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| European Union leaders gave their formal approval on Friday to the opening of a second phase of Brexit negotiations with Britain, focusing on a transition period and future trading relationship. EU leaders agree to move on to the second phase of Brexit talks, European Council President Donald Tusk tweeted during a Brussels summit that he was chairing. Congratulations PM _USER_, he added, a day after leaders acknowledged British Prime Minister Theresa May's efforts to conclude an outline divorce settlement by giving her a round of applause. |
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| This is a great interview with some very personal info on Donald Trump. He also discusses Black Lives matter at around the _NUMBER_:_NUMBER_ mark. |
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| McDonald's in recent years has become an icon of gluttony and corporate greed, from the fight for NYC McDonald's workers to receive a _CUR_15 minimum wage, to the obesity epidemic, which still remains rampant throughout the country. Morgan Spurlock's _NUMBER_ documentary, Supersize Me, exposed to the public just how awful McDonald's food is for the human body, and how McDonald's manipulates consumers into thinking otherwise. Over the course of my McDiet, I consumed _NUMBER_ pounds of sugar from their food. That's a pound a day. On top of that, I also took in _NUMBER_ pounds of fat, said Mr. Spurlock in the documentary. Now, I know what you're saying. You re saying nobody's supposed to eat this food three times a day. No wonder all this stuff happened to you. But the'scary part is: there are people who eat this food regularly. Some people even eat it every day. So, while my experiment may have been a little extreme, it's not that crazy. But here is a crazy idea: Why not do away with your Super Size options? Who needs _NUMBER_ ounces of Coke? A half pound of fries? And why not give me a choice besides french fries or french fries? That would be a great start. But why should these companies want to change? Their loyalty isn't to you, it's to the'stockholders. The bottom line: They re a business, no matter what they say. And by selling you unhealthy food, they make millions. And no company wants to stop doing that. If this ever-growing paradigm is going to shift, it's up to you. But if you'decide to keep living this way, go ahead. Over time, you may find yourself getting as sick as I did. After the documentary was released, McDonald's removed their supersize option, but continued to develop very unhealthy menu items. Rather than adapt to the progressive reforms and changing cultural landscape in America, McDonald's has the audacity to fight back. In July, the company is opening up a new restaurant in Missouri with Automated Kiosk Cashiers to phase out several workers from employment. The restaurant, often an only resort for low income Americans for food, is also offering bottomless French fries.The company is spending _CUR_1.59 million on the new restaurant to resemble fine dining. Today's customers seek a comfortable and inviting atmosphere, the owner of the franchise restaurant, Chris Habiger, told the St Joseph News-Press. So we're committed to providing a modern look and feel to this restaurant. Mr. Habiger owns six other McDonald's franchise restaurants, which requires non-borrowed resources of _CUR_500,000 to even be considered by McDonald's to own a single franchise.While McDonald's workers across the United States have been fighting to earn a livable wage, in _NUMBER_ McDonald's CEO more than tripled his salary from _CUR_1.69 million in _NUMBER_ to _CUR_7.91 million in _NUMBER_; a _NUMBER_ percent raise.Featured image via Flickr |
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| Trump's supporters, and some in the press, believe that if it wasn't for Trump being a disgusting sexual predator, Hillary Clinton would have been done when Wikileaks released a bunch of emails from her campaign. However, an aide to Hillary, John Podesta, has made an interesting connection, too. One of Trump's close allies, Roger Stone, communicates with Wikileaks.And Stone has just admitted to it. I do have a back-channel communication with Assange, because we have a good mutual friend, Stone told CBS4 News Wednesday evening. That friend travels back and forth from the United States to London and we talk. I had dinner with him last Monday.' He claims he doesn't have direct communication with Assange, though, and he insists he has nothing to do with their email dump. Democrats and U.S. officials believe that Wikileaks might be working with Russia on this, which wouldn't be surprising since they hacked the DNC over the'summer and are showing interest in trying to rig our election.Podesta has also accused Stone of having advance knowledge of what was going to be in Wikileaks email dump an accusation that Stone flatly denies: I have a back-channel communications with WikiLeaks, Stone told NBC News. But they certainly don't clear or tell me in advance what they're going to do.' What's the point of the communication, then? Given what Wikileaks is busy doing trying to expose Hillary as corrupt, which could tilt the election in Trump's favor it's not really all that difficult to imagine that this back-channel communication is actually collusion directly between Stone and Assange.In fact, back in August, Stone said he was in direct communication with Assange and that they were actively working to bring down Hillary's campaign. Speaking to the Southwest Broward Republican Organization, Stone referred directly to the'so-called October surprise, saying, according to Mediaite: Well, it could be any number of things. I actually have communicated with Assange. I believe the next tranche of his documents pertain'to the Clinton Foundation but there's no telling what the October surprise may be. Lately, it seems that everything anyone involved with Trump tries to do to bring Hillary and the Democrats down backfires. If Stone communicates with Wikileaks, that implicates the Trump campaign. He's admitted to back-channel communication. He has said he's spoken to Assange, although he denies it now. This won't look good for Trump's already faltering campaign.Featured image via Ben Jackson/Getty Images for SiriusXM |
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| A Pakistani diplomatic official was shot by unknown gunmen near his residence in the city of Jalalabad in eastern Afghanistan on Monday, officials said. Pakistan Foreign ministry spokesman Mohammad Faisal issued a statement saying the Afghan charge d affaires in Islamabad had been summoned to protest the incident which consular officials said occurred in front of a staff guesthouse. He condemned the killing and demanded increased security for Pakistani diplomatic staff from Afghan authorities. Relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan have been going through a stormy period with tensions over the latest U.S. strategic plan for the region and disputes over the Torkham border crossing, which Pakistan has closed periodically. Afghanistan's ambassador to Pakistan, Omar Zakhilwal condemned the killing in a message on Twitter and said he had conveyed his government's sympathies to the ministry of foreign affairs in Islamabad. The incident comes around a week after the deputy governor of Kunar province in eastern Afghanistan was kidnapped near the Pakistani city of Peshawar although there was no immediate indication of any connection between the two incidents. |
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| State Reps Forced To Stand Awkwardly In BackgroundAt one point it appears as though someone approaches the two State Representatives who appear to be trapped behind the rambling, incoherent train wreck, Kentucy House Speaker and Democrat, Greg Stumbo and offers them an opportunity to get off the'stage. This wealth accumulation in America has to cease. Kentucky Republicans had a very good election day. Matt Bevin defeated Democrat Jack Conway to become only the'second Republican Kentucky governor in four decades. Jenean Hampton won her quest for lieutenant governor, becoming the commonwealth's first African-American'to hold a statewide office. Rising Democratic star State Auditor, Adam Edelen, was ousted by Republican state Rep. Mike Harmon, despite raising nearly _CUR_900,000 to Harmon's _CUR_37,000.Democrats held on to some seats, but the defeats were crushing in part because Conway was ahead in polling up to election day. With so many Democrats ousted from office or unable to win their campaigns, Kentucky House Speaker Greg Stumbo is one of the top-ranking Democrats still standing.He gave a speech that was striking for its odd content and rambling delivery. Flanked by state Reps. Martha Jane King and Jeff Greer, Stumbo discussed his thoughts on the political affiliation of Jesus and his view on what Scripture really is and how it influences politics. And the other thing I know is that if in fact the Bible is a book of parables, like I believe it is, think about this: Mary did not ride an elephant into Bethlehem that night, he'said to a restrained crowd. For entire story:The Federalist h/t:Weasel ZippersHmmmm .I wonder where he got the idea America is beginning to think of the Democrats as the Godless party? Maybe Conway missed the last DNC convention where the members voted to remove God from the platform:And then of course, there is Reverend Wright who preached hate and anything but the truth about God's love for all of his people to Barack Hussein Obama for roughly _NUMBER_ years: |
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| Who is silencing political speech, physically attacking those with divergent views, demanding that every American share one single ideology. But sadly, the real truth is that these violent agitators have little idea about why they march. Theirs is a movement with no cause, a temper tantrum with no purpose. They are a generation lost in space .a propaganda arm of the party of disappointment. If I were wrong, would Hillary Clinton really be their standard bearer? These rioters are being manipulated by big government forces who need them to regain political power |
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| A little-noticed detail in the _NUMBER_ biography Lost Tycoon: The Many Lives of Donald J. Trump has just resurfaced and come back to haunt him big time.No one gave it much thought when Trump's then-wife, Ivana Trump, revealed to her friends that despite being amazing at erecting skyscrapers, the business mogul struggled in the bedroom department. Thanks to an initiative by Politico to bring five of Trump's biographers together to discuss the Republican party's frontrunner, this little detail came back to life. Politico reported what the different biographers have revealed, with Ivana's comments coming from Harry Hurt III: Want to know where Trump inherited his entrepreneurial bent? Gwenda Blair traces it to his grandfather, who ran a series of restaurants in the Klondike that featured some of the best food in town, as well as private areas where sporting ladies could entertain miners. Who was really doing the deals that made Trump famous? Wayne Barrett will tell you the only signature that really mattered on a contract belonged to Trump's father, Fred. What broke up Trump's first marriage? Harry Hurt III writes that Ivana confided to female friends that Donald had difficulty achieving and maintaining an erection. That personal detail managed to fly under the radar and actually make it into the published book because it was overshadowed by Ivana's claim that Trump attacked and raped her during their marriage. Hurt was the first reporter to break that news, and the only reason that his publisher was able to avoid a lawsuit was because Trump was too dumb for his own good. Hurt said: Prior to the publication of my book, he and his lawyer, Jay Goldberg, came to scream at the folks at Norton, mainly about Ivana's divorce deposition And finally Donald got so frustrated, he jumped up and he pulls a tape recorder out of his coat pocket. He said, I ve been recording all this, and our little lawyer looked at him, and Goldberg just turned like this napkin, white. You ve been recording this and you'didn't tell us? That's not right. And I m going, Yeah. They walked out and I said, He can't sue us now. He's not going to sue us because they just shot themselves in the foot. Now of course, making fun of someone's issues in the bedroom is no laughing matter, but the fact that it's Trump a man who forced millions of people to watch him talk about how big his d*ck was during a GOP debate is slightly humorous. It merely validates what we've all known Trump's brash, vulgar behavior is just a cover-up for some deep-seated insecurity.Featured image via Ralph Freso / Getty Images |
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| The only way Hillary and Tim Kaine can win this election at this point, is through massive voter fraud. The enthusiasm for Trump and Pence has been enormous from the beginning and has only increased, while Hillary and Tim can barely fill a phone booth only days before the general election Tim Kaine was speaking in Room _NUMBER_ of Building U at Florida SouthWester State College's Thomas Edison Campus.NBC called these three people a small line. Small line forming at Tim Kaine event venue at FSW campus in Fort Myers. _USER_ is here! _URL_ DeliaDAmbraTV November _NUMBER_, 2016By the time the doors opened to a tiny room inside the college, there were a dozen people ON A COLLEGE CAMPUS who were enthusiastically waiting to see Hillary's lapdog VP:Line growing at Tim Kaine event in Ft Myers _USER_ _URL_ DeliaDAmbraTV November _NUMBER_, 2016Via: Gateway PunditCompare Tim Kaine's lackluster response to his rallies to Trump's VP candidate Mike Pence, who's packing large venues with supporters. Check out the'support Pence is getting in critical swing states across America.Michigan:Great morning in Holland, MI! With just _NUMBER_ days to go, we're heading to WI and VA to deliver our closing argument to the American people. _URL_ Mike Pence November _NUMBER_, 2016Virginia:Huge crowd tonight at George Mason University! We're on the path to victory, and Virginia is ready for Election Day! _TAG_ _URL_ Mike Pence November _NUMBER_, 2016Florida:Thank you Miami! A _USER_ administration will be on the'side of freedom & a better life in this hemisphere _TAG_ _TAG_ _URL_ Mike Pence November _NUMBER_, 2016North Carolina:Thank you Greenville! Great to have the 'Women for Trump' bus tour join us this afternoon at our rally as they crisscross North Carolina _URL_ Mike Pence November _NUMBER_, 2016Pennsylvania:Great rally in Pennsylvania! _USER_ will fight for a government of, by and for the people. We will _TAG_! _URL_ Mike Pence November _NUMBER_, _NUMBER_ |
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| Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders told residents of Flint, Michigan, on Thursday their "horrific" water contamination crisis should be a wake-up call about the country's crumbling infrastructure and required an emergency response. "If there is any silver lining out of this tragedy, it is my hope that the American people will look at Flint and say, 'never again,'" Sanders said on his first campaign visit to the city, where a cost-saving decision to switch the water supply has led to a public health crisis from lead contamination. "We are looking at children being poisoned - if that is not an emergency, I just don't know what an emergency is," Sanders, a U.S. senator from Vermont, told about _NUMBER_ people jammed into a Flint church for a meeting that at times featured a freewheeling exchange with shouting residents. Sanders, who has made his call for a _CUR_1 trillion investment in U.S. infrastructure a key part of his campaign agenda, said Flint's water crisis illustrated the need for a long-term commitment to rebuilding dilapidated water systems across the country. "While Flint may be the canary in the coal mine, there are a lot of other canaries all around the country. The truth is our infrastructure is collapsing," Sanders said. "I hope that out of the tragedy will come fundamental changes." Sanders' Democratic campaign rival, Hillary Clinton, visited the predominantly black city weeks ago and frequently highlights the crisis as an example of racial inequity as the two candidates vie for African-American support. Sanders has called for the resignation of Michigan Governor Rick Snyder, a Republican, and met recently with some Flint activists during a visit to Michigan. He told the Flint crowd that hearing their stories of suffering was "horrific." "Clearly this is part of a long-term trend of starving communities of color," he said. The crisis was triggered when a city manager installed by Snyder switched the city's water supply from Lake Michigan to the nearby Flint River. The change corroded Flint's aging pipes and released lead and other toxins into the water supply. President Barack Obama declared a state of emergency in Flint in January, authorizing federal emergency management officials to coordinate relief efforts. Lawmakers in Congress have wrestled with the size of a federal funding package to replace aging pipes. Sanders and Clinton will return to Flint on March _NUMBER_ for their next nationally televised debate ahead of the Michigan primary on March _NUMBER_. This article was funded in part by SAP. It was independently created by the Reuters editorial staff. SAP had no editorial involvement in its creation or production. |
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| Four adolescents were killed when a train smashed into a school bus on a level crossing outside the town of Perpignan in southwestern France on Thursday. Images from the scene showed the bus split in two, with a long line of emergency vehicles on an approach to the crossing. Another _NUMBER_ people were injured in the crash, _NUMBER_ of them seriously, according to French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, who traveled immediately to the scene. Most of the injured were schoolchildren aboard the bus, aged _NUMBER_-_NUMBER_. Philippe told reporters the authorities were focused on getting accurate information to families, a process made difficult by the question of identification of those who have died and some of the injured. A crisis coordination center has been set up at Millas town hall on Perpignan's western outskirts, about _NUMBER_ kilometers from Paris. According to local media reports, the bus was transporting pupils from the town's Christian Bourquin college. All my thoughts the victims and their families, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Twitter. The causes of the crash are unknown, pending a full investigation, officials said. The bus and train drivers both survived and will be interviewed by police. The train was carrying _NUMBER_ passengers and traveling at _NUMBER_ kmh, the regulatory speed for the section of track where the collision occurred, a spokeswoman for the national SNCF railway told Reuters. Three train passengers sustained relatively minor injuries, according to the interior ministry. Witnesses had reported that the barriers of the crossing were down at the moment of impact, the SNCF spokeswoman said, adding that all such preliminary information was subject to confirmation by investigators. France has suffered several serious rail accidents in recent decades. One of the deadliest was in _NUMBER_, when a commuter train heading into Paris Gare de Lyon crashed into a stationary train, killing _NUMBER_ people, after its brakes failed. |
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| Hillary Clinton said on Wednesday she suspects President Donald Trump's campaign gave guidance to Russian government propaganda efforts during last year's U.S. presidential campaign, leveling her most serious charge yet against the person who defeated her. The former Democratic presidential candidate, appearing at a tech conference near Los Angeles, said propaganda spread on sites such as Facebook helped cost her the election, and she urged Silicon Valley firms to move faster to stop false stories. Trump has said there was no collusion between his campaign and Russia. Echoing assessments of U.S. intelligence agencies, Clinton said the Russian government wanted to spread disinformation about her. But she added they "could not have known how best to weaponize that information unless they had been guided." "Guided by Americans?" asked Walt Mossberg, a technology journalist interviewing Clinton on stage. "Guided by Americans and guided by people who have polling and data," she responded. Clinton was pressed by another journalist on stage, Kara Swisher, who asked: "But you're leaning Trump?" "Yes, I think it's pretty hard not to," Clinton said. She said there had been a "marriage" of people who spread false stories with Republicans who had detailed voter data. It appeared to be the first time Clinton had accused Trump of collusion with Russians. Earlier this month, she blamed Russian hackers and then-FBI Director James Comey for costing her the election. In a Twitter post on Wednesday night, Trump responded: "Crooked Hillary Clinton now blames everybody but herself, refuses to say she was a terrible candidate. Hits Facebook & even Dems & DNC." In her appearance on Wednesday, Clinton slammed Trump's ability to create distractions using Twitter. "It's the circus, right? It's what a classic authoritarian does," she said. Trump's administration has been dogged in its first months by allegations his associates had inappropriate contacts with Russian government officials. A special counsel, former FBI Director Robert Mueller, was appointed to lead an investigation after Trump fired Comey. Moscow has denied meddling in the U.S. election. Clinton mentioned Facebook by name, saying the social media network was flooded with false information about her and that people were understandably misled. She said she would like to see Facebook curate its network more aggressively. "I have a lot of sympathy at this point ... for people trying to make these decisions. I would just urge them to hurry up," she said. Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said in November it was "crazy" to think that fake news on the site had influenced the election. Beginning in December, Facebook began introducing tools to try to prevent fake news stories from spreading. Clinton said that in targeting voters online, she was at a disadvantage because the Republican Party provided Trump with an extensive database, through an organization called the Data Trust, that Democrats did not have. "I inherited nothing from the Democratic Party," she said. "I mean, it was bankrupt. It was on the verge of insolvency. Its data was mediocre to poor, nonexistent, wrong. I had to inject money into it, the DNC, to keep it going." |
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| A majority of the U.S. House of Representatives on Friday voted to advance legislation instructing committees to write legislation repealing President Barack Obama's landmark healthcare law. The procedural vote of _NUMBER_ to _NUMBER_ clears the way for a vote later on Friday to pass the measure to begin work on repealing Obamacare that already has been approved by the Senate. It strictly followed party lines, indicating solidarity among House Republicans on the issue. |
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| Bracing for a general election fight with Donald Trump, Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton and her allies are putting resources into industrial states such as Ohio and Pennsylvania to try to block Trump from making inroads with working-class voters there. Labor leaders, progressive groups and Democratic operatives told Reuters in interviews that they took seriously Trump's appeal with white working-class voters and were studying how to respond to his promises to create jobs and negotiate better trade deals. The desire to stop the presumptive Republican presidential nominee from wresting away the support of unionized workers has even led a group organized to back Bernie Sanders, Labor for Bernie, to consider its next steps if Sanders does not win the Democratic nomination. "It may well be our task to work hard to reach out to our members who support Trump and begin an important dialogue," said Rand Wilson, a staunch Sanders supporter and Labor for Bernie spokesman. The Rust Belt, which includes Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana and West Virginia, has suffered heavy job losses in sectors such as autos, coal and steel that have faced fierce competition from abroad. The region, home to many unionized workers, has been a stronghold for Democrats. The exceptions are socially conservative West Virginia, which has gone Republican in the past four presidential elections, and Indiana, which has gone Democratic only twice since _NUMBER_. Ohio has switched back and forth. Trump has aggressively courted working-class voters ahead of the Nov. _NUMBER_ election to succeed Democratic President Barack Obama. He has criticized the North American Free Trade Agreement and promised to rip up the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal. He has also said he will consider raising the minimum wage and backing higher taxes on the wealthy. On Monday, Trump sought to backtrack from those comments on taxes. "Now if I increase it on the wealthy, that means they're still going to be paying less than they are paying now," he told CNN. "I'm talking about increasing it from my tax proposal." Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski told Reuters the campaign was targeting industrial states like Pennsylvania and Michigan, which have voted Democratic in presidential elections since _NUMBER_. Working America, an advocacy group affiliated with the AFL-CIO labor federation, is expanding operations in states like Ohio and Pennsylvania and plans to open an office in Wisconsin. Its first mission is talking to voters about jobs and the economy and trying to gauge where they are leaning in the presidential race. Later in the campaign, the group will work more aggressively to win over voters. In Ohio, the Democratic Party has doubled its field operation over the past month, thanks to an infusion of cash raised by the Clinton campaign for the national and state parties. Clinton, who has a strong lead over Sanders but has yet to secure the Democratic nomination, has already hired state directors in Ohio and Pennsylvania. Working America field director Soren Norris knocked on doors on the west side of Cleveland last week as part of an effort to gauge voter sentiment. At the first house, Tamara Phillips, _NUMBER_, told Norris she was not enthusiastic about either Clinton or Trump but that she would vote for the New York businessman if forced to choose. Phillips, who works in publishing, said taxes on her commission income rose during former President Bill Clinton's administration. But she said she had reservations about Trump's "gruff" demeanor. With an eye toward voters across the Rust Belt, Clinton visited Appalachia last week with stops in West Virginia and Ohio. She apologized for previous statements related to shutting down the coal industry and told protesters she was committed to solving their economic problems even if they did not support her. Union activists said their strategy for undercutting Trump's support would be pointing out discrepancies in his positions. His comment that he is open to raising the minimum wage comes after he said in a November debate that "wages are too high" and that an increase would hurt the economy. Although Trump rails against trade deals and businesses that move operations to Mexico, critics say that items such as ties and suits in his clothing line were made in China. "The best way to go after Trump is to make him run against himself," said political strategist Brad Bannon, who advises labor unions. Tom Buffenbarger, a Clinton surrogate to labor and the past president of the machinists' union, said Democrats would have "a lot of fun" highlighting Trump's inconsistencies, although he acknowledged the Republican candidate presented a threat in some Rust Belt states. "Are we concerned about the industrial states in the upcoming election?" Buffenbarger said. "Yeah, Donald Trump's done a good job complaining about the trade deal while he continues to ship work from the U.S. to China." |
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| At least _NUMBER_ people died in the Kenyan capital Nairobi during a police crackdown on opposition supporters after elections in August, including a child and a pregnant woman, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said on Monday. Protests erupted after President Uhuru Kenyatta was declared winner over opposition leader Raila Odinga in the vote. The Supreme Court later voided the result. Odinga has withdrawn from a re-run on Oct. _NUMBER_, leaving Kenyatta as the only candidate, prompting further protests. Kenyan police disputed the rights groups report, which brings the nationwide death toll in the crackdown to at least _NUMBER_. Human Rights Watch had earlier documented _NUMBER_ killings after the vote by police in western Kenya, the main opposition stronghold. HRW and Amnesty said police in Nairobi had used excessive force and that most of were killed as a result of action by the police. Among them was a nine-year-old child shot dead while standing on a balcony and a woman who was eight months pregnant and was trampled to death after fainting from inhaling tear gas, the rights groups said in the report. Kenya's National Police Service said in a statement the report was totally misleading and based on falsehoods. Immediately after the violence in August, police said only criminals and thugs had been killed or injured. The report is likely to bolster the case of Kenyan activists and rights groups who accuse police of brutality and extrajudicial killings but say few officers are charged and convictions are extremely rare. Researchers found that although police behaved appropriately in some instances, in many others they shot or beat protesters to death, the groups said in the report. On Thursday the government banned demonstrations in the central business district of Nairobi, the coastal city of Mombasa and the western city of Kisumu, where protesters had been gathering twice a week, calling on the election board to make reforms to ensure a fair poll. Police had used tear gas to disperse them. A group of U.N. human rights experts called for the government's ban on protests to be listed and denounced a pattern of police brutality in response to recent demonstrations. During the violence the parents of a six-month-old baby in western Kenya told Reuters their child was clubbed by police in her home and died later in hospital from brain trauma. Kenya receives financial support for security from the United States, Britain and other international donors. |
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| A Target employee in Indiana has just gone viral for showing the utmost care, patience and kindness to a customer who was struggling to pay for her items.Ishmael Gilbert was an employee at the Glendale, Indiana Target store and had only been a part of the'store's team for a short time when the _NUMBER_-year-old had to ring up an elderly woman. Gilbert had no idea that what happened next would make him an internet star.When it came time to pay for her items, the woman revealed she d be using coins to pay. Gilbert didn't hesitate to help the woman add up her change and remained patient, even as some customers huffed off to find a shorter line. Gilbert said: She was all worked up because the line was getting longer and she was moving so slow. She was shaking. Behind the elderly woman was _NUMBER_-year-old Sarah Owen Bigler, who was watching Gilbert's encounter with his elderly customer. Bigler was originally annoyed that her trip to Target was now going to be longer than planned, but she decided to stay when her young daughter took an interest in what Gilbert was doing. When Bigler's daughter asked Gilbert about the change he was counting, Bigler knew the wait would be worth it. She'said: Part of me, the part that had a long day at work, the part of me who had a _NUMBER_ _NUMBER_/_NUMBER_ year old having a melt down in the cart, the part that had set an unnecessary timeline for Target and getting home, was frustrated with this woman and the inconvenience she had placed on me.BUT then I watched the young employee with this woman. I watched him help her count her change, ever so tenderly taking it from her shaking hands. I listened to him repeatedly saying yes, mam to her. When she asked if she had enough to buy a reusable bag, he told her she did and went two lines over to get one for her and then repackaged her items. Never once did this employee huff, gruff or roll his eyes. He was nothing but patient and kind.As I was watching him, I saw that Eloise was too. She was standing next to the woman, watching the employee count the change. I realized I hadn't been inconvenienced at all. That my daughter was instead witnessing kindness and patience and being taught this valuable lesson by a complete stranger; furthermore, I realized that I too needed a refresher on this lesson. Bigler was so blown away by what she witnessed that she took a photo and posted it on her Facebook page, where it quickly went viral. The post has now gained over _NUMBER_ shares.// < ![CDATA]>Yesterday Matt was sick. I picked up Archie from the'sitter and Eloise from school and decided to run to Target for a Posted by Sarah Owen Bigler on Wednesday, January _NUMBER_, 2016When he woke up the next day, Gilbert still had no idea. He said: I was asleep at home and everyone was texting me, check Facebook, check Facebook.' When he finally realized that his moment with the elderly woman had gone viral, he was stunned. I never thought it d blow up this big. Her post, I guessed it touched a lot of people. On Friday, Bigler and her daughter came back to the Glensdale Target to meet with the media and see Gilbert again. Gilbert said: It just feels good to be recognized for good work. But this isn't something new. I treat all customers the'same, the way I want to be treated. And it turns out, Gilbert's lesson on patience and kindness to Bigler's daughter wasn't lost on him. Gilbert has a daughter of his own, who just turned one. It felt like a daddy-and-daughter moment a little. She asked, what's that? I said that's a penny. It felt good because that's the kind of example I want to be for my daughter. Since his overnight fame, Gilbert has been offered money and other job offers, although he plans to stay where he is for now. Glendale Target Store Team Leader Todd Davis has said that Gilbert's actions will have a positive impact on his career at the'store. Davis said: Very rarely you get the opportunity to talk about something that's a positive impact in the community. You never know who's watching. Featured image via Facebook |
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| U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is holding more meetings on Monday as he prepares to make high-level appointments, his transition team said. Below are people mentioned as contenders for senior roles as the Republican works to form his administration before taking office on Jan. _NUMBER_, according to Reuters sources and media reports. See end of list for posts already filled. * Steven Mnuchin, former Goldman Sachs Group Inc executive and Trump's campaign finance chairman * Jeb Hensarling, Republican U.S. representative from Texas and chairman of the House of Representatives Financial Services Committee * Tom Barrack, founder and chairman of Colony Capital Inc * John Allison, former chief executive officer of BB&T Corp * David McCormick, president of hedge fund Bridgewater Associates LP * Mitt Romney, _NUMBER_ Republican presidential nominee and former Massachusetts governor * Rudy Giuliani, Republican former mayor of New York City * David Petraeus, retired U.S. general and former CIA director * John Bolton, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations under Republican President George W. Bush * Bob Corker, Republican U.S. senator from Tennessee and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee * Zalmay Khalilzad, former U.S. ambassador to Iraq * James Mattis, retired Marine Corps general * David Petraeus, former CIA director and retired Army general * Tom Cotton, Republican U.S. senator from Arkansas * Jon Kyl, former Republican U.S. senator from Arizona * Duncan Hunter, Republican U.S. representative from California and early Trump supporter, member of the House Armed Services Committee * Jim Talent, former Republican U.S. senator from Missouri who was on the Senate Armed Services Committee * Rick Perry, former Republican Texas governor * Stephen Hadley, former national security adviser under President George W. Bush * Tom Price, Republican U.S. representative from Georgia, orthopedic surgeon * Rich Bagger, former pharmaceutical executive and former top aide to Republican New Jersey Governor Chris Christie * Bobby Jindal, former Republican Louisiana governor * Michael McCaul, Republican U.S. representative from Texas and chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee * David Clarke, Milwaukee county sheriff and vocal Trump supporter * Joe Arpaio, outgoing Maricopa County, Arizona, sheriff who campaigned for Trump * Kris Kobach, Kansas secretary of state * Frances Townsend, homeland security and counterterrorism adviser to Republican former President George W. Bush * Jeff Holmstead, energy lawyer, former EPA official during George W. Bush administration * Robert Grady, venture capitalist, partner in private equity firm Gryphon Investors * Leslie Rutledge, Republican Arkansas attorney general * Carol Comer, commissioner of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management * Scott Pruitt, Republican Oklahoma attorney general * Harold Hamm, Oklahoma oil and gas mogul, chief executive of Continental Resources Inc * Kevin Cramer, Republican U.S. representative from North Dakota * Robert Grady, venture capitalist, partner in private equity firm Gryphon Investors * Larry Nichols, co-founder of Devon Energy Corp * James Connaughton, chief executive of Nautilus Data Technologies and a former environmental adviser to President George W. Bush * Rick Perry, former Republican Texas governor * Sarah Palin, former Alaska governor, _NUMBER_ Republican vice presidential nominee * Jan Brewer, Republican former Arizona governor * Forrest Lucas, founder of oil products company Lucas Oil * Harold Hamm, Oklahoma oil and gas mogul, chief executive of Continental Resources Inc * Robert Grady, venture capitalist, partner in private equity firm Gryphon Investors * Mary Fallin, Republican Oklahoma governor * Ray Washburne, chief executive of investment company Charter Holdings * Cathy McMorris Rodgers, U.S. representative from Washington state and House Republican Conference chair * Wilbur Ross, billionaire investor, chairman of Invesco Ltd subsidiary WL Ross & Co * Linda McMahon, former World Wrestling Entertainment executive and two-time Republican U.S. Senate candidate in Connecticut * U.S. Navy Admiral Mike Rogers, director of the National Security Agency * Ronald Burgess, retired U.S. Army lieutenant general and former Defense Intelligence Agency chief * Robert Cardillo, director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency * Pete Hoekstra, Republican former U.S. representative from Michigan * Rudy Giuliani, Republican former mayor of New York City * Dan DiMicco, former chief executive of steel producer Nucor Corp * Andrew Puzder, chief executive officer of CKE Restaurants * Victoria Lipnic, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission commissioner and former Labor Department official during the George W. Bush administration * Elaine Chao, former labor secretary and deputy transportation secretary under Republican Presidents George W. Bush and George H.W. Bush, respectively. Chao is married to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell * Harold Ford, Democratic former U.S. Representative from Tennessee * Dr. Ben Carson, former _NUMBER_ Republican presidential candidate and retired neurosurgeon The Trump transition team confirmed he would choose from a list of _NUMBER_ names he drew up during his campaign, including Republican U.S. Senator Mike Lee of Utah, and William Pryor, a federal judge with the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. * Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus * Steve Bannon, former head of the conservative website Breitbart News * Jeff Sessions, Republican U.S. senator from Alabama and senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee * Republican U.S. Representative Mike Pompeo from Kansas * Michael Flynn, retired Army lieutenant general and former director of the Defense Intelligence Agency * Nikki Haley, Republican South Carolina governor * Betsy DeVos, Republican donor and former chair of the Michigan Republican Party |
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| A flight by businesses from Catalonia's independence crisis has drawn comparisons with Quebec, the French-speaking Canadian province that deterred investors with a decades-long independence push. Opinion polls showed support for pro-independence parties at just under _NUMBER_ percent as campaigning for a Dec. _NUMBER_ election began on Tuesday, enough to dampen the Madrid government's hopes the vote would end a volatile standoff over secession. Carrying on as before means chaos, said Jordi Alberich, managing director of Cercle d Economia, a business association based in the Catalan capital, Barcelona. What has happened is tremendously serious and it could get even worse. The election is seen by pro-independence parties as a de-facto referendum on a split from Spain following a banned plebiscite which led to clashes between Spanish police and protesters on Oct _NUMBER_ and the subsequent dismissal of the Catalan government by Madrid. While it may not propel secessionist forces back into regional government, it could end up sustaining their cause and thereby putting off investors over the longer term. Almost _NUMBER_ firms have shifted their headquarters outside the region, many to Madrid, mirroring the flight of companies from Quebec's Montreal for Toronto before and after its first referendum in _NUMBER_ delivered defeat for independence. The Catalan exodus has so far been administrative rather than physical, with companies effectively shifting domiciles, the brass plate of the business, to avoid legal and tax complications rather than moving staff or operations. They fear secession would leave them outside the euro zone and exposed to the uncertain policies and possible tax grabs of a new republic burdened by the region's existing large debts. Madrid, eager for unionist parties to score a clear victory on Dec. _NUMBER_ and put the crisis to rest, says the economic impact will be only short term, but there are signs the uncertainty is already affecting longer-term investment decisions. If I had been contacted by an American investor asking: Should I open a small office in Barcelona? three or four years ago, I would have said: Yes, of course , said the Spain country head for an international investment bank. Now I can t say that anymore ... The pain inflicted by the independence process scares money away. He, like other bankers and chief executives, declined to speak publicly because the issue is divisive. Those who speak out for one side or other can become targets of criticism and abuse. The Spanish government has already trimmed its _NUMBER_ economic growth forecast to _NUMBER_ percent due to the Catalan crisis, and its Independent Authority of Fiscal Responsibility has warned of a bigger impact next year if it is not resolved. Tourism to the region and its main draw card, Barcelona, has slumped, leading to Spain's first fall in retail sales for more than three years. Spain's economy minister recently noted a strong deceleration in Catalonia in the final quarter, and the central bank published an analysis last month based on scenarios that implied impacts ranging from modest to dramatic. In the worst case, it said political uncertainty could cut economic growth by _NUMBER_ percentage points between end-_NUMBER_ and _NUMBER_. In a recent report, Catalonia, history repeating? , Canadian bank RBC Capital Markets compared it with the fallout from Quebec's _NUMBER_ referendum, which delivered the narrowest of defeats for independence and was followed by economic decline. "Even if the independence parties fall short of a majority, the damage may have already been done," it said of Catalonia's December vote. Graphic _URL_ The Spanish region's pro-independence camp says it pays more than its fair share of tax income out of the country's _NUMBER_ regions and during the five-year economic crisis its stronger economy propped up poorer areas such as Andalusia and Murcia. The biggest pro-independence party, Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya , has dismissed government warnings secession would cause economic damage and launched its campaign focusing on social issues like housing and energy poverty. Quebec's independence movement, triggered by the 1960s push by French-speakers for economic equality, led to a decline in the province's English-speaking population and its economic affluence, with banks and companies moving their head offices from Montreal, then a thriving financial hub. Canada's second-most populous province has made economic strides in recent years, but it continues to lag other provinces in indicators like household income. Between _NUMBER_ and _NUMBER_, as pro-sovereignty Parti Quebecois gained political momentum, Montreal lost _NUMBER_ head offices in resource, manufacturing and service sectors, according to a _NUMBER_ University of Saskatchewan study. Canada's largest life insurance company was among those which left in _NUMBER_. Politics was not the only factor. Montreal's older manufacturing economy was already facing competition from Toronto. The relative decline of Montreal and the exodus of headquarters was no doubt exacerbated by politics but was not solely caused by politics, said Richard Shearmur, a professor at McGill University's school of urban planning in Montreal. The Catalan crisis has drawn interest in Quebec: last week, two members of Catalonia's secessionist Candidatura d Unitat Popular party spoke at an event organised by a left-leaning Quebec opposition party. But Quebec polls show support for separation, especially among young adults, is in decline, while in Catalonia polls show pro-independence parties continue to command strong support. The last Catalan government was made up of a coalition of pro-independence parties under the name Together for Yes , propped up by CUP lawmakers who did not join the government's ranks. Opinion polls show pro-independence and pro-unity parties almost in a dead heat for December's election. |
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| U.S. judges in at least five states blocked federal authorities from enforcing President Donald Trump's executive order restricting immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries. However, lawyers representing people covered by the order said some authorities were unwilling on Sunday to follow the judges' rulings. Judges in California, Massachusetts, Virginia and Washington state, each home to international airports, issued their rulings after a similar order was issued on Saturday night by U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly in New York's Brooklyn borough. Donnelly had ruled in a lawsuit by two men from Iraq being held at John F. Kennedy International Airport. While none of the rulings struck down Friday's executive order by the new Republican president, the growing number of them could complicate the administration's effort to enforce it. The rulings add to questions about the constitutionality of the order, said Andrew Pincus, a Mayer Brown partner representing two Yemeni men who were denied U.S. entry from an overseas flight despite being legal permanent residents. "People have gone through processes to obtain legal permanent resident status, or visas," Pincus said. "There are serious questions about whether those rights, which were created by statute, can be unilaterally taken away without process." Trump's order halted travel by people with passports from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for _NUMBER_ days, and stopped the resettlement of refugees for _NUMBER_ days. He said these actions were needed "to protect the American people from terrorist attacks by foreign nationals admitted to the United States." The order sparked a global backlash, including from U.S. allies that view the actions as discriminatory and divisive. Attorneys general from California, New York, _NUMBER_ other states and Washington, D.C., meanwhile, in a statement condemned and pledged to fight what they called Trump's "dangerous" and "unconstitutional" order. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Sunday said it "will comply with judicial orders," while enforcing Trump's order in a manner that ensures those entering the United States "do not pose a threat to our country or the American people." Striking that balance has caused confusion, according to lawyers who worked overnight and on Sunday to help travelers at JFK Airport, Washington Dulles International Airport in northern Virginia, and elsewhere. Immigration lawyer Sharifa Abbasi said some Border Patrol agents at Dulles refused to let lawyers talk with detainees, even after being shown an order from U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema requiring such access. Abbasi said the agents instead told the lawyers to call their agency's office, where no one was answering. "There is really no method to this madness," Becca Heller, director of the New York-based International Refugee Assistance Project organization, told reporters on a conference call. Supporters of Trump's order said authorities acted properly in swiftly taking steps to enforce it. "It is better be safe than sorry," said Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies at the conservative Center for Immigration Studies in Washington. Lawsuits on behalf of more than _NUMBER_ individual travelers have been filed nationwide, activists and lawyers estimated. Some have come from large corporate firms including Mayer Brown, Kirkland & Ellis, and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton. In Boston, U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs on Sunday temporarily blocked the removal of two Iranians who have taught at the University of Massachusetts, and had been detained at the city's Logan International Airport. Burroughs' ruling appeared to go further than Donnelly's by barring the detention, as well as the removal, of approved refugees, visa holders and permanent U.S. residents entering from the seven countries. Donnelly's order forbade only removal. Matthew Segal, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts, in a statement called Burroughs' ruling "a huge victory for justice" in the face of what he called Trump's "unconstitutional ban on Muslims." The U.S. Constitution's First Amendment guarantees the free exercise of religion. Trump's order sought to prioritize refugees fleeing religious persecution, which the president said was aimed at helping Christians in Syria. Burroughs' ruling also prompted some Trump critics to urge holders of green cards, which allow foreign nationals to live and work permanently in the United States, to fly into Boston, to lessen the risk of detainment. White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus said several times on NBC's "Meet the Press" that Trump's order does not affect green card holders "moving forward" or "going forward." In a ruling on Sunday, U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee in Los Angeles directed the return to the United States of Ali Khoshbakhti Vayeghan, who authorities had sent back to his native Iran following Trump's order. The ruling from Brinkema, in Alexandria, Virginia, barred the Homeland Security agency from removing an estimated _NUMBER_ to _NUMBER_ legal permanent residents who had been detained at Dulles. In Seattle, U.S. District Judge Thomas Zilly barred the government from removing two people, who were not named in court papers. He scheduled a Feb. _NUMBER_ hearing on whether to lift that stay. |
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| Hillary Clinton is pulling out all the'stops in her campaign against Donald Trump, and her newest ad is no exception. It's an infomercial for Trump University, and highlights some of the things various fraud investigations discovered while also quoting testimony from former employees and investigators. It boils the whole controversy down to the meat and potatoes of the'scam, and puts Trump and his university in a very uncomfortable light.It's the maniacally cheerful sarcasm in the narrative that really pulls it all together, though, with gems like: Now, you too can be a source of Trump's wealth with Trump University! Pay for Trump University at the amazing price of everything you have! There is no step three! You won't actually learn anything. It's that easy! This is especially good given that Trump claims he's going to reopen Trump University after the lawsuit is over . And guess what? He won't just be president of the United States, he ll be president of a university that has fresh, all-new ways of scamming people!Watch the video below. It really is brilliant.Featured image by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images |
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| Censorship is alive and well when it comes to Hillary Clinton A street artist in Australia had his Instagram account deleted and now he's being told to take down the painting on the'side of a building. Hillary is pictured in a sort of bikini/monokini that is pretty raunchy. It's a copy of a photoshopped image that's been on the internet for years. This really is censorship of the worst kind because it's a known image. Obviously, Instagram is a Hillary fan: Speaking on Melbourne radio, Lushsux said he'suspected that his Instagram account, which he'said had some _NUMBER_ followers, was deleted due to him posting a photo of the raunchy Hillary image. Melbourne An Australian mural of US presidential nominee Hillary Clinton in a revealing, stars and stripes swimsuit may be taken down, after it has reportedly been deemed offensive.The creator of the painting, the'street artist who goes by the name Lushsux and who has also painted murals of the likes of Donald Trump and Kim Kardashian, branded calls to remove it pathetic .The provocative mural is on the wall of a small business in the Melbourne suburb of Footscray, and reports say the business has been asked by the local Maribyrnong Council to remove it. We believe it is offensive because of the depiction of a near-naked woman, not on the basis of disrespect to Hillary Clinton, in accordance with the Graffiti Prevention Act _NUMBER_, the council's chief executive Stephen Wall told Fairfax Media on Friday.Wall said local police had been asked to urgently provide their opinion on the mural, adding that the council intended to issue a notice to the building's owner to remove it within _NUMBER_ days.Lushsux accused the council of being out of control, telling Fairfax the mural was on par offence-wise with a deodorant ad.Speaking on Melbourne radio, Lushsux said he'suspected that his Instagram account, which he'said had some _NUMBER_ followers, was deleted due to him posting a photo of the raunchy Hillary image. It's hard enough to be an artist to lose your social media following in this day and age is a big loss, he told 3AW on Friday..Via: Yahoo |
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| Discord emerged between Japan and Canada over progress on the Trans Pacific Partnership trade deal on Thursday, as Japan said countries agree in principle on a way forward, but Canada said there was no such agreement. The spat highlighted the continuing challenge to reviving a pact whose survival was thrown into doubt when President Donald Trump ditched it, in one of his first acts in office, in favor of bilateral dealmaking. Japan had lobbied hard to proceed with a pact that could also help to contain China's growing regional dominance, ahead of talks in the Vietnamese resort of Danang this week alongside Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation meetings. Some other members have not shown a readiness to move so fast. Asked by reporters about the results of a meeting of TPP ministers, Japanese Economy Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said agree in principle , adding that the ministers had finalised a list of suspensions - clauses that would be suspended to avoid renegotiating the whole agreement. But Candian Trade Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne later said on Twitter: Despite reports, there is no agreement in principle on TPP. The TPP aims to eliminate tariffs on industrial and farm products across a bloc whose trade totalled _CUR_356 billion last year. It also has provisions for protecting everything from labor rights to the environment to intellectual property - one of the main sticking points. Canada, whose economy is the second biggest among the TPP-_NUMBER_ after Japan, said on Wednesday it would not be rushed into a revived TPP deal. Like Mexico, its position is further complicated by renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement with the Trump administration. Mexico's trade minister said on Thursday the TPP countries had reached agreement in talks, but he gave no details and said there would be an announcement on Friday. The leaders of TPP countries are tentatively scheduled to meet on Friday to discuss the proposals of ministers. One Canadian official who declined to be named said ministers from different countries may have had different interpretations of Thursday's discussions. Options discussed by the TPP countries have included suspending some provisions of the original agreement to avoid having to renegotiate it and potentially to entice the United States back in the long term. Trump and other APEC leaders, including President Xi Jinping of China and Russian President Vladimir Putin, will meet on Friday in Danang. APEC trade and foreign ministers separately ended a meeting on Thursday with a very good outcome , despite differing views on trade and protectionism, Vietnamese Trade Minister Tran Tuan Anh said. Ministerial talks on a communique for the APEC leaders were extended into a second day on Thursday in the face of U.S. demands for changes to the language used concerning issues such as free trade and protectionism, officials at the talks said. |
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| Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and new U.S. President Donald Trump, seizing on an Iranian missile test, are nearing common ground on a tougher U.S. policy towards Tehran ahead of their first face-to-face talks at the White House. But people familiar with the Trump administration's thinking say that its evolving strategy is likely to be aimed not at dismantling Iran's July _NUMBER_ nuclear deal with six world powers, as presidential candidate Trump sometimes advocated, but tightening its enforcement and pressuring the Islamic Republic into renegotiating key provisions. Options under consideration, they say, would include wider scrutiny of Iran's compliance by the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. nuclear watchdog, including access to Iranian military sites, and seeking to remove "sunset" terms that allow some curbs on Iranian nuclear activity to start expiring in _NUMBER_ years and lift other limits after _NUMBER_ years. In a shift of position for Netanyahu, all signs in Israel point to him being on board with the emerging U.S. plan, though it may prove impossible to get other world powers and Iran to consider revising the landmark nuclear deal. Two years ago, Netanyahu infuriated the Obama White House by addressing the U.S. Congress to rally hawkish opposition to a budding Iran pact he condemned as a "historic mistake" that should be torn up. As Trump and Netanyahu prepare for their Feb. _NUMBER_ meeting, focus has shifted to Iran's ballistic missile test last week. The White House said the missile launch was not a direct breach of the nuclear deal but "violates the spirit of that". Trump responded by slapping fresh sanctions on individuals and entities, some of them linked to Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards . A U.N. Security Council resolution underpinning the nuclear pact urges Iran to refrain from testing missiles designed to be able to carry nuclear warheads, but imposes no obligation. However, Trump tweeted, "Iran is playing with fire" and "they don't appreciate how 'kind' President Obama was to them. Not me!" Trump's national security adviser, Michael Flynn, warned that Washington "would no longer tolerate Iran's provocations." Netanyahu "appreciated" the comments. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, on Tuesday dismissed the U.S. decision to put Iran "on notice" over its missile tests and called Trump the "real face" of American corruption. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was quoted as saying Iran would not renegotiate the nuclear deal. Beyond the rhetoric, the missile test gave the new Republican president and the conservative Israeli leader - who had an often acrimonious relationship with Trump's Democratic predecessor Barack Obama - an early chance to show they are on the same page in seeking to restrain Iranian military ambitions. Netanyahu wrote on Facebook last week: "At my upcoming meeting with President Trump in Washington, I intend to raise the renewal of sanctions against Iran in this context and in other contexts. Iranian aggression must not go unanswered." In London for talks with British Prime Minister Theresa May on Monday, Netanyahu said "responsible" nations should follow Trump's imposition of new sanctions as Iran remained a deadly menace to Israel and "threatens the world". But he stopped short of any call to cancel the nuclear accord. Israeli officials privately acknowledged that he would not advocate ripping up a deal that has been emphatically reaffirmed by the other big power signatories - Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China - since Trump's election victory. Russia said on Monday it disagreed with Trump's assessment of Iran as "the number one terrorist state" and a Russian diplomat said any move to rework the nuclear pact would inflame Middle East tensions. "Don't try to fix what is not broken," Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said. Trump's stance could weaken the hand of pragmatists in Tehran who have been willing to negotiate a detente with the West after decades of volatile confrontation, a former senior Iranian official said. Under the accord, Tehran received relief from global economic sanctions and in return committed to capping its uranium enrichment well below the level needed for bomb-grade material, cutting the number of its centrifuge enrichment machines by two-thirds, reducing its enriched uranium stockpile and submitting to a more intrusive IAEA inspections regime. Diplomats close to the IAEA consider the deal a success so far, voicing little concern with overall Iranian compliance - despite Netanyahu's insistence that it will only pave the Islamic Republic's path towards nuclear weapons once major restrictions expire _NUMBER_ years after its signing. With German, French and British firms busy cultivating new business with Iran, Washington's peers in the six-power group almost surely would rebuff any U.S. thrust to reopen the deal. Daniel Shapiro, who recently ended his tenure as U.S. ambassador to Israel under Obama, told Reuters he would be surprised if Trump and Netanyahu "determined so early in the time working together that they would rather scrap that agreement than try to enforce it in a tough manner and put other pressures unrelated to that deal on the Iranians". Some foreign policy experts say U.S. efforts to tighten the screws on Iran could seek to goad it into ditching the nuclear accord in hopes that Tehran - and not Washington - would then have to shoulder international blame for its collapse. According to Israel's Haaretz newspaper, an Israeli intelligence assessment recently presented to Netanyahu said revoking the pact would be an error, causing a chasm between Washington and other signatories like Russia and China. Amos Yadlin, former head of Israeli military intelligence, said there were many areas outside the deal where pressure could be applied on Iran to change what he called its negative behavior of "subversiveness, supporting terrorism". But beyond new sanctions and sharpened rhetoric, analysts say, it is unclear how far Trump could go. Arguments for restraint would include the risk of military escalation in the Gulf, out of which _NUMBER_ percent of the world's seaborne crude oil is shipped, and strong European support for the nuclear deal. Though the new U.S. strategy is in the early stages of development, the Trump administration, the sources say, is considering a range of measures, including seeking "zero tolerance" for any Iranian violations. Trump's aides accused the Obama administration of turning a blind eye to some alleged Iranian infractions to avoid anything that would undermine confidence in the integrity of the deal. Obama administration officials denied being "soft" on Iran. Other U.S. strategy options, the sources say, include sanctioning Iranian industries that aid missile development and designating as a terrorist group the Revolutionary Guards, accused by U.S. officials of fuelling Middle East proxy wars. That designation could also dissuade foreign investment in Iran because the Guards oversee a sprawling business empire there. |
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| Former U.S. national security adviser Michael Flynn said in a statement on Friday that his decision to plead guilty to lying to the FBI and to cooperate with an investigation into possible ties between Russia and President Donald Trump's administration was "made in the best interests of my family and of our country". In the statement, which was issued by the law firm representing him, Flynn also said it was "painful to endure" the "false accusations of 'treason' and other outrageous acts" over the past several months but that he recognized "that the actions I acknowledged in court today were wrong." |
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| U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan on Monday praised President-elect Donald Trump's choice of Republican Party Chairman Reince Priebus for his White House chief of staff as the best choice for getting things done in Congress. "It's a very, very, very good sign of things to come," Ryan said in an interview with Wisconsin radio station WBEL. Ryan said he has spoken with Trump almost every day since last Tuesday's election. "Hiring Reince as his chief of staff is a perfect indication of our new president's desire to get things done," Ryan said. |
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| Spain's state prosecutor has summoned more than _NUMBER_ Catalan mayors who have backed an independence referendum, in an escalation of Madrid's efforts to block the vote that it has declared illegal. Officials engaging in any preparations for the vote could be charged with civil disobedience, abuse of office and misuse of public funds, the prosecutor said in a letter delivered to local authorities on Wednesday. If the mayors do not answer the summons, police should arrest them, it added. One mayor said the legal move was unprecedented. We don t think any European country has ever tried to make more than _NUMBER_ mayors testify, said Neus Lloveras, mayor of Vilanova i la Geltru near Barcelona, head of the Association of Municipalities for Independence . We have nothing to hide. When we have to go and testify, we will say everything we have been saying for days, that we owe it to our people to keep working to make sure they can freely express themselves at the ballot box, he told reporters. But the small, anti-capitalist CUP group, which governs _NUMBER_ Catalan municipalities, said it would not answer the summons, and called on other political forces to do the same. Catalonia's regional parliament passed laws last week to prepare for a referendum on Oct. _NUMBER_. Spain's Constitutional Court suspended the vote after Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy challenged it in the courts. Judges are now considering whether the legislation contravenes Spain's constitution, which states that the country is indivisible. So far, _NUMBER_ of a total _NUMBER_ municipal leaders have said they would allow public spaces to be used for the referendum, according to AMI. The mayor of Barcelona - the region's most populous area - has yet to take a definitive position, and has asked for reassurances that civil servants involved in the process will not risk losing their jobs. The website set up by the Catalan government to give information on the vote, referendum.cat, stopped working on Wednesday evening, with Spanish media reporting that the regional prosecutor had ordered all websites promoting the referendum to be shut down. Civil Guard police confirmed that they had gone to deliver a warrant at the website's offices, but declined to say if judges had ordered it to be closed. Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont quickly posted two new web addresses on Twitter linking to a page with information on the referendum. Polls show a minority of Catalans want self-rule, although a majority want the chance to vote on the issue. Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets of Barcelona this week to show support for independence. In a separate order, the Constitutional Court told regional government officials on Wednesday they had _NUMBER_ hours to show how they were preventing the vote from going ahead. |
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| Navy SEAL Carl Higbie had three words for Katy Perry: Go to hell. Carl Higbie in a Thursday interview on Fox News criticized Perry for her remarks following the deadly Manchester terror attack that left _NUMBER_ people dead and _NUMBER_ injured, including children.Perry said: The greatest thing we can do is just unite and love on each other. No barriers, no borders, we all just need to coexist In response to her call for no barriers, no borders, Higbie said that Perry should hold one of her concerts in Syria and see how they'respond to our culture:You might remember Higbie from the time he was screeched at by a CNN anchor when he demanded the truth before accusing Trump's administration of anything: A Navy SEAL Carl Higbie was blasted and screeched at by a CNN anchor who was shocked that Higbie asked for more evidence and truth in the Trump controversy. Yikes! She's got snowflake written all over her. It's just how the left rolls you have to march in lock-step with what they believe to be true even if it's not true. Just go with it, right? We say NOT RIGHT!Shouldn t we ask that sources be exposed? Anyone can say they know the truth but when they hide behind anonymity, they ruin their credibility. The left just expects everyone to believe the many lies they've been telling about President Trump. We re with Carl! We re not accepting any stories against Trump until we have proof and know the'source.Way to go Carl! |
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| Isn t this just the height of hypocrisy? Hillary Clinton shows at the NY gay pride event but takes millions from Middle Eastern countries that throw gays off of buildings. |
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| DONALD TRUMP released a brilliant video with clips from Hillary's lying and heartless treatment of Benghazi victim's families: |
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| Trump's war on the media isn't earning him any allies, and now it's cost him one of the biggest, most well-known conservative outlets we've got: The Wall Street Journal. Their editorial board published their opinion of Trump late Sunday afternoon, and they'didn't hold back at all. The cutting editorial tells Trump to shape up, or ship out.WSJ blasts Trump for his reliance on his rally turnouts and social media followings for indications of how he's doing. They blast his refusal to actually work in the battleground states. They blast the disorganization and sheer incompetence of his campaign and his unpopularity: Mr. Trump has alienated his party and he isn't running a competent campaign. Mrs. Clinton is the'second most unpopular presidential nominee in history after Mr. Trump. But rather than reassure voters and try to repair his image, the New Yorker has spent the last three weeks giving his critics more ammunition. Keep in mind that WSJ isn't anything like close to liberal. They re fun to cite when their stories contradict typical right-wing talking points because they lean so far to the right. Now, though, it looks like they feel The Donald has betrayed them: Even with more than _NUMBER_ days left, Mr. Trump's window for a turnaround is closing. The Trump pivot always seemed implausible given his lifelong instincts and habits, but Mr. Trump promised Republicans. At some point I ll be so presidential that you people will be so bored, and I ll come back as a presidential person, and instead of _NUMBER_ people I ll have about _NUMBER_ people and they ll say, boy, he really looks presidential, he'said in April. And then they ended with an ultimatum: If can't get Mr. Trump to change his act by Labor Day, the GOP will have no choice but to write off the nominee as hopeless and focus on salvaging the Senate and House and other down-ballot races. As for Mr. Trump, he needs to stop blaming everyone else and decide if he wants to behave like someone who wants to be President or turn the nomination over to Mike Pence. WSJ obviously doesn't want to see Hillary elected because the Democrats hardly represent conservative views. However, as far as they're concerned, any Republican would be better than Trump at this point. No candidate has been in this position, at this point in an election cycle, in the modern polling era, and gone on to win the November election. His window for a turnaround may actually be gone.From Trump's point of view, this editorial is likely going down as more of the very biased press lying about him. He spent seven tweets blasting the press, and claimed he d be way ahead of Hillary if the media would stop protecting her and cover him honestly and fairly.The only honest and fair media in Trumpland is the media that says he's the God of Being Right About Everything. His followers have all been transported to Trumpland, and they're eating up his complaints about the media like candy. Trump does not see any reason to change when his followers worship him, and when he thinks they're a sufficient measure of his progress.He should keep this in mind: You know you're in bad shape when you're a Republican and the Wall Street Journal is this unhappy with you.Featured image by Jeff Swensen/Getty Images |
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| Hungary's main opposition Jobbik party could support deeper European integration, its chairman said on Friday, in a shift apparently aimed at bringing the far-right group closer to the political mainstream. Jobbik, which used to burn EU flags and was widely accused of racism and anti-Semitism, has tried over the past few years to convince voters it has become a more moderate conservative party that supports democratic institutions and civil rights. Chairman Gabor Vona told foreign journalists Jobbik does not want a two-speed EU, in which some member states would enjoy a lesser level of cooperation than others. Instead, it favored waiting until Europe's integration plans became clearer and then holding referendums across the EU to see which countries want to stay in. He also said Jobbik would be willing to join the euro zone as fast as economically sensible, which he called an economic issue, rather than a political one. Jobbik is a distant second behind the ruling Fidesz party in opinion polls ahead of elections due in April _NUMBER_, but it says poll results might be misleading with many voters hiding their preferences. Its policy proposals have often been echoed by Fidesz, which is also a right-wing party with strong anti-immigration views, but which has been seen as closer to the European conservative mainstream than more explicitly nationalist Jobbik. Vona said Europe was likely to transform in the next few years. Countries should wait for the bloc's trajectory to become clearer, and then all EU states should hold referendums on whether to remain members. A referendum about membership would be legitimate but not now, he said. What would we vote about? The Juncker plan? The Merkel plan? The Macron plan? We have no idea what the EU means at this moment. We should clarify this together first. Once we have that we should ask everywhere, not only in Hungary, whether people want whatever Brussels leaders cooked up or not. Hungarians have warmed considerably to the EU in recent months. According to Eurobarometer, _NUMBER_ percent of them now say EU membership is a good thing , up _NUMBER_ percentage points since March. That is the steepest rise in the EU. Vona said Hungary should join the euro currency as soon as possible, once public debt and competitiveness are appropriate. Ostracised in Brussels even by other far-right groups, Jobbik says it seeks to transcend traditional left-right political divisions and find new allies in the European Parliament after elections to the body in _NUMBER_. We would be happy to see... a regional alliance of central European politicians who can look past left and right and embody common Eastern issues, he said. |
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| This blogger's piece is a glimpse into the future of America. Unless we all find a way to stand together and stop Barack Obama and the Democrat party's fundamental transformation from happening we ll be looking for another country who cares more about its citizens than its immigrant population This is the last post on this blog. I am leaving Sweden for good shortly, and will no longer be following its descent from what was once the third most prosperous country in the world. Frankly, it's just too damn depressing.I was born and raised in Sweden, which leaves a cultural mark even though I moved to USA in the 1990s and have spent the better part of my adult life as an American. Coming back for a few years has been a shocking experience.When I was a child, Sweden was a dull yet very safe place to live. Yes, there was a heavy blanket of socialism and collectivist values covering everything, but there was a core of pragmatism beneath the redness. The intention and goal was always to benefit the citizens, even though they went about things in a backwards manner.Prime minister L fven Today, it's as if the inmates are running the asylum. The politicians are participating in a chicken race of goodness where everybody tries to one-up each other in caring for the citizens of OTHER countries while Swedish retirees, school children, handicapped and other vulnerable categories of people are thorougly ignored. Violence is exploding. Jihadist Trojan horses are flowing through the porous border along with the tens of thousands ID-less refugees.But what makes me the most pessimistic about Sweden's future is how the'social fabric itself has been undermined.Now, to be clear, it is my opinion that modest immigration is healthy for society and beneficial for trade, cultural development and so forth. Protectionism as a concept is counter-productive, while free trade and the ability for skilled labor to go where they're in demand is beneficial for everyone.Having said that, what Sweden is doing is something completely different. The once homogenous population has been forever altered by a rapid and massive addition of people from vastly different cultures and value-systems. _NUMBER_% of the population is now foreign-born or with at least one foreign-born parent, and the national census bureau estimates that some _NUMBER_ per year will arrive to the country of just _NUMBER_ million residents.There simply is no possible way to absorb and assimilate such volumes of people, period. Then you are merely creating ethnic enclaves, which due to incompatible language, culture and job skills become ghettos, which in turns brews crime, misery and extremism. Once the inflow has exceeded the capacity for absorbtion, further immigration only makes the problem worse.It's like someone having read that a cup of green tea per day is healthy, so they make it a policy to chug four gallons per day, every day. It's a good thing overdone to the extreme until it becomes toxic.Then you have the Swedish school system. There really is no nice way to put it; it's a complete disaster. The minister of education is a man-boy who spends his time making Youtube-videos showing heart-signs with his hands to boost school results, while university-level students can't read and comprehend the course literature.Education minister Gustav FridolinSince there is a delay in the changes in the'school system, it is only in recent years the full impact of the knowledge-averse progressive school system is starting to be felt. Hard facts are largely irrelevant; the important thing is to sit in a group and discuss things until a consensus is reached. But with no hard facts to base the conclusions on, it becomes an exercise in futility because it's all random assumptions and opinions. As a university-level history student was quoted as saying in newspaper Svenska Dagbladet the other day: Why would all these dates matter? Who cares in what order things happened? That's not exactly fertile soil for creating the researchers and engineers of the future.Financially, Sweden is an oddity in that it never had its real estate correction when Lehman Bros went belly-up and the housing market everywhere in the West crashed. Sweden just kept steaming ahead, which means housing is ridiculously overinflated. In Stockholm, the real estate prices increased _NUMBER_% and in Gothenburg _NUMBER_% in the last _NUMBER_ months alone from an already sky-high level.Tear-down abandoned house from _NUMBER_ with small, unremarkable lot in the outskirts of Stockholm. Current bid: _NUMBER_ million SEK, or close to _CUR_900,000.As a result, personal debt of the Swedish population is at an all-time high. To keep all this afloat the normal mortgage interest rates are at _NUMBER_% with central bank Riksbanken at _NUMBER_%, and yet a significant portion of the borrowers are hanging by a thread. If and when foreign banks and investors decide it's time to turn their backs on Sweden there's going to be a lot of pain.Then you have the financial obligations going forward. Like much of the western world, there is a demographic change where fewer tax-paying adults are to support a glut of retirees. What makes it especially dire for Sweden is that in addition to the old Swedes, there's also a ton of elderly immigrants that are granted family visas based on younger relatives having been granted asylum. They ve never paid a dime in taxes, yet enter the'system with full benefits from day one. In theory, this would be made up for by the younger relatives working and paying taxes. Sadly, this is not the case; while ethnical Swedes have a _NUMBER_% employment rate, immigrants only have _NUMBER_% with non-Europeans coming in at just _NUMBER_%.If Sweden was a person, it d be like the guy with three mortgages, seven maxed-out credit cards and four collection agencies chasing him that just signed a lease for a brand new BMW X6. Simply put, there's a lot of red ink in the future; it just hasn't been fully realized yet.Finally, there's the'sorry state of the Swedish defense. After decades of constant slashing of the defense budget, the extent of Swedish ambition is to stall an invader for a week in a limited area. This with war raging in Europe, Russian missiles pointed at Sweden in Kaliningrad, and Russian submarines and bomber jets openly thumbing their nose at Sweden as they intrude on Swedish territory on a regular basis. The power vacuum in Scandinavia is so tangible you can almost hear a sucking sound as you fly over it. This, too, will require massive investments when the penny finally drops amongst Swedish politicians.So while I can't claim to be any kind of authority on macroeconomics or social predictive models, I see red lights across the board.In some ways, I d compare the country to a farm. Previously, Sweden acted like a sensible farmer and planted wheat here, carrots there, potatoes over there et cetera, by implementing free schooling, sound infrastructure investments, state-financed research and so forth. A few decades later, they'reaped the rewards and climbed the prosperity ladder.In the late 1960s, this pragmatic line was abandoned as leftist idealist Olof Palme took over. But there was plenty to harvest from previous years, so Sweden continued to be the land of milk and honey for a good long while. Then things started drying up, and the process has been one of gradual erosion and decline since the 1990s.The famous Swedish health care system is a good example. _NUMBER_ hospital beds in the late 1960s became _NUMBER_ today. Cancer patients are put on waiting lists for months. Entire emergency wards shut down for summer. The crumbling Swedish railroad system is another symptom I examined in-depth last year. The aforementioned defense that now consist of about three fat generals and a rusty rifle .A sensible farmer would see the problems for what they are and hurry to plant new seeds, so as to return to bountiful harvests of wheat, carrots, potatoes etc. Instead, the Swedish politicians goes by dogma and plants what they think SHOULD grow. So they plant M & Ms, hot dogs and pretzels. The results won't be fully evident for a few years yet, but as the last reserves of the old harvests are depleted, things will get Interesting.From what I can see, there simply is no plausible scenario where these social tensions and future financial committments will not lead to a downward spiral of hardship and strife. I hope I m wrong. I really do, because I have friends and family I care about that will remain here to see it all play out.But I won't. I ll be back in the US being mad at Obama for being a lying scumbag. And if Trump manages to get elected in _NUMBER_? Whoo boy. A racist ignoramus who takes pride in the worst qualities of a cranky eight-year old should make George Dumbo Bush seem like Abe Lincoln by comparison. So every country has its problems. USA has its corrupt yokel in office, just as Sweden has Stefan L fven. Via: The Sweden Report |
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| A leading Republican in the U.S. Congress in June _NUMBER_ made a quip during a private meeting of fellow lawmakers that Russian President Vladimir Putin could be making payments to Donald Trump, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday. House of Representatives Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy made the assertion, the newspaper reported, saying the conversation was recorded last June, during the primary election season when Trump was seeking to become the Republican Party's presidential nominee. According to the Washington Post report, House Speaker Paul Ryan, a fellow Republican, interrupted McCarthy and urged Republicans present to keep McCarthy's remarks secret. The newspaper report quoted McCarthy saying, "There's two people I think Putin pays: Rohrabacher and Trump." McCarthy fired back at the report on Twitter on Wednesday, saying, "This was an attempt at humor gone wrong." A spokesman for Ryan said the remarks were meant as humor and had been taken out of context. "This entire year-old exchange was clearly an attempt at humor. No one believed the majority leader was seriously asserting that Donald Trump or any of our members were being paid by the Russians," Ryan spokesman Brendan Buck said. Republican Representative Dana Rohrabacher on Wednesday told reporters that McCarthy's quip was a joke. "The trouble is, when you ever try to be funny, it is really taken seriously by a third party, and that's what's happened here," he said. Reuters does not have a copy of the tape and could not confirm authenticity or gauge whether McCarthy was joking. |
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| Leaked documents from left-wing financier George Soros's Open Society Foundations continue to reveal the extent to which the group has influenced the political response to Europe's refugee crisis. Internal documents show OSF used _CUR_600,000 in reserve funding in March _NUMBER_ to bring pro-refugee positions into the political mainstream. Jordi Vaquer, OSF's regional director for Europe, approved a _CUR_600,000 proposal entitled, Countering the anti-migrant rhetoric and toxic narratives surrounding migration in Europe. According to OSF documents, half of the _CUR_600,000 would go towards lobbying efforts. All _CUR_600,000 came from OSF's Europe Reserve Fund. A summary of the proposal notes that the proposed reserve fund allocation will allow for additional resources to be allocated towards countering xenophobic attitudes in Europe, move parts of the political mainstream towards more pro-refugee positions, and build constituencies around a more progressive approach to migration and asylum. Read more: Daily Caller |
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| The unwarranted violence against innocent White people by Black Lives Matter protesters terrorists is getting out of control! This young girl in a dress and heels is walking down the'stairs when she is approached by and angry mob of Blacks and is sucker punched in the face. Someone in the background can be heard yelling, Hey hey hey she didn't do anything! The point is they'don't care if she did anything. This is the gut-wrenching, divisive legacy of our First Black President _TAG_ Young woman struck down last night at _USER_. See reply for streetview of staircase. _TAG_ _URL_ Queenie September _NUMBER_, 2016The EpiCenter in Charlotte, where videos have captured unbelievable violence has announced they will be closing due to safety concerns for their patrons. Click HERE to see video of young White man who begged for mercy, as he was attacked entering the parking garage two days _URL_ EpiCentre Charlotte September _NUMBER_, 2016In other words: In response to the violent beatings of random White people by Black Lives Matter thugs, we will be closing until these acts of terror are under control |
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| In July, a Washington Post editorial called Donald Trump a unique threat to democracy. This is entirely true. Trump has suggested building a wall to protect from rapists and murderers Mexico is sending to America. He has suggested rounding up members of a religious group, forcing them to be entered into a national database and wear a special little badge, and then be thrown into concentration camps.Trump has ordered his supporters to beat African-American protesters at his hate rallies, even suggesting that he will pay their legal fees if they are arrested while acting as his attack dogs. Hell,he even kicks his own supporters out of his events if he thinks they might be a little too dark for the room. But award-winning monthly science magazine, Scientific American, wants to remind you that he has about as much respect for science as he does a well-educated, black, gay journalist who recently converted to Islam.Four years ago, the magazine's Shawn Otto warned that the new science denialism is creating an existential crisis like few the country has faced before. Otto wrote those words in the heat of a presidential election race that now seems quaint by comparison to the one the nation now finds itself in, the magazine's editorial board wrote in a piece that will appear in September's print edition:Scientific American is not in the business of endorsing political candidates. But we do take a stand for science the most reliable path to objective knowledge the world has seen and the Enlightenment values that gave rise to it. For more than _NUMBER_ years we have documented, for better and for worse, the rise of science and technology and their impact on the nation and the world. We have strived to assert in our reporting, writing and editing the principle that decision making in the'sphere of public policy should accept the conclusions that evidence, gathered in the'spirit and with the methods of science, tells us to be true.It won't come as a surprise to anyone who pays even superficial attention to politics that over the past few decades facts have become an undervalued commodity. Many politicians are hostile to science, on both sides of the political aisle. The House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology has a routine practice of meddling in petty science-funding matters to score political points. Science has not played nearly as prominent a role as it should in informing debates over the labeling of genetically modified foods, end of life care and energy policy, among many issues.The current presidential race, however, is something special. It takes antiscience to previously unexplored terrain. When the major Republican candidate for president has tweeted that global warming is a Chinese plot, threatens to dismantle a climate agreement _NUMBER_ years in the making and to eliminate an agency that enforces clean air and water regulations, and speaks passionately about a link between vaccines and autism that was utterly discredited years ago, we can only hope that there is nowhere to go but up.In October, as we did four years previously, we will assemble answers from the campaigns of the Democratic and Republican nominees on the public policy questions that touch on science, technology and public health and then publish them online. We will support ScienceDebate.org's efforts to persuade moderators to ask important science-related questions during the presidential debates. We encourage the nation's political leaders to demonstrate a respect for scientific truths in word and deed. And we urge the people who vote to hold them to that standard.If Donald Trump is elected President, it will be a precarious position for scientific research in general, and this is something that is important to remember.When you are speaking out against Donald Trump, remember to mention that he doesn't care about scientific progress.Featured image via Getty Images/Jeff Swanson |
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| President Donald Trump vowed on Wednesday to do "whatever is necessary" to broker peace between Israel and the Palestinians as he hosted Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at the White House, but gave no sign of how he could revive long-stalled negotiations. In their first meeting, Trump pressed Abbas to do more to stop "incitement to violence" against Israelis and, according to the White House, urged him in private to halt payments to families of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, a demand long pressed by Israel. Even as Trump boldly predicted he would achieve peace where other presidents had failed, he stopped short of explicitly recommitting his administration to a two-state solution to the decades-old conflict, a long-standing foundation of U.S. policy. Some Palestinians said they were disappointed by the omission. Despite what many experts see as a long-shot bid, Trump told Abbas: "I will do whatever is necessary. ... I would love to be a mediator or an arbitrator or a facilitator, and we will get this done." Abbas reasserted the goal of a Palestinian state, saying it must have East Jerusalem as its capital with the borders that existed before the _NUMBER_ Middle East war. Most Israelis want all of Jerusalem as their capital and reject a full return to _NUMBER_ borderlines as a threat to their security. Trump has faced deep skepticism at home and abroad over the chances for him to achieve any quick breakthrough, not least because his administration has yet to articulate a cohesive strategy for restarting the moribund peace process. Abbas' White House talks followed a February visit by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who moved to reset ties after a combative relationship with the Republican president's predecessor, Democrat Barack Obama. Trump sparked international criticism at the time, when he appeared to back away from a two-state solution, saying he would leave it up to the parties to decide. Palestinian statehood has been the objective of successive U.S. administrations and the international community. The meeting with Abbas, the Western-backed head of the Palestinian Authority, was another test of whether Trump, in office a little more than _NUMBER_ days, is serious about pursuing the kind of comprehensive peace deal that eluded his predecessors. Trump insisted he was ready to try to reach the "toughest deal." But when he later sat down to lunch with the Palestinian leader, he said it was "maybe not as difficult as people have thought over the years." Trump, who said he decided to "start a process" but offered no new policy prescriptions or timetable, may be underestimating the challenge when trust between the two sides is low, analysts said. "You can't just pretend you only have to handle a few key issues and that's it," said David Makovsky, a member of Obama's negotiating team during the last talks, which collapsed in _NUMBER_. Still, plans are being firmed up for Trump to visit Netanyahu in Jerusalem and possibly Abbas in the West Bank on May _NUMBER_ and _NUMBER_, say people familiar with the matter. That has sparked speculation about a meeting of the three. U.S. and Israeli officials have declined to confirm the visit. Trump and Abbas appeared friendly but businesslike as they stood at side-by-side lecterns. But that was a far cry from the way Trump and Netanyahu interacted in February. Abbas promised that under "your courageous stewardship and your wisdom, as well as your great negotiating ability," the Palestinians would be partners seeking a "historic peace treaty." But under pressure at home to avoid major concessions, the _NUMBER_-year-old leader said: "It's about time for Israel to end its occupation," referring to Jewish settlements in the West Bank. Abbas, however, did not repeat in public his demand that Israel freeze settlement construction on land Palestinians want for a state as a condition for negotiations. U.S. lawmakers have warned that Palestinian funding could be cut off unless Abbas halts PLO stipends to families of prisoners whom Israel considers terrorists but many Palestinians see as heroes. There was no indication Abbas, who governs in the West Bank while Hamas militants rule Gaza, bowed to pressure on the issue, especially with hundreds of Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike. In Gaza, Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said the promises Abbas made at the White House "don't obligate anyone." Questions have been raised about Trump's choice of son-in-law Jared Kushner to oversee the peace initiative, along with Trump's longtime business lawyer, Jason Greenblatt, as envoy. Efforts to enlist Israel's Sunni Arab neighbors, who share Israeli concerns about Shi'ite Iran, to help rejuvenate peacemaking, have yet to yield results. National security adviser H.R. McMaster described Trump's foreign policy approach as "disruptive," saying his unconventional ways could create an opportunity to help stabilize the Middle East. But Trump's unpredictability has even at times rattled a close ally like Israel. His pro-Israeli campaign rhetoric suggested he might give Netanyahu free rein. But Trump's promise to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv is on the back burner, and he caught Netanyahu off-guard by asking him to put unspecified limits on settlement activity. |
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| Highlights of the day for U.S. President Donald Trump's administration on Thursday: The Trump-backed Republican plan to overhaul the U.S. healthcare system clears its first hurdle but chances for passage in Congress look uncertain amid opposition by Democrats, conservatives and industry groups. Trump has launched a charm offensive of the type not seen before in his brief and chaotic tenure, forcefully rallying behind legislation to repeal the Obamacare healthcare law while trying to placate the bill's opponents. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt says he is not convinced carbon dioxide from human activity is the main driver of climate change and wants Congress to weigh in on whether it is a harmful pollutant that should be regulated. Trump's plan to boost military spending comes amid mounting evidence that potential enemies have new weapons that are able to destroy much of the United States' expensive fleet of aircraft carriers. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will host a _NUMBER_-nation meeting in Washington this month to discuss the next moves by the coalition fighting Islamic State militants, a Trump administration official says. Several states say they will move forward with legal challenges to a revised executive order signed by Trump that temporarily bars the admission of refugees and some travelers from a group of Muslim-majority countries. The Department of Justice is deploying _NUMBER_ judges to immigration detention facilities across the United States, according to two sources and a letter seen by Reuters and sent to judges. Trump meets with community bankers and promises them he will to strip away some Dodd-Frank financial regulations and ensure they can continue giving small businesses access to capital. Reports that Jon Huntsman will be the next U.S. ambassador to Russia stir anxiety in Moscow, with one politician calling him a hawk and pro-Kremlin media recalling what they said was his worrying history of hostile rhetoric. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee approves Trump's nominee as ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, an outspoken bankruptcy lawyer aligned with the Israeli right. CNN reports that the U.S. Senate intelligence committee wants Michael Flynn, forced out as Trump's national security adviser, and other former Trump aides to testify in its investigation of Russian interference in the _NUMBER_ U.S. presidential election. EX-SPY A former U.S. spy, newly pardoned by Italy in connection with the CIA kidnap of a terrorism suspect in Milan, credits the Trump administration with saving her from an Italian jail. |
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| After parleying a professional wrestling career as "The Rock" into leading roles in Hollywood, Dwayne Johnson is entertaining the idea of jumping into the political ring, including perhaps even a run for the White House someday. Johnson, _NUMBER_, who stars in the upcoming Disney animated film "Moana" as the voice of demigod Maui, told Reuters the excitement surrounding last week's presidential election had renewed public interest in him running for office. "I love my country, I'm extremely patriotic and I also feel, especially now, leadership is so important, great leadership is so important, respected leadership is so important," said Johnson, star of "The Fast and the Furious" franchise Asked specifically about a potential White House run, Johnson replied: "If I felt like I could be an effective leader for us, and surround myself with really high-quality leaders, then sure, I would." It is not the first time Johnson's name has been mentioned in political circles. Earlier this year, Johnson took to Instagram to thank a Washington Post journalist who said he had a "weirdly plausible path to a political career" as a mixed-race registered Republican from Florida, a swing state in the presidential election. While Johnson did not specify which office he might seek, when he might run or which party he would represent, he said he thought that running a business as a producer in Hollywood had given him a discipline he hoped he could apply to politics. "I've found really good success in being able to galvanize people in a positive way and continued to push them, as I've pushed myself along the way too, because I walk what I talk, daily, which I think is an important quality," he said. If Johnson does take on politics, he would be following another pro wrestler, Jesse 'The Body' Ventura, who served as governor of Minnesota, and body builder-turned-action star Arnold Schwarzenegger, who served two terms as Republican governor of California. Known for his catchphrase: "Can you smell what The Rock is cooking," Johnson still participates in occasional World Wrestling Entertainment matches, alongside producing and starring in HBO's sports dramedy "Ballers" and the upcoming "Baywatch" film reboot. |
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| U.S. President Donald Trump has nixed Elliott Abrams for the No. _NUMBER_ position at the State Department after learning that the Republican foreign policy veteran had criticized him during the _NUMBER_ election campaign, people familiar with the matter said on Friday. Trump decided not to nominate Abrams, who had been the leading candidate for deputy secretary of state, after meeting him at the White House on Tuesday along with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, two sources told Reuters. Abrams, _NUMBER_, who served in foreign policy roles for presidents Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush, was Tillerson's pick for the job, and the administration's newly installed top diplomat tried and failed to convince the president to reconsider and offer him the job, one of the sources said. Trump's resistance to hiring his former Republican critics has slowed his ability to fill positions in his administration, especially in the foreign policy and national security areas. The leaves former diplomat Paula Dobriansky as a potential choice for the position. She has been on Trump's short list, an official said. While Abrams did not sign either of two highly publicized letters from members of the Republican foreign policy establishment during the campaign pledging not to back Trump, he did criticize him both in his writings and media interviews during the presidential primaries. Abrams, _NUMBER_, a neoconservative who has long advocated an activist U.S. role in the world, last served in government in the Bush White House, first as a Middle East expert on the National Security Council and later as a global democracy strategy adviser. He was assistant secretary of state during the Reagan administration and was convicted in _NUMBER_ on two misdemeanor counts of withholding information from Congress during the Iran-Contra scandal. He was later pardoned by President George H.W. Bush. |
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| Donald Trump made a big stink a few weeks ago because it was pointed out that many of the products he has lent his name to have turned out to be complete and absolute losers, quickly discontinued and removed from the market. Those products include Trump Water, Trump Steaks, and Trump Magazine.Buzzfeed decided to get in on the action and spent _CUR_200 to buy a bottle of Trump Vodka. Here's what happened when they got some people to actually taste it:As pointed out in the video, the vodka from the man who has promised to make America great again in his campaign was actually a product of Netherlands. This follows a pattern of several other Trump products, like his discontinued neckties, being sourced and manufactured in other countries . It shows that when it came to his own products that he'stood to make a cut of the profits from, Trump was more than willing to make a deal to produce them cheaply overseas, adding to his personal bottom line.Trump'said he got into vodka because A great friend of mine was a founder of Grey Goose and what we're going to do is to top it. I want to top them just because it's fun to top my friends. Despite Trump's grandiose predictions of success for the drink, it was not to be :The only trouble was, nobody bought it. By the end of _NUMBER_ it barely registered among the top-selling vodkas, badly trailing the likes of Smirnoff and no threat whatsoever to Grey Goose. Go figure that customers wouldn't line up for a product that existed for the'sole purpose of one-upping Trump's friend.By _NUMBER_, Trump Vodka was gone.The reviewers in the video were not optimistic. They told Buzzfeed they thought the alcohol would taste like self-tanner or misogyny. While one drinker said it burned like a UTI, another said it tasted surprisingly good. Another woman said it tasted good, but not _CUR_200 good. Featured image via YouTube |
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| Every major party presidential candidate in the last _NUMBER_ years has released his or her tax returns, except for two. One was Gerald Ford and the other was Donald Trump. Trump, who's completely embroiled in a scandal surrounding ties to Russia, may soon be forced, at court or congressional order, to release his returns, but if that doesn't happen, Democrats at the'state level might be forcing Trump's hand.State legislatures are now proposing measures that would ban any candidates from their ballots who don't release tax returns. Tax return information would provide some transparency there to give voters the assurance that they need that the president is acting on behalf of us, said Kathleen Clyde, an Ohio state representative who recently introduced a version of the bill. It is problematic that he is the only candidate in _NUMBER_ or _NUMBER_ years not to provide that information. Clyde's bill, the Tax Returns Uniformly Made Public Act the TRUMP Act would require candidates for president and vice president to disclose five years of tax documents to Ohio's Secretary of State, who would then post the documents online. Only after a candidate disclosed the tax information would he or she qualify for the ballot in one of the nation's most hotly contested battlegrounds.Similar measures requiring candidates to file with Secretary of State offices have been introduced in California, Oregon and Tennessee. Candidates would be required to file tax documents with state boards of election under bills filed in Illinois, Maryland, New York and Rhode Island.Source: The HillSo far, _NUMBER_ states are considering similar bills and not all of them are blue, but it's probably that only blue states will pass the bills, if at all.Elections, even national elections, are run by the'states. Nationally, there are only two qualifications to run for President: The candidate must be at least _NUMBER_-years-old and must be a natural born citizen. None of the rest matters in the eyes of the law. That's why Trump didn't have to release his tax returns to begin with.However, states have more latitude. For example, in many states, candidates must receive a minimum number of signatures on a petition before being allowed on a ballot, although that typically applies to non-major party candidates. Still, states can impose rules like filing fees and deadlines, although it's still not clear that forcing candidates to release tax returns will pass constitutional muster.Even if this passes in a few states, Trump could still, if he doesn't implode, win reelection if he wins enough red states. In theory, he could win without a single vote in our most populous state , as long as he won'the Electoral College. Let's hope these bills do pass to prevent a future Trump, but first, let's pressure Congress to force Trump's hand right now.Featured image via Pool/Getty Images |
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| This is war and it's a fight for the SOVEREIGNTY of America Two things that Donald Trump'said have been controversial and taken out of context by the left. Much of the protests against Trump are based on the promise he made to close the border with Mexico by building a wall. The desire to halt refugee resettlement of Muslims to America is the'second thing Trump'said that's gotten everyone on the left FREAKING OUT.Do Americans not have a right to closed borders and proper vetting of Muslim refugees?We are footing the bill with our tax dollars for all the goodies the illegals and refugees get when they arrive. Yes, YOU pay for this!The cost of illegals and refugees is billions every year. We are over _CUR_19 TRILLION dollars in debt and climbing rapidly. We have become a GLOBAL MAGNET for immigration due to our generous entitlements for legal and illegal immigrants. The cost is NOT sustainable!The cost is one thing but the danger to Americans is another reason to close our borders and stop refugee resettlement. The FBI Director said that the Muslim refugees cannot be properly vetted before they come to America. There is testimony by numerous officials claiming that the terrorists are trying to come to America by posing as refugees. The open borders also leads to opening ourselves up for terrorists and criminals to come to America. Who knows how many have arrived already?TRUMP S FIVE POINT PLAN ON ILLEGAL IMMIGRATIONThe American people have a RIGHT to the SOVEREIGNTY of our nation. We cannot survive without borders and Trump knows it. This is common sense policy that's been missing for so long. The American people are _NUMBER_% FED Up! with their safety and tax dollars being toyed with and exploited. Time for a change and time to stand up for it!AMERICA FIRST! |
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| The Trump administration on Wednesday proposed changes to the Obamacare individual insurance market that insurers welcomed as a good start but that raised the possibility of higher out-of-pocket cost for consumers. President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans have promised to scrap the _NUMBER_ healthcare law that is a key legacy of Democrat Barack Obama's presidency. But they are struggling to agree on a replacement for the law, which extended health insurance to _NUMBER_ million Americans. The proposed new rule, issued by a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, sets out changes that are meant to shore up the system developed by Obama, and comes after Humana Inc on Tuesday said it would pull out of this market in _NUMBER_. It is unclear which elements of Obamacare could survive in the Republicans' replacement. The rule does not address changes that must be made by law, such as for Obamacare's income-based subsidies. The changes would tighten enrollment processes and allow insurers to collect unpaid premium payments, making it tougher for people to move in and out of insurance plans. Insurers say "gaming the system" has created an unprofitable mix of healthy and sick customers. The Affordable Care Act aimed to chip away at soaring healthcare spending, but data shows costs are still rising. The U.S. government reported separately on Wednesday that total U.S. medical spending in _NUMBER_ is estimated to rise _NUMBER_ percent to _CUR_3.36 trillion after a _NUMBER_ percent spending uptick in _NUMBER_. The administration on Wednesday also backed off implementing tougher oversight of the individual mandate, the requirement for all Americans to have health insurance or pay a fine, that was due to go into effect for _NUMBER_ taxes. The U.S. Internal Revenue Service said as a result of Trump's executive order to reduce regulatory burden, it will not reject tax filings for the year _NUMBER_ that fail to indicate whether they had health coverage or paid the penalty set under Obamacare. This is a return to the policy for _NUMBER_ taxes, the IRS said. The mandate was supposed to bring in healthy customers but Republicans have vowed to overturn it and insurers say it has not worked. Aetna CEO Mark Bertolini on Wednesday said during a Wall Street Journal forum that the Obamacare exchanges had entered a "death spiral" in which rising premiums pushed out the healthiest customers, which in turn raises rates. Aetna cut back offering new plans for _NUMBER_ and it and Anthem Inc. have said that without changes, they might not take part after this year. Bertolini said in a statement that new Health Secretary Tom Price and the Trump administration have "taken some good initial steps with the proposed regulation." The top two industry groups, America's Health Insurance Plans and Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, echoed that view. Shares of insurers were mixed in the early afternoon on Wednesday with Aetna gaining _NUMBER_ percent to _CUR_127.01, Cigna off less than _NUMBER_ percent at _CUR_146.07 and Humana off _NUMBER_ percent to _CUR_205.34. Anthem fell less than _NUMBER_ percent to _CUR_162.90. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, which are part of the Department of Health and Human Services, on Wednesday proposed the new rule that includes verifying the status of enrollees outside of the usual enrollment period. It also proposes insurers can collect unpaid premiums from members when they sign up with the same issuer again, an incentive for people to always have insurance. In addition, it proposed lowering the amount of guaranteed coverage for some "silver" level plans in the program, which it said could raise out-of-pocket spending and cut premiums. It would give the states oversight of doctor and hospital networks included in the plans, reflecting a Republican theme that healthcare oversight be reduced at the federal level. The rule proposes shortening the open enrollment period for the individual market to Nov. _NUMBER_ through Dec. _NUMBER_, similar to employer-sponsored insurance market and Medicare. The weakening of the mandate and the new CMS rule making it tougher for people to sign up would have contradictory effects on premium pricing, according to Jonathan Gruber, professor of economics at MIT and one of the architects of the Affordable Care Act. "You're basically saying on the one hand, we have to weaken the mandate for political reasons but we have to lower prices, so we have to kick people out of the exchanges," Gruber said. Patient advocate Families USA said the new rules would discourage younger, healthier people from enrolling, reduce financial assistance for families and make it harder for them to find networks that include their doctors. Republican lawmakers, who are working on an Obamacare replacement, said the rule was a start. "If we don't take more steps like that, having an Obamacare subsidy will be like having a bus ticket in a town where no buses run, because there will be zero choices to buy," Senator Lamar Alexander, chairman of the Senate health committee, told reporters outside the Senate. Wall Street said the proposed changes could help insurer profitability but it was not clear by how much. "As one would expect tightening special enrollment periods, shortening the open enrollment period to six weeks and mandating payment of premiums before coverage should lead to an improvement in the risk pool," Leerink Partners analyst Ana Gupte said. |
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| In the end it really all comes down to character. Who can you trust? Who will look at you with a straight face and tell you what you want to hear, and who will tell you the truth even when it's not popular? It's clearly a rhetorical question and one that every voter in America should be asking themselves before risking the'security of our nation under the leadership of a self-serving sociopathic liar SOCIOPATHIC LIAR: Most people have lied in their life. Whether it was to protect feelings, avoid trouble, impress, or to simply get what they want, not many people can say they have never told a lie.However, there is one extreme type of liar that you should beware of; the'sociopathic liar.On first impressions, you may find you actually like or are drawn to the'sociopath. It's not surprising as more often than not they are indeed charming and likable. Watch out, these type of liars can cause untold damage and mayhem once they lead you into their web of lies and deceit.Sociopaths lie the most because they are incapable of feelings and do not want to understand the impact of their lies. They may even get a thrill out of lying at your expense. Once they tell an initial lie they go on to tell many more lies in an attempt to cover up the lies they started, or just for the fun of it.A sociopath rarely reveals his or her feelings or emotions. You won't often hear them laugh, cry, or get angry. These kinds of liars tend to live in their own little world and always find ways to justify their dishonest deeds. They do not respect others and place their own needs first and foremost.If someone questions the'sociopath's lies they can be incredibly devious in the way they cover things up. This can include placing the blame at someone else's door or by inventing complex stories to cover up their untruths.Sociopaths can be so good at lying that they are able to pass lie detector tests. This means they often escape jail or don't even get prosecuted for the crimes they permit. .Hillary Clinton allowed her staff to mistakenly think that she had a pulled muscle rather than tell them she had a blood clot in _NUMBER_.The Democratic Presidential candidate, who was First Lady at the time, did not correct White House staffers when they assumed the problem with her right leg was due to over exercising.According to Clinton's doctor at the time, Connie Mariano, very few people knew the truth and her boss refused to take time of the campaign trail for her husband's re-election.Instead a nurse came with her to check on her condition and administer drugs if needed but nobody outside of her Secret Service detail was told who she was.The incident shows that Clinton's habit of choosing secrecy over coming clean has a long history.It would not be until _NUMBER_, five years after the blood clot and two years after her husband left office, that Clinton would even disclose it had happened in single paragraph in her memoir.Clinton's health has become an issue during the Presidential election after she nearly collapsed during the _NUMBER_/_NUMBER_ memorial event at Ground Zero in New York on Sunday.A video shot by a bystander shows the _NUMBER_-year-old's legs buckling as tries to get into a waiting van.Her campaign team said she was overheated but later that on Sunday Clinton's personal doctor revealed she had been diagnosed with pneumonia two days before but she kept it a secret.During her decades in public life Clinton has suffered a number of health scares and her response to handling them appears to have changed little. Rear Admiral Connie Mariano. She revealed Clinton's health secrecy in her memoirsThe first of her three blood clots happened in _NUMBER_ whilst she was campaigning for her husband Bill to get his second term as President in the face of possible impeachment over the Lewinsky scandal.According to Mariano, who as a Navy captain and latterly rear admiral , was the White House doctor for President Clinton, she told his wife that she was at risk for a blood clot and insisted on coming to see her on a Saturday. In her memoir The White House Doctor: My Patients Were Presidents, she takes two pages to explain how she told the First Lady: I m worried about your leg. You ve been out on the campaign trail for some months now, sitting in cars for hours at a time. Within an hour Mariano was examining Clinton's right calf which was swollen .Marian's initial examination caused her enough worry to insist Clinton go to Bethesda Naval Hospital for an ultrasound. Once they were there and the diagnosis confirmed Mrs Clinton balked at the idea of being kept into hospital so they agreed to treat her as an outpatient with blood thinning drugs.The book says: Hillary was back on the campaign trail within days very few people knew of Hillary's blood clot at the time; she wrote about it after she left the White House. She did have a pain in her calf but her staff thought she had pulled a muscle exercising. Via: Daily Mail |
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| Some U.S.-bound flights from Toronto's main international airport were delayed on Wednesday afternoon due to an incident that prompted authorities to require some passengers to go through customs a second time, a spokeswoman said. A customs breach occurred shortly after _NUMBER_:_NUMBER_ p.m. in Terminal _NUMBER_, Toronto Pearson International Airport spokeswoman Beverly MacDonald said in an email. Boarding was held while the situation was investigated and some passengers to be reprocessed through U.S. Customs, she said, adding that the breach was resolved around _NUMBER_ p.m. . The breach occurred when passengers deplaning a flight from Calgary were inadvertently given access to a bypass door to the U.S. departures area, WestJet Airlines Ltd spokeswoman Lauren Stewart said in an email to Reuters. Terminal _NUMBER_ serves flights to the United States on Alaska Air Group Inc , American Airlines Group Inc , Delta Air Lines Inc and WestJet, according to the airport's website. |
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| Former FBI Director James Comey will testify next Thursday before a U.S. Senate panel investigating Russia's alleged meddling in the _NUMBER_ U.S. election, in a hearing that could add to difficulties facing President Donald Trump. In his first public appearance since Trump fired him on May _NUMBER_, Comey will address the Senate Intelligence Committee in both an open session and behind closed doors, which would allow him to discuss classified information, the committee said on Thursday. Comey was leading the FBI's probe into the allegations, and his firing sparked a political uproar. Facing rising pressure, the Justice Department last month named Robert Mueller, another former FBI chief, as a special counsel to investigate the matter. The Justice Department and multiple U.S. congressional committees are investigating Russia's actions in the _NUMBER_ presidential election and questions about possible collusion between Russian officials and Trump campaign associates. At next week's hearing, Comey is expected to be asked about conversations in which Trump is reported to have pressured him to drop an investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynn, whose ties to Russia are under scrutiny. Controversy erupted again this week after the Republican head of the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee, Devin Nunes, approved subpoenas to the CIA, FBI and National Security Agency for information relating to the "unmasking" of the names of Trump campaign advisers inadvertently picked up in top-secret foreign communications intercepts. The White House and Nunes have alleged that former Democratic President Barack Obama's administration eavesdropped on Trump's campaign, an assertion that Comey has disputed and current U.S. officials dismiss as absurd. Four current and former U.S. officials who have reviewed the materials told Reuters there was no evidence that political motives drove Obama's aides to request the names be unredacted. "There is no substance to this, so the only way to look at it is as an attempt to distract the headlines and the public from Comey's public testimony and Mueller's investigation, both of which are serious," said one of the U.S. officials familiar with the information Nunes subpoenaed. Committee aides complained Nunes had acted unilaterally, and the top Democrat on the panel, Representative Adam Schiff, said Nunes' actions violated his earlier decision to recuse himself from the Russia probe. Democratic Representative Jackie Speier said it appeared that Nunes was "more concerned with pushing the White House narrative than seeking the truth." Trump on Thursday renewed his allegation, without citing evidence, that his campaign communications were monitored, saying in a tweet: "The big story is the 'unmasking and surveillance' of people that took place during the Obama administration." Nunes followed suit hours later, tweeting: "Seeing a lot of fake news from media elites and others who have no interest in violations of Americans' civil liberties via unmaskings." The names of U.S. citizens mentioned in foreign communications intercepted by U.S. intelligence agencies are normally redacted, or "masked," in intelligence reports. The requests to unmask the names of Trump associates underwent the same stringent evaluations that U.S. privacy laws and intelligence regulations require for all such applications, and they produced nothing out of the ordinary, said the four officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity. At most, only one of the requests related to Russia in any way, and the rest pertained to other countries, two of them said. The requests involved between _NUMBER_ and _NUMBER_ top-secret reports on intercepted communications in which foreign officials outside the United States mentioned the Trump campaign and people involved in it, the officials said. The reports contained no evidence that any Americans were targets of U.S. eavesdropping operations, they said. Russia has repeatedly denied any effort to interfere in the U.S. election, but Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday some Russians might have acted on their own without their government's involvement. Trump has denied any collusion between Russia and his campaign. He has repeatedly questioned the U.S. intelligence finding that Putin directed an operation that included computer hacking, fake news and propaganda intended to swing the election in Trump's favor against Democratic rival Hillary Clinton. |
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| Ever since North Korea lobbed two missiles far above this windswept fishing town on Japan's northern island of Hokkaido, seaweed farmer Mitsuyo Kawamura says she's been on edge. Now when I hear a loud sound, I look outside, I look out at the ocean, _NUMBER_-year-old Kawamura said from her seaside cottage in Erimo, where she lays out long dark strands of kombu seaweed on stones to dry in the sun. I feel anxious, like I never know when it will come again. As Japan prepares to vote in Sunday's national election, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has called North Korea's escalating threats it also conducted a sixth nuclear test last month a national crisis that only he can lead Japan through. Yet the missiles that flew over Erimo on Aug. _NUMBER_ and Sept. _NUMBER_ created an eerie threat: No one saw or heard them. They streaked by several hundred kilometers above land, too high to see with the naked eye, before splashing into the Pacific more than _NUMBER_ kilometers to the east. Warnings of the missiles spread through sirens and government-issued J-alerts on millions of cell phones throughout Japan, jolting some out of sleep. Kawamura has since stocked up on extra food and keeps the radio on to listen for more warnings. Like many residents here and across Japan she feels helpless, unsure of how to protect herself. When it's launched, it could land here just moments later, she said. There's nowhere to hide. Abe's rhetoric has grown harsher as North Korea has threatened to sink Japan and seems intent on developing nuclear warheads that can reach the U.S. mainland. He has repeatedly backed U.S. President Donald Trump's all-options-on-the-table stance and says now is not the time for dialogue. They promised in _NUMBER_ and again in _NUMBER_ that they would abandon their nuclear program. But they have broken their word and developed nuclear devices and missiles, Abe said at a campaign rally last week. We re not going to be deceived anymore. To protect itself, Japan has deployed _NUMBER_ Patriot PAC-_NUMBER_ anti-missile batteries around the country, including one in Hokkaido, and Aegis defense systems on several destroyers. U.S. forces in Japan also have ballistic missile defense equipment that can if all goes well take out a missile in mid-flight. The rockets thrust tiny Erimo, population _NUMBER_, into the global spotlight. Maps on TV broadcasts showed the missiles flight paths over nearby Cape Erimo, a jagged point that juts into the Pacific where seals frolic. At the town's docks, where fishermen sorted through the morning's haul of salmon, tossing them into vats of ice water, strong support for Abe was mixed with worries that he's too strident, putting Japan at risk. Right now, no one's better than Abe, said Satoru Narita, a _NUMBER_-year-old fisherman. If anything, Japan has been too passive, said _NUMBER_-year-old Ryosuke Kinoshita, who supports Abe's ruling Liberal Democratic Party. Next time they launch one, I d almost like to see us fire one back, he said. We can t live in peace and safety. But Haruki Suminoya, head of Erimo's fishing union, cautioned that being overly aggressive could provoke North Korea into lashing out. Abe's approach is too strong, too hardline, he said. A more restrained approach is better. The recent war of words between Trump and North Korea unsettled many residents, who pointed out they were a much closer target than the United States. While pressure was needed toward North Korea, being too tough could be disastrous, said Mayor Masaki Ohnishi. If North Korea does something serious, Japan is within shooting range. So far, it seems that Abe is winning over voters. Nationwide polls show the LDP is headed for a big win this weekend. Erimo residents were divided on Abe's signature policy of revising Japan's war-renouncing constitution to clarify the status of the country's military. Critics worry that it could lead to an expanded role for the armed forces overseas and entangle it in U.S.-led conflicts. But Shinto priest Hirotaka Tezuka, _NUMBER_, said the constitution had grown outdated. We need a constitution that's better suited to the present era. Yoshihiro Naito, _NUMBER_, opposed the idea. The commitment we ve made not to wage war has kept Japan safe. He plans to vote for an opposition party because he thinks Abe and the LDP have become too powerful. Town officials said they have not taken any particular precautionary steps following the recent missile launches, nor do they plan any duck and cover drills that have been held elsewhere. The town has loud speakers on _NUMBER_ tall poles to broadcast warnings for tsunamis, typhoons and now missiles. In recent months, they have installed wireless units in _NUMBER_ of the _NUMBER_ homes so people can hear them when they are indoors. Erimo also has emergency stocks of food, water and other supplies, the mayor said. That's particularly important for Erimo because it is linked to the rest of Hokkaido by only one coast-hugging road, which gets closed several times a year due to heavy rains or massive waves. Local fishermen are nervous about North Korea's warning that it might conduct a hydrogen bomb test over the Pacific, which they worry would contaminate the water like the Fukushima nuclear disaster did in _NUMBER_. The radiation would make all the fish inedible, said Narita, the elderly fisherman. Like in Fukushima, we couldn t do our jobs. The town's dwindling fishing industry has already been hit hard by a plunge in the salmon catch as well as by a dearth of youngsters to take over the trade. When young people move away to cities such as Sapporo, Hokkaido's capital, sometimes their parents follow them, residents said. Erimo's population, which peaked above _NUMBER_ in the 1960s, has fallen to nearly half that level. We re a fishing town, said Naito, so if we can t catch fish any more, we re finished. |
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| The xenophobic white supremacists, who hilariously call themselves the alt-right to sound more legit and less hateful, took the tragedy at Ft. Lauderdale's airport earlier today and ran with it in the way wrong direction. When the'shooter was identified as Esteban Santiago, sources like The Gateway Pundit, along with an editor for InfoWars, furiously began hammering CNN for supposedly lightening Santiago's image to make him look more white.There's just one teeny, tiny little problem: The pictures they were circulating are of the wrong Esteban Santiago.Even more hilariously, when they began circulating these images and blasting CNN, CNN hadn't even aired an image of the gunman yet. The person they were saying was the'shooter is actually of a _NUMBER_-year old living in New York, who's on Florida's sex offender registry.Here's what the Esteban Santiago who actually did murder five people at Ft. Lauderdale looks like:MiamiHerald: RT NickNehamas: Suspected Fort Lauderdale shooter portrayed as troubled Army vet _URL_ _TAG_ Danny Butler January _NUMBER_, 2017Here is what The Gateway Pundit and others have been circulating: Many tweets have been deleted, but the Internet never forgets. This is just a blatant attempt to convince people that CNN has an anti-white agenda, and probably also to paint them as fake news. People like this are why there's such a problem with not knowing who and what to trust.Featured image via screen captures from above tweets |
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| Venture capitalists and startup executives, who had mounted a campaign against a proposal to change how the federal government taxes stock options, expressed relief on Wednesday after the U.S. Senate dropped the measure from its tax overhaul plan. The Senate tax bill had proposed taxing employee stock options, a crucial part of compensation at technology startups, as they vest. Options generally vest over a four-year period. The result would have been annual tax bills for startup employees that soared into the tens of thousands of dollars, warned startup founders and employees. Startup options give employees the right to purchase shares in the future and are illiquid, meaning employees cannot spend or save their options. The Senate removed that provision late Tuesday night following heavy lobbying from the National Venture Capital Association, the industry trade group, and an outpouring of opposition from Silicon Valley venture capitalists and entrepreneurs. They predicted the demise of the startup industry should the tax become law. "The entrepreneurial ecosystem can breathe a sigh of relief," said Bobby Franklin, president and chief executive of the trade association. More than _NUMBER_ startups, investors and executives from companies such as Uber, Airbnb and Stripe signed a letter Tuesday to Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, urging him to remove the provision. "This shift would have profound negative consequences for technology startups by, among other things, undermining their ability to compete with large incumbents for employees," they wrote in the letter, organized by technology advocacy group Engine. A spokesman for Hatch did not respond to a request for comment. The current tax code taxes employees only when they exercise their options. The Senate proposal would have required employees to pay regular income tax on the value gain of stock options even before cashing them in. The National Venture Capital Association was also successful in getting a similar proposal removed from the original House tax reform bill. "We don't anticipate it coming back up again," said Ben Veghte, spokesman for the NVCA. In the new version of the Senate bill, the finance committee also added language that would enable startup employees to defer for five years their stock options tax bill if they reach the deadline to exercise them but the company is still private and shares do not trade on the public markets. Venky Ganesan, managing director of Menlo Ventures, called the changes "consistent with economic growth and job creation." |
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| Pope Francis celebrated a huge outdoor Mass on Friday to ordain new priests from Bangladesh on his first full day in the country where he is due to meet Muslim Rohingya refugees from Myanmar later in the day. More than _NUMBER_ people attended the Mass in Dhaka's Suhrawardy Udyan Park, site of a memorial and museum of Bangladesh's independence from Pakistan in _NUMBER_, where Francis arrived in an open popemobile. Catholics make up less than one percent of the population of _NUMBER_ million people in majority-Muslim Bangladesh. I know that many of you came from afar, for a trip for more than two days, the pope told the crowd in his homily. Thank you for your generosity. This indicates the love you have for the Church. At an inter-religious gathering later on Friday, the pope was due to meet _NUMBER_ Rohingya refugees who have fled to Bangladesh from Myanmar where authorities have been accused of ethnic cleansing by the United States and United Nations. The government denies wrongdoing. In calls for peace in Myanmar, he did not use the word Rohingya to describe the refugees, which is contested by the Yangon government and military. The refugees were brought to the Bangladeshi capital from Cox's Bazar, to where _NUMBER_ Rohingya from Myanmar's Rakhine state have fled. The exodus followed a Myanmar military crackdown in response to Rohingya militant attacks on an army base and police posts on Aug. _NUMBER_. Scores of Rohingya villages were burnt to the ground, and refugees arriving in Bangladesh told of killings and rapes. On Thursday night, the pope called for decisive measures to resolve the political reasons that caused the refugee crisis and urged countries to help the Dhaka government deal with it. |
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| Europe's drugs regulator has issued a _NUMBER_ million-pound tender for temporary workers and warned it could face a major budget hit as it struggles with the fallout of Brexit, which will uproot it from London. Based in London's Canary Wharf since _NUMBER_, with a staff of around _NUMBER_, the European Medicines Agency acts as a one-stop-shop for approving and monitoring the safety of drugs across Europe. The agency has been applauded by drug companies and patient groups for streamlining Europe's drug approval process but its ability to operate smoothly is now being challenged by the enforced move to a new location from March _NUMBER_. EMA is anticipating staff losses which will not only challenge the agency's operability but could also result in a major deficit in its budget, the organization said in a statement on Friday, after a meeting of its management board. If operations are delayed or have to stop there could be a dramatic drop in fee income from companies that pay to have their products reviewed, which could be exacerbated by the cost of replacing staff, many of whom are expected to quit rather than leave London. Such shortfall would need to be made up from the Union budget, the EMA said. Executive Director Guido Rasi told Reuters in an interview earlier this week that crucial work, from approving new drugs to running safety checks, would be put at risk if politicians picked an unsuitable new location. Preparing for the fallout of the move and the impact of Britain leaving the European Union is already creating extra work for the EMA and forcing it to cut back on some non-critical activities. Although the EMA regularly employs temporary workers, the scale of the new staffing tender is unusually large. The tender documents call for bi-lingual and multi-lingual staff with administrative, scientific, regulatory and legal expertise to work in the EMA's current London office. The agency must be based in an EU country and political leaders are set to decide in a vote on Nov. _NUMBER_ on a new location among _NUMBER_ cities vying to host the organization. A staff survey last week found that between _NUMBER_ and _NUMBER_ percent of employees were likely to leave after the move, depending on which location was chosen. Picking Amsterdam, Barcelona, Vienna, Milan or Copenhagen as the new headquarters would be the best option for retaining staff, the survey found. |
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| France will discuss the possible sale of more Rafale aircrafts with Egyptian leader Abdel Fattah al-Sisi during his visit to Paris this week, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire told Europe _NUMBER_ radio on Tuesday. Under the previous government, France had concluded several major military agreements with Egypt, including the sale of _NUMBER_ Rafale combat aircraft, a multi-mission frigate and two Mistral warships in contracts worth some _NUMBER_ billion euros. The _NUMBER_ Rafale contract - the first export contract for the jet - included the option of selling another twelve aircrafts. If there can be new contracts, so much the better. That will be discussed today by the President of the Republic and the president , said Le Maire, when asked by Europe _NUMBER_ radio to comment on reports that the sale of the extra _NUMBER_ aircrafts was on the table but that his ministry was reluctant because of the payment terms asked for by Egypt. It is normal that Bercy would want to make sure Egypt should be able to pay its plane orders, Le Maire said. Sisi is in Paris until Oct _NUMBER_. As far as human rights are concerned, of course we ll discuss that. I have no doubt that the President of the Republic will mention the issue of human rights when he has lunch with his Egyptian counterpart, added Le Maire. Rafale-maker Dassault Aviation declined to comment. France and Egypt have nurtured closer economic and military ties in recent years, and with Sisi's rise to power that relationship has improved with both sides concerned by the political vacuum in Libya and the threat from jihadist groups in Egypt. But human rights organisations at home and overseas have accused France under Macron of remaining silent in the face of increasing violations of freedoms by Sisi's government, as the _NUMBER_ presidential elections approach. |
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| Democrat Senator and fake Indian Elizabeth Warren took to Twitter to criticize the evil Republican's plan to replace Obamacare.While her tweet in and of itself, is just more of what we expect from the Democrats, it's what's sitting on a side table next to her coffee maker that has everyone laughing.I'm reading the latest way that Senate Republicans plan to rip health care away from millions of people. I'll share my thoughts soon. _URL_ Elizabeth Warren July _NUMBER_, 2017If you look closely at the blown up shot of the coffee mug next to the carafe on a side table behind her, you can see the CNN logo proudly displayed on the only coffee cup that appears on the'stand. Of course, any sane person who follows the biased and very fake news network CNN shouldn't be surprised to see their new favorite Democrat sporting their mug in her Senate office. We d like to offer a special thank you and well done to _USER_ who, according to his profile, lives in fake Indian Elizabeth WArren's home state of Massachusetts.Looks like _USER_ is a friend to _USER_ just like Hillary! Watch out for _TAG_ ! _TAG_ _URL_ ALX July _NUMBER_, 2017Would there be any outrage if Paul Ryan was seen with a Breitbart or Fox News mug sitting prominently on his desk? Our guess is that Congresswoman Maxine Waters would have already called for his impeachment. |
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| The United States is not ruling out the eventual possibility of direct talks with North Korea, Deputy Secretary of State John J. Sullivan said on Tuesday, hours after Pyongyang warned nuclear war might break out at any moment. Talks between the adversaries have long been urged by China in particular, but Washington and its ally Japan have been reluctant to sit down at the table while Pyongyang continues to pursue a goal of developing a nuclear-tipped missile capable of hitting the United States. Eventually, we don t rule out the possibility of course of direct talks, Sullivan said in Tokyo after talks with his Japanese counterpart. Our focus is on diplomacy to solve this problem that is presented by the DPRK. We must, however, with our allies, Japan and South Korea and elsewhere, be prepared for the worst, should diplomacy fail, he said. DPRK stands for North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. In Washington, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert highlighted U.S. diplomatic efforts by Sullivan and others to pressure North Korea to give up its weapons programmes by encouraging implementation of international sanctions. Nauert told a regular briefing that sanctions were choking off money supply to North Korea and it was feeling the effect, but even so Pyongyang was not showing that they are anywhere near desiring to have talks. We hope that this diplomatic approach will be successful in the end, Nauert said, while adding of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson: He's got to be the most optimistic guy in the U.S. government. Tension has soared following a series of weapons tests by North Korea and a string of increasingly bellicose exchanges between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Leaflets, apparently from North Korea, calling Trump a mad dog and depicting gruesome images of him have turned up across central Seoul, adding an unusually personal element to North Korean propaganda. The situation on the Korean peninsula where the attention of the whole world is focused has reached the touch-and-go point and a nuclear war may break out any moment, North Korea's Deputy U.N. Ambassador Kim In Ryong told a U.N. General Assembly committee on Monday. As long as one does not take part in the U.S. military actions against the DPRK , we have no intention to use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against any other country, according to Kim's prepared remarks for the discussion on nuclear weapons. Kim did not read that section out loud. South Korea and the United States began week-long joint naval drills in the waters around the Korean peninsula on Monday, involving about _NUMBER_ ships from both militaries, including the nuclear-powered USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier, South Korea's defense ministry said. North Korean state media said on Tuesday the allies desperate efforts to block North Korea's advance only showed it should continue its nuclear program to the last. The DPRK has been fully ready for all the U.S. is resorting to, including sanctions, pressure and military option, as it has the tremendous nuclear force for self-defence and irresistible strength of self-reliance and self-development, the official KCNA news agency said in a commentary. Asked about the North Korean envoy's warning of nuclear war, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said it would not be in anyone's interest. China still hopes that all parties, in this situation where things on the Korean peninsula are highly complex and sensitive, can exercise restraint and do more to benefit the lowering of tensions in the region, Lu told a daily news briefing. The U.N. Security Council has ratcheted up sanctions on North Korea over its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes since _NUMBER_. The most recent U.N. sanctions banned exports of coal, iron ore and seafood, aimed at cutting off a third of the North's total annual exports of _CUR_3 billion. Experts say North Korea has been scrambling to find alternative sources of hard currency to keep its economy afloat and advance its weapons program. On Monday, the head of cyber-intelligence at BAE Systems Plc said North Korea's Lazarus hacking group was probably responsible for a recent cyber heist in Taiwan. Taiwan's Central News Agency said last week that hackers had sought to steal some _CUR_60 million from the Far Eastern Bank, but it had recovered all but _CUR_500,000. BAE Systems and others have previously linked Lazarus to an _CUR_81-million cyber heist at Bangladesh's central bank last year. North Korea has recently allowed citizens as young as _NUMBER_ to bet on horse races for the first time as the country scrambles to unearth new sources of hard currency amid intensifying international sanctions. Punters had previously risked three years hard labor for gambling in the tightly controlled state, but the growing importance of private markets means more people have money to spend on leisure, experts said. Lee Sang-keun, a researcher at the Institute of Unification Studies at Seoul's Ewha Womans University, said wealthy North Koreans had to pay for such activities with Chinese or U.S. currency. Many North Koreans make lots of money from the market, dine at hamburger restaurants and go shopping, all of which help fatten regime coffers. That's part of the reason why the regime still has some financial latitude, despite international sanctions, Lee said. |
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| The disgraceful behavior of multi-millionaire NFL players continued last night during the national anthem. Players took a knee while others raised their fist.These pictures are all you need to see to make you boycott the NFL!Squandering the goodwill of fans by doing things like this will be the death of the NFL. Fans of all races support the teams year after year with their hard earned dollars only to see a sideshow of divisiveness like the'sideline display above. These players have a job to do and part of that job is to behave like a team. They ve been taught that from pee wee football on up. The old adage that there's no I in TEAM still holds true for football and it should for America. How can we move forward together to make America better if we're so stuck in victimhood. Everyone has their cross to bear and some wrong they wish to right. Every race and culture could reach back and be angry about something. The big question to the black community is when is it time to move on? When will YOU take responsibility for some of the wrongs in your community? Until you'do so, your protests will fall on deaf ears. What matters more than your silly protest is the SERIOUS AND VERY REAL issue of black on black crime. It's epidemic yet you've all but ignored it Why don't you try pointing your finger at yourself for once and GET REAL about what's REALLY wrong in your community.Until then BOYCOTT THE NFL |
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| On September _NUMBER_, _NUMBER_, an unhinged, liberal, Trump-hating student, who has now been identified as Edith Macias, was captured on what has now become a viral video. In the video, Macias can be seen ranting and screaming, during an unbelievable exchange that took place in a campus office building at the University of California, Riverside, only moments after she'stole a hat off the head of Matthew Vitale, a UC Riverside student who was walking on the campus, and minding his own business. The exchange between this Hispanic woman, and the victim is stunning. Over and over again, this ill-informed and unbelievably angry student makes up her own facts with absolutely no basis whatsoever. Saying things like the'signature Trump hat that reads Make America Great Again represents the genocide of a bunch of people and America was never great and of but of course, You stole this land! Just another ungrateful immigrant who is likely one of Obama's Dreamers. ***WARNING*** The video below will make your blood boil.According to Campus Reform, here's how the unbelievable exchange went down:A Trump-supporting student at the University of California, Riverside had his MAGA hat stolen by a peer who demanded that administrators refuse to allow him to continue to wear it.A video of the incident obtained by Campus Reform shows an enraged female student taking the hat to the'school's Student Life Department as Matthew Vitale fruitlessly attempts to explain'to the young woman that the hat is his property. I swear to God I could burn this sh*t. I swear to God I could burn this sh*t, she continues as several staffers look on. Are you people not going to do anything? She is stealing my property, Vitale pleads, though the altercation went on for several more minutes. We will need to return his property to him, but we can'talk about one university employee begins to explain before being abruptly cut off by the'student thief. How about we talk about not letting him wear this sh*t on campus? the thief retorts, while Vitale later tells a growing presence of administrators that the fact that you people haven't gotten this back for me is sad and wrong. The altercation continued for several minutes until the hat was relinquished to an administrator who then returned it to Vitale, though not before his fellow student got in the last word. F*** your f***ing freedom of speech, boy. F***it. F*** it because your freedom of speech is literally killing a lot of people out there.According to the College Fix: The UC Riverside student who stole Vitale's Make America Great Again hat off his head and refused to give it back now faces steep legal consequences.A criminal complaint provided to The College Fix by the Riverside County District Attorney's Office states that Edith Macias has been charged with one misdemeanor count of grand theft for the September _NUMBER_ incident.The next court date on the matter is slated for March, and the maximum penalty Macias faces if convicted as currently charged is one year in county jail, a spokesman for the DA's office told The Fix.The charge was filed after UC Riverside student Matthew Vitale, the'student who had his Make America Great Again hat stolen from off his head, decided to press criminal theft charges against Macias.According to the declaration in support of an arrest warrant, Macias told the officer who responded to the incident that the reason she'swiped the hat was because it represented genocide of a bunch of people. She'stated she wanted to burn the hat because of what it represented, it states.In a statement to The College Fix on Monday, Vitale said he is gratified by the developments. I m very pleased that the DA decided to charge her, especially because I am skeptical that UCR student conduct did anything. I will be following up with the'student conduct office to determine if anything was done, Vitale said. In the meantime, I can't thank UCPD enough for actually taking this matter seriously. The detective and officers involved with this case were the epitome of professionalism, he added. If, as I suspect, UCR decided not to discipline her in some way this decision by the DA's office shows two things: First, that UCR does not protect and shows no respect for speech that does not conform to their ideology. Second, that, in this case, UCR chose not to discipline a person who committed a crime on campus against another student. After Vitale had requested charges be brought against Macias, he explained his motives to The College Fix: I do want to send a message. I am not vindictive, I am not vengeful, but people, especially in my generation, need to realize you can't do things like this because you'don't like what someone is saying or wearing. Knock, knock.Who's there?Karma |
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| When poison gas killed thousands of Kurds in Halabja in _NUMBER_, its residents never imagined they would ever escape Saddam Hussein's grip, let alone vote one day in a referendum on secession from Iraq. The long-oppressed Kurds across northern Iraq are expected to get the chance to vote on Monday despite fierce opposition from the Baghdad government and regional powers who feel threatened by the referendum. It will be a bittersweet moment for the people of Halabja, a rundown city of around _NUMBER_ people still facing the after-effects of the attack by Iraqi government forces. At a memorial to honor the victims is a statue of Omar Khawar, whose image holding his two dead twin babies which appeared in photographs around the world has come to symbolize the tragedy in Halabja. Halabja residents interviewed by Reuters said they would vote Yes . But they were only cautiously optimistic. They wonder whether feuding Kurdish political parties can deliver on promises of a viable independent state when basic needs such as specialized medical care, jobs and infrastructure have not been met. He would rest peacefully knowing that we will vote Yes, said Khawar's nephew Borhan Gharib. We think freedom is better than anything. There is no country that gets independence without a price. The referendum will be the culmination of a century-long struggle for self-determination for the Kurds. When the Middle was carved up by the West in a deal in _NUMBER_ after the fall of the Ottoman empire, the Kurds were the largest ethnic group without a state. The region's roughly _NUMBER_ million ethnic Kurds were left scattered across four countries Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria. Though they were widely mistreated, the Kurds suffered a particularly brutal fate in Iraq, where Saddam Hussein gassed them, buried them in mass graves and gave their land to Arabs. Halabja marked the peak of his campaign against the Kurds. Saddam accused the Halabja Kurds of siding with Iran during the _NUMBER_-_NUMBER_ Iran-Iraq war. The gas attack was a turning point, winning the Iraqi Kurds worldwide sympathy. Five thousand people, mostly women and children, were killed and thousands more wounded starting at _NUMBER_ a.m. on March _NUMBER_, _NUMBER_ and more are still suffering from cancer and other diseases related to poison gas. Yet, near the memorial is a hospital built for victims of the tragedy construction has been completed but the facility was never opened. I am very, very angry, said Lukman Abdel Qadir Mohammed, whose organization represents the families of the victims. We still send more than _NUMBER_ people every month to Iran for treatment. Mohammed was speaking to Reuters in the house of Omar Khawar, donated by Borhan to the Halabja Chemical Attack Victims Society. On the pavement outside is the spot where Khawar died, face down on the ground, trying to protect his sons. Gas crept into homes and along streets. His wife and eight daughters perished. Years later, the Kurds enjoyed unprecedented protection when Western powers set up a no-fly zone to protect them from Saddam Hussein's air force in the aftermath of the _NUMBER_ Gulf War. The U.S.-led invasion which toppled Saddam Hussein in _NUMBER_ enabled the Kurds to eventually set up a semi-autonomous region. But neighboring countries worried that Iraqi Kurdish ambitions would embolden their own restive Kurdish populations to agitate for change. Despite those concerns, stronger than ever because of the referendum, jubilant Kurds waved flags in the streets in the run-up to the vote. Halabja seemed less enthusiastic, unlike other cities where banners drawing attention to the referendum hang on buildings. Kurdish President Masoud Barzani has resisted pressure from Turkey and Iran, as well as Western powers, to postpone the vote for fears it could trigger regional chaos. Kashwar Mawloud spends works as a tour guide at the museum. Like others, she says she suffers from cancer from the attack and has to travel to a major city to get treatment every month. She never wants anyone to forget about the massacre. First she walks visitors through a room illustrating Halabja's rich political history and culture. Then there are re-creations of iconic images of the day of the attack and reminders of who orchestrated the suffering. They include the rope that museum officials say was used to hang Saddam's cousin Ali Hassan al-Majid, who earned the nickname chemical Ali for directing a series of chemical attacks on Kurds, including Halabja. Nearby is the death certificate issued after Saddam Hussein was executed following his trial. But when it comes to the future, Halabja Kurds wonder whether anything will change. No one has invested anything in Halabja except for this museum, said Mawloud. The region has long been plagued by political disunity between Barzani's Kurdistan Democratic Party and decades-old rival Patriotic Union of Kurdistan , headed by Jalal Talabani. It was most recently exacerbated by the extension of Barzani's term. The KDP controls the western part of the region while the PUK runs the east, where Halabja is located. The two fought a civil war during the 1990s. Kurdish officials were not immediately available for comment on allegations that Halabja has been neglected. Galawish Kareem, _NUMBER_, lives across the street from Omar Khawar's former home. She has not relied on any Kurdish political leaders for help since the attack destroyed her neighborhood and killed _NUMBER_ relatives, including her son. Barzani, Talabani have done nothing for us, she said. We rebuilt our houses ourselves. She laughed when asked if the central government in Baghdad had helped. For some, like Gibrael Omar, Halabja's dark past, not the path to independence, is still the overriding issue. Omar and his mother take turns visiting the mass grave where _NUMBER_ members of their family were buried in the days following the attack. I will vote for neither Yes or No, he said at a cemetery. Some residents worry that the vote will only bring more bloodshed to the region, with fierce opposition from Turkey and Iran. The Baghdad government has called the vote unconstitutional. Tensions are running high between Iranian-backed Shi ite militias and Kurdish fighters who cooperated in the fight against Islamic State over the prospect of an independent Kurdistan. Despite the uncertainty, Mohammed, the head of the victims organization, says sacrifices must be made for the sake of liberty. He lost his siblings, mother and wife and is still suffering from medical issues. Conflict will happen maybe not today or tomorrow. But it has to, he said. But ultimately we will be fine. One hundred fighters from Halabja died fighting Daesh . We can send one hundred more to fight the militias. |
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| She burst on the'scene last August when she upset a _NUMBER_-year incumbent Democrat in the Minnesota state primary elections to become the nation's first female Muslim state legislator.Ilhan Omar, the _NUMBER_-year-old community organizer who came to America as a refugee from Somalia, was touted by Democrats as a model success story. From a refugee camp to the State Capitol with intelligence and insight, beamed former Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak, who endorsed Omar. This is a wonderful story to tell as Americans, and a great source of pride for the'state of Minnesota's open arms. But on Thursday Omar made her mark in another way.She was one of only two members of the Minnesota State House to vote against a bill that would allow life insurance companies to deny payouts to the beneficiaries of terrorists who die in violent attacks on Americans.Omar, who represents the heavily immigrant Cedar Riverside area of Minneapolis, was joined by fellow Democratic Rep. John Lesch of St. Paul in voting against the bill.Omar's vote sticks out because at least _NUMBER_ Somali refugees have been confirmed by the FBI to have left the U.S. to join overseas terrorist organizations, including al-Shabab, the al-Qaida affiliate in Somalia, and ISIS in Syria and Iraq.Dozens of other Somali-Americans have been tried and/or convicted of providing material support to overseas terrorists.The Minneapolis-St. Paul area is home to the nation's largest Somali refugee community.The Minnesota insurance bill was introduced by Rep. Joe Hoppe, R-Chaska, in response to Syed Farook's jihadist rampage in San Bernardino, California, in December _NUMBER_ in which he'shot and killed _NUMBER_ people and injured _NUMBER_ at an office Christmas party. Farook made sure his life insurance policies worth _CUR_275,000 were valid before conducting the deadly shooting with help from his wife, Tashfeen Malik.After Farook died in a shootout with police, his mother fought to remain'the beneficiary of the life insurance policies. The insurance company balked and the case has gone to court.Democratic Rep. Debra Hilstrom said the goal of the Minnesota bill is to make certain'that folks don't benefit and this limits the beneficiary to the premiums that were paid in. It limits the exposure for the insurance company when someone is committing an act of terrorism. WNDWatch: |
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| U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders on Wednesday backed President Barack Obama's Supreme Court pick and called on Republican Senate leaders to consider his nominee. Sanders, a U.S. senator who represents Vermont, in a statement said refusing to consider Judge Merrick Garland would be "unprecedented." |
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| Just another interesting discovery in a story that has already exposed a very corrupt government that favors illegal aliens over American citizens The gun used in the'seemingly random slaying of a woman on a San Francisco pier belonged to a federal agent, a law enforcement official briefed on the matter said Tuesday.The official, who was not authorized to speak publicly about the case and spoke on condition of anonymity, said a police check of the weapon's serial number shows it belonged to a federal agent. The official declined to elaborate further.The San Francisco Police Department, which is investigating the case, declined to comment.The revelation was the latest dramatic twist in a tragic case that has become a new flashpoint in the country's debate over immigration policies.The'suspected gunman, Juan Francisco Lopez Sanchez, has been deported to his native Mexico five times and is suspected of living in the United States illegally when Kathryn Steinle, _NUMBER_, was gunned down last week while on an evening stroll with her father along San Francisco's popular waterfront area.Federal officials transferred Sanchez to San Francisco's jail in March to face a _NUMBER_-year-old marijuana charge after Sanchez completed his latest prison term for illegally entering the country.The San Francisco sheriff, citing the city's sanctuary city policy, released Sanchez in April after prosecutors dropped the drug charge, despite an Immigration and Customs Enforcement request to hold him for federal authorities so deportation proceedings could begin.Sanchez pleaded not guilty Tuesday to first-degree murder.He told two television stations who interviewed him in jail that he found the gun used in Steinle's killing wrapped in a shirt on the pedestrian pier she was walking on. Sanchez said the gun went off in his hands, and his public defender, Matt Gonzalez, said Tuesday that the San Francisco woman's death appeared accidental. San Francisco Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi has defended Sanchez's release and the city law requiring it to ignore ICE detainer requests. The'sheriff said ICE could have obtained a warrant or court order to keep Sanchez in custody. ICE knew where he was, Mirkarimi said Monday. He said he will continue to ignore ICE detainer requests.State and federal Republicans, meanwhile, said they would look into the matter.Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson, who chairs the Senate's homeland security committee, criticized federal officials and demanded to know why Sanchez was not deported. Does that make any sense to you? Johnson demanded to know at a hearing Tuesday. Because I ll tell you it doesn't make any sense to the American public. Republican state Sen. Jeff Stone said he would introduce legislation in Sacramento to require cities to comply with ICE detainer requests.At Sanchez's arraignment Tuesday, prosecutor Dianna Garcia argued against releasing Sanchez on bail, saying, This was an act of random violence, shooting an innocent victim in the back. The judge set bail at _CUR_5 million, which Gonzalez said will keep Sanchez jailed pending trial.A downcast Sanchez spent most of the hearing with his head bowed, appearing to fight back tears while the judge explained the charged to him. Sanchez was aided by a Spanish-language interpreter and entered his plea in Spanish.Outside court, his attorney said Sanchez has a second-grade education and a non-violent criminal record.He could face life in prison if convicted.Via: FOX Carolina |
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| 21st Century Wire says US Democratic Party candidate Hillary Clinton is reported to have fainted during a major _NUMBER_/_NUMBER_ Memorial service in New York City this past Sunday. She was promptly removed from the event by her campaign staff, but video footage later emerged showing Clinton being carried into her custom transport van.Now the media is buzzing with the question: is Hillary Clinton fit enough for the Oval Office? More importantly, can she'stay on the campaign trail?As expected, the Clinton campaign is vehemently downplaying any health concerns, insisting that the former Secretary of State is absolutely fine. The following is a video mix of this bizarre campaign scene, where Mrs. Clinton is lifted by multiple staffers and security into her van, and also notice at the _NUMBER_ second mark where a small item drops from her right pant leg onto the pavement below. Watch:_URL_ . What would happen if she bowed out? Who would replace her? Is this a real possibility, or is this simply the latest in a long line of sensational rightwing media reports designed to further distract and divert the American public away from important key issues facing America?Here is former Huffington Post journalist David Seaman, who was recently fired and his work censored by the Huff Post for reporting on Clinton's health issues. Watch as he reveals Wikileaks Clinton Email Archive, which reveal additional information Clinton's health problems:_URL_ . Probing further into the possibility of Hillary Clinton actually dropping from the US Presidential race is award-winning health journalist and media analyst Jon Rappoport Jon Rappoport No More Fake NewsI ve written about her health problems before, including the blood-thinning Coumadin she's taking. And the blood clots. And the advisory against flying, because new life-threatening blood clots can occur.I wrote and I still say Democrat power players would go along with electing her even if she was dragged into the Oval Office dead on arrival. They don't care.After Hillary's fainting spell at the _NUMBER_/_NUMBER_ memorial, the Washington Post, that organ of unquestioned truth, grants that it's now acceptable to ask polite questions about her health. Well done, boys. You re really going out on a limb. Thanks so much.I think it's time for major media to take an overt stand about Hillary: She may be very sick, dangerously so, but it's still a crime to emphasize that because it's sexist, and besides, untoward publicity could allow Trump to slip into the White House, and besides, our news organization has donated to the Clinton Foundation, and besides, she's Hillary and we all know and love her and we don't want to think about something bad happening to her because then we would cry. I would accept that statement. Hillary's public coughing fits. The physical instability. The fainting. The handler, Todd Madison, walking out on stage, putting his hand on her, telling her to keep talking, as if she's forgotten what's going on. You have to conclude her doctors have tried everything they can'to keep her upright and functioning, and if this is best they can do, she's in bad shape.Hillary dropping out of the race for the Oval Office is no longer a fantasy. It could happen. If it does, the media will swing into gear and try to demand a delay in the election.There is no basis for such a demand, because both major Parties can pick their candidate on their own terms. The Democrats, for example, as we've seen, can rig the vote and secretly back Hillary from the beginning and cook up propaganda to defeat Bernie Sanders. They can choose a slew of so-called super-delegates who owe nothing to the voters and, instead, support whoever they want to . So if she drops out, the Democrat leaders can simply decide, again, without consulting voters, who the'substitute is. Kaine? Biden? Sanders? Elizabeth Warren? Michelle Obama? Rachel Maddow? Karl Marx?No doubt, some progressive pundit will suggest Obama should stay in office for a while, because he has the experience, he's Presidential, he's done such a magnificent job in his two terms, his mission is unfinished , we need him to continue the dialogue on race in the post-racial society, he knows how to bypass Congress with a blizzard of executive orders, he can figure out a way to admit millions more illegal immigrants to these shores, he backs Black Lives Matter, and he knows how to talk about fake employment numbers and pretend they're real.The Democrats and their supporters will go on a victim binge: woe is us, Hillary our leader has fallen, we're crippled , we need time to regroup, we can't be expected to make a snap judgment, who cares about constitutional rules governing elections, this is really serious, we have to decide what's best for The People and we have to find a way to pay off Bernie Sanders so he'stays in hiding and keeps his big mouth shut.I, for one, would like to see Trump vs. Bernie. Socialist vs. Capitalist. They could do three debates on Globalism and its horrendous effects on America, at which point the public would realize they both claim to perceive the gargantuan threat, albeit from different angles.Hillary was the unabashed queen bee of Globalism.At any rate, you can bet that, as we speak, media giants are taking private briefings on how the election season would proceed if she drops out. They re preparing their talking points and tall stories and outright lies. All somehow culminating in a Democrat Party victory this November, come hell or high water. After Congressional leaders begged President Obama to stay on for several months, he reluctantly agreed, saying: Well, I do have sixty or seventy executive orders drawn up and ready to go, so perhaps I could bring the country a little closer to the future we envision. We re all in this together. The author of three explosive collections, THE MATRIX REVEALED, EXIT FROM THE MATRIX, and POWER OUTSIDE THE MATRIX, Jon was a candidate for a US Congressional seat in the 29th District of California. He maintains a consulting practice for private clients, the purpose of which is the expansion of personal creative power. Nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, he has worked as an investigative reporter for _NUMBER_ years, writing articles on politics, medicine, and health for CBS Healthwatch, LA Weekly, Spin Magazine, Stern, and other newspapers and magazines in the US and Europe. Jon has delivered lectures and seminars on global politics, health, logic, and creative power to audiences around the world. You can sign up for his free emails atNoMoreFakeNews.com or OutsideTheRealityMachine.READ MORE ELECTION NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire _NUMBER_ Files |
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| No less to blame are the water agencies, including the powerful Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, which argued that paying for the upgrades a decade ago was unnecessary.The _NUMBER_ people forced to evacuate Sunday, running for their lives, beg to differ.Can Californians trust the decision-makers who control state water policy? We would not suggest it.California's population of _NUMBER_ million people relies on a _NUMBER_-year-old water delivery system consisting largely of aging dams and aqueducts that have not been maintained adequately and now are unreliable.Gov. Jerry Brown's obsession with spending _CUR_15 billion to dig two Delta tunnels is preventing the'state from spending that money to upgrade the Delta levees, the'sinking California Aqueduct and doing basic maintenance to the'state's dams. Mercury NewsTwo weeks before President Barack Obama left office, his administration vowed to move full speed ahead on California's controversial Delta tunnels project, calling it essential for the'state's water supply as well as its environment.Rejecting the call by fishermen, Tribes, conservationists, family farmers and environmental justice advocates to terminate the Delta Tunnels plan, Interior Secretary Sally Jewell on January _NUMBER_ issued a Secretarial Order that will mandate the completion of Governor Jerry Brown's controversial California WaterFix process in a timely manner. The Obama administration order directs the Department of Interior and its agencies to take timely actions to help address the effects of drought and climate change on California's water supply and imperiled wildlife. What are the Delta water tunnels?They re two, _NUMBER_-mile water tunnels that would be built in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, east of the San Francisco Bay Area. Each tunnel would be _NUMBER_ feet in diameter, larger than the tunnels that carry BART trains under San Francisco Bay. The project, dubbed California WaterFix, would be buried _NUMBER_ feet below ground.What's the California Delta, again?It's a huge, inland estuary where Northern California's major rivers converge before the water flows out to San Francisco Bay. It used to be mostly wetlands and marshes, but much of the land was converted to farming.Who would get water from the tunnels?The tunnels would be part of the'state's major water system that serves about _NUMBER_ million Californians, from the Bay Area to San Diego. Built more than _NUMBER_ years ago, the network of reservoirs, canals and aqueducts stretches hundreds of miles.It's designed to fix a tricky problem that state planners ran into a century ago. Most of the rain and snow falls in Northern California, but most of the'state's population reside in Central and Southern California.Proposed Route of Delta Water TunnelsHuge underground project would divert water from the Sacramento River for export to Central and Southern California.Why Does the Brown Administration want to build them?The recent drought may have brought water battles to the forefront, but those battles are a perennial feature of California politics. That's because the central hub of this water system, the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, is in bad shape.Water is drawn from the Delta by two massive pumping facilities that can move millions of gallon per minute. They re so powerful that they've been shown to entrap endangered fish, like Chinook salmon and Delta smelt. When those species are at greatest risk, regulations require slowing down the pumps, potentially limiting how much water reaches cities and farms.The twin tunnels would take water from farther north near the Sacramento River, and deliver it to the pumping facilities. State officials say that would make the water system more reliable, because the pumps would be used less, avoiding the impacts on endangered species.How much would the tunnels cost and who would pay for them?They aren't cheap. Construction could cost _CUR_14.9 billion. Add in mitigation costs for construction impacts, operations and maintenance and the tab runs to about _CUR_17 billion over _NUMBER_ years and that doesn't count paying off the bonds that would finance the project. -KQED SciencePresident Donald Trump wants to invest _CUR_550 billion on the nation's infrastructure needs. Brown agrees that California should jump on the opportunity, but the money has to be used wisely. Neglect of the Oroville Dam, despite multiple alarms sounding over the years, does not inspire confidence.The Bay Area News Group's Paul Rogers reported Monday that three environmental groups the Friends of the River, the Sierra Club and the South Yuba River Citizens League filed a motion with the federal government on Oct. _NUMBER_, _NUMBER_, as part of Oroville Dam's relicensing process, urging federal officials to require that the dam's emergency spillway be armored with concrete rather than remain as just a hillside.If we get through this winter without loss of lives and many more billions of dollars in property loss expected from the failure of the Oroville spillway, then we can'take this as a fortuitous warning to prevent other disasters. But that's still a big if. Storm clouds return Thursday. Mercury News |
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| For Americans, religion permeates almost every aspect of our daily lives whether we want it to or not. The United States is so religious, in fact, that when, say, a university instructs its professors to hold inclusive holiday parties, rather than focus solely on Christmas, many people believe Christianity itself is under attack. It is therefore always surprising to see just how non-religious other countries have become while America was busy having its pretend war on Christmas.A shocking new poll out of Iceland demonstrates the degree to which young people are abandoning organized religion. The'survey of Icelanders found that while many older people still identified as Christian, those in their 20s or younger were astonishingly non-religious. In fact, when asked whether they believed the'story of a biblical creation, like the kind found in American creation museums , a whopping _NUMBER_% of those _NUMBER_ or younger said they'did. Inversely, _NUMBER_% said they believed the universe was created during a big bang.Of those younger than _NUMBER_ _NUMBER_% said the world had been created in the big bang and _NUMBER_% believed God had created the world. _NUMBER_% of those between _NUMBER_ and _NUMBER_ years old believed the world had been created in the big bang and _NUMBER_% believed God had created the world. In all but the oldest age category a majority accepted the big-bang theory. Only _NUMBER_% of those older than _NUMBER_ believed in the big bang, and nearly a fourth, _NUMBER_% believed God had created the world.Perhaps because of this growing lack of religion, the poll also found that a large proportion of Icelanders of all ages expressed support for the full separation of church and state. But before televangelist Pat Robertson goes dismissing the entire country as godless heathens, there is a bit of a caveat. As Icelandic Redditor avar points out, the implication that zero percent of young Icelanders don't believe in God is a bit misleading. The poll doesn't go that far.Now, what many outside of Iceland and I d say especially Americans need to understand is that even Christians in Iceland and for that matter in most of Europe don't literally believe in the origin story in the Bible in anything but trivial numbers. Maintaining the literal interpretation of that is very much an American evangelical thing. I bet if you polled priests in Iceland and asked them whether they thought the Big Bang happened you'd get a _NUMBER_% response rate in the affirmative.It's a fair point. In America, we often assume religious to mean creationist because so much of our religious discourse is consumed by conservative fundamentalists. Waking up to the fact that other countries and other churches don't have to be Bible literalists to still believe in God can be jarring for some. As part of a television show, an American religious conservative flew to Scandinavia to learn about how those countries worship. When he discovered how secular people were, and how even the church embraced things like science and same-sex marriage, his brain almost couldn't handle it.Meanwhile, back in America, the country remains an outlier in the Western world. Thanks to conservative lawmakers that work to undermine education and special interest groups that push religion into schools, American students still struggle to accept well-supported scientific theories like evolution or the big bang. Slowly, that appears to be changing. Recently, the United States had a bittersweet moment when new polls found a majority of the American public accepted evolution over Creationism. We still have a long way to go to reach Iceland's numbers though.Feature image via Wikimedia |
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| The enthusiasm for Hillary is well underwhelming to say the least. Two of Hillary's campaign events in Akron, OH were cancelled today due to lack of volunteers .Watch: |
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| Melania Trump will give two or three speeches in the final days of the U.S. presidential race, Republican candidate Donald Trump said in a television interview, apparently surprising his wife. The couple appeared in a taped ABC interview broadcast on Thursday less than two weeks before the Nov. _NUMBER_ presidential election against Democrat Hillary Clinton. Melania, who has mostly remained off the campaign trail to care for the couple's _NUMBER_-year-old son, was asked if she was going to campaign for her husband in the homestretch. "We will see," she said. "My priority is my son Barron and I support _NUMBER_ percent and I'm there for him every time he needs me." Trump indicated that time is now. "She is actually going to make two or three speeches," he interjected, drawing an "Oh!" from his wife. Melania has stayed largely out of the public eye since the Republican National Convention in July, when she gave a speech that borrowed portions of first lady Michelle Obama's address to the _NUMBER_ Democratic convention. "She's amazing when she speaks," Trump said of his third wife, a former model from Slovenia. "She is an amazing public speaker. She's agreed to do two or three speeches, and I think it's going to be big speeches, important speeches." The New York real estate mogul, who is making his first run for office, is down an average of _NUMBER_ percentage points in national opinion polls against Clinton, a former U.S. senator and secretary of state, according to Real Clear Politics. Trump has been struggling to attract women voters after a series of damaging revelations and allegations about his treatment of women. Several women have accused him of making unwanted sexual advances, including groping or kissing, in incidents dating back to the early 1980s, according to reports in various news outlets. Trump has denied the allegations and maintained the women accusing him of sexual misconduct fabricated their stories to damage his campaign. |
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| Hillary Clinton's supporters were calling certain words used to describe her as sexist. Words like entitled, ambitious, and secretive The area around Hillary's campaign headquarters was plastered with this: |
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| The politically correct country of Sweden paying a very big price for their kindness, generosity and open-borders policy This attack happened in Norrmalmstorg, Stockholm. The two Swedes told them not to vandalize flowerpots and as a response they got beaten up for it.https://youtu.be/Rsn_1TO1kMUThis is indeed the future of Europe. By their irresponsible, short-sighted, suicidal immigration and refugee policies, Europe's political and media elites have ensured a future of violence, bloodshed and chaos for their people. Sweden, the future of Europe: people stock up on fire arms, police recommend vigilante groups , by Nicolai Sennels, 10News.dk, December _NUMBER_, _NUMBER_ :This is a very interesting read, because the whole of Europe is heading the'same way as Sweden. Sweden is, so to speak, the future of Europe. And in this future, those who can afford it pay security companies the rest gest license for firearms and forms vigilante groups. via: Pamela Gellar You have to understand that Swedes are really scared when an asylum house opens in their village. They can see what has happened in other places. Salesman for alarm systems.Since Parliament decided in _NUMBER_ that Sweden should be multicultural and not Swedish, crime has exploded. Violent crime has increased by over _NUMBER_% and rapes have increased by an unbelievable _NUMBER_%.The violence at the hands of Muslim migrants is nothing new to Sweden. This horrific video was published in _NUMBER_:Many Swedes see the mass immigration as a forced marriage: Sweden is forced to marry a man she did not choose, yet she is expected to love and honor him, even though he beats her and treats her badly. Her parents tell her to be warm and show solidarity with him. Are the State and I now in agreement that our mutual contract is being renegotiated? Alexandra von Schwerin, whose farm who was robbed three times. Police refused to help.Once upon a time, there was a safe welfare state called Sweden, where people rarely locked their doors.Now, this country is a night-watchman state each man is on his own. When the Minister of Justice, Morgan Johansson, encourages breaking the law, it means opening the gates to anarchy. Mr. and Mrs. Swede have every reason to be worried, with the influx of _NUMBER_ unskilled and unemployed migrants expected this year equivalent to _NUMBER_% of Sweden's current population. The number is as if _NUMBER_ million penniless migrants who did not speak English arrived in U.S. in one year, or _NUMBER_ million in Britain.And the Swedes are preparing: demand for firearms licenses is increasing; more and more Swedes are joining shooting clubs and starting vigilante groups. After a slight dip in _NUMBER_, the number of new gun permits has gone up significantly again'this year. According to police statistics, there are _NUMBER_ licensed guns, owned by _NUMBER_ people, in Sweden. Add to this an unknown number of illegal weapons. To get a gun permit in Sweden, you need to be at least _NUMBER_ years old; law-abiding; well-behaved, and have a hunting license or be a member of an approved shooting club. In _NUMBER_, _NUMBER_ people got a hunting license: _NUMBER_% more than the year before. One out of five was a woman. There is also a high demand for alarm systems right now, says a salesman at one of the'security companies in an interview with Gatestone. It is largely due to the turbulence we are seeing around the country at the moment. People have lost confidence in the State, he added. The police will not come anymore. Truck drivers say that when they see a thief emptying the fuel tank of their trucks, they run out with a baseball bat. It is no use calling the police, but if you hit the thief, you can at least prevent him from stealing more diesel. Many homeowners say the'same thing: they sleep with a baseball bat under the bed. But this is risky: the police can'then say you have been prepared to use force, and that might backfire on you. The'salesman, who asked to remain anonymous, also spoke of Sweden's many Facebook groups, in which people in different villages openly discuss how they intend to protect themselves: Sometimes you get totally freaked out when you see what they are writing. But you have to understand that Swedes are really scared when an asylum house opens in their village. They can see what has happened in other places. One blog, detailing the consequences for the local population when an asylum facility opens, is aptly named Asylkaos . There is a list of companies the reader is prompted to boycott; the blog claims these businesses encourage the transformation of Sweden to a multicultural society, and are therefore considered hostile to Swedes. At another security company, a salesman said that every time the Immigration Service buys or rents a new housing facility, his firm is swamped with calls. The next day, he'said, half the village calls and wants to buy alarm systems. Ronny Fredriksson, spokesman of the'security company Securitas, said that the demand for home alarm systems first exploded about six years ago, when many local police stations were shut down and police moved to the main'towns. This, he'said, could result in response times of several hours. More and more people now employ the'services of our security guards. Shopping malls and stores in the city come together and hire guards. We are kind of like the local beat cops of old. Even though Securitas makes big money from the increased need for home security alarms and security guards, Fredriksson says they also are worried about the effect on society: The problem is that we too need the police. When our guards catch a burglar or a violent person, we call the police but the response times are often very long. Sometimes, the detainees get violent and quite rowdy. On occasion, the police have told us to release the person we have apprehended, if we have his identity, because they'do not have a patrol nearby. Even before the massive influx of migrants in the fall of _NUMBER_, Swedes felt a need to protect themselves and with good reason. Since the Parliament decided in _NUMBER_ that Sweden should be multicultural and not Swedish, crime has exploded. Violent crime has increased by more than _NUMBER_%, and rapes have increased by an unbelievable _NUMBER_%.The politicians, however, ignore the people's fear completely. It is never discussed. Instead, the people who express concern about what kind of country Sweden has become are accused of xenophobia and racism. Most likely, that is the reason more and more people are taking matters into their own hands, and protecting themselves and their families to the best of their ability.All the'same, some people do not settle for that. It seems some people are trying to stop mass immigration to Sweden. Almost every day there are reports of fires being set at asylum houses. So far, miraculously, no one has been hurt.These fires are set not only by Swedes. On October _NUMBER_, a _NUMBER_-year-old woman living in Skellefte was convicted of setting fire to the asylum facility in which she herself resided. The woman claimed she lit a candle and then fell asleep. Yet forensic evidence showed that a combustible fluid had been doused throughout the room, and the court found beyond a reasonable doubt that she herself had ignited the fire.The number of violent incidents at Sweden's Immigration Service facilities is now sky-high. In _NUMBER_, according to Dispatch International, at least one incident happened every day. When Gatestone Institute recently acquired the incident list for January _NUMBER_, _NUMBER_ through October _NUMBER_, _NUMBER_, that number had risen to _NUMBER_ incidents of threats, violence and brawls on average, three per day.The Swedish government, however, would apparently rather not talk about that. Foreign Minister Margot Wallstr m conceded, in an interview with the daily Dagens Nyheter that garnered international attention, that Sweden is, in fact, heading for a systemic breakdown: Most people seem to think we cannot maintain a system where perhaps _NUMBER_ people will arrive every year. In the long run, our system will collapse. This welcome is not going to receive popular support. We want to give people who come here a worthy reception. Symptomatic of Swedish journalists, this statement was tucked away at the end of the article. The headline was about how the political party that is critical of immigration, the Sweden Democrats Party , is responsible for the asylum-housing fires. But foreign media, such as The Daily Mail and Russia Today, picked up Wallstr m's warning about a systemic collapse and ran it as the urgent news it actually is.Nevertheless, in official Sweden, the imminent collapse is ignored. Instead, journalists exclusively focus on attacks by supposedly racist Swedes on refugee centers. To prevent new fires, the Immigration Service decided on October _NUMBER_ that from now on, all asylum facilities would have secret addresses. And meager police resources will now be stretched even further to protect asylum seekers. Police helicopters will even patrol refugee centers. But considering there are only five helicopters available, and that Sweden's landmass is _NUMBER_ square km , this gesture is effectively empty.At a meeting with the Nordic Council in Reykjavik, Iceland, on October _NUMBER_, Sweden's Prime Minister, Stefan L fven, was questioned by his Nordic colleagues about the'situation in Sweden. L fven had recently said that, We should have the option of relocating people applying for asylum in Sweden to other EU-countries. Our ability, too, has a limit. We are facing a paradigm shift. That comment led a representative of Finland's Finns Party to wonder, with a hint of irony, how mass immigration to Sweden, which for years Swedish politicians have touted as being so profitable, has now suddenly become a burden.Another Finns Party representative, Simon Elo, pointed out that the'situation in Sweden is out of control. Sweden has great abilities, but not even the Swedes have abilities that great, Elo said.When L fven was asked how he is dealing with the real concerns and demands of the citizenry, his answer was laconic: Of course I understand there is concern, L fven said. It is not easy. But at the'same time there are _NUMBER_ million people on the run. This is also about them being our fellow men, and I hope that viewpoint will prevail. The daily tabloid Expressen asked L fven about the attacks on asylum facilities. He replied, Our communities should not be characterized by threats and violence, they should be warm and show solidarity. As if such behavior can be forced.Many Swedes see mass immigration as a forced marriage: Sweden is forced to marry a man she did not choose, yet she is expected to love and honor him even though he beats her and treats her badly. And on top of that, her parents tell her to be warm and show solidarity with him.More and more Swedish commentators are now drawing the'same conclusion: that Sweden is teetering on the brink of collapse. Editorial columnist Ivar Arpi of the daily Svenska Dagbladet, wrote an astonishing article on October _NUMBER_, about a woman named Alexandra von Schwerin and her husband. The couple lives on the Skarhults Estate farm in Sk ne in southern Sweden; they have been robbed three times. Most recently, they were robbed of a quad bike, a van and a car. When the police arrived, von Schwerin asked them what she'should do. The police told her that they could not help her. All our resources are on loan to the asylum reception center in Trelleborg and Malm , they said. We are overloaded right now. So I suggest you get in touch with the vigilante group in Esl v. What the police had called a vigilante group turned out to be a group of private business owners. In _NUMBER_, after being robbed more or less every night, they had decided to come together and start patrolling the area themselves. Currently, they pay a security firm to watch their facilities. On principal, I am totally against it, von Schwerin said. What are the people who cannot afford private security to do? They will be unprotected. I m sure I will join, but very, very reluctantly. For the first time, I feel scared to live here now. Are the State and I now in agreement that our mutual contract is being renegotiated? Commenting on the police's encouraging people to join vigilante groups, social commentator and former Refugee Ombudsman Merit Wager wrote: So, the Swedes are supposed to arrange and pay for their own and their families security and keep their farms from being subjected to theft, even though that has up to now been included in the'social contract for which we pay high taxes, to have police we can count on to protect us and apprehend criminals?! When did the'social contract expire? October _NUMBER_? Without any notice of termination, since the tax-consuming party is not fulfilling its part of the deal? This should mean that our part of the deal to pay taxes for public, joint services has also become invalid? If the'social contract is broken, it is broken. Then it is musical chairs , and that means that each and every one of us should pay less taxes. Ilan Sad , lawyer and social commentator, wrote about the refugee chaos at Malm Central Train Station on the blog Det Goda Samh llet on October _NUMBER_: The authorities no longer honor the'social contract. He described four large signs on display around the'station that read Refugee? Welcome to Malm ! in four different languages. It is unclear who the'sender of the message is, or, for that matter, who is in charge of the reception facility a number of barracks by the old post office in the inner harbor. Everything is utterly confusing. It could be Malm City or the Immigration Service, but it might as well be Refugees Welcome, or possibly a religious community. I think to myself that a government agency could not reasonably write like this, a correct and pertinent sign would say something like: Asylum seekers are referred to the barracks for information and further transport. But I am probably wrong; Malm City is the chief suspect communicant. The'signs in and around the Central Station are symptoms of something incredibly serious: Role confusion and the decay of the constitutional state. And thus, that our authorities no longer honor the'social contract. In a post called Anarchy, blogger Johan Westerholm, who is a Social Democratic Party member and a critic of the government, wrote that the Minister for Justice and Migration, Morgan Johansson, is now urging authorities to be pragmatic about laws and regulations . Westerholm stated that this is tantamount to the government opening the gates to anarchy : Our country is founded on law; Parliament legislates and the courts apply these. Morgan Johansson's statement and his otherwise passive approach are testimony to how this, our kind of democracy, may fade into a memory very shortly. He now laid the first brick in the building of a state that rests on other principles. Anarchism. If anarchy really does break out, it would be good to remember that there are nearly two million licensed firearms in Sweden. Sweden's shooting clubs have seen a surge in interest; many are welcoming a lot of new members lately. Via: Gatestone Institute |
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| Armed militants killed at least _NUMBER_ policemen in a shootout during a raid on a suspected militant hideout in Egypt's Western desert, security sources said on Friday. A number of suspected militants were also killed and security forces are combing the area, a statement by the Interior Ministry said. Egypt is facing an Islamist insurgency concentrated in the Sinai peninsula from two main groups, including an Islamic State affiliate, that has killed hundreds of security forces since _NUMBER_. Islamist militants have launched several major attacks, most recently targeting churches in Cairo and other cities with the loss of dozens of lives. The security sources said authorities were following a lead to a hideout deep in the desert thought to house eight suspected members of Hasm, a group which has claimed several attacks around the capital targeting judges and police since last year. A convoy of four SUVs and one interior ministry vehicle was ambushed from higher ground by militants firing rocket-propelled grenades and detonating explosive devices, a senior source in the Giza Security Office said. The number of dead was expected to rise, two security sources said. Two security sources said eight security personnel were injured in the clashes, while another source said that four of the injured were police and four others suspected militants. Egypt accuses Hasm of being the militant wing of the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist group it outlawed in _NUMBER_. The Muslim Brotherhood denies this. The Islamist insurgency in the Sinai peninsula has grown since the military overthrew President Mohamed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood in mid-_NUMBER_ following mass protests against his rule. The militant group staging the insurgency pledged allegiance to Islamic State in _NUMBER_. It is blamed for the killing of hundreds of soldiers and policemen and has started to target other areas, including Egypt's Christian Copts. |
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| You know how Donald Trump'stubbornly refuses to release his tax returns? Well, the California state assembly told him to f*ck off last week when they passed a bill that would require presidential candidates to release their tax returns before they are allowed on the'state's ballot.The Presidential Tax Transparency and Accountability Act passed _NUMBER_-_NUMBER_ in the assembly and now heads to the'state Senate. If and when it passes there, it will head to the governor's desk for his signature. President Trump's blatant disregard for the tradition of releasing tax returns is dangerous to our democracy, says state Sen. Mike McGuire, one of the bill's co-authors. For decades, every President has put their personal beliefs aside and put our country first and released their returns. SB _NUMBER_ helps to reestablish desperately needed transparency in the White House, and we are looking forward to seeing the Governor's signature on the bill, he'says of the bill, which would require at least five years of returns from candidates. As the months continue to go by in the disastrous Trump Administration and the investigations and conflicts of interest pile up, it becomes more and more clear how critical basic transparency is in how we elect our president, another co-author of the bill, state senator Scott Wiener, said, adding that this would give the American people the honesty and transparency they'deserve. It's unlikely that Trump would win California in the first place, but it's looking like if he wants to do it in California he will need to cough up his returns.Featured image via Getty Images/Alex Wong |
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| Michelle Obama received _CUR_70 million dollars from the feds for her pet project to promote eduction for girls. It's really a front and slush fund for her escapades to Europe, Asia and now the wealthy Middle East Traveling the world on taxpayer dollars is what Mooch does best. This time she's outdone herself with the idiocy of speaking to a radical Muslim group about how bad she had it as a kid in America when these radical Muslims don't think twice about Sharia law and the horror that brings for little girls. What a fool!The First Lady is supposed to be a representative of America and shine a light on the good work we're doing around the world. Michelle Obama can't help but repeatedly bash America and especially slam the'status quo in American culture. After all, she did say we need to change our traditions.So here's the latest on her America bashing in the Middle East while on the taxpayer's dime:First Lady Michelle Obama is in Qatar this week for a summit sponsored by a state-controlled foundation that is known for operating mosques that have welcomed extremist clerics, according to a range of sources.Obama is in Qatar a country under congressional scrutiny for its financing of terrorists through the end of the week to attend the country's World Innovation Summit for Education, an annual educational conference sponsored by the Qatar Foundation, which has been marred in controversy due to its ongoing hosting of radical clerics.Founded and run by the former Qatari emir's wife, Sheikha Mozah, the Qatar Foundation houses six satellite campuses owned by American universities and other Western schools at a site outside Doha known as Education City.At its mosque there, the Foundation has welcomed multiple radical clerics in the past several months, prompting criticism from some who accuse the charity of quietly promoting terrorism.One cleric who recently spoke at the mosque, Omar Abdelkafi, has mocked the killings of French satirical writers at Charlie Hebdo, calling the terrorist act the'sequel to the comedy film of _NUMBER_/_NUMBER_. Another maintained that Jews and their helpers must be destroyed. The ongoing appearance of these clerics at the foundation's mosque has raised questions about the Obama administration's endorsement of the charity, which has strived to maintain international legitimacy.Read more: WFBObama addressed the foundation on Wednesday:Michelle Obama went to Qatar to give a speech on girls education. There, the first lady of the United States complained about growing up as a girl in America. Back when I was a girl, even though I was bright and curious and I had plenty of opinions of my own, people were often more interested in hearing what my brother had to say. And my parents didn't have much money; neither of them had a university degree. So when I got to school, I sometimes encountered teachers who assumed that a girl like me wouldn't be a good student. I was even told that I would never be admitted to a prestigious university, so I shouldn't even bother to apply, Obama said at the Qatar National Convention Center in Doha. Like so many girls across the globe, I got the message that I shouldn't take up too much space in this world. That I should speak softly and rarely. That I should have modest ambitions for my future. That I should do what I was told and not ask too many questions. But I was lucky, because I had parents who believed in me, who had big dreams for me. They told me, don't ever listen to those who doubt you. They said, just work harder to prove them wrong. And that's what I did. I went to school. I worked hard. I got good grades. I got accepted to top universities. I went on to become a lawyer, a city government employee, a hospital executive, and - the most important job I ve ever had - a mother to two beautiful girls. Obama did say that the U.S. has made progress. And as I moved forward, so did my country. In each generation, brave women and men fought to end gender discrimination in the workplace, to pass tougher laws against rape and domestic abuse, to ensure equal access to education for women. And while we still have work to do to achieve full economic, political equality for women in the U.S., today, nearly _NUMBER_ percent of American university students are women. And as for the law school at Harvard University - which I actually got my law degree the Dean of the'school is now a woman, as are half the'students. Here's a bit from Michelle Obama's speech: |
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| The New York Daily News is not known for subtlety when it comes to its covers. The'snarky newspaper pulled no punches when it came to using its cover to go after White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer for calling concentration camps Holocaust Centers and invoking Nazi butcher Adolf Hitler when talking about Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad. Wednesday morning's cover reads: Nazis murdered _NUMBER_ million Jews, gassing _NUMBER_ a day in Auschwtiz alone FORGOTTEN BY WHITE HOUSE Here is the image of that cover via New York Daily News Twitter:Of course, The New York Daily News isn't the first to go after Spicer for these remarks. The Anne Frank Center has called on Donald Trump to fire Spicer, as has House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi. Further, this is part of a disturbing pattern of anti-Semitism from Team Trump. During the campaign he regularly retweeted white supremacists, most infamously when he tweeted a picture of Hillary Clinton over a pile of money with a Star of David that said, Most Corrupt Candidate Ever. This tweet caused such an uproar that House Speaker Paul Ryan was forced to speak out about it. After he was elected, Trump's White House deliberately left any mention of Jewish people out of their Holocaust Remembrance Day statement. And, of course, no one can forget that we have avowed white supremacists working in the West Wing.To that end, if this administration doesn't want to be called bigots, they need to stop acting like it. Get rid of the racists, homophobes, xenophobes, and other assorted overtly bigoted people.Don t hold your breath on that one, though. We ll have four years of this kind of stuff. The only silver lining may be that in the end, the GOP can no longer say that they'don't traffic in bigotry, since it's right there in the White House for all to see, while their party is in charge.Featured image via Alex Wong/Getty Images |
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| Buckle up America Obama still has _NUMBER_ months to fundamentally transform America. If the media and _TAG_ crowd manages to convince voters to support Crooked Hillary, it will be the end of America as we know it Who will be vetting the unlimited number of potential terrorists refugees Obama is bringing to America? The White House announced last week that it is launching a Call to Action asking private businesses to help with the resettlement of refugees. This could be done without regard to the government cap of _NUMBER_ total refugees, including _NUMBER_ Syrian refugees, in _NUMBER_.Fifteen founding corporations have teamed up with the Obama administration on the effort. These are: Accenture, Airbnb, Chobani, Coursera, Goldman Sachs, Google, HP, IBM, JPMorgan Chase & Co., LinkedIn, Microsoft, Mastercard, UPS, TripAdvisor, and Western Union. The Call to Action initiative is not only to help refugees in the United States, but all over the world.In Europe for example, Mastercard worked with Mercy Corps to distribute prepaid debit cards to eligible refugees traveling through Serbia. Approximately _CUR_75,000 was distributed to nearly _NUMBER_ families and individuals. The three main facets of this private partnership program are: education, employment, and enablement. Education includes facilitating refugee children and young adults education by ensuring that refugee students can access schools of all levels. The employment facet includes increasing employment opportunities for refugees. Through those two parts of the initiative refugees can be settled in the United States without limit as they wouldn't fall under the purview of the government cap on refugee resettlement. Through work and education visas refugees would not actually be considered as refugees for their immigration status. One of the companies already partnered with the Obama administration, Chobani, currently has a work force in the United States that is roughly _NUMBER_ percent resettled refugees. A White House fact sheet states _NUMBER_ percent of refugees are of working age.Outside of employment and education, under the enablement part of the initiative, the White House mentions that companies can help refugees get access to financial services, technology, housing and transport. This also includes covering costs of charter flight to bring resettled refugees to the United States . These refugees will be coming outside the refugee resettlement program so they would not be counted under the government cap of _NUMBER_. These alternative legal pathways or sponsorships will be under employment visas, training, student visas and scholarships, visiting scholars etc, Nayla Rush, senior researcher at the Center for Immigration Studies, told The Daily Caller.Rush added, remember, the aim is to bring as many Syrian refugees as possible. _NUMBER_ is the limit this under the refugee resettlement program. No limit to these private sponsorships , more importantly, to traceability. At a United Nations summit on September _NUMBER_, Obama is going to push for double the number of resettlement slots and alternative legal pathways for admission that are available to refugees, and increase the number of countries accepting significant numbers of refugees. Via: Daily Caller |
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| Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday released details of a _NUMBER_-page tax bill that calls for slashing taxes on corporations, along with many other changes affecting individuals, families and businesses. Based on publicly released documents and comments from Republican lawmakers, here are the bill's main features, which are expected to change as the tax debate unfolds in weeks ahead. * Permanently reduces the U.S. corporate income tax rate to _NUMBER_ percent from a current statutory rate of _NUMBER_ percent, a change that is in line with initial Republican proposals. * Dramatically reshapes the tax system for U.S. multinational corporations. Worldwide taxation of their foreign profits would end. A territorial tax system exempting those foreign profits from the corporate tax would be imposed. * Gives multinationals a tax break on _CUR_2.6 trillion in profits they have stashed offshore on a tax-exempt basis. The measure would require those profits to be brought into the United States, or repatriated, but not at the full _NUMBER_-percent corporate tax rate that would normally be due. Instead, those profits would be taxed at only _NUMBER_ percent for cash assets and _NUMBER_ percent for illiquid assets. Repatriation tax due under the proposal would be payable over eight years. * Imposes a new _NUMBER_-percent minimum tax on U.S. companies' high-profit foreign units, calculated on a global basis, to discourage shifting profits abroad. * Proposes a tax on foreign companies operating in the United States of up to _NUMBER_ percent on payments made abroad from U.S. operations. Companies could lower those taxes by putting more operations in the U.S. tax system. * Repeals the _NUMBER_ percent corporate alternative minimum tax. 'PASS-THROUGH' BUSINESSES * Caps the maximum tax rate on small businesses and other non-corporate enterprises to _NUMBER_ percent, down from the present maximum rate on "pass-through" income of _NUMBER_ percent. * Sets standards for distinguishing between individual wage income and actual pass-through business income to prevent tax-avoidance abuse of the new, lower tax level. * Allows immediate and full expensing of capital investments by businesses. * Allows businesses to deduct interest costs up to _NUMBER_ percent of taxable income. Exempts from this rule businesses with average gross receipts of _CUR_25 million or less. Certain public utilities and "real property trades" are also exempted. * Preserves the research and development tax credit. * Phases out tax credits for solar, geothermal and wind power. * Consolidates three higher education tax credits into a single credit. * Ends tax-exempt bonds for professional sports stadiums. * Ends deductions for employee entertainment and recreation activities, as well as other fringe benefits. * Consolidates the number of tax brackets from seven to the following: zero tax on income up to _CUR_24,000; _NUMBER_ percent up to _CUR_90,000; _NUMBER_ percent up to _CUR_260,000; _NUMBER_ percent up to _CUR_1 million; and _NUMBER_ percent over _CUR_1 million. That top bracket is the same as the present level and was added to the bill after critics hammered Republicans' original proposal to cut the top rate. * Increases the standard deduction for taxpayers to _CUR_12,000 from _CUR_6,350 for individuals, and to _CUR_24,000 from _CUR_12,700 for married couples. * Repeals the _CUR_4,050 individual personal exemption. * Preserves the home mortgage interest deduction for existing mortgages, but reduces the amount of interest that taxpayers can deduct from their taxes on new mortgages, capping it at _CUR_500,000. The cap is now _CUR_1 million. * Caps the deduction for state and local property taxes at _CUR_10,000. Repeals the deduction for state and local income and sales taxes, a measure that hurts high-income tax states, such as New York, New Jersey and California. * Retains popular retirement savings programs including the _NUMBER_ and IRA pension plans. * Expands the child tax credit to _CUR_1,600 from _CUR_1,000, and establishes a new _CUR_300 credit for each parent and non-child dependent. Also preserves the child and dependent care tax credit. * Preserves the earned income tax credit. * Preserves the deduction for charitable giving. * Changes higher education benefits, such as college tuition, with further details not immediately available. * Repeals the individual alternative minimum tax on high-income taxpayers. * Doubles the exemption from the estate tax on inherited assets and repeals the tax over six years. * Adds _CUR_1.51 trillion to the federal budget deficit over a decade. The deficit is now about _CUR_700 billion a year. The national debt now exceeds _CUR_20 trillion. |
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| Donald Trump's favorite morning propaganda program on Fox News just got their asses handed to them for counting their chickens before they've hatched.Ever since former FBI Director James Comey confirmed that Trump is not personally under investigation for collusion with Russia, Fox News has been proclaiming victory and declaring that Trump has been vindicated.Specifically, they have been calling the Russia investigation a nothingburger. On the Sunday morning edition of Fox & Friends, hosts Clayton Morris and Pete Hegseth celebrated because they think the investigation is over now, only to have their bubble burst by veteran journalist and Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace, who brutally reminded them that the investigation is nowhere near over because of a guy named Michael Flynn and another guy named Jeff Sessions.Morris claimed that the Russia story imploded. Wallace responded by pointing out that Attorney General Jeff Sessions is testifying to the Senate Intelligence Committee and may detail Trump's obstruction of justice. You know, because demanding the FBI Director drop an investigation and then firing him for refusing to do so is interference and is the definition of obstruction.That's when Pete Hegseth jumped in to try once again'to assure viewers that the investigation against Trump is done while also insulting Comey and trying to turn the investigation on him instead. Little evidence has been shown that there's collusion with Russia, Hegseth said Now we know that Comey was a leaker, potentially multiple times. Can the investigation move in those directions instead of the Russia investigation, which is proven to be pretty much a nothingburger? Wallace quickly disappointed Hegseth with reality. I certainly wouldn't say it's a nothingburger, Wallace said. We have to see where it goes. Among other things, we still haven't heard from Michael Flynn. And he's one of the key figures in all of this. He was the one who had the most contacts Russia. He's the one who got paid by Russia. Here's the video via YouTube.Once again, Chris Wallace smacks down Fox & Friends for being Trump's personal propaganda machine. Wallace previously criticized the Fox & Friends crew in the aftermath of Trump firing Comey because they would not take the'story seriously.Featured image via screenshot |
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| U.S. President Donald Trump would not insist on including repeal of an Obama-era health insurance mandate in a bill intended to enact the biggest overhaul of the tax code since the 1980s, a senior White House aide said on Sunday. The version of tax legislation put forward by Senate Republican leaders would remove a requirement in former President Barack Obama's signature healthcare law that taxes Americans who decline to buy health insurance. "If we can repeal part of Obamacare as part of a tax bill ... that can pass, that's great," White House budget director Mick Mulvaney said on CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday. "If it becomes an impediment to getting the best tax bill we can, then we are OK with taking it out." It was too soon to say whether eliminating the repeal of the so-called individual mandate would increase the bill's chances of passing. The provision was not an impediment now, Mulvaney said. Republican senators who have been critical of the plan said that some middle-income taxpayers could see any benefits of the tax cuts wiped out by higher health insurance premiums if the repeal of the Obamacare mandate goes through. Among them was Senator Susan Collins, one of a handful of Republicans who voted in July to block a broader Republican attempt to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare. "I don't think that provision should be in the bill. I hope the Senate will follow the lead of the House and strike it," Collins said on CNN's "State of the Union." Republicans can only afford to lose two votes on the tax bill because of their slim _NUMBER_-_NUMBER_ majority in the Senate. Getting rid of the mandate is one of Republican Trump's main goals. He campaigned for president last year on a promise to repeal and replace Obamacare, but Congress has not agreed so far on how to do that. Another top Trump administration official, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, said the individual mandate "isn't a bargaining chip." "The president thinks we should get rid of it and I think we should get rid of it," he told "Fox News Sunday." Mnuchin said the objective "right now" was to keep repeal of the mandate in the bill. "We are going to work with the Senate as we go through this. We are going to get something to the president to sign this year," he said. The House of Representatives last week passed its tax bill. Republicans, who control both chambers of Congress, consider a tax bill critical to their party's prospects in the _NUMBER_ U.S. congressional elections. Democrats call the Republican plan a giveaway to corporations and the rich. Trump had urged lawmakers to add repeal of the mandate to the tax bill, writing on Twitter last week that the provision was "unfair" and "highly unpopular." The next day, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell did just that. The mandate plays a critical role in Obamacare by requiring young, healthy people, who might otherwise go without coverage, to purchase insurance and help offset the costs of covering sicker and older Americans. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has said that repealing the mandate would increase the number of Americans without health insurance by _NUMBER_ million by _NUMBER_. Republican Senator Roy Blunt said he thought the Senate bill would pass with or without the individual mandate repeal. "It depends on where the votes are," he told NBC's "Meet the Press." Appearing on several television shows, Collins said she also wanted the Senate to "skew more of the relief to middle-income taxpayers." She advocated keeping the top tax rate of _NUMBER_ percent for people who make _CUR_1 million or more a year, as the House does, as well as the deduction for state and local taxes. The corporate tax does not need to be cut so steeply to _NUMBER_ percent, Collins said. A _NUMBER_ percent rate would garner an additional _CUR_200 billion and allow the Senate to restore the deduction for state and local property taxes, she told ABC. Collins has emerged as a pivotal lawmaker in the tax debate, along with Republican Senators John McCain, Lisa Murkowski and Ron Johnson, all of whom are also on the fence or oppose the bill. The Senate bill needs work, Collins told ABC's "This Week." "I want to see changes in that bill," she said. "And I think there will be changes." |
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| Should legal gun owners be allowed to freely carry anywhere in their state, including dorm rooms and school campuses?In the wake of mass shootings in Las Vegas and Texas that left dozens of people dead or injured, a Michigan Senate committee approved bills Tuesday that will allow gun owners to carry concealed weapons in gun-free zones such as schools, churches, day care centers, bars, dorms, and stadiums.The'shooting at a Baptist church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, on Sunday, which left _NUMBER_ people dead and _NUMBER_ more injured, makes state Senate Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof, a Republican from West Olive, Mich., more certain'that now is the time to take up the gun legislation. Some have said it's insensitive to bring up these issues now, but I feel quite the opposite, he told a standing-room-only crowd in the Senate Government Operations Committee. The recent events will allow us to look at how we can deter those who want to do harm. And responsible, well-trained, licensed concealed-pistol holders can be one of those deterrents. The bills taken up in the Senate Government Operations Committee passed on a party-line vote with Republicans supporting the three-bill package and Democrats opposing it. The bills also would close the open-carry loophole, effectively barring gun owners from openly carrying their weapons in gun-free zones.He gained support from gun rights groups, including the National Rifle Association and the Michigan Coalition for Responsible Gun Owners. The idea of having the ability to arm a well-qualified, well-trained individual is tantamount to setting out a scenario where we no longer set up a sheep for the wolf, said Robert Rudowski of the gun owners group.Gun-free zones should be called mass murderer empowerment zones, said Steve Dulan, spokesman for the gun owners group.Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, a Republican, vetoed similar legislation in _NUMBER_, just four days after a horrific shooting in Newtown, Conn., when a heavily armed man muscled his way into Sandy Hook Elementary School and killed _NUMBER_ first-graders and six adults.Snyder said that bill had a fatal loophole that didn't allow for those institutions to opt out of the new legislation and prohibit weapons from their buildings. His spokeswoman, Anna Heaton, said Tuesday that Snyder hasn't seen the latest version of the concealedcarry bills and hadn't taken a position on them.Meekhof said he has talked with Snyder about the new legislation and that he's not necessarily on board with it. USA Today Never-Trumper Governor Rick Snyder , who some Republicans believe leans to the left on more than one important issue, like vetoing legislation that would require MI voters to have a valid ID in order to vote, is currently facing some serious allegations related to the Flint water crisis.WXYZ Harvey Hollins, the man Gov. Snyder appointed to handle the Flint Water Crisis, recently testified that he told the governor about increasing lead in Flint water months before Snyder told Congress he learned about it.The testimony came during the preliminary hearing for Michigan Health and Human Services Director Nick Lyons, who is facing involuntary manslaughter and misconduct in office charges for his alleged role in the water crisis.Hollins testified that he told Snyder in July _NUMBER_ and August _NUMBER_ that there were concerns about increased lead levels in Flint's water.During congressional testimony in March _NUMBER_, Snyder testified that he didn't even learn about the dangerous levels of lead in Flint's water system until October _NUMBER_. I told the governor that we're hearing a lot more folks complaining about lead, copper, and TTHM , Hollins testified.We d love to hear what you think about legal gun owners being able to carry anywhere in their state? |
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| A man with a Palestinian flag yelling God is great was detained by police in the Netherlands on Thursday after smashing the windows of a kosher Jewish restaurant in Amsterdam. The violent outburst came a day after U.S. President Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, a decision that reversed decades of U.S. foreign policy, angered much of the Muslim world and was widely rejected by Western leaders. The assailant, who was wearing a black-and-white-checkered head scarf, smashed several windows of the restaurant HaCarmel before he was pushed to the ground and hand-cuffed by police, a video of the incident posted on local media websites showed. We are disgusted, the Organization of Jewish Communities in The Netherlands said in a statement. The attack was an act of revenge, meant to instil fear, and is no less than an act of terror. |
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| China supports Iraq's unity, the country's foreign ministry said on Monday, as voting started in an independence referendum organized by the Kurdistan Regional Government in northern Iraq, ignoring the threats of the Kurds neighbors. The vote, expected to deliver a comfortable yes for independence, is not binding and is meant to give Massoud Barzani's KRG a mandate to negotiate secession of the oil producing region with Baghdad and neighboring states. The referendum is being held despite intense international pressure on Barzani to call it off, amid fears that it would spark fresh conflicts with Baghdad and with Iraq's powerful neighbors, Iran and Turkey. The Chinese government supports Iraq's sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang told a daily news briefing, when asked about the referendum. We hope the relevant sides can resolve the differences via dialogue, and find an inclusive solution that takes into account history and reality, to jointly protect Iraqi and regional stability, Lu added. This will help promote Iraq's rebuilding and counter-terrorism efforts and accords with the joint interests of countries in the region and the international community, he said. China, a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, is generally a low-key player in the Middle East despite its reliance on the region for oil, but has been trying to get more involved, for example by appointing a special envoy for the Syrian crisis. China says it adheres to a policy of non-interference in other countries internal affairs, but it generally takes a dim view of independence or secessionist movements around the world. At home, it contends with what it says are separatist movements in its western regions of Tibet and Xinjiang, and has repeatedly expressed concern that self-ruled Taiwan, claimed by Beijing as its own, could declare formal independence. However, Beijing has expressed more openness toward independence votes when both sides have agreed to them, such as Scotland's unsuccessful _NUMBER_ referendum to leave the United Kingdom, and South Sudan's _NUMBER_ vote in favor of independence from Sudan. |
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| For David Green, head of the Detroit chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America , Donald Trump's victory in November was both distressing and cause for optimism in his quest to pull the Democratic Party to the left. "We need a party that's open to progressive forces, and that's why we have to elect progressive leadership within the party," Green said, while attending the Michigan Democratic Party's spring convention in Detroit earlier this month. Membership in the DSA, founded in _NUMBER_, has surged since Trump's election on Nov. _NUMBER_, putting the movement in a position to make inroads on the Democratic Party's energized left. The membership gains are fueled by supporters of Bernie Sanders, the U.S. Senator from Vermont who sought the Democratic presidential nomination last year. The DSA is not a political party, but it supports many of the same short-term policy positions as the Sanders wing of the Democratic Party: a _CUR_15 minimum wage, single-payer healthcare, free college, and opposition to free-trade deals. But unlike most mainstream Democrats, the DSA also has a long-term vision of a democratic socialist society in the vein of countries like Sweden and Denmark, where workers have a more direct say in how their jobs and the economy are run, alongside a more robust public sector. Since November, national membership has almost tripled to about _NUMBER_. Its leaders have said meetings are packed and new chapters are cropping up nationwide, including in Rust Belt states such as Michigan, Wisconsin and Ohio, where Trump scored upset wins over Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton to take the White House. The DSA's membership is tiny in the grand picture. In the _NUMBER_ states plus the District of Columbia where party registrations are tallied, the Democratic Party alone has about _NUMBER_ million members. Hans Noel, a political scientist at Georgetown University, said while the DSA's numbers remain small, its growth reflects a trend of the Democratic Party's left wing gaining clout after Clinton's loss. Many analysts said her defeat was at least partly due to her inability to win over Sanders' supporters. Noel notes the election this coming weekend of a new chair for the Democratic National Committee, seen as a dead heat between Sanders supporter Keith Ellison, whom DSA supports, and Clinton supporter Tom Perez. Noel said it is not only a key inflection point but also a demonstration of the progressive bloc's newfound power. "They're doing more mobilization and organization within the party ... all of the candidates now feel this is a wing of the party they feel they have to take seriously," Noel said in an interview. "That kind of action is probably going to play out in internal party conflict over the next two to three years." The surge has buoyed the spirits of DSA officials including national director Maria Svart, who says the surge in new members began immediately after Trump's victory. "The day after the election, our membership coordinator turned to me when she looked at her computer in the morning and said 'I can see the moment when Donald Trump announced that he'd won,'" Svart said. "People started joining online in massive numbers." Trump's election has galvanized not only the DSA but other left-leaning political groups. Since the Jan. _NUMBER_ inauguration, protests against his policies and pronouncements have drawn tens of thousands of people nearly every weekend, providing new opportunities for the DSA and other groups to attract supporters. "We're not going to work within the Democratic Party, but we're not going to work totally outside it either," Svart said in an interview, adding that the DSA would eventually like to run its own candidates for office. At the Michigan Democratic Convention, Green and his DSA chapter were successful in getting several members elected to the Michigan Democratic Party's state central committee for the first time in over two decades. In January, Sanders supporters in California managed to elect a majority of delegates to that state's party leadership. "State politics is where a lot of policy is done so it matters who's running for these offices," Georgetown's Noel said. "Control over who gets to be candidates is huge and these people have control over that in these positions." |
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| Something about this decision really stinks of favoritism and cronyism. We d love to know who made the decision to punish the American viewers with yet ANOTHER painful appearance by John Kasich on the debate stage over Carly Fiorina and Rand Paul Rand Paul and Carly Fiorina have been booted to the undercard in Thursday night's Republican primary debate as the number of main-stage candidates was cut to seven by stricter polling criteria.Paul, who is struggling to gain'traction in the presidential race, immediately cried foul, and vowed to not participate in the event.Fox Business Network, which will televise the'sixth GOP presidential debate this week, announced the debate fields on Monday evening, after weeks of speculation that Paul would for the first time not make the cut for the primetime event. The'seven candidates who will appear on the main stage in North Charleston, S.C., are Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Ben Carson, Chris Christie, Jeb Bush, and John Kasich. Kasich qualified as a result of his strength in New Hampshire. Paul and Fiorina are set to join Mike Huckabee and Rick Santorum in the undercard if Paul decides to participate. The Kentucky senator told CNN Monday evening, just before the official announcement, that Fox Business had made a mistake, and he wouldn't attend. We will not participate in anything that's not first-tier, Paul said. His campaign confirmed to POLITICO that he will sit out Thursday's debate.His campaign elaborated in a statement that multiple polls showed him well within the network's criteria for qualifying, and contended that the margins of error in polls make them a poor tool for determining who makes the main stage. To exclude candidates on faulty analysis is to disenfranchise the voter, the'statement said. Creating tiers based on electoral results of real votes might make sense but creating tiers on bad science is irresponsible. Regardless of whether he takes part in the undercard debate, the downgrade could be a crippling blow for Paul who has insisted that he would remain in the race through the Feb. _NUMBER_ Iowa caucuses, even though he also faces a reelection campaign this year for his Senate seat.In an interview with POLITICO last week, Paul called for organizers to abolish the earlier undercard debate. I m not sure what the purpose is anymore, if there ever was one, Paul said. The Paul camp has fought hard to keep its candidate on the main stage, where he has appeared for the prior five debates. Earlier Monday, the campaign released a memo stating that multiple national polls have the Kentucky senator in 5th or 6th place even though he's in seventh place in the average nationally and in both early states. By any reasonable criteria Senator Paul has a top-tier campaign and has qualified for the'stage, the memo said.But it was clear that Paul didn't meet the criteria Fox Business had outlined prior to Monday's qualification deadline. The network said it would average the five most recent polls nationally, and in both Iowa and New Hampshire. The top six candidates nationally would qualify and if any other candidate appeared in the top five in either early state, they would be added.Paul was in seventh place nationally and in both early states, according to POLITICO's calculations.Fox Business outlined specifically which polls were used in a subsequent statement to reporters, saying the outlet used the most recent national and state polls from non-partisan, nationally-recognized organizations using standard methodological techniques. Via: Politico |
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| Militants attacked a Bahraini police bus near the Jidhafs area outside the capital Manama, killing one policeman and wounding eight others, the interior ministry said on Friday. The attack targeted the bus on the Khalifa bin Salman highway, the ministry said, adding that the militant group used a handmade bomb. Investigations are underway to determine the circumstances of this premeditated terrorist attack and arrest the group involved, the ministry said in a statement on its website. The incident was the latest in a series of attacks targeting policemen in the country where the U.S. Fifth Fleet is based. The government blames the attacks on Shi ite militants it says are backed by Iran to destabilize the country, a charge Tehran denies. This month, a blast wounded five policemen on Budaiya road, near Manama, while they were guarding a procession by Shi ite Muslims marking the annual Ashura festival, which commemorates the death of Prophet Mohammad's grandson Imam Hussein some _NUMBER_ years ago. |
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| The International Committee of the Red Cross said on Thursday it had access to more than _NUMBER_ foreign wives and children of suspected Islamic State militants following concerns expressed for the safety of the families held by Iraqi forces near Mosul. The neutral aid agency called on all sides in the wars in Iraq and Syria to treat detainees in line with international law that prohibits torture or executions and enshrines the right to a fair trial. More than _NUMBER_ of the detained foreign families in Iraq came from Turkey, many others from former Soviet states, such as Tajikistan, Azerbaijan and Russia, according to preliminary figures from the Iraqi army. Currently we visit and provide humanitarian assistance to some _NUMBER_ women and children of several dozen nationalities who are detained in Iraq near Mosul, Patrick Hamilton, ICRC deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa, told a news briefing. Last month, foreign aid agencies in Iraq said they were gravely concerned about the fate of the families. The women and children have been in Iraqi custody since August _NUMBER_ following the fall of the city of Tal Afar. It is the largest group of foreigners linked to Islamic State to be held by Iraqi forces since they began driving the militants from Mosul and other areas in northern Iraq last year. The ICRC denounced some authorities and militias in the Iraq and Syria wars against Islamic State who have vowed to annihiliate the enemy, but declined to name names. Such dehumanisation of the enemy could lead to unlawful torture or executions, Hamilton warned. Talk of annihilation or extermination contributes to perpetuating the problem rather than solving it. International humanitarian law protects civilians and former combatants, he said. The ICRC has a good level of dialogue with Iraqi authorities and has visited detention facilities in Iraq holding _NUMBER_ people so far this year, Hamilton said. Thousands of foreigners have been fighting for Islamic State in Iraq and Syria and an unknown number of them are now detained. Hamilton said the ICRC was already in talks about potential repatriation of foreign fighters. We are ready to play the role of a neutral intermediary to assist these states in carrying out that, the return of their individual citizens, he said. Indeed we have been in dialogue with a number of different states and the Iraqi authorities in relation to this over recent weeks, he said. Hamilton, asked about media reports of executions by U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces following the fall of the jihadist capital in Raqqa, Syria, said that an ICRC team had been in the chaotic northeastern city last week. No, we frankly don t have first-hand information in regards to extrajudicial killings or any such like ... clearly we remain concerned in the aftermath of Raqqa as we do after Mosul, Hawija, Tal Afar and so forth, he said. |
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| U.S Democratic Senator Al Franken will make an announcement on Thursday, his office said, after several Democratic senators called for him to step down in light of allegations of sexual misconduct against him. His office offered no further details in a brief statement on Wednesday. |
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| On Thursday, failed _NUMBER_ presidential candidate Mitt Romney met with William Kristol. Kristol, considered an influential voice on the right, is leading the effort to draft an independent candidate to challenge the party's presumptive nominee, Donald Trump.According to The Washington Post, Kristol and Romney met privately at the J.W. Marriott hotel in Washington to discuss the possibility of Romney entering the race as a third-party candidate.Kristol confirmed the little meeting during a phone interview with The Washington Post on Friday, saying: He came pretty close to being elected president, so I thought he may consider doing it, especially since he has been very forthright in explaining why Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton should not be president of the United States. The Washington Post reports that Kristol has been desperately seeking a prominent political or military figure who could be drafted into the general-election contest, in hopes of stopping Donald Trump.Kristol previously attempted to draft retired Marine Gen. James N. Mattis, who turned down the proposition.According to statements made by Romney later on Thursday, the former candidate said he is not interested in launching an independent run, however he appeared to wholeheartedly support the idea.The Washington Examiner reports that Romney said: I m certainly going to be hoping that we find someone who I have my confidence in who becomes nominee. I don't intend on supporting either of the major-party candidates at this point. He continued, saying: I am dismayed at where we are now, I wish we had better choices, and I keep hoping that somehow things will get better, and I just don't see an easy answer from where we are. No Republicans, there really is no easy answer from where you are. Where you are is totally screwed.There is no super-hero Republican political or military figure who is going to save the GOP from the monster it created. Even if there was, it certainly wouldn't be Mitt Romney, who was already trounced by Democrats in _NUMBER_.Lest we forget, the _NUMBER_ primary season began with _NUMBER_ Republican candidates.The candidates included a long list of Republican all-stars : Rick Santorum, Ben Carson, Bobby Jindal, Carly Fiorina, Mike Huckabee, Rick Perry, Jeb Bush, Chris Christie, John Kasich, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Jim Gilmore, Rand Paul, George Pataki, Lindsey Graham, Scott Walker, Jack Fellure, Andy Martin, Dennis Michael Lynch, Mark Everson, Jimmy McMillan and of course, Donald Trump. Needless to say, none of the other _NUMBER_ primary candidates managed to stop Donald Trump.The fact that Republicans are now hoping against hope that somehow Mitt Romney can save the Republican party from certain death is almost comical.The Republican base clearly doesn't want another candidate. If they'did, they could have picked any one of the _NUMBER_ other morons who entered the _NUMBER_ primary race.Sadly, they want Donald Trump. Sadder still, they want Trump because his politics of hate aptly represent the dregs of society that the right-wing has been recruiting into the party for decades.Image credit: John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images |
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| The United States and China failed on Wednesday to agree on major new steps to reduce the U.S. trade deficit with China, casting doubt over President Donald Trump's economic and security relations with Beijing. The annual economic dialogue session in Washington ended with canceled news conferences, no joint statement and no new announcements on U.S. market access to China. The two sides had a "frank exchange" but failed to agree on most major bilateral trade and economic issues that were important to the United States, a senior U.S. official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly. These included U.S. demands for access to China's financial services markets, reducing excess Chinese steel capacity, reductions in auto tariffs, cutting subsidies for state-owned enterprises, ending Chinese requirements for data localization and lifting ownership caps for foreign firms in China, the official said. "China acknowledged our shared objective to reduce the trade deficit which both sides will work cooperatively to achieve," U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said in a brief statement, highlighting a rare point of consensus. The Chinese embassy in Washington cast the talks in a positive light, saying in a statement that both sides had acknowledged "significant progress" on the _NUMBER_-day talks and would to work together to reduce the trade deficit. "The two sides will expand areas of cooperation in services and increase trade in services; expand mutual investment, and create a more open, equitable, transparent and convenient investment environment," the embassy said. Both sides agreed that one of the solutions to address the trade imbalance is for the United States to expand exports to China, instead of reducing imports from China, said Chinese Vice Finance Minister Zhu Guangyao after the conclusion of the talks. To address the imbalance, China has been urging the United States to remove regulations on export control and increase the exports of high-tech products to China, the official Xinhua news agency cited Zhu as saying. China will push for this in a one-year action plan for economic cooperation which both sides discussed, Zhu said. FAR FROM MAR-A-LAGO The session had been billed as a follow-up to Trump's first meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at his Mar-A-Lago, Florida, estate in April when Trump hailed Xi's cooperation in curbing the threat from North Korea. Trump said that this would lead to better trade terms for China. The two leaders launched a _NUMBER_-day economic plan that has produced some industry-specific announcements, including the resumption of American beef sales in China and pledged to grant limited U.S. access to some financial services sectors. But there have been no new initiatives since, and Trump has grown increasingly frustrated with China's lack of pressure on North Korea. His administration has threatened new sanctions on small Chinese banks and other firms doing business with Pyongyang. Ross and Mnuchin said the U.S. position on the China trade relationship would be guided by "the principles of balance, fairness, and reciprocity on matters of trade will continue to guide the American position so we can give American workers and businesses an opportunity to compete on a level playing field." China's delegation leader, Vice Premier Wang Yang, left the Treasury building without speaking to reporters. Earlier, he had warned that confrontation between the two countries would be damaging. Investors interpreted the negative signals from the talks and lack of new trade announcements as making it more likely that Trump would forge ahead with broad steel tariffs or quotas based on a national security review, sending steelmakers' shares soaring. Shares of United States Steel Corp closed up _NUMBER_ percent, while AK Steel rose _NUMBER_ percent and Nucor rose _NUMBER_ percent. Trump, asked by a reporter at the White House after the stock market closed whether he would impose steel tariffs, said: "Could happen." Potential steel tariffs, which could be announced in the coming weeks, were expected to be a difficult topic in the U.S.-China talks. Ross has blamed massive Chinese excess capacity for a global steel glut that is hurting U.S. producers. Wednesday's deadlock was unsettling for U.S. business groups that had hoped to put more cracks in Beijing's market access barriers and obviate more aggressive measures from the White House that could destabilize trade ties. "We are disappointed the Comprehensive Economic Dialogue ended at an apparent impasse. It is important for governments to take tangible steps to address long-standing issues and ensure the commercial relationship remains a source of stability in the overall relationship," said Jacob Parker, vice president of China operations at the U.S.-China Business Council. Even if the U.S. and Chinese governments fail to agree on more substantive trade terms, corporate chief executive officers from the two countries pledged to deepen their cooperation and joint investment efforts. Led by Blackstone Group CEO Stephen Schwarzman and Alibaba Group CEO Jack Ma, a group of _NUMBER_ executives said they were committing to increase bilateral trade, including the export of U.S. agricultural goods, liquefied natural gas and consumer products to China. "A stable, growing economic relationship between the United States and China is mutually beneficial to the people of our two countries and for the world," Ma and Schwarzman said in a statement. |
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| The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday backed new sanctions on Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah militia, part of an effort to take a tough line against Tehran without immediately moving to undermine an international nuclear agreement. Three Hezbollah-related measures passed by voice vote, without opposition. The House will vote on Thursday on another bill, to impose additional sanctions on Iran related to its ballistic missiles program. President Donald Trump said on Oct. _NUMBER_ he would not certify Iran is complying with an international agreement on its nuclear program, and threatened that he might ultimately terminate the accord. Trump's action opened a _NUMBER_-day window for Congress to act to reimpose sanctions on Iran's nuclear program that were lifted under the agreement, but there has been no move to do so in the House or Senate. Aides said that, for now, House lawmakers are focusing on clamping down on Iran in other ways such as the Hezbollah and missile-related sanctions. The first of the Hezbollah-related measures passed on Wednesday would impose new sanctions on any entities found to support the group, such as by providing weapons to Hezbollah. The second imposes sanctions on Iran and Hezbollah for using civilians as human shields. The third was a resolution urging the European Union to designate Hezbollah as a terrorist organization. The United State named Hezbollah as a foreign terrorist organization in _NUMBER_. Earlier this month, Washington offered multimillion-dollar rewards for two of its officials as the Trump administration developed its strategy for countering Iran's growing regional influence. These critical measures will impose new sanctions to crack down on Hezbollah's financing, and hold it accountable for its acts of death and destruction, said Representative Ed Royce, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. However, winning international support for an intensified campaign against Hezbollah could prove difficult. The powerful organization is part of Lebanon's fragile coalition government and commands enormous support for the social services it provides. |
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| Freedom is under attack across the globe. Radical Muslims are committing horrendous acts of violence against innocent people around the world. Meanwhile, the Left demands we don't identify the faith of the terrorists, for fear of offending them. It's time to fight back America. The Netherlands, France, and the Uk are our future.Moroccan born Mayor of Rotterdam, Ahmed Aboutaleb grew up in a very poor family. His family came to Holland at the age of _NUMBER_. He has no tolerance for liberals who try to justify the violent actions of poor Muslims. He has taken a hard line in the city of Rotterdam, which has been overrun with Muslim migrants who have no intention of assimilating. Here is his open, honest and some would say stunning response to the Muslims who attacked the Charlie Hebdoe publication in Paris:_URL_ Aboutaleb is not the only one speaking out against the Muslim invasion of the Netherlands.Geert Wilders, Party for Freedom leader in the Netherlands appears on trial against free speech for speaking the truth about the invasion of Muslim migrants in the Netherlands who refuse to assimilate. He has been chased down and has had his life threatened by radical Muslims for the past _NUMBER_ years. His story should send shockwaves through America, but alas, our media does everything they can'to ignore his message. Those in the media who highlight him, do it in such a way as to make him out to be a villain and hater, much like they have tried to do to Donald Trump for saying we need to stop the flow of Muslim migrants into America until we can properly vet them.Watch Geert Wilders chilling Orwellian testimony here:Here is an example of the hate and vitriol Geert Wilders, the brave leader of the Freedom Party in the Netherlands is facing on a regular basis: |
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| U.S. President Donald Trump will discuss advanced wireless technologies and drones on Thursday with top executives at AT&T Inc, Verizon Communications Inc, T-Mobile US Inc and other firms, focusing on how government can create the right environment for breakthroughs. AT&T Chief Executive Randall Stephenson, Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure and CenturyLink Inc CEO Glen Post will be among the executives discussing advanced technologies such as unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, 5G wireless technologies and universal broadband, officials said. White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Trump will see "demonstrations of how these technologies will contribute to the 21st century economy and how the government can ensure that their safe adoption leads to the best possible outcomes for the American worker and American businesses." Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai, Deputy Chief Technology Officer Michael Kratsios, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, White House National Economic Director Gary Cohn and FAA and NASA officials will attend small group meetings before the group meets with Trump at about _NUMBER_ a.m. EDT . Venture capital firms and portfolio companies also are expected. Last year, the FCC cleared the way for 5G, a lightning-fast next generation of wireless services that lead to universal access to broadband wireless. Testing is under way and deployment is expected around _NUMBER_. New 5G networks are expected to provide speeds at least _NUMBER_ times and maybe _NUMBER_ times faster than today's 4G networks, the FCC said. Policymakers and mobile phone companies have said the next generation of wireless signals needs to be much faster and far more responsive to allow advanced technologies such as virtual surgery or controlling machines remotely. They face regulatory hurdles to adding infrastructure to create the system. The 5G networks could help wirelessly connect devices such as thermostats or washing machines to facilitate the "internet of things." They could improve road traffic by monitoring sensors in streetlights and cars. It could even help detect air pollution using sensors in trees. The FAA in March estimated that by _NUMBER_ the fleet of small hobbyist drones will more than triple and the commercial drone fleet will increase tenfold to about _NUMBER_. The Obama administration implemented rules that opened the skies to low-level small drones for education, research and routine commercial use. The Trump administration still is considering whether to allow a sweeping expansion in drone use for purposes such as deliveries where aircraft would fly beyond the sight of an operator. |
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| Who better than a man who risked the lives of his wife and children to get free dental care to ask taxpayers in Europe and America to open their doors to more freeloading Muslims? THE father of a little boy who drowned while fleeing Syria has pleaded with the world to open its doors to refugees.Three-year-old Alan Kurdi died along with his mother Rehanna and five-year-old brother Ghalib in September.They paid cruel people smugglers thousands to reach Greece by boat after fleeing their war-ravaged homeland.But pictures of his lifeless body washed up on a Turkish beach forced politicians to tackle the refugee crisis.His father Abdullah Kurdi said: My message is I d like the whole world to open its doors to Syrians. If a person shuts a door in someone's face, this is very difficult. When a door is opened they no longer feel humiliated. He added: At this time of year I would like to ask you all to think about the pain of fathers, mothers and children who are seeking peace and security. We ask just for a little bit of sympathy from you. Via: ExpressUK |
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| Lawyers for a Russian tech executive suing BuzzFeed for publishing the Steele dossier say that a longtime associate of Arizona Sen. John McCain and two major news outlets are resisting subpoenas seeking their depositions for the case.In a brief filed in federal court late Wednesday, lawyers for the executive, Aleksej Gubarev, claim that David Kramer , a former State Department official and McCain associate, has been seemingly avoiding service of a deposition subpoena for weeks.Please see the very curious input Reason.com put out just this July regarding Kramer's involvement in the Steele dossier getting into the hands of the press. And The New York Times and Wall Street Journal are challenging deposition subpoenas they have been served as part of the case.Gubarev's lawyers are attempting to find out who gave BuzzFeed the'salacious dossier, which the website published to much controversy on Jan. _NUMBER_.The dossier, written by former British spy Christopher Steele, alleges that Gubarev and his companies, XBT Holdings and Webzilla, used spam, viruses and porn bots to hack into DNC computer systems. Gubarev vehemently denies the allegations.Gubarev's attorneys say that identifying BuzzFeed's source could shed light on whether the news outlet was warned that information in the dossier could be false. They argue that publishing the dossier despite such warnings would show reckless disregard for the truth or falsity of the information published. BuzzFeed has defended its decision to publish the dossier, which was financed by the Clinton campaign and DNC and commissioned by opposition research firm Fusion GPS. It is also resisting demands from Gubarev's team to identify its dossier source on the grounds that it would violate its First Amendment protections as a news-gathering organization.Via: Daily CallerReason had this to say on July 16th on the mystery surrounding how the fake dossier got into the hands of Buzzed:Did John McCain and a controversial D.C. lobbying group conspire to get the infamous pee dossier into the hands of the press?A lawsuit making its way through court in the UK hopes to determine just what role the'senator and his associates had in making the lurid dossier public.New filings in the lawsuit, obtained by McClatchy, detail how David Kramer employed by the nonprofit and purportedly non-political McCain Institute acted as a representative of McCain in the Arizona senator's dealings on sensitive intelligence measures:According to a new court document in the British lawsuit, counsel for defendants Steele and Orbis repeatedly point to McCain, R-Ariz., a vocal Trump critic, and a former State Department official as two in a handful of people known to have had copies of the full document before it circulated among journalists and was published by BuzzFeed. Read more: McClatchyIt also reveals that McCain was one of a just few people with whom the dossier's author, ex-British spy Christopher Steele, shared a copy of his final findings. So how did they get from there to publication in Buzzfeed? |
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| The apparent increase among Latino voters in key early voting states seems to be triggering something of a public meltdown with Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. At a campaign event in Nevada, the former reality TV star began spinning a new conspiracy theory.As Donald Trump'swept his campaign across the country in a final sprint, he claimed that long lines in Clark County, Nevada, were evidence of electoral wrongdoing. It's being reported that certain key Democratic polling locations in Clark County were kept open for hours and hours beyond closing time to bus and bring Democratic voters in, Trump'said. Folks, it's a rigged system. It's a rigged system. And we're going to beat it, he'said.Trump wasn't alone. Michael McDonald, the'state chairman of the Nevada Republican Party made an explicitly racist complaint about the'surge in early voters at the'same event noting, They kept a poll open until _NUMBER_ o clock at night so a certain group could vote. Early indicators show that Republicans are in big trouble in the key swing state of Nevada. Clark County, home to Las Vegas and the'state's largest population, is also over _NUMBER_% Latino. The area has been targeted by the Clinton campaign for early voting, as well as by the political operation of Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid .A strong performance there has led to a situation where the Trump ticket is behind the eight ball before Election Day has even begun. Nevada political analyst Jon Ralston has already said that there is only a tiny sliver of hope for Trump, which may explain his bluster and frustration at the campaign event.Trump launched his campaign with an attack on Latinos, calling Mexican immigrants criminals and rapists and promising to build a wall along the'southern border to keep Latinos out. It appears that they heard him loud and clear and are hell-bent on destroying his campaign.Featured image via Flickr |
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| He still has a chance for missteps, but so far on his maiden international trip, Donald Trump has managed to avoid major stumbles and has stuck to the script in a way his advisers have wanted him to do for months. The U.S. president's rare display of discipline is in part a result of a desperate need for some smooth sailing. He began the trip in scandal mode, accused of impeding justice by firing former Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey for not stopping a federal probe into his campaign's Russia ties. Whether it will hold is unclear. He is in a portion of his nine-day trip, in Brussels for a NATO summit and later in Sicily for a Group of Seven conclave, where he will meet with European leaders who are at sharp odds with him on many issues. Trump's change comes after increasingly loud alarm bells sounded from Republican congressional leaders, who say he must tamp down the tirades and tantrums that have contributed to a dismal public approval rating of about _NUMBER_ percent. Just in the past month alone, Trump used Twitter to issue a veiled threat to Comey, warning that he "better hope that there are no 'tapes' of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press!" And when he fired Comey, White House aides said the move was based on a Justice Department recommendation that said Comey had mishandled the investigation into Democrat Hillary Clinton's handling of classified information last year. Trump blew up that reason the next day, saying he had already decided to fire Comey when the Justice recommendation came in because the FBI man was a "showboat." Trump's advisers planned the overseas journey trip in such a way as to keep the president busy with back-to-back meetings and appearances. This has given him little time for tweet storms and cable news watching. It sometimes has left him fatigued, as manifested when he canceled an evening forum with young people in Riyadh. As they normally do when he travels, staff members have managed to provide him with some creature comforts, like keeping bags of potato chips at easy reach. The president has limited his interactions with reporters, taking few questions. As a result, the Russia issue came up only once – during a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Initial plans for an end-of-the-trip news conference in Sicily have been set aside, meaning there are fewer chances for him to veer off script, but less opportunity to promote his achievements. When Trump has talked to the news media, his responses to questions have been fairly brief and non-substantive. Asked about his meeting with Pope Francis on Wednesday at the Vatican, Trump kept it simple despite the differences between him and Francis on issues like climate change. "Great...We had a fantastic meeting...We are liking Italy very much, and it was an honor to meet with the pope," Trump said. He has also reined in some of his hyperbole. After boasting earlier this year that finding a peace agreement between the Israelis and Palestinians should not be all that hard, Trump acknowledged that maybe it would be hard after all. "I've heard it's one of the toughest deals of all," he said. "But I have a feeling we're going to get there eventually. I hope." Aides said most every word spoken was written carefully with some thought of the message that would be sent. Most speeches were performed with a Teleprompter to keep Trump from drifting off into his own ad libs. "He understands that even the slightest phrasing can have big implications," said a senior White House official. "He's worked really hard on being directly involved in the preparation." Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told reporters that behind the scenes, Trump has been calibrating his style to fit the leader who he is meeting and the urgency of the issue he is discussing. "He tends to dial the urgency up and therefore the style dials up," Tillerson, noting that when talking to Israeli and Palestinian leaders, "He was very energized because he does feel there's a certain sense of urgency for these parties to finally get on with it." Trump has been on script before only to lapse. Privately, aides realize this could happen again. "He is who he is," one aide said. "He's definitely someone who speaks his mind." Trump has found himself on this trip increasingly reliant on a core group of his inner circle: Son-in-law Jared Kushner, a top White House adviser; daughter Ivanka, who is Kushner's wife; Secretary of State Rex Tillerson; economic adviser Gary Cohn; national security adviser H.R. McMaster and deputy national security adviser for strategy, Dina Powell. The more disciplined Trump was a victory for Kushner, who organized the trip around some specific objectives, such as a _CUR_110 billion arms deal for Saudi Arabia and Trump's visit to holy sites in Israel, including his visit to the Western Wall, a first for a U.S. president. "We're very focused on the substance of the actions and then ultimately on delivering results," said a senior administration official. |
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| THE BOSTON GLOBE ran a Sunday edition with a fake cover slamming Donald Trump for his desire to secure our border with Mexico. It was kind of a look at how supposedly horrible life would be with a president who actually puts Americans first. Fake news is happening everywhere these days but it's a big deal when a major newspaper does it. This is yet another example of how the media is so desperate to hurt Trump.The great thing is that there's the new media that responded almost immediately with a cover of Obama. The different in this cover is that these horrible things are REALLY happening under Obama! Way to go! |
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| Donald Trump's first major foreign policy address alarmed American allies, who view the Republican front runner's repeated invocation of an "America first" agenda as a threat to retreat from the world. While most governments were careful not to comment publicly on a speech by a U.S. presidential candidate, Germany's foreign minister veered from that protocol to express concern at Trump's wording. "I can only hope that the election campaign in the USA does not lack the perception of reality," Frank-Walter Steinmeier said. "The world's security architecture has changed and it is no longer based on two pillars alone. It cannot be conducted unilaterally," he said of foreign policy in a post-Cold War world. "No American president can get round this change in the international security architecture.... 'America first' is actually no answer to that." Carl Bildt, a former Swedish prime minister and foreign minister who served as UN envoy to the Balkans in the aftermath of the Yugoslav wars of the 1990s, said he heard Trump's speech as "abandoning both democratic allies and democratic values". "Trump had not a word against Russian aggression in Ukraine, but plenty against past U.S. support for democracy in Egypt," Bildt said on Twitter, referring to lines from Trump's speech that criticized the Barack Obama administration for withdrawing support for autocrat Hosni Mubarak during a _NUMBER_ uprising. Trump's speech, uncharacteristically read out from a teleprompter, seemed aimed at showing a more serious side of a politician who has said he intends to act more "presidential" after months of speaking mainly off the cuff. He promised "a disciplined, deliberate and consistent foreign policy" in contrast to the "reckless, rudderless and aimless" policies of Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Trump's likely Democratic opponent if he secures the Republican nomination. The speech included no dramatic new policy proposals that might generate headlines, such as his past calls to bar Muslims from entering the United States or to build a wall on the frontier with Mexico. Where he was specific, like rejecting the terms of last year's nuclear deal with Iran, calling for more investment in missile defense in Europe and accusing the Obama administration of tepid support for Israel, he was firmly within the Republican mainstream. A major theme — that more NATO allies should spend at least _NUMBER_ percent of their economic output on defense — is one that has also been taken up by the Obama administration itself, including repeatedly during the president's visit to Europe last week. Nevertheless, Trump's rhetoric raised alarm in allied countries that still rely on the superpower for defense, particularly the phrase "America first", used in the 1930s by isolationists that sought to keep the United States out of World War Two. Former South Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Sung-han, who now teaches at the Korea University in Seoul, said Trump would be "the first isolationist to be U.S. presidential candidate, while in the post-war era all the U.S. presidents have been to varying degrees internationalists." "Saying the U.S. will no longer engage in anything that is a burden in terms of its relationships with allies, it would be almost like abandoning those alliances," he said. "It will inevitably give rise to anti-American sentiment worldwide." Xenia Wickett, head of the U.S. and Americas Programme at Britain's Chatham House think tank, said the speech "suggests Trump would make America's allies less secure rather than more. "He talked about allies being confident but all of his rhetoric suggested that America should be unpredictable and that America's allies needed to stand up for themselves." Earlier in the U.S. nomination process, foreign leaders were not shy to condemn Trump openly and publicly. In December, when Trump called for his temporary ban on admitting Muslims, British Prime Minister David Cameron called him "divisive, stupid and wrong". Hundreds of thousands of Britons signed a petition calling for Trump to be banned from Britain for hate speech, which was taken up in parliament. Cameron declined to ban Trump, but said: "If he came to visit our country, I think he would unite us against him." In January, German Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel lumped Trump together with the leaders of European far-right parties as "not only a threat to peace and social cohesion, but also to economic development". These days, with Trump now seen as likely to win his party's nomination, European officials are more circumspect in public, but sound no less alarmed in private. A Trump presidency "would be a disaster for EU-U.S. ties," said one senior EU official involved in shaping foreign policy in Brussels. "Right now, we and the Obama administration generally understand each other. I don't think we understand Donald Trump. He has no understanding of the delicate, complex nature of foreign policy on Europe's doorstep." Nevertheless, some of the policies Trump shares with other Republicans do have sympathetic audiences abroad. Ryszard Terlecki, head of the parliamentary group of Poland's ruling rightwing Law and Justice party, said Trump had a point when criticizing the Obama administration for backing away from plans for increased missile defense. "This decision influenced very badly the security of this part of Europe. If it weren't for that, the conflict in Ukraine would not escalate," he told Reuters. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has strongly opposed the Obama administration's deal with Iran, and Trump's speech, like an earlier one to a pro-Israel lobby group in Washington, went down well with some right-leaning Israelis. "Trump wants an America that is decent, strong, loyal - but also no patsy. And he sees in Israel the most loyal ally of the U.S." wrote Boaz Bismuth, diplomatic correspondent for the pro-Netanyahu daily Israel Hayom. In the Arab world, where governments and their citizens are also alarmed at the rise of non-Arab Iran, Trump's strong rejection of the deal with Tehran is a popular position that would have been embraced if expressed by another candidate. But Trump's previous call to ban Muslims from the United States has made him anathema in the region. Emirati political analyst Abdulkhaleq Abdullah said no speech would be enough to salvage his reputation there: "He's a racist and a chauvinist who will never be widely welcomed in the Arab world." Or, as Kuwaiti twitter user Mohammed al-Ammar wrote: "Some of his speech is correct and logical, but the problem is, he's still _TAG_." |
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| Sweden said on Thursday it would rethink its engagement with Cambodia if the main opposition party is dissolved, in the strongest warning yet from a Western aid donor. The government has filed a suit to dissolve the Cambodia National Rescue Party after charging its leader, Kem Sokha, with treason. He rejected the charge as politically motivated. Excluding the opposition party would allow veteran Prime Minister Hun Sen a clear field to extend his _NUMBER_-year rule at the next election in _NUMBER_. Swedish Human Rights Ambassador Annika Ben David told a news conference at the end of a five-day visit the banning of the opposition party could have consequences. Should the Cambodia National Rescue Party be dissolved, this will force my government to rethink our engagement Cambodia, she said. Other Western countries have condemned the arrest of Kem Sokha and warned against dissolving the CNRP, but have not raised the possibility of action. David did not elaborate on what Sweden might do. Government spokesman Phay Siphan rejected David's comments as interference in Cambodia's sovereignty and an insult. This is language that the royal government can t accept, Phay Siphan told Reuters. This is an invasion and insult to the Cambodian national institution. Sweden had given Cambodia an estimated _CUR_100 million in aid over five years, David said. According to Cambodia's database of donors, Sweden ranked third for aid among individual EU member states last year after France and Germany. David also pointed out that Swedish fashion group H&M was an important buyer of clothes from Cambodia's garment factories - the country's main export earner. Hun Sen's ruling Cambodia People's Party has launched a crackdown on its critics, including politicians, independent media and non-government groups. This week, parliament changed the law so that the CNRP's seats can be shared amongst other parties if it is dissolved. While Western governments have for years tried to put pressure on Cambodia over the stifling of democracy and the trampling of human rights, China has become an increasingly important ally and business partner. |
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| As Donald Trump continues to hold steady at number one and win primary after primary, the GOP establishment is getting really nervous that he may actually be their _NUMBER_ candidate. They are so scared that a group of high-ranking Republican governors held an emergency conference call to discuss it on Monday.Politico reported: Trump's march to the nomination has set off a wave of anxiety across the Republican Party establishment as top officials weigh whether to endorse him or denounce him as anathema to the party's values. Reflecting that angst, on Monday morning, New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, the heads of the Republican Governors Association, convened fellow governors for an unusual conference call to discuss how the primary was unfolding and Trump was a central topic of conversation. Apparently during the conference call, Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin asked New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie why he was supporting Trump. Christie, who has a long history of slamming Trump, claimed that he know believes Donald is the best man for the job. This is nonsense, of course; he just wanted to share some of Trump's limelight because like Trump, he is an opportunist and a liar.The real estate mogul has been wreaking havoc on the GOP since he entered the race. The party, which after the _NUMBER_ presidential race, decided that they needed an image makeover saw Trump destroy any chances of ever winning over minority voters. And in addition to his hatred for everyone who is not white, rich, or poorly educated, he has thumbed his nose at the establishment over and over. The reason many people think he has such an appeal with the GOP base is because he is not a real politician. This belief that he is not a politician is more proof of how ignorant the Republican voter base really is. Trump'says whatever he thinks will make people vote for him and has a long record of flip-flopping like Mitt Romney in _NUMBER_, but on steroids.Former Republican National Committee chairman and former Florida senator, Mel Martinez has said that Trump is increasingly unpalatable, and said a majority of the party would resist him as the _NUMBER_ presidential candidate: How that manifests itself I don't know, but I believe there is a sense by many, myself included, that he just cannot be the nominee, he'said. So a convention scenario could begin to develop. While the GOP isn't sure Trump'should be their candidate, Americans have made it very clear that they have no interest in seeing him in the White House. Even the conservative site Red State recently published an article titled, A Vote For Trump is a Vote For Hillary Clinton: Why Trump Is A Sure Loser. Get your popcorn ready, folks. This infighting is going to make the Republican National Convention very interesting this summer, and it's looking better and better for Democrats in the Fall. Featured image via Addicting Info archives |
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| The irony of the Tweet put out on Mother's Day by Planned Parenthood is certainly not lost on us. The cognitive dissonance of a baby killing, baby parts seller promoting motherhood is a nutty comment! Planned Parenthood, the nation's largest abortion provider, on Sunday celebrated Mother's Day with a tweet picturing two mothers holding their children. Planned Parenthood is committed to building a world that values, respects, and supports safe and wanted motherhood, a caption on the picture reads. Social media users were quick to point out the cognitive dissonance of an abortion provider celebrating mothers. Does anybody else see the irony of abortion provider Planned Parenthood wishing a Happy Mother's Day? Angel C tweeted. Appalling! chimed in Jana Allen. But I guess not all unborn babies matter, another Twitter user said. The unborn are innocent victims murdered at PP. Via: WT |