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Trump Sets The Record Straight On Border Wall And Amnesty For Illegals [Video]

President Trump visited areas in Florida hurt by Hurricane Irma today and spoke out on building a wall at our southern border. People on both sides of the aisle went nuts over news reports of no wall and a deal on DACA. President Trump: Ultimately, we have to have the wall. If we don t have the wall, we re doing nothing, Ultimately, we have to have the wall. If we don t have the wall, we re doing nothing, Pres. Trump says https://t.co/QnXQnxARjk pic.twitter.com/N6HRyjlouD CBS News (@CBSNews) September 14, 2017He also chimed in on whether there was a deal on DACA amnesty as speculated by both sides of the aisle. Last night, there was some confusion on what had been agreed upon about the two issues after it was reported a deal had been made between President Trump and Democrat leaders Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer There was no deal. They didn t say they had a deal. There was no deal. They didn t say they had a deal, Pres. Trump says of meeting with Nancy Pelosi & Chuck Schumer https://t.co/QnXQnxARjk pic.twitter.com/rN8ZvKZeYd CBS News (@CBSNews) September 14, 2017But then President Trump said this Huh? A work program without citizenship? Is this kind of a purgatory for illegals?"We're not looking at citizenship, we're not looking at amnesty. We're looking at allowing people to stay here," Pres. Trump says pic.twitter.com/6eOWjdcRQG CBS News (@CBSNews) September 14, 2017 But,but,but then Nancy Pelosi chimes in with this: Is everyone totally confused yet? I do believe there is an understanding that down the road, there is an eventual path to citizenship in the DREAM Act, Pelosi says pic.twitter.com/VrUN2XQRM1 CBS News (@CBSNews) September 14, 2017

Trump's Supreme Court appointee Gorsuch plots rightward course

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Eight months into his lifetime U.S. Supreme Court appointment, Neil Gorsuch has given every indication through his votes in key cases and remarks from the bench he will be a stalwart of the conservative legal agenda, as President Donald Trump promised. Still early in his career as a justice that could span decades, Gorsuch has already established himself as among the most conservative members of the top U.S. court, and has not been shy about expressing his views, sometimes in idiosyncratic ways. He also has made public appearances before conservative audiences, including a speech at the Republican president’s Trump International Hotel in downtown Washington, that have drawn rebukes by liberal critics who questioned his independence from the president who nominated him. Gorsuch’s record so far suggests “he is going to be a reliably conservative vote,” said Carolyn Shapiro, a law professor at Chicago-Kent College of Law. Trump, who as a candidate promised to pick a justice in the mold of the late conservative icon Antonin Scalia, has set out to move the federal judiciary to the right. Gorsuch’s appointment has been his biggest step yet toward that goal, restoring the high court’s 5-4 conservative majority. Gorsuch’s April confirmation by the Republican-led Senate, despite strong Democratic opposition, provided one of Trump’s biggest political victories since taking office in January. Writing about Gorsuch on Twitter on Tuesday, Trump said he was “very proud of him and the job he is doing,” and rejected a Washington Post report that he had considered rescinding Gorsuch’s nomination this spring after the jurist said attacks on the judiciary like those that had been made by Trump were “disheartening” and “demoralizing.” The newspaper reported that Trump had vented angrily to advisers that Gorsuch may not be sufficiently loyal. Trump responded that he had “never even wavered.” As the court rolls into 2018 with some big rulings ahead - on free speech, gay rights, voting rights and employee rights - legal experts said Trump will be able to rely on Gorsuch. The new justice has delivered key votes backing Trump’s travel ban on people from several Muslim-majority countries and on the death penalty, and embraced certain kinds of public funding for churches. During arguments this month in one of the court’s biggest cases of its current term, Gorsuch signaled sympathy for a conservative Christian baker who contends he was within his constitutional rights to refuse to create a wedding cake for a gay couple. Gorsuch declined an interview request for this article. Inside the Supreme Court chambers and outside it, Gorsuch, a 50-year-old Coloradoan, speaks his mind. “He is not intimidated about being the newest justice,” said John Malcolm, a lawyer at the conservative Heritage Foundation think tank. Gorsuch has regularly sided with his fellow conservative justices. In the legal fight over the three versions of Trump’s travel ban, Gorsuch sided with the president on four different occasions. In June, he was one of three justices who would have let Trump’s second travel ban go into full effect. The court voted 6-3 to allow a limited version of the ban. On the death penalty, Gorsuch was among four conservative dissenters when the court in September granted a stay of execution for a Georgia inmate. In April, in his first recorded vote on the court, he was part of a 5-4 conservative majority that declined a stay of execution request from an Arkansas inmate. The court in 2018 is set to rule on two cases - one from Wisconsin and another from Maryland - involving the practice of drawing legislative districts in states in a way intended to entrench one party in power, known as partisan gerrymandering. The rulings could influence U.S. elections for decades. Based on the Oct. 3 oral argument in the Wisconsin case, in which Democratic voters challenged a Republican-drawn electoral map, it is unclear how the court will rule. Gorsuch used a culinary analogy to express his doubts during the argument about the Democratic challengers’ legal theory. “It reminds me a little bit of my steak rub,” Gorsuch said. “I like some turmeric, I like a few other little ingredients, but I’m not going to tell you how much of each. And so what’s this court supposed to do, a pinch of this, a pinch of that?” During a November speech hosted by the Federalist Society, a conservative legal group, Gorsuch confidently touted his judicial ideology, stressing the importance of interpreting the U.S. Constitution based on its original meaning and narrowly reading the text of laws passed by Congress. “Tonight,” he said to sustained applause, “I can report, a person can be both a committed originalist and textualist and be confirmed to the Supreme Court of the United States.”

AGITPROP MACHINE: How the US create Fake Al Qaeda and ISIS videos

Shawn Helton 21st Century WireFollowing the invasion of Iraq in 2003, the Pentagon reportedly paid PR firm Bell Pottinger $540 million to produce fake terror videos used to steer Western political interests.If this latest report by the The Bureau of Investigative Journalism is accurate, the public is once again privy to another startling example of how deep-state social engineering impacts and propels larger geopolitical war campaigning.This latest Pentagon public relations scandal comes after an onslaught of summertime war propaganda images were found to have been fabricated by the George Soros and US-UK government-backed pseudo NGO known as The White Helmets. WAR GAMES (Photo Illustration 21WIRE s Shawn Helton)As 21WIRE recently reported, Like so many celebrated attributes of the lauded White Helmets, the rescue numbers are clearly exaggerated. The so-called rebel-held territories (in actuality, terrorist-held areas) in which the White Helmets exclusively operate, have very few civilians remaining in them. The majority of Syrian civilians have fled terrorist-held enclaves like East Aleppo into government protected areas like West Aleppo a fact that is routinely glossed over by western media outlets because it runs counter to the storyline being pushed by the US and UK government, both of whom are funding the White Helmets. The creation of all of this modern day agitprop has most certainly contributed to an environment of confusion, fear and uncertainty in the War On Terror era no doubt costing many lives in the process. REPUTATION LAUNDERING The controversial PR firm Bell Pottinger Group. (Image Source: mmbiztoday)The Pentagon, Pottinger & Fake TerrorAccording to The Bureau of Investigative Journalism, there was a secretive operation between Bell Pottinger and those in high-level security working with the Pentagon to create al Qaeda terror videos as well as influence global media outlets through various propaganda: The Pentagon gave a controversial UK PR firm over half a billion dollars to run a top secret propaganda programme in Iraq, the Bureau of Investigative Journalism can reveal.Bell Pottinger s output included short TV segments made in the style of Arabic news networks and fake insurgent videos which could be used to track the people who watched them, according to a former employee.The agency s staff worked alongside high-ranking US military officers in their Baghdad Camp Victory headquarters as the insurgency raged outside. Bell Pottinger s former chairman Lord Tim Bell, confirmed the shocking story with the Sunday Times, who worked alongside with the Bureau to uncover covert operations which were covered by various secrecy agreements, and The London-based PR agency was brought into Iraq soon after the US invasion. In March 2004 it was tasked by the country s temporary administration with the promotion of democratic elections a high-profile activity which it trumpeted in its annual report. Also according the former chairman Bell, Bell Pottinger reported to the Pentagon, the CIA and the National Security Council on its work in Iraq. In total, over half a billion dollars was spent on the creation of various psychological operations crafted by the Pentagon and Bell Pottinger. Additionally, the Bureau tracked Pottinger s work through US army contracting censuses, federal procurement transaction records and reports by the Department of Defense (DoD), interviewing half a dozen former officials and contractors involved in information operations in Iraq. The Bureau has identified transactions worth $540 million between the Pentagon and Bell Pottinger for information operations and psychological operations on a series of contracts issued from May 2007 to December 2011. A similar contract at around the same annual rate $120 million was in force in 2006, we have been told. According to Martin Wells, a freelance video editor who worked with Bell Pottinger to create the secretive Pentagon propaganda: The third and most sensitive programme described by Wells was the production of fake al Qaeda propaganda films. He told the Bureau how the videos were made. He was given precise instructions: We need to make this style of video and we ve got to use al Qaeda s footage, he was told. We need it to be 10 minutes long, and it needs to be in this file format, and we need to encode it in this manner. US marines would take the CDs on patrol and drop them in the chaos when they raided targets. Wells said: If they re raiding a house and they re going to make a mess of it looking for stuff anyway, they d just drop an odd CD there. The CDs were set up to use Real Player, a popular media streaming application which connects to the internet to run. Wells explained how the team embedded a code into the CDs which linked to a Google Analytics account, giving a list of IP addresses where the CDs had been played. The tracking account had a very restricted circulation list, according to Wells: the data went to him, a senior member of the Bell Pottinger management team, and one of the US military commanders. QUESTION: Were the CD terror video productions a new form of Cold War-style propaganda leaflet, serving to rouse the populace, or were they only for planting fabricated evidence?Apparently, it s both. And there s the third function: to collect I.P. addresses of anyone who viewed the CD while connected to the internet.The Daily Beast reported that the Pentagon acknowledged their working relationship with Pottinger: The Pentagon confirmed that Bell Pottinger did work for them as a contractor in Iraq under the Information Operations Task Force (IOTF), producing some material that was openly sourced to coalition forces, and some which was not. They insisted that all material put out by IOTF was truthful. IOTF was not the only mission Bell Pottinger worked on however. Wells said some Bell Pottinger work was carried out under the Joint Psychological Operations Task Force (JPOTF), which a U.S. defense official confirmed.The official said he could not comment in detail on JPOTF activities, adding We do not discuss intelligence gathering methods for operations past and present. According Wells, some of the clandestine projects went even higher up in Washington. If [Petraeus] couldn t sign off on it, it would go on up the line to the White House, and it was signed off up there, and the answer would come back down the line . In 2011, former US General David Petraeus served as director of the CIA from September of 20111 to November of 2012 resigning after illegally providing classified material to his biographer Paula Broadwell, with whom he was having an affair.While the Bureau of Investigative Journalism claims appear to confirm the fever-pitch of War On Terror propaganda witnessed almost daily now one should also note that the Bureau has also been awarded by Amnesty International, a military industrial complex connected so-called human rights group, in addition to working with the dubious Qatari-GCC linked media organization, Al Jazzera. The Bureau also suffered a huge reputation dent in 2012 over the BBC-Lord McAlpine affair. However, the Bureau seems to have gone through a revamp of sorts and did recently hire Meirion Jones as an Investigations Editor. Jones is best known for his investigation into the Jimmy Saville abuse scandal which was compounded by a BBC cover-up scandal.Fake ISIS Video Used by US MediaOn a comparative note, in February of 2015, terror analysis experts concluded that ISIS video footage appearing to show the executions of 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians was indeed a faked.According to Florida-based Terrorism Research and Analysis Consortium, the on camera murders of 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians purported to have been decapitated were ruled to have been staged , due to the excessive anomalies seen in the dramatic 5 minute film entitled, Signed With Blood: To The Nation Of The Cross. Editorial Director of the Florida-based Terrorism Research and Analysis Consortium, Veryan Khan, told FOX News the following: The Islamic State s manipulation of their high-production videos has become commonplace. The background image shown was likely from another location, the Bay in Sirte, a part of the Mediterranean Sea on the northern coast of Libya. There are several technical mistakes in the video that show it was manipulated. According to Hollywood director Mary Lambert, who created the well-known horror film Pet Cemetery: The shot that seems really tampered with is the one with the really tall Jihadists and the dwarf Christians. The close-ups of Jihadists on the beach are most likely green screen. Prior to experts releasing their conclusion about the ISIS video production, here at 21WIRE, we outlined many of the film s irregularities and inconsistencies proving that the film was indeed heavily orchestrated for maximum effect. LARGER THAN LIFE Notice the extreme height difference between the apparent ISIS members, as they dwarf the alleged Egyptian victims. (Photo link nationalpost.com)Staging A Crime: Public Relations, SITE & TerrorIn our first report regarding the Pentagon/Pottinger propaganda here at 21WIRE, some important ideas were raised. Perhaps most notably, how the public should perceive the ISIS related propaganda splashed all over Western media the past two years, and its use as a pretext for escalating US-led military involvement in Syria: Where this story gets really interesting is taken in context with all of the numerous staged ISIS and Jihadi John terrorist propaganda videos which flooded the US and British press and which were the basis for the entire US-led intervention against the so-called Islamic State in Syria. In addition, the character known as Jihadi John has direct ties to British Security Services. FAKE ISIS VIDEOS: This Jihadi John video was filmed in a studio, against a green screen. Was this produced by Bell Pottinger or a similar PR firm too? FOX News has since admitted that at least one of the ISIS beheading videos was staged in a studio. Part of Petraeus s deceptive operation also involved running an Arabic sector similar to US domestic propaganda efforts like Operation Mockingbird, where the Pentagon contractor would craft scripts for Arabic soap operas where characters would reject terrorism with happy consequences. This is especially interesting when considering that this Turkish TV program seems to predate the Jihadi John video genre, indicating that the same production team may have been employed in producing the fake green screen Jihadi John terror videos. Watch:In 2002, Rita Katz and Josh Devon founded Search for International Terrorist Entities Institute (SITE), which eventually developed into its current incarnation, as a propaganda outlet for high-profile terror groups such as al Qaeda and ISIS.The terror monitoring intelligence group is directly linked to both the CIA and Israeli intelligence. In 2006, the New Yorker article entitled, Private Jihad: How Rita Katz got into the spying business, discussed how SITE may have provided material support to would-be Jihadists via various message boards: Katz has a testy relationship with the government, sometimes acting as a consultant and sometimes as an antagonist. About a year ago, a SITE staffer, under an alias, managed to join an exclusive jihadist message board that, among other things, served as a debarkation point for many would-be suicide bombers. For months, the staffer pretended to be one of the jihadis, joining in chats and watching as other members posted the chilling messages known as wills, the final sign-offs before martyrdom. The staffer also passed along technical advice on how to keep the message board going.Continuing, the New Yorker outlined the serious nature of SITE s involvement with terror related entities from a legal perspective: Katz called officials in Washington, and was met with institutional resistance: They said, Oh, Rita, I m not sure you should even be communicating with them you might be providing material support! So, how exactly has SITE avoided any potential charges related to their organization, given that they ve admitted to providing advice to those potentially plotting attacks?Perhaps there s a better explanation Here s another look at a CNN interview with SITE founder and Israeli operative, Rita Katz, who admits, we had that video beforehand and were able to beat them with the release . Notice how the intelligence group founder Katz, conveniently and calmly discusses acquiring the ISIS videos by claiming that the terror group needs a place to disseminate its exploits:In 2007, SITE came under fire for obtaining an alleged Bin Laden video a month prior to its release. In a sense, SITE was really functioning as a type of PR agent for the well-known terror avatar: Her [Rita Katz] firm provides intelligence about terrorist groups to a wide range of paying clients, including private firms and military and intelligence agencies from the United States and several other countries. Continuing: Katz said she decided to offer an advance copy of the bin Laden video to the White House without charge so officials there could prepare for its release. Many notable researchers and analysts have long believed that the now legendary Bin Laden Raid which took place in May 2011, was not only fabricated but a propaganda ploy, with President Obama being the chief beneficiary by looking tough on terror during his re-election run against Mitt Romney. Even today, Hillary Clinton is also using the event as major part of her presidential campaign to covey her national security credentials. Based on our past research and reporting at 21WIRE, we ve also believed this to be case, making note of the obvious stagecraft some time ago: One thing which becomes clearer by the day about the fabled Bin Laden Raid which took place in Abbotabad, Pakistan, is that the US government has intentionally deceived the public about what happened. In other words, what President Obama described when he addressed the American people following the raid was a work of pure fiction. In addition, the bizarre and still relatively unexplained deaths of many SEAL Team 6 members taking place immediately after the alleged Bin Laden Raid has been be more cause for suspicion.The Bin Laden Raid was perhaps the largest ever theatrical man-hunt for a fugitive in the modern era an event which failed to produce any credible forensic evidence. Many members of the medical field, have long suspected Bin Laden was dead. This supposition has also been supported by many high-ranking officials including former Pakistani PM Benazir Bhutto, just prior to her assassination. A Guardian report from October 2001 outlined Bin Laden s apparent serious health problems: Bin Laden has often been reported to be in poor health. Some accounts claim that he is suffering from Hepatitis C, and can expect to live for only two more years. According to Le Figaro, last year he ordered a mobile dialysis machine to be delivered to his base at Kandahar in Afghanistan. Additionally, a bevy of intelligence insiders, along with other mainstream media reports, have stated that the former CIA-linked asset Bin Laden, died somewhere between 2001 and 2002.On an interesting note, Memory Hole editor James F. Tracy discussed how Katz s SITE has suspiciously procured various terror plots ahead of all major US intelligence agencies: As noted, news outlets seldom see fit to closely analyze SITE or Katz concerning their research and function as conduits for terrorist propaganda. A LexisNexis search for SITE Intelligence in the article content of US newspapers and major world publications over the past two years produces 317 items an admittedly low figure given the prominence of SITE s recent disclosures. Yet a similar search for Steven Sotloff alone yields over 1,000 newspaper stories and 600 broadcast transcripts, suggesting the sensationalistic usage and effect of SITE s data and how neither SITE nor Katz are called upon to explain their specific methods and findings. Indeed, a similar search for SITE Intelligence and Rita Katz yields only 26 entries over a two year period. Of these, 14 appear in theWashington Post, a publication with well-established links to US intelligence. Four New York Times articles feature the combined entities. In a CNN interview on the heels of the Sotloff beheading, Katz explains how again SITE curiously surpassed the combined capacities of the entire US intelligence community in securing the Sotloff footage. PSYOP PLAYGROUND? Bell Pottinger played a role in a psychological operations task force setup in Baghdad. (Image Source: psyopsinsignia)Shades of Propaganda The US Special Operations Center of Excellence, describes a historical context with which to view the type of gray ops disinformation campaign discussed above between the Pentagon and Pottinger: The documented history of PSYOP begins with the World War I activities of its antecedent, propaganda. In World War I, PSYOP came into its own as a formal activity, said retired Colonel Frank Goldstein. During that period, the three shades of propaganda white, gray and black appeared in a variety of unclassified and classified government programs aimed at motivating popular support for the war and demoralizing the enemy. It is important to understand that as propaganda moves from shades of white to black, the source of the propaganda becomes less obvious, until, in black propaganda, the source is unknown. The most memorable and successful World War I white-propaganda themes communicated that the war was necessary to keep the world safe for democracy and that it would be the war to end all wars. For maximum impact, a PSYOP must be rooted in partial reality, followed by various phases of propaganda which parrot each other without contradiction. The scope of these specific types of operations are vast, They include counterterrorism operations, peace operations, noncombatant evacuation, enforcement of sanctions and maritime interception operations, strikes and raids, etc. NGO WeaponizationThe far reach of NGO propaganda is becoming more transparent and is still being propped up by military arms such as NATO.Here s a passage from Patrick Henningsen s seminal article entitled AN INTRODUCTION: Smart Power & The Human Rights Industrial Complex, that intricately dissects the role of NGO s as they relate to the military industrial apparatus: Upon more rigorous inspection, however, a number of uncomfortable realities emerge regarding the 21st century international human rights concern. Though many human rights charities still market themselves as neutral and nonpartisan , the reality is something very different. Below, we will detail a number of high-profile cases where these organisations are being used as public relations organs to further western foreign policy objectives. With public skepticism of the charity sector already at an all-time high, the danger is clear: if conflicts of interest are not addressed in a serious way, they threaten to undermine the credibility of the entire non-governmental organization (NGO) sector internationally. MASS PROPAGANDA The Save Aleppo campaign acts out images of war. (Image 21WIRE via (Photo: Land Destroyer)In a recent report from 21WIRE Special Contributor Vanessa Beeley, we see how many Western supported NGO narratives work symbiotically with the international body NATO: Amid the terrorist attacks and the daily massacres of Syrian civilians by [so-called] Western-backed moderate rebels, the children maimed and mutilated by these attacks are almost invisible to the mainstream media. The mainstream media does, however, showcase stories like that of Omran Daqneesh stories which serve and propel the NATO narrative despite the dubious sources from which they emanate. Akin to many mass casualty drills playing out simultaneously with America s Daily Shooter events, staged scenes with dust and fake blood are coming out of the Save Aleppo protests in Europe that seems to mimic elements of the Soros backed (al Qaeda linked) White Helmets in Syria. The impetus for such fakery, appears to be focused on getting the general public to push for deeper conflict in Syria.Interestingly, while NGO s are busy dialing into the heartstrings of the public with staged imagery, there are also recent designer social engineering studies backed by the Pentagon that are focused on mass civil unrest. All of this, as Soros pledges $500 million for the so-called migrant crisis in Europe.The scale of such US-sponsored social engineering projects are breathtaking. In June of 2014, in an article entitled, Pentagon preparing for mass civil breakdown, by Nafeez Ahmed, published at the UK s Guardian, we learned that:A new research programme is funding universities to model the dynamics, risks and tipping points for large-scale civil unrest across the world, under the supervision of various US military agencies. The program was brought to fruition during the height of the banking crisis in 2008, as Ahmed points out, suggesting it was already in the works for some time and time was of the essence. The social science study may have been as big or bigger then the Snowden documents on NSA bulk collection, where not only are Americans being tracked but their behavior is being categorized, labeled and scrutinized, prompting those who value civl rights and privacy to question the ethics and morals of such a US government program. The Guardian article also outlined the type of militarized language used to describe civil movements promoting political change, ironically they used the NGO/US State Department engineered uprising in Egypt as a model for one social science study: Among the projects awarded for the period 2014-2017 is a Cornell University-led study managed by the US Air Force Office of Scientific Research which aims to develop an empirical model of the dynamics of social movement mobilisation and contagions. The project will determine the critical mass (tipping point) of social contagians by studying their digital traces in the cases of the 2011 Egyptian revolution, the 2011 Russian Duma elections, the 2012 Nigerian fuel subsidy crisis and the 2013 Gazi park protests in Turkey. Essentially, this is computer modelling of color revolutions over sees an expensive digital tool in the Pentagon and the CIA s regime change operations.Americans should be reminded that these programs are all taxpayer funded. The total bill is well into the billions by now.What s next in a world with designed outcomes, false narratives and staged crises? READ MORE ISIS NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire ISIS FilesREAD MORE WAR ON TERROR NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire W.O.T FilesREAD MORE PROPAGANDA NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire Propaganda FilesREAD MORE PENTAGON NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire Pentagon FilesSUPPORT 21WIRE by subscribing and becoming a MEMBER @ 21WIRE.TV

Trump calls for waterboarding, other methods in U.S. fight against Islamic State

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Republican White House front-runner Donald Trump said on Sunday he would be open to harsh measures to deal with the threat from Islamic State, including going beyond the controversial interrogation tactic known as waterboarding. In an interview on ABC’s “This Week” program, Trump discussed reviving the tactic and implementing other interrogation techniques, pointing to the recent beheadings of Christians in the Middle East as evidence of the need for stronger interrogation methods for suspected operatives of extremist groups. “We’re like living in medieval times,” he said. “If I have to do it and if it’s up to me, I would absolutely bring back waterboardng. And if it’s going to be tougher than waterboarding, I would bring that back, too.” When pressed by interviewer George Stephanopoulos if that meant the United States employing similar methods of beheading captors, Trump responded: “We’re going to do things beyond waterboarding,” adding, “Perhaps, if that happens to come.” The issue of waterboarding and other methods of interrogation was raised during Saturday night’s New Hampshire Republican debate aired on ABC, with the billionaire businessman saying he would not only revive the controversial method’s use, but bring back “a hell of a lot worse” if elected. Waterboarding is the practice of pouring water over someone’s face to mimic drowning as an interrogation tactic. Critics say it is torture, and Democratic President Barack Obama banned use of the method days after taking office in 2009. Trump’s rival and a fellow leader in opinion polls, Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, said during the debate that he would only allow limited use of the practice but said it did not constitute torture. Waterboarding was used by the CIA under the Bush administration during the early days of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. Its defenders say it helped to keep America safe by garnering more information from captives, but critics argued the method never actually yielded actionable intelligence. Republicans have been critical of Obama’s decision to eliminate the practice, saying it telegraphs a position of weakness to the nation’s enemies and concedes that the United States erred in using waterboarding. On Sunday, Trump argued that the “evil” nature of modern times required more robust interrogation techniques, saying that U.S. enemies are thriving in the absence of them. “They laugh at us. Our enemies laugh at us, George. They say waterboarding, they don’t even think it’s a form - you know, they don’t even view that as real torture,” he said. New Hampshire, where Trump maintains a lead over Republican rivals in the U.S. nominating contest for the Nov. 8 election, casts its primary ballots on Tuesday, the week after Iowa kicked off the process. (Editing by Caren Bohan, Mary Milliken and Jonathan Oatis) SAP is the sponsor of this content. It was independently created by Reuters’ editorial staff and funded in part by SAP, which otherwise has no role in this coverage.

Macron aiming for eurozone 'convergence' with Germany by March

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday he hoped to make progress with Germany on ideas to reform the euro zone by March, once Germany has a new coalition government in place, and agree a roadmap with all eurozone leaders by June next year. Speaking at a news conference with Chancellor Angela Merkel after an EU summit, Macron said a stable, strong Germany was in everyone s interests to advance European integration and that decisions would flow from that. Our aim is to have an agreement in March because at that stage a political step will have been completed in Germany and we will have the capacity to construct together much more clearly on these issues, Macron said of eurozone reform. Do I think that we can have a joint position and have joint solutions? I not only think we can, but I want it. Asked about his ideas for a eurozone budget, Macron said that in his Sorbonne speech in September, delivered two days after the German election, he had not made any mention of a specific size for the budget in terms of points of GDP.

Fair elections in Poland at risk from ruling party bill, opposition says

WARSAW (Reuters) - A bill sponsored by Poland s ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party will undermine the fairness of elections, opposition deputies said in parliament on Thursday. The proposal would introduce live web feeds from polling stations, but also replace all current members of the State Electoral Commission, a body responsible for conducting and overseeing elections, as well as all election commissioners, giving political parties more say in naming new ones. The PiS has said its bill would make voting more transparent, but critics said the real aim is to boost the electoral prospects of the party, which has been accused by the European Commission of eroding democratic standards. This bill is a thuggish project. This is a mine placed under elections in Poland, the head of opposition PSL party, Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said in parliament. The socially conservative PiS, in power since late 2015, is already at loggerheads with fellow members of the European Union over its push to bring the courts and state media under more direct government control, as well as over migration. According to the 72-page long amendment that did not undergo any public consultations, seven of the nine members of the State Electoral Commission would be chosen by parliament for 9-year terms, with PiS set to directly appoint three members and the remaining parties four. The remaining two members would be judges chosen by the head of the Constitutional Tribunal and the Supreme Administrative court. PiS deputies have already appointed the head of the Tribunal following changes in the law that opposition parties said violated the constitution, a charge PiS denies. The changes proposed in the bill will destabilize the election system and are a serious threat to the effective carrying out of the local elections in 2018, the State Election Commission said in a statement last week. Head of the Commission Wojciech Hermelinski said on Thursday the amendment would also give an advantage to political parties at the expense of independent candidates. The bill would require the newly-chosen Commission to appoint nearly 400 election commissioners within 60 days of the bill coming into force, removing the requirement for the commissioners to be independent from political parties. Lawmakers are expected to initially vote on the bill early on Friday. If finally passed by the PiS-dominated parliament, the bill would still have to be signed into law by President Andrzej Duda, who could potentially veto it.

CONGRESSMAN WRITES TELL-ALL BOOK: “I seldom read any bills I vote on.”

A Congressman decided to come clean about what really goes on in DC and it s not pretty. For one thing, he never read anything he voted on A new book threatens to blow the lid off of Congress as a federal legislator s tell-all book lays out the worst parts of serving in the House of Representatives saying that his main job is to raise money for re-election and that leaves little time for reading the bills he votes on.Mill City Press, a small Minnesota-based vanity press publisher describes The Confessions of Congressman X as a devastating inside look at the dark side of Congress as revealed by one of its own. No wonder Congressman X wants to remain anonymous for fear of retribution. His admissions are deeply disturbing. The 84-page expos is due in bookstores in two weeks, and Washington is abuzz with speculation about who may be behind it. The book, a copy of which DailyMail.com has seen, discloses that the congressman is a Democrat but not much else. The anonymous spleen-venter has had a lot to say about his constituents, however. Robert Atkinson, a former chief of staff and press secretary for two congressional Democrats, took notes on a series of informal talks with him whoever he is and is now publishing them with his permission. Voters claim they want substance and detailed position papers, but what they really crave are cutesy cat videos, celebrity gossip, top 10 lists, reality TV shows, tabloid tripe, and the next f***ing Twitter message, the congressman gripes in the book. I worry about our country s future when critical issues take a backseat to the inane utterings of illiterate athletes and celebrity twits. Much of what s in the book will come as little surprise to Americans who are cynical about the political process. Fundraising is so time-consuming I seldom read any bills I vote on, the anonymous legislator admits. I don t even know how they ll be implemented or what they ll cost. My staff gives me a last-minute briefing before I go to the floor and tells me whether to vote yea or nay. How bad is that? And on controversial bills, he says, I sometimes vote yes on a motion and no on an amendment so I can claim I m on either side of an issue. It s the old shell game: if you can t convince em, confuse em. Read more: Daily Mail

Putin says he doubts Trump met with Moscow prostitutes

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday he doubted U.S. President-elect Donald Trump had met with prostitutes in a Moscow hotel room several years ago, referring to an unverified dossier published last week that Trump has dismissed as “fake news”. “Trump arrived and straight away rushed to meet with Moscow prostitutes. This is an adult man and, apart from that, is a man who for many years took part in organizing beauty contests. He has socialized with the most beautiful women in the world,” Putin said in response to a question from a reporter from pro-Kremlin news agency Life about whether he had seen files or videos suggesting Trump had met with prostitutes. “I find it difficult to believe that he ran to a hotel to meet with our girls of reduced social responsibility,” Putin said at a news conference in Moscow with Moldova’s President Igor Dodon. Trump, a New York businessman who will be inaugurated as U.S. president on Friday, has dismissed reports that Russia had compromising information on him as “fake news” and “phony stuff.” Reuters has not independently verified the claims contained in the dossier. The information was summarized in a U.S. intelligence report presented to Trump and President Barack Obama this month. James Clapper, director of national intelligence, has said the dossier was not produced by U.S. intelligence agencies and they have not judged whether the information is reliable. Putin said it was “total nonsense” that Russian intelligence had followed Trump to gather compromising material on him and reiterated that he had never met Trump. “Trump, when he came to Moscow, and I can’t even remember when that was, ... he wasn’t any sort of political figure. We didn’t even know about his political ambitions,” Putin said. “What, someone thinks the special services chase after every American billionaire? Of course not, that’s total nonsense.”

[VIDEO] #BlackLivesMatter ACTIVIST POSTS STAGED VIDEO OF POLICE BRUTALITY AGAINST A PROTESTOR ON TWITTER

Meet Keegan Stephan. He could be Barack Obama s son. He s a community agitator with a sizable following on Twitter, who appears to get a thrill out of organizing Occupy re-treads and Ferguson holdovers to create hate and division in NYC. His primary focus for now, appears to be creating hate and mistrust for the entire New York Police Department through a campaign of propaganda.Occupy re-tread, Hillary supporter and #BlackLivesMatter activist Keegan Stephan s Twitter feed is filled with misleading propaganda which includes video footage that appears to be staged to make it look like a protestor was assaulted by a New York Police Officer. Notice the title of the vine video posted by Keenan: This is what happened to my friend Elsa. Watch the cop shove her. #ShutDownA14 Listen to the narrator of the video refer to the person being assaulted by the police officer (or more likely, a fellow protestor) as he. The narrator states: This protestor was shoved to the ground by an officer. He appeared to be injured. And here is the vine he used to show here being assaulted:Just before posting the vine (above), Keegan tweeted about this picture, saying: NYPD broke my friend Elsa s ribs by slamming her on the sidewalk. Didn t arrest her, just left her. #ShutDownA14So which one is it Keegan? Was the person who was assaulted by an evil NY Police Officer a he or a she? A proud Hillary supporter (that should come as no surprise given his penchant for lying), Keegan posts pictures of the vandalized signs that were posted all over NYC mocking Hillary Clinton:Keegan posted some additional footage from the Occupy the Brooklyn Bridge/#BlackLivesMatter event that appears to by more false propaganda. Keegan has this to say about the vine video below: Members of the press running scared from the NYPD. #ShutDownA14 First of all where the heck are the press? Secondly, pay close attention to the man with the large camera who doesn t seem to be in on the staged hoax, as he keeps looking behind to see what these people are running from but can t seem to find anyone chasing them.Meanwhile, according the New York Daily News, cops are hunting for two demonstrators who pummeled an off-duty NYPD sergeant during the #ShutDownA14 protest against police brutality. The 4:45 p.m. attack on Sgt. David Cuce, who was on the Brooklyn Bridge heading into Manhattan, occurred as hundreds of demonstrators spread from Union Square Park to lower Manhattan and across the East River to protest police violence in the wake of a fatal April 4 shooting in South Carolina involving an unarmed black man.Cuce, who was not in uniform, was punched in the head and shoulder by one of the two protestors after he exited his car to investigate the demonstration, which had brought traffic on the historic bridge to a standstill. After a brief fight, Cuce drew his service weapon and identified himself as a police officer, officials said. His attackers fled into the crowd and remain at large. In addition to the attack, police arrested 42 demonstrators for a smattering of misdemeanors following the protest, officials said.Here s what Keenan had to say about the 42 demonstrators who were arrested:How about They punched an off duty NY Police Officer in the head who was simply driving across the bridge and got out of his vehicle to see why the traffic was stopped? And last, but certainly not least, Keegan makes a brilliant <sarcasm> analogy on Easter weekend comparing Jesus with the angry Ferguson/Garner protestors: And no Easter weekend would be complete without a cop hater comparing Eric Garner to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ:This is what we re up against America. These protests are not spontaneous, they re orchestrated and they re funded by wealthy radicals and unions whose primary objective is to divide Americans by class and race. No justice no peace I don t know how old Keegan is, but I m guessing he s old enough to remember this scene from 9-11, where there was no shortage of good cops who risked their lives for total strangers:This photo is just a subtle reminder Keegan, that not all cops are bad cops

“COMEDIAN” CHRIS ROCK WAS A RACIST BEFORE IT WAS COOL: “You can’t beat white people at anything…nothing. But you can knock ’em out.” [VIDEO]

To watch a black comedian with a net worth of $70 million in a country with a majority white population whine about his victimhood is just pathetic. And for anyone who thinks it s okay for Rock to spew this kind of hatred for whites in a video because he s a comedian, you may want to watch this video (especially starting at the 3:10 mark) because there s nothing funny about anything he has to say: My dad used to say: You can t beat white people at anything nothing. But you can knock em out.' In my neighborhood, there s like 3- 4 black people in my neighborhood in Alpine. It s me, Gary Sheffield, Mary Jane Blige, Patrick Ewing. Hall of Famer, Hall of Famer, greatest R & B singer of our time. Who lives next to me? What s the white man next to me? He s a dentist. He didn t invent anything, he s just a dentist. That s what America is.(So, going to college and becoming a successful dentist is something that was given to him?) Tell the third generation white coal miner about his white privilege Chris. Tell the white single mom flipping burgers by day and cleaning hotel rooms by night about her white privilege Chris. Maybe, just maybe, if you took off your racist goggles for 5 minutes, you might see that blacks don t have the market on victimhood. And if you think anything has changed since victim Chris Rock made this racist video, here is a video he made about the Confederate flag 3 years ago. Watch as he attempts to mock every white person (or cracker as he calls them). The best line is when he calls Al Sharpton Martin Luther King with a perm :

U.S. Congress may seek one-week funding extension to avert shutdown

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Congress inched toward a deal to fund the government through September but was preparing to possibly extend a midnight Friday deadline in order to wrap up negotiations and avoid an imminent government shutdown. The one-week extension would give leading Republicans and Democrats “a little breathing room” to finish negotiations and present their plan for spending around $1 trillion through the rest of the fiscal year to rank-and-file lawmakers, according to a House of Representatives source familiar with the talks. Negotiators were racing against the clock to clear away remaining disputes in the massive spending bill. The arduous talks have produced at least two major victories for Democrats so far, even though they are the minority party in Congress. President Donald Trump gave in to Democratic demands that the spending bill not include money to start building the wall he wants to erect on the U.S.-Mexico border. Trump has said the “big, beautiful, powerful” wall is needed to block illegal immigrants and drugs from coming into the country. Mexico has adamantly rejected Trump’s assertion that it would pay for the wall. Democrats have also gotten the administration to agree to continue funding, at least for now, for a major component of the Affordable Care Act, even though Trump campaigned on a vow to end the program, commonly known as Obamacare. Administration officials had threatened in recent days to pull the plug on subsidies for low-income people enrolled in the 2010 healthcare law, former Democratic President Barack Obama’s signature domestic achievement. “While we agreed to go ahead and make the ... payments for now, we haven’t made a final decision about future commitments,” a White House official said. Anthem Inc, one of the largest insurers on the Obamacare exchanges, said on Wednesday that without the government payments, premiums would increase 20 percent next year and that it might have to withdraw from some regions and states. Both concessions robbed Trump from claiming some major legislative successes he had hoped to achieve in his first 100 days in office, which will be marked on Saturday. If Congress cannot agree to either a short stopgap funding bill or a longer-term one by midnight Friday, federal agencies will run out of money and likely have to abruptly lay off hundreds of thousands of federal government workers until an appropriations bill is enacted. Many policymakers are nervous about a repeat of 2013, when the government was shuttered for 17 days. It was unclear whether Republicans might prevail on their demand for a significant increase in defense spending without similar increases to other domestic programs. Trump has proposed a $30 billion spending boost for the Pentagon for the rest of this fiscal year. “Our major concerns in these negotiations have been about funding for the wall and uncertainty about ... payments crucial to the stability of the marketplaces under the Affordable Care Act. We’ve now made progress on both of these fronts,” House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi said in a statement. She added that other disagreements must be ironed out. “We’re getting really close,” House Speaker Paul Ryan, a Republican, told reporters earlier on Wednesday, adding that negotiators were “getting down to the last, final” areas of disagreement. Trump’s push for a border wall, a signature campaign proposal, is seen by most Democrats and many Republicans as an ineffective way of securing U.S. borders. The Trump administration likely will seek money for the wall in legislation funding the government for the fiscal year starting Oct. 1, but lawmakers are likely to balk again. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican from the coal-mining state of Kentucky, threw his weight behind a plan Democrats were insisting on to make a healthcare program for coal miners permanent. It was unclear if Ryan would go along. Even though Trump’s fellow Republicans control both chambers of Congress, they only have 52 seats in the Senate. To amass the 60 votes needed there to pass a spending bill, Republicans will have to win the support of at least some Democratic lawmakers. Democrats have been seeking immediate assistance for a funding gap in Puerto Rico’s Medicaid program, the federal health insurance program for the poor, saying it is in such bad shape that 1 million people are set to lose healthcare. Also unclear is what “riders” that set new policy might be tucked into the legislation. Past riders have touched on areas such as banning the Securities and Exchange Commission from requiring corporations to disclose political donations. Democrats said they were worried Republicans could try to attach language limiting family-planning funds or undo Wall Street reforms enacted after the 2007-09 financial crisis.

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source news october updated on november john podesta kadzik was a fantastic lawyer who kept me out of jail podesta and kadzik the assistant attorney general for legislative affairs were in frequent contact other emails show both were classmates at georgetown law school in the s discussed plans to celebrate podestas birthday and in another sent last may kadziks son emailed podesta asking for a job on the clinton campaign kadzik lobbied podesta then wh chief of staff to pardon his billionaire tax dodger fugitive client marc rich whose wife gave million to the clintons and other democrats prior to the pardon fbi director james comey is now trying to do the right thing and correct the deed cleaning up the mud he and hillary clinton put all over the face of fbi agency by reopening hillary clintons case thanks to kemails linked to sex scandal of huma abedins husband anthony weiner and the mutiny of fbi agents who wont put up with comeys crap we are suppose to finally get justice but guess what doj assigned a clinton ally and john podestas very close friend peter kadzik to take charge of the new investigation in a letter to congress the doj writes that it will continue to work closely with the fbi and together dedicate all necessary resources and take appropriate steps as expeditiously as possible assistant attorney general peter j kadzik writes in letters to house and senate lawmakers who is peter kadzik according to an excellent article published by daily caller the day after hillary clinton testified in front of the house select committee on benghazi last october john podesta the democrats campaign chairman met for dinner with a small group of wellconnected friends including peter kadzik a top official at the justice department the dinner arrangement revealed in hacked podesta emails released by wikileaks is just the latest example of an apparent conflict of interest between the clinton campaign and the federal agency charged with investigating the former secretary of states email practices podesta and kadzik the assistant attorney general for legislative affairs were in frequent contact other emails show in one email from january kadzik and podesta who were classmates at georgetown law school in the s discussed plans to celebrate podestas birthday and in another sent last may kadziks son emailed podesta asking for a job on the clinton campaign the postbenghazi dinner was attended by podesta kadzik superlobbyist vincent roberti and other wellplaced beltway fixtures kadzik who started at the doj in helped spearhead the effort to nominate lynch who was heavily criticized for her secret meeting with the former president in the trenches podesta and kadzik have a long history one which has largely gone unnoticed during the ongoing clinton email scandal kadzik represented podesta during the monica lewinsky investigation and in the waning days of the bill clinton administration kadzik lobbied podesta on behalf of marc rich the fugitive who bill clinton controversially pardoned on his last day in office that history is cited by podesta in another email hacked from his gmail account in a sept email which the washington free beacon flagged last week podesta emailed an obama campaign official to recommend kadzik for a supportive role in the campaign podesta who would later head up the obama white house transition effort wrote that kadzik was a fantastic lawyer who kept me out of jail podesta had been promoted to clintons chief of staff when he and kadzik became embroiled in another scandal kadzik was then representing marc rich a billionaire financier who was wanted by the us government for evading a million tax bill the fugitive who was also implicated in illegal trading activity with nations that sponsored terrorism had been living in switzerland for years when he sought the pardon to help rich kadzik lobbied podesta heavily in the weeks before clinton left office on jan a house oversight committee report released in may stated that kadzik was recruited into marc richs lobbying campaign because he was a longtime friend of white house chief of staff john podesta the report noted that kadzik contacted podesta at least seven times regarding richs pardon on top of the allhandsondeck lobbying effort richs exwife denise rich had doled out more than million to the clintons and other democrats prior to the pardon she gave to hillary clintons new york senate campaign and another to the clinton presidential library something stinks again peter j kadzik a assistant attorney general having dinner with podesta while fbi is investigating hrc nice vj pictwittercomxvjirwqmcz realvinniejames realvinniejames october

German 'Reich' extremist given life for killing policeman

NUREMBERG, Germany (Reuters) - A right-wing extremist member of a group that claims allegiance to Adolf Hitler s World War Two-era German Reich was convicted of murder on Monday for shooting and killing a police officer and sentenced to life in prison. The conviction was handed down amid growing concern in Germany at homegrown right-wing movements that contest the country s post-World War Two democratic order and follows the arrival in parliament this month of the first far-right party in decades. The man, known only as Wolfgang P. because of German court rules, fired through a glazed door on policemen who had arrived to search his flat last October for illegal weapons. One of the officers was killed. The district court in the southern city of Nuremberg found that the shooting had been premeditated, a spokesman said, describing the suspect as malicious . He knew that a police officer was stationed in front of this door and wanted to kill him, said spokesman Friedrich Weitner, describing the court s conclusions. Throughout the trial, P. declined to identify himself to the court, in order to signify his rejection of the German state. The murder led Germany s domestic intelligence agency to start monitoring the Reichsbuerger (Reich Citizens) movement for suspected extremist and unconstitutional activities. The movement, which authorities believe may have up to 900 members, regards the modern German state as illegitimate. Its members say they owe allegiance only to the German Reich, or state, despite its abolition in 1945.

Syrians vote in Kurdish-led regions of north

QAMISHLI, Syria (Reuters) - Syrians voted on Friday in an election organized by the Kurdish-led authorities of northern Syria, the start of a three-phase process to set up new governing institutions that aim to shore up regional autonomy. Today comes as a historical day for us. The people are choosing their way of life, politics, economy, said Renas Ahmed, 25, among several dozen people casting their vote for the local community representatives being elected. Voters were picking leaders for some 3,700 communes spread across three regions of the north where Kurdish groups have established autonomous rule since 2011, when the Syria s civil war erupted. Friday s election will be followed in November by elections to local councils and culminate in January with the election of an assembly that will act as a parliament for a federal system of government in northern Syria. The election points to the ambitions of Kurdish groups and their allies that control close to a quarter of Syria. Their stated aim is to secure autonomy as part of a decentralized Syria, and insist they do not want to follow the example of the Kurds of northern Iraq who are due to vote in an independence referendum on Monday. But their autonomy plans are opposed by the Syrian government in Damascus, by neighboring Turkey, and by the United States even though it is fighting alongside the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia in the war against Islamic State (IS). The government, which is winning back territory from rebel and jihadist groups with help from Russia and Iran, has pledged to recover all of Syria. The YPG and Damascus have mostly stayed out of each other s way in the war. But tensions between Damascus and its allies on the one hand, and the YPG and its allies on the other are surfacing as they race to capture Deir al-Zor province in eastern Syria from IS. This is the first time I vote, said Mohamad Murad Khalil, a man in his late 50s who was one of tens of thousands of Syrian Kurds denied citizenship by the Syrian state. I lived 60 years without nationality. We couldn t breathe, we were denied all civil rights. (But) it s not like before when they could oppress us, he said. We have strength, will, an army - everything, thanks to God, the YPG and the YPJ, he said referring to the all-female militia affiliated to the YPG, whose flag was flying at the polling station. The political structures expected to emerge from the process are inspired by the ideas of Abdullah Ocalan, head of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), who is in jail in Turkey for leading a three-decade insurgency. Turkey views the political rise of Syria s Kurds as a threat to its national security. The dominant Syrian Kurdish political groups, centered around the PYD - the Democratic Union Party - say their system embraces all ethnic and religious groups in northern Syria. But the YPG has faced hostility from the Syrian Arab groups that have fought President Bashar al-Assad in the six-year-long war. They accuse it of working with Assad against them - something the YPG denies. The YPG is fighting Islamic State as part of a U.S.-backed militia alliance known as the Syrian Democratic Forces, which includes fighters from Arab and other backgrounds. But the elections are not going ahead in all of the territory captured from IS by the SDF: the majority-Arab cities of Manbij and Tabqa near Raqqa are not part of the new political order, though they may have the option of joining it. Though the areas where the elections are taking place are predominantly Kurdish, Naser al-Jasim, 45, an Arab from Qamishli, said his village was taking part. He said he was casting a vote to improve local services and to show that unlike what narrow-minded people think, there is no difference between a Kurd and an Arab .

Alt-Left Vandalizes Catholic Saint Statue: “The statue should come down”

President Trump was right again! He said mob rule of removing statues is a slippery slope. Where does it end? A great example of the problem is the latest statue to be vandalized:On top of people calling for the removal of George Washington s statue and the Jefferson Memorial, vandals in California have pointed their crosshairs at recently-canonized St. Junipero Serra.According to a CBS Local report, a photo circulating the rounds on Facebook shows that a statue of Junipero Serra alongside a Native American boy in a park across from Mission San Fernando was vandalized with red paint and the word murder written in white. The Native American boy had a swastika painted across his chest.City officials could not confirm the photo s authenticity. However, when investigators went to the site, they did indeed see red paint on Serra s arm and a swastika painted on the child next to him, which means the neighboring Catholic mission apparently cleaned the statue as best they could to avoid drawing controversy.That would make perfect sense, considering that whenever the Left gets their hands on controversy like this, they always show up to get their inner Bolshevik on.Some of the people interviewed by CBS expressed disapproval of the statue s presence, falsely claiming that St. Junipero Serra sought the destruction of Native American culture.Read more: Daily Wire

Trump says 'something could happen' on climate accord

PARIS (Reuters) - President Donald Trump held the door open to a reversal of his decision to pull the United States out of the Paris climate accord on Thursday, but did not say what he would need in return to persuade him to do so. Trump, who has made few friends in Europe with his rejection of the 2015 Paris agreement and his “America First” trade stance, met with French President Emmanuel Macron as both leaders sought common ground to reset an awkward relationship. “Something could happen with respect to the Paris accords, let’s see what happens,” Trump told a news conference. “If it happens, that will be wonderful, and if it doesn’t, that’ll be OK too.” Trump has said the Paris accord is soft on leading polluters like China and India, putting U.S. industry at risk. “I respect the wish to preserve jobs, I think that’s compatible with the Paris accord,” Macron said at the joint conference. “There is no sudden and unexpected change today, otherwise we would have announced it, but there is the shared intention to continue discussing these issues,” the French president added. Trump and Macron’s relationship got off to a bumpy start, but both have an incentive to improve relations - Macron hopes to elevate France’s role in global affairs, and Trump, seemingly isolated among world leaders, needs a friend overseas. Trump came to France beset by allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election, with emails released on Tuesday suggesting his eldest son welcomed an offer of Russian help against his father’s Democratic rival Hillary Clinton. Weeks after Macron hosted Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Palace of Versailles, Trump will bask in the trappings of the Bastille Day military parade on Friday and commemorations of the entry 100 years ago of U.S. troops into World War One. Macron welcomed Trump with a warm handshake and smiles, a contrast to the clenched-jaw greeting they shared at their first encounter in May. “Emmanuel, nice to see you. This is so beautiful,” the U.S. president told Macron as they met at the Hotel des Invalides where Napoleon Bonaparte and other French war heroes are buried. For the 39-year-old Macron, France’s youngest leader since Napoleon two centuries ago, the visit is a chance to use soft diplomacy to win Trump’s confidence and set about influencing U.S. foreign policy, which European leaders say lacks direction. Macron views it as counter-productive to isolate the United States on the world stage, and said he and Trump had asked diplomats to draw up in the coming weeks a concrete initiative aimed at preparing the future of Syria. “On the Iraq-Syria situation, we have agreed to continue working together, in particular on the building of a roadmap for the post-war period,” Macron said. Trump said work was underway to negotiate a ceasefire in a second region of Syria. On Friday, Trump will be guest of honor at France’s July 14 celebrations, a year after a Tunisian man loyal to Islamic State ploughed a truck through revelers on a seafront promenade in Nice, killing more than 80. During the U.S. election campaign, Trump said a wave of militant attacks showed “France is no longer France”, and reprimanded the then-Socialist government for allegedly bowing its head to jihadists. In bringing Trump to Paris, Macron has stolen a march on Britain’s embattled Prime Minister Theresa May. London’s offer of a state visit for Trump met fierce domestic criticism and warnings that he would be greeted by mass protests. An Elabe poll showed that 59 percent of French people approved of Macron’s decision to invite Trump.

aig quadruples limits for terrorism insurance to billion

part religious fraud httpswwwyoutubecomwatchvqutkbhprbls

American McCarthyism: Neocon Warhawks’ Plan to Kill Antiwar Dissent in Media

21st Century Wire says After 12 months of perpetrating one of the greatest political hoaxes in history blaming Russia for the Presidential victory of Donald Trump the Washington establishment is now wanting to take the lie to the next level by sanctioning not only Russian international media outlets, but any media outlet (see one of their guide lists here) who dare to violate the mainstream party line on the US war agenda by broadcasting to an America audience forcing them the register as foreign agents under the FARA Act of 1934. CrossTalk says: The television station you are watching now and the Russian news agency Sputnik may find themselves in legal jeopardy in the United States. The drive to designate both as foreign agents under the Foreign Agents Registration Act is disturbing and dangerous. It would seem those in power decide who can freely speak. Host Peter Lavelle is CrossTalking with guests Scott Rickard, Neil Clark, and Alexander Nekrassov.Watch this incredible discussion on how Washington is degenerating into a paranoid NeoMcCarthyist den of political scape-goatists whose chief aim is to shut down any dissenting voices against America s policy of endless war around the globe:. READ MORE RUSSIAGATE NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire Russiagate FilesSUPPORT 21WIRE SUBSCRIBE & BECOME A MEMBER @ 21WIRE.TV

OBAMA INSPIRED COP HATE UPDATE: TX Restaurant Manager Writes “FCK U” On Sheriff’s Receipt

A Schlotsky s Assistant Manager in Seguin, Texas, gave a Texas Deputy a receipt that said FCK U. According to the Texas Sheriff s Deputies Facebook page, on Tuesday, December 20, 2016, Texas Deputy Sheriff Caddell, who was in full uniform, ordered lunch at the drive-through at the Schlotsky s in Seguin, Texas. After the Deputy received the order, he looked at the receipt and noticed that it had been modified. A photo of the receipt was posted on the Texas Sheriff s Deputies page, and the top part, showed in bold type, was DRIVE THRU FCK U. The remaining part of the receipt that is visible in the photo lists the date as 12/20/2016, 1:47 p.m., host and employee numbers, and the modified message again: DRIVE THRU FCK U.The Texas Deputy, whose agency has not been identified and whose name has not been confirmed, called the restaurant and discovered that it was the Assistant Manager who had modified the receipt. The Texas Deputy then called the Schlotsky s corporate office, who posted a response to the incident. In the response, it was noted that each franchise is independently owned and operated, and that the Seguin franchise owner had contacted the Texas Deputy to apologize and to let him know that this is being taken seriously, that they respect and value police officers and all first responders. The corporate response also noted that this was an isolated incident, that the employee received appropriate action, and that he had reached out to the Sheriff s Office to apologize. The company s response reminded Sheriff s Office employees that they are always welcome at the Sequin location, where each officer in uniform is offered a discount in appreciation for their service. Blue Lives Matter

U.S. remains committed to Libyan political agreement: State Department

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States remains committed to the Libyan Political Agreement, the State Department said in a statement following U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s meeting with Libyan Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj on Friday. “Attempts to bypass the UN-facilitated political process or impose a military solution to the conflict would only destabilize Libya and create opportunities for ISIS (Islamic State) and other terrorist groups to threaten the United States and our allies,” State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said.

Trump considers plan to replace Tillerson with CIA chief: U.S. officials

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump is considering a plan to oust Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, whose relationship has been strained by the top U.S. diplomat’s softer line on North Korea and other differences, senior administration officials said on Thursday. Tillerson would be replaced within weeks by CIA Director Mike Pompeo, a Trump loyalist and foreign policy hard-liner, under a White House plan to carry out the most significant staff shake-up so far of the Trump administration. Republican Senator Tom Cotton, one of Trump’s staunchest defenders in Congress, would be tapped to replace Pompeo at the Central Intelligence Agency, the officials told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity. It was not immediately clear whether Trump had given final approval to the reshuffle, but one of the officials said the president asked for the plan to be put together. Tillerson’s long-rumored departure would end a troubled tenure for the former Exxon Mobil Corp chief executive, who has been increasingly at odds with Trump over issues such as North Korea and under fire for planned cuts at the State Department. Tillerson was reported in October to have privately called Trump a “moron,” something the secretary of state sought to dismiss. That followed a tweet by Trump that Tillerson should not waste his time by seeking negotiations with North Korea over its nuclear and missile program, widely seen as a sign of the secretary of state being marginalized. Trump has soured on Tillerson mostly because of the “moron” report, his less confrontational approach on North Korea and differences over the Qatar crisis, one senior U.S. official said. His slow approach to filling diplomatic openings at the State Department is also a factor, another official said. Trump asked John Kelly, the White House chief of staff, to develop the transition strategy, and it has been discussed with other officials, one administration source said. Under the plan, which has been in the works for weeks and was first reported by the New York Times, the reshuffle would happen around the end of the year or shortly afterward, the official said. Asked whether he wanted Tillerson to remain in his job, Trump sidestepped the question, telling reporters at the White House: “He’s here. Rex is here.” State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said Kelly told Tillerson’s chief of staff on Thursday the reports on Tillerson being replaced were not true. Nauert added that Tillerson “serves at the pleasure of the president.” Asked about Tillerson, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said the secretary of state remained in his post. “When the president loses confidence in someone, they will no longer serve here,” she said. Pompeo, a former congressman, has moved to the forefront as he has gained Trump’s trust on national security matters. Tillerson, 65, has spent much of his tenure trying to smooth the rough edges of Trump’s unilateralist “America First” foreign policy, with limited success. On several occasions, the president publicly undercut his diplomatic initiatives. A source familiar with Tillerson’s thinking said the secretary of state’s original plan when he took the job was to leave in February. If carried out, the staff changes would be the latest in a string of firings or resignations in the Trump administration including the departures of the chief of staff, national security adviser and FBI director. Pompeo, 53, has taken tough foreign policy stands, especially on Iran, and talked about how his agency is becoming more aggressive and how he has been focusing on deploying more CIA officers overseas.    He has offered effusive praise for Trump despite the president’s criticism of U.S. intelligence agencies, some of which concluded that Russia conducted an influence campaign to boost Trump in the 2016 presidential election. Tillerson has at times put distance between himself and Trump’s positions. At a private dinner of foreign policy veterans last month, a senior White House official criticized Tillerson for failing to support the president’s agenda, according to a person familiar with the matter. Tillerson joined Defense Secretary Jim Mattis in pressing Trump not to pull the United States out of an agreement with Iran and world powers over Tehran’s nuclear capabilities. Tillerson has taken a more hawkish view than Trump on Russia and tried to mediate a dispute after four Arab nations launched a boycott of Qatar. In September in Beijing, Tillerson said Washington was probing North Korea to see whether it was interested in dialogue, and had multiple direct channels of communication with Pyongyang. The next day, Trump appeared to dismiss those efforts in a tweet, telling Tillerson he was “wasting his time.” Tensions have also run high between Tillerson and veteran diplomats who oppose his proposed staff and budget cuts.

U.S. secretaries Tillerson, Kelly to visit Mexico next week

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Homeland Security head John Kelly will visit Mexico next Thursday, Mexico’s foreign ministry said on Wednesday. The officials will meet with various members of the Mexican government to continue the dialogue agreed upon when U.S. President Donald Trump and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto spoke by phone in January, the ministry said in a statement.

ON THE MOVE: [Video] Iranians, Russians And Syrians Set Up Coordination Cell In Iraq

How many more days remain in our Community Organizer In Chief s term in office? He can t make golfing his full time job fast enough This week, former CIA director Gen. David Petraeus testified on Capitol Hill, warning that inaction in Syria carries risks for the United States. Russia s recent military escalation in Syria is a further reminder that when the U.S. does not take the initiative, others will fill the vacuum often in ways that are harmful to our interests, Petraeus said.FOX NEWS EXCLUSIVE Russian, Syrian and Iranian military commanders have set up a coordination cell in Baghdad in recent days to try to begin working with Iranian-backed Shia militias fighting the Islamic State, Fox News has learned.Western intelligence sources say the coordination cell includes low-level Russian generals. U.S. officials say it is not clear whether the Iraqi government is involved at the moment.Describing the arrival of Russian military personnel in Baghdad, one senior U.S. official said, They are popping up everywhere. CNN Report Sept. 8, 2015:The Russians already have been building up their military presence in Syria, a subject expected to factor prominently in a planned meeting between President Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin in New York Monday on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly.While the U.S. also is fighting the Islamic State, the Obama administration has voiced concern that Russia s involvement, at least in Syria, could have a destabilizing effect.Moscow, though, has fostered ties with the governments in both Syria and Iraq. In May, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi flew to Moscow for an official visit to discuss potential Russian arms transfers and shared intelligence capability, as well as the enhancement of security and military capabilities, according to a statement by the Iraqi prime minister s office at the time.Iranian Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani also was spotted in Baghdad on Sept 22. He met with Shia militias backed by Iran; intelligence officials believe he met with Russians as well.Meanwhile, a U.S. official described to Fox News how, over the weekend, the Russians were able to move 24 attack jets into Syria undetected.The Russian military flew 12 Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot and a dozen Sukhoi Su-24 Fencer attack aircraft in tight formations under the steady stream of the large Russian An-124 cargo planes that have been ferrying supplies from bases in Russia through Iran before traveling on to Syria, the official said.The large cargo planes appeared as a big blip on radar, but flying beneath them were tight formations of the smaller Russian fighter jets that used jamming pods and switched off their IFF, which would identify the aircraft to radar.The large Russian cargo planes have the capability to fly directly from Russia to Syria, but the smaller attack aircraft do not. The Russian jets did not have the legs to make it directly from Russia to Syria, and needed a base to refuel, said the official, who spoke to Fox News under the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to disclose sensitive information.According to the Aviationist, the Russian cargo planes and fighter jets landed at an airbase in Hamadan, Iran, roughly halfway between Baghdad and Tehran on Sept 18-19.Fox News also has learned from U.S. military sources that the Russians have begun flying some of the Sukhoi fighter and attack jets from Bassel al-Assad airport, in Latakia, now a Russian forward operating base along the Mediterranean.The planes are not dropping bombs or conducting attack missions, but just flying around near the base, according to one official. The official also confirmed that Russian destroyers are in position off the Mediterranean coast.On Thursday, State Department spokesman John Kirby denied a U.S. intelligence failure led to U.S. officials being caught unaware of the two dozen Russian warplanes arriving in Syria. I can tell you that we ve been watching this very, very closely and we have not been ignorant of what the Russians have been doing, said Kirby.Asked Thursday about Russia s military involvement in Syria, Defense Secretary Ash Carter cautioned that without Russian support for a political transition in Damascus, it could pour gasoline on the ISIL phenomenon rather than to lead to the defeat of ISIL. But just two days ago, Secretary of State John Kerry said the Russian build-up was consistent with defensive measures. For the moment, it is the judgment of our military and most experts that the level and type represents basically force protection, a level of protection for their deployment to an airbase given the fact that it is in an area of conflict, Kerry said at the State Department Tuesday.

CIA contractors likely source of latest WikiLeaks release: U.S. officials

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Contractors likely breached security and handed over documents describing the Central Intelligence Agency’s use of hacking tools to anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks, U.S. intelligence and law enforcement officials told Reuters on Wednesday. Two officials speaking on condition of anonymity said intelligence agencies have been aware since the end of last year of the breach, which led to WikiLeaks releasing thousands of pages of information on its website on Tuesday. According to the documents, CIA hackers could get into Apple Inc (AAPL.O) iPhones, devices running Google’s Android software and other gadgets in order to capture text and voice messages before they were encrypted with sophisticated software. The White House said on Wednesday that President Donald Trump was “extremely concerned” about the CIA security breach that led to the WikiLeaks release. “Anybody who leaks classified information will be held to the highest degree of law,” spokesman Sean Spicer said. The two officials told Reuters they believed the published documents about CIA hacking techniques used between 2013 and 2016 were authentic. One of the officials with knowledge of the investigation said companies that are contractors for the CIA have been checking to see which of their employees had access to the material that WikiLeaks published, and then going over their computer logs, emails and other communications for any evidence of who might be responsible. On Tuesday in a press release, WikiLeaks itself said the CIA had “lost control” of an archive of hacking methods and it appeared to have been circulated “among former U.S. government hackers and contractors in an unauthorized manner, one of whom has provided WikiLeaks with portions of the archive.” The CIA, which is the United States’ civilian foreign intelligence service, declined to comment on the authenticity of purported intelligence documents. The agency said in a statement that its mission was to collect foreign intelligence abroad “to protect America from terrorists, hostile nation states and other adversaries” and to be “innovative, cutting-edge, and the first line of defense in protecting this country from enemies abroad.” The CIA is legally prohibited from surveillance inside the United States and “does not do so”, the statement added. A U.S. government source familiar with the matter said it would be normal for the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the CIA both to open investigations into such leaks. U.S. officials previously have confirmed that prosecutors in Alexandria, Virginia for years have been conducting a federal grand jury investigation of WikiLeaks and its personnel. A spokesman for the prosecutors declined to comment on the possibility of that probe being expanded. It is not clear if the investigation of the latest CIA leaks is part of the probe. Contractors have been revealed as the source of sensitive government information leaks in recent years, most notably Edward Snowden and Harold Thomas Martin, both employed by consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton (BAH.N) while working for the National Security Agency. U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein of California and a Democrat on the intelligence committee, said the government needed to stop the breaches. “I think we really need to take a look at the contractor portion of the employee workforce, because you have to be loyal to America to work for an intelligence agency, otherwise don’t do it,” Feinstein said. Both U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives intelligence committees have either opened or are expected to open inquiries into the CIA breach, congressional officials said. Some cyber security experts and technology companies have criticized the government for opting to exploit rather than disclose software vulnerabilities, though an interagency review process set up under former President Barack Obama was intended to err on the side of disclosure. Those concerns would grow if U.S. authorities did not notify companies that CIA documents describing various hacking techniques had been compromised. Apple, Alphabet Inc’s (GOOGL.O) Google, Cisco Systems Inc (CSCO.O) and Oracle Corp (ORCL.N) did not immediately respond when asked if they were notified of a CIA breach before WikiLeaks made its files public. At Apple, none of the vulnerabilities described in the documents provoked a panic, though analysis was continuing, according to a person who spoke with engineers there. Google’s director of information security and privacy, Heather Adkins, said in a statement: “As we’ve reviewed the documents, we’re confident that security updates and protections in both Chrome and Android (operating systems) already shield users from many of these alleged vulnerabilities. Our analysis is ongoing and we will implement any further necessary protections.” One reason the investigation is focused on a potential leak by contractors rather than for example a hack by Russian intelligence, another official said, is that so far there is no evidence that Russian intelligence agencies tried to exploit any of the leaked material before it was published. One European official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the WikiLeaks material could in fact lead to closer cooperation between European intelligence agencies and U.S. counterparts, which share concerns about Russian intelligence operations. U.S. intelligence agencies have accused Russia of seeking to tilt last year’s U.S. presidential election in Trump’s favor, including by hacking into Democratic Party emails. Moscow has denied the allegation. One major security problem was that the number of contractors with access to information with the highest secrecy classification has “exploded” because of federal budget constraints, the first U.S. official said. U.S. intelligence agencies have been unable to hire additional permanent staff needed to keep pace with technological advances such as the “internet of things” that connects cars, home security and heating systems and other devices to computer networks, or to pay salaries competitive with the private sector, the official said. Reuters could not immediately verify the contents of the published documents. A person familiar with WikiLeaks’ activities said the group has had the CIA hacking material for months, and that the release of the material was in the works “for a long time.” In Germany on Wednesday, the chief federal prosecutor’s office said that it would review the WikiLeaks documents because some suggested that the CIA ran a hacking hub from the U.S. consulate in Frankfurt. “We will initiate an investigation if we see evidence of concrete criminal acts or specific perpetrators,” a spokesman for the federal prosecutor’s office told Reuters. Chancellor Angela Merkel is scheduled to visit Washington on March 14 for her first meeting with Trump, who has sharply criticized Berlin for everything from its trade policy to what he considers inadequate levels of military spending.

Trump’s $45 Million Loan Is The Latest Way He’s Fleecing His Campaign For Money

Donald Trump s campaign might be close to broke, and he might be doing highly illegal things to try and keep it afloat, but evidence has also been mounting that he s using this election as a means of profit. The $45 million worth of debt the campaign has is apparently personal loans he made, and he can convert them to donations, effectively wiping out the campaign s debt.He d have to file paperwork with the FEC, though, and so far, that hasn t happened. NBC wasn t able to get much out of his campaign about this, with spokesperson Hope Hicks saying they re going to file it with the next scheduled FEC report. She had originally said that they were going to file it last week.Until that paperwork is filed, though, this is another way for him to line his pockets with pieces of silver. While that loan is still a loan, he can use new campaign donations to reimburse himself. The law gives him until August to do this, so he can milk this for all it s worth and nobody can do a thing about it.Trumplestiltskin is such an upstanding candidate.GOP donors are squirrelly about this because they want assurances that their money isn t going into Trump s personal coffers. The problem is, until he files that paperwork, there can t be any assurances, and His Royal Crookedness will find other ways of funneling those donations to his not-inconsiderable bank accounts anyway.Earlier this week, USA Today, which seems to have made it their mission to scrutinize every single thing Trump does, reported that just two percent of the GOP donors that supported Mitt Romney four years ago have contributed to Trump in any way. Some blame his late start in courting GOP donors, but the truth is, many of them are just too hesitant to give money to him.All he has to do is file a signed statement and reflect the change in accounting on his next filing. It s not like it s that hard. Trump s campaign said that this was a done deal and yet, it isn t. Why wouldn t they just tell the truth from the get-go, and say that they ll do it with the next monthly filing, instead of a special statement? The answer s pretty clear, given what Trump has been doing with his businesses and his campaign finances. He s in it for the profit, and he will profit in any way he can.Featured image by Drew Angerer/Getty Images

UK PM May concerned by reports of sexual harassment in parliament: spokeswoman

LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Theresa May is concerned by a newspaper report describing a culture of sexual harassment among lawmakers and their staff working in parliament, her spokeswoman said on Friday. The report in the Sun newspaper follows dozens of allegations against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein which have prompted hundreds of thousands of women around the world to share their own experiences. The Sun said on Friday that female staff working in London s Westminster political district had created a WhatsApp instant messaging group to discuss their experiences of harassment and warn others about potential perpetrators. It did not name anyone in connection with allegations but cited unnamed members of the group when describing its contents and purpose. The reports are very concerning, but I can t pre-empt allegations or investigations that haven t come to light yet, May s spokeswoman said when asked about the Sun story. The prime minister was very clear when we responded to the reports about Harvey Weinstein in the last few weeks that any unwanted sexual behavior is completely unacceptable, and that is true in any walk of life including politics. Separately, a group of women members of Britain s opposition Labour Party have set up a website calling on fellow members who have experienced sexual harassment within party ranks to tell their stories anonymously to try and improve Labour s culture. Any allegations that may come to light would be taken extremely seriously and we would advise people to contact the police if there is such an allegation, May s spokeswoman said.

SHOUT! POLL: Which US Oligarch Family is More Corrupt?

21st Century Wire asks . HAVE YOUR SHOUT: Which US oligarch family is more corrupt, the Clintons, or the Bushes?VOTE, comment and engage READ MORE ELECTION NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire 2016 Files

Dozens of U.S. lawmakers request briefing on Yahoo email scanning

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A bipartisan group of 48 lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives on Friday asked the Obama administration to brief Congress “as soon as possible” about a 2015 Yahoo YHOO.O program to scan all of its users’ incoming email at the behest of the government. The request comes amid scrutiny by privacy advocates and civil liberties groups about the legal authority and technical nature of the surveillance program, first revealed by Reuters last week. Custom software was installed to search messages to hundreds of millions of accounts under an order issued by the secretive Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. “As legislators, it is our responsibility to have accurate information about the intelligence activities conducted by the federal government,” according to the letter, organized by Republican Representative Justin Amash of Michigan and Democratic Representative Ted Lieu of California. “Accordingly, we request information and a briefing as soon as possible for all members of Congress to resolve the issues raised by these reports.” Investigators searched for messages that contained a single piece of digital content linked to a foreign state sponsor of terrorism, sources have told Reuters, though the nature of the content remains unclear. Intelligence officials said Yahoo modified existing systems used to stop child pornography and filter spam messages on its email service. But three former Yahoo employees told Reuters the court-ordered search was done by a module buried deep near the core of the company’s email server operation system, far below where mail sorting was handled. The Senate and House intelligence committees were given a copy of the order when it was issued last year, sources said, but other members of Congress have express concern at the scope of the email scanning. Some legal experts have questioned the breadth of the court order and whether it runs afoul of the U.S. Constitution’s Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches. Half of registered U.S. voters believe the Yahoo program violated the privacy of customers, according to a poll of 1,989 people conducted last week by Morning Consult, a polling and media company. Twenty-five percent were supportive of the program because of its potential to stop criminal acts, the survey found, while another quarter did not know or had no opinion. The congressional letter is addressed to Attorney General Loretta Lynch and Director of National Intelligence James Clapper.

Clinton Scorches Trump: ‘All His Business Books End At Chapter 11’

Hillary Clinton has been gearing up for months to take on Donald Trump and expose him as the fraud he is. She exposed his nonsensical view of the world in a searing national security speech, and now she did it over his dangerous, risky, and shameful career in the private sector.At a blistering speech in Columbus, Ohio (a very important swing state), Clinton worked in some very stinging zingers against the billionaire mogul, including a shot at his multiple bankruptcies:Trump has written a lot of books about business but they all seem to end at Chapter 11.Clinton also referred to the pending lawsuit against Trump University (which the media has completely forgotten about since the shooting in Orlando), saying, The same people he s trying to get to vote for him are people he s been exploiting for years. Trump and his campaign, of course, deflected, and accused her of running a hedge fund for the Clinton Foundation during her tenure as Secretary of State.Here s the difference between what Trump did (and his currently doing) and what Clinton has done:The Clinton Foundation took money from countries around the world and turned it into AIDS medication, schools and learning supplies for girls, clean drinking water in Africa, and hospital supplies in the Middle East. Trump tried to scam veterans out of a donation until the media called him out on it. And he scammed thousands of honest, hardworking Americans out of their money in a fraudulent university. But Clinton s speech wasn t just an attack on Trump. She carefully and plainly laid out her economic agenda:Notably, even with the drawn-out battle against Bernie Sanders behind her, Clinton hewed closely to progressive goals and rhetoric. She vowed in her speech to veto any efforts to undo Dodd-Frank financial reforms and reiterated her opposition to the Trans Pacific Partnership trade deal, while noting that Trump s own businesses have engaged in the kinds of outsourcing he now attacks.Clinton s rhetoric is getting sharper, and her strategy is getting clearer: she s going to crush Donald Trump.Featured image via J.D. Pooley/Getty Images

Turkey's foreign ministry has suspended 25 percent of diplomats in post-coup probes: minister

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey s foreign ministry has suspended a quarter of its diplomats over suspected ties to last year s failed coup attempt, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Thursday. Speaking at his ministry s budget discussions in Ankara, Cavusoglu said the suspensions were based on serious documents and added that the rate of those returning to their posts showed the ministry had not made a mistake .

Police arrest 400 at U.S. Capitol in protest of money in politics

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Police arrested more than 400 protesters outside the U.S. Capitol on Monday from Democracy Spring, an organization seeking to remove big money from politics and combat restrictive voter identification laws. The mostly calm and orderly demonstration resulted in arrests for what the U.S. Capitol Police called “unlawful demonstration activity” such as crowding and obstruction. Organizers vowed to repeat the demonstration every day for a week. The protest was held “to demand Congress take immediate action to end the corruption of big money in our politics and ensure free and fair elections,” Democracy Spring said on its website. The group lists actor Mark Ruffalo and academic Noam Chomsky and dozens of well-known activist groups among its supporters. “We believe this is the people’s house, and Congress should be responsive to the people. We need to protect voting rights,” said Peter Callahan, the group’s communications coordinator. Protesters hoisted a scarecrow-like effigy of a corporate lobbyist holding money bags and a sign reading, “Warning: Massive civil disobedience is next.” Police arrested those who sat on the stairs of the East Front of the Capitol, the seat of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Democracy Spring traces its roots to the end of the Occupy Los Angeles movement, and its rise coincides with the presidential campaigns of Democrat Bernie Sanders and Republican Donald Trump, both of whom speak against the influence of campaign contributions on politicians. While most of the groups involved are associated more with Democrats than Republicans, Callahan said the group was nonpartisan. “We see populism on the rise on both sides of the spectrum. Americans are sick and tired of their politicians being bought and paid for,” Callahan said.

DISASTER CAPITALISTS: How Bill And Hillary’s “Clinton Foundation” Used Relief Donations Like An ATM

Hillary was Secretary of State an unimaginable earthquake hit Haiti in January 2010. 250,000 people were estimated to have died in the earthquake. Hillary promised Haitians on behalf of the United States that we would offer disaster relief and humanitarian assistance. Meanwhile, as billions of dollars flowed into the coffers of the Clinton Foundation, former President Bill Clinton was appointed Special Envoy to Haiti for the United Nations was also named co-chair of the Interim Haiti Recovery Commission.Here is the horrific story of how the Clinton s helped some of the poorest people in the world:

Conservatives VICIOUSLY Attack Michelle Obama For Condemning Trump’s Predatory Behavior

Donald Trump s army of deplorables are viciously attacking First Lady Michelle Obama because she dared to condemn his predatory sexual behavior towards women.On Thursday, Mrs. Obama took a powerful swing at the Republican nominee over his comments about sexually assaulting women and his predatory behavior that makes him totally unfit to be president. This is not something we can ignore, she said. It s not something we can sweep under the rug as just another disturbing footnote in a sad election season.Because this was not just a lewd conversation. This wasn t locker room banter. This was a powerful individual speaking freely and openly about sexually predatory behavior. And actually bragging about kissing and groping women. Using language so obscene that many of us are worried about our children hearing it when we turn on the TV. To make matters worse, it now seems very clear this isn t an isolated incident. It s one of countless examples of how he has treated women his whole life.The First Lady also urged parents to reject Trump because rewarding him with the presidency will only send a bad message to children, especially boys. In our hearts we all know that if we let Hillary s opponent win the election, then we are sending a clear message to our kids that everything they re seeing and hearing is perfectly okay. We are validating it, we are endorsing it. We are telling our sons that it is okay to humiliate women, telling our daughters that this is how we deserve to be treated, that bigotry and bullying are perfectly acceptable. Is that we want for our children? Let s be very clear, strong men, men who are truly role models don t need to put down women to make themselves feel powerful. Michelle Obama is no stranger at being attacked for any little thing she does and this time was no different as conservatives swarmed the internet to smear her as much as possible with all sorts of horrendous remarks.@CNNPolitics @CNN too bad her husband isn t a decent man. Wonder if she actually knows any. Oh her! She s a decent man! Deplorable Tiffany (@1tiffanyl) October 13, 2016@CNNPolitics @CNN @MichelleObama How do you feel about your sleazy husband flaunting his erection to other women? Just curious. FRAUD ALERT!! (@redco2012) October 13, 2016@CNNPolitics @CNN Michelle Obama is an embarrassment! I can t wait until your go Deplorable Marmy #DT (@Loofie68msncom2) October 13, 2016@CNNPolitics @benshapiro And exposing her daughters to revolting rappers and music about bitches and ho s that have been welcomed to WH sal (@tevet) October 13, 2016@CNNPolitics @CNN nothing like our own first lady standing in front of millions of you as she supports fraud, corruption n destabilization ? Trump STRONG (@allabouttrump) October 13, 2016@CNNPolitics @CNN your husband is an insult to all Americans!! Deporable American (@wendytogo34) October 13, 2016@CNNPolitics @CNN Oh please Michelle Obama @FLOTUS with your fake half cry and faux outrage .don t you have packing to do??? Ferkslaw (@ferkslaw1) October 13, 2016And these are just the tip of the iceberg.Conservatives somehow STILL support Donald Trump despite the fact that he is an admitted sexual predator and creepy pervert. And in order to defend their hero, they repeatedly bring up Bill Clinton even though he was never charged with committing a sex crime and is NOT running for president.Hillary Clinton was absolutely right. Trump s supporters are deplorable.Featured Image: Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Early Voting In North Carolina Shows GREAT NEWS For Democrats

Early voting has begun in the battleground state of North Carolina, and after months of contentious litigation, it s clear why Republicans wanted to squash it: returns are showing Democrats with an eight point advantage over Republicans.Data analysis from TargetSmart (who partnered with NBC News) shows that of the 4,000 plus presidential ballots that have been cast, 42 percent come from registered Democrats, 34 percent from Republicans, 25 percent from unaffiliated, and 1 percent from Libertarians.Contrast that to 2012, when Mitt Romney won North Carolina by two percent: in early voting that year in that state, Republicans held a five percent lead. Now Democrats hold an eight percent lead. In 2008, when President Obama won (by a slim margin of 0.33 percent), Democrats had an 11 point advantage. In 2004, Democrats had an 11 point advantage, but Kerry lost to Bush by 13 percent.So while it s not set in stone that whoever accumulates the most early votes wins, the last two elections (in which early voting has increased tremendously) shows that is the case.Nate Silver s FiveThirtyEight currently gives Clinton a 43 percent chance of winning North Carolina (and a 62 percent chance of winning the election overall). Clinton s chances have gone up almost five percent in the last week, with one reason being a strong showing for Democrats in early voting. The New York Times election model gives Clinton a 48 percent chance of winning North Carolina.Again, no wonder Governor Pat McCory, who is currently losing his re-election bid, and the GOP legislature wanted to do away with it. When Democrats get a head start, that usually means good news in November.Democrats shouldn t get too comfortable. Although early voting points to a Democratic-leaning result, Republicans could very well (and chances are great) benefit from in person voting on November 8. President Obama never overcame Romney in the polls in the weeks leading up to the election, almost all the polls for the month of September favored Obama.With 45 days left until the election, anything can happen, so Democrats need to continue to mobilize, register, and get out the vote for not just early ballots, but for November 8.Rachel Maddow broke down the facts on her show:Featured image via Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

WATCH: Trump Get His A** Handed To Him By Chris Cuomo For Crying ‘Fake News’ During Broadcast

Donald Trump got humiliated in real time on Thursday morning as CNN host Chris Cuomo responded to a tweet on the air.During an interview with Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal, Cuomo discussed Trump s Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch. Blumenthal had earlier confirmed that Gorsuch criticized Trump s disgraceful attack on the federal judge who halted his executive order banning travel from seven countries into the United States. He said very specifically that they were demoralizing and disheartening and he characterized them very specifically that way, Blumenthal said after meeting with Gorsuch. I said they were more than disheartening and I said to him that he has an obligation to make his views clear to the American people, so they understand how abhorrent or unacceptable President Trump s attacks on the judiciary are. Gorsuch confirmed his remarks via a spokesman, but that didn t stop Trump from lashing out at Cuomo and Blumenthal on Twitter.Chris Cuomo, in his interview with Sen. Blumenthal, never asked him about his long-term lie about his brave service in Vietnam. FAKE NEWS! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 9, 2017In reality, Cuomo did ask Blumenthal about his misrepresentation of his military service, which basically stems from Blumenthal having misspoken that he served in Vietnam when he meant that he served during Vietnam but not actually in the war. He has apologized for the mistake multiple times. Meanwhile, Donald Trump never served at all because he dodged the draft.Anyway, Cuomo learned of Trump s attack on the air and he responded in real time.Cuomo asked that the beginning of his interview with Blumenthal be aired again. What is your response to the president of the United States who says you should not be believed because you misrepresented your military record in the past? Cuomo asked.Clearly, Cuomo did ask Blumenthal about his military service. The president, with all due respect, is off on the facts, Cuomo said. He just keeps doubling down when the facts don t favor his position. Indeed, even CNN issued a brief statement, which includes video, via Twitter.@realDonaldTrump . @ChrisCuomo did address that point at the start of his interview. https://t.co/JWJEAshv1y Those are the facts. CNN Communications (@CNNPR) February 9, 2017At this point, Donald Trump really should be embarrassed and he owes CNN and Chris Cuomo a public apology.Featured Image: Screenshot

Brexit tycoon Banks says Russia did not fund campaign to leave the EU

LONDON (Reuters) - Arron Banks, a tycoon who backed leaving the European Union, on Wednesday dismissed allegations that Russia had funded Brexit. Britain s electoral commission earlier said it had opened an investigation into whether Banks breached campaign finance rules in the 2016 Brexit referendum. Allegations of Brexit being funded by the Russians... are complete bollocks (rubbish) from beginning to end, Banks said in an emailed statement. Commenting on the electoral commission investigation, Banks said: This is the Remain establishment once again trying to discredit the result and it s all starting to get rather boring! Banks ended the statement with the word Nostrovia , a mispronunciation of the Russian phrase na zdorovie which is sometimes used as a toast to good health when drinking.

Philippine drugs board chief quits after contradicting Duterte

MANILA (Reuters) - The head of the Philippines narcotics control body has resigned after just five months in the job, the second successive official to vacate the post for making statements contracting President Rodrigo Duterte. Retired army general Dionisio Santiago on Tuesday said he quit as chairman of the Dangerous Drugs Board after receiving a call from Duterte s executive secretary, a few days after he publicly said the construction of a 10,000-bed mega drug rehab facility was a mistake. Countering illicit drugs is the centerpiece policy of Duterte s presidency and he has repeatedly threatened to kill dealers and users and said he was willing to be jailed for it. His crackdown has killed thousands of Filipinos, but the administration insists it is committed to arresting dealers and rehabilitating users, citing the new facility and the voluntary surrender of 1.3 million addicts and pushers as a sign of its positive intent. My rule is the boss is always right and if you think the boss is not right, refer to rule No. 1, Santiago told Radyo Inquirer, adding he had already submitted a two-sentence resignation letter. Santiago had said the government may have miscalculated with the rehab center and should have pursued a practical community-based rehabilitation program. Fewer than 500 people have been admitted to the facility, which was launched last year amid great fanfare and was funded by a wealthy Chinese businessman. Duterte gave Santiago the job in June after the former head was forced to quit after disputing the president s repeated statements that there were more than four million Filipino drug addicts. Duterte has never disclosed the source of that information and some experts say it is exaggerated. Separately, Duterte s new health minister, Francisco Duque, on Tuesday voiced his approval for using marijuana only for research purposes in medicine. He said he would prefer marijuana in pharmaceutical form if the country legalized its use. If it is in raw form, it is uncontrolled, subject to abuse, addiction, he said at his first news conference. That is where, I believe, the risks are more profound. There is a pending bill in Congress to legalize and regulate the medical use of cannabis.

LIBERALS BELIEVE: “OBAMA TOO BRILLIANT FOR REPUBLICANS”…THIS Is Why The Dems Lost The Election

Which brings me to President Obama. While I m not calling him a genius, I do think he s extremely intelligent. I also believe that his tendency to use big picture thinking while drafting policy is something most Republican voters simply can t understand. Take Obamacare for instance. It s not a fix health care today law. In fact, the law itself is made to grow and evolve over time. My belief is that it s a springboard to true socialized medicine. But, as it is now, it s a long-term outlook on our health care. While many Republicans want to look at the now aspect of the Affordable Care Act, they seem unable to grasp the reality that as more Americans get health insurance, giving them access to preventable care, this lowers expenses down the road for everyone. If people can prevent very costly heart attacks, strokes or other debilitating health issues now, that s an overall savings for practically everyone from consumers to health insurers to doctors who now have more patients. Quite literally, improving the overall health of Americans will improve the health of this country. It even makes sense for our economy. If workers are healthier, because they have access to quality health care, that means there will be fewer people calling in sick to work, showing up sick to work (putting other employees at risk) or relying on government programs because their health conditions (that were preventable) render them unable to work at all. But to see all of that requires big picture thinking and Republicans seem unable to understand anything beyond the spoon-fed bumper sticker talking points they re given by the GOP and the conservative media.GIMME A BREAK!!!! LIBERALS ARE RIDICULOUS!Read more: Forward Progressives

Headless torso could belong to submarine journalist: Danish police

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Danish police said on Tuesday the size of a headless female torso found on the sea s edge in Copenhagen suggested it could be that of a Swedish journalist who died after taking a submarine ride with the vessel s Danish inventor. Police said divers were still searching the area and they were investigating reports of other body parts that may have been spotted in Copenhagen harbor. Danish inventor Peter Madsen has been charged with killing Kim Wall, a Swedish journalist, in his home-made submarine. We re dealing with a torso where arms, legs and head were cut off deliberately. The length of the torso doesn t speak against it being Kim Wall, but we still don t know, Copenhagen police spokesman Jens Moller said in a video statement. Madsen told a court she had died in an accident on board the submarine and that he had buried her at sea, changing his earlier statement that he dropped her off alive in Copenhagen. Police are conducting DNA tests to identify the torso - found on Monday by a passing cyclist - and the results are due Wednesday morning, Moller said. The bizarre case has dominated Danish and Swedish media, and drawn interest from around the world. Madsen has been charged with the manslaughter of Wall, who has been missing since he took her out to sea in his 17-metre (56 feet) submarine on Aug. 10. He denies the charge. He was rescued a day later after his UC3 Nautilus sank in the narrow strait between Denmark and Sweden. Police found nobody else in the wreck. Madsen, an entrepreneur, artist, submarine builder and aerospace engineer, went before a judge on Saturday for preliminary questioning. The case is closed to the public in order to protect further investigations, police said.

HILLARY ON DISABLED CHILDREN During Easter Egg Hunt: “When are they going to get those f*****g ree-tards out of here?”

Dolly Kyle has written a scathing tell all book exposing the sickening hidden truth about Bill and Hillary Clinton. Hillary s war on just about anyone who is beneath her, or who would dare to get in the way of her ascent to the White House. When will the media do their job and report the truth about this horrible opportunist?Dolly Kyle who was just 11 when she first crossed paths with Bill, dated him through high school and began sleeping with him once they graduated published the claims about the Clinton couple s racial epithets and politics in her new book, Hillary: The Other Woman, published by WND Books.She writes of one occasion, when developmentally challenged children were having difficulty picking up the eggs at a traditional Easter egg hunt on the grounds of the governor s mansion during Bill s tenure in the Arkansas state house.Reluctant hostess Hillary had enough. The frustrated Me-First Lady demanded, When are they going to get those f*****g ree-tards out of here? Dolly writes.When Hillary arrived in Arkansas, Dolly writes, she looked down her nose at what she viewed as ignorant hillbillies .She was raised in a middle-class suburb in Illinois and considered herself above the southerners unless she was campaigning in New York state where she declared herself to be a lifelong Yankees fan.Hillary didn t belong in Arkansas but here she was .In the governor s mansion for eight years, Bill and Hillary were both getting tired of the routine and frustrations of the small Southern state and Bill opted out of running for reelection in 1990.He was marking his time until he could make a move for the White House. Via: Daily Mail

Gawker Fools Trump Into Quoting Genocidal Maniac, Chuck Todd DESTROYS Him (IMAGES/VIDEO)

Most sensible people have by now called Donald Trump out for being the fascist that he is. However, there are some who still doubt that fact. Well, thanks to Gawker, we can wonder no more. Gawker senior writer Ashley Feinberg set up the ultimate test for Trump on his favorite social media platform: Twitter. We ve all watched Trump lash out and anyone and everyone who dares to challenge him in any number of crazy, narcissistic, and downright scary rants, so using Twitter to trick Trump into showing his true colors was absolutely brilliant.Feinberg created a Twitter account, @ilduce2016, which used bots to tweet out quotes from none other than famed fascist dictator Benito Mussolini. This was created last year, and the tweets would @reply Donald Trump, and credit him with Mussolini s dangerous words and ideas. Well, on Sunday, the chickens came home to roost on this one, because Trump finally bit the bait and retweeted the account. Here is Trump s tweet:"@ilduce2016: It is better to live one day as a lion than 100 years as a sheep. @realDonaldTrump #MakeAmericaGreatAgain" Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 28, 2016And here is proof of the project, courtesy of Gawker:Even Meet The Press host Chuck Todd had to zero in on Trump s retweeting this dangerous dictator, as well as other blatantly racist positions he is taking:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhxNSodUb1oThis is nothing short of absolute gold. Gawker s original article on the subject notes that there was some reservation about doing this at all after all, if you know anything about history, you know that such an account would be a painfully obvious troll account to the average person. However, Trump is a moron in so many ways, and this is no exception. He is too busy being wrapped up in his own greatness to realized when he is being so epically trolled. Then again, it really is no surprised, considering the absurdities that Trump tweets, and, even worse, the types of accounts he often retweets most notably, those run by white supremacists.As funny as this troll job by Gawker is, though, we should also be very afraid. This man is leading by a wide margin to take the presidential nomination of a major American political party. If that doesn t scare you, nothing will.Well done, Gawker. You really outdid yourselves with this one.Featured image via video screen capture

U.N. calls on social media giants to control platforms used to lure African migrants

GENEVA (Reuters) - The U.N. migration agency called on social media giants on Friday to make it harder for people smugglers to use their platforms to lure West African migrants to Libya where they can face detention, torture, slavery or death. The smugglers often use Facebook to reach would-be migrants with false promises of jobs in Europe, International Organization for Migration (IOM) spokesman Leonard Doyle said. When migrants are tortured, video is also sometimes sent back to their families over WhatsApp, as a means of extortion, he said. We really ... ask social media companies to step up and behave in a responsible way when people are being lured to deaths, to their torture, Doyle told a Geneva news briefing. There were no immediate replies from Facebook or WhatsApp to requests by Reuters for comment. Hundreds of thousands of migrants have attempted to cross the Mediterranean to Europe since 2014 and 3,091 have died en route this year alone, many after passing through Libya. This year, the number of migrants entering Europe is 165,000, about 100,000 fewer than all of last year, but the influx has presented a political problem for European countries. IOM has been in discussions with social media providers about its concerns, Doyle said, adding: And so far to very little effect. What they say is please tell us the pages and we will shut them down . It is not our job to police Facebook s pages. Facebook should police its own pages, he said. Africa represents a big and expanding market for social media but many people are unemployed and vulnerable, he said. Facebook is pushing out, seeking market share across West Africa and pushing out so-called free basics, which allows ... a dumb phone to get access to Facebook. So you are one click from the smuggler, one click from the lies, he said. Social media companies are giving a turbo-charged communications channel to criminals, to smugglers, to traffickers, to exploiters , he added. Images broadcast by CNN last month appeared to show migrants being auctioned off as slaves by Libyan traffickers. This sparked anger in Europe and Africa and highlighted the risks migrants face. Doyle called for social media companies to invest in civic-minded media outreach and noted that on Google, pop-up windows appear if a user is looking at pornography images, to warn of danger or criminality. The IOM has helped 13,000 migrants to return voluntarily to Nigeria, Guinea and other countries from Libya this year. It provides them with transport and pocket money and documents their often harrowing testimonies. Doyle said it was currently repatriating 4,000 migrants to Niger. Switzerland said on Friday it was willing to take in up to 80 refugees in Libya in need of protection, among 5,000 whom the UN refugee agency says are in a precarious position.

INSANE ANTI-TRUMP PROTESTER Lights Trump Supporter’s Hair On Fire…Police Need Help Finding This Protester [Video]

The Inauguration was a beautiful day full of great images BUT the images of the hate coming from anti-Trump protesters will shake you. Inaugural ball attendees were spat upon and had water thrown at them. The people trying to just walk from one area to the next were assaulted. Bar patrons were even taunted with images of an ISIS beheading from a phone video. Sick! Is this what the Democrats represent? Anarchy and chaos rules the day for the lefty lunatics. One woman even tried to light another woman s hair on fire DC police are now asking for anyone to ID her so they can arrest her. Luckily, a man in the video was seen putting the fire out. Please watch the video below and hopefully someone will come forward:

duke bannon flynn sessions the st steps in taking america back

httpmediaarchivesgsradionetddukemp dr duke mark collett antiwhite scum who promised to leave get the hell out today dr duke had british activist mark collett as his guest for the hour they talked about donald trumps latest appointments to his incoming administration steve bannon general michael flynn and even senator jeff sessions are coming under attack from the zio media no doubt because they are not complete cuck sellouts like so many of the neocon rats who opposed trump but suddenly want to offer their experience to the president elect underdog after taking a superenergy pill they went into the new terminology of red pills blue pills white pills and black pills they agreed that the trump victory has energized white pilled his supporters and black pilled depressed his opponents many of whom promised to leave the country should the donald win well were waiting this is a fun show that will red pill enlighten your friends please share it widely our show is aired live at am replayed at et pm eastern and am eastern

Mugabe removed as WHO goodwill envoy after outrage

GENEVA/LONDON (Reuters) - Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has been removed as a goodwill ambassador, the World Health Organization said on Sunday, following outrage among Western donors and rights groups at his appointment. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus named Mugabe to the largely ceremonial post at a meeting on Wednesday in Uruguay on chronic diseases attended by both men. At the time, Tedros praised Zimbabwe as a country that places universal health coverage and health promotion at the center of its policies to provide healthcare to all . But Tedros said in a statement that he had listened to those expressing concerns and heard the different issues raised. Over the last few days, I have reflected on my appointment of H.E. President Robert Mugabe as WHO Goodwill Ambassador for NCDs (non-communicable diseases) in Africa. As a result I have decided to rescind the appointment, Tedros said. The decision had been taken after consultation with the Harare government and was in the best interests of the World Health Organization , he said. Jeremy Farrar, a global health specialist and director of the Wellcome Trust charity and the NCD alliance, representing health groups combating chronic diseases, welcomed the reversal. Dr Tedros deserves all our support to ensure he and WHO build a global health movement that is inclusive and works to improve health for everyone, Farrar said in a statement. Zimbabwean Foreign Minister Walter Muzembi accepted the move while insisting that WHO had benefited tremendously from having nominated Mugabe and the media buzz it brought to health issues. So on the balance, it is wiser to let go, and help WHO focus on its mandate while we focus Zimbabwe on its membership obligations, Muzembi said in a government statement. Several former and current WHO staff had said privately they were appalled at the poor judgment and miscalculation by Tedros, elected the first African head of WHO in May. Mugabe was head of the African Union when the bloc endorsed Tedros - a former health and foreign minister of Ethiopia - over other African candidates for the top post, without any real regional contest, they said. Mugabe, 93, is blamed in the West for destroying Zimbabwe s economy and for numerous human rights abuses during his 37 years leading the country as either president or prime minister. Britain had said Mugabe s appointment as a goodwill ambassador was surprising and disappointing and that it risked overshadowing the WHO s global work. The United States, which has imposed sanctions on Mugabe for alleged human rights violations, also voiced disappointment. He (Tedros) has to remember where his funding comes from, said one health official who declined to be identified. The Trump administration, which is already questioning financial support for some United Nations agencies, is WHO s largest single donor. WHO is struggling to recover a reputation tarnished by its slowness in tackling the Ebola epidemic that killed more than 11,000 people in West Africa from 2014-2015 under Tedros predecessor, Margaret Chan. The agency is now grappling with a massive cholera outbreak in Yemen that has infected some 800,000 people in the past year and a plague outbreak in Madagascar that has killed nearly 100 in two months.

Honduran presidential result due at 9 pm: electoral tribunal

TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) - Honduras will publish the final result for last Sunday s presidential election at 9 p.m. (0300 GMT) on Friday, said the head of the country s electoral tribunal, David Matamoros. Honduras has been stuck in political limbo since the election due to problems with the vote count. The vote count initially favored opposition candidate Salvador Nasralla, then swung in favor of President Juan Orlando Hernandez after it came to a halt on Monday and restarted more than a day later.

THE LEFT GOES LOW: Pres. Trump’s Grandson Now A Target

After the photo was tweeted out, the left responded with this: Does the left want Ivanka to hide her kids for the next 4 years?

Mexico's Pemex fires warehouse workers for oil theft

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexican state oil company Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) said on Tuesday it would rescind contracts held by several workers at a warehouse and distribution center in the central state of Guanajuato as part of a strategy to combat oil theft. A Pemex official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that four workers were let go for links to oil theft from the center in the city of Salamanca, where Pemex also has a refinery that can process 245,000 barrels per day of crude. In its statement, Pemex said it would file criminal complaints against the workers and investigate workers at others sites. Without exception, any employee linked to crime will be removed immediately, the company said. Mexico s government has estimated that oil theft by criminal groups costs Pemex at least $1 billion a year.

Thai PM reshuffles cabinet for the fifth time since coup

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha has reshuffled his cabinet, a statement published in the Royal Gazette said on Friday, the fifth change in his administration since he took power in 2014. Prayuth, a former army chief, seized power in a bloodless May 2014 coup following months of street protests that led to the ousting of Prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra and her civilian government. Prayuth switched or appointed 18 ministers, deputy ministers and deputy prime ministers, according to a list published in the Royal Gazette, which was endorsed by Thailand s King Maha Vajiralongkorn. The highest-level changes include the country s ministers of commerce, agriculture, energy, labor, and tourism. It was not immediately clear what impact the reshuffle would have. The reshuffle was to improve some ministerial positions for the benefit of the country s administration, the statement said. The reshuffle follows the resignation of a labor minister. The cabinet has 36 members, and the latest changes cut members from the army to nine, including Prayuth, from 12. Laws passed by the government generally come into force after publication in the Royal Gazette, a public journal. Prayuth last reshuffled his cabinet in December 2016 following one in August 2015 which was carried out to focus on Thailand s troubled economy. The junta has promised a general election in November 2018 to return Thailand to democracy.

Trump aide plays down prospect of upending 'one China' policy

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming White House chief of staff on Sunday played down the prospect that Trump would revisit Washington’s decades-old “one China” policy, even though he suggested as much a week ago. Since 1979, the United States has acknowledged Taiwan as part of “one China” but Trump prompted a diplomatic protest from Beijing after he accepted a congratulatory phone call on his election win from President Tsai Ing-wen of Taiwan on Dec. 2. “We are not suggesting that we’re revisiting ‘one China’ policy right now,” Trump aide Reince Priebus said on “Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace.” “He is not president right now and he’s respectful to the current president,” Priebus said. Last Sunday, Trump himself said in an interview on Fox News Sunday: “I fully understand the ‘one China’ policy, but I don’t know why we have to be bound by a ‘one China’ policy unless we make a deal with China having to do with other things, including trade.” Political analysts said that Republican Trump’s call with the president of Taiwan and the comments on the “one China” policy could antagonize Beijing. Trump also inserted himself on Saturday into another sensitive dispute between China and the United States after China on Thursday seized an underwater drone owned by the U.S. military in the South China Sea. Trump called the seizure an “unprecedented act.” U.S. officials described the seizure as the first of its kind in recent memory. It was taken about 50 nautical miles northwest of Subic Bay off the Philippines just as the USNS Bowditch was about to retrieve it, the officials said. Although China vowed to return the drone to the United States, Trump later tweeted that the U.S. should let China keep it. Priebus on Sunday defended the comments on the drone, saying he does not believe Trump’s comments were provocative and that “80 percent” of Americans agree it was inappropriate for China to have seized the drone in the first place. Republican Senator John McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, told CNN’s “State of the Union” that the Chinese would be able to retrieve some “pretty valuable” technical information from the drone through a process known as reverse-engineering. McCain said the Chinese seizure of the drone was a “gross violation” of international law. McCain, a critic of Democratic President Barack Obama’s foreign policy, said the United States was not projecting enough strength in the world and said China’s move reflected that. “Everybody is taking advantage of it, and hopefully that will change soon,” McCain said.

OBAMA TAKES TWO GAS GUZZLING PLANES For Sightseeing…What Global Warming?

Obama brings two gas guzzlers on a sightseeing trip just another day in the life of preezy It s really easy to spend someone else s money, isn t it? In this case, it s YOUR money! The really ironic thing is that Obama likes to preach about global warming HummmPresident Obama brought along a second, smaller Air Force One for his family to enjoy a day of sightseeing in Argentina on Thursday.After dancing the tango at a state dinner in Buenos Aires Wednesday night, the president and first lady Michelle Obama took their daughters aboard the government plane colloquially known as baby Air Force One Thursday to fly to the scenic town of Bariloche in southern Argentina. It s a Boeing 757 used when traveling to places where the runway is too short for the primary Air Force One.The larger Air Force One, a 747-200, was parked alongside the smaller plane at the airport in Buenos Aires, according to pool reporters traveling with the president. It costs about $206,000 per hour to fly the larger plane, which the president is expected to use for the 10-plus-hour flight back to Washington late Thursday night.It s common for the government to have a backup plane available when the president travels, although not often for a family sightseeing excursion.Bariloche is a lakeside resort town nestled in the foothills of the Andes mountains, famous for its chocolates and Swiss-style architecture.Bariloche is also well-known for having served as a sort of haven for Nazis on the run after World War II. Several top former Nazis, including Dr. Josef Mengele, the Angel of Death from the Auschwitz death camp, are believed to have sought refuge there in the decades after the war.Via: WT

Probe of Clinton's email driven by facts, not politics: White House

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House on Thursday said the U.S. Justice Department’s investigation into Hillary Clinton’s email use is being driven by facts and should be free of political interference. “The rule of law is paramount,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters at a daily press briefing following reports that the U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch had a meeting with former President Bill Clinton.

NEWSFLASH FOR OUR IMPERIAL PRESIDENT: STATES CAN REFUSE IRAN DEAL [Video]

As Barack Hussein Obama tours around the country trying to convince the low information voter that the lopsided and dangerous deal he and John Kerry cut with Iran is somehow beneficial to the United States of America he may want to consider the states can shut down his deal if they so choose to act.The Obama administration has sent the Iran nuclear deal to Congress for a 60-day review provided by the Corker bill. However, President Barack Obama has pre-empted Congress by going to the UN Security Council first, which has already voted to end international sanctions and accept the deal. Furthermore, even if Congress rejects the deal, it will struggle to muster a two-thirds majority to override the president s veto.There is one effective way, however, that the Iran deal can be rejected: states and local governments can refuse to comply with it.That may come as a surprise. States and local governments do not play much of a role in foreign policy. However, they cannot be forced to implement an international treaty or agreement that is not self-executing i.e. one whose implementation requires new congressional laws.Thanks to the victory at the Supreme Court by then-Texas Solicitor General Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX)96% in Medell n v. Texas (2008), it is a settled principle in constitutional law that states cannot be forced to comply with international treaties unless Congress has passed statutes giving them effect.The Iran deal stipulates (p. 15):25. If a law at the state or local level in the United States is preventing the implementation of the sanctions lifting as specified in this JCPOA, the United States will take appropriate steps, taking into account all available authorities, with a view to achieving such implementation. The United States will actively encourage officials at the state or local level to take into account the changes in the U.S. policy reflected in the lifting of sanctions under this JCPOA and to refrain from actions inconsistent with this change in policy.The sanctions to which the deal refers are the array of divestment laws that have been passed in recent years to prevent pension funds and contractors from providing economic benefits to Iranian companies the Iranian regime. 30 states have passed divestment laws, roughly a dozen have passed contracting restrictions, and some have passed supplemental legislation, such as a 2012 law passed in California that applies to the state s insurance industry.Many of the states that have applied harsh restrictions on Iran, moreover, are liberal blue states. New York, for example, maintains a blacklist of persons determined to be engaged in investment activities in Iran. As the state government explains further: Once an entity appears on the list, it will be considered a non-responsive bidder/offerer and prohibited from entering into contracts with New York State or local governments. That includes companies that are not Iranian themselves, but do business with Iran.The Iran deal lifts sanctions on some companies that appear on New York s blacklist. However, the state restrictions remain in force.The Iran deal obligates the federal government to take appropriate steps to cancel state and local restrictions, and requires the government to refrain from further sanctions in the future. The truth is that the federal government has no constitutional authority to do so.Divestment laws and contracting restrictions can remain in place at the state and local level until they are superseded by federal statute. The language of the Iran deal itself is not enough to constitute such statutory authority, even if the Iran deal does pass by failure to override Obama s veto.If the states want, they can add new sanctions and restrictions on Iran perhaps to replace those that the federal government is lifting, such as restrictions on Iranian engineers studying nuclear technology at American universities.The Iran deal specifies that Iran will treat an an imposition of new nuclear-related sanctions, as grounds to cease performing its commitments. That paragraph (27) deals with federal sanctions, but is written vaguely.That leaves great power in the states hands to trigger the deal s collapse or force Obama to re-negotiate.Via: Breitbart News

Jake Tapper BLASTS Trump’s ‘Do A Lot More With Less’ Line: Does A Weekly Visit To Palm Beach Qualify? (VIDEO)

Jake Tapper has just about had it with Donald Trump. The feisty host of CNN s The Lead infamously took Trump s top liar spin doctor, White House Counsel Kellyanne Conway, through a wood chipper for lying to him on air, and even banned her from his show briefly. He also rails Trump daily. Friday s subject? How much Trump is costing taxpayers with his weekly trips to his swanky Florida resort, Mar-A-Lago.Tapper first played the line in one of Trump s speech where he insisted that he and his staff would do a lot more with less for the American people. Tapper says after the clip: Do a lot more with less. Presidents are certainly entitled to take a day off, but any deficit hawk would ask: is a weekly visit to Palm Beach doing a lot more with less? It takes Marine One, Air Force One, and motorcades to get the president to his posh oceanside estate, along with intense Secret Service protection. There happens to be another presidential retreat, much closer and cheaper that of course would be Camp David. It s already set up to be a working White House, and has security protocols in place. Some presidents used the Maryland site more than others, but Camp David is costing taxpayers millions to maintain, while it sits dormant. Then, Tapper hands it over to another CNN reporter, and informs us that Trump s weekly trips have already cost us more than $10 million in just the five weeks he s been in office.This is outrageous. Isn t there a way the Secret Service or someone can inform Trump that this isn t his money, or his private plane, that others are paying for this most of them being people who absolutely despise him? Tapper is right to call Trump out, and it doesn t look like it will be stopping anytime soon.Watch the epic rant below:Featured image via Scott Eisen/Getty Images

Watch Zoolander And Hansel’s Hilarious Critique Of Presidential Candidates’ Fashion Choices (VIDEO)

Owen Wilson as Hansel and Ben Stiller as Zoolander stopped by Saturday Night Live s Weekend Update to offer their professional advice and commentary about the fashion choices of the 2016 presidential candidates and it was hilarious.[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5QM7UYi9mA]The pair began the segment by teasing Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton. Well, you know, Hillary is from the 90s, which is really hot right now, Hansel said. Then Zoolander compared her attire to that of one of his all-time fashion icons Kim Jong-un. Not to name drop, but I m pretty good friends with his sister, Kim Kardashi-un. But the real fun began when the pair mistakenly confused Ted Cruz for Tom Cruise. Using Cruise s past movie titles, the pair said: Next, we ve got Tom Cruise. Oh, he s totally let himself go. This is a real Mission Impossible for a stylist. Makes me keep my Eyes Wide Shut. He should take his Top Gun and do some Risky Business with a Cocktail. And finally, they ended with none other than Donald Trump and his fashion choices. When asked what they thought of Trump, the pair said: Oh, we love him. Donny is just like us. He has the classic male model look. Donny has orange mocha crapaccino. And this one is called hot mess. When all was said and done, the funniest jokes were on the Republican front-runner. Featured image: screencap

U.S. Democratic Senator Dick Durbin undergoes heart procedure

CHICAGO (Reuters) - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin, the chamber’s second-ranking Democrat, had a procedure on Tuesday in Chicago to correct an irregular heartbeat, his office said. Durbin, 72, was treated at Northwestern Memorial Hospital for an “atrial flutter,” which occurs when the heart beats too quickly. The condition was discovered during a recent annual physical, the Illinois lawmaker’s office said. “I anticipate that this heart tune-up will give my classic roadster many more miles of reliable service,” Durbin said in a statement. Durbin had no symptoms and was able to maintain his regular schedule before and after the condition was discovered. He is scheduled to remain in Illinois for the rest of the week. Durbin used the statement about his outpatient procedure to criticize Republican efforts in the U.S. Congress to repeal and replace the 2010 Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare. “My Congressional colleagues who want to cut funding for medical research and take away health insurance for millions of Americans should remember that all of us are only one diagnosis away from needing the best care for ourselves and the people we love,” he said.

Good ‘Christian’ Bristol Palin Responds To ‘Babygate’ Accusation With EXTREME Profanity And Guns (IMAGES)

In case you haven t heard, there s a theory going around that Bristol Palin s baby was actually born in November. but the family held out on the announcement until Christmas Eve. With a pile of circumstantial evidence that leads to the conclusion that Bristol was impregnated during a Vegas romp with a known Alaskan adult industry worker on or around Valentine s Day 2015, The blog Right Wing Crooks broke a very compelling story.Bristol, good Christian spokesperson that she is, responded to her critics in a less than Christly way. Using her Instagram screen name, bsmp2, she first offered a denial, worded strongly enough that people would take notice:OK, well that solves that then, right? Wrong. If there is no truth to the story the Palins could avoid the internet shitstorm headed their way and comply with one request:Well now we sound like Donald Trump and the birthers of 2008, don t we? Not really, since nobody really cares when Bristol Palin had her baby or who the father is. Things like this are the left s form of divine justice. Every so often karma swings at people like the Palins who preach how much better they are because they love God and America, building fake reputations off of some purity that doesn t exist.Where Bristol is concerned, it s almost too much to handle. While pregnant with her second child out of wedlock she was defending her position as an abstinence counselor. To find out she got knocked up during a one night stand in Vegas wouldn t change any elections, it wouldn t alter the course of human history, and the Palins would still manage to somehow stay relevant because people love stupidity. It would, however, be absolutely hilarious, especially if the whole thing comes tumbling down over a piece of tape.Bristol has already had enough, not bothering to indulge the question or deny it further. She simply abandons her own decency with this:Whoa. Pretty strong. Is Bristol sending a message that she won t engage in questions about it all, or is this all a part of the ruse? Making it seem ludicrous and blowing it off would be much easier than releasing a birth certificate or time-stamped images.Since the story was released Bristol has had little to say. She has been posting, however. Is this maybe another message to people who would question the abstinence princess and her 2 illegitimate children? Let s hope not:Guns, guns and more guns! It seems like someone may be using all of the grains of powder at her disposal to deal with some anger issues.This is the legacy of Bristol Palin. Teenage girl who should have just hidden behind her couch during her idiotic mother s run for the Vice Presidency turned 25-year-old woman whose only accomplishment is a high placement on Dancing With The Stars that she didn t deserve.Nobody really cares, Bristol. If you had your baby to cover up slutty behavior just admit it. If not, then well good for you.Featured image via screen capture

BREAKING NEWS: “At The Direction Of The President” 22-Yr Old American Is Released From N. Korean Prison [VIDEO]

22-yr old American Otto Warmbier was arrested and imprisoned during Barack Obama s last term in office. He was released at the direction of President Trump. Although former President Barack Obama was unable to secure her release, after being in office for less than 4 months, President Trump was also able to secure the release of Aya Hijazi, an Egyptian-American charity worker who spent three years in an Egyptian jail over what human rights groups say were bogus charges.Otto Warmbier, the college student arrested, tried and imprisoned in North Korea for more than a year for trying to swipe a souvenir from his hotel during a guided tour of the communist nation, has been released, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson announced Tuesday.The 22-year-old Warmbier has served just over a year of his 15-year sentence allegedly for taking down a sign of the late dictator Kim Jong Il while Warmbier was in the country with a tour group. As of Tuesday morning, Warmbier was on his way home to Cincinnati, although other details surrounding the dramatic events were not released. At the direction of the President, the Department of State has secured the release of Otto Warmbier from North Korea, Tillerson said. Mr. Warmbier is en route to the United States, where he will be reunited with his family. The Department of State continues to have discussions with the DPRK regarding three other U.S. citizens reported detained. Out of respect for the privacy of Mr. Warmbier and his family, we have no further comment on Mr. Warmbier. Warmbier s parents, who have appeared on Fox News Channel in the past to plead for their son s release, expressed gratitude. FOX News

Trump’s Ignorance Is Going To Turn The GOP Convention Into A World Class Clusterf*ck

In a little over two weeks, the Republican Party will hold its convention to, hypothetically, name Donald Trump as the official nominee. Conventions are usually three day long infomercials that whip up the base and kick off the tone of the campaign for the general public. They re masterpieces of propaganda with the agenda scheduled down to the minute.But that was before Donald Trump.With just a few days left before the big weekend, no one knows who is speaking, who is attending or, seriously, how much time Trump himself will spend at his own nomination:Much of the program remains in flux, including who will speak, how and when Mr. Trump will arrive, and what he will say when he does.And after months of promising that his convention would be special, and not boring like previous ones, Mr. Trump says he is now embracing a less-is-more approach.One thing there will be less of, which might come as a surprise to anyone expecting all the brashness and ubiquity of Trump branding, is the candidate himself.Trump is refusing to speak all three days of the convention. You know, HIS convention. Apparently he just can t be bothered. He s worried people will think he s grandstanding. Because Donald trump is all about moderation and humility. Said no one ever.But part of the problem, OK, MOST of the problem, is Trump himself. No one wants to be seen endorsing him and Trump literally has no idea what the hell he is doing:At one point, two aides confirmed, Mr. Trump was not even aware that the event had to be held in Cleveland, a decision made almost two years ago by the Republican National Committee.That s the kind of statement that drives Republican operatives to straight up alcoholism. Or suicide. Or both.Very few prominent Republicans have agreed to take the stage to support Trump and Trump, being the pettiest of men, has declared that he will try to block people like Ted Cruz and John Kasich from speaking unless they bend the knee to him, a most unlikely occurance.Trump is still promising to have big celebrity names at his coronation in lieu of big political names but he s become so toxic, it s hard to imagine anyone who is not already deeply ensconced in right wing culture showing up. Ted Nugent would happily get on stage to shout about guns and Muslims but his appeal is limited to inbred yokels and ammosexuals.On top of all of this, Trump still doesn t have much in the way of a campaign organization. He s just winging it and assuming his sheer awesomeness will win the day. But at this rate, his campaign, already on life support from his numerous gaffes, scandals and general idiocy, will be DOA out of the starting gate and it s not clear that Trump would be able to recover from the impending disaster his debut is shaping up to be.Featured image via Spencer Platt/Getty Images

German citizen on trial in Turkey on political charges: media

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - A 49-year-old woman has become the first German citizen to stand trial in Turkey on allegations of supporting U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom Turkish authorities blame for a failed military coup last year, German media reported. Broadcasters WDR and NDR and daily newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung said the trial began in the southern Turkish city of Karaman on Thursday and cited the indictment as saying the woman faced several years in prison. They said the woman, whom they did not name, was born in Turkey but had lived in southwest Germany for more than 20 years and had been a German citizen for 15. She had been arrested in Turkey in August 2016 and released in September after pressure from Germany s foreign ministry but was not allowed to leave the country, they said. Earlier on Thursday, the ministry confirmed that another German citizen detained in southern Turkey last week had been released but banned from travel. Turkey s Dogan news agency said the man and his German partner had been detained while on holiday in Antalya. The partner had already been freed after questioning. Dogan said the couple had also been held as part of investigations into Gulen and Kurdish militants in Syria. Gulen has denied any link to the failed coup. Thursday s release means 10 German citizens remain in Turkish detention on political charges. The arrests have raised tensions between Ankara and Berlin and led Chancellor Angela Merkel to call for a review of relations and of Turkey s EU accession talks. The detainees include dual German-Turkish citizen Deniz Yucel, who has been held for more than 200 days.

Australia kicks off weeks-long same-sex marriage ballot

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia on Tuesday launched a postal vote on whether to legalize same-sex marriage as a widely watched poll indicated the country would be overwhelmingly in support. The non-compulsory ballot, which runs until the end of October, will determine whether Australia becomes the 25th country to legalize same-sex marriage, while also healing a rift in the government. Despite securing 70 percent public support in an Ipsos/Fairfax poll on Tuesday, the issue of same-sex marriage had faced a political deadlock, only broken last week when the High Court gave the all-clear for the vote. The poll illustrates why parliament should simply vote to approve same-sex marriage without holding the national ballot, opposition Labor leader Bill Shorten said. Change in this country only ever happens when people participate in the change, Shorten told reporters in Canberra. Please don t leave this change to other people. The ballot of nearly 16 million people at a cost A$122 million ($97.86 million) will help Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull unite his Liberal-National coalition, which had been fractured over the issue throughout his two-year tenure. Turnbull had been under pressure to resolve the impasse after two previous efforts to hold a compulsory vote were rejected by the Senate, where the government is in the minority. Frustrated progressive members said they would side with the opposition Labor Party to secure same-sex marriage if the PM could not finally resolve the issue, though some conservative lawmakers threatened to resign if Turnbull did not stick to a public vote, threatening the PM s one-seat majority. The impasse was eventually resolved when the High Court ruled the government could proceed with the non-compulsory vote, without Senate approval. For a graphic on where same-sex marriage is legal, click: here

Russia says U.S., Ukraine reject its U.N. proposal for Eastern Ukraine: TASS

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Moscow s ambassador to the United Nations said the United States and Ukraine have told Russia they will not work on a Russian proposal to deploy United Nations peacekeepers in eastern Ukraine, the TASS news agency reported. Russian President Vladimir Putin this month suggested armed U.N. peacekeepers be deployed to eastern Ukraine to help protect ceasefire monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and to help end a conflict between Ukrainian troops and Russia-backed separatists, which has killed more than 10,000 people since 2014. Putin originally said the peacekeepers should be deployed along the line of contact between Ukrainian government forces and pro-Russian separatists, but later said they could also be deployed in other areas where OSCE inspectors work. However, Washington and Kiev also want peacekeepers to be deployed along those parts of Ukraine s border with Russia which Kiev does not control. TASS cited Vasily Nebenzia, Moscow s U.N. ambassador, as saying on Monday the United States and Ukraine had formally told Russia in the United Nations Security Council that they were unwilling to work on Moscow s draft resolution on the subject because they had too many objections to it. The U.S. and Ukrainian delegations said after the first discussion that they were not ready to work on the (Russian) text in future, Nebenzia was cited as saying. (They said) they had significant objections and that, possibly, the Ukrainians would have a counter proposal to deploy peacekeepers to Donbass (eastern Ukraine). Moscow was not abandoning its own proposal, however, said Nebenzia, saying it would continue to advance it when the conditions were right. Ukraine has advocated an alternative plan that would ban any Russian nationals from taking part in a peacekeeping mission which it wants deployed along the part of its border with Russia which it does not control, an idea Moscow has so far baulked at.

Homeland Security sec doesn't expect to meet immigration agent hiring goals within two years

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly told a congressional panel on Tuesday that he does not expect to meet President Donald Trump’s hiring targets for U.S. Customs and Border Protection or Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents within the next two years. Trump has called for an additional 5,000 Customs and Border Protection agents and 10,0000 Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in an executive order, but he did not specify a timeline. Kelly said he would not “skip on training and standards” to speed up the pace of hiring.

BREAKING: OBAMA POISED To Exact Revenge On PUTIN With Unprecedented Cyber Attack For Allegedly Exposing Hillary Emails…While Campaigning For Hillary

Putin Tells Russian Army To Prepare For WWWIII With U.S While Obama whines about Trump campaigns for Hillary Is our Community Organizer In Chief actually willing to put our nation s security at risk because he believes Putin is responsible for Hillary s email hacks? What kind of sick, reckless and vengeful clown do we have running our nation? The Obama administration is contemplating an unprecedented cyber covert action against Russia in retaliation for alleged Russian interference in the American presidential election, U.S. intelligence officials told NBC News.Current and former officials with direct knowledge of the situation say the CIA has been asked to deliver options to the White House for a wide-ranging clandestine cyber operation designed to harass and embarrass the Kremlin leadership.The sources did not elaborate on the exact measures the CIA was considering, but said the agency had already begun opening cyber doors, selecting targets and making other preparations for an operation. Former intelligence officers told NBC News that the agency had gathered reams of documents that could expose unsavory tactics by Russian President Vladimir Putin.Vice President Joe Biden told Meet the Press moderator Chuck Todd on Friday that we re sending a message to Putin and that it will be at the time of our choosing, and under the circumstances that will have the greatest impact. When asked if the American public will know a message was sent, the vice president replied, Hope not. Retired Admiral James Stavridis told NBC News Cynthia McFadden that the U.S. should attack Russia s ability to censor its internal internet traffic and expose the financial dealings of Putin and his associates. NBC NewsFULL REPORT: @NBCNews has learned the CIA is preparing a major unprecedented cyber-strike against Russia. @CynthiaMcFadden reports pic.twitter.com/MjxKrdL7zS NBC Nightly News (@NBCNightlyNews) October 14, 2016Vladimir Zhirinovsky, a flamboyant veteran lawmaker known for his fiery rhetoric, told Reuters in an interview that Trump was the only person able to de-escalate dangerous tensions between Moscow and Washington.Americans should vote for Donald Trump as president next month or risk being dragged into a nuclear war, according to a Russian ultra-nationalist ally of President Vladimir Putin who likes to compare himself to the U.S. Republican candidate.By contrast, Trump s Democratic rival Hillary Clinton could spark World War Three, said Zhirinovsky, who received a top state award from Putin after his pro-Kremlin Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) came third in Russia s parliamentary election last month.Zhirinovsky s comments coincide with deep disagreements between Washington and Moscow over Syria and Ukraine and after the White House last week accused Russia of a campaign of cyber attacks against Democratic Party organizations.Even as WikiLeaks released another trove of internal documents from Clinton s campaign on Wednesday, Putin insisted his country was not involved in an effort to influence the U.S. presidential election. Via: Reuters

White House says Tillerson to remain as secretary of state

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Rex Tillerson will remain as U.S. secretary of state, the White House spokeswoman said on Thursday, amid reports Tillerson will be removed in favor of Mike Pompeo, who is currently CIA director. “When the president loses confidence in someone, they will no longer serve here,” White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said when asked about reports of a staff shake up.

Man STORMS Pizza Joint With A Gun After Fake News Story Said Clinton Runs A Child Sex Ring

Donald Trump s fans are idiots and this time it could have gotten people killed. Since before the election, an incredibly stupid story has been circulating in right-wing circles regarding Hillary Clinton, John Podesta, and the two of them running a child sex ring out of a pizza joint in Washington, D.C. Ever since this story began circulating, the owners of Comet Ping Pong say they have received numerous death threats and a wealth of harassment.Ever since this story began circulating, the owners of Comet Ping Pong say they have received numerous death threats and a wealth of harassment. Though they have done all they can including contacting the FBI and other law enforcement agencies and even Facebook in an attempt to get the wildly untrue and horrible Pizzagate story taken down. On Sunday, restaurant employees worst fear came true when one of Trump s rabid, violent, and dangerously stupid fans showed up with a gun.Police received a call about a man carrying a weapon just before 3 p.m. and chaos erupted. Police sealed off the surrounding block with tape suspect was fortunately arrested without incident. Naturally, Trump supporters see this as a validation of their whacked-out beliefs on the matter:It is very clear that law enforcement is not going to act on #Pizzagate unless WE ALL make a huge public stink they cannot ignore. Paul Revere (@PRPOnline) December 4, 2016The #pizzagate deniers are really coming out of the woodwork. Who knew that pedophiles had such strong support with America's left? Paul Revere (@PRPOnline) December 4, 2016Of course the lefties don't want an investigation of #PizzaGate. They've been trying to normalize pedophilia for years now. Wife With A Purpose (@apurposefulwife) December 4, 2016The entire reason for DNC and MSM creation of a #FakeNews narrative is to discredit the future scandal known as #PizzaGate Comet Ping Pong TrumpTrain (@TrumpTrain09) December 4, 2016@CassandraRules most likely an attempt to discredit #PizzaGate. No different from the hate crime hoaxes. Nikolajs ?? (@GreatNikolajs) December 4, 2016@CassandraRules Maybe PYSOP. To prove how "Fake News" hurts innocent small businesses #Pizzagate#Pedofiles GoldenSack (@goldensack) December 4, 2016@CassandraRules Likely a false flag that will be blamed on the right. nothing (@ixyfang) December 4, 2016@CassandraRules @zeduslepedus what I dont understand is this.. Any accusations of pedophilia, harm to child or related matters must be .. Rakka (@EricBarton_Okc) December 4, 2016@CassandraRules @zeduslepedus Investigated Has ANYONE..CALLED TIPLINE or any authorities for investigation?? YALL research for proof Make Rakka (@EricBarton_Okc) December 4, 2016@CassandraRules @zeduslepedus a few phone calls that will have to be looked at. Rakka (@EricBarton_Okc) December 4, 2016@CassandraRules @zeduslepedus take your hest evidence and report to multible agencies, from multible people reporting..SEE WHAT HAPPENS Rakka (@EricBarton_Okc) December 4, 2016@CassandraRules @zeduslepedus future kid rapes fall on those who know and Do nothing. LIKE @Corey_Feldman HE EITHET FULL OF CRAP OR HAS Rakka (@EricBarton_Okc) December 4, 2016@CassandraRules @zeduslepedus Blood on his hands Rakka (@EricBarton_Okc) December 4, 2016@CassandraRules its amazing how NO ONE is investigating this bryce pity (@HeelDowlin__) December 4, 2016Fortunately, no one was hurt this time but conservatives have a bad habit of getting worked up over fake stories. Last month, a Macedonian teen who has been duping the Right with fake stories for quite some time explained that liberals tend to catch on to non-legit stories quickly, but conservatives just run with it. We ve tried to do similar things to liberals. It just has never worked, it never takes off, he said. You ll get debunked within the first two comments and then the whole thing just kind of fizzles out. The teen makes between $10,000 and $30,000 monthly from right-wing stupidity. While some may blame those who act as purveyors of fake stories, the blame truly lies with people who are too stupid to exist in a functioning society.Watch a report on the gunman below:Featured image via Washington Post/Getty Images (John W. Adkisson)

4 EASY TO UNDERSTAND REASONS My Ancestors Are NOT The Same as Illegals Who Come To America Today

How many times have liberals used the argument that everyone s relatives came here illegally! ? The answer is about a million or more times. Liberals can t seem to differentiate between people who came to our nation to either escape persecution or to find a better life that came through Ellis Island or immediately applied for citizenship in America, and those who float across the Rio Grande on an inner-tube after paying a coyote a fee to help them illegally cross our borders.This meme brilliantly explains the difference in 4 short bullet points.:Here s a little visual for anyone who tells you #4 isn t true:It is estimated that 12.5 million illegal aliens are currently living in the United States.Below, are a series of visuals from the Federation for American Immigration Reform or FAIR to help Americans to understand the cost of illegal immigration to taxpaying Americans. This data from September 27, 2017, paints a pretty bleak economic picture for America if we continue to ignore the serious problem of illegal immigration: FAIR At the federal, state, and local levels, taxpayers shell out approximately $134.9 billion to cover the costs incurred by the presence of more than 12.5 million illegal aliens, and about 4.2 million citizen children of illegal aliens. That amounts to a tax burden of approximately $8,075 per illegal alien family member and a total of $115,894,597,664. The total cost of illegal immigration to U.S. taxpayers is both staggering and crippling. In 2013, FAIR estimated the total cost to be approximately $113 billion. So, in under four years, the cost has risen nearly $3 billion. This is a disturbing and unsustainable trend.

Latest Hillary Clinton bio for kids highlights successes and failures

POTOMAC, Md. (Reuters) - As Hillary Clinton sets her sights on becoming the first female president of the United States, the Democratic front-runner has found herself in another role - the subject of children’s books.     In “Hillary Rodham Clinton: Do All the Good You Can,” author Cynthia Levinson charts her rise from her youth in Park Ridge, Illinois, to her work as a U.S. senator and secretary of state. Levinson brought Clinton’s story this week to fourth graders at Cold Spring Elementary School in suburban Washington, whom she found were paying close attention to the presidential race.     “I hope kids enjoy the book, and I hope that it’s thought-provoking for them,” said Levinson, who went to Wellesley College with Clinton and interviewed mutual acquaintances and the former first lady for the book. The book is among several recent children’s biographies on Clinton. They include “Hillary Rodham Clinton: Some Girls are Born to Lead” by Michelle Markel and Jonah Winter’s picture book “Hillary.”     While the books all include the theme of female strength, Levinson said she was keen to highlight both Clinton’s successes and failures, such as her vote for the U.S. war in Iraq and bungled healthcare initiative while first lady.     The grade-schoolers were divided over whether Clinton, 68, was the woman for the job.     “I’m more on Bernie Sanders’ side. Hillary Clinton is less direct than Bernie Sanders,” said Sudhish Swain, 10, referring to Clinton’s rival for the Democratic nomination. Many students said they got their news about the election, which will be held in November, from the radio or school bus debates. “We mostly agree that Donald Trump would not be a good president,” said Tianlai Yang. Katherine Pease, 9, added: “He lies, he’s a hypocrite, he’s a megalomaniac, and he’s delusional, which, really, those four qualities aren’t good for a president.” She showed off an op-ed piece she had submitted to the Washington Post urging Republicans to rally around one candidate to counter Trump. She said she hoped that candidate would be Ohio Governor John Kasich.     Kyle Baer said he liked Clinton but still would not vote for her if he were old enough.     “The only thing I have against her is that she’s already been a resident of the White House before, and I don’t think she should be a resident again,” he said.      (Reporting by Vanessa Johnston, writing by Ian Simpson; Editing by Richard Chang) 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.

BREAKING: Dems Hold Sit-In On House Floor After GOPers Vote To Go To Lunch Instead Of Gun Bill

The worst mass shooting in United States history took a backseat to Republican lawmakers grumbling stomachs in a move that was so offensive, that Democrats decided they had to react with civil disobedience. In an unprecedented move, Republicans hurriedly sent Congress into recess and instead of leaving, House Democrats gathered on the floor and staged a sit in. While Republicans munched on their lunch, Democratic politicians never left the floor.The act of civil disobedience was fittingly led by Rep. John Lewis, a civil rights movement icon. Surrounded by fellow lawmakers, Lewis demanded Republicans hold a vote on gun measures that will begin to address America s appalling gun violence problem.Stop watching Trump and tune into CSPAN! @repjohnlewis leading sit-in in the House DEMANDING vote on gun measures pic.twitter.com/XVjYcNafo8 igorvolsky (@igorvolsky) June 22, 2016Lewis made no secret that his intention was to get gun legislation going today, and not when Republicans found it politically convenient. He vowed that Democrats would occupy this floor for as long as it took. We will no longer be denied the right to vote. At the very mention of gun legislation, Republicans cut them off and ordered that Congress break for lunch (where no doubt politicians could make panicky calls to their local NRA handlers for advice).As members started sitting down for sit-in, House majority cut them off, gaveled House out of session & into lunch https://t.co/YBQhC2diy4 igorvolsky (@igorvolsky) June 22, 2016So here it is, perhaps one of the starkest examples in modern politics of just how different the two parties really are. Republicans fled the building, and Democrats quite literally sat on the floor and got to work.NOW: House members are sitting on the floor in protest of @SpeakerRyan refusal to bring gun measures to a vote pic.twitter.com/8RPQzVZSUF igorvolsky (@igorvolsky) June 22, 2016As lunch ended, Republicans came back in to find that their Democratic colleagues hadn t moved an inch. It set up yet another telling showdown and yet another retreat by Republicans. When presiding officer Ted Poe ordered Democrats to leave, they stayed put and he gaveled another recess. If forced to actually hold a vote on gun control, Republicans have made it clear that they would rather flee the building than do their jobs.After Orlando, the response to this horrific act of violence was thoughts and prayers and little else. In fact, several politicians decided to exploit the tragedy in the sickest way possible by holding AR-15 raffles as part of their campaign fundraisers. It was clear almost instantly that their plan was to do absolutely nothing to work towards solutions. This is despite recent polls that show a whopping 92 percent of Americans believe the country needs stricter background check laws.So Democrats have had to do everything in their power to force the GOP s hand. If human decency won t get this done, maybe public shaming will.Featured image from Rep. John Yarmuth s Twitter

Obama rallies Obamacare troops at 'critical time' for program

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Thursday urged more than 25,000 volunteers and advocates who dialed in to a White House conference call to pull out the stops to boost the number of people signing up for Obamacare health insurance plans. Obama warned it will be challenging to overcome the skepticism about the plans given an onslaught of headlines about surging premium prices, but he said the stakes are high. “I think we’re at a critical time where we have to show that this program works for people, if they just see what their options are,” he told the volunteers, who work in their communities to encourage and assist enrollment. Americans who do not receive health insurance through their employer or through Medicare or Medicaid programs shop online for subsidized insurance plans starting Nov. 1 until the end of January. The average premium for benchmark 2017 plans sold on healthcare.gov rose 25 percent compared with 2016. Obama said tax credits will help more than seven in 10 shoppers get a plan for less than $75 per month, but said many may not bother looking because they have heard about spiking costs. “We’re going to have to clear the bugs off the windshield so people can see the road ahead, and that’s where you guys come in,” Obama said. The law has been fought by Republicans in Congress, who said it creates unwarranted government intervention in personal healthcare and private industry. Several big insurers, including UnitedHealth Group Inc (UNH.N), Aetna Inc (AET.N) and Humana Inc (HUM.N), are pulling out of the online marketplaces selling the subsidized plans, citing bigger-than-expected financial losses. Aetna Chief Executive Mark Bertolini said on Thursday that the earliest his company may return to the marketplaces would be 2019. Obama said more young and healthy people need to sign up for plans. That would offset insurers’ costs of covering members with serious illnesses. Obama has said there are a series of improvements that could be made to his signature domestic policy achievement - the 2010 Affordable Care Act - if Congress and the next president, who will take office on Jan. 20, can work together. “Part of what we can do this time is to overcome the skeptics, to prove people wrong, and to provide momentum so that when the next administration comes in, they are starting from a position of strength,” Obama told the conference call.

Atlantic City, N.J., to hold emergency meeting to discuss bankruptcy

(Reuters) - Atlantic City Mayor Don Guardian on Thursday called an emergency City Council meeting next week to discuss whether the distressed New Jersey gambling hub should file for municipal bankruptcy. Governor Chris Christie’s veto on Tuesday of legislation that aimed to stabilize the city’s tax base and boost its cash flow left the city with “no other option but to explore bankruptcy,” Guardian said in a statement. State lawmakers have been pushing for a full takeover of city operations, saying local officials have not done enough to cut costs. Only city officials can file for bankruptcy, but the state, which already oversees the city’s finances, must ultimately approve it.

Head of Germany's FDP offers Macron 'bittersweet' euro zone deal

BERLIN (Reuters) - A leading candidate to be Germany s next finance minister signalled his willingness on Thursday to seek a compromise with Emmanuel Macron over the French President s plans for deeper euro zone integration. Christian Lindner, who leads the Free Democrats (FDP) party negotiating to be part of Chancellor Angela Merkel s next coalition government, said European policy was one of the most important topics in the talks. Lindner said Macron who last month called for a joint euro zone budget and joint finance minister among other reforms had described political progress as a question of finding a balance between carrots and sticks. Let s take him literally (on this) on the European question, Lindner said at a book launch. That means if he wants to get something, he ll have to accept other things - for example an insolvency mechanism for states or for example the binding participation of private investors in any debt restructuring if it should be necessary, he said. This would be the bitter thing he would have to swallow to get something sweet - namely additional funds for investments, Lindner said. Veteran outgoing Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, wary of anything that might leave German taxpayers shouldering common euro zone debts, has been generally lukewarm about Macron s reform plans. Lindner may succeed him under the three-way coalition that Merkel is trying to form after her conservatives lost support in a federal election last month. It has been widely speculated that the FDP would demand the top finance post as a price for joining in, though Lindner on Thursday stopped short of claiming the ministry for his party. Earlier this week, he had insisted that Merkel s Christian Democrats (CDU) should relinquish it. Lindner has repeatedly criticised Schaeuble, a fiscal hawk, as being too soft on Greece and putting loyalty to Merkel ahead of his own political convictions. Asked which characteristics the next German finance minister should have, Lindner said: Being consistent.

Support For Banning Assault Rifles Skyrockets After Orlando Shooting

After the horrific terrorist attack in Orlando, which became the deadliest shooting in American history, a new poll from CBS shows that support for banning assault rifles has skyrocketed across the nation.The poll, conducted June 13th and 14th, shows that 57 percent of Americans support banning them, while 38 percent oppose. But the most surprising thing about these numbers is that in December of last year, only 44 percent of Americans supported a ban. That s a thirteen point difference in just six months.The poll also shows a shocking statistic almost half of Republicans (45 percent) support the ban, while 78 percent of Democrats and 47 percent of Independents do.According to the poll:On whether laws governing gun sales should be made more strict, Americans seem split along party lines. A majority 57 percent believe that laws should be stricter, while 11 percent believe they should be less strict. About three in ten Americans think they should be kept as is.Not surprisingly, Republicans were in the minority on this issue as well.The overwhelming majority of Americans support such a ban, and only one candidate wants to see that happen Hillary Clinton. Donald Trump doesn t because, in his own words, there are already too many of them on the streets so it would be fruitless (but deporting 11 million immigrants in this country? No problem).There is no doubt that the number has risen thanks to the ever eminent threat of mass gun violence plaguing this nation, and the attack in Orlando certainly didn t ease any fears.When it comes to the issues of expanding background checks, all political ideologies are in agreement. Over 92 percent of Republicans, 97 percent of Democrats, and 82 percent of Independents support stricter, universal background checks.If this trend continues, guns will become a serious policy point in the upcoming election (as it should be), and with the two candidates taking completely different approaches, the difference could not be starker.Featured image via David McNew/Getty Images

‘LARGEST’ $20 MILLION FOOD STAMP BUST Raises Red Flags Over Names Involved [Video]

Florida has had its share of food stamp busts but South Florida reached a fraud milestone for what the Justice Department called the largest combined financial fraud loss for a food stamp trafficking takedown in history. RED FLAGS RAISED OVER NAMES INVOLVED:That dubious new record, federal prosecutors claim, is $20 million and resulted in a dozen charged with doing the government dirty via food stamp fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.The 12 charged over four cases are Hasan Saleh, 59, Mohammed Alobaisi, 37, Reynold Francois, 38, Ihab Hassouna, 44, Mohammad Alteen, 33, Maria Jerdana, 36, Joe Ann Baker, 56, Yousef Joe Homedan Zahran, 60, Omar Hajje, 43, Jalal Hajyousef, 42, Andy Javier Herrera, 24, and father Javier Herrera, 49.Mostly Muslims The government makes it easier for immigrants to get small business loans with the INVESTOR VISA PROGRAM. Is our government setting itself up for fraud when they knowingly give loans to these people?NEWS REPORT ON THE BOLD LAWLESSNESS:Check out the names below and you ll see that so many times foreigners come to America to scam the food stamp system. We have reported on numerous scams involving immigrants and food stamps. Believe us they come from all over the world to take your money! Here are just a few examples of foreign-run convenience stores caught in food stamp fraud millions and millions stolen and probably sent overseas:OUR PAST REPORTS ON FOOD STAMP FRAUD: IMMIGRANT Ghanaian Woman Pleads Guilty To $3.6 Million in Food Stamp Fraud Media Ignores Her Immigrant Status22 LATINOS ARRESTED In Largest Food Stamp Fraud Bust In History Here s How They Did ItALABAMA FRAUD: FOOD STAMPS TO CASH SENT TO YEMEN3 BUSTED, 4 AT LARGE! IMMIGRANT MUSLIM GROUP Ran Huge Food Stamp Fraud RingIs this connected to the Investor visa program? It makes you wonder if they have training programs abroad in how to buy convenience stores in the US and rip off the dumb (infidel) Americans!$20 MILLION LOST IN FOOD STAMP SCAM: In this instance, eight small convenience stores in South Florida committed a staggering amount of fraud in a relatively short amount of time, said Karen Citizen-Wilcox, special agent in charge, U.S. Department of Agriculture-Office of the Inspector General, in a release. These retailers created an illegal benefits exchange system that defrauded the American taxpayer and denied healthy foods to needy children and their families. The store owners who allegedly orchestrated this trafficking scheme pocketed millions in fees which they charged for converting food assistance benefits into cash. Some of the defendants owned, worked at or operated stores authorized to accept Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program payments, known as SNAP. Others worked at stores not authorized, but allegedly used the point-of-sale terminals for stores that were authorized.The fraud happened like this, according to authorities: A store clerk swipes a person s electronic benefits card at a point-of-sale terminal for a large amount. The person with the card is paid a lesser amount in cash. The remainder is ill-gotten profit for the store owner.The bust from Operation Stampede/Cash Hungry in Florida involved more than $13 million in fraudulent food-stamp transactions and could be the largest food stamp bust in the nation s history. The Palm Beach County Sheriff s Office, state and federal law enforcement conducted a joint identity theft investigation involving obtaining SNAP EBT cards with the stolen identities. According to the sheriff s office, the fraudulently obtained EBT cards were taken to the Opa Locka Flea Market where the SNAP(food stamp or EBT) benefits allocated to them were exchanged for cash. Twenty two people have been charged with crimes.Saleh managed Four Corners convenience store, 821 NW Sixth St. in Fort Lauderdale, which wasn t authorized to take SNAP payments. Prosecutors say Saleh and other Four Corners employees used the point-of-sale terminals at Liberty City s Sparkle, 6530 NW 18th Ave., run by Alobaisi. Prosecutors say that from April 2015 through this past August, Saleh, Alobaisi and employees Francois, Hassouna, Alteen, Jerdana and Baker stole $2 million with the scheme.Case No. 2 involved Zahran, also known as Youssef Hussein, who worked at Pompano Beach s Community Food Store, 401 NW 27th Ave. He is being accused of being on the fraud train a relatively short time, Nov. 3, 2016, through Jan. 11.Hajje and Hajyousef owned Steve Market 2 and Yum-Yum s grocery, stores across the street from each other at 6804 NW 15th Ave. and 6813 NW 15th Ave. in Miami s Liberty City neighborhood. They allegedly fraudulently acquired $4.2 million.But federal prosecutors give the money title, $10 million, to the Herreras, who also allegedly ran their game longer than everyone else April 2012 through last month. Andy owned Santa Ana Market II, 1832 NW 17th Ave. in Miami. Father Javier worked there and Santa Ana Market, 3000 NW 12th Ave. Javier has convictions for third-degree grand theft and lottery violations on his rap sheet.Read more here: Miami Herald

Thirteen Chinese fishermen die as boat collides with oil tanker in Japan waters: state media

BEIJING (Reuters) - Thirteen Chinese fishermen died after their boat collided with a Hong Kong oil tanker in international waters off Japan, state media Xinhua reported on Friday, citing sources at China s consulate in Osaka. Three people were found alive after Thursday s collision. It was not known if there was any damage to the tanker or what caused the accident. The two vessels collided 400 km (240 miles) north of the Oki Islands in the Sea of Japan, also known as the East Sea, east of North Korea, state media reported. The identities of the victims have not yet been confirmed, Xinhua reported. The 290-tonne Chinese fishing vessel Lurong Yuanyu 378 had 16 people on board, according to the South China Morning Post. All 21 crew members aboard the 63,294-tonne Hong Kong ship, Bright Oil Lucky, were safe, it said.

Obama tells students at town hall about how failures have shaped him

GREENSBORO, N.C. (Reuters) - President Barack Obama won two straight elections for the White House, but on Tuesday during a talk with students at a town hall on race and sports he discussed a few times when he did not always come out on top. Obama recounted the fallout from his first presidential debate in his ultimately successful 2012 election race against Republican Mitt Romney. “I had that first debate, which was roundly panned. Everybody said you were terrible,” Obama said at the town hall hosted by ESPN’s The Undefeated at North Carolina A&T State University. “What is true is that I’ve always kind of hated these debate formats, so it wasn’t my best performance.” He said what really inspired him to “dig deep” for the second debate was seeing young volunteers around the country. While they put on a brave face, Obama said he could tell they were worried about the race. “I just thought to myself these kids are pouring their hearts and souls into making calls and knocking on doors, I’m not going to disappoint them,” he said. Obama also described his experience losing his first campaign for a U.S. congressional seat in 2000 and how it humbled him. Without that defeat, Obama said he did not believe he would have went on to win his Senate race in 2004. “What is true about politics that is similar to sports, though, is when you lose, you lose publicly,” he said. “It’s a hard feeling. One of the benefits of defeat is to take some of the vanity out of what it is you’re trying to achieve.” The issue of race and sports has been in the spotlight recently after NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick of the San Francisco 49ers started a controversial movement when he chose to stay seated, and then later opted to kneel, for the national anthem this season to protest racial injustice. Asked about sports and activism, Obama cited two of his childhood sports heroes: boxer Muhammad Ali and tennis player Arthur Ashe. Both had totally different styles, with Obama saying Ali was more outspoken and Ashe more buttoned down. But he said they both brought about change. “How you do it is less important than your commitment to use whatever platforms you have to speak to the issues that matter,” he said.

'Consistent' pattern of crimes against Myanmar's Rohingya, U.N. experts say

GENEVA (Reuters) - Rohingya refugees fleeing Myanmar have testified that a consistent, methodical pattern of killings, torture, rape and arson is taking place, United Nations human rights investigators said on Friday after a first mission to Bangladesh. The fact-finding team, led by former Indonesian attorney general Marzuki Darusman, said the death toll from the Myanmar army s crackdown following Rohingya insurgent attacks on Aug. 25 was unknown, but may turn out to be extremely high . We have heard many accounts from people from many different villages across northern Rakhine state. They point to a consistent, methodical pattern of actions resulting in gross human rights violations affecting hundreds of thousands of people, Darusman said in a statement. The team of three independent experts spent six days interviewing some of the 600,000 Rohingya from Myanmar s northern Rakhine state who are in refugee camps near Cox s Bazar. An advance team of U.N. rights officers have been conducting comprehensive interviews for weeks, it said. We are deeply disturbed at the end of this visit, Darusman said. Radhika Coomaraswamy, another member and veteran U.N. human rights investigator, said she was left shaken and angry by the testimonies. The accounts of sexual violence that I heard from victims are some of the most horrendous I have heard in my long experience in dealing with this issue in many crisis situations, she said. One could see the trauma in the eyes of the women I interviewed. When proven, this kind of abuse must never be allowed to go unpunished. The U.N. team, which was established by the U.N. Human Rights Council in March, renewed its appeal for access to Rakhine state and for talks with the Myanmar government and military to establish the facts . The third member, Christopher Sidoti, said that Rohingyas must be allowed to return to Rakhine if they wish, but only after mechanisms are put in place to ensure their safety. That may require the placement of international human rights monitors in Rakhine State, he said.

Treasury Secretary’s Actress Wife Answers Critics on the Left for ‘Deplorable’ Display of Wealth…Poses In Couture Gowns

Treasure Secretary Steve Mnuchin s wife is answering critics who shot her down for doing a little bragging on Instagram. Granted her Instagram post was a huge display of wealth but she has every right to speak out on what she s wearing etc She also snarked at a woman on Instagram who called her deplorable . Is it deplorable ? You be the judge:She listed the high end fashion items she was wearing. A woman claimed the taxpayers would be paying for this trip but the Mnuchins later stated that they would be reimbursing the feds for this trip to Kentucky.She might be stirring the pot again with her latest magazine appearance on the cover of local society magazine Washington Life. The ironic thing is she appears in the magazine apologizing but is wearing 2 different 10K gowns LOL! The Scottish-born wife of Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, 54, is featured in a six-page spread inside the magazine s September issue, where she gives her first stateside interview since moving to the capital back in January.That sit-down came just a few days after she was widely criticized for lashing out at a woman on Instagram, and Linton, 36, used the opportunity to apologize for her actions. I deserved the criticism, said Linton, who was likened to Marie Antoinette and Cruela de Vil after her social media meltdown. Her outburst came after Jennifer Miller, a working mother with three children, called Linton deplorable in the comment section of an Instagram photo she posted of her and Mnuchin deboarding a government plane on August 21 following a trip to Kentucky.The couple will be reimbursing the feds for the flight to Kentucky Remember that President Trump said he wanted a rich person in positions such as Commerce and Treasury:Read more: DM

Israel says it will intensify response to Syrian fire

JERUSALEM/BEIRUT (Reuters) - Five projectiles from Syria set off air raid sirens in Israeli towns on Saturday, prompting the Israeli military to say it would step up its response to stray fire from the Syrian war that has repeatedly spilled over the border. The projectiles crossed into the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and the military said it targeted three Syrian artillery guns in response. No damage or injuries were reported in Israel. The Syrian military said it came under attack in Quneitra province, which sits near the Golan Heights territory that Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Middle East War. The Israeli enemy assaulted one of our military positions this morning, which led to material damages, it said. During Syria s more than six-year-old conflict, Israel has returned fire across the border, including stray shells from fighting among Syrian combatants. The Israeli military statement suggested it may start escalating such retaliations. Whether errant fire or not, any future occurrences will force the Israel Defense Forces to intensify its response, it said. Israel holds the Syrian regime responsible and won t tolerate any attempt to breach Israeli sovereignty, it added. Syria s foreign ministry warned of the grave consequences of such repeated aggressive acts which it called a flagrant violation in a letter to the United Nations, state media said. The Syrian military said it held Israel responsible. Israel has also carried out targeted air strikes in Syria during the war, alarmed by the expanding influence of Iran, the Syrian government s ally. The Israeli air force says it has struck arms convoys of the Syrian military and Lebanon s Iran-backed Hezbollah nearly 100 times in recent years. Iran s military chief warned Israel against breaching Syria s airspace and territory on a visit to Damascus this week. The general signed an agreement with his Syrian counterpart to further boost military cooperation, Iranian state news agency IRNA said on Saturday. Rebel factions fighting the Damascus government in the multi-sided war hold swathes of Quneitra, while the army and allied militias control another part of the province. Both warring Syrian sides accused each other of prompting the Israeli attack on Saturday. The army said militants in nearby territory fired mortar rounds into the Golan Heights. A rebel official in Quneitra said pro-government fighters had been shelling insurgent-held parts of the province, when some of the shells fell on the Golan Heights.

Supreme Court sympathetic to property owner in wetlands dispute

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday appeared likely to rule that property owners can challenge the federal government in court over the need for permits under a national water protection law in a case involving a company’s plans for a Minnesota peat mine. The court heard a one-hour argument in a case balancing property rights and environmental law, in this instance the landmark 1972 U.S. Clean Water Act. A majority of the eight justices appeared sympathetic toward North Dakota-based Hawkes Co Inc, which is fighting an Obama administration finding that its property includes wetlands. The law mandates that property owners get permits in such situations. Whether a particular plot of land falls under the law’s jurisdiction is important to developers and other property owners because such a finding triggers a lengthy and expensive permitting process. Hawkes’ lawyers argued the company should be able to contest whether it even needs to go through the permit process. Liberal and conservative justices alike expressed concern about the current arrangement’s burden on property owners. Conservative Chief Justice John Roberts said applicants who disregard a government finding that they need a permit do so at “great practical risk.” Liberal Ruth Bader Ginsburg called the process “very arduous and very expensive.” Liberal Stephen Breyer called the government decision that Hawkes needed a permit “perfectly suited for review in the courts.” Only liberal Elena Kagan expressed support for the government, raising concerns about the impact a ruling favoring property owners would have on actions by other government agencies such as the Securities and Exchange Commission. Property rights advocates said the permitting process can take two years and cost up to $270,000, with owners facing penalties of up to $37,500 a day for noncompliance. Business groups including the National Association of Home Builders and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and 29 states filed court papers opposing the Obama administration in the case. The case follows the justices’ unanimous 2012 ruling that property owners facing enforcement action under the Clean Water Act can ask a court to intervene before being forced to comply or pay financial penalties. The Obama administration last year issued a new regulation defining the scope of federal jurisdiction over bodies of water. A federal appeals court put the rule on hold after it was challenged by 18 states. Only eight justices participated in the case following Justice Antonin Scalia’s February death. A ruling is due by the end of June.

Curt Schilling Doubles Down On Transgender Hate On Facebook, Adds Racism (IMAGE)

After ESPN fired washed-up MLB pitcher Curt Schilling, and rightfully so, for posting an extremely transphobic image on his Facebook page, he decided that wasn t enough hate, so now he s added some racism to the mix.Clearly pissed that he lost his job, Schilling decided to repost an image put out by conservative blogger and wannabe comedian Steven Crowder. In the image it throws noted writer and activist Shaun King under the bus in its pathetic attempt to be funny. Which, I m sure to the myopic, racist and transphobic crowd Crowder plays to, is hilarious.The image says: Liberal Logic:Shaun King: Fakes being a black man. Gets Promotion.Curt Schilling: Thinks men should use men s bathrooms. Fired by ESPN. Here s the image: via FacebookNow anyone with half a brain knows that Shaun King, who has time and time again been accused of lying about his race, and has struggled through his own past to appease those who don t understand things that aren t as simple as black and white, is indeed a man of color speaking his own unique truth.But clearly, many conservatives, especially those like Crowder and Schilling who like to make fun of and are clearly afraid of anyone different from themselves, can t wrap their head around this sort of thing.And not only is Schilling not apologizing for his transphobic hatred that got him fired, he s now doubling down on it.As a diehard Boston Red Sox fan, who was proud during the bloody sock moments, I couldn t be more disgusted at this pathetic little scrap of a man who can t bring himself to basic human decency and recognize there are people on this planet who are, indeed, transgender.Schilling, at this point, delete your account. You re an embarrassment to humankind.Featured Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images

HERE ARE THE KEY POINTS In Donald Trump’s Economic Speech YOU’LL WANT TO KNOW

The left went nuts immediately after donald Trump s speech at the Detroit Economic Club today. The terms such as word salad were used by political hacks at CNN it was the usual hit job on Trump. Spin, spin, spin What they didn t plan on was a GREAT speech with lots of detail that s included on Trump s website. Stephen Moore and Larry Kudlow are just two of the many bright minds who worked on the economic plan for the Republican candidate. Here are key parts of the plan:

Pro-Trump group ad seeks to pit Michelle Obama against Clinton

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Super PAC backing Republican Donald Trump is buying TV airtime in parts of Florida beginning this week for a commercial aimed at using first lady Michelle Obama’s words against Hillary Clinton to erode the Democratic presidential candidate’s support from women voters in the battleground state. The ad – which the Super PAC has already been running online – shows Michelle Obama in 2007 saying, “If you can’t run your own house, you can’t run the White House,” which could be taken as a reference to infidelity by Clinton’s husband, Bill Clinton. The ad says Michelle Obama was talking about Hillary Clinton. However, at the time, then-candidate Barack Obama denied that his wife’s words referred to his opponent for the Democratic presidential nomination. Representatives for Clinton and Michelle Obama declined to comment on the commercial. The Super PAC, Make America Number 1, is hoping the ad, to be aired in the Orlando and Tampa areas, will resonate with women, a spokesman, Hogan Gidley, told Reuters on Tuesday. Trump has struggled for support from women voters, many of whom have cited his temperament and past negative comments about women, including comedian Rosie O’Donnell and Fox News host Megyn Kelly. Eleven days ago, the New York businessman’s campaign was shaken by the release of a tape showing Trump lewdly bragging about kissing and touching women without their permission. A series of women have since come forward with allegations about such behavior on his part, but he has denied the accusations. In Florida, a Quinnipiac University poll released on Monday found Clinton leading among likely women voters, with support from 54 percent of those surveyed, compared with 39 percent for Trump. Michelle Obama has become one of the most powerful campaigners for Clinton. A speech the first lady gave in New Hampshire last week attacking Trump for the tape was praised by many as one of the most powerful speeches of the campaign. Make America Number 1 plans to spend $400,000 to put the ad on TV, spokesman Gidley said. In addition to the TV run, the commercial initially appeared as a Facebook ad. The group spent $72,000 targeting women in nine key battleground states - states where the vote could swing to either candidate. Super PACs - or super political action committees - are permitted to raise and spend unlimited amounts of money, but are prohibited by law from coordinating with a campaign. Make America Number 1 is one of a handful of such groups supporting Trump’s White House bid. Michelle Obama and Hillary Clinton have never directly addressed how they mended their relationship after the fierce 2008 primary campaign, in which Clinton lost to now-President Barack Obama. Both Obamas have campaigned aggressively for Clinton this year. During last week’s second presidential debate, Clinton called Michelle Obama “my friend.”

California, other states vow to lead as Trump exits Paris climate pact

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - State governors and city mayors were quick to claim the mantle of U.S. leadership in fighting climate change after President Donald Trump said on Thursday the country will pull out of the Paris climate agreement. The officials said they collectively could show the international community that the United States remained committed to cutting the emissions that scientists blame for global warming. Governors and analysts cited moves including California’s effort to get 100 percent of its electricity from renewable sources, northeast states potentially tightening maximum allowances for carbon and Oregon working on measures to put a price on carbon. “There is a pathway here where the rest of America in reaction to, really, what is an insane decision by president Trump, takes the kind of steps needed,” California Governor Jerry Brown told Reuters. More states could follow California and neighboring Oregon’s lead on low-carbon fuel standards, expand zero emission vehicle requirements and potentially merge carbon measures such as taxes, caps and trading, the governors and analysts said. “There is a possibility over time that states could increase their cap-and-trade markets and merge them, including across national boundaries, as has happened with Quebec and California,” Washington state Governor Jay Inslee said in an interview with Reuters, referring to regional carbon trading systems already in place in the Northeast and West. Inslee, Brown and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Thursday announced the creation of a “climate alliance” for states committed to the Paris goals. Trump announced his decision to withdraw from the Paris accord, saying the its requirement to cut U.S. emission of carbon dioxide threatened millions of jobs and productivity. He said he would start a process that could last four years to withdraw from the deal, which has been signed by almost every other nation on Earth. [L1N1IY0MV] The president used declining coal industry jobs as an example of his concern that the climate pledge was hurting U.S. workers. But critics of his move pointed out that renewable energy industries, particularly solar, are creating hundreds of thousands of jobs - far more than currently exist in coal. “This decision won’t bring back coal jobs in the United States. That train has left the station,” California state senate leader Kevin de Leon, a Democrat, said of Trump’s withdrawal. “Clean energy is the future.” De Leon introduced a bill that would require California get 100 percent of its retail electricity from renewables by 2045, and it passed the state senate on Wednesday. California Governor Brown is heading to China on Friday to lead a conference of states and other “subnational” actors making voluntary commitments to cut greenhouse grasses. The group, the “Under2” coalition, which takes its name from the Paris accord’s effort to keep global warming below 2 degrees Celsius, has grown to 170 jurisdictions representing more than a third of the global economy over the past two years - including 10 states in the United States. Brown said he was exploring the possibility of integrating California and Chinese provincial carbon trading systems. That would be a “heavy lift” he said, but “I am going to discuss that with the highest officials in China this week.” Smaller states also aim to lead by example. Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection chief Rob Klee said he was working on a program to build electric vehicle infrastructure. “What we believe we can do in Connecticut is show the policies that can work,” he said. The U.S. commitment under Paris of cutting emissions by 26 percent to 28 percent below 2005 levels by 2025 is ambitious, though. John Larsen of Rhodium Group estimated the United States under Trump policies was on track for a 15 percent to 19 percent reduction. “At this stage in the game, new experimentation at the state level with new policy options could be really, really important to not just meeting Paris but driving emissions down in the long run,” he said. Several cities said that they would work toward reaching the goal. “We are increasing investments in renewable energy and energy efficiency. We will buy and create more demand for electric cars and trucks,” a group of more than 50 mayors from cities ranging from Houston, Texas to New Orleans, Louisiana said in a statement on Thursday. The various coalitions of states and cities said that they had the heft to command international attention. “Clearly California is sort of the big dog in this pack, but our ability to work with California and Washington and British Columbia has a huge impact,” Oregon Governor Kate Brown told Reuters.

Mattis to review if military accidents linked to budget caps

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said on Monday that he was working to see if there was a link between a spate of recent military accidents and budget caps, but said he could not draw a direct line at this time. Since June, more than 70 U.S. service members have either been killed or injured in training or non-combat accidents, ranging from two naval collisions in Asia to a Marine Corps transport plane crash in rural Mississippi. “I am not willing to say right now that there is a direct line between sequestration and what has happened. I am willing to say ... we are going to take a very close look at that,” Mattis told reporters. Mattis said that he was looking at a number of broader issues to try and explain the large number of accidents, including whether there were cultural issues in the military. “We are almost hardwired to say “can do,” that is just the way we are brought up,” Mattis said. “But there comes a point in peacetime where you have to make certain you are not always saying we’re going to do more with less,” he added. Mattis said he was not concerned that military leaders felt pressured to say their troops were trained and ready, even if they were not. The issue of U.S. military accidents was highlighted by a series of recent naval collisions. A pre-dawn collision between guided-missile destroyer John S. McCain and a merchant vessel east of Singapore and Malaysia on Aug. 21 killed 10 sailors and was the fourth major incident in the U.S. Pacific Fleet this year. In June, another destroyer, the Fitzgerald, collided with a Philippine cargo ship, killing seven U.S. sailors. The secretary of the Navy and the chief of naval operations will appear before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday, where they are expected to face tough questions from lawmakers on the collisions and whether enough was done to avoid them. In a Sunday interview on CBS’ “Face the Nation” Senator John McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said recent military accidents were because of budget caps. “It’s because of a thing called sequestration, and our failure over the last eight years to make sure our military is prepared, equipped, trained,” McCain said. (Fixes typo in second paragraph to “plane”.)

Senator Warren hits out at 'effort to politicize' U.S. consumer agency

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren is taking aim at budget chief Mick Mulvaney’s plan to fill the ranks of the U.S. consumer financial watchdog with political allies, according to letters seen by Reuters, the latest salvo in a broader battle over who should run the bureau. President Donald Trump last month appointed Mulvaney as acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), though the decision is being legally challenged by the agency’s deputy director, Leandra English, who says she is the rightful interim head. Mulvaney told reporters earlier this month he planned to bring in several political appointees to help overhaul the agency, but Warren warned in a pair of letters sent Monday to Mulvaney and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), which oversees federal hiring, that doing so was inappropriate and potentially illegal. The CFPB is meant to be an independent agency staffed primarily by non-political employees. Hiring political appointees could violate civil service laws designed to protect such employees from undue political pressure and discrimination, Warren said. “Your naked effort to politicize the consumer agency runs counter to the agency’s mission to be an independent voice for consumers with the power to stand up to Wall Street banks,” Warren, who helped create the CFPB, wrote to Mulvaney. In a separate letter, Warren asked the OPM to review Mulvaney’s “unprecedented and unjustified” plans. In a third letter sent to Mulvaney and English, Warren asked for information about a review of ongoing enforcement actions at the CFPB. Reuters reported earlier this month that a potential multimillion-dollar settlement with Wells Fargo is among the enforcement actions under review amid the change in CFPB leadership. Spokespeople for Mulvaney and the OPM did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Mulvaney, who also serves directly under Trump as the head of his Office of Management and Budget (OMB), said in the long term he would like to see professional staff alongisde political appointees, mirroring an arrangement in place at the OMB. “We will be staffing up with more permanent political people so the professional staff here have a better feel for where the administration wants to take the bureau,” Mulvaney said. But Warren said such an arrangement, though understandable for bureaus like the OMB which sit directly beneath the White House, was not suitable for independent financial regulators. The leadership of the CFPB has been in question since the agency’s first director, Richard Cordray, resigned in November.

Argentine Congress to make fresh attempt at pension debate on Monday

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentina s lower house of Congress will try on Monday to debate the government s pension bill, lawmakers said on Friday, after the first attempt at discussing it this week ended with violent protests that forced the legislature to suspend session. The bill, key to President Mauricio Macri s effort to lower business costs and reduce Argentina s fiscal deficit, has already passed the Senate, leaving the lower house to give final legislative approval. But Thursday s debate was suspended after it sparked riots in the capital that were put down by police firing rubber bullets and tear gas. Opposition protesters, politicians and unions say the legislation will hurt pensioners. For Monday s debate, the bill will be amended to provide a bonus to the country s most needy retirees, the government said. The move may increase its chances of passage. The amendment will make a strong effort to compensate those most in need, Macri-allied house member Mario Negri told reporters. The agreement to include the bonus came after a long meeting on Friday among lawmakers, provincial governors and Macri administration officials. Macri is aiming to cut the fiscal deficit to 3.2 percent of gross domestic product next year from 4.2 percent this year, and to reduce inflation to between 8 and 12 percent from above 20 percent this year. The pension bill would change the formula used to calculate benefits. Payments would adjust every quarter based on inflation, rather than the current system of twice-yearly adjustments linked to wage rises and tax revenue. Economists say the current formula means benefits go up in line with past inflation. Left unchanged, that could harm Macri s efforts to cut the fiscal deficit. Under the new formula, benefits would increase by 5 percentage points above inflation, according to Cabinet Chief Marcos Pena. The plan would take effect at a time of lower inflation expectations, hence slowing the pace of pension benefit increases.

ATLANTA JUDGE Punished for Telling the Truth About Radical Antifa Protesters “Tearing Down Monuments”

And once again, the snowflakes want to erase parts of history they know nothing about. And what s more, they attack and penalize those who try to defend it.This week, an Atlanta judge was suspended upon posting his thoughts about Confederate monuments and so called anti-fascist protesters on Facebook. Judge James Hinkle wrote, It looks like all of the snowflakes have no concept of history. It is what it is. Get over it and move on. He went on to add, The nut cases tearing down monuments are equivalent to ISIS destroying history. ISIS AND ANTIFA BELOW- BOTH HATE AMERICA AND DEAL WITH CONFLICT BY USING VIOLENCE AND DESTRUCTION.He noted that, Confederate monuments in Virginia have the rear ends of horses facing north. Following these posts, Hinkle was told by Gwinnett County s chief magistrate that he was suspended. Chief Judge Kristina Blum released the following statement: I have made it clear to all of our judges to conduct themselves in a manner that promotes public confidence in the integrity, impartiality, and fairness of the judiciary. I consider any violation of those principles and policies to be a matter of utmost concern. Hinkle, who also served as the mayor of Grayson for over twenty years, previously made his views well known on social media when he posted he was proud to be a deplorable infidel. While many have been calling for his permanent removal, Hinkle has stated that he did not see what he did wrong. But you know, he went on to say, with the way things are going in the world today, I guess everything s controversial. JUDGE HINKLE RESIGNED AFTER TELLING THE TRUTH AND BEING PUNISHED FOR IT. WE DON T BLAME HIM Read more: Daily Caller

FLORIDA DOCTOR Under Fire After Running TV Ad Offering Medical Treatment For Men Who Plan To Vote For Hillary [VIDEO]

As a woman, I have to say I agree with this doctor s theory about any man who would vote for Hillary. A Florida doctor is under fire for a commercial warning men who are considering voting for Hillary Clinton that they might have low testosterone levels. WBBH s Nestor Mato reports.Florida doctor under fire for saying men who vote for Clinton may have low testosterone levels https://t.co/6IUumR7S5s pic.twitter.com/lJn6d2vwru NBC News (@NBCNews) October 2, 2016Watch here:https://youtu.be/bokKloZOjSo

Iraqi forces and PMF attack Peshmerga positions from Zummar: Kurdistan security council

CAIRO (Reuters) - Iraqi troops and popular mobilization forces began shelling Peshmerga positions from Zummar in northern Nineveh province, the Kurdistan Region Security Council (KRSC) said on Thursday. The KRSC urged Iraqi forces to withdraw from nearby areas and accept the Kurdistan Regional Government s offer for unconditional talks to settle political differences in a statement issued hours before the offensive began. It also called on the United States government to stop Iraq s reckless behavior . (This version of the story corrects headline to make clear that attack was launched from Zummar, not in Zummar)

Iowa moves to cut Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood

(Reuters) - The Republican-controlled Iowa state senate voted on Thursday to cut Medicaid funding for family planning services to abortion providers including Planned Parenthood. State senators passed the bill 30-20, advancing it to the Republican-controlled House. The vote was along party lines, with one independent voting in favor of the measure. Republican Governor Terry Branstad has said he supports the bill. Planned Parenthood draws the ire of many Republicans because it provides abortions, and Republican President Donald Trump has pledged to defund the organization. “This change will allow Iowa to restrict government funding to family planning services away from organizations that perform abortions that are not medically necessary,” Republican Senator Amy Sinclair, one of the bill’s sponsors, said on Thursday before the vote. Planned Parenthood denounced the vote. “The Republican lawmakers who continue to advance this bill should be ashamed of themselves. They are playing political games, with the lives of low-income Iowans at stake,” Planned Parenthood of the Heartland said in a statement. “This bill does nothing to advance their extremist agenda to limit access to abortion. Instead, it blocks access to crucial family planning services for thousands of Iowans – the very services that most effectively prevent abortion. It’s a self-serving, misleading and dangerous political game.” The bill directs the Iowa Department of Human Services to discontinue the Medicaid family planning network waiver on July 1 and replace it with a state family planning services program. Eligibility requirements for the new network would remain the same, but no funding would be provided to organizations that provide abortions or maintain facilities where abortions are carried out. Planned Parenthood is Iowa’s largest abortion provider with 12 clinics in the state, but no public money is used for abortions, according to the Des Moines Register. Branstad has proposed paying for the new state-run program by shifting $2.8 million in funds from services for vulnerable adults, families and children, the newspaper reported. Planned Parenthood is also facing a funding cut in Texas, where a judge is considering the move, which the organization has challenged in court.

NEW POLICY: TSA Can Now Force You To Go Through Body Scanners

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screeners at airports can now force passengers to go through body scanners, according to a new policy change.The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has updated its protocol to no longer allow passengers to opt out of being electronically scanned at through Advanced Imaging Technology (AIT) machines at checkpoints. Before the change, people could choose a physical screening. While passengers may generally decline AIT screening in favor of physical screening, TSA may direct mandatory AIT screening for some passengers, the DHS issued in a Dec. 18 policy update.The change weakens the opt-out rule but doesn t entirely eliminate it, a TSA spokesman told TIME. Passengers undergoing screening will still have the option to decline an AIT screening in favor of a physical screening, agency spokesman Mike England said in a statement. However, some passengers will still be required to undergo AIT screenings as warranted by security considerations in order to safeguard transportation security. Via: Time

After U.S. visit, South Sudan's Kiir orders unhindered aid access

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - South Sudan s President Salva Kiir has ordered that humanitarian aid convoys be allowed to move freely, unhindered and unimpeded around the country, two weeks after the United States said it had lost trust in his government and threatened to pull support. The Nov. 9 order, seen by Reuters, directs that all roadblocks should be removed, all levels of government must assist aid groups, and anyone who obstructs aid or imposes taxes on aid convoys shall be held accountable. The move came two weeks after U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley met with Kiir in Juba. She was the first member of President Donald Trump s cabinet to visit South Sudan, which spiraled into civil war in late 2013, two years after gaining independence from Sudan. Haley said Washington had lost trust in Kiir s government for fueling the civil war, and demanded that Kiir allow full and consistent humanitarian aid access. This is a good sign, but we must see actions - more than words from President Kiir, Haley said in a statement on Tuesday, referring to the Nov. 9 presidential order. The true test will be whether humanitarian assistance is actually allowed to get to the South Sudanese people in a consistent way. We will be watching, and we will continue to encourage President Kiir to do the right thing, she said. Haley s office said Kiir had yet to deliver on further commitments made during a 45-minute, one-on-one meeting with Haley in Juba. The war in South Sudan, sparked by a feud between Kiir and his former deputy Riek Machar, has plunged parts of the world s youngest nation into famine. Some 4 million people have fled their homes, a third of the country s population. U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator for South Sudan, Alain Noudehou, welcomed Kiir s Nov. 9 order. We hope that the order will have a positive impact in reducing the many constraints faced by humanitarian partners that delay or prevent the provision of urgently needed help, Noudehou said in a statement on Monday. This was not the first time Kiir has pledged to improve the humanitarian aid situation. When U.N. Security Council ambassadors visited in September 2016, Kiir agreed to eliminate illegal checkpoints and streamline bureaucratic processes and access to people in need. The following month he set up a high-level humanitarian oversight committee to improve cooperation with aid groups. Yet U.N. sanctions monitors, in a report to the U.N. Security Council seen by Reuters last week, have accused Kiir s government of using food as a weapon of war to target civilians by blocking life-saving aid in some areas. They found that armed forces, groups and militias - particularly those affiliated with Kiir and Vice President Taban Deng Gai - continued to actively impede both humanitarian and peacekeeping operations. In his Nov. 9 order, Kiir directed the high-level humanitarian oversight committee ensure the aid convoys and groups can move freely and that state-level oversight committees be created.

Watch The ‘Liberal Redneck’ Compare Anti-Trans Protesters To Michele Bachmann On Bath Salts

Trae Crowder, known on YouTube as The Liberal Redneck, has returned again with yet another damned funny commentary on the recent creepy obsession that Republicans have with what people do in public restrooms.Crowder started by taking aim specifically at the new wave of idiots that are invading Target department stores, in order to loudly protest the fact they allow transgender people to use the restrooms in their department stores. One case in particular was one where a woman was walking up and down the aisles in target, towing along what appeared to be half of her 12 children she claimed to have.Sympathizing with the woman, in the comedic sense, he said he could understand how with 12 kids she was crazier than Michelle Bachmann on bath salts. You gotta agree with his logic. With 12 kids, and having to manage them in a militant Christian household that you KNOW she runs, she s probably crazier than an outhouse rat.Crowder is sick of hearing about how Republicans are going to take their country back as well, and suggested that they all move somewhere that religion and government are the same like Saudi Arabia. Crowder said I know what you re thinking Eww, they re brown, gross. But check it out: they love screaming, they hate books, they throw rocks at queers you d fit right in. What a great point. Right?Watch Trae completely own every person who can t stop thinking about people peeing below:Considering how many Republicans get caught doing bad hings in public rest rooms, you would think that they d be focusing more on their own party, instead of an entire segment of society that already lives in such fear of going to the bathroom they are in-and-out while drawing as little attention to themselves as possible.Featured image via video screen capture

Crazy Alabama Republican Demonstrates Why Religion Doesn’t Belong In Government

This why the Founding Fathers wanted separation of church and state.Ever since conservative Christians pushed Congress and President Truman to pass a law establishing a National Day of Prayer in 1952, Christian fundamentalists have made every effort to force their religious beliefs down the throats of every American.Despite a ruling by the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in 2011, which says the National Day of Prayer is unconstitutional because the Constitution bars Congress from making any law that respects an establishment of religion, the National Day of Prayer persists. It s a religious exercise that serves no purpose in our secular government, and it alienates people who are non-religious and people who do not worship the Christian deity.It also forces the President to sign a proclamation every year declaring the observation of the day, which means an atheist president would be forced to recognize religion every year in direct violation of the First Amendment.Republicans have been particularly crazy about inserting religion into government, and an Alabama Republican wrote a disturbing resolution this year that demonstrates precisely why we need separation of church and state.GOP state Rep. Mack Butler wrote up a National Day of Prayer resolution that demands America turn into a Christian nation that bans abortion and returns to traditional values, which one assumes includes banning same-sex marriage and outlawing contraception as well as forcing non-Christian citizens to convert against their will. He even goes so far as to call the citizens of Alabama wicked and called upon them to pray to prevent God from punishing them and the country.Here s the full text of HJR 316.WHEREAS, God has blessed America, where freedom exists for all, regardless of belief or creed; and WHEREAS, America s heritage is a beacon to the world, a shining city on a hill; and WHEREAS, America s exceptionalism was not only on a thoroughfare for freedom beat, but a leader and protector of values and safety around the world; and WHEREAS, though American s sovereignty did not and would not rule the world, rather than a colonial power, she shared her bounty; and WHEREAS, America has turned from her values, she is engaged in practices antithetical to her heritage by not protecting the poor, defenseless, and unborn, and has permitted the law to discriminate pitting one s rights against the rights of others; and WHEREAS, America now sits in her sanctuary while the rest of the world is falling into turmoil with genocide against Christians and radical Islamic terrorists wreaking havoc; and WHEREAS, America s Judeo-Christian tradition recognized a freedom of religion, the first freedom, that let all religions coexist; and WHEREAS, traditional values have been removed from the public square where all values were once spoken; and WHEREAS, religious freedom is threatened and God is mocked; and WHEREAS, just as Jesus observed when he drew close to Jerusalem before His crucifixion and wept over the city that thought it knew of the things made for peace, it was now hidden from their eyes and just as high government officials often invoke the name of God, yet they tempt God by abandoning His truths; and WHEREAS, America must reaffirm her freedom and her faith; and BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA, BOTH HOUSES THEREOF CONCURRING, That we urge America to reaffirm and protect its freedoms. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the fifth day of May 24 2016 be set aside as a day of reflection by the citizens of the State of Alabama who will humble themselves and pray and seek God s face and turn from their wicked ways so that God will hear from Heaven and will forgive their sins and heal their land.America faces many problems including the threat of terrorism, climate change, income inequality, and being overtaken by the rest of the world when it comes to education, just to name a few. Alabama faces serious budget issues as well as healthcare and education issues. Yet all conservatives want to do about it is pray rather than construct and pass legislation that solves the problems. They literally believe that believing in God is all we need to do and all of our problems will magically be solved. This is counter to the hopes of the Founding Fathers that our government would lead by the use of reason. If we want to solve the problems our country faces, the first thing that needs to happen is to kick religion out of government once and for all. We need lawmakers, not preachers. Then we can get to work dealing with our problems constructively instead of pretending that some invisible deity will come to our rescue. When a religion is good, I conceive it will support itself; and when it does not support itself, and God does not take care to support it so that its professors are obligated to call for help of the civil power, it s a sign, I apprehend, of its being a bad one. ~Founding Father Benjamin Franklin, letter to Richard Price, October 9, 1780 Featured image via YouTube

Green Party U.S. election recount bid comes to a close

(Reuters) - The recount effort by Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein in three U.S. states came to an end on Monday, after weeks of legal wrangling yielded only one electoral review in Wisconsin that favored Republican winner Donald Trump. A federal judge in Pennsylvania rejected Stein’s request for a recount and an examination of that state’s voting machines for evidence of hacking in the Nov. 8 election won by Trump. Meanwhile, Wisconsin election officials said on Monday they had completed their 10-day recount after finding that Trump’s margin of victory over Democrat Hillary Clinton had increased by 131 votes, bringing Trump’s total lead to 22,748. “The final Wisconsin vote is in and guess what - we just picked up an additional 131 votes. The Dems and Green Party can now rest. Scam!” Trump said on Twitter. Stein, who finished fourth, challenged the results in those two states as well as Michigan, where the state’s top court on Friday denied Stein’s last-ditch appeal to keep a recount going. All of those traditionally Democratic strongholds supported Trump over Clinton. Even if all three recounts had taken place, they were unlikely to change the outcome. Stein argued that the use in many Pennsylvania districts of electronic voting machines with no paper trail left the system vulnerable to hacking. In a 31-page opinion, U.S. District Judge Paul Diamond in Philadelphia said it “borders on the irrational” to suspect hacking occurred in Pennsylvania. He noted that the deadline to certify the state’s electoral votes is Tuesday, making it impossible to hold a recount in time. While there is no evidence of large-scale voting machine hacking, U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded that Russia targeted Clinton in a series of cyber attacks. Trump has questioned those reports. In response to Diamond’s ruling, Stein said in a statement that Pennsylvanians’ right to have their votes counted had been “stripped from right under them.” Trump won Pennsylvania by more than 44,000 votes and Michigan by more than 10,000 votes, according to the latest figures. Despite winning the national popular vote by more than 2 percent, Clinton would have had to sweep those states to win the presidency under the U.S. Electoral College system, which assigns electoral votes state-by-state rather than by overall national totals.

Report Reveals 7 Most Disgusting Things Trump Did To Women

The New York Times has done an in-depth new report on how Donald Trump behaved in private with women. It is called Crossing the Line: How Donald Trump Behaved With Women in Private and looks at his sexist, misogynist and just creepy behavior based on first-hand interviews with women who have interacted with him over the years.The Times reports that the interviews reveal unwelcome romantic advances, unending commentary on the female form, a shrewd reliance on ambitious women, and unsettling workplace conduct. Here are 7 of the worst moments from the piece:Trump already has huge negatives with female voters, and since then he has attacked both Hillary Clinton and Senator Elizabeth Warren for playing the woman card when they have criticized his sexist attitudes and attacks on women.This story won t help.Featured image via YouTube

Hamas urges action against U.S. interests over Trump's 'flagrant aggression'

GAZA (Reuters) - Palestinian Islamist group Hamas said U.S. President Donald Trump s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel s capital and decision to move the U.S. embassy to the city was a flagrant aggression against the Palestinian people . In a speech in Washington, Trump said his announcement marked the beginning of a new approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Hamas, which dominates the Gaza Strip, urged Arabs and Muslims to undermine the U.S. interests in the region and to shun Israel.

Germany's Gabriel calls for talks between Catalonia, Spain

BERLIN (Reuters) - German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel on Monday called for urgent dialogue between Catalonia and Spain, and said it was vital to prevent events from spiraling out of control after a violent police crackdown on an independence vote in the region. The images that reached us yesterday from Spain show how important it is to interrupt the spiral of escalation, Gabriel said in a statement in which he echoed calls by European Union officials for dialogue between Spain and Catalonia. Gabriel urged both sides to keep calm and work toward a lasting political solution that maintained the rule of law, which he said was one of the key pillars that united EU members.

[Video] BLACK CHAMBER OF COMMERCE PRESIDENT SAYS OBAMA’S ‘Clean Power Plan’ Will Increase Black Poverty By 23 Percent

America s First Black President continues to destroy employment opportunities for the black community We ve got a bad guy in the family, but protect him because he s family. We ve got to wake up, slap ourselves and wake up. This is America and everybody s involved in this and if our children are hurting, it s our responsibility to find someone who understands that pain, feels it like Bill Clinton would say. This guy doesn t feel it. In fact he issues a lot of that pain, with a smile. Harry Alford, Black Chamber of Commerce President (Hannity, February 26, 2013)