give you vitamin d and aid absorption of calcium in the bones . 14 . chicken : chicken will give you lots of protein and keep you full . 15 . turkey : turkey has small amounts of vitamin b12 so it may not be the best option for folks with severe deficiency . for more information on eating healthy and staying fit , download your free 3 weeks flat stomach guide to help you improve your health and physique . and like our facebook page . you might also like …
+0 chelsea manning describes bleak life in a men ’s prison - the new york times charlie savage most mornings at 4:30 , half an hour before the “ first call ” awakens inmates at the fort leavenworth military prison in kansas , an alarm rings within an cell . inmate 89289 , slightly built with short hair , rises to apply makeup and don female undergarments and a brown uniform before the men in the adjacent cells stir . that is the routine for chelsea manning , america ’s most famous convicted leaker and the prison ’s most unusual inmate . she is serving the longest sentence ever imposed for disclosing government secrets — 35 years — and her status as a celebrity of sorts and an incarcerated transgender woman presents continuing difficulties for the military . during the day , ms. manning , who was an army intelligence analyst known as bradley manning when she disclosed archives of secret military and diplomatic files to wikileaks in 2010 , builds picture frames and furniture in the prison wood shop . in the evenings , before the 10:05 p. m. lockdown , she reads through streams of letters , including from antisecrecy enthusiasts who view her as a . “ i am always busy . i have a backlog of things to do : legal , administrative , press inquiries , and writing — lots of writing , ” ms. manning wrote in response to questions submitted by the times because the army does not permit her to speak directly to journalists . “ being me is a job . ” but ms. manning , who is struggling to transition to life as a woman while enduring a bleak existence at a male military prison , has asked president obama to commute the remainder of her sentence before he leaves office next week . she poses particular challenges as a prisoner , with a volunteer support network that helps bring global attention to her treatment , fragile mental state — she twice tried to commit suicide in 2016 — and need for treatment that the military has no experience providing . her request comes as the world is again focused on wikileaks and its founder , julian assange , whom her leaks made famous . the organization last year published clinton campaign emails , obtained in a hacking , as part of what american intelligence officials claim was a covert russian operation aimed at tilting the election to donald j. trump . ( ms. manning declined to discuss wikileaks , saying only that her decision to send documents to it “ was neither an endorsement nor an affiliation . ” ) it also comes at a time of flux in the military ’s policies on gender identity . last june , the obama administration rescinded a ban on transgender people serving in the military and began overhauling its practices , which eventually would include providing gender reassignment surgery . but mr. trump has derided the lifting of the ban as “ politically correct , ” raising the possibility that his administration may roll back the changes . the white house declined to comment on ms. manning ’s commutation request . the army declined to comment about her situation at fort leavenworth , citing privacy laws . a military prosecutor had called ms. manning a “ traitor ” at her 2013 and officials have said the disclosures disrupted government operations and put people at risk , although prosecutors did not claim anyone was killed because of them . in a statement accompanying her petition asking mr. obama to reduce her sentence to the nearly seven years she already has served , ms. manning , now 29 , said she never intended to hurt anyone and pleaded for a chance to start her life over . “ i need help , ” she wrote . “ i am living through a cycle of anxiety , anger , hopelessness , loss , and depression . i can not focus . i can not sleep . i attempted to take my own life . ” on aug. 22 , 2013 , the day after her sentencing for sending documents to wikileaks , ms. manning ’s lawyer read a statement on the “ today ” show announcing that she was female , wanted to be called “ chelsea ” rather than “ bradley ” and would seek hormone therapy . to observers of her this was no surprise . her motivation for leaking hundreds of thousands of files she had copied from a classified computer network while serving in iraq , as she wrote at the time , was hope that they would spark “ worldwide discussion , debates , and reforms . ” but at her trial , she apologized and noted that she was “ dealing with a lot of issues ” when she had made that decision . testimony showed that she had been in a mental and emotional crisis as she came to grips , in the stress of a war zone , with the fact that she was not merely gay , as she had believed while growing up in oklahoma , but had gender dysphoria — a disconnect between one ’s gender identity and sex assigned at birth . in the months before her leaks and may 2010 arrest , she had been behaving erratically and emailed a picture of herself wearing a woman ’s wig to her supervisor . the military sent ms. manning to serve out her sentence as a inmate at the fort leavenworth disciplinary barracks , its main prison for male inmates . court documents show that ms. manning has had counseling sessions with a prison psychologist , dr. ellen galloway , at least once a week , and military authorities have over time allowed her access to some treatments doctors prescribed for her gender dysphoria , in part because of pressure from a lawsuit filed by chase strangio , a lawyer for the american civil liberties union , in september 2014 . she can now wear female prison undergarments , including a sports bra , and “ subdued cosmetics . ” in early 2015 , she was permitted to get speech therapy to feminize the tone and pitch of her voice and began hormone therapy prescribed , mr. strangio said , by an endocrinologist brought in from the military ’s walter reed hospital . since then , ms. manning wrote , she has developed breasts and curvier hips . “ there have been significant changes since i ’ve been taking the hormones , and i am happy with them , ” she said . but , citing security risks , the military rejected the recommendation of an outside psychologist who said she should be permitted to further feminize her appearance by growing her hair longer than male military standards . mr. strangio is helping her challenge that restriction . “ plaintiff feels like a freak and a weirdo — not because having short hair makes a person less of a woman — but because for her , it undermines specifically recommended treatment and sends the message to everyone that she is not a ‘ real’ woman , ” he wrote in a court filing . “ she is getting hormones , but it sounds like the inability to socially transition , or to have surgery , could be contributing to suicidality — especially when she is looking at decades in prison and thus a certain hopelessness about whether that might ever be available for her , ” said dan karasic , a university of california , san francisco psychiatrist and the chairman of the american psychiatric association ’s work group on gender dysphoria he cautioned that he had not examined her . the military turned down a request by the new york times to visit the facility . but an army spokesman , wayne hall , provided written answers from the army corrections command to questions posed by the times , from which a sketch of her environment emerged . ms. manning ’s cell , like others at fort leavenworth , contains a bed , toilet , sink , locker , storage bin , chair and desk , according to the army . she showers in a nearby communal bathroom with individual stalls . she has no access to the internet , but says she receives “ at least a couple hundred pieces of mail every week . ” the army does not permit her to see people who did not know her before her incarceration , so she is not allowed to meet with a handful of volunteers who have formed an informal network of supporters , but she calls one of them daily . a volunteer who relayed questions from the times to her asked not to be named , citing security concerns . ms. manning said she recently finished reading “ superintelligence : paths , dangers , strategies , ” a book about artificial intelligence by the swedish philosopher nick bostrom , and “ 1q84 , ” a dystopian novel by haruki murakami . she is interested in efforts to develop stronger encryption and has been “ going through ” the “ princeton companion to mathematics . ” she also said she reads women ’s athletic , fashion and lifestyle magazines like shape , vogue , vanity fair and cosmopolitan . her cell door has a window looking onto a central “ day room ” with tables , chairs , pay phones and televisions . for a time , ms. manning played dungeons dragons with a few fellow inmates , but she said she had had no time in recent months . she eats meals with other inmates in a dining facility and works on a team at the wood shop . the roughly 424 inmates held at fort leavenworth with ms. manning include men accused of routine crimes as well as some who drew public attention , including nidal hasan , convicted in a 2009 mass shooting at fort hood and held on the prison ’s death row wing , and robert bales , who murdered 16 afghans in kandahar and was sentenced to life without parole in august 2013 . ms. manning declined to say much about the guards or fellow inmates , other than to say that they have never bullied or attacked her . “ it ’s best to keep to yourself and try not to get involved in any drama , ” she wrote . “ it ’s a little harder for me to keep to myself , since the staff is constantly watching me and those that interact with me . but i ’m used to it by now . i do n’t feel threatened by the other prisoners . i have friends . ” her special status at fort leavenworth is evident . nancy hollander , one of the lawyers working on the appeal of her conviction and sentence , said the army built a special secure information facility in a windowless basement room so she could meet with them and discuss documents she leaked . while ms. manning said she could not say on her monitored phone calls “ anything critical of the prison or the current administration or i can get charged for violation of a lawful general order , ” her supporters pay close attention to her treatment . scrutiny of the military ’s struggles to deal with ms. manning go back to her confinement at the quantico , va. brig after her arrest , when she was held for months in isolation , shackled during exercise and sometimes stripped of clothing and glasses to prevent her from harming herself — even after a prison psychologist said such steps were unnecessary . a military judge ruled that the treatment had been illegal . at leavenworth , after a minor disagreement with a guard in 2015 , officials punished her , among other things , for “ medical misuse ” because they found a tube of toothpaste in her cell that was past its expiration date . her supporters publicized the incident . in september , her supporters issued a news release saying she was on a hunger strike because of an “ overzealous administrative scrutiny ” and lack of progress in getting more treatment . she resumed eating after five days . mr. strangio said an official told her she would be eligible for the same medical treatment as transgender soldiers , suggesting she would eventually be permitted to proceed with surgery . but months have passed , and ms. manning wrote that she has not seen a surgeon . later in september , a prison board disciplined ms. manning for the disruption a july suicide attempt had caused . the punishment : solitary confinement . while in isolation in october , she tried again to kill herself — by choking herself on a piece of clothing , according to a support network member — before guards intervened . about a week further into that stint in solitary , she experienced a bizarre episode in which four people impersonating guards simulated breaking into the prison one night and pretended to kill her regular guards , filling her with fear , according to an account she filed with the army inspector general . a military official denied her account . dr. stuart grassian , a specialist in the psychological effects of solitary confinement , said her description is consistent with hallucinations often experienced by unstable people placed in isolation . now , with 28 years of her sentence to go and uncertainty over whether the trump administration will deny her surgery , ms. manning is hoping mr. obama will take mercy on her and free her from military prison , which goes by the acronym u. s. d. b. “ i am not asking for a pardon of my conviction . i understand that the various collateral consequences of the conviction will stay on my record forever , ” she wrote in her commutation application . “ i am merely asking for a first chance to live my life outside the u. s. d. b. as the person i was born to be . ”
+1 on the money trail k balakumar chennai , nov 16 : the night of nov 8 on the tv prime minister narendra modi is holding forth . wife and i sit watching the whole thing with nary an emotion . we are speechless at what we hear . that is because we do n’t understand hindi . but the news scroll below , tells the story : rs.500 and rs.1000 demonetised . wife looks at me quizzically . i look back at her quizzically . that is because we both do n’t know what demonetisation means . eventually the penny , if that is the word , drops . we understand the two denominations are declared invalid from that midnight . jee whiz ! what do i with all the rs.500 and rs.1000 with me ? but quickly gathering my wits and immediately taking charge , i ask the wife and daughter to bring all the rs.500 and rs.1000 stashed in the house , as if it was the time of reckoning and we had to finally confront our hidden truths . after some merciless minutes , we look at the pile in front of us : a sum total of four rs.500 notes , and one rs.1000 note . of course , a few harmless 100s , 50s and 10s were in too . is that what we have in hand ? i ask the wife plaintively . “ usually it is a lot less . but we made it a point to look around behind the cot , bureau and sofa . the 10s were picked from there only , ” the wife said matter of factly . “ you do remember your salary , right ? a journalist ’s salary and a person who has drank cyanide is difficult to save , ” the wife adds in the conversational parenthesis . the night ends in more unease : the fight against black money , it seems , will have some collateral damage . a journalist ’s ego , for starters . the morning of nov 13 it is a sunday . in need of cash for the week . go to the atm in the locality find that the authorities , manfully rising to the emergency of the occasion , have helpfully put an easy to spot ‘ out of order’ notice on the door . mentally thanking the banking guys for their thoughtful gesture , set out in search of another atm and find one with only a few queued in front of it . join the line only to quickly learn that 1 ) this atm too is out of order 2 ) and the queue is actually for an atm two streets away . cursing fate , join the line . soon enough realise that even if the indian economy is eventually straightened , it is impossible to literally straighten any queue in india . i mean we indians just do n’t have the ability to fall in a simple straight line . it is a skill that requires military training for indians to acquire . the line moves in every conceivable direction in every conceivable geometric formation . improbable as it may sound , sometimes in the exact opposite direction to where the queue is actually headed towards . the line comprises an impressive motley : some taciturn with thoughts . some voluble with opinions . some glued to their mobiles . some staring into the distant nothingness . some taking their troubles in stride . some cursing their fate . but everyone feeling that they would be somewhere else than spending their time in a queue that seemed to move at the speed of larva turning into butterfly . those inclined to chat offer their views to no one in particular . “ this is just the start . modi will next ban gold and diamonds ” , one man says with authoritative gusto . no one asks where he got that info from . he talks non - stop and seems to be the human / physical version of the whatsapp fwds we are wo nt to receive on the many ‘ groups’ we are part of . “ modi ’s next target will be corrupt bureaucrats and politicos ” . as a journalist , i realise that if i report from ‘ ground zero’ , these would be the ‘ credible voices of the public’ . “ it seems even the bjp is not happy with modi , ” says another in the silent gap that the previous man probably inadvertently left . “ they have goofed up big time . all the new printed money are going to top politicos and industrialists . they all have been alerted before hand itself to exchange the notes , ” he says with clinical finality . “ an atm is ambattur is dispensing only old 500 rupees even today . ” where in ambattur , i ask out of general curiosity , he replies , “ my friend told me this ” . i make a mental note that the guy is a very good journalist material . but amidst differing opinions and moods , there is an easy bonhomie , a chatty friendliness descends on the scene . every one has some opinion on how to tackle the black money scourge and what the finance minister should do . never knew economics was such a popular subject with the general public . the queue progresses at the speed of indian economy , and i am kind of near the atm , when someone , looking into his mobile , says “ this week has to be the worst ” . i wonder what is he having in his mind . trump becoming the us president - elect . currency crunch and other issues in india . what could get any worse than this ? “ alaistair cook just scored a century , ” i hear him say even as i enter the atm room .
+1 6 corporations control 90 percent of american media heather callaghan by true activist the majority of america ’s mainline media is owned and controlled by a mere 6 corporations , but few in the u.s. are aware of this … unless you go out of your way to seek truthful news ...
+0 for cuomo and christie , parallel paths to the top , and trouble when they got there - the new york times vivian yee it might be hard to remember now , with one governor embroiled in a corruption scandal for the last three years and his counterpart across the hudson river plunging headlong into another , but chris christie of new jersey and andrew m. cuomo of new york were once lionized for relentlessly prosecuting bad behavior in government . the wars they waged against corrupt politicians , as the attorney general of new york ( mr. cuomo ) and the united states attorney for new jersey ( mr. christie ) won them bipartisan kudos and , eventually , smooth ascents to their states’ highest offices . after the ethical morasses that swamped figures such as former gov. eliot spitzer of new york and alan hevesi , the state ’s former comptroller , and former gov. james e. mcgreevey of new jersey in the 2000s , mr. cuomo and mr. christie — each a tough prosecutor with white house aspirations — looked more immaculate than ever . those were the days . mr. cuomo , a democrat , spent thursday reeling at the arrest of one of his closest friends , confidants and former aides , as well as the arrests of several other close advisers and donors . prosecutors had accused them of involvement in a bribery scheme whose many grubby details included the fact that two of the governor ’s former aides referred gleefully to corrupt payoffs as “ ziti , ” à la “ the sopranos , ” and to one skittish ziti contributor as “ fat boy . ” ( as in : “ handle fat boy carefully . we do n’t need an interruption in that zitti delivery or else well really be up the creek . ” ) over in new jersey , mr. christie , a republican , is up a very unpleasant creek of his own . a former top aide and a former political ally are on trial over their roles in the 2013 scandal that elevated a traffic jam on access lanes leading to the george washington bridge into an immortal symbol of political payback . having helped puncture mr. christie ’s presidential hopes earlier this year , the episode later went on to help sink his bid to join the donald j. trump ticket . the trial , which began last monday , has been no kinder to the governor : prosecutors waited exactly zero days before asserting , during opening statements , that mr. christie knew three of his aides and allies were involved in the plot as it was unfolding . neither governor is accused of breaking the law . but for two men who once prided themselves on managing administrations , claiming to have been blind to alleged acts of petty revenge and bribery at the highest levels of state government seems bad enough . as they campaigned for the governor ’s office , each promised to cut through what they called partisan nonsense , bureaucratic inertia and dodgy dealing to get real results for residents in their states . each had the trophy case to back it up . as state attorney general , mr. cuomo took aim at the other two statewide elected officials , both fellow democrats : mr. spitzer , whose administration ’s misuse of state troopers to target a political rival mr. cuomo helped uncover , and mr. hevesi , who went to prison after a cuomo investigation found that he had accepted personal benefits in exchange for approving a state pension fund investment . in new jersey , where mr. christie was appointed a united states attorney by president george w. bush in 2002 , the young prosecutor quickly dispelled questions about his readiness for the job by pursuing corruption charges against dozens of local officials and leading inquiries that implicated several more . they were sane . smart . clean . capable . determined . and smug . “ i am putting each and every one of you on notice , ” mr. christie said in a 2002 speech , taking aim at his home state ’s notoriously debased political culture . “ we are going to root this stuff out , and i expect all of you to help me . ” by 2009 , as a virtual political neophyte and a republican in a blue state , he had managed to defeat the democratic incumbent , gov. jon s. corzine . “ job 1 is going to be to clean up albany and make the government work for the people , ” mr. cuomo said in 2010 , kicking off his campaign for governor on the steps of manhattan ’s tweed courthouse , new york ’s monument to political corruption . ( he also vowed to run the “ most transparent ” administration in state history . ) but as the fallout from each scandal has made clear , the professionalism and integrity of their offices were compromised almost from the start by aides and advisers who seemed far more interested in their own endgames — whether political , financial or both — than in serving a state . in both cases , they were empowered by mr. christie and mr. cuomo themselves . each man had cultivated a small group of trusted advisers who , driven by unshakable tribal loyalty and a hunger to see their bosses taste the white house one day , enforced the governor ’s will , punished his enemies and rewarded his friends . for mr. christie , they included bridget anne kelly and bill baroni , the two former officials currently on trial , and bill stepien , his former top lieutenant , an old friend and political operative who left ears ringing across new jersey on the governor ’s behalf . they met for strategy sessions around mr. christie ’s kitchen table in mendham and mingled at n. f. l. games . they worked together to single out local officials who supported the governor ’s 2013 bid for perks and to mete out revenge to those who did not — including mayor mark sokolich of fort lee , n. j. a democrat who , having declined to endorse the governor , got a catastrophic traffic jam in return , prosecutors say . their equivalents in albany were a group of stalwarts who had marched at mr. cuomo ’s side , in some cases as far back as the administration of mr. cuomo ’s father , former gov. mario m. cuomo , who became governor in 1983 . the men , and they were all men , even had a “ term of endearment ” for one another , according to the federal criminal complaint released on thursday : “ herb . ” ( it remains unclear why . ) chief among them was joseph percoco , who had started working for the elder mr. cuomo when he was 19 . so high was his place in the family firmament that during mr. cuomo ’s eulogy for his father in january 2015 , he called mr. percoco “ my father ’s third son , who i sometimes think he loved the most . ” it was mr. percoco who , everyone in new york ’s political establishment understood , woke mr. cuomo up in the morning , dispensed threats for him during the day and put him to bed at night . it was also mr. percoco , working with another “ herb ” and former cuomo aide , todd r. howe , who shook down a developer and an energy company for at least $ 315 , 000 in bribes in exchange for putting his considerable power at their service , prosecutors say . there was the legal opinion that mr. percoco got reversed . the energy policy decisions , made by state experts , that he overrode . the $ 5 , 700 raise , the criminal complaint says , that he berated staff at the governor ’s office into approving for the son of an executive who had paid him off . and there was the fact , apparent from the complaint , that no one in state government questioned his authority to do so . these days , there is no avoiding the central question : how could the governors not have known ? mr. christie has said that while he took ultimate responsibility for the lane closings , it was impossible for him to keep tabs on 65 , 000 state employees . he was “ disturbed , ” he said , by mr. stepien ’s behavior , while ms. kelly was “ stupid ” and “ a liar . ” mr. cuomo , too , has been moved to muse on personal betrayal . “ the central plank of my administration has always been about public integrity and zero tolerance for any waste , fraud or abuse . if anything , i hold a friend to a higher standard , ” he said in buffalo on friday . “ it ’s the first time since we lost my father that i did n’t miss him being here yesterday , because it would ’ve broken his heart . ”
+0 secret service puts the atlantic on blast for fake news bob price the u. s. secret service lashed out at the atlantic ’s washington editor at large for a series of tweets officials said were completely false . [ steve clemons , washington editor at large for the atlantic , began a series of tweets on thursday claiming that secret service personnel were forced to resign and were escorted out of the old eisenhower executive office building ( eeob ) . reports coming in that some secret service mgr level personnel forced 2 resign 2nite escorted out of eeob . two out but source says more , — steve clemons ( @scclemons ) february 3 , 2017 , over the course of the next hour , clemons continued to tweet the erroneous information and included statements he attributed to secret service managers . one of fired @secretservice mgrs speculates # trump is restructuring the service but this is speculation # secretservice — steve clemons ( @scclemons ) february 3 , 2017 , breitbart texas reached out to the secret service who confirmed they contacted clemons via twitter advising him his story was not accurate . “ his story was false , ” secret service spokesman joe casey told breitbart texas in a phone conversation friday night . “ it was not secret service personnel who were fired or escorted out of the building . ” it appears clemons was in a rush to get his story out before confirming his facts because he had a plane to catch from tokyo to washington , d. c. last note on @secretservice firings 2nite b4 boarding flight . i ’ve posted all i ’ve been told . 2 , and perhaps more secret service mgrs — steve clemons ( @scclemons ) february 3 , 2017 , folks . am boarding 14hr flight to dc . see @secretservice tweets below . you may want to pursue @jaketapper @jimsciutto @maddow , — steve clemons ( @scclemons ) february 3 , 2017 , the washington examiner actually contacted the secret service and reported that officials denied clemons report calling it “ absolutely false . ” the washington news outlet described clemons as , “ a longtime think tank writer who now serves as the washington editor at large of the atlantic and national journal . ” “ he has retracted his false report , ” secret service spokesman casey told breitbart texas . after getting wifi on his flight , clemons began to realize his error and backtracked on his tweets . the @secretservice responded that they are not the agency that had management changes last night . another agency did . — steve clemons ( @scclemons ) february 3 , 2017 , clemons admitted he made an assumption about what agency the fired workers reported to instead of getting a statement from secret service or the white house . in apparent frustration , the secret service tweeted directly at clemons advising , “ your reporting continues to be false . still waiting for you to contact us for official statement . ” @scclemons @secretservice advising that your reporting continues to be false . still waiting for you to contact us for official statement . — u. s. secret service ( @secretservice ) february 3 , 2017 , clemons apologized for his error several times . late friday evening , he responded to a reader who appeared to be concerned with fake news reported by journalists . he tweeted , “ i get that . but there is good journalism out there . ” @robbystarbuck @secretservice i get that . but there is good journalism out there . and normally i do better . i appreciate your notes , — steve clemons ( @scclemons ) february 3 , 2017 , bob price serves as associate editor and senior political news contributor for breitbart texas . he is a founding member of the breitbart texas team . follow him on twitter @bobpricebbtx .
+0 spicer : ’no truth’ to report trump to restructure u.s. spy agency edwin mora donald trump ’s incoming white house press secretary sean spicer told reporters thursday “ there is no truth ” to the wall street journal ( wsj ) report that the is working with top advisers to restructure the nation ’s top spy agency . [ “ these reports are false . all transition activities are for participation , gathering purposes , and all discussions are tentative . the ’s top priority will be to ensure the safety of the american people and the security of the nation . he ’s committed to finding the best and most effective way to do it , ” declared spicer during a transition daily call with reporters . “ but — i want to reiterate — there is not truth to this idea of restructuring the intelligence community infrastructure . it is 100 percent false . ” citing unnamed individuals reportedly familiar with the plans on wednesday , wsj reported that trump ’s belief that the office of the director of national intelligence ( odni ) has grown “ bloated and politicized ” under president barack obama prompted the incoming to work with top advisors on a plan to revamp america ’s top spy agency . “ the view from the trump team is the intelligence world has become completely politicized , ” an individual who is close to the trump transition told wsj . “ they all need to be slimmed down . the focus will be on restructuring the agencies and how they interact . ” trump has not kept secret his disdain towards what he believes the u. s. intelligence agencies have become under obama . last year , a congressional task force confirmed allegations that senior u. s. central command ( centcom ) leaders manipulated intelligence assessments in 2014 and 2015 to make it appear that president obama ’s strategies were winning the war against the islamic state ( ) . referring to the alleged plans by trump to revamp the top u. s. spy agency , wsj reports : the planning comes as mr. trump has leveled a series of attacks in recent months and the past few days against u. s. intelligence agencies , dismissing and mocking their assessment that russia stole emails from democratic groups and individuals and then provided them to wikileaks for publication in an effort to help mr. trump win the white house . one of the people familiar with mr. trump ’s planning said advisers also are working on a plan to restructure the central intelligence agency , cutting back on staffing at its virginia headquarters and pushing more people out into field posts around the world . the cia declined to comment . for commending russian president vladimir putin , criticizing u. s. spy agencies , and accepting an explanation by wikileaks julian assange of the hacking into the democratic national committee ( dnc ) the incoming has drawn the ire of both democratic and republican lawmakers . trump has also drawn criticism from intelligence and officials for the same reasons . “ mr. trump ’s advisers say he has long been skeptical of the cia ’s accuracy , and the often mentions faulty intelligence in 2002 and 2003 concerning iraq ’s weapons programs , ” notes wsj . “ but his public skepticism about the russia assessments has jarred analysts accustomed to more cohesion with the white house . ” “ top officials at u. s. intelligence agencies , as well as republican and democratic leaders in congress , have said russia orchestrated the computer attacks on the democratic party last year , ” also reports the journal . “ president barack obama ordered the intelligence agencies to produce a report on the hacking operation , and he is expected to be presented with the findings on thursday . ” on friday , trump is expected to meet with the heads of the cia , fbi , and dni james clapper to discuss the findings of the alleged russian hacking .
+1 solar eruption watch , satellite glitch | s0 news oct.31.2016 [ video ] madeline click here to learn more about alexandra 's personalized essences psychic protection click here for more information on psychic protection ! implant removal series click here to listen to the irp and sa / dna process read the testimonials click here to read what others are experiencing ! copyright © 2012 by galactic connection . all rights reserved . excerpts may be used , provided that full and clear credit is given to alexandra meadors and www.galacticconnection.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content . unauthorized use and/or duplication of any material on this website without express and written permission from its author and owner is strictly prohibited . thank you . privacy policy by subscribing to galacticconnection.com you acknowledge that your name and e - mail address will be added to our database . as with all other personal information , only working affiliates of galacticconnection.com have access to this data . we do not give galacticconnection.com addresses to outside companies , nor will we ever rent or sell your email address . any e - mail you send to galacticconnection.com is completely confidential . therefore , we will not add your name to our e - mail list without your permission . continue reading ... galactic connection 2016 | design & development by aa at superluminal systems sign up forour newsletter join our newsletter to receive exclusive updates , interviews , discounts , and more . join us !
+1 damning clinton footage leaks days before election – see it before it 's deleted nan comments throughout this election , hillary clinton has been claiming to be a “ warrior for women ” who will do everything in her power to help victims of sexual assault . that ’s why it came as bad news to her when the video above this story surfaced … infowars reported that the video shows child rape victim kathy shelton explain how clinton allowed her rapist to go free when she was his defense lawyer , even thought she knew he was guilty . afterwards , clinton was caught on a recording laughing about the fact that she ’d just knowingly set a child rapist free . “ he took a lie detector test , ” clinton said on the recording , according to the american thinker . “ i had him take a polygraph , which he passed , which forever destroyed my faith in polygraphs ( laughs ) . ” share this story so we can spread shelton ’s story and let people see who hillary clinton really is !
+0 ’titanfall 2’ - monarch ’s reign gameplay trailer - breitbart breitbart tech respawn entertainment is bringing a new titan to its giant mech shooter titanfall 2 with the latest free content update , monarch ’s reign . [ “ monarch is a titan that can upgrade itself on the battlefield through her unique upgrade core , ” respawn revealed in its latest community update . “ pilots select a path of upgrades and try to survive long enough to reach her final form . ” along with the titan , a remastered version of the original titanfall map relic will be free for players with the latest update . “ set among the old wreck of the imc carrier ims odyssey , relic is a worksite where pilots have created clever wall running routes by hanging pieces of the wreckage between buildings . the map consists of the wreck of the odyssey in the center of the map that splits the two town areas . ” a prime version of the tone and ronin titans will also be made available to purchase with the release of monarch ’s reign , featuring unique chassis and execution animations . a new pilot execution will also be introduced revolving around the stealth cloaking loadout for free , while new camos , titan noseart , and player callsigns will be available for purchase .
+1 transylvania recalls melania trump while movement to deport her gains steam nan monday , 31 october 2016 melania trump has been recalled by cryosphere reanimators in transylvania . two new stories about melania trump are converging to rock the trump empire , this is after donald trump 's failed presidential campaign has already severely damaged the family brand . first the real shocker . meyer hallsy of cryosphere reanimators in the transylvania region of romania issued a statement that stunned the trumps and the world : melania trump was being recalled along with 1,500 other reanimation subjects due to a shorter than expected lifespan on several body parts , though they declined to say specifically which parts or organs . donald trump denied the claims that melania was reanimated in transylvania and insisted she is from slovenia when he talked to reporters while he was stranded at the milwaukee airport . " this is one of the most twisted conspiracy theories ever , and i 'm sure crooked hillary was behind it just like she was behind the rumors of obama being born in kenya . but if this story and the recall were true i would ask them to work on one or two of melania 's body parts in particular while they had her , you guys , if you 're married , you know what i mean . " meyer hallsy gave a select few in the press an interview at the reanimation lab the day after his bombshell announcement about melania and others like her . " before the questions , let me explain a few things that will help to make everything more clear . melania and the other pleasurebots do n't know they are reanimated from the dead because we give them memory implants . so that 's why melania thinks she 's from slovenia . so think about it , her accounts of when she came to the us and started modeling have been shown to be false , no one can corroborate her history either -- that 's because it 's all memory implants . " the shocked press began shouting questions as hallsy continued over the din . " cryosphere reanimators will transport all pleasurebots to transylvania and back to their current homes at our own cost . i want to tell melania trump and all the other units on recall that we just want to keep them well and functioning and they will all have a wonderful welcome when they return to their birthplace so to speak , and then they can return to their owners after we fix them . if you are on the recall list and you are feeling sick in any way at all please contact cryosphere immediately . " in response to the doubters of the story , meyer hallsy said his company has already anticipated the need to convince some pleasurebots of the truth of their origin . " if melania and the other pleasurebots need to be convinced , they can call our new hotline where specially trained counselors will talk to them and tell them about a memory that only they can know about as proof that we created them . " movement to deport melania gains steam it was once a fringe group of liberals and conservatives questioning melania 's initial entry to the us and whether or not she had proper documents , therefore leading to questions about the legitimacy of her marriage and citizenship status as well . now , the deport melania coalition has spiked in membership since cryosphere broke the story of their reanimation project . besides questions about melania 's right to be in the us , even her right to exist is being questioned by anti - trump forces , as well as religious and political leaders . donald trump has also threatened to deport melania if she gains too much weight as first lady , and melania has been on the defensive since gaining 3 pounds during the campaign . privately , donald trump is saying melania is a slob for gaining the extra weight . make xrhonda speaks 's day - give this story five thumbs - up ( there 's no need to register , the thumbs are just down there ! )
+1 путин : запад постоянно наступает на одни и те же грабли nan 0 комментариев 4 поделились " на примере террористической опасности со всей очевидностью проявляется неспособность оценить характер , причины возникновения и нарастания угроз. мы видим это по тому , как развивается ситуация в сирии , остановить кровопролитие и запустить политический процесс не удается. казалось бы , после долгих переговоров , огромных усилий и сложных компромиссов наконец начал формироваться единый фронт борьбы с терроризмом , однако этого не произошло , он , фактически , не создан " , - сказал российский лидер. президент отметил , что примеры терактов последних лет ( в том числе сша и франции ) показывают - террористы могут действовать в одиночку. по его словам , люди напуганы тем , что терроризм из далекой угрозы стал повседневностью , что " теракт может произойти буквально рядом , на соседней улице , если не на собственной улице , а орудием массового убийства способно стать любое подручное средство - от изготовленной кустарным способом взрывчатки до обычного грузовика " . в том же время запад в противостоянию терроризму наступает на одни и те же грабли. " не сработали и наши личные договоренности с президентом сша. в вашингтоне нашлись силы , которые сделали все , чтобы они - эти договоренности - не были реализованы на практике. все это демонстрирует необъяснимое , я бы сказал , иррациональное стремление западных стран раз за разом повторять свои ошибки , как у нас в народе говорят , наступать на одни и те же грабли " , - заявил путин. по словам российского лидера , любые вызовы можно преодолеть только сообща , на базе правил оон. " универсальные правила оон необходимы , чтобы включить как можно большее число стран в процесс экономической и гуманитарной интеграции , гарантировать политическую ответственность и обеспечить согласованность действий , разумеется , при сохранении суверенитета " , - сказал владимир путин. читайте также :
+0 front - page editorials aim to soothe the grief - stricken - the new york times sydney ember last month , on the day after a gunman killed 49 people at a gay nightclub in orlando , fla. the orlando sentinel ran a editorial with the headline , “ our community will heal . ” and on sunday , three days after a sniper killed five police officers during a protest in downtown dallas , the dallas morning news responded with its own editorial , featuring an image of an eye shedding a tear . “ this city , our city , has been tested before , ” the editorial said . “ now we face a new test . ” as spasms of violence continue to tear apart cities across the country , newspapers have been using editorials as a salve for healing communities . but more than that , the front page has come to reflect the rising frustration of a fractured country reeling from bloodshed . “ there ’s no doubt that editorials have come more into some prominence in the last year or so , ” said al tompkins , a senior faculty member at the poynter institute . “ i think it ’s a way of trying to tap into the public consciousness . ” in the last several months , the boston globe and the new york times have both printed editorials calling for stricter regulation of guns in the aftermath of mass shootings . it was the first time since 1920 that the times had run an editorial on page 1 . the which had its own mass shooting to cover when a student at virginia tech shot and killed 32 people and wounded 17 others on campus in 2007 , ran a editorial on saturday that pleaded for a détente of sorts . “ let ’s just stop and mourn and wonder how in the world america became this unspeakably , relentlessly terrorized place , ” it said . the daily news of new york has used its front page in recent months as an editorial vehicle to inveigh against violence and congressional inaction in the face of it , including one last month with the image of the dome of the capitol soaked in blood . while many editorials are intended to soothe and promote resolve , other bold decisions by news organizations have been criticized as sowing divisiveness . the new york post , for instance , was excoriated on friday for deciding to use the headline “ civil war ” on its front page on the dallas shooting . a headline on the conservative drudge report , “ black lives kill , ” also drew harsh rebukes . like other editorials , the one in the dallas morning news addressed the violence gripping the country . “ we are surely not alone in asking , as our hearts break , what kind of country are we creating where such violence has become so frequent ? ” the editorial said . but it also acknowledged the city ’s deep divisions and urged more compassion . “ we live together , but we do not often understand one another . this is because of class , sometimes geography and often race , ” it said . “ there will be time later for anger and for justice — anger whose purpose is served in justice , ” the editorial added . “ but for now we need to learn to understand each other , to really hear one another , to learn from each other . ” mike wilson , the newspaper ’s editor , said in a statement that the editorial was intended to provide a “ quiet place ” for reflection . “ after two days of covering violence and heartbreak , we felt the need to pause for a moment and speak directly to the community , ” he said . “ we had two simple questions : what kind of city are we ? what kind of city do we want to be ? “ in the midst of so much noise and pain , we needed a quiet place for that conversation , ” he added . “ sunday ’s front page is that quiet place . ”
+0 massive espn financial , subscriber losses drag down disney ’s first - quarter sales - breitbart dylan gwinn a year that saw arguably the five greatest championship game performances of all time should have helped right the ship for espn , and at the very least stopped the trend of massive subscriber losses which have plagued the sports giant for the last few years . [ well , that did not happen , and espn appears to be a sinking ship , dragging parent company disney down with it . bloomberg reports that espn badly hurt disney ’s first quarter sales , falling well short of projections . according to the wrap , “ cable networks , particularly espn , have been an albatross on disney ’s stock price even as the company ’s two other major prongs , movies and theme parks , continue to perform well . as cheaper tv alternatives began to proliferate , espn hemorrhaged subscribers during the course of 2016 and is now at less than 88 million , compared with a peak of 100 . 1 million in 2011 . at an estimated $ 7 per subscriber , that dip has been a substantial hit to disney , especially considering media networks made up 49 percent of disney ’s profits during fiscal 2016 . ” in other words , everyone else at disney met or exceeded their projected goals , except for espn who lost more than twelve million subscribers in just under six years . but , the problem for espn goes deeper than just losing subscribers and money . the wrap explains , “ at the same time , rights fees for the live sports espn specializes in broadcasting continue to go up , as there ’s plenty of competition for one of the few pieces of programmed television that still delivers monster ratings . espn will pay $ 7 . 3 billion for content this year — the biggest price tag among all media companies . operating income at disney ’s cable networks division — primarily espn — plunged 11 percent compared with the same time the previous year . disney attributed that drop entirely to lower espn revenue . ” less cash on hand means less cash to purchase rights to sporting events , which can prove particularly harmful to an entity that considers itself a sports network . now , disney and espn have laid much of the blame for their subscriber loss at the feet of the cord cutting phenomenon that has impacted all cable providers to some degree . that ’s a fair point , but espn ’s losses have far exceeded the pace and rate of losses among other providers . espn will also cite the fact that they ’re rolling out more streaming content that will offset much of the losses they ’ve taken on the cable side . great , but what will espn show on those streaming channels ? will they show the equivalent of jason bateman ’s espn “ the ocho ? ” i enjoy a good game of dodgeball as much as the next guy , but unless espn plans on exclusively featuring the nfl , or nba games on their streaming networks , virtually no one will watch . not to mention , it ’s highly unlikely that either the nba or the nfl would enter into a contract with espn which allowed them to only offer their games via stream . so , what can espn do ? in november , espn ombudsman jim brady wrote that he felt the network had become too liberal , turning off half the country and potentially effecting viewership and subscribership . sadly , three months after that rare and blinding light of truth and honesty there ’s no reason to believe anything has changed regarding the politics of espn . not when you have hosts like espn ’s ryen rusillo stating , on the air , that he no longer knows what his job is , since everyone around him just wants to bash trump and talk liberal politics , instead of talking about sports . maybe , if espn focused more on sports instead of alienating half the country , their business would n’t be circling the drain right now . after all , lady gaga just did a halftime show in which she decided to not enrage half the country , and got rewarded with an enormous surge in digital music sales . imagine that . do n’t insult the country and they ’ll consume your product . who would have thought ? follow dylan gwinn on twitter : @themightygwinn
+1 it 's over ! trump is out - see today 's final killer blunders genosse dummkopf channel list following hurricane matthew 's failure to devastate florida , activists flock to the sunshine state and destroy trump signs manually tim kaine takes credit for interrupting hurricane matthew while debating weather in florida study : many non - voters still undecided on how they 're not going to vote the evolution of dissent : on november 8th the nation is to decide whether dissent will stop being racist and become sexist - or it will once again be patriotic as it was for 8 years under george w. bush venezuela solves starvation problem by making it mandatory to buy food breaking : the clinton foundation set to investigate the fbi obama ​​captures rare pokémon ​​while visiting hiroshima movie news : ' the big friendly giant government ' flops at box office ; audiences say " it 's creepy " barack obama : " if i had a son , he 'd look like micah johnson " white house edits orlando 911 transcript to say shooter pledged allegiance to nra and republican party president george washington : ' redcoats do not represent british empire ; king george promotes a distorted version of british colonialism ' following obama 's ' okie - doke ' speech , stock of okie - doke soars ; nasdaq : ' obama best okie - doke salesman ' weaponized baby formula threatens planned parenthood office ; aclu demands federal investigation of gerber experts : melting antarctic glacier could cause sale levels to rise up to 80 % off select items by this weekend travel advisory : airlines now offering flights to front of tsa line as obama instructs his administration to get ready for presidential transition , trump preemptively purchases ' t ' keys for white house keyboards john kasich self - identifies as gop primary winner , demands access to white house bathroom upcoming trump / kelly interview on foxnews sponsored by ' let 's make a deal ' and ' the price is right ' news from 2017 : once the evacuation of lena dunham and 90 % of other hollywood celebrities to canada is confirmed , trump resigns from presidency : " my work here is done " non - presidential candidate paul ryan pledges not to run for president in new non - presidential non - ad campaign trump suggests creating ' muslim database ' ; obama symbolically protests by shredding white house guest logs beginning 2009 national enquirer : john kasich 's real dad was the milkman , not mailman national enquirer : bound delegates from colorado , wyoming found in ted cruz ’s basement iran breaks its pinky - swear promise not to support terrorism ; us state department vows rock - paper - scissors strategic response women across the country cheer as racist democrat president on $ 20 bill is replaced by black pro - gun republican federal reserve solves budget crisis by writing itself a 20-trillion - dollar check widows , orphans claim responsibility for brussels airport bombing che guevara 's son hopes cuba 's communism will rub off on us , proposes a long list of people the government should execute first susan sarandon : " i do n't vote with my vagina . " voters in line behind her still suspicious , use hand sanitizer campaign memo typo causes hillary to court ' new black panties ' vote new hampshire votes for socialist sanders , changes state motto to " live for free or die " martin o'malley drops out of race after iowa caucus ; nation shocked with revelation he has been running for president statisticians : one out of three bernie sanders supporters is just as dumb as the other two hillary campaign denies accusations of smoking - gun evidence in her emails , claims they contain only smoking - circumstantial - gun evidence obama stops short of firing us congress upon realizing the difficulty of assembling another group of such tractable yes - men in effort to contol wild passions for violent jihad , white house urges gun owners to keep their firearms covered in gun burkas tv horror live : a charlie brown christmas gets shot up on air by mohammed cartoons democrats vow to burn the country down over ted cruz statement , ' the overwhelming majority of violent criminals are democrats ' russia 's trend to sign bombs dropped on isis with " this is for paris " found response in obama administration 's trend to sign american bombs with " return to sender " university researchers of cultural appropriation quit upon discovery that their research is appropriation from a culture that created universities archeologists discover remains of what barack obama has described as unprecedented , un - american , and not - who - we - are immigration screening process in ellis island mizzou protests lead to declaring entire state a " safe space , " changing missouri motto to " the do n't show me state " green energy fact : if we put all green energy subsidies together in one - dollar bills and burn them , we could generate more electricity than has been produced by subsidized green energy state officials improve chances of healthcare payouts by replacing obamacare with state lottery nasa 's new mission to search for racism , sexism , and economic inequality in deep space suffers from race , gender , and class power struggles over multibillion - dollar budget college progress enforcement squads issue schematic humor charts so students know if a joke may be spontaneously laughed at or if regulations require other action isis opens suicide hotline for us teens depressed by climate change and other progressive doomsday scenarios virginia county to close schools after teacher asks students to write ' death to america ' in arabic ' wear hijab to school day ' ends with spontaneous female circumcision and stoning of a classmate during lunch break isis releases new , even more barbaric video in an effort to regain mantle from planned parenthood impressed by fox news stellar rating during gop debates , cnn to use same formula on democrat candidates asking tough , pointed questions about republicans shocking new book explores pros and cons of socialism , discovers they are same people pope outraged by planned parenthood 's " unfettered capitalism , " demands equal redistribution of baby parts to each according to his need john kerry accepts iran 's " golden taquiyya " award , requests jalapenos on the side citizens of pluto protest us government 's surveillance of their planetoid and its moons with new horizons space drone john kerry proposes 3-day waiting period for all terrorist nations trying to acquire nuclear weapons chicago police trying to identify flag that caused nine murders and 53 injuries in the city this past weekend cuba opens to affordable medical tourism for americans who ca n't afford obamacare deductibles state - funded research proves existence of quantum aggression particles ( heterons ) in large hadron collider student job opportunities : make big bucks this summer as hillary ’s ordinary - american ; all expenses paid , travel , free acting lessons experts debate whether iranian negotiators broke john kerry 's leg or he did it himself to get out of negotiations junior varsity takes ramadi , advances to quarterfinals us media to gop pool of candidates : ' knowing what we know now , would you have had anything to do with the founding of the united states ? ' ny mayor to hold peace talks with rats , apologize for previous mayor 's cowboy diplomacy china launches cube - shaped space object with a message to aliens : " the inhabitants of earth will steal your intellectual property , copy it , manufacture it in sweatshops with slave labor , and sell it back to you at ridiculously low prices " progressive scientists : truth is a variable deduced by subtracting ' what is ' from ' what ought to be ' experts agree : hillary clinton best candidate to lessen percentage of americans in top 1 % america 's attempts at peace talks with the white house continue to be met with lies , stalling tactics , and bad faith starbucks new policy to talk race with customers prompts new hashtag # dontholduptheline hillary : delete is the new reset charlie hebdo receives islamophobe 2015 award ; the cartoonists could not be reached for comment due to their inexplicable , illogical deaths russia sends ' reset ' button back to hillary : ' you need it now more than we do ' barack obama finds out from cnn that hillary clinton spent four years being his secretary of state president obama honors leonard nimoy by taking selfie in front of starship enterprise police : if obama had a convenience store , it would look like obama express food market study finds stunning lack of racial , gender , and economic diversity among middle - class white males nasa : we 're 80 % sure about being 20 % sure about being 17 % sure about being 38 % sure about 2014 being the hottest year on record people holding ' $ 15 an hour now ' posters sue democratic party demanding raise to $ 15 an hour for rendered professional protesting services cuba - us normalization : us tourists flock to see cuba before it looks like the us and cubans flock to see the us before it looks like cuba white house describes attacks on sony pictures as ' spontaneous hacking in response to offensive video mocking juche and its prophet ' cia responds to democrat calls for transparency by releasing the director 's cut of the making of obama 's birth certificate obama : ' if i had a city , it would look like ferguson ' biden : ' if i had a ferguson ( hic ) , it would look like a city ' obama signs executive order renaming ' looters ' to ' undocumented shoppers ' ethicists agree : two wrongs do make a right so long as bush did it first the aftermath of the ' war on women 2014 ' finds a new ' lost generation ' of disillusioned democrat politicians , unable to cope with life out of office white house : republican takeover of the senate is a clear mandate from the american people for president obama to rule by executive orders nurse kaci hickox angrily tells reporters that she wo n't change her clocks for daylight savings time democratic party leaders in panic after recent poll shows most democratic voters think ' midterm ' is when to end pregnancy desperate democratic candidates plead with obama to stop backing them and instead support their gop opponents ebola czar issues five - year plan with mandatory quotas of ebola infections per each state based on voting preferences study : crony capitalism is to the free market what the westboro baptist church is to christianity fun facts about world languages : the left has more words for statism than the eskimos have for snow african countries to ban all flights from the united states because " obama is incompetent , it scares us " nobel peace prize controversy : hillary not nominated despite having done even less than obama to deserve it obama : ' ebola is the jv of viruses ' breaking : secret service foils secret service plot to protect obama revised 1st amendment : buy one speech , get the second free sharpton calls on white nfl players to beat their women in the interests of racial fairness president obama appoints his weekly approval poll as new national security adviser obama wags pen and phone at putin ; europe offers support with powerful pens and phones from nato members white house pledges to embarrass isis back to the stone age with a barrage of fearsome twitter messages and fatally ironic instagram photos obama to fight isis with new federal terrorist regulatory agency obama vows isis will never raise their flag over the eighteenth hole harry reid : " sometimes i say the wong thing " elian gonzalez wishes he had come to the u.s. on a bus from central america like all the other kids obama visits us - mexican border , calls for a two - state solution obama draws " blue line " in iraq after putin took away his red crayon " hard choices , " a porno flick loosely based on hillary clinton 's memoir and starring hillary hellfire as a drinking , whoring secretary of state , wildly outsells the flabby , sagging original accusations of siding with the enemy leave sgt . bergdahl with only two options : pursue a doctorate at berkley or become a senator from massachusetts jay carney stuck in line behind eric shinseki to leave the white house ; estimated wait time from 15 min to 6 weeks 100 % of scientists agree that if man - made global warming were real , " the last people we 'd want to help us is the obama administration " jay carney says he found out that obama found out that he found out that obama found out that he found out about the latest obama administration scandal on the news " anarchy now ! " meeting turns into riot over points of order , bylaws , and whether or not ' kicking the # ^@ & * ! ass ' of the person trying to speak is or is not violence obama retaliates against putin by prohibiting unionized federal employees from dating hot russian girls online during work hours russian separatists in ukraine riot over an offensive youtube video showing the toppling of lenin statues " free speech zones " confuse obamaphone owners who roam streets in search of additional air minutes obamacare bolsters employment for professionals with skills to convert meth back into sudafed gloves finally off : obama uses pen and phone to cancel putin 's netflix account joe biden to russia : " we will bury you by turning more of eastern europe over to your control ! " in last - ditch effort to help ukraine , obama deploys rev. sharpton and rev. jackson 's rainbow coalition to crimea al sharpton : " not even putin can withstand our signature chanting , ' racist , sexist , anti - gay , russian army go away ' ! " mardi gras in north korea : " throw me some food ! " obama 's foreign policy works : " war , invasion , and conquest are signs of weakness ; we 've got putin right where we want him " us offers military solution to ukraine crisis : " we will only fight countries that have lgbt military " putin annexes brighton beach to protect ethnic russians in brooklyn , obama appeals to un and eu for help the 1980s : " mr. obama , we 're just calling to ask if you want our foreign policy back . the 1970s are right here with us , and they 're wondering , too . " in a stunning act of defiance , obama courageously unfriends putin on facebook msnbc : obama secures alliance with austro - hungarian empire against russia ’s aggression in ukraine study : springbreak is to stds what april 15th is to accountants efforts to achieve moisture justice for california thwarted by unfair redistribution of snow in america north korean voters unanimous : " we are the 100 % " leader of authoritarian gulag - site , the people 's cube , unanimously ' re - elected ' with 100 % voter turnout super bowl : obama blames fox news for broncos ' loss feminist author slams gay marriage : " a man needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle " beverly hills campaign heats up between henry waxman and marianne williamson over the widening income gap between millionaires and billionaires in their district biden to lower $ 10,000-a - plate dinner for the homeless to $ 5,000 so more homeless can attend kim becomes world leader , feeds uncle to dogs ; obama eats dogs , becomes world leader , america cries uncle north korean leader executes own uncle for talking about obamacare at family christmas party white house hires part - time schizophrenic mandela sign interpreter to help sell obamacare kim jong un executes own " crazy uncle " to keep him from ruining another family christmas ofa admits its advice for area activists to give obamacare talk at shooting ranges was a bad idea president resolves obamacare debacle with executive order declaring all americans equally healthy obama to iran : " if you like your nuclear program , you can keep your nuclear program " bovine community outraged by flatulence coming from washington dc obama : " i 'm not particularly ideological ; i believe in a good pragmatic five - year plan " shocker : obama had no knowledge he 'd been reelected until he read about it in the local newspaper last week server problems at healthcare.gov so bad , it now flashes ' error 808 ' message nsa marks national best friend day with official announcement : " government is your best friend ; we know you like no one else , we 're always there , we 're always willing to listen " al qaeda cancels attack on usa citing launch of obamacare as devastating enough the president 's latest talking point on obamacare : " i did n't build that " dizzy with success , obama renames his wildly popular healthcare mandate to hillarycare carney : huge obamacare deductibles wo n't look as bad come hyperinflation washington redskins drop ' washington ' from their name as offensive to most americans poll : 83 % of americans favor cowboy diplomacy over rodeo clown diplomacy government warning : if you were able to complete obamacare form online , it was n't a legitimate gov't website ; you should report online fraud and change all your passwords obama administration gets serious , threatens syria with obamacare obama authorizes the use of vice president joe biden 's double - barrel shotgun to fire a couple of blasts at syria sharpton : " british royals should have named baby ' trayvon . ' by choosing ' george ' they sided with white hispanic racist zimmerman " dnc launches ' carlos danger ' action figure ; proceeds to fund a charity helping survivors of the republican war on women nancy pelosi extends abortion rights to the birds and the bees hubble discovers planetary drift to the left obama : ' if i had a daughter - in - law , she would look like rachael jeantel ' fisa court rubberstamps statement denying its portrayal as government 's rubber stamp every time obamacare gets delayed , a julia somewhere dies gop to schumer : ' force full implementation of obamacare before 2014 or dems will never win another election ' obama : ' if i had a son ... no , wait , my daughter can now marry a woman ! ' janet napolitano : tsa findings reveal that since none of the hijackers were babies , elderly , or tea partiers , 9/11 was not an act of terrorism news flash : sen. mary landrieu ( d - la ) can see canada from south dakota susan rice : irs actions against tea parties caused by anti - tax youtube video that was insulting to their faith drudge report reduces font to fit all white house scandals onto one page obama : the irs is a constitutional right , just like the second amendment white house : top obama officials using secret email accounts a result of bad it advice to avoid spam mail from nigeria jay carney to critics : ' pinocchio never said anything inconsistent ' obama : if i had a gay son , he 'd look like jason collins gosnell 's office in benghazi raided by the irs : mainstream media 's worst cover - up challenge to date irs targeting pro - gay - marriage lgbt groups leads to gayest tax revolt in u.s. history after arlington cemetery rejects offer to bury boston bomber , westboro babtist church steps up with premium front lawn plot boston : obama administration to reclassify marathon bombing as ' sportsplace violence ' study : success has many fathers but failure becomes a government program us media : can pope francis possibly clear up vatican bureaucracy and banking without blaming the previous administration ? michelle obama praises weekend rampage by chicago teens as good way to burn calories and stay healthy this passover , obama urges his subjects to paint lamb 's blood above doors in order to avoid the sequester white house to american children : sequester causes layoffs among hens that lay easter eggs ; union - wage easter bunnies to be replaced by mexican chupacabras time mag names hugo chavez world 's sexiest corpse boy , 8 , pretends banana is gun , makes daring escape from school study : free lunches overpriced , lack nutrition oscars 2013 : michelle obama announces long - awaited merger of hollywood and the state joe salazar defends the right of women to be raped in gun - free environment : ' rapists and rapees should work together to prevent gun violence for the common good ' dept . of health and human services eliminates rape by reclassifying assailants as ' undocumented sex partners ' kremlin puts out warning not to photoshop putin riding meteor unless bare - chested deeming football too violent , obama moves to introduce super drone sundays instead japan offers to extend nuclear umbrella to cover u.s. should america suffer devastating attack on its own defense spending feminists organize one billion women to protest male oppression with one billion lap dances urban community protests mayor bloomberg 's ban on extra - large pop singers owning assault weapons concerned with mounting death toll , taliban offers to send peacekeeping advisers to chicago karl rove puts an end to tea party with new ' republicans for democrats ' strategy aimed at losing elections answering public skepticism , president obama authorizes unlimited drone attacks on all skeet targets throughout the country skeet ulrich denies claims he had been shot by president but considers changing his name to ' traps ' white house releases new exciting photos of obama standing , sitting , looking thoughtful , and even breathing in and out new york times hacked by chinese government , paul krugman 's economic policies stolen white house : when president shoots skeet , he donates the meat to food banks that feed the middle class to prove he is serious , obama eliminates armed guard protection for president , vice - president , and their families ; establishes gun - free zones around them instead state dept to send 100,000 american college students to china as security for us debt obligations jay carney : al qaeda is on the run , they 're just running forward president issues executive orders banning cliffs , ceilings , obstructions , statistics , and other notions that prevent us from moving forwards and upward fearing the worst , obama administration outlaws the fan to prevent it from being hit by certain objects world ends ; s&p soars riddle of universe solved ; answer not understood meek inherit earth , ca n't afford estate taxes greece abandons euro ; accountants find greece has no euros anyway wheel finally reinvented ; axles to be gradually reinvented in 3rd quarter of 2013 bigfoot found in ohio , mysteriously not voting for obama as santa 's workshop files for bankruptcy , fed offers bailout in exchange for control of ' naughty and nice ' list freak flying pig accident causes bacon to fly off shelves obama : green economy likely to transform america into a leading third world country of the new millennium report : president obama to visit the united states in the near future obama promises to create thousands more economically neutral jobs modernizing islam : new york imam proposes to canonize saul alinsky as religion 's latter day prophet imam rauf 's peaceful solution : ' move ground zero a few blocks away from the mosque and no one gets hurt ' study : obama 's threat to burn tax money in washington ' recruitment bonanza ' for tea parties study : no social security reform will be needed if gov't raises retirement age to at least 814 years obama attends church service , worships self obama proposes national ' win the future ' lottery ; proceeds of new wtf powerball to finance more gov't spending historical revisionists : " hey , you never know " vice president biden : criticizing egypt is un - pharaoh israelis to egyptian rioters : " do n't damage the pyramids , we will not rebuild " lake superior renamed lake inferior in spirit of tolerance and inclusiveness al gore : it 's a shame that a family can be torn apart by something as simple as a pack of polar bears michael moore : as long as there is anyone with money to shake down , this country is not broke obama 's teleprompters unionize , demand collective bargaining rights obama calls new taxes ' spending reductions in tax code . ' elsewhere rapists tout ' consent reductions in sexual intercourse ' obama 's teleprompter unhappy with white house twitter : " too few words " obama 's regulation reduction committee finds us constitution to be expensive outdated framework inefficiently regulating federal gov't taking a page from the reagan years , obama announces new era of perestroika and glasnost responding to oslo shootings , obama declares christianity " religion of peace , " praises " moderate christians , " promises to send one into space republicans block obama 's $ 420 billion program to give american families free charms that ward off economic bad luck white house to impose chimney tax on santa claus obama decrees the economy is not soaring as much as previously decreeed conservative think tank introduces children to capitalism with pop - up picture book " the road to smurfdom " al gore proposes to combat global warming by extracting silver linings from clouds in earth 's atmosphere obama refutes charges of him being unresponsive to people 's suffering : " when you pray to god , do you always hear a response ? " obama regrets the us government did n't provide his mother with free contraceptives when she was in college fluke to congress : drill , baby , drill ! planned parenthood introduces frequent flucker reward card : ' come again soon ! ' obama to tornado victims : ' we inherited this weather from the previous administration ' obama congratulates putin on chicago - style election outcome people 's cube gives itself hero of socialist labor medal in recognition of continued expert advice provided to the obama administration helping to shape its foreign and domestic policies hamas : israeli air defense unfair to 99 % of our missiles , " only 1 % allowed to reach israel " democrat strategist : without government supervision , women would have never evolved into humans voters without borders oppose texas new voter id law enraged by accusation that they are doing obama 's bidding , media leaders demand instructions from white house on how to respond obama blames previous olympics for failure to win at this olympics official : china plans to land on moon or at least on cheap knockoff thereof koran - contra : obama secretly arms syrian rebels poll : progressive slogan ' we should be more like europe ' most popular with members of american nazi party obama to evangelicals : jesus saves , i just spend may day : anarchists plan , schedule , synchronize , and execute a coordinated campaign against all of the above midwestern farmers hooked on new erotic novel " 50 shades of hay " study : 99 % of liberals give the rest a bad name obama meets with jewish leaders , proposes deeper circumcisions for the rich historians : before hope & change there was hemp & choom at ten bucks a bag cancer once again fails to cure venezuela of its " president for life " tragic spelling error causes muslim protesters to burn local boob - tube factory secretary of energy steven chu : due to energy conservation , the light at the end of the tunnel will be switched off obama administration running food stamps across the border with mexico in an operation code - named " fat and furious " pakistan explodes in protest over new adobe acrobat update ; 17 local acrobats killed white house : " let them eat statistics " special ops : if benedict arnold had a son , he would look like barack obama
+0 exclusive – jihadist : hamas uncovered islamic state rocket workshop in gaza aaron klein and ali waked tel aviv — hamas security forces have uncovered a rocket workshop run by a state organization in gaza , according to a jihadist in the coastal enclave . [ abu baker almaqdesi , a top palestinian jihadi who previously fought for is in syria and iraq and returned to his native gaza following an injury , said that hundreds of rockets and explosive belts have been seized by hamas in a recent raid . last month , hamas unveiled a jihadi arsenal containing some 250 rockets and hundreds of rifles . “ the range of some of these rockets is 140 kilometers , ” almaqdesi claimed without providing any evidence . he further stated that similar rockets have already been shipped to waliyat sinai , is ’s egyptian affiliate . a hamas interior ministry official declined to confirm or deny the report about the rocket workshop , but confirmed that electronic devices allegedly utilized to connect between jihadists and their gaza counterparts have been seized . on saturday , two rockets were fired from gaza into southern israel , prompting the israel defense forces to retaliate against hamas positions . meanwhile , the aamaq news agency reported that israeli drones raided the organization ’s strongholds in sinai . “ several people , including two children , were killed and ( others ) injured on thursday in israeli raids on outposts in rafah and sheikh zwaid in the north of sinai , ” the report said .
+0 russia and the united states reach new agreement on syria conflict - the new york times david e. sanger and anne barnard geneva — russia and the united states agreed early saturday on a new plan to reduce violence in the syrian conflict that , if successful , could lead for the first time to joint military targeting by the two powers against islamic jihadists in syria . the agreement was reached after 10 months of failed attempts to halt the fighting and of suspended efforts to reach a political settlement to an increasingly complex conflict that began more than five years ago . the conflict has left nearly half a million people dead , created the largest refugee crisis since world war ii and turned syria into a prime incubator of recruiting for the islamic state and the nusra front , an affiliate of al qaeda . secretary of state john kerry and his russian counterpart , sergey v. lavrov , announced the agreement in geneva after weeks of negotiations that were marred , in president obama ’s words , by deep “ mistrust ” between the russians and americans , who back opposite sides in syria , but share an antipathy to the islamic jihadists flourishing there . it came at a time when relations between the united states and russia , which have worsened throughout much of the obama administration , have been especially jolted by accusations of russian hacking and subterfuge in american politics . the tensions have been further exacerbated by the effusive praise for president vladimir v. putin of russia by the republican presidential nominee , donald j. trump . the new arrangement on syria , set to begin monday , was greeted with skepticism by syrians on all sides and carries many risks of failure , which the pentagon and mr. kerry acknowledged . “ no one is basing this on trust , ” he said . “ we are basing it on oversight and compliance . ” the plan starts with a continuous “ genuine reduction of violence , ” in mr. kerry ’s words , and broad , unrestricted humanitarian access to the ravaged northern city of aleppo and other besieged areas . if that works , the united states and russia are to establish a joint implementation center , where they will share targeting data , and begin to coordinate bombing of militants of the nusra front and the islamic state . the key element is that russia must then restrain the forces of president bashar of syria from conducting any air operations over areas held by nusra and other opposition forces . the united states hopes this will end the indiscriminate dropping of barrel bombs — including chlorine gas attacks — that have punctuated the conflict . in return , the united states is to persuade the opposition groups it has been supporting to separate themselves from the nusra forces . mr. assad has attacked many of them on the pretense of attacking nusra fighters . american officials expressed strong reservations about whether this new arrangement would work . especially skeptical was the pentagon , long suspicious of russian intentions in syria , since the kremlin first deployed military forces there to help mr. assad a year ago . defense secretary ashton b. carter was among obama administration officials who raised questions over whether either russia or the assad government would comply with the terms . mr. kerry ’s announcement of the deal , mr. lavrov at his side , was permeated with caveats . “ we believe the plan , if implemented , if followed , has the ability to provide a turning point , a change , ” he said . but he sounded far more cautious here than he did in munich in february when he announced an earlier “ cessation of hostilities ” that failed . the accord was reached after sharp divisions inside the obama administration over the wisdom of sharing targeting information with russia , and accusations that the russians have used the negotiating period to help mr. assad regain control in aleppo and strike at opposition groups . for mr. obama , who asked mr. kerry to keep working on the negotiation after the president failed to reach an accord with mr. putin during the group of 20 summit meeting in china last weekend , the new accord poses considerable risks . for example , if the bombing of nusra sites kills civilians — almost inevitable given the proximity of militant extremist groups and civilians — there are bound to be accusations about who is responsible . pentagon officials are also concerned that russia will use the targeting data to learn more about how american forces identify and attack targets , at a time when forces from the two countries are often near one another around europe . mr. lavrov took a few shots at the united states even while celebrating the arrangement , denouncing “ arrogant sanctions ” levied against russia for its annexation of crimea two years ago . late on friday , he suggested the united states could not decide about the deal , sending pizza and vodka to reporters to ease the wait , and coming by to joke about how long it took mr. obama and his team to make decisions . but for mr. kerry , reaching this deal has become a personal mission , one that at times put him in conflict with the white house . he has pressed for a stronger military commitment in syria and support for some opposition groups , along with a series of more aggressive covert actions , according to administration officials . mr. obama has been reluctant , as have others in the white house who fear that , even if they could engineer a transition in syria , it could create a power vacuum that iran , russia and militant terrorist groups could exploit . the american skepticism is partly rooted in the failed agreement for a cessation of hostilities reached with the russians in february . that arrangement collapsed weeks later when russia moved heavy artillery into the aleppo area to help mr. assad ’s forces . among the syrians , the latest plan was greeted with wariness , particularly from armed opposition groups and their supporters , who , broadly speaking , have come to believe that the united states has lost interest in ousting mr. assad , and is willing to see them wiped out . it is a measure of how little trust the syrians have in the international community — especially after the in february — that initial reactions were lukewarm , even though the deal holds out the possibility of at least a temporary calming of the violence . armed opposition groups read the deal as ordering them to remove nusra fighters from their areas , something they lack the military power to do alone , or else face attack by the united states — a country that has provided some of the rebel groups with training and weapons for years . some government opponents noted that the deal came hours after syrian military forces — with russian air support — their siege of the sections of aleppo . while mr. kerry began his announcement by noting that mr. assad ’s airstrikes were , as he put it , “ the main driver of civilian casualties and migration flows , ” the deal — as partly described — contains many loopholes that could allow them to continue . and no measures were described that would hold any of the parties to account if they violated the terms of a deal that is being struck at a time when the united states has little leverage over russia in syria . the deal allows syrian government warplanes to continue to fly missions in some areas that are to be defined later . and russia and the united states will target areas where they both agree nusra or islamic state fighters are present . what that really means hinges on how russia and the united states define legitimate opposition groups that can not be targeted under the deal , and how they define areas where nusra is present . the deal also failed to mention anything about the presence of foreign shiite militias — such as hezbollah , which like al qaeda and islamic state is considered a terrorist group by the united states — fighting on the syrian government ’s side . it also said nothing about the tens of thousands of detainees in syrian government prisons , whose release had long been touted as a possible measure under a deal . and while it spoke of allowing aid deliveries into besieged areas , it said nothing of lifting the sieges and restoring freedom of movement of goods and people .
+0 review : jonah lehrer ’s ‘ a book about love’ is another unoriginal sin - the new york times jennifer senior jonah lehrer has had time to work on “ a book about love . ” his schedule no longer teems with lucrative speaking engagements . he no longer writes for the new yorker or contributes to “ radiolab ” on npr . with this project — his shot at redemption , provided to him by simon schuster after his public tumble from grace — mr. lehrer could have written something complex and considered . books are still the slow food of the publishing business . yet here is mr. lehrer , once again , serving us a nonfiction mcmuffin . i was n’t expecting it . i was one of those weirdos who thought mr. lehrer would make a respectable comeback . he ’s bright . he ’s a decent stylist . he languished in the public stockade for weeks for his sins . why would n’t he try something personal , something soulful , something new ? no clue . but he did n’t . his book is insolently unoriginal . for those who do n’t know the author ’s story : mr. lehrer , 35 , was once one of our culture ’s cuddliest pop intellectuals , specializing in neuroscience . from almost the moment he published his first book at 26 , magazine editors could n’t get enough of him . he wrote two more books and became a speaker on the guru rental market . but in the summer of 2012 , he was caught recycling old material for his new blog at the new yorker . then it was discovered he ’d plagiarized several blog posts while working at wired magazine . and then the journalist michael moynihan found that mr. lehrer had invented quotes from bob dylan for his third book , “ imagine , ” and misused the words mr. dylan actually did say . later investigations showed that “ imagine ” contained many other factual errors . the book was pulled from shelves . so , too , was his second book , “ how we decide . ” errors in even the finest works of nonfiction are ridiculously common . gay talese , who ’s been writing for almost twice as long as mr. lehrer has been alive , just had to concede that parts of his coming book , “ the voyeur ’s motel , ” could not be wholly accurate after a reporter from the washington post phoned to point out he ’d missed essential information about his subject . what rankled about mr. lehrer was his “ cavalier attitude about truth and falsehood , ” in the words of the writer charles seife , who reviewed his work for wired . in retrospect — and i am hardly the first person to point this out — the vote to excommunicate mr. lehrer was as much about the product he was peddling as the professional transgressions he was committing . it was a referendum on a certain genre of canned , social science , one that traffics in bespoke platitudes for the middlebrow and rehearses the same studies without saying something new . apparently , he ’s learned nothing . this book is a series of duckpin arguments , just waiting to be knocked down . perhaps the flimsiest : that shakespeare ’s famous teenagers have come to define our understanding of love . “ but this description of love — the romeo and juliet version — is woefully incomplete , ” he writes in the introduction . love is not just lust , madness , or a great tidal flow of dopamine , he is quick to tell us . “ love is a process , not a switch . ” fine . but is there really any evolved adult who believes otherwise ? when a widow wakes up sobbing in the middle of the night , mourning the loss of her husband of 50 years , is she mourning the loss of passion , giddy infatuation and great sex ? no matter . mr. lehrer bangs this same note throughout the book . on page 53 , he says we wrongly assume that “ what we feel at first sight ” will help us predict relationship outcomes on page 104 , he reminds us that our psychological needs have little to do with the romance of songs . on page 246 , he ’s still saying it ’s commonly believed that “ once we fall in love , the love is supposed to take care of itself . ” but no : “ this is wrong on every level . ” you know what he says love requires ? hard work . “ when a relationship endures , ” he explains , “ it is not because the flame never burns out . it is because the flame is always being relit . ” there ’s a lot of counsel in this book , often followed by academic citations . it ’s like reading an advice column by way of jstor . to the extent that he has one , mr. lehrer ’s argument is that humans crave connection . he borrows heavily from attachment theory to explain how we approach relationships . we seek secure attachments to our parents , to our spouses , even to god , the ultimate “ secure base . ” the more securely attached we are , the healthier and more productive we are . he then hurls one study after another at us to build his case , which really never required much building . at times , his book becomes such a dense plague of studies , i had no idea where mr. lehrer was heading . he devotes an entire subsection to the plasticity of our memories , noting how they alter every time we recall them . i fail to see how this relates to love , exactly . he says it ’s because “ if our memories never changed , then we might adapt to their pleasures . ” but i suspect it ’s really because mr. lehrer can phone this material in , having already riffed on it ad nauseam : in his first book , in a segment on radiolab , in a number of blog posts and columns . it ’s his secure base . most criminally : love , we must assume , was mr. lehrer ’s salvation during his time of crisis . but he never once explains how . he barely — and i mean barely — mentions his wife . in a couple of places , he mentions that his brief exile made him a better father , but it ’s all terribly perfunctory . the most he ’ll say is that he ’s become “ a little more aware of what matters . ” he ’s written a book about love that has no heart . as for the question that ’s on everyone ’s mind — did mr. lehrer play by the rules in this book ? — i think the answer is complicated , but unpromising . in an author ’s note , mr. lehrer says that he sent his quotes to everyone he interviewed and that his book was independently . and it ’s true that this book contains far more citations than his previous work . but i fear mr. lehrer has simply become more artful about his appropriations . at one point , for instance , he writes : “ we do n’t love our kids despite their demands we love them because of them . caregiving makes us care . ” i stopped dead when i read that sentence . reread it . and read it again . it sounds to me like a clever adaptation of one of the most beautiful lines in “ the philosophical baby ” by alison gopnik : “ it ’s not so much that we care for children because we love them as that we love them because we care for them . ” i ’m pretty certain mr. lehrer read ms. gopnik ’s quote . why ? because i cite it in my own book — which he cites , twice . ( though not for that . ) he also wrote about “ the philosophical baby ” for the boston globe . in his chapter on memory , i noticed a similar rewrite of a phrase from sarah bakewell ’s “ how to live . ” though at least he credits ms. bakewell ’s ideas . these may seem like minor offenses . but what they betoken is a larger sort of intellectual dishonesty . if you squint , you ’ll see that mr. lehrer often rehashes arguments made by others , both in structure and content , when writing parts of his book . sometimes he credits these people sometimes he does n’t . but the point is , he ’s relying on their associations and connections . i ’m guessing media reporters and other diligent reservists in the press corps will find a number of such examples . it suffices , for now , to say this : mr. lehrer devotes many pages in “ a book about love ” to how we grow and evolve . “ people change , ” he writes in his coda . “ that simple fact is one of the great themes of the longitudinal studies in this book . ” perhaps mr. lehrer has changed — personally . but not sufficiently as a writer . i fear it may be time , at long last , for him to find something else to do .
+1 две цивилизации : борьба не на жизнь , а на смерть ? nan мир антироссийская истерия , развернутая на западе вокруг украины и сирии , порой навевает мысль , что не за горами новая мировая война. насколько этот вывод обоснован ? на вопросы главного редактора pravda . ru инны новиковой в авторской программе " необычная неделя " отвечает ведущий эксперт центра в оенно-политических исследований мгимо михаил александров. 0 комментариев 0 поделились — почему так важна сирия ? это точка , в которой сошлись основные мировые противоречия . и чтобы понять , почему сейчас возможен ядерный конфликт между россией и сша , надо понять суть сирийского конфликта . если руководствоваться логикой того , что это локальный конфликт , то кто в здравом уме будет думать , что американцы или русские из-за алеппо начнут ядерную войну ? но на самом деле это проявление глобального конфликта между западной и российской цивилизациями , который начался не вчера и который идет уже в течение нескольких веков. сейчас наступает момент , когда западная цивилизация почувствовала , что теряет позиции во всем мире. нарастает многополярность , усиливаются другие цивилизации — китайская , исламская , индийская. и прежде всего это проявляется в экономике. и чтобы удержать экономические , политические позиции , у запада остается только один инструмент — военная сила . кто в военном отношении может реально противостоять западу ? пока только одна страна — это россия. более того , российская цивилизация — единственная , которая инициативно предлагает альтернативную повестку дня , альтернативную идеологию международных отношений. таким образом , на карту поставлено будущее западной цивилизации. если они не смогут добиться военно-политического доминирования в мире , то экономически они проиграют и тогда им придется отказаться от многих преимуществ и преференций , которые они сейчас имеют. уровень жизни на западе существенно понизится , он не сможет влиять на многие мировые проблемы. и тогда встает вопрос вообще о его роли в современном мире. россию совершенно не устраивает стремление запада доминировать в мире. оно , в общем-то , никого не устраивает : ни китайцев , ни индусов , ни жителей исламских стран. в африке , латинской америке тоже никто не хочет этого доминирования. но многие боятся открыто выступить против него , понимая , что их задавят. запад постоянно устраивает показательные расправы : над милошевичем , хусейном , каддафи. почему же сейчас россия вмешалась в сирию ? я думаю , что это была месть путина обаме за то , что тот устроил на украине. и если бы на украине дела шли нормально , мы могли бы и не вмешаться так активно в сирийский конфликт. но обама бросил нам вызов , вторгся на постсоветское пространство , устроил государственный переворот и привел к власти откровенно русофобский режим. то есть создал ситуацию , которая реально угрожает нашей национальной безопасности. украина — не грузия , это огромная территория , где у нас очень существенные интересы. и наше руководство поняло : если сейчас мы всему этому дадим спуск , никак не отреагируем , то они дальше начнут разваливать и россию. последовал ответ в крыму , на донбассе , потом наше вмешательство в сирии. и сейчас в сирии мы выигрываем , а это означает , что есть реальная возможность остановить наших " партнеров " . — о становим игил или американцев ? — какова цель так называемой проамериканской оппозиции в сирии ? свергнуть режим асада , создать суннитский прозападный режим , который будет контролироваться союзниками сша , такими как саудовская аравия , катар. они , собственно , и спонсируют суннитскую оппозицию в сирии. после чего страна превратится , собственно говоря , в союзника запада и рассадник международного терроризма. надо понимать , что игил и " ан-нусра " ( организации , запрещенные в россии. — ред. ) - организации , созданные западом , цру специально для дестабилизации режимов. прежде всего , шиитского в ираке , когда он стал смещаться в сторону союза с ираном. американцы в свое время допустили ошибку , безответственно решив вопрос о власти в постхусейновском ираке , приведя к фактически единоличной власти там шиитское большинство. оно , поскольку иран — это шиитская страна , взяло курс на сближение с ним. в сирии тоже у власти алавиты и шииты. в итоге образовывалась фактическая " шиитская ось " , очень опасная для запада. потому что во главе ее стоит иран — независимое суверенное государство , выступающее за полицентрическую систему международных отношений. запад мечтает " задавить " и иран. игил в ираке сша создали для того , чтобы не дать возможность местному шиитскому правительству контролировать всю страну и оказывать на него давление : мол , если вы не будете с нами в военном отношении сотрудничать , мы уйдем , но тогда вместо нас , американцев , к вам придет игил и всех вас перережет. игил , в итоге , " осел " в нескольких иракских городах , запасся оружием , потом переместил боевую активность уже в сирию. надо понимать , что и игил , и " ан-нусра " — только инструменты западной внешней политики. когда некоторые наши деятели заявляют о некоем союзе с западом в борьбе с терроризмом , это глупость. по существу , это лишь дипломатический экивок , озвученный нашим руководством , но его некоторые стали выдавать за чистую монету. на самом деле , как можно сотрудничать с теми , кто , фактически " крышует " " ан-нусру " в алеппо , кто не дает ее уничтожить , кто бросил все свои информационные , дипломатические и политические ресурсы на поддержку этой террористической организации , кто навязывает прекращение огня для того , чтобы подкинуть " ан-нусре " боеприпасов , продовольствия ? нам надо просто добить прозападную оппозицию в алеппо и прекратить все разговоры на эту тему. — вы сказали , что сирия — это наша месть за украину. насколько вообще правомерно мыслить такими категориями ? — я , конечно же , имел в виду " политическую месть " . месть в том смысле , что это ответный ход , а не то , что наш президент лично обиделся и ввел войска в сирию. нет , это не личная обида. это политический ход , направленный на то , чтобы наказать запад и сдержать его амбиции , и показать , что так больше делать не надо , что с нашими интересами надо считаться , иначе мы вам устроим , не только в сирии , но и в других регионах " хорошую жизнь " . — вернусь к вашему заявлению , данному в одном из интервью : " россия должна быть готова вести ядерную войну и в ней победить " . возможно ли вообще победить в ядерной войне , когда в ней , как вы говорите , нам будет противостоять весь запад ? — поясню свою мысль … сша далеко от нас , перекинуть сюда крупные соединения им достаточно сложно. да и что смогут сделать пять-шесть тысяч человек , высади у нас их где-нибудь в сибири ? они помрут там через пару недель. в европе же далеко не все хотят с нами воевать. что , болгария так уж рвется с нами повоевать ? их бойко борисов , может , и пойдет , но остальные болгары — вряд ли. одно дело — голосовать , другое — воевать. чехи , венгры , словаки — никто не будет воевать. разве что немцы , поляки , румыны , некоторые страны бенилюкса. если посмотреть , то воевать может незначительная часть западного сообщества. так что мы вполне сможем создать паритет по численности вооруженных сил , даже если они перекинут свои войска. но тут надо учитывать фактор тактического ядерного оружия. у нас превосходство над западом в тактическом ядерном оружии , мы можем сразу же уничтожить все их основные военные базы , промышленные предприятия , производящие вооружения , электростанции , мосты. в итоге вся их военная инфраструктура будет разрушена. и как они будут воевать ? что , они пешком к нам придут , особенно зимой ? — но есть же системы про , много всего у них есть. — это все сказки. — а как же концепция одновременного глобального удара ? — глобального удара ? ну , это тоже глупость , раздутая военными экспертами , которые пытаются посеять в обществе ажиотаж. потому что американцам , если смотреть на вещи реально , нечем наносить молниеносный глобальный удар. их крылатые ракеты в обычном оснащении — " томагавк " — имеют дальность 1500 километров. откуда они будут их запускать , если на карту посмотреть ? ну , по границам нашего государства они еще смогут удары нанести. на украине они их поставить по договору о ракетах средней и меньшей дальности не имеют права , в польше тоже. они могут их в балтийском и черном морях разместить , но там все простреливается нашими системами противокорабельной обороны. молниеносный глобальный удар — это сказка , его невозможно нанести при нынешнем уровне технологий , которые имеются у сша. военные теоретики , конечно , обсуждают , как может протекать та или иная форма военного конфликта между нами и западом. это правильно , потому что , к сожалению , администрация обамы ведет себя непредсказуемо. но военные мыслят предельно конкретно , стратегически они не мыслят. вот , например , некоторые предлагают сейчас ввести над сирией бесполетную зону . запад сможет сбивать наши самолеты. а мы обещаем сбивать их. на западе считают , допустим , что у них там больше баз и они собьют все наши самолеты. но мы же не оставим это дело просто так , мы атакуем их в прибалтике , где у нас стратегическое преимущество. пара наших дивизий пройдут ее за один день и прикончат их единственную бригаду. — но наша концепция не предусматривает превентивного ядерного удара , только удар ответный. а у американцев как раз концепция превентивного ядерного удара … — я немножко проясню ситуацию … у нас действительно была концепция ответного удара , только это было во времена брежнева , когда мы обладали существенным военным превосходством над нато в европе. тогда у нас не было необходимости наносить первыми ядерный удар. теперь ситуация кардинально поменялась : у нато больше ресурсов в европе. и если они начнут наступление , то наша концепция предусматривает первый ядерный удар тактическим ядерным оружием. это записано черным по белому в нашей военной доктрине. что же касается запада , то ему как раз невыгодно использование тактического ядерного оружия , поэтому он и призывает отказаться от него. поэтому и обама сейчас заговорил , как брежнев : мы берем на себя обязательство не использовать ядерное оружие первыми. — зато в ы сейчас заговорили , как рональд рейган … — да , как говорил нато. у нато во времена " холодной войны " была концепция гибкого реагирования. она предусматривала , что при наступлении наших войск на западную европу они будут применять тактическое ядерное оружие. фактически , мы эту концепцию адаптировали к нашим условиям. ситуация зеркально поменялась , и поэтому у них нет шансов в случае войны в европе. — но некие генералы в сша все равно утверждают , что война с россией будет быстрой , смертоносной и почти неизбежной. — мне бы хотелось посмотреть , как они собираются это все осуществить , какими ресурсами , куда будут нанесены удары … пусть они объяснят , как за две недели разгромят россию. гитлер тоже за два месяца рассчитывал развалить советский союз. но у него хоть было какое-то " рациональное зерно " . он рассчитывал , что жители ссср настолько ненавидят большевистский режим , что при первом мощном ударе он просто рухнет. сейчас же все наоборот : вся нация сплочена вокруг президента . посмотрите , какие у него рейтинги поддержки. особенно когда президент проявляет политическую волю , действует решительно , как в крыму и сирии. если он , допустим , захочет свергнуть киевский режим за то , что тот продолжает войну против донбасса , я думаю , он получит в обществе еще большую поддержку. — г ромкие разговоры по поводу того , что россия оккупировала донбасс , крым , что люди там страдают , ведутся на уровне самых высоких международных организаций. это тоже проявление " цивилизационного разлома " ? — это только говорит о том , что наше вступление в эти международные организации было ошибкой. я лично , например , давно выступаю за выход россии из пасе , совета европы. это настоящие русофобские организации , и присутствие в них — глупость несусветная. с западом у нас сейчас открытый конфликт , но он , в общем-то , был всегда. рецидивы прозападной линии , начатой горбачевым и продолженной ельциным , еще сидят в мозгах. в конце концов , во франции еще в 1812 году писали , что русские детей едят. ну , пусть продолжают писать. зачем вообще обращать на это внимание ? — то есть , нам вообще надо отойти от всего мира ? — почему от всего мира ? только от запада. вот индия не член пасе , китай не член пасе , иран не член пасе. вообще , европа — это географическое понятие. николай данилевский вообще утверждал , что понятие " европа " — понятие географическое , но не цивилизационное. есть западная цивилизация , есть православная цивилизация. мы — православная цивилизация и от западной отличаемся. к этому выводу пришли все наши великие мыслители. и это не просто конфликт между православием и католицизмом как направлениями христианства. речь идет о конфликте между православной цивилизацией , ядром которой является русская нация , и западной цивилизацией — полицентричной , но объединенной общими ценностями. этот цивилизационный конфликт неизбежен , он был , есть и будет продолжаться. другое дело — в каких формах. участвуя в работе разных европейских институтов , мы что , рассчитываем сами вступить в западную цивилизацию ? но для этого мы должны отказаться от своей цивилизационной сущности , подделаться под них , признать однополые браки , феминизм и все остальное только потому , что все это " западные ценности " . а зачем нам все это признавать ? у нас своя собственная цивилизация , и мы должны развивать свои собственные принципы. те же иранцы , которые от нас отстают очень существенно и в экономической , и в научно-технической сфере , или даже китайцы не преобразуют свою цивилизацию в западную. почему мы должны преобразовывать ? мы , что , главные идиоты в мире ? культурные обмены — пожалуйста , контакты — пожалуйста , совместные научные исследования — пожалуйста. но зачем вступать в организации , которые используются в качестве места , где нас постоянно порют , а если не порют , то поучают ? беседовала инна новикова к публикации подготовил сергей валентинов " необычная неделя " с инной новиковой и михаилом александровым
+1 no , mexico does n’t have a wall on its southern border — but if trump wins it might have to build one allan wall x dear reader ! vdare.com is n’t just a website . we are the voice of the historic american nation . our goal is nothing less than to develop a full spectrum media network to speak up for our people during this difficult time for our country . part of that means building institutions which are offline and in the real world . there ’s something about a paper journal that suggests permanence , which inclines people to take it more seriously . and because the news cycle is so fast , some of the most important , substantial , and potentially influential writings fall through the cracks and do n’t get the attention they deserve . for that reason , we ’re proud to announce the creation of vdare quarterly , a print journal featuring the best material from our webzine . this will replace our yearly anthologies and ensure that the information and analysis you really do n't want to miss will get in front of you as quickly as possible . however , we need your help . for us to unveil this exciting new product we need 600 magazines ordered to cover the print expenses . fill out the form below to instantly receive a digital copy of vdare quarterly , and when we have the number of necessary subscribers it will go to print and your exclusive paper copy will ship directly to you ! depending on the package you choose , you will receive multiple paper copies ( provided enough readers support the community effort ) . we encourage you to pass these around – they serve as an excellent gift for friends and family , while at the same time helping to build our community . vdare quarterly is aesthetically pleasing as well as ideologically powerful . but this is n’t just a service we are providing . vdare quarterly is a tangible manifestation of your investment in us , and in our country . a subscription is one of the most effective ways you can help us build our media network , expand our influence , and build the kind of movement we will need to take back our country and ensure our children have a recognizable america . we count on your support ! yours sincerely , peter brimelow , editor of vdare.com vdare quarterly countdown : 275 already ordered , 325 still to go
+0 connie kopelov , of first same - sex couple legally married in new york , dies at 90 - the new york times mike mcphate connie kopelov , whose wedding to phyllis siegel in 2011 was the first legal marriage in new york city , died in manhattan on saturday . she was 90 . her death was confirmed by ms. siegel , who said ms. kopelov had been in the late stages of alzheimer ’s disease . ms. kopelov and ms. siegel had been partners for 23 years when they were married by the city clerk on july 24 , 2011 — the same day that a state law took effect allowing couples to marry . that morning , ms. kopelov , then 85 , and ms. siegel , 76 , were the first couple through the door of the marriage bureau , on worth street in lower manhattan . the city council speaker at the time , christine c. quinn , a lesbian and prominent gay rights activist , stood in attendance around 9 a. m. as the clerk , michael mcsweeney , said , “ i now pronounce you married . ” ms. siegel held ms. kopelov ’s head and kissed her on the left cheek . ms. kopelov smiled and held her marriage license aloft . “ i lost my breath , ” ms. siegel said in march , recalling the moment . “ it was just the most exciting loss of breath i ’ve ever had . i just was so happy . ” from that day on , ms. siegel said , people would stop them on the street and congratulate them . constance kopelov was born on april 14 , 1926 , in the industrial city of kokomo , ind. to samuel and bessie kopelov . she graduated from northwestern university in 1947 with a bachelor ’s degree in political science and later earned a master ’s from goddard college in vermont in 1974 . in 1955 she moved from chicago to new york city , where she held positions in union organizations , including the amalgamated clothing workers of america and the workers defense league . her work often focused on women ’s issues , and she taught courses on women ’s labor history at cornell university and new york university . “ she was always fighting for an issue , ” ms. siegel said . “ she was always for the underdog . ” besides her wife , ms. kopelov is survived by a sister , deborah dorosin . ms. kopelov and ms. siegel met in the through their involvement with an advocacy group , services and advocacy for glbt elders . new york state ’s legalization of marriage followed a multiyear legislative battle that ended with the state senate ’s narrow approval of the marriage equality act in june 2011 . the law took effect one month later , on a sunday , after which hundreds of gay and lesbian couples turned up at town halls and city clerks’ offices across the state . new york became the sixth and largest state to allow couples to we d , a milestone that energized advocates as they pushed their campaign across the country . last year , the supreme court ruled that the constitution guarantees all americans , including couples , a right to marriage . in 2012 , just shy of their first wedding anniversary , ms. kopelov and ms. siegel were honored as grand marshals of new york city ’s gay pride parade , along with the singer cyndi lauper and chris salgardo , the president of the cosmetics company kiehl ’s . the couple were chauffeured down fifth avenue in a lime green convertible .
+1 trump : the media ’s frankenstein monster jared taylor the monster they created is running amok . credit : vdare . these two things happened the day after donald trump won the election : first , a washington post reporter named peter holley called the american renaissance office to ask – in dead seriousness – whether anyone from the trump team had called us for policy advice . second , gloria gonzalez - garcia , a mexican - american explained to the fort worth star - telegram what a trump victory meant : “ we were getting the message , ‘ if you are not white , you do n’t belong here.’ ” so what ’s the connection ? let ’s start with the post ’s mr. holley . [ ] he is a professional newsman who attended columbia ’s graduate school of journalism . he calls himself an “ experienced reporter with a talent for uncovering compelling stories that other people overlook . ” it ’s his job to find out and report what is going on – and he seriously thought the victorious trump team would check in with me for instructions . he ’s not alone . the same day , a journalist from the biggest newspaper in latin america– folha de s. paulo – wanted to know if i had telephoned my friend donald trump to congratulate him on his victory . i told her i have never met him and do n’t have his number . what we have here is a stupefying delusion : that donald trump is a secret “ white supremacist , ” who dances to the tune of the alt - right . this delusion has two sources : ignorance and maliciousness . people like peter holley are so deeply marinated in liberal ignorance that they ca n’t tell the difference between american nationalism and racial nationalism – between the desire to put american interests first and white racial consciousness . as i have explained elsewhere , the maliciousness involved looking for racial dissidents who supported donald trump and then arguing that since “ racists ” backed him , trump must be a “ racist , ” too . when mr. trump did n’t denounce david duke and “ white supremacy ” fiercely enough to suit them , they claimed this was proof he is a secret sympathizer . they were wrong . he just does n’t like being pushed around by journalists who hates him . the pro - hillary media therefore created a frankenstein monster – an imaginary donald trump who secretly wants to make america white again . they called him a bigot , a xenophobe , a fascist , a threat to democracy and , of course , the new hitler . they hoped this would frighten enough voters into the hillary camp to stop mr. trump , but it did n’t work . and now they are stuck with a frankenstein president elect who , they are convinced , comes running to me for policy tips . yesterday , senator harry reid issued an idiotic press release that included these lines : white nationalists , vladimir putin and isis are celebrating donald trump ’s victory , while innocent , law - abiding americans are wracked with fear – especially african americans , hispanic americans , muslim americans , lgbt americans and asian americans . it is because she has heard so many frankenstein stories that poor gloria in fort worth – a us citizen – thinks the real trump message is that non - whites do n’t belong in america . and she ’s hardly alone . jason perez ( right ) a university student in hawaii , writes that “ the next four years will be a living nightmare for all hispanic americans . ” mercedes rosales , a high school senior in homestead , florida , says mr. trump “ just wants to get rid of mexicans , or latinos . ” maria perez , also of homestead , says , “ because of the example of donald trump . . . now they can look at you and see you are an immigrant and kill you . ” mary rabago , a hispanic journalist living in arizona , explains the election results : “ hate won . ” the muslim reaction is just as nutty . asaad alabdulaziz , an iraqi who recently became a us citizen , asks , “ do i have to go back ? ” sahar aziz , a professor at the texas a&m university , says that “ the general mood i am seeing among muslims is concern that a trump presidency will be open season on them . ” no one – not once in the campaign – ever talked about deporting law - abiding legal residents . so where did people get these deranged ideas ? obviously , from media caricatures . hispanics are no doubt getting lurid stuff from the spanish - language press as well . telesur , a consortium based in venezuela , reports that under a trump presidency , “ the rights of black and brown people , immigrants and women will suffer serious setbacks . ” people like peter holley – who created the caricature and believe in it – are on such hair - trigger alert for “ racism ” that they ca n’t conceive of a non - racial american nationalism that expresses itself in the ideas that helped donald trump win : illegal immigrants should stay out . illegals who are here should go home . there should be no sanctuary cities . birth - right citizenship is crazy . muslims are potentially troublesome . legal immigration should be cut . there is nothing inherently racial about any of these ideas , and they appeal to millions of americans who do n’t think in racial terms . but current dogma demands that we thrill to the idea that every brown - skinned newcomer – whether he has a job or even speaks english – is a precious addition to our “ greatest strength , ” which is diversity . anyone who supports policies that have the effect of slowing the march of diversity is a “ racist , ” and might as well be a dedicated amren reader or even a member of the ku klux klan . that ’s why peter holley thinks donald trump wants my advice . the notion that mr. trump will hurt blacks is especially wrong , but it follows the usual sloppy liberal thinking : if you want to send home illegals it can only be because you hate hispanics , which means you hate blacks , women , homosexuals , and jews . donald trump wanted confederate flags taken down in the south , is “ fine ” with affirmative action , and he blasted justice antonin scalia ’s critique of race preferences in universities . and only the most fevered imagination could have prompted the salon headline : “ i am a gay jew in trump ’s america . and i am afraid for my life . ” mr. trump ’s close professional and family connections to jews are well known . it is the widely circulated fantasies about donald - trump - the - racist that explain why mexican - americans and muslims who are us citizens are reportedly crying themselves to sleep at night , and why there are violent anti - trump demonstrations all over the country . just as reckless anti - police reporting paved the way for the murders of policemen , frothing press coverage of donald trump has sent thousands of ignoramuses into the streets to smash store windows and attack cops . the papers are now full of breathless reports of trump supporters calling blacks “ ni**er ” and tearing hijabs off muslim women . some of these attacks were faked , but some are no doubt real . what do they reflect ? what donald trump wants or what the frankenstein wants ? if loutish whites are telling hispanics “ we ’ll deport you , ” who gave them the idea that a modern - day hitler is about to move into the white house ? the trump - is - a - racist idea is so firmly planted in the minds of hillary supporters that nothing can dislodge it . but they do n’t even understand what they , themselves , mean by it . josh harkinson of mother jones called me after the election to talk about the alt - right . i explained to him how the media have painted a dishonest picture of donald trump , and he conceded that he was beginning to realize that using his favorite word–“racist”–to describe the president elect and people like me might be a mistake . i congratulated him on this intellectual breakthrough , and then asked what donald trump has ever said or done that was “ racist , ” whatever that word means . “ oh , there are so many , i do n’t know where to begin . ” “ then just tell me one . ” there was a brief silence . “ he retweeted an image of himself as pepe the frog . ” “ what ? is that the best you can do ? you ’re really straining . ” “ yes , i guess i ’m straining . ” mr. harkinson later brought up mr. trump ’s suggestion that judge gonazlo curiel ’s mexican ancestry meant he could not try the trump university case fairly . i pointed out that judge curiel is a member of la raza [ the race ] lawyers , which gave mr. trump grounds to doubt his impartiality . “ besides , ” i said , “ if a white police officer is in an altercation with a black criminal and ends up shooting him , you ’d be the first to say the officer was biased on account of his race . ” “ not the first . ” “ then the second . ” we live in a world of malicious fantasy . if members of that priestly class known as journalists – everyone knows they are sternly objective – call someone a “ racist ” that ’s what he is . and once you ’re a “ racist , ” you might as well be a sexist , xenophobe , anti - semite , homophobe , and who knows what else . this is what we get when reporters slant the news and then believe what they read in the papers . and the media ca n’t understand why no one trusts them anymore . jared taylor [ email him ] is editor of american renaissance and the author of paved with good intentions : the failure of race relations in contemporary america . ( for peter brimelow ’s review , click here . ) his most recent book is white identity . ( reprinted from vdare.com by permission of author or representative )
+0 donald trump faltering ? die - hard fans refuse to buy it - the new york times trip gabriel pa. — the line to see donald j. trump snaked back and forth on itself hours before his arrival . there was a carnival atmosphere with people in costumes , including one man with a sign , “ do n’t let the media elect crooked hillary . ” a cavalcade of motorcycles roared up , and there were cheers and laughter for a man shouting , “ donald trump is going to make america great ! he has n’t paid taxes in 20 years ! ” a day after mr. trump defended himself at the second presidential debate for making vulgar comments about women , amid a wave of polls showing an increasing lead for hillary clinton , thousands of trump supporters turned out with undimmed fervor for the republican nominee and optimism about his electoral prospects . they echoed nearly verbatim mr. trump ’s defense that his lewd comments about women on a 2005 recording were merely “ locker room talk , ” calling them harmless words compared with the actions mrs. clinton and her husband had taken to shame women . they reiterated mr. trump ’s claim that national polls showing him behind by double digits were “ rigged ” and that he was heading to victory in november . in the campaign ’s last weeks , at such rallies , mr. trump is sealed in a hermetic bubble with his most fervent supporters . they are people passionate enough to wait hours to attend a rally where the candidate and the crowds draw energy and affirmation from each other , while dismissing any discouraging information . his supporters routinely pointed , as the nominee did , to the huge crowds still flocking to see him as evidence that his campaign remains strong . “ i do n’t believe anything the media says , ” said brad chilson , 47 , a truck driver from bradford county , pa. who waited hours with his wife outside the mohegan sun arena in for mr. trump . “ look at the turnout we ’ve got here . ” mr. trump was in high spirits on monday night in northeastern pennsylvania , in the heart of a largely white , region that he has visited regularly , running a campaign sustained by a visceral feel for his audience while ignoring abstractions like data and research . “ i think the state of pennsylvania , we ’re going to win so big , ” he said . a new york times polling average shows mrs. clinton 7 . 2 percentage points ahead in the state . “ everybody in pennsylvania wants trump , you know , ” he said . “ we get crowds like this everywhere . ” he boasted of a rally planned for florida with an expected 25 , 000 people . as he spoke , katie packer , a strategist for mitt romney in 2012 , posted a photograph on twitter of 30 , 000 people at an ohio rally four years ago a week before mr. romney ’s defeat . “ none of the trump crowds so far in the general election surpass what we regularly had in ’12 , ” ms. packer wrote . “ they are so naïve . ” yet mr. trump whipped the crowd to anger at the news media and its “ crooked ” polls . at one point , he falsely claimed that cnn had turned off its live coverage as he was accusing the network of manipulating a focus group . the crowd then chanted an epithet . he also read the results of unscientific , online surveys . “ trump 70 , clinton 30 , ” mr. trump quoted from a reader survey by the drudge report on which candidate had won the second debate . “ oh , listen to this , ” he said , reading from an iphone . “ time magazine . you think time magazine likes me ? ” he cited the result : 89 for trump , 11 for clinton . “ oh , here ’s a good one , ” he added . “ well , they ’re slightly conservative — breitbart . 93 to 7 , ” he read . mr. trump ’s supporters who were waiting to hear him speak cited alternative sources of information they preferred , dismissing even fox news in favor of emails from commentators like allen b. west , a former congressman , and dennis lynch , who makes films about illegal immigration . they also repeated conspiracy theories that flourish online . “ a lot of people affiliated with hillary have died over the years , and nobody says nothing about it , ” said eric bulger , a retired police officer with the port authority for new york and new jersey . there were equal numbers of women and men at the rally , and many dismissed as insignificant mr. trump ’s private comments , caught on the 2005 recording , about being able to grab women by their genitals because he was a “ star . ” “ when all this baloney came out about trump , i understand it ’s a scandal , ” said brenda stchur , 56 , a democrat from hudson , pa. who supports mr. trump . “ but john f. kennedy was n’t innocent , either , and everyone loves john f. kennedy . ” marilyn sevigny , a retiree from lake ariel , pa. said that “ as a woman , i do n’t like what he said , i ’m not defending it . ” but she added that there was a double standard at work . “ if a democrat says it , it ’s just words . if a republican says it , it ’s an assault , ” she said . before sunday ’s town debate , david quinn , an electronics engineer , told his wife that mr. trump should drop out , as some senior elected republicans were calling on the candidate to do . but mr. quinn changed his mind , he said , after mr. trump ’s apology for his comments from 11 years ago . “ the only thing that tape shows is he ’s a healthy heterosexual , ” he said . those at the rally agreed that mr. trump had won the debate . many cited as their favorite moment mr. trump ’s retort that mrs. clinton would “ be in jail ” if he were president . they dismissed the f. b. i. ’s recommendation that mrs. clinton should not be prosecuted over her use of a private email server as secretary of state . they faulted the news media for not highlighting that mrs. clinton had deleted thousands of emails after receiving a congressional subpoena , as mr. trump charged in the debate . mike pisano , 65 , a factory worker , echoed mr. trump ’s contention that mrs. clinton had escaped indictment because bill clinton had met privately with attorney general loretta lynch . “ he was on the plane with her fixing that , ” mr. pisano said . still , outside the bubble of such devoted followers , mr. trump ’s prospects in northeastern pennsylvania are less certain . on ’s public square , whose sidewalks filled during lunch hour on monday , several republicans and democrats said they were appalled by mr. trump and would skip the election , or vote for a candidate . “ i just think he ’s a pig , ” said janice kontur , 44 , a registered republican , who manages an apartment complex . she said she could not bring herself to vote for mrs. clinton and planned to sit out election day . “ as a matter of fact , if he ’s elected , me and my daughter will be moving to a different country , ” she said of mr. trump . melinda thompson , a controller for an insurance company , said she would vote for gary johnson , the libertarian candidate . she said of mr. trump , “ i think his temperament would backfire on the united states . ” paul galante , a lawyer on a smoking break across from a statue of christopher columbus , said he was a registered democrat but had consistently voted for republican presidential nominees . not this year . “ all people want is a reason to like the man , and he does n’t give them a reason , ” he said of mr. trump . he called the republican party “ a joke ” for nominating mr. trump from a field of 17 . in the primary , mr. galante wrote in a protest candidate , and he is considering voting for mrs. clinton in november . “ she ’s a sneak and a liar , ” he said . “ but so what at this point ? he ’s worse . ” the trump campaign is counting on doing well in the region , where factories have closed and the presence of immigrants has caused tensions . but mr. galante , a longtime resident , was deeply skeptical of mr. trump ’s prospects . “ he ’s going to get slaughtered , ” he said .
+0 russia moves to ban jehovah ’s witnesses as ‘ extremist’ - the new york times andrew higgins vorokhobino , russia — a dedicated pacifist who has never even held a gun , andrei sivak discovered that his government considered him a dangerous extremist when he tried to change some money and the teller “ suddenly looked up at me with a face full of fear . ” his name had popped up on the exchange bureau ’s computer system , along with those of members of al qaeda , the islamic state and other militant groups responsible for shocking acts of violence . the only group the father of three has ever belonged to , however , is jehovah ’s witnesses , a christian denomination committed to the belief that the bible must be taken literally , particularly its injunction “ thou shalt not kill . ” yet , in a throwback to the days of the soviet union , when jehovah ’s witnesses were hounded as spies and malcontents by the k. g. b. the denomination is at the center of an escalating campaign by the authorities to curtail religious groups that compete with the russian orthodox church and that challenge president vladimir v. putin ’s efforts to rally the country behind traditional and often militaristic patriotic values . the justice ministry , in a preliminary adminstrative strike last month , put the headquarters of jehovah ’s witnesses in russia , an office complex near st. petersburg , on a list of the bodies banned “ in connection with the carrying out of extremist activities . ” whether it stays there will depend on russia ’s supreme court , which is scheduled to meet on wednesday to hear a request from the justice ministry to outlaw the religious organization and stop its more than 170 , 000 russian members from spreading “ extremist ” texts . extremism , as defined by a law passed in 2002 but amended and expanded several times since , has become a catchall charge that can be deployed against just about anybody , as it has been against some of those involved in recent protests in moscow and scores of other cities . several students who took part in demonstrations in the siberian city of tomsk are now being investigated by a special unit , while leonid volkov , the senior aide to the jailed protest leader aleksei a. navalny , said he himself was detained last week under the extremism law . in the case of jehovah ’s witnesses , the putative extremism seems to derive mostly from the group ’s absolute opposition to violence , a stand that infuriated soviet and now russian authorities whose legitimacy rests in large part on the celebration of martial triumphs , most notably over nazi germany in world war ii but also over rebels in syria . jehovah ’s witnesses , members of a denomination founded in the united states in the 19th century and active in russia for more than 100 years , refuse military service , do not vote and view god as the only true leader . they shun the patriotic festivals promoted with gusto by the kremlin , like the annual celebration of victory in 1945 and recent events to celebrate the annexation of crimea in march 2014 . mr. sivak , who says he lost his job as a physical education teacher because of his role as a jehovah ’s witnesses elder , said he voted for mr. putin in 2000 , three years before joining the denomination . he added that while he had not voted since , nor had he supported activities of the sort that usually attract the attention of russia ’s version of the k. g. b. the federal security service , or f. s. b. “ i have absolutely no interest in politics , ” he said during a recent jehovah ’s witnesses friday service in a wooden country house in vorokhobino , a village north of moscow . around 100 worshipers crammed into a long , chilly room under fluorescent lights to listen to readings from the bible , sing and watch a video advising them to dress for worship as they would for a meeting with the president . “ from the russian state ’s perspective , jehovah ’s witnesses are completely separate , ” said geraldine fagan , the author of “ believing in russia — religious policy after communism . ” she added , “ they do n’t get involved in politics , but this is itself seen as a suspicious political deviation . ” “ the idea of independent and public religious activity that is completely outside the control of — and also indifferent to — the state sets all sorts of alarm bells ringing in the orthodox church and the security services , ” she said . that the worldwide headquarters of jehovah ’s witnesses is in the united states and that its publications are mostly prepared there , ms. fagan added , “ all adds up to a big conspiracy theory ” for the increasingly assertive f. s. b. for mr. sivak , it has added up to a long legal nightmare . his troubles began , he said , when undercover security officers posed as worshipers and secretly filmed a service where he was helping to officiate in 2010 . accused of “ inciting hatred and disparaging the human dignity of citizens , ” he was put on trial for extremism along with a second elder , vyacheslav stepanov , 40 . the prosecutor ’s case , heard by a municipal court in sergiyev posad , a center of the russian orthodox church , produced no evidence of extremism and focused instead on the insufficient patriotism of jehovah ’s witnesses . “ their disregard for the state , ” a report prepared for the prosecution said , “ erodes any sense of civic affiliation and promotes the destruction of national and state security . ” in a ruling last year , the court found the two men not guilty , and their ordeal seemed over — until mr. sivak tried to change money and was told that he had been placed on a list of “ terrorists and extremists . ” he and mr. stepanov now face new charges of extremism and are to appear before a regional court this month . “ there is a big wave of repression breaking , ” mr. stepanov said . in response to written questions , the justice ministry in moscow said a yearlong review of documents at the jehovah ’s witnesses “ administrative center ” near st. petersburg had uncovered violations of a russian law banning extremism . as a result , it added , the center should be “ liquidated , ” along with nearly 400 locally registered branches of the group and other structures . for the denomination ’s leaders in russia , the sharp escalation in a long campaign of harassment , previously driven mostly by local officials , drew horrifying flashbacks to the soviet era . vasily kalin , the chairman of jehovah ’s witnesses’ russian arm , recalled that his whole family had been deported to siberia when he was a child . “ it is sad and reprehensible that my children and grandchildren should be facing a similar fate , ” he said . “ never did i expect that we would again face the threat of religious persecution in modern russia . ” in russia , as in many countries , the proselytizing of jehovah ’s witnesses often causes irritation , and their theological idiosyncrasies disturb many mainstream christians . the group has also been widely criticized for saying that the bible prohibits blood transfusions . but it has never promoted violent or even peaceful political resistance . “ i can not imagine that anyone really thinks they are a threat , ” said alexander verkhovsky , director of the sova center for information and analysis , which monitors extremism in russia . “ but they are seen as a good target . they are pacifists , so they can not be radicalized , no matter what you do to them . they can be used to send a message . ” that message , it would seem , is that everyone needs to get with the putin program — or risk being branded as an extremist for displaying indifference , never mind hostility , to the kremlin ’s drive to make russia a great power again . “ a big reason they are being targeted is simply that they are an easy target , ” ms. fagan said . “ they do n’t vote , so nobody is going to lose votes by attacking them . ” attacking jehovah ’s witnesses also sends a signal that even the mildest deviation from the norm , if proclaimed publicly and insistently , can be punished under the law , which was passed after russia ’s second war in chechnya and the sept. 11 attacks in the united states . billed as a move by russia to join a worldwide struggle against terrorism , the law prohibited “ incitement of racial , national or religious strife , and social hatred associated with violence or calls for violence . ” but the reference to violence was later deleted , opening the way for the authorities to classify as extremist any group claiming to offer a unique , true path to religious or political salvation . even the russian orthodox church has sometimes fallen afoul of the law : the slogan “ orthodoxy or death ! ” — a rallying cry embraced by some believers — has been banned as an illegal extremist text . to help protect the orthodox church and other established religions , parliament passed a law in 2015 to exempt the bible and the quran , as well as jewish and buddhist scripture , from charges of extremism based on their claims to offer the only true faith . the main impetus for the current crackdown , however , appears to come from the security services , not the orthodox church . roman lunkin , director of the institute of religion and law , a moscow research group , described it as “ part of a broad policy of suppressing all nongovernmental organizations ” that has gained particular force because of the highly centralized structure of jehovah ’s witnesses under a worldwide leadership based in the united states . “ they are controlled from outside russia , and this is very suspicious for our secret services , ” he said . “ they do n’t like having an organization that they do not and can not control . ” artyom grigoryan , a former jehovah ’s witness who used to work at the group ’s russian headquarters but who now follows the orthodox church , said the organization had “ many positive elements , ” like its ban on excessive drinking , smoking and other unhealthy habits . all the same , he said it deserved to be treated with suspicion . “ look at it from the view of the state , ” he said . “ here is an organization that is run from america , that gets financing from abroad , and whose members do n’t serve in the army and do n’t vote . ” estranged from his parents , who are still members and view his departure as sinful , he said jehovah ’s witnesses broke up families and “ in the logic of the state , it presents a threat . ” he added , “ i am not saying this is real or not , but it needs to be checked by objective experts . ” mr. sivak , now preparing for yet another trial , said that he had always tried to follow the law and that he respected the state , but could not put its interests above the commands of his faith . “ they say i am a terrorist , ” he said , “ but all i ever wanted to do was to get people to pay attention to the bible . ”
+1 original bible discovered nan topics : bible thursday , 17 november 2016 the original holy text was discovered this week at a remote middle eastern location no one has ever heard of . using radio carbon dating , researchers were able to determine that the bible was approximately 4,000 years old , eerily close to two times 2,000 years old . " i knew right away this was the original , " said henry schliemann , chief digger . " you could tell this book had had a lot of wear and tear , so i half expected the ' original edition ' printed on the inside page . " when asked if there were any surprises in the text , schliemann replied , " we did find a couple of extra chapters . right after ' proverbs ' , there was a book titled ' jokes ' and right after ' genesis ' there was a book titled ' evolution . ' we figure those books were left out of later editions . " make wasabiphil 's
+1 fighting racism where white workers are hurting , too otherwords fighting racism where white workers are hurting , too fighting racism where white workers are hurting , too by 0 118 since 2011 , maine ’s bombastic republican governor paul lepage has given america a taste of what it might be like to live under a donald trump presidency . like trump , lepage has made outrageous comments against immigrants and communities of color . they include telling the naacp to “ kiss my butt , ” publicly complaining about “ guys with the name d - money , smoothie , shifty ” selling drugs and impregnating “ young , white ” girls , and blaming “ illegals ” for spreading diseases like hiv — all while cutting funding to cities that offered health care and other assistance to undocumented immigrants . after five years of lepage practicing an extreme form of wedge politics , people like ben chin are working to heal the resulting divisions in maine . chin , the 31-year - old grandson of an undocumented chinese immigrant , has been working with the maine people ’s alliance to rally support from white working class neighborhoods for a series of progressive ballot measures this november . ( photo : david mcspadden / flickr ) countering the racist and nativist appeals of candidates like lepage and trump , their goal is to get people to reject the politics of scapegoating immigrants and people of color and to instead focus on the real causes of — and solutions to — their economic distress . “ we ’re starting out a conversation in which we ’re making it clear we ’re on their side , ” chin said in a recent phone interview . “ that ’s the foundation that gets laid for whatever comes next . ” these conversations are based on the research and experience of a broad range of grassroots organizations that have been struggling to get working - class white voters across the nation to see beyond the color line . chin got a personal taste of division politics when he was racially caricatured during his 2015 run for mayor of lewiston , maine . during his campaign , a local businessman paid for billboards that said , “ do n’t vote for ho chi chin . vote for more jobs not more welfare . ” since then , chin ’s turned his political focus to ballot initiatives that include increasing the state ’s minimum wage and levying a 3 percent tax on household incomes over $ 200,000 a year . chin and his fellow maine people ’s alliance members do n’t have a “ silver bullet ” set of talking points that disarms the people they encounter with racist or anti - immigrant attitudes . instead , they focus on questions that get people to think about their economic anxieties in a deeper way . one question they ask is , “ why do you think some people are poor and other people are rich ? ” that opens up a discussion about the ways a small group of the wealthy and powerful are stacking the economic deck against ordinary people of all colors , with their black and brown neighbors feeling it the most because of america ’s history of systemic racism . chin said he was particularly struck by a recent conversation with a voter in auburn , maine . the voter was undecided about whether to support a referendum that would increase the state ’s wage to $ 12 an hour by 2020 . “ one of his ideas was that ‘ certain people’ were going to get a wage increase , ” chin said . “ we tried to unpack that . ” they talked about his life experiences and whether he really believed that increasing the minimum wage was about helping some “ certain ” group of undeserving freeloaders . chin said that though this voter was n’t a “ raging justice activist ” by the end of their conversation , he was more thoughtfully considering the minimum wage . conversations like these are happening in many states around the country this election season , as progressives grapple with the mainstreaming of racist and nativist appeals by trump and other far - right politicians . these types of empathetic conversations are the nemesis of the conservative - corporate elite who have engineered extreme wealth inequality and , for too many , the disappearance of the american dream . the last thing politicians who benefit from wedge politics want to see is working people across the nation transcending racial and cultural lines , and realizing those same politicians are the common source of their pain .
+0 martha stewart gave a portrait of trump the middle finger at art fair - breitbart katherine rodriguez martha stewart took a photo op between portraits of president trump and snoop dogg saturday at an art fair where she appeared to flip the bird at the president while flashing a peace sign towards the rapper . [ someone posted the photo of stewart appearing to give trump the middle finger at the frieze art fair taking place at randall ’s island park in new york city on twitter , where it went viral before the account responsible for posting the photo was set to private , the hill reported . “ was taking a pic of trump and snoop dogg at frieze [ art fair ] and martha stewart walks up like this # america , ” user newlin tillotson wrote on twitter , according to e ! news . stewart later posted a more politically correct version of the photo to her instagram account , where she flashed peace signs towards both men while promoting the vh1 cooking show martha snoop ’s potluck dinner party that she stars in alongside snoop and the 2017 mtv movie and tv awards that will air sunday . e ! news reports that an executive at martha stewart living omnimedia took both photos , calling the second photo more “ politically correct ” and “ so much less interesting . ” stewart publicly endorsed hillary clinton when she ran for president against trump and had feuded with trump in the past . the feud was mostly over stewart ’s 2006 spinoff of trump ’s the apprentice , which got canceled after one season . the cooking show star did , however , appear to make up with trump in 2014 at a relaunch party for the new york observer and congratulated trump and his family on the election win . “ i sent my congratulations to the trump family , and i think they have an opportunity — let ’s see how they do with it . i ’m excited , ” stewart told chicago inc.
+1 dapl protesters proven right as largest gas pipeline in u.s. experiences massive and deadly explosion activist post by claire bernish a massive explosion of a gas pipeline in shelby county , alabama — near the site where the same pipeline leaked some 336,000 ...
+1 urban farms wo n’t feed our cities , but they ’re still a great idea – here ’s why | food and farming beforeitsnews.com ( before it 's news ) cctv at woodbank valley urban farm , birmingham . the capacity of urban farms to tackle major issues such as poverty and reducing food miles should not be underestimated , and with more ambitious projects starting up every day , it might not be long until you see one appearing in your neighbourhood . by michael hardman lecturer in geography , university of salford the conversation oct 26 , 2016 excerpt : despite these barriers , our 2016 study into the state of urban farming showed that huge positives can come out of these spaces . for example , urban farms often act as a social incubator , bringing together communities and connecting cultures . many also impact significantly on health and well - being , allowing city - dwellers to access fresh food and sometimes even supplement diets . we found that those connected to the federation of city farms and community gardens were strongest . they gained value from the networking with other such sites across the uk . a few in this extensive network have existed for over 30 years , and are still going due to the excellent support from both locals and the wider network . ultimately , the idea of urban farming is not to replace traditional rural farms , but rather to complement and add value . to push forward with urban farming , there ’s a need to build on what works – in particular , to learn from urban farms in the us , which are expanding and are on a different scale entirely to anywhere else . read the complete article here .
+0 trump responds to louvre attack in paris , urging u.s. to ‘ get smart’ - the new york times jonathan weisman , emmarie huetteman and matt flegenheimer ■ president trump responded to the failed attack in paris with his trademark understatement . europe is not amused . ■ the “ bowling green massacre ” that kellyanne conway lamented never happened , but it has triggered another battle . ■ the president ’s phone manners apparently have not changed . this time he used them on uber ’s chief executive . a soldier shot and wounded a man wielding a machete near the louvre museum in paris , prompting french authorities to open a terrorism investigation . the president of the united states responded : it is difficult to divine mr. trump ’s thinking at times , but safe to say “ get smart ” in this case most likely means accepting his policies . for their part , europeans are n’t taking well to the new american president . president françois hollande of france , in a defense of the european union that mr. trump has disparaged , said on friday that european countries that wanted to forge bilateral ties with the united states had to “ understand that there is no future with trump if it is not defined in common . ” then there are the germans : when kellyanne conway , the white house senior adviser , cited the “ bowling green massacre ” to justify president trump ’s halt to visas from seven predominantly muslim countries , america was left scratching its collective head . and social media lit up with delight over the “ massacre ” that time forgot . this has not sat well with ms. conway , who after all did have a small kernel of truth to back her up , though no killings happened in bowling green , ky. and a “ massacre ” does not appear to have ever occurred anywhere . in 2013 , the state department imposed a freeze on processing iraqi refugees after two qaeda members were discovered in iraq setting roadside bombs targeting american troops . they had been admitted to the united states in 2009 and lived in bowling green before they returned to iraq . the fingerprint that nailed them was on a cellphone detonator tied to a bomb that had not exploded . so “ massacre ” ? no . in bowling green ? no . refugees ? well , yes , sort of . ms. conway now says she misspoke . but things got really hot when a clinton jumped into the fray — chelsea clinton . which only stoked old campaign feuds , and a reminder of the exaggerated claim from hillary clinton that , as first lady , she once landed in bosnia under fire from hostile serbs . it never ends . president trump has taken some heat for his phone manners since it emerged that he pretty much chewed out prime minister malcolm turnbull of australia before hanging up on him . apparently mr. trump is unrepentant . according to the new online newsletter axios , mr. trump had an unpleasant conversation with the chief executive of uber , travis kalanick , after the brash entrepreneur quit the president ’s business council in protest of his executive order banning some foreigners from entering the country . some in mr. trump ’s “ inner circle ” suggested that mr. kalanick was cutting off his access to the white house . mr. kalanick might be a little more concerned with all the smartphone users’ dropping their uber app in favor of lyft , a competitor that was first to protest mr. trump ’s immigration policies . in an unusual early morning session , the senate on friday cleared an important procedural hurdle to approving betsy devos , mr. trump ’s nominee for education secretary , setting up a final , confirmation vote next week . the senate ’s vote along party lines to limit further debate on her nomination is deceptive . two republican senators , susan collins of maine and lisa murkowski of alaska , went along with the procedural vote , but they say they will oppose her on the final vote , expected on tuesday . callers have overwhelmed the capitol ’s phone system , many of them expressing angry opposition to ms. devos ’s nomination . senators have heard from all manner of educators in their home states opposing her confirmation — and not just teachers’ unions . the opposition from ms. collins and ms. murkowski raises the prospects of a tie that vice president mike pence , as president of the senate , would have to settle . after convening at 6:30 a. m. one of the earliest starts in recent memory , senator chuck schumer of new york , the democratic leader , urged his colleagues to take stock of their positions on ms. devos ’s nomination over the weekend . ” sometimes loyalty to a president demands a bit too much , ” he said on the floor . why so early ? under senate rules , a set amount of time had to elapse between the first procedural actions , which took place wednesday afternoon , and friday ’s vote . remember russia ? the country that intelligence officials believe interfered in the 2016 presidential election on mr. trump ’s behalf ? two weeks into mr. trump ’s presidency , talk of the foreign power ’s apparent role has somewhat faded from view , at least temporarily , in the daily avalanche of white house exploits and misadventures . but capitol hill will have its say . two senators are convening an investigation into russia ’s election interference , joining other efforts in congress to examine what happened . senators lindsey graham , republican of south carolina , and sheldon whitehouse , democrat of rhode island , said their investigation would focus on russian interference both in the united states’ election and in other elections around the world . ( mr. graham is the chairman and mr. whitehouse is the ranking member of a subcommittee of the senate judiciary committee that is focused on crime and terrorism . ) “ our goal is simple , ” the senators said in a joint statement . “ to the fullest extent possible we want to shine a light on russian activities to undermine democracy . ” there are already multiple senate committee examinations into russia ’s role , as well as an inquiry by the house . dr. harold n. bornstein has been president trump ’s personal doctor for more than 35 years . he prescribed mr. trump the drug that keeps the presidential mane flowing , and declared him the healthiest man to hold the highest office in the land . but for now , mr. trump will keep the same white house doctor who cared for barack obama , ronny jackson , a rear admiral in the navy . the decision , first reported by the online medical journal stat , raised the possibility that voters might actually get some reliable information on the health of their commander in chief . the meeting of chief executives at the white house on friday — people like jamie dimon of jpmorgan chase and stephen a. schwarzman of blackstone — was supposed to prove the bona fides of the new , . but mr. trump ’s temporary ban on visas from seven predominantly muslim countries has complicated the discussion considerably . travis kalanick , uber ’s chief executive , told employees he was dropping off mr. trump ’s economic advisory council in protest of his immigration policies , given the number of immigrant uber drivers . bob iger of disney is not attending . and elon musk let it be known on twitter that he would object to the ban to the president ’s face .
+0 u.s. ‘ probably had a role’ in mosul deaths , commander says - the new york times michael r. gordon washington — the senior united states commander in iraq said on tuesday that an american airstrike most likely led to the collapse of a building in mosul that killed scores of civilians this month . but the commander , lt . gen. stephen j. townsend , indicated that an investigation would also examine whether the attack might have set off a larger blast from explosives set by militants inside the building or nearby . it was the fullest acceptance of responsibility by an american commander since the march 17 airstrike . “ my initial assessment is that we probably had a role in these casualties , ” said general townsend , who commands the task force that is fighting the islamic state in iraq and syria . but he asserted that “ the munition that we used should not have collapsed an entire building . ” “ that is something we have got to figure out , ” he added . with an increase in reports of civilian casualties from the american bombing of islamic state targets in iraq and syria , some human rights groups have questioned whether the rules of engagement have been loosened since president trump took office . pentagon officials said this week that the rules had not changed . but general townsend said on tuesday that he had won approval for “ minor adjustments ” to rules for the use of combat power , although he insisted they were not a factor in the mosul attack . general townsend acknowledged , however , that steps had been taken to speed up the process of providing air power to support iraqi troops and their american special operations advisers at the leading edge of the offensive to recapture mosul from the islamic state . the goal , he said , was to “ decentralize ” . general townsend did not describe the changes in detail , but he cast them as a return to the military ’s standard offensive doctrine , in contrast to the “ very centralized ” approach he said was initially put in place after president barack obama sent american forces back to iraq to combat the islamic state , also known as isis or isil . maj . gen. maan an iraqi special forces commander , has said that his men called in a coalition airstrike to take out snipers on the roofs of three houses in a mosul neighborhood called mosul jidideh . the iraqi forces , general saadi said , were unaware that at least some of the houses were filled with civilians . general townsend said he did not have information on the iraqi commander ’s specific role , but explained that the united states had been training iraqi military officers how to call in airstrikes that are carried out by iraqi aircraft . any american airstrike requested by the iraqis , general townsend said , would need to be approved by american officers . “ if he said his guy was calling for fire , he could have been , ” he said . “ now how that works is that they do n’t call directly to a u. s. fighter overhead and suddenly a u. s. fighter is rolling in on their grid coordinates . ” iraqi forces have been eager for the help of american air power as they take on the toughest phase of the more than battle to retake mosul . american officials have said that 500 iraqi troops were killed and about 3 , 000 wounded in taking the eastern half of the city . general townsend said the battle for the western half of the city was even more difficult because of what he called its “ claustrophobically close terrain ” of narrow streets and buildings . he repeated several times that the fighting was the most intense urban combat since world war ii . adding to the challenge is a factor he did not mention : the decision by iraq ’s governments to urge mosul ’s residents to shelter in place instead of trying to flee . when american troops retook falluja in 2004 , the fierce urban fighting took place in a city that had already been abandoned by most civilians . though the iraqis are doing the main fighting on the ground in mosul , american and coalition forces have been playing an essential role . united states army paladin howitzers have been firing rounds into mosul from their positions outside the city . task force thor , which is based at qayyarah west airfield 40 miles south of mosul , has been firing himars rockets into the city . american apache attack helicopters have added to the firepower . this year , the united states increased the number of soldiers who have been advising iraqi troops as they have pushed into the city . while the mission of the advisers is not to directly engage in combat , many are in harm ’s way as they advise iraqi units carrying out the fight . on monday , american military officials said that two infantry companies from the 82nd airborne division were being sent to help protect those united states advisers and that a “ route clearance ” platoon was also being deployed to clear away roadside bombs . together , the deployment adds about 240 troops to the mission . the troop cap that the obama administration established for the operation in iraq — what the pentagon calls the “ force manning level ” — is 5 , 260 . but that formal limit , which the trump administration is likely to eliminate , does not count temporary deployments . the actual number of troops in iraq is certainly higher . with more american forces in iraq , and more united states advisers near the front lines , the need for timely airstrikes is much greater . brig . gen. matthew c. isler , an air force officer who serves as deputy to general townsend , is in charge of the investigation into the mosul airstrike . a team of american experts has visited the site to collect evidence to determine what caused the significant loss of civilian life . american officials said they were investigating a number of possibilities , including whether the militants herded the civilians into the building to use as human shields whether the building was rigged with explosives or whether a nearby car bomb exploded . “ my initial impression is the enemy had a hand in this , and there ’s also a fair chance that our strike had some role in it , ” general townsend said in a briefing broadcast to the pentagon from iraq . “ i think it ’s probably going to play out to be some sort of combination . but you know what , i ca n’t really say for sure , and we ’ve just got to let the investigation play out . ” general townsend said the results of the investigation would be reported publicly , “ unlike our enemy . ” while general townsend acknowledged an american role in the mosul strike , he said the allegations that the united states had bombed a school full of refugees in syria were not credible . that airstrike , which has garnered considerable attention , occurred during an operation in which syrian fighters were trying to seal off the western approaches to raqqa , the islamic state ’s capital . but general townsend said that the evidence he had seen indicated that it was about 30 islamic state fighters who were killed in that attack . “ i think that was a clean strike , ” he said . he also dismissed reports , publicized by the islamic state , that an american airstrike had endangered the tabqa dam west of raqqa , saying that the structure was not in imminent danger . “ if something happens to the tabqa dam , it will be at the hands of isis , not the coalition , ” he said . still , the reports of desperate civilians in mosul prompted zeid ra’ad the united nations high commissioner for human rights , to urge on tuesday that the coalition reconsider its tactics . the united nations has said that at least 61 people were killed in the march 17 strike in mosul . amnesty international said as many as 150 might have died . “ the fact that iraqi authorities repeatedly advised civilians to remain at home , instead of fleeing the area , indicates that coalition forces should have known that these strikes were likely to result in a significant number of civilian casualties , ” donatella rovera of amnesty international said in a statement .
+0 amid division , a march in washington seeks to bring women together - the new york times katie rogers a movement is growing to bring together women across race , creed and political beliefs by luring them off social media and arranging for them to meet in person . it ’s a nice idea , but there ’s one catch : the women ’s march on washington is being organized on facebook , the nation ’s preferred platform to battle over race , gender , politics and just about everything else . the timing of the event , which organizers began planning the morning after the election but are careful not to call a protest , is aimed at the coming administration of donald j. trump . more than 100 , 000 people have said on facebook that they will travel to the capital to participate . the plan is to walk from the lincoln memorial to the white house on jan. 21 , 2017 , the morning after mr. trump ’s inauguration . “ we ’re doing it his very first day in office because we are making a statement , ” one organizer , breanne butler , said . “ the marginalized groups you attacked during your campaign ? we are here and we are watching . and , like , ‘ welcome to the white house.’ ” since election day , there has been momentum around supporting groups that are opposed to mr. trump ’s espoused views on women and minority groups . nonprofit organizations , including the planned parenthood federation of america and the american civil liberties union , have reported a surge in donations after the election . but the election taught americans that women are deeply divided along party lines , education level and race : 53 percent of white women voted for mr. trump , according to exit poll data . on the march group ’s facebook page , it is easy to see how complicated the idea of the “ women ’s vote , ” an already mythological concept , has become , and how difficult it might be for organizers to fulfill their aim of gathering women who remain fiercely divided on reproductive rights , gun control , marriage and immigration , among other issues . not everyone on the page believes , for instance , that hillary clinton would have made a good president , or that stephen k. bannon , a chief strategist under mr. trump , holds divisive views about minorities . debates over both have sprung up in recent days . bob bland , one of the march organizers , said in an email that organizers in maryland had to change a facebook page from public to private to protect the safety of women who want to attend . evvie harmon , a yoga teacher from greenville , s. c. who is helping efforts to organize for the march , said the group had nixed a possible idea for a slogan — “ human rights are women ’s rights , and women ’s rights are human rights ” — because it was something that mrs. clinton once said . “ this is not an protest , ” ms. harmon said . “ this is the reaction of women and minorities across the world who are very disturbed by the rhetoric that was said over the last year and a half . ” aside from dueling political views , organizers are trying to take feedback from a cacophony of voices in real time as they try to assemble a network of state volunteers , plan programming and arrange transportation and lodging for the event . ms. butler , a chef who is organizing the event in her spare time , said the march had no official means of funding yet . there are women on the page who have said that the march is not inclusive enough , and that they do n’t want an event organized by white women . ms. butler acknowledged the criticism but stressed that the women who are organizing are from different racial and religious backgrounds . ( there was even controversy over the original name : organizers have changed the name from million woman march to the women ’s march on washington because observers took issue with the fact that the original name echoed a black women ’s march held in philadelphia in 1997 . ) ms. butler , 27 , said the greater concern would be helping local groups raise money to help women who ca n’t afford to travel to washington . “ the reality is that it ’s incredibly expensive to fly to d. c. on inauguration weekend , ” ms. butler said . “ we do n’t want only an class of people at this march because no one else can afford to go . ” tabitha st. 34 , who plans to help sign up attendees by visiting churches , synagogues and community centers in new york city , said she had been working to include all types of people — including those who have not been on facebook lately . “ i am a woman of color and i am an immigrant , ” said ms. st. who lives in brooklyn . she said of the march : “ for me , it has been completely inclusive . ” this is all plenty of pressure for a movement without a concrete path to funding itself , but organizers are optimistic as they look ahead to january . according to ms. butler , the group ’s request for a permit to march is still pending . on friday , michael litterst , a spokesman for the national park service , said in an email that the group ’s request to march is one of at least 13 requests currently under review for areas the agency administers in the nation ’s capital . those also include rallies and demonstrations . mr. litterst said the park service was also reviewing five requests for official inauguration events .
+0 5 mexican cartel bosses who were caught hiding in texas ildefonso ortiz and brandon darby mexican cartel bosses have a history of seeking a safe haven in the united states in an apparent effort to avoid dying at the hands of their rivals or having to shoot it out with mexican military forces . u. s. law enforcement officers arrested several key cartel bosses after they sought refuge in texas . [ it is not clear how many mexican cartel bosses have in fact crossed or continue to cross into the u. s. and avoid being captured . authorities arrested the following five cartel leaders in south texas : 1 — rafael cardenas vela aka el junior one of the top leaders in the gulf cartel , and nephew of los zetas founder osiel cardenas guillen . as breitbart texas reported , cardenas vela was known as a fierce warlord who commanded crews of cartel hitmen that rode in armored trucks and had access to rocket launchers , automatic weapons , and explosives . fearing a certain death at the hands of his rivals , cardenas ultimately fled to the united states in may 2011 . he maintained control of the matamoros plaza from a series of security houses in the texas border cities of rio hondo and brownsville through the use of daily to key leadership within the cartel . federal agents arrested el junior in october 2011 him along with two of his key bodyguards as he was making his way to south padre island from port isabel , texas , where he had a luxury condominium . according to federal prosecutors , cardenas vela had approximately 500 gunmen men in mexico ready to respond to his call . 2 — luis alberto blanco flores aka pelochas or the current leader of the gulf cartel in the border city of rio bravo fled to the u. s. in 2010 along with fellow gulf cartel members oscar “ el apache ” castillo flores and others to escape certain death at the hands of their rivals . at the time , the gulf cartel underwent a series of internal conflicts that led to the murder of key leaders . blanco flores worked for castillo flores and both men fled to brownsville where eventually federal authorities arrested them , breitbart texas previously reported . both cartel leaders were only charged with illegal and released after serving two years in prison . castillo flores was gunned down in a firefight in 2012 , while blanco flores kept climbing the ladder within the leadership of the gulf cartel . during his illegal trial , blanco flores was seen loudly sobbing in court when he saw his mother sitting in the federal courtroom in brownsville . 3 — juan aka panochitas the former leader of the gulf cartel was arrested in october 2014 in the border city of edinburg . in a story first reported by breitbart texas , juan “ el panochitas ” was arrested by federal authorities after the cartel leader had been hiding in texas in an apparent effort to avoid the ongoing rivalry between cartel forces and a possible capture by mexican authorities . tamez ’s charges came from a federal indictment from beaumont , texas , where he eventually pleaded guilty to multiple drug conspiracy charges . 4 — jose luis zuniga aka el wicho , a former key leader and regional boss for the gulf cartel , el wicho was arrested by federal authorities in santa maria , texas in 2011 . at the time of his arrest , zuñiga had a . 38 caliber jeweled handgun valued at close to $ 50 , 000 . 5 — juan roberto one of the key commanders of the gulf cartel , he was arrested in texas in october 2011 when he fled to rural cameron county . according to the fbi , rincon and his key security detail fled to the united states rather than face a likely death at the hands of their rivals . ildefonso ortiz is an journalist with breitbart texas . he the cartel chronicles project with brandon darby and stephen k. bannon . you can follow him on twitter and on facebook . brandon darby is managing director and of breitbart texas . he the cartel chronicles project with ildefonso ortiz and stephen k. bannon . follow him on twitter and facebook . he can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart . com .
+0 video : ex - obama staffer who urged spying on trump predicted ‘ quick’ impeachment weeks before election aaron klein tel aviv — speaking at a conference two weeks before the 2016 presidential election , evelyn farkas , a former top obama administration official , predicted that if donald trump won the presidency he would “ be impeached pretty quickly or somebody else would have to take over government , ” breitbart news has found . [ farkas served as deputy assistant secretary of defense under the obama administration . she has been in the spotlight since the news media last week highlighted comments she made on television that seemed to acknowledge efforts by members of the obama administration to collect intelligence on trump and members of his campaign . now it has emerged that at on october 26 , 2016 , farkas made remarks as a panelist at the annual warsaw security forum predicting trump ’s removal from office “ pretty quickly . ” asked at the event to address the priorities of a future hillary clinton administration , farkas stated : it ’s not a done deal , as you said . and so , to the americans in the audience please vote . and not only vote but get everybody to vote . because i really believe we need a landslide . we need an absolute repudiation of everything . all of the policies that donald trump has put out there . i am not afraid to be political . i am not hiding who i am rooting for . and i think it ’s very important that we continue to press forward until election day and through election day to make sure that we have the right results . i do agree however with general breedlove that even if we have the wrong results from my perspective america is resilient . we have a lot of presidential historians who have put forward very coherent the argument — they have given us examples of all of our horrible presidents in the past and the fact that we have endured . and we do have a strong system of checks and balances . and actually , if donald trump were elected i believe he would be impeached pretty quickly or somebody else would have to take over government . and i am not even joking . farkas was referring to general philip mark breedlove , another panelist at the conference who served as supreme allied commander europe ( saceur ) of nato allied command operations . the panel discussion was about what to expect following the nov. 8 presidential election . farkas has also been in the news after remarks she made as a contributor on msnbc on march 2 resurfaced last week . in the comments , she said that she told former obama administration colleagues to collect intelligence on trump and campaign officials . “ i was urging my former colleagues and , frankly speaking , the people on the hill , it was more actually aimed at telling the hill people , get as much information as you can , get as much intelligence as you can , before president obama leaves the administration , ” stated farkas . she continued : because i had a fear that somehow that information would disappear with the senior [ obama ] people who left , so it would be hidden away in the bureaucracy … that the trump folks — if they found out how we knew what we knew about their … the trump staff dealing with russians — that they would try to compromise those sources and methods , meaning we no longer have access to that intelligence . the white house has utilized farkas ’s statements to bolster the charge that trump was being illicitly surveilled during the campaign . white house spokesman sean spicer last week stated : [ i]f you look at obama ’s deputy assistant secretary of defense that is out there , evelyn farkas , she made it clear that it was their goal to spread this information around , that they went around and did this . … they have admitted on the record that this was their goal — to leak stuff . and they literally — she said on the record “ trump ’s team . ” there are serious questions out there about what happened and why and who did it . and i think that ’s really where our focus is in making sure that that information gets out . farkas , a former adviser to hillary clinton ’s campaign , served as deputy assistant secretary of defense for russia , ukraine and eurasia until she resigned in 2015 . she told the daily caller last week that she had no access to any intelligence . “ i had no intelligence whatsoever , i was n’t in government anymore and did n’t have access to any , ” she said . speaking to the washington post , farkas denied being a source of any leaks . the post reported : farkas , in an interview with the post , said she “ did n’t give anybody anything except advice , ” was not a source for any stories and had nothing to leak . noting that she left government in october 2015 , she said , “ i was just watching like anybody else , like a regular spectator ” as initial reports of russia contacts began to surface after the election . farkas currently serves as a nonresident senior fellow at the atlantic council , which takes a hawkish approach toward russia and has released numerous reports and briefs about russian aggression . the council is funded by the rockefeller brothers fund , inc. the u. s. state department , and nato act . another council funder is the ploughshares fund , which in turn has received financing from billionaire george soros’ open society foundations . farkas serves on the atlantic council alongside dmitri alperovitch , of crowdstrike , the company utilized by the fbi to make its assessment about alleged russian hacking into the democratic national committee ( dnc ) . alperovitch is a nonresident senior fellow of the cyber statecraft initiative at the atlantic council . last month , fbi director james comey confirmed that his agency never had direct access to the dnc ’s servers to confirm the hacking . “ well , we never got direct access to the machines themselves , ” he stated . “ the dnc in the spring of 2016 hired a firm that ultimately shared with us their forensics from their review of the system . ” national security agency director michael rogers also stated the nsa never asked for access to the dnc hardware : “ the nsa did n’t ask for access . that ’s not in our job . ” aaron klein is breitbart ’s jerusalem bureau chief and senior investigative reporter . he is a new york times bestselling author and hosts the popular weekend talk radio program , “ aaron klein investigative radio . ” follow him on twitter @aaronkleinshow . follow him on facebook . with research by joshua klein and brenda j. elliott .
+0 a word with : javier muñoz , the new hamilton on broadway - the new york times michael paulson there is a new hamilton in “ hamilton , ” although president obama and beyoncé have seen him already . on monday , javier muñoz replaces miranda , and steps into the title role of the biggest broadway show in years , playing the nation ’s first treasury secretary , alexander hamilton . he is not exactly new to the role . over much of the last year , mr. muñoz has relieved the star once a week , and on other days watched the production from a stool just offstage , waiting in case mr. miranda ever took a tumble . ( he did not . ) already , he has a reputation and a fan base . he ’s been described as the sexy hamilton because of the swagger he brings to the role , and mr. miranda bestowed on him a javilton , that has stuck . mr. muñoz has some obvious similarities to the man he is replacing — both have parents from puerto rico , graduated from new york city public schools and encountered broadway as children , becoming passionate about theater . and their careers have been entwined for years — mr. muñoz was mr. miranda ’s alternate , and then his successor , on “ in the heights , ” and has been his alternate throughout the development of “ hamilton . ” but mr. muñoz brings his own life experience to the role . the son of a doorman , he grew up in a housing project — the linden houses , in east new york , brooklyn , which he recalls as scarily violent and dangerous . “ i ca n’t lie — i ’m still afraid of it , ” he says . “ it was so much fear growing up there . ” he is 40 , openly gay , h. i. v. positive and a cancer survivor — he had surgery and radiation last fall , missing weeks of performances in “ hamilton , ” but has been back in the cast for months . he said he feels strong — the virus is undetectable , the cancer screenings negative — and is raring to go . “ i had my first in march , and all green lights , ” he said . “ i ’m good . ” last week , as he prepared to take over the role he sat down to talk about his life and “ hamilton ” at candle 79 , a vegan restaurant on the upper east side where he has repeatedly worked as a host between acting jobs . these are edited excerpts from the conversation . what ’s it like to step into the lead role of the biggest musical in memory ? i was on facebook the other day , and lin released that little teaser of his song with jennifer lopez , and i sort of sat there and went , “ i ’m taking over for this guy ? ” that just feels incredible . [ but ] it comes down to the work , right ? i ’ve been jumping in there every week , and i ’ve helped build this character . so it ’s like , i ’m just enjoying this , man . this is just fun , and glorious . did you ever feel as if people wished they were seeing the other guy ? i felt that way with “ heights . ” it would take a lot to earn the audience — to be like : “ really , i ’m good . i do n’t suck . just come with me . it ’s going to be o. k. ” but with “ hamilton , ” we were at the public , and we mapped out three shows that i was going to go on , and the days varied . it was a test , and it started with such a positive impact because of the history i have with lin . going on when president obama was in the audience must have helped . that ’s the turning point . and it helped me feel more confident , too . to know i had their trust . i knew , but that gesture was so generous and really made me feel o. k. why are you an actor ? i decided in high school — at edward r. murrow in brooklyn . i just fell in love with the idea that theater can be a mirror , theater can be a commentary , theater can be powerful and can start a conversation that needs to happen . i started working for a children ’s literacy organization that used theater to teach literacy in programs , and that was another powerful thing — suddenly the kid who really had trouble reading in class , or was embarrassed to speak out loud because of their accent , was inhabiting a character , using their imagination , reading and writing . that blew my mind . did you go to broadway when you were growing up ? i did — school trips . the first thing i saw was “ me and my girl . ” and i loved it so much — i was singing “ the lambeth walk ” for weeks . after that , any time there was a school trip to lincoln center , or anything that was arts related , i was so into it . what happened with your health last fall ? how did you know you had cancer ? i have been living with h. i. v. since 2002 , and i ’m undetectable . i ’m healthy , i ’m strong and i ’m very out about that because of the stigma still attached to it . but i ’ve had a healthy fear about my health since i tested positive , and i asked how to test myself for lumps , because both my parents had cancer . and very early on in my learning how to do a i found the lump . i was n’t immediately worried because of where it was — and i do want to keep that private because that ’s the only thing that ’s mine in this . but i brought it up to my doc , and that ’s what led to further testing and discovery . you did n’t want to tell anyone at “ hamilton ” ? i was filling myself with disappointment , as if you can blame yourself for cancer . but that ’s a thing , you know . i had to reveal it , and then i had to own that i needed help , and i had to ask for help , and that was the hardest thing in the world . you express a lot of gratitude on social media . i have this joke — if it ’s funny or not funny , i do n’t know — but the joke is that i have died several times already , and that ’s how it feels . my life completely and drastically changed in 2002 when i was diagnosed with h. i. v. and then again last year with cancer . and you ca n’t unknow what you know . life is not the same after that . but i ’m alive , and i ’m for all intents and purposes healthy and well . and i ’m grateful for that . you planted a garden on the roof of richard rodgers , the theater where “ hamilton ” is performed . there ’s so much energy on the stage , there are so many things we ’re doing day in and day out , and i needed something there that felt still and calm , and gardening gives me that stillness and that calmness . also , i ’m growing something . and it may sound cheesy or corny , but it ’s really not . the fact that life is created in that little garden bed heals me . it just does . how many shows a week will you do ? seven . it ’s the same structure . [ for the eighth performance ] someone else gets to be sexy — i ’m going to go eat pizza .
+0 french muslims protest and pray in street after mosque closure chris tomlinson muslims in the french city of clichy protested a local government decision to remove them from a building which they were occupying and had turned into a mosque . [ on wednesday , police removed the muslim group known as the union of muslim associations of clichy ( uamc ) who were squatting in the building after a long and heated battle between the city and the uamc . the city wants to turn the property into a media library , and the muslim group want it to remain a mosque . on thursday , a large group of muslims appeared on the street outside the city hall at 5:00 am to pray and protest the evacuation of the property , la parisien reports . according to reports , the local government gave the muslim association a lease on the property but it expired in june last year , and the muslims refused to leave . on wednesday at 8:30 am , bailiffs arrived at the building and welded the gate shut so that no one could enter . however , around 50 individuals managed to gain access to the building and had to be forcibly removed by police . the removal was not entirely peaceful as police report that three of their officers were injured during the operation . one muslim demonstrator was arrested for committing a violent act against a police officer . the city decided to repurpose the building last year and gave the uamc another building to pray in . the muslim group rejected the offer and said the new area was too small and did not have the “ dignity ” befitting its worshippers . footage has emerged claiming to be of the protest , showing protestors blocking a street and being flanked by police in full riot gear whilst cars beep their horns . # france : illegal mosque evacuated by police in # clichy . later , the clever believers celebrated prayer on the street . pic . twitter . — stop terror ( @s_t_o_p_terror ) march 23 , 2017 , the street prayer protests come as part of a rising movement in france . the recurrence of mass public prayer became so disruptive in the country that in 2011 the government was forced to pass a law banning muslims from praying on the streets of paris . illegal mosques are not just a problem in france but also in italy where authorities shut down at least six mosques last year . muslims in italy also protested the shutdowns , which officials closed for safety reasons and building standards , and threatened to invade the vatican and pray there if they were n’t allowed to continue using their mosques . in germany , some small mosques , which are often located within private homes , have been linked to radical islamic schools of thought like salafism . earlier this year , socialist party politician sigmar gabriel called for salafist mosques to be shut down after it was revealed the berlin christmas market terror attacker anis amri had been involved with several salafist mosques in berlin . follow chris tomlinson on twitter at @tomlinsoncj or email at ctomlinson@breitbart . com
+0 border patrol agents bust hearse full of weed ryan saavedra border patrol agents found tens of thousands of of marijuana stashed inside a hearse . [ willcox border patrol agents arrested a u. s. citizen attempting to smuggle 67 pounds of marijuana into the united states from mexico on saturday evening , cbp arizona reported . agents working at the state route 80 immigration checkpoint near tombstone stopped the hearse and after further investigation , decided to inspect the vehicle . during questioning , agents noticed several inconsistencies in the suspect ’s story at which point they decided to bring in a border patrol to check the vehicle for possible narcotics . the service dog alerted agents to the presence of narcotics in the vehicle , and after searching the hearse , found multiple bricks of marijuana hidden inside a casket worth an estimated $ 33 , 000 . the driver attempted to mask the smell of the marijuana by mixing the bricks in with bags of manure . border patrol agents seized the vehicle after placing the man under arrest for alleged narcotics smuggling . ryan saavedra is a contributor for breitbart texas and can be found on twitter at @realsaavedra .
+0 denzel washington , ethan hawke and antoine fuqua on ‘ the magnificent seven’ - the new york times dave itzkoff toronto — at the heart of “ the magnificent seven , ” john sturges ’s classic 1960 western , is a group of flawed men ( including yul brynner , steve mcqueen , charles bronson and james coburn ) who have never worked as a team , but who come together to defeat a nefarious bandit ( eli wallach ) . that dynamic , adapted from akira kurosawa ’s “ seven samurai , ” endures in the director antoine fuqua ’s update of “ the magnificent seven , ” in which denzel washington , ethan hawke , chris pratt and others are the mismatched gunslingers peter sarsgaard is the ruthless industrialist they are set against . if its story remains fundamentally the same , mr. fuqua ’s film , which columbia pictures and mgm will release on sept. 23 , features a more diverse cast , like an asian assassin ( played by lee ) a native american warrior ( martin sensmeier ) and a mexican outlaw ( manuel ) in addition to mr. washington as the warrant officer leading the squad . of course , mr. fuqua , mr. hawke and mr. washington are not strangers to one another : they worked together on “ training day , ” the brutal 2001 crime drama for which mr. washington won an academy award . ( mr. fuqua has also directed mr. hawke in “ brooklyn ’s finest ” and mr. washington in “ the equalizer . ” ) before the premiere of “ the magnificent seven ” at the toronto international film festival this month , these three collaborators came together to talk about the creation of their western remake to reflect on the making of “ training day ” and to discuss problems of diversity that persist in hollywood . these are edited excerpts from that conversation . were westerns part of your cultural upbringings ? denzel washington i grew up with “ bonanza . ” i did n’t see anybody that looked like me . i was vibing on hop sing for some reason . why do n’t we see hop sing more ? ethan hawke when i was growing up , my father would sleep all day sunday . and on channel 11 , they would play “ the big valley , ” “ gunsmoke , ” “ bonanza . ” then a howard hawks movie and then the clint eastwood tv shows . antoine fuqua my grandmother was a huge western fan . she ’d have me watch with her . “ shane , ” “ bonanza , ” “ duel in the sun , ” i saw them all with her . i used to watch them until the tv turned to snow . did you take on this project because you were specifically interested in remaking “ the magnificent seven ” ? fuqua mgm called me . i figured i ’d never get a chance to do a western . then they said it was “ the magnificent seven , ” and you hesitate a little bit . “ seven samurai ” was amazing , and kurosawa was the master . that decision was n’t easy . remakes have been done forever . people talk about “ scarface ” and do n’t even know it was a remake . hawke i have attachments to [ the first “ magnificent seven ” ] . you fall in love with all those guys . but there ’s something about a story of male friendships we could build on . but you were never chained down by the title . you made the movie you wanted to . fuqua if i was chained down to anything , it was — — washington the music ? [ starts to sing . ] dun , . fuqua i wanted to make sure we stayed true to what kurosawa was saying . “ seven samurai ” was all about men giving the ultimate sacrifice for others . to do something where you ’d give your life for the right reason . as long as we stayed on that path , that ’s the right path . did the actors go through any special training for “ the magnificent seven ” ? washington you get a horse , you get a gun . figure it out . no point in getting a plane . and get them boots on , quick as you can . them boots is serious . i found a couple of pairs that were biting — i ’m like , o. k. these are n’t going to work . fuqua they ’re on their feet all day , in the dirt and the sand . when it rains , it sinks in . it ’s painful . there ’s some details they do n’t put in the outdoor adventure manual . was it important to you that your film have a black lead ? fuqua i did n’t think about it as a black lead . washington what does that mean , a black lead ? i ’ve never been one . people make movies and write about what they know , and what they ’ve experienced . i ’m sure scorsese could ’ve done “ schindler ’s list , ” and spielberg maybe could ’ve done “ goodfellas . ” but there ’s a culture . these are . hawke he cast denzel because he likes denzel ’s acting . to white america , i think that will have some power . the western is an iconography that the dick cheneys of the world feel is theirs . and the world is changing , and it ’s wonderful to see . but that does n’t affect us playing it or doing it . if we think like that , we ’re a bunch of chumps . this is a year when audiences have become particularly aware of issues of diversity in hollywood . do you feel like you ’re seeing progress being made on this front ? washington it ’s not like everybody sits down and has committee meetings every six months to see how we ’re doing as a group . there ’s no black hollywood . people are making movies , and there are more opportunities now than ever before because there are more outlets than ever before . fuqua we can always improve everything . hollywood has to improve it . it will . washington listen , it ’s called show business . this ai n’t philanthropy . if i give you $ 25 million , and you go make a movie , i do n’t want to hear about what the experience was for you . i want my money back , with profit . or you ’re not getting $ 25 million from me next time . now is that because i ’m black and you ’re white ? no , it ’s because this is business . i gave you $ 25 million . “ yeah , d , we blew everything . but the culture is — ” yeah , o. k. bye , partner . you remember you said that when you come asking me for some money . hawke everybody ’s going to be when it makes a ton of money . denzel , you have a film adaptation of august wilson ’s “ fences , ” which you ’re starring in and directing , coming later this year . was there anything from “ the magnificent seven ” you could bring to that experience ? washington i stole from a real filmmaker [ indicates mr. fuqua ] . he had five cameras — i had two . fuqua it ’s frustrating , right ? he ’s editing now . he ’s deep in it again . washington i should go back and apologize to every director i ’ve ever worked with . because i had no idea how hard it is . now i ’ve got 200 people waiting on me : “ what do you want , d ? ” huh ? you ’d better act like you can direct . antoine , had you been looking for an opportunity to get these actors back together since “ training day ” ? fuqua it ’s always on my mind . on “ training day , ” i used to sit on an apple box and just watch these guys . it was like being at a play . washington when you were casting ethan , you had to believe that this was a guy who could walk down that empty street by himself and those people back there respect him . i wo n’t talk about some other folk who did n’t have the weight . [ laughter . ] hawke it was fascinating to see you [ mr. washington ] work at that high a level , in a studio movie . you can see people working like that , in church basements , with confidence and creativity . but when big money comes around and pressure comes around , people shrink . it was an exciting moment to see that that did n’t have to be . can you assume that the camaraderie from that previous film will carry over ? washington it ’s so different . i mean , we ’re on horses . the older i get , the more i appreciate each opportunity . you start to go , you ’ve probably made more movies , d , than you ’re going to make the rest of your days . if you do n’t want to go , do n’t go . when you do go , and it ’s a great ride , then you want to give your all . some days , not getting along is what helps . some days it ’s 107 degrees . you just do n’t feel like it . “ i know i ’m supposed to shoot him , but i ’m going to shoot him . ” [ laughter . ] are the three of you looking to make another movie together ? hawke somebody asked john lennon why he was n’t going to sing with paul mccartney anymore , and , supposedly , he said , “ sing what ? ” clearly we like working together . so what ? is it for the right reason ? washington otherwise it ’s called lunch . [ laughter .
+0 dem sen menendez : trump ’great wall of hate’ a waste of $ 20 billion - breitbart pam key thursday on cnn ’s “ situation room , ” sen. robert menendez ( ) said president donald trump ’s “ great wall of hate ” that had a $ 20 billion price tag “ could be spent far better in creating educational opportunity . that he said included creating jobs and “ a whole host of things that are important to our country . ” menendez said , “ when our products become more expensive if there is retaliatory tariff by mexico , that ’s going to affect jobs here in the united states . that ’s not how you become the greatest job creator ever known to mankind . so , you know , our challenge is we need to work with mexico and get our relationship to meet our mutual challenges , to create greater stability , greater economic growth , to control the traffic of people and at the same time protect ourselves against the scourge of gangs and drugs . ” “ but you do n’t do it by putting up a wall , ” menendez said . “ last time a wall was built was in germany , and at the end of the day it ultimately came down . and , so , i do n’t believe this is the way to go . and i do n’t believe the taxpayers of the united states should spend nearly $ 20 billion dollars — billion dollars — on a wall , the great wall of hate , at the end of the day when that 20 billion could be spent far better in creating educational opportunity , in creating jobs , in a whole host of things that are important to our country . ” follow pam key on twitter @pamkeynen
+0 the anti - trump activist taking on retailers - the new york times rachel abrams san francisco — sitting in a basement office that she rents by the hour , shannon coulter ticks off the activities she gave up in defiance of president donald j. trump : renting movies with her husband on amazon , and shopping at nordstrom , macy ’s and other retailers that sell ivanka trump ’s products . a nordstrom bag sat on a nearby table . it represents a victory lap of sorts for ms. coulter , who has almost spearheaded a retail revolt against the president and his family . she was wearing a new silver elizabeth and james lariat necklace purchased at the department store soon after it scrubbed ms. trump ’s name from its website . “ the goal , ” ms. coulter said , “ came originally from a place of really wanting to shop the stores we loved again with a clear conscience . ” it ’s been a wild ride these past few months for ms. coulter , who runs her shoestring movement from her home , or from cheerfully decorated work spaces like this one — surrounded by furniture , clam chairs and decorative pillows that feel more silicon valley than war room . enraged by a video that emerged last october of mr. trump bragging about sexually assaulting women , ms. coulter began a boycott of any sort of product connected to mr. trump . at first , it was just a tweet — a list she had compiled of companies that sold trump products — but the ember quickly turned into a blaze . thousands of people have contacted the stores ms. coulter has on her boycott list , including macy ’s and amazon . retailers including nordstrom , neiman marcus and t. j. maxx have backed away from products connected to ms. trump , the president ’s oldest daughter , since ms. coulter ’s efforts began . a herd of activists and celebrities , including the feminist writer gloria steinem , the olympic diver greg louganis and the actress lucy lawless of “ xena : warrior princess , ” have expressed support . the attention has transformed ms. coulter , 45 , a digital marketing specialist , into the unlikely general of the digital army now supporting her campaign , grab your wallet . “ people describe me as an activist in media coverage , i do n’t know who they ’re talking about , ” she said . “ i ’ve never done anything this organized or structured or purposeful . ” the new role has taken up much of her time , and has made her the target of criticism and attacks from trump supporters . she ’s lost count of how many times she has been called a “ bully ” or a “ disgrace . ” the abuse gets more menacing with each victory a recent email included her mother ’s name in the subject line , with threats to publish more of her personal information . in the latest twist , the boycott has drawn ms. coulter , a progressive liberal , into a growing debate over whether targeting ms. trump is sexist . and she said she worries that people will think she is profiting from the venture . ms. coulter was particularly upset when a knockoff “ grab your wallet ” group sold clothing and other merchandise on facebook . “ we do n’t even have a we do n’t have stickers , nothing , ” she said , adding that she does not accept compensation from companies , or donations . “ i do n’t think either of us envisioned that some of the things that have happened would happen , ” said sue atencio , who helped ms. coulter get the site started . in many ways , ms. coulter has embraced her new position . she answers emails at all hours and scours twitter for tips on companies to add , or remove , from the boycott list . then there are the phone calls — lots and lots of phone calls — from angry trump supporters or journalists or the companies that want to get off her list . there is no doubt that it has changed her life . she does n’t sleep or socialize as often as she used to . most of her work on grab your wallet is done after she eats dinner with her husband , taking up what free time she has . “ she went underground , basically , ” said amie penwell , a fellow san francisco resident who has n’t seen much of her friend of seven years recently . the negative attention has made ms. coulter careful about her privacy . she insisted on meeting at the work space for an interview , to avoid having a reporter at her home , out of fear that it could be targeted . she would not let her husband , whom she met online in 2010 , be interviewed . born in indiana , ms. coulter studied journalism at penn state . she said she began her career by “ piggybacking ” on the bay area ’s technology boom , helping with their email marketing . a year ago she started her own agency , doubleknown , which helps executives and small businesses build their online presence through blog posts , social media feeds and other digital tools . the company has one other employee and a handful of education and technology clients , but has stopped taking on new accounts since grab your wallet took off . political activism has not been a big part of ms. coulter ’s life since college , when she spoke at a rally raising awareness about violence against women . her most recent organized effort came after the shooting at umpqua community college in oregon in 2015 , when she circulated a list of lawmakers who had voted against tougher gun control measures . “ maybe that gave me a taste of what something like this would be like , ” she said , describing herself as a chronic list maker . “ i like the efficiency of them . ” after becoming incensed by the video , ms. coulter began searching retailers’ websites for products and collecting the names on a spreadsheet . wondering who else might be interested in a boycott , she looked at twitter , and found ms. atencio , who had tweeted “ fashion not fascism . ” ms. coulter contacted her and suggested they announce the boycott together . since then , most of the work has fallen to ms. coulter , though she refers to ms. atencio as her “ spiritual guide ” and sounding board . ms. atencio , 59 , sees herself as the less visible half of a musical duo . “ i feel like i ’m the garfunkel and shannon is paul simon , ” ms. atencio said . grab your wallet now includes a list of places to shop and not shop , and a short script for people who want to call companies to complain . as many as 32 , 000 people visit her site in an hour , ms. coulter said . when the women ’s marches took place across the country in january , 350 , 000 people arrived during a period . in early february , nordstrom and neiman marcus removed ms. trump ’s name from their websites . employees at t. j. maxx and marshalls were instructed not to display ivanka trump products and to throw her signs in the trash . none of the retailers credited grab your wallet with their decision — the department stores blamed poor sales — and it is not possible to know to what degree ms. coulter and her followers have influenced the companies’ decision making . but in the waning days of january , complaints , many of which mentioned grab your wallet , were nordstrom ’s most common customer feedback , according to a person with direct knowledge who was not authorized to speak publicly . nordstrom said it did not have “ specific numbers ” on the number of customers it had heard from . “ i attribute it directly to the muslim ban , ” ms. coulter said , referring to the executive order on immigration that mr. trump issued on jan. 27 . “ i can see when the numbers spike when certain news events happen . ” monitoring those spikes , updating her list and responding to emails , tweets and press inquiries have become ms. coulter ’s second job . “ my life is so completely here , ” she said , gesturing to her macbook , “ that it all just sort of overlaps and is an endless stream of emails and tweets and facebook posts . ” she does get some help from volunteers , like the woman who helps run the legitimate grab your wallet facebook group , which has more than 12 , 000 members . but for the most part , ms. coulter is on her own . that means the threats and negative attention are also directed largely at her . people ask her why she ’s “ attacking another woman , ” or call her a bully . people like the fox host jeanine pirro have argued that ms. trump ’s brand has nothing to do with the white house , and that she is being unjustly targeted . defenders also point to a proposed maternity policy that ms. trump developed with her father ’s campaign , and her brand ’s hashtag , womenwhowork , as examples of how she promotes women . “ we have to stop destroying women based on the men in their lives , ” ms. pirro said during a recent episode of her show . s. e. cupp , a conservative author and commentator , stopped short of calling the boycott of ms. trump ’s products sexist . but in an email , ms. cupp said that it seemed “ misdirected . ” “ i ’m never a fan of going after the kids , grown or not , of presidents , ” she said . “ nor does it feel consistent with the argument — that he ’s ‘ ’ — to economically punish his daughter , a working wife and mother . ” a spokesman for ms. trump ’s brand declined to make someone at the company available for an interview . in a statement , the company said it had been “ swept into the political fray , becoming collateral damage in others’ efforts to advance agendas unrelated to what we do . ” ms. coulter finds such comments perplexing . she pointed out that ms. trump moved to washington and has taken on an informal advisory role in the white house . she frequently sits in on her father ’s meetings with foreign leaders . ms. trump ’s husband , the real estate developer jared kushner , is a top adviser to president trump . in addition , ms. coulter said , ms. trump played a prominent role in the presidential campaign . “ someone who passionately campaigned for a man who likes to grab women by the genitals will never convince me that she ’s on the side of women , ” she said . “ ever . ” ms. steinem also said that ms. trump was fair game , particularly after the election , when it can no longer be argued that she is just doing her “ filial duty ” on the campaign trail . “ it ’s appropriate to boycott her not because he is her father , ” ms. steinem said , “ but because she supports his policies . ” ms. steinem specifically faulted ms. trump ’s proposed policy for its exclusion of fathers and mothers . despite the long hours , ms. coulter said she could continue running grab your wallet indefinitely . she ’s considering turning the campaign into a nonprofit and running it full time , and is struggling to figure out what to do with her fledgling business . “ i ’m trying to understand what the right next step is , ” she said . “ i think as long as he ’s in office , this will be alive . ”
+0 trump orders strikes against syrian regime airbase in response to chemical attack - breitbart kristina wong washington — president trump ordered a cruise missile strike against a syrian regime military airbase , in response to a chemical weapons attack carried out by the regime earlier this week . [ at 8:40 p. m. edt , the u. s. launched 59 tomahawk land attack missiles at the shayrat airfield located in the homs governorate in western syria , according to pentagon officials . the strike lasted minutes . “ this was in response to the syrian chemical weapons attack april 4th in khan sheikhoun … that attack killed and injured hundreds of innocent syrian people , including women and children , ” said pentagon spokesman navy capt . jeff davis . “ the strikes were intended to deter the regime from using chemical weapons again , ” he said . the missiles were launched from u. s. destroyers uss porter and ross , which were in the eastern mediterranean sea at the time , he said . the missiles hit aircraft , hardened aircraft shelters , petroleum and logistical storage areas , ammunition supply bunkers , air defense systems and radars , he said . davis said the u. s. military took care to avoid any human casualties . it notified russia — and “ many countries ” — of the planned strikes ahead of time . there were russian troops at the airbase , although it’ is not clear if they were still there during the strikes . davis said the u. s. struck an area where russian and syrian troops were not located . “ in this case in particular , every precaution was taken to execute these strikes with minimal risk to personnel at the airfield , ” davis said . the strike was aimed at deterring another chemical weapons attack by the regime . the airbase was the same one the regime used to carry out the chemical weapons attack , davis said . the u. s. military said it tracked the two aircraft that the regime used to conduct the attacks . the airbase also housed one of syria ’s main chemical weapons storage facility prior to 2013 , he said . trump had hinted on wednesday during a rose garden briefing with the king of jordan that he would take action against the regime . he said the attack had crossed “ many , many lines , beyond a red line — many , many lines . ” “ that attack on children yesterday had a big impact on me . big impact , ” trump had said . “ that was a horrible , horrible thing , and i ’ve been watching it and seeing it , and it does n’t get any worse than that . ” trump reportedly spoke with lawmakers before the strike . sen. rand paul ( ) called on the president to come to congress to seek congressional authorization for military action in syria . “ while we all condemn the atrocities in syria , the us was not attacked , ” he said in a statement . “ the president needs congressional authorization for military action and i call on him to come to congress for a proper debate on our role . our prior interventions in this region have done nothing to make us safer and syria will be no different . ” sen. ted cruz ( ) called syrian president bashar a “ monster ” and a “ puppet of russia and iran ” but said he looked forward to the president “ making the case to congress and the american people ” in the days ahead . meanwhile , republican and democratic defense hawks praised the airstrikes . “ unlike the previous administration , president trump confronted a pivotal moment in syria and took action , ” said sens . john mccain ( ) and lindsey graham ( ) . “ i think it was an important step , ” sen. marco rubio ( ) said on cnn . “ this was not some symbolic measure . ” “ i support the admin ’s strike on the air base that launched the chemical attack . i hope this teaches assad not to use chemical weapons again , ” said sen. bill nelson ( ) . in a statement , president trump explained the urgency behind the strikes : my fellow americans , on tuesday , syrian dictator bashar launched a horrible chemical weapons attack on innocent civilians . using a deadly nerve agent , assad choked out the lives of helpless men , women and children . it was a slow and brutal death for so many , even beautiful babies were cruelly murdered in this very barbaric attack . no child of god should ever suffer such horror . tonight , i ordered a targeted military strike on the airfield in syria from where a chemical attack was launched . it is in the vital , national security interest of the united states to prevent and deter the spread and use of deadly chemical weapons . there can be no dispute that syria used banned chemical weapons , violated its obligations under the chemical weapons convention and ignored the urging of the u. n. security council . years of previous attempts at changing assad ’s behavior have all failed , and failed very dramatically . as a result , the refugee crisis continues to deepen and the region continues to destabilize , threatening the united states and its allies . tonight i call on all civilized nations to join us in seeking to end the slaughter and bloodshed in syria and also to end terrorism of all kinds and all types . we ask for god ’s wisdom as we face the challenge of our very troubled world . we pray for the lives of the wounded and for the souls of those who have passed and we hope that as long as america stands for justice , that peace and harmony will , in the end , prevail . good night and god bless america and the entire world . thank you .
+0 why are basketball games so squeaky ? consider the spiny lobster - the new york times john branch it is the unofficial soundtrack of basketball , a noise consistently heard but rarely considered — shoes squeaking on the hardwood . squeaks are the background rhythm to the game . but that sound is also one of the enduring mysteries of sports , and presents a question that gets scientists talking : why do basketball shoes squeak ? to understand , it may help to consider violins and the california spiny lobster . sheila patek , a biologist at duke university , is an expert in spiny lobsters , among other oddities of the animal kingdom , and several years ago discovered that some species of the clawless crustaceans do something utterly unusual . to scare away predators , they rub a smooth , rubbery protrusion at the base of each antenna against the smooth , hard part of their heads . the result is an audible squawk . the spiny lobster became the first known example among animals of the phenomenon , a deeply studied principle of science and engineering . it is when two relatively smooth or flat surfaces become repeatedly stuck and unstuck by the forces of friction , creating a vibration that becomes a noise . it is why brakes and doors squeak on dirty hinges and why wipers chatter on dry windshields . it is why a finger sings on the rim of a wine glass or screeches on the outside of an inflated balloon . and it explains how the bow of a violin , sticking and slipping almost imperceptibly as it crosses the string , creates sound . “ if you ’ve ever played a violin , you have to push down and slide at just the right combination to get these two surfaces to stick and slip across each other , ” patek said . “ and on each slip it makes a little burst of sound . and that ��s the same thing for a spiny lobster . ” and , it now occurs to her , the same goes for something else , something more widely seen around duke than a spiny lobster . “ a basketball shoe ! ” she said with a laugh . in big arenas , like those of the n. b. a. the squeaking is mostly overpowered these days by the cacophonous , noise intended as entertainment and disguised as excitement . ( the knicks , deep into the experimental part of their losing season , recently played a first half against the warriors with only ambient noise , telling fans to “ enjoy the sounds of the game . ” steve kerr , the warriors’ coach , said the atmosphere was “ weird , ” and a player , draymond green , called it “ pathetic . ” ) but the squeaks will be heard , loud and clear , during the early parts of the n. c. a. a. men ’s and women ’s basketball tournaments . some teams tip off on neutral courts far from home , where the crowds are reverent or unmoved . pep bands play only during timeouts , and most sites do not add artificial noise during play . perhaps unrealized at home , there are stretches when squeaking shoes and the occasional barking of coaches comprise most of the noise in the arena . few stop to consider just what it is that they are hearing when shoes squeak . even fewer have researched the topic . martyn shorten , who has a biomechanics consulting firm in portland , ore. and works mostly with athletic shoe manufacturers , is one of them . he presented his findings to the american society of biomechanics in 2006 , and it remains a resource in the industry . “ the herringbone structures of the shoe outsole are induced to vibrate at their natural frequencies by contact with the surface , ” shorten and his research partner xia xi concluded . those vibrations become sound — quick , squeaks . to fans , they are noise . to players , they are necessities . “ when we ’ve tested shoes and they did n’t squeak , it comes up with our players and our testers , ” leo chang , senior design director at nike , said . “ the squeak is reassurance to a lot of players . they listen for it . it gives them that audio sense of reassurance that they ’re sticking . ” the squeak means that they are not just sticking , but sliding . it is a complex , wonky bit of science , deeply researched and best explained by a battery of experts — from shoe designers to rubber scientists , mechanical engineers to acoustic experts , even a biologist familiar with spiny lobsters . they agree that at the core of a basketball shoe ’s squeak is the phenomenon — the same principle studied by engineers for its clattering effect on machinery and by seismologists for the way tectonic plates stick and slip to cause earthquakes . when you write on a blackboard and the chalk squeaks ? . when you drive a car slowly around a corner in a parking garage and the tires squeal ? . in basketball , shorten said , it “ tends to happen when the foot first contacts the ground and when the shoe is lightly loaded and moving quite quickly . ” on the foot ’s way to stopping , or to twisting or springing to the next step , the sole ’s intricate designs stick , then slip , then stick . it might feel like an instant stop , but the rubber sole is designed for flexibility . too much grip in basketball is jarring on the body , nike ’s chang said . not enough traction is dangerous , too . “ i see the squeak as the perfect signal that you ’ve got the right amount of slip and grip , ” chang said . that makes sense to judit puskas , a chemical engineering professor at the university of akron who recently won the charles goodyear medal for her expertise in rubber . she described the “ magic triangle ” of rubber technology — rolling resistance ( its ability to slip ) traction ( stick ) and wear . changing one can impact the others . the quest is to find balance , whether in designing tires or basketball shoes or anything else with rubber components . “ the sole makes sure you can stop , but also move quickly , which are two competing requirements , ” puskas said . “ you want the rubber to stick enough that you can stop , but you do n’t want to stick too much that you ca n’t move . ” the chirp signals balance , but it does not explain how the sound is produced — usually when a player makes a quick stop or a sideways cut . greg mcdaniel is an associate professor of mechanical engineering at boston university , where he runs the sound and vibration laboratory . the basic rule for creating sound is compressing air , mcdaniel said . “ if you wave your hand through the air , you do n’t hear it , ” he said . “ why ? because you have n’t compressed air . the air sloshes around like water sloshes , and the air has enough time to get out of the way before you compress it . ” but in the tiny , vibrating spaces under and within a rubber sole , the air gets compressed . “ that compressed air sucks in neighboring air , causing it to expand , and that expanding air compresses neighboring air , and you get this ” mcdaniel said . “ that ’s an acoustic wave . the rubber ’s moving , and as it moves it is compressing air . and it compresses air at the same frequency of the vibrations . ” shorten ’s experiment tested two basketball shoes with herringbone designs , and they measured between 5 and 6 kilohertz — a squeak at the high end of the spectrum for human hearing . the basketball hardwood creates not just the perfect frictional foil for rubber soles , but a surface that deflects sound so well that it can carry through an arena . the squeaks are such an ingrained part of basketball that nike once created a commercial around them . but nike has also designed shoes that barely made a sound . “ it ’s down to the geometry of the traction , ” said chang , who designs all the shoes for kevin durant , among others . “ a lot of the herringbone and the more of geometry tend to give you a little more squeak , versus the more nub , of geometry , which tends not to . ” midway through the n. b. a. finals last year , cleveland ’s lebron james changed shoes to nike ’s soldier 10 . its nubby sole design was virtually silent . those discrepancies gave patek , the duke biologist , an idea . could the squeaks be personalized , tuned so that each player had his or her own sound ? mcdaniel said that shoe sounds probably could be individualized ( and probably already are , if unintentionally ) but the frequency range of the squeaks is so narrow that they likely would sound the same to most listeners in the crowd . until then , fans will just have to appreciate the squeaks for what they are : a persistent reminder that , for as much as the game evolves , there is one part of its tradition that will not be silenced .
+0 new questions arise over sumner redstone ’s competency after he alters trust - the new york times emily steel the mental competency of the ailing media mogul sumner m. redstone is , once again , at the center of a bitter dispute . viacom and its chief executive , philippe p. dauman , fired back with everything they had on saturday , attempting to discredit a sudden move by mr. redstone to change succession plans for his $ 40 billion media empire . not only did mr. dauman and two viacom directors raise questions related to mr. redstone ’s competency , but they also declared that mr. redstone had been manipulated and used by his daughter . the renewed scrutiny over mr. redstone ’s capacity came less than two weeks after a california judge dismissed a case on a similar issue without ruling on whether mr. redstone was mentally competent . it was sparked by an unexpected development on friday , in a family and corporate tale that becomes messier by the week . mr. redstone ousted mr. dauman from the trust that will control his companies when he dies or is declared incompetent . he did so after expressing dissatisfaction with the performance of viacom , according to a lawyer working on behalf of mr. redstone . mr. dauman was also removed from the board of national amusements , the private theater chain company through which mr. redstone controls both viacom and cbs . also ousted from both positions was george abrams , a representative of mr. redstone , a viacom director for 29 years and an ally of mr. dauman . the development set off a new round in a battle pitting mr. dauman , mr. redstone ’s longtime confidant , against shari redstone , mr. redstone ’s once ostracized , recently reconciled daughter . ms. redstone has publicly opposed mr. dauman ’s leadership at viacom , and his removal from the trust is a significant victory in her effort to shape the future of her father ’s companies . ms. redstone is vice chairman of viacom and cbs and is one of seven members on the trust . but in biting language on saturday , viacom executives and directors joined forces to depict the ousting of mr. dauman and mr. abrams as a shameful attempt by ms. redstone to influence her father and gain control of his companies . they also portrayed mr. redstone as being in such failing health as to be unable to make such a decision . carl folta , a spokesman for viacom , said in a statement that mr. redstone had been unduly influenced by his daughter “ to accomplish her goal , which mr. redstone has always opposed , of gaining control of national amusements and viacom . ” mr. folta said the move to oust mr. dauman and mr. abrams was “ completely inconsistent with his long expressed wishes and intent , and extremely disruptive and damaging to viacom and all of its shareholders . ” for his part , mr. abrams said , “ the sumner redstone i knew would never have taken this action . ” and frederic v. salerno , viacom ’s lead independent director , raised questions about mr. redstone ’s competence , saying the board decided last week to eliminate mr. redstone ’s compensation “ based upon his recent complete lack of communication with the viacom board and management team and his silence during recent board meetings , as well as recent public disclosures raising concerns about his health . ” in a statement on saturday , ms. redstone said , “ i fully support my father ’s decisions and respect his authority to make them . ” removing mr. dauman from the trust has raised the question of whether mr. redstone , or the trust after he dies , will move to oust mr. dauman as a director and as chief executive of viacom . the company , the owner of the mtv , comedy central and nickelodeon cable networks and the paramount pictures film and television studios , has suffered a 40 percent decline in its stock price over the last year and has reported persistent weak results . “ is philippe dauman dead man walking now ? ” asked richard greenfield , a media analyst with btig research . referring to mr. redstone , he said , “ if he is competent enough to change the trust , he is competent enough to use his voting power to change management . ” whether mr. dauman will pursue legal action is not clear . during the public sparring on saturday , two questions persisted . did mr. redstone have the capacity to eject mr. dauman and mr. abrams from their positions ? and to what extent was ms. redstone involved ? mr. redstone , who has not been seen publicly since his 92nd birthday party last may , will turn 93 on friday . while he continues to control viacom and cbs , much about his condition has been shrouded in mystery beyond the fact that he has suffered minor strokes and has a severe speech impediment . the transcript of videotaped testimony presented during the trial showed a fiery , if somewhat feeble man who responded to some basic questions but could not answer others , such as his birth name . if mr. redstone lacked the capacity to make corporate decisions , as mr. dauman asserted , analysts said that would raise questions about whether mr. redstone ’s control should already have passed to the trust . yet until friday , neither mr. dauman nor mr. abrams , nor other directors of viacom or cbs , publicly claimed that mr. redstone lacked mental capacity . in a declaration six months ago for the civil suit challenging mr. redstone ’s mental capacity , mr. dauman described his boss as “ engaged , attentive and as opinionated as ever . ” mr. redstone ’s lawyers , in a statement issued friday , sought to use mr. dauman ’s own words against him . citing his remarks , michael c. tu , a partner at the law firm orrick , herrington sutcliffe , said “ that is exactly the sumner redstone who made these decisions . ” in his statement on behalf of mr. redstone , mr. tu said his client took “ decisive and lawful action ” to remove mr. dauman and mr. abrams from their positions after he had “ expressed his concerns regarding viacom ’s performance to messrs. abrams and dauman , both viacom directors , and received no response from them . ” mr. folta of viacom said that there had been no communication from mr. redstone and that the only contact came through “ written communication on tuesday from mr. tu , a lawyer previously unknown until this week to anyone associated with sumner other than shari redstone . ” mr. folta added that during a viacom board meeting on tuesday evening and all day wednesday , “ not a sound was heard from sumner , who was connected by phone , ” and that ms. redstone , also connected by phone , “ did not raise a single concern during the board session on any topic . ” mr. redstone engaged the new law firm after the suit challenging his capacity was dismissed on may 9 . “ sumner had concerns related , as everybody knows , to the potential sale of paramount and with respect to other corporate matters , ” said robert n. klieger , a partner of the law firm hueston hennigan who represented mr. redstone during the suit over his competency . “ i recommended to sumner that he engage corporate counsel to represent him on those matters and helped facilitate getting orrick on board to represent him . ” mr. folta and mr. salerno said that ms. redstone had denied viacom directors access to her father . dr. brian crowley , a psychiatrist in washington who has frequently testified in civil and criminal trials at what he called the “ intersection of psychiatry and law , ” said there were two related issues in the situation : mental competency and “ undue influence . ” “ there is no rigid definition of civil competence , ” he said . “ does he have the mental capacity to know what he ’s doing ? does he have the ability to exercise judgment and free will ? ” while mr. redstone is a vulnerable person and may be subject to undue influence , not all influence is undue , dr. crowley said . “ have they used their influence to in effect meet their own needs , rather than to help him make his own decision ? ” he asked .
+1 comment on selected not elected — rothschilds hold $ 100,000 a plate dinner fundraiser for guess who by bruce baker bruce baker probably in the pockets of the corrupt ? guy it starts with you and me ! paschn checking their deposit history , making certain their israeli accounts are getting their scheduled 30 pieces of silver on time . think about it ; if a father / mother treated their children the way sewer nation ’s government treats us , they ’d be tried for abuse and jailed , the judas class in d.c. wins nobel ( payoffs ) prizes . tina marie deraco bernie sanders has been very vocal . what have you done to support his efforts ? paschn they ’re all very vocal , until the electronic ballet machines ensconce them in the whor , oops white house . you might ask dual citizen “ bernie ” why he gutted the “ audit the fed ” bill , it sure as hell was n’t for his christian / muslim constituency . http://youtu.be/_sqoq-lago8 tina marie deraco i agree . once a president takes the oval office , we witness them doing 180 ’s on some of their most passionate and popular platform promises . it ’s so bizarre , i find it hard to believe it ’s always deliberate on their part . frankly , it ’s scary to wonder what happens behind those closed doors . in bernie ’s case , he ’s not taking any big money , so he ’d go in without owing any favors to anyone but the american people . if the man who has been saying the same things for decades got in there and suddenly changed , i ’d be concerned he ’d been “ replaced ” . as for bernie , he is not a dual citizen . he ’s been asked and he answered . no one has produced any proof to the contrary ; so your allegation is falling on deaf ears . unless you have some means of proving this honest man is lying ; i suggest you drop that argument . he ’s the only candidate who stood up for the palestinian people during a democratic debate ( it ’s being called “ historic ” ) and some israeli officials reacted with nasty verbal assaults . i ’m familiar with the atf bill and paul eventually appreciated what bernie did . if you listen to the entire statement by paul , you ’ll hear him explain the tremendous pressure being exerted against it ’s passing . what bernie did was compromise to save it from dying completely . he injected an amendment that even the president went along with and it was voted on and passed . paul calmed down and realized that bernie gave them something out of nothing , sanders was n’t dubbed the “ amendment king ” for no reason . when rand paul presented another atf bill just a few months ago , bernie voted with him , against the democrats and the president ’s wishes . unfortunately it did not pass . http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/10/ron-paul-backs-fed-audit_n_570487.html paschn bernie sanders is , by virtue of his jewish heritage , a dual citizen . the “ right of return ” automatically extended to all jews allows him to move about between the u.s. and israel . as for “ compromise ” ? being one who will never accept the 2 party system when it comes to what is or is not good for all citizens , perhaps i judge his “ compromise ” too harshly . even as a teenager i was n’t able to grasp this idiocy of voting along the “ party ” lines . it ’s either good or not . a person’ voting should have nothing to do with a party affiliation . it cripples the democratic process and benefits those holding title to “ our ” statesmen . consider this , what type of honorable legislative branch would argue amongst themselves ending with the private fed res being , yet again , shielded from transparency ? those foul dogs should be rising up as one demanding the fed res charter be instantly rescinded and they , along with their private collection agency , the irs should be bodily thrown out of our nation right behind the central bank owned u.n. it was n’t a “ lucky break ” which allowed jackson to be the first and only president to pay the nat’l debt to zero , it was because he rid us of those stinking rothschild parasites . how things have changed , no ? while we naively think it ’s only oil / gas / markets that keep 800 military bases in + /- 130 nations to make things “ cozy ” for the corporations but no , the judas class ’s primary reason , ( which they ’ve accomplished for their masters ) , is forcing the goddamn city of london central banks down the throats of smaller , weaker nations . there are literally only around five nations who are not being sucked dry by those swine . i apologize for the rant but those central bank blood - suckers get my ire up … quickly . keysbum quit the pussyfooting around … these criminals control the creation and destruction of money . that means they own , and control the world . robby johnson fox which , in turn , means we – the average people of this world – are slaves to them that make and destroy money . paschn even more frightening than a government so corrupted this succubus continues “ whoring -as - usual ” , knowing full well “ the synagogue ” has no intention of letting a simple thing like treason allow this year ’s favorite member of the judas class answer for her crimes , there are literally millions of dead - from - the - neck - up members of this “ mutt ” culture supporting that demoness sewer nation – idiot culture . she ’s owned by global jewry . peter you know , judas has been taking an undeserved rap over these past couple of millenia . according to the church , god offered up jesus for martyrdom and judas was a key part of that plan . jesus even asked god if there was no other way and god said “ nope , this is the way it ’s got ta be . judas was just doing what he was supposed to do . peaver bogart it would be very funny if nobody showed up . janet jenkins clinton ’s accomplishments : 1 – james mcdougal – clinton ’s convicted whitewater partner died of an apparent heart attack , while in solitary confinement . he was a key witness in ken starr ’s investigation . 2 – mary mahoney – a former wh intern was murdered july 1997 at a starbucks coffee shop in georgetown . the murder happened just after she was to go public with her story of sexual harassment in the wh . 3 – vince foster – former wh councilor , and colleague of hillary at little rock ’s rose law firm . died of a gunshot wound to the head , ruled a suicide . he was going to testify against the clintons . 4 – ron brown – secretary of commerce and former dnc chairman who had a serious disagreement with clinton . reported to have died by impact in a plane crash . a pathologist close to the investigation reported that there was a hole in the top of brown ’s skull resembling a gunshot wound . at the time of his death brown was being investigated , and spoke publicly of his willingness to cut a deal with prosecutors . 5 – c. victor raiser ii and montgomery raiser – major players in the clinton fund raising organization died in a private plane crash in july 1992 . 6 – paul tulley – dnc political director found dead in a hotel room in little rock , september 1992 after a serious disagreement with clinton . described by clinton as a “ dear friend and trusted advisor . ” 7- ed willey – clinton fund raiser , found dead november 1993 deep in the woods in va of a gunshot wound to the head . ruled a suicide . ed willey died on the same day after his wife kathleen willey claimed bill clinton groped her in the oval office in the white house . ed willey was involved in several clinton fund raising events . 8 – jerry parks – head of clinton ’s gubernatorial security team in little rock . gunned down in his car at a deserted intersection outside little rock . park ’s son said his father was building a dossier on clinton . he allegedly threatened to reveal this information . after he died the files were mysteriously removed from his house . 9 – james bunch – died from a gunshot suicide . it was reported that he had a “ black book ” of people which contained names of influential people who visited prostitutes in tx & ark. although the book was seen by several persons , it disappeared . 10 – james wilson – was found dead in may 1993 from an apparent hanging suicide . he had ties to whitewater . 11- kathy ferguson – ex - wife of ark trooper danny ferguson , was found dead in may 1994 , in her living room with a gunshot to her head . it was ruled a suicide even though there were several packed suitcases , as if she were going somewhere . danny ferguson was a co - defendant along with bill clinton in the paula jones lawsuit . kathy ferguson was a corroborating witness for paula jones . 12 – bill shelton – ark state trooper & fiancee of kathy ferguson . critical of the suicide ruling of his fiancee , he was found dead in june , 1994 of a gunshot wound also ruled a suicide at the grave site of his fiancee . there were no powder burns . 13 – gandy baugh – attorney for clinton ’s friend dan lassater , died by jumping out a window of a tall building january , 1994 . his client was a convicted drug distributor . 14 – florence martin – accountant & sub - contractor for the cia , was related to the barry seal mena airport drug smuggling case . he died of three gunshot wounds . 15 – suzanne coleman – reportedly had an affair with clinton when he was ark ag . died of a gunshot wound to the back of the head , ruled a suicide . was pregnant at the time of her death . 16 – paula grober – clinton ’s speech interpreter for the deaf from 1978 until her death december 9 , 1992 . she died in a one car accident . she told a friend that clinton made advances . 17 – danny casolaro – investigative reporter . investigating mena airport and ark development finance authority . he slit his wrists , apparently , in the middle of his investigation . before his death , he claimed to have found a shattering story involving clinton . 18 – paul wilcher – attorney investigating corruption at mena airport with casolaro and the 1980 “ october surprise ” was found dead on a toilet june 22 , 1993 in his wash dc apartment . had delivered a shocking report to janet reno three weeks before his death . 19 – jon parnell walker – whitewater investigator for resolution trust corp. jumped to his death from his arlington , va apartment balcony august 15 , 1993 . he was investigating the morgan guarantee scandal . 20 – barbara wise – commerce department staffer . worked closely with ron brown and john huang . cause of death unknown . died november 29 , 1996 . her bruised , nude body was found locked in her office at the dept of commerce . 21- charles meissner – asst secretary of commerce who gave john huang special security clearance , died shortly thereafter in a small plane crash . the plane had been tampered with . 22 – dr. stanley heard – chairman of the national chiropractic health care advisory committee , died with his attorney steve dickson in a small plane crash . again , tampering with the plane . dr. heard , in addition to serving on clinton ’s advisory council personally treated clinton ’s mother , stepfather and brother . 23 – barry seal – drug running pilot out of mena arkansas , death was no accident . 24 – johnny lawhorn jr. – mechanic , found a check made out to bill clinton in the trunk of a car left at his repair shop . he was found dead after his car had hit a utility pole . apparently he was dead before the car hit the pole . 25 – stanley huggins – investigated madison guarantee . his death was a purported suicide and his report was never released . 26 – hershell friday – attorney & clinton fund raiser died march 1 , 1994 when his plane exploded . this happen two days after an argument with clinton . 27 – kevin ives & don henry – known as “ the boys on the track ” case . reports say the boys may have stumbled upon the mena ark airport drug operation . a controversial case , the initial report of death said , due to falling asleep on railroad tracks . later reports claim the two boys had been slain before being placed on the tracks . many linked to the case died before their testimony could come before a grand jury . the following persons had infoon the ives / henry case : 28 – keith coney – died when his motorcycle apparently slammed into the back of a truck , july 1988 . no one saw the accident & the bike was not damaged . 29 – keith mcmaskle – died stabbed 113 times , nov , 1988 30 – gregory collins – died from a gunshot wound january 1989 . 31 – jeff rhodes – he was shot , mutilated and found burned in a trash dump in april 1989 . 33 – james milan – found decapitated . however , the coroner ruled his death was due to “ natural causes . ” 34 – jordan kettleson – was found shot to death in the front seat of his pickup truck in june 1990 . 35 – richard winters – a suspect in the ives / henry deaths . he was killed in a set - up robbery july 1989 . the following clinton body guards are dead : 36 – major william s. barkley jr. 37 – captain scott j. reynolds 38 – sgt . brian hanley 40 – major general william robertson 41 – col . william densberger
+0 cnn leaks – vp griffiths : journalists should ’aid the afflicted and afflict the comfortable’ - breitbart charlie nash in audio recordings released by project veritas , cnn vice president and senior editorial director richard griffiths was caught claiming that the role of the journalist is to “ aid the afflicted and afflict the comfortable . ” [ “ if we are journalists , what is our role as a journalist ? what is the fundamental role as a journalist , for us to do ? ” remarked griffiths in one of the recordings . “ tell a story . tell what ’s going on . there ’s a secondary corollary to that , right ? aid the afflicted and afflict the comfortable . to a degree , right ? ” “ is that not part of the traditional role of a journalist ? it ’s actually one of the things i can be most proud of as a journalist , ” he continued . “ you know we try to show the ugly side of humanity so we can do something about it . it ’s hard , very hard . ” the released tapes also reveal cnn ’s “ misrepresentation of polling data ” and the news outlet ’s disdain for conservative media . 119 hours of audio data have so far been released with over 100 more hours reportedly to come . recorded in 2009 at cnn ’s atlanta hq , the audio clips feature numerous employees including joe sterling , arthur brice , and nicky robertson . project veritas made a call for leaked information , offering $ 10 , 000 to anyone else “ that exposes media malfeasance . ” “ project veritas is determined to expose malfeasance , corruption and wrongdoing , ” declared project veritas founder james o’keefe . “ we want to become a destination where citizen journalists can come forward , work with us and make a real impact . that ’s why today , we ’re announcing a $ 10 , 000 award for anyone that comes forward with legally obtained materials exposing media malfeasance . if you have hidden audio recordings , video tapes or documents inside of a news room or media institution — and the material is good enough — i will pay you $ 10 , 000 . ” in a comment to breitbart tech , o’keefe spoke of his concern at the growing leftist bias of social media companies and warned that project veritas would investigate them too . “ yes we know about it , we ’re concerned about it , we ’re fighting it , ” said o’keefe . “ [ cnn leaks ] is the first in a long effort to target and expose abuse within the media , and that includes social media … who knows ? maybe we have someone inside with a camera right now , recording everything . ” charlie nash is a reporter for breitbart tech . you can follow him on twitter @mrnashington or like his page at facebook .
+1 ab - çin ilişkilerinde abd ve nato’nun etkisi , yazan manlio dinucci manlio dinucci ab - çin ilişkilerinde abd ve nato’nun etkisi yazan manlio dinucci uluslararası bir forumda konuşan i̇talyan coğrafyacı manlio dinucci , abd’nin tüm dünyaya egemen olabilmek için sahip olduğu silahların analizini bireşimleştirdi . suriye , rusya ve çin’in bugün elde silah , herkesin açıkça kabul ettiği bu üstünlüğü , dünyanın bu tek kutuplu örgütlenişi tartışılır hale getirmesinden dolayı bu makale daha da önem kazanmaktadır . voltaire i̇letişim ağı | roma ( i̇talya ) | 5 kasım 2016 français español english deutsch doğrudan sorunun düğüm noktasına yöneliyorum . avrupa birliği ve çin arasındaki ilişkilerden , abd’nin doğrudan ve nato aracılığıyla avrupa birliği üzerinde uyguladığı nüfuzdan bağımsız olarak söz etmem mümkün değil . bugün , 28 ab ülkesinin 22’si ( birleşik krallığın ab’den çıkışından sonra 27 ülkesinden 21’i ) , birlik halkının % 90’nından fazlası , ab tarafından « ortak savunmanın temeli » olarak tanınan nato’nun üyesidir . ve nato , abd komutası altındadır : avrupa’daki yüksek müttefik komutan hala amerika birleşik devletleri başkanı tarafından atanmaktadır ve diğer tüm kilit komutanlıklar abd’nin elindedir . avrupa birliği’nin askeri ve dış politikası böylece , avrupalı büyük güçlerin üzerinde amaç birliği yaptığı , asli olarak abd stratejisine tabi durumdadır . resmi belgelerde açıkça dile getirilen bu strateji , sscb’nin dağılması sonucunda küresel durumun değiştiği tarihsel anda çizilmiştir . beyaz saray 1991 yılında , national security strategy of the united states ’te şu beyanda bulunur : « amerika birleşik devletleri , her boyutuyla –siyasi , ekonomik ve askeri- gerçekten de küresel olan bir güce , menzile ve etkiye sahip tek devlettir . amerikan liderliğinin yerini alabilecek hiçbir güç yoktur » . 1992’de , defense planning guidance ’ta pentagon şu görüşlerin altını çiziyor : « birinci hedefimiz , herhangi bir gücün , bir küresel gücün ortaya çıkması için yeterli kaynaklara sahip bir bölgeye egemen olmasını engellemektir . bu bölgeler , batı avrupa , eski sovyetler birliği toprakları ve güney - batı asya’dır » . 2001’de , quadrennial defense review ’ün abd / nato’nun , rusya ve çin’e karşı bir numaralı jeostratejik öneme sahip bir alan olan afganistan savaşından bir hafta önce yayınlanan bir raporunda , pentagon şunları söylüyor : « bölgede mükemmel bir kaynak temeline sahip askeri bir rakibin ortaya çıkması muhtemeldir . silahlı kuvvetlerimizin , abd’nin , devlet ve devlet dışı oluşumlar da dahil olmak üzere , rakip bir devletin rejimini değiştirmek ya da abd’nin hedefleri gerçekleşinceye kadar yabancı ülke topraklarını işgal etmek üzere , herhangi bir rakibe iradesini dayatma yeteneğini koruması gerekmektedir » . bu strateji temelinde , abd komutası altındaki nato doğu cephesinde taarruzunu başlattı : yugoslav federasyonunu savaş yoluyla yıktıktan sonra , 1999’dan günümüze kadar , eski yugoslavya’dan üç ve üç de eski sscb’den olmak üzere , her seferinde rusya’nın daha da yakınına , nükleer olanlar da dahil askeri üs ve güçlerini kaydırarak , eski varşova paktının tüm devletlerini ilhak etmiş ve pek yakında daha da başkalarını ilhak edecektir ( gürcistan ve daha şimdiden somut olarak nato içerisinde olan ukrayna’dan başlayarak ) . aynı zamanda , doğu cephesiyle sıkı sıkıya bağlı güney cephesinde abd komutası altındaki nato , savaş yoluyla libya devletini ortadan kaldırdı ve aynı şeyi de suriye’de yapmayı denedi . abd ve nato , ukrayna krizini patlattılar ve rusya’yı « avrupa’nın güvenliğini istikrarsızlaştırmakla » suçlayarak , avrupa’yı , abd çıkarlarına zarar veren rusya - ab arasındaki ekonomik ve siyasi ilişkileri bozmak için , özellikle washington’un arzuladığı ( yaptırım ve karşı yaptırımların darbe vurduğu avrupa ekonomilerinin zararına ) yeni bir soğuk savaşa sürüklediler . abd silahlı kuvvetlerinin , çin karşıtı bir işlev içerisinde asya - pasifik bölgesinde artarak yerleşmesi de yine aynı strateji kapsamında gerçekleşiyor . u.s. navy 2020 yılında , deniz ve hava güçlerinin % 60’ını bu bölgede yoğunlaştıracağını duyurdu . abd stratejisi , abd pasifik komutanlığının başı amiral harris’in önemini altını çizdiği güney çin denizine yoğunlaşmış durumdadır : burası dünya petrol ihracatının % 25’i ve doğal gaz ihracatının % 50’si , yıllık 5 000 milyar dolardan daha fazla bir değere sahip yıllık değere sahip deniz ticaretinin geçiş yaptığı yerdir . abd bu denizyolunu , amiral harris’in « burada , abd’deki yaşam sistemimiz için temel olan seyrüsefer özgürlüğü » adına , çin’i « güney çin denizi’nde , rusya’nın kırım’da yaptıklarıyla benzer saldırgan eylemlerde bulunmakla suçlayarak » denetimi altına almak istiyor . bu amaçla u.s. navy , güney çin denizinde « devriye » görevi yapmaktadır . abd’nin dümen suyundan en büyük avrupa güçleri de geliyor : fransa geçtiğimiz temmuz ayında avrupa birliğinden « çin’in gayrimeşru olarak talepte bulunduğu bu sularda düzenli ve görünür bir varlığı sağlamak için , güney çin denizi’ndeki deniz devriyelerinin eşgüdümünü » yapmasını talep etti . ve amerika birleşik devletleri güney kore’ye « füze savunma » ama rusya’ya karşı romanya’da yerleştirilen ve yakında polonya’ya da da konuşlandırılacak olan , aynı zamanda nükleer füzeler fırlatma yeteneğine sahip sistemleri yerleştirirken , nato genel sekreteri jens stoltenberg , 6 ekim’de brüksel’de , « seul ile nato içerisindeki işbirliğini güçlendirmek » üzere güney kore dışişleri bakanı yun byung - se’yi kabul etti . bu olgular ve diğerleri de , avrupa ve asya’da aynı stratejinin uygulandığını ortaya koymaktadır . bu , amerika birleşik devletleri ve diğer batılı güçlerin , yeni devletsel ve toplumsal öznelerin ortaya çıktığı güçlü değişim içerisindeki bir dünyada , ekonomik , siyasi ve askeri üstünlüklerini koruma girişimidir . çin - rusya stratejik mutabakatının meyvesi olan şanghay i̇şbirliği örgütü , dünyanın en büyük bütünleşik ekonomik alanı olabilecek kaynak ve istihdam kapasitesine sahiptir . şanghay i̇şbirliği örgütü ve bri̇cs ülkeleri , mali kurumlarıyla , 70 yıldır abd’ye ve batının en büyük güçlerine borçlu ülkelere verilen tefeci borçları ve diğer finansal enstrümanlar aracılığıyla dünya ekonomisine hükmetme imkanı veren dünya bankası ve uluslararası para fonunun büyük bölümüyle yerini alabilecek durumdadır . yeni kurumlar aynı zamanda , hakim uluslararası döviz olarak kullanılan parayı basarak kendi borçlarını başka ülkelerin sırtına yükleme imkanını abd’den alarak , ticari alışverişlerde dolardan çıkış sürecini de gerçekleştirebilir . gün geçtikçe daha da sallantıda olan üstünlüklerini muhafaza edebilmek için abd sadece silah gücünü kullanmakla yetinmiyor , ama çoğu zaman kelimenin asıl anlamındakilerden daha da etkili silahlardan da yararlanıyor . birinci silah : ab ile olan « transatlantik ticaret ve yatırım ortaklığı » ( ttip ) ve sadece ekonomik değil ama jeopolitik ve jeostratejik amaca sahip « trans - pasifik ortaklığı » ( tpp ) gibi sözüm ona « serbest ticaret anlaşmaları » dır . hillary clinton bu yüzden , siyasi ve askeri konuları entegre eden bir « ekonomik nato » önerisinde bulunarak , abd - ab ortaklığını « transatlantik ittifakımızın en büyük stratejik hedefi » olarak niteliyor . proje açıktır : yine abd komutası altında olmak üzere , çin ve rusya arasındaki işbirliğini temel alan ve yükselmekte olan avrasya alanına , i̇ran’a ve kendini batının egemenliği altında görmek istemeyen diğer tüm ülkelere karşı siyasi , ekonomik ve askeri bir abd - ab bloğu oluşturmak . çıkar farklılıkları ve avrupa’daki geniş kapsamlı muhalefet yüzünden ttip müzakereleri zorlukla ilerlediği için , şimdilik , kanada ile amerika asındaki nafta’ya dahil olduğu için bir kamufle ttip olan kanada ve ab arasındaki « kapsamlı ekonomik ve ticaret anlaşması » ( ceta ) ile engelin çevresinden dolaşılmaktadır . ceta muhtemelen önümüzdeki 27 ekim’de , kanada başbakanı trudeau’nun brüksel ziyareti sırasında ab tarafından imzalanacak . i̇kinci silah : her ülkenin çeşitli ölçülerde sahip olduğu zayıf noktalara dayanarak , içeriden huzursuzluk çıkarmak amacıyla hedef ülkelere sızılmasıdır : rüşvet , para hırsı , siyasi ikbal avcılığı , yerel iktidar grupları tarafından kışkırtılan ayrılıkçılık , dinsel fanatizm , geniş kitlelerin siyasi demagoji karşısında savunmasızlığı . aynı zamanda , bazı durumlarda , kendi hükümetlerinin icraatına yönelik halkın memnuniyetsizliğine de dayanarak . sızmada kullanılan enstrümanlar : gerçekte abd dışişleri bakanlığı ve ci̇a’nin uzantıları olan sözde « sivil toplum kuruluşları » dır . doğu avrupa’da « renkli devrimleri » örgütleyen ve çin’de ulusal azınlıkların yaşadığı diğer bölgeleri de kışkırtmaya yönelik olan , hong - kong’taki sözüm ona « umbrella revolution » ile aynı operasyonu gerçekleştirme girişiminde bulunan , devasa ekonomik imkanlara sahip kuruluşlardır bunlar . aynı örgütler latin amerika’da , brezilya’nın demokratik kurumlarını alaşağı etme ilk hedefiyle brics ülkelerini içeriden mayınlamaktadır . aynı stratejinin enstrümanları , aynı zamanda dışarıdan da saldırıya uğrayan devletlerin topyekun ortadan kaldırılmasına hizmet eden , libya ve suriye’ye sızdırılanlar gibi kaos ortamı yaratmak üzere silahlı terörist gruplardır . üçüncü silah : küresel medyatik kanallar aracılığıyla yürütülen ve pentagon tarafından « önceden belirlenen hedeflere hizmet edecek davranışlara sürüklemek ya da bunları pekiştirmek için , yabancı kamuoyu , örgüt ve hükümetlerinin duyarlılık ve motivasyonlarını belirlenen haberler aracılığıyla etkilemeye yönelik planlı harekatlar » olarak tanımlanan « psyop » ’lar ( psikolojik operasyonlar ) . kamuoyunu savaşın tırmanışına hazırlayan bu operasyonlar aracılığıyla , aynı zamanda onları « insan haklarını ihlal etmekle » suçlayarak , rusya’yı avrupa’daki ve çin’i ise asya’daki gerilimlerin sorumlusu olarak gösterdiler . manlio dinucci ve eşi carla , 1965 yılında mao tse tung’un doğduğu evin önünde . son bir tespit : altmışlı yıllarda pekin’de eşiyle birlikte çin’in bir numaralı dergisinin i̇talyanca olarak yayınlanmasına katkıda bulunan biri olarak , çin’in –sömürgeci , yarı - sömürgeci ve yarı - feodal durum koalisyonundan henüz on beş yıl önce özgürleştirilen- batı tarafından tamamen tecrit edildiği ve ne batı , ne de birleşmiş milletler tarafından egemen devlet olarak tanınmadığı bir dönemde , derinden eğitici bir deneyim yaşadım . bu dönemden geriye bende iz bırakan , komünist partinin önderliği altında tamamen yeni ekonomik ve kültürel temeller üzerinde bir toplum inşa etme inancında olan , o dönemlerde 600 milyon nüfuslu bu halkın direniş ve bilinç kapasitesi oldu . bu kapasitenin bugün de , devasa gücüllüklerini daha da geliştirmekte olan çağdaş çin’in , insanlığın geleceği için verilen nihai mücadeleye katkıda bulunarak , yeni emperyalist hakimiyet planlarına direnebilmesi için de aynı şekilde gerekli olduğunu düşünüyorum . bu kavga , artık daha fazla savaşların olmadığı , toplumsal adalete ayrılmaz bir şekilde bağlı olan barışın zafer kazandığı bir dünya uğruna verilmektedir . manlio dinucci çeviri osman soysal
+0 erdogan sends a text across turkey , urging loyalty - the new york times tim arango istanbul — the day after turkey ’s president , recep tayyip erdogan , declared a national state of emergency in the wake of a failed coup , an anxious nation awoke on thursday to a text message from its leader , personally exhorting continued loyalty as the government moved against its enemies . urging his supporters to maintain their presence in public squares , where they have flocked each evening since the coup attempt failed , he wrote , “ do not abandon the heroic resistance you have put up for your country , homeland and flag . ” even as turkish officials were more broadly trying to assure the public on thursday that individual freedoms would not be threatened by the state of emergency , mr. erdogan ’s message to nationwide cellphone customers struck a more martial tone . in particular , it carried a thinly veiled threat to a wide section of society that mr. erdogan views as his mortal enemy : the followers of fethullah gulen , a former ally and muslim cleric who lives in pennsylvania and whom the turkish government has identified as the mastermind of the coup conspiracy . turkish officials have demanded that the united states extradite him to face justice in turkey . in his nationwide text message , mr. erdogan cast the nightly gatherings of his supporters in places like taksim square , in central istanbul , as necessary to protect the country from mr. gulen . he wrote : “ to teach the traitor , the terrorist ” — a reference to mr. gulen ’s following , which the turkish government calls the fethullah terrorist organization — “ a lesson , continue your resistance and duty to guard democracy . the owners of our squares are not tanks , but the people . ” in the wake of the failed coup , which plunged the country into chaos after a night of violence that began late friday , the government has moved quickly to purge from society tens of thousands of people now considered active or potential enemies . some generals and officers have been arrested on charges of plotting the coup , but thousands of soldiers , judges , teachers , police officers , governors and others either have been detained or have lost their jobs . all of them , according to the government , have links to mr. gulen . mr. gulen has denied any involvement in the coup plot , and insists that his movement within turkey is peaceful . now that mr. erdogan has declared a state of emergency , giving the state the power to bypass parliament and pass laws that could possibly limit individual freedoms and suspend the rule of law for issues like pretrial detentions , many turks are worried that the purge of suspected enemies will broaden . the concern is that mr. erdogan will target any and all opponents , not just those who are suspected of being followers of mr. gulen or of being linked to the coup . on thursday , many saw a strong signal that that was already happening , as a prominent and widely regarded human rights lawyer , orhan kemal cengiz , was detained in istanbul , outraging human rights activists . the exact reason for his detention was unclear , but mr. cengiz has been a longtime critic of mr. erdogan ’s government . “ orhan kemal cengiz is a respected human rights lawyer , ” said andrew gardner , the turkey researcher for amnesty international . “ he ’s a columnist , and a lot of his work is about human rights issues . ” some speculated that it was mr. cengiz ’s work in the past for newspapers affiliated with mr. gulen , like today ’s zaman , seized this year by the government , that led to his detention . if that was the case , it suggested that the government was using a very wide definition of who may be affiliated with mr. gulen . “ he had worked for today ’s zaman and other newspapers , ” mr. gardner said . “ but he is in no way pushing editorial lines in his columns that are supportive of fethullah gulen . ” mr. cengiz , who was challenging in court the seizure by the government of today ’s zaman and its sister publication , zaman , was detained at the airport on his way to london for a conference . earlier in the week , turkey effectively barred academics from traveling abroad . still , turkish officials on thursday moved to assure the public that the state of emergency would not lead to the widespread curtailment of individual freedoms , and that the government would focus only on targeting suspected coup plotters . “ i want to guarantee that fundamental rights and freedoms and normal daily life will not be affected by this , ” numan kurtulmus , a deputy prime minister , told reporters in ankara , the capital . as required of a member of the council of europe , turkey said it was suspending its participation in the european convention on human rights , as france did after the terrorist attacks in paris last year . officials also sought to contain the economic fallout from turkey ’s crisis , even though the value of the turkish lira has already plunged against the dollar . “ life of ordinary people and businesses will go unimpacted , uninterrupted , business will be as usual , ” mehmet simsek , a deputy prime minister and former finance minister , said in an interview with ntv , a private broadcaster . also on thursday , a court in alexandroupolis in northern greece sentenced eight turkish military officers who fled to greece on a helicopter after the failed coup to two months in prison , finding them guilty of illegal entry into the country . the turkish officers’ sentence was suspended for three years , but the eight were detained pending the outcome of their requests for political asylum in greece . turkey has called on greece to swiftly extradite the officers , who have claimed that they were not involved in the coup but that they fled the country in fear of their lives . mr. erdogan has used the failed coup to whip up the emotions of his religiously conservative base of supporters , representing roughly half the country . that has intensified concerns that the president ’s provocative language could lead to lasting divisions , and possibly incite more violence . earlier in the week , a banner seen flying over taksim square , seemingly a message from erdogan supporters to mr. gulen and his followers , promised as much : “ we will hang you and your dogs by your own leashes . ”
+1 the real reason behind saakashvili 's resignation jafe arnoldski ( noreply@blogger.com ) november 8 , 2016 - ruslan ostashko , politrussia - translated by j. arnoldski - one of the symbols of the “ new ukraine ” , the ex - georgian president , fugitive , and part - time governor of odessa , mikhail saakashvili , has announced his resignation , which came as a shock and to the dismay of ukrainian citizens , who for some reason had great political hopes for him . i ’ll leave aside the discussion of how saakashvili ’s biography , character , and addiction to hard narcotics could n't possibly leave anything good to be expected from him . what is more interesting to discuss are the motives behind his resignation and explaining whether this is connected to the american elections . before delving into this , let ’s immediately eliminate two entirely untenable theories which nevertheless have a number of supporters on social networks . untenable theory number one is that saakashvili has some kind of insider information that the us elections will be won by hillary clinton , and that he was warned in advance to secure a good starting position in the new american leadership ’s ukraine strategy . i understand the appeal of this theory , but i ca n’t agree with it . saakashvili can hope that clinton will win , and he can pray for her victory , but he can not know the results of the us elections or possess any top insider secrets . for those who doubt this , let me remind you of two episodes . the first episode was in 2008 , when saakashvili was 100 % sure that america would completely sign up to back him against russia . well , how did that ' insider knowledge ' work out ? the second episode was just recently , in this year , when he spoke of his future triumphant return to georgia , apparently hoping that the americans would falsify the results of the georgian parliamentary elections in favor of his party . the americans could have done this , but they did n’t . his party lost the elections by a landslide . thus , the image of saakashvili as a super insider can be very appealing , but it does not correspond to reality . the second untenable theory is that saakashvili left for internal ukrainian reasons or was forced to leave by ‘ disgruntled odessans . ” contemporary ukraine is a territory full of national injustice . local , regional , and national authorities could n’t care less about dissatisfied citizens , whether in odessa , kiev , zaporozhya , and so on . they also do n’t care about their approval ratings . saakashvili was given odessa to “ eat up , ” and the people who took this decision to quarter a us mercenary in ukraine are clearly not the ones sitting in kiev . given this , it can be supposed that the version that the former georgian president , famous for his greed , left his post because of tensions within ukraine is in the least a strange theory . and now about saakashvili ’s gesture . apparently , he really needed to officially distance himself from poroshenko who , from the point of view of many western experts , has fulfilled almost all of the tasks in ukraine that he was given . even better was saakashvili putting the emphasis on conflict with poroshenko . the new us president , whoever it will be , will be forced to do something with this situation , and the fact is not too far off that the decision will be made to do some behind - the - scenes spanking . the scenario of backstage spanking , reducing salaries , and rinsing dirty laundry in the media is the best thing that could happen to poroshenko under any new american administration . saakashvili is pretending that he has nothing at all to do with what has and is happening in ukraine . for him , it would be ideal if washington believed that he has no relation to poroshenko , does n’t know kolomoysky , and has never seen yatsenyuk , but had instead been somehow dragged into the mess created by the us’ political puppets in ukraine . under these circumstances , distancing himself is a good strategy , but saakashvili has run into an obstacle . he should have distanced himself earlier . now this trick might not work . the former georgian president is now demonstrating a kind of behavior which is really familiar in russia and which is difficult to be misconstrued . what does a regional official who has thieved or failed at an important project do when he learns that a check up is soon coming from moscow ? the pattern of behavior has not changed since the times of the ussr , believe me . this official immediately flies to the capital and tries to , so to say , resolve issues in a small circle of interested associates . saakashvili and his team have failed in two spheres of work , the georgian and ukrainian ones . in georgia , he lost elections , and in ukraine he failed to create a success story out of odessa . the americans needed such success stories and saakashvili 100 % promised them something of the sort . now saakashvili is covering his weak spots and unleashing into the information field the theory that he failed as governor only because of corrupt kiev and interference by poroshenko himself and his entourage . surely , saakashvili has already written something in this spirit to washington and is now simply publicly confirming his position and line of defense . if he gains the nerve , then he could try to ask the new us administration ( and he has friends among both the republicans and the democrats ) for a promotion , to let him steer something in kiev , or participate in a new political project in ukraine . considering that the americans love to arrange political shows in which some political puppets are replaced by other political puppets under cries of fighting against corruption , then this might just work out for him . saakashvili ’s actions are a very bad sign for poroshenko . poroshenko has no good way out of the unfolding situation . it may very well be that he has been left with only two paths : one to rostov and the other to the gallows . saakashvili ’s actions are also a possible sign that the americans will radically shake up the ukrainian political elite and bring real freaks and misfits to the forefront . for us , this is more good than bad . any sudden movements could finish off the government system in ukraine and lead to the delegitimization of the regime in kiev , especially if outright nazis come to power there . for us , this collapse of the administrative system and the delegitimization of the government in ukraine is good , even if saakashvili earns something out of this . follow us on facebook ! follow us on twitter ! donate !
+0 kurt andersen - alec baldwin satire is part of a trump cottage book industry - the new york times john williams a little more than a month into donald j. trump ’s presidency , it ’s safe to say that the satire business in america is booming . penguin press announced today that kurt andersen and alec baldwin will team up to write “ you ca n’t spell america without me : the really tremendous inside story of my fantastic first year as president donald j. trump . ” the book is scheduled for publication in november . mr. baldwin ( as president trump ) will read the audiobook version . mr. andersen is a novelist and the host of the public radio program “ studio 360 , ” but perhaps most relevant for this new project is his experience as a founding editor of the satirical spy magazine in the 1980s . it was spy that now famously referred to the future president as a “ vulgarian . ” the real estate mogul was often in the magazine ’s cross hairs . “ i did n’t think this former hobby of mine would return with this ferocity , ” mr. andersen said in a phone interview . mr. baldwin ’s blustering portrayal of mr. trump on “ saturday night live , ” starting last fall , impresses mr. andersen , who said : “ it is extreme , and with a guy like donald trump , to be effective it needs to be extreme . ” mr. andersen suggested the book would be an attempt to capture more of president trump than just mr. baldwin ’s version of him . “ i think we ’ll be channeling and amplifying the real trump , ” mr. andersen said . “ writing for a or sketch is different than writing a book , which has to be a narrative . ” “ i think it ’s fair to say that kurt will do most of the writing , ” mr. baldwin said in an email interview . “ we have that arrangement whereby he does n’t put on the wig , i do n’t open up a word document . ” asked how the book would balance broad lampooning with cutting political commentary , mr. andersen said : “ it ’ll be sharp . i ’m going to start talking like trump : it ’ll be great ! it ’ll be fantastic ! but it will be sharp . it wo n’t just be . ” two booker prize winners have also been influenced by the 45th president ’s election . howard jacobson ’s novella “ pussy , ” to be published in britain in april , is a fairy tale about an egoist from a golden city who falls into a leadership position . in january , mr. jacobson told the guardian that he wrote the book in a “ fury of disbelief , ” and that he hoped it would offer readers the “ consolation of savage satire . ” and salman rushdie ’s “ the golden house , ” to be published in september , reportedly includes a character resembling mr. trump . parodists have been going at the president since the campaign trail . andrew shaffer ’s “ the day of the donald , ” published last summer , envisioned the first two years under a trump administration . ( from that book ’s flap copy : “ while trump ’s detractors may call him a tyrant , the american people love bullies when the victim is congress : every time they impeach the president , his approval rating skyrockets . ” ) in 2016 , the comedian and author michael ian black and the illustrator marc rosenthal published “ a child ’s first book of trump , ” a picture book with shades of dr. seuss that attempted to explain mr. trump , a candidate at the time . “ there will be a moment when this will be over , ” mr. baldwin said . “ when trump will fade into ignominy and take with him his ability to outstrip satire . ” of course , a republic can not live on satire alone , and several books are in the works that take a more straightforward look at trump ’s election and presidency . publishers are betting that the new administration will be a boon for sales , much like the clinton and obama years drove conservative titles up the lists . agents , editors and publishers have been snapping up everything from campaign trail memoirs to books with images from the women ’s march to titles that sound suspiciously like books ( gene stone ’s “ the trump survival guide : everything you need to know about living through what you hoped would never happen ” ) . allan j. lichtman , a history professor at american university in washington has already written “ the case for impeachment , ” which will be published in april . reporters who were on the trump beat in 2016 will also offer inside looks at the campaign . in “ my year covering trump , ” the washington post reporter david fahrenthold will detail his eventful time writing about the candidate . mr. fahrenthold conducted a very public investigation of mr. trump ’s charitable giving , enlisting the help of people on twitter to find out whether donations had been made . he also exposed the video in which mr. trump made vulgar comments about women off camera with the “ access hollywood ” host billy bush . the nbc news reporter katy tur has sold the rights to a memoir called “ unbelievable . ” mr. trump referred to ms. tur several times in front of crowds , singling her out for criticism while he discussed the media ’s treatment of him . if history is any guide , mr. trump will get to have his own say about his presidency in a book someday . for now , the previous president is one step closer to that reality — earlier this week , penguin random house won a highly competitive auction to publish future books by both barack and michelle obama .
+1 watch ozzy man ’s incredibly sweary review of two cats fighting over some milk ok next swipe left / right watch ozzy man ’s incredibly sweary review of two cats fighting over some milk youtube sensation , ozzy man , will review literally any video . his voiceovers may vary depending on whether he ’s commentating a sports match , explaining the plot of a tv show or simply giving a rundown of events throughout the previous month , but they all have something in common : they ’re profane as fuck ! the commentary over this clip of two cats trying to get the lion ’s share of a bowl of milk seems to have taken the swearing to a new level as ozzy man imagines the animals “ stuck in a ‘ nah fuck you nah fuck you’ deadlock ” . in the battle between milo and lucy , it ’s lucy who has the upper hand … paw , which led youtube user kk piter to comment “ milo is a bit of a pussy . ” ca n’t argue with that .
+1 a materialist analysis of why i am voting green , and why the left should do the same shorty shorty by danny haiphong e ven as the democrats and republicans put forward the two least popular politicians in the country , the u.s. left “ is mired in confusion as to what political direction should be taken . ” many of those who claim to be leftists supported the wars against libya and syria . but the green party has “ consistently stood up against endless war , austerity , and racist state repression and for universal healthcare , education , and peace . ” “ the green party is the only choice that possesses a truly social democratic agenda . ” i consider myself a marxist . however , the term “ marxist ” is merely a label . those who ascribe to the tenets of marxist thought must place their political affiliations within the context of the current historical moment . anti - communism and imperialist hegemony have set back the struggle for a classless society to the point where much of the us left is mired in confusion as to what political direction should be taken to confront the challenges before us . one of these challenges is the 2016 elections . the radical left should plan on voting green this november and building a mass movement around the demands put forward by the jill stein and ajamu baraka campaign . but the corporate assault on the left ’s collective consciousness has indeed made it difficult for the green party to grab the attention of the masses in the midst of the two - party capitalist circus . i myself argued two summers ago that the left in the united states should not bother with engaging the charade and instead take up a boycott of the presidential elections [ 3 ] . at that point , no movement had emerged to challenge the hegemony of the democratic party . the 2016 elections changed this dynamic . suddenly , the forces in front of the occupy wall street movement and the black lives matter movement agreed that both corporate candidates were unworthy of support . “ hillary clinton has drawn the entire ruling class into the democratic party tent . ” the energy of these movements was channeled into the bernie sanders campaign . sanders ran as a democrat . his domestic positions on education , healthcare , and income inequality were supported by masses of young voters . sanders eventually betrayed his base in typical democratic party fashion , but not before it was revealed that the democratic national committee had worked diligently to undermine sanders’ ability to win the nomination [ 4 ] . the majority of sanders supporters and sympathizers have since indicated that they will not vote for clinton when election day arrives [ 5 ] . so why vote for the green party in particular ? the green party is the only choice that possesses a truly social democratic agenda . the green party is no marxist vehicle and it does n’t attempt to be . what the green party does possess are dedicated , principled forces whose positions on war and peace , healthcare , and predatory capitalism threaten the us imperialist apparatus . that is why the two - party corporate duopoly finances its own corporation [ 6 ] to bar the green party from entrance into the presidential debates every four years . in the 2016 elections in particular , a real chance was present to organize the 15 percent of pollsters necessary for the green party to participate in the corporately controlled debates . the opportunity was squandered by a left that remains weak and fractured . in the past , attempts to organize an election boycott campaign or support a communist party ’s presidential nomination would have sufficed as election strategies to steer the disillusioned populace toward movement politics . however , the 2016 presidential election is a watershed moment in us imperial history . hillary clinton has drawn the entire ruling class into the democratic party tent . this has occurred in the midst of the greatest crisis of legitimacy the us imperial state has ever faced . “ both corporate media and capitalist enterprise supported clinton ’s bid to steer the election in her favor . ” sanders and trump shook the foundation of the two - party corporate duopoly . the rise of sanders and trump made the clinton option desirable only to the ruling class and its minions . both corporate media and capitalist enterprise supported clinton ’s bid to steer the election in her favor . not only did the ruling class help her take out sanders , but it also assisted clinton in a cover up of the recent wikileaks email dump . in emails written by her campaign chair john podesta , it was revealed that the clinton campaign planned to use the trump campaign as right - wing cannon fodder to present clinton as more electable [ 7 ] . furthermore , the emails also uncovered how clinton holds a “ public ” and “ private ” position [ 8 ] on matters of social security and free trade . if left up to clinton , social security retirement benefits and federal regulations of corporate activity would be swept into the dustbin of history . additionally , the corporate media and the democratic party have attempted to frame donald trump as a racist , misogynistic pig . according to the democratic party , trump represents the “ worst of america [ 9 ] . ” the slander of trump has been an easy job . trump himself provides all of the ammo . however , the condemnation of trump is little more than a convenient distraction when it comes from the corporate democrats . from bill clinton to barack obama , the democratic party has waged endless war , austerity , and racist state repression on behalf of its corporate masters . hillary clinton must resort to fear - mongering around trump because neither her party nor her class has anything to offer the majority of the us electorate . conditions are thus ripe for an alternative political party to make a strong showing in this and future presidential elections . the green party ’s success could inspire the millions of people disillusioned with both choices and show that a mass sentiment against the two - party corporate duopoly does indeed exist . it is the task of communists , radicals , and revolutionaries to organize the disaffected into a class conscious organization capable of stripping power from the ruling class . no such organization exists at the moment . the green party does n’t profess to be this organization , but its demands and platform are surely helpful if utilized to create the conditions required for such an organization to emerge . “ if left up to clinton , social security retirement benefits and federal regulations of corporate activity would be swept into the dustbin of history . ” so when self - identified leftists make the claim that the left deserves better than jill stein [ 10 ] , the urgent need for self - criticism becomes clear . one only needs to examine conditions in the us briefly to see that oppressed and working class people deserve better than the left . of course , the left ’s current state is a reflection of the conditions from which it exists and the deep imperialist assault on the consciousness of the oppressed . however , the left has made critical errors in recent years . many so - called revolutionary organizations have , for example , supported imperialist war in libya and promoted the notion of lesser evil voting as cover for the democratic party . green party candidates jill stein and ajamu baraka have consistently stood up against endless war , austerity , and racist state repression and for universal healthcare , education , and peace . yet there are some who want to claim that such a platform is not adequate or “ revolutionary ” enough . it is time to shed this sectarian way of thinking . hillary clinton will become the next president of the us . she will inherit the eight years of obama rule which have further weakened the left . but the 2016 elections have revealed that the deep crisis of the imperialist system is beginning to intersect with popular opposition to its policy manifestations . so do n’t fear trump or organize resistance in a manner that gives the people a choice of either revolution or nothing at all . there is nothing counterrevolutionary about voting green this november and organizing the movement on the streets around its core demands . as bar ’s bruce dixon noted last week , a five percent showing by the green party will put much needed federal funds into the control of movement organizers . a revolution is not a moment , it is a process . the crisis of imperialism will present many more moments to develop the revolutionary potential of the masses . the current opportunity to do so should not be allowed to dissipate , as the next moment could occur alongside a hillary clinton - led world war . source url : http://blackagendareport.com/why_i_will_vote_green
+0 the apps that make keeping up with soccer easier - the new york times rory smith how do new york times journalists use technology in their jobs and in their personal lives ? rory smith , chief soccer correspondent for the times , who is based in manchester , england , discussed the tech he ’s using . as a soccer reporter , you must be savvy about apps and gear like antennas . what are your favorite tools for staying on the ball , so to speak ? the ones i use the most are virgin anywhere and sky sports mobile tv , the two official apps from the two major cable networks in the u. k. sky holds the rights to most premier league games subscribing to virgin means i can watch the rest of the major european leagues , too . i have friends , more technologically minded than me , who prefer streaming matches through a kodi box ( a device that runs an media app that can be used to stream pirated content , including illegal sports streams ) . i can see why they ’re tempted : the cost of subscriptions is considerable . i can justify it — to my wife , and to myself — as a professional necessity , but many ca n’t . it is worthwhile only because of the apps , though : i use them not only when i travel , but increasingly often at home , too . my wife , kate , would rightly regard herself as something of a soccer ( well , a soccer journalism ) widow being able to watch a game on an ipad while she reads or watches something else has soothed a regular source of domestic disharmony . what do you like about the tools , and what could be better ? the virgin app , certainly , needs work to iron out various bugs . in the early days of streaming — before these apps were commonplace — i ’d quite often have to find matches on websites of dubious provenance and even more uncertain reliability . it was always kind of a crapshoot as to how much of the game you ’d actually see in between all of the buffering and and losses of connection . virgin has not yet quite escaped at least two of those problems sky is better , but not perfect . i would imagine that ’s a problem that applies to whatever the united states equivalents of those apps are , too . do you think it ’s feasible for avid sports fans to cut the cable cord or is cable still the way to go ? it ’s feasible , but it depends on how avid you are and how patient you are prepared to be . i know kodi and its equivalents are becoming ever more popular , and there are plenty of people i know who consume as much soccer as they want without paying very much , if anything at all , for the privilege . i ca n’t condone doing things that are n’t entirely legal , of course , but at the same time the cost of watching sport is rising all the time , and if there comes a point where that is out of reach for a substantial number of people , you almost have to accept that they will try to find ways around it . that said , the premier league — like the n. f. l. and others — are doing all they can to combat streaming , so it remains , by all accounts , somewhat and not entirely reliable . it is definitely easier to have cable , but i ’m not sure , especially to a younger , digital native generation , that it is still an absolute necessity . what tech product are you currently obsessed with using in your daily life ? in my i ’ve found that i ’ve pared down the tech i use to what i ’m comfortable with . twitter and instagram , but not snapchat . an iphone and ipad , but only occasionally apple tv ( we still watch dvds in our house , on a playstation 3 , like cave men ) . lots of my friends use strava or wear a fitbit , but i lack the competitive instinct for the former and the inflated sense of for the latter . the last thing to be added to my little tech bubble was spotify that ’s the one that may have made the biggest difference . about 10 years ago , i found that discovering new music had become almost impossible . music stores were becoming rarer and rarer , and ever harder to navigate , because they were full of achingly hip teenagers the radio offered nothing but indecipherable millennial pop . this sounds extreme , but spotify has stopped — well , delayed — my journey into middle age . i ’ve not decreed that all music nowadays is terrible yet without spotify , i ’m pretty sure i was on course to do so by 2014 . what do you and your family do with spotify ? together with a welter of podcasts , it provides the soundtrack to our lives . i drive a lot — to and from games , interviews , stories — and fly a lot , too . it keeps me awake and sends me to sleep ( respectively ) . it sounds a little excessive , but it ’s helped both me and my wife do something we had forgotten how — or been disenfranchised from being able — to do . i would never have found the rural alberta advantage without it , or been able to relearn the words to “ regulate , ” and what sort of world would that be ? what could be better about it ? i ’m not sure i ’d be able to pinpoint any one thing . i ’m sure it ’s not perfect . and there are times when the recommendations list makes me think someone in some west coast lair is judging me . oh , you liked this ? well , maybe you should be listening to mansun then , you recidivist throwback . apart from soccer , what is your favorite sport and what tech do you use to stay on top of it ? twitter keeps me across my other fleeting passions — cycling , cricket and rugby — though to be honest , they fade in and out . i ’ll read anything on any subject , though , and some of the stuff that the likes of vice do on sports is fascinating .
+0 gawker ’s general counsel takes on a leadership role - the new york times sydney ember heather dietrick , gawker media ’s president and general counsel , has always been close to her grandfather , a prisoner of war during world war ii who , she said , “ has taught me a lot about fielding a lot of situations . ” she still wears his vocational high school class ring from 1943 as a reminder that people can get through anything if they are resilient . it ’s the kind of inspiration that has helped ms. dietrick make it through the last 11 months at gawker . these have been tumultuous times , perhaps never more so than last friday at noon at the company ’s manhattan offices . after taking a few moments to collect her thoughts , ms. dietrick joined nick denton , gawker ’s founder and chief executive , at a companywide meeting . there they told some 200 employees that gawker , facing a $ 140 million judgment from a lawsuit by the retired wrestler hulk hogan , had filed for bankruptcy and was putting itself up for sale . as she stood beside mr. denton and delivered the news , ms. dietrick said in an interview over the weekend , she looked at her audience . “ i could tell there was initial shock , seeing everyone and looking them in the eyes . ” ms. dietrick and mr. denton spent much of the meeting answering questions and assuring the employees that the company planned to continue its operations during its bankruptcy . as has recently become customary , ms. dietrick did most of the talking . since joining gawker three years ago , ms. dietrick , 35 , has become the main source of support during a chaotic time for the company . most general counsels work in obscurity , but ms. dietrick , with the added responsibilities of president , has taken on more of a leadership role at gawker as mr. denton has pulled back from the operations . throughout the hulk hogan case , she has been the bridge between the newsroom and gawker ’s legal proceedings . she manages much of the company ’s editorial operations and has a formal role in editorial . and though mr. denton is still arguably the public face of gawker , she has been called on repeatedly to represent the company during periods of turmoil . “ the place would not run without heather , ” mr. denton said in a recent interview . “ she ’s the person that holds everything together . ” in the last year , ms. dietrick , who has both a law degree and an m. b. a. from the university of michigan , has had to try to steer the company through one crisis after another . last month , the silicon valley billionaire peter thiel acknowledged in an interview with the new york times that he was financially supporting the hogan lawsuit and other legal cases against the company . that put gawker at the center of a first amendment battle that has captivated the media world while highlighting a deepening chasm between an ascendant technology industry and a journalism business buffeted by financial challenges . in the interview on saturday , ms. dietrick said that gawker began seriously considering filing for bankruptcy once mr. thiel ’s involvement in the hogan case became known . the pivotal moment came on friday at around 11 a. m. after a hearing in which a florida judge affirmed the $ 140 million judgment in the hogan case and granted gawker ’s request for a stay , but under conditions that the company found too onerous , ms. dietrick said . the conditions included allowing hulk hogan , whose real name is terry g. bollea , to get liens on the company ’s assets . gawker had considered the option of filing for bankruptcy within a few days , ms. dietrick said . but as its lawyers in florida provided updates on the hearing by phone , she and mr. denton decided the company could not wait any longer because they feared it would be unable to continue to operate otherwise . “ the timeline was pushed forward a little more quickly than we expected , ” ms. dietrick said on saturday . “ as of yesterday , it was inevitable that we were going to go through with the sale . ” the company still plans to appeal the judgment . gawker has had its fair share of detractors , and on twitter and in comments in news articles , some cheered the company ’s fate . ms. dietrick said any suggestion that gawker got what it deserved was “ absurd . ” she said that the company had certainly “ overstepped the line a couple of times ” but that it was proud of nearly all of the stories it had done over the years . ms. dietrick said she was committed to staying at gawker but acknowledged that its future was uncertain . the company said on friday that it would conduct a sale through an auction and expected to close a deal by the end of the summer . ziff davis , a digital media company , has submitted an opening bid in the range of $ 90 million to $ 100 million . it was not clear whether a buyer would want all of gawker ’s sites , and it is possible that mr. denton might consider buying back gawker . com at some point . nearly everyone who works with ms. dietrick , who was in hearst ’s legal department before coming to gawker in may 2013 , describes her as nice . but that belies her steeliness in difficult situations . they also say she has brought a sense of professionalism and diplomacy that helps balance gawker ’s notoriously freewheeling spirit . she has built up a team of four lawyers including herself who handle vetting , contracts , licensing deals and most of the company ’s other legal matters . and she has gained the trust of editorial staff members , who view her more as a partner than an adversary . women at gawker say they see her as an advocate at a company that has been criticized in the past for how it treats female employees . she often works on her laptop on a couch in the lounge area near the editorial team and goes out for drinks with employees . on friday evening , she invited staff members to a rooftop gathering at her apartment building in the west village , where she lives with her husband . people ordered pizzas and drank beer . ms. dietrick firmly believes in gawker ’s approach to news , current and former employees say . she is a staunch defender of the first amendment and would rather figure out a way to tell a story than prevent it from running . “ she believes in what we do as much , if not more , than i do , ” said john cook , gawker media ’s executive editor . last july , gawker published an article claiming that a married male media executive had sought to hire a gay escort . the article drew a firestorm of criticism and there was considerable debate at the company about whether to remove the post . mr. denton ultimately decided to take it down after a vote that he said showed that the company ’s management , including ms. dietrick , was largely in favor of doing so . but ms. dietrick maintained that she wanted to keep it online and that her stance was misconstrued . “ i knew the world was going to have a discussion about it , ” she said . “ i think it ’s hard to talk about things once they ’ve been disappeared . ” some colleagues suggest that her numerous roles may have stretched her too thin . “ she actually has more jobs than one human should probably have , ” said hamilton nolan , a writer who has worked at gawker for eight years . some in the media legal community question whether it makes sense for ms. dietrick to hold general counsel and president roles . acting as both executive and lawyer , they say , can complicate privilege . ms. dietrick said she did not think her dual role was “ that odd , ” but acknowledged that the last year had been tough . “ i feel like my job has been removing roadblocks , ” she said . for all of the challenges , however , it is largely because of her roles at gawker that ms. dietrick is now enjoying much more prominence than most general counsels ever do . “ if i were her , i would n’t be unhappy being in her position , ” said sandra s. baron , a first amendment media lawyer and a former executive director of the media law resource center . “ there ’s nothing humdrum about what she ’s doing now . ”
+0 president trump not expected to endorse paul ryan ’s obamacare - lite package in congressional address - breitbart neil w. mccabe president donald trump is not expected to endorse the obamacare fix proposed by speaker paul ryan ( r. . ) in his first address to a joint session of congress tuesday evening , sources told breitbart news . [ a senior white house aide confirmed to breitbart news that the president ’s speech will highlight his promise to repeal and replace the 2010 patient protection and affordable care act ( obamacare ) but trump will not endorse the ryan plan or a modified version — known now on capitol hill as or . politico reported the white house press secretary told republican officials that there will be no endorsement of an individual proposal : “ he ’s going to outline the broad contours , ” spicer said about health care , explaining the president would not embrace a specific plan . instead , trump will make a bipartisan pitch to encourage democrats to work with republicans on fixing obamacare , building infrastructure and crafting an immigration reform bill . central to the speaker ’s proposal is a negative income tax , which gives tax credits for insurance premiums , whether or not the individual pays income taxes . ryan‘s plan is strongly opposed by the house freedom caucus and sen. rand paul ( r. . ) who seek more structural reforms to the health insurance industry . members of the house freedom caucus and other capitol hill conservatives are livid with ryan after he presented his own obamacare fix as the official replacement for the ppaca . many conservatives , such as sen. michael lee ( r. ) are pushing the idea that obamacare should be repealed whether or not a replacement is in place . a senior senate aide told breitbart news not to expect the president to endorse any specific healthcare plan . another white house source familiar with the drafting of the president ’s speech told breitbart news that trump insists congress must repeal obamacare and replace it with a system that expands choice , increases access , and lowers costs . the president is also committed to protecting americans with conditions who must have coverage and giving governors the flexibility and resources they need to ensure no one slips through the cracks , the source said . as these speeches go , there is often into the teleprompter as a president is delivering the address to congress . breitbart political editor matthew boyle contributed to this report .
+1 3.000 yézidis toujours captifs de daech nan ( mis à jour 18:29 26.10.2016 ) url courte 1 406 0 4 des centaines de yézidis restent aux mains des djihadistes de daech , notamment à mossoul , en attendant leur libération . © sputnik . hikmet durgun les djihadistes plient près de mossoul face aux kurdes yézidis selon xeyri bozan de l'administration pour les affaires religieuses du gouvernement régional du kurdistan irakien , 70 yézidis enlevés par les terroristes de daech en 2014 à sinjar ont été libérés récemment au cours d'une opération spéciale . « nous avons réussi à mener une opération destinée à libérer 70 yézidis pris en otage par daech , des femmes et des enfants pour la plupart . les terroristes les détenaient à mossoul , à raqqa , à tall afar et à hawija . ceux que nous avons libérés viennent de sinjar . nous les avons transférés ( … ) chez leurs proches » , a fait savoir m. bozan dans une interview accordée à l'agence sputnik . dans le même temps , plus de 3 000 yézidis restent aujourd'hui aux mains de daech , affirme l'interlocuteur de l'agence .
+0 billionaire tom steyer launches ad campaign against rex tillerson - breitbart charlie spiering billionaire environmentalist tom steyer is pushing an ad campaign targeting former exxonmobil ceo rex tillerson , donald trump ’s pick for secretary of state . [ the ad , launched by steyer ’s nextgen climate group , claims that as ceo of exxonmobil , tillerson put his company ’s interests first and did business with russia . but steyer , a former hedge fund manager , has his own record of doing business with the russians . in 2010 , steyer ’s hedge fund farallon capital management profited from a sale of its stake in a russian oil firm to a investment firm owned by russian billionaire gennady timchenko , according to the free beacon . timchenko was later targeted by treasury department sanctions in 2014 , due to his relationship with vladimir putin . steyer , a committed supporter of environmental causes and democrats , endorsed hillary clinton in june 2016 , and hosted a fundraiser for her in 2015 . “ tell your senators to reject rex tillerson and protect american interests , not corporate interests , ” the ad concludes . steyer spent more than $ 75 million in in the 2016 election , as his nextgen climate action group spent millions to combat trump with ads including this one : trump ’s transition team should expect environmental groups to unite against tillerson ’s nomination , due to his former position as head of exxonmobil .
+1 curriec if so , then hillary and obama will end up being among the most unpopular presidents in us history and and hillary will be easily replaced by elizabeth warren . hillary might even be impeached for grossly violating her presidential oath of office ! frankly , i do n't think hillary is so dumb as to do that . if obama pushed the tpp through congress during the " lame duck " session of congress , his " legacy " will be seriously tarnished for generations to come ! he and hillary will be personally blamed for every multi - million or multi - billion dollar isds lawsuit against any level of our government ( i.e. us taxpayers ) forever after !
+1 germany : children in one school required to chant ‘ allahu akbar’ ; in another , christian events eliminated j.e. dyer print [ ed . – coming soon to a — oh , wait . it ’s already here . ] pupils at a primary school were forced to chant “ allahu akhbar ” and “ there is no god but allah ” , an appalled father has claimed . the father of the pupil at the girl ’s primary school in german ski resort garmisch - partenkirchen discovered that his daughter had been forced to learn the islamic prayer when he discovered a handout she had been given . he claimed she had been “ forced ” by teachers to memorise the islamic chants and forwarded the handout to austrian news service unsertirol24 . the handout read : “ oh allah , how perfect you are and praise be to you . blessed is your name , and exalted is your majesty . there is no god but you . ” … the incident comes just weeks after parents complained to german newspaper hessian niedersächsische allgemeine ( hna ) that their children ’s nursery was refusing to acknowledge “ christmas rituals ” to accommodate the “ diverse cultures ” of other pupils .
+1 re : did hillary clinton just lie during her press conference on the fbi investigation ? lintaylor ✓ vitrified did hillary clinton just lie during her press conference on the fbi investigation ? posted at 7:24 pm on october 28 , 2016 by greg p. share on facebook share on twitter hillary clinton just wrapped up a brief press conference to discuss the continuing fbi investigation of her emails when she complained that fbi director comey only sent his letter to republicans and not to democrats : hillary clinton calls on fbi to release “ all the information it has ” on newly discovered emails : " let 's get it out " https://t.co/xxh9ccpr56 — cnn ( @cnn ) october 28 , 2016 that , however , looks to be a lie : hillary clinton said the fbi letter was only sent to republicans but all dem ranking members were cc'd on it — joe perticone ( @joeperticone ) october 28 , 2016 fact check : contrary to what clinton said , comey sent letter to both republicans and democrats on capitol hill . @benyc — abc news politics ( @abcpolitics ) october 28 , 2016 clinton , mistakenly , says fbi dir . comey said disclosure letter only sent to republicans . pic.twitter.com/qtiib7hcel — jason seher ( @jhseher ) october 28 , 2016 clinton says the letter form the fbi to congress re : their renewed focus on her email server only went to republicans , that 's incorrect : pic.twitter.com/duwnr4f88y — frank thorp v ( @frankthorp ) october 28 , 2016 she went on to say that the fbi needs to share whatever information they have with voters : more clinton : if they ( the fbi ) are going to be sending this letter they need to share whatever facts they have with the american people . — nick kalman ( @nickkalmanfn ) october 28 , 2016 clinton on fbi : " if they 're going to be sending this kind of letter … then they need to share whatever facts they claim to have . "
+0 amid party concerns , donald trump meets with his finance team - the new york times matt flegenheimer and maggie haberman donald j. trump convened the first meeting of his national finance team on thursday amid persistent republican concerns that a shortfall in efforts and a lack of discipline were imperiling his presidential bid . during the gathering at the four seasons hotel in midtown manhattan , mr. trump dwelled little on his recent controversies , including his comments about the mexican heritage of the judge presiding in a lawsuit filed by former students of trump university . but a top trump surrogate , gov. chris christie of new jersey , did allude to the recent bumpiness of the campaign , said an attendee , john a. catsimatidis , a new york investor and grocery magnate . “ people make mistakes , ” mr. christie said , according to mr. catsimatidis , “ and they take it back . ” a spokesman for mr. christie referred questions to the trump campaign . mr. trump has not backed off his attacks on the judge , gonzalo p. curiel , but did issue a statement this week calling it unfortunate that his comments had been “ misconstrued . ” among those also in attendance for the meeting were reince priebus , the chairman of the republican national committee , and woody johnson , the jets owner and onetime supporter of jeb bush who recently joined mr. trump ’s finance committee . mr. trump had initially said he hoped to raise roughly $ 1 billion by november for himself and the party , but efforts to date have been well off pace . he has since revised that figure downward . “ we ’ll raise what we need to raise , ” paul manafort , mr. trump ’s chief strategist , said after leaving the meeting . mr. catsimatidis echoed a recent suggestion from mr. trump that raising $ 1 billion was unnecessary because he attracted so much media attention . “ he ’s got $ 2 billion in free advertising and free tv , ” mr. catsimatidis said . he added that he remained friends with the clintons and had not committed to a candidate . in his remarks to the finance group , mr. trump expressed confidence in his ability to compete in states like new jersey , maryland and california that are rarely hospitable to republicans , said an attendee who requested anonymity to discuss the private meeting . mr. trump has also hired a pollster to gauge his prospects in new york , causing consternation among republicans who worry that he is spending foolishly .
+0 stark choice for syrians in rebel areas : ‘ doom’ or the green bus - the new york times anne barnard and hwaida saad beirut , lebanon — the buses once ferried syrians to school , work and dates at damascus cafes . now they pull up at moments of defeat , when rebel fighters and civilians , besieged and bombarded , give up their territory to government forces and board the vehicles en route to an uncertain future . the buses , once a benign , even beloved feature of the urban landscape , have become a signature of the syrian government ’s strategy . in recent days , government warplanes dropped fliers on the districts of aleppo , offering a stark choice to the estimated 250 , 000 people trapped in that strategic city : “ doom , ” represented by a photo of a bloody body , or “ redemption , ” in the form of a green bus . images of the buses are everywhere : on state television reports and websites celebrating the evacuations , and on opposition videos mourning what they call deportations . women and children , or fighters with guns , peer from their windows . they cry , chant defiantly or stare into space as they leave areas that have long symbolized revolt against president bashar like the recently emptied damascus suburb of daraya . riders are usually offered a choice between two destinations , but as with so many aspects of the bloody and chaotic syrian civil war , both options are bad . they can take the green buses to government territory , where many fear arrest and conscription , or to another area , where they face continued government airstrikes — like the ones that hit a school wednesday and killed 22 children in idlib province . “ damn the green buses , i ’m seeing them in my dreams , ” said jalal 36 , a computer technician whose neighbors in waer , a besieged district on the outskirts of the central city of homs , recently debated whether to board the buses in the latest evacuation offer . mr. telawi was experiencing a certain déjà vu . two years ago , he took a green bus with fellow fighters out of the old city of homs in a deal with the government , only to face another siege in waer . “ we have a phobia — a ‘ bus complex,’ ” he said . “ in our minds , they equal displacement . ” the buses first arrived in syrian cities with much fanfare in 2009 . back then , they were a symbol of the modernization promised by mr. assad . at one point painted red and plastered with the logo of a cellphone company owned by a cousin of the president , they replaced rickety repurposed school buses and supplemented the small white vans known as “ servis , ” providing improved , affordable public transportation for students and workers . osama mohammad ali , now an antigovernment activist trapped in waer , speaks wistfully of riding the bus to law school in homs on rainy days alongside people from every sect and walk of life . “ the driver used to play fairuz ” — the lebanese singer and diva — “ and there was a kind of respect among us , ” he said . “ if i saw an elderly man standing , i would give him or her my seat . ” but when demonstrations demanding political reform broke out in 2011 , the buses were used to transport state security officers or militiamen through damascus traffic to beat up and arrest protesters . as the uprising turned to armed conflict , clashes left buses rusting in the streets . the steel carcasses sometimes served as barriers between government and rebel territory . then , in a 2014 deal supervised by united nations officials , the green buses evacuated the last rebels from the old city district of homs as the government took over the area . “ we were all crying , ‘ is this the end of homs men ? ’ ” mr. telawi , the technician , recalled recently . “ we thought we would be liberating homs , but instead our end will be in the green bus . ” the buses have since been used again and again in the local surrender deals that the government has promoted in place of a national peace agreement . the syrian government and its ally russia portray the evacuations as an act of mercy , freeing people they contend are being used as human shields . opponents of the government increasingly see the process as “ ethnic cleansing , ” as it has primarily displaced members of the sunni majority . the united nations has condemned the evacuations as a “ forced displacement ” of civilians , calling for residents to be allowed to “ return voluntarily , in safety and in dignity . ” but as the stretched syrian army continues to expel civilians from areas , the united nations and other agencies operating in the country risk being implicated in “ a dangerous precedent , ” aron lund , an analyst at the carnegie middle east center , wrote recently . armed groups , he continued , can “ target and deport civilians with impunity in syria , and perhaps elsewhere . ” when towns refuse the deals , bombardments intensify and sieges tighten . in august , south of damascus , the last 1 , 500 people in daraya capitulated after an incendiary bombing of their last hospital . some went to suburbs , others to idlib province . abu adnan , 50 , was one of the bus drivers . he took 20 fighters and their families to idlib , where many of them had never been before . they wept as they crossed the checkpoint on their way out of daraya . “ even i started tearing up — the crying of men is so hard , ” he recalled in an interview , asking to be identified only by his nickname to avoid repercussions for expressing sympathy . “ i saw a gunman put some soil from daraya in a plastic bag and smell it as if it was soil from paradise . ” the drive took 30 hours , he said , with the bus stopping at many checkpoints . at some , the rebel passengers threatened to shoot if security forces clambered aboard . at others , the security men cheered for mr. assad while the passengers cheered for daraya and revolution . in september came evacuations from waer , with hundreds departing for territory farther north . mr. ali , the law student , chose to remain under the blockade . “ i ca n’t stand to see these buses now , ” he said , but he noted that some people saw them as a means of rescue , to “ take them from hell to start a new life , ” perhaps fleeing to turkey . next , buses — white this time — took rebels and some civilians from the damascus suburb of qudsaya , where remaining residents chanted their support for the government as security officials welcomed the town “ back into the lap of the country . ” and on oct. 19 , rebels and activists boarded green buses bound for idlib from the damascus suburb of moadhamiyeh , where chemical attacks killed hundreds in 2013 . among them was a doctor named muhannad , who helped collect evidence for the united nations investigation into those attacks and who spoke on the condition that he be identified by only his first name , for safety . he , his wife and their son were hoping to smuggle themselves to austria , where the doctor once worked . staying home was not an option : he was wanted by 16 security branches , on charges of treating wounded fighters . “ i ’m inside bus no . ” he said by phone . asked about the atmosphere , he said , “ one word : crying . ” more than 2 , 600 people died in moadhamiyeh during the war , he said . “ we will never have the chance to read the fatiha over our people , ” he added , referring to a prayer of mourning . the green buses were also offered — or offered as a threat — on oct. 21 to people in the besieged eastern sections of aleppo , the ancient city split since 2012 between government and rebel territory . after the government encircled the rebel side over the summer , a reporter , shadi helweh , taunted the rebels on state television . “ i swear to god , the green buses will be here , ” he said . “ we will take selfies with those mercenaries while they leave like rats . ” people in eastern aleppo have much to flee : government and russian airstrikes on hospitals , apartment buildings and schools dwindling supplies of food . but the green buses idled . virtually no one came out , though russia had declared a unilateral halt to airstrikes and promoted evacuations . the government and russia accused rebels of blocking civilians from leaving . rebels said no one should be evacuated unless humanitarian aid was also allowed in — and told residents that it was not safe to take the buses without international supervision . the united nations called for a more comprehensive humanitarian pause — with aid deliveries and medical evacuations — but that did not come to pass . it is hard to know how many residents of aleppo and other trouble spots would leave if they had reliable safety guarantees . many , including older residents , say they just want to stay in their homes . mr. telawi , the technician who rode the green bus out of homs in 2014 but refused to board again in waer this year , remembered that when one of his friends had gotten on the bus , he had taken out an old ticket , stamped it with the machine as if for a normal ride , and kept it . “ he said he ’ll use it again , ” mr. telawi recalled . “ on the way back . ”
+0 in the bonobo world , female camaraderie prevails - the new york times natalie angier the female bonobo apes of the wamba forest in the democratic republic of congo had just finished breakfast and were preparing for a brief nap in the treetops , bending and crisscrossing leafy branches into comfortable day beds . but one of the females was in estrus , her rump exceptionally pink and swollen , and four males in the group were too excited to sleep . they took turns wildly swinging and jumping around the fertile female and her bunkmates , shaking the branches , appearing to display their erections and perforating the air with screams and hoots . suddenly , three older , female bonobos bolted up from below , a furious blur of black fur and swinging limbs and , together with the female in estrus , flew straight for the offending males . the males scattered . the females pursued them . tree boughs bounced and cracked . screams on all sides grew deafening . three of the males escaped , but the females cornered and grabbed the fourth one — the resident alpha male . he was healthy , muscular and about 18 pounds heavier than any of his captors . but no matter . the females bit into him as he howled and struggled to pull free . finally , “ he dropped from the tree and ran away , and he did n’t appear again for about three weeks , ” said nahoko tokuyama , of the primate research institute at kyoto university in japan , who witnessed the encounter . when the male returned , he kept to himself . dr. tokuyama noticed that the tip of one of his toes was gone . “ being hated by females , ” she said in an email interview , “ is a big matter for male bonobos . ” the incident was extreme but not unique . describing results from their field work in the september issue of animal behaviour , dr. tokuyama and her colleague takeshi furuichi reported that the female bonobos of wamba often banded together to fend off male aggression , and in patterns that defied the standard primate rule book . adult females responded to a broad range of male provocations — unwanted sexual overtures , food disputes , pushing , kicking , vocal threats , persistent pestiness — by forming coalitions of two or more females , who would then jointly take on their male tormentors . remarkably , the female partners in a bonobo posse cooperated with one another despite lacking any ties of blood or even close friendship . as the dispersing sex , female bonobos must leave their birthplaces before puberty and find another social set to join , which means that none of the adult females in a given bonobo community are kin . moreover , female bonobos rarely formed coalitions with their preferred girlfriends — the individuals they spent the most time with and groomed the most ardently . instead , the researchers found , coalitions arose when a senior female would step in and take the side of a younger peer caught up in an escalating conflict with a resident male . by delivering the formidable luster of her social standing , as well as an extra pair of hands , the intervening senior pretty much guaranteed that the skirmish would break her way . the new results add depth and complexity to our emerging understanding of pan paniscus , the enigmatic , lithe great ape with the dark licorice eyes , who lives only in the democratic republic of congo and is seriously endangered . the bonobo is a sister species to the more widespread common chimpanzee , pan troglodytes , and the two share equal footing as our nearest primate kin . yet the apes have followed distinctly different behavioral paths . chimpanzee society is and features strong bonds between adult males and feeble ties between females . in the bonobo world , by contrast , female camaraderie prevails , while the bonds between males are weak . “ it ’s a matriarchy , ” said amy parish , a primatologist at the university of southern california . “ females are running the show . ” the latest research indicates that the nature of the bonobos’ sororal bonds shifts depending on circumstances , and that the most effective deterrent to male harassment may be a pact . “ i sometimes think that bonobos sit up late at night reading papers about primates , and then decide to do the opposite , ” said joan silk , a primatologist at arizona state university . “ they ’re unusual in so many ways . ” bonobos are famed for their hypersexuality and the way they use sex as an problem solver in every possible situation , permutation and combination . when bonobos come upon a great patch of fruit , for example , and tensions rise over feeding priority , the bonobos will decompress with a quick round of rubbing and similar acts : males with females , males with males , females with females , juveniles with adults . female bonobos in congo ’s luikotale forest use specialized gestures and pantomime to convey their desire for a bit of frottage , according to a report last year by pamela douglas and liza moscovice of the max planck institute for evolutionary anthropology in germany . the soliciting female will point backward with a foot toward her sexual swelling and then shimmy her hips in imitation of a rub , at which display the second bonobo will embrace her for the real thing . “ it ’s status acknowledgment , ” said barbara fruth , a bonobo researcher at the royal zoological society in antwerp , belgium . “ the approaching female is saying , ‘ i know you ’re than i am , i know you ’re superior , but i would like to sit near you and maybe share your food . ’ ” bonobos practice oral sex , have intercourse and make sex toys . frances white , a biological anthropologist at the university of oregon , once watched a female bonobo turn a stick into a kind of knobby “ french tickler , ” with which she then stimulated herself . “ they ’re not always family friendly , ” dr. white said . such erotic antics have earned bonobos a reputation as “ hippie apes , ” a label that researchers say belies the primate ’s strategic intelligence and capacity for brutality . dr. parish , who studies bonobos in captivity , has seen the young offspring of dominant females flaunt their inherited power by marching over to female adults , prying their jaws open and extracting the food from their mouths . she also recounted the time that two females attacked a male at the stuttgart zoo in germany and bit his penis in half . fortunately , she said , “ a microsurgeon at the zoo was able to repair the damage , and the male went on to reproduce . ” nevertheless , bonobos are far less violent than chimpanzees , and female bonobos clearly benefit from life in a constructed sisterhood . female chimpanzees can not pick and choose a partner from among the available males , but must mate with all of them . female bonobos can reject suitors without fearing for their lives . infanticide is common among chimpanzees , but among bonobos . the outstanding question for researchers is how the female solidarity routine started . male chimpanzees remain in their natal home , so their bonds are built on the standard evolutionary principle of kin selection . female chimpanzees end up surrounded by nonrelatives in adulthood , so they mind their own business . why did female bonobos defy the norm and start cooperating with one another ? and why do n’t male bonobos forge alliances with other nearby males who are likely their brothers and cousins ? differing ecological conditions may have helped set the stage for the behavioral divergence . by this hypothesis , bonobos evolved in a region with a comparatively abundant and reliable food source , which meant that females could forage in view of one another without coming to blows . the more time they spent foraging , the more affiliative they became , and soon they were applying their displays of mutual respect and tolerance to other tasks , like rebuffing male harassers . chimpanzees evolved in drier climates , where food was scarce and foraging females had to compete with one another for limited goods . who has time for friends ? as for male bonobos , they may be subordinate themselves to females in cliques , and they may have no interest in hanging out with the guys . but they have a secret social weapon : their mothers . male bonobos stay with their mothers for life , and as her status grows with age , so does his . dr. white suggested that senior females cultivate relationships with younger females partly as a matchmaking gambit . “ the mother is finding partners for her son , ” she said . “ why would a male bother harassing a female when he could have his mother do it for him ? ” researchers suggested that the new work has implications for understanding human evolution and the future , especially for women . “ we ’re equally related to chimps and bonobos , and we have their entire range of behavioral variation available to us , ” dr. white said . “ we can be as aggressive as the chimpanzee , or as as the bonobo . ” that female bonobos have found a path to “ solidarity and sisterhood , ” dr. parish said , “ should give hope to the human feminist movement . ”
+1 electric floors could generate renewable energy from walking nan electric floors could generate renewable energy from walking posted on oct 29 , 2016 chuck coker / cc by - nd 2.0 london — us scientists have found a new way to generate energy at home : the tribo - electric floor . tread on it and it will convert the kinetic energy of a footstep into a current of electricity . and it ’s made from the waste wood pulp that already serves as cheap flooring throughout the world . xudong wang , an engineer and materials scientist , at the university of wisconsin - madison and colleagues report in the journal nano energy that they have taken cellulose fibres from forest waste material and chemically treated them in a way that creates an electric charge when they come into contact with untreated wood pulp fibres . the result : a patented , tribo - electric nanogenerator floor covering that can harness the energy of any footfall , and turn it into electric current that could light up a room or charge a battery . so far , it exists only as a laboratory prototype . it promises , the scientists say , to be cheap and durable . and it exploits a waste material available wherever there is a forest industry . “ our initial test in our lab shows that it works for millions of cycles without any problem , ” professor wang said . “ we have n’t converted those numbers into years of life for a floor yet , but i think with appropriate design it can definitely outlast the floor itself . ” long wait the gap between any laboratory experiment and a commercial success is huge , and many promising products never make it , or take years of further experiment . but this study is yet another example of the extraordinary explosion of ingenuity prompted by the need to generate energy in ways that sidestep the greenhouse gas emissions that have been driving dangerous climate change . engineers , nanotechnologists and chemists have tested ways to make windows and even solar panels by making timber optically transparent . they have looked more closely at the tree ’s relationship with the sun and fashioned a bionic leaf that can exploit sunlight 10 times more effectively to create biomass that could be turned into a liquid fuel . they have dreamed up an electric car battery that can renew itself with atmospheric carbon dioxide , and a bacterial fuel cell that generates electricity from waste water . energy conserved and they have even devised the ultimate in power dressing – a fabric that as it rustles could charge a cellphone . such research starts from the laws of thermodynamics , which dictate that energy must always be conserved . the energy involved in a plate of food , a footstep , the sprouting of a seedling or the turning of a turbine is still energy : there could be a way to recycle it rather than let it dissipate as heat into the atmosphere . what professor wang and his team have done is exploit the same property that creates static electricity in clothing : the tribo - electric effect which turns vibration into charge . the ground beneath the foot is a source of potential energy : the challenge is to find a way to plug into it . in theory , a busy motorway could become a renewable power source . professor wang and his team have already tested a nanogenerator that recovers energy from rolling tyres . then they turned to the surface under the wheels . “ we ’ve been working a lot on harvesting energy from human activities . one way is to build something to put on people and another way is to build something that has constant access to people ” “ roadside energy harvesting requires thinking about places where there is abundant energy we could be harvesting , ” said professor wang . “ we ’ve been working a lot on harvesting energy from human activities . one way is to build something to put on people and another way is to build something that has constant access to people . the ground is the most used place . ” the team have tested a fabric less than 1 mm thick made of tiny chemically treated and untreated wood pulp fibres : in contact , electrons move from one to the other . this electronic transfer creates a charge imbalance that must be righted . but as the electrons return , they pass through an external circuit and deliver energy . in theory , the electric floor technology could be incorporated into all kinds of flooring . in theory , extra layers of the fabric could deliver even more power . the next step is to demonstrate the concept by putting a sheet of it down in a high - profile spot in the university campus . “ this development shows great promises in creating large - scale and environmentally sustainable tribo - electric board for flooring , packaging and supporting infrastructures , ” the authors write . tim radford , a founding editor of climate news network , worked for the guardian for 32 years , for most of that time as science editor . he has been covering climate change since 1988 . advertisement
+0 russia and iran warn u.s. ’crossed red lines by attacking syria’ john hayward a joint statement issued by russia , iran , and their allies in syria denounced the u. s. missile strike on a syrian airbase said to have launched a chemical weapons attack on syrian civilians and threatened retaliation if further such attacks occur . [ “ the united states crossed red lines by attacking syria , from now on we will respond to anyone , including america if it attacks syria and crosses the red lines . america knows very well our ability and capabilities to respond well to them , [ and ] we will respond without taking into consideration any reaction and consequences , ” read the statement , as transcribed by abc news . “ rest assured that we will liberate syria from all kinds of occupying forces , it does not matter from where they came to the occupied part of syria , ” the statement added . “ russia and iran will not allow the united states to be the only superpower in world . ” according to the statement , syria and its patrons are “ closely and deeply following american forces’ moves and presence ” in both syria and iraq and “ consider them an occupying force . ” russia and iran stated , “ we , as syria ’s allies , will increase our military support toward syria and support its people in many other ways . ” on friday , russia suspended military cooperation with the united states in syria , including an end to the “ deconfliction ” agreement that was meant to prevent accidental hostile encounters between russian and american pilots . “ amid the missile strikes , it is hardly reasonable to talk about any more increase in the risk , as the risk has increased considerably , ” said kremlin spokesman dmitry peskov . over the weekend , iranian president hassan rouhani urged “ the syrian people and army ” to “ give a response that makes americans regret their attack . ” “ americans have never acted within international frameworks , and one instance is the sanctions they impose against iran , unreasonably considering themselves as the world ’s leader , ” complained rouhani , who was hailed as a “ moderate ” leader by the obama administration . notes that lebanon ’s hezbollah , designated a terrorist organization by the u. s. state department , was a signatory to the statement .
+0 the fruits of socialism : venezuela in 20 photos - breitbart frances martel as venezuela enters year eighteen of the bolivarian socialist revolution , the international community is finally paying attention , as venezuelans struggle to find food , medicine , and an outlet for their frustration that will not trigger rampant state violence . [ there is no short version of the story of how south america ’s wealthiest nation , which boasts the world ’s largest known oil reserves , became a nation where 15 percent of people need to scavenge through garbage to eat while the nation ’s dictator dances on state television . venezuela ’s decline is the inevitable endgame of socialism , told by the deterioration of its streets , the abuse of its opposition politicians , and the use of the military to maim and kill venezuelan children as young as 14 . below , 20 images show the true toll of socialism in venezuela . december 2011 : while the death of hugo chávez allowed for socialist leaders to rapidly develop the cult of personality around him as a saint and martyr of socialism , the north cult worship of chávez began during his lifetime . in 2011 , chavista government officials put together a christian “ nativity scene ” depicting chávez as the baby jesus figure , surrounded by founding fathers such as simón bolívar . ( l’encre noir ) may 2011 : as violent drug and gang activity flourished under chávez , venezuelans grew to fear murder at the hands of thugs so much that they prayed to dead thugs to protect them , creating idols known as “ santos malandros ” — ” holy thugs “ — and offering them small sacrifices in exchange for safety on urban streets . ( ap photo ) may 20 , 2017 : protesters flood the streets of san cristóbal , the capital of westernmost táchira state , where resistance to socialism has been often the most aggressive . ( luis images ) may 20 , 2017 : caracas is also no stranger to giant peaceful opposition mobilizations , with the below protest occurring on the same day as the táchira march . ( federico images ) july 2016 : táchira residents cross the border between táchira and colombia by the tens of thousands to purchase necessary home goods unavailable in venezuelan stores . families crossed to buy detergent , paper towels , food , and other needs . ( george ) august 2015 : to prevent venezuelans from fleeing , and in protest of objections to human rights violations in the country from colombia , maduro shut the border down and violently deported all colombian citizens on the border . homes where colombian citizens used to live were marked “ d ” for “ demolition , ” to erase any trace of colombians there . colombian president juan manuel santos denounced the move as using “ nazi ghetto tactics ” against a friendly neighboring country . ( foto : blu radio ) february 2014 : long before táchira residents found themselves scrambling into colombia for basic foods , however , they began demanding free exercise of political rights . táchira was the first state to take down a likeness of dictator hugo chávez , nearly a year after the late dictator died . ( twitter ) warning : graphic february 15 , 2015 : san cristóbal residents gather around the lifeless body of kluivert roa , 14 , shot and killed by venezuelan soldiers while walking home from school . witnesses say roa saw a protest while walking home and shouted “ stop the repression ! ” before soldiers shot him in the head . ( george castellanos via clarín ) warning : graphic may 20 , 2017 : due to the presence of armed soldiers and armed chavista gangs known as colectivos , protesters have grown extremely concerned that infiltrated government agents have joined the protests . during this protest , young protesters surrounded orlando figuera , accused of being a thief and chavista , and burned him alive . ( afp ) april 1 , 2014 : while the government has reserved its most intense violence for the average protester , it has not relented on attacking government members of the opposition , either . below , lawmaker maria corina machado ( center ) — illegally ousted from the national assembly — flees as soldiers attack her with tear gas during a peaceful protest . ( twitter ) april 2017 : maduro has rounded up and arrested many opposition leaders . the most prominent among them is the head of the popular will party , leopoldo lópez , who was banned from seeing family for a month this year . below , wife lilian tintori points up at her husband ’s prison cell in the notorious ramo verde military prison , surrounded by soldiers ensuring she could not meet him . ( ronaldo images ) january 11 , 2010 : the violence that bolivarian socialism has brought to venezuela only tells half the story . the other half is one of extreme poverty , where the value of the currency , the bolívar , has been in freefall for years . even those with money struggle to find a store that is properly stocked . during the chávez era , finding junk food and unhealthy soda in supermarkets was still possible , but not without encountering soldiers posted to prevent visitors from photographing the shortages or attempting to buy more than “ necessary . ” during the maduro era , the government implemented a strict ration card system . ( juan images ) may 2016 : the below image is not an uncommon find in venezuelan supermarkets . ( juan ) june 2016 : the cities of caracas are lined with garbage , and up to 15 percent of the population need to dig through garbage to eat . the crisis is particularly affecting children , who are growing and have specific nutrition requirements impossible to meet with the average venezuelan diet . ( sumarium . com ) march 2017 : while human families struggle to feed themselves , venezuela ’s zoos have been almost completely unable to fulfill the needs of their animals . in march , rare images inside a venezuelan zoo ( the venezuelan military severely limits the public ’s photographing rights ) surfaced showing ruperta , a african elephant , showing clear signs of malnutrition . the venezuelan government denied that the elephant was suffering . ( twitter ) september 2016 : hospitals are faring little better than venezuela ’s supermarkets . shortages of drugs and medical supplies have plagued the country for years , sending infant and maternal mortality rates skyrocketing . below , a hospital uses cardboard boxes as cribs for their newborns . ( ) may 8 , 2017 : the staggering shortages have triggered waves of protests , like the one above in táchira and daily protests in caracas since march . maduro has had two responses to the protests : extreme military violence against civilians … [ federico images ] november 2016 : … and dancing . the dictator dances on the set of his new radio program , salsa time . ( government ) november 2016 : maduro has also done nothing to successfully improve the economy . in november , the pile of bolivares , shown below , was worth $ 100 . the value has decreased significantly since . ( ben news ) december 16 , 2016 : maduro attempted to improve the ease of use of the bolívar by outlawing the note and replacing it with larger denominations . the larger denominations were not printed in time , so the value of venezuela ’s notes went to zero overnight . venezuelans began burning the bills or ceremonially tossing them in trash cans . ( george images . ) follow frances martel on facebook and twitter .
+0 for the trumps , ‘ made in u.s.a.’ may be a tricky label to stitch - the new york times laura m. holson and rachel abrams at saks off fifth recently , an ivanka trump white polyester and spandex blouse made in indonesia was marked down to $ 34 . 99 , from $ 69 . a few racks over , her black and white jacket came from vietnam , while several blocks away , at macy ’s , her leather bootee manufactured in china sold for more than $ 100 . at the trump tower on fifth avenue , a $ 35 blue cotton cap embroidered with “ trump national golf club ” was made in bangladesh . a trump tower hoodie from pakistan set tourists back $ 50 . a majority of clothes these days are made anywhere but in america . and in this era of local pride and nationalistic fervor , that has become a political liability . the conflict is starkly evident in the apparel brands made and marketed by donald j. trump and his daughter ivanka . mr. trump has cast companies that make goods in china and other foreign countries as economic pariahs , siphoning off jobs better left at home . he has blamed the system , a set of policies in the united states that mr. trump acknowledged using for his own gain . and since being elected , he has continued to rail against global forces , threatening to punish companies with high tariffs if they do n’t move production to the united states . should mr. trump make good on such promises , he would take aim at not only his own brand , but his daughter ’s as well . mr. trump does n’t stand to lose much . while his goods are largely manufactured overseas , most of his retail ventures have gone the way of trump vodka and steaks . and what products can be found — at his hotels and golf courses and on amazon sold by independent sellers — are the vestiges of a mostly defunct clothing line or sporadic shipments of trump sweatshirts and hats . ivanka trump ’s company , by contrast , is the type of operation that mr. trump is squarely aiming for . her shoes and dresses largely retail for less than $ 150 . coats cost as much as $ 400 . factored into those prices is the cost of materials and production , as well as shipping , tariffs , marketing and advertising expenses . cheap production overseas means more coin in the coffers of ms. trump and the shoe , accessory and clothing makers that are her partners , among them marc fisher footwear , the apparel group and mondani . ( ms. trump ’s company , which is privately held , does not disclose its financials . ) almost all of her goods are made overseas , according to a new york times review of shipments compiled separately by panjiva and importgenius , two trade databases . importgenius tallied 193 shipments for imported goods associated with ms. trump for the year through dec. 5 , mostly shoes and handbags . her dresses and blouses are made in china , indonesia and vietnam , according to a review of hundreds of clothing tags and financial documents filed by . it is the harsh reality of the clothing business . before ms. trump started her shoe and clothing lines in the early 2010s , she did what any new yorker would , consulting corporate chieftains , fashion designers and department store executives . she ultimately decided to license her name . since then , ms. trump , 35 , has pondered making some items . investors were consulted , and a business plan was drawn up — but the project was scrapped , said one person briefed on the discussions . it was costly and impractical , so suppliers continued to make her clothes overseas . “ when i started my business , i recognized where my strengths were and knew that i did n’t have any experience in production and manufacturing , ” ms. trump said in a rare interview . “ i am not a designer . i am an entrepreneur . ” in retail , where margins are slim , overseas manufacturers are crucial to profits . most of the clothing americans buy at walmart , macy ’s and target are made abroad , including 97 percent of apparel and 98 percent of shoes , according to the american apparel and footwear association . it is part of a long history of american garment manufacturers chasing cheap labor . they moved to china in the 1980s , then elsewhere in asia . now , chinese shoemakers are building factories in africa , where wages are about $ 40 a month , compared with $ 400 in china . even then , an overseas strategy does not portend survival , as mr. trump ’s experience shows . at trump tower on fifth avenue , the trump store is downstairs from the lobby , sandwiched between a restaurant and an ice cream parlor . while a $ 65 white polo golf shirt from lesotho in southern africa was available , there was no sign of many of mr. trump ’s other items , like the dress shirt made in vietnam on display upstairs . last year , macy ’s dropped mr. trump ’s clothing line over inflammatory comments he made about mexican immigrants . now about the best place to find his ties , dress shirts and accessories is on amazon . com — and even that stock is just a hodgepodge . the company that made comforters and sheets , downlite , said it had ended its relationship with him last year . his beds , designed by dorya , are n’t in stores , either . they are made to order overseas , according to the company . mr. trump said in campaign interviews that he would like to make his apparel in the united states , but that it was hard to find companies that did . when george stephanopoulos of abc pressed him to explain , mr. trump said , “ they do n’t even make the stuff here . ” that is not exactly true . b j nickol , president of the all american clothing company , based in arcanum , ohio , said he employed 15 people , as well as subcontractors in about 20 states who cut , sew and ship shirts , jeans and sweaters . he estimated it cost all american $ 10 to $ 15 to manufacture a polo shirt , including fabric and labor . he sells them for about $ 28 to $ 38 , or about half of what a polo shirt costs at trump tower . while the company mostly sells shirts to individuals , mr. nickol said he would welcome a customer like mr. trump . mr. nickol said he had witnessed the impact on his community when apparel manufacturers moved away . “ and the only way we could think of to fix that was to keep jobs here , ” he said . while clothing manufacturing is unlikely to return to the united states , specialty items or apparel has promise . todd shelton , a fashion designer who makes sleek separates and sells them online , sews his clothes at a factory in east rutherford , n. j. but there are namely price . a pair of women ’s jeans made by todd shelton costs $ 200 an oxford shirt is $ 180 . and cost is only one factor . fashion is another . recently , ms. trump tried to make a in the united states . she and one of her main partners , marc fisher , shopped a design to retailers , according to a person with knowledge of the venture . buyers , though , did n’t like the design — and it never got made . with the ivanka trump brand , another variable now comes into play : politics . ms. trump served as a more polished emissary of her father ’s messages during the campaign , and she is under pressure to bring jobs home . and in a postelection era , her carefully crafted public persona , which is at the heart of the brand , is at risk . ms. trump has found a way to commercialize female empowerment , selling petal pink sheaths and trendy shoes to young professionals on the go . her brand ’s hashtag # womenwhowork often accompanies pitches to buy her satchels and clothes . “ she wants to make sure her reputation is unblemished , ” said marshal cohen , a consumer behavior and retail analyst at the npd group , a research firm . ms. trump is already facing some blowback . she was criticized for meeting with prime minister shinzo abe of japan while completing a licensing deal with a company whose largest shareholder is wholly owned by the japanese government . consumers offended by her father ’s inflammatory comments about minorities continue to boycott her line . ms. trump acknowledged the potential appearance of conflicts as her father prepared to move into the white house . she said she would step down as the head of her namesake brand if asked to become an adviser to her father and the trump administration . “ i would completely separate myself from my businesses , ” said ms. trump , who is also considering a leave of absence from the trump organization , where she serves as an executive vice president for development and acquisitions . representatives for mr. trump declined to comment . but it will not drastically change her company ’s strategy . she and her team do not plan to move manufacturing back just to quell critics . “ it ’s great to say we want to do all of this , but we want to make responsible business decisions , too , ” said abigail klem , president of the ivanka trump brand . “ from a business perspective , we have to have longevity . ”
+1 germany : students forced to chant ‘ allahu akbar,’ punished for refusing trip to mosque steve watson germany : students forced to chant ‘ allahu akbar,’ punished for refusing trip to mosque intolerance will not be tolerated ! chris menahan | information liberation - october 28 , 2016 comments islamic indoctrination is now mandatory in german schools . from the daily express : pupils at a primary school were forced to chant “ allahu akhbar ” and “ there is no god but allah ” , an appalled father has claimed . the father of the pupil at the girl ’s primary school in german ski resort garmisch - partenkirchen discovered that his daughter had been forced to learn the islamic prayer when he discovered a handout she had been given . he claimed she had been “ forced ” by teachers to memorise the islamic chants and forwarded the handout to austrian news service unsertirol24 . the handout read : “ oh allah , how perfect you are and praise be to you . blessed is your name , and exalted is your majesty . there is no god but you . ” it had been given to the girl during a lesson in “ ethics ” at the bavarian school . what are they going to teach , the ethics of conquest and slavery ? here ’s another story from yesterday in rt : parents of a german teenager may face a trial and fine for “ truancy ” after refusing to allow their son to go to a local mosque on a school field trip out of fear that it would lead to his “ indoctrination ” by islamic radicals . the story broke in mid - june , when parents of a 13-year - old student opposed the idea of their son visiting a mosque in the northern german town of rendsburg , reportedly organized as part of a geography class . in a letter to the class teacher quoted by the ndr , the teen ’s father argued that his son would be “ indoctrinated ” in the mosque . he went on to say that “ for years we have been hearing reports about religiously - motivated violence connected with islamic people . ” a local education authority subsequently fined the couple a total of € 300 ( $ 328 ) , referring to school regulations and regional laws which include penalties for truancy . — alexandra witt ( @alexiastellar ) october 23 , 2016 when the parents opposed the fine , their case was forwarded to peter mueller - rakow , a local prosecutor , who will decide whether or not to proceed with a court trial , spiegel reported on wednesday . the parents’ lawyer , alexander heumann , argues that they refused the school trip out of fear for their son ’s “ bodily safety . ” denying any faith - based motives , he emphasized that the couple do not belong to any religious group , and are of the opinion that “ nobody shall be forced into a sacred place against his good will . ” … school principal renate fritzsche … told ndr that the field trip to the mosque was meant to promote tolerance and diversity . “ we also have muslim children with us and muslim parents also know that there are no exceptions , ” she said , adding that swimming lessons and sex education are compulsory for muslim children as well . “ it is not the responsibility of the parents to say : ‘ my child will attend such or such class,’ ” fritzsche asserted . intolerance will not be tolerated ! now get back to your damn prayer rugs and start praying to mecca ! newsletter sign up get the latest breaking news & specials from alex jones and the infowars crew . related articles
+0 your evening briefing : bernie sanders , donald trump , boko haram - the new york times andrea kannapell and sandra stevenson ( want to get this briefing by email ? here ’s the . ) good evening . here ’s the latest . 1 . the democratic presidential race grew more bruising for the party itself . bernie sanders ’s campaign manager accused a top democratic official of working against the candidate “ for personal reasons . ” some of his supporters threatened to back donald trump if hillary clinton becomes the democratic nominee . mr. trump piled on , gleefully tweeting that mr. sanders was being “ treated very badly , ” and adding , “ the system is rigged against him . ” _ _ _ _ 2 . mr. trump tried to address concerns within the republican party that he is not a conservative , releasing a list of 11 potential supreme court nominees that included several who are favorites of conservative legal scholars . one of our stories today offers a detailed look at five crucial weeks of mr. trump ’s campaign , during which he transitioned from a seemingly unelectable candidate to the de facto republican nominee . _ _ _ _ 3 . the president of the international olympic committee , thomas bach , denounced the “ shocking new dimension of doping . ” he said russian sports federations could be barred from the rio olympics if allegations of doping prove true . “ we will apply our zero tolerance policy , not only with regard to the athletes but also with regard to everybody implicated and within our reach , ” he said . _ _ _ _ 4 . the labor department issued a new regulation that will enable millions more workers to make overtime . as of dec. 1 , most salaried workers who earn up to $ 47 , 476 annually will get time and a half for any labor over 40 hours a week . that will include a far wider range of work than before . the previous cutoff , set in 2004 , was $ 23 , 660 . _ _ _ _ 5 . robin wright became the latest actress to openly address pay disparities in the entertainment industry . she said she had taken a hard line with the producers of the netflix series “ house of cards ” after she learned that her character was as popular as that of her kevin spacey . “ you better pay me or i ’m going to go public , ” she said she told them , adding , “ and they did . ” _ _ _ _ 6 . the asian monsoon season , primed by the el niño phenomenon , opened with a disaster in sri lanka . torrential rains set off landslides and flash floods that displaced hundreds of thousands of people . a death toll in the dozens is expected to rise . _ _ _ _ 7 . a nigerian schoolgirl who was taken in a mass kidnapping by boko haram more than two years ago was found and returned to her town , chibok . now the mother of a she is the first girl to be recovered since the early days of the episode . “ she was so happy to see her people , ” a chibok resident said . “ people were so happy , so happy that , yes , there is hope these girls are alive . _ _ _ _ 8 . new jersey closed one of its most notorious cold cases , convicting this woman of murder 25 years after her son disappeared . a bit of blue blanket found with his remains was the key . investigators recently went back and found three people who could testify that the blanket was from the boy ’s home , allowing prosecutors to draw the damning connection . _ _ _ _ 9 . paul simon went back on tour , promoting his “ stranger to stranger ” album , which goes on sale june 3 . our critic says the artist is making some of the strangest , most intriguing music of his career . songs “ crack jokes and ponder questions about love , death , spirituality , baseball , economic inequality , brain chemistry and music itself . ” _ _ _ _ 10 . finally , good news . despite reports to the contrary in china ’s media , this panda is just fine . the taipei zoo posted its proof — the bear with current newspapers — on facebook . “ tuan tuan says : what more do you need ? ” the zoo ’s caption reads . “ please do n’t believe online rumors . friends who care about tuan tuan do n’t need to worry . ” _ _ _ _ your evening briefing is posted at 6 p. m. eastern . and do n’t miss your morning briefing , posted weekdays at 6 a. m. eastern , and your weekend briefing , posted at 6 a. m. sundays . want to look back ? here ’s last night ’s briefing . what did you like ? what do you want to see here ? let us know at briefing@nytimes . com .
+1 the daily traditionalist : the calais cancer metastasizes sven longshanks radio aryan october 27 , 2016 sven longshanks joins matthew heimbach to discuss the ongoing fall out from president hollande’s treacherous solution to the calais jungle problem . instead of rounding all the invaders up with extreme prejudice and sending them back to libya , he has decided to make every town in france a gift of 50 jungle monkeys each . he must love what they have done to calais so much , that he wants the same for every town in the country . diversity really does mean destroying every white community in the world by filling then all up with a quota of hostile invasive species . sven brings us the shocking news that five ‘syrian migrant children’ have already gang raped a child at the british children’s home they were placed in this week . these ‘unaccompanied minors’ were supposed to only be coming to britain if they had family in the country , but thanks to an amendment added to the law by a jew called dubs , any brown person claiming to be under 18 whose life would be better in britain than where they are now , has to be let in . this stupid law means that every juvenile in the third world could lay claim to a right to be allowed into britain . this jew is directly responsible for that child being raped and matt reminds us of the fact that it is traitors in our own governments everywhere who are doing this to us . george soros and other global players have been funding the criminals at calais while they lie in wait to ambush a lorry and break into britain and we see similar patterns emerging there that we see among the other groups that he funds . black lies matter burned down ferguson and the squatters at calais burned down the jungle last night too , but not before first taking some time out for another gang rape . sven points out that this goes on regularly in africa where it costs little to replace a burned down straw hut or dung shelter , but in the developed world it costs a fortune to repair the damage these blacks cause . after bringing up the subject of how much it costs to care for those who hate us , matt brings us some good news on the british economy , which we had been told by the lying media was bound to plunge into recession if there was a vote to leave the eu . it has actually increased by a percentage and sven finishes the podcast by giving us a quick rundown of the state of play with brexit , the conservative party and ukip , who it is hoped will soon be led by paul nuttall . presented by matthew heimbach and sven longshanks the daily traditionalist : the calais cancer metastasizes – dt 102716
+0 ‘ i ’m resigned to having a terrible president’ - the new york times lela moore and michelle baruchman here are the top 10 comments of the week on our digital platforms , as selected by our readers and the journalists who moderate nearly every comment . to see how our readers reacted to donald trump ’s request that russian intelligence hack hillary clinton ’s email , our on story ever , go here . 1 . i am thinking about my mother tonight , the child of immigrants , born in 1919 just when women were given the right to vote . i am remembering all the times she dragged me into the voting booth to show me what a privilege it was to be an american and to live in this country . i ca n’t talk to her about this historic night , but i can talk to my daughter who can see that her future is limitless . almost 100 years in the making . it ’s been a long time coming . — ann in connecticut , reacting to an article about hillary clinton accepting her party ’s presidential nomination , the first woman from a major party to do so . this comment received more than 900 reader recommendations . 2 . i think we do n’t remember how recently women were n’t allowed to wear pants , or could n’t attend ivy league schools . somehow we failed to pass these stories on to our daughters as we sought to give them all the opportunities of their male counterparts . now the sexism is often more subtle , more hidden and our daughters take their opportunities for granted . “ i ’d like a woman , just not this woman . ” there is n’t a mythical , perfect woman running . there is a human woman running , sometimes making mistakes , sometime enduring private pain publicly , sometimes soaring to the highest levels of achievement . let ’s not hold her to a standard of perfection we would n’t apply to a man running for president , let ’s honor her humanity and success as the first woman to achieve the nomination of a major party . — ellie in boston . 3 . one of the best things to come of this election is the fact that the g. o. p. has been forced to examine the monster which has been allowed to grow in its midst . i firmly believe that something similar is required on the left . hillary clinton is no monster like trump , but she is the calcification of a version of what is wrong with politics today : the intransigence and pandering , the corruption and secrecy , the influence of big money , and a the approach to an entitled sense of rulership . the democratic party has a chance to see what its bernie contingent is pointing out to party leadership . were the g. o. p. candidate any better than a buffoon , it would be easier for the mainstream left to see what is wrong with hillary . it has nothing whatsoever to do with her gender . the d. n. c. ’s treatment of bernie sanders and his supporters has alienated me to a degree i did n’t think possible . — kelvin f. in the pacific northwest . this comment received more than 970 reader recommendations and more than 300 reader responses . 4 . as a sanders supporter , i will not be voting for hillary . at this point , i ’m left deciding between gary johnson and jill stein , who , like bernie , were both actually against the iraq war before it started . or , perhaps , just staying home . i am not alone . the two major candidates are the least popular in history , and the biggest reason their supporters give for voting for them is that they are n’t the other one . i ’m resigned to having a terrible president starting next january , but there ’s no way i ’ll be responsible for electing him or her . — mike in new york . this comment had more than 320 reader recommendations . 5 . i love the fact that people are outraged not because the white house was built by slaves , but because someone dared to bring it up . — molly maxine on the times ’s facebook page , responding to an article about michelle obama ’s speech at the democratic convention , in which she said of the white house , “ i wake up every morning in a house built by slaves . ” this comment received 60 likes . 6 . to those morally outraged commenters who are threatening to not vote — or to vote for jill stein , or barney fife , or whomever they imagine will represent some kind of integrity on their part — because they ’re shocked and dismayed at the revelation that somehow the d. n. c. is “ rigged , ” i say the following : everything is rigged ! life is rigged ! you will encounter it in every endeavor . sometimes , it will serve you unfairly , sometimes it will discriminate against you unfairly — but it ’ll always be there . there is no pure , sterile laboratory environment when it comes to human beings and their comings and goings . clinton and sanders are subject to exactly the same dynamics as you and i are as far as that goes . to assume any higher order is — sorry — to be naive . one of the first lessons a child learns is that life is n’t fair . if they do n’t learn it , if they do n’t accept it and move forward knowing it , they ’ll be disappointed at almost every turn . — sean in new orleans , reacting to an article about debbie wasserman schultz stepping down as chairwoman of the democratic national committee after an email leak revealed party leaders seeking to damage senator sanders ’s campaign . 7 . you know , i ’ve often wondered how people who are falsely accused feel after the truth comes to light . relieved ? vindicated ? righteous ? at peace ? supporters of bernie sanders have spent close to half a year being told we ’re conspiracy theorists , that we ’re paranoid , unhinged , entitled whiners unable to face the reality that “ all is well , our guy ’s just a loser . ” learning that the d. n. c. did indeed actively collude to deny bernie sanders the nomination should make me feel something , should n’t it ? the evidence is there for even the most stubborn of skeptics to behold : the odds were never in bernie ’s favor and his supporters were right to question the d. n. c. ’s impartiality . but i do n’t feel anything . i just feel empty . there are so many days left in this election . there ’s a monstrous creature that must be defeated at all costs . i just wish it felt like my party was one of the good guys . — danielle in seattle . this comment received more than 1 , 900 reader recommendations and more than 70 reader responses . 8 . once again , no one is held responsible for the death of an innocent black man . society and the justice system [ are ] more ready to find excuses to exonerate when a black life is involved , because somehow he is seen as less valuable . then , a society without equal empathy for all is surprised to see protests and violence in the streets . in the long term , injustice and peace are not mutually inclusive in any society , as history repeatedly teaches . — merlin in atlanta , reacting to an article about the state ’s attorney dropping all remaining charges against the three baltimore police officers awaiting trial in the death of freddie gray . this comment received more than 80 reader recommendations . 9 . addiction is a disease . naloxone was no more invented to “ cure ” it than insulin was invented to “ cure ” diabetes . the key , and unexamined , phrase in this article is “ seek treatment ” : where are all those sick people supposed to take their illness when states like mine ( with the money to make better choices ) are closing rehab clinics like the one that saved my friend when she began her recovery six years ago ? today she is a vibrant counselor to young people . if anyone ever gave you a second chance , you ought to reopen your closed mind when it comes to addiction . — megan macomber in new haven , reacting to an article about naloxone , a drug that revives someone who has overdosed on opioids . critics of the drug say it offers addicts a safety net advocates say it offers a path to treatment and recovery . 10 . based on my experience in marketing management at verizon , i ’d say this will be a case of the blind leading the blind . verizon has so much money to burn — but no real strategy in the consumer space . they ’ve never really “ gotten ” the thing and this is not a company that takes a lot of risk . by the time they got fios up and running , the business model for tv consumption was already changing . my guess is that will be a few years of efforts to launch new “ products , ” and then they ’ll sell the entire consumer side of the business . — pat b. in blue bell , pa. reacting to an article about verizon ’s purchase of yahoo ’s core internet business for $ 4 . 8 billion .
+0 trump derangement syndrome : larry summers worries we might export natural gas to china - breitbart john carney larry summers is now worried that the united states might start exporting natural gas to china . [ the former treasury secretary has attacked a trade deal reached earlier this month between the united states and china as something “ a serious administration committed to helping american workers would likely not have accepted and surely would not have hyped . ” that ’s a powerful accusation to level against an administration elected on an america first platform . fortunately , there ’s little evidence to back up the allegation . the most substantive objection summers raises has to do with the part of the deal which will allow u. s. to export liquified natural gas to china . “ to at least a small extent that would mean higher heating costs for american consumers and higher energy costs for u. s. producers , ” summers warns . this objection might make a bit of sense if energy costs were presenting a serious problem for american consumers and producers . but energy costs are at historic lows . natural gas prices have come off their recent lows but are still far below their average for this century . higher heating costs are not a big concern right now . summers objection is likely wrong even about the effect on prices . it assumes that the u. s. is currently producing the maximum amount of natural gas possible so that any additional demand for china would push prices up . but this assumption is factually wrong . in fact , natural gas production is far from its peak in the u. s. which means that added demand from china is not likely to drive up prices so much as drive up production . it is also notable that this is an objection that could apply to any export by u. s. producers . when foreign consumers buy products made in america , they drive up the price of those goods for americans — all other things being equal . of course , all other things are not equal since demand for exports results in increased production of goods . summers is apparently suffering from trump derangement syndrome , the psychological compulsion to find fault with trump policies that would otherwise be unobjectionable . and now its grip on the former treasury secretary is so strong he is arguing against exports to china .
+0 raid in yemen : risky from the start and costly in the end - the new york times eric schmitt and david e. sanger washington — just five days after taking office , over dinner with his newly installed secretary of defense and the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff , president trump was presented with the first of what will be many decisions : whether to approve a commando raid that risked the lives of american special operations forces and foreign civilians alike . president barack obama ’s national security aides had reviewed the plans for a risky attack on a small , heavily guarded brick home of a senior qaeda collaborator in a mountainous village in a remote part of central yemen . but mr. obama did not act because the pentagon wanted to launch the attack on a moonless night and the next one would come after his term had ended . with two of his closest advisers , jared kushner and stephen k. bannon , joining the dinner at the white house along with defense secretary jim mattis and gen. joseph f. dunford jr. mr. trump approved sending in the navy ’s seal team 6 , hoping the raid early last sunday would scoop up cellphones and laptop computers that could yield valuable clues about one of the world ’s most dangerous terrorist groups . vice president mike pence and michael t. flynn , the national security adviser , also attended the dinner . as it turned out , almost everything that could go wrong did . and on wednesday , mr. trump flew to dover air force base in delaware to be present as the body of the american commando killed in the raid was returned home , the first military death on the new commander in chief ’s watch . the death of chief petty officer william owens came after a chain of mishaps and misjudgments that plunged the elite commandos into a ferocious firefight that also left three others wounded and a $ 75 million aircraft deliberately destroyed . there are allegations — which the pentagon acknowledged on wednesday night are most likely correct — that the mission also killed several civilians , including some children . the dead include , by the account of al qaeda ’s branch in yemen , the daughter of anwar the qaeda leader who was killed in a targeted drone strike in 2011 . mr. trump on sunday hailed his first counterterrorism operation as a success , claiming the commandos captured “ important intelligence that will assist the u. s. in preventing terrorism against its citizens and people around the world . ” a statement by the military ’s central command on wednesday night that acknowledged the likelihood of civilian casualties also said that the recovered materials had provided some initial information helpful to counterterrorism analysts . the statement did not provide details . but the mission ’s casualties raise doubts about the months of detailed planning that went into the operation during the obama administration and whether the right questions were raised before its approval . typically , the president ’s advisers lay out the risks , but pentagon officials declined to characterize any discussions with mr. trump . a senior administration official said on wednesday night that the defense department had conducted a legal review of the operation that mr. trump approved and that a pentagon lawyer had signed off on it . mr. trump ’s new national security team , led by mr. flynn , the former head of the defense intelligence agency and a retired general with experience in counterterrorism raids , has said that it wants to speed the when it comes to such strikes , delegating more power to officials so that the military may respond more quickly . indeed , the pentagon is drafting such plans to accelerate activities against the qaeda branch in yemen . but doing that also raises the possibility of error . “ you can mitigate risk in missions like this , but you ca n’t mitigate risk down to zero , ” said william wechsler , a former top counterterrorism official at the pentagon . in this case , the assault force of several dozen commandos , which also included elite soldiers from the united arab emirates , was jinxed from the start . qaeda fighters were somehow tipped off to the stealthy advance toward the village — perhaps by the whine of american drones that local tribal leaders said were flying lower and louder than usual . through a communications intercept , the commandos knew that the mission had been somehow compromised , but pressed on toward their target roughly five miles from where they had been flown into the area . “ they kind of knew they were screwed from the beginning , ” one former seal team 6 official said . with the crucial element of surprise lost , the americans and emiratis found themselves in a gun battle with qaeda fighters who took up positions in other houses , a clinic , a school and a mosque , often using women and children as cover , american military officials said in interviews this week . the commandos were taken aback when some of the women grabbed weapons and started firing , multiplying the militant firepower beyond what they had expected . the americans called in airstrikes from helicopter gunships and fighter aircraft that helped kill some 14 qaeda fighters , but not before an osprey aircraft involved in the operation experienced a “ hard landing , ” injuring three more american personnel on board . the osprey , which the marine corps said cost $ 75 million , was badly damaged and had to be destroyed by an airstrike . the raid , some details of which were first reported by the washington post , also destroyed much of the village of yakla , and left senior yemeni government officials seething . yemen ’s foreign minister , abdul malik al mekhlafi , condemned the raid on monday in a post on his official twitter account as “ extrajudicial killings . ” baraa shiban , a yemeni fellow for reprieve , a human rights group , said he spoke by phone to a tribal sheikh in the village , jabbr abu soraima , who told him : “ people were afraid to leave their houses because the sound of choppers and drones were all over the sky . everyone feared of being hit by the drones or shot by the soldiers on the ground . ” after initially denying there were any civilian casualties , pentagon officials backtracked somewhat on sunday after reports from the yemeni authorities begin trickling in and grisly photographs of bloody children purportedly killed in the attack appeared on social media sites affiliated with al qaeda ’s branch in yemen . capt . jeff davis , a pentagon spokesman , said on monday that some of the women were combatants . the operation was the first known ground mission in yemen since december 2014 , when members of seal team 6 stormed a village in southern yemen in an effort to free an american photojournalist held hostage by al qaeda . but the raid ended with the kidnappers killing the journalist and a south african held with him . that mission and the raid over the weekend revealed the shortcomings of secretive military operations in yemen . the united states was forced to withdraw the last 125 special operations advisers from the country in march 2015 after houthi rebels ousted the government of president abdu rabbu mansour hadi , the americans’ main counterterrorism partner . the loss of yemen as a base for american counterterrorism training , advising and was a significant blow to blunting the advance of al qaeda ’s branch in the country and keeping tabs on their plots . the pentagon has tried to start rebuilding its counterterrorism operations in yemen , however last year , american special operations forces helped emirati troops evict qaeda fighters from the port city of mukalla .
+1 if clinton goes down , loretta lynch will go down with her daisy luther posted on october 31 , 2016 by daisy luther oh , loretta . i ’ll bet that ag loretta lynch is shaking in her boots right now , because when hillary clinton goes down , lynch ’s career will go down with her . heck , maybe they ’ll even be cellmates . loretta lynch ’s ties to the clintons go back to 1999 when then - president bill clinton appointed her to run the brooklyn us attorney ’s office . she left in 2002 and went into private practice , but returned to the brooklyn office in 2010 at the behest of president barack obama . ( here ’s her official bio . ) in 2015 , she was sworn in to become the 83rd attorney general of the united states , taking the place of the blatantly corrupt attorney general , eric holder , who will probably be most famous for his roles in the fast and furious operation , inciting racial tensions , and his mishandling of the lois lerner / irs debacle . first , there was the secret airplane meeting with bill clinton it all started to publicly go downhill for lynch during the first investigation into hillary clinton ’s carelessness with national secrets via her home email server . right before fbi director james comey was to meet with hillary clinton to interrogate her about the subject , lynch was busted having a secret meeting with bill clinton . the washington post reported : clinton ’s private , unplanned meeting with attorney general loretta e. lynch at the phoenix airport last week , coming at a time when the justice department should be nearing completion of its examination of hillary clinton ’s use of a private server for her emails as secretary of state , will inevitably — and negatively — affect public attitudes about that investigation … … lynch has tried to make amends , though not without leaving some confusion in her wake . in a conversation friday with washington post editorial writer jonathan capehart at the aspen ideas festival , she insisted again that the conversation was innocent — about grandchildren and golf and such — and did not touch on the investigation of the emails . but she said she recognized that others would not see it that way . “ the fact that the meeting that i had is now casting a shadow over how people are going to view that work is something that i take seriously , and deeply and painfully , ” she said . lynch said that she would “ be accepting ” whatever recommendation the career prosecutors and fbi director james b. comey bring her — though she did not say she would remove herself completely from the case . she also said she had made that decision some months ago but was only now making it public . of course , it was all much easier for lynch to abide by the decision when comey miraculously found that hillary clinton was not criminal in her negligence with national secrets . now , though , people are asking questions about that ill - founded meeting . judicial watch has filed a lawsuit for “ all records ” related to the illicit meeting between attorney general lynch and former president bill clinton . “ on june 29 , 2016 , attorney general loretta lynch is reported to have met privately with former president bill clinton on board a parked private plane at sky harbor international airport in phoenix , arizona . the meeting occurred during the then - ongoing investigation of mrs. clinton ’s email server , and mere hours before the benghazi report was released publicly involving both mrs. clinton and the obama administration . judicial watch filed a request on june 30 that the u.s. department of justice office of the inspector general investigate that meeting . ” republican presidential nominee donald trump suggested that during that meeting , bill clinton may have offered to extend lynch ’s position in the ag ’s office during a hillary clinton administration . then she blocked a congressional investigation into the notorious iranian ransom payment . last week , ag lynch blocked a congressional investigation into the cash payments that the obama administration made to iran by pleading the fifth . the washington free beacon reported : attorney general loretta lynch is declining to comply with an investigation by leading members of congress about the obama administration ’s secret efforts to send iran $ 1.7 billion in cash earlier this year , prompting accusations that lynch has “ pleaded the fifth ” amendment to avoid incriminating herself over these payments , according to lawmakers and communications exclusively obtained by the washington free beacon … … “ it is frankly unacceptable that your department refuses to answer straightforward questions from the people ’s elected representatives in congress about an important national security issue , ” the lawmakers wrote . “ your staff failed to address any of our questions , and instead provided a copy of public testimony and a lecture about the sensitivity of information associated with this issue . ” “ as the united states’ chief law enforcement officer , it is outrageous that you would essentially plead the fifth and refuse to respond to inquiries , ” they stated . “ the actions of your department come at time when iran continues to hold americans hostage and unjustly sentence them to prison . ” how very judicial of her . lynch tried to shut comey up about the new investigation into the clinton emails . now , even the mainstream media ca n’t turn its head . earlier i wrote about the fact that fbi director james comey made the decision on his own to go public about the new investigation into the hillary clinton emails . but let ’s talk a little further about lynch ’s desperate attempts to shut him up . the new york times reported that the justice department “ strongly discouraged comey ” against releasing the information : the day before the f.b.i. director , james b. comey , sent a letter to congress announcing that new evidence had been discovered that might be related to the completed hillary clinton email investigation , the justice department strongly discouraged the step and told him that he would be breaking with longstanding policy , three law enforcement officials said on saturday . senior justice department officials did not move to stop him from sending the letter , officials said , but they did everything short of it , pointing to policies against talking about current criminal investigations or being seen as meddling in elections . how interesting that it ’s seen as “ influencing the election ” to investigate someone now but it was n’t back when she was investigated and not charged . i ’m not sure exactly how that works , but according to usa today ( emphasis mine ) , a “ … federal official familiar with comey ’s decision said saturday that the fbi director considered the attorney general ’s advice during a spirited discussion of the matter thursday and early friday but felt compelled to act . ” do you remember janet reno ? poor janet was another attorney general who went down for the clintons . she was also sworn in as ag under bill clinton , and many questioned her appointment at the time . according to a report in the chicago tribune : she arrived in washington from miami as caesar ’s wife , and so she has remained . she was ignorant and independent of insider d.c. and has stayed that way . bill clinton never much liked her and never confided in her , and she reciprocated . she became ag just in time to take the fall for the debacle in waco , actually . according to history.com the waco standoff had already begun by the time janet reno became the first female attorney general on march 12 , 1993 . she approved the fbi ’s tear gas plan the following month , explaining that negotiations with the branch davidians had stalemated and that the children inside the compound were at risk . “ we will never know whether there was a better solution , ” reno said in 1995 . “ everyone involved … made their best judgments based on all the information we had . ” nonetheless , a republican - led congressional report called her decision “ premature , wrong and highly irresponsible . ” she was also criticized when facts emerged contradicting some of her earlier statements . the tribune post continued to discuss reno ’s position as a scapegoat : every day since she took office , she has been supervising at least one probe embarrassing to clinton – whitewater , fundraising , lewinsky , china espionage , etc . clinton ca n’t afford the political beating he would take if he cashiered her . … but no such attorney general could have survived the clinton scandals , much less survived them with her own reputation – and her department’s – intact . attorney generals who have anything to do with the clintons do n’t seem to fare too well . they end up so embroiled in clinton scandals that they , too , are pulled down into the mire , regardless of what their intentions were when they started out . lynch can see her future … and it has something to do with “ help wanted ” ads the last time lynch was involved in the clinton email kerfuffle , she promised to abide by fbi director james comey ’s recommendation . i wonder if she ’ll make that same promise this time ? she really ca n’t , because if she does , it will show she was complicit with the clintons the last time around , and also this time when she decried comey ’s release of information about the investigation . i wonder if she and hillary clinton will be able to get adjoining cells when / if the truth comes out . courtesy of daisy luther do n't forget to follow the d.c. clothesline on facebook and twitter . please help spread the word by sharing our articles on your favorite social networks . share this :
+1 fifteen years into the afghan war , do americans know the truth ? ron paul last week marked the fifteenth anniversary of the us invasion of afghanistan , the longest war in us history . there were n’t any victory parades or photo - ops with afghanistan ’s post - liberation leaders . that is because the war is ongoing . in fact , 15 years after launching a war against afghanistan ’s taliban government in retaliation for an attack by saudi - backed al - qaeda , the us - backed forces are steadily losing territory back to the taliban . what president obama called “ the good war ” before took office in 2008 , has become the “ forgotten war ” some eight years later . how many americans know that we still have nearly 10,000 us troops in afghanistan ? do any americans know that the taliban was never defeated , but now holds more ground in afghanistan than at any point since 2001 ? do they know the taliban overran the provincial capital of kunduz last week for a second time in a year and they threaten several other provincial capitals ? do americans know that we are still wasting billions on “ reconstruction ” and other projects in afghanistan that are , at best , boondoggles ? according to a recent audit by the independent us government body overseeing afghan reconstruction , half a billion dollars was wasted on a contract for a us company to maintain afghan military vehicles . the contractor “ fail[ed ] to meet program objectives , ” the audit found . of course they still got paid , like thousands of others getting rich off of this failed war . do americans know that their government has spent at least $ 60 billion to train and equip afghan security forces , yet these forces are still not capable of fighting on their own against the taliban ? we recently learned that an unknown but not insignificant number of those troops brought to the us for training have deserted and are living illegally somewhere in the us . in the recent taliban attack on kunduz , it was reported that thousands of afghan security personnel fled without firing a shot . according to a recent study by brown university , the direct costs of the iraq and afghanistan wars thus far are nearly five trillion dollars . the indirect costs are virtually incalculable . perhaps afghanistan is the “ forgotten war ” because to mention it would reveal how schizophrenic is us foreign policy . after all , we have been fighting for 15 years in afghanistan in the name of defeating al - qaeda , while we are directly and indirectly assisting a franchise of al - qaeda to overthrow the syrian government . how many americans would applaud such a foreign policy ? if they only knew , but thanks to a media only interested in promoting washington ’s propaganda , far too many americans do n’t know . i have written several of these columns on the various anniversaries of the afghan ( and iraq ) wars , pointing out that the wars are ongoing and that the result of the wars has been less stable countries , a less stable region , a devastated local population , and an increasing probability of more blowback . i would be very happy to never have to write one of these again . we should just march home .
+0 federal judge bars north dakota from enforcing restrictive voter id law - the new york times michael wines a federal judge on monday barred north dakota from enforcing the state ’s strict voter law , adding to several recent federal court rulings that such laws may disenfranchise minority voters . judge daniel l. hovland of the united states district court for north dakota issued a preliminary injunction against the law , which he said had made it difficult and sometimes impossible for some native americans on rural reservations to cast ballots . judge hovland ’s injunction did not strike down the law . but north dakota ’s secretary of state , alvin jaeger , indicated in an interview that the state would not appeal the decision and that november ’s election would revert to using less restrictive identification rules that were in force before the 2013 law was enacted . “ after the election we have a legislative session coming up , and we ’ll see how we can address the issues then , ” he said . like other laws that have been challenged , the north dakota statute was passed by a legislature that asserted stronger measures were needed to curb voter fraud . democratic legislators said that it was intended solely to suppress voting among traditionally democratic constituencies . the law allowed voters to present a broad range of documents or simply to take an oath affirming their identity . the new law , which some critics said was among the most restrictive in the nation , limited acceptable ids to a valid state driver ’s license , a nondriver state id , a care certificate or a tribal identification card , each of which had to show a voter ’s current address . the law also eliminated any measures , like swearing an oath , for voters who lacked a card . in their lawsuit , the plaintiffs argued that many native americans did not have addresses and that many tribal id cards did not require them . the barriers to obtaining a required id , they said , were high : there are no license offices on reservations , and a significant share of native americans lack either the money to obtain an id or the proofs of identity , such as a birth certificate or social security card , that are necessary to get one . “ the record is replete with concrete evidence of significant burdens imposed on native american voters attempting to exercise their right to vote , ” judge hovland wrote . nor , he stated , was there any evidence that the state needed such a restrictive id policy . “ to the contrary , ” he wrote , “ the record before the court reveals that the secretary of state acknowledged in 2006 that he was unaware of any voter fraud in north dakota . ” the plaintiffs’ lawyer , thomas a. dickson of bismarck , said he believed that the state ’s elections procedures , which once were nonpartisan , had become ensnarled in the ideological and political conflict that has divided the rest of the nation . “ we want everyone to vote , ” mr. dickson said , “ and whoever has the most votes , they win . that ’s the american way . somehow , we ’ve gotten away from that . ”
+0 forget beanbag chairs . amazon is giving its workers treehouses . - the new york times nick wingfield redmond , wash. — just off a remote stretch of road here , near wineries , horse stables and farms , amazon is secretly growing something , but it ’s not what jeff bezos , amazon ’s chief executive , calls the “ tiny seeds ” that could become the company ’s next big businesses . no , amazon is growing actual plants , more than 3 , 000 species of them spread around a greenhouse a ’s drive from amazon ’s headquarters in seattle . there are carnivorous pitcher plants , exotic philodendrons and orchids from ecuador that resemble the menacing flora from “ little shop of horrors . ” “ cinnamon , wax candy and baby powder , ” said ron gagliardo , the amazon horticulturist who oversees the greenhouse , when asked to describe the mysterious scent of the orchid , called anguloa virginalis . amazon pioneered internet shopping , electronic book reading and cloud computing . now , as it enters adulthood , it is applying some of that inventiveness to its new home . the company is constructing a collection of and buildings in downtown seattle that will be arrayed around three striking transparent , conjoined structures that amazon calls spheres . they will act as greenhouses , the kind of flashy architecture that amazon shunned for the first 22 years of its life . “ we wanted it to be iconic , a structure that would be similar to another icon in the city , like the space needle , for newcomers to seattle , ” said john schoettler , director of amazon ’s global real estate and facilities . “ it would be a found treasure in the downtown neighborhood . ” the real point of the spheres is how amazon wants to use the nature on the inside to inspire employees . when they open in early 2018 , the spheres will be packed with a plant collection worthy of conservatories , allowing amazon employees to amble through tree canopies three stories off the ground , meet with colleagues in rooms with walls made from vines and eat kale caesar salads next to an indoor creek . since amazon decided about a decade ago to stay in downtown seattle , the company said , it has invested over $ 4 billion in the construction and development of offices in the city , though it wo n’t disclose the budget for the spheres . the spheres will be accessible to amazon employees only , but the company may eventually allow public tours . “ the whole idea was to get people to think more creatively , maybe come up with a new idea they would n’t have if they were just in their office , ” said dale alberda , the lead architect on the project at nbbj , a firm that has also worked on building projects for samsung , google and the chinese internet company tencent . tech companies have been eager to test ways to make workplaces more conducive to creativity . some turn their offices into playgrounds , with beanbag chairs , ball pits and tables . the more refined alternative now catching on is to make nature the star of the show . apple , for example , has hired an arborist , dave muffly , to oversee the planting of about 8 , 000 trees on its new campus in cupertino , calif. which will surround a new building where apple employees will work . the mostly native trees are intended to restore the natural landscape that once blanketed silicon valley . what makes amazon ’s project unusual is its location — in the heart of a city , rather than on a sprawling suburban campus of the sort favored by most other big tech companies . amazon , the largest private employer in seattle , has more than 20 , 000 employees spread out in more than 30 buildings in the city . its current construction plans will give it the space to more than double its local head count . mr. bezos has said that amazon is staying put in a city because the kinds of employees it wants are attracted to an urban environment . but the concrete and steel canyons around amazon ’s new downtown properties do not have a lot of greenery . that is where the spheres and mr. gagliardo , whom amazon hired to fill them with plants , enter the picture . margaret o’mara , an associate professor of history at the university of washington , sees the spheres as a kind of walden pond under glass . “ it ’s a retreat , a cathedral away from the hubbub of the city , ” she said . there was plenty of noise inside the spheres on a recent tour , as workers welded steel , pounded bolts into place and sawed concrete inside the structure . the glass panels that make up the carapace of the spheres were being lowered onto steel supports in shapes . wearing a hard hat , mr. gagliardo dodged power cords and scaffolding , surveying an enormous mass of concrete where a living wall — fabric pockets filled with plants — will eventually be installed . he pointed to where a glass roof panel will be removed and a fig tree will be lifted by crane into one of the spheres , one of 40 to 50 trees that will be installed . “ being able to walk through here , i ’m starting to see where things are going to go , ” he said . the spheres will have meeting areas called treehouses , and suspension bridges high off the ground that will be just wobbly enough to quicken the pulses of employees who walk over them . “ amazon said , ‘ make this fun,’ ” said mr. alberda , the architect . amazon ’s architects had to make the spheres welcoming for both plants and people , a space with the abundance of a conservatory but without the stickiness that will fog macbook screens and make people sweat . during the day , amazon will keep the spheres at 72 degrees and 60 percent humidity , while at night the temperature will average 55 degrees and the humidity 85 percent , which mr. gagliardo said would be optimal for the cloud forest plant specimens it has collected . a growing body of academic research points to the benefits of giving employees access to nature . about a decade ago , ihab elzeyadi , an associate professor of architecture at the university of oregon , conducted a study in which workers who were provided with a view of nature experienced a 20 percent reduction in sick leave from their employer , though it was not clear why that happened . dr. elzeyadi said he was intrigued by amazon ’s sphere project , but not convinced it would be as effective as letting workers gaze at plants from their desks . ” you ’re making a big investment and betting on two big hypotheses , ” he said . “ will they leave work and go there and , having that kind of maybe once a week , will it really impact their stress levels ? ” any respite from stress could be particularly helpful for a company that has a reputation for a sometimes punishing work environment . until plants start moving into the spheres next spring , mr. gagliardo , 50 , dotes on them in their temporary home in the huge greenhouse amazon has been leasing for the last couple of years . he will continue to tend to the plants for amazon after they are planted in the spheres . he stops by a welwitschia , a namibian plant with two leaves , proclaiming it the “ ugliest plant in the world ” and delivering the line with such enthusiasm that it sounds like a compliment . with misters pumping water into the air , he swells with excitement discussing his current love affair with a group of begonias from southeast asia . “ next week i ’ll be more excited about a different group , ” he said . many of the species amazon is growing here are endangered or extinct in the wild , acquired from botanical gardens , universities and private growers around the world . mr. gagliardo , who previously worked at the atlanta botanical garden and in amphibian conservation , said opportunities to build a plant collection like amazon ’s did not come along often . “ i ’m a plant curator by heart , ” he said . “ so different plant families , amassing a collection of plants , is totally what i geek out on and go crazy about . ”
+1 millions of romanians , bulgarians preparing to ‘ avoid uk like the plague’ newsbiscuit editorial team november 2 , 2016 fears of a huge influx of immigrants from romania and bulgaria have given way to indignation after a poll showed workers from the two countries are preparing to ‘ avoid britain like the plague’ , when movement restrictions are eased later this year . a new survey of over 2,000 people in both countries revealed that , rather than preparing to flood into the uk and take all the jobs recently vacated by returning poles , romanians and bulgarians are actually surprisingly well acquainted with how crap everything is and will most probably steer clear . ‘ there was a time last summer when it looked quite fun in britain,’ said liana domescu , a 25-year - old unemployed graduate from timisoara . ‘ you know , with the jubilee and the olympics and kate middleton and stuff . but since then it ’s all been back to the britain we know and hate – sex abuse , measles outbreaks , hmv going under , your failing post - war - era health service , david cameron , how do you people cope?’ the news came as a surprise to analysts , who had predicted that up to 25,000 romanian and bulgarian jobseekers would arrive at heathrow each day . baa ltd , the owners of heathrow , had already warned that this would be ‘ roughly 24,990 more than we can cope with per day’ and even hinted that queues could develop in the arrivals lounge . ukip leader nigel farage was ‘ incensed’ by the news . ‘ it ’s a shocking insult to the people of britain,’ said farage . ‘ we ’ve been preparing a well - honed tirade of crackpot dogma , frosty glares and grumbling about the strain on public services to welcome these people to this country , only to find they ’re only interested in coming if there are jobs ! that ’s the problem with foreign freeloaders , they just are n’t willing to put the work in . what am i going to do with this ‘ boris out’ placard now ? i ca n’t possibly use it for any other political purpose.’ for domescu , the final straw came during the funeral of margaret thatcher last week . ‘ i was still thinking of coming to britain , but then they broadcast those pictures of your chancellor osborne openly weeping on national television and it finally hit home how bad things must be for that to happen,’ she said . ‘ so i ’ll just stay here after all – the weather ’s far nicer and i hear there ’s a job going at the local horse abattoir.’ share this story ...
+1 seth meyers takes ‘ a closer look’ at the gop ’s threats against hillary and it ’s terrifying ! ( video ) allison vincent by allison vincent election 2016 , news , politics , right - wing terrorism , videos november 4 , 2016 seth meyers takes ‘ a closer look’ at the gop ’s threats against hillary and it ’s terrifying ! ( video ) there are only a few days left in this election and republicans are growing more and more desperate , using what seth meyers called “ increasingly unhinged rhetoric ” during thursday ’s late night segment of a closer look . “ ‘ republicans are using increasingly unhinged rhetoric to warn about the consequences of electing hillary,’ meyers said . ‘ many are even threatening to impeach her without any evidence of a crime before she ever takes office and if they ca n’t do that , they ’ll settle for the next best thing – preventing her from filling any vacancy on the supreme court for her entire four year term . ' ” but that ’s not all they ’ve done — there have also been more death threats and calls to violence . former congressman joe walsh , who , like donald trump , enjoys twitter way more than he should , tweeted this on november 1 : another shocking gop turn is from ted cruz , who just a few short months ago , during his speech at the rnc , refused to endorse trump , but just today he hopped on trump ’s plane to go campaign for him in iowa . this , after trump accused cruz ’s father of killing jfk and also said horrible things about his wife . remember that “ baked bean teeth ” comment trump made ? yeah . just plain nasty . it ’s really unfortunate that cruz caved , but the gop is so terrified of losing control , that they are willing to forget their own pride and pull out all the stops to keep clinton out of office . watch seth meyers break it all down . it ’s pretty terrifying . featured image via video screenshot share this article !
+0 knesset bill proposes annexing all jerusalem - area settlements deborah danan tel aviv — a new bill to annex the settlements around jerusalem will be submitted to the knesset this week , the jerusalem post reported . [ mk yehuda glick ( likud ) is advancing the private member ’s legislation , which would cover of the 386 , 000 settlers in judea and samaria residing in communities including ma’aleh adumim , givat ze’ev , adam , psagot , ma’aleh michmash and the gush etzion bloc . a similar bill annexing ma’aleh adumim has been submitted and is awaiting approval from the ministerial committee for legislation . but according to glick , annexing ma’aleh adumim alone is not enough . applying sovereignty to all the communities around jerusalem would strengthen the capital and distance the notion of a palestinian state , glick said . he added that the bill has already garnered support from deputy foreign minister tzipi hotovely and transportation minister israel katz . he noted that his bill comes at an auspicious time , ahead of the 50th anniversary of the six day war that saw judea and samaria liberated from jordan , and as such this should be “ the year of sovereignty . ” the new bill comes on the heels of a series of annexation attempts put forward by nationalist politicians here since president donald trump came into office . so far , prime minister benjamin netanyahu has not supported efforts toward annexation , fearing it would cause too much backlash from the u. s. and international community . instead , he favors a scenario in which the u. s. would lend its support for building within existing settlements . a group of nationalist politicians from the knesset land of israel caucus published an open letter to netanyahu sunday , urging him “ to seize the opportunity provided by the entry of the new u. s. administration … [ and ] prevent the establishment of an arab terrorist state in the land of israel , and to stand for freedom , prosperity and building of communities throughout judea and samaria . ”
+1 report : things finally as bad as trump claims - the onion - america 's finest news source nan report : things finally as bad as trump claims close vol 52 issue 44 · politics · politicians · election 2016 · donald trump washington — following donald trump ’s stunning victory in the general election early wednesday morning , political experts confirmed that conditions in the united states are now finally as bad as the republican nominee has long claimed . “ though we had previously been able to dismiss trump ’s proclamations as mere hyperbole and scare tactics , the united states now definitively meets the criteria of being the declining superpower that trump has described for the past 17 months , ” said georgetown university political science professor ronald leidecker , adding that , as of tonight , the nation no longer commands the same respect among world powers it once did , and our country ’s greatest days most definitely lie in its past , just as the republican has asserted . “ our economy is , since about 10 p.m yesterday , on the verge of collapse , and when it comes to foreign relations , we have foolishly made ourselves vulnerable on multiple fronts , putting the very existence of everything our nation holds dear at risk . in the words of donald trump , our country is a disaster . ” once again echoing the pronouncements of president - elect trump , leidecker noted that we sadly wo n’t be able to rely on washington to change anything , as our political system is largely run by self - serving , power - hungry factionalists who do n’t have the best interests of common americans at heart . share this story : watch video from the onion sign up for the onion 's newsletter give your spam filter something to do . daily headlines
+0 katy perry : trump ’s victory brought back childhood ’trauma’ jerome hudson pop star katy perry — one of hillary clinton ’s top celebrity endorsers during the 2016 presidential campaign — says donald trump ’s victory brought back painful childhood trauma . [ “ i was really disheartened for a while it just brought up a lot of trauma for me , ” the “ chained to the rhythm ” singer said in a cover story interview for this month ’s vogue magazine . “ misogyny and sexism were in my childhood : i have an issue with suppressive males and not being seen as equal . ” “ i felt like a little kid again being faced with a scary , controlling guy , ” perry added . “ i would n’t really stand for it in my work life , because i have had so much of that in my personal life . ” months after the election , perry has established herself as a vocal member of the “ resistance ” movement . a month after trump ’s inauguration , perry performed at the 2017 brit awards alongside giant skeletons meant to skewer trump and u. k. prime minister theresa may. just ten days prior , perry performed at the 2017 grammy awards while wearing an armband that read “ persist , ” along with a planned parenthood button . the singer ’s “ purposeful ” pop has introduced what the singer hopes will be a new era of political activism , a time that has coincided with an “ awakening ” of young people she says are now more politically engaged than ever before . “ it ’s an awakening that was necessary because i think we were in a false utopia , we ca n’t ever get that stagnant again , ” perry explained . “ i am so grateful that young people know the names of senators . i think teenage girls are going to save the world ! that age group just seems to be holding people accountable . they have a really strong voice — and a loud one . ” just this week , perry posted a picture of clinton sporting a pair of pumps , called the hillary , that the singer says were inspired by the former secretary of state . ⚡ ️power pump ⚡ ️your way over to https : . for the last few hours of the spring 25 % sale ❗ @hillaryclinton is wearing # thehillary pic . twitter . — katy perry ( @katyperry ) april 11 , 2017 , the $ 139 pumps , now for sale on perry ’s website , include a clear heel embedded with golden moon and stars meant to inspire those who wear them to “ step in and reach for the stars . ” follow jerome hudson on twitter @jeromeehudson
+0 scandals embroil alabama governor , speaker and chief justice - the new york times campbell robertson montgomery , ala. — in the state capital these days , anybody who is anybody is either being investigated or being questioned about someone who is . the chief justice of the state ’s supreme court has been hit with ethics charges for defying federal courts on marriage , and could be removed from his seat . the governor , caught on tape engaging in salacious banter , apparently with his powerful chief adviser , is facing criminal investigations and calls for impeachment . that the governor ’s racy phone calls became public at all is because of what may be the most significant and sweeping crisis of the lot : the impending trial of the alabama house speaker , michael g. hubbard , described by friends and foes as the most powerful man in state politics . of the trifecta of calamities plaguing alabama ’s branches of government , it is mr. hubbard ’s felony corruption trial starting this week that may rattle the state the most . the potential witness list , reflecting mr. hubbard ’s approach to politics , is a lineup of the state ’s power elite , including bank executives , construction magnates , legislators , lobbyists , former gov. bob riley and , promising a day of testimony , the current governor , robert bentley . mr. hubbard and mr. bentley have vigorously denied wrongdoing , and chief justice roy s. moore , who was removed from the same position in 2003 for refusing to move a monument of the ten commandments from the state judicial building , insists that the ethics charges he is facing are without merit . “ start with lord acton and the famous axiom that power corrupts , and absolute power corrupts absolutely , ” said wayne flynt , a retired professor of history at auburn university . “ alabama has had a seamless transition from democratic rule and synonymous corruption to republican rule and synonymous corruption . ” power in alabama is centralized by design . the state constitution requires legislatively approved amendments for matters as trivial as local traffic laws , resulting in what has been described as the longest constitution in the world . consolidating things further , alabama has nearly always been a state . for more than a century , that party was the democrats and major political decisions were hashed out among the party ’s leaders and its major donors . “ when i first moved here , an older lawyer friend told me there were 4 , 000 people in alabama and four million extras , ” said david mowery , a political consultant in montgomery . republicans railed against the democratic leadership as a network , and few did so more vehemently than mr. hubbard , an executive in the broadcasting and media business . denouncing “ corruption , crime and cronyism at the highest levels of state government , ” mr. hubbard created a sophisticated — some have said legally questionable — machine to win control of the state house in 2010 . chairman of both the state republican party and the house caucus , he conscripted candidates — bank employees , foresters , waste haulers — and determined where campaign money should be spent . in november 2010 , the republicans not only took over the state house for the first time in 136 years , they won a supermajority , winning every court race on the ballot and every statewide office . mr. bentley , a dermatologist and legislator , was elected governor . mr. hubbard was unanimously elected speaker of the house , where his first priority was to pass an ethics law described as among the strongest in the country . four years later , mr. hubbard was indicted on a charge of violating that ethics law , accused of using his positions as speaker and party chairman to solicit work and investments for his own financial interest by steering campaign work to his business interests and pushing bills that helped his consulting clients . that his moneymaking plans were running into the ethics law he helped pass is something he is shown lamenting in private emails released by prosecutors . “ who proposed those things ? ! ” he wrote , apparently jokingly , to mr. riley , the former governor . “ what were we thinking ? ” he would eventually argue in court that the ethics law was unconstitutional . still , mr. hubbard remains the speaker and enjoys steadfast support in the house . this is in part because democrats and their backers have been almost completely frozen out of state politics . but mr. flynt and others say there is more to it than the lack of competition . the speed and scale of the republican takeover brought into power a class of politicians inexperienced with total control , some with no political experience at all . there was little infrastructure in the party beyond what mr. hubbard and his allies put together at one point , he suggested the creation of a “ shadow party , ” something that would be effectively achieved by way of political action committees . “ hubbard ’s problems permeated the whole legislature , ” said arthur payne , a former republican state representative . “ the majority felt like they owed their allegiance to him rather than the people of alabama . ” mr. hubbard ’s partisans say it is not the speaker who has had alabama under his sway , but the deputy state attorney general who is prosecuting him : matt hart , a hulking man with a background in military intelligence and a reputation for a bludgeoning approach . even some critics of mr. hubbard have denounced mr. hart ’s tactics , though almost no one wants to do so publicly . “ he knows bullying , ” said sonny reagan , a former deputy attorney general . “ matt hart approaches his cases like the u. s. military approaches isis . ” mr. reagan serves as a good example of the breadth of disarray in montgomery , which has spread even to the watchdogs . a dispute with mr. hart over office space blew up into formal complaints about his methods and motivations in the hubbard case this led ultimately to the resignation of mr. reagan , a former adviser in the riley administration , who was accused of trying to sabotage the prosecution . such disorders have been a regular feature of the year and a half leading to mr. hubbard ’s trial . the latest was in february , when a political operative in montgomery asserted that mr. hart had been leaking apparent grand jury details to create a “ whisper campaign ” against mr. hubbard . mr. hart , who referred to the operative as a “ confidential informant , ” produced an affidavit from spencer collier , the former head of the alabama law enforcement agency , saying that agents had looked into the accusations of grand jury leaks and found no basis for an investigation . but the governor , according to mr. collier , had not approved of this affidavit . when mr. collier provided it to prosecutors anyway , mr. bentley ordered him to take a leave of absence and soon after fired him , citing “ possible misuse of state dollars . ” mr. collier then came forward with a public announcement : mr. bentley had been having an affair with rebekah caldwell mason , his principal adviser . and with that , the state immediately had not one , but two blockbuster scandals . jury selection in mr. hubbard ’s trial begins monday . impeachment proceedings against mr. bentley have gone slowly , though scrutiny is intensifying of nonprofits and businesses connected with ms. mason , a powerful figure in the administration . federal investigators have been conducting interviews around montgomery , and mr. bentley has acknowledged that the attorney general ’s office is also at work . the attorney general might also prosecute judge moore at his ethics hearing , further winding an already tortuous vortex . mr. bentley could be called on to replace judge moore , who could preside over the impeachment of mr. bentley , which could be recommended by the house under mr. hubbard , who if found guilty , could eventually have an appeal before judge moore ’s court . allen farley , a republican state representative , is skeptical that much will change in montgomery , saying that special interests have always been the power behind both parties . but there is a chance , he believes , that over the next few weeks all of it will blow up . “ when the prosecution starts , ” said mr. farley , “ there could be a meltdown of enormous proportions in alabama politics . ”
+1 say what ? chicago tribune calls on democrats to force clinton to step aside barenakedislam notify me of follow - up comments by email . notify me of new posts by email . please donate to keep bare naked islam up and running . choose donate for one - time donation or subscribe for monthly donations payment options get all new bni posts / links on twitter subscribe to blog via email enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email . email address contact : barenakedislam@gmail.com top posts
+1 breaking : ap finds proof melania trump illegally worked in u.s. prior to getting work visa jameson parker in what may be the last bombshell to drop prior to election day , the associated press is now reporting that they have found the smoking gun that proves melania trump worked illegally in the united states prior to obtaining a work visa . this means : for all intents and purposes , melania was the sort of “ illegal ” immigrant that her husband now labels as criminals and morally - bankrupt . the trump family lied about this fact and conspired to cover it up for the duration of the election . this comes at a supremely bad time for trump , who recently made melania a campaign centerpiece – including a much publicized speech on … you guessed it … immigration . here ’s what the ap found : the documents obtained by the ap show she was paid for 10 modeling assignments between sept. 10 and oct. 15 , during a time when her visa allowed her generally to be in the u.s. and look for work but not perform paid work in the country . the documents examined by the ap indicate that the modeling assignments would have been outside the bounds of her visa . it is highly unlikely that the discovery will affect the citizenship status of mrs. trump . the government can seek to revoke the u.s. citizenship of immigrants after the fact in cases when it determines a person willfully misrepresented or concealed facts relevant to his naturalization . but the government effectively does this in only the most egregious cases , such as instances involving terrorism or war crimes . according to the documents , melania made roughly $ 20,000 illegally before getting her visa – only slightly less money in seven weeks than the average undocumented worker trump disparages as “ moochers ” make in a year . while existing standards mean melania would likely remain a u.s. citizen despite her previous violations , her husband ’s plans to crack down on illegal immigration might be working against her . trump has long held that people who “ cheated ” to get into the united states illegally should be moved to the “ back of the line . ” would he include his wife in that sweeping category ? of course , melania trump should not be deported over a technicality in her early immigration status . however , her husband might want to think about that fact when he screams at rallies about rounding up families of hispanic immigrants and shipping them out of the country . melania is living proof that the immigration issue in this country is n’t exactly cut - and - dry . not that trump is known for any semblance of nuance . featured image via win mcnamee / getty images share this article !
+1 who are the “ protesters ” going after trump hotel in dc ? communist lunatics of course ! james kirkpatrick
+0 oroville dam : state and federal government share blame joel b. pollak no sooner had officials issued an emergency evacuation order for 200 , 000 residents living below the oroville dam than the political arguments began . was it the federal government ’s fault , for not being attentive enough ? or was state government to blame , for rejecting proposals to raise the dam and spending money on rail instead ? [ the san jose mercury news has an answer : both are to blame , for ignoring a warning raised in 2005 that the emergency spillway could fail in heavy rain . the paper reported monday : three environmental groups — the friends of the river , the sierra club and the south yuba citizens league — filed a motion with the federal government on oct. 17 , 2005 , as part of oroville dam ’s relicensing process , urging federal officials to require that the dam ’s emergency spillway be armored with concrete , rather than remain as an earthen hillside . the groups filed the motion with ferc , the federal energy regulatory commission . they said that the dam , built and owned by the state of california , and finished in 1968 , did not meet modern safety standards because in the event of extreme rain and flooding , water would overwhelm the main concrete spillway , then flow down the emergency spillway , and that could cause heavy erosion that would create flooding for communities downstream , but also could cause a failure , known as “ loss of crest control . ” … ferc rejected that request , however , after the state department of water resources , and the water agencies that would likely have had to pay the bill for the upgrades , said they were unnecessary . there will be plenty of in the days to come . for officials dealing with an emergency situation on sunday evening , however , it was more important to work together . for now . joel b. pollak is senior at breitbart news . he was named one of the “ most influential ” people in news media in 2016 . his new book , how trump won : the inside story of a revolution , is available from regnery . follow him on twitter at @joelpollak .
+1 oregon jury rules in favor of 1st amendment , finds malheur refuge occupiers not guilty of ‘ conspiracy’ jenna leigh richardson in what is being hailed as a ‘ truly astonishing ‘ verdict , a jury has found 7 malheur national wildlife refuge occupiers ‘ not guilty’ of federal conspiracy charges stemming from a weeks long standoff with the bureau of land management in burns , oregon earlier this year . thursday , the oregon jury ruled in favor of the defense who argued that the six week standoff led by the infamous bundy brother ’s was a constitutionally protected act of protest against the treatment of two imprisoned oregon ranchers . for those unfamiliar with the case , here is a brief recap : january 2016 – militia members from across the country began a six week long armed protest at the malheur national wildlife refuge in protest over the arrests of ranchers dwight and steven hammond who were accused of arson after lighting a controlled burn on their private property . the federal government alleged that the controlled burn which was started on the hammond ’s property grow out of control and subsequently damaged federal lands outside of the ranch ’s property line . following the government ’s decision to prosecute the hammond ’s for arson , a protest in the town of burns took place which ultimately lead to the seizure of the refuge by militia members . via oregonlive a jury thursday delivered a stunning across - the - board acquittal to the leaders and participants in the malheur national wildlife refuge occupation and a remarkable blow to the federal government as it tries to tamp down a national movement led by a nevada family to open public lands to ranchers , miners and loggers . the verdicts finding ammon bundy , older brother ryan bundy and five others not guilty of a federal conspiracy drew elation from defense attorneys who spent five weeks arguing that the armed takeover amounted to a time - honored tradition of first amendment protest and civil disobedience . “ maybe this is a lesson that that ’s not the way to engage with these people , who want nothing more than just to be heard , just to have a forum to talk about the injustices like the case of the hammonds and the treatment of ranchers , ” said lisa ludwig , standby counsel for ryan bundy . the high - profile case riveted the state and drew national and international attention to the isolated bird sanctuary in rural eastern oregon . the jury ’s decision proved no less dramatic and sets up a showdown in the next stage of the land - rights movement . the bundy brothers still face prosecution in nevada with their father , cliven bundy , all accused in the 2014 standoff at the patriarch ’s ranch over unpaid grazing fees that pitted the family and their supporters against federal bureau of land management agents .
+1 hillary clinton jumps the shark with ‘ trump ’s secret russian server’ conspiracy theory nan 21st century wire says … yesterday , wikileaks editor and founder julian assange confirmed what 21wire already knew – that hillary clinton and the obama white house ’s claim of the us election process being “ hacked by the russian government ” was a desperate work of fiction . not content with that fish tale , hillary clinton took the narrative to an embarrassing new low ( if that was even possible ) with another , wilder made - up conspiracy story about the russians . the following statement made by hillary clinton yesterday epitomizes the term “ jumping the shark “ : it 's time for trump to answer serious questions about his ties to russia . https://t.co/d8osmyvar4 pic.twitter.com/07dryempjx — hillary clinton ( @hillaryclinton ) october 31 , 2016 apparently , hillary clinton ’s campaign staff fed her a planted online news story ( by the clinton campaign ? ) which ran on a questionable pro - democratic party online news outlet . on monday , the slate ran the story by one of its alleged “ journalists ” named franklin foer , complete with a clickbait blog - like headline , “ was a trump server communicating with russia ? ” whatever legitimacy the slate had before last night , just evaporated . john roberts from forbes explains , “ the bottom line is that slate screwed up by publishing this in the first place , and by adding more kooky misinformation to an already addled election season . as for foer , he says on twitter a “ follow up ” piece is in the works . ” roberts rightly points out that the only follow - up story for this lemon should start with the word “ retraction . ” cyber feud : assange believes clinton has gone beyond the pale with her russian conspiracy obsession . during his exclusive interview with award - winning filmmaker john pilger , when asked what he thought of hillary clinton ’s shrill antics , julian assange said , “ “ i actually feel quite sorry for hillary clinton as a person , because i see someone who is eaten alive by their ambitions , tormented literally to the point where they become sick . ” the saddest thing about this and the other dishonest and destructive actions of the clinton campaign and the democratic party – is that no one in the party seems to see anything wrong with this level of deceit and dishonesty . like hillary clinton in her sociopathic path to power , the party rank and file are acting like a cult coven following their high priestess . still , clinton surrogates in the media are trying to equate clinton simultaneously scapegoating and baiting another nuclear superpower – with a decade - old misogynist hot mic audio excerpt of donald trump in a tmz - style tabloid sting . that pretty much sums up democratic party strategy for this election season . assange was right . clinton , the democratic party and their surrogate , are eating themselves . such are the spoils of power in washington that men and women will do and say anything to have it . read more election news at : 21st century wire 2016 files support 21wire – subscribe & become a member @21wire.tv
+0 newsweek writer kurt eichenwald hopes gop family members ‘ lose insurance,’ get ’tortured,’ and ‘ die’ - breitbart jerome hudson kurt eichenwald , a senior writer for newsweek , took to twitter friday and wished that republicans who voted for the american health care act see a family member suffer from a serious illness , lose their health insurance , and die . [ “ as one preexisting condition : i hope every gopr who voted 4 trumpcare sees a family member get a long term condition , lose insurance , die , ” eichenwald said in a series of tweets that have since been deleted . after being confronted by twitter users , eichenwald doubled down and insisted that republican lawmakers’ family members be “ tortured . ” “ nobody tell me how to feel knowing if i lose my insurance , i ’m dead . i want the goprs who support this to feel the pain in their own families , ” eichenwald tweeted . “ because i want them to be tortured . gopr only gain empathy when they are touched by the consequences , never before , ” he continued . eichenwald issued a statement to the daily caller over his remarks hoping for the death of republican lawmakers’ families : asked @kurteichenwald for comment on his tweets wishing death upon republicans’ family members . he sent me this : pic . twitter . — peter j. hasson ( @peterjhasson ) may 6 , 2017 , eichenwald , who claims to be a contributing editor for vanity fair and an msnbc contributor , made headlines earlier this year after a maryland man was arrested by federal agents and charged with cyberstalking . the man had sent a tweet to eichenwald allegedly intended to induce a seizure , investigators said . eichenwald , a pulitzer has advocated for the repeal of the second amendment . follow jerome hudson on twitter : @jeromeehudson
+1 nyt advocates internet censorship consortiumnews.com nyt advocates internet censorship november 20 , 2016 exclusive : the new york times wants a system of censorship for the internet to block what it calls “ fake news , ” but the times ignores its own record of publishing “ fake news , ” reports robert parry . by robert parry in its lead editorial on sunday , the new york times decried what it deemed “ the digital virus called fake news ” and called for internet censorship to counter this alleged problem , taking particular aim at facebook founder mark zuckerberg for letting “ liars and con artists hijack his platform . ” as this mainstream campaign against “ fake news ” quickly has gained momentum in the past week , two false items get cited repeatedly , a claim that pope francis endorsed donald trump and an assertion that trump was prevailing in the popular vote over hillary clinton . i could add another election - related falsehood , a hoax spread by trump supporters that liberal documentarian michael moore was endorsing trump when he actually was backing clinton . new york times building in new york city . ( photo from wikipedia ) but i also know that clinton supporters were privately pushing some salacious and unsubstantiated charges about trump ’s sex life , and clinton personally charged that trump was under the control of russian president vladimir putin although there was no evidence presented to support that mccarthyistic accusation . the simple reality is that lots of dubious accusations get flung around during the heat of a campaign – nothing new there – and it is always a challenge for professional journalists to swat them down the best we can . what ’s different now is that the times envisions some structure ( or algorithm ) for eliminating what it calls “ fake news . ” but , with a stunning lack of self - awareness , the times fails to acknowledge the many times that it has published “ fake news , ” such as reporting in 2002 that iraq ’s purchase of aluminum tubes meant that it was reconstituting its nuclear weapons program ; its bogus analysis tracing the firing location of a syrian sarin - laden rocket in 2013 back to a syrian military base that turned out to be four times outside the rocket ’s range ; or its publication of photos supposedly showing russian soldiers inside russia and then inside ukraine in 2014 when it turned out that the “ inside - russia ” photo was also taken inside ukraine , destroying the premise of the story . the controversial map developed by human rights watch and embraced by the new york times , supposedly showing the flight paths of two missiles from the aug. 21 sarin attack intersecting at a syrian military base . these are just three examples among many of the times publishing “ fake news ” – and all three appeared on page one before being grudgingly or partially retracted , usually far inside the newspaper under opaque headlines so most readers would n’t notice . much of the times’ “ fake news ” continued to reverberate in support of u.s. government propaganda even after the partial retractions . who is the judge ? so , should zuckerberg prevent facebook users from circulating new york times stories ? obviously , the times would not favor that solution to the problem of “ fake news . ” instead , the times expects to be one of the arbiters deciding which internet outlets get banned and which ones get gold seals of approval . the times lead editorial , following a front - page article on the same topic on friday , leaves little doubt what the newspaper would like to see . it wants major internet platforms and search engines , such as facebook and google , to close off access to sites accused of disseminating “ fake news . ” photograph published by the new york times purportedly taken in russia of russian soldiers who later appeared in eastern ukraine . however , the photographer has since stated that the photo was actually taken in ukraine , and the u.s. state department has acknowledged the error . the editorial said , “ a big part of the responsibility for this scourge rests with internet companies like facebook and google , which have made it possible for fake news to be shared nearly instantly with millions of users and have been slow to block it from their sites . … “ facebook says it is working on weeding out such fabrications . it said last monday that it would no longer place facebook - powered ads on fake news websites , a move that could cost facebook and those fake news sites a lucrative source of revenue . earlier on the same day , google said it would stop letting those sites use its ad placement network . these steps would help , but facebook , in particular , owes its users , and democracy itself , far more . “ facebook has demonstrated that it can effectively block content like click - bait articles and spam from its platform by tweaking its algorithms , which determine what links , photos and ads users see in their news feeds . … facebook managers are constantly changing and refining the algorithms , which means the system is malleable and subject to human judgment . ” the times editorial continued : “ this summer , facebook decided to show more posts from friends and family members in users’ news feeds and reduce stories from news organizations , because that ’s what it said users wanted . if it can do that , surely its programmers can train the software to spot bogus stories and outwit the people producing this garbage . … “ mr. zuckerberg himself has spoken at length about how social media can help improve society . … none of that will happen if he continues to let liars and con artists hijack his platform . ” gray areas but the problem is that while some falsehoods may be obvious and clear - cut , much information exists in a gray area in which two or more sides may disagree on what the facts are . and the u.s. government does n’t always tell the truth although you would be hard - pressed to find recent examples of the times recognizing that reality . especially over the past several decades , the times has usually embraced the official version of a disputed event and has deemed serious skepticism out of bounds . former new york times reporter judith miller , co - author of the iraq “ aluminum tube ” story . that was the way the times treated denials from the iraqi government and some outside experts who disputed the “ aluminum tube ” story in 2002 – and how the times has brushed off disagreements regarding the u.s. government ’s portrayal of events in syria , ukraine and russia . increasingly , the times has come across as a propaganda conduit for official washington rather than a professional journalistic entity . but the times and other mainstream news outlets – along with some favored internet sites – now sit on a google - financed entity called the first draft coalition , which presents itself as a kind of ministry of truth that will decide which stories are true and which are “ fake . ” if the times’ editorial recommendations are followed , the disfavored stories and the sites publishing them would no longer be accessible through popular search engines and platforms , essentially blocking the public ’s access to them . [ see consortiumnews.com ’s “ what to do about ‘ fake news.’ ” ] the times asserts that such censorship would be good for democracy – and it surely is true that hoaxes and baseless conspiracy theories are no help to democracy – but regulation of information in the manner that the times suggests has more than a whiff of orwellian totalitarianism to it . and the proposal is especially troubling coming from the times , with its checkered recent record of disseminating dangerous disinformation . investigative reporter robert parry broke many of the iran - contra stories for the associated press and newsweek in the 1980s . you can buy his latest book , america ’s stolen narrative , either in print here or as an e - book ( from amazon and barnesandnoble.com ) .
+0 amid new airstrikes in syria , an aid convoy arrives - the new york times michael r. gordon , nick cumming - bruce and somini sengupta the united nations resumed aid convoys to besieged communities in syria on thursday for the first time since a deadly attack on trucks loaded with supplies on monday . but that accomplishment seemed fragile as talks in new york between the united states and russia failed to produce agreement on how to restore a in syria , and as the syrian military announced that it had begun a new offensive in eastern aleppo and warned residents to stay away from rebel positions . that announcement was made after two days of intensive bombing of eastern aleppo by the syrian forces . a aid convoy left damascus on thursday with supplies for 40 , 000 people in moadamiya , a suburb of the capital , according to jan egeland , a united nations special adviser for humanitarian affairs . officials said later that the convoy had arrived in the afternoon , after delays but without incident . “ we seem to be getting the permits and support we need , ” mr. egeland said , while cautioning that the attack on the convoy on monday , the deadliest in syria ’s civil war , had cast doubt on the safety and reliability of procedures that have provided the basis for aid deliveries to millions of syrians . the syrian government prohibited united nations staff members from accompanying the convoy earlier in the week , mr. egeland said . “ we were not there , ” he told reporters thursday in geneva . “ as u. n. we were not allowed in . ” the presence of united nations officials can shield local relief workers in dangerous areas . monday ’s mission by the syrian arab red crescent had no such cover . “ we need a reboot , a restart for security assurances and guarantees for the humanitarian lifeline , ” mr. egeland said , adding that the united nations had trucks loaded and ready to leave for other besieged towns , including madaya , kfarya , fouaa and zabadani , before the end of the week . hours later , secretary of state john kerry said that he had exchanged ideas to restore the with his russian counterpart , sergey v. lavrov . he suggested that the onus was now on russia to uphold the previous agreement and to respond to mr. kerry ’s proposals with credible ideas of its own . “ if the russians come back to us with constructive proposals , we will listen , ” mr. kerry said in a statement he read to reporters . “ the key is to restore credibility where there is none . ” mr. kerry declined to take questions and did not provide more details . it was not immediately clear what ideas were being discussed or why the obama administration believes its diplomatic efforts with the russians might yet succeed after days of frustrating exchanges . hopes had been raised earlier this week that the international syria support group , the multinational body that has been trying to maintain the would agree to urgent measures to revive it . chief among the proposals on the table was mr. kerry ’s call for a ban on military flights in “ key areas , ” which he put forward on wednesday before the united nations security council . a senior foreign ministry official in moscow rejected that idea . “ this plan is unworkable , ” said sergei a. ryabkov , the deputy foreign minister , according to the ria news agency . the united states and other supporters of rebel groups trying to topple mr. assad must ensure that they lay down their arms , he added . mr. kerry ’s proposal would prevent another aid convoy from being struck by banning planes from flying over areas where the assistance is to be delivered , and american officials have cast the proposal as a test of russia ’s intentions . american officials have said intelligence information indicates that it was a russian aircraft that bombed the convoy headed to the besieged city of aleppo on monday . the russians have denied the allegation and questioned whether an airstrike even occurred . at this stage , mr. kerry said in his statement , only “ major gestures , ” like banning warplanes over areas , would be sufficient to revive the rapidly vanishing hopes that a agreement can be reinstated and endure . a senior obama administration official told reporters on thursday evening that the meeting of the international syria support group had been “ pretty contentious ” and that he was unsure whether an agreement was still possible . while the administration is not closing the door to new ideas from moscow , said the official , who spoke on the condition of anonymity in accordance with diplomatic protocol , any russian proposals need to include major steps to stop the violence . the death toll in monday ’s attack remains uncertain . in an interview with the associated press published on thursday , president bashar of syria denied involvement and sought to shift the blame to opposition groups . “ those convoys were in the area of the militants , the area under the control of the terrorists , ” he said . “ we do n’t have any idea about what happened . ” areas of aleppo endured heavy airstrikes overnight , including with incendiary weapons , leaving a breakthrough in peace talks looking like a distant prospect . strikes on thursday destroyed one of the city ’s two water treatment stations , serving both and areas , according to activists and medical workers in aleppo . the syrian military ’s declaration of its new offensive was reported by websites and by rt , the satellite network financed by the russian government . as violence reignited , trucks carrying food and medicine for aleppo remained on the border with turkey , unable to move from the customs zone where they have been stuck for a week until government forces and armed groups pull back from the road leading into the city , mr. egeland said . mr. assad , in his interview with the a. p. denied that aleppo was under siege , but mr. egeland told reporters that it was encircled by military forces and that “ it ’s impossible to get in . ”
+1 wall street ’s calling the sheep to the slaughter … … again ! david stockman wall street 's calling the sheep to the slaughter again ! we return to the fiscal theme because one thing we are endeavoring to accomplish here at contra corner is to stay ahead of the shocks and surprises that neither wall street nor the mainstream media can seem to even remotely anticipate . in that regard , we believe that the shock of donald trump 's election will soon be vastly exceeded by an even more shocking shutdown of washington governance within days of the inauguration .
+0 ‘ this election changed my mind about america’ - the new york times lela moore and julia simon here are the top 10 comments of the week on our digital platforms , as selected by our readers and the journalists who moderate nearly every comment . 1 . this is what unqualified looks like . [ trump ] never expected to win and never planned to govern — he just loved the adulation he got from spreading his brand of hate . now we have a completely unprepared administration trying desperately to do in 7 weeks what it should have been preparing for over the last 18 months . the disaster begins . — mike k. in santa clara , calif. reacting to an article about strife within donald j. trump ’s transition team this week . this comment received more than 4 , 700 reader recommendations . 2 . it seems that billy bush has been one of the few to be held accountable for his words and participation in the onslaught of racism and misogyny in the campaign and now appointments . all others are ascending to the highest offices in the land . as a teacher i am already seeing the repercussions of having teflon individuals in high office have no consequences for their bigoted remarks . when a student in my diverse classroom does not understand why it is hurtful to yell “ build the wall ” in the middle of class i can blame our leaders . the racism , misogyny will continue if we do not hold people accountable . — sarah in santa rosa , calif. 3 . bravo ! someone who understands the threat that islam poses to the west . let ’s avoid the mistakes of france , belgium and other countries where the dominating instincts of the world ’s most dangerous religion have been allowed to flourish . — mark in los angeles , reacting to an article about trump ’s choice of lt . gen. michael t. flynn as national security adviser . 4 . hey , i find it really ironic that all the groups that think they have a mandate to enforce “ tolerance ” are so intolerant of controversial views and people that run counter to their own . maybe the moral and ethical standards of mr. bannon are not that repugnant in the end , like trump who has said some unfortunate things , as has everyone , that he regrets ? if political correctness gets pushed to the maximum , business and progress grinds to a halt in fear of legal accusations that become paralyzing . how many lives have to be ruined by such enforced “ correctness ” ? and what about the controversial manipulators on the other side like [ george ] soros , who will hold them to account ? — nutmeg in brookfield , mass. reacting to an article about stephen k. bannon , the former head of breitbart news , whom trump selected as his chief strategist . this comment received more than 100 reader responses . 5 . infrastructure spending , child tax credits , paid maternity leave and dismantling trade agreements . ... hmm , sounds a bit like some of bernie ’s platform . slice and dice identity politics are all well and good but , in the end , it is all about the economy . and too many of our fellow citizens are hurting . wake up , dems , and return to the party ’s fdr roots , or continue to lose . — ellen liversidge in san diego . this comment received more than 390 reader recommendations . 6 . this sad news hurts like the loss of a family member . gwen ifill ’s clarity and moderate tone brought so much to the frantic washington scene . this is the worst possible moment to lose her special gift for analyzing politics and bringing contending parties together in a civil conversation . — jl in brooklyn , reacting to an article about the death of gwen ifill , the political reporter and pbs “ newshour ” on monday . this comment received more than 2 , 200 reader recommendations . 7 . i am considering many grad schools in the u. s. for my master course next fall . before the election , i only looked at the ranking , the alumni ’s feedback , the requirements and the fee and campus life . now , i really have to think about the safety . as an asian woman , i do n’t expect anyone to stop me in the street and tell me to get back to china ( which i am not from ) . so now , although i was so sure about some schools in texas and wisconsin , i have to sit down once again , and closely look at the cities , and hope that they are not too red . this election changed my mind about america . — huyen phuong le on the times ’s facebook page , responding to an article about foreign students questioning whether they should pursue a college education in the united states during the trump administration . this comment received more than 60 likes . 8 . imagine , for a moment , you are a white male somewhere in america who just lost his job at a factory . your mortgage is in default , your car is being repossessed , and you wonder whether you ’ll be able to find a job , much less one that pays a decent wage . you have no particular animosity towards blacks , gays , women , but you constantly hear the message that as a white , straight male , you are the paragon of privilege and that the hardships in your life are irrelevant or made up . you do n’t feel so privileged . are your struggles and fears really so different from those of the minority groups ? it ’s easy to see why that person voted for the candidate who acknowledged his fears and against the candidate ( and party ) who dismissed his concerns because he was not a minority . — andy in scottsdale , ariz. reacting to an essay about whether a focus on identity politics distorted the left ’s message during the election . 9 . i ’m less patient with sexism and talking down and more likely to stand up for others . the day after the election , all of the young women in my office dressed in head to toe black . no one coordinated , no one knew that the other women would be dressed similarly , but we all were sending a conscious ( sartorial ) message of mourning , and it was comforting to see and feel that kind of solidarity . — katey laubscher on the times ’s facebook page , responding to an article about the small gestures in which women found comfort in the days after the election . 10 . this is a what locker room talk should be . — alexa carey on the times ’s facebook page , responding to an article about three university of wisconsin basketball players who have used their status as college athletes to boost political causes .
+1 rule or ruin brad griffin here 's something interesting from the unz review ... recipient name = > pat buchanan not only read these books , he wrote them . credit : vdare.com . if only donald trump had n’t been such a crazy , thin - skinned , moral lout who holds the constitution in contempt , then we could have supported him ! maybe . mushy moderates think alike : rod dreher is out with the tragedy of trump [ the american conservative , october 24 , 2016 ] praising new york time s token conservative ross douthat for saying the dangers of a hillary clinton presidency are more familiar than trump ’s authoritarian unknowns , because we live with them in our politics already . they ’re the dangers of elite groupthink , of beltway power worship , of a cult of presidential action in the service of dubious ideals . they ’re the dangers of a recklessness and radicalism that does n’t recognize itself as either , because it ’s convinced that if an idea is mainstream and commonplace among the great and good then it can not possibly be folly . [ the dangers of hillary clinton , october 22 , 2016 , dreher ’s emphasis ] dreher comments : boy , is that ever true . read the whole thing . along these lines , there was a quite good peggy noonan column in the wsj last week [ imagine a sane donald trump , october 20 , 2016](now , alas , behind the paywall , but i found the whole thing here ) , saying that if trump were not a “ nut ” — which he clearly is — he would be winning this thing by a landslide , because a lot of folks are sick and tired of the status quo that hillary represents . but wait a minute . i find my mind circling back to patrick j. buchanan , a devout christian , a long - time conservative , and a loyal republican who endorsed bob dole in 1996 and george w. bush in 2004 . buchanan was a truly creative political thinker who wrote the donald trump playbook on immigration , free - trade , and foreign policy —and he was excommunicated from the cult of # trueconservatism for opposing the disastrous iraq war . then , after pat buchanan , there was ron paul in 2008 and 2012 , who was a very different messenger , but one who carried buchanan ’s torch on foreign policy . ron paul was n’t as strong as buchanan on immigration or free - trade , but he was the mr. constitution of 2008 and 2012 . like pat buchanan , ron paul carried none of trump ’s character baggage on women , morality or religion , but he was strong on the constitution . how did all of these born - again constitutional conservatives respond to ron paul ’s candidacy at the 2012 republican convention ? they crushed him . [ chaos on the convention floor as rnc blocks ron paul delegates , alters seating rules , democracynow , august 29 , 2012 ] mike huckabee , too , was a very different messenger than pat buchanan or ron paul . huckabee ’s campaigns anticipated trump ’s campaign on entitlements . he wanted a more blue - collar , populist , working class republican party that tilted more toward main street than to k street and the chamber of commerce . also like pat buchanan and ron paul , mike huckabee shared none of trump ’s character baggage on women , morality or religion . mike huckabee was the mr. evangelical of the 2008 , 2012 and 2016 campaigns . huckabee styled himself as the “ god , guns , grits , and gravy ” conservative . and yet , pat buchanan was caricatured as a neo - nazi anti - semite , ron paul as a crazy wild eyed kook , and mike huckabee as an unacceptable cornpone welfare - stater . unlike john mccain , mitt romney and ¡ jeb ! , non e of these “ sane donald trumps ” were acceptable to the classical - liberal , self - anointed “ governing wing ” of the republican party . tac ’s dreher wimps on : trumpers , likewise , will be strongly tempted to indulge in bitter “ you stabbed him in the back ! ” polemics . all of this will work to the advantage of president h. clinton , of course . what is needed is for the gop establishment to humble itself enough to admit those who , like noonan , accept the critique of the party and the system that trump ’s candidacy embodies , however , well , nuttily . and the trump insurgents — including their leader — need to have the sense to realize that it advantages them not at all to drag this fight with republicans out past the election . their candidate will have received a thorough , resounding rejection by voters in an election he likely would have won had he not consistently spoken and acted like a nut . do i think this ( humility on both sides , uniting in the face of hillaryism ) is likely to happen ? no , i do not . but i hope i ’m wrong . the trump people , like their candidate , are not known for their ability to think strategically and to restrain themselves for their own good . and the bitterness and spite among republican regulars is going to blind them to their own role in creating this mess . ( my emphasis ) but this is n’t “ polemics”—it is a historical fact : no major party candidate in american history , including william howard taft in 1912 and barry goldwater in 1964 , has been stabbed in the back by more members of his own party . no major party candidate in history has ever taken more fire from the “ leading intellectuals ” of his own party . trump has been fighting a two - front war since may — the war against hillary clinton and the left , and the war against # nevertrumper conservative intellectuals and hacks in his own party . trump ’s struggles from the convention through the general election have been due to a single demographic : college educated , suburban white republicans , especially women . these people voted for mitt romney in 2012 . they voted for ¡ jeb ! , rubio and kasich in the republican primaries . this is the 25 % of the republican party who have refused to back trump or have panicked time and time again whenever some new story roils the news cycle . # nevertrump still has a lot of influence over these establishment - oriented voters . their strategy has been to throw gasoline on every small fire in the news cycle in order to panic these voters into fleeing from trump . that ’s what happened with the judge curiel incident , the khizr khan fiasco and most recently with the access hollywood tape . trump ’s “ fellow republicans ” come out and slam him and make these stories a far bigger deal . because of these dynamics , it ’s true to say that what happened on october 8 , 2016 was the day the republican party died . that was the day of the # nevertrump coup in which1/3 of the republican senate and 1/4 of all elected republicans publicly abandoned him . it was a historically unprecedented betrayal – never before in american history , not even during tr ’s short - lived bull moose party in 1912 , had more elected members of one party deserted their own nominee . the utterly predictable result of the # nevertrump coup was the party split that showed up in the polls . that event altered the whole trajectory and tone of the race . what would have happened if pat buchanan , ron paul or mike huckabee had beaten dole in 1996 or romney in 2012 ? i believe the result would have been the same . i think the republican establishment would have joined forces with the democratic establishment in order to preserve the neo - liberal globalist status quo . there would have been some kind of # neverbuchanan , # neverpaul , or # neverhuckabee campaign . if any of these forerunners of trumpism had won the republican nomination , there would have a similar fight to “ save the soul ” of “ conservatism . ” if the establishment candidate loses the primary , the “ soul ” of the republican party will always be at risk . if trump loses in a landslide , the response of the gop establishment to any future insurgent candidate will be the precedent set in 2016 : they will sabotage their own nominee in order to elect the democrat and hang on to power . because of this , it will be impossible to reform the gop through the primary system . so yes , we must face facts and “ drag this fight out ” beyond november . conservatism , inc. has thrown down the gauntlet : either support ¡ jeb ! 2020 or rubio 2020 , the candidate of the minority neo - liberal globalist “ governing wing ” of the gop — or else . brad griffin is the editor of occidental dissent , where he writes under pen name hunter wallace . ( reprinted from vdare.com by permission of author or representative )
+0 aleksei navalny , top putin critic , arrested as protests flare in russia - the new york times andrew higgins moscow — the russian police arrested hundreds of people in nationwide protests on sunday , including the opposition leader aleksei navalny in moscow , where thousands gathered for the biggest demonstration in five years against president vladimir v. putin . the protest in the capital took the form of a synchronized walk along a major shopping street to avoid a ban on unsanctioned stationary gatherings . it was one of 99 similar rallies in cities and towns across the country — from vladivostok in the far east to kaliningrad in the west — according to the organizer , mr. navalny ’s foundation . all but 17 of these , the foundation said , had been declared illegal by the authorities . in moscow , some protesters tried to block security vans with cars , and the authorities deployed the riot police and surveillance helicopters . but they mostly avoided the brutal measures used in neighboring belarus on saturday against protesters in the capital , minsk , and other cities . the police in belarus beat and arrested hundreds of people who tried to gather for the latest in demonstrations against president alexander lukashenko , who has been in power since 1994 . but while less than in belarus , whose president is often referred to as “ europe ’s last dictator , ” the police crackdown in moscow could still complicate efforts by president trump to deliver on pledges to “ get along ” with mr. putin . in a statement on sunday that reflected widespread wariness of the russian leader in washington , senator ben sasse , republican of nebraska , said : “ putin ’s thugocracy is on full display . the united states government can not be silent about russia ’s crackdown on peaceful protesters . free speech is what we ’re all about and americans expect our leaders to call out thugs who trample the basic human rights of speech , press , assembly and protest . ” shortly after the senator ’s statement , mark toner , the acting spokesman for the state department in washington , said the united states “ strongly condemns the detention of hundreds of peaceful protesters throughout russia on sunday ” and called for their immediate release . “ detaining peaceful protesters , human rights observers , and journalists is an affront to core democratic values , ” he added . the protests in russia on sunday — nominally against corruption but also a rare show of public defiance against mr. putin , who has found a fierce and enduring critic in mr. navalny — were the largest coordinated display of public dissatisfaction since demonstrations in 2011 and 2012 , after an election that was tainted by fraud . protesters tried to prevent a police van from taking mr. navalny away and chanted : “ this is our city . this is our city . ” others shouted , “ russia without putin , ” and held up pieces of paper denouncing the russian president and his allies as thieves . in a twitter post , mr. navalny urged his followers to continue with the demonstration after he was grabbed by police officers as he tried to join the crowds along tverskaya street in the center of moscow . “ guys , i ’m o. k. , ” he wrote in a message in russian . “ no need to fight to get me out . walk along tverskaya . our topic of the day is the fight against corruption . ” the moscow police department said on its website that “ around 500 ” people had been arrested in the city for taking part in an “ unapproved public event . ” a group that monitors arrests , said the number of arrests in moscow was at least 1 , 000 . instead of waving big banners with antigovernment slogans as in previous protests , most of those who joined sunday ’s walk on tverskaya street displayed their feelings discreetly . some waved russian flags , cloaking their opposition in the same patriotism that mr. putin has used so successfully to boost his popularity . others carried easily hidden signs featuring pictures of ducks , a reference to a claim by mr. navalny that corrupt officials even build houses for their ducks . among those arrested in moscow were russian and foreign journalists , the leader of a small opposition party , nikolai lyaskin — who said he was hit around the head by police officers and taken to a hospital — and a british student , gregory hill , 17 . demoralized and divided since the election protests , which fizzled amid a wave of arrests , russia ’s opposition has struggled to make its voice heard over a din of sentiment on television , which invariably presents opponents of mr. putin as traitors in cahoots with the west . but mr. navalny , a charismatic campaigner who helped lead the protests , has shown a knack for turning repressive action against him and his followers to his own advantage . when an assailant doused him in a green liquid in siberia last week , he exulted that his face made him look like a superhero . instead of directly attacking mr. putin , who is hugely popular outside more cities like moscow , mr. navalny has focused on rallying support by exposing corruption , an issue that alarms even many of mr. putin ’s supporters . mr. putin , who is widely expected to seek another term as president in elections next year , has ruled russia as president or prime minister since the former president , boris n. yeltsin , resigned on dec. 31 , 1999 . he faces no credible opposition other than that mobilized by mr. navalny , the founder and leader of the foundation for fighting corruption . the opposition leader has declared his intention to run in the 2018 presidential race , despite a criminal conviction in february on fraud charges that made him ineligible to compete but was widely viewed as a political ploy to keep him out of the race . even if mr. navalny manages to compete for the presidency , he has little chance of winning . but his presence on the ballot would end what since 2000 have been a series of tightly choreographed presidential contests that resembled coronations . dmitri charishnikov , a web designer who answered mr. navalny ’s call to walk up and down tverskaya street , said protests would change nothing as most russians “ believe what they see on television ” and strongly support mr. putin . but he added that he still wanted to show that “ another russia still exists . ” nearby , a police officer shouted through a bullhorn that all those walking in the area were “ participants in an unsanctioned gathering ” and must immediately disperse or risk prosecution . state television , the main source of news for most russians , responded to the protests by ignoring them . in a report published this month , mr. navalny detailed how prime minister dmitri a. medvedev , a close ally of mr. putin ’s , had built a lavish empire of mansions , country estates , luxury yachts , an italian vineyard and an palace near st. petersburg . mr. navalny called for the protests after russia ’s parliament , which is dominated by united russia — a political party loyal to mr. putin — ignored demands for an investigation into accusations of corruption by senior government officials . by dusk on sunday , the protests in moscow had wound down after sporadic scuffles between the police and protesters . russian news media reported at least one police officer was taken to a hospital in moscow with head injuries . a spokesman for the interior ministry in st. petersburg denied reports one of its officers had died after being beaten by protesters .
+0 rodrigo duterte says donald trump endorses his violent antidrug campaign - the new york times felipe villamor manila — president rodrigo duterte of the philippines said on saturday that donald j. trump had endorsed his brutal antidrug campaign , telling mr. duterte that the philippines was conducting it “ the right way . ” mr. duterte , who spoke with mr. trump by telephone on friday , said mr. trump was “ quite sensitive ” to “ our worry about drugs . ” “ he wishes me well , too , in my campaign , and he said that , well , we are doing it as a sovereign nation , the right way , ” mr. duterte said . there was no immediate response from mr. trump to mr. duterte ’s description of the phone call , and his transition team could not be reached for comment . since his election last month , mr. trump has held a series of unscripted calls with foreign leaders , several of which have broken radically from past american policies and diplomatic practice . a call on friday with the president of taiwan , tsai appeared to be out of sync with four decades of united states policy toward china and prompted a chinese call to the white house . mr. duterte has led a campaign against drug abuse in which he has encouraged the police and others to kill people they suspect of using or selling drugs . since he took office in june , more than 2 , 000 people have been killed by the police in what officers describe as drug raids , and the police say several hundred more have been killed by vigilantes . the program has been condemned by the united states , the united nations , the european union and others for what rights organizations have characterized as extrajudicial killings . in rejecting such criticism from the united states this fall , mr. duterte called mr. obama a “ son of a whore . ” in a summary of the phone call with mr. trump released by mr. duterte ’s office on saturday morning , mr. duterte said the two had spoken for just a few minutes but covered many topics , including the antidrug campaign . “ i could sense a good rapport , an animated trump , ” mr. duterte said . “ and he was wishing me success in my campaign against the drug problem . ” mr. duterte added : “ he understood the way we are handling it , and i said that there ’s nothing wrong in protecting a country . it was a bit very encouraging in the sense that i supposed that what he really wanted to say was that we would be the last to interfere in the affairs of your own country . ” mr. duterte , who has said he was seeking “ a separation ” from the united states , a longtime ally , and has threatened to bar american troops from his country , also said , “ we assured him of our ties with america . ” he did not elaborate on that comment . mr. duterte also said that mr. trump had invited him to visit new york and washington , and that mr. trump said he wanted to attend the summit meeting of the association of southeast asian nations next year in the philippines . mr. duterte has often been compared to mr. trump for his blunt speech and populist positions . “ i appreciate the response that i got from trump , and i would like to wish him success , ” mr. duterte said . “ he will be a good president for the united states of america . ”
+1 connect series webinar oct 2016 | financial markets beforeitsnews.com ( before it 's news ) we cover the most dominating themes in the markets and share pattern analysis and perspectives to empower members to make better investment decisions .
+0 dying infants and no medicine : inside venezuela ’s failing hospitals - the new york times nicholas casey barcelona , venezuela — by morning , three newborns were already dead . the day had begun with the usual hazards : chronic shortages of antibiotics , intravenous solutions , even food . then a blackout swept over the city , shutting down the respirators in the maternity ward . doctors kept ailing infants alive by pumping air into their lungs by hand for hours . by nightfall , four more newborns had died . “ the death of a baby is our daily bread , ” said dr. osleidy camejo , a surgeon in the nation ’s capital , caracas , referring to the toll from venezuela ’s collapsing hospitals . the economic crisis in this country has exploded into a public health emergency , claiming the lives of untold numbers of venezuelans . it is just part of a larger unraveling here that has become so severe it has prompted president nicolás maduro to impose a state of emergency and has raised fears of a government collapse . hospital wards have become crucibles where the forces tearing venezuela apart have converged . gloves and soap have vanished from some hospitals . often , cancer medicines are found only on the black market . there is so little electricity that the government works only two days a week to save what energy is left . at the university of the andes hospital in the mountain city of mérida , there was not enough water to wash blood from the operating table . doctors preparing for surgery cleaned their hands with bottles of seltzer water . “ it is like something from the 19th century , ” said dr. christian pino , a surgeon at the hospital . the figures are devastating . the rate of death among babies under a month old increased more than a hundredfold in public hospitals run by the health ministry , to just over 2 percent in 2015 from 0 . 02 percent in 2012 , according to a government report provided by lawmakers . the rate of death among new mothers in those hospitals increased by almost five times in the same period , according to the report . here in the caribbean port town of barcelona , two premature infants died recently on the way to the main public clinic because the ambulance had no oxygen tanks . the hospital has no fully functioning or kidney dialysis machines because they broke long ago . and because there are no open beds , some patients lie on the floor in pools of their blood . it is a battlefield clinic in a country where there is no war . “ some come here healthy , and they leave dead , ” dr. leandro pérez said , standing in the emergency room of luis razetti hospital , which serves the town . this nation has the largest oil reserves in the world , yet the government saved little money for hard times when oil prices were high . now that prices have collapsed — they are around a third what they were in 2014 — the consequences are casting a destructive shadow across the country . lines for food , long a feature of life in venezuela , now erupt into looting . the bolívar , the country ’s currency , is nearly worthless . the crisis is aggravated by a political feud between venezuela ’s leftists , who control the presidency , and their rivals in congress . the president ’s opponents declared a humanitarian crisis in january , and this month passed a law that would allow venezuela to accept international aid to prop up the health care system . “ this is criminal that we can sit in a country with this much oil , and people are dying for lack of antibiotics , ” says oneida guaipe , a lawmaker and former hospital union leader . but mr. maduro , who succeeded hugo chávez , went on television and rejected the effort , describing the move as a bid to undermine him and privatize the hospital system . “ i doubt that anywhere in the world , except in cuba , there exists a better health system than this one , ” mr. maduro said . late last fall , the aging pumps that supplied water to the university of the andes hospital exploded . they were not repaired for months . so without water , gloves , soap or antibiotics , a group of surgeons prepared to remove an appendix that was about to burst , even though the operating room was still covered in another patient ’s blood . even in the capital , only two of nine operating rooms are functioning at the j. m. de los ríos children ’s hospital . “ there are people dying for lack of medicine , children dying of malnutrition and others dying because there are no medical personnel , ” said dr. yamila battaglini , a surgeon at the hospital . yet even among venezuela ’s failing hospitals , luis razetti hospital in barcelona has become one of the most notorious . in april , the authorities arrested its director , aquiles martínez , and removed him from his post . local news reports said he was accused of stealing equipment meant for the hospital , including machines to treat people with respiratory illnesses , as well as intravenous solutions and 127 boxes of medicine . around 10 one recent night , dr. freddy díaz walked down a hall there that had become an impromptu ward for patients who had no beds . some clutched bandages and called from the floor for help . one , brought in by the police , was handcuffed to a gurney . in a supply room , cockroaches fled as the door swung open . dr. díaz logged a patient ’s medical data on the back of a bank statement someone had thrown in the trash . “ we have run out of paper here , ” he said . on the fourth floor , one of his patients , rosa parucho , 68 , was one of the few who had managed to get a bed , though the rotting mattress had left her back covered in sores . but those were the least of her problems : ms. parucho , a diabetic , was unable to receive kidney dialysis because the machines were broken . an infection had spread to her feet , which were black that night . she was going into septic shock . ms. parucho needed oxygen , but none was available . her hands twitched and her eyes rolled into the back of her head . “ the bacteria are n’t dying they ’re growing , ” dr. díaz said , noting that three of the antibiotics ms. parucho needed had been unavailable for months . he paused . “ we will have to remove her feet . ” three relatives sat reading the old testament before an unconscious woman . she had arrived six days before , but because a scanning machine had broken , it was days before anyone discovered the tumor occupying a quarter of her frontal lobe . samuel castillo , 21 , arrived in the emergency room needing blood . but supplies had run out . a holiday had been declared by the government to save electricity , and the blood bank took donations only on workdays . mr. castillo died that night . for the past two and a half months , the hospital has not had a way to print . so patients must use a smartphone to take a picture of their scans and take them to the proper doctor . “ it looks like tuberculosis , ” said an emergency room doctor looking at the scan of a lung on a cellphone . “ but i ca n’t tell . the quality is bad . ” finding medicine is perhaps the hardest challenge . the pharmacy here has bare shelves because of a shortage of imports , which the government can no longer afford . when patients need treatment , the doctors hand relatives a list of medicines , solutions and other items needed to stabilize the patients or to perform surgery . loved ones are then sent back the way they came to find sellers who have the goods . the same applies to just about everything else one might need here . “ you must bring her diapers now , ” a nurse told alejandro ruiz , whose mother had been taken to the emergency room . “ what else ? ” he asked , clutching large trash bags he had brought filled with blankets , sheets , pillows and toilet paper . nicolás espinosa sat next to his tiny daughter , who has spent two of her five years with cancer . he was running out of money to pay for her intravenous solutions . inflation had increased the price by 16 times what he paid a year ago . he flipped through a list of medicines he was trying to find here in barcelona and in a neighboring city . some of the drugs are meant to protect the body during chemotherapy , yet the girl ’s treatments ended when the oncology department ran out of the necessary drugs a month and a half ago . near him , a handwritten sign read , “ we sell antibiotics — negotiable . ” a seller ’s number was listed . biceña pérez , 36 , scanned the halls looking for anyone who would listen to her . “ can someone help my father ? ” she asked . her father , josé calvo , 61 , had contracted chagas’ disease , a sickness caused by a parasite . but the medication mr. calvo had been prescribed ran out in his part of venezuela that year , and he began to suffer heart failure . six hours after ms. pérez ’s plea , a scream was heard in the emergency room . it was mr. calvo ’s sister : “ my darling , my darling , ” she moaned . mr. calvo was dead . his daughter paced the hall alone , not knowing what to do . her hands covered her face , and then clenched into fists . “ why did the director of this hospital steal that equipment ? ” was all she could say . “ tell me whose fault is this ? ” the ninth floor of the hospital is the maternity ward , where the seven babies had died the day before . a room at the end of the hall was filled with broken incubators . the glass on one was smashed . red , yellow and blue wires dangled from another . “ do n’t use — nonfunctional , ” said a sign dated last november . dr. amalia rodríguez stood in the hallway . “ i had a patient just now who needed artificial respiration , and i had none available , ” dr. rodríguez said . “ a baby . what can we do ? ” the day of the power blackout , dr. rodríguez said , the hospital staff tried turning on the generator , but it did not work . doctors tried everything they could to keep the babies breathing , pumping air by hand until the employees were so exhausted they could barely see straight , she said . how many babies died because of the blackout was impossible to say , given all of the other deficiencies at the hospital . “ what can we do here ? ” dr. rodríguez said . “ every day i pass an incubator that does n’t heat up , that is cold , that is broken . ”
+0 steve harvey talks housing with president - elect trump - the new york times sopan deb steve harvey , the comedian and television host , became the latest celebrity to ascend trump tower on friday to discuss federal policy with donald trump , in this case housing issues . but before mr. harvey was off the premises , he unexpectedly revived a recent controversy over his comments about asian men . after the meeting , mr. trump and mr. harvey briefly appeared together in the lobby . when mr. trump left , mr. harvey said they had discussed ways he could work with ben carson , mr. trump ’s nominee to run the department of housing and urban development . mr. harvey has spoken openly in the past of being homeless as an adult while struggling to start his comedy career , though he gave no reason on friday for why he was consulted on housing affairs . mr. harvey said he was invited a week ago by “ both transition teams , ” referring to representatives of president obama and mr. trump , and emphasized that the visit was informal . “ well , you know it ’s not my jump into politics , ” mr. harvey said . “ i ai n’t gon na pass a background check . it ’s just me following orders from my friend president obama who said , ‘ steve , you gotta,’ as he told everybody , ‘ get out from behind your computer , stop tweeting and texting and get out there and sit down and talk . ’ ” the trump team confirmed the invitation . the white house did not comment . mr. harvey announced his support for mr. trump ’s opponent , hillary clinton , last march in the presidential primaries . in september , during an interview with her on “ the steve harvey morning show ” on iheartradio , he said : “ she ’s a mother , she ’s a grandmother , and we ’re going to put her back in the white house , just flat out . simply put . ” this was just the latest crossover for mr. trump during his transition . last month the surprised reporters at trump tower by posing for photographs in the lobby with kanye west . for mr. harvey ’s part , he said that the incoming president was “ a great guy ” and “ genuine . ” he deflected questions about mr. trump ’s history of questionable comments regarding race from the campaign trail , and was diplomatic about his doubts about mr. trump . “ you do n’t kill it with one conversation , but you can start it with the conversation , ” mr. harvey said . “ so , you know , a lot about what people say , ‘ now , well , it ’s time to see what you do.’ and he said he wanted to do something . ” mr. harvey also mentioned a controversy in which , during his television show last week , he mocked the dating skills of asian men . at trump tower , mr. harvey said , unprompted , that he had n’t laughed recently as a result of the controversy . “ i ai n’t been laughing that much over the past few days , ” mr. harvey said . “ they ’re kinda beating me up on the internet right now for no reason . but , you know , that ’s life , ai n’t it ? ” after the meeting , mr. harvey put out a message on twitter , saying that he found mr. trump “ congenial and sincere ” and that he would “ sit with him anytime . ” here are some edited excerpts from mr. harvey ’s conversation with reporters in trump tower : reporter : there have been a lot of doubts about this administration about race . jeff sessions , his record in alabama , some of the things the said during the campaign about the inner cities . are your doubts fully gone or are you going to still try and work them out ? steve harvey : well , i mean , you know , look , you do n’t kill it with one conversation , but you can start it with the conversation . so , you know , a lot about what people say , now , well , it ’s time to see what you do . and he said he wanted to do something . you ca n’t beat better than that . you know , and so , we ’re gon na see . i ’ve been put in contact with ben carson , which was great , i spoke with him . and so , we ’re gon na get some things started , and they have a plan for the inner cities but they need help . and so , that ’s why they called me . so we ’ll see what i can do . reporter : do you have any lingering things you still want to talk further about , that you ’re still concerned about , you have n’t heard quite what you wanted to hear yet ? harvey : well , i mean for this , we got off to a great start . i think it could be the beginning of something . for them to invite me here to talk about a specific problem and thought that i might be able to help — i know i got a big radio show , i got a lot of people listening every morning . so i ’ve always been concerned about inner city problems because they ’re huge . my mentoring problem , excuse me , my mentoring program has been a part of this type of — and that ’s what i want to see happen . and they were spot on with it . and ben carson got on the phone . i met with him over the phone today , but i sat with trump and we laughed a little bit . i ai n’t been laughing that much over the past few days . they ’re kinda beating me up on the internet right now for no reason . but , you know , that ’s life , ai n’t it ? reporter : what did you laugh over ? harvey : well we talked about golf . we laughed about my score in golf , his score in golf , we talked about some of the friends that we have in common . mark burnett . talked about tv shows . things like that . he ’s a fan . so he ’s seen it . i met his daughter , she was very sweet . so i think we ’re off to a good start .
+0 protesters gain victory in fight over dakota access oil pipeline - the new york times jack healy and nicholas fandos cannon ball , n. d. — the standing rock sioux tribe won a major victory on sunday in its battle to block an oil pipeline being built near its reservation when the department of the army announced that it would not allow the pipeline to be drilled under a dammed section of the missouri river . the army said it would look for alternative routes for the $ 3 . 7 billion dakota access pipeline . construction of the route a from the standing rock sioux reservation has become a global flash point for environmental and indigenous activism , drawing thousands of people out here to a sprawling prairie camp of tents , tepees and yurts . “ the best way to complete that work responsibly and expeditiously is to explore alternate routes for the pipeline crossing , ” darcy , the army ’s assistant secretary for civil works , said in a statement . the move could presage a lengthy environmental review that has the potential to block the pipeline ’s construction for months or years . but it was unclear how durable the government ’s decision would be . sunday ’s announcement came in the dwindling days of the obama administration , which revealed in november that the army corps of engineers was considering an alternative route . the corps of engineers is part of the department of the army . donald j. trump , however , has taken a different view of the project and said as recently as last week that he supported finishing the pipeline , which crosses four states and is almost complete . though the army ’s decision calls for an environmental study of alternative routes , the trump administration could ultimately decide to allow the original , contested route . representatives for mr. trump ’s transition team did not immediately respond to requests for comment . mr. trump owns stock in the company building the pipeline , energy transfer partners , but he has said that his support has nothing to do with his investment . there was no immediate response from energy transfer partners , but its chief executive , kelcy warren , has said that the company was unwilling to reroute the pipeline , which is intended to transport as much as 550 , 000 barrels of oil a day from the oil fields of western north dakota to a terminal in illinois . reaction was swift on both sides , with environmental groups like greenpeace praising the decision . “ the water protectors have done it , ” a greenpeace spokeswoman , lilian molina , said . “ this is a monumental victory in the fight to protect indigenous rights and sovereignty . ” but craig stevens , a spokesman for the main coalition , a group , condemned the move as “ a purely political decision that flies in the face of common sense and the rule of law . ” “ unfortunately , it ’s not surprising that the president would , again , use executive fiat in an attempt to enhance his legacy among the extreme left , ” mr. stevens said in a statement . “ with trump set to take office in 47 days , we are hopeful that this is not the final word on the dakota access pipeline . ” representative kevin cramer , republican of north dakota and a trump supporter , called sunday ’s decision a “ chilling signal to others who want to build infrastructure in this country . ” “ i ca n’t wait for the adults to be in charge on jan. 20 , ” mr. cramer said , referring to mr. trump ’s inauguration . still , the announcement set off whoops of joy inside the oceti sakowin camp . tribal members paraded through the camp on horseback , jubilantly beating drums and gathering around a fire at the center of the camp . tribal elders celebrated what they said was the validation of months of prayer and protest . “ it ’s wonderful , ” dave archambault ii , the standing rock tribal chairman , told cheering supporters who stood in the melting snow on a mild north dakota afternoon . “ you all did that . your presence has brought the attention of the world . ” the decision , he said , meant that people no longer had to stay at the camp during north dakota ’s brutal winter . the corps of engineers , which manages the land , had ordered it to be closed , but the thousands of protesters had built yurts , tepees and bunkhouses and vowed to hunker down . “ it ’s time now that we move forward , ” mr. archambault said . “ we do n’t have to stand and endure this hard winter . we can spend the winter with our families . ” law enforcement officials and ranchers in this conservative , heavily white part of north dakota would like little more than to see the thousands of protesters return home . the sheriff has called the demonstrations an unlawful protest , and officials have characterized the demonstrators as rioters who have intimidated ranchers and threatened and attacked law enforcement — charges that protest leaders deny . but on sunday , several campers said they were not going anywhere . they said that there were too many uncertainties surrounding the army ’s decision , and that they had dedicated too much time and emotion to this fight to leave now . federal and state regulators had issued the pipeline the necessary permits to proceed , but the corps of engineers had not yet granted it a final easement to drill under a stretch of the missouri river called lake oahe . the standing rock sioux had objected to the pipeline ’s path so close to the source of their drinking water , and said any spill could poison water supplies for them and other reservations and cities downstream . they also said the pipeline ’s route through what are now privately owned ranches bordering the river crossed through sacred ancestral lands . news of the government ’s denial came after the size of the camp had swelled with hundreds , perhaps thousands , of native and veterans who had arrived to support the tribe . as word spread , people who had camped out here for months , sometimes in bitterly cold temperatures , and who had clashed violently with local law enforcement , linked arms and cheered and cried . they screamed , “ mni wiconi ! ” — the movement ’s rallying cry — which means “ water is life . ” jon eagle sr . a member of the standing rock tribe , said the announcement was a vindication for the thousands who had traveled here , and for the multitudes who had rallied to the tribe ’s fight on social media or donated . millions of dollars in donations and goods have flowed into the camps for months as the tribe ’s fight and the scenes of protesters being and sprayed with freezing water stirred outrage on social media . ( law enforcement officials have insisted the entire time that they have acted responsibly and with restraint . ) “ i do n’t know quite how to put into words how proud i am of our people , ” mr. eagle said . “ and i mean our people . i do n’t just mean the indigenous people of this continent . i mean all the people who came to stand with us . and it ’s a beautiful day . it ’s a powerful day . ” ken many wounds , who has served as a tribal liaison to express concerns and questions to law enforcement , said he had been standing by the camp ’s main fire — one that is tended constantly — when he heard the news from the tribal chairman ’s wife . he said he did not believe it at first . “ i hugged her , i cried , ” he said . “ our prayers have been answered . a lot of people did n’t believe that prayer was going to be the answer . but our people stayed together . in our hearts , we knew . ”
+1 can you get a stunning and healthy smile with coconut oil ? jenn ryan keywords : cavities , coconut oil , dental health , gingivitis , oil pulling , teeth we all know about the popular and ancient practice of oil pulling , but many of us do n’t understand how this practice works or how exactly it benefits our teeth ! oil pulling began in ayurvedic medicine thousands of years ago and has achieved widespread popularity in modern society today . but the question remains — does it help your smile ? and how ? the claims of oil pulling let ’s take a look at each of these popular claims of oil pulling ! it makes your mouth healthier . by pulling out bad bacteria that can cause cavities and gum disease , oil pulling can actually make your mouth healthier and even stop chronic bad breath . it whitens teeth . research has not proved this , but some people claim they get whiter teeth with oil pulling . this should be considered a side effect of oil pulling ( albeit a great one ) rather than its main purpose . it heals cavities . oil pulling can remove the bacteria and plaque that cause tooth decay , but typically oil pulling alone is not enough to heal cavities . you need to stop eating so much sugar , get more vitamins and minerals ( such as k , d , and calcium ) , and switch your toothpaste to help heal cavities with oil pulling ! it cures disease . ancient cultures used oil pulling as a way to draw out toxins from the mouth to prevent them from affecting the body . research does n’t show whether or not oil pulling can help any type of disease , but research does link oral health to body health — so a healthy mouth could help you prevent heart disease , respiratory illnesses , and even cognitive decline ! what the research says now that we ’ve seen the popular claims of oil pulling , let ’s find out what modern research actually says about this age - old practice . research shows that oil pulling can actually the stop inflammation , bacteria , plaque , and bad breath associated with gum disease , therefore it may be an effective treatment for gum disease combined with a healthy diet and great oral health practices ! it can decrease the likelihood of tooth decay and reduce overall plaque content in the mouth . oil pulling can also help prevent tooth loss and oral diseases such as oral cancer , periodontal disease , and oral thrush . oil pulling may be able to reverse tooth decay , but only when combined with other healthy practices . although research has n’t proved that oil pulling helps decrease your chances for developing chronic disease , keeping your mouth healthy and free of toxins can benefit your whole body ! the verdict if you want to give oil pulling a try , do this practice every day : put a tablespoon of oil in your mouth ( preferably sesame or coconut ) and swish it around for up to twenty minutes as soon as you wake up . spit out in the trash , then brush and floss your teeth as normal . easy ! the verdict is in : oil pulling can help you get a beautiful and healthy smile , but it should not replace regular brushing and flossing as your oral care routine . practice oil pulling first thing in the morning before you eat or brush , then enjoy the benefits of a healthy smile without giving up your brushing and flossing habits ! you might also like …
+0 misdirected coalition strike kills 18 partner forces in syria breitbart jerusalem washington ( afp ) — a coalition air strike accidentally killed 18 members of a alliance fighting the islamic state group near a key town in northern syria , the coalition said thursday . [ tuesday ’s strike occurred south of tabqa , a strategically important town on the euphrates river next to a dam and military airport , and close to the is stronghold of raqa . “ the strike was requested by the partnered forces , who had identified the target location as an isis fighting position , ” a coalition statement read . “ the target location was actually a forward syrian democratic forces fighting position . ” sdf troops backed by coalition air power and other military assistance have been fighting for control of tabqa since last month . the town is considered an important waypoint ahead of the main offensive for raqa , the is group ’s last bastion in syria . in its own statement , the sdf described the incident as a “ painful accident ” resulting from a “ mistake . ” “ the accident caused a number of deaths and injuries . the general command of the syrian democratic forces is coordinating with international coalition forces to investigate the incident and uncover the reasons and conditions that led to this accident . ” the coalition offered its “ deepest condolences ” to the members of the sdf and their families . “ the coalition is in close contact with our sdf partners who have expressed a strong desire to remain focused on the fight against isis despite this tragic incident , ” the coalition statement said . officials were assessing the cause and would “ implement appropriate safeguards to prevent similar incidents in the future , ” the statement added . the sdf is a local force that the coalition is supporting with arms , air strikes , training and advice as they fight is .
+0 critics savage amy schumer movie ’snatched’ : ’lazy , sloppy,’ and racist daniel nussbaum amy schumer is set to return to the big screen this weekend for the first time since 2015 ’s trainwreck with the kidnap caper snatched , alongside veteran actress goldie hawn , but negative early reviews from critics could threaten to spoil crucial and dampen the film ’s mother ’s day weekend prospects . [ snatched does n’t hit theaters until friday , may 12 , but already reviewers from the new york times , the hollywood reporter and indiewire have derided the film as “ lazy , ” “ uninspired ” and “ wildly scattershot . ” the film stars schumer as emily middleton , who is dumped by her boyfriend just before a planned exotic vacation to ecuador . while middleton persuades her mother ( goldie hawn , in her first film appearance in 15 years ) to join her on the trip , the two get more than they bargained for as they try to survive after being kidnapped in the jungle . in his review of the film , the new york times ‘ a. o. scott calls the film “ lazy , sloppy and witless , ” and says hawn in particular is “ cruelly and inexplicably ” denied the ability to be as funny as she can be . “ snatched is one of those movies that subscribes to a dubious homeopathic theory of cultural insensitivity by which the acknowledgment of offensiveness is supposed to prevent anyone from taking offense , ” scott wrote . “ the idea is that if you use variations on the phrase ‘ that ’s racist!’ as a punch line a few times , nothing else you say or do could possibly be racist . including , say , populating your movie with thugs with funny accents and killing a few of them for cheap laughs . ” but perhaps the most harsh criticism of the film comes from indiewire ’s kate erbland , who calls it “ criminally unfunny . ” like scott , erbland says snatched commits the “ unforgivable sin ” of not allowing hawn to “ inhabit her stature as a great comedic performer . ” “ one character calls [ schumer ’s character ] ‘ garbage’ ( and makes her repeat the insult ) while another tells her she ’ll be safe from sex trafficking because she ’s just not pretty enough , but even these attempts to add some meat to the undercooked film fall flat , ” erbland wrote , giving the film a d grade . “ pairing up talented comedians like hawn and schumer with a wacky plotline to match should spell comedy gold , but snatched is about as cheap and disposable as a tourist trap tchotchke . ” the village voice‘s melissa anderson was similarly down on the film , accusing it of trading in “ offhand xenophobia ” and “ soft racism ” for its depiction of two white main characters unable to cope in a foreign country . “ [ hawn ’s ] performance here , however understandable , suggests she may have regretted the decision to end her ” anderson wrote . meanwhile , variety‘s owen glieberman and the hollywood reporter‘s jon frosch gave the movie slightly better marks , though glieberman wrote that the film ’s “ jokes are like firecrackers with damp fuses . ” “ still , in the apocalyptically bleak landscape of the mainstream studio comedy , the mere sight of schumer and hawn just doing their thing is almost pleasing enough to get a pass . almost , ” writes thr‘s frosch . snatched wanda sykes , joan cusack , ike barinholtz , randall park , tom bateman , and christopher meloni . jonathan levine ( the wackness ) directed off of a script by writer katie dippold ( the heat , ghostbusters ) . the film hits theaters may 12 . follow daniel nussbaum on twitter : @dznussbaum
+0 brexit , chris christie , ivanka trump : your wednesday evening briefing - the new york times karen zraick , daniel e. slotnik and sandra stevenson ( want to get this briefing by email ? here ’s the . ) good evening . here ’s the latest . 1 . we all knew it was coming , but now it ’s official : the “ brexit ” has begun . prime minister theresa may invoked article 50 of the lisbon treaty , putting britain on track to leave the european union in 2019 and upending the order established after world war ii . here ’s what comes next in the country ’s march into the unknown . the bloc loses its economy , and hard questions abound about whether the pivot toward nationalism and marks the start of a more volatile global era . _ _ _ _ _ 2 . the united states and china appear likely to switch roles on environmental issues , thanks to president trump ’s executive order aimed at undoing the obama administration ’s climate change policies . china , despite its own dire air pollution , seems ready to push the u. s. to adhere to the 2015 paris agreement , which mr. trump has signaled he has no intention of doing . today on the daily podcast , we discuss mr. trump ’s efforts to roll back environmental rules . _ _ _ _ _ 3 . leaders of the senate investigation into mr. trump ’s possible ties to russia sought to distance themselves from the flagging house inquiry — and present a unified political front . the top republican and democrat on the senate intelligence committee pledged to interview key players and press intelligence agencies to provide information . “ this investigation ’s scope will go wherever the intelligence leads , ” said senator richard burr of north carolina , above with senator mark warner of virginia . _ _ _ _ _ 4 . ivanka trump is becoming an official , though unpaid , federal employee . the move , which she says subjects her to federal rules , is meant to answer concerns over the ethics implications of her earlier unofficial role in her father ’s administration . the implications for her business are not immediately clear . ms. trump ’s title will be special assistant to the president . her husband , jared kushner , has the title of senior adviser . _ _ _ _ _ 5 . “ an outrageous abuse of power . ” that was the judge who sentenced two figures in the “ bridgegate ” case , when lanes to the george washington bridge were closed to jam traffic in a new jersey town whose mayor had refused to endorse gov. chris christie for . bridget anne kelly , a former christie aide , above , is to serve 18 months , and bill baroni , a former christie ally at the port authority of new york and new jersey , is to serve two years . _ _ _ _ _ 6 . the fox news host bill o’reilly apologized to representative maxine waters of california . he had called her hair “ a james brown wig . ” but right after the mea culpa , he went on the attack , accusing her of demagogy for criticizing mr. trump . ms. waters declined to spar . “ i ’m not going to be put down , i ’m not going to go anywhere , ” she said on msnbc . “ i ’m going to stay on the issues . ” _ _ _ _ _ 7 . we compiled tips on how to protect your privacy online , like using a vpn . they may come in handy , given congress ’s decision to dismantle rules that , had they been allowed to go into effect this year , would have required internet providers to get permission before collecting and selling customers’ online information , including browsing activities . but our tech writer points out that you did n’t have much online privacy to begin with . _ _ _ _ _ 8 . “ it was never my intention to go against the president of the united states , ” said mohamed iye , a american citizen whose wife and daughters were stranded abroad when the trump administration ’s travel ban took effect . “ i was just following the law and doing everything the way it ’s in the books . and it came to this . ” like more than 50 others , he has filed a lawsuit against mr. trump over the ban on travelers from predominantly muslim countries . ( the second version of the ban is currently held up by rulings from federal judges in hawaii and maryland . ) _ _ _ _ _ 9 . the supplies in many school nurses’ offices include epipens for allergic reactions , inhalers for asthma — and now naloxone , an antidote for opioid overdoses . as communities across the country face a deadly toll from heroin and pills , educators are increasingly worried . “ some people worry that this says , ‘ oh , there are drugs in the schools,’ ” said one school official . “ no , there are drugs everywhere . ” _ _ _ _ _ 10 . bob dylan will accept his nobel prize for literature in stockholm after all . on his terms . mr. dylan greeted news of the prize last fall with silence and skipped the december ceremony , citing commitments . he ’s to receive the award this weekend in stockholm , where he ’s playing two concerts . members of the academy “ will show up at one ” and then hand over his medal privately , an academy spokesman wrote . “ all according to dylan ’s wishes . ” _ _ _ _ _ 11 . finally , the cast of “ the daily show ” proposed a new strategy to save meals on wheels : deliver sandwiches via rocket launcher . and the times ’s chief tv critic investigated the existential doubt caused by surreal shows , like fx ’s “ legion , ” before its season finale airs tonight . have a great night . _ _ _ _ _ photographs may appear out of order for some readers . viewing this version of the briefing should help . your evening briefing is posted at 6 p. m. eastern . and do n’t miss your morning briefing , posted weekdays at 6 a. m. eastern , and your weekend briefing , posted at 6 a. m. sundays . want to look back ? here ’s last night ’s briefing . what did you like ? what do you want to see here ? let us know at briefing@nytimes . com .
+0 ’modern family’ star sarah hyland denies anorexia accusation - breitbart breitbart news “ modern family ” star sarah hyland says her skinny appearance lately is due to a medical condition . [ the says in a social media post that critics have accused her of promoting anorexia in pictures she ’s posted . without being specific , hyland says she has “ basically been on bed rest for the past few months ” and has lost muscle mass . she says her face is swollen from medication that is saving her life . she adds that she strives “ to be as healthy as possible ” but has n’t “ had the greatest year . ” hyland stars as lisa houseman in abc ’s tv movie remake of “ dirty dancing . ” my story as of now . part 1 . pic . twitter . — sarah hyland ( @sarah_hyland ) may 24 , 2017 , part 2 pic . twitter . — sarah hyland ( @sarah_hyland ) may 24 , 2017 ,
+0 donald trump ’s jet , a regular on the campaign trail , is n’t registered to fly - the new york times susanne craig over the past several months , donald j. trump has crisscrossed the country making dozens of campaign stops in places like sioux city , iowa , and jackson , miss. often in his sleek cessna jet . there is just one hitch : the plane ’s registration is expired . records kept with the federal aviation administration show the aircraft ’s registration lapsed on jan. 31 . laura j. brown , a spokeswoman for the federal aviation administration , confirmed that the plane ’s registration was not in good standing and said the owner had not renewed it . with few exceptions , aircraft must be registered in order to fly . mr. trump ’s plane could be grounded for days , or even months , while the issue is sorted out . in the event of an accident , the company that insures the jet could cite the lapsed registration to decline any claims . the f. a. a. could also fine or assess other penalties against the owner , the operator or both mr. trump owns the plane through a limited liability company . though it is unlikely that the agency would seek the maximum penalty , flying with no registration could result in a civil penalty of up to $ 27 , 500 , a criminal fine of up to $ 250 , 000 and imprisonment for up to three years , it said . hope hicks , a spokeswoman for the trump campaign , declined to answer several questions about the plane ’s registration or use , saying only that the renewal process “ is just about complete . ” as of late tuesday , the f. a. a. had not received a registration renewal application for the cessna , according to ms. brown , the agency spokeswoman . she declined to comment on any action the f. a. a. might take . although mr. trump has a sizable delegate lead in the republican presidential primary race , his campaign has often had organizational issues , at times losing ground against better organized opponents , chiefly senator ted cruz of texas , as mr. trump has struggled to master the complicated rules governing the selection of delegates . mr. trump can still fly most candidates typically charter a private plane . he also has four other registered aircraft : a boeing 757 and three sikorsky helicopters , a fleet that has become a critical part of the billionaire ’s image he has sought to project on the campaign trail . the boeing , which has mr. trump ’s surname emblazoned in big letters on the outside and fixtures inside , has been used as a backdrop at a number of his rallies . but the aircraft weighs more than 100 , 000 pounds , and that creates limitations : it can not land at many smaller airports . as a result , mr. trump often presses the 1997 cessna 750 citation x , which was designed to seat eight people , into action . it has made hundreds of flights since he announced his plan to seek the republican nomination in june 2015 , according to f. a. a. records reviewed by the new york times . dozens of those flights were made after jan. 31 , when the registration expired . the plane flew as recently as monday , when it was used to transport team trump between la guardia airport and buffalo for a campaign event on the eve of the new york primary . on friday , it flew to plattsburgh , n. y. and to hartford for rallies in those cities , according to radio transmissions broadcast by the plane that were archived on a flight data website and reviewed by the times . the f. a. a. warned mr. trump that the cessna ’s registration was set to expire , records show . on dec. 1 , djt operations cx l. l. c. the limited liability company owned by mr. trump that operates the cessna , received a “ final notice ” from the f. a. a. according to records reviewed by the times . then , on march 1 , djt operations cx was notified that the registration had expired . “ the aircraft ’s registration and airworthiness certificates no longer support the aircraft ’s operation , ” the agency wrote . these notices , records show , were sent to national registered agents it is not a company mr. trump owns . it is the delaware firm that was listed as the “ registered agent ” when djt operations cx was incorporated in 2012 , the year mr. trump bought the jet . in an f. a. a. filing in 2012 , titled “ aircraft registration application , ” national registered agents , its address and its phone number were listed as the contact information for djt operations cx . the filing is one page , largely filled out by hand , and is signed by mr. trump . his title , initially listed as “ president , ” was crossed out and replaced with “ sole member . ” the registration for mr. trump ’s four other aircraft are current , records show . flying privately is not cheap . the trump campaign has paid a company that mr. trump owns more than $ 3 million for travel since he announced his candidacy . registering an aircraft , however , is cheap : it costs only $ 5 , and the registration is valid for three years .
+0 house g.o.p. may seek to punish democrats for gun control sit - in - the new york times emmarie huetteman and jennifer steinhauer washington — representative kevin mccarthy , the house majority leader , said tuesday that democrats who essentially seized the house floor last month to protest the lack of votes on gun legislation might be punished for breaking house rules . the behavior was not “ becoming of the u. s. congress , ” mr. mccarthy told reporters . he said he had been told that democrats had mistreated house staff members and had perhaps even damaged congressional furniture during their protest . mr. mccarthy said that he and the house speaker , paul d. ryan , would soon meet with the house to discuss investigative paths and possible ramifications for the democrats . “ this is not the way the house should work , ” mr. mccarthy said . “ you first have to know all the facts . action has to be taken on behavior taken toward professional staff . ” but mr. mccarthy ’s comments seemed more indicative of the gulf between the parties than of any real likelihood of punishment for democrats . censure of individuals seems very unlikely , given how many participated , and any attempts to penalize them could backfire , with democrats wielding any such penalty as a badge of honor for their willingness to take on the majority . filming and streaming video in the house — which the democrats did after the regular television feed ended when republicans gaveled the house into recess — are violations of the chamber ’s rules . other potential violations include standing in the well of the house floor and cutting off debate . an outside group has made a referral to the office of congressional ethics regarding solicitations issued during the . as democrats considered their next steps on gun legislation , mr. ryan was to meet tuesday evening with representatives john lewis of georgia and john b. larson of connecticut , the organizers of the . but the outcome seemed predetermined : mr. ryan , who has dismissed the protest as “ a political stunt , ” suggested in an interview on a wisconsin radio program earlier tuesday that he would not bring up democratic proposals for a vote . representative nancy pelosi of california , the minority leader , scheduled a news conference with advocates for wednesday morning to keep pushing republicans , who could face significant risks in voting on gun legislation in a contentious election year . republicans said they intended to hold a vote this week on a measure to prevent terrorists from obtaining guns . under the bill , the government could block the sale or transfer of a gun if it demonstrated to a judge within a few days that an individual may have links to terrorism . similar legislation recently failed in the senate after democrats panned it as toothless . “ the lengths the house republican leadership will go to follow the n. r. a. ’s marching orders know no bounds , ” said drew hammill , ms. pelosi ’s spokesman . house democrats made it clear that they would not stand down and were keeping their options open as they returned from the fourth of july recess . last week , more than 60 democrats participated in rallies , news conferences and other events around the country on a declared “ national day of action , ” trying to energize supporters and keep up pressure on republican leaders . speaking from the house floor before their meeting , mr. larson called on mr. ryan to hold votes on measures that would restrict access to guns for those on the government ’s list and expand background checks . urging him to remember that “ he is , indeed , speaker of the entire house , ” mr. larson said that “ we ’re prevailing upon the decency of the other side , their understanding of the constitution , their understanding of the rules of the house . ” representative tom mcclintock , republican of california , said democrats had engaged in “ one of the most disgraceful and childish breaches of the institution ” by seizing the house floor on june 22 . “ they certainly have a right to their opinions , ” he said . “ they have a right to express those opinions on the house floor , and they have a right to use all of the procedures of the house to act on their opinions . what they do not have is the right to prevent those with different views from exercising the same rights , and yet that is precisely what they did . ”
+0 20 wines for under $ 20 : the spring edition - the new york times eric asimov few things are more important to wine drinkers than value , but value can mean different things to different people . in march i wrote a profile of eli zabar , the new york food merchant whose restaurant is offering great values on wines . i cited some examples like a 2004 muscadet and a 2007 touraine red , each for $ 60 , as well as a 1995 castell’in villa chianti classico riserva for $ 250 and a 1995 hubert de montille pommard 1er cru rugiens for $ 295 . the social media firestorm began almost immediately . “ the wine prices are completely ridiculous , ” one reader wrote . “ $ 60 for a muscadet ? that ’s a $ 10 bottle in france , as is any touraine red . $ 250 for a chianti ? please tell me it ’s a misprint . no italian would ever believe it . ” some people are we d to a utilitarian notion of wine . it ’s liquid , it has alcohol and the rest is marketing and gullibility . others may see a vast chasm between a bottle of muscadet from the latest vintage ( not even $ 10 ! ) and a great bottle from a master craftsman . the opportunity to appreciate its complexities and nuances might intrigue them enough to consider $ 60 well spent . but few places offer such an opportunity for value . a wine lover willing to spend $ 300 to savor a burgundy from a great producer will have to search long and hard , though any number of restaurants would willingly sell him the chance for $ 700 . value is not simply a synonym for inexpensive . it ought to mean that the amount of pleasure is beyond the norm for the price you paid . great value can be had at $ 5 or at $ 500 , though either is rare . by far , the greatest opportunity to find wine values is in the range of $ 15 to $ 25 . here , the qualities of conscientious agriculture , cultural tradition , craftsmanship , distinctiveness and deliciousness converge at prices that make these bottles worth seeking out . if you love them , they are well worth it . if you do n’t , the exploration will have come at not too high a cost . here , then , are 20 bottles i bought in new york for $ 20 or less . they are not the only examples by far . i could have bought many different bottles . nobody will be able to find all of these , but if you have access to a good wine shop , you will discover your own treasures . i chose these with a mind to the season . they are generally to wines with an eye to freshness . wine ’s first duty is to refresh . in the added dimensions lies the value . monastero suore cistercensi lazio bianco coenobium 2014 , $ 19 . 99 this is a rare lazio white with great character , a blend of trebbiano , malvasia and verdicchio . the grapes are grown by cistercian nuns just north of rome and made into wine under the supervision of giampiero bea of the great umbrian producer paolo bea . it ’s redolent of apples , herbs , citrus and volcanic soils , and has just the slightest pleasant tannic rasp , courtesy of maceration with the grape skins . ( rosenthal wine merchant , new york ) ronchi di cialla colli orientali del friuli ribolla gialla 2014 , $ 19 . 99 ribolla gialla is one of the indigenous grapes of the giulia region in northeastern italy . this is a straightforward version compared with some of the vanguard wines made in the region , but it ’s delicious , with flavors of nuts , flowers and tropical citrus fruits along with mineral undertones . ( soilair selection , new york ) ravines finger lakes dry riesling 2014 , $ 17 . 99 riesling has been a great success story in the finger lakes , and though it ’s not the only winner in the region , it ’s been by far the dominant grape there . year in and year out , ravines ’s riesling has been one of my favorites . it ’s absolutely refreshing , with earthy , citrus and wet stone flavors . if you like this , try the ravines argetsinger vineyard riesling , a firmer , deeper version . domaine michel brégeon par frédéric lailler muscadet sèvre et maine sur lie 2013 , $ 17 . 99 muscadet is perennially a great value , especially from brégeon , an producer that always makes some of the more interesting wines in the region . this is characteristically fresh and tangy , with flavors of citrus , herbs and chamomile and a grainy , minerally depth that comes from aging on the lees , the remnants of yeast after fermentation . ( kermit lynch wine merchant , berkeley , calif. ) guímaro ribeira sacra blanco 2014 , $ 19 . 99 ribeira sacra in the eastern galicia region of spain , where the vineyards rise at harrowing angles from the rivers , is best known for its reds made from the mencía grape . but the whites , like this one from guímaro , made with godello , can be superb . this is refreshing , harmonious and a touch exotic , with flavors of citrus , flowers , herbs and stone fruits . ( josé pastor gourmet , richmond , calif. ) litaud domaine des vieilles pierres st. les pommards 2014 , $ 19 . 99 must one always have chardonnay ? absolutely , if it is as good as this st. often a source of exceptional values . though it was aged in steel tanks , it has the rich texture that usually comes from with great depth and presence , and lingering flavors of citrus , yeast , flowers and minerals . ( de of the vines , long island city , n. y. ) ponce manchuela reto 2014 , $ 19 . 99 i ’ve written before about the 2012 ponce reto , which was richer and juicier than the 2014 , which is a bit subtler . nonetheless , it is a distinctive wine , made entirely from the albillo grape , which i ’ve never seen outside the manchuela region of spain . it ’s fresh , floral and herbal , another option in the array of dry , crisp whites . ( t. edward wines , new york ) edmunds st. john el dorado county witters vineyard rosé gamay noir 2015 , $ 19 . 99 the wine stores tell us it ’s rosé season ( though in my opinion , it ’s never not rosé season ) . here is an old favorite , which year after year offers the vivacity characteristic of a good young rosé . it ’s made entirely of gamay noir , the grape of beaujolais ( hence the somewhat awkward name ) and it ’s exactly what you want on those first few days out on the deck , the balcony or wherever you can grab space in the open air . bodega chacra patagonia mainqué pinot noir rosé 2015 , $ 18 . 99 of course they make rosé in argentina . the mainqué comes from bodega chacra in patagonia , an producer of superb pinot noirs . this is made of pinot noir , too . it ’s fresh and crisp , with a little more body than the yet earthy , tangy and succulent . ( grand cru selections , new york ) carl loewen mosel riesling kabinett longuicher herrenberg 2014 , $ 19 . 99 i yearn for kabinett rieslings in the springtime . something about their lightly sweet , delicate nature captures the newborn hope of the season . this is a lovely example , lively with acidity , redolent of herbs and stone aromas , deceptively substantial though nonetheless fine . ( a terry theise estate wines , new york ) nahe riesling kabinett münsterer rheinberg 2014 , $ 18 . 99 here ’s another kabinett option . it ’s fascinating to compare this from nahe side by side with the loewen from the mosel . it ’s a little bigger boned , a little weightier , and slightly more obviously sweeter . yet it ’s still beautifully balanced , with apple and stone flavors , refreshing and great with river fish . ( a terry theise estate wines , new york ) burgaud morgon les charmes 2014 , $ 19 . 99 with so many good wines and great values coming from the crus of beaujolais , it would be a shame not to include at least one here . this burgaud morgon was not in our recent wine panel tasting , but it could easily have been included , with its earthy , stony , focused red fruit flavors . it ’s almost as if you can taste the granite of the vineyard underlying the wine . ( maximum wine , englishtown , n. j. ) domaine zafeirakis tyrnavos limniona 2012 , $ 18 . 99 this wine is a new one for me , and am i glad i found it . it ’s made of limniona , an indigenous greek grape that had nearly disappeared until it was resurrected virtually by christos zafeirakis in the last 15 years or so . this one comes from tyrnavos in the thessaly region of central greece . it ’s fresh , lively and absolutely delicious , full of the spicy flavors of dark fruits . it cries out for grilled meats . ( dionysi grevenitis wildman sons , new york ) rovellotti colline novaresi vespolina ronco al maso 2013 , $ 19 . 99 the nebbiolo grape thrives throughout the langhe and alto piemonte regions of northwestern italy . it is so successful that it overshadows a cast of supporting grapes that can be delicious on their own and great values , like vespolina from colline novaresi . it offers fresh flavors of raspberries and cranberries , and , like many of those supporting grapes , carries a hint of nebbiolo in its darker , slightly tarlike undertones . ( rosenthal wine merchant , new york ) montinore estate willamette valley pinot noir 2014 , $ 19 . 99 another perennial favorite and great value . this pinot noir from montinore is grown biodynamically . its dark , earthy fruit flavors are interlaced with savory , meaty herbal tones that make it versatile with many foods and give it a complexity that belies its modest price . frecciarossa uva rara i. g. t. 2012 , $ 19 . 99 the uva rara grape comes from pavia in lombardy . despite its name , it ’s relatively common in that area . ( in the essential reference “ wine grapes , ” it ’s speculated that “ rara ” refers to the sparse number of grapes in a bunch . ) whatever the derivation , this wine is deeply fragrant , smelling like candied flower petals . on the palate it ’s fresh , with a sort of herbal bitterness that ’s actually quite appealing and sets you up for the next sip . ( vignaioli selection , new york ) burlotto barbera d’alba 2014 , $ 19 . 99 this is how i remember barbera d’alba back when i was becoming obsessed with wine in the early 1980s : fresh , fruity , lively with acidity , and with hardly any tannin . many modern barberas are aged in new oak barrels , and some are compelling in their own way . but i have a sentimental attachment to the brisk , direct older style , especially when it comes from a careful , traditional producer like burlotto . ( bacchanal wine imports , port chester , n. y. ) señorío de p. peciña rioja crianza 2010 , $ 19 . 99 this crianza rioja is a perfect example of the synergy that can be achieved between the tempranillo grape ( with a dash or two of graciano and garnacha ) and the spicy coconut flavors of american oak barrels . the result , particularly with a few years of age , is this mellow yet complex wine , with the earthy flavors of red raspberries , vanilla , coconut and tobacco . just the thing for leg of lamb . ( polaner selections , mount kisco , n. y. ) bernabeleva vinos de madrid navaherreros garnacha 2013 , $ 18 . 99 this is a powerful wine at 15 percent alcohol , yet despite its size it is vividly fruity , explosively floral , spicy and beautifully balanced . it is intense and concentrated yet is not heavy . it ’s the bigger , stronger sibling of the bernabeleva camino de navaherreros , which i wrote about last fall . ( polaner selections , mount kisco , n. y. ) françois chidaine vouvray brut pétillant nv , $ 18 . 99 this sparkling vouvray is simply superb . it ’s made entirely of chenin blanc and wears its chenin personality of honey , lemon , flowers and yeast , with all the finesse of a good champagne . the french bureaucracy is making it difficult for producers in neighboring areas of vouvray to use the vouvray appellation , even if the grapes are from vouvray . because chidaine is based in montlouis , this might be the last chidaine sparkler called vouvray until the silly ruling is resolved . ( polaner selections , mount kisco , n. y. )
+1 syria - waiting for the next moves b november 08 , 2016 syria - waiting for the next moves we had expected a syrian army " election campaign " , a large size attack on al bab or east - aleppo . that did not happen despite the right " assets " being in place and i have heard no reason yet why it was delayed . the russian aircraft carrier group , which was expected last friday along the syrian coast , will only arrive this evening . it must have intentionally slowed its travel . there has been no single syrian or russian airstrike on east - aleppo in last 21 days . " rebel " shelling of west - aleppo has not stopped for a day and caused many casualties . that will now change . one russia source claims the russian fleet will engage immediately . notams , notices to air men , about imminent operations on syria 's west - coast have been released . the declared areas and times of operation correspond to a campaign , not a single strike . after some 12 days of fighting , the second large al - qaeda campaign to break the siege on east - aleppo by attacking the south western side of west - aleppo completely failed . while the first round nearly achieved a break through but was then contained the second attack was only a alibi attempt which never made any progress towards its claimed aim . the syrian army has recaptured the housing project 1070 and will soon have cleaned all other areas that were shortly in the hands of the jihadis . the loss in material and men for the jihadis were immense . the syrian army has finally learned how to defend against suicide vehicle bombs : have adequate weapons ready in the front line to kill them on their approaches . of nearly 20 such bomb runs only 3 or 4 reached their targets and losses from those were less sever than from earlier bombs . the jihadis and their " western " media and " expert " proxies seem to have given up on east - aleppo . there is no sign that another break through attempt will be launched . the obama administration has announced a campaign to encircle raqqa in center - east syria . it bought help from the kurdish ypg to achieve that and has thereby excluded a turkish campaign . the taking of raqqa is supposed to be left to some arab troops in cooperation with the kurds . but those arab troops do not yet exist and hiring and training has not even begun . the whole announcement of the beginning of a raqqa campaign was obviously not serious . the kurds will take a few small towns and the u.s. will temporarily protect them from sever turkish interference in their areas in syria . raqqa will not be attacked before next years spring . the turks are now miffed ( though silently relieved ) that they were not asked to take part in the raqqa campaign . they have been promised that they may help to " develop a long - term plan for seizing , holding and governing raqqa " . that means exactly nothing . but the turks never had a real chance to go and take raqqa . it is too far from their borders and the imponderables are too big . in the area around damascus the ghouta rebel hold out has been split and reduced to small kettles which will be eliminated within a few days . the syrian capital is safe for now and its people can live a rather normal life without fear of being killed in the next minute by some random grenade . a significant number of troops will become available when all the small rebel areas around the capital are gone . those can be used in future campaigns . the frontline strength of the syrian army in critical areas will increase and its maneuver force will become more powerful and efficient . the momentum in all of west syria is on the side of the syrian government . the jihadists are more and more concentrated in idleb governate and city . when the surrounded hold outs in its back are eliminated the syrian army can launch an assault on them . the east is complicate . deir ezzor is still surrounded by isis and will likely be attacked again soon . reinforcements for the defenders would be welcome . the kurds are playing games and change alliances every now and than . for the time they again bet on the u.s. - a hope that has already been disappointed several times . the u.s. will let them fall as soon as it is convenient . the kurds will learn again that such a policy does not bear tasteful fruits . there is a common turkish and syrian interest in cutting them back to size . in a year from now we may see new surprise alliances in that area . all the positive developments we have seen especially in west - syria may be for naught if a new u.s. president decides to throw up the chess board and risk world war iii by attacking syrian and russian positions . its about the most stupid thing washington could do and has thereby a good chance to happen . i hope that the pentagon will lecture the politicians of the very real consequences such a move would have . posted by b on november 8 , 2016 at 12:12 pm | permalink
+1 william ketly joking that ’s my mum
+1 breaking : uncovered huma email confirms the worst … previous hacks did happen wilmot proviso a newly released email from 2011 from hillary aide huma abedin reportedly said that her blackberry was n’t working . in response , justin cooper — the it guy who set up hillary ’s private email server — said , “ we were attacked again . ” justin cooper was the clinton aide who set up the email server . huma : " my clinton [ black]berry not working"cooper : " we were attacked again " pic.twitter.com/kjqcbocqzz — lachlan markay ( @lachlan ) october 28 , 2016 given that such an attack probably would n’t have been carried out by wolverines with distemper , i ’m going to assume that the attack was one carried out by hackers . advertisement - story continues below also , one typically does n’t use the word “ again ” unless it ’s happened before — and in this context , a lot of times before . i am not privy , of course , to the inner workings of hillary clinton ’s world . in fact , very few people are , considering that clinton is n’t exactly ruler of the principality of transparencyland . however , given her history , i find that it ’s usually safe to assume the worst when it comes to her . it ’s not that we ’ve been lied to yet again . if i got angry every time hillary clinton lied to us , my blood pressure could run a hydroelectric power plant . it ’s that she lied so cravenly about an issue that affects our national security . and she wants to take this mentality to 1600 pennsylvania ? give me a break . advertisement - story continues below
+0 medicare and social security trustees warn of shortfalls - the new york times robert pear washington — the obama administration said wednesday that the financial outlook for medicare ’s hospital insurance trust fund had deteriorated slightly in the last year and that social security still faced serious financial problems . the report , from the trustees of the two programs , could inject a note of fiscal reality into a presidential campaign that has given scant attention to the government ’s fiscal challenges as the population ages . hillary clinton , the presumptive democratic presidential nominee , has proposed increasing social security benefits and allowing people age 55 to 64 to “ buy into ” medicare , while donald j. trump , the presumptive republican nominee , has repeatedly said he would not cut either program . under existing law , the trustees said wednesday , medicare ’s hospital trust fund would be depleted in 2028 , two years earlier than projected in last year ’s report . in addition , they said , the social security trust funds for benefits and disability insurance , taken together , could be depleted in 2034 , the same year projected in last year ’s report . tax collections would then be sufficient to pay about of promised benefits through 2090 , they said . social security and medicare account for about 40 percent of all federal spending . obama administration officials often say the affordable care act has slowed the growth of health spending , compared with estimates made just before the law was adopted in 2010 . but the trustees said wednesday that the financial outlook for medicare had worsened in the last year because of changes in their assumptions and expectations . medicare actuaries now expect higher use of inpatient hospital services , as well as lower projected improvements in workers’ productivity and lower payroll tax revenue , as a result of slower growth in wages in the next few years . in their report , the trustees — four administration officials — said that the costs of medicare and social security would grow faster than the economy through the because of the aging of the baby boom generation . as for medicare , they said , “ growth in expenditures per beneficiary exceeds growth in per capita gross domestic product over this time period . ” the projected growth in medicare spending will not immediately set off automatic cuts in the program under a controversial provision of the affordable care act that generally requires such cuts when spending is expected to exceed certain benchmarks . however , such cuts could be required in a few years under the trustees’ forecast . under current projections , they said , the automatic cuts could take effect for the first time in 2019 . medicare now spends an average of nearly $ 13 , 000 per beneficiary , and this figure is expected to exceed $ 16 , 000 in five years , the report said . “ drugs are a major driver of medicare spending growth , ” said andrew m. slavitt , the acting administrator of the federal centers for medicare and medicaid services . such projections in years past have prompted leaders in both parties to at least broach the idea of benefit cuts or tax increases for entitlement programs . by contrast , president obama said in elkhart , ind. this month that social security should be made “ more generous , ” and that “ we could start paying for it by asking the wealthiest americans to contribute a little bit more . ” treasury secretary jacob j. lew said wednesday that he saw no contradiction there . the two objectives — ensuring the solvency of social security and increasing benefits — are “ not at all inconsistent ” if they are discussed in the context of “ a broader conversation ” about taxes and benefits , he said . the report predicts that social security will provide a modest adjustment , increasing benefits by of 1 percent next year . but , it warned of a “ substantial increase ” in medicare premiums in 2017 for about 30 percent of beneficiaries . under assumptions in the report , the standard premium , now $ 121 . 80 a month , would rise to $ 149 , and the change could be announced just weeks before election day on nov. 8 . congress took action last year to shore up social security ’s disability insurance trust fund , but the report says the legislation was a fix . the law postponed the projected depletion of the disability trust fund by seven years , to 2023 , mr. lew said . like other democrats , mr. lew said the report showed the “ positive impact ” of the affordable care act . since the health law was signed , he said , “ increases in health care costs have slowed substantially . ” carolyn w. colvin , the acting commissioner of social security , said americans should begin a serious discussion of how to close the “ future financing gap ” in social security . sixty million people now receive social security benefits totaling more than $ 74 billion each month . the number of social security beneficiaries is expected to reach 76 million by 2025 .
+1 she drank a gallon of water / day for a month and now she looks 10 years younger noreply@blogger.com ( alexander light ) . she drank a gallon of water / day for a month and now she looks 10 years younger sufficient daily water intake is vital for virtually every function within our bodies yet fewer than ... print email http://humansarefree.com/2016/11/she-drank-gallon-of-waterday-for-month.html sufficient daily water intake is vital for virtually every function within our bodies yet fewer than one in five of us drinks enough . read on to see the results of this experiment . sarah smith is a 42 year old mother of two young kids in the uk . she , like many others , openly admitted to not drinking the recommended 2 to 3 liters of water daily . she suffered from poor and sluggish indigestion and regular headaches . following consultations with medical professionals for both issues she decided to take heed of the advice given – in both cases she had been told that she needed to up her intake of water . she decided to document and photograph what happened in a self imposed experiment whereby she would drink 3 liters , just over 5 pints , of water per day , every day for an entire month and see if she could feel any benefits . at the outset sarah took a long hard look at her face noting that : “ i am 42 , but have to admit i look more like 52 in this picture , which is shocking . there are dark shadows under and around my eyes , which make me look exhausted , a profusion of wrinkles and strange reddish blotches , and my skin lacks any lustre . it looks dead … even my lips look shrivelled . ” she spread the water out during the day aiming to drink a big jug of water in the morning , another in the afternoon with a third in the evening . at the end of the first week she had already noticed that her bowel function was improved and her urine was virtually clear as the water was flushing out her previously dehydrated poorly functioning kidneys . she noticed sudden skin breakouts , which were a result of the toxins being eliminated from throughout her body . however , her headaches were already gone and her previous joint stiffness first thing in the morning was vastly improved . water is vital for lubricating the joints . week two saw an improvement in her skin tone and general complexion although she noted that her eyes were still wrinkled but said “ they look less crepey and shadowy than before ” . she also had a visibly flatter stomach and her smart husband paid her the ultimate compliment by noting that her cellulite had vanished ! significantly she had another week headache free . on to week three when sarah was happy to find that her eye wrinkles and dark circles had all but disappeared and her skin was plumper and healthier looking . she noted that she was actually eating less by this stage as she had fallen into the common trap of reading signals from her stomach as being hunger pangs whereas they were actually thirst pangs . research has shown that 37 per cent of people actually mistake thirst signals for hunger signals . the plentiful water had now stopped her from continually falling into that unhealthy trap . so what about the end of week four ? sarah said : “ i genuinely ca n’t believe the difference in my face . i look like a different woman . the dark shadows around my eyes have all but disappeared and the blotches have gone . my skin is almost as dewy as it was when i was a child . the transformation is nothing short of remarkable . ” she was leaner , fitter and nobody can deny the astonishing change to her appearance . she changed nothing else in her daily routine apart from the water intake . to those already of you already converted to drinking enough water these results will merely confirm what you already know , but to anyone who is guilty of not doing so , will this persuade you to try this for yourself ? alexander : since we have addressed the miraculous rejuvenating power of water , here is one more mind - blowing fact . according to gregg prescott of in5d.com , he was able to restore his hair 's original color after only six months of drinking distilled water . in his own words : " in august of 2010 , i was 2 months away from turning 50 and my hair was predominantly gray , with pronounced lines around my eyes . this is when i began to be conscientious about my eating habits and started eating more organic food , although i was still eating processed food as well . i began drinking distilled water in february 2012 . by august of 2012 , my hair had turned from gray back to its original color and the facial lines were not as pronounced . " and the results are fantastic ! here 's a before and after comparison : you can buy a good quality water distiller from amazon for about $ 200 , which is not that much considering the benefits . source and references : worldtruth.tv ; dailymail.co.uk ; humansarefree.com
+0 in 1968 , a ‘ resurrection city’ of tents , erected to fight poverty - the new york times damien cave and darcy eveleigh the rev. dr. martin luther king jr. often described poverty and prejudice as related enemies , and in the last few months of his life , he called publicly for a national demonstration by the poor that would “ confront the power structure massively . ” the poor people ’s campaign was an effort to do precisely that , not with just a march but with an extended occupation of the national mall in washington . organized by dr. king and the southern christian leadership conference — and led by ralph abernathy after dr. king ’s assassination — the campaign brought around 3 , 000 people from all over the country to a spit of land that would soon be drenched by rains , and filled with wooden shanties and varied attempts at utopian collectivism . they called it resurrection city . it was an urban area taking up 15 acres near the mall ’s reflecting pool . the first demonstrators arrived on may 12 , 1968 , on buses from mississippi . an architect designed rudimentary tents and wooden structures for temporary residents , and then came a city hall , a general store , a health clinic and a handful of celebrity visitors , including sidney poitier , marlon brando and barbra streisand . the new york times assigned faith berry , an author , to visit the camp near the end of its run . george tames , a staff photographer in washington , took hundreds of photos there . a handful of them ran with ms. berry ’s article , which explored the camp ’s struggle to cohere as an ad hoc society of people of different races with varied demands and overwhelming needs . the published photos generally captured the messy end of the camp . resurrection city ’s failures — from illness to theft and racial conflict — dominated the coverage of the time . calvin trillin captured it best when he wrote in the new yorker that june : “ the poor in resurrection city have come to washington to show that the poor in america are sick , dirty , disorganized and powerless — and they are criticized daily for being sick , dirty , disorganized and powerless . ” the images shown here present an alternative , and more portrait . first , there is an image showing one of the camp ’s many speakers . the camp ’s public address system was used to announce everything from campsite meetings and emergencies to phone calls , but it was also where abernathy and others sought to rally residents , and remind them of the cause . the other images show life in the camp at its most calm , humane and mundane — two women chatting inside a tent a bit of barbering , a bit of ( free ) health care and some of the homes and homemade messages intended to define the camp on its own terms . these photographs , never published until now , show neither simple success , nor failure . they are less pretty than powerful , as a testament to idealism and its challenges — evidence of our continual urge to gather and make demands on washington , wherever and whenever needed .
+1 dnc renews lawsuit against rnc over voter intimidation ( video ) lisa bonanno dnc renews lawsuit against rnc over voter intimidation ( video ) by lisa bonanno on october 29 , 2016 according to a document filed in federal court this past wednesday , the democratic national committee is taking donald trump and the republican national committee to task over their plans to “ monitor ” the polls . the filing says that the rnc is violating a consent decree by : “ … supporting and enabling the efforts of the republican candidate for president , donald j. trump , as well as his campaign and advisors , to intimidate and discourage minority voters from voting in the 2016 presidential election . trump has falsely and repeatedly told his supporters that the november 8 election will be ‘ rigged’ based upon fabricated claims of voter fraud in ‘ certain areas’ or ‘ certain sections’ of key states . unsurprisingly , those ‘ certain areas’ are exclusively communities in which large minority voting populations reside . ” the document goes on to name some of the specific quotes and directives that donald trump has given supporters . it also mentions that : “ following the third presidential debate , trump ’s campaign manager told a reporter that the campaign was working to combat purported voter fraud by ‘ actively working with the national committee , the official party , and campaign lawyers to monitor precincts around the country . ' ” this shows that the rnc is involved in this effort , which has already begun . trump ally roger stone organized “ vote protectors , ” who are instructed to conduct “ exit polls . ” initially , the volunteers were asked to upload video of voters , create id badges and wear red shirts at specific polling places . after journalistic inquiry , stone said he would change his tactics . he simply created a new website , but that ’s another story . the democratic national committee is going after trump and the rnc for violation of a consent decree signed in 1982 . at that time , the rnc was involved in voter suppression in targeted areas known to vote predominantly democrat . they hired off - duty sheriffs and police officers to go to polling places in those areas displaying a sign stating “ this area is being patrolled by the national ballot security task force . ” there were other activities , such as the challenge of individual voter registrations in certain communities . the consent decree forcing the rnc to cease its 1982 “ ballot security ” activities resulted from a successful dnc suit . the decree expires next year . in the current suit , the dnc seeks to renew it for another eight years . 34 years later , we have an old tactic re - branded by the same party to do the same thing : intimidate minority voters . the dnc opens fire against rnc voter intimidation tactics featured image via screenshot from youtube video connect with me
+1 leaked audio of hillary clinton proposing rigging election nan weird news thanks for sharing ... liked us ? ! disclose.tv uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on the website . read our privacy policy for more . agree before you go , check this out on disclose.tv
+0 ny attorney general will file lawsuit to protect abortion if ahca passes senate - breitbart katherine rodriguez new york attorney general eric schneiderman said friday that he would file a lawsuit against the american health care act to protect abortion rights . [ “ i hope the senate will stop it , it ’s bad public policy , ” schneiderman said in an interview with cnn ’s erin burnett . “ it does n’t protect people with conditions it ’ll cost millions of people healthcare . ” “ but , if they pass the bill in the form the house passed it , ” he said , “ it is unconstitutional . it includes an unconstitutional attack on women ’s rights to reproductive health services , including abortion . ” schneiderman called the ahca “ bad public policy ” and “ unconstitutional ” in its current state after the house passed it thursday . “ in a tricky way , [ it ] tries to wipe out planned parenthood , ” he said . “ it ’s an effort to kill off planned parenthood , which would impose an undue burden on women ’s rights . ” “ we are beseeching the senate to make sure this never becomes the law of the land , ” schneiderman added . several republican senators warned that they would not pass the ahca in its current state and would instead write their own bill . “ we can not pull the rug out from under states like nevada that expanded medicaid , and we need assurances that people with conditions will be protected , ” sen. dean heller ( ) said in a statement . president trump , however , says he is “ so confident ” that the senate will pass the ahca even before the congressional budget office releases their analysis estimating the law ’s cost and impact on the nation .
+1 # nodapl : battle at the end of the world nan # nodapl : battle at the end of the world share on facebook tweet watching the footage of the police attack against water protectors from last sunday , conjured images of the apocalypse . yet , despite this brutal assault , the people at standing rock keep on fighting . this video is dedicated to sophia wilansky , who was critically injured during the attack . read more about this incident here . [ watch video below ]