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| U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan is running again for the job in the next Congress, a spokeswoman said on Thursday after a media report quoted several unidentified House Republicans as saying they expected him to step down next week. "He is running," Ryan spokeswoman AshLee Strong said. The Hill cited four House Republicans as saying that they expected Ryan to step aside as Speaker after next Tuesday's general election. "Speculation is growing that Paul will not return," the Hill quoted a "senior GOP lawmaker close to leadership" as saying. It quoted a member of the Freedom Caucus, a group of conservative Republicans, as saying that if Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton wins, Ryan will get "a good share of the blame" among House members who support Republican candidate Donald Trump. Ryan last month told fellow Republicans that he would not defend or campaign for Trump and would instead focus on re-electing Republicans to keep the majority in the House. This angered some Trump supporters in the House, who felt the Wisconsin congressman should stand by Trump. One of them, Representative Jim Bridenstine of Oklahoma, tweeted: "if Paul Ryan isn't for Trump, then I'm not for Paul Ryan." But Ryan, who as Speaker is the country's highest-ranking Republican, has a great deal of support in the Republican caucus, and it is far from clear that his critics would be able to oust him if they tried. House Republicans, who currently number _NUMBER_, plan to have closed-door leadership elections in mid-November. Ryan is expected to win their nomination for Speaker at that gathering, but the actual election to the Speaker's post would not be held until the new Congress convenes in January. All members of the House, both Republican and Democrat, will vote in the Speaker election and Ryan will need _NUMBER_ votes - a majority of the House's _NUMBER_ members - to win. This could be a challenge if Republicans lose a substantial number of seats in next week's elections, and if some of those who remain decide to oppose Ryan. |
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| Donald Trump is starting another week in the White House with yet another attack on the media and the reporters that dare to cover his minions accurately.On Monday morning, Trump took to Twitter to warn the media to be nice to him and his dishonest team. Likely inspired by a set of recent interviews in which his senior adviser, Kellyanne Conway, was blasted and taken to task for her ridiculous defense of Trump's wiretapping claims, Trump tweeted this little gem: It is amazing how rude much of the media is to my very hard working representatives. Be nice, you will do much better! Perhaps Trump and his team might do better if they followed his advice, too considering they've made more enemies in the last few weeks than any administration in modern American history.And this wasn't Trump's only attack on the media, either. After watching Morning Joe hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski criticize his presidency for the last several weeks, Trump finally made the decision to unfollow them on Twitter. Seriously, it's almost as if we have a teenager living in the White House.If Trump wants the media to cover him more favorably, then perhaps he might try actually doing his job well for once or just doing his job, period. Trump is the laziest, most incompetent POTUS America has ever had and his team is just as much as a failure.If the coverage has been negative, it's because Trump and his people actually suck, plain and simple. But instead of trying to improve and fix what is being criticized, Trump would rather just go on Twitter, bully the media, and cry about it.Featured image is a screenshot |
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| It's interesting how the media has completely ignored this massive wall while making a big deal about the extra security measure Republicans had taken to keep their guests safe You know, after radical Democrat affiliated groups, like Black Lives Matter and the New Black Panthers threatened GOP members with violence To the Democratic National Committee elites, keeping average Americans away from their convention is a good idea, while protecting the'southern border from intruding terrorists, rapists and murderers is a bad one.The DNC has erected a four-mile fence around its convention site at Philadelphia's Wells Fargo Center. The DNC fence,surely they would have built a bridge !! _URL_ Jay Hooks July _NUMBER_, 2016The fence, which appears to be about _NUMBER_ feet tall, is intended to keep out any individuals with whom Democratic Party leaders, delegates and other liberal elites would rather not mingle.The familiar temporary _NUMBER_ foot high security fence up again,from Broad&Pattison down to _NUMBER_ ramps for DNC _USER_ _URL_ Steve Keeley July _NUMBER_, 2016Worried abt th fence Trump will erect?Welcome _NUMBER_ th Dem's fence in Philly! _URL_ Still Not Russian July _NUMBER_, 2016Via: American Mirror |
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| 21st Century Wire says Our weekly documentary screening curated by our editorial team at 21WIRE.NOTE: Although this film focuses a lot on the Clinton and Bush presidencies, this same system has continued and taken to an even higher level of dark arts by the Obama Administration, and the both UK's Blair and Cameron governments. This film explores the evolution of propaganda and public relations in the United States, with an emphasis on the elitist theory of democracy and the relationship between war, propaganda and class. Includes original interviews with a number of dissident scholars including Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn, Michael Parenti, Peter Phillips , John Stauber , Christopher Simpson and others. SEE MORE SUNDAY SCREENING HERESupport our work and Become a Member @ 21WIRE.TV |
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| Florida Governor Rick Scott is not holding anything back. He is angry that Obama has made the Second Amendment the enemy while ignoring ISIS. We need a President who says my number one job right now is, on top of turning the economy around is to destroy ISIS. |
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| Australia's High Court rejected two legal challenges on Thursday against a proposed postal ballot on whether to legalize same-sex marriage, clearing the way for a vote on an issue that has wide support but which has also threatened to divide the government. Australians will now begin voting in the non-compulsory ballot as early as next week, with a result expected some time in November. The court's decision to reject the legal challenges, both of which argued that the center-right government needed the support of parliament to hold the ballot, comes as a welcome relief for Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. Turnbull supports same-sex marriage, as do two-thirds of Australians, but his government holds a razor-thin majority and more conservative elements in his Liberal-National coalition have used the issue to threaten his leadership. Some conservative lawmakers threatened to resign if the court ruled against the proposal, while more liberal members said they would side with the Labor opposition to secure same-sex marriage before Turnbull offered the postal vote as an alternative. A rejection would have led to increased pressure on Turnbull to hold a vote in parliament, which has already twice rejected a national ballot. Every Australian can have a say and we can, as a Commonwealth of Australia, embrace this important social change, Turnbull told parliament in Canberra after the court's decision was announced. Turnbull has said Australia's Marriage Act would be changed by the end of the year if the public backed same-sex marriage in the postal ballot. Although the court's verdict provides a viable pathway to same-sex marriage, advocates fear an escalation in an already vitriolic campaign. Turnbull called for mutual respect last month as the issue gathered heat. Opponents of same-sex marriage launched a contentious No campaign advertisement last week that the government immediately rejected as inaccurate. Activists fear a surge in malicious campaigning for the ballot, which is not a formal election and is therefore not subject to the usual rules on political advertisements. Many supporters of same-sex marriage in Australia had backed the legal challenges, insisting that the campaign would hurt people who were already vulnerable, but said they would now support the ballot. We now get out there and campaign long and hard for a Yes vote, Alex Greenwich, co-chair of Australian Marriage Equality, told reporters in Melbourne. When we win this, we can all come together, having finally achieved marriage equality. |
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| As facts emerge about Omar Mateen, the gunman who killed _NUMBER_ people at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, on Sunday, questions have arisen about how well-known he was to U.S. intelligence agencies. Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey said on Monday that Mateen was on a watchlist between May _NUMBER_ and March _NUMBER_ while he was under investigation after claiming a connection to or support for multiple Islamist extremist groups, including al Qaeda, Hezbollah, al-Nusra and Islamic State. The FBI maintains three watchlists and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence runs one database. People are placed on a watchlist according to the threat level they are believed to pose. Comey did not specify which watchlist named Mateen. Democratic presidential candidate Hilary Clinton has supported stricter gun laws and said on Monday she would push for laws that would prevent people on a no-fly list from buying guns. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, who has embraced gun rights, said he would meet with the leading U.S. gun rights group about preventing people on a government watchlist from buying guns. The U.S. government maintains the following databases: Terrorist Watchlist or Terrorist Screening Database : Established after the Sept. _NUMBER_, _NUMBER_, attacks, the Terrorist Watchlist is intended "to positively identify known or suspected terrorists trying to obtain visas, enter the U.S, board aircraft, or engage in other activity." Prior to _NUMBER_, intelligence agencies maintained dozens of individual lists. The Terrorist Watchlist is run by the FBI's Terrorist Screening Center with the goal of consolidating the U.S. government's watchlists into a single database. No-Fly List : A subset of the Terrorist Screening Database, the No-Fly List prohibits people known or suspected of terrorism from boarding a plane that departs from or arrives in the United States. Selectee List : A subset of the Terrorist Watchlist, the Selectee List includes individuals who are permitted to fly, but receive more intensive screening. In addition to the thousands of records updated daily from federal, state and local law enforcement, the Selectee List provides an additional level of screening for individuals thought to present a greater threat. Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment, or TIDE, database : Run by the National Counterterrorism Center, part of the Office of the National Director of Intelligence, the TIDE Database shares information with the FBI's watchlists. As of December _NUMBER_, it contained about _NUMBER_ million people, about _NUMBER_ of them U.S. citizens. Unlike the FBI's database, TIDE is viewable only by counterterrorism professionals in the U.S. intelligence community and is not shared with local law enforcement. Federal agencies propose people for inclusion on the TIDE database based on an evaluation of the threat they pose. Reasons someone may be added to the TIDE database include committing terrorist activity, preparing or planning a terrorist activity or providing support, such as funds or housing, for a terrorist organization. |
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| This is great! It's refreshing to hear somebody not be a wuss -best line of the video! |
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| President Donald Trump took Republican Senator Bob Corker to task on Twitter on Friday, apparently responding to the Foreign Relations Committee chair's comment that Trump did not understand the nation's character and had not demonstrated competence. "Strange statement by Bob Corker considering that he is constantly asking me whether or not he should run again in '_NUMBER_. Tennessee not happy!" Trump wrote of the Tennessee senator. Responding to Trump's comments about violence at a neo-Nazi and white supremacist protest earlier this month, Corker recently said, "The president has not yet been able to demonstrate the stability, nor some of the competence, that he needs to demonstrate in order to be successful." |
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| As anyone who remotely follows the news knows, media whore Hillary has been dying for a reason to appear in photos unrelated to a story about her criminal activities. True to form, Hillary capitalizes on the birth of Chelsea's campaign baby by standing alone and waving to the crowd how very grandmotherly .You won't see the other set of grandparents in any pictures however, as the royal Clinton family has banned their son-in-laws family from appearing in any pictures with them Chelsea Clinton has emerged from hospital for the first time with her newborn son Aidan.The former First Daughter beamed at cameras on the'steps of New York's Lenox Hill Hospital on Monday, flanked by her husband Marc Mezvinsky and parents Bill and Hillary Clinton.Despite the'soaring temperatures, Hillary wore a button-down coat, while Chelsea opted for a floral mini-dress.Aidan, Chelsea's second child with husband Marc Mezvinsky, was born on Saturday in the _CUR_1,700-a-night maternity ward.- DMWho is Chelsea Clinton's father-in-law and why are he and his wife banned from appearing in pictures with Crooked Queen Hillary and her sexual predator husband? Edward Maurice Ed Mezvinsky, Chelsea Clinton's father-in-law and her daughter's grandfather, is a convicted Felon. The former Democrat Congressman from Iowa's 1st Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives, served two terms, from _NUMBER_ to _NUMBER_.Ed Mezvinsky has known Hillary Clinton since the days when he'served on the House Judiciary Committee that decided the fate of President Richard Nixon. This harsh critic of President Richard Nixon, had called Nixon a crook and a disgrace to politics and the nation , and called for Nixon's impeachment.But, did you ever wonder who that allusive Nigerian Prince is who might be sending you those emails looking for money? Look no farther than the Clinton Family Tree.Through a series of Nigerian email scams and Ponzi schemes, Ed Mezvinsky, Chelsea Clinton's father-in-law embezzled more than _CUR_10 million dollars. In _NUMBER_, Ed Mezvinsky was convicted of _NUMBER_ charges of fraud, and served five years in federal prison. His fraud charges included bank, mail, wire, as well as other offenses involving financing bogus oil development and other trade deals in Africa.But don't think Ed doesn't keep it in the family. In addition to his law clients and friends, he even bilked his own mother-in-law out of money. To date in _NUMBER_, the Fraudster still owes over _CUR_9.4 million in restitution to his victims.A lot of political pundits have made allusions to the fact that the Clintons and the Mezvinkys behaviors are so similar, that it is what bonded the two. Be that as it may, the Clintons go to great lengths to never, ever, be seen or photographed with any of Chelsea's in-laws. So afraid is the Clinton Dynasty of being tarnished by the Mezvinkys that neither Ed nor his second wife and Marc's mother, Marjorie Sue Margolies-Mezvinsky, were allowed in any of Chelsea's wedding pictures. Conservative America |
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| Australia's High Court said on Thursday it was aware of the need to rule on the eligibility of seven lawmakers quickly, but warned it could not guarantee a speedy resolution to a case that threatens the government's one-seat majority in parliament. Parliament was rocked in August when seven lawmakers, including the Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce and two other cabinet ministers, said they held dual-citizenship, potentially ruling them ineligible to hold elected office. The uncertainty has put the government's future under the spotlight. The court is aware of the need for a speedy decision, but it is not always possible to do so immediately, said chief justice, Susan Kiefel. The court's decision will determine whether Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull can maintain his shaky grip on power. Should the court rule that Joyce, the sole lower house lawmaker caught up in the crisis, is ineligible, Turnbull will need to win the support of one of three independent lawmakers to keep his minority government. The remaining six politicians embroiled in the case are senators and their seats would be assigned to alternatives from their political party. A potential deal with an independent politician would allow Turnbull's government to continue until a special election for Joyce's seat can be held, most likely in November. Joyce, popular among rural voters who dominate his local constituency, has already indicated he will stand for re-election after renouncing his New Zealand citizenship in August. Special by-elections are extremely volatile but it is lucky for Turnbull that it is Joyce that may have to stand, as country Australians seem not to trust the prime minister, said Nick Economou, senior lecturer in Australian politics at Monash University in Melbourne. Support from rural voters, who overwhelmingly backed Turnbull in his razor thin re-election last year, has fallen to its lowest level in more than two years, a Newspoll for The Australian newspaper on Monday showed. |
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| Ted Cruz has said many stupid things during his run for the Republican nomination yet it's no surprise he's still a contender among GOP candidates since all the choices are pretty bad. The'senator from Texas faced tough questions from CBS This Morning hosts about his call for law enforcement officials to patrol Muslim communities. After the attacks in Belgium, Cruz said: We need to empower law enforcement to patrol and secure Muslim neighborhoods before they become radicalized. CBS hosts demanded an answer to his bizarre suggestion on how it would logistically work to patrol millions of Muslims who are not ghetto-ized in radical communities as Cruz had suggested. Cruz also admitted that he didn't even know how many Muslims live in America when asked by co-host Norah O Donnell. Co-host Gayle King then slammed Cruz: There are so many people that say that your comments are decidedly anti-Muslim, and that you're playing right into the hands of ISIS. You re giving them ammunition to come after us, to really take action against us. Instead of addressing the issue, the creepy Cruz went on a nonsensical tangent about political correctness. He said: Gayle with all respect, people are fed up with the political correctness of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. Islamism is a political and theocratic philosophy that commands its adherents to wage violent jihad. King then pointed out Cruz was painting a broad population with one brush. King is correct. Not only is Cruz painting millions of people with one brush, but his rhetoric is very dangerous because it vilifies millions of people and dehumanizing them. Moreover, as President Obama stated following the attacks on Belgium, What they can do is scare and make people afraid and disrupt our daily lives and divide us and as long as we don't allow that to happen, we're gonna be okay. That's what Cruz does with his rhetoric: he divides Americans and that's not the type of leadership we need in this country.Watch Video Here: Featured image via video screenshot |
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| A former California state senator accused of taking cash bribes and gifts from a businessman and from undercover FBI agents posing as Hollywood filmmakers to steer legislation in their favor has agreed to plead guilty to mail fraud, federal prosecutors said on Monday. Ronald Calderon, _NUMBER_, a Democrat indicted in February _NUMBER_ on two dozen counts of bribery, fraud, money laundering and other charges, will enter his guilty plea this week, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Los Angeles said. According to the plea agreement, prosecutors have agreed not to ask for a sentence of more than _NUMBER_ months, although the statutory maximum for the charge is _NUMBER_ years. Calderon's attorney, Mark Geragos, could not be reached for comment. The former lawmaker's brother, former state Assemblyman Thomas Calderon, pleaded guilty last week to a federal money-laundering charge in connection with the case. The Calderon brothers were members of a political dynasty going back several decades in California before they were ensnared in the federal investigation. "The Calderons have acknowledged their roles in a bribery scheme in which money for them and their families alone was driving legislation that would have benefited only a few individuals," U.S. Attorney Eileen Decker said. The _NUMBER_ indictment accused Ronald Calderon of taking bribes from California hospital owner Michael Drobot to preserve a legislative loophole that allowed Drobot to defraud the state's healthcare system out of hundreds of millions of dollars. According to the plea agreement, filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles on Monday, Drobot hired Calderon's son while he was in college, paying him some _CUR_30,000 for three summers of work. Drobot has agreed to plead guilty to separate federal charges and is cooperating in the case, prosecutors have said. Calderon was also charged with accepting money from undercover FBI agents, who he thought worked for an independent Hollywood movie studio, in exchange for supporting an expansion of film tax credits in California. According to the plea agreement, Calderon had the undercover agent hire his daughter for _CUR_3,000 a month, make a _CUR_5,000 payment toward his son's tuition, pay for _CUR_12,000 in Las Vegas trips and give _CUR_25,000 to a nonprofit group the lawmaker and his brother used to pay themselves. In exchange, Calderon agreed to vote for the film tax legislation and hire the undercover agent's purported girlfriend for his staff, according to the plea agreement. |
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| When Donald Trump wrote a book in _NUMBER_, he didn't think it would come back to bite him on the ass.But that book, and the man who actually wrote it, have surfaced to draw a picture of a Donald Trump who is doing the total opposite of what he'said sixteen years ago.Dave Shiflett did the heavy lifting on Trump's book The America We Deserve, and during an appearance on Fox News Radio with Alan Colmes, the ghost writer slammed the Republican presidential wannabe for being a total asshole who has completely contradicted himself in an attempt to become the GOP nominee. I used to think it was my first work of fiction, Shiflett said of the book before remarking that it's hard to know where Trump'stands on anything because he's a thematic person.Shiflett went on to describe how Trump used to hold very progressive views such as supporting single-payer healthcare and tax increases on the wealthy. He also mentioned how Trump ironically used to criticize Pat Buchanan for saying too many outrageous and controversial things to be considered a serious candidate for the presidency. In short, Trump once believed that being outrageous and controversial automatically disqualifies someone from being commander-in-chief, which means he would be disqualified himself since he has clearly adopted Pat Buchanan's style.And despite being Trump's ghost writer, there is no way in hell that Shiflett is voting for him.In the beginning of his campaign, Trump attacked Senator John McCain for being a POW during the Vietnam War, a war that Trump avoided by dodging the draft. McCain was captured after being shot down by enemy forces and he was then brutally tortured to the point where he can no longer lift his arms over his head. Shiflett has been angry about Trump's treatment of McCain ever since, and for good reason. I ll tell you what really bugs me about him, where it really ripped it with me and Trump was the'stuff he'said about McCain. McCain suffered severely, and I had a son who did two tours in Middle East during the last war and we had kids from here who went over there and some of them got hurt. They ain't gonna be the'same. Here's the audio via Buzzfeed:Sounds like Trump's criticism of McCain was the last straw for Shiflett, as it probably was for many Americans. The fact is that John McCain is a war hero who sacrificed for his country, something that Donald Trump refused to do when he had the'same opportunity to fight during the war. Instead, Trump chose to dodge the draft through multiple deferments, including a questionable medical deferment.Also, the fact that Donald Trump is using the Pat Buchanan playbook in his run for president is scary, especially since it appears to actually be working this time around _NUMBER_ years after Americans rejected it when Buchanan sought the Republican nomination in _NUMBER_. This just shows how racist and sexist the Republican Party has become over the last two and a half decades.Featured Image: YouTube |
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| DNC Chairwoman shouted down during opening remarks today Wikileaks! |
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| Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe testified today in front of the Senate Intelligence Committee. When asked if the rank and file employees of the law enforcement agency, he'said, Director Comey enjoyed broad support within the F.B.I. and still does to this day. The vast majority of F.B.I. employees enjoyed a deep and positive connection to Director Comey, McCabe went on to say, It has been the greatest privilege and honor of my professional life to have worked with him. When asked about the current investigation into any ties between the Trump campaign, McCabe said that the agency considers this investigation to be very important and serious. As to what impact Comey's firing will have on the investigation, he'said, The work of the men and women of the FBI continues despite any changes in circumstances, he'said in response to a question from Senator Marco Rubio, Republican of Florida. There has been no effort to impede our investigation to date. Simply put, you cannot stop the men and women of the FBI from doing the right thing. Given what the White House has said this week, both areas are important. Yesterday, White House spokesperson Sarah Huckabee Sanders told the press that the reason Comey was fired was because, among other things, that he had lost the confidence of the agents there. One reason many believe President Trump fired Comey, and no one believes anyone but Trump made this decision, because he thought it might slow down the investigation. It now appears neither of those ideas are true.Featured image via Alex Wong/ Getty Images. |
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| The speaker of Russia's lower house of parliament said on Wednesday Moscow hoped for more constructive dialogue with the United States now that a new president had been elected, the TASS news agency reported. Vyacheslav Volodin, speaker of the State Duma and a close ally of President Vladimir Putin, said parliament would welcome any steps in these directions. |
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| As we pointed out throughout the months leading up to the election, crowd size matters. President Trump was crushing Hillary Clinton in number of rallies and number of participants at his rallies when compared to Clinton.Trump did won in an electoral landslide. Nevertheless, the numbers at the rallies were significantly different between the two candidates and the one with the larger number of participants won'the election.The media remained silent on the crowd size numbers when it was clear that Trump was crushing Hillary in this area. But late last week the media finally reported that crowd size does matter. CNN reported that President Trump's crowd size was much smaller than President Obama's crowd size in _NUMBER_, and CNN provided two pictures to show the difference.However, the pictures in the article show the crowd size for Obama when he was speaking during his _NUMBER_ inauguration with the crowd from Trump's inauguration approximately _NUMBER_ hours before Trump'spoke.CNN's report was another of their Fake News lies. The photos used in their post were not comparing apples to apples and President Trump's Press Secretary pointed this out on Saturday in a special press conference. Trump's crowd was huge and every bit as big as Obama's crowd in _NUMBER_. Also, in CNN's article they say that Obama had _NUMBER_ million people in _NUMBER_. This is now refuted and is more likely closer to _NUMBER_The mainstream media is trying to create a narrative that Donald Trump's inauguration was a failure by comparing it to Obama's first inauguration and saying that twice as many people showed up to his inauguration that attended Trump's inauguration.In order to better compare both inaugurations, let's take a look at the facts and let's also look at the events surrounding both inaugurations.Crowd Counting Guru Stephen Doig has come forward to offer his insights into the crowd sizes at both inaugurations.From Fast Company:Satellites will by flying over Trump's inauguration, as they'did in _NUMBER_. Journalism professor Stephen Doig, one of the gurus of crowd counting, used an image from satellite company GeoEye to estimate a crowd of _NUMBER_ people for Obama's first Inauguration. Official estimates for the event, though, were over twice as high, at _NUMBER_ million, which may actually be impossible, say researchers. DDIS modeled how big a very tightly packed crowd of a million people would stretch back from the Capitol building along the Mall: It would extend across the Potomac River into Virginia.Attendance at Trump's inauguration is forecast to be up to _NUMBER_, according to the U.S. Armed Forces Joint Task Force, which supports the ceremony. When final numbers come in, the _NUMBER_ estimated for Trump may also prove wildly optimistic.Translation? The claims that Obama's first inauguration drew a crowd of _NUMBER_ million people is fake news at best. It also means that the difference in crowd sizes is significantly smaller than what the mainstream media is reporting. According to the mainstream media Obama had over a million more people attend his inauguration than attended Trump's inauguration. While Obama's crowd was bigger, the reality is it was only bigger by a few hundred thousand people, it wasn't bigger by over a million people.Comparing Apples To Oranges There are two very important things to remember when comparing the crowd sizes.#_NUMBER_ The Weather Was DifferentWhile Barack Obama's first inauguration was slightly colder than Donald Trump's inauguration by roughly _NUMBER_ F, Obama's inauguration was bright and sunny.Trump's inauguration was anything but bright and sunny, Trump's inauguration was cloudy and rainy.Weather plays a factor when people decide to attend an outdoor event.#_NUMBER_ Violent Liberals Attacked At Trump's InaugurationThis can't be overstated. When Barack Obama held his first inauguration, protesters didn't burn limo s, break windows at businesses, hit supporters, and police didn't have to use percussion grenades. All of these things transpired at Trump's Inauguration by violent and hypocritical liberals.More than _NUMBER_ people were arrested for their violent acts at the Trump Inauguration.Watch here as a young female reporter is trapped in a doorway by anarchists protesting Trump's inauguration. This is a perfect example of why Trump'supporters were afraid to go to DC for his inauguration:A simple google search for how many people arrested at Obama's first inauguration yielded no arrest numbers in the first few pages. Why is that? Because there were few if any at all.Trump'supporters have been the victims of violent attacks by liberals around the country for many months, people were calling for Trump to be assassinated.Without question many people were seriously concerned for their safety with these liberals showing up to cause violence. The entire week leading up to the inauguration was filled with warnings that police were expecting a rowdy crowd of protesters.It is easy to draw the conclusion that many people most likely didn't attend for the'simple fact they were concerned about a potential attack taking place. GPIt's pretty clear that Trump had at least as many participants at his inauguration as Obama did in _NUMBER_, and very possible that Trump had even more. |
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| As struggling Puerto Rico enters a bitter election season, discord in the U.S. territory's ruling party is reaching new heights, which could benefit bondholders. Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla has pushed to force hedge funds, mutual funds and other investors to take losses on the _CUR_70 billion Puerto Rico owes them because it cannot repay the debt in full. He says the island's staggering poverty and lack of money to ensure basic services constitutes a humanitarian crisis. Garcia Padilla, deeply unpopular with exhausted political capital, has dwindling allies among campaigning lawmakers now distancing themselves from him. They may adopt more creditor-friendly policies to counter his populist ideals, experts say. Puerto Rican residents vote in local primaries this Sunday with some members of Garcia Padilla's Popular Democratic Party locked in tight battles, including Rep. Rafael "Tatito" Hernandez, who runs Puerto Rico's House finance committee. The island's election cycle is unique, with all posts decided on the same day every four years, making political campaigns especially heated. Election day, Nov. _NUMBER_, is a holiday, and voter turnout averages more than _NUMBER_ percent. The governor will not seek a second term, and financial markets have never given him much credibility. His administration has yet to publish fiscal _NUMBER_'s audited financial results. That has fed a perception of irresponsible government, and spurred PDP members to try to distance themselves from his administration. The dynamic could play into the hands of creditors. Garcia Padilla set aside about _CUR_200 million in the fiscal _NUMBER_ budget toward the _CUR_800 million payment due on GO debt July _NUMBER_, but Hernandez has said he will lobby to earmark enough to pay it all. "There is a lot of lobbying here by bondholders, and one of the big issues is whether to include money to pay that debt in next year's budget," Sergio Marxuach, a San Juan-based economist, said in an interview. A law signed in April, giving the governor authority to issue moratoriums on debt payments, could be scaled back, said Height Securities analyst Daniel Hanson, who follows Puerto Rico. "Our base case has been that the budget will be used as leverage to amend back parts of the moratorium," Hanson said. While these local fights play out, the U.S. Congress has been debating a bill that would pull Puerto Rico's finances under federal oversight and allow the government to restructure its bond debt. The governor, though never wildly popular, has had some success pushing his agenda. But lately the wheels have come off, even though his party has controlled the House and Senate since _NUMBER_. Key party leaders, like Hernandez and former Secretary of State David Bernier, the PDP's gubernatorial candidate, have openly criticized him. Garcia Padilla's own economy minister, Alberto Baco Bague, publicly questioned the legitimacy of the humanitarian crisis, telling local media in May the narrative was a political "strategy." Baco declined to comment for this story. Last week, in a boon for businesses, the legislature repealed a new round of tax hikes on professional services, the same bill it had approved just last year on the strength of Garcia Padilla's message of financial desperation. Adding to the chaos, a group of Puerto Rico creditors sued Garcia Padilla's administration over the legality of the debt moratorium, despite having signed an agreement barring lawsuits while sides negotiated a restructuring. The move reflected ever-growing acrimony between the government and its creditors, Hanson said. A spokeswoman for Garcia Padilla's office had no immediate comment. Like Baco's criticism, much of the internal discord turns on whether there is actually a humanitarian crisis. But while that argument may be losing political steam, it should not be disregarded, Marxuach said. The message has resonated with Democrats in Washington, including U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew and Rep. Raul Grijalva, who made separate visits to Puerto Rico in May to stress the dire human circumstances on the island. "Puerto Rico is at a moment of necessity and crisis," Lew said May _NUMBER_ in San Juan. Marxuach said the crisis is not so much a ticking time bomb, "it's a slow burn." Public pensions covering _NUMBER_ beneficiaries are the worst-funded of any state-level U.S. pension this century, set to run out of cash in three years. Hospitals face staffing shortfalls as doctors flee to better-paying jobs on the mainland. The island's poverty rate is at _NUMBER_ percent; unemployment is near _NUMBER_ percent, and higher in rural towns. Puerto Ricans' ability to emigrate to the mainland is an escape hatch that mitigates the economic stress and political pressure to fix it. But for those without the ability to escape the burdens just grow. "The debt stays the same," said Marxuach, "but the economy grows even less." |
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| Turkey summoned the U.S ambassador on Monday to protest the treatment of Turkish security officials in the United States during a visit by President Tayyip Erdogan last week, the foreign ministry said. A brawl erupted between protesters and Turkish security personnel outside the Turkish ambassador's residence during Erdogan's visit to Washington to meet U.S. President Donald Trump. Turkey blamed the violence on demonstrators linked to the militant Kurdistan Workers Party while Washington's police chief described the incident as a "brutal attack" on peaceful protesters. The U.S. State Department said in a statement the conduct of Turkish security personnel during the incident was "deeply disturbing." It confirmed the U.S. ambassador in Ankara had been summoned by the Turkish government to discuss the "violent incidents." The Turkish foreign ministry said it summoned the U.S. ambassador to protest "aggressive and unprofessional actions" by U.S. security personnel to the security team of Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu. "It has been formally requested that the U.S. authorities conduct a full investigation of this diplomatic incident and provide the necessary explanation," the foreign ministry said in a statement. It said that lapses of security experienced during Erdogan's stay in Washington were caused "by the inability of U.S. authorities to take sufficient precautions at every stage of the official program," adding that incidents would not overshadow what was otherwise a "very successful" visit. Police have said _NUMBER_ people were injured, including a Washington police officer, and two people were arrested for assault. At least one of those arrested was a protester. Washington said last week it was voicing its strongest possible concern to Turkey over the brawl. U.S. Senator John McCain, one of the leading foreign policy voices in Congress, on Thursday called for the expulsion of Turkey's U.S. ambassador. |
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| Donald Trump is apparently really angry that he won'the election in November because he only wanted more money from NBC and didn't want his fragile ego to get shattered.Longtime Trump friend Howard Stern talked about his buddy on Wednesday and had a lot to say.And Trump is probably going to hate it because the truth hurts.Stern says that he warned Trump against running because if he wins the presidency it will take a toll on his mental health because his ego is so sensitive. I personally wish that he had never run. I told him that because I actually think this is something that is going to be detrimental to his mental health He really does want to be loved, he does want people to really love him, that drives him a lot. I think he has a very sensitive ego. Indeed, we witness Trump's fragile ego every time he tweets in retaliation of someone criticizing him. Saturday Night Live and Alec Baldwin have been targeted in particularly because they have satirized him relentlessly.Stern then explained that Trump is desperate to be adored by celebrities and is only lashing out at Hollywood and the press because he loves them so much but the feeling isn't returned. He's now on this anti-Hollywood kick. He loves Hollywood. First of all, he loves the press. He lives for it. He loves people in Hollywood. He only wants hobnob with them. All of this hatred and stuff directed towards him. It's not good for him. It's not good. There's a reason every president who leaves the office has grey hair. Finally, Stern revealed that Trump is not happy at all about actually winning the presidency. As many people claimed during the election, Trump apparently did want to lose to Hillary Clinton. The only real reason Trump ran for office was to force NBC to pay him more money to come back and host The Apprentice. And that's why Trump wants voter fraud investigations, so he can be forced out of office without quitting. He just wanted a couple more bucks out of NBC, and that is why Donald is calling for voter fraud investigations. He's pissed he won. He still wants Hillary Clinton to win. He's so f*cking pissed, he's hoping that he can find some voter fraud and hand it over to Hillary. Wait, NBC could have prevented this disaster from taking over the White House had they just opened their wallet a little more? Seriously?! Well that explains why Trump is angry at NBC all the time. Clearly, it's not just because of Alec Baldwin and SNL.Here's the audio via YouTube.Howard Stern has known Trump for decades so if he'says something about him we should believe him. Trump's ego is fragile and he is desperate for everyone to love him. And he did appear to do everything possible to lose the election. If Trump doesn't want to be president there is nothing wrong with resigning. However, if Trump really wants to be loved by everyone, he can make that happen by moving our country forward instead of taking it backwards. He can start by revoking his executive orders and putting people in charge of government agencies who are not racist anti-government extremists. Removing Steve Bannon would also help. Instead of tearing down President Obama's legacy, Trump'should build upon it. If he is truly as good at building things as he claims, this shouldn't be hard for him to accomplish.The presidency would be easier and he would get the love he has been seeking.Featured image via Wikimedia |
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| Supporters of Islamic State mocked U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to deny entry to citizens of seven Muslimmajority countries, saying it would fail to stop attacks in the United States and help win new militant recruits instead. "Your decision will do nothing. Attacks will come at you from inside America, from Americans born in America with American parents and grandparents," one Islamic State supporter posted on Telegram, an encrypted messaging app. In a move he said would help protect the United States from terrorists, Trump signed an order on Friday suspending the entry of people from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for at least _NUMBER_ days. Admission of all refugees was halted for four months, and for Syrians indefinitely. The sweeping travel curbs took effect immediately, wreaking havoc for would-be travellers with passports from the seven countries and prompting an international outcry. Islamic State, which has been fighting military assaults on several fronts in its heartlands of northern Syria and Iraq, has made no formal comment on Trump's ban. But some sympathisers took to social media to pour scorn on immigration restrictions they said would serve Islamic State's cause. "Trump bans Muslims from entering America and kills them in Yemen, Iraq and Syria, then threatens them ... the wretch does not know he presents an invaluable service to Islamic State," a supporter calling himself Salem al-Mosuly wrote on Twitter. An Islamist channel on the messaging app Telegram called "Scholars of Haq", monitored by U.S. monitoring service SITE, asked whether Trump's policies meant he was currently the best "caller to Islam" - someone who attracts new believers. Of the first _NUMBER_ users to respond, _NUMBER_ answered that he was, according to SITE. SITE quoted one respondent, Abu Magrebi, as saying: "What Trump has done has clearly revealed the truth, and harsh reality behind the American government's hatred towards Muslims." "What is Trump doing to his country? He just become president and already people protesting against his policy, and worldwide countries criticising him. Trump will bring American down God willing," Abu Magrebi wrote in another post monitored by SITE. By Monday morning, the Scholars of Haq channel had been taken down, along with several other channels on which Islamist militants had posted responses on Sunday. Other Islamic State supporters mocked an order issued by Trump on Sunday requiring his joint chiefs of staff give him a plan, in the next _NUMBER_ days, to defeat the militant group. "The Crusader Trump has made himself an unthinking Pharaoh. The despicable Crusader forgets the reckless utterances of Bush Junior and the mule Obama before him. They did not succeed and by the grace of God we will rub his nose in the mud as we did his predecessors," wrote user Turjman Al Asawirti on Telegram. |
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| Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, who is recuperating from pneumonia, plans to resume campaigning on Thursday, her spokesman said. Clinton "has spent the day catching up on reading briefings, making calls" and watching on television President Barrack Obama's speech at a campaign appearance for the former secretary of state in Philadelphia, spokesman Nick Merrill said on Tuesday. "We will resume campaign travel on Thursday, more details to come," he added. Hours after Clinton, _NUMBER_, almost collapsed on Sunday at a New York memorial ceremony for the Sept. _NUMBER_, _NUMBER_, attacks, her doctor said she had been diagnosed with pneumonia two days earlier. Clinton said on Monday that she would rest a few days before resuming her campaign for the Nov. _NUMBER_ election against Republican Donald Trump. Clinton said she had ignored doctor's order to rest and had not revealed her diagnosis earlier because "I just didn't think it was going to be that big a deal." |
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| U.S. House Republicans on Tuesday insisted they will proceed with a fiscal _NUMBER_ budget plan despite a flat-out rejection from their party's fiscal hawks that poses an important test of Speaker Paul Ryan's leadership. The _CUR_3.9 trillion proposal, which the House Budget Committee hopes to embrace formally on Wednesday for an eventual floor vote, would provide Ryan with a first step in his political goal of uniting the Republican Party behind a detailed policy plan ahead of November's presidential and congressional elections. The plan aims to achieve a balanced budget within a decade. "I promise in this speakership that we're not going to have a top-down, cram-it-down-people's-throat kind of leadership," Ryan told reporters. "We're going to make decisions as a team. We're going to push power out to the members, and we're going to make a team decision on this issue," he added. But the House Freedom Caucus, which includes dozens of outspoken conservatives who dethroned Ryan's predecessor John Boehner, has been complaining for months about a _CUR_1.07 trillion ceiling for discretionary spending that was enacted into law last November. It says the cap should be _CUR_30 billion lower and has warned leaders of its opposition. Several Freedom Caucus members sit on the House budget panel, including Representative Dave Brat, a Virginia Republican who described the group's position as mainstream: "We're where the American people want us to be." Brat said he was leaning toward voting against the proposal in a committee work-session set for Wednesday. Stubborn opposition among Freedom Caucus members, despite weeks of behind-the-scene talks among House Republicans, call into question the ability of party leaders to muster the _NUMBER_ votes needed to pass the budget without help from the chamber's _NUMBER_ Democrats. Representative Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, the panel's top Democrat, slammed the Republican proposal as a plan that would hurt the middle class and harm the Medicare healthcare program for the elderly and disabled. Democratic attacks and fiscal hawk opposition are leading some Republicans to call for a seldom-used "Queen of the Hill" strategy that would allow members to consider different proposals but deem the one with the most votes as having passed the chamber. The budget blueprint is non-binding, meaning it is not subject to President Barack Obama's approval. But it provides guidance to appropriators as they write bills to fund an array of government programs beginning Oct. _NUMBER_, the start of the next fiscal year. |
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| The Obama administration, in its final weeks, plans to ease the legal obligations on prisoners to pay for child support while they are locked up, targeting practices that critics say can saddle ex-convicts with crippling debts. The regulatory changes, if put in place, would give President Barack Obama something more to show for his efforts to reform the U.S. criminal justice system, a legacy issue for the Democrat whose time in office ends on Jan. _NUMBER_. As the first black president of a nation that incarcerates a disproportionately large number of black and Latino men, Obama has made it a priority to address problems that make it difficult for released inmates to reenter society. A White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the new rules are not final, expressed confidence they would be completed before Obama leaves office. The rules would require that prisoners be allowed to lower the amount of child support they pay in prison, with the goal of preventing large debts that inmates struggle to repay after release and that can lead to reincarceration. Some Republican critics have said such a change would let parents flout their financial responsibilities. Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives Paul Ryan last year introduced a bill to block the administration from making such a change. The bill did not become law. A Republican House aide told Reuters the administration's initiative would amount to a "backdoor effort" to avoid the legislative process. Criminal justice reform was supposed to be an area where Republicans and Democrats could find common ground in _NUMBER_, but legislative efforts have stalled. As a result, the administration needs to move forward on its own where it can, the White House official said. "We are always happy to sit down and talk with Congress, but at some point we have to move forward with what we know we are legally permitted to do and what is right," the official said. Child-support programs require absent parents to send money, usually to the spouse who has custody, to help raise their children. For prisoners who have little or no income, regular child-support payments can accumulate into unmanageable debts. Just ask Glenn Martin. As a young father, he went to prison for six years for armed robbery. While in prison, his child support payments were increased to _CUR_400 a month from _CUR_50 a month, even though he only earned about _CUR_40 a month. When he was released, Martin told Reuters he faced a _CUR_50,000 civil judgment for back child support, including interest. He said he tried to get that changed, but judges said state law did not permit modifications for incarceration. Martin went on to found a prison reform group, JustLeadershipUSA. "We have two decades of evidence that says that being tough just hasn't worked," he said. "What it has done is further criminalize the people we should be trying to move into the labor market." Most states have changed their laws so that child support payments for prisoners can be modified, but _NUMBER_ states still do not allow it or place major obstacles in the way. The Obama administration issued draft regulations in late _NUMBER_ that would require states to allow prisoners to modify their child support court orders, while also requiring state courts to set orders based on prisoners' "actual" income. States run their own child support enforcement programs, but Washington sets nationwide standards and reimburses states for _NUMBER_ percent of expenditures on the programs and provides incentive payments to states based on meeting certain targets. The final version of the draft rules, still not public, was sent to the White House for review in July. Supporters say the changes will help reduce prison populations by preventing ex-convicts from accruing debts that make it difficult for them to find legitimate jobs and increases the likelihood they could face jail time over unpaid child support payments. A _NUMBER_ administration survey found _NUMBER_ federal prisoners had child support orders, with almost _NUMBER_ of the prisoners behind on payments. The average amount owed was nearly _CUR_24,000. "The child support system as it exists today in a lot of ways has become ... a major driver of mass incarceration," said Rebecca Vallas, managing director of the Poverty to Prosperity program at the Center for American Progress, a Washington think tank. |
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| Hungary is not planning to move its Israeli Embassy to Jerusalem, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Monday, adding that the government's Middle East policy was unchanged. This has not come up, Orban told reporters in response to a question in parliament according to an audio recording of his remarks published on the website of private broadcaster HirTV. Hungary sees no reason to change its Middle East policy, Orban said. We will continue with the balanced politics we have been pursuing. He did not elaborate. On Friday Hungary blocked a statement planned by all EU _NUMBER_ governments in response to Trump's announcement and the Foreign Ministry said Hungary was in favor of a negotiated solution in the Middle East. |
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| We re still waiting for the NFL to make a statement about the disrespectful protests by multi-millionaire players who plan to protest an oppressive America and the cops who defend the'stadiums, keeping fans and players safe while they play football on _NUMBER_-_NUMBER_ Even as the NFL turns a blind eye to the lengthening list of players protesting America by refusing to stand for the national anthem, the league has decided to crack down on a player who announced his intention to wear cleats to memorialize the vicious terror attacks on September _NUMBER_, _NUMBER_. Now a police union is vowing to pay the player's NFL fine if he ll wear them despite the league's punishment.The NFL has officially banned Tennessee Titans linebacker Avery Williamson from wearing cleats custom made as a memorial to the victims and first responders who fell in the line of duty during that terrible day on _NUMBER_/_NUMBER_.In response the disappointed Williamson announced that instead of wearing them during Sunday's game with the Minnesota Vikings he would auction them off with the proceeds going to benefit Operation Warrior Wishes.But after hearing of the NFL's denial of Williamson's request to honor the fallen, two police unions stepped forward pledging to pay what would be a _CUR_6,000 NFL fine if the player ignored the league's demands and wore them anyway.For his part, the player said he doesn't want to cause anyone any trouble and just wanted to do a nice thing for the country. I don't want to draw negative attention, so I m just going to focus on playing the game, Williamson said of the ban on the cleats. Once I heard from them, I didn't even try to argue anything. I just left it alone. I didn't want to press the issue. The'shoes Williamson calls his patriot cleats are blue with redand white-striped Nike swooshes featuring the words Never Forget and _NUMBER_/_NUMBER_ on the back. Also a number _NUMBER_ representing the Twin Towers appear. The'shoes were airbrushed by True Blue Customs in Lexington, Kentucky.In its denial the NFL reminded Williamson that all teams must be uniform on the field and no single player may wear unauthorized gear or sport special decorations upon that gear. The ban is usually aimed at keeping unauthorized financial sponsorships from appearing on field.This isn't the first time the NFL has denied a player's request to honor police or first responders, even as other players are permitted to indulge protests against the U.S.A. and support for Black Lives Matter.Only last month the NFL refused to allow the Dallas Cowboys to wear decals on their helmets showing support for the Dallas Police Department, which lost five officers in one terrible attack in July.The Arm In Arm decal was to have been worn when the team opened its preseason schedule during a game with the Los Angeles Rams.For entire story: Breitbart News |
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| Macomb County, MI Executive Mark Hackel released audio recordings to local Detroit TV stations in which he claims the voice of Warren, MI Mayor Jim Fouts can be heard saying mentally disabled people are retards and not even human beings. Hackel claimed the tapes were given to him by someone who is or was a member of Fouts staff.Channel _NUMBER_ WDIV-TV reports that reporter Mara McDonald spoke with the person who made the tape, an employee who recorded Fouts in his office. The context was a discussion of Fouts plans to attend an event regarding the Special Olympics, according to the TV station.Lepine said Special Olympics, sports training and competition for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, are a very big deal for the community. In one of the recordings, the man's voice said mean things about the way mentally disabled people use bathrooms. What good are they? They re dysfunctional human beings. They re not even human beings. I don't want any part of this. This is one of the worse things about being mayor. This is the bottom of the barrel. I don't want to be around them, and I wish them well in a cage, the voice said in the recording. Fouts has a controversial history with the Democratic Party. He ran for state representative in the 1970s as a Republican, but in Warren, the city offices are nonpartisan. Fouts, however, has attended many Democratic events over the years, but endorsed U.S. Sen. John McCain, an Arizona Republican, for president in _NUMBER_ before switching his allegiance to then-Sen. Barack Obama.In this year's election cycle, he was an enthusiastic supporter of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, but later complained about how the party treated him at a Democratic debate in Flint in February and that he didn't get to introduce Clinton when she gave a speech in Warren in August.Bouts, who avoided reporters calls on Friday, in a Thursday night Facebook post denied it was him, and said that Hackel had experts available to electronically engineer it. Detroit FP |
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| Britain holds a referendum on membership of the European Union on June _NUMBER_. Following are details of how the referendum will work on the night. Sources: Electoral Commission, Reuters reporting. Voters will be given one piece of paper with the question: "Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union or leave the European Union?" They will be asked to put a cross beside either: "Remain a member of the European Union "Leave the European Union" All those who are entitled to vote in a UK parliamentary general election can vote in the referendum, including British, Irish and qualifying Commonwealth citizens over the age of _NUMBER_ who are resident in the UK. UK nationals resident overseas who have appeared on a parliamentary election register in the past _NUMBER_ years will also have the right to vote, as do Irish citizens who were born in Northern Ireland and registered to vote in Northern Ireland in the last _NUMBER_ years. In addition, Peers and citizens of Gibraltar who were able to vote at a European Parliamentary election can vote. The deadline for registering to vote is midnight on June _NUMBER_. Polling stations open at _NUMBER_ BST on June _NUMBER_ and close at _NUMBER_ local time. There are currently no plans by broadcasters for an exit poll as the margin of error is deemed to be too large. Votes will be counted by hand and the count will begin as soon as polls close . Each of _NUMBER_ local counting areas will count the number of ballot papers and announce local turnout figures in each of the areas. Then each counting area will count the votes and announce local totals for each of the _NUMBER_ areas. These will be collated into regional totals, and then a final, national, result. A final result will be announced in Manchester by Jenny Watson, who is the Chief Counting Officer. Reuters will provide full coverage of the results. |
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| Hillary would never have labeled one of her largest donors, longtime friend, and the financier of violent anti-American protesters around the world an enemy of the'state. But fortunately for America, Hillary's not our president. Fortunately for America, both the Senate and the House are controlled by Republicans who understand we have a lot to lose if they continue to sit back and let this radical billionaire throw hundreds of millions of dollars at these violent, anti-American groups. Soros goals are not consistent with those of our Founding Fathers. His agenda is counter to protecting our freedoms and defending our national security. It's time our legislators consider taking the'same steps as Israel and Hungary to send George Soros a message that we consider him an enemy of the'state, and that we're not going to just sit by and watch him force his radical agenda on America. Israel's foreign ministry has issued a statement denouncing U.S. billionaire George Soros, a move that appeared designed to align Israel more closely with Hungary ahead of a visit to Budapest next week by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.Soros, a Hungarian-born Jew who has spent a large part of his fortune funding pro-democracy and human rights groups, has repeatedly been targeted by Hungary's right-wing government, in particular over his support for more open immigration.In the latest case, Prime Minister Viktor Orban has backed a campaign in which Soros is singled out as an enemy of the'state. Let's not allow Soros to have the last laugh say billboards next to a picture of the _NUMBER_-year-old investor, a campaign that Jewish groups and others say foments anti-Semitism.Soros, who rarely addresses personal attacks against him, has not commented on the billboards. But Hungarian Jewish groups and Human Rights Watch, an organization partly funded by Soros, have condemned the campaign, saying it evokes memories of the Nazi posters during the Second World War . ReutersThere's one big problem with the'statement by Soros Human Rights Watch group, Soros admitted he was no friend to the Jews during the Holocaust in a _NUMBER_ interview with Steve Kroft of _NUMBER_ Minutes . The interview was suspiciously scrubbed from the internet for some time, but has just recently resurfaced. Knowing there were problems ahead for the Jews, Soros father, who was a successful lawyer, bribed a government official to take _NUMBER_ year old George Soros in and say he was his Christian godson. While hundreds of thousands of Hungarian Jews were being shipped off to the death camps, George Soros accompanied his appointed godfather around confiscating property from Jews. George admitted it wasn't difficult at all to take part in taking property from the Jews. Kroft asked Soros if it bothered him?Soros: It created no problem at all.Kroft: No feeling of guilt?Soros: No.Why should Israel tread lightly when it comes to this monster who had no feelings of guilt about taking property from fellow Jews during the Holocaust?Watch:Soros was born in Hungary, they are interestingly, the'second nation to consider George Soros to be an enemy of the'state. Fox News When Soros talks of chaos, it's a subject he knows well. The only question is his involvement.Most everywhere Soros, his foundations or his investment money has gone, trouble has followed.He's helped start revolutions, undermined national currencies and funded radicals around the world.Soros has been convicted of insider dealing in France and fined _CUR_3 million, fined another _CUR_2 million in his native Hungary.His foundations have been accused of shielding spies and breaking currency laws and his investing strategy has been targeted for harming several national currencies.That's not the'story the broadcast networks have been telling about Soros for the past five years.There were _NUMBER_ mentions of Soros during that time but only one gave any hint at trouble, and that was merely to mention he was still known as the man who broke the Bank of England. But ABC followed that description up with: That was all legal. Only a sex scandal with a _NUMBER_-year-old Brazilian actress gave Soros any negative publicity at all.But there have been lots of negatives in Soros's past as he's spread his influence around the world. Soros wears criticism like a badge of honor. I have now come under attack in several countries: in Hungary from Hungarian nationalists; in Romania from the Vatra Romanesca; in Slovakia from the communist party newspaper Pravda; in the Soviet Union by the organ of the hard-liners Sovietskaia Russiya, he claims in Underwriting Democracy. Soros's Open Society Fund was created in _NUMBER_ as a charitable lead trust. Even its creator admitted his motives were basically selfish and he wanted a tax gimmick. He did it as a trust for his children While Soros has been known worldwide for his investment skills, he hasn't always managed to stay clear of the authorities.He was found guilty in France of an insider trading case about _NUMBER_ years ago and has repeatedly failed at having that news pulled from his record.According to The New York Times, in September _NUMBER_, a French panel upheld his conviction because he had bought and sold shares of Soci t G n rale in _NUMBER_ with the knowledge that the bank might be a takeover target. He was fined _CUR_3 million.His fund ran into problems in Hungary, where Soros was born and lived till his late teen years. At issue was how he handled an investment into the the country's largest bank : OTP. His fund was fined _CUR_2 million by Hungarian regulators last week for having manipulated OTP's stock price, wrote The New York Times in _NUMBER_. |
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| As the _NUMBER_ day standoff between federal officials and the Bundy terrorists who occupied Oregon's Malheur National Wildlife Sanctuary finally came to an end, a group calling itself The Harney County Trio released a hilarious tribute to the now arrested patriots. The trio, identified only as Garrett, Laura and Rob, posted the video to YouTube on February _NUMBER_, just as the last four Bundy terrorists surrendered to federal authorities.The'song, titled The Ballad Of The Malheur Patriots, immortalizes Ammon Bundy and his band of American Heroes, paying tribute to the most significant moments that occurred during the occupation.From the group's first desperate plea for supplies, sent out just two days into the'siege, to the table full of dicks and dildos they got in response, the ballad is both historically accurate and genuinely hilarious.The video incorporates scenes from the'standoff, along with authentic footage of the Malheur Wildlife Sanctuary.During the chorus, the group belts out the heartfelt lines, Patriots, patriots storming a building surrounded by ducks. They didn't stand down. They vowed to stand up, even if they'didn't know for what. Watch the video below, courtesy of Adele Comedy on YouTube.While it's definitely not the ballad Bundy and his followers must have hoped would someday be written to immortalize their brave actions, it's historical value goes without saying.Decades from now, when the world looks back to reflect on the events surrounding the takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Sanctuary, this is what our children and our children's children will remember.As for the Bundy terrorists, their delusional ideas of becoming the heroes of future generations will eventually be destroyed by the reality of their own stupid videos and social media posts.So far _NUMBER_ militants have been charged in connection with the illegal occupation.May those men forever be remembered wherever dicks and dildos are sold.Featured image: screen capture |
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| U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, while chief executive of Exxon Mobil Corp , used an alias for emails with employees and board members because his primary account was jammed with too many messages, the oil company said on Tuesday. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who is investigating whether Exxon misled shareholders and the public about climate change, wrote to a judge on Monday accusing Exxon of not previously disclosing the alias and Tillerson's climate-change communications through it. Exxon denied trying to hide anything. "This was not an alias used to discuss only climate change," Exxon spokesman Alan Jeffers said on Tuesday. "It was an account used for everyday business by senior executives who needed to reach" Tillerson, who left the company at the end of _NUMBER_ to become secretary of state. Tillerson received thousands of emails a day from climate change activists and others at his regular address - _EMAIL_ - and that made it difficult to parse which messages were important to promptly address Exxon's business operations, Jeffers said. Tillerson used the email alias for eight years and sent thousands of messages. Sixty-four of those sent and received met the parameters for Schneiderman's climate change subpoena and were turned over to New York officials, Jeffers said. The email alias was _EMAIL_. Wayne is Tillerson's middle name and "Tracker" is likely a reference to his past involvement in the Boy Scouts of America. Although Trump has vowed to reverse climate-change steps taken by former President Barack Obama, Exxon has said it believes it must address climate change. On Monday, it said: "ExxonMobil believes the risk of climate change is clear and warrants action." Darren Woods, who succeeded Tillerson as Exxon's CEO in January, does not use an email alias, nor does any other Exxon employee, Jeffers said. Use of the email alias was seized upon by environmentalists on Tuesday, who said it revealed a pattern of deception. "If they had nothing to hide, than why the secret email account?" said Jamie Henn of _NUMBER_.org, an environmental group. Exxon plans to respond to Schneiderman in a court filing within the next several days, Jeffers said. The case is People of the State of New York v PricewaterhouseCoopers and Exxon Mobil Corporation, New York State Supreme Court, New York County, No. _NUMBER_/_NUMBER_. |
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| Sometimes you just have to point the obvious out, because a lot of people just don't see the error in their own ways. This is exactly what Grey's Anatomy star and activist Jesse Williams did when he took to Twitter to point out what an ass Donald Trump is truly behaving like.Trump tweeted out: Just released that international gangs are all over our cities. This will end when I am President! Now, terrible grammar aside, this is an absolute ridiculous statement. First of all, wtf? He's just trying to incite fear and hatred, once again of the other. Secondly, Trump is coming across like he's Batman out to save the day completely ignoring how to actually get something done.Noticing this buffoonery, Williams tweeted out in response to Trump's ridiculous tweet: You literally could've been anything and you chose to go down in history as a preposterously oafish laughing stock. via TwitterQuite honestly, it doesn't get much more perfect than that. Trump time and time again says the most ridiculous things that hold no basis in reality, and uses Twitter as his own personal troll fest to be as big of an asshole as possible. His followers eat it up, but to those of us who clearly have a grasp on common sense and reality, Trump is turning himself into one of the biggest embarrassments of all time.Trump was born in to massive wealth, and like Williams said, the Republican front-runner could have been anything in the world he wanted to be. Hell, he could have just sat on his fortune, made a few investments and lived his life in peace. But instead, he chose to go down as a preposterously oafish laughing stock, who at this point, will never ever recover.Trump, we get that you're a narcissist, but to actually believe that you can handle being the leader of the free world? Nah, you're absolutely out of your disheveled head.Featured Photo by Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images Twitter |
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| Malaysia is negotiating with U.S.-based seabed exploration firm Ocean Infinity to resume the search for Malaysia Airlines MH370, which vanished three years ago in the southern Indian Ocean with _NUMBER_ people aboard. The disappearance of the aircraft en route to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur ranks among the world's greatest aviation mysteries after Australia, China and Malaysia ended a fruitless A_CUR_200-million search effort in January. This week, Malaysia said it had received proposals to continue the search from Ocean Infinity, Dutch firm Fugro and an unidentified Malaysian company. Ocean Infinity beat out the competition and the government has begun negotiations with it, Malaysia's deputy transport minister Aziz Kaprawi said on Thursday. Yes, we are negotiating with Ocean Infinity, but the agreement has not been finalised, he told Reuters, but declined to comment on the potential reward for the plane's discovery. It was an offer on an open basis, that we will only honor if the aircraft is found. The firm had made an offer on a no-cure, no-fee basis, according to a letter, seen by Reuters, that was sent to passengers families on Thursday. Australia and China were informed of the negotiation process, but only Australia had informally agreed to Malaysia's choice, Aziz said. It is still under discussion with China, he added, but declined to elaborate on China's possible concerns. Australian and Chinese authorities did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment. Ocean Infinity could not confirm the award of a contract, but good progress has been made , a spokesman said in a statement. Calvin Shim, whose wife was one of the MH370 crew, said he was relieved authorities were considering resuming the search. Grateful this step is finally being officially taken, he told Reuters in a text message. Relatives of others on board voiced concern over the lengthy talks, however. Families were told of Ocean Infinity's offer in March, said Grace Nathan, a lawyer whose mother was aboard. The best weather for the search is spring and summer, said Nathan. We worry they will lose that window if they take too long to decide. |
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| So much for the cute little puppies and clydesdales Budweiser has created a Superbowl Ad that is creating a lot of controversy. The _NUMBER_-minute ad tries to explain'to origins of the company's co-founder, Adolphus Busch, by focusing on the fact that he was an immigrant.The ad starts out with an actor who is playing Busch being told, You re not wanted here! Go back home! The vice-president and ranking executive for Budweiser brand in the U.S., Ricardo Marques, claims that this is not related to what is currently going on in the country in regards to illegal immigration.Yeah right..Budweiser took a big hit in stock prices yesterday after Americans discovered the news about their Super Bowl ad: Gateway Pundit |
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| Prime Minister Joseph Muscat offered on Wednesday a major reward to anyone with information about the killing of prominent journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, saying no expense would be spared in solving the crime. Caruana Galizia, who regularly lambasted Muscat in her popular blogs, was killed on Monday by a bomb, which tore apart her car as she was driving away from her home on this southern Mediterranean island. Dutch forensic experts and investigators from the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation are helping the local police probe the murder, which shocked Malta and drew condemnation from around Europe. We will make sure our investigators have all the resources they need and all the foreign expertise necessary to get to the bottom of this, Muscat told Reuters in his office, housed in an 18th century baroque palace. Shortly afterwards, Muscat told parliament his government would offer a substantial and unprecedented reward for information about the crime and said any informants would be given full legal protection. He gave no further details. Muscat, who easily won re-election in June after calling a snap vote in response to Caruana Galizia's charges of corruption, said he would not stand down, but acknowledged that the killing had hurt the country's reputation. This has done no good for sure. But, we want to show people that this is not us. This is not what we stand for. Forensic teams on Wednesday combed the crime scene for evidence, with body parts and fragments of the car blown across a wide area by the powerful blast. Police have yet to give any information about their findings to date. Caruana Galizia's son Matthew denounced Muscat in a fierce outburst on Tuesday, saying he had allowed a culture of impunity to take root in Malta, undermining both the judiciary and the police during his five years in office. Muscat, who earlier this year sued Caruana Galizia over her allegations of financial wrongdoing within his family, played down the son's criticism. I think I would have said worse things if I had found my mother butchered in a car explosion, so I would not take exception at what he said, he said. However, he rejected criticism that he had allowed wealthy foreigners to hold great sway over Malta, which has a population of some _NUMBER_ and is the smallest European Union nation. His government has encouraged foreign firms to set up subsidiaries to take advantage of low tax rates, has allowed a rapid proliferation of online gaming firms and instigated a scheme to let wealthy outsiders buy Maltese passports. Our economy is heavily diversified, he said. I think our financial services sector is as transparent, solid and compliant as any other European jurisdiction. Opposition leader Adrian Delia, himself a recent target of Caruana Galizia's verbal assaults, has demanded the resignation of Muscat, accusing him of destroying the rule of law in Malta. |
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| British Prime Minister Theresa May said on Friday it was not helpful for anyone to speculate on investigations after U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted that the culprits behind a train bombing had been in the sights of the police. Soon after _NUMBER_ people were injured in the attack on a busy underground train in west London, Trump tweeted: Another attack in London by a loser terrorist. These are sick and demented people who were in the sights of Scotland Yard. Must be proactive! His comments appeared to point the finger at British police. Asked whether Trump knew something Britain did not, May said: I never think it's helpful for anybody to speculate on what is an ongoing investigation . Others chimed in, with May's former chief of staff, Nick Timothy, saying Trump's comment was so unhelpful from leader of our ally and intelligence partner . London and Washington have long boasted of their special relationship , close ties that were strained earlier this year when the United States leaked information on an investigation into a bomber who killed _NUMBER_ at a Manchester pop concert. Trump told reporters after his tweet that he had been briefed on the London incident, and he also said he would be speaking with May, although it was not clear whether his reference to Scotland Yard came up on the call. A senior U.S. government official cast doubt on whether Trump was privy to information over whether the bomber in the west London attack was known or not. The official said that at this point, U.S. agencies had no information to back up any suggestion by Trump that Britain had advance warning or specific intelligence on the attack. At a White House briefing ahead of next week's U.N. General Assembly meeting, Trump's national security adviser, H.R. McMaster, said the president was referring generically to British efforts to combat terrorism and was not making a reference to any specific knowledge authorities in London may have had. I think he means generally that this kind of activity is what we re trying to prevent, and so these organizations that are responsible for it, whatever comes out of this investigation, that remains to be seen, McMaster said. Hours after Trump's tweet, Sky News cited security sources as saying they had identified a suspect in the attack, with the help of surveillance footage. |
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| Israel has ordered the deportation of two of three Turks who were briefly arrested during Palestinian demonstrations last week after U.S. President Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital, the Interior Ministry said on Monday. The three were detained on Friday on suspicion of assaulting Israeli police near a Al-Aqsa mosque in East Jerusalem, which Palestinians see as the capital of their own future state. An Israeli court freed them without charges on Saturday. An Interior Ministry spokeswoman said one of the men was scheduled for deportation later on Monday and another on Saturday. She said both had entered Israel on Belgian passports. Israeli police had described the three as Turkish tourists. A photograph circulated on social media showed them among a group of fez-wearing men and boys outside Al-Aqsa. One is seen wearing a Turkish flag T-shirt and waving a Palestinian flag, while two hold up pictures of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan. Erdogan has been vocal in opposing Trump's Jerusalem move, which reversed decades of U.S. policy over the status of a city whose eastern sector Israel captured in the _NUMBER_ war and which is holy to Jews, Christians and Muslims. The Interior Ministry spokeswoman said she had no information on the third Turk who had been arrested in the case. |
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| It won't lead to any solution. It's a kind of European Union dictatorship towards smaller members An extra _NUMBER_ billion has been pledged by EU leaders to help tackle the refugee crisis following an emergency summit in Brussels.It comes as Slovakia says it will go to court to challenge compulsory quotas for relocating _NUMBER_ refugees approved by European Union ministers.Britain has not signed up to the plans, instead opting for a relocation scheme to take _NUMBER_ Syrian refugees from countries in the Middle East over the next five years. Via: itvFour of the _NUMBER_ EU countries voted against the quota system on Tuesday, with Finland abstaining. Slovakia, one of the loudest critics of the decision, which was advocated strongly by Germany and France, announced it would challenge it in court. We will go in two directions: first one, we will file a charge at the court in Luxembourg secondly, we will not implement the of the interior ministers, the Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico told reporters on Wednesday, before leaving for an EU leaders summit in Brussels. We have been refusing this nonsense from the beginning, and as a sovereign country we have the right to sue, he added, saying his country would not submit to the quota as long as he leads it.Slovakia, which has a population of _NUMBER_ million, objects to the relocation of _NUMBER_ migrants and refugees from Italy and Greece throughout the EU. It currently has only a small migrant community and the public opinion is against accepting Muslim asylum seekers, who make up the majority of those looking to enter Europe this year.Fico called the decision passed by a rare vote, rather than the accepted unanimous vote by all EU member states, a dictate of the majority and said the plan fails to address the core issues of the refugee crisis.Meanwhile, Jurgen Elsaesser, editor-in-chief of the German-based magazine Compact, told RT that the way the quota vote took place, threatens European unity, while it was also a total nonsense in practical terms. It won't lead to any solution. It's a kind of European Union dictatorship towards smaller members, he'said, speaking to RT. Brussels tries to press them into accepting more refugees, but the people and the governments of these countries are not willing to do so. This will become a serious rift within the European Union. Via: RT |
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| Three Kurdish Peshmerga fighters were killed and five wounded on Saturday when an explosive device blew up near their vehicle south of the Iraqi oil city of Kirkuk, security sources said. The explosion happened in Daquq, a region bordering Islamic State-held areas, the sources said. It took place as the Kurdistan Regional Government prepares for a referendum on Monday on independence for the region under its control in northern Iraq, including Kirkuk, a multi-ethnic region also claimed by the central government in Baghdad. |
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| 21st Century Wire says This was one of the most eagerly anticipated cyber events ever, but today's October surprise turned out to be an October tease.On Monday, Wikileaks founder Julian Assange warmed up the international community, and more importantly Trump'supporters, when he hinted, If we are going to make a major publication about the U.S., we wouldn't do it at _NUMBER_ a.m . As it turns out, after much hope and lots of hype, Trump'supporters couldn't even get to first base with Assange this morning Over in America, the Trump camp was buzzing with the promise that Hillary Clinton would be mortally wounded by this morning's big reveal. Trump's online again-offline again surrogate-cum-secret agent, Roger Stone, was over the moon with joy, and even tweeted:Wednesday@HillaryClinton is done. _TAG_. Roger Stone October _NUMBER_, 2016Trump backer Alex Jones insisted that the Wikileaks document dump would be historic and that the Clintons will be devastated! and even went so far as to promote a live broadcast special on his channel Infowars.com, promising to unveil the devastating news.In the end, nothing happened. There were no documents revealed.The Clintons Will Be DEVASTATED: Infowars Historic LIVE COVERAGE Of _TAG_ Press Conference Share this link! _URL_ infowars October _NUMBER_, 2016A classic case of the media jumping the gun, before anything was actually confirmed.It wasn't only Jones and Co. Many a Trump'supporter stayed up all night in anticipation of what this Wikileaks trove might bring Did _TAG_ just make me stay up _NUMBER_ hours straight for him to say see you in November? _TAG_ Tim Black October _NUMBER_, 2016It is still possible that the major information release previously promised by Assange is imminent, and Assange did hint at this in the wake of the DNC leaks which led to the resignation of chairwoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz and others over systemic Democratic Party corruption. In his statement, he reiterated the incredible workload that he and his team have in vetting all the information in their possession before it's released. Wikileaks also has to be careful in order to preserve the integrity of the leaks, but also to organize and catalogue the information for press and public consumption.Assange has since indicated that waves of documents will now be revealed in a time-released fashion, with some items dumped each week, right up until the US election on November 8th.When asked during his Berlin videocast about what the impact might be based on his knowledge of the information, Assange simply relied: We think they're significant. WATCH THIS SPACE.READ MORE WIKILEAKS AT: 21st Century Wire Wikileaks Files |
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| Argentina's previous government never asked Interpol to drop arrest warrants against a group of Iranians accused of bombing a Jewish center, the ex-head of the police agency said on Wednesday, as the government proceeded with treason charges against the former president. Former Interpol chief Ronald Noble said in an email on Wednesday that he wants to testify that the government of former President Cristina Fernandez did not ask to have the arrest warrants lifted as part of a memorandum she had with Iran. If a judge allows Noble to testify, the treason case filed this month against Fernandez and _NUMBER_ other top officials could crumble. She denies wrongdoing and calls the charge politically motivated. The arrest warrants were not affected in their validity by the approval of the memorandum, Noble said in an email to a federal appeals court that was seen by Reuters. The Fernandez administration always expressed its belief that the warrants should remain in effect, the email said. The accusation that the Fernandez government worked behind the scenes to clear the accused bombers of the AMIA Jewish community center in order to improve trade between Argentina and Iran is at the heart of a charge of treason brought against Fernandez. She served as president for eight years before being succeeded by Mauricio Macri in _NUMBER_. Others agreed that the treason charge against Fernandez appeared questionable. The indictment by Judge Claudio Bonadio of former President Fernandez, her Foreign Minister Hector Timerman, and _NUMBER_ others, for treason and concealment points to no evidence that would seem to substantiate those charges, Human Rights Watch said in a statement on Tuesday. The allegations against Fernandez drew international attention in January _NUMBER_, when the prosecutor who initially made them, Alberto Nisman, was found shot dead in the bathroom of his Buenos Aires apartment. An Argentine appeals court ordered the re-opening of the investigation a year ago. Nisman's death was classified a suicide, though an official investigating the case has said the shooting appeared to be a homicide. Nisman's body was discovered hours before he was to brief Congress on the _NUMBER_ bombing of the AMIA center. Nisman said Fernandez worked behind the scenes to clear Iran of any wrongdoing and normalize relations to clinch a grains-for-oil deal with Tehran that was signed in _NUMBER_. The memorandum agreement created a joint commission to investigate the AMIA bombing that critics said was really a means to absolve Iran. |
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| You have to believe this junior Democratic Congressman is a bit unhinged and immature when you'read what he did during a moment of silence for the Texas victims. He walked out of the moment of silence Monday night for victims of this weekend's mass shooting at a Texas church. The Democrats have politicized the'shooting in Texas from day one This showboating politician thought of politics before honoring the victims of the'shooting in Texas (function );Posted by Ted Lieu on Monday, November _NUMBER_, 2017FOX NEWS REPORTED:California's Ted Lieu said that he would not join his colleagues who were observing the moment of silence in the chambers of the House of Representatives: I can't do this again I ve been to too many moments of silences. In just my short period in Congress, three of the worst mass shootings in us history have occurred. I will not be silent. I urge us to pass reasonable gun safety legislation, including a universal background check law supported by _NUMBER_ percent of Americans, a ban on assault rifles and a ban on bump stocks. WHAT LIEU FAILED TO REVEAL:The'shooter should not have been able to purchase guns! The Air Force made an error and did not report the'shooter so he would be flagged. The laws are in place Mr. Lieu! SCREW THE NRA My thoughts and prayers are with the victims and families affected by the mass shooting in Sutherland Springs, he posted on Twitter Sunday.But just two hours later, after some of his followers objected to the measured nature of the tweet, Lieu unloaded on the NRA:I agree my prior tweet could be better. So here: I pray for the victims in TX. Also, screw the _USER_ & can you help Dems take back the House. Ted Lieu November _NUMBER_, _NUMBER_ |
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| The Republican presidential race has gotten so heated as well as sleazy that not even the presidential candidates mothers are left alone. With the New Hampshire primary just around the corner, a potential voter showed a mailer a super PAC backing Florida senator Marco Rubio sent out to New Hampshire voters.The mailer features a photo of Jeb Bush wearing a golden crown next to a white haired and bejeweled Queen Elizabeth II, who bears a striking resemblance to Jeb's mother and former First Lady Barbara Bush.And in case it wasn't obvious that the mailer is linking Queen Elizabeth to Jeb's mom Barbara, the mailer includes an old quote from Barbara below the photo of Queen Elizabeth. It reads: We ve had enough Bushes. Barbara Bush. The mailer, which is headlined What happened to the Coronation of Jeb Bush? is clearly linking the idea of monarchy and the'seeming monopolization of power by the Bush family, who ve already had two previous presidents and are vying for a third. The mailer has images of Henry VIII who represents George Sr., and and the Burger King mascot, who represents George Jr.The back of the mailer reads: Most pundits claimed Bush/Clinton general election match up was inevitable, reads the back of the Rubio super PAC mailer. They said the _NUMBER_ election would be a choice between these _NUMBER_ dynasties. One has to admit, this is quite a clever mailer as the Bush family is attempting to put yet another son in power. We re still reeling from the mistakes of Jeb's brother, who plunged the country into chaos in the eight years he was at the helm and we don't need Jeb, who has been unapologetic for the mistakes and crimes of his brother.However, we definitely don't need Marco Rubio, the conservative, robotic, and unappealing Florida senator. Let's continue to watch in glee as all of the candidates continue to cancel each other out with antics that lack in the most basic of human integrity. Featured image from Wikimedia Commons |
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| Just days after the death of his own son in combat, Lt Gen John Kelly eulogized two other sons in an unforgettable manner:Two years ago when I was the Commander of all U.S. and Iraqi forces, in fact, the 22nd of April _NUMBER_, two Marine infantry battalions, _NUMBER_/_NUMBER_ The Walking Dead, and _NUMBER_/_NUMBER_ were switching out in Ramadi. One battalion in the closing days of their deployment going home very soon, the other just starting its seven-month combat tour.Two Marines, Corporal Jonathan Yale and Lance Corporal Jordan Haerter, _NUMBER_ and _NUMBER_ years old respectively, one from each battalion, were assuming the watch together at the entrance gate of an outpost that contained a makeshift barracks housing _NUMBER_ Marines.The'same broken down ramshackle building was also home to _NUMBER_ Iraqi police, also my men and our allies in the fight against the terrorists in Ramadi, a city until recently the most dangerous city on earth and owned by Al Qaeda. Yale was a dirt poor mixed-race kid from Virginia with a wife and daughter, and a mother and sister who lived with him and he'supported as well. He did this on a yearly salary of less than _CUR_23,000. Haerter, on the other hand, was a middle class white kid from Long Island.They were from two completely different worlds. Had they not joined the Marines they would never have met each other, or understood that multiple America's exist simultaneously depending on one's race, education level, economic status, and where you might have been born. But they were Marines, combat Marines, forged in the'same crucible of Marine training, and because of this bond they were brothers as close, or closer, than if they were born of the'same woman.The mission orders they'received from the'sergeant squad leader I am sure went something like: Okay you two clowns, stand this post and let no unauthorized personnel or vehicles pass. You clear? I am also sure Yale and Haerter then rolled their eyes and said in unison something like: Yes Sergeant, with just enough attitude that made the point without saying the words, No kidding sweetheart, we know what we're doing. They then relieved two other Marines on watch and took up their post at the entry control point of Joint Security Station Nasser, in the Sophia section of Ramadi, al Anbar, Iraq.A few minutes later a large blue truck turned down the alley way perhaps _NUMBER_-_NUMBER_ yards in length and sped its way through the'serpentine of concrete jersey walls. The truck stopped just short of where the two were posted and detonated, killing them both catastrophically. Twenty-four brick masonry houses were damaged or destroyed. A mosque _NUMBER_ yards away collapsed. The truck's engine came to rest two hundred yards away knocking most of a house down before it stopped.Our explosive experts reckoned the blast was made of _NUMBER_ pounds of explosives. Two died, and because these two young infantrymen didn't have it in their DNA to run from danger, they saved _NUMBER_ of their Iraqi and American brothers-in-arms.When I read the'situation report about the incident a few hours after it happened I called the regimental commander for details as something about this struck me as different. Marines dying or being seriously wounded is commonplace in combat. We expect Marines regardless of rank or MOS to stand their ground and do their duty, and even die in the process, if that is what the mission takes. But this just seemed different.The regimental commander had just returned from the'site and he agreed, but reported that there were no American witnesses to the event just Iraqi police. I figured if there was any chance of finding out what actually happened and then to decorate the two Marines to acknowledge their bravery, I d have to do it as a combat award that requires two eye-witnesses and we figured the bureaucrats back in Washington would never buy Iraqi statements. If it had any chance at all, it had to come under the'signature of a general officer.I traveled to Ramadi the next day and spoke individually to a half-dozen Iraqi police all of whom told the'same story. The blue truck turned down into the alley and immediately sped up as it made its way through the'serpentine. They all said, We knew immediately what was going on as soon as the two Marines began firing. The Iraqi police then related that some of them also fired, and then to a man, ran for safety just prior to the explosion.All survived. Many were injured some seriously. One of the Iraqis elaborated and with tears welling up said, They d run like any normal man would to save his life. What he didn't know until then, he'said, and what he learned that very instant, was that Marines are not normal. Choking past the emotion he'said, Sir, in the name of God no sane man would have stood there and done what they'did. No sane man. They saved us all. What we didn't know at the time, and only learned a couple of days later after I wrote a summary and submitted both Yale and Haerter for posthumous Navy Crosses, was that one of our security cameras, damaged initially in the blast, recorded some of the'suicide attack. It happened exactly as the Iraqis had described it. It took exactly six seconds from when the truck entered the alley until it detonated.You can watch the last six seconds of their young lives. Putting myself in their heads I supposed it took about a second for the two Marines to separately come to the'same conclusion about what was going on once the truck came into their view at the far end of the alley. Exactly no time to talk it over, or call the'sergeant to ask what they should do. Only enough time to take half an instant and think about what the'sergeant told them to do only a few minutes before: let no unauthorized personnel or vehicles pass. The two Marines had about five seconds left to live. It took maybe another two seconds for them to present their weapons, take aim, and open up. By this time the truck was half-way through the barriers and gaining speed the whole time. Here, the recording shows a number of Iraqi police, some of whom had fired their AKs, now scattering like the normal and rational men they were some running right past the Marines. They had three seconds left to live.For about two seconds more, the recording shows the Marines weapons firing non-stop the truck's windshield exploding into shards of glass as their rounds take it apart and tore in to the body of the'son-of-a-bitch who is trying to get past them to kill their brothers American and Iraqi bedded down in the barracks totally unaware of the fact that their lives at that moment depended entirely on two Marines standing their ground. If they had been aware, they would have know they were safe because two Marines stood between them and a crazed suicide bomber.The recording shows the truck careening to a stop immediately in front of the two Marines. In all of the instantaneous violence Yale and Haerter never hesitated. By all reports and by the recording, they never stepped back. They never even started to step aside. They never even shifted their weight. With their feet spread shoulder width apart, they leaned into the danger, firing as fast as they could work their weapons. They had only one second left to live.The truck explodes. The camera goes blank. Two young men go to their God.Six seconds.Not enough time to think about their families, their country, their flag, or about their lives or their deaths, but more than enough time for two very brave young men to do their duty into eternity. That is the kind of people who are on watch all over the world tonight for you. |
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| China is behaving like a "bully" with its militarization of islands in the South China Sea, Republican U.S. Senator John McCain said on Tuesday, activity Washington must confront with its allies to find a peaceful solution. In a speech in Sydney, McCain said China was asserting itself globally, best illustrated by militarizing artificial islands in the South China Sea, a claim repeatedly rejected by Beijing. "I think it is very clear that the Chinese by filling in these islands are militarizing them and that is in violation of international law," the Arizona senator said. McCain's comments are set to escalate tensions between the United States and China just days before delegates from both countries are scheduled to attend a regional security conference in Singapore. China claims most of the resource-rich South China Sea, through which about _CUR_5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes every year. Neighbors Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also have claims on the strategic waterway. The United States estimates Beijing has added more than _NUMBER_ acres of land on seven features in the South China Sea over the past three years, building runways, ports, aircraft hangars and communications equipment. To counter the perceived Chinese aggression, the United States has conducted so-called freedom-of-navigation exercises, the most recent of which was conducted by a U.S navy warship near Mischief Reef in the disputed Spratly Islands. At the same time, U.S. President Donald Trump is seeking China's cooperation to rein in ally North Korea's nuclear and missile programs. Allies such as Australia have so far refused to participate in freedom-of-navigation exercises in the fear of alienating Beijing. While McCain stopped short of calling on Australia to undertake the exercises, the former U.S. presidential nominee said allies must work together to find a peaceful solution. |
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| Catalonia's leaders said on Saturday they would not accept direct rule imposed on the region by the Spanish government, as a political crisis that has rattled the economy and raised fears of prolonged unrest showed no signs of easing. Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy announced earlier on Saturday he would invoke special constitutional powers to fire the regional government and force a new election to counter the region's move towards independence. Catalan President Carles Puigdemont, who made a symbolic declaration of independence on Oct. _NUMBER_ after a referendum to secede, called Rajoy's moves the worst attacks against the people of Catalonia since Spain's military dictatorship. It is the first time since Spain's return to democracy that the central government has used its powers to seize control of a regional administration. Rajoy said it was necessary to end a crisis that has fractured the country and prompted Spain to reduce growth forecasts for the euro zone's fourth-largest economy. After taking party in peaceful demonstration, Puigdemont expressed his rejection of Madrid's move, but stopped short of saying he would make good his threat to push ahead with the independence bid before direct rule takes effect. I ask the parliament to meet in a plenary session during which we, the representatives of the citizens sovereignty, will be able to decide over this attempt to liquidate our government and our democracy, and act in consequence, Puigdemont said in a televised address. Rajoy, who acted with backing from the main opposition party in Madrid and King Felipe, needs the authorization of Spain's upper house of parliament to impose direct rule. Our objective is to restore the law and a normal cohabitation among citizens, which has deteriorated a lot, continue with the economic recovery, which is under threat today in Catalonia, and celebrate elections in a situation of normality, he said. The Senate vote that would give Madrid full control of Catalonia's finances, police and public media and curb the powers of the regional parliament for up to six months is scheduled for next Friday. That could give the independence movement room to maneuver. The regional parliament's speaker, Carme Forcadell, said she would not accept Madrid's move and accused Rajoy of a coup. Prime Minister Rajoy wants the parliament of Catalonia to stop being a democratic parliament, and we will not allow this to happen, Forcadell said in a televised speech. The assembly is expected to decide on Monday whether to hold a session to formally proclaim the republic of Catalonia. Catalan media have said Puigdemont could dissolve the regional parliament and call elections by next Friday. Under Catalan law, those elections would take place within two months. That would enable Puigdemont to go the polls earlier than envisaged by Rajoy, who spoke of a six-month timetable, and to exploit the anti-Madrid sentiment running high in the region. Pro-independence groups have previously mustered more than _NUMBER_ million people onto the streets in protest at Madrid's refusal to negotiate a solution. Puigdemont and his cabinet colleagues joined a demonstration in Barcelona, wearing yellow ribbons in support of two senior independence campaigners who have been jailed on charges of sedition. Freedom! Freedom! tens of thousands of protesters chanted as they waived independence flags and signs reading Defending our land is not a crime, and Let's proclaim the republic. triggering this article will not resolve anything, said _NUMBER_-year-old builder Abel Fernandez, attending the demonstration with a pro-independence flag tied around his neck. They won t be able to keep quiet the half of Catalonia that is in favor of independence and those who favor the right to decide. Catalan authorities said about _NUMBER_ percent of those who took part in the referendum on Oct. _NUMBER_ voted for independence. But only _NUMBER_ percent of the electorate participated, with most opponents of secession staying at home. The independence push has met with strong opposition across the rest of Spain and divided Catalonia itself. It has also prompted hundreds of firms to move their headquarters out of the region. Rajoy on Saturday urged them to stay. His center-right People's Party government has insisted that Puigdemont has broken the law several times in pushing for independence. It received unequivocal backing from the opposition Socialist Party. Differences with the PP on our territorial unity? None! said Socialist leader Pedro Sanchez. Heavy-handed police tactics to shut down the referendum were condemned by human rights groups, and secessionists accused Madrid of taking political prisoners . |
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| Syria's army and its allies will keep fighting in Syria after the battle ends in Deir al-Zor province, where Islamic State has its last significant stronghold, President Bashar al-Assad said on Tuesday. He also indicated that he might take the war to the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces , which controls more than a quarter of Syria, by saying the war targeted those who seek to divide and weaken states . His comments came after a meeting with Ali Akbar Velayati, the foreign policy adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The victories against terrorist organizations, starting in Aleppo and not ending in Deir al-Zor, formed a critical strike that foiled partition projects and terrorist goals, Assad's office quoted him as saying. Assad regards all the groups fighting against the Syrian state as terrorist groups. The Syrian army, with Russian air power and Iran-backed militias, is waging an offensive against Islamic State in the eastern Deir al-Zor province, mostly on the west banks of the Euphrates River. The SDF, an alliance of Kurdish and Arab militias, is also battling IS militants in Deir al-Zor. Backed by U.S.-led air strikes and special forces, the SDF has focused on territory east of the river, which bisects the oil-rich province. Velayati on Friday said Syrian army forces would soon advance to take Raqqa city from the SDF and accused the United States of seeking to divide Syria by stationing its forces east of the Euphrates. We will witness in the near future the advance of government and popular forces in Syria and east of the Euphrates, and the liberation of Raqqa city, he said in televised comments on a visit to Beirut. Turkey also supports rebel groups in a pocket in northern Syria, wedged between Kurdish-controlled areas. Last month, its army began setting up observation points in Idlib province in northwest Syria under a deal with Russia and Iran. Assad said in his meeting with Velayati that the battle would last until the recovery of security and stability to all Syrian lands , his office said. |
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| To protect America from terrorist threats that don't even exist, Donald Trump'signed an executive order banning citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States. Since the order was signed, on Holocaust Memorial Day no less, families have been ripped apart and children have been traumatized. One of the'saddest of these stories is that of a badly burned baby who is being kept from his family to protect America. Dilbreen, at the age of about a year and a half, was severely burned, explained Carrie Schuchardt from House of Peace in Ipswich.CBS reports:After a heater exploded in the Iraqi refugee camp where he was sleeping, an aid group got two travel visas and rushed the boy to Shriner's Hospital in Boston along with his father.After preliminary surgery, his dad returned to their war-ravaged country to be with his wife as she gave birth to Dilbreen's little brother. It was November _NUMBER_, an hour before Donald Trump won'the election. They named the baby Trump. It's ironic, possibly humorous, but it's also in a way very meaningful because perhaps that child can redeem that name Trump, Schuchardt said.Dilbreen was scheduled to have a second surgery this month and his family had made arrangements to stay at the Peace House in Ipswich, but Trump's Muslim Ban has brought those plans to a screeching halt. Thanks to the bigoted executive order, their visas have been revoked. So they are stranded in Iraq, Schuchardt said. The child is here. The need for surgery is pressing. On Tuesday, Massachusetts joined the ACLU lawsuit which challenges the legality of Trump's order. Attorney General Maura Healey called the Muslim Ban harmful, discriminatory and unconstitutional. It threatens the vitality, the livelihood, the lifeblood that drives so much of Massachusetts, Healey said.The lawsuit would help protect immigrants and visa holders already in the United States, but this doesn't mean it would do anything to help this baby waiting for surgery and his family.According to CBS, Dilbreen is currently staying with family members in Michigan and his surgery is still scheduled for Feb _NUMBER_. Attorneys are still fighting for special waivers to allow his family to be with him.Can somebody please explain'to me how separating a burned baby from his parents keeps America safe? How in the hell does this make America great again? This is heartless, cruel and downright shameful.Watch more on this heartbreaking story here:Featured image via video screen capture |
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| While giving a speech at a church rally in Cleveland, Donald Trump confused everyone by actually siding with a victim of police brutality instead of law enforcement and it's gotten him in trouble with America's largest police union.In speaking to the rally goers in Cleveland, Trump'strayed from his normal, pro-cop rhetoric to say a few unflattering words about Betty Shelby, the Tulsa police officer who shot an unarmed black man. Clearly worried about how horrendously his attempts to reach black voters have failed, Trump gave an unusually thoughtful response to a group of African American pastors, in which he'suggested that Shelby had choked : Now, did she get scared? Was she choking? What happened? But maybe people like that, people that choke, people that do that, maybe they can't be doing what they're doing, okay? They can't be doing what they're doing.I watched the'shooting in particular in Tulsa. And that man was hands up. That man went to the car, hands up, put his hand on the car. I mean, to me, it looked like he did everything you're supposed to do, and he looked like a really good man. Trump made these comments just five days after the Fraternal Order of Police , which has _NUMBER_ members, endorsed him. But after hearing Trump criticize the Tulsa police officer, FOP executive director Jim Pasco is livid and thinks Trump's comments were inappropriate. Pasco said that Trump must be mindful of the due process rights and presumption of innocence accorded to all, including police officers. Now, no one should be proud or relieved that Trump finally decided to acknowledge police brutality victims he's been known to pander to whatever audience he is in front of at any given moment, and is notorious for flip-flopping almost instantly. This speech was easy for Trump to say in front of black pastors I doubt he would have dared to say this in front of a predominately white audience. Trump also knows he is struggling tremendously with the minority vote, which may very well determine this election. Trump will say whatever he needs to win but this time, he lost a major support group.Here's the clip that got Trump in trouble with the police union:Featured image via Joe Raedle / Getty Images |
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| President Donald Trump told reporters on Wednesday that he will announce his decision "very soon" on whether he will withdraw the United States from the Paris climate deal. Responding to shouted questions from reporters in the Oval Office, Trump said he had been hearing from people on both sides of the issue, but he declined to indicate whether he had made up his mind. "I'm hearing from a lot of people, both ways. Both ways," Trump said. |
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| The World Bank on Tuesday approved _CUR_400 million in additional funding to help rebuild services to Iraqi areas recaptured from Islamic State militants after a three-year military campaign, the global development bank said. The World Bank also said it would fund studies on how to involve the private sector in the reconstruction of Mosul's airport and restoring public transport terminals as well as parts of the railway network. The package represents an additional financing to the Iraq Emergency Operation for Development Project approved back in July _NUMBER_ and already underway in seven cities in Diyala and Salah Ad-Din governorates, the World Bank said in a statement. It said the new funding would focus on rebuilding in five sectors - water and sanitation, electricity, health, transport and municipal services. The funds will also help with the restoration and preservation of cultural heritage sites in Mosul's Old City, which was heavily damaged by fighting. Iraqi government forces, backed by a U.S.-led coalition, retook Mosul in May - by far the largest city to fall under militants control - after nearly nine months of urban warfare. Iraqi government officials have estimated it will take at least five years and billions of dollars to rebuild Mosul. |
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| President Barack Obama, calling Afghanistan's security situation precarious, said on Wednesday he will keep U.S. troop levels there at _NUMBER_ through the end of his administration rather than reducing them to _NUMBER_ by year's end as previously planned. Obama, in a statement at the White House, said the role of U.S. forces in Afghanistan will remain unchanged: training and advising Afghan police and troops, and supporting counterterrorism missions against the Taliban and other groups. Obama's presidency ends in January. Obama's plan still calls for a reduction in U.S. troop levels from the current roughly _NUMBER_, but not as much as previously planned. Obama, who took office in _NUMBER_ pledging to wind down the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, said he had ended America's combat mission in Afghanistan. But he acknowledged that security concerns persist. "The security situation in Afghanistan remains precarious," Obama said. "The Taliban remains a threat. They've gained ground in some places." Taliban forces now hold more territory in Afghanistan than at any time since the _NUMBER_ U.S.-led invasion, according to recent United Nations estimates. The Islamic State group has also established a small presence in Afghanistan. Obama's decision, which came after a review submitted last month by the U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Army General John Nicholson, drew some criticism inside and outside his administration. Some Pentagon officials said that it does nothing to address the deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan. "It's disappointing that the administration thinks that troop numbers are a substitute for a more comprehensive strategy," said a U.S. defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "This is neither the reduction that the White House seems to have wanted nor the current numbers that don't seem to be sufficient to deal with the security problem." Mac Thornberry, the Republican chairman of the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee, criticized what he said was a new cap on U.S. troop levels. "It is time that the president level with the American people about what it will really take to achieve our goals in Afghanistan, and how much it will cost," Thornberry said in a statement. Obama spoke in advance of a NATO summit on Friday and Saturday in Warsaw, Poland, where alliance members are expected to confirm their support for the Kabul government. In addition to the U.S. forces, there are about _NUMBER_ other international troops in Afghanistan. U.S. troops have been in Afghanistan since the _NUMBER_ invasion launched by Obama's predecessor, George W. Bush, that toppled the Taliban leaders who harbored the al Qaeda organization responsible for the Sept. _NUMBER_ attacks on the United States that killed about _NUMBER_ people. It is America's longest war. During his announcement at the White House, Obama was flanked by Defense Secretary Ash Carter and the top U.S. military officer, General Joe Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. |
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| The California Public Employees' Retirement System's chief investment officer advised the pension fund on Monday to prepare for "greater uncertainty and volatility" until U.S. president-elect Donald Trump and Congress implement their policy plans. Ted Eliopoulos told a meeting of the fund's investment board that Trump's plans would likely be "positive for growth and corporate earnings," but "the devil will be in the details, and we don't know the details." Trump has indicated he would prioritize a broad mix of policies, including tax cuts, infrastructure spending, the repeal or lessening of Dodd-Frank financial regulation, and changes to global trade arrangements. Decisions made by the new administration and Congress will have "a significant impact on matters small and large" for CalPERS and for investors globally, Eliopoulos said during a live Webcast of the meeting, the board's first since the U.S. presidential election last week. But it is "much too early to talk with precision about these implications since we know very little," Eliopoulos added. "We do need to be prepared to address a much different policy environment, new economic and investment challenges and opportunities and be ready to adjust, act, and govern ourselves accordingly," said Eliopoulos. CalPERS is the nation's largest public pension fund with approximately _CUR_300.7 billion of total fund market value. |
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| 21st Century Wire says Defense News said that sixty-two percent of the US Navy's F-18s are grounded and out of service and attributed this to be, mostly because there isn't enough money to fix them and noted they are awaiting planned maintenance and are held up waiting on spare parts. One must wonder if there is more to the'story. Could this many of the US Navy's fighters be out of commission when the DoD budget in _NUMBER_ was almost _NUMBER_ billion dollars? How can'there not be enough money for spare parts? With RT breaking this story down further, we ll find that there are many other factors to consider than just not enough money for spare parts. Factors including shore facilities in disrepair, refurbish/retrofit issues for new equipment, the delays in development of a replacement platform such as the F-_NUMBER_ and compounded by over a decade of war RTSixty-two percent of the US Navy's F/A-18s are out of service, of which _NUMBER_ percent are in major depot work and _NUMBER_ percent are simply awaiting maintenance or parts, Defense News said, adding that _NUMBER_ percent of all Navy aircraft some _NUMBER_ combat aircraft, patrol, transport planes, and helicopters can't fly.Moreover, there isn't enough money to fix the fleet's ships, and the backlog of ships needing work continues to grow, the article says. Some subs have allegedly been out of service literally for years, as much as four years or more, Defense News reports.The Navy can't get money to move around service members and their families to change assignments, and about _CUR_440 million is needed to pay sailors, according to the publication. And the'service claims _NUMBER_ percent of its shore facilities are in failed condition awaiting repair, replacement or demolition, it added.According to John Venable, a senior research fellow for defense policy at the Heritage Foundation, the backlog is so huge it ll take them several years to refit, refurbish, and repair the F-18s that are in unserviceable condition. They can't catch up even if the Trump administration gave them all the money they need, he told the Washington Free Beacon. For a variety of reasons, our shipyards and aviation depots are struggling to get our ships and airplanes through maintenance periods on time, Vice Chief of Naval Operations Admiral William Moran told lawmakers on the House Armed Services Committee on Wednesday.READ MORE: Defense Secretary Mattis orders reviews of F-_NUMBER_ and Air Force One to cut costs It has become clear to me that the Navy's overall readiness has reached its lowest level in many years, he noted, adding that among the problems causing the'situation are funding reductions and consistent uncertainty about when those reduced budgets will be approved. Between _NUMBER_ and _NUMBER_, the Navy was able to keep an average of _NUMBER_ ships at sea each day, Moran said, adding that the Navy is smaller today than it's been in the last _NUMBER_ years. The budget caps imposed on military and nonmilitary spending in the Budget Control Act have degraded our military readiness, Representative Adam Smith told CNN, adding that among other factors, constraints have been compounded by over a decade of war Continue this report at RTSUPPORT OUR WORK BY SUBSCRIBING & BECOMING A MEMBER _USER_.TV |
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| A recent opinion poll carried out by NBC News/Wall Street Journal showed that _NUMBER_ percent of Americans, a number that appears to still be growing, would prefer to see an independent commissioner or special prosecutor handle the investigation into Russia's interference in the _NUMBER_ US presidential election, while a mere _NUMBER_ percent believe congress can handle any ongoing probe.Last week was more than just a turbulent time in Washington. President Trump fired FBI head James Comey on Tuesday, the man responsible for the investigation into Trump's Russian ties. This latest poll was conducted between Thursday, May _NUMBER_ and Saturday, May _NUMBER_, just days after Comey's ousting, among _NUMBER_ adults and has an overall margin of error of plus or minus _NUMBER_ percentage points. The firing of the FBI director was a major upheaval in the investigation process, and these poll results reflect the current climate not only around Capitol Hill, but what is a rapidly growing consensus across the nation.Since Comey's dismissal, Trump and several members of his administration have tried to downplay the need for an independent commission to continue what the FBI had begun; looking into questions of Russian interference in last year's election, as well as the possibility of members of Trump's campaign colluding with Moscow. In fact, on Saturday the President stated in no uncertain'terms that the investigation should continue to progress in the House, the Senate, the FBI. According to the'same poll, only _NUMBER_ percent of Americans say they approve of Comey's firing, while _NUMBER_ percent disapprove. Another _NUMBER_ percent of respondents don't have enough to say on the matter, yet among those who say they have read, seen or heard a lot about the firing, _NUMBER_ percent say they'disapprove, versus _NUMBER_ percent who approve. The poll also showed a partisan split when it comes to the topic of the president's decision, with _NUMBER_ percent of Republicans approving while _NUMBER_ percent of Democrats disapprove of the move. One thing that is clear, however, is that very few people surveyed had no opinion at all, with low single-digit responses.As a whole, Trump's approval rating has remained steady at _NUMBER_ percent since last Tuesday, however, _NUMBER_ percent of those surveyed claimed that their impression of the president is less favorable since his decision to remove James Comey, while _NUMBER_ percent say the move hasn't impacted their impression of President Trump whatsoever.Featured image via Drew Angerer/Getty Images |
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| Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Wednesday China has firmly opposed and prevented Taiwan's independence over the past five years. Xi made the comments in a speech at the beginning of a Communist Party congress. China considers self-ruled Taiwan to be a wayward province, to be brought under Beijing's control by force if necessary. |
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| The search for a missing Argentine submarine and its _NUMBER_-member crew was helped by calmer seas on Tuesday, but there were no new clues about its location and worries multiplied because the vessel may be running low on oxygen, a navy spokesman said. The ARA San Juan was en route from Ushuaia, the world's southernmost city, to its base in Mar del Plata and was about _NUMBER_ miles off the coast when it gave its last location on Wednesday, soon after reporting an electrical malfunction. If the German-built submarine had sunk or was otherwise unable to rise to the surface since it sent its last signal, it would be winding down its seven-day oxygen supply. Oxygen is a permanent worry. Every day that passes is more critical, naval commander Gabriel Galeazzi said at an evening news conference in Mar del Plata. More than a dozen boats and planes from Argentina, the United States, Britain, Chile and Brazil have joined the search. Authorities had been mainly scanning from the sky as storms halted the maritime hunt last weekend. The weather improved on Tuesday, helping search efforts by sea. Wind speed slowed and waves that rose as high as _NUMBER_ meters at the weekend diminished. The search by patrol ships has become more effective thanks more than anything to less pounding by the waves, which have fallen to three or four meters, navy spokesman Enrique Balbi told reporters in Buenos Aires. We have to make the most of today and tomorrow because on Thursday the weather is expected to get more complicated, he said. Also on Tuesday, authorities investigated white flares spotted in the South Atlantic overnight. Searchers found an empty floating raft, and noticed the flares from a distance. But the raft's brand suggested it did not belong to the ARA San Juan, which was equipped with only red flares for emergencies and green flares for other situations, the navy said. Searchers have suffered other disappointments. Analysis of satellite signals and sounds detected by underwater probes, initially thought to be messages from the crew, has found they did not come from the vessel. The sounds could be biological. We have discarded the possibility that it was a clanging of morse code against the hull of the submarine, Balbi said. Relatives of crew members have been gathered at a naval base in Mar del Plata, where the search is being coordinated. The ARA San Juan was launched in _NUMBER_, the newest of three submarines in the navy's fleet, and underwent maintenance in _NUMBER_ in Argentina. Its four diesel engines and its electric propeller engines were replaced, according to specialist publication Jane's Sentinel. |
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| American intelligence agencies are concerned about reports that foreign governments may be attempting to undermine the Nov. _NUMBER_ U.S. elections through cyber attacks, Admiral Mike Rogers, the director of the National Security Agency, said on Tuesday. "We continue to be actively concerned," Rogers told a Senate hearing, responding to a question from Senator John McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. Marcel Lettre, Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence, testified that the government is taking any such activities "quite seriously" and said an "aggressive investigation" is under way. McCain noted that one of the two states in which media reports said there was evidence of attempted Russian hacking was his home state, Arizona. Some analysts have said Arizona, which recently has been reliably Republican in presidential elections, could be tilting more toward the Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton, this year. McCain, a Republican, himself is in a tougher than usual re-election fight. Rogers said he could not provide specifics about spy agencies' current assessment of the alleged hacking in a public setting. But he added, "I will say this, that it continues to be an issue of great focus ... for the foreign intelligence community, attempting to generate insights into what foreign nations are doing in this area." Under further questioning, Rogers declined to characterize the activity as by a foreign nation-state. Lettre said the government would adopt a policy for dealing with any such activity once it had the results of the investigation. "The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security has an aggressive investigation underway," Lettre said. U.S. security officials have said that, starting last year, hackers infiltrated computers of the Democratic National Committee, Clinton's presidential campaign and her party's congressional fundraising committee. U.S. officials said they have concluded that Russia or its proxies were responsible, leading to calls by some Democrats and cyber security officials for the Obama administration to blame Russia publicly. Kremlin officials have dismissed the allegations as absurd, but there is anxiety in Washington over the possibility that a foreign power might be using hacked information to meddle in the November elections. |
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| The special counsel investigating whether Russia tried to sway the _NUMBER_ U.S. election has taken over FBI inquiries into a former British spy's dossier of allegations of Russian financial and personal links to President Donald Trump's campaign and associates, sources familiar with the inquiry told Reuters. A report compiled by former MI6 officer Christopher Steele identified Russian businessmen and others whom U.S. intelligence analysts have concluded are Russian intelligence officers or working on behalf of the Russian government. A spokesman for special counsel Robert Mueller declined comment. The FBI also declined comment. Three sources with knowledge of Mueller's probe said his investigators have assumed control of multiple inquiries into allegations by U.S. intelligence agencies that Russia interfered in the election to benefit Trump, a Republican. Russia has repeatedly denied any meddling in the election. Two officials familiar with the investigations said that both Mueller's team and the Senate Intelligence Committee are seeking any evidence that former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort or others who had financial dealings with Russia might have helped Kremlin intelligence agencies target email hacking and social media postings undermining Trump's election opponent, Democrat Hillary Clinton. On Wednesday, the Senate panel's chairman Richard Burr told reporters that the issue of whether Trump's campaign colluded with Russia remains an open question. "We have not come to any determination on collusion," Burr said. Trump, who has called allegations of campaign collusion with Moscow a hoax, has faced questions about the matter since he took office in January. Trump was told by former FBI director James Comey that Steele's report contained salacious material about the businessman-turned-president. Burr said on Wednesday that the Senate panel had made several attempts to contact Steele and to meet him and "those offers have gone unaccepted." "The committee cannot really decide the credibility of the dossier without understanding things like who paid for it, who are your sources and sub-sources," Burr said. Burr said the panel wanted to finish its investigation by the end of the year. Although several news organizations, including Reuters, were briefed on Steele's dossier before the election in November, most decided not to report on the material because its inflammatory and sometimes salacious content could not be verified. In a report published in January four U.S. intelligence agencies said they took the dossier's allegations seriously. Separately, three Russian businessmen, Mikhail Fridman, Petr Aven and German Khan have sued Washington investigations firm Fusion GPS and its founder, Glenn Simpson, with allegations that they were libeled in Steele's dossier. A spokeswoman for Simpson and Fusion GPS declined to comment on the lawsuit filed on Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Washington. The lawsuit said that Steele's reports were "gravely damaging" to the businessmen because they accused them "of criminal conduct and alleged cooperation with the 'Kremlin' to influence the _NUMBER_ presidential election." The information on Trump collected by Steele, whom officials say was one of MI6's most respected Russia hands, was laid out last year in political "opposition research" initially financed by supporters of one of Trump's Republican primary election opponents. After Trump won the Republican nomination in July, backers of Clinton picked up the support of Steele's work. The lawsuit said the dossier's allegations are false in implying an improper "ongoing" relationship between the businessmen, the Alfa Group financial company in which they were investors and Russian President Vladimir Putin, and that a Russian government official acted as middleman in such contacts. |
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| Who's Ready For Hillary?Among the thousands more Hillary Clinton's emails that have been released are ones exchanged with her top aide that may just add to the dilemma facing the _NUMBER_ Democratic Presidential candidate.Among the latest batch are emails from her adviser Sidney Blumenthal.On December _NUMBER_, _NUMBER_ he'sent her an email including a link to a news story with the headline: U.S. Orders Diplomats to Stop Telling Truth Clinton replies: Sounds like a good idea! The emails also reveal that Blumenthal felt the former Secretary of State was vindicated over the Libyan uprising even though the Benghazi scandal was still to come.Blumenthal told her in August _NUMBER_ she had to go on camera to announce the successful strategy when rebels took control of the country. He told her to speak to the media even if it meant giving a speech from the driveway of her holiday home in The Hamptons. Blumenthal wrote: First, brava! This is a historic moment and you will be credited for realizing it. When Qaddafi himself is finally removed, you should of course make a public statement before the cameras wherever you are, even in the driveway of your vacation house. You must go on camera. You must establish yourself in the historical record at this moment. The most important phrase is: successful strategy. But in hindsight such vindication never materialized. In fact, Benghazi has become the'second biggest headache for Hillary Clinton after Servergate. Over the following months after that email exchange, Libya slid into civil war and a year later US ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans were killed when the American embassy in Benghazi was overrun by militants. The ensuing scandal has been an albatross for the candidate.Clinton was forced to testify before a House Committee investigating the terror attack that killed ambassador Stevens and could still be recalled to face more questions. Meanwhile, Libya has become what the State Department has called a safe haven for terrorists and a main launching point for people smugglers sending migrants to Europe. Via: Daily Mail |
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| A ballistic missile fired by Yemen's armed Houthi group at Saudi Arabia was shot down on Thursday near the south-western city of Khamis Mushait, the Saudi-owned al-Arabiya channel reported. It was the second ballistic missile fired from Yemen this month, after an earlier rocket was brought down near King Khaled Airport on the northern outskirts of the capital Riyadh. A Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis in Yemen has closed air, land and sea access in a move it says is meant to stop a flow of Iranian arms to the Houthis, who control much of northern Yemen. The blockade has cut food imports to seven million people on the brink of famine. Air defense intercepted a ballistic missile, fired by the Houthis toward Khamis Mushait, Arabiya said on its Twitter account, without giving details. The Houthis and allied militias loyal to former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who have fired dozens of missiles into Saudi territory during a _NUMBER_-_NUMBER_/_NUMBER_ year war, said on their official news agency they had launched a mid-range ballistic missile that hit its military target with high precision . SABA, quoting a military source, added the successful test was a new start of locally made missile launches . Saudi Arabia and its allies, who receive logistical and intelligence help from the United States, accuse the Houthis of being a proxy of Iran. The coalition has launched thousands of air strikes against the Houthis who still control much of Yemen's main population centers including the capital Sanaa and the strategic port and city of Hodeidah. The conflict has led to one of the world's worst humanitarian crises and killed at least _NUMBER_ people. |
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| McDonald's Corp quickly deleted a tweet sent from the company's handle slamming President Donald Trump on Thursday and said its official Twitter account had been compromised. The tweet, which was copied and shared widely before being deleted, came a day after the Twitter accounts of a number of major news organizations, chief executives, government agencies and other high-profile users were hijacked. "Based on our investigation, we have determined that our Twitter account was hacked by an external source. We took swift action to secure it, and we apologize this tweet was sent through our corporate McDonald's account," McDonald's spokeswoman Terri Hickey said in a statement. Corporate accounts are attractive targets due to their large followings and the media attention that errant tweets can attract. Twitter Inc allows for two-factor authentication, a security feature that would deter many attempts to seize an account. Twitter declined comment on Thursday citing "privacy and security reasons". The tweet sent from _USER_ on Thursday morning read: "_USER_ You are actually a disgusting excuse of a President and we would love to have _USER_ back, also you have tiny hands." Trump did not respond to the incident on Twitter. High-profile Twitter accounts were hijacked on Wednesday to send anti-Nazi messages in Turkish in the midst of a diplomatic spat between Turkey, the Netherlands and Germany. Twitter said on Wednesday that the source of that attack was a third-party app, whose permissions have since been removed. Trump, one of the more fast-food friendly presidents in recent years, had tweeted pictures of himself eating food from McDonald's and other chains during the U.S. election campaign. A _NUMBER_ ad campaign featured Trump and the chain's Grimace mascot promoting an "amazing" _CUR_1 deal for McDonald's since-discontinued Big N' Tasty burger. The incident came as McDonald's is bolstering its digital capabilities with mobile and kiosk ordering to help modernize the _NUMBER_-year-old chain. Analysts said the hack raised questions about security at Twitter, but was unlikely to do much damage to the restaurant chain's brand. "As long as Trump doesn't tweet at them directly, which could be pretty disastrous, this will be a short-term thing for them," said Mike Froggatt, director of intelligence at L2, which monitors the digital performance of brands. "Twitter trending topics last for maybe _NUMBER_ hours, a backlash for _NUMBER_ to _NUMBER_ hours and then it goes and the herd moves on," said Froggatt. The message from the account of the world's largest restaurant chain caused a sensation on Twitter, where users shared copies of the deleted tweet and offered jokes and comments. Vanessa Veasley and other users speculated that Trump supporters could attempt to launch a boycott of the chain, as they threatened to do when Starbucks Corp Chief Executive Howard Schultz vowed to hire _NUMBER_ refugees after Trump's first executive order temporarily banning refugees from certain countries. "McDonald's already deleted the tweet? lol Well at least Trump supporters can finally boycott something they can actually afford," Veasley wrote. Other users praised the fast-food chain, which has been fighting to reverse two straight years of customer traffic declines. "Suddenly I want a Big Mac, well done _USER_," tweeted Shay Steward Bouley . Some Trump supporters said McDonald's had not done enough to atone for the tweet and advocated for a boycott. "Hey _USER_ YOU can't just undo a tweet!!! Since you don't support America, Americans will not support YOU!!! _TAG_," wrote Deborah Brewer . McDonald's is not the only high-profile company to be compromised with fake tweets over the years. Brands including Burger King, Jeep and Sony Music also have been hit. |
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| Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak congratulated U.S. president-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday, saying the Republican victor had appealed to Americans who wanted to see the United States less embroiled in intervention abroad. "His appeal to Americans who have been left behind – those who want to see their government more focused on their interests and welfare, and less embroiled in foreign interventions that proved to be against US interests – have won Mr Trump the White House," Najib said in a statement. Najib said he looked forward to continuing a partnership with the United States under Trump's presidency. |
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| The Senate Judiciary Committee's antitrust subcommittee will hear from the top U.S. antitrust bosses next month to discuss a wave of big mergers over the past year, according to a staffer briefed on the hearing. The Justice Department's Bill Baer, the assistant attorney general for the antitrust division, and Edith Ramirez, chairwoman of the Federal Trade Commission, will testify, the staffer said. The two divide the work of antitrust enforcement. The hearing will be March _NUMBER_ at the Senate Judiciary Committee's antitrust panel, which is headed by Senator Mike Lee, a Republican from Utah. One matter that will be taken up is the FTC's use of Section Five, a portion of its authority that it uses to investigate companies which urge rivals to collude with them on price. The agencies are looking at a startling number of major, controversial mergers. The Justice Department is investigating two large insurance mergers - Aetna Inc buying Humana Inc and Anthem Inc buying Cigna Corp - to insure they comply with antitrust law. It is also looking at Halliburton Co's purchase of Baker Hughes Inc BHI.N, among a long list of other deals. The FTC is suing Staples Inc SPLS.O in hopes of stopping it from buying Office Depot Inc . It also said in late _NUMBER_ that it aimed to stop three mergers of medical centers, one in West Virginia, another in Chicago and a third in Pennsylvania. |
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| Kenyan police fired teargas at more than _NUMBER_ opposition supporters marching through the capital Nairobi on Wednesday to demand election reforms, a Reuters witness said. Police also used teargas to disperse protesters in the western city of Kisumu, a stronghold of opposition leader Raila Odinga, who on Tuesday announced his withdrawal from a repeat presidential vote scheduled for Oct. _NUMBER_, citing concerns over fairness. A Reuters witness in Kisumu said the crowd had refused to disperse after being addressed by the county governor. |
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| The number of foreign tourists visiting Portugal jumped around _NUMBER_ percent in January-July, putting the country firmly on track for another record year for tourism, which has been a key driver of its economic recovery since a _NUMBER_-_NUMBER_ debt crisis. The National Statistics Institute said on Thursday in its monthly data on the hotel sector that over _NUMBER_ million foreign visitors stayed in Portuguese hotels through July, which helped drive total hotel revenues over _NUMBER_ percent higher to _NUMBER_ billion euros . Portugal's arrivals growth outpaced those in neighboring Spain, which chalked up a _NUMBER_ percent rise in the same period, according to official Spanish data. Despite a deceleration in July from June levels, both the tourist arrivals and revenues so far this year maintained the pace of growth seen in _NUMBER_, when tourist arrivals exceeded _NUMBER_ million for the first time. August is traditionally the strongest month by far for holiday-making in Portugal, which lures foreign visitors with its beaches, historic sites and some of the lowest prices for wining and dining in western Europe. Pop star Madonna has this month become the most illustrious of a growing number of foreign residents in Portugal, which was also named Europe's top destination for expatriates in a survey by social network InterNations. Hotel revenues and all travel-related revenues account for about _NUMBER_ percent of Portugal's gross domestic product. The tourism sector is also a key source of employment. Tourism has been growing since _NUMBER_, helping the heavily indebted country overcome its economic and debt crisis. Economic growth this year is expected to accelerate to over _NUMBER_ percent from _NUMBER_ percent in _NUMBER_. Portugal has opened dozens of new hotels in the past year and private entrepreneurs have redeveloped hundreds of apartment buildings in old parts of Lisbon and other areas to rent to tourists, helping the country's flagging construction sector. |
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| By looking at the two Democrat presidential candidates left standing, most Americans would think their platform is primarily about the destruction of capitalism and gun control. The real truth however, is that the Democrat party knows without their unyielding support for the culture of death, they would cease to exist. The'sickening truth is, they either support the killing of the most vulnerable or it's curtains for them. What does that say about how far our society has fallen when leftist TV hosts celebrate China's brutal One Child policy on Twitter?Quintanilla may not have been endorsing the one-child policy, but he didn't offer any overt or even implied criticism of it either. In fact, saying it worked sounds a lot like he is suggesting it was a success.The problem, of course, is that the one-child policy, which China converted to a two-child policy this week, was a brutal, harrowing invasion of the human rights of millions of families under the guise of national policy. Since _NUMBER_, an estimated _NUMBER_ million women a year underwent abortions, many of them forced to do so by government officials. Another _NUMBER_ million women were sterilized under the'same policy.https://twitter.com/carlquintanilla/status/659734982915657728These practices mostly went unseen and unnoticed in the era before social media and digital cameras. In _NUMBER_, the world got to see the result of this policy on one young woman when her family members posted an image of her lying next to her dead baby after she d been forced to have an abortion.The young woman, Feng Jianmei, already had one child; so after she became pregnant again, family planning officials called her house to persuade her to have an abortion. When that failed, they showed up at her home and spent hours pressuring her for consent. Jianmei slipped out of the house but was followed by a group of _NUMBER_ officials to her aunt's house. After briefly escaping and hiding under the bed of a relative, Jianmei was found by the government officials and was reportedly carried out by four men.Here is the horrible story about forced abortions in China and their victims:Meanwhile, family planning officials were negotiating with Jianmei's husband. At first they'demanded _CUR_15,000, but then dropped the birth planning fee to around _CUR_5,000. In any case, it was more than he could raise. Finally, Jianmei was forced to give consent by having her thumbprint placed on a form and was injected with a drug that killed her baby. Her family posted this image, which went viral, of Jianmei with her dead daughter. For criticizing the government, government officials led a march denouncing her family as traitors, and her husband was beaten.And that nightmare is not the only kind of suffering caused by the policy. Those who dared to violate the policy had to keep their secret children out of sight of government officials. As the Washington Post reported last month, the consequences of getting caught were severe: It was terrifying if you had an over-quota child, my father says now. If the government knew, you would be in trouble. People would come to your house, remove all your grains and do anything they could to you. And sometimes, they'd destroy your house. My mother recalls: Even for a new house, they'd get on the roof, rip it apart and bulldoze the entire house. We had to keep moving and hiding. It was really painful for us. We knew it wasn't a long-term solution. The one-child policy was a decades long campaign of forced abortion, extortion, sterilization, and terror that traumatized hundreds of millions of people. Saying it worked seems like an odd way to sum up such a policy. Via: Breitbart News |
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| The Trump administration reiterated its concerns about Israeli settlement activity, the two sides said on Thursday, as a round of talks ended without agreement over limiting future construction on land the Palestinians want for a state. The four days of high-level meetings in Washington marked the latest step by President Donald Trump's aides aimed at opening the way to renewed peace diplomacy between Israel and the Palestinians, despite deep skepticism in the United States and Middle East over the chances for success. Trump's Middle East envoy, Jason Greenblatt, who recently returned from a visit to the region, led the U.S. delegation in what were described as "intensive discussions" with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's chief of staff Yoav Horowitz and foreign policy adviser Jonathan Schachter. Despite setting a more positive tone toward Israel than his predecessor Barack Obama, Trump urged Netanyahu during a White House visit last month to "hold back on settlements for a little bit." The two then agreed that their aides would seek an accommodation on how much Israel can build and where. "The United States delegation reiterated President Trump's concerns regarding settlement activity in the context of moving towards a peace agreement," according to a joint statement released by the White House. "The Israeli delegation made clear that Israel's intent going forward is to adopt a policy regarding settlement activity that takes those concerns into consideration," it said. "The talks were serious and constructive, and they are ongoing." Peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians have been frozen since _NUMBER_ and settlements are one of the most heated issues. Palestinians want the West Bank and East Jerusalem for their own state, along with the Gaza Strip. Most countries consider Israeli settlements, built on land captured in the _NUMBER_ Middle East war, to be illegal. Israel disagrees, citing historical and political links to the land, as well as security interests. Trump has expressed some ambivalence about a two-state solution, the mainstay of U.S. policy for the past two decades. But he recently invited Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to visit. Trump has not publicly detailed what kind of agreement he wants with Israel on settlements. But many supporters of a two-state solution have urged a formula that restricts construction to the large settlement blocs that Israel is expected to retain under any final peace accord. In the talks, officials discussed measures for improving the climate for peace, according to the joint readout. It said a key focus was on steps that "could have a meaningful impact on the economic environment in the West Bank and Gaza," and specifically a desire to advance efforts toward "self-sustainability" in electricity and water. |
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| Bombs a-w oh, never mind Things must be going well in the war on terror, as the US Air Force just admitted that it is fast running out of bombs to drop on ISIS after B-1s have dropped bombs in record numbers. As ZeeNews reports, Air Force chief of staff General Mark Welsh said as America ramps up its military campaign against the Islamist terror group, the Air Force is now expending munitions faster than we can replenish them. The US Air Force is fast running out of bombs to drop on ISIS targets in Syria and Iraq after its pilots fired off over _NUMBER_ missiles and bombs since the US bombing campaign against the terror group began _NUMBER_ months ago, its chief has said. As ZeeNews reports, B-1s have dropped bombs in record numbers. F-15Es are in the fight because they are able to employ a wide range of weapons and do so with great flexibility. We need the funding in place to ensure we're prepared for the long fight, Welsh said in the'statement. This is a critical need, he'said.The bombing campaign has left the US Air Force with what an Air Force official described as munitions depot stocks below our desired objective. The Air Force has requested additional funding for Hellfire missiles and is developing plans to ramp up weapons production to replenish its stocks more quickly. But replenishing that stock can'take up to four years from time of expenditure to asset resupply, the official told CNN. The precision today's wars requires demands the right equipment and capability to achieve desired effects. We need to ensure the necessary funding is in place to not only execute today's wars, but also tomorrow's challenges, the official said. As The Washington Times concludes, Russia has been bombing ISIS positions sporadically while France and Great Britain are now active in the American-led coalition which could relieve some pressure.Much larger potential adversaries like Russia or China most surely are following this development carefully. If the USAF cannot sustain a trickling battle against a poorly armed, medieval enemy, fighting a superpower military is obviously beyond its capability.Via: Zero Hedge |
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| U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Thursday pledged to treat "very seriously" any business dealings President Donald Trump or his family might have with foreign companies flagged by officials as national security risks. Mnuchin did not say any such cases existed. A senior Democrat pressed Mnuchin, in an appearance before senators, to produce a list of the Trump family's business relationships with foreign companies. Senator Sherrod Brown, the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, said Mnuchin had not adequately responded to his March _NUMBER_ letter asking if the Treasury had a list of Trump's business partners to see if any of them were on sanctions lists or had been investigated by a national security watchdog that analyzes foreign investments. The Treasury released a copy of a March _NUMBER_ letter responding to Brown which said the department works with other agencies "to address and mitigate potential conflicts of interest if and when they arise." Mnuchin said he reviewed cases at the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States every week. The Treasury is the lead department among the government agencies that are part of CFIUS. "I can assure you that if there were any cases that involve the president or any members of his family that they would be treated very seriously. We would review them as we would anything else," Mnuchin told the Senate panel. Trump, a wealthy real estate developer, has declined to sell his global businesses despite demands from critics that he do so to avoid conflicts of interest. Trump has said his two oldest sons will have daily control of his businesses while he is president. A Reuters review in March found that at least _NUMBER_ individuals with Russian passports or addresses have bought at least _CUR_98.4 million worth of property in seven Trump-branded luxury towers in southern Florida. |
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| The American Chamber of Commerce in China said on Saturday the incoming U.S. administration is still formulating positions but needs to get up to speed quickly on historical tensions, after Donald Trump spoke to Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen. "The president-elect has yet to take office and is still formulating positions on a wide range of issues, so we don't place much emphasis on any particular action or comment during this process," it said in a statement about the Trump-Tsai call. "The chamber has long supported maintaining stability in the region, and we expect the new administration to respect the status quo. American business operating in Asia needs certainty and stability, and the new administration needs to get up to speed quickly on the historical tensions and complex dynamics of the region." |
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| Obama hosted a fundraiser for a bunch of wealthy donors on Martha's Vineyard this week while riots and flooding devastate two cities. No mention of either situation in Obama's speech but Obama had time to take a swipe at Hillary Clinton's opponent in the presidential race. Obama said he's sick of talking about Trump and went on to praise Clinton great job as secretary of state. What a joke! The funniest line of the night from Obama had to be this:Obama said Clinton is not always the flashiest but she is the person who's going to do the work. Headlining a Democratic fundraiser while vacationing on Martha's Vineyard, President Obama said he is weary of mentioning Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and urged donors to continue backing Hillary Clinton. Frankly I m tired of talking about her opponent, Obama told _NUMBER_ donors who had paid _CUR_10,000 to attend the fundraiser. I don't have to make the case against her opponent because every time he talks, he makes the case against his own candidacy, he'said, according to a pool press report on his remarks provided by the Wall Street Journal. Obama also expressed a warning about the unpredictability of this election cycle. If we are not running scared until the day after the election, we are going to be making a grave mistake, he'said.As expected, Obama also had praise for Clinton, who served as his secretary of state after losing to him in the _NUMBER_ Democratic primary, saying he's seen her in really tough pressure situations. I m a Democrat, so it's fair to say that whoever the Democratic nominee was, I would want to get behind them, Obama said, according to the pool report. But I don't display the kinds of enthusiasm and energy and commitment to Hillary candidacy just because of the fact we belong to the'same political party. He continued: Until you sit at that desk and you're making life and death decisions, and you're deploying young men and women to war, or you're having to avert a crisis that could affect millions or in some cases billions of lives, you'don't know how you're going to respond. Obama said Clinton is not always the flashiest but she is the person who's going to do the work. Read more: Mass Live |
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| Poland's parliament has passed a bill that gives the government, rather than a panel of top judges, control over who conducts elections, a move the opposition called satanic . Minutes before midnight on Thursday, lawmakers of the right-wing Law and Justice party and their allies approved a bill that allows the interior minister to nominate all candidates for head of the National Election Bureau. The PiS has said its bill will make voting more transparent, but critics have said the real aim is to boost the electoral prospects of the party, which has denied European Commission accusations of eroding democratic standards. The head of the judges panel, the State Electoral Commission , said the bill would undermine the electoral process. De facto, the minister will take decisions, not us, PKW head Wojciech Hermelinski told reporters on Friday. Poland is already at risk of sanctions from the EU over a PiS judicial reform; Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Thursday he expected the European Commission to launch an unprecedented punishment procedure against Warsaw next week. Hermelinski said Germany had a functioning system where government officials organized elections, but that the Polish government should not leave the independent PKW in place as a camouflage without real powers. According to the bill, if none of the minister's candidates meet with the judges approval, the minister can simply appoint the head of the Election Bureau. Lawmaker Jacek Protas from the opposition Civic Platform said in parliament that the bill was a satanic idea that would give a controlling stake in democracy to a single political party. The PKW head said he would speak to members of the PiS-dominated upper house, the Senate, and President Andrzej Duda to urge them to prevent the measures passing into law. The changes will also require the PKW to appoint about _NUMBER_ lower-ranking election officials from lists of candidates presented by the interior minister. Those candidates will no longer have to be judges themselves and, as with the head of the bureau, if the PKW rejects all the names put forward, the minister will have the power to impose a choice. The PiS-dominated Senate is set on Thursday to approve the overhaul of the judiciary - the deepest since Poland's transition from communism nearly three decades ago - which the opposition says violates the constitution. |
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| Have these two been watching the news?The Russian President has immediately sent his Admiral Grigorovich frigate armed with cruise missiles and a self-defence system from the Black Sea to dock in Syria later. It will pass through the east Mediterranean waters where the USS Ross and USS Porter fired the _NUMBER_ Tomahawk missiles that pounded Assad's al-Shayrat military airfield near Homs in the early hours of Friday. Bret Baier tweeted out the news: Putin today called it an illegal act of aggression and also ripped up an agreement to avoid mid-air clashes between Russian and US fighter jets over Syria. In the continuing fight back Russian or Syrian planes also bombed the town of Khan Sheikhoun, the'scene of Tuesday's horrific chemical gas attack where _NUMBER_ died, witnesses in the rebel-held area claimed. The US was also branded a partner of ISIS by al-Assad's spokesman, calling the missile strikes reckless and irresponsible and accused Trump of naively falling for a false propaganda campaign about the Idlib Sarin massacre. Today world leaders praised the US strikes and urged Putin to hold urgent talks with Trump to prevent the Syria crisis escalating into a wider world conflict. Nikki Haley says U.S. took a very measured step last night. We are prepared to do more, but we hope that will not be necessary. .@Nikkihaley says U.S. took a very measured step last night. We are prepared to do more, but we hope that will not be necessary. _TAG_ _URL_ CSPAN April _NUMBER_, _NUMBER_ French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, speaking alongside German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel, said: We do not want an escalation. We have to stop the hypocrisy. If Russia is acting in good faith it should stop and negotiate . Read more: Daily Mail |
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| A U.S. congressional committee has demanded that former drug executive Martin Shkreli appear at a hearing on drug prices to testify about his former company's decision to raise the price of a lifesaving medicine by more than _NUMBER_ percent, congressional aides said on Wednesday. Shkreli, who is separately facing federal criminal charges that he defrauded investors, has been served with a subpoena to appear on Jan. _NUMBER_ before the U.S. House of Representatives' Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, the aides said. The Senate's Special Committee on Aging, which is also investigating the company's drug pricing practices, said on Wednesday that Shkreli has invoked the U.S. Constitution's Fifth Amendment against self-incrimination, and has refused to produce subpoenaed documents. Shkreli, _NUMBER_, fired back at lawmakers on Twitter, writing on Wednesday that the House was "busy whining to healthcare reporters about me appearing for their chit chat next week. Haven't decided yet. Should I?" He declined an interview request. The outspoken entrepreneur sparked a firestorm last year after he raised the price of Daraprim, a decades-old treatment for a dangerous parasitic infection, to _CUR_750 a pill from _CUR_13.50 after acquiring it. The medicine once sold for _CUR_1 a pill. Shkreli pleaded not guilty last month to criminal charges that he ran his companies like a Ponzi scheme, using each subsequent company to pay off defrauded investors from a prior company. After his arrest, he stepped down as chief executive of Turing Pharmaceuticals and was fired as chief executive of KaloBios Pharmaceuticals Inc. KaloBios also filed for Chapter _NUMBER_ bankruptcy. Shkreli's past companies also include Retrophin Inc, which sued him for alleged mismanagement. Testifying before Congress is risky for someone facing criminal charges because of the chance they could say something prosecutors would later use at a trial. For that reason, many such witnesses invoke the Fifth Amendment and refuse to answer questions. To even travel to Washington, Shkreli is required to first get the sign-off of a federal judge because his release on bond restricts him to certain parts of New York state. However, judges typically grant temporary travel waivers to white-collar defendants. U.S. Representative Elijah Cummings of Maryland, the top Democrat on the oversight committee, said the hearing will give Shkreli a chance to explain his views on drug pricing. "I have been trying for the better part of a year to get information from Martin Shkreli about his outrageous price increases, and he has obstructed our investigation at every turn," Cummings said in a statement. |
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| A Maine state official on Wednesday validated a petition by pro-marijuana activists that would allow the state's voters to determine whether to make recreational use of the drug legal in the northeasternmost U.S. state. Maine Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap found that activists had collected enough verified signatures to be presented to state lawmakers for consideration, his office said in a statement. The state legislature has the option of approving the proposal as written or placing it on the ballot in November. That move followed a ruling by a state judge earlier this month that overruled an initial decision by Dunlap's office that almost half of the signatures gathered by the campaign were not valid, citing concerns that the signatures of notaries public on various forms submitted did not match up with versions on file in official state records. The referendum would allow adults _NUMBER_ and older to legally possess marijuana, while levying a _NUMBER_ percent tax on recreational sales. Marijuana use in public would remain illegal. Maine Governor Paul LePage has publicly opposed the measure, saying he believes marijuana is a "gateway drug" that leads other sorts of narcotics abuse. Voters in four U.S. states plus the District of Columbia have legalized the recreational use of the drug in similar ballot initiatives. Advocates have pushed for similar referendums this year in a half-dozen other states, including Massachusetts and California. |
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| Former U.S. president George W. Bush has described the political climate in Washington as "pretty ugly" under Donald Trump's presidency but expressed optimism the United States would pull through despite the divisive political discourse. "I don't like the racism and I don't like the name-calling and I don't like the people feeling alienated," Bush, _NUMBER_, said in an interview with People magazine that will hit newsstands on Friday. "Nobody likes that." Promoting his first art book "Portraits of Courage: A Commander in Chief's Tribute to America's Warriors", Bush said, however, that he felt no anxiety about the direction the country was headed in. "I'm optimistic about where we'll end up," Bush said. "We've been through these periods before and we've always had a way to come out of it. I'm more optimistic than some." Trump, the first Republican president since Bush left office, won the November presidential election after beating _NUMBER_ other candidates to the party's nomination, including Bush's brother Jeb. Prominent Republicans within the establishment wing of the party, including Bush and his father, former president George H.W. Bush, shunned him or offered tepid support. Bush diverged sharply from Trump's new administration in a separate interview with NBC's "Today" show on Monday, saying he supported a "welcoming" immigration policy and praising the media as "indispensable to democracy," during a wide-ranging interview with NBC's "Today" show. Bush and his wife Laura spoke to People at their Dallas home. Proceeds from the book, a collection of portraits of wounded veterans, will help fund veterans' health care and employment programs at the George W. Bush Presidential Center. The couple told the entertainment magazine that the center's immigration ceremonies, reproductive-health programs for women in Africa and leadership training for Muslim women from the Middle East stand in contrast to Trump's isolationism. "There's a lot of ways to speak out," he added. "But it's really through actions defending the values important to Laura and me. We're a blessed nation, and we ought to help others." Bush shrugged when People magazine asked if Trump's immigration policies could threaten the center's programs. "Now that you mention it, it might bother me but we'll figure out how to bring them over," he said. |
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| President Barack Obama said in an interview broadcast on Monday that the United States is providing more support to Iraq as its military moves to take back territory from Islamic State, and he expects the city of Mosul will be retaken eventually. "As we see the Iraqis willing to fight and gaining ground, let's make sure that we are providing them more support," Obama said in an interview with CBS News. U.S. officials announced in Baghdad on Monday the United States will deploy about _NUMBER_ additional troops, mostly as advisers for Iraqi troops as they advance toward Mosul, the largest Iraqi city still under Islamic State control. The increase raises the authorized U.S. troop level in Iraq to _NUMBER_, not including special operations personnel, some logistics workers and troops on temporary rotations. "We're not doing the fighting ourselves," Obama said, "but when we provide training, when we provide special forces who are backing them up, when we are gaining intelligence, working with the coalitions that we have, what we've seen is that we can continually tighten the noose" on Islamic State. "My expectation is that by the end of the year, we will have created the conditions whereby Mosul will eventually fall," Obama said. |
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| The President who shoved his radical agenda down the throats of Americans is about to watch his legacy unwind in favor of jobs and a stronger economy President Obama's eight-year effort to rein in the energy and mining industries with environmental regulations will likely come to a halt under President-elect Donald Trump, who is poised to green-light key job-creating projects from the Atlantic Coast to Alaska.With the election of Donald Trump and a transition team that includes GOP energy lobbyist Mike McKenna and outspoken climate change skeptic Myron Ebell both sides now see their fortunes reversing amid Trump's promise to rescind Obama's signature Clean Power Plan and jump-start oil, and natural gas projects. I think _NUMBER_ percent of President Obama's policies will be reversed very soon after Trump moves into the White House, Robert McNally, the president of the Rapidan Group, the energy consulting firm, and former official in the George W. Bush administration, told FoxNews.com. The Trump administration will reverse the global warming principles enacted under Obama and he will stop the politicization of infrastructure. This will definitely spur on the growth of the oil and gas industries. Here are three projects that could be revived soon after Trump takes office in January:Keystone XL PipelineOne of the biggest environmental flashpoints of Obama's presidency, the pipeline's final phase which would create a shorter route for American and Canadian crude oil coming from Alberta to Nebraska was rejected by Obama for not serving the national interests of the United States. Keystone XL faced stiff opposition from environmental groups and a minority of U.S. lawmakers amid concerns of oil spills in highly sensitive ecological terrain and worries from the Environmental Protection Agency about large increases in greenhouse gas emissions from Alberta's carbon intensive oil sands.Throughout his campaign Trump vowed to immediately approve the Keystone XL pipeline adding he believed it would have no environmental impact and would create hundreds of jobs and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky is already pressing the president-elect to make it a priority in his first _NUMBER_ days.If I am elected President I will immediately approve the Keystone XL pipeline. No impact on environment & lots of jobs for U.S. Donald J. Trump August _NUMBER_, 2015Reviving CoalCoal production has been on the wane for a number of years as Americans move toward cheaper, cleaner alternatives like natural gas and the industry struggles to cope with tighter environmental regulations imposed by the Obama administration.Saving the coal industry is part of Trump's _NUMBER_-day action plan and, although he has not given any specifics so far, his campaign trail promises included rescinding the EPA's Clean Power Plan and the Mercury and Air Toxics Rule.Trump's campaign promises of reviving the coal industry helped him win over voters in places like Wyoming, West Virginia and other states hard hit by declining production of the energy source. Now as he readies to enter the White House, many of the voters are looking to see when and, maybe more importantly, how the incoming president will fulfill that promise.Trump has not weighed in on the issue, but Sarah Palin Alaska's former governor who is rumored to be on Trump's short list for Interior Secretary helped ease the path for what would be one of the world's largest open pit mines by appointing mining industry officials to lead her Department of Natural Resources and embracing resource extraction.Offshore Drilling in the AtlanticThe Obama administration recently moved to restrict drilling in waters off the Eastern Seaboard from _NUMBER_ to _NUMBER_, but environmentalists, fishermen and those in the East Coast's tourism industry want to make that restriction permanent before Trump comes into office.Despite his vocal stance on U.S. energy independence and support of increased oil and gas development, Trump's stance toward offshore drilling in the Atlantic has been vague saying only that he backs it when done responsibly but if he green-lights drilling in the Atlantic it would make him many friends in U.S. oil and gas companies and could open the possibility to expand drilling other U.S. waters.Obama, however, could prevent this by invoking an obscure section of the _NUMBER_ Outer Continental Shelf Act that would make it difficult, maybe impossible, for future presidents to reverse the ban. He has used the act before to safeguard parts of Alaska's Bristol Bay and parts of the Arctic. That's the big question, David Goldston, the director of government affairs at the Natural Resources Defense Council, told FoxNews.com. Will the Obama administration go beyond the five-year ban? While a permananet ban is still in question, late last week Obama blocked the'sale of new oil and gas drilling rights in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas north of Alaska for the next five years a move that was praised by enviromentalists and largely scorned by oil industry represenatives. Once again, we see the attitude that Washington knows best an attitude that contributed to last week's election results, Randall Luthi, president of the National Ocean Industries Association, told The Assocuated Press in reference to Trump's surprise victory over Democrat Hillary Clinton. FOX News |
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| Iran on Friday denounced new sanctions imposed on it by the United States and said it would impose legal restrictions on American individuals and entities helping "regional terrorist groups". The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday announced sanctions against _NUMBER_ individuals and _NUMBER_ entities linked to Iran, days after the White House put Tehran "on notice" over a ballistic missile test. "The new sanctions ... are not compatible with America's commitments and resolution _NUMBER_ of the U.N. Security Council that endorsed the nuclear deal reached between Iran and six powers," Iranian state TV quoted a Foreign Ministry statement as saying on Friday. Iran said on Wednesday it had tested the new ballistic missile but said it did not breach a nuclear deal reached with six major powers in _NUMBER_ or a U.N. Security Council resolution that endorsed the accord. Tehran said it will react accordingly to any U.S. measure aimed at the Iranian nation's interests. "In retaliation for the U.S. sanctions, Iran will impose legal restrictions on some American individuals and entities that were involved in helping and founding regional terrorist groups," the Foreign Ministry statement said. It said names of the entities and individuals would be announced later. |
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| President Obama blasted Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump in April, _NUMBER_ for his plan to bar immigrants in the U.S. from sending money back home to force Mexico to pay for a new border wall. Oh, no. It's Trump, a smiling Obama said when he was asked about the _NUMBER_ candidate's latest comments.Obama called plan another shortsighted idea from Trump that could spark concern among world leaders. I am getting questions constantly from foreign leaders about some of the wackier suggestions that are being made, Obama told reporters at the White House.Obama said Trump's border wall proposal could have enormous economic consequences for Mexico, which receives billions of dollars in payments that immigrants in the U.S. send home, and possibly touch off a major spat with an ally. The notion that we are going to track every Western Union bit of money that's being sent to Mexico good luck with that, Obama said.Obama's remarks came after The Washington Post published a two-page memo from Trump outlining how he would get Mexico to pay for his wall. Trump's memo outlines how he would cut off certain remittances cash transfers from people in the United States to Mexico unless Mexico's government offered _CUR_5 billion to _CUR_10 billion to pay for the wall.Mexican President Enrique Pe a Nieto has said he won't pay for Trump's wall and claimed the candidate has damaged U.S.-Mexico relations.The country's former president, Vicente Fox, slammed the proposal, saying, I m not going to pay for that f ing wall. Meanwhile, TMZ reported that workers are busy building a large wall around Obama's new DC residence where he will be moving from the White House, that was coincidentally, also surrounded by a massive wall.Why is it that politicians like Obama and even Republican Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, who has a two-decade-long history of promoting open borders immigration policies, have no problem building a border fence for themselves and their family, even as they'denies the American people those same protections.They re quick to criticize Trump and his supporters for wanting to build a wall on our southern border to keep foreign intruders and criminals out for the'sake of our national security, yet have no problem erecting large walls around their personal residences to keep their own families safe |
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| In January _NUMBER_ a group of Haitians surrounded the New York offices of the Clinton Foundation. They chanted slogans, accusing Bill and Hillary Clinton of having robbed them of billions of dollars. Two months later, the Haitians were at it again, accusing the Clintons of duplicity, malfeasance, and theft. And in May _NUMBER_, they were back, this time outside New York's Cipriani, where Bill Clinton received an award and collected a _CUR_500,000 check for his foundation. Clinton, where's the money? the Haitian signs read. In whose pockets? Said Dhoud Andre of the Commission Against Dictatorship, We are telling the world of the crimes that Bill and Hillary Clinton are responsible for in Haiti. Haitians like Andre may sound a bit strident, but he and the protesters had good reason to be disgruntled. They had suffered a heavy blow from Mother Nature, and now it appeared that they were being battered again this time by the Clintons. Their story goes back to _NUMBER_, when a massive _NUMBER_ earthquake devastated the island, killing more than _NUMBER_ people, leveling _NUMBER_ homes, and leaving _NUMBER_ million people destitute.The devastating effect of the earthquake on a very poor nation provoked worldwide concern and inspired an outpouring of aid money intended to rebuild Haiti. Countries around the world, as well as private and philanthropic groups such as the Red Cross and the Salvation Army, provided some _CUR_10.5 billion in aid, with _CUR_3.9 billion of it coming from the United States.Haitians such as Andre, however, noticed that very little of this aid money actually got to poor people in Haiti. Some projects championed by the Clintons, such as the building of industrial parks and posh hotels, cost a great deal of money and offered scarce benefits to the truly needy. Port-au-Prince was supposed to be rebuilt; it was never rebuilt. Projects aimed at creating jobs proved to be bitter disappointments. Haitian unemployment remained high, largely undented by the funds that were supposed to pour into the country. Famine and illness continued to devastate the island nation.The Haitians were initially sympathetic to the Clintons. One may say they believed in the message of hope and change. With his customary overstatement, Bill told the media, Wouldn t it be great if they become the first wireless nation in the world? They could, I m telling you, they'really could. I don't blame the Haitians for falling for it; Bill is one of the world's greatest story-tellers. He has fooled people far more sophisticated than the poor Haitians. Over time, however, the Haitians wised up. Whatever their initial expectations, many saw that much of the aid money seems never to have reached its destination; rather, it disappeared along the way.Where did it go? It did not escape the attention of the Haitians that Bill Clinton was the designated UN representative for aid to Haiti. Following the earthquake, Bill Clinton had with media fanfare established the Haiti Reconstruction Fund. Meanwhile, his wife Hillary was the United States secretary of state. She was in charge of U.S. aid allocated to Haiti. Together the Clintons were the two most powerful people who controlled the flow of funds to Haiti from around the world.Bill and Hillary weren't the only ones profiting off the devastation of poor Haitians. This video shows how Hillary's brother cashed in on a lucrative gold-mining permit in Haiti:An unusual nexus of mining interests, relief work in Haiti, and a former U.S. first family is raising new ethics questions that could affect Hillary Clinton's presidential ambitions.Clinton's brother, Tony Rodham, was a board member of a North Carolina mining company that enjoyed prime access to Haitian gold deposits in the wake of post-earthquake relief work organized in part by former president Bill Clinton through the Clinton Foundation.Another board member of the firm, VCS Mining, was former Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive, who co-chaired the charitable Interim Haiti Recovery Commission with Mr. Clinton.https://youtu.be/nlS4SimQfv8The Haitian protesters noticed an interesting pattern involving the Clintons and the designation of how aid funds were used. They observed that a number of companies that received contracts in Haiti happened to be entities that made large donations to the Clinton Foundation. The Haitian contracts appeared less tailored to the needs of Haiti than to the needs of the companies that were performing the'services. In sum, Haitian deals appeared to be a quid pro quo for filling the coffers of the Clintons. For example, the Clinton Foundation selected Clayton Homes, a construction company owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, to build temporary shelters in Haiti. Buffett is an active member of the Clinton Global Initiative who has donated generously to the Clintons as well as the Clinton Foundation. The contract was supposed to be given through the normal United Nations bidding process, with the deal going to the lowest bidder who met the project's standards. UN officials said, however, that the contract was never competitively bid for.Clayton offered to build hurricane-proof trailers but what they actually delivered turned out to be a disaster. The trailers were structurally unsafe, with high levels of formaldehyde and insulation coming out of the walls. There were problems with mold and fumes. The'stifling heat inside made Haitians sick and many of them abandoned the trailers because they were ill-constructed and unusable.The Clintons also funneled _CUR_10 million in federal loans to a firm called InnoVida, headed by Clinton donor Claudio Osorio. Osorio had loaded its board with Clinton cronies, including longtime Clinton ally General Wesley Clark; Hillary's _NUMBER_ finance director Jonathan Mantz; and Democratic fundraiser Chris Korge who has helped raise millions for the Clintons. Normally the loan approval process takes months or even years. But in this case, a government official wrote, Former President Bill Clinton is personally in contact with the company to organize its logistical and support needs. And as Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton has made available State Department resources to assist with logistical arrangements. InnoVida had not even provided an independently audited financial report that is normally a requirement for such applications. This requirement, however, was waived. On the basis of the Clinton connection, InnoVida's application was fast-tracked and approved in two weeks. The company, however, defaulted on the loan and never built any houses.An investigation revealed that Osorio had diverted company funds to pay for his Miami Beach mansion, his Maserati, and his Colorado ski chalet. He pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering in _NUMBER_, and is currently serving a twelve-year prison term on fraud charges related to the loan. Several Clinton cronies showed up with Bill to a _NUMBER_ Housing Expo that cost more than _CUR_2 million to stage. Bill Clinton said it would be a model for the construction of thousands of homes in Haiti. In reality, no homes have been built. A few dozen model units were constructed but even they have not been sold. Rather, they are now abandoned and have been taken over by squatters.THE SCHOOLS THEY NEVER BUILT USAID contracts to remove debris in Port-au-Prince went to a Washington-based company named CHF International. The company's CEO David Weiss, a campaign contributor to Hillary in _NUMBER_, was deputy U.S. trade representative for North American Affairs during the Clinton administration. The corporate secretary of the board, Lauri Fitz-Pegado, served in a number of posts in the Clinton administration, including assistant secretary of commerce.The Clintons claim to have built schools in Haiti. But the New York Times discovered that when it comes to the Clintons, built is a term with a very loose interpretation. For example, the newspaper located a school featured in the Clinton Founation annual report as built through a Clinton Global Initiative Commitment to Action. In reality, The Clinton Foundation's sole direct contribution to the'school was a grant for an Earth Day celebration and tree-building activity. Via: National Review |
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| Because of what Hillary Clinton agreed to with the UN, we are at the mercy of Islam in a BIG way! If you watch and read nothing else today, THIS needs to be your focus because if Hillary is elected we go down this path in a BIGGER way! THE _NUMBER_ YEAR STRATEGIC ACTION PLAN TO COMBAT THE DEFAMATION OF ISLAM THAT HILLARY CLINTON AGREED TO: Islamic World Tells Clinton: Defamation of Islam Must be Prevented in AmericaThis brilliant article by Clare M. Lopez goes into much greater detail but I tried to give you the main part of the argument that Hillary is in cahoots with the OIC/UN to stifle our freedom of speech when it comes to Islam:As Secretary of State Hillary Clinton welcomes Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu to Washington this week, it is critical that Americans pay attention to what these two leaders intend to do. From _NUMBER_ to _NUMBER_ December _NUMBER_, working teams from the Department of State and the OIC are going to discuss implementation mechanisms that could impose limits on freedom of speech and expression.The OIC's purpose, as stated explicitly in its April _NUMBER_ 4th Annual Report on Islamophobia, is to criminalize incitement to hatred and violence on religious grounds. Incitement is to be defined by applying the test of consequences to speech. Under this twisted perversion of falsely yelling fire in a crowded theater, it doesn't matter what someone actually says or even whether it is true or not; if someone else commits violence and says it's because of something that person said, the'speaker will be held criminally liable.The OIC is taking direct aim at free speech and expression about Islam.Last March, the State Department and Secretary Clinton insisted that combating intolerance based on religion can be accomplished without compromising Americans treasured First Amendment rights. But if that were so, there would be no possible excuse for engaging at this level with an organization like the OIC that is openly dedicated to implementing Islamic law globally. This is why it is so important to pay attention not only to the present agenda, but to a series of documents leading up to it, issued by both the U.S. and the OIC. From _NUMBER_ to _NUMBER_ December _NUMBER_, the DoS and OIC working teams will focus on implementation mechanisms for Resolution _NUMBER_/_NUMBER_, a declaration that was adopted by the U.N. Human Rights Council in April _NUMBER_.Resolution _NUMBER_/_NUMBER_ was hailed as a victory by Clinton, because it calls on countries to combat intolerance, negative stereotyping and stigmatization based on religion without criminalizing free speech except in cases of incitement to imminent violence. But if the criterion for determining incitement to imminent violence is a new test of consequences, then this is nothing but an invitation to stage Muslim Days of Rage following the'slightest perceived offense by a Western blogger, instructor, or radio show guest, all of whom will be held legally liable for causing the destruction, possibly even if what they've said is merely a statement of fact. The implications of such prior restraint on free speech would be chilling . Clearly, the OIC feels some sense of urgency to get the rest of the non-Muslim world, and especially the U.S., on board with these objectives.In this same document is the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers Resolution No. _NUMBER_/_NUMBER_-LEG On Follow Up and Coordination of Work on Human Rights, which makes reference to the OIC's new Independent Permanent Commission on Human Rights and stipulates that it shall promote the civil, political, social, and economic rights enshrined in the Organization's covenants and declarations and in universally agreed human rights instruments, in conformity with Islamic values. This wording alone should set off alarm bells in view of the OIC's _NUMBER_ Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam , which explicitly declared that when the Muslim ummah uses the term human rights, what is meant is Islamic law . Universally agreed or not, the CDHRI was served as an official document to the U.N. Commission on Human Rights in _NUMBER_, thereby creating an established instrument of reference on the Islamic definition of human rights. The foundational documents upon which the Muslim ummah the OIC now relies to undergird its sharia agenda were drafted years ago. The _NUMBER_ U.N. Commission for Human Rights International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights , which entered into force in _NUMBER_, was based firmly on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and preceded the _NUMBER_ creation of the OIC by just a few years. The ICCPR's Articles _NUMBER_ and _NUMBER_ nevertheless foreshadow sharia Islam's demand for restrictions on free speech in an explicit and chilling way.Clearly, the OIC is trying to exploit these international standards, as shown in its April _NUMBER_ 4th Annual Report on Islamophobia posted at its online Islamophobia Observatory. Given the ICCPR's assertions, the OIC's objective has long since been entered into official U.N. language. It required only a narrowing of the focus from the generality of the ICCPR down to the OIC's exclusive interest in protecting Islam from discrimination. It also required bringing the U.S. on board with the program to enforce Islamic law on slander. With the willing participation of the Obama administration, the OIC has tackled both of these challenges. In Section _NUMBER_ of the Islamophobia Report, Conclusions and Recommendations, the language references the OIC goal of removing the gaps in international legal instruments to force the non-Muslim world to comply with its plan to criminalize slander of Islam.Those gaps in implementation and interpretation refer to U.S. objections to criminalizing free speech , and the structured multilateral framework would appear to be the agenda in Washington, D.C. from December _NUMBER_ to _NUMBER_ at the meeting between Clinton and OIC Secretary General Ihsanoglu. It would not be overreaching to conclude that the purpose of this meeting, at least from the OIC perspective, is to convince the Obama administration that free speech that rouses Muslim masses to fury as defined by the test of consequences must be restricted under U.S. law to bring it into compliance with sharia law's dictates on slander.Clinton's own statements reflect the OIC language on the gap : together we have begun to overcome the false divide that pits religious sensitivities against freedom of expression, and we are pursuing a new approach based on concrete steps to use some old-fashioned techniques of peer pressure and shaming, so that people don't feel that they have the'support to do what we abhor. It may be recalled that the Obama administration claimed, obviously incorrectly, that defamation was no longer part of these agreements. The language of these resolutions instead stresses the importance of expediting the implementation process of its decision on developing a legally binding international instrument to prevent intolerance, discrimination, prejudice and hatred on the grounds of religion, and defamation of religions The Department of State is not the only U.S. government agency committed to achieving compliance with the OIC's Islamophobia censorship agenda. The Departments of Justice and Homeland Security both have committed publicly to an overhaul of their training materials to ensure that nothing in the curriculum gives offense to Muslim Brotherhood affiliates such as the Islamic Society of North America or the Muslim Public Affairs Council , with which both departments maintain close relationships. Instructors who previously taught the intrinsic connection among Islamic doctrine, law, and scripture and Islamic terrorism henceforth will be blacklisted by the U.S. government. As documented by the intrepid columnist and author Diana West, the Department of Defense also has made its obeisance to Islam, with troop instructions on how to handle the Qur an and avoid spitting, urinating, or sleeping with feet pointed in the direction of Mecca.Capping the administration's campaign to align U.S. national security policy within the parameters of Islamic law, the White House published Strategic Implementation Plan for Empowering Local Partners to Prevent Violent Extremism in the United States in December _NUMBER_. The plan makes clear that violent extremism, not Islamic terrorism, is the primary national security threat to the homeland. According to this strategy, the'solution is partnership with local communities the term used for the administration's favored Muslim Brotherhood front groups, which already are using such relationships to silence their critics, both inside and outside government. These new rules of censorship state that the term violent extremism can no longer be used in combination with terms like jihad, Islam, Islamist, or sharia. And these new rules are already being taught to U.S. law enforcement, homeland security offices, and the military nationwide.The agenda of this week's Department of State/OIC meetings may mark an important milestone, as Sayyed Qutb might put it, on the pathway to sharia in America. If under the test of consequences those who speak truth about Islam, sharia, and jihad may be held criminally responsible for the violent actions of those who say they find such truth offensive, then, in the future, violent extremists could be just about anyone anyone the government, in obedience to the'sharia dictates of the OIC, decides they are.Further, if the rubric is to be based on this test of consequence, then it creates a real temptation to any administration so inclined to create consequences that will justify a change in America's free speech rights. By way of example, analysts have suggested that the motive for the Department of Justice's Fast and Furious scandal, now under congressional investigation, may have been to create a crisis a consequence caused by U.S. guns shipped across the border to Mexican drug-dealers to nudge public consensus to expand gun control laws.Even if Obama's State Department seems fully enamored with a test of consequences on speech critical of Islam, most Americans across the political spectrum will realize that this perverts the traditional understanding of the First Amendment. It is to be hoped that dedication to the Constitution rather than to the OIC's definition of slander of Islam or the test of consequences will prevail among the ranks of our national leadership. Regardless of what's going on behind closed doors at the State Department this week, Americans should be aware and outraged. An informed citizenry, as always, remains the final defense of the Republic.Clare M. Lopez is a senior fellow at the Center for Security Policy and also at The Clarion Fund.Read more: American Thinker |
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| The U.S. embassy in Eritrea said it has received reports of gunfire in several parts of the capital, Asmara, after protests erupted in one of Africa's most secretive nations. The embassy advises U.S. citizens to avoid the downtown area where protests appear to be more prevalent, it said in a statement late on Tuesday. Avoid areas where demonstrations are taking place and exercise caution when in the vicinity of any large gatherings, protests, or demonstrations. It was not immediately clear what had caused the protests. Opposition outlets said the incidents were triggered after the government tried to close down an Islamic school in a predominantly Muslim district. In some footage posted online, shots are heard being fired to disperse crowds. Via Twitter, Information Minister Yemane Ghebremeskel downplayed the protests, saying: Small demonstration by one school in Asmara dispersed without any casualty. Eritrea, which sits on the Red Sea coast next to one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, seceded from Ethiopia in _NUMBER_ after a three-decade war for independence. Conflict broke out once again seven years later over a border spat with neighboring Ethiopia, and the UN has since accused the government in Asmara of committing crimes against humanity under the guise of national security. A U.N. Commission of Inquiry report last year said that atrocities - including an indefinite military national service program that amounted to mass enslavement - had been committed since the country's independence and were ongoing. Eritrea denies the charges. |
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| 21st Century Wire says Three weeks ago, while the wounds were still fresh following Hillary Clinton's epic electoral collapse, a number of frustrated Hollywood celebrities floated various reactionary and often flippant ideas. As liberal elites and their student acolytes accused President-Elect Donald J. Trump of being a fascist , Hollywood elites were themselves pushing actual fascist directives, the worst of which had to be singer Barbra Streisand's insistence that lame duck president Barack Obama bypass the US Senate and appoint a liberal Supreme Court Justice unilaterally. If this episode demonstrates anything, it shows how Hollywood's liberal celebrity elites would govern if, god forbid, they were ever in power.Streisand has been pushing via her Facebook page a White House petition entitled We the People calling for Obama to appoint Merrick Garland by executive action and without any Senate confirmation or due process. Obama had previously nominated Garland, a chief justice of the U.S. District Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, to fill the'seat of Justice Antonin Scalia, who died suddenly last winter. Underlining the current partisan feud during this election year, Senate Republicans refused to hold hearings or vote on his nomination.It appears that Streisand is working in coordination with a radical left-wing George Soros-funded change agent NGO called Common Cause, whose board member Gregory L. Diskant had initially worked with the Washington Post to launch their the campaign in the national media.Here's what the ever controversial pundit, the Doctor of Common Sense E.T. Williams had this to say about Hollywood's attempted hostile takeover of the US Supreme Court, and celebrities who had threatened to leave the US if Trump won'the election |
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| After ABC News broke the General Flynn-Trump'story, the'stock market began its freefall, Americans were stunned by the news, and the media, who's been searching for blood in the water since Trump's inauguration, was in a feeding frenzy over the prospect of President Trump being caught directing General Flynn to meet with the Russians when he was actively campaigning. As it turns out, ABC News got it wrong. But no worries, several hours later, they clarified how the'story should have read ABC News major report on Michael Flynn and President Trump's direction on reaching out to the Russians has been corrected. Hours later. And Twitter is ripping the network over it.Per multiple reports earlier, Brian Ross report that Flynn is expected to testify Trump directed him to meet with Russians as a candidate was followed minutes later by a drop in the'stock market.But as Ross clarified on World News Tonight , it was as President-elect, not as a candidate, and that is kind of a major difference. MediaiteABC News also tweeted out a clarification and deleted its earlier tweet:CLARIFICATION of ABC News Special Report: Flynn prepared to testify that President-elect Donald Trump directed him to make contact with the Russians *during the transition* initially as a way to work together to fight ISIS in Syria, confidant now says. _URL_ _URL_ ABC News December _NUMBER_, 2017Twitter users responded to the clarification by ABC News, who should NEVER have gotten this story wrong in the first place. Jim VandeHei, CEO and co-founder of Axio slammed ABC for moving the markets and setting off a frenzy with their massive mistake:Astonishing. The'story moved markets, set off a media frenzy, suggested worst possible outcome. This is called a massive correction, or retraction, not clarification. _URL_ Jim VandeHei December _NUMBER_, 2017Associate editor of the Daily Caller reminded ABC News that their clarification was actually a huge correction. That's a huge correction _URL_ Peter J. Hasson December _NUMBER_, 2017David Rubin reminded ABC News why no one trusts them anymore: Reason nobody trusts the mainstream media _NUMBER_ .Reason nobody trusts the mainstream media _NUMBER_ _URL_ Dave Rubin December _NUMBER_, 2017Twitter user Echo Lew called out ABC News for blaming their source and not Brian Ross, their reckless reporter who actually made the mistake:Blame it on a source and not your reckless reporter _USER_ 'on air' tremendous mistake. Echo Lew December _NUMBER_, 2017ABC News has apparently earned a new name to go along with their acronym.ABC Always Broadcasting Crap BNL NEWS December _NUMBER_, 2017And then, finally, Twitter user Jake Blum called ABC News out for reporting fake news :This is so incredibly irresponsible and reckless. Sowing damage to the legitimacy of our government. Hard for you all to push back on the fake news label when this is so damn common. Jake Blum December _NUMBER_, _NUMBER_ |
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| Six U.S. air strikes on an Islamic State desert camp in Libya killed _NUMBER_ militants and destroyed three vehicles, the U.S. military said on Sunday, the first American strikes in Libya since President Donald Trump took office in January. U.S. Africa Command said in a statement that strikes on Friday targeted a camp _NUMBER_ miles southeast of Sirte, a city that was once the Islamic State stronghold in Libya. The camp was used to move fighters in and out of Libya, plot attacks and store weapons, the statement said. ISIS and al-Qaeda have taken advantage of ungoverned spaces in Libya to establish sanctuaries for plotting, inspiring and directing terror attacks, the statement said, using an acronym for Islamic State. A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the strikes were carried out by armed drones. The last-known U.S. strike in Libya was on Jan. _NUMBER_, a day before Trump's inauguration, when more than _NUMBER_ Islamic State militants, some believed to be plotting attacks in Europe, died in U.S. air strikes on camps outside Sirte. That strike was led by two B-_NUMBER_ bombers, which dropped about _NUMBER_ precision-guided munitions on the camps. Islamic State took over Sirte in early _NUMBER_, turning it into its most important base outside the Middle East and attracting large numbers of foreign fighters to the city. The group imposed its hard-line rule on residents and extended its control along about _NUMBER_ miles of Libya's Mediterranean coastline. But it struggled to keep a footing elsewhere in Libya and was forced out of Sirte by last December after a six-month campaign led by brigades from the western city of Misrata and backed by U.S. air strikes. Islamic State militants have shifted to desert valleys and inland hills southeast of Tripoli as they seek to exploit Libya's political divisions after their defeat in Sirte. The statement said the strikes were carried out in coordination with Libya's Government of National Accord. The United Nations launched a road map on Wednesday for a renewed international effort to break a political stalemate in Libya and end the turmoil that followed the country's _NUMBER_ uprising. The U.N.-backed Government of National Accord established under a December _NUMBER_ deal never fully materialized in Tripoli, leaving Libya with three competing governments aligned with rival armed alliances. |
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| Three Georgian military personnel serving with the NATO-led Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan were lightly wounded when their vehicle was attacked near an airbase north of the capital Kabul, officials said. None of their injuries was considered life-threatening, Resolute Support spokesman Capt. Tom Gresback said in an emailed statement on Thursday. During a recent patrol south of Bagram Airfield yesterday afternoon, three Georgian service members suffered minor injuries when a motorcycle-borne IED was detonated next to their patrol, he said. The attack came as NATO prepares to send more troops to Afghanistan to support a new U.S. strategy aimed at breaking the stalemate with the Taliban. Georgia, one of the largest contributing nations to the _NUMBER_-strong Resolute Support mission, has around _NUMBER_ troops in Afghanistan, behind only Germany, Italy and the United States. In August, a Georgian soldier was killed and six other coalition personnel were wounded in an attack on a convoy in Qarabagh district, the area in which Wednesday's attack occurred. |
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| 21st Century Wire says Once again, Operation Mockingbird has been deployed in order to bury another damaging White House scandal. It happened on Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's watch: the _NUMBER_ attacks on the covert US facility in Benghazi, Libya has been covered up from the beginning, and according to Ohio Republican Rep. Jim Jordan, that should disqualify her from being commander in chief. I ve said all along I m for the nominee, for Mr. Trump, but we also have to remember when you compare Mr. Trump's positions with Secretary Clinton s, there's a big difference, said Jordan, to Chris Cuomo on CNN's New Day program.SEE ALSO: CIA GATEKEEPER? CNN's Chris Cuomo says Americans are criminals for reading WikiLeaks Clinton email dumpIn order to cover-up _NUMBER_-_NUMBER_ US gun-running through Libya and into Syria, and to help deflect another scandal away from Democratic Party candidate Hillary Clinton, the White House turned again'to Obama appointee Attorney General Loretta Lynch, who then ordered the DOJ to drop all charges against the State Department and CIA middleman and arms dealer, Marc Turi, who brokered many of Washington's illegal weapons deals in Benghazi,. Federal court records obtained by Politico confirm: The deal averts a trial that threatened to cast additional scrutiny on Hillary Clinton's private emails as Secretary of State, and to expose reported Central Intelligence Agency attempts to arm rebels fighting Libyan leader Moammar Qadhafi. The fact that CNN and its media operative Chris Cuomo did not pursue this clear scandal of a politicized DOJ working to whitewash illegal US government activities in Benghazi proves that CNN is not interested in journalism and more interested in protecting those guilty parties within the establishment.Watch as Congressman Jordan knocks back media gatekeeper Cuomo when the CNN host tries desperately to deflect away from any accountability by Hillary Clinton and the White House _URL_ Have CNN's production ranks been infiltrated and taken over by CIA operatives? One would think so, judging by how they covered this, and other important stories.How long can CNN and their media operatives like Chris Cuomo keep up this pseudo media facade?READ MORE LIBYA NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire Libya FilesSUPPORT OUR WORK SUBSCRIBE & BECOME A MEMBER _USER_.TV |
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| The top technology official at the U.S. Office of Personnel Management announced her retirement on Monday amid calls for her ouster by some Republican lawmakers. Donna Seymour, chief information officer, said in an email to her colleagues that was seen by Reuters that leaving was a "very tough decision." She added that she felt it was in the "agency's best interest that my presence does not distract from the great work this team does every single day." House Oversight Chairman Jason Chaffetz had repeatedly called for Seymour's resignation, lodging complaints that her mistakes helped lead to the OPM data breach disclosed last year that exposed the personal information of _NUMBER_ million individuals. In response to the sudden announcement, Chaffetz's panel canceled a hearing scheduled for Wednesday to examine the breach. In a statement, Chaffetz called the retirement "good news" but said he was disappointed she would no longer testify. "On her watch, whether through negligence or incompetence, millions of Americans lost their privacy and personal data," Chaffetz said. Representative Elijah Cummings, the top Democrat on the oversight panel, countered that Republican efforts to blame Seymour for the hack were "unfair and inaccurate" and would discourage qualified technical professionals from pursuing public service. Seymour is the second high-ranking official to leave OPM since the breach was disclosed. Katherine Archuleta, the agency's director, resigned in July. Earlier this month, Chaffetz subpoenaed OPM for documents related to the hack, which intelligence officials have privately blamed on China. The Utah Republican has accused the agency of not acting in good faith with the committee because it has only provided partially redacted versions of the files, which were described by Seymour as "outdated security documents" in testimony she gave in June _NUMBER_. Chaffetz has expressed concern that the manuals could be used to launch another cyber attack. Beth Cobert, the acting head of OPM, praised Seymour's _NUMBER_-year career in federal government in a statement and lauded her for helping to modernize the agency's information technology over the past year. |
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| New Zealand's ruling National Party won the largest number of votes in the country's general election on Saturday, securing a comfortable margin over the Labour Party after what had promised to be the most hotly contested race in recent history. National and Labour had been almost neck and neck in opinion polls, with charismatic _NUMBER_-year old Jacinda Ardern almost single-handedly dragging Labour back into the race after taking over the party's leadership in August. National took _NUMBER_ percent of the vote, the Electoral Commission said, while support for Labour was _NUMBER_ percent. A final tally including overseas votes will be released on Oct. _NUMBER_. The results set up the nationalist New Zealand First Party to hold the balance of power and form the next government with _NUMBER_ percent of the ballot. Veteran New Zealand First leader Winston Peters has been minister under both major parties and has not said which party he would favor as a coalition partner. Previously he has backed the party with the largest number of votes. All party leaders said they would have conversations over the next few days, with some of them already trying to woo Peters on election night. I want to acknowledge the strong performance of Winston Peters and New Zealand First, Bill English said in a speech to his supporters. The voters of New Zealand have given New Zealand First a role in forming the next government, he said. For English, who campaigned heavily on National's economic credentials after taking the party leadership last year, the strong showing was a vindication after National crashed to its worst ever election result in _NUMBER_ under his first stint as leader. Opinion polls leading up to the vote had been volatile with two recent ones giving National a near _NUMBER_ point lead over Labour. National has been in power for nearly a decade. Bill English and National have taken the largest number of votes. I ve called Bill and acknowledged that, Ardern told her supporters, adding she was planning conversations with both the Green and New Zealand First parties. It's not over yet. Peters sounded buoyant but kept his cards close to his chest. We have been strong enough and honest enough with our supporters to make it home, he said. New Zealand First had not all the cards but we do have the main cards, he added, saying he would not be rushed into giving any answers immediately. Ardern and English were expected to maintain fiscal prudence, but to differ on monetary policy, trade and immigration. That would likely have implications for the New Zealand dollar, the world's 11th most-traded currency in _NUMBER_. The New Zealand dollar has tended to rise when National rose in the polls. The thin trading conditions typical of early morning in Asia mean a sharp but short-lived move on the NZD is possible on Monday, said Joseph Carpuso, senior currency strategist at CBA. New Zealand uses a German-style proportional representation system in which a party, or combination of parties, needs _NUMBER_ of Parliament's _NUMBER_ members - usually about _NUMBER_ percent of the vote - to form a government. The results secured _NUMBER_ seats for National in parliament, and _NUMBER_ for Labour. New Zealand First has nine seats and Greens, which won _NUMBER_ percent of the votes, have seven. National's _NUMBER_ seats were higher than Labour and Greens put together at _NUMBER_, but neither combination had enough to govern on their own. It's all over, bar the special votes - but even they won t change the basic maths. They won t change any crucial seats and National is extremely unlikely to go up. So Winston Peters rules, said Bryce Edwards, analyst at Wellington-based Critical Politics. A record _NUMBER_ million ballots were cast before the day of the election, accounting for about a third of the _NUMBER_ million New Zealanders enrolled to vote. Special votes , which include ballots from New Zealanders overseas and those who vote outside their home constituencies, will be released on Oct. _NUMBER_. These are estimated to represent _NUMBER_ percent of total votes and could have a considerable impact. I would expect us to get a bit of a lift out of those special votes, said Ardern. |
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| You remember that running Saturday Night Live joke about Sarah Palin being able to see Russia from her house ? Well, it just got a lot closer to reality when Sarah Palin offered to go all eagle-eye on Russian hackers from her home in the crystal meth capital of Alaska. Russia's getting out of hand? So says the defeated, Palin tweeted Sunday evening. Not to worry remember I can keep an eye on them from here. Russia's getting out of hand? So says the defeated. Not to worry remember I can keep an eye on them from here. _URL_ Sarah Palin December _NUMBER_, 2016Palin included a link to a Young Conservatives article that claims the liberal media is jumping to conclusions by correctly pointing out that a CIA investigation found that Russia interfered with our election with the explicit goal of getting Donald Trump elected because the FBI who also interfered on Trump's behalf drew a different conclusion in a completely separate investigation.Naturally, Twitter flocked to this latest opportunity to participate in something that should be an Olympic sport tearing Sarah Palin apart piece by piece on social media:_USER_ If you're ok with Russian espionage because it helped your guy win, then don't say you're a patriot DudeDiligence December _NUMBER_, _NUMBER_@SarahPalinUSA Anyone who condones Russia interfering with our elections is not patriotic & should be banished from this country. bbwoof December _NUMBER_, _NUMBER_@SarahPalinUSA the bag may say chips, but they're still paint chips, quit eating them Ethan Livermore December _NUMBER_, _NUMBER_@SarahPalinUSA Try keeping an eye on Track before he blackens his wife's. Tim December _NUMBER_, _NUMBER_@SarahPalinUSA Really? I will sleep so much easier knowing that. _TAG_ Linda December _NUMBER_, _NUMBER_@SarahPalinUSA delete your account. Phyllis Kurtenbach December _NUMBER_, _NUMBER_@SarahPalinUSA Not the defeated, but _NUMBER_ govt agencys & several _USER_ congressmen. You on the other hand are just a traitor like McConnell Shiva December _NUMBER_, _NUMBER_@SarahPalinUSA Dont you think you would be better off keeping an eye on the rope that keeps Bristols legs together? Shiva December _NUMBER_, _NUMBER_@SarahPalinUSA No Sarah, not the defeated. So say the patriots. I'm disappointed you would dismiss this so cynically. Alice December _NUMBER_, _NUMBER_@SarahPalinUSA You obviously either are a part of Trump's Treason or you can't keep an eye on the Russians from your house. _TAG_ Laura December _NUMBER_, 2016Palin's former running mate John McCain doesn't take the matter as lightly as does the half-term, half-wit former Governor or Alaska. On Sunday, he called for a select committee to investigate Russia's interference in our election. It's clear the Russians interfered, McCain said. Now, whether they intended to interfere to the degree that they were trying to elect a certain candidate, I think that's a subject of investigation. Palin is an idiot, but she is a consistent source of entertainment. Unfortunately, too many think like she does.Featured image via Getty Images /screengrab |
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| Yeah, well about that.Crazed Congresswoman Maxine Waters found an unusual venue to spew her hatred for President Trump over the weekend, viciously smearing the dishonorable President while delivering a eulogy at a friend's funeral.Waters speech went off the rails at the funeral of comedian Dick Gregory, where the firebrand liberal suddenly screamed, I m cleaning out the White House, and bizarrely claimed that the KKK had infiltrated Trump's cabinet. I m cleaning out the White House. We re going to sanitize the White House. We re not going to take what is happening in this country, said Waters. And then comes along this person. This person who does not respect you. This dishonorable human being who cheats everybody! This dishonorable human being who will lie at the drop of a hat, she wailed. This dishonorable human being who has the alt-right, and the KKK and everybody else inside his Cabinet! When I get through with Donald Trump, he's going to wish he had been impeached! she added. Hannity.comWatch Maxine honor her deceased friend by going off the rails at the mere mention of President Trump's name:Just imagine how much wealthier Trump would be if he could find a way to be compensated for living inside so many liberals heads rent-free. |
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| The European Commission said on Friday that enough progress had been made in Brexit negotiations to allow a second phase of talks on future relations to begin. The following is a summary of a joint EU-UK report showing the agreements on three key topics: Refers to British citizens, including spouses and children, living in an EU state and other EU nationals living in Britain on date of its withdrawal. It does not give British citizens a right to move from one EU state to another and retain the same rights, while rights for EU and British citizens lapse if they leave their original host country for five years. Negotiations may continue in the second phase, with Britain looking for onward movement rights for its citizens on the continent and the EU interested in citizens keeping permanent residence rights even after longer spells absent from the host country. Citizens with permanent residence documents should get new ones free of charge. Equal treatment will cover rights with respect to social security, health care, employment and education. Benefits will be exportable as they are now. Future spouses, children and other core family members can join citizens enjoying protected rights. The European Court of Justice is the ultimate arbiter of EU law. The agreement states that UK courts shall therefore have due regard to relevant decisions of the . The EU and Britain have agreed to set up a mechanism enabling UK courts to ask the ECJ to weigh in when necessary during an eight-year period following Brexit. Eight years is enough to build up a body of common jurisprudence, officials say. Even at present, EU courts are not obliged to allow appeals to the ECJ. In Phase Two, the sides will negotiate on how the withdrawal treaty can be enforced - for example, if the EU believes UK courts are systematically misinterpreting EU citizens rights. Britain promises to preserve the integrity of its own internal market and Northern Ireland's place within it. It says it does not want a hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland, saying it aims to avoid checks and controls there via a future EU-UK economic relationship. If this is not possible, Britain says it will propose specific solutions to address the unique circumstances . In the absence of such solutions, Britain will maintain full alignment with those rules of the Internal Market and the Customs Union which, now or in the future, support North-South cooperation, the all-island economy and the protection of the _NUMBER_ Agreement. It pledges to ensure there are no new regulatory barriers and unfettered access for Northern Ireland's businesses to the rest of Britain. Both parties acknowledge that the _NUMBER_ agreement recognizes the birth right of all people of Northern Ireland to be Irish, British or both. Both Parties have agreed a methodology for the financial settlement ... drawn up and paid in euro. The settlement will be calculated in terms of a percentage of the budget for _NUMBER_-_NUMBER_, with Britain contributing as if it had stayed in the EU for _NUMBER_ and _NUMBER_ and including a British rebate. Following its withdrawal from the EU, the UK will continue to participate in the EU programs financed by the _NUMBER_-_NUMBER_ budget until their closure. Beyond then, Britain will remain liable for its share of the EU's contingent liabilities, such as financial assistance or operations managed by the European Investment Bank : The UK liability will be limited to decisions on each financial operation adopted prior to the date of withdrawal. To avoid a disruption to the EIB's operations, Britain will provide a guarantee for an amount equal to its callable capital. This guarantee will decrease over time. The UK share of the paid-in capital will be reimbursed in _NUMBER_ annual installments starting at the end of _NUMBER_. The first eleven installments will be _NUMBER_ million euros each and the final one will be _NUMBER_ euros. On the European Central Bank, the paid-in capital of the UK in the ECB will be reimbursed to the Bank of England after the date of withdrawal . British officials said they estimated the final bill at some _NUMBER_-_NUMBER_ billion euros. The EU, which once estimated the cost at around _NUMBER_ billion, declined to offer its own estimate, arguing that too much is dependent on future variables, such as whether loan guarantees advanced by the EU end up being exercised. Britain would pay _NUMBER_-_NUMBER_ billion euros to the EU budget between Brexit and the end of the current EU seven-year budget plan in December _NUMBER_, British officials estimate, and a further _NUMBER_-_NUMBER_ billion after that to settle ongoing commitments, plus _NUMBER_-_NUMBER_ billion euros on net liabilities, including EU staff pensions. |
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| Yemen's Sanaa airport, damaged in an air strike by a Saudi-led coalition last week, has been repaired and is ready to receive international flights, the Houthi-led government which runs the capital city said on Tuesday. The Nov. _NUMBER_ raid destroyed radio navigation equipment at the airport and in effect put the facility out of service. The attack happened after the coalition banned naval, air and land transportation to Yemen following a missile fired by the Houthis that was shot down over the Saudi capital Riyadh. The transport minister in the Houthi-run government, Zakariya al-Shami, said that technical civil aviation teams had completed implementation of technical alternatives necessary to restore services to the airport . It is ready to receive international flights, Shami said, according to Houthi-controlled news agency Saba. The airport had been mainly used by international relief agencies, including U.N. staff, using United Nations flights to Sanaa. The coalition has said that all Yemeni land crossings, air and sea ports would remain closed until assurances are made that no weapons can reach the Houthis. The coalition accuses Iran of smuggling weapons, including the missile fired towards Riyadh airport on Nov. _NUMBER_, to the Houthis through Yemeni ports controlled by the group. Iran denies sending any weapons to the Houthis. The closure of Yemen's ports, including the main Hodeidah port where most of the country's food supplies enter, has raised alarm around the world. The European Union on Tuesday urged the Saudi-led coalition to reopen Yemen's ports and airports. While fully recognizing the serious security threat incoming from Yemen, it is our firm belief that hindering vital humanitarian access to the Yemeni population that is already on the brink of famine and subject to a spreading cholera outbreak will not effectively address these security concerns, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said. |
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| Few people, if any, keep track of ratings or public approval numbers for the Smithsonian. However, if they'did, those numbers would soon go down dramatically. Why? Because the man who single-handedly accomplished the nearly impossible feat of turning America against its favorite game, is about to get his own exhibit.Most fans were not impressed with Kaepernick's disrespect of our American flag and of our national anthem. According to curators at the museum, currently unemployed NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick is about to get his own display at the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture on the National Mall.In fact, museum officials have already begun requesting various items of significance from Kaepernick's protests of last year.According to the Washington Examiner, Artifacts from former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick's national anthem protests will reportedly soon be on display at the Black Lives Matter collection at the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History. The National Museum of African American History and Culture has nearly _NUMBER_ items in our collection, said Damion Thomas, the museum's sports curator, to USA Today. The Colin Kaepernick collection is in line with the museum's larger collecting efforts to document the varied areas of society that have been impacted by the Black Lives Matter movement. Incredibly, as pointed out by IJR and The Washington Times, the museum extends Kaepernick this honor while only mentioning African-American Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, in connection with the'sexual harassment charge brought against him by Anita Hill. BrietbartI was opposed to welfare because I had seen its destructive effects up close in Savannah. Most of the older people among whom I had grown up felt as I did, sharing Daddy's belief that it would be the ruination of blacks, undermining their desire to wor & provide for themselves. I added that my own sister was a victim of the'system, which had created a sense of entitlement that had trapped her and her children. I went on to say that I opposed busing, preferring to give school vouchers to poor children. Source: My Grandfather's Son: A Memoir by Clarence Thomas, p. _NUMBER_-_NUMBER_ , Oct _NUMBER_, 2007Quotes like the one above from Clarence Thomas have made him a target of the left. It really doesn't matter what color you are, if you'don't tow the entitlement line that keeps you in the good graces of the Democrat Party, you will be punished. In Clarence Thomas case, the punishment is that he will likely never see himself featured in the Smithsonian Black History museum.Here is a short biography of Clarence Thomas, that illustrates the unimaginable odds he overcame to become a US Supreme Court Justice:Clarence Thomas was born in the tiny coastal town of Pin Point, Georgia, on June _NUMBER_, _NUMBER_. As a very young boy he lived in a one-room shack with dirt floors and no plumbing. When Thomas was two years old, his father walked out on the family. As a result, at the age of seven he and his younger brother were sent to live with their grandfather, Myers Anderson, and his wife in Savannah, Georgia. Anderson, a devout Catholic and active member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People , sent Thomas to a Catholic school staffed by nuns.In remarks reported by Jet magazine, Thomas has said that he grew up speaking Gullah, a creole dialect spoken by African Americans on the coastal islands of the'southeastern United States. Unlike other Supreme Court justices, he rarely asks questions from the bench during court proceedings. He has said that he developed this habit of silent listening when he was young because he found it a struggle to speak standard English correctly in school. Nevertheless, he was always a strong student.Clarence Thomas went on to become a US Supreme Court Justice and champion of our Constitution.Apparently, the Smithsonian can't find space in their museum for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, a highly accomplished conservative black man, who was born into poverty, and through sheer determination and hard work, became the longest serving black Supreme Court Justice in America's history. |
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| A Japanese court sentenced a former U.S. military base worker to life in prison on Friday for the rape and murder of a woman on the southern island of Okinawa, public broadcaster NHK reported. The Naha District Court found Kenneth Franklin Shinzato, _NUMBER_, guilty of killing _NUMBER_-year-old Rina Shimabukuro in April last year, NHK said. A court spokesman told Reuters he was unable to immediately confirm the decision. The case sparked anger on the island, where locals have long protested the presence of U.S. military bases that they say imposes a heavy burden on Okinawa. Okinawa hosts around _NUMBER_ U.S. nationals, including _NUMBER_ military personnel and civilians employed at the bases. In a bid to assuage locals, the United States last year agreed to limit legal protection and benefits to some U.S. civilian contractors working for the military in Japan under a Status of Forces Agreement that dates back to _NUMBER_. SOFA exempts personnel from requiring visas while in Japan, and has been criticized because it has been used by the U.S. military to ship people home before Japanese police can capture them. Other incidents involving U.S. personnel have stirred resentment among Okinawans. On Nov. _NUMBER_, a local man was killed in road accident after his van collided with a car driven by a U.S. Marine suspected of driving under the influence of alcohol. The U.S. military responded by imposing a drinking ban for personnel in Japan on or off base. |