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Schlagstöcke und Pyrotechnik sichergestellt: Polizei löst unerlaubte Kinderdemo auf

noreply@blogger.com (Der Postillon)

Samstag, 12. November 2016 Schlagstöcke und Pyrotechnik sichergestellt: Polizei löst unerlaubte Kinderdemo auf Köln (Archiv) - Dem beherzten Eingreifen einer Hundertschaft der Kölner Polizei ist es zu verdanken, dass am Freitag eine nicht angemeldete Demonstration in Köln-Bickendorf innerhalb weniger Minuten aufgelöst werden konnte. Bei den Beteiligten wurden Dutzende Schlagstöcke sowie Pyrotechnik in großem Umfang sichergestellt. Nach Angaben der Polizei nahmen rund 50 Minderjährige im Alter zwischen drei und sechs Jahren an der Kundgebung teil. Augenzeugen berichten, dass die Beteiligten lautstark Sprüche wie "Sankt Martin, Sankt Martin" und "Rabimmel, rabammel, rabumm, bumm bumm!" skandierten und dabei Schlagstöcke vor sich hertrugen, an denen Brandsätze befestigt waren. Wasserwerfer gegen Pyrotechnik: Kölner Polizei beim Einsatz Ob es sich bei den Demonstranten, die sich als Besucher der Kindertagesstätte "Blaue Zwerge" ausgaben, um Mitglieder eines extremistischen Bündnisses handelt, wird derzeit noch geprüft. Die 43-jährige Leiterin der Gruppe wurde festgenommen und sitzt derzeit noch in Untersuchungshaft. Ein weiterer Mann auf einem Pferd, der die Demonstration anzuführen schien, konnte sich in vollem Galopp dem Zugriff durch die Beamten entziehen. Wie die Polizei mitteilte, werden zudem mehrere Dutzend von den Demonstranten mitgeführte Kekse auf Drogen untersucht; das Ergebnis steht noch aus. Da mehrere Beamte von widerspenstigen Kindern gekratzt und laut Polizeibericht teilweise fies ans Schienbein getreten wurden, ergingen insgesamt 32 Strafanzeigen wegen gefährlicher Körperverletzung und Widerstandes gegen Vollstreckungsbeamte. 17 Polizisten wurden krankgeschrieben. ssi, dan; Foto rechts: Marek Peters / www.marek-peters.com , GNU 1.2 ; Hinweis: Erstmals erschienen am 11.11.14 Artikel teilen:

Paint and Switch? Did Alec Baldwin Pay $190,000 for the Wrong Picture? - The New York Times

Graham Bowley

Ten years or so ago, as the actor Alec Baldwin remembers it, the gallery owner Mary Boone sent him an invitation to a show of work by the painter Ross Bleckner, an artist whom she represented and he had befriended. The card featured a reproduction of Mr. Bleckner’s “Sea and Mirror,” a work from 1996, when the artist was at the height of his popularity. So began Mr. Baldwin’s love affair with the painting — an infatuation that has ended with Mr. Baldwin, who occupies a central role in New York’s cultural life, now pitted in a bitter dispute with two formidable players in the city’s rarefied world of art and money — Ms. Boone, a prominent art dealer, and Mr. Bleckner, one of her notable talents. This has, to say the least, become awkward. For years, Mr. Baldwin said he carried the image of “Sea and Mirror” in his shoulder bag, alongside a picture of one of his daughters and his father. In 2010, he asked Ms. Boone to find the collector who owned it and pry it away. “There was a kind of beauty and simplicity” to the work, Mr. Baldwin recalled in an interview this month. Happily, she reported back, the collector would sell — but at a premium. Mr. Baldwin put up the $190, 000. “I love this thing so much,” he said in a 2012 speech about support for the arts at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, proudly recounting his quest. “Three months later it was hanging in my house, in my apartment in New York. ” But Mr. Baldwin said that something about the painting always gave him unease. The colors weren’t quite the same. It smelled, somehow, new. In fact, he said, just a few months ago he discovered that he had not bought the painting he pined for. Instead, he said, for reasons that remain disputed, Ms. Boone sent him another version of the painting. He claims she passed it off as the original. “I thought she had made my dream come true,” Mr. Baldwin said. Instead, he said he believed that Ms. Boone, frustrated that the collector would not agree to sell, persuaded Mr. Bleckner to take an unfinished work from the same series, finish painting it and sell it to him without saying a word. Mr. Bleckner’s office said he could not be reached for comment. Ms. Boone, through her lawyer, disputed Mr. Baldwin’s account, asserting he was never misled about the identity of the work. “He’s wrong that the painting is a copy it’s an original and very fine work of art by Ross Bleckner,” Ms. Boone’s lawyer, Ted Poretz, said in a statement. Mr. Baldwin, however, has emails that buttress parts of his account. The Boone gallery also stamped a number — 7449 — on the back of the painting it sold to Mr. Baldwin, the same number it had listed next to the work it had said it was pursuing from the collector. Mr. Baldwin said he met with the Manhattan district attorney’s office this summer but was told that a criminal case could not be made. Ms. Boone’s lawyer declined to address in full the issues raised by the emails or the number next to the painting. “The gallery never likes to have unhappy clients,” Mr. Poretz said in his statement, “and it has turned cartwheels to try to satisfy Alec Baldwin. It has repeatedly offered Alec Baldwin a full refund, among other things. ” The interaction is hardly the first to end badly in an opaque, largely unregulated art market. It raises questions about why works created in one era by an artist, operating under one set of motivations, are sometimes different in value and reputation, compared with works that were perhaps created by the same artist in another era. But to Mr. Baldwin, the concerns are not nearly so esoteric: He contends he was betrayed. “Ross was a kind of friend of mine,” Mr. Baldwin said. He continues to be a Bleckner supporter. Mr. Baldwin’s foundation helped to underwrite an exhibition this month on Long Island that featured Mr. Bleckner’s paintings. He owns five of Mr. Bleckner’s works. Mr. Baldwin said that the flamboyant, outspoken Ms. Boone, from whom he sometimes bought art, admitted this year that she had switched the works. “She said, ‘I didn’t want to disappoint you,’” he said. Mr. Baldwin, who met Mr. Bleckner at parties in the Hamptons, where the actor owns a home, became an admirer of his work in the 1990s. Mr. Bleckner, who had a Guggenheim retrospective in 1995 at 45, had been an ascendant art star of the 1980s. He belonged to a stable of young artists who helped Ms. Boone build her reputation in the ’80s, though two of her stars from that time, Eric Fischl and David Salle, have since left for rival dealers. Mr. Baldwin bought his first Bleckner from Ms. Boone in 2010, and during that transaction mentioned that he really wanted “Sea and Mirror. ” The painting had sold at auction at Sotheby’s in 2007 for $121, 000. Ms. Boone told Mr. Baldwin in an email that the collector now sought $175, 000 for it. “The Gallery normally charges ten to twenty percent for this kind of transaction,” she wrote. “To make this a friendly deal, we would charge you even less — $190, 000,” before adding, “I know Ross is so thrilled for you to have a painting and so am I. ” Mr. Poretz said that shortly afterward Mr. Baldwin was told that, in fact, he was getting a different version of “Sea and Mirror. ” “By the time Alec Baldwin paid for the painting and it was delivered to him, he should not have misunderstood what he purchased,” Mr. Poretz said in his statement. Mr. Baldwin denies he was ever told he would be receiving a different work. He said that when he received the canvas, he noticed the composition lacked a feathery quality in the brush strokes he had admired in the photos of the work sold at Sotheby’s, and seemed brighter. Ms. Boone told him, he said, that it had been newly cleaned as a courtesy. This year, his suspicions growing, he sent emails to Mr. Bleckner and Ms. Boone inquiring about the collector from whom he had bought the painting and about the cleaning. According to copies of the emails, Mr. Bleckner responded that he did not know the name of the collector. Mr. Baldwin says Mr. Bleckner did not point out that that transaction had never gone through. Mr. Bleckner also discussed how he might have done the cleaning. “I would usually do that,” he wrote to Mr. Baldwin, “although I don’t actually remember. ” Mr. Baldwin finally had a Sotheby’s expert compare his painting to a catalog image from the 2007 auction. The expert said, “This is not that painting,” Mr. Baldwin recalled. He then confronted Ms. Boone and Mr. Bleckner. He said they acknowledged having given him another work. Mr. Baldwin has an email in which Mr. Bleckner is deeply apologetic but does not directly address about what. “im so sorry about all of this,” he wrote. “I feel so bad about this … what can I do to make this up to you?” He said Mr. Bleckner told him that he had started the painting in 1996 and finished it in 2010, though he had dated it 1996. “I don’t know what Ross knew,” Mr. Baldwin said. “Ross may have been instructed to make a copy. I don’t know. ” This summer, as Mr. Baldwin complained to Ms. Boone, he gave her an ultimatum. “Deliver to me the painting that I bought. The one you sold me,” he wrote in an email. Ms. Boone again asked Sotheby’s to contact the owner of the painting sold at auction in 2007, according to an email supplied by Mr. Baldwin. The collector, whose identity remains a mystery, was still not interested in selling. Ms. Boone’s lawyer, Mr. Poretz, also contacted Mr. Baldwin to try to settle the matter. In an interview, Mr. Baldwin acknowledged that the work he has was created by Mr. Bleckner and that it looks quite similar to the painting he coveted. But he said it was not the work he had fallen in love with — not a painting, in his view, created when the artist was at the peak of his fame. Still, he told Ms. Boone in a recent email, he did not want to hurt Mr. Bleckner. “I’m less worried about you, Mary,” he wrote, “as you are more of an armadillo and I’m sure you have been blasting your way out of corners like this on more than one occasion. ” Ms. Boone wrote back to say that she was working to get him the work he wanted. “I am not an Armadillo however,” she added.

If You Have One Of These Old VHS Tapes It May Be Worth Over $1000

Eddy Lavine

posted by Eddie Got VHS tapes collecting dust on a shelf somewhere? Maybe you already reclaimed the space and they’re sitting in an attic long-forgotten. Hopefully you didn’t throw them out, though, as it turns out there might be quite the market for some old tapes. Modern directorial practice for movie releases and re-releases tends to include adding or editing the film from the theatrical version. While some people don’t mind or even enjoy these changes, for others, the original cut is worth a hefty price tag. This translates to listings on eBay for certain tapes at astronomical prices, like one particular Beauty and the Beast tape going for $9,999. The original Beauty and the Beast did not include the song “Human Again”; it was cut for space reasons, then re-added to the 2002 special edition. However, Disney tapes in particular might be valuable to collectors for other reasons. Reddit user Reddit_Executive speculates that, because of the specific branding on original releases, these movies could go for quite a bit: “On the spines of some VHS (and BetaMax) tapes is a black diamond with Walt’s signature on it. This was Disney’s first attempt to market their videos to homes. Because of this, certain Disney collectors are convinced that these VHS tapes are worth something.” While it’s possible some tapes are indeed worth quite a bit, many of the movies listed are actually selling for much less. Still, if your plan for your old VHS tapes begins and ends with “trash them,” there’s no harm in doing your research on what they might be worth. Source:

Why Clam-Chowder Pizza Is the Best Kind - The New York Times

Sam Sifton

Some winter nights when my heart is tight, I take the F train from work to stand on the sidewalk in front of the window at Lucali, the famed, candlelit pizzeria on Henry Street in Brooklyn, and watch Mark Iacono make pizza. His movements are slow, deliberative. They resemble a jungle cat, grooming. The dough moves back and forth in his hands, slowly growing in circumference. Iacono barely looks at it. He looks at the people in the dining room, though his gaze is unfocused. His is a meditation. should be a meditation. I go home and make pizza. On other suffering evenings, I walk down the echoing corridors and ramps of Grand Central Terminal and make my way to a stool in the Oyster Bar for a pan roast. I like the cherrystone version better than the oyster one and, especially, the rich interplay of the clam juice and the cream, the way it soaks into the toast points floating in the center of the bowl. I do not make pan roasts at home. Pan roasts should be made only in the steam kettles of the Grand Central Oyster Bar. But I do make clam chowder, and I float toast points on top of it, and that is what John Cheever called a triumph over chaos, every time. Lately I’ve been doing both, at once: pizza, a balm against the pain of the world. It was probably Frank Pepe who invented the clam pizza, in New Haven, scattering freshly shucked littlenecks onto a round of dough, then pecorino cheese, garlic, oregano, black pepper and a torrent of olive oil. That was in the 1940s, according to his family, which still operates Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana on Wooster Street there. Clam pizza moved south in the decades that followed, to New York City. Lombardi’s put one on the menu. Franny’s made one, makes it still. Otto. Motorino. Moto. Most recently, Pasquale Jones. Some are built on the Frank Pepe model. Franny’s omits cheese altogether. Moto adds potatoes. Motorino’s is dressed with fior di latte mozzarella in addition to the clams. They are all the best pizza. Clams are on them. Quibble all you like, but a clam pizza is the very best pizza in the world. My recipe honors no one particular preparation of the pie. It honors all of them, and the teachings of Iacono and the Oyster Bar as well. It uses as sauce the building blocks of a classic clam chowder — alliums slowly fried with bacon, then infused with clam juice and wine, reduced to a glaze and thickened with cream — and tops it with chopped clams, lemon zest and a spray of hot pepper flakes. I spread these elixirs across homemade pizza dough, a recipe I learned from another pizza guru, Anthony Falco, until recently the pizza czar at Roberta’s in Bushwick. But you could use them on dough and still have a good pizza. Or on slices of sourdough bread, or an old running shoe. Just work slowly as you make it, being present in the moment of creation. Cooking is a practice, a kind of devotion, a form of mindfulness. Practice. Recipe: Pizza

Obama Says Colin Kaepernick Is ‘Exercising His Constitutional Right’ - The New York Times

Daniel Victor

President Obama said Monday that Colin Kaepernick, the San Francisco 49ers quarterback, was “exercising his constitutional right” by refusing to stand during the national anthem, a decision that has fostered considerable controversy since he first took the action on Aug. 26. While noting the significance of the flag and the national anthem, the president said there was a long history of sports figures making political statements. “I think he cares about some real, legitimate issues that have to be talked about,” President Obama said during a news conference in China. “And if nothing else, what he’s done is he’s generated more conversation around some topics that need to be talked about. ” It was the first time that the president had weighed in on Kaepernick’s actions, which many have criticized as being disrespectful to the United States. Kaepernick, who is biracial and was adopted by white parents, first caused an uproar late last month when he remained seated before a 49ers preseason game with the Green Bay Packers. He said afterward that he would not “stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color. ” Last Thursday, before the team’s final preseason game, in San Diego, Kaepernick chose to kneel during the anthem. He later said he intended to continue his protest into the regular N. F. L. season. The 49ers play their first game next Monday. “Once again, I’m not ” Kaepernick said Thursday. “I love America. I love people. That’s why I’m doing this. I want to help make America better. I think having these conversations helps everybody have a better understanding of where everybody is coming from. ” Not long ago, Kaepernick was one of the game’s top players, leading the 49ers to the Super Bowl in the 2012 season and to the N. F. C. championship game the next year. But he was benched halfway through last season and will start the 2016 season as the backup to Blaine Gabbert. Kaepernick was frequently booed during the team’s final preseason game, and the police union in Santa Clara, Calif. has threatened to stop working 49ers home games this season because of Kaepernick’s actions. Donald J. Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, is among those who have denounced him. Nevertheless, his stance has also led to numerous expressions of support, with backers arguing that his protest is a worthy statement on the troubled status of race relations in the United States. And even though he is a backup quarterback, his jersey is now the seller at the N. F. L. ’s official online store. Seattle defensive back Jeremy Lane said he would continue to sit for the national anthem when the Seahawks’ regular season begins Sunday at home, The Associated Press reported. After Lane sat during the anthem in the Seahawks’ preseason game last Thursday, he said, Kaepernick reached out to thank him for his support and his gesture. Megan Rapinoe, one of America’s most prominent soccer players, knelt during a National Women’s Soccer League match on Sunday in support of Kaepernick. She told espnW that she was disgusted by how Kaepernick has been treated, and would continue to kneel throughout the season. “Quite honestly, being gay, I have stood with my hand over my heart during the national anthem and felt like I haven’t had my liberties protected, so I can absolutely sympathize with that feeling,” she said. Tim Kaine, the Democratic nominee, told ABC News that Kaepernick’s rationale “didn’t really make that much sense to me,” but supported his right to protest. “You’ve got to respect people’s ability to act according to their conscience, so I wouldn’t presume to tell him what to do,” he said.

Sheldon Silver, Ex-New York Assembly Speaker, Gets 12-Year Prison Sentence - The New York Times

Benjamin Weiser and Vivian Yee

Sheldon Silver, who rose from the Lower East Side of Manhattan to become one of the state’s most powerful and feared politicians as speaker of the New York Assembly, was sentenced on Tuesday to 12 years in prison in a case that came to symbolize Albany’s culture of graft. The conviction of Mr. Silver, 72, served as a capstone to a campaign against public corruption by Preet Bharara, the United States attorney for the Southern District of New York, which has led to more than a dozen state lawmakers’ being convicted or pleading guilty. But none had the power, cachet or longevity that Mr. Silver, a Democrat, had enjoyed, and prosecutors sought to make an example of him. They asked that he receive a sentence greater than the terms that had been “imposed on other New York State legislators convicted of public corruption offenses. ” The longest such sentence cited by the government was 14 years, the term imposed last year in the case of another former Democratic assemblyman, William F. Boyland Jr. who was tried and convicted in federal court in Brooklyn. Judge Valerie E. Caproni of Federal District Court in Manhattan noted that even before Mr. Silver’s arrest, when some of his fellow legislators had been arrested on corruption charges, he remained undeterred. “One would think that the image of Mr. Silver’s colleagues being arrested and led off to jail would have caused someone who was basically honest to reappraise what was going on,” Judge Caproni said. Instead, she said, Mr. Silver “stopped nothing,” continuing to lie to his staff and to the press while holding himself out as “a paragon of virtue. ” Judge Caproni said that there had been an “incalculable, intangible harm” to the people of New York, and that the cumulative effect of public corruption “makes the public very cynical. ” She then listed some of Mr. Silver’s misdeeds and addressed him directly: “Mr. Silver, those are not the actions of a basically honest person. ” In court, Carrie H. Cohen, an assistant United States attorney, had asked that Mr. Silver’s sentence “reflect the massive damage caused to the public by his crimes. ” The sentence, Ms. Cohen continued, should send a message that this is not the way “business is done in Albany, or at least that it shouldn’t be, and that no one, including Sheldon Silver, is above the law. ” Mr. Silver briefly addressed the court before his sentence was delivered, saying he had let down his constituents, family and colleagues. “I’m truly, truly sorry for that,” he said. Mr. Silver was convicted on Nov. 30 of charges that included honest services fraud, money laundering and extortion. Upon his conviction, he forfeited his Assembly seat. Two weeks later, Dean G. Skelos, who as majority leader had been Mr. Silver’s Republican counterpart in the State Senate, was also convicted of corruption. Mr. Skelos is to be sentenced on May 12 a week later, John L. Sampson, a former leader of the Senate Democrats, will face his own sentencing. Prosecutors’ scrutiny of New York lawmakers continues: Several inquiries are now focused on possible wrongdoing connected to the administrations of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio, both Democrats. To date, however, Mr. Silver’s precipitous fall has no recent rival in the world of New York politics. In a statement issued moments after the sentencing, Mr. Bharara said that the “stiff sentence is a just and fitting end to Sheldon Silver’s long career of corruption. ” Mr. Silver had served for more than two decades as the Assembly speaker, imposing his will on matters large and small he had a reputation as a staunch defender of New York City, a shrewd negotiator in budget talks and, at times, a recalcitrant opponent of anything he disliked. But during a trial last fall, a different side of Mr. Silver emerged. Evidence showed that he had obtained nearly $4 million in illicit fees in return for taking official actions that benefited a prominent cancer researcher, Dr. Robert N. Taub, at Columbia University, and two real estate developers, Glenwood Management and the Witkoff Group. Mr. Silver had expressed regret that his actions made the State Capitol the object of ridicule. In a letter sent last month to Judge Caproni, he offered an emotional apology, saying that he had “failed the people of New York. ” His lawyers had argued that the former speaker should be allowed to use his “unique talents” to benefit others, and that a sentence that incorporates “extensive community service and little — if any — incarceration could do that. ” Mr. Silver’s lawyers had suggested that he could work with the Fortune Society to help current and former inmates find jobs. One of Mr. Silver’s lawyers, Joel Cohen, told the judge that his client had been “devastated” and “crushed” by everything that had happened. Notwithstanding everything he has done, Mr. Cohen said, “his obituary has already been written. ” Another prosecutor, Howard S. Master, on Tuesday questioned the authenticity of Mr. Silver’s contrition, noting he had insisted that he would be exonerated “until the very moment of the jury’s verdict. ” Judge Caproni, citing Mr. Silver’s age, said she would not adhere to sentencing guidelines that recommended a term of roughly 22 to 27 years, calling such a sentence “draconian and unjust. ” The court’s probation office had recommended a sentence. The judge ordered that Mr. Silver forfeit more than $5 million in proceeds from his crimes and pay a $1. 75 million fine. She rejected a defense assertion that Mr. Silver’s actions had not caused “discernible harm. ” She said the specter of corruption made it impossible to know whether government officials were making decisions for the right reasons or for personal financial gain. His crimes “cast a shadow over everything he has done and has thrown into doubt every difficult decision any legislator has ever made,” the judge said. Mr. Silver must surrender himself by noon on July 1 his lawyers have requested that he serve at the Federal Correctional Institution in Otisville, N. Y. a prison known for its familiarity with the housing of prisoners who, like Mr. Silver, are Orthodox Jews. Governor Cuomo said on Tuesday: “Today’s decision sent a simple message that officials who abuse the public’s trust will be held accountable. Justice was served. ” Last month, prosecutors, in a written submission to the judge, offered what they said was additional evidence of the ways Mr. Silver had abused his office “for personal benefit,” by helping two women with whom he had conducted extramarital affairs. One of the women had regularly lobbied Mr. Silver on behalf of clients with business before the state he had “used his official position,” prosecutors said, to help the other woman get a state job. Mr. Silver’s lawyers said after the hearing that his case would be appealed. Mr. Silver, addressing a crowd of reporters, said, “I believe in the justice system in this nation, and we’ll pursue whatever remedies the system makes available. ”

'Amazing idiots' will never isolate Russia's Crimea - Putin

Print version Font Size On Wednesday, October 26, Russian President Vladimir Putin took part in the plenary session of "Forum for Action. Crimea" in Yalta. Putin paid special attention to urgent problems for residents of the peninsula.The forum is organized by the All-Russian People's Front with over 300 people participating - People's Front activists, federal and regional experts, representatives of executive authorities and journalists.Putin reminded that the People's Front was the first public association to have started working in the Crimea after the referendum on the status of the peninsula. A lot has been done since then, but there is even more to do, the Russian president said. According to Putin, one needs to focus on sensitive issues in the first place. It goes about such issues as the modernization of social infrastructure, transport sector update and creation of new jobs."I hope that activists of the People's Front will continue their work to monitor and analyze most pressing problems that the people of the Crimea worry about most," said Putin. Previous forums ("Forum for Action" took place in Stavropol and Yoshkar-Ola this year - ed.) have shown that such events provide an opportunity not only to exchange views, but also to find ways to solve problems.Putin spoke about the measures to overcome attempts to blockade the peninsula .According to him, the issues of energy and water blockade of the peninsula have been solved and removed from the agenda within the shortest period of time possible. The construction of the transport passage across the Kerch Strait continues according to schedule, the president added. "I hope that all approaches to the bridge and all the necessary infrastructure will be ready on time and with quality," he added.In the future, the Crimean bridge will allow to transport up to 14 million travelers and 13 million vehicles a year.Those who try to blockade the Crimea are "amazing idiots," Putin said. "Did they think that the people would kneel and beg in front of them? Amazing idiots," Putin said. "With regard to the termination of water or electricity supplies - all this stands on the verge of a crime against humanity. Let's take a sufficiently large region with many millions of people living in it - 2.6 million people live in the Crimea - and cut the region from water and electricity supplies in winter," the president said. "It appears that our human rights organizations have swallowed their tongues and sown up their mouths and do not say a word, but as a matter of fact, it goes about a serious crime," Putin stressed out. Putin stressed out the importance of the process of the rehabilitation of Crimea's indigenous people. The federal program of development of the peninsula will assign ten billion rubles for the purpose. "First of all, we are talking about the socio-economic support, because political issues have been resolved. It goes about language, culture and education in people's mother tongue," Putin said.The president noted that many villages of the Crimean Tatars remain in a deplorable state and lack even essential merits of civilization, such as electricity and roads. This resource, the president said, is limited and would only embrace the indigenous peoples who live on the peninsula at the moment."Any funds allocated by either the Russian Federation or a republic, or by Sebastopol should be kept under public control," the president said.Vladimir Putin has the right to visit any Russian regions, including the Crimea, official spokesman for the Russian president, Dmitry Peskov, said commenting on a note of protest from Kiev. Ukraine sent a note of protest to Moscow in connection with Vladimir Putin's visit to the Crimea. "Ukraine traditionally protests, as we traditionally do not take these protests into account. The President visits the regions of the Russian Federation that he considers necessary to visit. This is an internal affair of Russia, and it does not concern any other state, including Ukraine," Peskov added. According to the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, the visits of Russian top officials to the Crimea demonstrate Russia's disregard of the state sovereignty of Ukraine. The Crimea became part of Russia as a result of the referendum held on March 16, 2014. According to the electoral commission, 95% of the population of the Crimea voted to reunite with the Russian Federation. Anton Kulikov

James Clapper: ’Warning Light’ Was on Regarding Russia Collusion, But No ’Smoking Gun’ Evidence - Breitbart

Trent Baker

While James Clapper said his “dashboard warning light was clearly on” in regards to evidence of collusion between President Donald Trump’s campaign and Russia, the former Director of National Intelligence repeated Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that he is yet to see any “smoking gun” evidence. “[F]rom a theoretical standpoint, I will tell you that my dashboard warning light was clearly on, and I think that was the case with all of us in the intelligence community, very concerned about the nature of these approaches to the Russians,” Clapper told host Chuck Todd. “If you put that in context with everything else we knew the Russians were doing to interfere with the election, and just the historical practices of the Russians, who typically are almost genetically driven to coopt, penetrate, gain favor, whatever, which is a typical Russian technique, so we were concerned. ” He later added, “I have to say, at the time I left, I did not see any smoking gun certitude evidence of collusion. But it certainly was appropriate given all the sign, certainly appropriate and necessary for the FBI to investigate. ” ( Daily Caller) Follow Trent Baker on Twitter @MagnifiTrent

Meet The Man Who Started The Illuminati

Arnold Monteverde (noreply@blogger.com)

Today, they are the source of ‘all conspiracy theories’ they are the inspiration behind many fiction novels, movies. Illuminati is considered as the secret organization that is really controlling the world, pulling strings from behind ‘the scene’ and steering the world towards a New World Order. But this all started back in 1776, Ingolstadt, Germany by a man named Adam Weishaupt who was a respectable professor. Adam Weishaupt’s idea was creating a better world. As a boy he was an avid reader, consuming books by the latest French Enlightenment philosophers in his uncle’s library. He was convinced that the monarchy and the church were repressing freedom of thought. Adam Weishaupt was not, he said, against religion itself, but rather the way in which it was practiced and imposed. His thinking, he wrote, offered freedom “from all religious prejudices; cultivates the social virtues; and animates them by a great, a feasible, and speedy prospect of universal happiness.” To achieve this, it was necessary to create “a state of liberty and moral equality, freed from the obstacles which subordination, rank, and riches, continually throw in our way.” In this period Freemasonry was steadily expanding throughout Europe. This secret group offered appealing alternatives to freethinkers. Adam Weishaupt wanted to join this lodge, however, he decided later to create his own. On the night of May 1, 1776, the first Illuminati met to found the order in a forest near Ingolstadt. Bathed in torchlight, there were five men. There they established the rules that were to govern the order. All future candidates for admission required the members’ consent, a strong reputation with well-established familial and social connections, and wealth. At the beginning the order had only 3 levels: ‘novices, minervals, and illuminated minervals…’ The name “Minerval” referred to the Roman goddess of wisdom, Minerva, reflecting the order’s aim to spread true knowledge, or illumination, about how society, and the state, might be reshaped. A novice preparing to pass to the higher level of minerval, for example, had to present a detailed report on the titles of the books he owned, the identity of his enemies, and the weak points of his character. All members had to pledge the needs of a society before their personal. THE RISE OF THE ILLUMINATI: Over the years the secret order grew considerably in size and diversity. By the end of 1784, the Illuminati had 2,000 to 3,000 members. Although, at first, the Illuminati were limited to Weishaupt’s students, the membership expanded to included noblemen, politicians, doctors, lawyers, and jurists, as well as intellectuals and some leading writers, including Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. They included important people in Bavarian public life, such as Baron Adolph von Knigge and the banker Mayer Amschel Rothschild, who provided funding. Baron von Knigge played a very considerable role in the society’s organization and expansion. As a former Freemason, he was in favor of adopting rites similar to theirs. Members were given ‘secret’ names from famous history characters. Weishaupt was Spartacus, for example, and Knigge was Philo. With more members the number of levels in the Illuminati had to increase. There were 13 degrees of initiation, divided into three classes. HERE IS THE COMPLETE LIST OF ILLUMINATI CLASSES AND LEVELS: FIRST CLASS Each novice was initiated in humanitarian philosophy until he became a minerval. He then received the order’s statutes and could attend meetings. Initiate Novice Minerval Illuminatus Minor SECOND CLASS The various degrees in this class were inspired by Freemasonry. The illuminatus major supervised recruitment, and the illuminatus dirigens presided over the minervals’ meetings. Apprentice Fellow Master Illuminatus Major Illuminatus Dirigens THIRD CLASS The highest degree of philosophical illumination. Its members were priests who instructed lower-degree members. The lower orders of this class were themselves under the authority of a king. Priest Prince Magus King THE PROHIBITION OF ILLUMINATI: The secret society stood for some controversial opinions. They considered that suicide was legitimate, that its enemies should be poisoned, and that religion was an absurdity. However, when the Duke-Elector of Bavaria found the secret society was planning to conspire against Bavaria on behalf of Austria, it was then when he issued an edict in June 1784 banning the creation of any kind of society not previously authorized by law. Bavarian police found highly compromising documents, including a defense of suicide and atheism, a plan to create a female branch of the order, invisible ink recipes, and medical instructions for carrying out abortions. The evidence was used as the basis for accusing the order of conspiring against religion and the state. In August 1787, the duke-elector issued a third edict in which he confirmed that the order was prohibited, and imposed the death penalty for membership. Adam Weishaupt lived the rest of his life in Gotha in Saxony where he taught philosophy at the University of Göttingen. The Bavarian state considered the Illuminati dismantled. THE ILLUMINATI WAS JUST GETTING STARTED: Adam Weishaupt was accused of helping to plot the French Revolution. This was the start of a war that will give birth to some of the greatest money machines that still exist today. The secret society shifted its goals. They already had connections and knowledge. They didn’t need their society to be legal to exist. Members chose to use the connections for making more money and profit because they realized with enough money you can control the world. You can control the laws. You can establish your agendas without being conflicted by ‘less’ enlightened people’s opinions. The Illuminati have been fingered in recent events, such as the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Weishaupt’s ideas have also influenced the realms of popular fiction, such as Dan Brown’s Angels & Demons and Foucault’s Pendulum by Italian novelist Umberto Eco. Although his group was allegedly disbanded, Weishaupt’s idea still exists, pulling the strings. But this article raises one really important question. Considering Adam Weishaupt’s first intent ‘a state of liberty and moral equality, freed from the obstacles which subordination, rank, and riches, continually throw in our way’ is it possible for this to be achieved and integrated into a society where people are not fully awaken? Life Coach Code SOURCE

Des mamies d’un village russe se lancent dans la fabrication de caramel pour Lipton

Daria Gridiaïeva

problèmes sociaux , infrastructure , initiatives sociales , oural Cuillères de caramel par des mamies de l’Oural Gouzel Sanjapova, entrepreneure du village de Mali Tournich, situé dans l’Oural, a signé un contrat de vente de cuillères à café remplies de caramel pour la marque Lipton avec le grand groupe international Unilever, informe Interfax . Service de presse Muse du projet, une mamie du village de Mali Tourich. Service de presse Cuillères de caramel par des mamies de l’Oural. 1 / 2 Des mamies locales participeront à la fabrication : elles recouvriront des herbes et des baies de caramel, puis les consommateurs pourront tremper la cuillère dans leur thé pour lui donner un parfum d’été. « Mon village est un lieu qui m’est cher : je suis née ici, j’ai travaillé dans un kolkhoze, il y a beaucoup de fraises sauvages et d’autres baies ici , raconte la muse du projet, une mamie du village de Mali Tourich. J’aime beaucoup le miel, depuis mon enfance, je me rappelle comment on en fabriquait dans mon village ». Il faut préciser que les confiseries savoureuses et saines préparées par les mamies de l’ Oural ont été testées avec succès par le laboratoire d’Unilever et un laboratoire national. « Le premier lot test portera sur 15 000 kits promotionnels Lipton. La boite de Lipton Yellow Label contiendra 100 sachets et 3 cuillères à café , indique Anastasia Lander, responsable des relations publiques chez Unilever Russie à Interfax . Elle précise que les cuillères seront commercialisées dès début novembre. Lire aussi : Les « Mamies de Bouranovo » signent un clip pour le Mondial 2018 Nouvelle infrastructure À l’avenir, l’entrepreneure de l’Oural envisage de construire une usine de caramel dans son village. « Les mamies du village fabriqueront du miel aux baies, des cuillères à café et des bonbons naturels. Nous comptons également lancer la production de dragées- peut-être des sucettes ou du caramel » , affirme Gouzel Sanjapova. Sucettes fabriquées par des mamies de l’Oural. Crédit : Service de presse L’expansion de la production permettra de créer de nouveaux emplois dans le village. La nouvelle usine pourra employer 20 personnes, alors que Mali Tournich ne compte que 50 habitants. La récolte des fonds pour financer le projet est assurée par le biais d’un site Internet de collecte de fonds. La superficie de l’usine s’élèvera à 216 m2. Selon les estimations préliminaires, le coût total de la mise en œuvre du projet s’élève à 88 000 euros, 15 000 euros ont déjàété récoltés. Lire aussi : Un dentifrice russe à la conquête du marché mondial Un lieu de travail et de rencontres La construction de l’usine devrait radicalement changer le niveau de vie des villageois. Pour l’entrepreneure, la nouvelle usine « sera un lieu de travail, mais aussi un lieu de rencontres » . Un espace sera aménagé au sein de l’entreprise pour permettre aux habitants locaux d’échanger. Pour les mamies impliquées dans la production de cuillères à café, la participation au projet est déjà un moyen de socialiser et non seulement une occasion d’obtenir un revenu. « Il faut travailler, s’occuper et bouger plus, parler aux gens » , nous dit la mamie-muse de l’Oural à propos de ses priorités dans la vie. « Le bonheur c’est d’avoir de quoi manger, de quoi s’habiller et de ne pas pleurer. D’être ensemble » , voici la sagesse qu’elle partage avec nous. Lire aussi :

Violent Libs Try to Attack Trump’s Star Again, Find Fearless Homeless Man Guarding It

Wilmot Proviso

This is the man in question, holding up his signs: Homeless Trump supporter guards @realDonaldTrump 's star on Hollywood Blvd. against all SJWs #BasedSentinel #MAGA3X https://t.co/BjGcFO0du5 ? pic.twitter.com/nrMqnbW5UK — PeterDuke MAGA3X🇺🇸 (@peterdukephoto) October 27, 2016 The man sat on Trump’s star with the sign as people gathered around him, as you can see. Needless to say, there weren’t any liberals with sledgehammers showing up to do anything to Trump’s star this time. Advertisement - story continues below However, unfortunately, liberal thugs had already done quite a bit of damage with the sledgehammer: Donald Trump's Walk of Fame star destroyed, police investigate https://t.co/xFfCOdz1iZ pic.twitter.com/qJOsbbjTHp — FOX & Friends (@foxandfriends) October 27, 2016 This is liberal tolerance: If you disagree with someone, it’s all right to destroy property to express your displeasure. It’s OK to spend money that could be spent on Americans on illegal immigrants, just so long as those immigrants fit the liberal agenda. This is what liberals are all about: intentions. Never mind consequences. Consequences are for the heartless. Ignore the fact that our national debt is spiraling out of control, millions of Americans can’t afford health care and the Middle East is in chaos. Advertisement - story continues below

Cast Your Vote: What Was Most Significant in Shaping the 2016 Election?

Cast Your Vote: What Was Most Significant in Shaping the 2016 Election? Posted on Nov 4, 2016 Are you voting on November 8? ( Flickr / CC 2.0 ) In four days, the unprecedented political chaos that is the 2016 presidential election will ( hopefully ) come to a close. Looking back on the past year, we see innumerable instances of political turmoil that may shape Tuesday’s outcome. Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, has faced his share of obstacles. Most notably, a leaked tape from Access Hollywood almost derailed his campaign in October. Hillary Clinton’s campaign, meanwhile, has been marred by the FBI’s investigation into her use of a private email server while secretary of state—a topic that has yet again become a focus of national attention because of FBI Director James Comey’s timing . Outside the two main-party candidates’ own woes, other crucial issues have absorbed the nation throughout the election season: The battle over the Dakota Access pipeline . The changing role of third-party candidates . A renewed focus on racial inequality . And of course, the trove of information given to us by WikiLeaks. As we look toward Tuesday, the finale of an increasingly tight race to the White House, we at Truthdig turn to our readers to ask: What was the most significant story of the 2016 election season? Note that our poll is not intended as a scientific evaluation, but rather as a chance for readers to express their opinions and expand upon their answers in the comment section of this post. Let us know in the poll below. Vote early but not often: One vote per person, please. Several possible answers are offered, but you can also choose “Other” and type in your own—we want to know what we’ve missed! (Make your selection and then click on “Vote.” To see how others have weighed in, click on “Results.”) Which event was most significant in shaping the 2016 election? The allegations of sexual assault against Donald Trump following his leaked “lewd remarks” The FBI’s investigation into Hillary Clinton’s private email server The battle over the Dakota Access pipeline The presence of third-party candidates like Jill Stein and Gary Johnson A renewed focus on America’s racial inequality The “Podesta Emails” released by WikiLeaks Other

BIGGEST ELECTION FRAUD IN HISTORY DISCOVERED IN THE UNITED STATES: BREAKING NOW

Iron Sheik

Home › POLITICS › BIGGEST ELECTION FRAUD IN HISTORY DISCOVERED IN THE UNITED STATES: BREAKING NOW BIGGEST ELECTION FRAUD IN HISTORY DISCOVERED IN THE UNITED STATES: BREAKING NOW 1 SHARES [10/31/16] INFOWARS – Bev Harris, the country’s leading vote fraud expert, joined the Alex Jones Show Monday to reveal the results of a bombshell investigation into “vote shaving” software. Used in precincts all across the country, the software – deemed “the most devastating election theft mechanism yet found” – allows votes to be fractured and rounded up or down to sway the results for any candidate. According to Harris, a member of the non-partisan Black Box Voting investigative team, this latest discovery constitutes the “missing piece” that blows the lid off of wide-scale voter fraud. “It was put in the system in 2001 but it came into wide use in 2006,” Harris said. “It took someone with a special set of skills to know what to look for.” A mini-documentary by Black Box Voting on the discovery shows real-time demonstrations with the secretive software. “It can give contract signing authority to whoever the user chooses,” the video’s description states. “All political power can be converted to the hands of a few anonymous subcontractors.” “It runs silently, invisibly, and can produce plausible results that really pass for the real thing.” Further analysis on the malicious software provided by Alex Jones reveals how this revelation ties into the 2016 presidential election. Post navigation

As Leaders Argue, South Korea Finds China Is No Longer an Easy Sell - The New York Times

Motoko Rich

INCHEON, South Korea — Until recently, Beyond Cosmetics could not fill Chinese orders fast enough for its Green Piggy Collagen Jella Pack, a creamy beige substance containing pig collagen, or its Carbonated Bubble Clay Mask, which leaves the user’s face covered with foam. Then, in November, international politics struck this South Korean maker of skin care products. As China’s ire grew over plans by Washington and Seoul to park a missile defense system on South Korean soil, sales of the two beauty aids fell to of Beyond Cosmetics’ sales, from . Now, as the deployment of the system begins this week and China threatens to punish South Korea further, companies like Beyond Cosmetics have been bracing for worse. The intensifying diplomatic ruckus is exposing deep cracks in South Korea’s economic success story and forcing the nation to confront its dependence on China, its largest trading partner. Even before the current crisis, Beyond Cosmetics had started to look beyond China, where it was increasingly running into problems like tougher government rules and rising homegrown competition. “We thought we could do something better with our time than attempt to go further into the Chinese market,” said Kim the company’s vice president, adding that he traveled regularly to promote products in Malaysia, a predominantly Muslim country, and matte lipsticks that can withstand the humidity in Thailand. An export powerhouse that began its upward trajectory decades before Beijing embraced capitalist economics, South Korea has long benefited from China’s rise. Chinese factories are major buyers of components. A growing Chinese middle class embraced Korean devices, cosmetics, television shows and music, often in shopping trips across the Yellow Sea. All of that may be in jeopardy now. Consumer boycotts have hit Korean chain stores in China. shows there have been canceled. Just last week, the Chinese National Tourism Administration ordered regional travel agencies to halt sales of package tours to South Korea. But even before China began lashing out at South Korea, the economic relationship between the industrial giants had started to shift. China is increasingly a competitor as much as a customer for South Korea. Chinese companies have improved product quality and can compete on price, both at home and abroad, in everything from complex components to cosmetics to smartphones. That presents major challenges for a country where a bribery scandal has engulfed both the country’s president and the de facto chief of its biggest conglomerate, Samsung, and raised questions about whether an economy driven by exports and close ties between officials and big business have reached their limit. To thrive long term, experts say, South Korea needs to consider overhauls that will help empower entrepreneurs and spread wealth domestically. “A key question is whether Korea is going to be able to make a shift away from a and growth model that brought them dramatic economic success,” said Mark W. Lippert, who recently left Seoul as the American ambassador to South Korea. Chinese manufacturers have started to make the parts and components that South Korean companies have been selling into China, where factory workers assemble them into products destined for European or American consumers. This intermediary trade currently accounts for about of all of South Korea’s exports to China. Chinese companies are also making more of their own consumer goods such as cars, phones and television screens. Samsung, which commanded a 20 percent share of the Chinese cellphone market in 2012, now has only 6 percent, according to GfK, the market researcher. The top four cellphone brands in China, according to IDC, the technology research firm, are now made by Chinese companies. Mr. Kim, of Beyond Cosmetics, says Chinese cosmetics manufacturers have wooed South Korean research employees with salaries that are three times higher than what his company can offer, in addition to benefits like housing and cars. In 2015 and 2016, South Korea’s exports fell for the first time in close to 60 years, the Korea International Trade Association said. Last year, exports to China slid 9. 3 percent compared with a year earlier as the Chinese economy slowed down, though those figures were up in the first two months of this year. “Regardless of the industry, Korea has depended on China too much,” said Kang professor of trade and economic studies at the Korea National Diplomatic Academy. Beijing has protested South Korea’s agreement to host the missile defense system — called the Terminal Area Defense system, or Thaad — and the Chinese state news media have been calling for a boycott, affecting everything from South Korean pop stars and television programs to supermarkets. This week, alarmed by the most recent test of ballistic missiles by North Korea, the United States began to deploy the system. That is affecting an effort by South Korea to reap more economic power from its popular culture. Several musical events featuring its performers in China have been canceled, and South Korean dramas have been pulled from Chinese online video services. Lotte, a South Korean conglomerate that is providing land for the Thaad deployment, has reported that its online stores in China have been hacked and that half its shops have been shut down for reported fire code violations. Although Lotte is reluctant to blame the Thaad backlash, Chinese consumers seem ready to do so. Over the weekend, hundreds of angry protesters, waving Chinese flags and singing, assembled outside Lotte shops and demanded that the public boycott South Korean products. In Incheon, a port city less than 250 miles from the nearest port in China, visiting Chinese consumers arrive by ferry to snap up items like rice cookers, toilet seats, food and makeup. Still, local merchants are experiencing what they say is a slowdown in tourist activity from China. Incheon officials said that this month, several large Chinese businesses that were planning to send thousands of employees to company workshops in the city canceled the visits. Although the number of Chinese visitors to Incheon rose in 2016 over a year earlier, when an outbreak of Middle East respiratory syndrome caused tourism to plunge, the numbers have not returned to 2014 levels. Yoo Incheon’s mayor, said in an interview at city hall, “If we didn’t have these geopolitical security issues, I think these 2016 figures would have been much higher. ” Lee 65, owner of a small dealer of rice cookers, said he used to sell about 30 cookers a day to Chinese visitors. On a recent Wednesday, he was unable to sell even one and cited the Thaad deployment as the biggest factor. In the underground Sinpo International Market, a warren of small retail stalls selling clothing, handbags and used cellphones, business was sluggish on a recent visit. “Things are really bad right now,” said Kim 52, owner of Mirae Mobile, where he sells recycled cellphones and iPads. “But to be honest, what can the government do? This is such a sensitive political issue. ” Down the hall, at a tiny skin care salon, Kim 57, the owner, sat alone on a small stool waiting for a customer to stop by. An ethnic Korean who was born in China, Ms. Kim opened her stall two years ago. About half of her business came from Chinese visitors, including a steady stream of cruise ship and ferry workers who wanted facials. Now, she’s lucky to get one or two customers a day. Ms. Kim never thought she would need to pay so much attention to politics. “I think the politicians have not done well,” she said. “Because for the economy to be good, we have to have a relationship with China. I think Korea should be smarter by trying to cooperate with China. ”

YouTube bans 'Clinton's black son'

Jerome R. Corsi

Print Side-by-side of Bill Clinton and Danney Williams NEW YORK –YouTube on Wednesday suspended the account of Danney Williams, the 30-year-old who has claimed since the 1990s to be the black son of former President Bill Clinton. YouTube, citing “repeated or severe violations of our Terms of Use and/or Community Guidelines,” declared the account “cannot be restored.” The YouTube decision blocked the nine-minute feature “BANISHED – The Untold Story of Danney Williams,” which had received 1.2 million views since Williams posted it last week. Produced by filmmaker Joel Gilbert, it drew nearly 100,000 views per day and more than 1,000 viewer comments, with the overwhelming majority expressing support for Williams and outrage at the Clintons for not being willing to allow a DNA test to determine paternity. Like the reporting you see here? Sign up for free news alerts from WND.com, America’s independent news network. “My YouTube account has been deleted, but the same video appears in 50 other places on YouTube alone,” Williams said on his Facebook page after being notified of YouTube’s decision. “[YouTube] can’t handle the truth! Please share #BillClintonSon.” Twitter also continues to allow Williams to post the “Banished” video on Danney Williams’ page , but the Twitter link to YouTube displays the message : “This video is no longer available because the YouTube account associated with this video has been terminated. Sorry about that.” The video is still running on Danney Williams-Clinton’s Facebook page , as well as on the YouTube channel operated by Gilbert. Attempt to silence Danney Williams? Gilbert told WND he helped Williams file an online appeal form on YouTube asking why the account was suspended and demanding it be immediately reinstated. “The behavior of YouTube/Google in suspending Danney’s account is outrageous! There have been absolutely zero violations of any kind let alone a severe one of any YouTube terms or guidelines,” Gilbert said. Gilbert was outspoken in charging YouTube with partisan political motives for the suspension. “The only possible explanation is that the Clinton campaign requested YouTube/Google to silence Danney, ‘to run him off the plantation’ as Danney said Hillary Clinton did to him and his aunt when he was a small child and they were chased off the grounds of the Arkansas governor’s mansion in 1990,” Gilbert said. “Danney cannot be silenced any longer,” he continued. “Hillary may try to sweep Danney Williams under the rug, but it’s not going to work this time. His story is out there, and every day more and more people understand Bill and Hillary Clinton banished this young man from their family because of the color of his skin.” See the Danney Williams video feature: WND reported Oct. 19 that in the hours before the third and final presidential debate, attorneys for Williams were in Las Vegas to announce their intention to file a paternity suit demanding DNA evidence from the former president. Accompanying the dramatic announcement was a rap music video celebrating Williams that went viral on the Internet. No definitive DNA test WND reported that no DNA test was conducted in 1999, despite media reports to the contrary when Williams’ claim first surfaced. Clinton defenders since 1999 have contended the tabloid Star Magazine conducted a “DNA showdown” proving Bill Clinton was not Williams’ father, citing Star Magazine editor Phil Bunton saying at the time, “There was no match, nothing even close.” But in an interview, Bunton told WND that no blood sample was obtained from Clinton and Star Magazine never published a story documenting a laboratory test. “I don’t remember ever seeing any laboratory test that was done on Clinton’s DNA,” Bunton told WND. Bunton is now the owner of the Rivertown Magazine in Haverstraw, New York. He affirmed to WND that the tabloid relied on the DNA evidence for Clinton published by independent counsel Kenneth Starr, extracted from the infamous Monica Lewinsky blue dress. “We got a lot of phone calls from several people in the media, including the New York Times, wanting to know when we were going to get the DNA back,” Bunton recalled to WND. “We thought it was going to turn out to be his son, but when the DNA came back there was no story there even to write.” The DNA test released by Kenneth Starr was the second of two DNA laboratory tests the FBI had run on Clinton, but the public record leaves no doubt that Starr withheld the more robust test conducted by the FBI. ‘Twitter rules’ Many other figures who have challenged the Democratic Party or the left-leaning media narrative also have run into trouble with social media outlets, including James O’Keefe and his Project Veritas, which has exposed Clinton campaign voter fraud and agitation in a series of hidden-camera videos. Just as O’Keefe was preparing to release new revelations of voter fraud Oct. 13, Twitter shut down his account , claiming violations of “Twitter Rules.” The notice said he “must delete the tweets that are in violation of our rules, which prohibit: harassing other users, threatening other users, disclosing other users’ private information” or violating “other rules.” In a statement, O’Keefe said he relies on social media to “bypass the media and directly reach the public.” On Monday, O’Keefe wrote in a tweet Project Veritas was unable to upload its third video in the series to YouTube, calling the apparent block “bizarre.” Earlier this month, O’Keefe was forced to delete a tweet critical of a Hillary Clinton staffer to regain use of his account after it was suspended for a day. His account was suspended in the hours before a release of a new hidden-camera video that exposed a Clinton ally saying she could use executive action on guns, the Daily Caller reported . Project Veritas posted an undercover video Oct. 17 proving Hillary Clinton supporters were inciting violence at Donald Trump rallies to gain negative media coverage. Millions of viewers watched the video in just a few hours, but it didn’t show up on Google’s “trending” list on YouTube, which Google owns, noted SilenceisConsent.net . It did, however, trend on Twitter, which Google does not own. Breitbart blogger Milo Yiannopoulos was suspended permanently by Twitter minutes before his “Gays for Trump” party at the Republican National Convention. For some 11 months, the makers of the new movie “I’m Not Ashamed,” about the first victim of the Columbine killers in Colorado in 1999, were unable to promote their movie through YouTube. The trailer was taken down late in 2015, and the movie’s entire channel was suspended . Among the conservatives censored by Facebook : Conservative activist and Trump supporter Lauren Southern received a 30-day ban from Facebook because she complained about a friend’s account being censored. Facebook locked a 12-year-old black middle schooler’s account for posting a video supporting Rudy Giuliani’s comment that Obama “doesn’t love America.” The admin of a pro-Trump group was banned for saying Trump is not anti-Muslim, but anti-ISIS.

Top doctors: Chemotherapy one of dozens of procedures shown to 'give no benefit'

Vicki Batts

Top doctors: Chemotherapy one of dozens of procedures shown to 'give no benefit' Thursday, October 27, 2016 by: Vicki Batts Tags: cancer , chemotherapy , ineffective medicine (NaturalNews) Chemotherapy is arguably one of the medical industry's biggest frauds . Perhaps that's why it recently landed on a list of ineffectual treatments drawn up by the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges (AMRC).The list was created by 11 top specialists, who were each asked to think of five treatments they felt provided little to no patient benefits. And surprise, surprise – chemotherapy was one of them. Doctors from the AMRC said that chemotherapy cannot cure terminal cancer, and may bring unneeded distress in the final months of life. The Guardian reported:"The treatment is 'by its very nature toxic', the college said. "Therefore, the combination of failing to achieve a response and causing toxicity can 'do more harm than good.'"Do more harm than good? You don't say.Research has shown that in some hospitals, up to 50 percent of cancer patients are dying, not from their disease, but from chemotherapy drugs. For the first time ever, researchers actually looked at the numbers of patients who were dying within 30 days of chemotherapy administration , which could indicate that the treatment was the cause of death rather than the cancer. What they found was horrifying.The study, which was conducted by Public Health England and Cancer Research UK, found that the average 30-day mortality rate across England was about 8.4 percent for lung cancer and 2.5 percent for breast cancer. But, in some hospitals, those numbers were much higher. For example, at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals, the 30 day mortality rate for palliative chemotherapy for lung cancer was 28 percent. In Milton Keynes, the death rate for lung cancer treatment soared up to 50.9 percent.The research revealed that the death rate for lung cancer patients was higher than average in several areas, including Blackpool, Coventry, Derby, South Tyneside, Surrey and Sussex.The data also revealed that about 1-in-5 people who underwent palliative care for breast cancer at Cambridge University Hospitals died because of chemotherapy treatment.Of course, the industry was quick to defend their practices, with doctors suggesting that these occurrences could simply be the outcome of data problems, noting that even a few deaths could skew statistics.However, no one really argued with the fact that chemotherapy is indeed a toxin. It doesn't discriminate; it kills cancerous cells and healthy cells – and therein lies the rub. It may kill the cancer, but not without increasing your risks of getting cancer again in the future.A 2004 study also found that cytotoxic chemotherapy does very little towards enhancing cancer survivors' 5-year survival rates. The research, which was led by scientists from the Department of Radiation Oncology at the Northern Sydney Cancer Centre of the Royal North Shore Hospital, located in Sydney, Australia, raised serious questions about the actual efficacy of curative and adjuvant chemotherapies.What they found was that in Australia chemo only contributed 2.3 percent to the 5-year survival rate in adults, and in the U.S., that number dropped to 2.1 percent. These findings suggest that overall, chemotherapy truly provides very little benefit to any patient's survival. In their conclusion, the study authors wrote, "As the 5-year relative survival rate for cancer in Australia is now over 60%, it is clear that cytotoxic chemotherapy only makes a minor contribution to cancer survival. To justify the continued funding and availability of drugs used in cytotoxic chemotherapy, a rigorous evaluation of the cost-effectiveness and impact on quality of life is urgently required."The AMRC urges doctors and patients to question whether or not particular treatments are necessary. After all, unwarranted and harmful treatments are truly anything but medicine . Sources:

Friday Mailbag: News Cycles That Won’t Stop Spinning - The New York Times

Liz Spayd with Evan Gershkovich

Marches have been the theme of the past couple weekends. There was the women’s march in Washington and around the world two weekends ago. And last weekend there was the March for Life, an annual protest against abortion. The Times called the people who marched in the latter march, “ marchers” in two headlines, to the ire of several readers. On the home page, the link to the briefing of the story read: “Pence Addresses March for Abortion Foes. ” We went to Phil Corbett, the associate managing editor for standards, for his reply. Last weekend there were also protests in response to President Trump’s executive order to ban refugees. The headline for The Times’s first story initially read: “Trump Bars Syrian Refugees Indefinitely to Keep Terrorists Out. ” It was then changed, 30 minutes later, to: “Trump Bars Refugees and Citizens of 7 Muslim Countries. ” We asked Peter Blair, a copy desk supervisor, for a reply. The public editor’s take: A clear, straightforward reply from the copy desk. (More on how the machinery of editing works in my Sunday column.) In describing Trump adviser Steve Bannon’s remarkable new role on the National Security Council, The Times used a word that a reader felt was gratuitous. We went back to Corbett on this point. The public editor’s take: I think the standards editor describes well the challenges of finding the right phrases and avoiding the wrong ones. And I think for the most part editors and reporters work hard to do that. In the case of “hatch,” though, I think it does carry a negative tone, not just of secrecy but something rather sinister too. Last October, the public editor’s column addressed The Times’s purchase of a website called The Wirecutter and its sister site The Sweethome, which are in the business of recommending products to customers and making money when customers purchase those products through “affiliate links” like, say, Amazon. com. Through its purchase of these websites, The Times hopes to tap a new source of revenue as print advertising rapidly declines. The column argued that this model could be of value to The Times, but urged the paper to proceed carefully. “I hope The Times will move cautiously, not merely assuming readers will view this as a useful new service but actually asking them whether they do,” it said. “The Times has a lot to gain. And also to lose. ” This week, our office received our first email as the new arrangement began to make itself seen on The Times’s site. We asked Sam Sifton, the food editor, for his response. The public editor’s take: Hopefully, Sifton’s answer helps explain the arrangement to readers and answers concerns about potential conflicts. My earlier post gives my thoughts, but as this is more fully implemented, I will be watching closely, and I welcome comments from readers. Since November, several dozen readers have asked us if there is any way they could contribute extra money to The New York Times, in addition to purchasing a subscription. Friday The Times announced a new program for doing just this: Subscribers, and others who are interested, can now sponsor subscriptions for students in public schools. Those interested can find more information here. Finally, some readers, understandably, are feeling overwhelmed by the amount of news the past few weeks. The Times’s Christopher Mele tried to tackle this growing issue in a story this week. “If all else fails, and you still feel bouts of news fatigue,” he concluded, “you can turn to Twitter for photos of cute animals. ” That’s what we’re doing.

Sanders calls Trump a 'political coward' over voter suppression report

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Sanders calls Trump a 'political coward' over voter suppression report Sanders calls Trump a 'political coward' over voter suppression report By 0 60 Former US Democratic presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders has denounced Republican nominee Donald Trump as a “political coward” over a voter suppression report. Sanders condemned Trump after a report that the Republican’s presidential campaign has three “voter suppression” drives intended to lower turnout for Hillary Clinton, the Democratic presidential nominee, and to help Trump winning the White House. “Anybody who is suppressing the vote because they know that those people will vote against them is a political coward,” the Vermont senator tweeted. “If you don’t have the guts to run for office on your ideas @ realDonaldTrump , then you shouldn’t run for office at all,” he said in another tweet. A senior adviser to Trump acknowledged in an interview with Bloomberg Businessweek that the Republican team has “three major voter suppression operations underway.” Sanders – a former primary rival of Clinton – suspended his campaign in…

“Well It Was Nice While It Lasted” – Democracy

Julius Hubris

0 Add Comment THE AGE old system of government, Democracy, has formally announced its retirement stating ‘well, it was nice while it lasted’. “I now pass the baton into the incapable and tiny hands of a man who embraces xenophobia, misogyny and the hatred of all things he is simply too impatient and ignorant to bother understanding,” the clearly tired and battle weary ideology confirmed. While many around the world had presumed Democracy would continue in its current position as the dominant political ideology in the West despite a change in management, it is thought its growing unpopularity amongst sections of the US electorate has seen it make the decision to vacate its profession entirely. “You have to know when it is time to hang up your hat, and you guys seem quite fond of the man who doesn’t pay income tax and insults war veterans and war veterans’ families,” the descendent of Cleisthenes stated. Many political experts have speculated that democracy has retired preemptively as it believes president elect Donald Trump will seek to have it deported, owing to the fact that Democracy emigrated from mainland Europe via Greece some years ago. Democracy has a number of international franchises which may be wound down in the coming years too. “I think a lot of people are really, really angry with me, so the time to step aside has come. When people question your ability and purpose, you begin to make for the exit sign,” Democracy confirmed. Despite stating its intention to leave, Democracy is required to give at least 6-months notice, have a hand in training in its successor, All Out Chaos, and going through an awkward exit interview which will see it field questions from over 57 million people who didn’t vote for this.

Hackers Publish Nude Pictures on Leslie Jones’s Website - The New York Times

Katie Rogers and Jonah Engel Bromwich

Leslie Jones, a of this year’s “Ghostbusters” movie who has been besieged in the past month by online abusers who have targeted her appearance and her race, was victimized again on Wednesday when her personal website appeared to have been hacked. The hackers inserted a picture of the gorilla Harambe on the site, and exposed what appeared to be explicit photos of the actress, along with pictures of her driver’s license and a passport, and images of her with stars like Rihanna, Kanye West and Kim Kardashian West. The website was taken offline after the hack, which was initially reported by TMZ. An email to a representative for Ms. Jones was not immediately returned on Wednesday. The website, which had contained information about her comedy career and her past work in film, appeared to have been retooled to display the personal photos and information. There was no way to independently confirm that the photos were of Ms. Jones and whether the identification documents were real, but the address on the driver’s license appeared to correspond with information about Ms. Jones that is available through public records. Ms. Jones, 48, had spent much of the past month battling online trolls who sent her a stream of racist imagery, pornography and abusive language. She briefly left Twitter, but later returned to tweet about the Rio Olympics. In the hours after Ms. Jones’s site was taken offline, defenders offered public support. “These acts against Leslie Jones are sickening,” the musician Questlove wrote in a post on Twitter. “It’s racist sexist. It’s disgusting. This is hate crimes. This ain’t ‘kids joshing round.’ ” Others, including Paul Feig, the director of the “Ghostbusters” film, the comedian Patton Oswalt and the singer Katy Perry defended the actress on Twitter. Brendesha Tynes, a professor of education and psychology at the University of Southern California who specializes in social media and cyberbullying, said in an interview that part of what was fueling the attacks against Ms. Jones was a “serious woman problem in the U. S. ” Dr. Tynes noted the criticism levied at the Olympic gymnast Gabby Douglas while she was competing in Rio, and said, “Even the slightest perceived infraction leads people to get bullied. ” Ms. Jones herself had stood up for Ms. Douglas while in Brazil. Sameer Hinduja, the of the Cyberbullying Research Center and a professor of Criminology at University, applauded Ms. Jones for standing up to those who have victimized her over the past several months. “She was an advocate for others that have been victimized and haven’t spoken up, and that has led to more attention, and has, perhaps indirectly, led to policy change on Twitter’s part,” he said in an interview, referring to the company’s taking action against some of the accounts that had hurled racist insults at Ms. Jones. He added that Ms. Jones’s willingness to remain an active presence may have made her a more tempting target for bullies and hackers. “Some of those that cyberbully attempt to identify something that you’re particularly sensitive about, and because they know that it will get under your skin,” Dr. Hinduja said. “Or they’re just biased and intolerant, as perhaps was the case considering the racial hatred in some of the attacks on Leslie Jones. ” Dr. Tynes said that the hack on Wednesday felt particularly harrowing after Ms. Jones had seemed to prevail over those who attacked her earlier this summer, elevating her public presence by using social media sites such as Twitter and Snapchat prolifically during the Olympics. “I have to say, as a human being, it’s heartbreaking,” Dr. Tynes said. “As a researcher, I haven’t seen in the adolescents I study anything this heinous. ” She said that attacks like these could have serious consequences on a victim’s mental health, including symptoms of depression and anxiety. “I’m hoping that people will once again rally behind her, show her love, and hopefully serve as a buffer against some of the potentially negative consequences,” Dr. Tynes said. “I’m at a loss for words, but I do know that people will rally behind her once again. ”

Mark Zuckerberg, Don't Get Hoodwinked by Media and Politicians

Ludwig Watzal

3 Shares 2 0 0 1 (Credit: Ken Yeung / flickr) Shortly after Hillary Clinton's crushing defeat, the media came up with another spin: Zuckerberg and Facebook were held responsible for her debacle! What crap! Facebook apparently carried "fake news". Didn't the media invent and promote precisely this kind of "news" to bounce Hillary over the last hurdle? It's convenient for media whores to blame everybody except themselves and Hillary's corrupt campaign organization for her defeat. Clinton labeled ordinary Americans "deplorables", displaying her contempt for half of the population. Hillary Clinton was favorite puppet of the Establishment. She was the embodiment of a hopelessly corrupt political system. And the American people realized it despite massive attempts by media presstitutes to sell her image. An estimated 95 per cent of media outlets beat the drums for her and for her husband's corrupt Clinton Foundation. The real reason behind the attempt to blame Zuckerberg's Facebook is, that it makes everyone (and no one) responsible. What is posted on Facebook can no longer be controlled by the media and the political class. They lost control of public opinion. Established methods of mind-control do not work any longer. The fawning media report only what they are fed by government spin-doctors. It is more comfortable for them to act like the mouthpieces of their masters. This holds true for US media, as well of the media class in the European vassal states. German media were, for example, as manipulative as those in the United States. They celebrated President Obama as the embodiment of "good America", ignoring that he waged wars during his entire presidency, incarcerated several whistleblowers and signed off extra-legal executions. But he possessed a great advantage, he was black, or if you wish, non-white. Obama was thus a non-white and smarter version of George W. Bush. When Mark Zuckerberg visited Berlin in February 2016, he was bootlicked by the German political and media class. The Springer group, the most outspoken mouthpiece of U.S. interests US in Germany, awarded him the Axel Springer Award. Of greater political relevance was the dinner meeting between Zuckerberg and Chancellor Angela Merkel who tried to convince him to apply himself with more determination against so-called hate-speech on the internet. The Merkel regime considers that freedom of speech hurts her policy. Merkel’s minister of justice, Heiko Maas, has established some sort of a private internet police that hunts the web for "hate speech", whatever that means. There is no agreed upon definition what "hate speech" implies, hence the meaning can be volatile or arbitrarily. The range of "Hate speech" can range from anti-Muslim rhetoric via personal insults and threats to a call "to kill every Jewish Zionist". There is a duty of government under the "International Convention for the Abolition of All Forms of Racial Discrimination", to prohibit the dissemination of racial propaganda. Ergo, there exists a legal and ethical basis for prohibiting certain forms of "hate speech". Even restrictions to “free speech” extend to other spheres, such as prohibition of deceitful advertising, slandering other people, and in some countries advertising tobacco and alcohol is forbidden in Iceland. Human rights law accepts the right of governments to restrict freedom of speech in order to protect other social values. There is a great deal of jurisprudence regarding the question who to weigh this right against other rights. In Germany, this body of private detectives includes civil society groups such as "klicksafe.de, "jugendschutz.net", "Gesicht zeigen" (Show your Face), to name a few. The most eminent of these is the Amadeu Antonio Foundation, run by a former Stasi agent by the name of Anetta Kahane, who claims to fight racism, anti-Semitism, and xenophobia. Today, she and her organization are at the forefront of criticizing people who dare to criticize the excesses of Merkel's policy of government failure. Internet giants such as Facebook, Google (and YouTube) and Twitter also participated "voluntarily" in this constitutive meeting in which this kind of internet watchdog was set up. In September 2015, this new "censorship body" was established in the German Ministry of Justice and works since then without legal basis! The participants agreed on "best practices" in handling hate messages. There are no publically known criteria according to which one can recognize "hate speach". That means that this censorship body makes it decisions arbitrarily. There are no rules or statutory provisions. Those whose messages are blocked have thus no legal recourse against such censorship. Despite such arbitrary practice, the interim results, which were presented in the Ministry of Justice on 27 September 2016 were not satisfactory. Google (and YouTube) and Facebook representatives participated in the presentation of the results. From August to September, 622 punishable contents were reported that were deleted by the companies. Nevertheless, the Ministry of Justice was not satisfied. Thus, it is not only the American political class which is blaming Facebook for the defeat of its minion Hillary Clinton but also the German political class and its compliant media that intend to crack down on Facebook, fearing that ordinary people could endanger Merkel's quest for a renewed mandate as Chancellor. But what appears more important is their desperate attempt to control public opinion because the "deplorables", i.e. the mass of ordinary people, do not anymore wish to be bamboozled by half a dozen editors-in-chief. The attempt to free themselves from such control has to be crushed with the help of Facebook and Google. At the beginning, Zuckerberg rejected the ridiculous accusations of being responsible for Clinton's defeat. After a while, it appears that he has accepted to do the dirty work for the censors and caved in. On Friday, November 18, 2016, Zuckerberg wrote on Facebook that the amount of "misinformation is relatively small", nonetheless there is "much work ahead on our roadmap". The following work in progress was outlined by him: "A stronger detection system. The most important thing we can do is to improve our ability to classify misinformation. This means better technical systems to detect what people will flag as false before they do it themselves. - Easy reporting. Making it much easier for people to report stories as fake will help us catch more misinformation faster. - Third party verification. There are many respected fact checking organizations and, while we have reached out to some, we plan to learn from many more. - Warnings. We are exploring labeling stories that have been flagged as false by third parties or our community, and showing warnings when people read or share them. - Related articles quality. We are raising the bar for stories that appear in related articles under links in News Feed. - Disrupting fake news economics. A lot of misinformation is driven by financially motivated spam. We're looking into disrupting the economics with ads policies like the one we announced earlier this week, and better ad farm detection. - Listening. We will continue to work with journalists and others in the news industry to get their input, in particular, to better understand their fact checking systems and learn from them." Apparently, Zuckerberg understands the importance of the issue. I beg to differ. The issue is not about fake news, it is about universal freedom of speech that poses a threat to the mind-control industry, owned by a few families on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. If they lose this control of public opinion, they rightly fear to lose in the long run their privileges. Dear Mr. Zuckerberg, take courage, and do not interfere with ordinary folks speaking their minds despite the pressure and intimidation by the political and media class. When one discusses freedom of expression and the role of Facebook one point needs special scrutiny, namely the private character of this entity. The private character of an entity precludes transparency. Citizens and users do not possess any rights to inspect the finances, let alone participate in determining Facebook projects and policies. As a citizen, one cannot accept that one unelected person, however, nice he may be, could determine the projects and policies of an entity that is now serving billions of human beings. Such a structure just cries for corruption and arbitrary rule. One can see this operating within Wikipedia where doctrinaires exert control over subjects of social science such as the circumstances of 9/11 or the Israel/Palestinian conflict. It's impossible to even insert critical question because they don't pass the censorship of certain guardians of mind control. Google is another such Leviathan that cries for public and transparent ownership. How such public ownership of a global corporation is to be accomplished is a question that begs for an answer. The first step would certainly be for civil society, without influence from the corporate world, to get together and consider a more democratic and transparent structure for such global services. It would be wise for civil society to get going before corporations will establish fake democratic forums to preempt this goal.

‘I Buried My Own Children’: A Syrian Father’s Grief - The New York Times

Megan Specia

Aya and Ahmad, twins, were among the 86 people killed in Tuesday’s gas attack in Khan Sheikhoun, Syria. Their father, Abdul Hameed asked a photographer to take pictures as he held their bodies. He turned the babies’ faces toward the camera and said, “tell them, ‘goodbye dad. ’” In an interview with a local activist, Mr. described the start of the airstrikes at 7 a. m. “I took my wife and children and left the house,” he said, through choking sobs. “As we were leaving, just about five minutes later, we started to smell nasty smells. ” He said his children began to cough and he handed them to their mother and told her to flee the town. He went to check on his brothers and their children. They were struggling to breathe. He saw people fall in the street and begin foaming at the mouth before losing consciousness himself. Later, he found out his wife and babies had died. And he buried them. He walked through the graves, calling out the names of other family members who were also killed and buried in the graveyard, pausing at each, and sobbing. After the burial, “I saw Ahmad and Aya, and carried them close to my heart,” Mr. said in the interview. “We buried them, I took Ahmad and Aya and buried them. I buried my own children. ” He said he had lost at least 25 members of his extended family in the attack.

Rep. Chaffetz Subpoenas ATF Agents Involved in Obama’s Fast and Furious Op

Bob Price

Utah Congressman Jason Chaffetz subpoenaed two agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) to appear before his committee in connection with the Obama Administration’s program, Fast and Furious. Firearms from the former president’s scheme were allegedly involved in the 2011 murder of Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agent Jaime Zapata in Mexico. [Chaffetz, who serves as chairman of the House Oversight Committee issued the subpoenas after the two ATF agents failed to appear voluntarily before the committee. “I’m tired of hearing from just [Justice Department] management, I want to hear from the people that actually are on the front lines doing this,” Chaffetz told Fox News. Chaffetz wants to hear directly from ATF Agent William Temple, special agent in charge of the Dallas Field Division, and Associate Director Ronald Turk. The hearing marks the first effort by Congress to the investigation into President Obama’s Fast and Furious gun trafficking scheme since he left office in January. ICE Agent Zapata was killed by one of the guns involved in this program, and Special Agent Victor Avila was injured during the attack in Mexico. Following the attack on the two ICE agents, Breitbart News reported: Agent Zapata’s partner Victor Avila spoke out about the attack that left Agent Zapata dead and him wounded. His twin sister Magdalena spoke for him in the Univision special on Fast and Furious. Avila is so scared and hurt by the attack he did not speak out until he knew he was in a secure location. No one knows for sure why Agent Zapata and Agent Avila, assigned to the US Embassy, were asked to travel on road 57, a road controlled by the Zeta Cartel and extremely dangerous. They didn’t even know why they were given the mission to retrieve electronic surveillance equipment. The urgency made it even more suspicious. Agent Zapata and Agent Avila met with American consulate agents in Monterrey and received 14 boxes of equipment. They did stop for something to eat on road 57 before heading back to Mexico City. About a half hour after leaving the restaurant they noticed two cars closely following them. Within seconds the vehicles surrounded them and 14 heavily armed men formed a circle around their car. Unfortunately, Agent Zapata put the car in park, which forced the doors to automatically open. Agent Avila said they thought their diplomatic plates would protect them and the screamed they were American agents. The men didn’t care and demanded them to exit the vehicle. The agents refused to leave their vehicle. They frantically tried to relock the doors, but instead Agent Avila accidentally lowered his window. A rifle and handgun came in through the small opening and the man opened fire. Agent Avila pressed the emergency satellite button, but it did not work. He also tried to place an emergency call to the embassy, the Mexican capital, and the First Post of the Regional Security Command. They told Avila a Mexican Federal Police helicopter would be there in 40 minutes. 90 bullets were fired. Five hit Agent Zapata and three hit Agent Avila in his right leg. Agent Zapata turned to Agent Avila and said, “I am going to die. ” Agent Avila responded, “No, you are not going to die. Be strong, help is on the way, you are not going to die. While in the rescue helicopter Agent Avila was informed Agent Zapata did, in fact, die. On Thursday, the two ATF officials failed to appear before the committee looking into the assault on the agents. ATF Thomas Brandon, an Obama Administration holdover appointed in 2015, claims he did not order the two ATF officials to skip the hearing Fox News reported. However, he said he agreed with their decision to bypass the Oversight Committee’s hearing. The failure of the two ATF officials to voluntarily appear before Congress sparked the issuance of a subpoena and sharp rebukes from both sides of the aisle. “That puts us in a kind of awkward position. We got the boss, ‘OK guys, you don’t have to show up.’ And that sends a hell of a message. That’s a problem,” Elijah Cummings ( ) the ranking Democrat on the committee, said. Chaffetz complained that the ATF “continues to insist” that his committee should not speak directly with the two officials. Assistant U. S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas John Craft also failed to appear. Chaffetz said his committee issued the invitation to Craft late and he would not be issuing a subpoena for him at this time. Fox News reported on an ATF Inspector General report that was completed in 2012 but not released until March 1, 2016. Fox reported: The IG said the ATF were aware in 2010 that Osorio and his brother might be trafficking firearms to Mexico, but they did not follow up or further investigate until after Zapata’s death. Otilio Osorio and Riendfliesh were arrested in late February 2011 after the ATF confirmed weapons used in Zapata’s murder had been purchased by them. The report faulted ATF for its handling of the case, saying there was “probable cause” to arrest Osorio and his brother “after ATF witnessed the Osorios complete a transfer of 40 firearms on November 9, 2010. ” The IG said: “Overall, we found numerous problems with ATF’s assimilation of information concerning [the suspects] … and the timeliness of ATF’s response to mounting evidence that they were committing firearms offenses. ” The report states that two weapons used in the murder of Agent Zapata and wounding of Agent Avila traced back to a gun show purchase by Otilio Osorio, and a purchase by Robert Riendfliesh at a gun store in Beaumont, Texas. The report continues, stating the ATF suspected the two men were trafficking firearms to Mexico but failed to further investigate the purchases until after the murder of Agent Zapata. ATF agents eventually arrested the two men in connection with the purchases. Despite the length of time since the incident, the creation of the report, and its issuance, Director Brandon told Chaffetz he was not prepared for the hearing. “That’s a bunch of crap,” Chaffetz snapped at the ATF acting director. Chaffetz responded that he received a draft of the report in December. The murder of U. S. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry in December 2010 is also connected to the Fast and Furious scheme. Two guns involved in Fast and Furious were found at the scene of his murder. Terry and other members of his elite Border Patrol BORSTAR team engaged a group of Mexican bandits. The bandits opened fire. Terry was shot in the back and died before reaching the hospital. The Terry family met with candidate Donald Trump several times during the campaign. In an exclusive interview with Breitbart Texas, the Terry family expressed hope that President Trump would get to the answers their family has been searching for over the past six years. “I want people to grow a conscious and come clean as to what transpired, what was covered up and what the hell were they thinking,” Terry’s sister, Kelly told Breitbart Texas. She said she had heard many promises by many people. “If Mr. Trump can get those skeletons out and expose the truth then my family can finally get closure and justice for Brian,” Kelly explained. “I think there are a lot of people scared that just might happen. It may take time, and we will be patient, but the truth always reveals itself. I hope Trump can make that happen. ” On Friday, Terry’s brother, Kent Terry, spoke out about the new hearing and the subpoena issued to the two ATF officials. “We have the House, Senate, and the White House now,” Kent Terry said. “There should be absolutely no reason we should fail to get the answers and accountability for the deaths of Agent Zapata and my brother. Their mothers have been put through Hell since these murders occurred. They deserve to know why their sons, who served every day, were killed by criminals armed by our government. ” “Enough time has gone by,” an exasperated Kent Terry explained. “I respect their hands were tied with the Obama Administration’s executive privilege taken on the Fast and Furious documents. But why hasn’t the Oversight Committee gone after the ATF agent who no longer works there? Why hasn’t the committee asked why who has been fired in connection with the program?” The full report on the hearing held by the committee on March 9 is available on the Oversight Committee’s website. The committee is expected to hear from the two ATF officials under subpoena later this month. Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior political news contributor for Breitbart Texas. He is a founding member of the Breitbart Texas team. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX and Facebook. Editor’s Note: Fox News Channel incorrectly attributed a comment to DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz and incorrectly described an exchange between him and Chaffetz. Breitbart Texas used this reference in this article. Fox News corrected their article to reflect the correct attribution to ATF Brandon. Breitbart Texas has updated this article to reflect the corrected attribution from Fox News.

‘Tone Down Your Gayness’: St. Louis Police Officer Files Discrimination Suit - The New York Times

Christine Hauser

An police sergeant in Missouri has filed a discrimination lawsuit against his employer, alleging that he was told he would not be promoted unless he toned down his “gayness. ” The sergeant in the St. Louis County Police Department, Keith Wildhaber, said that over the years his performance reviews have said he “exceeds standards” or is “superior” in all categories. But in 2014, the suit says, after Sgt. Wildhaber became one of nine top candidates eligible to move up to lieutenant, he and another officer, who had disciplinary and performance issues, were the only ones denied promotion. That same year, the lawsuit says, the sergeant was told by John Saracino, a member of the St. Louis County Board of Police Commissioners, which supervises the department, that the command staff “has a problem with your sexuality. ” “If you ever want to see a white shirt (i. e. get a promotion) you should tone down your gayness,” Mr. Saracino said, according to the suit. Mr. Saracino could not be reached by telephone on Friday. But he told The St. Louis which reported on the suit: “I never had a conversation like that. I would never say anything like that. That’s not me. ” The lawsuit, filed on Jan. 10 in Circuit Court, names St. Louis County as a defendant and seeks compensation, back pay, promotion and other damages. Sgt. Wildhaber was hired by the Police Department as a security officer in 1994 after he served for four years in the Army, according to the lawsuit. He attended the Police Academy, became a patrolman in 1997 and rose through the ranks. He became a detective in 2006 and a sergeant in 2011, the lawsuit says. He was given a Medal of Valor for saving a man trapped in a burning car in a commuter parking lot in November 1998, when he was still a rookie, according the St. Louis . Last April, Sgt. Wildhaber filed a discrimination complaint with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Missouri Commission on Human Rights, alleging employment discrimination based on his sex or gender, the lawsuit says. A month later, he was transferred to a different precinct and put on night shift. The suit says St. Louis County believes that Sgt. Wildhaber “does not fit the stereotypical norms of what a ‘male’ should be” and it has “failed to take any action to investigate or take corrective action” in response to his multiple complaints. Sgt. Wildhaber could not be reached by telephone or email on Friday, but his lawyer, Russell C. Riggan, said in an email, “Until the case goes before a jury, we will allow the petition to speak for itself. ” A spokeswoman for St. Louis County, Allison Blood, referred questions to a Police Department spokesman, Sgt. Shawn McGuire. He did not immediately reply to a voice mail message on Friday.

Snowonweb

great article

Bernie Sanders' Surprise Speech Outside the White House on Rejecting Dakota Pipeline & Trump

Bernie Sanders' Surprise Speech Outside the White House on Rejecting Dakota Pipeline & Trump Share on Facebook Tweet We feature a surprise address by Senator Bernie Sanders outside the White House on Tuesday during a global day of action against the Dakota Access pipeline that included demonstrations in over 300 cities. "Today we are saying it is time for a new approach to the Native American people, not to run a pipeline through their land," Sanders said, demanding that their sovereign rights be honored. He... read more We feature a surprise address by Senator Bernie Sanders outside the White House on Tuesday during a global day of action against the Dakota Access pipeline that included demonstrations in over 300 cities. "Today we are saying it is time for a new approach to the Native American people, not to run a pipeline through their land," Sanders said, demanding that their sovereign rights be honored. He also spoke about the need for politicians to protect access to clean water, recognize that climate change is real, and support an aggressive shift away from fossil fuels to sustainable energy sources. [watch video below]

How To Make A Tripwire Alarm System. Homemade, Simple, And Loud

Dikran Arakelian (noreply@blogger.com)

Share on Facebook A trip wire alarm system is made of a wire or some other mechanism that when activated or disturbed will set off an alarm of some kind that will detect an intruder or deter an intruder. The trigger is usually similar; a wire, a fishing line, a string or twine. But the mechanism of alarm is a varied as there are ideas. In this case, when activated, a spark by a battery causes wires to burn. I don't know why they wouldn't attach a firecracker or some kind of explosive device. Making a trip wire alarm system... After watching this I'm going to assume that this trip wire device is incomplete. What good are the burning wires? It doesn't alarm anyone. Rather, I'd like to see some kind of device that makes a loud noise. I think we're going to get some fires started with this thing. Related:

California Voters Face Choice: End Death Penalty, or Speed It Up - The New York Times

Jennifer Medina

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. — Beth Webb remembers talking with friends at her sister’s Christmas party several years ago, wondering aloud if she would support the death penalty if someone she knew were murdered. Then, in 2011, her sister, Laura Webb Elody, was killed along with seven other people as she worked at a hair salon in nearby Seal Beach. For weeks, Ms. Webb wanted revenge. And the local district attorney promised she would get it in the form of the death penalty. But five years later, the man who killed her sister and wounded her mother is still alive, and Ms. Webb is now helping to lead the campaign to abolish the death penalty here. Tami Alexander has waited even longer. The man who killed her and has been on death row for more than two decades. The death penalty has long been one of the most contentious issues in the state. Though California has executed only 13 people since the 1970s, it has sentenced hundreds to death and has more prisoners on death row than any other state. California has repeatedly been criticized for keeping those people in a suspended state for years, costing Californians billions of dollars. There have been attempts before to reform the system — just four years ago a ballot proposition failed in its effort to abolish the death penalty entirely. Now voters are being presented with their latest choice in the matter: Should the state get out of the business of capital punishment completely or enact a plan to make executions happen more quickly? Both proposals accept that the state’s death penalty system — which costs an estimated $150 million a year for trials, appeals and death row facilities — is broken. The state’s process is so prolonged, “with only the remote possibility of death,” that it is tantamount to cruel and unusual punishment, a federal judge wrote in a 2014 ruling, calling the system dysfunctional and arbitrary. The 747 inmates on death row remain in a legal limbo: There has not been an execution in the state since 2006, as the state’s lethal injection protocol remains tied up in the courts. This year, voters will decide between two competing ballot measures: Proposition 62, which would end the death penalty and replace it with life without parole, and Proposition 66, which would speed up the executions by accelerating appeals for inmates on death row. A victory for either side will transform the state’s system for capital punishment. When the death penalty was last on the state ballot, the focus remained primarily on money — with opponents arguing that the state was spending billions without executing anyone. In California, most inmates spend at least two decades on death row. Far more have died from natural causes or suicide than have been executed. After the measure to repeal it lost by four percentage points in 2012, supporters of the death penalty quickly pulled together to find a way to get their proposal to voters as quickly as possible. “We knew we needed to say to California voters as quickly as possible that we have to get this fixed,” said Mike Ramos, the San Bernardino district attorney and one of the leading proponents of Proposition 66. “Citizens are getting rightly frustrated that we are holding the worst of the worst, people who are evil, on hold indefinitely. The families would like justice, the people want justice, and what we have does not work. ” This time, the arguments are as much about moral and philosophical issues as financial, with Ms. Webb and Ms. Alexander each seen as key advocates for the opposing measures. “There is no way to know how much hatred you have in your heart until someone you know is murdered,” Ms. Webb said in a recent interview. “That’s what the people who want this understand — the frustration of somebody doing this to you and you not being able to do anything is overwhelming. ” Though national polls show that a majority of voters favor the death penalty, there have been notable victories in attempts to repeal it. In the past decade, legislatures in New Jersey, New Mexico and Illinois have all voted to end it, and other governors have declared moratoriums on executions. And two other states — Oklahoma and Nebraska — will also vote on ballot propositions this year. “There are a few counties that are overproducing death penalties, and it is coming at an enormous cost to everyone in the state,” said Robert Dunham, the executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center. “You no longer have to be against the death penalty in theory to be against the way the death penalty is practiced in the United States. We used to look at it dogmatically, and now we are looking at it pragmatically. ” While opponents of the death penalty argue that eliminating death row would save $150 million, supporters similarly argue that speeding up the process would save the state more money in the long run. Proposition 66 would force courts to process death penalty cases more quickly, but opponents of the measure say there are not enough lawyers with the ability to handle the cases to move cases off the docket. “Our family doesn’t care if it takes 100 years if it’s a case where the innocence is in question, but that’s not what happens,” Ms. Alexander said. “What happens is that we wait an eternity for someone who is already found guilty and that a jury found deserves to die. They can appeal over and over again on things that have nothing to do with the crime itself. ” And the delays in execution, once an exception, are now routine for myriad reasons. In addition to the guilt phase of a criminal trial, the penalty phase can go on for years as lawyers compile thick histories of the suspect’s criminal and mental health record, and few defense lawyers are interested in taking on such cases, said Ellen S. Kreitzberg, a law professor at Santa Clara University who has studied how the death penalty is carried out in California. “In the counties where you have a lot of death penalty cases, you’ve got 35 percent of a court’s staff time spent on those,” she said. “That means the system is not working. It’s not equipped to deal with this. ” Ms. Webb said it was not until her sister’s case began to drag on that she began to rethink her views on the death penalty. “The offer that the death penalty is somehow going to relieve your pain is on so many levels unfair,” she said. “Because what they are saying is that if you hold on to that anger long enough we are going to release it for you when we murder this person. But I cannot live with the idea that somebody else’s death is going to set me free. It would validate the very thing that he did. ” Ron Briggs, who helped draft a ballot measure expanding application of the death penalty in 1978 and was one of the leading proponents of the attempt to repeal it in 2012, said that despite the narrow loss, he thought a quick return to the ballot was the best way to persuade voters to end capital punishment in the state. “That gives all the closure the family needs and ends these endless appeals,” Mr. Briggs said. “I think Republicans and fiscal conservatives are really beginning to get the message that this is costing a lot of money and not doing a lot of good. ”

Will Trump Go After Nafta With Tweezers or a Hammer? - The New York Times

Neil Irwin

We’re resurfacing this article in light of President Trump’s recent comments on Nafta. After calling it the “worst trade deal,” he seems to be softening his stance. It was a deal that created a deeply intertwined economy stretching from the Arctic to Central America and a generation of mostly warm relations between the United States and its two neighbors. It has also contributed to the loss of manufacturing jobs in the United States and added to discontent in the communities that lost them. That, in turn, helped propel a sharp critic of the deal to the White House. So with Donald J. Trump in charge, what happens now to the North American Free Trade Agreement? It’s one thing to assail it as the “worst trade deal ever” as the president did during the campaign. It’s quite another to come up with an arrangement that is more advantageous to American workers and businesses. “Nafta is logically the first thing for us to deal with,” said Wilbur Ross, the president’s nominee to be commerce secretary, in his confirmation hearing. It will be, he said, a “very, very early topic in the administration. ” So what might that actually mean? What can the president actually do, what benefits might be attained for the United States and what could go wrong? Trade experts say there really is room to make major change in the agreement. A renegotiation could well lead to a better deal for all three countries. But it will require the United States to make concessions that the Trump administration may be wary of offering. If not approached carefully, revamping an agreement that has created the economic underpinning of major industries would risk American jobs as well as higher prices for consumers. And the closer the Trump administration gets to blowing up the deal, the larger those risks loom. Before diving into what could go wrong — and right — as President Trump looks to rework Nafta, it’s worth starting with the basics. What is Nafta? On Oct. 7, 1992, President George H. W. Bush stood in San Antonio flanked by the president of Mexico and the prime minister of Canada. “This meeting marks a turning point in the history of our three countries,” he said. “We are creating the largest, richest and most productive market in the entire world. ” Mr. Bush’s successor, Bill Clinton, was the one to push the North American Free Trade Agreement through a divided Congress. By 1994, the three countries were entwined in a trade deal that, in its 22 chapters covering 309 pages, lashed their economies together. It eliminated most tariffs on goods traded between the nations, and set in place processes to get rid of regulatory and other barriers. The idea was that over time a company in Ohio could do business with a firm in Ontario as easily as it did with one in Indiana. What have been its results? As the election showed, whether Nafta was a good thing for voters in the United States or a bad one continues to be argued. But there are some things most people who study these things can agree upon. The North American economy really does work as an integrated whole. United States exports to Mexico, for example, are now 3. 5 times their 1993 level when adjusted for inflation. They have risen more than twice as fast as the overall economy. Trade between the United States and Canada has been pretty well balanced over time, but the United States has had about a $60 billion per year trade deficit with Mexico, importing more than it exports. In the auto industry, for example, supply chains crisscross North American borders, with work of different complexity done in different countries. Your Ford made in Michigan might contain a dashboard made in Juarez and a transmission made in Windsor, Ontario. This complex supply chain has helped make the U. S. auto industry competitive with manufacturers in Asia and Europe, which also contain both and countries with different specialties. The impact on jobs and incomes in the United States is less clear. Economists broadly supportive of free trade deals argue that Nafta essentially encouraged a shift of jobs in the United States toward more productive work, raising wages and having negligible impact on the total number of jobs. Those more skeptical of the deal view it as having created competition across the border in Mexico that accelerated the loss of manufacturing jobs. (See a more detailed explanation of the competing views here and here.) One way to reconcile those two views: Nafta may have increased overall G. D. P. and average incomes in the United States — but at the same time contributed to the decline in U. S. manufacturing jobs that tended to be concentrated in certain cities and among certain groups of people, mostly men. Can President Trump kill the deal? In theory, yes. But it would be a mess, particularly if he tried to do it right off the bat. Article 2205 of Nafta says that a country can withdraw from the agreement six months after giving notice. But if President Trump did that, it would unleash disarray in major industries ruin the ability to have negotiations with Canada and Mexico and most likely cause a legal showdown with Congress (which passed Nafta all those years ago and wouldn’t want it abrogated without a say). That doesn’t sound like what the Trump administration has cooked up. It’s more likely to reopen the deal. “I’m optimistic that we can renegotiate the deal that’s both advantageous to us and advantageous to Mexico, that’s a for both countries,” said Steve Mnuchin, the Treasury secretary nominee, in his confirmation hearing. Will Canada and Mexico come to the table for a renegotiation? Sure looks that way. The White House has announced plans to meet separately with the leaders of both countries, and all signals are that they’re up for new talks. In the case of Mexico, President Enrique Peña Nieto has said he wants talks to cover a wider gamut than trade alone — implicitly threatening to become less cooperative on fighting drug trafficking and other frontiers if the Trump administration is excessively punitive in trade talks. And, of course, Mr. Trump’s announcement today that he will build a wall on the border — and that Mexico will eventually pay for it — could cause Mexico to rethink its outlook on trade negotiations altogether. So what is the United States going to ask for? We don’t know for sure, but some hints have emerged. One strong possibility would be to focus on “rules of origin” governing what counts as an automobile or other finished good produced within the free trade area. For example, a steering wheel might be assembled in Mexico but include parts made in China the rules of origin state how many of those parts can come from China while still counting as a Mexican steering wheel and thus enjoy the benefits of the free trade zone. If the required share of North American parts were increased — from its current 62. 5 percent for many auto parts to 75 percent, for example — it would give an advantage to manufacturers in the United States and reduce competition with the countries of Asia. Another example of a possible United States priority: asking Canada and Mexico to be more liberal in allowing goods to be shipped into their countries with no taxes and little paperwork. (To be precise, asking them to raise the value of what would count as a “de minimus” shipment exempt from the usual customs process). That would be good news for American companies looking to sell into those countries. The United States has long complained that the tribunals that settle trade disputes among the three countries are stacked against U. S. interests, and it could seek changes. Those sure seem like perfectly normal things for trade deals to focus on. They are. But there was one more goal for the United States that Trump argued for during the campaign, and it would be a bigger source of friction if his negotiators chose to pursue it. Mr. Trump characterized the tax that both Mexico and Canada have as unfair to U. S. companies. The tax is 16 percent in Mexico when a Mexican firm exports goods to the United States, it receives a rebate for the tax it paid, and when a U. S. firm exports to Mexico, a comparable adjustment is added. Mr. Ross, the Commerce secretary nominee, and Peter Navarro, a Trump White House trade adviser, argued in a white paper during the campaign that this amounts to an unfair export subsidy that penalizes the United States. Canada and Mexico aren’t likely to see it that way, and will resist if the United States seeks a change to the rules so that a VAT adjustment is no longer added to U. S. exports into their countries. In their view — and that of mainstream economists — their approach to taxing is the only way to avoid unfairly penalizing their domestic companies. The VAT is similar to a sales tax, and to the Mexican government, the Trump position will sound like the equivalent of Massachusetts demanding that it be able to sell its goods in Connecticut without a sales tax slapped on them. So if that issue ends up at the center of the negotiation, things could get rocky. But a deal should get done, right? Maybe. But keep in mind: This won’t be a street. Both Canada and Mexico expect concessions from the United States in return for concessions they make. And some of the things that the Mexican government most covets will rankle many Trump supporters. For example, Mexico wants better access to a program, widely enjoyed at the Canadian border, in which shippers that pass a security review are allowed to cross the border with a less intensive customs process (this is the international trade equivalent of the “T. S. A. PreCheck” security line at the airport). Mexico also seeks more favorable treatment for Mexican citizens with advanced skills seeking visas to work temporarily in the United States. Needless to say, making it easier for Mexican trucks and Mexican workers to get into the United States isn’t exactly what Trump campaigned on. But that’s the kind of concession that may be needed to get a trade deal. Is there a chance Nafta completely blows up? There is — though not necessarily in catastrophic fashion. Gary Clyde Hufbauer, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, lays out a possibility in which the Trump administration does eventually withdraw from Nafta, but in a context in which it has worked out separate deals with Mexico and Canada that maintain most of the trade arrangements codified in Nafta. President Trump and his advisers have often spoken of a preference for bilateral deals instead of big multicountry trade deals. It is potentially a pathway for Trump to be able to proclaim that he ended a trade deal he assailed on the campaign trail, without wrecking the economy. Even that wouldn’t necessarily be painless, however. “It would be like ” Mr. Hufbauer said. “There will be firms and communities in the U. S. that will be adversely affected, that will close down if you disrupt these supply chains. That won’t make for good newspaper coverage, and presumably the Trump team will want to avoid that. ” Just how urgent is renegotiating Nafta? Campaign promises aside, even some people who have been opposed to Nafta and other trade deals don’t view this as a priority. U. S. trade with Canada is reasonably well balanced, and the trade deficit with Mexico is smaller than that with some giant Asian economies. Robert E. Scott, the director of trade and manufacturing policy at the liberal Economic Policy Institute, sees more to be gained by rethinking the trade relationship between the United States and China, Japan, South Korea and even Germany. “Those are accountable for 80 percent of job losses over the last 20 years,” he said. “To me, Nafta is not a top priority. ” “There are much bigger fish to fry,” he added.

Pentagon Unsure if There Will Be ’Role for Turkey’ in Assault on Islamic State Capital

John Hayward

The Pentagon cast substantial doubt on a possible role for Turkey in the assault on Raqqa, the Islamic State’s capital in Syria, during a press conference in Iraq on Wednesday. [“We have made clear … that we are open to a Turkish role in the continued operations to defeat ISIS in northern Syria. We haven’t come to an agreement about what that role will be or if there will be one,” Dorrian said, “but we talk to Turkey through military channels and I believe at diplomatic levels every day,” said spokesman Col. John Dorrian, as quoted by the Washington Examiner. Fighting ISIS savages to the death in the cramped streets of downtown Raqqa is probably not a prospect Turkey relishes, but it is very eager to keep the Syrian Kurds and their military alliance out of the battle. Turkey links the Syrian YPG Kurdish militia to the violent PKK separatists it has been battling at home and fears Kurdish territorial gains in Syria could lead to the Kurds carving out Turkish territory for an independent state or at least exacerbating the PKK problem. “I think I’d like to leave it at we would expect Kurds to be involved. And that’s probably about where we’re at,” said Dorrian. He noted the U. S. wants Raqqa liberated by a force that is demographically consistent with its historic population, which includes a fair number of Kurds. That won’t go over well in Ankara, as the Washington Examiner recalls Senate Armed Services chair John McCain warning last week. “I’m not sure there’s an understanding of how seriously Erdogan views this issue, and I’m not sure we appreciate the importance of the role Turkey plays in our effort to retake Raqqa, particularly in the use of Incirlik and other activities that require Turkish cooperation,” said McCain. “I foresee a train wreck here. I think there’s a possibility of an impending conflict between Turkey and the Kurds. ” Turkish Defense Minister Fikri Isik said in February that the Trump administration would not insist on a Kurdish role in the battle of Raqqa. “If we want the Raqqa operation to be successful, then it should be carried out with Arab forces in the region and not the YPG. The new U. S. administration has a different approach to the issue. They are not insisting anymore that the operation should definitely be carried out with the YPG. They haven’t yet made up their minds,” Isik said on that occasion. Writing for the Associated Press, Sarah El Deeb suggests Turkey has annoyed both the U. S. and Russia by constantly denouncing, and occasionally shooting at, the Kurds. The Syrian government is even more irritated because some of the artillery shells Turkey fired at Kurdish forces have hit Syrian positions instead. “As a result, Ankara has effectively unified Russia and the U. S. in the goal of limiting Turkish expansion in the north. Syria experts say Ankara has lost influence to realize its aim of pushing the Kurdish forces back to the east of Manbij across the Euphrates. Moreover, Washington is pushing ahead with partnering with the forces in the planned attack on Raqqa, despite Turkish opposition,” El Deeb writes. She sees the capture of Manbij by Syrian Democratic Forces units, a major military ally of the United States, as the event that pushed Turkey into a more aggressive posture. The Turks may be hoping that keeping Manbij in their sights will oblige the Kurds to commit SDF forces to its protection, leaving them less manpower to invest in Raqqa. Turkey would then offer its own forces to take up the slack. U. S. forces flying highly visible American flags are now parked between the Turks and Kurds outside Manbij, while Russia created another buffer zone with Syrian government troops, but it won’t be possible to keep them safely separated for much longer. As American Lt. General Stephen Townsend put it, all of the forces converging on Raqqa are now “within range of each other. ” “All of this is a reminder of the risk in a rushed attempt to get to Raqqa If Turkish interests are not at least placated to some extent,” Noah Bonsey of the International Crisis Group told the AP. “There is a lot that can go wrong. ”

Massive Voter Fraud In Texas

Dave Hodges

Click on the image to begin the download process This Movie Reveals the Greatest Threats to the American People- If the movie did not make it to your neighborhood, you can order your copy of the DVD. Order your copy by clicking here.

Video: The Right to Housing in Baltimore – TRNN Grand Opening

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0 131 TRNN Replay: Public housing, renters issues, and homelessness are among the topics discussed in this 2014 panel moderated by Marc Steiner Visit …

Is A War In The Making — A Third World War? Instigated By A Declining Imperial Power

Doug Diamond

Source: Global Research Is a war in the making — a third world war? If there is much talk about such a possibility, it is mainly because of the tensions between the United States and Russia. Tensions between the two most powerful nuclear states in the world have never been this high since the end of the Cold War in 1989 and the demise of the Soviet Union in 1991. There are at least two flash points, one more dangerous than the other. In Eastern Ukraine, Russian backed rebels will not surrender to the US supported regime in Kiev because they see US control over Ukraine as part of a much larger agenda to expand NATO power to the very borders of Russia. This has been happening for some years now. But it is the Washington-Moscow confrontation in Allepo, Syria which portends to a huge conflagration. The US is protective of major militant groups such as Al-Nusra which has besieged Eastern Allepo and is seeking to overthrow the Bashar al-Assad government. Washington has also set its sight on ‘regime change’ in Damascus ever since the latter’s determined resistance to Israeli occupation of the strategic Golan Heights in Syria from 1967 onwards. The drive for regime change intensified with the US-Israeli quest for a “new Middle East” following the Anglo-American invasion and occupation of Iraq in 2003. It became more pronounced in 2009 when Bashar al-Assad rejected a proposal to allow a gas pipe-line from Qatar to Europe to pass through his country, a pipe-line which would have reduced Europe’s dependence upon Russia for gas. Russia of course has been a long-standing ally of Syria. Together with Iran and the Lebanese Hezbollah, it is helping the Syrian government to break the siege of Eastern Allepo and to defeat militants in other parts of Syria. It is obvious that in both instances, in Ukraine and Syria, the US has not been able to achieve what it wants. The US has also been stymied in Southeast Asia where its attempt to re-assert its power through its 2010 ‘Pivot to Asia’ policy has suffered a serious setback as a result of the decision of the new president of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, to pursue an independent foreign policy that no longer adheres blindly to US interests. At the same time, China continues to expand and enhance its economic strength in Asia and the world through its One Belt One Road (OBOR) projects and the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and via its leadership of BRICS. China’s regional and global economic role is leading to its pronounced presence in security and military matters. As a result of all this, the US’s imperial power has clearly diminished. It is a hegemon in decline. Source of image: lhvnews.com It is because it is not prepared to accept its decline that some US generals are threatening to demonstrate US’s military might. If a hegemon is a danger to humankind when it is at its pinnacle, it becomes an even greater threat to peace when its power is diminishing. Like a wounded tiger, it becomes even more furious and ferocious. A new US president may be inclined to give vent to this frustration through an arrogant display of military power. How can we check such wanton arrogance? There will be elements in the elite stratum of US society itself who would be opposed to the US going to war. We saw a bit of this in 2013 when those who were itching to launch military strikes against Syria based upon dubious “evidence” of the government’s use of chemical weapons were thwarted by others with a saner view of the consequences of war. It is also important to observe that none of the US’s major allies in Europe wants a war. Burdened by severe challenges related to the economy and migration, the governments know that their citizens will reject any move towards war either on the borders of Russia or in Syria and West Asia. This also suggests that a self-absorbed European citizenry may not have the enthusiasm to mobilise against an imminent war. Let us not forget that it was in European cities from London to Berlin that the biggest demonstrations against the war in Iraq took place in 2003. Anti-war protests will have to be initiated elsewhere this time. Governments in Moscow and Beijing, in Tehran and Jakarta, in Pretoria and La Paz, should come out openly against war. They should encourage other governments in the Global South and the Global North to denounce any move towards a war that will engulf the whole of humanity. Citizens all over the world should condemn war through a variety of strategies ranging from signature campaigns and letters to the media to public rallies and street demonstrations. In this campaign against an imminent war, the media, both conventional and alternative, will have a huge role to play. It is unfortunate that well-known media outlets in the West have supported war in the past. It is time that they atone for their sins!

Chris Wallace: Trump ’Apparently Thinks Transparency Is Overrated’ - Breitbart

Pam Key

On this weekend’s broadcast of “Fox News Sunday,” during the panel discussion about the news that the White House will not release visitor logs and President Donald Trump not release his tax returns, host Chris Wallace declared that Trump “thinks transparency is overrated. ” “There was another change this week by this president, not a change in his policy, but from the previous presidents,” Wallace said. “He now says that this White House is no longer going to routinely release visitor logs showing who’s coming to the White House, who they’re meeting with, as President Obama did. And another interesting development this weekend, there were massive marches across the country, people protesting. These were called tax marches. People demanding that President Trump releases his tax returns as presidents have routinely since Jimmy Carter. And that was the subject of a tweet this morning from President Trump. Let’s put it up on the screen. The president apparently not liking those marches. He says, “I did what was an almost impossible thing to do for a Republican, easily won the electrical college. Now tax returns are brought up again? Gillian, this president apparently thinks transparency is overrated. ” Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN

Three New Polls Shatter The Myth That The Presidential Election Is Tightening

Jason Easley

Was HRC +2 in Sept 2way: HRC 47, Trump 39 – was HRC +1 in Sept Oct 20-24, LVs — Mark Murray (@mmurraypolitics) October 26, 2016 The AP-GfK Poll has Hillary Clinton leading Donald Trump by 14 points nationally 51%-37%, “The AP-GfK poll finds that Clinton has secured the support of 90 percent of likely Democratic voters, and also has the backing of 15 percent of more moderate Republicans. Just 79 percent of all Republicans surveyed say they are voting for their party’s nominee.” Earlier in the day, two Bloomberg polls that had Trump leading Florida by 2 points, and cutting Clinton’s New Hampshire lead in half gave Republicans a bit of hope that the presidential election might be tightening, but the reality is that voting is already underway in 37 states. There are very few undecided voters remaining. Outside of tracking polls, Donald Trump hasn’t had a polling lead since July . Besides his brief July bump, Trump hasn’t led Clinton in national polling since May. What the media and Republicans don’t want to tell you is that this presidential election has been remarkably consistent. There is nothing in the polling to suggest that the election is tightening, or that Trump has significantly improved his odds of winning. Those who are looking for a tightening in the polls should keep dreaming, because right now, it’s not happening.

Israeli Soldier Who Shot Wounded Palestinian Assailant Is Convicted - The New York Times

Isabel Kershner

JERUSALEM — The fate of just one Israeli soldier was hanging in the balance. But for many Israelis, the guilty verdict announced on Wednesday was a critical turn in the battle for the character of the state. When the military judges convicted Sgt. Elor Azaria of manslaughter for shooting a Palestinian assailant in the head as he lay wounded on the ground, they were ruling not just on his conduct but also on the host of ethical and political issues it raised. Since the shooting in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron in March, the case has polarized Israelis and rocked the pedestal on which the military normally stands. With the 50th anniversary of Israel’s occupation of the West Bank approaching, the highly charged trial had fueled a debate about military ethics and the place of the army in Israeli society. The verdict did little to heal the rifts the trial had exposed: Hours after it was rendered, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu joined a chorus of voices calling for the soldier to be pardoned. “This is a difficult and painful day for us all,” Mr. Netanyahu said in a Facebook post supporting a pardon, which can be granted by Israel’s president or the army’s top officials. Referring to the Israel Defense Forces, he added, “The soldiers of the I. D. F. are our sons and daughters, and they need to remain above any dispute. ” Prof. David Enoch, an expert in the philosophy of law at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, said he thought the manslaughter conviction was “justified” but added, “I’m not sure this verdict will be welcomed by many of the soldiers and much of the public. ” The military’s rules make clear that assailants must be quickly incapacitated, but that once the threat is neutralized, they should not be killed. Rights groups and other critics have accused Israeli soldiers and police officers of being too quick to pull the trigger, particularly in response to a recent spate of deadly stabbings, shootings and car attacks by Palestinians. The Hebron killing, caught in chilling completeness in a video that quickly went viral worldwide, for many critics crystallized the question of excessive force, and even military leaders said Sergeant Azaria acted without justification. But in Israel, a country where military service is a part of national identity, many Jews called for backing up young soldiers sent on dangerous missions and said that Sergeant Azaria had been in an impossible situation and had little chance of an acquittal, since that would have put his commanders in a bad light. Israel’s defense minister, Avigdor Lieberman, called Wednesday’s decision “a tough verdict. ” “The first thing I ask of all of us — those who like the verdict and those like me who like it much less — we are all obligated to respect the court’s decision,” Mr. Lieberman said. “We are obligated to maintain restraint. ” Mr. Lieberman, as a member of the parliamentary opposition before his cabinet appointment, had attended the military court to support Sergeant Azaria and called the legal proceedings a “theater of the absurd. ” But on Wednesday, he said, “We must keep the army above and beyond all political argument. ” Politicians to Mr. Netanyahu’s right and left have also called for a pardon, including the education minister, Naftali Bennett, and Shelly Yacimovich of the Labor Party, who said that “Azaria’s shoulders are too narrow to bear the entire weight of the fissure” the case has exposed. Some Israeli experts compared the Azaria verdict to the Kafr Qassem ruling of more than 60 years ago, after border police officers fatally shot 49 Arab men, women and children as they returned from work in the fields, unwittingly breaking a curfew. The murder convictions of officers in that case established that security forces must refuse to follow a “patently illegal order” that carries a “black flag” of criminality. It helped shape the army’s ethos. Now, some fear that in the lower ranks, it has begun to erode. In a measure of the tensions, the verdict was handed down in a special court inside the walled and heavily guarded compound of the military’s headquarters in Tel Aviv, rather than in the courtroom where the trial was held, to keep demonstrators at bay. Video footage showed Sergeant Azaria smiling as he entered the courtroom to applause, and he was embraced by his family and friends. Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the compound, shouting slogans like “free the boy. ” Col. Maya Heller, one of the military judges, spent more than two and a half hours delivering the verdict. She systematically rejected the main points of the defense and said there had been “no justification” for the shooting, according to reports from the courtroom. Describing Sergeant Azaria’s telling of the event as “twisting” and “evolving,” the judge said the defense had tried to “hold the rope at both ends. ” On one hand it asserted that the victim, Abed appeared to pose a danger because he was still moving, and on the other it brought medical witnesses who contended that he was dead by the time Sergeant Azaria shot him in the head. The judge seemed to give great weight to statements Sergeant Azaria, a medic who was 19 at the time, made at the scene, indicating he had acted not out of fear but for revenge. A soldier testified that before the shooting, Sergeant Azaria had said, “How is it that my friend was stabbed and the terrorist is still alive?” After the shooting, a commander who was at the scene recalled Sergeant Azaria saying, “The terrorist deserved to die. ” Ilan Katz, one of Sergeant Azaria’s lawyers, vowed to appeal. The military’s high command had denounced the shooting immediately after it happened, calling it a grave breach of proper military conduct. But Israeli society was divided against the backdrop of continued Palestinian attacks, many politicians and celebrities, along with Jewish parents of soldiers, hailed Sergeant Azaria as a hero. Mr. Netanyahu first condemned Sergeant Azaria’s actions, then phoned the soldier’s family to offer sympathy and reassurances that he would be treated fairly. Local television stations frequently showed images of Sergeant Azaria’s distraught parents hugging him in court. Appealing to public sentiment in a country blighted by wars and terrorism, and where most Jewish are conscripted for up to 32 months of military service, his supporters portrayed him as “everybody’s child. ” In remarks recorded before the verdict, the military’s chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Gadi Eisenkot, tried to puncture that narrative. “An in the Israeli Army is not ‘everybody’s child,’” he said. “He is a fighter, a soldier who must dedicate his life to carry out the tasks we give him. We cannot be confused about this. ” The episode began when two Palestinian men stabbed and wounded an Israeli soldier at a checkpoint in Hebron. Israeli soldiers killed one and wounded the other, Mr. Sharif, 21. Sergeant Azaria arrived at the scene about six minutes later. The video showed calm had been restored. Yet 11 minutes after the initial attack, he cocked his rifle and shot Mr. Sharif as he lay on the road. Lawyers representing Sergeant Azaria said he had acted to save his comrades, in the belief that Mr. Sharif, who was still moving, might have been concealing an explosive belt under his jacket. But Sergeant Azaria did not warn the other soldiers or the medical staff nearby to move away. During the trial, Sergeant Azaria’s company commander, Maj. Tom Naaman, said he “did not feel any danger” from Mr. Sharif, undercutting the defendant’s claims. Yusri Mr. Sharif’s father, told reporters that the verdict was “a good step” but that he hoped there would be no lenience in the sentencing, which is scheduled for Jan. 15. Ahmad Tibi, an Arab member of the Israeli Parliament, said on Twitter that dozens of soldiers and commanders who killed Palestinians should have been convicted. “Fifty years of occupation add up to much more than one Azaria,” Mr. Tibi wrote.

Rick Perry Regrets Call to Close Energy Department - The New York Times

Coral Davenport

WASHINGTON — Rick Perry, the former Texas governor and Donald J. Trump’s nominee as energy secretary, said in his Senate confirmation hearing on Thursday that he regretted having recommended the abolition of the Energy Department in the past. He addressed his awkward history on the issue up front, telling the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee that after “being briefed on so many of the vital functions of the Department of Energy,” he no longer believed, as he said while running for president in 2011, that it should be eliminated. Mr. Perry also offered a reversal of his views on the science of climate change, which he called a “contrived, phony mess” in a 2010 book. “I believe the climate is changing,” he said. “I believe some of it is naturally occurring, but some of it is also caused by activity. The question is: How do we address it in a thoughtful way that doesn’t compromise economic growth, the affordability of energy or American jobs?” Mr. Trump, by contrast, has called climate change a “hoax” and has continued to express doubts about established climate science. Mr. Perry also appeared to signal a somewhat different position from Mr. Trump on nuclear weapons policy, the Energy Department’s chief portfolio. Mr. Trump has said the United States must “greatly strengthen and expand” its nuclear capability, “Let it be an arms race,” he said. But Mr. Perry, asked by Senator Bernie Sanders, the Vermont independent, whether he believed expanded testing of nuclear weapons was a “dangerous idea,” replied, “I think anyone would be of the opinion that if we never have to test another nuclear weapon that would be a good thing for the world. ” He added, “I think nonproliferation is a good thing. ” Asked if he would support the Iran nuclear deal — which Mr. Trump has derided and which was largely negotiated by the current energy secretary, Ernest J. Moniz — Mr. Perry said he had not received classified briefings on it. “If D. O. E. has a role to make sure that Iranians are living up to the deal, message delivered, sir,” Mr. Perry said to Senator Al Franken, Democrat of Minnesota. Last month, when Mr. Trump offered Mr. Perry the job of energy secretary, he accepted with the understanding that the role would be largely focused on promoting American energy development, according to people who have briefed him. Only later did he learn that the agency’s central portfolio is the oversight and management of the nation’s nuclear weapons complex, as well as 17 national scientific laboratories. “This confirmation process has been extremely informative and beneficial for me,” Mr. Perry said, citing his conversations with Mr. Moniz, a nuclear physicist. He highlighted his experience as an Air Force pilot from 1972 to 1977 as among his qualifications to oversee the nuclear weapons complex. Mr. Perry is expected to be easily confirmed by the full Senate. But Democrats pressed him sharply on his views on climate science, noting that the Energy Department is a major science agency, with thousands of research scientists across the country. Democrats expressed concern that his past views, so at odds with established mainstream science, could be a serious impediment. They also pressed him on reports that Mr. Trump’s team is considering making cuts to the Energy Department’s offices of energy efficiency, renewable energy and fossil energy. The last is focused on research to lower carbon emissions. Mr. Perry said he was unaware of such reports. “Maybe they’ll have the same experience I had and forget that they said that,” he said to laughter, referring to the moment in a 2011 presidential debate when, asked which agencies he wanted to eliminate, he could not recall the name of the Energy Department. What Mr. Perry later called his “oops” moment was widely seen as sinking his campaign. Senator Maria Cantwell of Washington, the panel’s top Democrat, said, “Like many of my colleagues, I am deeply concerned by some of the things that Governor Perry has said in the past about climate science. ” She added: “The Department of Energy’s scientific horsepower is key to understanding these trends. I hope you can understand there is widespread anxiety about Trump’s intention to dismantle these scientific capabilities or simply just starve them for resources. ” Ms. Cantwell pushed Mr. Perry on whether he would protect the agency’s budget for climate science. “I’m going to protect all the science, whether it’s related to climate and all other aspects of what we are doing,” he replied. Ms. Cantwell also asked Mr. Perry about a questionnaire sent to Energy Department employees by Mr. Trump’s transition team that appeared to target the agency’s climate science research. Mr. Perry disavowed the questionnaire, saying it was sent out before he was selected as the nominee. “I didn’t approve it, I don’t approve it, I didn’t need the information, I don’t want that information,” he said. “That’s not how I manage. ” The hearing was leavened with some humor. Asked by Mr. Franken, who had earlier pushed him sharply on nuclear weapons and climate change in his Senate office, “Did you enjoy meeting me?” Mr. Perry responded, “I hope you are as much fun on the dais as you were on your couch,” before adding, “May I rephrase that, sir?” “Please. Please,” Mr. Franken replied. “Oh, my Lord. Oh, my Lord. ” “Well, I think we’ve found our ‘Saturday Night Live’ sound bite,” Mr. Perry said.

Re: Rights? In The New America You Don’t Get Any Rights!

Chris Harper

Rights? In The New America You Don’t Get Any Rights! By Michael Snyder, on January 9th, 2012 One of the unique things about the Constitution of the United States was that it guaranteed certain rights for its citizens. Those rights provided the foundation for an era of freedom and prosperity that was pretty much unprecedented in human history and dozens of other nations eventually copied many of the ideas contained in our Constitution and Bill of Rights because they worked so well. Of course our system never functioned perfectly, but when you compare it to what has gone on for most of human history, it truly was a bright light in a sea of oppression and totalitarianism. Unfortunately, our rights are now being systematically taken away from us. In America today, the politicians have convinced most of us that in order to keep us all “safe” we must give up many of our rights and move toward becoming a totalitarian police state. In the “new America”, you don’t get any rights. They tell us that giving people rights is too dangerous. Instead, you get some limited “privileges” which can be revoked at any time by the authorities. Sadly, most Americans have become so dumbed-down that they don’t even realize what is happening. How many Americans do you think have actually read the Constitution? Personally, I went through high school, college and even law school without ever being required to read the Constitution of the United States. Isn’t that amazing? Most Americans don’t even understand that they have rights because they have never even read the documents that grant them those rights. You can find the text of the U.S. Constitution right here . If you have never taken the time to read the whole thing, you really should. According to the U.S. Constitution, the following are some of the rights that we are supposed to have…. -Freedom of religion -Freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures -The right to due process of law -The right to a speedy and public trial -Freedom from cruel and unusual punishments Unfortunately, all of those rights are under attack in America today. In most cases, a right is not taken away all at once. Instead, opponents of these rights take what is known as an “incremental approach”. For example, we are told that there are certain limits on the freedom of speech. We are told that we cannot yell “fire” in a crowded theater and we accept that because it sounds reasonable. But then once everyone agrees that there are “limits” on that right, the control freaks that run things just keep trying to tighten those limits in thousands of different ways until our freedom of speech is whittled away to almost nothing. It is imperative that we stand up for our liberties and freedoms. If we don’t defend them now, eventually they will be gone for good. The following are some examples of how our rights are under attack in America today…. The federal government has become absolutely obsessed with monitoring everything that Americans say. This chills free speech because it gives people the feeling that there is always somebody “watching”. It has recently been revealed that the Department of Homeland Security plans to monitor social media outlets on the Internet. If you use the wrong “keywords” or if you are a key “influencer” on the Internet, there is no doubt that someone from the federal government will be keeping tabs on you. The following comes from a recent RT article …. Under the National Operations Center (NOC)’s Media Monitoring Initiative that came out of DHS headquarters in November, Washington has the written permission to retain data on users of social media and online networking platforms. Specifically, the DHS announced the NCO and its Office of Operations Coordination and Planning (OPS) can collect personal information from news anchors, journalists, reporters or anyone who may use “traditional and/or social media in real time to keep their audience situationally aware and informed.” In particular, the powers that be seem to have become absolutely fascinated with Facebook, Twitter and blogs. As I have written about previously , the Federal Reserve has decided to start monitoring social media sites and blogs in order to keep track of what is being said about them. And as a recent Fox News article detailed, the Department of Homeland Security is also developing such a system…. Though still in development, DHS is looking to establish a system for monitoring “forums, blogs, public websites and message boards.” The idea is to gather and analyze publicly available information, and then use that information to help officials respond to disasters and other situations. So why do they have to spend so much time, energy and money keeping track of what we are all saying on the Internet? Why don’t they just let us be? One would think that the federal government has bigger problems to deal with at this point. Unfortunately, this trend toward endlessly snooping on American citizens is not likely to reverse any time soon. So could what you say on the Internet get you labeled as a “trouble-maker” or as a “potential terrorist”? Recently, Barack Obama signed a new law which allows the U.S. military to arrest “potential terrorists” on U.S. soil, hold them indefinitely without trial and even ship them off to Guantanamo Bay for endless “interrogation” sessions. The insanity of this new law was detailed in a recent article by Henry Blodget …. The reason this law is horrifying is not that terrorists deserve to be handled with kid gloves. They don’t. The reason it’s horrifying is that, without due process, it is too easy for the government to just declare someone a terrorist who isn’t actually a terrorist. It’s too easy, in other words, for government employees to do what everyone else does: Make mistakes. If you don’t think it’s possible for the government to mistakenly assume that someone is a terrorist who isn’t, read this story by Lakhdar Boumediene , who was just held as a terrorist by the U.S. government in Guantanamo for 7 and a half years. At Guantanamo, Boumediene says he was tortured for not telling his U.S. captors what they wanted to hear–that he was a terrorist. He was only eventually freed after his case went to the Supreme Court and the Supreme Court ruled that it might be a good idea to ask the government to present the evidence that led it to believe that Boumediene was a terrorist (the government didn’t present any). Sadly, according to Obama this new law just reaffirms what he already had the power to do. In his signing statement, Obama stated that he already had the authority to arrest American citizens, hold them without trial and ship them off to prison camps. Of course that would come as a complete shock to the original drafters of the U.S. Constitution, but very few Americans seem concerned with what the U.S. Constitution actually says these days. Now there is a new bill before Congress that would even give the federal government the power to instantly strip individuals of citizenship if they are suspected of being “hostile” to the United States. It is known as the Enemy Expatriation Act, and you can read this new bill for yourself right here . According to the bill, you can be stripped of your U.S. citizenship for “engaging in, or purposefully and materially supporting, hostilities against the United States.” So what does it mean to “materially support” hostilities against the United States? Does simply criticizing the government fall under that category? Unfortunately, when you have a law that is really vague it gives authorities the leeway to do pretty much whatever they want. At least we still have the Internet where we can communicate with one another and share all of this information, right? Well, maybe not for long. As I have written about previously, a new law under consideration by Congress would permanently change the Internet forever and could potentially silence thousands of important voices. That is why we must stop SOPA . It is a horrible law which could be used to brutally censor the Internet. Some of the biggest names in the Internet community are speaking out against SOPA. For example, a recent CNN article contained some stunning quotes about SOPA from one of the co-founders of Google…. Sergey Brin, co-founder of Google, has been outspoken against the efforts. The bills “give the U.S. government and copyright holders extraordinary powers including the ability to hijack DNS (the Internet’s naming system) and censor search results (and this is even without so much as a proper court trial),” Brin wrote last month on his Google+ page as Congress was considering the measures. “While I support their goal of reducing copyright infringement (which I don’t believe these acts would accomplish), I am shocked that our lawmakers would contemplate such measures that would put us on a par with the most oppressive nations in the world.” Everywhere you turn these days, our liberties and our freedoms are being attacked. There is a relentless assault on everything that it means to be an American. No matter how hard you try, it just seems like you can’t get away from it. For example, many of us have been so disgusted with the TSA that we simply do not fly anymore. Well, the TSA is not content to just monitor airports anymore. Now they are bringing their own special brand of “security” to thousands of other locations across the country as the Los Angeles Times recently detailed …. The Transportation Security Administration isn’t just in airports anymore. TSA teams are increasingly conducting searches and screenings at train stations, subways, ferry terminals and other mass transit locations around the country. “We are not the Airport Security Administration,” said Ray Dineen, the air marshal in charge of the TSA office in Charlotte. “We take that transportation part seriously.” The TSA’s 25 “viper” teams — for Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response — have run more than 9,300 unannounced checkpoints and other search operations in the last year. Department of Homeland Security officials have asked Congress for funding to add 12 more teams next year. So even if you never fly again, there is still a good chance that you will get the “rubber glove treatment” from a TSA “viper team” at some point. Without a doubt, this country is slowly becoming a giant prison . And one group that gets targeted by the government almost more than anyone else is Christians. In America today, there is a war against Christianity. The Christian faith is being attacked in hundreds of different ways , and under the Obama administration this attack has only just intensified. There seems to be an obsession with pushing Christianity out of every single shred of public life in this country. For example, family members were recently banned from bringing Bibles to wounded veterans at Walter Reed National Medical Center. The following is from a recent CNSNews article …. In a Sept. 14 policy memorandum, Col. Chuck Callahan, chief of staff of Walter Reed National Medical Center, banned family members from bringing Bibles and other “religious items” when visiting wounded military personnel at the facility. Thankfully, this policy was later reversed after a tremendous national outcry, but there are dozens and dozens of other “policies” like this that have not been reversed. They say that we still have “freedom of religion” in this country, but there is a non-stop effort to push it into a box that is getting smaller and smaller with each passing day. Our 2nd Amendment rights area also being brutally assaulted. Restrictions on gun owners keep getting tighter and tighter and tighter. Things have gotten so bad that now even gun manufacturers don’t even know what is legal and what is not. The following comes from a recent article in the Washington Times …. Despite overseeing an industry that includes machine guns and other deadly weapons, ATF regulations for the manufacture of weapons are often unclear, leading to reliance on a secretive system by which firearms manufacturers can submit proposed weapons for testing and find out one at a time whether they comply with the law, critics say. The ATF recommends that manufacturers voluntarily submit weapons for case-by-case determination. But those judgments are private and, it turns out, sometimes contradictory. Critics say nearly identical prototypes can be approved for one manufacturer but denied for another. But it is not just the federal government that is becoming incredibly oppressive. We are seeing state and local governments all over the country also move in the direction of totalitarianism. Here are just a couple of examples that have been brought to my attention in recent days…. *Up in Massachusetts, police were recently sent to collect an overdue library book from a 5-year-old girl . *In St. Louis, a proposed law would make it mandatory to spay or neuter all cats and dogs and would make it mandatory to microchip all cats and dogs. When you step back and look at the bigger picture, a clear trend emerges. As 2012 began, over 40,000 new laws went into effect all over America. Some of these new laws are good, but most of them are about restricting the liberties and freedoms of individual Americans. We have become a nation of control freaks. In the final analysis, we don’t have any absolute rights anymore. Instead, what we have are “privileges” that are being systematically stripped away. But this is not how America was supposed to be. We were supposed to be the freest nation on the face of the earth. So what in the world happened to us? Mainstream Media Lies: 23 Things That Are Not What They Seem To Be On Television » A Dodgy Bloke I hate to sound like a broken record but much of the deterioration of our rights has it’s genesis with George “He kept us safe” Bush, after 9/11. Now the chickens have come home to roost, add to that the start of financial repression, and dark hungry days are ahead. I have a thesis why this is happening Government has one duty to stay in power. The Powers that be know unstable times are coming if you have a stable of loosely written laws on the books you can lock up anybody when the SHTF who gets frisky. I know this falls into the “Alex Jones” FEMA camps the tin hat crowed. Personally I think civil war or revolution is a real possibility people revolt on thier knees not on thier backs. Also another FYI watch the retirement plans of state county and city workers. How do you think those cops in the last photo will react when they find out thier retirement went up in smoke. If you don’t know what I’m talking about go back to sleep. Kevin A Dodgy Bloke Your correct that the first job (and one can say by extension only job) of government is to protect government. I think your incorrect regarding the pensions of the “security forces”. They will tax the rest of us to keep them financially secure for our “protection” of course. Kevin A Doggy Bloke Your correct with laws that are so written as to be used at will against whoever they want. In Jamaica marijuana is illegal yet you smell it everywhere. Count the minuets from the time you get through customs until your offered some to purchase and you won’t make an hour. It’s in essence rope that the masses collectively tie around their necks awaiting the government to rein in political opposition. My name is Christina Ziegler I think you should start the revolt Gutter Economist EXECUTIVE ORDER 10990 – allows the government to take over all modes of transportation and control of highways and seaports. EXECUTIVE ORDER 10995 – allows the government to seize and control the communication media. EXECUTIVE ORDER 10997 – allows the government to take over all electrical power, gas, petroleum, fuels and minerals. EXECUTIVE ORDER 10998 – allows the government to seize all means of transportation, including personal cars, trucks or vehicles of any kind and total control over all highways, seaports, and waterways. EXECUTIVE ORDER 10999 – allows the government to take over all food resources and farms. EXECUTIVE ORDER 11000 – allows the government to mobilize civilians into work brigades under government supervision. EXECUTIVE ORDER 11001 – allows the government to take over all health, education and welfare functions. EXECUTIVE ORDER 11002 – designates the Postmaster General to operate a national registration of all persons. EXECUTIVE ORDER 11003 – allows the government to take over all airports and aircraft, including commercial aircraft. EXECUTIVE ORDER 11004 – allows the Housing and Finance Authority to relocate communities, build new housing with public funds, designate areas to be abandoned, and establish new locations for populations. EXECUTIVE ORDER 11005 – allows the government to take over railroads, inland waterways and public storage facilities. EXECUTIVE ORDER 11051 – specifies the responsibility of the Office of Emergency Planning and gives authorization to put all Executive Orders into effect in times of increased international tensions and economic or financial crisis. EXECUTIVE ORDER 11921– allows the Federal Emergency Preparedness Agency to develop plans to establish control over the mechanisms of production and distribution, of energy sources, wages, salaries, credit and the flow of money in U.S. financial institution in any undefined national emergency. It also provides that when a state of emergency is declared by the President, Congress cannot review the action for six months. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has broad powers in every aspect of the nation. General Frank Salzedo, chief of FEMA’s Civil Security Division stated in a 1983 conference that he saw FEMA’s role as a “new frontier in the protection of individual and governmental leaders from assassination, and of civil and military installations from sabotage and/or attack, as well as prevention of dissident groups from gaining access to U.S. opinion, or a global audience in times of crisis.” FEMA’s powers were consolidated by President Carter to incorporate the… EXECUTIVE ORDER 11310 – grants authority to the Department of Justice to enforce the plans set out in Executive Orders, to institute industrial support, to establish judicial and legislative liaison, to control all aliens, to operate penal and correctional institutions, and to advise and assist the President. EXECUTIVE ORDER 11049 – assigns emergency preparedness function to federal departments and agencies, consolidating 21 operative Executive Orders issued over a fifteen year period. EXECUTIVE ORDER 12148 – created the Federal Emergency Management Agency to interface with the Department of Defense for civil defense planning and funding. An “emergency czar” was appointed. FEMA has only spent about 6 percent of its budget on national emergencies. The bulk of their funding has been used for the construction of secret underground facilities to assure continuity of government in case of a major emergency, foreign or domestic. EXECUTIVE ORDER 12656 – appointed the National Security Council as the principal body that should consider emergency powers. This allows the government to increase domestic intelligence and surveillance of U.S. citizens and would restrict the freedom of movement within the United States and grant the government the right to isolate large groups of civilians. The National Guard could be federalized to seal all borders and take control of U.S. air space and all ports of entry. EXECUTIVE ORDER 12919 – Collects EOs 10995, 10997, 10998, 10999, 11000, 11001, 11002, 11003, 11004, 11005 and 11051 together into one new Executive Order. National Security Act of 1947 – allows for the strategic relocation of industries, services, government and other essential economic activities, and to rationalize the requirements for manpower, resources and production facilities. 1950 Defense Production Act – gives the President sweeping powers over all aspects of the economy. Act of August 29, 1916 – authorizes the Secretary of the Army, in time of war, to take possession of any transportation system for transporting troops, material, or any other purpose related to the emergency. International Emergency Economic Powers Act – enables the President to seize the property of a foreign country or national. These powers were transferred to FEMA in a sweeping consolidation in 1979. For more information, goto http://www.infowars.com/deliberately-engineered-economic-collapse-in-usa-leading-to-martial-law/ Ameen WOW!! DB200 “International Emergency Economic Powers Act – enables the President to seize the property of a foreign country or national.” Does this mean that all gold stored in Fort Knox, belonging to foreign countries, can be seized legally by the USA? Does this also mean that when China and the USA go to war with each other, China stands to lose quite a lot of investments? Observer There is NO gold in Fort Knox! Ask any local resident, many of whom have military family members stationed there. They are guarding an empty coffer. Kevin I thought they needed to pull this off before the conforming generations (born previous to 1946) were still a major voting block. While I see it before my eyes one would think the people that came of age in the 1960s would know better then to surrender rights to the government. Apparently I was mistaken. thomas jefferson “All laws which are repugnant to the Constitution, are null and void.” Chief Justice Marshall, Marbury v. Madison i will NEVER submit to this TYRANNY! give me Liberty or give me death and you can BET your sweet A** i WILL NOT go down without a fight Freedom isnt Free- But damnit its worth dying for- especially for my children- they WILL NOT live under a totalitarian regime as long as i have a breath Joshua10 If you don’t know your rights…You Don’t Have Any! Tamara Do not, in your frustration, deny ANY man or woman or child their rights! As frustrating as their ignorance is, they have been lied to and are as the weak in their ignorance. The good protects the weak from the wolves. The wolves are gathering…. REED RICHARDS Michael, As Gutter Economist has outlined it, Rights? The masses have no rights! And they never did. But don’t worry. The masses could care less about freedom. And they never did. Evidence that the masses don’t care about freedom? Ron Paul is not the frontrunner by a very wide margin in the presidential race. He is the only candidate who is running to restore civil liberties, ending senseless, grinding people into hamburger wars, and restoring sanity to fiscal and monetaruy policy. Is that what the masses want? Of course not. But they will finally get a taste of the iron fist when the FEMA Camp roundups begin DB200 What is a FEMA Camp? Observer FEMA was empowered to set up camps, mostly in highly unpopulated areas in the western US, where populations could be moved to ostensibly save them from extreme danger from such things as earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, other natural disasters, that threaten their homes & communities. Each camp can hold thousands of people. Knowing the propensity of our government to “protect” us from ourselves, these camps are also capable of holding all those rounded up who are in opposition to anything the government wants at any given time. They are the modern version of the Japanese internment camps employed during WWII. Citizens opposed to government policies and practices are prime targets for placement in these camps, especially now that the NDAA says that US citizens even simply suspected of ‘terrorist’ thoughts or activities (and who defines what a terrorist is? – the government, of course) can be indefinitely held, without charge or trial. Anyone who thinks ANY current administration is wrong can now be branded a terrorist, and 99% of the commenters here, if found, could also be sent to the FEMA camps. The powers that be are just waiting for the one major calamity it would take to execute the FEMA camp orders ~ and that calamity is most probably going to be an economic one, with natural disaster (with concomitant economic collapse) a close secondary excuse to round up We, The People, who need Big Brother’s ‘help.’ Only God can help those who believe in “Live Free or Die” ~ armed insurrection will be met with instant execution, so there’ll be no need for internment at FEMA camps. Once the believers in the 2nd Amendment are exterminated, the entire geography of the United States will comprise one extremely large FEMA camp. Igos Do You People Know What Lies Out West??? Do You?!?! YELLOWSTONE SUPER VOLCANO! The Camps Are There So The Government Can Commit Massive Genocide. Unlike Hitler Whom Killed 6 Million The Camps Out West Will Hold Numbers So Massive It’ll Put Hitler To Shame….

A Motivational Tool: Believing That Tennis’s Big Four Era Is Over - The New York Times

Harvey Araton

On the way to a Wimbledon final this summer, Milos Raonic took a crash course in the attitudinal psychology of advanced men’s tennis. The curriculum offered a straightforward application of positive thinking, said his instructor, or coach, Carlos Moyá. “What I tried to convince Milos is that this Big Four thing, it’s over,” Moyá said. Foregone conclusion, or wishful thinking? Heading into the United States Open, the year’s final Grand Slam tournament, the answer on both counts — depending on the criteria — is yes. The chronically injured Rafael Nadal never did make it to London after withdrawing from the third round of his beloved French Open with a bad wrist. Novak Djokovic, the holder of all four Grand Slam tournament titles before Wimbledon, was stunned there in the third round by the American Sam Querrey. That opened the door for Raonic, the Canadian, to rally against an aging and ailing Roger Federer in the semifinals from a deficit. Left in Raonic’s path to a first major title and perhaps a new men’s tour order was Andy Murray. The last of the establishment vanguard, Murray defended the compound and won the crown in three competitive sets, the 42nd victory for the Big Four in the last 46 Grand Slam (or big four) events. Even without a breakthrough by Raonic or a handful of other ordained prodigies, the men’s game — driven by a familiar and popular narrative for the better part of a decade — has felt the ground shift, though not yet seismically. According to Moyá, the needle has moved just enough to demonstrate that the Big Four is no more. “Even knowing that Stan Wawrinka beat Djokovic at the French last year, you still felt that these four guys were in control of the game,” he said in an interview at the Rogers Cup in Toronto this month. “Now, to me, things are different. ” Nadal, 30, has resumed playing, but Federer, 35, stepped aside after Wimbledon for the remainder of the year to rest his surgically repaired knee. Djokovic’s aura of invincibility was pierced by Querrey and then by a healthy Juan Martín del Potro in a stunning and defeat at the Olympics. Murray is entrenched as the world’s player and has had a brilliant summer, but can he sustain his excellence long enough to make a run at the top? “The gap is still big with the two players — Djokovic and Murray,” Moyá said. “But it’s about being there, being consistent and believing that their level is going to drop, that they can be beaten now, and it’s you who can be the one. ” Not getting too far ahead of himself, Moyá meant the one at any given major, not necessarily the world’s No. 1. Querrey, who is 6 feet 6 inches and has a ranking of No. 17 in 2011, was the unlikely one who ended Djokovic’s streak in a victory that temporarily left him feeling, he said, “like I was No. 2. ” At Wimbledon, he accepted in the locker room and congratulatory texts from all over. At home in Los Angeles, he threw out the first pitch at a Dodgers game. At hardcourt tournaments in Washington and Toronto, he snapped photos with fans who normally would have acknowledged him as a player, just not sure which one. “It’s kind of funny that you go around the grounds and the guys want to thank you for beating Novak,” Querrey said. “It’s not so much ‘Good job you won.’ It’s more like ‘Good job he lost. ’” Such had been the paradox of Djokovic’s ascendance, which in the past two years has taken the shine off the Big Four era, even as Federer defied chronological norms and chased Djokovic into major semifinals and finals, only to lose, disappointing the masses who were wishing him one more Grand Slam trophy as a topping to his record 17. A decade ago, when Federer reached a level all his own, the sport and its global fan base celebrated his artistry, his supremacy, his global stature as tennis’s ambassadorial Tiger. Djokovic, a thoughtful, droll and driven Serb, has encountered waves of sentiment for Federer, still the people’s choice in most places, and for Murray, the Scotsman, at Wimbledon. But in completing his career Grand Slam in Paris in June, Djokovic was finally rewarded with an outpouring of affection by the Roland Garros crowd for how badly he wanted to win his first French Open. In Toronto, where he recovered from Wimbledon by brushing aside Kei Nishikori for the title, Djokovic called the climax in Paris an “unforgettable moment, remarkable, a divine sensation to experience, honestly. ” “It’s one of those feelings that stick with you forever,” Djokovic said. To their competitors, it can feel that long since Djokovic, Federer, Nadal and Murray began their reign, though Toni Nadal, Rafa’s uncle and coach, declared the Big Four era unofficially over in 2014. That year, Wawrinka beat Djokovic and Nadal in winning his first Grand Slam title in Australia, and Marin Cilic bludgeoned Federer in the semifinals on the way to winning the United States Open. “It is a normal thing — the domination of Federer, Nadal and Djokovic is now less,” Toni Nadal said, explaining that the increasingly physical demands of a technologically enhanced game were taking their inevitable toll, especially on his grinding nephew. At the time, he envisioned Raonic, Nishikori and Grigor Dimitrov crashing the Big Four party and said that they would soon after be joined or eventually surpassed by Alexander Zverev, the German many believe will be the next player to win multiple Slams. Others would add to the mix Dominic Thiem, 22, of Austria the talented but turbulent Australian Nick Kyrgios, 21 Borna Coric, 19, of Croatia and an American, Taylor Fritz, 18. “There’s a lot of young talent, but I rate Sascha Zverev as someone who is going to do incredible things in this game,” the American veteran John Isner said. “I practice with him quite a bit in Florida, and for a big kid who hasn’t quite grown into his body just yet, he’s got immense talent. ” These and other supposed heirs are also why — Moyá’s claim aside — most discussions of the Big Four’s demise are punctuated with a question mark, not an exclamation point. With all their physical setbacks this year, Federer and Nadal were still ranked in the top four with Djokovic and Murray immediately after Wimbledon. But entering the Open, Wawrinka has risen to No. 3. In addition to staying healthy, Nadal must prove he can regain his prime career form. He reached the semifinals in singles at the Rio Olympics and won the gold medal in men’s doubles. But were his subsequent losses to Nishikori in the bronze medal match and to Coric last week at the Western Southern Open more about rust than career recession? What remains an open question is who, besides Raonic, might soon fill any sustained Big Four vacancies? Paul Annacone, the former tour player and coach of Federer and Pete Sampras, said that the contemporary career span had been stretched in what is more of an sport because of technology and athletes. That has made it difficult to determine the timetable for maturity. Moyá said he had reminded Raonic, 25, that Wawrinka was 28 when he won in Australia. Murray lost his first four major finals before beating Djokovic at the 2012 United States Open and appears to be peaking at 29. “Back when I was playing, if you didn’t win a Slam when you were 21, 22, and were not a player, forget about doing it,” Moyá said. “So now I feel like being 20 years ago is now 25, 26. I can tell Milos, your best days are ahead of you. ” Greatness has always been much easier to project than to attain. In reaching the 2014 Wimbledon semifinals, where he lost a tight match to Djokovic, Dimitrov, now 25, appeared ready to build on his “Baby Federer” appraisal, only to precipitously slide in the rankings and cite the Federer likeness as “a little burden” that “didn’t help at all. ” Half the battle against the Big Four is establishing belief, Moyá said, having had the experience of watching Raonic rally against Federer at Wimbledon two years after Federer crushed him there in straight sets. A hard lesson was learned on that same semifinal stage, and this time, Raonic was ready to capitalize when Federer twice and blew a lead at in the fourth set. “You get to know a player after spending time with him, and I could tell from his body language he was going to break Roger,” Moyá said. “I knew he was ready. ” For Querrey, the notion of outlasting Djokovic, the fittest of the Big Four, was less about psychological preparation and more about convincing himself on court. “They have separated themselves so much that walking out there you’re already thinking you’re in trouble,” Querrey said, “since they’re the only guys who pretty much have won Slams over the last eight years. And so it’s not until I get out there and feel like I’m able to play with them that I think, ‘Oh, I’m in this,’ or ‘Hey, I feel like I’m being overwhelmed here. ’” Beyond Moyá’s tactical motivations, few are ready to even speculate that Federer and Nadal may be too old or infirm to keep the Big Four united. But Nadal’s last major victory was the 2014 French Open, while Federer, close calls aside, has gone four years since defeating Murray in the 2012 Wimbledon final for his 17th major title. Murray followed his second Wimbledon title with a repeat Olympic gold medal in singles. But with only three career Grand Slam titles, he is the Big Four’s least credentialed member. A case could be made that Wawrinka — who denied Djokovic a Slam in Paris last year and reached a No. 3 ranking in 2014 — has been a deserving Big Four the last three years. “What puts them apart is their consistency, which is unbelievable,” Wawrinka said in Toronto. That is why Djokovic’s sudden and surprising summer stumbles — compounded by an aching wrist sustained in Rio — have raised hopes that anything might be possible in New York. “I wouldn’t say the door is ajar, but it’s cracked,” Isner said. “Guys are starting to reel them in a little bit. ” Djokovic agreed, without conceding that anyone’s run — most of all his — was over or close to it. Until one or more of the younger players becomes a rainmaker, he said, the death of the Big Four remains a forecast. “We are all aware it’s not going to stay forever, you know,” he said. “Somebody’s going to come in the mix. Whether that’s going to happen later this year, next year, or in few years, that’s something that we don’t know. But, you know, still the four of us guys that have been, you know, very fortunate to dominate a sport in last 10 years have been staying consistently there in those spots. ” Annacone coached Sampras when he was dismissed as a serious contender for majors on the far side of 30 and called him a cautionary tale for those writing off Federer and Nadal. “I lived it with Pete people said he’d never win again,” Annacone said, referring to the final match of Sampras’s career, a takedown of Andre Agassi in the 2002 United States Open final for his 14th major title. “These guys are greats, and we’ve come to expect so much that the evaluations do get a little skewed. ” Results do matter, though, the years do pass, and it would appear that the Big Four, beyond the individual fortunes of its members, is beginning to be recognized as a fading concept. “The shadow they cast was massive,” Isner said. “And I don’t think it’ll ever be seen again like that. ”

With Dire Situation in America for Voters; Homeschool Enrollment Doubles

The Daily Sheeple

The Bible offers up some really good advice as we enter into the final week of the “selection” process. ” Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.” (Revelation 18:4) Whether it be casting your vote in an utterly broken and corrupt election process, or sending your kids to public school to have USDA stamped on their ass as they are sent down the “drone” assembly line, you provide legitimacy to these systems simply by participating. REAL ID is going to end up being a real headache for travelers, and don’t eat beans before getting laser surgery! Watch on YouTube Sources: Feds Ramp Up REAL ID Bullying Tactics The Clinton Presidency Is Going to Be a Miserable Slog Number of Home-Schooled Students Has Doubled Since 1999, New Data Shows Hospital Patient Seriously Burnt After ‘Farting’ During Cervix Surgery and Causing Laser to Burst Into Flames Delivered by The Daily Sheeple We encourage you to share and republish our reports, analyses, breaking news and videos ( Click for details ). Contributed by The Daily Sheeple of www.TheDailySheeple.com . This content may be freely reproduced in full or in part in digital form with full attribution to the author and a link to www.TheDailySheeple.com.

The First Space Photo Of Earth - Shot From A Third Reich Rocket In 1946

« Previous - Next » The First Space Photo Of Earth - Shot From A Third Reich Rocket In 1946 Prior to 1946, the highest pictures that had ever been taken of the Earth were from the Explorer II balloon in 1935. At 13.7 miles up, the photos were understandably vague. At this point, our view of Earth was largely based on science, with a bit of support from the Explorer II photos. However, nothing was clear enough to be confirmed. In October of 1946, the ideas of many scientists were confirmed, as new heights were reached. Something astonishing occurred at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. Using a V2 rocket that had been captured from Nazis and brought to White Sands in 300 rail cars after the war, a camera was shot into space. The first rocket reached what is now a measly height of 65 miles. At nearly five times the height of previous photos, researchers now had their first view from space. While the camera was destroyed, plummeting back to earth at nearly 500 feet per second, the film had been protected by a steel case, completely untouched . Fred Rulli recalls after the recovery of the film, “when they first projected them onto the screen, the scientists just went nuts”, speaking of the photos in 1946. He speaks of his friend, who realized the importance of the day, saying “Do you realize what’s going on here?” Many may not have. They had no idea that in the years following that spectacular day, the V2 rockets would reach even greater heights, traveling over 100 miles up. Hundreds of photos were taken and researchers were ecstatic at what they had discovered. Today, when millions of people watch pictures of the Earth from cameras in outer space every day, it seems a perfectly natural thing. Since the V2 rockets, photos have been taken from the moon during the Apollo 8 mission, from space beyond Neptune in 1990 from the Voyager 1, and more recently from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. It seems as though there is not much left to discover when it comes to the surface of the Earth and the photos we have captured of it. However, there will always be something greater. There will always be something new to be found, always a new way to capture beautiful, more technological photos of the surface of our Earth. This article (The First Space Photo Of Earth - Shot From A Third Reich Rocket In 1946) is free and open source. You have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with full attribution and a link to the original source on Disclose.tv Related Articles

What It’s Like to Be Trapped by a Category 5 Hurricane - The New York Times

Lizette Alvarez

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — When you are born in Miami, your hurricane experiences tend to start early. Mine began in utero — my mother was pregnant with me when Hurricane Cleo touched down in Miami. Two weeks before my arrival, Hurricane Isbell set its sight on the Everglades. And just as I neared my first birthday, she hurriedly pushed my baby carriage down the street with my brother and sister to seek shelter at my godfather’s house. Hurricane Betsy, a doozy, was headed to Miami (It landed in Key Largo). Now, I’m waiting for Hurricane Matthew at a Homewood Suites hotel here about 100 miles north of Miami. I’m not one to be overly cavalier about powerful hurricanes. They can be wildly underestimated, although in today’s news cycle of breathless reports, that seems impossible. Most people I have talked with here are already shuttered away in their homes, surrounded by ice, food, generators, flashlights, radios, fuel and water. This is a new experience for many Floridians, given the uncharacteristic paucity of major storms over the last decade and the influx of newcomers to the state. But they should all know that in a really bad storm, preparation goes only so far. That became all too clear when I rode out Hurricane Andrew on Aug. 24, 1992, inside a Comfort Inn in Florida City, about 28 miles south of Miami, ground zero for the monumental Category 5 storm. The hurricane destroyed the southernmost parts of Dade County. It also demolished the Comfort Inn. Ending up in Florida City was the luck of the draw. I was a reporter at The Miami Herald at the time. The editors tossed out assignments. My fellow reporter and boyfriend (now my husband) Don Van Natta Jr. and I shrugged and headed out to the last city before the Florida Keys. A photographer for the paper, Carlos Guerrero, drove us there in his car, the only one headed south when we arrived around 10 p. m. There were 18 tourists, some from as far away as Japan, inside the motel, the kind with rooms opening to the outside. It was calm for a few hours. We assumed a good story had passed us by. People called into radio stations from Miami, shouting about the ferocious winds. We debated toasting our first hurricane together with some beer. We opened our Comfort Inn door, and all was still. Until it wasn’t. The sounds were the first clues. Nearby electrical transformers started exploding, streaking the night with blue and green light. Then our power went out. Another hour passed. We could hear the sound of glass shattering and metal being sheared off the roof or scraping the pavement. A chunk of the motel roof flew off. We took a deep breath and dashed for the next room. A group of us huddled together. Flashlights and candles glowed. We talked a little but mostly listened to the hurricane’s groans. When ceilings started leaking, we changed rooms. Just past 5 a. m. our ears popped from the drop in barometric pressure. The sound of twisting and crashing metal intensified. The storm’s eye approached, bringing the briefest of lulls. It was pitch black outside, but we could spy the cars in the parking lot. They looked banged up. Windshields were shattered. We could live with that. But, like any good suspense story, the second half tumbled into terrifying. The motel manager, an man, persuaded everyone to move to the motel’s north side because he knew the winds would shift after the eye passed. He very likely saved our lives. We didn’t know the wind around us was punching at 165 miles an hour. But we could feel its power. We ran from room to room with our hurricane friends. In one room, the ceiling started to crack, crumble or fly off in chunks. Just as the ceiling threatened to collapse, the door wouldn’t open. The pressure had sealed it shut. We were trapped. Nine of us crowded into the bathroom. We heard a boom. Something nearby had exploded. Water started leaking into the bathroom. One man crawled under the sink. A few people stood in the bathtub. Someone cried. One woman, panic in her voice, shouted for air. Everyone pressed together. We prayed out loud. Don and another man struggled to hold up the sagging ceiling. Plaster tumbled. Everything talked to us — the toilet and ceiling, the pipes and the walls. We tried the door again, but it still wouldn’t yield. That’s when we heard an even more frightening sound — the rumble all around us. After what felt like an eternity, the door opened and we dashed to Room 240. The manager was there with a few other guests. The ceiling seemed secure. Still shaking, we exhaled. Dawn approached, and with it the storm gradually began to subside. We opened the door and peered out just as the sun rose. The Comfort Inn was nearly entirely blown away. All I could see around me was rubble and debris. We found a German tourist under a mattress in his roofless room, petrified and shaking. One of the guests, wearing military fatigues and carrying a long gun, started to loot a gas station nearby. Our room was mostly in pieces. Our suitcases were gone. I ventured into the bull’ — Florida City — the first reporter on the ground. Stunned and soaked residents stumbled out of their badly mangled houses. One older man, carrying a small bundle of clothes, could barely speak. Frightened dogs roamed in packs (soon the monkeys unleashed from Monkey Jungle, a local tourist attraction, would join them). Ninety percent of the town was destroyed. Neighboring Homestead was trampled, too. No landmarks remained. People got lost in their own neighborhoods. Soon the National Guard would arrive, tent cities would rise, people would guard their houses with shotguns, and an army of roofers and insurance adjusters would arrive. Our reporting done, we climbed into the photographer’s car. The engine actually started. We covered our faces with towels to avoid the shattered windshield glass that flew at us. We headed north, bypassing downed poles, trees and power lines. We walked into The Miami Herald and filed our stories. In my pocket, I stashed one keepsake: the beige key to our Comfort Inn room, No. 216.

Obama Needles Clinton and G.O.P. Field at Correspondents’ Dinner - The New York Times

Michael D. Shear

WASHINGTON — President Obama poked fun at Hillary Clinton’s lack of appeal among young people Saturday night, joking at the annual White House press corps dinner that Mrs. Clinton was like an aging relative who cannot figure out how to use Facebook. “Did you get my poke? Is it on my wall?” he said, imagining Mrs. Clinton trying to use the popular social media site. “I’m not sure I’m using this right. Love, Aunt Hillary. ” Mr. Obama also needled Mrs. Clinton for paid speeches she gave for Goldman Sachs. He noted that if his comedy routine, during his final appearance at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, was successful, he could earn “serious Tubmans” — a nod to Harriet Tubman, the American abolitionist whose image will be printed on future $20 bills. He referred to Senator Bernie Sanders, who was in the audience, as “comrade,” a reference to his political status as a democratic socialist. But the president reserved his most biting commentary for the Republicans running for president, repeatedly turning to the party’s chaotic nominating contest for comedic fodder. Mr. Obama mocked Senator Ted Cruz for calling a basketball hoop a “basketball ring” while campaigning in Indiana. “What else is in his lexicon?” Mr. Obama asked, working hard to contain a broad smile. “Baseball sticks? Football hats?” He paused, then added: “But sure, I’m the foreign one. ” The president showed a picture of Gov. John Kasich of Ohio eating pancakes as he noted that “some candidates aren’t polling high enough to qualify for their own joke tonight. ” And he tweaked Republicans in the audience for their search for an alternative candidate, noting that the options for dinner were steak or fish. “A whole bunch of you wrote in Paul Ryan,” he said. “You may not like steak or fish. But that’s your choice. ” And then there was Donald Trump. Mr. Obama riffed at length about Mr. Trump, the who was not in attendance. The president wondered aloud why Mr. Trump had chosen not to be there. “You’ve got a room full of reporters, celebrities, cameras, and he said no,” Mr. Obama said. “Is this dinner too tacky for the Donald?” He joked that Mr. Trump had some foreign policy experience because “he has spent years meeting with leaders from around the world: Miss Sweden, Miss Argentina, Miss Azerbaijan. ” And he noted that Mr. Trump may be the best person to succeed in closing the prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. “Trump knows a thing or two about running waterfront properties into the ground,” Mr. Obama said. The president delivered his remarks with deft comic timing in a lengthy monologue that was both ironic and introspective. Members of the news media did not escape the president’s acerbic sense of humor. He joked that the movie “Spotlight,” about The Boston Globe’s investigation into sexual abuse by Catholic priests and holding the powerful accountable, was “the best fantasy film since ‘Star Wars. ’” And he tweaked the news media for giving Mr. Trump “the appropriate amount of coverage, befitting the seriousness of his candidacy. ” Mr. Obama’s most personal jab at a journalist was aimed at Jake Tapper, the host of “The Lede” on CNN. He noted that several journalists had left the White House beat in recent years, and then added: “Jake Tapper left journalism to join CNN,” prompting Mr. Tapper to raise a wine glass. As has been his habit, Mr. Obama made fun of himself. He joked about his age — and the common maladies that afflict men over 50 — suggesting that he felt far older than he did when he became president. “Hillary once questioned whether I’d be ready for a 3 a. m. phone call,” he recalled. “Now I’m awake anyway because I’ve got to go to the bathroom. ” He also noted that he had spent two days in London recently having lunch with Queen Elizabeth II, playing golf with Prime Minister David Cameron, and seeing a Shakespeare performance at the Globe Theater. “Just in case anyone is debating whether I’m black enough, that should settle the debate,” he said. Perhaps the most surprising moment of the president’s appearance came in a video produced by the White House showing Mr. Obama considering how to spend his time after leaving office. In the video, Mr. Obama first turns to Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. for advice. But then the president decides to call someone else for help — former House Speaker John A. Boehner, a Republican who was once a fierce adversary. The video shows the president and Mr. Boehner sitting in the White House movie theater watching the ending of “Toy Story. ” Mr. Boehner notes that he finally got the “grand bargain” that had eluded the two leaders during budget talks. “On a sweet Chevy Tahoe,” Mr. Boehner says, pulling out a pack of cigarettes and offering one to Mr. Obama, who has spent his presidency chewing nicotine gum to try to kick his smoking habit. The president’s eyes go wide. Mr. Obama closed his appearance on a serious note, saluting Jason Rezaian, the Washington Post reporter who had been held in an Iranian prison, and who attended the dinner Saturday night. He promised that his administration would “continue to fight” for journalists held against their will. And he praised the Washington press corps for trying to resist the commercial pressures to dumb down journalism, saying that “there are so many of you who are pushing against those trends. ” He then offered just two words: “Obama out. ” He dropped his microphone, and turned from the podium.

Two years later, still no investigation into the suspicious death of American journalist Serena Shim

Wed, 26 Oct 2016 18:02 UTC © nsnbc international Serena Shim, American journalist October 19 marks two years since the very sudden and suspicious death of American journalist Serena Shim near Suruç, Turkey, close to the Syrian border. Although all signs point to foul play, indeed murder, by Turkish intelligence, until now the US government has neither conducted nor demanded an inquiry into the events of the alleged car accident which Turkish officials say was the cause of Shim's death, let alone offer condolences to the family. Serena Shim was at the time reporting on Ayn al-Arab (Kobani), from the Turkish side. She was, in her own words, one of the first, if not the first, on the ground to report on ,"Takfiri militants going in through the Turkish border". These include not only ISIS but also terrorists from the so-called Free Syrian Army (FSA). As Shim's sister Fatmeh Shim stated in 2015 , "She caught them bringing in ISIS high-ranked members into Syria from Turkey into camps, which are supposed to be Syrian refugee camps." Serena Shim's January 2013 expose , Turkey's Pivotal Role in Syria's Insurgency: PressTV Report from Inside Turkey, showed footage of what she estimated to be 300 semi-trucks "awaiting militants to empty them out"; included testimony explaining how Turkey enables the crossing of foreign terrorists "freely" into Syria; spoke of the funneling of arms via the Incirlik US Air Base in Turkey to terrorists in refugee camps or on through to Syria; and highlighted the issue of terrorist training camps portrayed as refugee camps, guarded by the Turkish military. Shim named the World Food Organization as one of the NGOs whose trucks were being used to funnel terrorists' arms into Syria, and stated this in her last interview, just one day before being killed. Notably, in that interview she also explicitly stated that she feared for her life because Turkish intelligence had accused her of being a spy. She told Press TV: "Turkey has been labeled by Reporters Without Borders as the largest prison for journalists, so I am a bit frightened about what they might use against me... I'm hoping that nothing is going to happen, that it's going to blow over. I would assume that they are going to take me in for questioning, and the next hope is that my lawyer is good enough to get me out as soon as possible." Two days later, Press TV announced her death , stating: "Serena was killed in a reported car accident when she was returning from a report scene in the city of Suruch in Turkey's Urfa province. She was going back to her hotel in Urfa when their car collided with a heavy vehicle." This was the official version of her death, although in subsequent versions the story changed. In a report one month later, Russia Today (RT) spoke with Shim's sister, who said: "There's so many different stories. The first was that Serena's car was hit by a heavy vehicle, who proceeded to keep on driving. They could not find the vehicle nor could they find the driver. Two days later, surprisingly, they had found the vehicle and the driver, and had pictures of the heavy vehicle hitting my sister's car. Every day coming out with new pictures of different degrees of damages that have happened to the car." "Serena and my cousin who was the driver of the car were taken to two different hospitals. She was reported first dead at the scene. Then coming out with later reports that she passed away at the hospital 30 minutes later from heart failure?! " POLITICAL BLACKOUT, MEDIA BLACKOUT When on November 20, 2014, at a Daily Press Briefing, RT journalist Gayane Chichakyan twice pressed Director of Press Office, Jeff Rathke, for updates on Shim's death, he unsurprisingly gave none: Chichakyan: "It's about the journalist Serena Shim, who died in Turkey under very suspicious circumstances. Did her death raise suspicions here at the State Department?" Rathke: "Well, I think we've spoken to this in the briefing room several weeks ago, after it happened. I don't have anything to add to what the spokesperson said at the time, though." Chichakyan: "But then she died several days after she claimed she had been threatened by the Turkish intelligence. Have you inquired about this? Have you asked questions? Is there really nothing new about this?" Rathke: "Well, I just don't have any update to share with you. Again, this was raised shortly after her death. The spokesperson addressed it. I don't have an update to share with you at this time." Chichakyan: "I just want to go back to Serena Shim. You rightly said the State Department commented on her death several weeks ago, and you say there is no update. Why is there no update? A U.S. citizen dies days after she said she'd been threatened by the Turkish intelligence." Rathke: "Well, I simply don't have any information to share at this time. I'm happy to check and see if there's anything additional. We spoke out about it, as I said, at the very start several weeks ago after her death, so I - but I don't have anything with me right now to offer. I'm happy to check and see if there's more that we can share." Of course, neither he nor any US government official has followed up . Last year, Shim's mother, Judy Poe, replied to me in a message: "There is no doubt in my mind that my daughter did not die in a car accident. There was not one single scratch on her there was no blood absolutely anywhere. I have tried to contact the American Embassy in Turkey with the cell phone numbers they gave me originally when I was going to get my daughter. Absolutely no response from the American Embassy in Turkey, including via personal cell phones." Shim's sister in her RT interview stated, "We've got no support whatsoever, nor have we got condolences." None of the major journalist organizations have pursued a just investigation into Shim's murder, much less lamented it. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) turns up zero results when Shim's name is searched on their website . Yet, the CPJ does have a list of journalists killed in Turkey since 1992, and as recent as Feb 2016, obviously minus Shim's name. Likewise, a search on the Reporters Without Borders website turns up zero results . A December 19, 2014 article at the Greanville Post does have a CPJ spokesperson stating: "The Committee to Protect Journalists has investigated the events surrounding Serena Shim's death in Turkey and at this time has found no evidence to indicate that her death was anything other than a tragic accident. Unless her death is confirmed to be in direct relation to her work as a journalist, it will not appear on our database. In the event that new evidence comes to light, CPJ would review her case." The article Greanville Post notes, "As of February 2016, the CPJ has not changed its position." The International Federation of Journalists does have a short entry on Shim: "Serena Shim, the female correspondent for Press TV in Turkey was killed in a car accident on the Turkish-Syrian border. She was returning from an assignment in Suruç, a rural district of Şanlıurfa Province of Turkey when her car collided with a truck." But no call for inquiry and no questioning of official narrative. In a November 21, 2014 article at Shim's death, RT noted that, "the office of the Representative on Freedom of the Media at the OSCE told RT that Turkey is carrying out an investigation." It cited OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Gunnar Vrang, as saying: "The representative has been following the case since the first reports appeared about the car accident that claimed the life of journalist Serena Shim. According to information available to her office, the Turkish authorities have started investigation into the details of the car accident." Searching the OSCE for Serena Shim's name also results in zero hits. On February 5, 2016, Judy Poe tweeted: Clearly the representative went with the Turkish rendition of events. Few in corporate media have looked into Shim's suspicious death. In one surprising exception, Fox News reported on Shim's death, citing a US State Department spokesperson as saying the State Department "does not conduct investigations into deaths overseas." Given that Turkish intelligence threatened Shim, according to her testimony, and that Turkey is notorious world-wide for its imprisonment and murder of journalists, the US State Department's lack of concern is incriminating in itself. In stark contrast to the silence around Shim's death, John Kerry at least twice publicly mourned the death of James Foley, lauding as a hero the journalist who snuck into Syria via Turkey to report embedded with al-Qaeda and other terrorists, and giving sincere condolences to his family. Without a trace of irony, in August 2014, Kerry said of Foley , and never of Shim, "We honor the courage and pray for the safety of all those who risk their lives to discover the truth where it is needed most." In September, 2014, Kerry directly contradicted the above-mentioned words of the State Department spokesperson, saying: "When terrorists anywhere around the world have murdered our citizens, the United States held them accountable, no matter how long it took. And those who have murdered James Foley and Steven Sotloff in Syria should know that the United States will hold them accountable too, no matter how long it takes." On the media and political blackout around Serena Shim's suspicious death, Shim's former colleague, Afshin Rattansi, host of RT's Going Underground posited: "There were a few press reports, but nothing like the kind of reporting about a brave young journalist that one would expect. Was this because the story she was covering was so dangerous that a NATO ally like Turkey should be cooperating with ISIS... was that the reason that this story has not been more widely broadcast? We don't know." Indeed, this would not be the first time the US administration has not pursued justice for the murder of one of its citizens by an ally. Rachie Corrie's March 16, 2013 murder by an Israeli soldier driving a bulldozer was not only witnessed by numerous rights activists with Corrie in Rafah, occupied Palestine, but was filmed. There is no denial that the Israeli soldier saw Corrie, drove his dozer over her and then reversed back, crushing her twice. Yet, in spite of the efforts of her family and supporters, the US has never pursued justice for this American citizen either. Judy Poe said that Serena's favourite motto was: "I'd rather die on my feet than live on my knees." Shim lived the motto. She was 29, with two children, when killed. Eva Bartlett is an independent writer and rights activist with extensive experience in Syria and in the Gaza Strip, where she lived a cumulative three years (from late 2008 to early 2013). She documented the 2008/9 and 2012 Israeli war crimes and attacks on Gaza while riding in ambulances and reporting from hospitals. From June-August 2016, she visited Syria for her fifth time. Her writings can be found on her blog, In Gaza (www.ingaza.wordpress.com) Comment: It seems evident Shim was too close to revealing the true situation and the players involved. It is a tragedy that the price was her life.

How a Putin Fan Overseas Pushed Pro-Trump Propaganda to Americans - The New York Times

Mike McIntire

The Patriot News Agency website popped up in July, soon after it became clear that Donald J. Trump would win the Republican presidential nomination, bearing a logo of a red, white and blue eagle and the motto “Built by patriots, for patriots. ” Tucked away on a corner of the site, next to links for Twitter and YouTube, is a link to another social media platform that most Americans have never heard of: VKontakte, the Russian equivalent of Facebook. It is a clue that Patriot News, like many sites that appeared out of nowhere and pumped out hoaxes tying his opponent Hillary Clinton to Satanism, pedophilia and other conspiracies, is actually run by foreigners based overseas. But while most of those others seem be the work of young, apolitical opportunists cashing in on a conservative appetite for viral nonsense, operators of Patriot News had an explicitly partisan motivation: getting Mr. Trump elected. Patriot News — whose postings were viewed and shared tens of thousands of times in the United States — is among a constellation of websites run out of the United Kingdom that are linked to James Dowson, a political activist who advocated Britain’s exit from the European Union and is a fan of President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia. A vocal proponent of Christian nationalist, movements in Europe, Mr. Dowson, 52, has spoken at a conference of leaders in Russia and makes no secret of his hope that Mr. Trump will usher in an era of rapprochement with Mr. Putin. His dabbling in the American presidential election adds an ideological element that has been largely missing from the landscape of websites and Facebook pages that bombarded American voters with misinformation and propaganda. Far from the Macedonian teenagers running fake news factories solely for profit, Mr. Dowson made it his mission, according to messages posted on one of his sites, to “spread devastating memes and sound bites into sections of the population too disillusioned with politics to have taken any notice of conventional campaigning. ” “Together, people like us helped change the course of history,” one message said, adding in another: “Every single one of you who forwarded even just one of our posts on social media contributed to the stunning victory for Trump, America and God. ” In a recent email interview from Belgrade, where he has met with Serbian nationalists, Mr. Dowson explained how his decision to establish an American social media presence was similar to the move into European markets by Breitbart News, the conservative provocateur media operation run by Stephen K. Bannon, Mr. Trump’s chief strategist. “Simple truth is that after 40 years of the right having no voice because the media was owned by the enemy, we were FORCED to become incredibly good at alternative media in a way the left simply can’t grasp or handle,” Mr. Dowson said. “Bottom line is: BREXIT, TRUMP and much more to follow. ” While it is easy to overstate the influence of fringe elements whose overall numbers remain very small, the explosion of fake news and propaganda sites and their possible impact on the presidential election have ignited alarm across the American political spectrum. A recent study found that most people who read fabricated stories on Facebook — such as a widely circulated hoax about Pope Francis endorsing Mr. Trump — were inclined to believe them. Then there is the added element of Russian meddling. The Central Intelligence Agency has concluded that Moscow put its thumb on the scale for Mr. Trump through the release of hacked Democratic emails, which provided fodder for many of the most pernicious false attacks on Mrs. Clinton on social media. Some of those attacks found a home on Russian websites such as the one for Katehon, a Christian think tank aligned with Mr. Putin. Katehon recirculated conspiracies under headlines like “Bloody Hillary: 5 Mysterious Murders Linked to Clinton. ” Another Russian site that urged support for Mr. Trump, called “Just Trump It,” is linked to the International Russian Conservative Forum, an annual gathering of leaders in St. Petersburg that has featured Mr. Dowson, among others, as a speaker. The site, which seems mostly aimed at selling Trump was registered to an individual at a Russian company that trademarked a logo used to certify that merchandise was not made with migrant labor. Some analysts see danger signs in the nexus of Russian interests and agitators in Europe and the United States. Social media can amplify even the most obscure voices, giving them a stage from which to broadcast a distorted message to credulous audiences. “These messages seep into the mainstream,” said Alina Polyakova, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, a nonpartisan international affairs institute in Washington. “They may have been extreme or fringe at one point in time, but they have been incredibly influential in shaping people’s views about key geopolitical events in a very specific direction. ” Russia is particularly adept at playing this game, Ms. Polyakova said. “Moscow specifically encourages and facilitates” the spreading of propaganda through proxies, she said, as well as through events like the Russian conservative forum, which showcases views and narratives favored by the Putin government. At the inaugural forum in March 2015, Mr. Dowson praised Mr. Putin as a strong defender of traditional values, while belittling President Obama and the United States itself as “feminized men. ” In the email interview, Mr. Dowson said he was not supported by Russia in any way, and he accused critics of trying to tar conservatives as dupes of Moscow. “I look on this rebirth of hysteria by the LEFT as a hilarious reaction born out of the left’s inability to realize THEY elected Trump, not me, not the Russians, not even the right,” he said via email. A colorful if somewhat enigmatic figure in Britain — The Times of London recently described him as “the invisible man of Britain’s far right” — Mr. Dowson, at first blush, would not be an obvious mouthpiece for Russia. Formerly a church minister in Northern Ireland and the father of nine, he became involved in campaigns, joined the British National Party in the and, later, founded Britain First, a stridently group opposed to what it called a creeping Islamic threat to traditional British values. He publicly split with the group in 2014 after some of its leaders started invading mosques and threatening Muslims, which he criticized as and counterproductive. While involved with Britain First, Mr. Dowson made deft use of social media and websites to promote its work and convey the impression of a mass following. A British watchdog group called Hope Not Hate, which has tracked Mr. Dowson’s online activities, concluded that he has “a rather canny knack for building up protest groups and movements on the basis that it was your Christian duty to follow his work. ” Mr. Dowson claims to have reached millions of Americans across all of his online platforms in the to the November presidential election, a number that could not be verified, in part, because he would not confirm all of his sites. Online visits to Patriot News did not come close to that, although when combined with several other sites that appear to be connected to Mr. Dowson, the total number edges above a million most viewers were in Britain. Whatever the precise numbers, there is little question that postings on the sites and Facebook pages linked to him were viewed and shared hundreds of thousands of times. Many of the postings appear to be lifted from other conspiracy websites, repackaged and launched back into the social media maelstrom. Another site that trafficked heavily in news was run by Knights Templar International, a militant religious group that Mr. Dowson is involved in, which has recently supported militias patrolling border areas in Bulgaria and Hungary. For Mr. Dowson, such activities are in keeping with his philosophy that traditional Christian values are under siege because of feckless leadership by America and European powers. The success of Mr. Trump, he said, is the logical result of voters’ rejection of the weakness of global elites. Mr. Dowson has long been optimistic about the effectiveness of social media. During the 2015 conservative forum in Russia, he spoke presciently about the looming online battle for the attention of American voters. “We have the ability to take a video from today and put it in half of every single household in the United States of America, where these people can for the first time learn the truth, because their own media tell lies, they tell lies about Russia,” Mr. Dowson said then. “We have to use popular culture to reach into the living rooms of the youth of America, of Britain, France, Germany, and bring them in,” he said. “Then we can get them the message. ”

Merkel Tells Germans: Be Grateful You Have Free Speech

Virginia Hale

Angela Merkel warned Germans should not take freedom for granted, in a speech aimed at countering a rising tide of populism on Friday night. [Speaking at a party conference in Saarlouis, the chancellor called on Germans to show respect for other people’s opinions, but said right wing groups opposed to mass migration have no right to “exclude” anyone from the benefit of belonging to the nation. Putting a twist on “We are the people” a chant popular with movement PEGIDA, Merkel said “All of us, we are all the people”. The chancellor, under whose rule German police have raided homes and made hundreds of arrests for online posts critical of mass migration, urged people to back values of ‘freedom and democracy’. Merkel said freedom of speech and religion, freedom of the press and freedom of travel are “not gifts that you don’t have to work for”. “Sometimes you have to make it clear that you are in favour of freedom” she added, warning, “I am convinced that we are again living in such a time”. Looking ahead to the general election due to be held in Germany later this year, Merkel said the notion of “prosperity for all” will be central to her campaign. “We want as many people as possible in Germany to be able to have a job with fair pay” Merkel said, and underlined that companies should operate in such a way that they “invest in Germany and not elsewhere. ” Since the chancellor opened Germany’s borders in 2015 to nearly two million migrants, most of whom are from the Middle East and Africa, the populist and Euroskeptic Alternative for Germany has eroded support for Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party. Public anger at the decision to house the influx of newcomers at taxpayers expense triggered a crackdown on ‘hate speech’ with the state using an organisation run by a former Stasi agent to patrol Facebook in bid to stamp out “xenophobic” comments.

Extremist Imam Tests F.B.I. and the Limits of the Law - The New York Times

Scott Shane and Adam Goldman

WASHINGTON — For more than a decade, Suleiman Anwar Bengharsa has served as a Muslim cleric in Maryland, working as a prison chaplain and as an imam at mosques in Annapolis and outside Baltimore. He gave a course in 2011 on Islamic teachings on marriage at the Islamic Society of Baltimore, where President Obama made a visit this year. But in the last two years, Imam Bengharsa’s public pronouncements have taken a dark turn. On Facebook, he has openly endorsed the Islamic State, posted gruesome videos showing ISIS fighters beheading and burning alive their enemies and praised terrorist attacks overseas. The “Islamic Jurisprudence Center” website he set up last year has condemned American mosques as and declared that homosexual acts should be punished by death. That is not all. An affidavit filed in federal court by the F. B. I. says that Imam Bengharsa, 59, supplied $1, 300 in June 2015 to a Detroit man who used it to expand his arsenal of firearms and grenades. The man, Sebastian Gregerson, 29, a Muslim convert who sometimes calls himself Abdurrahaman Bin Mikaayl, was arrested in late July and indicted on explosives charges. Nearly a year ago, in fact, the F. B. I. said in a court filing — accidentally and temporarily made public in an online database — that agents suspected the two men were plotting terrorism. “Based on the totality of the aforementioned information and evidence, there is reason to believe that Bengharsa and Gregerson are engaged in discussions and preparations for some violent act on behalf of” the Islamic State, an agent wrote. Yet Imam Bengharsa has not been arrested or charged. It appears that the authorities do not have clear evidence that he has broken the law. His inflammatory statements are protected by the First Amendment, and agents appear to have no proof that he knew Mr. Gregerson planned to buy illegal explosives. In his checkbook, next to the notation for the $1, 300 check, Imam Bengharsa wrote “zakat,” or charity, the documents show. The case poses in a striking way the dilemma for the F. B. I. in deciding when constitutionally protected speech crosses into inciting violence or conspiring to commit a terrorist act. The bureau was sharply criticized for not acting more aggressively on prior warnings about the men who carried out attacks in Orlando, Fla. in June and in New York and New Jersey last month. And in early August, the F. B. I. arrested a transit police officer from Fairfax, Va. after watching him for six years before charging him with providing support to the Islamic State. It was another case that raised questions — even among agents — about why the F. B. I. and federal prosecutors waited so long to act, potentially putting the public at risk. In testimony before Congress this week, the F. B. I. director, James B. Comey, said the challenge for F. B. I. agents was determining when someone has crossed the line from speech to criminal activity. “It’s even protected speech to say I’m a fan of the Islamic State ” Mr. Comey said. When the suspect is a cleric, like Imam Bengharsa, the matter is especially delicate. “It’s very possible that he’s never crossed the legal threshold,” said Seamus Hughes, deputy director of the Program on Extremism at George Washington University, who has closely followed the imam’s story. But Mr. Hughes called the situation “perplexing and concerning. ” The imam “can take his supporters right up to the line. It’s like a making a cake and not putting in the final ingredient. It’s winks and nods all the way. ” Imam Bengharsa appears to have plenty of money. Court records say he received $902, 710 in wire transfers in 2014 and 2015, possibly an inheritance. He told The Detroit News that he often helped needy people like Mr. Gregerson. “If that individual turns around and wants to use that money for something else that’s illegal, the person who gave the money cannot be held responsible,” Imam Bengharsa said. “It’s pathetic if they are making those connections. If that’s what this country has become, I’d rather be in jail. ” The documents say he transferred money three times to an unnamed person in Yemen. Investigators are also exploring contacts between Imam Bengharsa and other people suspected of extremism or terrorism. One is Yusuf Wehelie, 25, a Virginia man arrested in July and charged with weapons possession, which would be illegal because he has a previous felony conviction for burglary. Mr. Wehelie first came to public attention in 2010, when he and his brother, Yahya Wehelie, both American citizens, were temporarily detained in Cairo and prevented by the F. B. I. from flying home. American officials said such delays were sometimes necessary to assess whether a person posed a security threat. The American Civil Liberties Union and the Council on Relations protested that the rights of such travelers were being violated. At Yusuf Wehelie’s detention hearing in July, the authorities said he had told undercover agents that he supported the Islamic State and that if he couldn’t join it overseas, he would attack a military recruiting center, possibly using explosives. (Mr. Wehelie’s lawyer, Nina Ginsberg, said that in later recorded conversations, he disavowed those statements and later stopped replying to the undercover agents.) In Baltimore, another young man named Maalik Alim Jones was arrested late last year and charged with joining a terrorist group in Africa. Imam Bengharsa had preached on occasion at a Baltimore mosque Mr. Jones attended, but it is not clear that they knew each other. The F. B. I. has been closely watching the imam for months, law enforcement officials say. A spokesman for the bureau declined to comment. The authorities are concerned that Imam Bengharsa, who claims an impressive list of scholarly credentials, may be spreading the Islamic State message that violence can be justified against perceived enemies of the faith. In view of the payment to Mr. Gregerson, they also fear he may be financing other supporters of the Islamic State. The F. B. I. has said in court that he is under investigation for conspiring and providing material support to the Islamic State. Imam Bengharsa did not reply to emails, phone messages or a note left at his townhouse in Clarksburg, Md. a town equidistant from Baltimore and Washington. In comments to The Detroit News, which first reported the link between Mr. Gregerson and Imam Bengharsa last month, the imam said the government was engaging in “McCarthyism” and that the accusations were “ridiculous. ” He denied that he supported the Islamic State but said: “It might appear that way. I am an advocate of the United States and the West getting the hell out of the Middle East and the Muslim world. ” He added a question: “If this was the case, why haven’t they come to arrest me?” Imam Bengharsa, who was born in Libya, moved to the United States at age 10, according to a biography he posted online. He claims to have received a degree from Al Azhar University in Cairo, and additional degrees in economics and Islamic studies. He lived in Texas and later, after embracing religion, worked as a chaplain in Maryland prisons from 2006 to 2009, as an imam at the Islamic Society of Annapolis from 2009 to 2010 and at Masjid Umar, a small storefront mosque outside Baltimore, from 2011 to 2014. Last year he created the Islamic Jurisprudence Center, whose street address turns out to be a mailbox at the UPS Store near his home in Clarksburg. The authorities said he also frequently visited another mosque, Dar in the Baltimore suburb of Ellicott City. Imam Bengharsa appears to have long held very conservative views. In his 2011 lectures at the Islamic Society of Baltimore, for example, he said Muslims must strictly follow the shariah, or Islamic law, no matter where they live. “It doesn’t help if you say ‘I’m now living in America’ or ‘I’m now living in England,’ or ‘My culture says such and such.’ ” he said. But Imam Bengharsa’s harsh recent pronouncements set him much farther from mainstream American Islam. On the Islamic Jurisprudence Center site in April, he condemned by name the leading Muslim organizations in the United States, 12 prominent clerics he called “evil ” and a list of 22 mosques — including the two where he previously worked. Since the court documents naming him were made public, he removed those pages from his site, though they remain available in the Google cache. In his standoff with the F. B. I. Imam Bengharsi appears to have scant support in the American Muslim community. Muhammad Jameel, the president of the Islamic Society of Baltimore, said that the imam’s marriage lectures five years ago were his only connection to the mosque and that his recent statements were “against all the tenets of Islam. ” “He’s a nut,” Mr. Jameel said. “He has freedom of speech. But if he’s a criminal, I want to see him in jail. ”

Comment on Study Links GMO Animal Feed To Severe Stomach Inflammation And Enlarged Uteri In Pigs by Confirmed: DNA From Genetically Modified Crops Can Be Transferred Into Humans Who Eat Them – The Modern Gnostic

Confirmed: DNA From Genetically Modified Crops Can Be Transferred Into Humans Who Eat Them – The Modern Gnostic

Genetically modified (GM) crops have infiltrated human food and animal feed in increasing amounts since they were commercially released in 1996. It is now normal for a large portion of pigs to have a complete GM diet. Human beings have become desensitized to inhumane animal practices. Not only do we consume the flesh of a living, breathing, feeling, intelligent sentient and loving being, we do it in mass amounts, and do it after they have been fed with feed that contributes in making human beings sick as well. It’s no coincidence that the same financial institutions that hold majority stock in both the food/ biotech industry also hold major stock in the pharmaceutical/health industry. GMO testing on animals is inhumane, and is really not needed with all of the evidence already available to show how GMOs are very hazardous to human health. advertisement - learn more A study by scientist Judy Carman, PHD that was recently published in the peer reviewed journal Organic Systems outlines the effects of a diet mixed with GMO feed for pigs, and how it is a cause for concern when it comes to health (1). Scientists randomized and fed isowean pigs either a mixed GM soy and GM corn (maize) diet for approximately 23 weeks (nothing out of the ordinary for most pigs in the United States), which is unfortunately the normal lifespan of a commercial pig from weaning to slaughter. Equal numbers of male and female pigs were present in each group. The GM diet was associated with gastric and uterine differences in pigs. GM pigs had uteri that were 25% heavier than non-GM fed pigs. GM-fed pigs had a higher rate of severe stomach inflammation with a rate of 32% compared to 125 of non-GM fed pigs. The study concluded that pigs fed a GMO diet exhibited a heavier uteri and a higher rate of severe stomach inflammation than pigs who weren’t fed a GMO diet. Because the use of GMO feed for livestock and humans is so widespread, this is defiantly another cause for concern when it comes to GMO consumption. Humans have a similar gastrointestinal tract to pigs, and these GM crops are consumed widely by people, especially in the United States. Although GM fed pigs seem to be the norm across North America, it’s unnecessary to use animals for testing. Although animal testing does provide information, it is simply not needed, and extremely inhumane. Again, we do not need any more studies to show that GMOs are harmful to the health of all. It’s not natural, world hunger and food shortage is a scam. We could easily feed the entire planet, and have multiple ways to do it. There should be no debate on the subject. There is a worldwide genocide happening right under our nose, if we don’t speak up for these animals, who will? How can we consume these beings? It seems we have drifted so far away from our souls voice. How can we feed them GMO feed, and then feed that to ourselves? Any being foreign to this world would have a hard time looking upon it without feeling sick and hurt. We kill billions of animals for consumption every year. You can read more about the worldwide genocide on animals here . GMOs are gaining a lot of attention worldwide. The chinese government recently destroyed multiple shipments of GM corn, you can read more about that here . Japan and South Korea rejected U.S. wheat found to be polluted with GMOs, you can read about that here and here . Recently, a hidden viral gene that’s harmful to human health was discovered in GMO crops, you can read more about that here . Scientists also discovered that Bt toxins found in Monsanto crops damage red blood cells, which you can read about here . Feel free to browse through our site for more information on GMOs. All of these studies show that when it comes to GMOs the body is not meant to take them in. Much Love.

Amazon to Begin Accepting Food Stamps - Breitbart

Jerome Hudson

retail giant Amazon is among the seven online food retailers that will soon start accepting food stamps, as part of a pilot program instituted by the U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). [The program, set to launch this summer, will test online ordering and payment methods. The USDA, which oversees the $74 billion food stamp program, also known as SNAP or the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program, says it plans to expand the online program nationwide and eventually add more retailers. Participating retailers include Safeway, ShopRite, Hart’s Local Grocers, and Dash’s Market, and will serve food stamps recipients in seven states: Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Washington, Iowa, and Oregon. However, Amazon is by far the largest online food distributor participating in the federal government’s new program. “Amazon is excited to participate in the USDA SNAP online purchasing pilot,” the Seattle, company said in a press release. “We are committed to making food accessible through online grocery shopping, offering all customers the lowest prices possible. ” For years, government watchdog groups have demanded tighter regulations as food stamp fraud remains a common and costly problem. The USDA, seemingly aware of the risks for fraud, says “online payment presents technical and security challenges that will need to be examined and fully addressed before it is offered nationwide. ” News of the USDA’s pilot program comes as a new report reveals Americans used food stamps to buy more than $600 million worth of “sweetened beverages,” and bought hundreds of millions more of junk food and sugary snacks. Overall, $1. 3 billion in food stamps were spent on “sweetened drinks, desserts, salty snacks, candy, and sugar,” which accounted for about 20 cents of every dollar spent on food items purchased by 26. 5 million households in 2011, according to a recently released report from the USDA. What’s more, the USDA’s plan to allow tens of millions of food stamps recipients to purchase products from Amazon is the latest example of profiting from poverty. Big banks like J. P. Morgan have made millions providing electronic benefits transaction (EBT) services for state governments and their respective food stamps programs. “Since 2004, 18 of 24 states who contract with J. P. Morgan to provide welfare benefits have contracted to pay $560, 492, 596. 02,” an investigation by the Government Accountability Institute (GAI) found. Christopher Paton, the company’s former managing director of treasury services, told Bloomberg News in 2011: This business is a very important business to JP Morgan. It’s an important business in terms of its size and scale. We also regard it as very important in the sense that we are delivering a very useful social function. We are a key part of this benefit delivery mechanism. Right now volumes have gone through the roof in the past couple of years or so … The good news from JP Morgan’s perspective is the infrastructure that we built has been able to cope with that increase in volume. Walmart, which wasn’t selected to participate in the USDA pilot program, hopes to be added to the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service online purchasing program in the future. “We look forward to working with FNS as they continue to explore this opportunity,” the company said, CBS reports. “We’ve expanded our highly popular online grocery service from five markets to more than 100 markets over the past 18 months in both large and small communities across the country. ” Follow Jerome Hudson on Twitter @jeromeehudson

Red Wine Hot Chocolate Is a Thing, and It’s (Surprisingly) Delicious - The New York Times

Erin McCann

Frosé? That’s a summer drink. Hot toddies, eggnog, mulled wine? Please, those are for your parents. No, no, the drink of winter 2016, at least according to a small but dedicated circle of food blogs, is red wine hot chocolate. A post this fall on Martha Stewart’s official Facebook page called it “spectacular. ” Soon after, Cosmopolitan magazine called it “the best of both worlds. ” The Kitchn, a popular recipe site, called it “the answer to your blues. ” And last month, The Daily Mail had an “exclusive” on a version of the recipe that had grown popular on Pinterest. The basic idea is not new. Most versions follow the same formula as the one posted in 2014 on Imma Eat That, a food blog that has frequently been cited as the recipe has rocked around the internet in the past few years. It’s pretty easy to follow: Depending on your thoughts on hot chocolate, on red wine and on the trend of mixing two separate foods together in heretofore unimagined and occasionally unholy ways, this sounds like either the best idea or the worst idea. And when you can already easily add rum or whiskey or any other spirit to hot chocolate, what else can red wine really bring to the table? The first reaction most people had when they heard about this story? A crinkling of noses and the occasional “eww. ” It was definitely mine. The key is to start with a good hot chocolate, said Jacques Torres, a New York pastry chef whose public identity is so fused with chocolate that he is known as “Mr. Chocolate. “You’re going to use real chocolate,” he said, not cocoa powder, and warm it with milk and a bit of condensed milk for extra silkiness. “Finished chocolate has all the flavor you want,” he said. “It’s smooth and silky it doesn’t have any bitterness. ” Mr. Torres also suggested an important deviation from most of the recipes out there: Do not heat up the wine and the chocolate together. Make your hot chocolate and separately make some mulled wine only then should the two be combined. “If you don’t get the spices, it’s not going to be that good,” he said. “But it can be good with the spices. ” He suggested mulling the wine with allspice, and ancho and chipotle chiles “so you have a little bit of heat with it. ” And so one cold Sunday I set about making this strange Frankendrink. I followed Mr. Torres’s advice, using two especially dark chocolate bars for the hot chocolate. The mulled wine was a simmered mix of what was on hand: orange slices and sugar, water and an entire bottle of cheap red wine (I used a $9 malbec, minus a glass for drinking just in case this whole chocolate thing didn’t work). Allspice, cloves, star anise and cinnamon rounded it out. And then I stood facing two simmering pots of liquid that my brain was still screaming should not be combined. Wine is good, I told myself. Hot chocolate is good. So both went into a mug, were stirred together and topped with a marshmallow. And it was absolutely delicious.

Creating an Anti-Muslim Bias at a Canadian University

Prof. Tony Hall

Professor Dr. Mujahid Kamran, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Punjab, on the Suspension without Pay of Prof. Tony Hall 1 Shares 1 0 0 0 Professor Mike Mahon President and Vice Chancellor Lethbridge, Canada Dear Professor Mike Mahon, It is with a sense of great sadness that I have learnt of the suspension, without pay, of Professor Anthony Hall, one of the most distinguished scholars, not only of the , but a researcher and writer who is recognised and respected globally. In a country like Pakistan, which is far behind Canada in term of education, research and scholarship, no teacher, or non-teacher, of any university can be suspended without pay. When someone is suspended, he or she is entitled to draw full pay for the period of suspension. If Canada is doing better than us on various scales, then one would expect that suspension without pay puts Canada behind us in terms of due process and in terms of requirements demanded by the principles of justice and fair play. I may add respectfully that in Pakistani universities no one is generally suspended unless a fact finding committee has first looked into the matter thoroughly and found prima facie evidence of wrong doing. The decision of the administration also destroys the concept of a tenured appointment. From his writings, that I have read over a period of time, it is evident that Professor Anthony Hall is a scholar whose work exposes the crimes and conspiracies of those who are taking the world headlong into a global war and simultaneously transforming it into a global slave state. His analysis is impeccable and his grasp of facts masterly. And his writings are devoid of any prejudice against any ethnic group or nation. , or any university for that matter, should have been proud to have Professor Hall on its faculty. His suspension creates an impression, even from this distance from where I write, that certain powerful interests that aim destroying free speech, have targeted people like Professor Anthony Hall, who speak out for democracy, decency, peace and justice. I have found out from the internet that B’nai Brithis behind this movement against shutting down free speech. It is quite evident that the charge that Professor Anthony Hall has created a discriminatory atmosphere is highly dubious. To the contrary, it appears that an anti-Muslim bias has been created in your institution by Professor Hall’s unfortunate suspension.There is also a strong impression that B’nai Brith has taken over the administrative decision making at Lethbridge. MORE... Suspension of Tenured Professor Lacks Due Diligence Toxic Mind Control Contaminates The Public Sphere Irish human rights activists against freedom of speech? B’nai Brith attack on Canadian professor has roots in Zionist false flag tactics It is also worrying that B’nai Brith have now targeted Canadian universities and Canadian society. If this is the case then the situation is disturbing, not just for Lethbridge and Canada, but for all freedom loving people worldwide. When I was a young student at University of Edinburgh, Scotland in the 1970s, I used to meet many Canadian students and I found that they invariably stood for freedom of speech and for tolerance and justice. The suspension of Professor Hall is inconsistent with my image of the Canadian people that I had then formed. On behalf of the academic community of the University of the Punjab (established 1882) I urge you to kindly reconsider your decision to suspend Professor Hall. It will go a long way in rehabilitating the impression of people worldwide about the upholding of free speech, academic freedom, and genuine scholarly discourse at Lethbridge. With my humble regards and very best wishes Professor Dr. Mujahid Kamran Vice Chancellor University of the Punjab (since January 2008) Author of a dozen books including: Einstein and Germany 2009 The Grand Deception: Corporate America and Perpetual War 2010 The Inspiring Life of Abdus Salam 2013 9/11 & The New World Order 2013 International Bankers, World Wars I, II and Beyond 2015 Winner Abdus Salam Prize 1985 (this prize was instituted from Salam’s Nobel Prize money) Presidential Pride of Performance Award 1999 Awarded Sitara- e -Imtiaz (i.e. Star of distinction, awarded by Government of Pakistan) 2015, etc

Why Hillary won’t unleash WWIII

shorty

One thought on “ Why Hillary won’t unleash WWIII ” shorty says: October 30, 2016 at 8:01 pm SELECT COMMENTS | OVERHEARD (ORIGINALLY ON RUSSIA INSIDER) From time to time we import comments we regard as lucid or thought-provoking to a particular discussion. This is such a thread. Some opinions we agree with, some we don’t. But they all add an edge to this topic. —The Editors MMChomek • 16 hours ago Alright, let’s sum this up. Hillary can’t launch a No fly zone over Syria, because there is already one in place? Well, the point they are trying to make is that they will get rid of the Russian and Syrian air defenses to launch their own “We can fly-you can’t-zone”. With force. Hillary expressed her willingness to do this several times already. Yes, General Dunford said “we would have to go to war with Syria and Russia” You kind of left out the followup, where he says “That is a pretty fundamental decision that certainly I’m not going to make” not, “we can’t do this” e.g, he’s waiting for the order from the commander in chief. This was at the very beginning of the article >She is fully supported by virtually the whole US establishment; a bipartisan, neocon/neoliberalcon, regime change/”humanitarian” imperialist axis. So WHO is going to stop her? and lastly, first finished Sarmat won’t be slipped inside a silo at least until late 2018 Hillary most likely gets to oval office next February kind of a non-sequitur to even mention it So you basically say “This is why Hillary won’t start WWIII” and then you throw in a bunch of non-arguments and contradictions ••• Mike John Elissen MMChomek • 8 hours ago `and lastly, first finished Sarmat won’t be slipped inside a silo at least until late 2018 Hillary most likely gets to oval office next February kind of a non-sequitur to even mention it` followed by `So you basically say “This is why Hillary won’t start WWIII” and then you throw in a bunch of non-arguments and contradictions` Seems to me the only `non-argumentation` is your view on Billary taking control next year and immediately starting WW3. Even for a war-loving US hawk like her, it will take time to start a war with Russia. MMChomek Mike John Elissen • 8 hours ago God, Hillary doesn’t even need to be president to lobby for war. She’s been doing exactly that for three straight decades. Now she has full support of entire D.C behind her back. Even as Kjell mentions one or two good, down to earth generals in Pentagon are not going to be enough, when most of their colleagues lobby for spending and interventions hoping to end up as senior advisors for defense contractor giants. Entire DC, even bah, especially the “progressive think tanks” (who get funded by things like Lockheed Martin and even Saudi Arabia) is crying for cruise missile strikes on Syria as we speak. Mike John Elissen MMChomek • 6 hours ago Your argumentation for calling Escobar`s points `non-arguments` is, or rather was ao the fact HRC takes office in january (not february as you claimed) 2017, and the new Sarmat will be in service in 2018. To change the subject (Clinton&Co warmongering and making profits – we all know that) does not change the fact Billary needs time to prepare for a war with Russia. You can call Kjell as a `rescue line` all you want, fact remains your own argumentation is `Non`. ••• Kjell Hasthi MMChomek • 16 hours ago – Hillary most likely gets to oval office next February Pepe did not say that Neil Tana Kjell Hasthi • 7 hours ago She will. Trump is an idiot and is probably acting that way to drive another agenda because he can’t be that stupid. The real questions is how serious is all of this to Russia. I think it is very serious. The US has already shown how they manipulate people to wage war against their government, supply them with weapons, call it a civil war, plant false flags to push it over the edge, call it unhumanitarian to open air war options, then invite others to join in on the fun while selling them weapons in the process to do so. They can easily do this to Russia if Syria falls or not. They just need to excite the 20 million muslims in Russia that borders the middle east. I’d say that Russia is a great risk and should take decisive actions. They could just use air fuel bombs as they are not radioactive but destroy everything in its path like a tactical nuke. To this point, the EU needs to be very worried because they are on the front lines and are sleep walking under the direction of the US who is an ocean away. Kjell Hasthi MMChomek • 14 hours ago – As I said before, I don’t believe Trump will win That is naiv as both Hillary and Kaine are unpopular. In Pentagon, almost hated. MMChomek Kjell Hasthi • 14 hours ago How is that possible? She is their major job provider. Kjell Hasthi MMChomek • 14 hours ago There are 90 million made redundant Trump is a more attractive candidate for them The polls presented on telly are all manipulated (when compared to independent polls). Hillary is well behind, and she is losing voters these days. The Putin bashing did not save her. MMChomek Kjell Hasthi • 14 hours ago Trump has wowed to pull out of middle east, stop babysitting and subsidizing other NATO members and become buddies with the “greatest existential threat” e.g Russia How is he a more attractive candidate for the Pentagon, than Hillary who’s seeking armed confrontation everywhere? Kjell Hasthi MMChomek • 14 hours ago Trump presents the Globalists as an existential threat, and this election as the most important in human history. It is about saving humanity. MMChomek Kjell Hasthi • 14 hours ago I understand and agree, now please try to fit what you’ve just said into your previous post about Trump being the more attractive choice for the Pentagon, because I’m lost here. Kjell Hasthi MMChomek • 14 hours ago That is new. Some group of (4 stars?) general approached Trump and asked him to be candidate. Their arguments were about stopping madman Hillary. Trump said yes to them MMChomek Kjell Hasthi • 14 hours ago So there is an actual anti-war faction inside the Pentagon? That sounds too good to be true. Most of those guys lobby war like madmen, because they get lucrative advisor contracts with defense industries after they retire. Isn’t it just some hearsay? ••• dan kopfz MMChomek • 11 hours ago Unlike the psychopaths in the white house, the vast majority of the military leadership are not completely insane, and would not meekly follow orders when those orders would mean the lives of millions of Americans. Should Hillary push for a no-fly zone, it’s not the Russians she’d need to worry about–it’s a military coup. As everyone knows, in a military coup, you eliminate the current leadership. dan kopfz dan kopfz • 11 hours ago There’s another reality that the military would be taking into account, that mad Hillary probably wouldn’t. China is not stupid. An empire doesn’t get to be 8000+ years old by making miscalculations. China knows that if the US is willing to commit to a hot war with Russia, than they’d be next if the US won. That means the Chinese would be looking to make sure that the US doesn’t win, and given the current tensions in the South China, might join the war on Russia’s side as a full ally, openly declaring war against the US. Without going nuclear, in an open hot war against China and Russia (and Syria, and Iran, and others), NATO can’t win. The Pentagon won’t make that miscalculation either. Peter Jennings • 14 hours ago The US have been fighting lame armies filled with soldiers who would rather be somewhere else. Tending to their crops or animals for example. Afghanistan isn’t going as expected. Libya isn’t going as expected. Iraq isn’t going as expected. In Syria they have got bogged down, exposing their proxy war to all, when it was initially advertising as ‘humanitarian intervention’. When it comes to Russia, a determined, battle hardened, well trained army with highly advanced weapons, the US will resemble europe during the last world war. Vote in a warmonger, you will get war, that’s where they get their kicks. StevenStarr • 14 hours ago Wishful thinking. richardstevenhack • 4 hours ago Apparently both Alexander Mercouris and Pepe Escobar have succumbed to what is known as “cognitive dissonance”– the attitude that because something would be impossible to accept, it therefore is impossible to happen. While I would expect some members of the Pentagon to school Clinton on the problems of establishing a no-fly-zone in Syria once she is elected, the fact remains that there is no reason to believe she will accept that position. As I’ve said before, the goal of the Syria crisis is to set the preconditions for a long war with IRAN. First Syria’s military has to be degraded, then Israel (and possibly NATO) will attack Hizballah in Lebanon into the Bekaa Valley via Syrian territory. Then and only then can Israel initiate a war with Iran, having more or less “disarmed” Iran’s allies right next to Israel. If Israel wants to achieve its goal of taking Iran out of the Middle East picture, and the US military-industrial complex wants to achieve its goal of an expensive, profitable, decades long war with Iran, then Syria has to go. Which means that there will be no let-up in pushing for that result. And we all know Hillary Clinton is TOTALLY on board with both aims as a warmongering neocon. Did the Bush neocons fail to get the Iraq and Afghan wars started? Why, then, should be assume, as Alexander and Pepe do, that Hillary Clinton cannot override any Pentagon reluctance and get a war with Syria started, regardless of the enhanced difficulties presented by the presence of Russia? Obama was prepared to go to war with Syria in August, 2013. While Russia was not present at the time to make that a more difficult proposition, it proves that the US IS spoiling for war with Syria. The three UNSC Resolutions submitted by the US early on with Chapter 7 language in them to justify such a war were only vetoed by Russia and China, burned on Libya. They prove the US goal is war with Syria. The US is not going to back down just because Russia presents a greater difficulty. Many in the Beltway really believe that if the US attacks, Russia will back down. They are probably wrong, but it will be a little late to find out once the war starts. For another thing, the notion that doubling down on supplying weapons such as MANPADs to the insurgents will change the situation is ridiculous – and the Pentagon will inform her of that, too. Which leaves her with only one option: a direct US/NATO attack on Syria. Short of a straight-up Pentagon revolt, Clinton can and probably will start a war with Syria and Russia.

Cleanse Your Body of Heavy Metals With This Cilantro Recipe

Ariana

1 teaspoon of wheatgrass powder (or any other green powder) Mix ingredients in a blender until smooth. Using cilantro essential oil can help enable the body to flush out any heavy metals that might be disturbing your health. The toxins will exit your body via urine and you will feel an increase in energy and health. I always drink water with a drop of cilantro oil to hasten elimination. Ariana Marisol is a contributing staff writer for REALfarmacy.com. She is an avid nature enthusiast, gardener, photographer, writer, hiker, dreamer, and lover of all things sustainable, wild, and free. Ariana strives to bring people closer to their true source, Mother Nature. She graduated The Evergreen State College with an undergraduate degree focusing on Sustainable Design and Environmental Science. Follow her adventures on Instagram.

Trump on Iran ship behavior: ‘They will be shot out of the water’

wmw_admin

By wmw_admin on November 2, 2016 Introduction — Oct 31, 2016 The following report only serves to underline how the U.S. political system is no longer fit for purpose. It is totally corrupt and serves ‘special interest groups’ that put their own aims over and above those of the American people. What follows is nearly two months old but it is also a timely reminder that Trump, like Clinton, is more than ready to lead America into war. Although unlike Clinton, Trump prefers a less direct route. So instead of directly challenging Russia Trump has saved his belligerence for Iran. Threatening that Iranian military speed boats would be “shot out of the water” if they made moves “that they shouldn’t be allowed to make” near U.S. warships. Given the growing military ties between Russia and Iran, this could easily result in the U.S. facing what the WSJ refers to as the Moscow-Tehran-Damascus axis: a rebranded “axis of evil”. Trouble is neither U.S. presidential candidate is offering a valid alternative to this confrontational scenario. Both are advocating two entirely different approaches on foreign policy that would ultimately lead to the same end — military confrontation with Russia. The only difference is that Americans would be more likely to follow Trump into conflict than the increasingly discredited Clinton. Ed. Trump on Iran ship behavior: ‘They will be shot out of the water’ Daniella Diaz and Johhny Diamond — CNN Sept 10, 2016 Donald Trump vowed Friday that if Iran inappropriately approached US ships, they would be “shot out of the water.” “And by the way, with Iran, when they circle our beautiful destroyers with their little boats and they make gestures that our people — that they shouldn’t be allowed to make, they will be shot out of the water,” he said at a rally here. Taking such action would have tremendous ramifications and would likely be considered an act of war. The comments, even given Trump’s penchant for tough language, are unusual for a presidential candidate. Trump appeared to be referring to a series of close encounters between the US and Iran in international waters in the Persian Gulf. An Iranian ship came within 100 yards of a US Navy patrol ship earlier this week in what the US Navy described as an “unsafe and unprofessional” action involving “harassing maneuvering.” And late last month , a US Navy patrol craft fired three warning shots at an Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps boat after US officials said it had harassed two US ships. Another US patrol craft and a Kuwaiti Navy ship were also harassed in the northern end of the Persian Gulf. Iran has also flown drones over US ships and in one of the most intense confrontations between the US and Iran, Iranian troops took US sailors into custody in January after the US naval ship accidentally strayed into Iranian territorial waters. The US has condemned Iran’s actions but hasn’t responded militarily to the provocations.

Lin-Manuel Miranda: Trump Refugee Order ’Deeply Un-American’

Jerome Hudson

Hamilton creator Miranda came out against President Donald Trump’s executive order temporarily suspending the U. S. Refugee Admissions Program, calling it “deeply . ”[“I keep seeing ‘Immigrants, We Get The Job Done’ on placards at every march, at every protest. I can’t tell you what that does to me as a writer to see a line [I wrote]. And what it means for the conversation, in this moment in history,” Miranda told The Huffington Post on Thursday. The also said Trump’s order is “against the fundamental freedom of religion in our constitution. ” President Trump signed an executive order last week which suspended the U. S. Refugee Admissions Program for 120 days. The order prohibits the arrival of Syrian refugees into the United States and halted entry of citizens from failed state, countries including Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Libya. Miranda, who campaigned heavily for Hillary Clinton, also pledged his support for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) a agency Trump has promised to defund. “The importance of the NEA ― I can not tell you how many studies and findings find that arts lift up every other score in education,” Miranda said. “When you learn music, you use both hemispheres of your brain. It helps you with the math and it helps you with the arts. It’s so important that the arts have attention in our education. It certainly saved my life. I don’t know where I would be without the amazing arts education I got at a public school. I certainly wouldn’t be talking to you. So, we’re going to have to fight to protect it. ” Follow Jerome Hudson on Twitter @jeromeehudson

John Doyle

Obama himself denied any knowledge of the server, I should believe him because he said we could keep our same Doctor and its called Affordable Care Act Yup I should believe him

Trump accuses Obama, Hillary Clinton of founding Daesh

Email US President Barack Obama and former secretary of state Hillary Clinton “founded” the Daesh (ISIL) terrorist group in the Middle East region, according to Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. Addressing supporters at a rally in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, on Wednesday, Trump said Daesh is "honoring President Obama." “He’s the founder of ISIS. He's the founder! He founded ISIS,” the real estate tycoon said, using an alternative acronym for the terrorist group. “I would say the co-founder would be ‘Crooked’ Hillary Clinton,” Trump added. He went on to criticize Obama’s decision to withdraw American military forces from Iraq and leaving behind a void for Daesh terrorists to fill. “We should never have gotten out the way we got out,” he said. “We unleashed terrible fury all over the Middle East." “Instead of allowing some small forces behind to maybe, just maybe, keep it under control, we pulled it out,” he continued. Daesh terrorists, many of whom were initially trained by the CIA in Jordan in 2012 to destabilize the Syrian government, still control parts of Iraq and Syria. They have been engaged in crimes against humanity in areas under their control. They have been carrying out horrific acts of violence such as public decapitations and crucifixions against all communities, including Shia and Sunni Muslims, Kurds, and Christians. In a statement last week, Mike Pence, Trump’s vice presidential candidate, also said that the policies of Obama and Clinton led to the rise of Daesh. He blamed Obama and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton for the “disastrous decisions” that led to the death of Captain Humayun Khan in Iraq. On July 28, Captain Khan’s father, Khizr Khan, addressed the Democratic National Convention, denouncing Trump as unpatriotic and selfish over his statements against immigrants and Muslims.

Thyroid Cancer Scare: The Test Removes Your Thyroid Whether it is Cancerous or Not

Admin - Orissa

Argentina president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner had her thyroid gland removed, but test results showed she did not have cancer. Image source . by Paul Fassa Health Impact News Suppose you went to a doctor for low energy and a raspy throat. You vaguely suspect your thyroid is weak, maybe hypothyroidism. But after a series of tests, tiny nodules were found on your throat and the doctor determined you needed to have your thyroid removed, a thyroidectomy, to determine whether or not the nodules are cancerous. Then you are told not to worry, there are medicines that will be prescribed to replace the missing thyroid’s hormone production. You would have to take them for the rest of your life. You figure anything is better than dying from cancer spreading from the thyroid to elsewhere or undergoing chemotherapy, so you go for it. Nipping it in the bud, they say. Then after the procedure, you discover that those nodules weren’t cancerous and there was no threat of cancer. You’ll have to take those synthetic pharmaceutical drugs forever, but at least you know you’re cancer free now. After several months of taking those drugs, you discover your complaints and symptoms prior to the surgical procedure have been worsening. This unfortunate medical procedure is harming people far too often, leading some doctors to declare it needs to stop. Real Life Examples of Those Possible Scenarios The first part of my fictitious question was international news in 2011 . That’s when Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner underwent a thyroidectomy to preclude the possibility of cancer that could spread into her neck’s lymph glands and brain. The biopsy of El Presidente’s thyroid tissues proved the earlier detected nodules were not cancerous at all. Despite cover-up controversy and corruption surrounding Cristina’s tenure as Argentina’s president, she had many adoring fans who breathed a sigh of relief. The song lyric “don’t cry for me Argentina” was evoked with that discovery. Of course, there was no follow-up on how Cristina fared with her daily dose of synthetic thyroid hormones. But a less prominent case concerning a patient of Dr. Jeffrey Dach (pronounced dash) a holistic M.D. in South Florida, provides a perfect example of what to expect after partial or total thyroidectomies used for biopsies. Here is Dr. Dach’s explanation: The surgery had disturbed her recurrent laryngeal nerve leaving her with a chronic hoarseness, cough and voice change. The surgery also removed the parathyroid glands leaving her at risk for osteoporosis. The radioactive iodine treatment caused salivary gland damage, leaving her with a chronic dry mouth and bad taste. I explained to Lisa that her symptoms of hypothyroidism were due to the small dose of Synthroid, … which contains only T4, does not completely replace the function of her missing thyroid gland. A natural thyroid medication made from desiccated porcine thyroid gland containing T3, T4 and Calcitonin is a far better alternative. Lisa was switched over to her natural thyroid medication, … and 3 weeks later called the office to report a dramatic improvement with relief of chronic fatigue and improved energy levels. Dr. Dach mentioned that 36 year old Lisa’s procedures were done “just to make sure.” At first, her doctor perceived a small lump in her neck by touch (palpating) and recommended a thyroid ultrasound, which imaged a 9 mm nodule or lump on her thyroid. Then an ultrasound guided needle biopsy was ordered that determined “papillary carcinoma of the thyroid.” Approximate total cost of the procedures was over $20,000 not including her lifetime prescription of synthetic pharmaceutical thyroid hormones needed once her thyroid gland was removed. This life of pharmaceutical hormones is demanded for even partial thyroidectomies that are impaired from optimum operations. A Few Practitioners Argue Against this Aggressive Diagnostic Procedure Almost all thyroid cancers found with ultrasound scanning and needle biopsy are the small occult (almost invisible) papillary carcinoma , or OPC, a relatively benign tumor with a 30 year survival rate of 95 percent without treatment. A 1985 Finnish study of autopsies from deaths unrelated to thyroid issues or cancers determined what a few have suspected all along, that people live with OPCs and die from other causes without thyroid cancer diagnosis’. From that study: Apparently the great majority of the tumors remain small and circumscribed and even from those few tumors that grow larger and become invasive OPCs only a minimal proportion will ever become a clinical carcinoma. … OPC can be regarded as a normal finding which should not be treated when incidentally found. In order to avoid unnecessary operations [emphasis added] it is suggested that incidentally found small OPCs (less than 5 mm in diameter) were called occult papillary tumor instead of carcinoma. (Abstract source) Whether the programmed fear of death from cancer motivates aggressively attacking OPCs or simply cancer treatments’ high profits, most likely some combination of both, there are those within mainstream medicine who have expressed disdain over the current OPC approach. Radiologist John J. Cronan, M.D., posed this question in his editorial published in the June 2008 issue of Radiology, “ Thyroid Nodules: Is It Time to Turn Off the US Machines? ” From the patient perspective, we have hung the psychologic stigma of cancer on these patients and the dependency for daily thyroid supplementation …We accept all these consequences to control a cancer with a 99% 10-year survival. … Realizing the outcome of screening the thyroid, it well might be better to turn off the US machines. In summary, we need to develop an evidence-based strategy that will permit us to escape this flood of nodules. (Source) In a 2007 JAMA ( Journal of American Medical Association ) article, neck surgeon Dr. Keith Keller, M.D., a veteran of 1,000 thyroid sugeries over his 28 year career, made this claim: I do not believe that this [thyroid cancer] epidemic is real. It is due to improved diagnostic scrutiny, ultrasonography, and other imaging studies and the increasing use of ultrasound-guided FNAB. We may be diagnosing and treating cancers that have no clinical significance. (Emphasis added) We have embarked on a quixotic quest to rid our patients of microscopic and probably clinically unimportant thyroid cancer. We need to refocus our efforts, not to detect more occult disease, but to identify and cure those few patients whose disease is likely to shorten their lives. We need to improve our accuracy in the evaluation of the indeterminate thyroid nodule. We are performing far too many unnecessary thyroidectomies. [Emphasis added] (Source) Safeguarding Against Thyroidectomies and the Resultant Synthetic Hormones The reason behind this is all the diagnostic studies Dr. Keller mentioned are inconclusive for diagnosing truly malignant thyroid cancer that could spread into lymph glands and other areas. The only reason for partial or total thyroidectomies is to determine whether the nodules are not cancerous. A minority of courageous mainstream M.D.s have suggested a wait-and-see policy before proceeding to the stage of using a thyroidectomy to determine cancer. The nodules are usually benign after all. Some think over 1 mm is time to cut into the thyroid, most of those concerned consider over 5 mm as the time to surgically probe, while Dr. Yasuhiro Ito of Japan recommends extending the wait-and-see approach to 10 mm. That would have spared Lisa all the suffering from which Dr. Dach rescued her. Patient advocate and author of several books on thyroid and hormonal issues, Mary Shomon, thinks the latest extension of testing for thyroid cancer might eliminate a lot of unnecessary thyroid removals. The Afirma Thyroid FNA Analysis extends the ultrasound guided FNA (Fine Needle Aspiration) with a series of tests to confirm or rule out malignancy. Currently lab facilities are limited and many doctors may not know of this extended procedure. The procedure runs around $3500, considerably less than the 15 to 20,000 dollars dolled out for the surgical biopsy that usually renders one’s thyroid gland useless or no longer there and puts one on a lifetime prescription of synthetic hormone drugs. An easy way to safeguard yourself from thyroid problems is by supplementing iodine heavily, much more than the FDA recommended dosage of 150 mcg to 300 mcg daily. One should boldly move into the milligrams per dose range, even over 12.5 mg daily to compensate for iodine deficiency. (Source) It’s also very important to avoid fluoridated and chlorinated water as well as most commercial pastries and breads commonly made with bromide or sodas that are brominated. All of these compounds block your thyroid’s ability to absorb the iodine fuel it needs. If you or a loved one unfortunately undergoes a thyroidectomy to lose that gland’s hormonal activity, at least get off the synthetic hormones and use naturally animal derived desiccated hormones (bovine or porcine) such as Armour. A friend of ours lost her life one year after a thyroidectomy that she stubbornly pursued. Her loss of life was not from cancer, it was from complications of the procedure and her forced use of synthetic thyroid hormones. Sources :

Good News for MTV’s V.M.A.s: Music Videos Matter Again - The New York Times

Jon Caramanica

As music awards shows go, MTV’s annual Video Music Awards ceremony — the V. M. A.s — is by far the loosest, the most vibrant and the most prone to disruption. It has long been the platform where pop stars know a medium amount of misbehavior will be tolerated — encouraged, actually. The show isn’t about trophies, but moments. That MTV itself isn’t much in the music business anymore only makes the playing field clearer for provocation: Acting out here is like trashing a hotel room, not your house. Accordingly, in recent years, the most memorable parts of the awards have been … not quite musical. There was the Kanye Swift kerfuffle, still reverberating after all this time. And then there was Miley Cyrus’s party as a pop fire starter, followed a couple of years later by her squaring off with Nicki Minaj. All of which is fine fun, truly. Just because the show was originally intended to celebrate music video doesn’t mean that’s what it needs to excel at. And yet, for the first time in several years, there’s something exciting about the current collection of nominees, particularly in the video of the year category. Of the five nominated for the show’s Moonman awards on Sunday night, when the event will be broadcast live from Madison Square Garden for the first time, four are state of the art in content, concept or delivery: Beyoncé’s “Formation,” Drake’s “Hotline Bling,” Justin Bieber’s “Sorry” and Kanye West’s “Famous. ” (The fifth, Adele’s “Hello,” is elegant and stars Adele, but that’s about it.) For the first time in recent memory, the awards have the opportunity to be more than an outlandish pop star playground and to serve as a reminder of how essential music video can be as a art form. This is the ideal year for such a reframing: Video has been an essential part of several important artists’ releases, not just as a secondary element, but also as part of the primary project. Beyoncé’s “Lemonade” album, which added political and psychological depth to her songs of mistrust and hurt, came into the world first as a short film that had its premiere on HBO. The “Formation” video preceded “Lemonade,” setting the table for its messages of black empowerment with rich Southern gothic imagery and provocative messages about police violence against black bodies, which made Beyoncé a flash point in a way she had never been. For Kanye West, the “Famous” video wasn’t a disruption of his public narrative, but a bold extension of it. The controversial work, in which he and his wife, Kim Kardashian West, lie naked in a large bed, surrounded by nude of their friends and foes (Taylor Swift, Ray J, Donald J. Trump, Caitlyn Jenner and more) was a reinterpretation of a painting by the artist Vincent Desiderio. It is also a mood piece about innocence, a provocative and unlikely rejoinder to the song’s tabloid DNA. But it, too, ruffled the feathers of those who thought Mr. West’s use of his peers’ images was a violation too far. Beyoncé’s and Mr. West’s uses of music video are aesthetic and conceptual, and their project served as vehicles for extending their public images. What Drake and Mr. Bieber have done is perhaps the opposite: letting go of the wheel and using the music video as a focal point for mass reinterpretation. Drake’s “Hotline Bling,” with its soft pastels and spacious backdrops, is a virtual meme generator. It understands the video art form as a starting point, not a conclusion, and has served as raw material for endless gifs, memes and cover versions. Mr. Bieber’s “Sorry” acknowledges crowdsourcing in a different way: It is a dance video, featuring a host of young female performers, and recalls how, on Vine or Instagram or Snapchat, young people everywhere make themselves the stars of their own dance videos. Mr. Bieber isn’t even present. Each of these videos, in its own way, shows an artist deploying the form as a novel means of garnering attention in an increasingly scattered marketplace, using either provocation or participation. That all these approaches are arriving at once suggests a new era of maturity for music video, one in which the biggest stars are also among the biggest innovators. That’s reminiscent of the 1980s and ’90s, the golden era of MTV, when having an awards show to celebrate the artistry of music videos made the most sense. But as MTV began to retreat from playing videos in the early 2000s, budgets set aside for music videos shrank — gone were the Hype Williams extravaganzas, the Michael Jackson and Madonna event videos. This coincided with the end of the peak CD era — — the internet was beginning to chip away at all that. By the 2000s, the internet — and YouTube specifically — became the natural home for music videos, though it still existed largely in the shadow of the outlet that was once that sanctuary, MTV. It felt comparably small, and therefore music video felt diminished. But then an interesting thing happened. Music video rescaled as an art form, and innovations began happening at the smaller end, with independent artists, in an attempt to stand out, pushing the form more aggressively than their peers. Thanks to the relative affordability of cameras and software for editing and postproduction, developments began to come ever more quickly. Eventually, the major record labels took an interest in the internet as a distribution channel, and even created Vevo, their own video site. Music video had recaptured the imagination of a mass audience, and some new artists rose to the occasion, like Lady Gaga, whose “Bad Romance” and “Telephone” videos were premier events. Now it’s not uncommon for the biggest pop stars to have tens of millions, if not hundreds of millions, of monetizable views on a video, and a sense of flushness has returned to the form. YouTube is widely perceived as the most popular online outlet for music — it has a reach exponentially greater than cable TV could ever have. The music video, less and less an afterthought, is often embedded in the album release process. Some artists go so far as to make videos for every song they record, and release the videos first, or, in the case of artists like Beyoncé and Frank Ocean, use video as an integral part of the rollout of their music in the form of a “visual album. ” This of video is now the new normal, and might make for V. M. A. ceremonies — this year’s and beyond — in which the videos are once again the stars, not the sideshow.

Italy Just Handed the Global Economy Another Giant Variable - The New York Times

Peter S. Goodman

Global markets were not lacking in precarious unknowns. Italy just added another. As voters on Sunday emphatically rejected constitutional changes aimed at streamlining government and making it easier to revive a moribund economy, they enhanced concerns that Italy’s banks could spiral into a disaster. They reinvigorated worries about the endurance of the euro currency and broader European economic integration. And they amplified the sense that Europe is a land of disappointing growth, political dysfunction and seething populism. “Existential crisis” had not been on the ballot, but that was essentially the result. The lopsided tally against the reforms — nearly 60 percent rejected them — prompted the resignation of Italy’s prime minister, Matteo Renzi, leaving Europe’s economy without clear leadership. As world markets absorbed the result, investors soured on Italian banking stocks. Shares in Monte dei Paschi di Siena, which was involved in Italy’s grandest banking fiasco, surrendered 4 percent on Monday on expectations that a private sector rescue devised by Mr. Renzi had been killed. Investors initially pushed down the euro before it recovered. They cut the price of Italian government bonds, lifting the yield — a sign that investors will demand greater reward for the heightened risks of lending to Italy. Investors also unloaded Spanish and Portuguese government bonds. The widening spread between German bonds and those issued by European countries amounts to a flashing indicator that investors see risks for the southern periphery. These market moves were muted because the results had been anticipated. Indeed, for Europe and the rest of the world, this dynamic was uncomfortably familiar. For nearly a decade, the 19 nations sharing the euro have lurched from one crisis to the next, with no effective fix. A currency designed to unite the adversaries of World War II has instead generated fresh divisions — between creditor and borrower Northern Europe and the Mediterranean. In a year in which Britain voted to abandon the European Union and the American electorate selected Donald J. Trump as the next president, Italy offered its own contribution to the global populist insurrection. Against this backdrop, the basic contours of the world economy are now uncertain. The British vote to exit Europe — Brexit, in common parlance — threatens to cleave the geography of the world’s largest single marketplace. The American elevation of Mr. Trump hands authority over the world’s largest economy to a man who has threatened a trade war with the China. The fall of Mr. Renzi creates an opening for the populist Five Star Movement, a party that seeks to free Italy of the euro and its strictures on government spending. Even that possibility threatens Europe with trouble. If investors worry that Italy may leave the euro, they will demand greater rewards for continued lending. Those with the greatest debt burdens — Greece, Spain and Portugal — could see their borrowing costs rise beyond their ability to pay. For now, such grim scenarios appear remote. The referendum maintains the power of the Italian legislature’s upper chamber, a potent check on the Five Star Movement, or any government pursuing radical change. The most immediate consequences fall on the Italian banking system, now choked with some 360 billion euro, or about $385 billion, in suspect debts. Mr. Renzi tried and failed to inject public funds into Monte dei Paschi, the perpetual locus of fears about an financial conflagration. The European Union, led by Germany, effectively forbade that step, citing new rules barring taxpayer bailouts to limit the temptation of bankers to engage in reckless lending. Mr. Renzi instead forged a plan that has Monte dei Paschi scrambling to secure €5 billion from private investors. “For Monte dei Paschi, it’s going to be extremely hard to close the capital raise by end of the year,” said Nicola Borri, a finance professor at Luiss Guido Carli University in Rome. “The political future is so uncertain. ” Most experts assume a caretaker Italian government will wind up seeking permission from European authorities for some form of a rescue of Monte dei Paschi, while agreeing to wipe out the investments of a thin slice of bondholders. The consensus is that Italy can patch immediate holes in the banking system. But the referendum has destroyed what momentum existed to address the condition that is both cause and effect of the banking problem — a dire lack of economic growth. Italy’s banks are stuffed with uncollectable debts in part because the country’s economy is smaller than it was a decade ago. Bad loans on bank balance sheets reflect that millions of people have lost jobs, eliminating spending power, while companies have seen sales evaporate. Mr. Renzi pursued reforms aimed at spurring companies to invest. He made it easier for companies to terminate workers to eliminate a chief impediment to hiring them in the first place — the fear that giving someone a job was akin to adopting them as a dependent forever. He sought to speed civil processes in the notoriously inefficient court system to make it easier for banks to recoup bad debts by collecting collateral. The constitutional changes he sought were aimed at clearing another blockage to reform. They would have trimmed the powers of the upper chamber of the legislature, a place where proposals die. Voters clearly did not trust Mr. Renzi to wield greater power. Now, they will be represented by someone with less power where it matters a great deal: Brussels and Berlin. nations in Europe have long argued that their burdens would be lighter if they could spend more money to spur faster economic growth. But the European Union — anchored by Germany — has cited rules limiting the spending of member governments with big debts. Instead, Brussels and Berlin argue, such countries must deliver structural reforms, stripping away labor protections and trimming pension benefits. In a testament to the severity of this creed, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble effectively threatened to banish Greece from the euro if Athens did not deliver on reforms it promised as a condition of successive European bailouts. “Athens must finally implement the needed reforms,” Mr. Schäuble told the Bild am Sonntag newspaper in an interview published on Sunday, a day before eurozone finance ministers convened to court the participation of the International Monetary Fund in the Greek bailout. “If Greece wants to stay in the euro, there is no way around it. ” Mr. Renzi was a rare leader who carried credibility in such quarters. He gained modest relief from European spending strictures in part by pointing at his reforms. “Renzi is the only leader in recent history who has advanced a structural reform agenda,” said Mujtaba Rahman, managing director for Europe at the Eurasia Group, a risk consultancy. Now, Mr. Renzi is gone, along with his reform trajectory. What is most palpably still here is an Italian economy that is growing anemically, soon to be presided over by a caretaker government with a limited mandate. “What chance does a less effective prime minister overseeing a caretaker government have of getting a hearing in Brussels and Berlin?” Mr. Rahman said. “It’s just not possible. ” Italy has no fuel for growth. It has no clear way to extricate itself — or the other parts of the planet connected to money — from the perils of its grinding banking crisis. And the one reinforces the other.

Instagram Introduces New Features That Mimic Twitter and Snap Tools - The New York Times

Mike Isaac

SAN FRANCISCO — For the last six years, Instagram has been a repository for users’ most picturesque moments. But 2016 has been a year of reinvention for the social network, which has broadened what it lets people do with their images. Now Instagram, which is owned by Facebook, is rolling out two more new features. On Monday, the company is unveiling one feature focused on live video and one on ephemeral messaging. Both tap into a type of sharing popularized in recent years by companies like Snap Inc. which runs Snapchat, and Twitter, in its video app Periscope. “We want Instagram to be a place where you can share all of your moments, to create a space to do so,” Kevin Weil, head of product at Instagram, said in an interview. Mr. Weil said this philosophy, and the feature choices that stem from it, would encourage people to use Instagram for more than the selected, highly polished feeds for which it is known. The new features thrust Instagram more directly into competition with Twitter and into a heightened rivalry with Snap, which is particularly notable as Snap recently filed paperwork to go public. Instagram has steadily been introducing features to compete with Snap. This year, it unveiled a feature called Instagram Stories, which mimics a Snapchat feature called Snapchat Stories, in which people can organize their photos into a story line. Instagram’s feature will be released to a small test group on Monday a wider rollout is planned for the weeks to come. The feature lets Instagram users broadcast live video to their followers through the Stories section of the app. Much as in Twitter’s Periscope, friends and followers watching Instagram live videos can comment and send cartoon hearts to the broadcaster during the stream. But live Instagram videos are meant to be fleeting and cannot be saved to watch later. That gives broadcasters room to express themselves more fully, Mr. Weil said, without the added pressure of the raw video sticking around indefinitely. Instagram’s other new feature, disappearing photos and videos within the company’s private messaging tool, will be available to all its users. While an ephemeral live broadcast may be seen by many, disappearing messages are for the few, usually friends or family in a tighter circle than the wider audience of followers. Disappearing messages were made famous by Snapchat, which was able to draw a generation of young regular users. Snapchat rose to prominence in a era of social media, one in which people grew fond of the idea that their digital history did not have to follow them around the internet in perpetuity. Mr. Weil defended the company’s move into ephemeral sharing and pointed to improvements and product adjustments that he said highlighted Instagram’s innovation with the format. “The format is definitely something that Snapchat innovated on,” Mr. Weil said. “But it’s just like how hashtags started on Twitter and are used everywhere. I think this particular format is one that we will see adopted everywhere else. ”

Anonymous

Same people all the time , i dont know how you can fix this corruption http://www.fromthewilderness.com/free/ww3/10_09_01_krongard.html

Ahead Of Tomorrow’s Fed Meeting There Are Some Very Strange Things Happening

King World News

6 Views November 01, 2016 GOLD , KWN King World News Ahead of tomorrow’s Fed meeting, there are some very strange things happening. By Bill Fleckenstein President Of Fleckenstein Capital October 1 ( King World News ) – Overnight bond markets continued their recent losing ways again last night, with 10-year German bunds now yielding a massive 18 basis points. That doesn’t sound like much, but it is a long way from the -15 bps it yielded a couple of months ago. Meanwhile, world equity markets more or less looked the other way, although they were slightly lower. The early going here saw the market modestly weaker as well, and acting funky enough that I put on a few shorts… IMPORTANT: To find out which company Doug Casey, Rick Rule and Sprott Asset Management are pounding the table on that already has a staggering 18.1 million ounces of gold that just added another massive deposit and is quickly being recognized as one of the greatest gold opportunities in the world – CLICK HERE OR BELOW: Sponsored Around midday the leakage accelerated somewhat and the market was 0.5% lower by early afternoon. With a couple of hours to go, when I had to leave, the decline was about 0.75% (but it felt like it might accelerate, so check the box scores). Away from stocks, green paper was a bit weaker, led by a bounce in the euro, oil lost 1%, fixed income was a bit lower, and the metals came to life, led by silver, which popped 3% to gold’s 1%. The miners similarly had a pretty strong day, just as they did yesterday. I didn’t note Monday’s action because I was suspicious it might have something to do with end-of-the-month tape painting, but obviously that was not the case. Gold Dog, New Tricks Given the fact that the Bank of Japan did nothing new and the Fed is expected to make hawkish comments tomorrow regarding a December rate hike, it was an interesting time for the metals to pop. I’m sure today’s action has a number of people scratching their head as to how this could be. And I have to admit, I thought there was little chance for gold to start moving until we got past tomorrow’s promise from Fed heads to hike rates, assuming the data continues to be, in their words, “strong enough” (a phrase that is naturally open to subjective interpretation on their part). Having said that, I don’t feel there is going to be a hike because I don’t think the stock market or the economy are going to cooperate. Make It Stop There is also the wild card of the election next week and despite the mainstream media and the polls suggesting that Trump is a long shot, I think the tally will be much closer and his chance of winning is nontrivial, although certainly not expected. I mention that because, were Trump to win, I think a lot of markets would be put in motion. The stock market has been an accident waiting to happen, and considering how much Wall Street seems to be enamored of a Clinton victory, an upset would probably be enough of a catalyst to send the indices tumbling, which by extension would be a positive for gold — and take a rate hike off the table. On the other hand, in the event Hillary wins, I don’t think the stock market could really go up much. In any event, I don’t want to get into too much of a discussion about what is liable to happen, as we will have the data in a few days and can decide exactly what to do in the wake of it from a stock market perspective. Besides, a precious metals position can do well under any number of potential scenarios we may see, and they may have already discounted a rate hike, which we probably won’t get. Included below are three questions and answers from the Q&A’s with Bill Fleckenstein. Bonus Q&A Question: If the bond market has “topped”, isn’t it irrelevant who wins the Presidency. In other words the bond market will be in full control and politicians will be late and simply be responding with desperate measures? Answer from Fleck: “ Yes, the President is irrelevant to a large degree versus the bond market.” Question: Dear Bill, Happy Halloween! If you were going to dress as something scary for Halloween would it be– a) deflation, b) a creepy clown, or c) one of the presidential candidates. Of course b) and c) aren’t mutually exclusive, since clowns can be either gender… Answer from Fleck: “ If I was going out to a party, I would dress as Mr. Politically Incorrect, and I’d try to wear a small bit of any/every costume that is deemed to be “offensive,” (i.e. part Chinese, Japanese, black, Arab, gay, trans, Indian, Mexican, angry clown, Hitler, etc.) I am so sick of microagression and related censorship. We have a right to free speech in this country, but there is no right to “not be offended.” People need to get over themselves. We have far bigger problems in this country than being offended.” Question: Yesterday you wrote “as the belief that the central planners have accomplished what they set out to, nothing can go wrong, and the election will go whichever way it needs to for us to live happily ever after.” I think the S&P 500 being flat for 22 months with fits and starts says something doesn’t it? Frustrating for bulls and bears alike. Answer from Fleck: “ Yeah, it does say something, which is, “without QE, the stock market can’t go up.” *** To subscribe to Bill Fleckenstein’s fascinating Daily Thoughts CLICK HERE. ***KWN has now released the remarkable audio interview with Nomi Prins CLICK HERE OR ON THE IMAGE BELOW. ***ALSO RELEASED: Today’s Upside Move In Gold Is Nothing Compared To What Is Coming CLICK HERE. ***KWN has also released Rick Rule’s timely audio interview CLICK HERE OR ON THE IMAGE BELOW. © 2015 by King World News®. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. However, linking directly to the articles is permitted and encouraged. About author

Barry Branscum

Right. Well that clears that up.

Here Are Six ‘Miracle’ Drugs Big Pharma Now Regrets - Truthdig

Jodie Evans

Here Are Six ‘Miracle’ Drugs Big Pharma Now Regrets Posted on Oct 29, 2016 By Martha Rosenberg / AlterNet Shutterstock Are you depressed? It may have less to do with your mood than your birth control pills, high blood pressure pills, antibiotics or even anti-hair-loss drug according to new research. New risks have also emerged with popular gastroesophageal reflux disease medicines and even the top-selling painkiller Tylenol. There are two reasons the risks associated with popular drugs seem to trail their aggressive promotion. Certainly, as millions use brand name drugs, dangerous side effects and adverse events are seen that did not emerge in much smaller clinical trials. Who knew? But also, as AlterNet has noted before, dangerous side effects that might be considered major drawbacks to prescribing the drugs often emerge only when drugs have gone “off patent” and all their profit potential is realized. For both reasons, drug safety activists recommend waiting five years before taking a “new” drug—until it is not “new” anymore. Advertisement Here are drugs and drug classes that have raised new concerns. 1. Proton Pump Inhibitors One of Pharma’s most successful gambits has been its proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) like Nexium (the “Purple Pill”) and Prilosec that reduce stomach acid. To sell the drugs, Pharma aggressively raised “awareness” of gastroesophageal reflux disease or GERD a rare condition which, over time, can change the lining of the esophagus and lead to cancer. Actually, most PPI users have simple heartburn. Even babies are now given PPIs for “baby reflux” because they spit up 71 times a day—a normal occurrence that has been pathologized. The medical establishment has deplored PPI overuse, pointing out that heartburn can exist without esophageal damage and vice verse and calling PPIs “purple crack.” Now it turns out they are right—acid reducers are addictive. “Once a patient has taken a PPI for longer than a few weeks, acid hypersecretion can occur on discontinuation,” says a recent article in Pharmaceutical Journal. “This causes rebound symptoms, and frequently establishes a vicious cycle of drug reinitiation and long-term continuation.” Adverse effects of long-term PPI use are well documented from the risks of the dread intestinal infection Clostridium difficile (“C Diff”), bone thinning and fractures and vitamin and mineral deficiencies to chronic kidney disease and heart attacks. Now there is a new reported risk: dementia. A study earlier this year in JAMA Neurology of 73,?679 people 75 or older with no dementia and taking PPIs found the patients “had a significantly increased risk of incident dementia compared with the patients not receiving PPI.” Other studies have also found a link. 2. Antibiotics AlterNet has frequently written about underreported antibiotic dangers, most recently of the fluoroquinolone class which includes Cipro and Levaquin. Even as the FDA tries to curtail use of antibiotics on the nation’s farms to make animals grow faster (a use which accounts for most U.S. antibiotic sales) drug use on the farm is actually increasing. The FDA’s 2014 Summary Report on Antimicrobials Sold or Distributed for Use in Food Producing Animals reveals that cephalosporin sales increased by 57 percent between 2009 through 2014, sales of antibiotics like clindamycin increased by 150 percent and sales of antibiotics like gentamicin, a dangerous drug class, increased by 36 percent. Antibiotics have a probable role in obesity—why wouldn’t they when they add pounds to livestock? In 1974, Navy recruits were given antibiotics to see if they would gain weight, and after only seven weeks, they did. Similar results were seen in children in Guatemala and in babies . But making people fat or encouraging antibiotic resistant microbes like MRSA are the least of the risks, it turns out. We now know that the bacteria in our gut, the microbiome, which antibiotics compromise as they kill the “bad” bacteria, are responsible for much more than good digestion. Antibiotics also affect the brain and “influence our mood and temperament,” says food expert Michael Pollan. “If you transplant the gut microbiota of relaxed and adventurous mice into the guts of timid and anxious mice they become less stressed and more adventurous.” Antibiotic-affected microbiomes may also be behind asthma and autoimmune diseases, acne and even autism, say published reports. 3. Birth Control Pills You know the long list of side effects and warnings at the end of drug ads? Telling you the drug may cause you to bleed to death or have a stroke while you look at images of sunsets and puppies? We have women’s health advocates to thank for the disclosures. Fifty years ago when the Pill first became available, there was no “disclosure.” Women did not know what effects birth control pills would have on their bodies—or even think it was theirright to know—and were supposed to take them anyway. By 1970, after The Doctors’ Case Against the Pill by Barbara Seaman was published, Wisconsin senator Gaylord Nelson held hearings about clear links between the Pill and depression, blood clots and decrease in libido cited nowhere on the label. No women were asked to speak at the hearings, moving Alice Wolfson, a co-founder of the National Women’s Health Network, to say, “It must be admitted that women make superb guinea pigs. They don’t cost anything, they feed themselves, they clean their own cages, pay for their own pills, and remunerate the clinical observer. We will no longer tolerate intimidation by white-coated gods antiseptically directing our lives.” Why were feminists so angry about a drug that let them control their reproduction? Because the Pill caused 50 additional physiological changes besides stopping pregnancy, some of which were and are life-threatening. Women were told by the the male-dominated medical establishment not to worry their pretty heads about what the drugs were doing to their bodies, while men were spared any responsibility or medical risks. Fast-forward to this year, when medical studies again confirmed links between birth control pills and depression. A Danish study of more than a million women found links between birth control pills and depression, especially in young women, and corresponding higher use of antidepressant drugs. Women’s health advocates were finally vindicated. “The risk of depression has been recognized since women were able to get their hands on oral contraceptives,” says Cindy Pearson of the National Women’s Health Network. “It’s been reported by women for 50 years.” A 2013 book called Sweetening the Pill: or How We Got Hooked on Hormonal Birth Control might also be vindicated, writes Lara Prendergast. The book was called “a dishonest anti-Pill treatise” because the author “dared to point out that hormonal contraceptives are ranked by the World Health Organization as a class-one carcinogen alongside tobacco and asbestos,” she writes. 4. Propecia Two years ago, AlterNet told readers about Propecia, a popular treatment for male pattern baldness linked to disturbing side effects in men including sexual dysfunction and actual reduction in penis size. At the time, Propecia’s label assured users that sexual side effects “went away in men who stopped taking Propecia”; however, the current label warns about sexual dysfunction like “erectile dysfunction, libido disorders, ejaculation disorders, and orgasm disorders; male infertility and/or poor seminal quality” that continues after discontinuation of treatment. A September study in BMJ found “the risk of erectile dysfunction was not increased for users of finasteride 1mg compared with unexposed men with alopecia [hair loss],” but reports of the disturbing side effects abound in medical j ournals and popular magazines. “Emerging research and a slew of lawsuits suggest that finasteride may be more dangerous than previously believed, with side effects — inability to orgasm, painful erections, chronic depression, insomnia, brain fog, and suicidal thoughts — that can last long after patients stop taking the pill,” wrote Men’s Journal last year. Despite the life-changing side effects, Propecia/finasteride is still aggressively sold with warnings about its use downplayed and hard to find. In fact, “As of Sept. 26, the World Health Organization Program for International Drug Monitoring’s database of adverse drug reactions contained 13,546 finasteride ADRs [adverse drug reactions], including 3,577 sexual function and fertility disorders, 1,526 depressed mood disorders and disturbances, and 67 completed suicides,” writes the Post-Finasteride Syndrome Foundation . 5. Tylenol Tylenol may be one of the most widely used pain relieving drugs in the world but new safety concerns continue to emerge. The risk of liver damage with Tylenol (acetaminophen) that can occur from taking even a slightly higher dose than directed moved Tylenol maker, Johnson & Johnson to increase warnings in 2014. Unintentional acetaminophen overdoses cause as many as 26,000 hospitalizations and 458 deaths per year reported the FDA. Soon after the increased warnings, medical journals linked acetaminophen to birth defects in the children of women taking the drug such as poor motor development, behavior problems and language delays. A study in JAMA Pediatrics identified an increased occurrence of ADHD by the age of seven in children whose mothers took acetaminophen. A study in the International Journal of Epidemiology found children more likely to have behavior problems and slow motor development by the age of three if their mothers had taken acetaminophen. Not all medical voices concur. Some said the studies were poorly designed or that fevers , for which the mother presumably took acetaminophen, are responsible for the birth defects. In recent years, acetaminophen has been found to have psychological and mental effects not before described. The pain reliever may “blunt individuals’ reactivity to a range of negative stimuli in addition to physical pain,” says one study. Another study found acetaminophen reduced the psychological pain caused by social rejection. 6. Beta Blockers One out of three American has high blood pressure and beta-blockers like atenolol (Tenormin), carvedilol (Coreg), metoprolol, propranolol (Inderal), sotalol (Betapace) and timolol (Timoptic) which treat the condition have been linked to depression for many years. As early as 1967, the British Medical Journal reported that hypertensive patients treated with propranolol for cardiac arrhythmias experienced a rise in the incidence of depression. Still, it has not been known if patients’ depressions were caused by the actual actions of beta blockers (like blocking the effects of epinephrine/adrenaline and slowing heart rate) or mood conditions associated with the diseases for which beta blockers are prescribed such as hypertension and congestive heart failure. Now, the evidence is tipping toward the drugs. An October study in the journal Hypertension found that beta blockers “may have a role in the pathogenesis or course of mood disorders” and increased hospital admissions for mood disorders. A “bidirectional relationship between depression and cardiovascular disease” exists, says the study , “because of the overlapping pathophysiological processes that underlie both conditions.” “There is a lot of data that depression and cardiovascular disease are related ... but current hypertensive practices do not consider depression,” said the study’s lead author Sandosh Padmanabhan. “There could be some people who are predisposed to depression who we should not be giving these drugs.”

Aleppo, China, Jordan: Your Morning Briefing - The New York Times

Charles McDermid

Good morning. Here’s what you need to know: • In South Korea, the trial begins for Choi above, the jailed presidential adviser accused of influence peddling. President Park who is suspended while the Constitutional Court considers her fate, said over the weekend that parliament did not have the legal grounds to impeach her. Supporters said that the presumption of her innocence had been violated. _____ • The muted U. S. response to China’s capture of an American underwater drone has Washington’s regional allies worried about further exposure to an increasingly assertive Beijing. The audacious seizure, in international waters in the South China Sea, was also seen as a taunt to Donald J. Trump’s hard line on Beijing. _____ • The American outcry over Russian intervention in the presidential election is growing, even as Mr. Trump continues his march into office. The next step toward his inauguration is Monday’s vote by the Electoral College, a body created early in the country’s history as a compromise between those who wanted Congress to choose the president and those who favored a popular vote. It may not be the usual rubber stamp: At least one elector has said he will buck his party and not vote for Mr. Trump. Mr. Trump trails in the popular vote by more than 2. 5 million votes, the margin among winning candidates since 1824. _____ • The removal of residents in Aleppo and nearby villages proceeded tenuously after rebels set fire to several buses. Videos on social media show the harrowing journey of more than 8, 000 people evacuated in the past few days. A U. N. Security Council resolution calling for aid and monitors to enter Aleppo appears doomed by Russia’s promise of a veto. The resolution, drafted by France, was intended to prevent a blood bath. Syrian refugees have found a unique welcome in Canada, where ordinary citizens help Syrian families navigate their new world. But the challenges are many. One ’s parents fear that she is adapting so quickly that her Syrian identity will be erased. _____ • Australia’s treasurer, Scott Morrison, forecast a $7. 3 billion deterioration in the country’s budget deficit over the next four years, but still hopes to prevent the downgrade of the country’s AAA credit rating. Political fighting has hamstrung the government’s handling of deficits, corporate taxes and foreign debt. _____ • The clash at the top of India’s Tata Group is worsening, as a prominent politician alleged wrongdoing involving valuable telecommunications licenses. Above, Tata’s Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in Mumbai. • Iran reduced a purchase from Airbus, dropping orders for 12 A380 passenger jets and six other planes and cutting the value from some $27 billion to $10 billion. • “The Great Wall,” an ambitious coproduction between China and the U. S. took in at least $66 million during its opening weekend in Chinese theaters. “Your Name” continued its strong run, becoming Japan’s biggest hit ever in China. • Zalando, Europe’s largest fashion retailer in the digital market, is using a approach to take on Amazon. • Japan is producing whiskeys that connoisseurs covet, even with prices that can hit four figures per bottle. A Times reporter toured the distilleries. • Here’s a snapshot of global markets. • In Jordan’s south, seven security personnel and three civilians, including a tourist, were killed in a series of attacks by gunmen, including at an ancient crusader castle. [The New York Times] • An Arctic village is swarming with polar bears because the sea ice they rely on for hunting seals is retreating so fast. [The New York Times] • Flights were canceled and some highways were closed in Tianjin as intense air pollution sparked alerts in more than 40 cities in China’s northeast. [Reuters] • “Withdraw Ospreys,” hundreds of people chanted in Okinawa, in the latest protests over the troubled U. S. aircraft. [Asahi Shimbun] • Larry Colburn, who intervened with two comrades to halt the My Lai massacre of unarmed Vietnamese civilians by United States soldiers in 1968, died at 67. [The New York Times] • In Japan, napping in the office, or inemuri, is not only culturally accepted but seen as a sign of diligence: You must be working yourself to exhaustion. (And that’s a good thing.) • Early next year, Finland will begin handing out cash to 2, 000 jobless people, free of bureaucracy or limits on side earnings, to see if they will pursue jobs, start businesses or just squander the money on vodka. It’s a test of an idea, universal basic income, that is gaining traction worldwide. • Women’s cricket is already big in Australia, but the sport is also booming in England, India, New Zealand, the West Indies and China, which already ranks 14th in the world. Let’s begin the week talking about holiday spirits. Dried hibiscus flowers steeped with ginger mean it’s Christmastime in Jamaica. Mulled wine with port and brandy make for a fine glögg in Scandinavia. Christmas by the beach comes via coquito, a Puerto Rican cocktail. Recipes are like heirlooms for many families there and flavors include chocolate and banana. Flour derived from orchid bulbs binds sahlab, a creamy Middle Eastern beverage. In Lithuania, poppy milk, made from poppy seeds steeped in water and honey, is served on Christmas Eve as part of the Twelve Dishes feast. The British tradition of wassailing in exchange for a bowl of hot mulled cider dates back centuries, as does eggnog. Most historians agree that the egg, milk and bourbon concoction originated in medieval Britain and eventually made its way to North America in the 1700s. A recipe from 1958 ran in The Times as the beverage made a comeback. Its popularity had dimmed near the end of the previous century. Americans appeared unwilling “to sacrifice future for the sake of a momentary gratification,” a writer lamented, “even though sanctioned by the precept and example of our ancestors. ” Whatever your drink of choice is, sharing is the key ingredient. Happy Holidays. Remy Tumin contributed reporting. _____ Your Morning Briefing is published weekday mornings. What would you like to see here? Contact us at asiabriefing@nytimes. com.

Janet Yellen Speech Indicates Fed Will Rethink Interest-Rate Plans - The New York Times

Binyamin Appelbaum

PHILADELPHIA — The Federal Reserve, mindful of unexpectedly weak job growth last month, has abandoned hope of raising interest rates at its next meeting in June, but Fed officials say they are still thinking seriously about raising rates in July or September. Janet L. Yellen, the Fed’s chairwoman, said a few weeks ago that she expected the Fed to raise its benchmark interest rate “in the coming months,” but she omitted those words from a Monday speech, indicating the reported weakness of job creation in May has caused the Fed to rethink its plans. Still, Ms. Yellen delivered a generally upbeat assessment of economic conditions. While describing the May jobs report as “concerning,” she also emphasized that it was just one piece of data and that other economic indicators, including wage growth, paint a considerably brighter picture. “I see good reasons to expect that the positive forces supporting employment growth and higher inflation will continue to outweigh the negative ones,” she told the World Affairs Council of Philadelphia. Investors have all but written off the chances the Fed will increase rates at its next meeting on June 14 and 15, and Ms. Yellen did not try to change their minds. Her speech was the last public appearance by a Fed official before the meeting. But she added that she still expected economic growth — and she still expected rate increases. “If incoming data are consistent with labor market conditions strengthening and inflation making progress toward our 2 percent objective, as I expect, further gradual increases in the federal funds rate are likely to be appropriate,” she said. Some Fed officials have delivered a similar message since the May report. Loretta Mester, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, has sounded relatively confident in recent months, indicating that the economy was ready for a rate increase. In Stockholm on Saturday, she said that the May jobs report, while disappointing, had not changed her overall economic assessment. Others have emphasized that there is no reason to rush, suggesting that the Fed should wait for stronger data before moving to raise rates. “There would appear to be an advantage to waiting until developments provide greater confidence,” Lael Brainard, a Fed governor, said in a speech on Friday. In her judgment, Ms. Brainard said, the risks of moving too soon significantly exceeded the dangers of waiting a little too long. Daniel Tarullo, a Fed governor who shares Ms. Brainard’s caution, said on Thursday in an interview with Bloomberg that he was still looking for “an affirmative reason to move. ” The government estimated last week that the economy added 38, 000 jobs in May, well below market expectations and the pace of hiring so far this year. The Fed entered the year predicting quarterly rate increases, only to back away from a first increase in March when the economy showed unexpected signs of weakness. Fed officials in recent weeks insisted they were thinking about raising rates in June. Now it seems that too has passed. Ms. Yellen did not offer a new plan, and that was intentional. “I know market participants really want to know exactly what’s going to happen,” she said at one point. “There is, as I said about 18 times, no preset plan. ” She devoted much of her speech to the economic uncertainties confronting the Fed. Among them, she numbered the inconsistency of recent economic data and Britain’s coming referendum on whether to remain in the European Union. She said a breakup would be economically disruptive. “The uncertainties are sizable, and progress toward our goals and, by implication, the appropriate stance of monetary policy will depend on how these uncertainties evolve,” she said. But reasons for optimism were also on display Monday. After her speech, Ms. Yellen met with workers at a program in West Philadelphia. During her first year as Fed chairwoman, round tables with workers in Chicago and Chelsea, Mass. brought together many attendees who were struggling to find jobs. The tone of Monday’s round table was notably more upbeat — the seven people who met with Ms. Yellen all had jobs or, if they were in training programs, were optimistic about finding steady work. Mark Gay spent nearly two years looking for work before he found a job with a landscaping business run by the University City District, the nonprofit group that hosted the meeting. Asked whether life was improving for people in his West Philadelphia neighborhood, he paused before answering. “I would have to agree,” he said. “Yes, a lot of people in my community have gained employment since 2012. ” Sarah Davis, director of development for University City District, says its program has about 110 graduates a year. She said the percentage of those finding jobs has climbed steadily over the last five years to about 95 percent, and demand from potential employers now exceeds the supply of workers the program can offer. “We’re getting daily calls from potential employer partners,” Ms. Davis said. Yet Ms. Yellen noted in her speech that unemployment remained widespread among minorities and people. There were also signs the labor market is no longer healing as quickly. The economy has added 125, 000 jobs per month this year, compared with a monthly average of 229, 000 last year. The Fed’s labor market conditions index, devised to summarize a wide range of labor market data, has declined each month since the Fed raised interest rates in December. “The Fed’s current course is driven not by the state of the economy, but by a desire to get interest rates and its balance sheet back to what is considered normal,” Narayana Kocherlakota, the former president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, wrote in a Bloomberg opinion piece last week criticizing the Fed’s desire to raise rates. Ms. Yellen responded indirectly to that critique during a session after her speech on Monday. She said the Fed was focused on its mandates of maximizing employment and stabilizing inflation. Raising rates was not an end but a means, she said. She noted that the economy should benefit from a virtuous loop of increased employment and rising incomes. “If the May labor report was an aberration or reflects a temporary slowdown resulting from the weakness in economic activity at the start of the year, then job growth should pick up and support further gains in income,” Ms. Yellen said. On the other hand, she noted, “the less favorable possibility” was that a slowdown in corporate investment had translated into a slowdown in job growth. How long will it take to tell the difference? On Monday, Ms. Yellen wasn’t offering any predictions. “My colleagues and I will be wrestling with these and other related questions going forward,” she said.

World’s Life Expectancy Cut By 4 Billion Years

Julius Hubris

0 Add Comment THE WORLD’s leading scientists have hastily revised Earth’s life expectancy after taking on board new data which has just come to light in the last 24 hours. Huge, cataclysmic tremors felt on North America faultlines have led scientists from leading institutions to report that the planet, once estimated to live on for some 4 billion years in one form or another, may not live as long as once predicted. “We are compelled to alter our projections for Earth’s life expectancy dramatically,” explained lead researcher at the Institute of Studies, Professor Thalia Ambrosio. “While Earth’s vital signs initially looked normal enough, we’re now looking at 4 years tops,” Prof. Ambrosio added. “We’re raising the end of the world alert level from red to a tanned, leathery orange”. This startling news has had a profound effect on the Earth’s population, with many asking what they can do to prolong the life of the planet. However, scientists were quick to point out that the cut in life expectancy is not something that is likely to change. “We know people are keen to help, but honestly, some people are under the impression moving to Canada will somehow help the planet which we must point out doesn’t really do anything,” Prof. Ambrosio concluded. The group of scientists confirmed they could go into specific details about just how the world will come to an end in the coming years, but will resist doing so because ‘you look worried enough as it is’.

В Екатеринбурге коллекторы избили пенсионерку

0 комментариев 3 поделились Фото: АР Как сообщили ТАСС в пресс-службе надзорного ведомства, подробности дела уточняются. В ходе надзорных мероприятий прокуратура выяснит, в какой организации пожилая женщина взяла заем, и какой фактический долг установлен на текущий момент. Ведомство также оценит действия сотрудников коллекторского агентства на предмет соблюдения законодательства. Прокуратура взяла на контроль результаты доследственной проверки по факту нанесения телесных повреждений женщине. Угрозы и нападения коллекторов на Урале происходят не впервые. В августе коллекторы довели жительницу Челябинска до отравления уксусной кислотой из-за кредита в 732%. По словам уполномоченного по правам человека в Челябинской области, из-за угроз Фарида Ибрагимова отравилась уксусной кислотой и скончалась в больнице. "Равиля Ибрагимова и ее внучка Эльвира уже два года подвергаются давлению со стороны коллекторов. В июне 2014 года жительница Челябинска Фарида Ибрагимова в одной из местных микрофинансовых организаций взяла 5 тысяч рублей. Через две недели она должна была вернуть 6 500 рублей. Процентная ставка по кредиту составила 2% в день или 732% годовых. Погасить долг полностью Ибрагимова не смогла," — сообщает омбудсмен области Маргарита Павлова. После чего начались телефонные звонки с угрозами на телефон женщины, на домашний телефон матери, а затем и дочери Эльвире в социальных сетях начали поступать сообщения с угрозами. Несколько раз коллекторы стреляли по окнам квартиры Ибрагимовых. Семья трижды обращалась в правоохранительные органы, но в возбуждении уголовного дела им отказывали. В 2015 года Фарида попыталась покончить с собой, выпив 70% уксусную кислоту. Ибрагимова целый год провела в больнице, но поправиться не смогла. После смерти Фариды коллекторская фирма требует уже более 200 тысяч рублей у матери и дочери погибшей. Ранее Pravda.Ru писала, что вступление в силу закона, который обязывает коллекторов с 1 января 2017 года состоять в государственном реестре, могут отложить на полгода из-за того, что чиновники до сих пор не могут договориться с Минфином о выделении бюджетных средств на регулирование деятельности по взысканию долгов. Как сообщал "Коммерсантъ", работа по формированию реестра так и не начата, нет официально установленного перечня критериев, которым должны соответствовать участники рынка взыскания долгов. Минюст не сможет приступить к составлению списка, пока не выйдет соответствующее постановление правительства и на него не выделят деньги. Напомним, в июле Владимир Путин подписал закон о коллекторской деятельности. Документ устанавливает правовые основы деятельности по возврату просроченной задолженности граждан и порядок их взаимодействия с кредиторами и взыскателями долгов. Закон запрещает коллекторам применять физическую силу и угрожать ее применением, причинять вред здоровью и имуществу, оказывать психологическое давление и вводить в заблуждение. Звонить должнику коллектор сможет не чаще двух раз в неделю, а проводить личные встречи — не чаще одного раза в неделю. Общение с должником ночью — с 22.00 до 8.00 в будни и с 20.00 до 9.00 в выходные — запрещено. Взыскатель долгов при взаимодействии с должником не вправе скрывать информацию о номере телефона и адресе электронной почты, с которых он звонит и отправляет сообщения. Читайте последние новости Pravda.Ru на сегодня Новый закон научит коллекторов вежливости Поделиться:

Now Hillary Makes Conspiracy Theory Credible: 50% Believe

Daily Bell Staff

Now Hillary Makes Conspiracy Theory Credible: 50% Believe 28, 2016 Half Of Americans Believe 9/11 Conspiracy Theories … “The United States is a strongly conspiratorial society.” … A majority of Americans believe that the government is concealing information about the 9/11 attacks, one new survey suggests. And that’s not the only conspiracy theory believed by a wide swath of Americans: Around 40 percent believe the government is hiding information about aliens, the John F. Kennedy assassination and global warming. – The Huffington Post Before, those who believed in 9/11 conspiracy theories hovered around 20-30 percent according to the mainstream media. Now it’s up to 50 percent, according to this article. Hell, it’s probably more like 60-70 percent anyway. There is perhaps a hard core of 30 percent of people living in the US who will likely never acknowledge anything wrong with the system or people in power. But for most citizens, we’ve long suggested the current election is destroying the credibility of the ruling classes and their facilities. Whatever in government that was supposed to be credible, from the IRS, to the FBI, to the Justice Dept., Congress and the presidency itself, has been visibly damaged by Hillary’s election campaign. You’d have to be virtually blind – or a staunch partisan of a mythical “USA”– not to notice that the Democratic front-runner has committed actions for which anyone else would have been significantly punished. And not just Hillary of course but those surrounding her including Bill Clinton and the Foundation that allows them to trade political favors for cash. Then there’s the mainstream media. The media has investigated little or none of the malfeasance and worse (murders?) surrounding the Clintons, and thus newspapers, magazines and TV, already deprived of viewers and ad revenue, have been further damaged by an obvious, ongoing lack of credibility. More: Conspiracy theories about the JFK assassination abound, and scientists say these ideas have become embedded in the very culture surrounding his death, with heaps of TV shows, books and movies on them. “We found clear evidence that the United States is a strongly conspiratorial society,” study lead author Christopher Bader, a sociologist at Chapman University in California, said in a statement. In order to denigrate suspicion of the government, the study suggests that people’s views regarding conspiracies have to do with their own emotional makeup. In other words, “paranoid” people believe in “conspiracies.” This canard worked better when the number of those voicing conspiracy theories was in the single digits, according to surveys. When half or more than half of the public begins to believe in them, something else is going on. Neither the article nor the study (presumably) acknowledges that the CIA came up with the idea of calling people “conspiracy theorists” if they advance theories that the US government is corrupt and secretly tyrannical. The conduct of this past campaign and the Clinton’s evident criminality has reinforced all that is wrong with the US in the views of many and, additionally, has made it clear that even the deepest suspicions of how the US operates are justified. We can come away with two realizations from this. The first is that despite Hillary’s possible election, the US as a valid and valuable entity is shattered in the eyes of many. This is actually a good development in our view given that the US (and its British controllers) has not been positive for freedom or peace in the world at least since the end of the Civil War. The second conclusion, which is not a popular one but which we have voiced before, is that the disaffection of the American public was SUPPOSED to be heightened by the Hillary campaign. The idea here is that chaos and paranoia is supposed to be endlessly increased until the US, like other nation-states, virtually shatters and more aggressive globalism can be introduced in the wake of the disintegration. Western nation-states currently have strong cultures. These cultures need to be torn down if true globalization is to be introduced. The banking elites of this world, mostly located in the City of London, are determined to introduce this chaos, it seems. In Europe chaos is mounting thanks to the introduction of the artificial “immigration crisis.” In the US, Hillary has served in the place of immigration, cracking the US culture as thoroughly as millions of young Muslim males. Next on the agenda? Possible economic collapse and “world-war” style military activities. Conclusion: Yes, it sounds grim … and even conspiratorial. But there is much you can do to secure your safety and prosperity – and that of your family’s and even your community’s. You have to realize the civil society you believe in is vanishing (or never existed). And you have to act.

Kellogg’s Latest Mass Layoffs Hit Kansas City

Warner Todd Huston

The latest round of mass layoffs for cereal maker Kellogg’s has hit Kansas City, where nearly 200 workers will lose their jobs, the company says. [The layoffs of 185 workers are part of a program euphemistically labeled “Special K,” a scaling back of distribution centers all across the country, the Kansas City Business Journal reported. “As the distribution shifts from our network to our retailers’ networks, so too will the work,” Kellogg’s spokesman Kris Charles said, adding: We’ve been actively engaged in conversations with some of our biggest retail partners who have expressed strong interest in hiring these employees for roles once the transition is complete. As a result, we are optimistic that our employees will find similar employment once this transition is complete. The new distribution model is already in use for many of Kellogg’s snack product lines, including Pringles, crackers, its frozen foods products, and others. “The new model will be transformational for Kellogg, reducing complexity and cost structure while driving growth and profitability for the company and its retail partners,” Charles added. “While this is the right move for the company to achieve our objectives, it was a difficult decision because of its impact on employees. ” Kellogg’s has been struggling the last few years, and customer confidence in its brand name has fallen from sixtieth to place during the last four years. The layoffs in Kansas City are but a small part of the string of job losses the company announced. Just last week, a distribution center in Florida was informed that 246 employees were going to lose their jobs, nearly 300 were fired in facilities in New York early in May, and only a week later, another 219 lost their jobs in Minnesota. The cuts came on the heels of several announcements by the cereal maker that it was slashing its workforce. The company’s financial struggles coincided with Kellogg’s decision last year to cease advertising with Breitbart News, whose 45, 000, 000 readers, Kellogg’s said, are not “aligned with our values as a company. ” While Kellogg’s decision to cease advertising had no impact on Breitbart. com’s revenue, it did represent an escalation in the war by leftist companies like Target and Allstate against conservative customers whose values propelled President Donald Trump into the White House. After the cereal maker turned its back on conservative customers, Breitbart News launched its #DumpKelloggs petition, which more than 450, 000 people signed. Finally, according to advertising industry watchdog Adweek, Kellogg’s decision to pull advertising from Breitbart News and the ensuing controversy over the move inflicted damage to the cereal company’s online brand. Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail. com.

North Carolina Restroom Law Becomes a Central Election Issue - The New York Times

Richard Fausset

HIGH POINT, N. C. — Parrish Clodfelter, a retiree who lives on a central North Carolina farm, professes opinions about transgender people that might get him fired if he worked for a multinational corporation, though for many here, they constitute simple country wisdom. “A man wants to change to a woman, he’s got a mental problem,” Mr. Clodfelter said on Wednesday over lunch at Spiro’s Family Restaurant, where posters by the door advertised classes on carrying concealed weapons and a “Hillbilly Sunday” Pentecostal church service. But Mr. Clodfelter has a different kind of problem. As a longtime Republican, he wants to support Pat McCrory, North Carolina’s Republican governor, in his bid. At the same time, he is worried about the boycotts and lost jobs resulting from the law the governor signed in March that limits transgender bathroom access and eliminates antidiscrimination protections for gay and transgender people. If the backlash continues, Mr. Clodfelter said, he will consider voting for Mr. McCrory’s Democratic opponent, Roy Cooper, who supports the law’s repeal. “I’m afraid if they don’t change it,” he said, “it’ll hurt the state. ” Even before the law tapped into a national debate about transgender rights, privacy and political correctness, North Carolina, the rare Southern state that is evenly split between liberals and conservatives, was considered to be up for grabs in the November presidential race, particularly if Donald J. Trump tops the Republican ticket. Now the law, and the backlash against it, have introduced a different kind of volatile energy to state politics here, roiling a governor’s race that could be the nation’s most competitive. It is also affecting other crucial contests, including that of Senator Richard Burr, who hopes to fend off a vigorous Democratic challenge from Deborah K. Ross, a former State House member and former state director of the American Civil Liberties Union. Last week, Mr. Burr, who has defended the law, came under attack from Democrats who have leapt at the chance to transform a cultural issue into an economic one, as the state has suffered the retreat of protesting companies, including PayPal, which canceled a plan to bring more than 400 jobs to Charlotte. On Thursday, the N. B. A. commissioner, Adam Silver, said the league would move its 2017 Game from Charlotte if the law were not changed. Thus far, the uproar may be doing the most harm to Mr. McCrory, an affable former mayor of Charlotte who has struggled, since taking office in 2013, to maintain his reputation as a moderate in the face of a legislature that is considerably more conservative than he is. An Elon University poll conducted from April 10 to 15 showed Mr. Cooper, the state’s longtime attorney general, leading Mr. McCrory 48 percent to 42 percent among registered voters. It was Mr. Cooper’s largest lead in the five polls that Elon has conducted in the last year. But November is a long way off, and social issues reverberate in complex ways in a state that has a reputation for moderation but also produced Jesse Helms, the United States senator. Carter Wrenn, a longtime political strategist who worked with Mr. Helms, said Democrats had been winning arguments over the law of late. But he said Republicans would have time to make the case to voters that the law helps ensure privacy and security in public restrooms. “We’re not sure how this is all going to turn out,” Mr. Wrenn said. The issue is particularly troublesome for Mr. McCrory. Exit polls from 2012 show that he received the support of 49 percent of voters who described themselves as moderate and 19 percent of liberals. Mr. McCrory, 59, last week could barely contain his irritation that the law had taken center stage in the election, siphoning attention from his central message: that he has been a wise steward of the economy who had engineered what he and his team have branded the “Carolina Comeback. ” This hornet’s nest, he argued, was first kicked not by him, but by the Democratic City Council in Charlotte, which passed a nondiscrimination ordinance in February allowing transgender people to use men’s or women’s bathrooms. Before it passed, he said, he emailed the Council to warn it that if it changed “basic restroom and locker room norms,” he would be forced to support a state law overriding them. On Thursday, he said he suspected that the entire matter had been orchestrated by Democrats and the Human Rights Campaign, a national gay rights group, to give Democrats an advantage in a tight governor’s race. The backlash, he said, has allowed for no dialogue on “a very complex issue. ” Dissenters to the position, he said, were being intimidated. Mr. McCrory used the word “Orwellian” twice. “You’ve got to be politically naïve if you think this is not coordinated by a very effective — a very effective — group,” he said. Mr. McCrory preferred to talk about the improved state of the economy since he took over from Gov. Beverly Perdue, a Democrat. She had declined to seek after a single term in which North Carolina struggled through the recession and in which she clashed over tax policy with a legislature that Republicans won full control of in 2010. The state’s comeback, Mr. McCrory argues, was bolstered by his ability to deliver $4. 4 billion in tax relief, including what his campaign literature describes as “one of the largest income tax cuts in state history. ” “I inherited a broken government and a broken economy,” he said. “So, we were the unemployment rate in the country when I came into office: 9. 4 percent unemployment. And we’ve had one of the biggest rebounds in the United States of America. ” Unemployment in the state is now 5. 5 percent. At a cafe in Raleigh last week, Mr. Cooper, who has served as attorney general since 2001, argued that the Carolina Comeback was a myth, saying that there had been an “overall improvement in the economy across the country. ” “It’s not a Carolina Comeback for everyday working people,” he said. “Most people are working longer, and harder, and for less money than they did before the recession. ” Mr. Cooper, 58, said his favorite North Carolina governor was Jim Hunt, the Democrat who served two stints in office beginning in 1977 and represents, to many liberals here, a homegrown progressivism that struck a balance between corporate interests and investments in the public good, especially public education. Mr. Cooper has criticized Mr. McCrory for not expanding Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. On Thursday, he criticized the income tax Mr. McCrory instituted in 2013 as disproportionately favoring the rich. The law on gender and restrooms, Mr. Cooper said, “is a discrimination issue and an economic issue, and, particularly, you have Governor McCrory trying a political ploy that blew up, and is now hurting people and our economy. ”

yet another proof of wrong touchscreen calibration

jedi_hamster

yet another proof of "wrong touchscreen calibration" page: 1 now, i don't agree with their claim about such equipment not needing a calibration - touchscreen devices need it, but this really had to be done on purpose to favor one side and not the other. "coincidence", you say. if someone can grab it and upload it to youtube, that would be great - it may disappear from 4chan. i don't have the link for that thread there, but judging by the names on the screen, it's from Virginia. yet another place. Somehow ATS will not let me upload a GIF. But here: damn, i've jumped the bandwagon. mods, 404 or hoax it, that video isn't from 2016. a reply to: jedi_hamster Aah... Then so am I . Damn.. And I promised myself to stay out of this political garbage... I now know why.. edit on 26-10-2016 by EartOccupant because: (no reason given) damn, i've jumped the bandwagon. mods, 404 or hoax it, that video isn't from 2016. Hi JH, how do you know its not from 2016? just curious as i am not in that neck of the woods Thanks now, i don't agree with their claim about such equipment not needing a calibration - touchscreen devices need it, but this really had to be done on purpose to favor one side and not the other. "coincidence", you say. if someone can grab it and upload it to youtube, that would be great - it may disappear from 4chan. i don't have the link for that thread there, but judging by the names on the screen, it's from Virginia. yet another place. Direct link EDIT: This video was actually taken back in 2014 in Virginia, during the 2014 congressional elections (see it on YouTube here.) The reason listed for the issues that arose in the video was a calibration error; not entirely out of the realms of possibility given the number of touchscreen devices used during the elections across the United States that year. edit on 26-10-2016 by kelbtalfenek because: more information and a quote

Bob Dylan, the Musician: America’s Great One-Man Songbook - The New York Times

Jon Pareles

What took them so long? That’s the only question for the Nobel committee that finally chose Bob Dylan to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature this year. It’s not as if some new work suddenly clinched the deal. Mr. Dylan has been recognized by anyone who cares about words — not to mention music — since the 1960s, when he almost immediately earned an adjective as his own literary and musical school: Dylanesque. His most recent album of his own songs was “Tempest,” back in 2012 since then he has been paying tribute to the Great American Songbook of pop, like “Shadows in the Night,” his 2015 album of songs Frank Sinatra had sung. [ Bob Dylan wins the Nobel Prize in Literature| Our book critic on Bob Dylan, the writer ] But there’s no question that Mr. Dylan has created a great American songbook of his own: an e pluribus unum of and narrative and imagistic, erudite and earthy, romantic and cutting, devout and iconoclastic, and oracular, personal and universal, compassionate and pitiless. His example has taught writers of all sorts — not merely poets and novelists — about strategies of both pinpoint clarity and anyone’ free association, of telegraphic brevity and ambiguous, kaleidoscopic moods. A longtime stumbling block for Mr. Dylan’s literary recognition — which eventually didn’t matter to the Pulitzers (2008) or the American Academy of Arts and Letters (2013) and now to the Nobels — has been that he is a songwriter, so his words are best heard with his music. Another is that his voluminous output includes some clinkers and throwaways. Both are absolutely true, and so what? Mr. Dylan’s good stuff, in all its abundance, is the equal — and envy — of countless writers who work strictly on the page. He’s a grandmaster of verbal strategies. He can tell stories in a cascade of images, like “Tangled Up in Blue” he can come at an elusive emotion from all sides and then twist the knife, as he does in “Desolation Row” he can be the kindliest of confidants, as he is in “To Make You Feel My Love” and “Forever Young” or he can be the most savage of adversaries, as in “Positively 4th Street” or “Pay in Blood. ” As much as any literary figure to emerge in the 20th century, he has written words that resonate everywhere: quoted by revolutionaries and presidents, hurled by protesters, studied by scholars and taken to heart in countless private moments: thoughts like “When you got nothing, you got nothing to lose. ” That line, like so much of Mr. Dylan’s work, speaks to the marginalized: to underdogs, outsiders, misfits. “To live outside the law,” he advises, “You must be honest. ” Like many an academically beloved poet — say, Ezra Pound or T. S. Eliot — Mr. Dylan has always placed himself on a literary continuum where allusions focus and amplify meaning. But half a century ago, when guardians of culture were diligently policing boundaries between the purportedly high and low, Mr. Dylan drew his allusions not only from Western literature but also from the blues and the news, gleefully knocking their heads together in “Stuck Inside of Mobile With the Memphis Blues Again,” he put Shakespeare in the alley. He pointed directly toward some of his sources: Woody Guthrie, Robert Johnson, Arthur Rimbaud, the Bible, the Beats and, above all, the anonymous writers and transmitters of folk songs who told the stories they had to tell. He gathered and implied countless others, making him a postmodern pioneer and, eventually, something like a internet. Mr. Dylan soon emerged as a fountainhead of allusions and aphorisms himself — he’s got more life lessons than Aesop. Behind his sunglasses, slinging his electric guitar, he became a writer other writers would build upon until, generations later, his wild innovations were just part of an American heritage. It’s a commonplace — but a true one — that there’s a Dylan line for every occasion, and another commonplace that a stray line of an old Dylan song can suddenly nail a situation decades after it was written: Through the years, his riddles have become prophecies. Meanwhile, the fact that Mr. Dylan’s words are written to be sung, that they are physical emanations of breath and pitch and articulation, often adds an additional discipline: the rigorous edit that is built into an oral tradition. There’s no place for parentheses, footnotes or explanations — but there are, of course, rhymes. Lines like these, from “Isis” (written with Jacques Levy) combine the tone of film noir with the rigor of a mathematical proof: Mr. Dylan’s songs do get more mileage, and more shades of meaning, with every inflection he brings to them onstage on his tour. He can sharpen their barbs, tease out their mixed emotions and infuse them with passion or irony, constantly rescuing them from their own familiarity — constantly recharging his reputation, as if he hadn’t already earned it all. But amid the vast repertoire that Mr. Dylan has written, any song has to be strong, almost monumental, to deserve a place in a set list at all. Mr. Dylan’s place in literature — the way he drew his very individual, radicalism from folk music’s memory, its imaginative preservation of tradition — was clear long before the literary establishment deigned to recognize him. The Nobel doesn’t have to certify Mr. Dylan half a century of literature and songwriting have heard him and responded. Long before the prizes started rolling in, he had already rewired our minds. Still, better late than never.

Fleeing U.S. for Asylum, and Handcuffed in Canada - The New York Times

Christine Hauser

They drag their luggage, carry their young children in their arms and join hands to help one another over rough terrain and along snowy roads. They are immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers who are streaming across the border from the United States into Canada in higher numbers. For those who cross illegally, handcuffs await. They are detained, interviewed by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and turned over to the Canadian border agency. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said last week that there had been a significant increase over the past few months in the number of people illegally crossing the border, mostly in Quebec, Manitoba and British Columbia. The police did not provide figures, but they said the largest uptick was recorded in Quebec. In the last week alone, images of families and solo travelers from countries like Sudan and Turkey have emerged as they encounter police officers, politely waiting, at a crossing in Hemmingford, Quebec. Cpl. François Gagnon, a spokesman for the Mounted Police, said that the authorities started noticing an increase in the last few months of 2016 for reasons that were “not clear cut” but that might be related to the election of Donald J. Trump and his executive order on immigration in January. “It might be one of the reasons,” he said. The order, targeting immigrants from seven countries and indefinitely suspending refugees from Syria, was blocked by various courts. On Friday, President Trump said a new executive action would be issued soon. Corporal Gagnon said that as soon as the asylum seekers cross the border, they are advised that they would be arrested. “It is a criminal activity to cross the border illegally,” he said. “It is the same as when I arrest a drunk driver on the road. We are going to do it for security purposes. ” He added: “The basic process for the R. C. M. P. is to handcuff everybody, based on the fact that it is criminal. Based on risk assessment, we are not going to handcuff women and children. This is a new humanitarian thing for us, as well. Those people have been through a lot and we don’t want to put more pressure on them. ” Once they are in custody, the migrants and asylum seekers are taken to police stations, where the handcuffs are usually removed and they are asked about their identification and country of origin. An investigation is conducted into whether they are in a Canadian intelligence database or wanted for a crime, Corporal Gagnon said. “If nothing pops up, they are going to be turned over to the Canadian Border Services Agency and then they apply for asylum,” he said. There are no criminal charges once they establish a demand for asylum, but they could be fined, he added. The New York Times has been tracking the effect on Canada of Mr. Trump’s executive order on immigration. In January, as the order stranded people at airports, upended immigration plans and provoked global condemnation, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada took to social media to restate the country’s policy. “To those fleeing persecution, terror war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith,” Mr. Trudeau wrote on Twitter. “Diversity is our strength. ” The Quebec crossing is the most active, Corporal Gagnon said. This month, a Times report noted that over the last couple of years, a small number of people had been crossing the border at Manitoba from the United States and then filing for asylum. But as the atmosphere of fear and uncertainty grows as immigrants fear arrest on “any corner” in the United States, refugee workers in Winnipeg say there has been a noticeable surge in border crossings.

The Calculus in Six Crucial Senate Races - The New York Times

Jennifer Steinhauer

A look at the political math in six states where tight races could determine control of the Senate: NORTH CAROLINA Senator Richard Burr, a Republican, was thought to be a safe bet for against Deborah Ross, his Democratic challenger, who is a former state representative and head of the state’s chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. But North Carolina has been roiled by a fight over bathroom rights for transgender people that has affected almost every campaign. The national Republican Party has swooped in to try to save Mr. Burr’s bid. _____ PENNSYLVANIA Katie McGinty, a Democrat, is trying to become Pennsylvania’s first female senator with a bid to unseat Senator Patrick J. Toomey, a Republican who has managed to keep a moderate image around the state because of a (failed) gun safety bill that bore his name. Hillary Clinton’s coattails — and Donald J. Trump’s anvil — have made a difference here. _____ NEW HAMPSHIRE Senator Kelly Ayotte, a Republican, is suffering from an uncomfortable association with Mr. Trump, most notably when she had to release a statement walking back her suggestion during a debate that Mr. Trump was a role model for children. Gov. Maggie Hassan, her Democratic challenger, is getting major assistance from national party figures like Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Senator Bernie Sanders in what is widely viewed as the closest Senate race in the country. _____ MISSOURI Senator Roy D. Blunt was on no lists of endangered incumbents. Then his Democratic challenger, Jason Kander, an Afghanistan veteran who is Missouri’s secretary of state, conjured up an ad in which he assembled an assault rifle blindfolded while speaking of gun rights. It was a clever way to both fend off attacks over gun control and underscore Mr. Blunt’s Vietnam deferments in a very state. Mr. Blunt’s decades of service in Washington are also out of style this year. _____ INDIANA Evan Bayh, a Democrat, is trying to reclaim his Senate seat but is finding that his time as a Washington insider is a serious liability. Representative Todd Young, with the help of millions of dollars in outside money, is painting a dark picture of Mr. Bayh as a greedy lobbyist who abandoned his voters, and Mr. Bayh’s lead has shrunk significantly. Indiana is Trump country, and Mr. Bayh, who was once a very popular governor, is going to need Republican voters who remember him fondly to split their tickets. _____ NEVADA For a while, it did not seem that Catherine Cortez Masto, a Democrat who is a former state attorney general, would catch up to Representative Joe Heck, a Republican who seemed a good fit for his state and this cycle. But Mr. Heck, by turning away from Mr. Trump after the presidential candidate was heard bragging about sexual assault in a 2005 recording, began to lose some of his base support, living every Republican candidate’s nightmare. The Hispanic vote, important here, is hard to poll. But Ms. Cortez Masto is now narrowly ahead in the race, a battle for the seat of Senator Harry Reid in which the retiring Democratic leader has unleashed his political machine in support of her.

Gaza Is Outwardly Rebuilding, but Inwardly Fearful - The New York Times

Ian Fisher

BEIT HANOUN, Gaza Strip — In her new home, finally finished after she lived two years in a trailer across a dirt road, Samaher 40, showed a video on her cellphone of a cute preschooler: her son Majdi. He was singing: “I am a son of Palestine, I have a right and a cause … Even if they shoot me and I die as a martyr, I will not forget the cause. ” Majdi, who was 6, lived through two Gazan wars, though his old family house was toppled by bulldozers in the 2014 fighting with Israel. But the day after he ended kindergarten last year, he caught his hula hoop in a metal door in the trailer. The door was heavy, the frame shoddy. It fell on him and crushed his skull, killing him. “Something is missing,” his mother said eight months later, in the living room of her house, built on the plot of the old one. “You asked me if this is better. Yes, it’s better. But I’m missing him. His bedroom was waiting for him. ” So it is in Gaza, outwardly rebuilding and moving on from war, inwardly far from recovered. Gaza seems at a loss for what might be next. After so many years of isolation, residents of Gaza find themselves ever further from Palestinians in the West Bank, their future clouded by rising doubts that they could ever unite and work toward a lasting peace. Two million tons of rubble have been cleared — about a ton for each person who lives in this cramped coastal strip. of the 160, 000 damaged homes have been rebuilt, as have half of the 11, 000 that were destroyed. Roads are better, travel faster. People gawk at their first real mall, with a food court and 12 escalators, both rarities in Gaza. But they are not buying much. Unemployment is high, especially among the many young people graduating from college. In all, 50, 000 people remain displaced. Electricity and water supplies are still near crisis levels. Hamas, which governs Gaza, elected a new leader. Tunnel building goes on (and, presumably, so does the construction and smuggling of weapons). On the Israeli side, the political right talks of a new war in the spring over Hamas’s rearming and expresses a desire to inflict a decisive blow. As has been the case for a decade, the strip remains encircled. Israel tightly controls most going in and out: food, building supplies, people. Two children died recently for lack of drugs or medical access, one of cancer, the other of a heart problem. “The blockade of Gaza is something I can compare to the Middle Ages and the besieged castle that can fall at any moment,” said Dr. Fadel Ashour, a psychiatrist in Gaza since 1994. “People in Gaza are not satisfied with who governs this castle. They lack the tools to change it. They live with armed militias, and the institutions are not clear as they are in the West Bank. They know they are paying a price for something they don’t want. Or deserve. This increases their depression and hopelessness. ” It is unclear how the flickers of change elsewhere in the conflict will ripple to Gaza, which is surrounded by Israel on two sides, by Egypt to the southwest and by the Mediterranean. With President Trump in office in the United States, Israel’s right seems to feel empowered and is likely to push more settlements in the West Bank, even to toy with annexation, despite Mr. Trump’s call to slow the pace. The Palestinian Authority, which has wide backing in the West, seems to be looking abroad for ways to push its immediate future, including persuading the world to recognize a state of Palestine, threatening action in the United Nations and encouraging Israeli boycotts. Leaders of Hamas, considered a terrorist group by the United States and by many other countries, do not have the same backing from the West. Interviews with political and business leaders, academics and ordinary people can divine only a basic strategy: improve the lives of frustrated residents as its leaders put off as long as possible what they see as the next inevitable war, then fight when it happens. (Life could be better, Hamas’s critics contend, if the group spent less on war preparations.) Mahmoud Zahar, a senior Hamas official, said that with years of failed talks, settlements expanding across the West Bank and Mr. Trump’s apparent ambivalence about a Palestinian state, “You have two options: either to cooperate with the occupation or the resistance. There is no option,” he said. “Where is the solution?” Interviews make it clear that there is a growing distance between Gaza and the West Bank — a central reason cited by Israelis for the impossibility of negotiations. Hamas won Palestinian parliamentary elections in 2006 and took control of Gaza in 2007. “Now, Gaza is something and the West Bank is something else,” said Ibrahim a columnist for the news outlet Al Risala. “It’s a fact. You can’t connect the two realities. You will get lost. Things have changed. ” Mr. Madhoun and several others raised a possibility, a very long shot, one that could conceivably be acceptable to Israel’s far right: Someday Gaza — with defined borders, no Israeli occupation and no settlers — could become the basis for a Palestinian state as settlements gnaw away at the West Bank. “If there is going to be a Palestinian state, it’s going to be Gaza,” said Mkhaimar Abusada, associate professor of political science at University in Gaza. “Politically speaking, it’s not right. But this is what’s coming. ” Otherwise, he said, “I don’t think there is a grand strategy where Gaza is in 10 years or 20 years. I know Hamas will never want to give up Gaza as long as it is capable of keeping control. ” Residents say they are focusing on getting by. Industrious and, for the most part, educated, they have cleared and rebuilt to the point that in places it is hard to tell there have been three wars in six years. One giveaway is that the concrete on the houses is fresh dark gray, rather than and weathered. Qatar and Saudi Arabia have underwritten minicities, as caravans and tents slowly empty. The Islamic University has patched the two buildings bombed in two wars and, with great effort, installed an impressive array of 450 solar panels on the science building, even though there is a fear the panels and the building might make a big target in the next war. Capital Mall opened in January, with four floors of upscale shops. One woman lifted her niqab briefly for a photo in front of a Valentine’s Day flower display. Another posed for her husband, who is in an Israeli jail. “I feel happy here,” Sana Shanghan, 50, said, visiting with some of her 13 children. “Here, I feel I’m outside Gaza. I forget about Gaza’s problems. ” The feeling was similar inside the steamy domes of Hamam Gaza’s only remaining bathhouse, heated with olive wood and, its owners say, predating Islam’s arrival over a millennium ago. “People are tired, kids and old people,” said Salim Abdullah 66, who runs the house for his family. “More and more come here for psychological support. ” He added: “There is no progress. It’s just survival. ” Mona Ghalayini is betting on more than just survival. One of Gaza’s few businesswomen, Ms. Ghalayini, 46, has built a small empire that began with a shop in 2003. For most people in Gaza, the sea is simply a place where fishermen work waters constricted by Israeli patrol boats. But she sees potential in the current stability, recently buying two seaside hotels. “We have brains,” she said, inhaling from a shisha on the patio of one of her hotels. “We have smart people. We can survive, even with the blockade. But we need connection. We don’t want isolation. ” Tourism is the future, she said. Then she reconsidered. “Who visits Gaza?” she asked. “No one. ”

What Can Be Gleaned From Trump’s Allegations of Wiretapping - The New York Times

Charlie Savage

President Trump’s claim on Twitter early Saturday that he had “just found out” that “President Obama was tapping my phones in October,” an accusation for which he offered no evidence, has set off another spasm surrounding his young administration. On Sunday, Mr. Trump’s spokesman said the administration was asking Congress to investigate the president’s allegation. There is ample reason for caution because Mr. Trump has a history of making and politically explosive claims that have no basis in fact. As things stand, a plausible explanation is that Mr. Trump was merely riffing off a March 3 article on the website Breitbart. com. It laid out a theory circulating in some conservative circles that President Barack Obama sought to sabotage Mr. Trump through surveillance. The episode has heightened interest in several related surveillance issues. Can a president order the wiretapping of an American? Not legally. There are two lawful ways that allow government officials to target people in the United States for surveillance and to collect the contents of their phone calls and emails: criminal wiretaps, called “Title III” warrants, and national security wiretaps, called Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA, orders. Both types of wiretapping are ordered by federal judges, after applications from the Justice Department. If there was a wiretap order targeting Mr. Trump or his associates, what would that mean? If it was a criminal wiretap, it would mean that the Justice Department had gathered sufficient evidence to convince a federal judge that someone using the phone number or email address probably committed a serious crime. If it was a national security wiretap, it would mean a federal judge on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court had a basis to believe the target was probably an agent of a foreign power, like Russia. Could a judge have approved tapping something at Trump Tower for another reason? Yes. For example, FISA orders have two parts. After determining that there is probable cause to believe that the target is a foreign agent, a judge also has to approve directing surveillance at a particular “facility,” like a phone line or an email address, that the target is probably using to communicate. So in theory, if there was reason to believe that some other lawful target was communicating from Trump Tower, a judge could have authorized surveillance at a facility there for that reason. What about the computer server registered to Trump Tower? Several news media outlets have reported that investigators last year were puzzled by data transmissions between a computer server registered to Trump Tower and a computer server associated with a Russian bank. Although Mr. Trump on Twitter talked about his “phones,” in theory a judge might determine that the computer address of the server was a facility being used by a foreign power, Russia, to communicate, and authorize surveillance of it. Isn’t there a report about an October surveillance court order involving that server? Yes. The Breitbart story relied heavily on a Nov. 7 article by a British writer on the news and opinion website HeatStreet. It claimed that the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court had approved a “warrant” in October in connection with activity between Russian banks and the server, which it said — and Breitbart repeated — was in Trump Tower. It further stated that “it is thought in the intelligence community” that this purported warrant permitted the collection of emails and other communications of Americans connected to the server investigation, which “thus covers Donald Trump. ” As things stand, there are reasons to be skeptical. HeatStreet had vague sourcing — two “sources with links to the counterintelligence community” — and it does not regularly publish investigative stories about American intelligence or law enforcement operations. To date, reporters for The New York Times with demonstrated sources in that world have been unable to corroborate that the court issued any such order. (Computer specialists have also pointed out that the server in question does not appear to be located in Trump Tower.) On Sunday, James Clapper, who was the director of national intelligence until Jan. 20, denied to NBC News that the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court had approved monitoring at Trump Tower. What about wiretapping Michael Flynn’s calls with the Russian ambassador? In a related matter, some conservatives have raised alarms about why the government eavesdropped on the phone calls about sanctions between the Russian ambassador and Michael Flynn, who resigned last month as Mr. Trump’s national security adviser. But national security specialists say it is routine that counterintelligence officials would monitor the Russian ambassador, who is a clearly an agent of a foreign power, and so would “incidentally” pick up Mr. Flynn, too. The rules generally require officials to “minimize” the privacy intrusion by masking the names and data of incidentally intercepted Americans before sharing reports or transcripts of those calls more widely within the government. However, there is an exception if the conversation constituted foreign intelligence and the American’s identity is necessary to understand its significance, as would be the case with Mr. Flynn’s discussion of sanctions. Did Obama loosen rules for sharing surveillance? Yes. In January, the Obama administration changed the rules governing how the National Security Agency may share raw surveillance it intercepts abroad, where the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act does not apply and the agency may vacuum up private communications in bulk. Previously, only analysts at the agency were permitted to search through the raw trove of this information, applying “minimization” rules to information about Americans before sharing anything more widely in the government. Now, analysts from the other 16 intelligence agencies — including the F. B. I. — can sift through certain streams of raw intercepts themselves, applying “minimization” rules afterward. Some conservative commentators, like Fox News’s Sean Hannity, have floated the theory that news media leaks about contacts between people affiliated with Mr. Trump and Russians may be attributable to this change, asking why Mr. Obama opened the door to many more officials across the government having access to raw National Security Agency intercepts. Several factors complicate that insinuation. The change did not affect collection on American soil under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which several agencies were already able to share in raw form. Moreover, the recent change had been in the works for years. President George W. Bush set it in motion in 2008, and the bureaucratic deliberations were well developed long before it became clear that Mr. Trump would become president.

How ‘Toni Erdmann’ Became an Unexpected Comedy - The New York Times

Rachel Donadio

PARIS — The German director Maren Ade’s breakout film, “Toni Erdmann,” has won over audiences and racked up awards across Europe. An uncharacterizable story that’s also about neoliberal economic reforms in Romania and the clash between the generation of 1968 and its capitalist children, the film is exceptional for another reason: It’s hilarious. Germany has generally not been known for exporting comedies — and, to outsiders, has a perhaps undeserved reputation for humorlessness — but “Toni Erdmann,” which has been sold around the world, upends that. “I said to my producer, ‘I’m sorry, this will not be a comedy, this will be a very long and sad film,’” Ms. Ade said in a recent interview. “But we were very happy that the comic aspect came out while editing. ” The film, which opened recently in New York, has been loved by critics since its debut at the Cannes Film Festival in May. It won no prizes there but recently made the shortlist for the Academy Award, has been nominated for a Golden Globe, and won every top prize at the European Film Awards. (The New York Times’s chief film critics, A. O. Scott and Manohla Dargis, included it in their year’s best lists.) It tells the story of Ines (Sandra Hüller) a workaholic German management consultant posted to Bucharest, who receives an unexpected visit from her father, Winfried (Peter Simonischek) a music teacher and practical joker who eventually assumes the persona of “Toni Erdmann,” a life coach, and deploys a wig, fake teeth and whoopee cushions in a complex subterfuge to bring Ines back to her old self. In Germany, where “Toni Erdmann” has been a success for an film, Ms. Ade (pronounced ) 40, is seen as an outlier whose sui generis vision doesn’t fit into any established comic traditions. She herself has said that her inspirations include the American comic Andy Kaufman, as well as the Hollywood films of Ernst Lubitsch and Billy Wilder, and the Berlin theater troupe Gob Squad. “In Germany, mainstream comedies are rather vulgar,” said Katja Nicodemus, the film critic at Die Zeit, a German weekly. “Maren Ade, for me, is closer to Wilder and Lubitsch than to contemporary German comedy because she’s closer to that deep humanism — the masquerades, the salaciousness, the wit, the social critique of those comedies, in a subconscious way. ” “For me, what makes the film so exceptional is that it’s a tragedy, where in this tragedy the father plays the comedy,” Ms. Nicodemus added. While most German comedies tend toward slapstick humor, “Toni Erdmann,” which is 162 minutes long, makes use of repetition and time, drawing out awkward moments to the point of comic discomfort. The film’s kooky humor stands in contrast to Germany’s top box office hit of the year, “Welcome to the Hartmanns,” a mainstream comedy about a wealthy Bavarian family adopting a Nigerian refugee — touching on a issue in Germany, where an influx of migrants has been testing society and the political establishment. Written and directed by Simon Verhoeven, that film has received mixed reviews (as well as criticism for posters that omitted Eric Kabongo, who plays the Nigerian) but it has also been praised for pulling off a complex feat. Mr. Verhoeven “undertakes something that is very rarely achieved in German cinema,” Wolfgang Höbel wrote in Der Spiegel. “He treats as uproarious entertainment a political and social conflict that has split the country into two somewhat irreconcilable camps: the and those who are enemies of Angela Merkel’s ‘We can do this’ slogan,” Mr. Höbel added, referring to the statement by Ms. Merkel, the German chancellor, that Germany could handle the refugees. In an interview, Mr. Verhoeven agreed that his film was critical of Ms. Merkel. “It definitely is, because I am critical of her,” he said, “not so much because I’m critical of the basic direction that she led the country in, but I was in so many refugee homes, I saw how much people were struggling and how many people tried to help refugees, but there wasn’t a master plan. There wasn’t a vision of how it’s going to work. ” “Welcome to the Hartmanns” has not received distribution overseas yet, and it’s rare for a German comedy to find international success. Those that have include Tom Tykwer’s 1999 hit, “Run, Lola, Run,” which isn’t, strictly speaking, a comedy Sandra Nettelbeck’s 2002 romantic comedy, “Mostly Martha,” which was later remade by Hollywood with Catherine Zeta Jones and Wolfgang Becker’s 2004 “Good Bye, Lenin!” Ms. Ade is the first director in what has been called the Berlin School — a loose affiliation including Christian Petzold and other filmmakers who came of age in the 1990s and make closely observed dramas — to delve into comedy. One of the great comic moments in “Toni Erdmann” is a party scene in which Ines, on the spur of the moment, transforms a “team building” brunch into what she calls “a naked party” — stripping off her clothes and telling her guests, including her boss, to get naked, too. “Standing in a bright room naked is really the worst thing that can happen to you,” Ms. Ade said. “That was really courageous. I had a feeling the character is at a point where it’s almost physically not possible for her to put on her clothes and go into that role again. ” She added: “This nakedness doesn’t lower her status. She discovers while doing this that it raises her status it makes her independent again. ” While “Welcome to the Hartmanns” directly tackles a tough contemporary issue, “Toni Erdmann” is also slyly political, about the differences between those in Winfried’s generation, who came of age in the ’60s and rebelled against parents from the Nazi era, and those of Ines’s generation, who grew up in a War capitalistic society. “They’re very political they raised their children with a lot of human values,” Ms. Ade said of Winfried’s generation. “He wanted her to be free, . They believe in a world without borders. Then he’s confronted with things turned into the opposite. ” In using comedy, the film takes a new approach to German history. “The big myth in German cinema is that you have to wear a Nazi uniform to talk about the past, and it’s more complicated,” said Ms. Nicodemus, the Die Zeit film critic. “Toni” also represents a change from the German films that normally appear on the international festival circuit: works by directors from the 1968 generation, including Werner Herzog and Wim Wenders. “When the international film community thinks about German films, there are these old big ’68 moviemaker heroes, and they stand for a certain seriousness and dealing with historic issues in Germany,” said Tobias Kniebe, the chief film critic at Süddeutsche Zeitung, a daily in Munich. Ms. Ade’s film “kind of broke a mold,” Mr. Kniebe added. “To be able to make this kind of movie with that kind of complexity and accuracy and still get the big laughs and be the toast of Cannes, and sell it to more than 100 countries, that’s kind of like saying now, if you’re German, you can do anything. It’s up to you, there’s no prejudice anymore. ”

Officer Who Killed Ramarley Graham Leaves New York Police Department - The New York Times

Matthew Haag and Ashley Southall

A New York City police officer who five years ago chased an unarmed teenager into his Bronx home and fatally shot him resigned from the Police Department on Sunday. The officer, Richard Haste, 35, quit after he was found guilty on Friday in a Police Department disciplinary review in connection with the shooting of Ramarley Graham, 18, the police said. A deputy commissioner who oversaw the case ruled that Officer Haste, who had been on the force since 2008, had used poor tactical judgment and recommended his dismissal. In a hearing in January on departmental charges, police prosecutors said Officer Haste had made many mistakes when he and other officers in a narcotics unit followed Mr. Graham from a bodega into his apartment building in February 2012. Mr. Graham locked himself in his apartment, at which point, the prosecutors said, the officers should have retreated. But they barged into his home. Officer Haste spotted Mr. Graham at the end of a hallway, followed him into a bathroom and fatally shot the teenager. At the hearing, the officer said he had had no choice but to fire his gun after Mr. Graham ignored commands and reached into his pants. Officer Haste faced accusations of wrongdoing only from the Police Department he was not charged with a crime. A grand jury indicted him on manslaughter charges in 2012, but a judge later dismissed those charges, and another grand jury decided not to charge him, causing tensions to flare and stirring accusations of racism. Mr. Graham was black, and Officer Haste is white. Mr. Graham’s mother, Constance Malcolm, said Sunday night that it was wrong that Officer Haste had not been fired previously. She placed the blame on the Police Department and Mayor Bill de Blasio. “This is just another example that the de Blasio administration doesn’t care about justice and accountability,” Ms. Malcolm said in a statement. Mr. de Blasio said in a statement that he agreed with the judge’s ruling in the disciplinary hearing and that the Police Department had taken steps to try to reduce similar shootings. Officer Haste was informed of the ruling by the deputy commissioner, Rosemarie Maldonado, through his lawyer, Stuart London, who received a call on Friday from her office. “Officer Haste’s actions were all performed with a good faith basis,” Mr. London said in an email on Sunday. “He should have never be forced to resign based on tactics alone. ” Officer Haste previously rejected a plea deal that would have allowed him to avoid the disciplinary hearing and resign with a small pension. In 2015, the city settled a lawsuit with Mr. Graham’s family for $3. 9 million.

Re: Inside the Trump campaign: ‘Steve Bannon is building a political Death Star’

Doc Farmer✓ᵛᵉʳᶦᶠᶦᵉᵈ ᵈᵉᵖˡᵒʳᵃᵇˡᵉ

‘Steve Star’ Posted at 9:03 Joshua Green and Sasha Issenberg have a new piece out today for Bloomberg Politics that sure to make a few waves today. For the article, Green and Issenberg were given access to the Trump campaign’s data operation, which has been likened to a “political death star”: My takeaway from this @JoshuaGreen / @sissenberg joint: Steve Star https://t.co/kX7sPMaDqz — Blake Hounshell (@blakehounshell) October 27, 2016 This is actually a startling level of access, right? Especially with “12 days to go.” This seems like Trump has allowed Dems to see his actual playbook and what he’s going to do in these final days: 1. @sissenberg + I got exclusive access for our new @bw cover, “Inside the Trump Bunker, With 12 Days to Go” https://t.co/SW0StqXRep — Joshua Green (@JoshuaGreen) October 27, 2016 2. Trump camp shared strategy, polling, ads, fundraising + showed off secret data ops, code-named “Project Alamo” https://t.co/SW0StqXRep — Joshua Green (@JoshuaGreen) October 27, 2016 Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner has emerged as a huge player in all of this: 3. Led by Kushner, Trump team drew data from RNC, Cambridge, FB to make Alamo small-donor money machine w/list of 12 million names, BUT… — Joshua Green (@JoshuaGreen) October 27, 2016 But Trump knows he’s behind: 4. Trump campaign’s own internal election models show results “similar to” Nate Silvers — i.e. they know they’re losing badly. Single digits — Joshua Green (@JoshuaGreen) October 27, 2016 Team Trump does see a path to victory, however, with targeted negative ads: 5. They’ve ID’d 13.5 million persuadable voters in 16 battleground states + say they think they can still win — but not by going positive. — Joshua Green (@JoshuaGreen) October 27, 2016 This is the quote we’ll be hearing on every cable network today: “We have three major voter-suppression operations under way”: 6. Trump advisor: “We have three major voter-suppression operations under way,” including one targeting African-American voters: pic.twitter.com/Oz6UggoWal — Joshua Green (@JoshuaGreen) October 27, 2016 The campaign intends to use targeted Facebook ads to reach these folks, and by their own words, suppress the vote: 7. So Trump camp is targeted Facebook "dark posts" at Dem-leaning, but infrequent black voters to discourage them into staying home. — Joshua Green (@JoshuaGreen) October 27, 2016 Green and Issenberg go on to speculate on the future of Trump TV, arguing that what the Trump campaign has built fits perfectly into a new media launch of some sort: 8. Another takeaway from our story is possible plan for future Trump TV network. Trump's spending campaign $ to build massive support list. — Joshua Green (@JoshuaGreen) October 27, 2016 9. He'll have 12-14 million emails, 2.5 million donors + because paid for with campaign funds, he'll own it — a future audience for TrumpTV — Joshua Green (@JoshuaGreen) October 27, 2016 10. Bannon, on the record: "This is the pipe that makes the connection btwn Trump + the people…connects him to an ever-expanding audience" — Joshua Green (@JoshuaGreen) October 27, 2016 Trump TV is being compared to a U.S version of Britain’s UKIP party: 11. If Trump loses, here's nightmare GOP scenario: he merges with Bannon to start a political-media movement, an American UKIP. Sound crazy? — Joshua Green (@JoshuaGreen) October 27, 2016 12. Breitbart's London editor, Raheem Kassam, just quit to run for leader of UKIP. His slogan: "Make UKIP Great Again." — Joshua Green (@JoshuaGreen) October 27, 2016 According to the article, the idea for Trump TV started as a sort of threat to Roger Ailes because of what Trump thought was negative coverage, but it’s morphed into something more realistic: 13. From the piece: "Trump TV" was Kushner's idea, posed as a threat to Roger Ailes during primaries when Trump was unhappy w/Fox coverage — Joshua Green (@JoshuaGreen) October 27, 2016 14. But idea has taken off, and five media companies have expressed interest pic.twitter.com/yod5XhCylY — Joshua Green (@JoshuaGreen) October 27, 2016 15. Bottom line: Trump ain't walkin away empty-handed, has grifted GOP + donors to build list worth as much as $112 million that he now owns — Joshua Green (@JoshuaGreen) October 27, 2016 Here’s the kicker — The RNC helped build it: Oh, I should add that the RNC also played a big role in all this –> pic.twitter.com/RYusrjZ4sW — Joshua Green (@JoshuaGreen) October 27, 2016 *** Trending

Talks to Heal Catholic Rift in China Gain Momentum Under Francis - The New York Times

Chris Buckley

BEIJING — Pope Francis has spoken of his admiration for Chinese culture. He has greeted a delegation from China, accepting a silk imprint of an ancient inscription about Christianity. And he had his picture taken with a Chinese bishop in St. Peter’s Square last month. Now, he appears to be considering more significant action: a grand compromise with China’s Communist leaders to heal the bitter, rift that has divided generations of Chinese Catholics and prevented the pope from openly exercising authority in the world’s most populous country. The Vatican says talks are continuing, and much work remains before a deal is done. But Francis’ apparent determination to see a rapprochement with Beijing has already caused unease among some who are worried that he might give too much away to the Chinese president, Xi Jinping. “Most agree that the two sides must talk,” said a priest in Hebei, a northern province with many “underground” Catholics who reject state oversight. “But there is the risk that if the pope moves too quickly, the underground priests will feel the church will lose its autonomy,” he said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. “Some people have sacrificed a lot, and worry that their sacrifice will not be recognized. ” The Communist Party expelled Catholic missionaries after taking power in 1949, condemning them as tools of Western imperialists, and has required Catholics to worship in “patriotic” churches under state oversight. But a third or more of China’s estimated nine million to 12 million Catholics worship in “underground” congregations that are loyal to the pope and have resisted state control, sometimes enduring persecution and imprisonment. The Vatican has long dreamed of returning to China, bringing the underground church out of the shadows and healing divisions among Chinese Catholics. Under Francis, negotiations with Beijing over reconciliation have gained momentum. “We need patience, a lot of patience,” Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican secretary of state, who has overseen talks with China, told reporters this month in Bologna, Italy. Though expectations have been building, a breakthrough has been elusive given the Communist government’s deep suspicion of foreign and religious influences as subversive, and the fears of Chinese Catholics wary of state interference in their faith, said people closely following the talks. “There are still difficult issues that are not yet agreed upon,” said the Rev. Jeroom Heyndrickx, the acting director of the Ferdinand Verbiest Institute in Belgium, which studies Catholicism in China. The central dispute is over the power to name new bishops and the fate of existing bishops in China. For the Catholic Church, bishops are divine successors of the apostles, to be appointed by the pope. But China has long insisted on controlling ordinations, arguing that anything else amounts to interference in its internal affairs. Most Chinese bishops are recognized by both the Vatican and the Chinese authorities, but there are several in the church who are excommunicated and working without papal approval, including some rumored to have broken their vows of chastity and fathered children. There are also more than two dozen underground bishops, many of whom are viewed with suspicion by the government and a few of whom are believed to be in prison. Any deal would have to decide what happens to both groups. “The Vatican can’t be seen as selling out people who have suffered and gone to jail for their faith,” said a Vatican official, who requested anonymity to speak candidly about the secretive talks. There is little doubt of Francis’ enthusiasm for China. In 2014, he sent a greeting to President Xi while flying through Chinese airspace on his way to South Korea. And his encounter with Joseph Xu Honggen, the bishop of Suzhou, in St. Peter’s Square last month was said to be the first public meeting between a pope and a bishop resident in mainland China since the Communist Revolution. “For me, China has always been a reference point of greatness,” the pontiff told an Italian reporter in January. Mr. Xi has repeatedly warned against religion’s being used to undermine Communist rule, and his government has torn down crosses from Protestant churches in eastern China and instituted new controls on worship. But an environmental foundation run by an official with longstanding ties to Mr. Xi attended a Vatican conference in September and presented the pope with a gift heavy with symbolism: a silk drape bearing an inscription from an ancient tablet that records the presence of Christianity in China nearly 1, 400 years ago. One benefit of reconciliation for the Chinese government may be that the Vatican eventually decides to establish diplomatic relations with Beijing and cut formal ties with Taiwan, the island that China considers part of its territory. Already, most bishops appointed by the church quietly win the pope’s approval before ordination, or seek and receive papal forgiveness and acceptance afterward. But Beijing sometimes appoints bishops against the Vatican’s wishes, and the Vatican sometimes appoints bishops without Beijing’s approval. In August, Cardinal John Tong, the bishop of Hong Kong, disclosed in a pastoral letter that “the Chinese government is now willing to reach an understanding” on the issue. But he also acknowledged concerns among members of the underground church and their supporters. “They wonder if Vatican officials or the pope himself may go against the principles of the church,” he noted, before assuring parishioners that Francis “would not accept any agreement that would harm the integrity of faith of the universal church. ” Hundreds of underground Catholic clergy were jailed under Mao’s rule. But today, the term “underground” is often a misnomer, because many unregistered churches operate openly and are warily tolerated by local officials. Underground clergy still risk harassment and detention, though, especially if they resist demands to join the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association. Thaddeus Ma Deqin, an auxiliary bishop in Shanghai, disappeared in 2012, apparently into house arrest, after he denounced the association at his ordination. Later, a blog statement in his name recanted and praised the association as “irreplaceable. ” A year ago, Pedro Wei Heping, also known as Wei Heping, an underground priest in northwest China, was found dead in a river. The police said he had drowned himself, but supporters said suicide was unthinkable and suspected foul play. “China is negotiating with the Vatican, but the political environment is tightening,” said Sister Beatrice Leung, a professor in Taiwan who studies Chinese Catholicism. Supporters of Francis’ approach said the Chinese church was in danger of splintering further if there was not a compromise. Rival claims to lead some Chinese dioceses and the absence of bishops in others have left many priests and parishioners isolated or feuding, they said. There are as many as 70 dioceses in China without a bishop, said Anthony S. K. Lam, the executive secretary of the Holy Spirit Study Center in Hong Kong. “These days it’s widely accepted that bishops need the Holy Father’s approval to serve — maybe there are just a few older people who might disagree,” said the Rev. Francis Li Jianlin, a priest in the church in Henan Province, in central China. “The acceptance of both sides will be needed, but the method is still being explored. ” In a sign of the divisiveness of the issue, Cardinal Joseph Zen the outspoken retired bishop of Hong Kong, wrote in August that Francis was too eager for a deal with Beijing and argued that “the possibility of an unacceptable agreement now looks likely. ” There is a precedent for a papal compromise with a Communist government. In the 1990s, the Vatican reached a deal effectively giving the Vietnamese government a veto over the pope’s appointment of bishops. Cardinal Tong, the Hong Kong bishop, noted the Vietnam model in his pastoral letter, and appeared to suggest that Francis could make appointments based on the recommendations of a local bishops’ conference. But he noted that a legitimate conference would have to include China’s underground bishops and exclude bishops found unacceptable by the pope. “Candidates would be chosen by the local church but not disliked by the authorities,” said Elisa Maria Giunipero, an expert on Catholics in China at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Milan. “The pope would have the final say. ” In an article in the party’s flagship People’s Daily newspaper in August, China’s top religious affairs official said the church must continue to “itself select and ordain bishops” and “firmly exercise leadership over Chinese Catholicism. ” This month, a bishop was ordained in Changzhi, a city in northwest China, with the approval of both the Holy See and the Chinese authorities. Francis has said he will not be rushed. “We’re speaking about this slowly, but slow things always go well,” he told reporters last month when asked about the talks. “Fast things don’t go well. ”

The Truth About Atlantis [Video]

Gillian

Leave a reply Alexandra Bruce – Celebrated author Graham Hancock explains why Atlantis existed. Hancock specializes in theories involving ancient civilizations, stone monuments or megaliths, altered states of consciousness, ancient myths and astronomical/astrological data from the past… SF Source Forbidden Knowledge TV

"Gaagnagna" zum Babywort des Jahres 2016 gewählt

noreply@blogger.com (Der Postillon)

Freitag, 18. November 2016 "Gaagnagna" zum Babywort des Jahres 2016 gewählt München (dpo) - Das Babywort des Jahres 2016 heißt "Gaagnagna". Das gab der Langenscheidt-Verlag heute bekannt. Das Kompositum aus "Gaaaa" und "Gnagnagna" meint in der Babysprache jeden beliebigen Menschen, der sich über ein Kind beugt und mit ihm interagiert. Auch Gegenstände, Geräusche oder Emotionen können als "Gaagnagna" bezeichnet werden. "Der Begriff 'Gaagnagna' beschreibt punktgenau die Selbstverständlichkeit vieler Babys im Umgang mit absolut beliebigen Menschen oder Gegenständen, die ihr Interesse wecken", erklärt Jurorin Ulrike Reichwein. "Es hat sich damit absolut verdient gegen 'pfffrrtz' und 'huwäääh, huwäääh, huwääh' durchgesetzt. Im vergangenen Jahr hatte die Jury den Begriff "amamamama" zum Babywort des Jahres gekürt; 2014 machte "b " das Rennen. Die Kriterien für das Babywort des Jahres sind sprachliche Kreativität, Originalität, Verbreitungsgrad sowie gesellschaftliche oder kulturelle Ereignisse, die die Sprache der Babys beeinflussen. dan, ssi; Foto: Shutterstock; Hinweis: Erstmals erschienen am 13.11.15; an 2016 angepasst. Artikel teilen:

Jewish Centers Across U.S. Face New Wave of Bomb Threats - The New York Times

Mitch Smith and Alan Blinder

On Wednesday, for the second time this month, someone called the Jewish community center outside Wilmington, Del. and said a bomb was on the property. For the second time this month, children were evacuated from schools, gym patrons had their workouts interrupted and police dogs searched the campus. And for the second time this month, it turned out to be part of a frightening nationwide hoax targeting Jewish facilities. “It’s concerning, it’s frustrating,” said Seth J. Katzen, the chief executive of the Jewish Federation of Delaware, whose staff trains several times a year for emergencies. “But as in any J. C. C. across the country, safety and security is our primary concern. ” There were as many as 27 bomb threats on Wednesday at Jewish centers in 17 states, according to the J. C. C. Association of North America. Last week, 16 Jewish facilities received bomb threats. No injuries were reported, but nerves were rattled and routines disrupted. As in other places, the police in Delaware said they were investigating and were in contact with the federal authorities. An F. B. I. official said the bureau and the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division were investigating “possible civil rights violations in connection with threats” to Jewish community centers across the country, but declined to provide further details. Jewish leaders called the threats a sickening sign of the times, but said individual centers had trained to address them. Both Wednesday and last week, a national alert system for leaders of Jewish centers was activated as the menacing calls poured in. After the threats last week, Jewish leaders said they had held an online training session with law enforcement officials that included tips on how to respond to bomb threats. Jewish community centers “have prepared for situations like this,” said David Posner, a vice president with the J. C. C. Association who helps local centers refine their security protocols. “It’s unfortunate, but it’s necessary. ” In Birmingham, Ala. where a call about a bomb led to an evacuation on Wednesday, Betzy W. Lynch said the wave of threats “reinforces the importance of the work” of the centers across the country. “We are required to look at these things and take these threats very, very seriously, but at the same time, our goal is to improve the world and build relationships with people,” said Ms. Lynch, the executive director of the Levite Jewish Community Center in Birmingham. Lt. Sean Edwards, a spokesman for the Birmingham Police Department, said that the call on Wednesday appeared to be a robocall and that he believed federal officials were investigating. He said the Birmingham authorities had not increased patrols around the center. “We’re keeping our eye on it,” Lieutenant Edwards said, adding that new intelligence from the F. B. I. could lead to changes. The threats led to calls for heightened awareness at Jewish facilities. The League issued a security advisory and urged Jewish institutions “to take these threats extremely seriously. ” Mr. Posner, of the J. C. C. Association, said local leaders were heartened by the law enforcement response but were still rattled by the experience. “They can do damage without actually even having to plant a bomb, which I believe is what they are looking to try to do,” he said. Leslie M. Sax, the executive director of the Gordon Jewish Community Center in Nashville, which, like the center in Delaware, has received two threats in two weeks, acknowledged that the calls had been unnerving. “If their goal is to incite fear and disrupt our business, they’ve done that,” she said. Ms. Sax, who declined to discuss specific security procedures in Nashville, said officials remained uncertain of whether the threats signaled troubles that might linger. “We’ve had two in two weeks, so we’re starting to question, ‘Is this the new norm?’ But we don’t know that,” she said. “We haven’t had enough time to even talk about it, but I think people are disheartened and a little frustrated. ”

Nicolas Sarkozy Mounts What He Hopes Is a Comeback in France - The New York Times

Adam Nossiter

PARIS — He was beaten in the last presidential election, his presidential term was considered a failure, and he has been the subject of numerous judicial inquiries. In most other political systems, he would be a . Yet in a France under terrorist threat, Nicolas Sarkozy may be the man of the moment in a presidential race picking up steam. By hammering on the idea that France’s “identity” is being challenged at a moment of deep unease over terrorism, the mercurial Mr. Sarkozy may be on to something with the electorate. This past week, his new book put “identity” front and center in his new campaign. It quickly climbed to the top of a popular list, outpacing even the season’s novels. As is typical with such instant books, Mr. Sarkozy used his hastily written extended pamphlet to announce his candidacy. He will run in his party’s November primary, he said. And he is consistently strong in polls. At a rally in a sweltering auditorium in France’s south late last month, his first of the campaign, Mr. Sarkozy got his loudest cheers when he conflated the fight against terrorism with the fight for France’s identity. “France is under threat,” he told the crowd. “France is a target. War is war. We’ve got to win. We’ve got to crush our enemies, render them harmless. ” As the crowd in Châteaurenard cheered, Mr. Sarkozy announced, “Our identity is under threat. ” By “our identity,” it is clear he means France. Mr. Sarkozy is positioning himself as its No. 1 defender against weak Socialists and competitors on the right. With his exclamations, Mr. Sarkozy is all about ensuring that next year’s presidential campaign will be fought largely over the threat from Islam, real and perceived. Already, he has touched a nerve with voters. For months, the calm, cerebral and moderate mayor of Bordeaux, Alain Juppé, with his soothing talk of a France at ease with what he calls its “happy identity,” has been considered the easily pushing Mr. Sarkozy and the bedraggled Socialist president, François Hollande, way back in polls. Mr. Juppé is still the favorite, but he is losing ground in his own party. The new polling numbers suggest as much: Mr. Sarkozy gained four points last week in one widely watched measure and two points in another, nipping steadily at Mr. Juppé’s heels. In one of the polls, he was nearly 40 points ahead of Mr. Juppé among voters in their party, the Republicans. Mr. Sarkozy recently said he would introduce a law banning the burkini, the swimsuit worn by some Muslim women, and it has not hurt him. Anything but. Even on the French left, the burkini has few defenders. The Socialist government’s female ministers have been quick to say they are against it, even when they do not support a total ban feminists have published diatribes against it in the French news media. Mr. Sarkozy characteristically pushes it a step further. “The burkini is a political, militant act, a provocation,” he told Le Figaro magazine. He calls for locking up, Muslims who are potential security threats, with thousands of them in the government’s files. Mr. Juppé’s appeal, to preserve republican values and the rule of law, seems less in tune with the voters in France’s moment of sustained tension. With Marine Le Pen, the leader of the National Front, oddly silent after its defeat in local elections in December and largely absent from public debate, Mr. Sarkozy seems intent on scooping up both the Front’s xenophobic electorate and more centrist voters who, like much of France, are still in a state of shock after a wave of terrorist attacks. So far, he appears to have the wind in his sails. How is it that Mr. Sarkozy — a politician who left France’s chronic economic problems intact after five years in office, embarrassed it with a messy personal life, and wound up being interrogated by investigators over party finances and other matters — appears to be coming back so strongly? Much of it has to do with France’s political system, said Gérard Grunberg, a political scientist at the Institute of Political Studies. Such a system leaves little opening for outsiders and newcomers. Those who are strong in their parties can almost always be guaranteed a long political life. If you are already in the club, you stay in it. Even in defeat, Mr. Sarkozy maintained firm control of his Republicans, not stepping down from their leadership until he announced his candidacy on Aug. 22. And although the French president is directly elected, not chosen by Parliament, the office exists in the shadow of the country’s long parliamentary tradition, Mr. Grunberg said. In that tradition, “the fact of having been beaten did not mean the end,” he said, with prime ministers and other top leaders often recycling themselves after losing crucial votes. But perhaps more important, Mr. Sarkozy may be the politician most in tune with the country’s unease. He is certainly the loudest, pounding even more explicitly than Ms. Le Pen the themes of secularism and the need to oppose the influence of Islam. “The Republic has retreated too far,” Mr. Sarkozy says in his book. “Nobody should be allowed any external sign of religious affiliation. ” He adds that it is “not with religions that the Republic has problems, but with one of them. ” In the face of the terrorist attacks, Mr. Sarkozy projects aggression and pugnacity where Mr. Hollande merely looks stricken and concerned. Among the voters, “Sarkozy responds to a demand for authority” in a “very tense, dangerous situation,” Mr. Grunberg said. “He’s decided to go very far to the right. And Juppé hasn’t said anything, though now he is beginning to speak. ” Whether Mr. Juppé’s “tranquillity” in the face of the threat can sway voters — Mr. Grunberg believes it might — is an open question. Mr. Sarkozy, he pointed out, remains unpopular with a broad portion of the electorate.

Donald Trump Signals ’Big Fat Beautiful Negotiation’ on House Healthcare Bill - Breitbart

Charlie Spiering

President Donald Trump told reporters that a “big fat beautiful negotiation” was underway on the proposed house health care bill, after a growing number of conservatives have voiced dissent with the effort. [“We’re negotiating with everybody,” Trump said. “It’s a big fat beautiful negotiation and hopefully we’ll come up with something that’s going to be really terrific. ” Trump made his remarks during a meeting with his cabinet at the White House — although four of them have yet to be confirmed by the Senate. During remarks to reporters, Trump thanked Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell for working “around the clock” on the effort to replace the Obamacare bill. “I think that ultimately the big beneficiary will be the American people,” Trump said. A handful of Republican Senators have signaled that they will not support the bill, raising questions about the bill’s ability to pass. Members of the House Freedom Caucus have also signaled that they will not vote for the bill as it currently stands. Trump spent the morning meeting with Americans affected by skyrocketing premiums, higher deductibles, and less coverage from Obamacare. “It’s not okay, it’s a disaster, and people understand that. It’s failed and it’s imploding,” Trump said, adding that if it was allowed to continue, it would “doubly implode. ”

Flashback: Clinton cheered 11th-hour indictment that doomed Bush re-election

Howard Portnoy

Print Whispers of “payback” are being directed at Hillary Clinton after she decried as “unprecedented” the surprise FBI revival of its probe of her email scandal. That’s because 24 years ago, as former President George H.W. Bush was surging back against challenger Bill Clinton, a special prosecutor raised new charges against Bush in the Iran-Contra probe, prompting Clinton to claim he was running against a “culture of corruption.” Many Republicans claimed that the indictment made by special prosecutor Lawrence Walsh against former Reagan-era Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger the weekend before the 1992 election cost Bush a second term. The indictment, later thrown out, challenged Bush’s claim that he did not know about a controversial arms-for-hostages deal that dogged the Reagan-Bush administration. When it came, Clinton seized on it, saying for example, “Secretary Weinberger’s note clearly shows that President Bush has not been telling the truth when he says he was out of the loop.” Clinton added, “It demonstrates that President Bush knew and approved of President Reagan’s secret deal to swap arms for hostages.”

Bashar al-Assad says if Donald Trump fights terrorism he will be a natural ally for Syria alongside Russia and Iran

Scott

Saker Message: No current Saker messages. Bashar al-Assad says if Donald Trump fights terrorism he will be a natural ally for Syria alongside Russia and Iran Following is the full text; Question 1 : Mr. President, let’s start with Aleppo if you don’t mind. There are still thousands of civilians trapped, trying to survive in a sort of sub-human conditions in the middle of a deluge of bombs. Why do you think that they refused to get out? President Assad : The part that you mention in Aleppo, what they call it the eastern part, is occupied by the terrorists for the last three years, and they have been using the civilians as human shields. From our side, from our part as government, we have two missions: the first one is to fight those terrorists to liberate that area and the civilians from those terrorists, and at the same time to try to find a solution to evacuate that area from those terrorists if they accept, let’s say, what you call it reconciliation option, in which they either give up their armaments for amnesty, or they leave that area. The other thing we did as government is to open gates for the civilians to leave that area, and at the same time for the humanitarian convoys and help to go through those gates inside that part of Aleppo, but the terrorists publicly refused any solution, so they wanted to keep the situation as it is. Question 2 : But Mr. President, aren’t you using the jihadists to discredit all the oppositions at the eyes of the national and international public opinion, and in the end to try to wipe them all out? President Assad: No, we cannot do that for a very simple reason: because we’ve been dealing with this kind of terrorism since the fifties, since the Muslim Brotherhood came to Syria at that time, and we learned that lesson very well, especially in the eighties, that terrorists cannot be used as a political card, you cannot put it in your pocket, because it’s like a scorpion; it will bite you someday. So, we cannot use jihadists because it’s like shooting yourself in the foot. They’re going to be against you sooner or later. This is in a pragmatic way, but if you think as value, we wouldn’t do it. Using terrorism or jihadists or extremists for any political agenda is immoral. Question 3: But Mr. President, the people, the civilians inside Aleppo, couldn’t we assume that they probably don’t trust the government, they don’t trust the army, that they just want democracy, dignity, freedom? Can you give that to them? President Assad: Let’s talk about this point, regarding the reality; since the beginning of the crisis, since the terrorists started to control some areas within Syria, the majority of the Syrian civilians left that areas to join the government areas, not vice versa. If the majority of the Syrians don’t trust the government, they should go the other way. Let me tell you another example, which is a starker example. You were in Daraya, al-Muadamiya, a few days ago, when you came here, and the terrorists and militants who left that area to Idleb in the northern part of Syria to join their fellow terrorists, they left their families under the supervision of the government, and you can go and visit them now, if you want. Question 4: Mr. President, I’ve been here first four years ago, and now. Are you winning the war, this war in Syria? President Assad: We can say, you can win the war only when you restore stability in Syria. You cannot talk about winning the war as long as there’s killing and destruction on daily basis. That doesn’t mean we are losing the war; the army is making good advancement on daily basis against the terrorists. Of course, they still have the support of Turkey, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and some Western countries including the United States, but the only option that we have in that regard is to win. If you don’t win and the terrorists win, Syria wouldn’t exist anymore. Question 5: But would you have done that also without Hezbollah, Iran, and Russia? President Assad: They are here because they could offer very essential and important help, because the situation that we are facing now is not only about a few terrorists from within Syria; it’s like international war against Syria. Those terrorists have been supported by tens of foreign countries, so Syria alone wouldn’t be able to face this kind of war without the help of its friends. That’s why their existence and their support was very essential. Question 6: Isn’t Mr. Putin your most important ally? President Assad: Russia is very important, Iran is very important, Hezbollah is very important. All of them are important. Each one made important achievements against the terrorists in Syria, so it’s difficult to say who is more important than the other. Journalist : But what’s the role of Russia in Syria nowadays? President Assad : The most important part of their support is the aerial support, which is very essential, they have very strong firepower, and at the same time they are the main supply of our army for more than sixty years, so our army depends on the Russian support in different military domains. Question 7: But are you free to decide the future of Syria, or are you dependent on Vladimir Putin’s strategies? President Assad: No, first of all, we are fully free, not partially, fully free, in everything related to the future of Syria. Second, which is more important or as important as the first part or the first factor, that the Russians always base their policies on values, and these values are the sovereignty of other countries, the international law, respecting other people, other cultures, so they don’t interfere in whatever is related to the future of Syria or the Syrian people. Question 8 : But they have helped you quite a few times in the United Nations. They have vetoed a few resolutions condemning your government, and the Syrian Army. There are several reports regarding Syria for use of chemical weapons, human right abuses, war crimes. All of this in the framework of the United Nations. President Assad: And many ask “what for?” I mean, what’s in return, what did they ask in return, that’s the question, actually, that’s the content of your question, because we heard it many times, whether in the media or directly. Actually, first of all, for their values, because in these values that I’m talking about, the value of international law, and they have their interest as well. I mean, fighting the terrorists in Syria is not only in the interest of Syria or the Syrian people; in the interest of the Middle East, of Europe itself – something that many officials in the West don’t see or don’t realize or don’t acknowledge – and in the interest of the Russian people, because they have been facing terrorists for decades now. So, the Russians are fighting for us, for the world, and for their self. Question 9: But when you speak about values, democracy is a value. President Assad: Of course. Journalist : Freedom is a value. President Assad: Of course. Question 10: Can you say that Syria is a democracy, like the Western standards? President Assad: The only one who can fight for these values like democracy and freedoms are the people of any country or any society, not the foreigners. Foreigners cannot bring freedom, cannot bring democracy, because this is related to the culture, to the different factors that affect or influence that society. You cannot bring it, you cannot import it. You cannot import anything from outside your country regarding the future of your country. Question 11: But would you define Syria as a democracy? President Assad: No, we were on the way to democracy. We didn’t say that we are fully democratic, we were on the way, we were moving forward. Slowly or fast, that’s subjective, cannot be objective, that’s always subjective. But we’re moving forward in that regard, of course. But the criteria or the paradigm for us is not the West, not the Western paradigm, because the West has its own culture, we have our own culture, they have their own reality, we have our own reality. So, our democracy should reflect our culture and our habits and our customs and our reality at the same time. Question 12 : I’m sure that you know that there is a new Secretary-General of the United Nations. How do you look at him, Mr. Guterres, taking into the account his well-known humanitarian approach to the situation? President Assad : Of course, I agree about the headline of this approach. I say “headline” because you always – under the headline, you have many sub-headlines or different titles. When you talk about humanitarian, it doesn’t only mean to offer the people the help, the food, their necessary needs for their life. The first thing, if you ask the Syrian refugees, for example, the first thing they want is to go back to their country. The first thing they want is to be able to live within Syria. That means help, humanitarian help, the way we understand it, food, medical care, any other, let’s say, basics for the daily life. The second one is to have stability and to have security, which means humanitarian equals fighting terrorists. You cannot talk about humanitarian aid and supporting the terrorists at the same time. You cannot, you have to choose. And of course, I’m not talking about him; I’m talking about the countries that go to support his plan, because he needs the support of other countries, he cannot achieve that plan while many countries in the world are still supporting the terrorists in Syria. So, of course we support it, whether helping the people to live, to go back to their country, and to live in security without terrorists. Question 13: He said already that peace in Syria is a priority. Are you available to talk with him, to work with him, for that purpose? President Assad: Definitely, of course. It’s his priority, and of course it’s our priority, that’s self-evident. It’s not only our priority; it’s a Middle Eastern priority, and when the Middle East is stable, the rest of the world is stable, because the Middle East is the heart of the world geographically and geopolitically, and Syria is the heart of the Middle East geographically and geopolitically. We are the fault line; if you don’t deal with this fault line, you’re going to have an earthquake, that’s what we always said. That’s why this priority is a hundred percent correct from our point of view, and we are ready to cooperate in any way to achieve stability in Syria, of course taking into consideration the interest of the country, and the will of the Syrian people. Question 14: You said when we spoke that the United Nations are biased. You think with Mr. Guterres that can change a little bit? President Assad: Everybody knows that the United Nations is not the Secretary-General; he has an important position, but the United Nations is the states within this organization, and to be frank, most of the people say only the five permanent members; this is the United Nations because they have the veto, they can do whatever they want and they can refuse whatever they want, and if there’s a reform that is very much needed for this organization, they can make veto or they can move forward in that regard. But at the same time, the way he presented himself as Secretary-General is very important. If you ask me “what do you expect from such a new official in that important position,” I would say I need two things: the first one is to be objective in every statement he could make regarding any conflict around the world, including Syria. The second one, which is related and complimentary with the first one, is not to turn his office into a part or branch of the State Department of the United States. That’s what we expect now. Of course, when he’s objective, he can play an important role in dealing with different officials in the United Nations in order to bring the policies of the different states – mainly Russia and the United States – toward more cooperation and more stability regarding Syria. Question 15: But regarding Syria, there are a lot agendas: Qatar, Turkey, Russia, United States, Iran, and Saudi Arabia. How is it possible to try to find that peace process with so many agendas? President Assad: Without bringing all those countries and the different factors in one direction, of course it’s going to be difficult. That’s why I always say the Syrian problem as isolated case, as Syrian case, is not very complicated. What makes it complicated is the interference from the outside, especially the Western interference because it’s against the will of the Syrian government, while the intervention of the Russians, Iranians, and Hezbollah is because of the invitation of the Syrian government. So, his role as Secretary-General in bringing all these powers together is very essential` and we hope he can succeed, it’s not easy of course. Question 16: Let me pick out Turkey; their army is in your country, their President said last week that their interests lies beyond the natural borders; he referred to Mosul and Aleppo. Do you accept this? President Assad: Of course not. You’re talking about sick person; he’s megalomaniac President, he is not stable. He lives during the Ottoman era, he doesn’t live in the current time. He’s out of touch with the reality. Question 17: But how you are going to do with their army inside your country? President Assad: It’s our right to defend it; it’s invasion. It’s our right to defend our country against any kind of invasion. But let’s be realistic, every terrorist came to Syria, he came through Turkey with the support of Erdogan. So, fighting those terrorists is like fighting the army of Erdogan, not the Turkish army, the army of Erdogan. Question 18 : But it’s a NATO country, are you aware of that? President Assad: Yeah, of course. Whether it is a NATO country or not, it doesn’t have the right to invade any other country according to the international law or to any other moral value. Question 19: Mr. President, America’s new elected President, what do you expect of Donald J. Trump? President Assad : We don’t have a lot of expectations because the American administration is not only about the President; it’s about different powers within this administration, the different lobbies that they are going to influence any President. So, we have to wait and see when he embarks his new mission, let’s say, or position within this administration as President in two months’ time. But we always say we have wishful thinking that the Unites States would be unbiased, respect the international law, doesn’t interfere in other countries around the world, and of course to stop supporting terrorists in Syria. Question 20: But he said in an interview that he seems to be ready to work with you in the fight against the Islamic State or ISIL, are you ready for such a move? President Assad: Of course, I would say this is promising, but can he deliver? Can he go in that regard? What about the countervailing forces within the administration, the mainstream media that were against him? How can he deal with it? That’s why for us it’s still dubious whether he can do or live up to his promises or not. That’s why we are very cautious in judging him, especially as he wasn’t in a political position before. So, we cannot tell anything about what he’s going to do, but if, let’s say if he is going to fight the terrorists, of course we are going to be ally, natural ally in that regard with the Russian, with the Iranian, with many other countries who wanted to defeat the terrorists. Question 21: So, you will cooperate with the Americans in the fight against terrorists? President Assad: Of course, definitely, if they are genuine, if they have the will, and if they have the ability, of course we are the first ones to fight the terrorists because we suffered more than any other one in this world from terrorists. Question 22: So, cooperate with the Americans that are now supporting the Kurds, the YPG that are trying to get into Raqqa? President Assad: When you talk about cooperation, it means cooperation between two legal governments, not cooperation between foreign government and any faction within Syria. Any cooperation that doesn’t go through the Syrian government is not legal. If it’s not legal, we cannot cooperate with, and we don’t recognize and we don’t accept. Question 23 : Anyway, the Vice President, Mr. Pence, said that he has admitted the use of military force to prevent your military force from a humanitarian crisis in Aleppo, how do you look at it? President Assad: This is against the international law again, and that’s the problem with the American position; they think that they are the police of the world. They think they are the judge of the world; they’re not. They are sovereign country, they are an independent country, but this is their limit; they don’t have to interfere in any other country. Because of this interference for the last fifty years, that’s why they are very good only in creating problems, not in solving problems. That’s the problem with the American role. That’s why I said we don’t pin a lot of hopes of changing administrations because that context has been going on for more than fifty years now, and that’s expected. If they want to continue in the same position of the United States creating problems around the world, that’s what they have to do: only interfering in the matters of other nations. Question 24: But returning to what the President, the newly elected American President said about cooperating with your government in the fight against Islamic State, do you expect a change also within European countries? President Assad: Regarding fighting terrorism, we are ready to cooperate with anyone in this world with no conditions. That’s crux of our policy, not today, not yesterday; for years, even before the war on Syria, we always said that. In the eighties, we asked for international coalition against terrorism after the Muslim Brotherhood crisis in Syria when they started killing, of course they were defeated at that time. We asked for the same thing. So, this is a long-term policy that we base our policy on for years now. Question 25: One last question. Mr. President, I need really to ask you this, because after all these years, do you still reject any responsibility for what happened in your country? President Assad: No, I never rejected any responsibility, but that depends on the decision. When you talk about responsibility, you ask yourself what are the decisions that you take in order to deal with the crisis. Did the President order anyone to kill civilians, did he order the destruction, did he order supporting terrorism in his country? Of course not. My decision was, and the decision of the different institutions, and the decision of the different officials in Syria – I’m on top of them – was to have dialogue, to fight terrorists, and to reform as a response at the very beginning, response to the allegations, let’s say, at that time, that they needed reform in Syria, we responded. So, that’s the decision that I took. Would you say, or would anyone say that fighting terrorism is wrong? Making dialogue is wrong? Making reform is wrong? Protecting the civilians and liberating areas from terrorists is wrong? Of course not. So, there’s a difference between responsibility of the policy and responsibility of the practice. In any practice, you have malpractice, that’s another issue. When you talk about state and President, you always talk about the decisions and the policy. Journalist: Thank you for being with RTP Mr. President. President Assad : Thanks for you.

This dad’s tweets about Halloween with his young daughters are brilliant

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Next Prev Swipe left/right This dad’s tweets about Halloween with his young daughters are brilliant Comedy writer James Breakwell , also known as @XplodingUnicorn , is a very popular guy over on Twitter, largely due to his hilarious tweets about family life, mostly involving his four young daughters. In a series of recent tweets, James has illustrated some of the challenges brought about by Halloween. Here are eight of them for you to enjoy. 1. 4-year-old: Can I wear my wizard costume today? Me: No. You’ll ruin it before Halloween. 4: I'll use magic to fix it. Checkmate. — James Breakwell (@XplodingUnicorn) October 28, 2016 2. 4-year-old: How come we only trick-or-treat on Halloween? Me: People won't give you candy on other days. 4: Have you tried? — James Breakwell (@XplodingUnicorn) October 27, 2016 3. Me: I'm heading to the grocery store. 6-year-old: Why? We're about to get Halloween candy. Me: You need other food, too. 6: Maybe YOU do. — James Breakwell (@XplodingUnicorn) October 28, 2016 4.

Woodward Warns ’Smug’ Media: Trump Will Probably Be President for Full Term, Maybe Even More - Breitbart

Pam Key

Wednesday during an Axios interview, veteran Washington Post reporter of Watergate fame Bob Woodward said the press has a “kind of smugness” about President Donald Trump. When asked about press “smugness,” Woodward said, “Yes. I think that is a giant problem. On television particularly, you will see a White House correspondent deliver a report and then say ‘the Trump White House said … ’ and then there’s a kind of smug smile, which is the correspondent undermining what the White House says. And there may be grounds for that, but it should be reported. It should be straight. ” He added, “I think there are so many people that are treating the Trump presidency as if it’s a tryout — as if it’s provisional. I was reading a column this morning that said Trump half won the presidency because he did not get the popular vote. He is president. Odds are he is probably going to be president for a full term, four years and maybe even more. There is hyperventilation. There is this kind of sense of too many people writing things like — when is the impeachment coming, how long will it last, will he make it through the summer, and so forth. No, there may be stuff that comes out, but it has to be hard evidence. I worry for the business and I worry for the perception of the business by people, not to just Trump supporters, but people that see that kind of smugness that they are talking about. You know, he was elected, the Constitution says he gets a full term. ” Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN

Alleged US airstrikes to support ground op in Afghanistan kill scores of Kunduz villagers (GRAPHIC) - Russia News Now

This post was originally published on this site sott.net/news © Bashir Khan Safi / Agence France Presse An Afghan man carries the dead body of a child following a NATO coalition airstrike on the outskirts of Kunduz on November 3, 2016. Scores of civilians, including children, have reportedly been killed in US airstrikes supporting a ground operation in Kunduz, Afghanistan, officials and media report. NATO forces in Afghanistan said the airstrikes were “to defend friendly forces under fire.” Earlier on Thursday, United States Forces Afghanistan released a statement, saying that two US servicemen had died “as a result of wounds sustained during operations” in Kunduz. “The service members came under fire during a train, advise and assist mission with our Afghan partners to clear a Taliban position and disrupt the group’s operations in Kunduz district,” the statement said. Resolute Support, a NATO-led training mission in Afghanistan, tweeted that the airstrikes in Kunduz had been carried out to defend “friendly forces under fire.” Brigadier General Charles Cleveland, a spokesman for the United States military in Afghanistan, said that he couldn’t say whether the civilian deaths near Kunduz and the attack on US soldiers were related, but noted that the deceased American servicemen had been as advisers to an Afghan military operation. “We have no evidence at this point of any civilian casualties, but we take all allegations very seriously,” he said, as cited by the New York Times . “Although this was an Afghan operation advised by US forces, US aircraft were used to defend all of the friendly forces.” Afghan officials told Reuters that there had been heavy fighting between Taliban fighters and the US military about five kilometers from the city center. The US then reportedly called in airstrikes that resulted in numerous casualties. Local activists shared photos of what they say are dead bodies of the airstrike victims with RT. RT cannot independently verify the authenticity of the images. General Qasim Jangalbagh from the Kunduz police said the air raid had resulted in the deaths of about 26 people, AP reported. Kunduz’s provincial spokesman, Mahmood Danish, told AFP that the airstrikes had killed 30 civilians, including women and children. “Afghan forces and coalition troops conducted a joint operation against the Taliban insurgents. In the bombardment 30 Afghan civilians were martyred and 25 others were wounded,” he said. Police spokesman Mahmoodullah Akbari gave similar toll to AFP, saying that infants as young as three months old were among the dead. Local activists shared photos of what they say are dead bodies of the airstrike victims with RT. RT cannot independently verify the authenticity of the images. “They were asleep when their house came under attack by coalition troops,” Akbari said. Safiullah Amiri, a member of the Kunduz Provincial Council, said at least 30 civilians had been killed in a series of airstrikes on the village, the NYT reported. The paper also cited Islamuddin Timoori, a representative of the protesters from Kunduz, who said that the bombing had been carried out by the US, killing 27 people and wounding 70. According to Pajhwok, “the airstrikes and ground offensive” were conducted by “Afghan and foreign forces” in the Pul Achin and Poz Kandahari areas on the outskirts of Kunduz. Pajhwok reported that the airstrikes had prompted the citizens of Kunduz to take to the streets in protest. The protesters reportedly were carrying the bodies of people killed in the attack, including those of the children. Photos of the corpses of the alleged victims have been circulating on social media. “I was working on the farm when suddenly the bombardment started in our area. When I came to my house seven members of my family, including women and children, were killed,” Kunduz resident Taza Gul told Pajhwok Afghan News. Bilal Sarwary, a local journalist citing sources in the Afghan government, reported that at least 31 civilians had been killed during an Afghan-NATO special forces operation on Thursday night. Citing Afghan government sources, he tweeted that “Afghan and US Special forces were surrounded and were taking heavy fire when the airstrike was called.” Related

Here Are Our Stories That Won the Biggest Awards in the Magazine World - The New York Times

The New York Times Magazine

The New York Times Magazine won three National Magazine Awards on Tuesday, tying New York Magazine for the most awards for any publication this year. The winning stories showcased a wide range of reporting and storytelling, at home and abroad: • In the Public Interest category, “Worlds Apart,” by our staff writer Nikole tells the story of ’s own process of finding a school for her daughter in New York City, among the most segregated public school systems in the country. Expertly weaving together the personal and the historical, supported by a wealth of research and data, made the case that — more than 60 years after Brown v. Board of Education — the majority of poor black and Latino children received a separate and unequal education. • The winning story in the Feature Writing category, “I Have No Choice but to Keep Looking,” by our contributing writer Jennifer Percy, visits the coast of Japan, where more than five years after the tsunami that killed tens of thousands, the families of the dead still search the sea for their loved ones — a heartbreaking testament to love and devotion in the face of unimaginable loss. • In the category, “David’s Ankles,” by our staff writer Sam Anderson, explores Anderson’s obsession with the history of Michelangelo’s David statue and its flaws while unspooling a meditation on the nature of imperfection itself.

Comment on 6 Places Voter Fraud Has Already Happened… But Don’t Worry by lenore.lee

lenore.lee

Remember the last debate when the internet blew up because Donald Trump said he wouldn’t necessarily accept the results of the election ? People were bemoaning him as a fascist and no one in the mainstream wanted to admit that our election process is entirely rigged . The trouble is, voter fraud on a grand scale can be tough to prove . As it turns out, voter fraud on a smaller scale has been detected in 6 locations already, according to today’s Drudge Report . But don’t worry. These are just “glitches” or “too few to make a difference.” 1) Chicago In the Windy City, the dead have been voting for decades. Two investigators have admitted finding proof of this, but they refuse to say that there is fraud. Relatives of the Voting Dead feel differently. They say that they’ve reported the deaths of their loved ones repeatedly, but that the names have not been removed from the rolls. But that isn’t the worst of it – not only are these people on the rolls – they’ve repeatedly voted since their deaths. Don’t worry, though. It’s just a few hundred dead voters that they’ve been able to confirm. No biggie. ( source ) 2) Philadelphia Chicago is not alone with the dead folks voting.There are also reports from Philadelphia that people are making their voices heard from beyond the grave. *cough* Local station Action News 6 investigated and found that a stunning number of people have been deemed “active voters” for many years since their deaths. Don’t worry, though. The local voting board says these mistakes are simply “human error” and that there aren’t enough dead voters to actually sway the election. ( source ) 3) Hollywood, Maryland A woman in Maryland has reported another incidence of “vote flipping.” She voted a straight Republican ticket, then checked after it was submitted. Her vote for Trump had been switched to a vote for Clinton. Don’t worry, though. The election officials there told her to just vote again. Of course, this would “undo” the vote for Clinton, but would it really count as a vote for Trump? I’m sure it’s fine. The election officials would want to be scrupulous about something like that. ( source ) 4) Miami-Dade County, Florida Two women have been charged with felony counts of tampering with the election. One, a temporary election worker, was caught marking ballots by her co-workers. The other was caught filling out voter registration paperwork for people who did not exist. Don’t worry, though. These were isolated incidents that have been dealt with. In the words of State Attorney Katherine Fernández Rundle, a Democrat, “Anyone who attempts to undermine the democratic process should recognize that there is an enforcement partnership between the elections department and our prosecution task force in place to thwart such efforts and arrest those involved. Now we need to move forward with the election.” ( source ) 5) Alexandria, Virginia A guy in Virginia who was formerly employed by the New Virginia Majority, an advocacy group aligned with the Democratic party, was caught using fake names to fill out voter registration applications. But don’t worry. Commonwealth Attorney Bryan Porter said, “Since the fraudulent applications involved fictitious people, had the fraud not been uncovered the risk of actual fraudulent votes being cast was low.” ( source ) 6) Lots of places in Texas Much like the report in Maryland, voters in various locations in Texas have reported that when they chose a straight Republican ticket, the voting machines opted for Clinton/Kaine instead of Trump/Pence . Voters in Amarillo, Arlington, Corpus Christi, San Antonio, Cypress, Mesquite, and El Paso have all reported vote flipping from Trump to Clinton. But don’t worry. Election officials in the state say it’s not a problem with the equipment . It’s just those silly voters who don’t know how to use it. ““Typically, we’ve found it’s voter error with the equipment. Sometimes they vote straight party and then click on other candidates … or do something with the wheel….There is not an issue with the equipment.” ( source ) If you’re worried about election fraud… You can add a smartphone app by True the Vote called VoteStand to report incidents of fraud. Don’t let anything slide. If you are voting, make sure your choice is accurately recorded. Courtesy of Daisy Luther Don't forget to follow the D.C. Clothesline on Facebook and Twitter. PLEASE help spread the word by sharing our articles on your favorite social networks. Share this:

Alan Dershowtiz: Report He Will Help Defense in Female Genital Mutilation Case ’Fake News by New York Times’

Michael Patrick Leahy

Famed attorney and retired Harvard Law School professor Alan Dershowitz told Breitbart News a New York Times story published on Saturday that he has been hired “to help the defense” in the Michigan female genital mutilation case is “misleading” and “another example of fake news by The New York Times. ”[On Saturday, the Times reported, “Recently, the an organization overseeing smaller Shiite Muslim sects, hired two lawyers, Alan Dershowitz and Mayer Morganroth, to help the defense, The Associated Press reported. ” “Misleading,” Dershowitz said of the Times report. “I’ve written a letter to The Times correcting its story,” Dershowitz told Breitbart News. “Another example of fake news by The New York Times. I hope they’ll print my letter, but you never know,” Dershowitz told Breitbart News in a phone interview from Vienna, Austria on Monday morning. “So here’s the story. This group rejects female genital mutilation. I agreed to consult with them and to work toward an acceptance of merely a symbolic pin prick, not even of the clitoris, but just of the clitoral hood, which is the equivalent of the foreskin,” Dershowitz said of his consulting agreement with the the governing body that oversees members of the Dawoodi Bohra sect of Islam. He went on to say: The idea really is the functional equivalent of what Jews do. If a kid were circumcised at birth, as many are, but didn’t have a bris, didn’t have a religious circumcision, and he wants to convert to Judaism, or his parents want to convert him to Judaism, he has a little symbolic pin prick, it draws one tiny bit of blood, and that takes the place of a circumcision, and that’s what I’ve proposed&gt, World wide, there are about one million members of the Dawoodi Bohra sect, which is based in Mumbai, India. Muffaddal Saifuddin is the current spiritual leader. The sect has at least six mosques in the United States, located in Michigan, Houston, Chicago, New Jersey, Washington, D. C. and Fremont, California. While it is not known exactly how many adherents of the sect currently reside in the United States, at least three of them have run afoul of the law recently in Michigan. “Dr. Fakhruddin Attar was arrested in the Detroit suburb of Livonia, Michigan Friday, accused, along with his wife Farida Attar, of involvement in the same female genital mutilation conspiracy that led to the landmark arrest last week of Dr. Jumana Nagarwala,” Breitbart News reported in April. “All three defendants are part of a small community known as the Dawoodi Bohra, which was at the center of an Australian prosecution that sent three people to prison in 2015,” the Detroit Free Press reported: In the wake of the case, an organization that oversees the Dawoodi Bohra community in Detroit has defended the group, stating: “The Dawoodi Bohras do not support the violation of any U. S. law, local, state or federal. We offer our assistance to the investigating authorities. Any violation of U. S. law is counter to instructions to our community members. It does not reflect the everyday lives of the Dawoodi Bohras in America. … We take our religion seriously but our culture is modern and . ” Dershowitz again stated that The New York Times got the story wrong and that he is not helping the defense of the individuals charged with committing the federal crime of female genital mutilation in Michigan: I’m consulting — The Times mischaracterized my role — I’m not representing any of the people who are charged. I’m just consulting with the group in an effort to try to create a world wide alternative to female genital mutilation. If we can get everybody in the world who today practices female genital mutilation, this group does not, every group in the world who practices it, if we can get them all to substitute the symbolic pin prick, which is the equivalent, for example of a 15 year old kid having your ear pierced, which is legal, it causes just about the same amount of harm to have your ears piereced as to have a tiny prick on the labial hood, that to me would be a great accomplishment. It would also help resolve the conflict between religious freedom and the interests of the state in preventing child harm. So that’s my role in the case, as a consultant to try and move the world away from female genital mutilation toward a much more benign sterilized pin prick. “They don’t practice FGM, lets be clear about that,” Dershowitz said of the group adding: My goal is to help create a model all over the world for groups that do practice, to be able to comply with the law. What I want to do is get the U. S. government to agree that a sterilized benign symbolic pin prick would not violate the law. I think that if we can do that we would have accomplished a great deal. Breitbart News asked Professor Dershowitz if this is just a false flag to create the impression there is widespread use of the symbolic pin prick as an alternative to female genital mutilation when in fact the traditional barbaric practice of female genital mutilation will continue as before. “I’m not concerned about this group,” Dershowtiz said. He went on: This group wants to obey the law, and has been trying to obey the law. They will do everything in their power to obey. This group never practiced clitoral cutting or anything of the kind, so I am very comfortable representing this group and trying to get the law to change, or really to get the law to recognize our position, which is the law doesn’t apply to the pin pricking. If we can get the U. S. government to accept that, we think we’re going to improve both the situation facing young girls today and the freedom of the religion of the group. So for me this presents the possibility of a a win for the first amendment and a win for young girls who would no longer be exposed to anything beyond the symbolic pin prick. I want to emphasize the pin prick is literally no different than ear piercing and in virtually every state in the union today, parents have the right to have their 10 year old, 8 year old, 6 year old have their ears pierced. There’s no medical good that comes from that, but there’s also no medical harm. If you can do it for cosmetic purposes you can certainly be able to do it for religious purposes. Dershowitz told Breitbart News he first became interested in the issue of female genital mutilation when he got a call from this group. “I had read a few things about it. I had read works by Richard Schwader, who is a liberal anthropologist, and who has been pushing very hard for this pin prick approach. I was influenced by his advocacy as well. I met with him and met with the group and came away believing this would be the best overall solution,” he said. Dershowitz also said he has no idea how prevalent the pin prick procedure he advocates as an alternative to female genital mutilation is in those countries where female genital mutilation is a documented health problem for women. “I would never ever ever under any circumstances defend the practice of female genital mutilation and I want to state that on the record. I would never ever ever under any circumstances defend or support the practice of female genital mutilation. I’m not doing that here,” he added. The New York Times was not the only media outlet to get Dershowitz’s consulting relationship with wrong. “Famed constitutional law scholar and attorney Alan Dershowitz has joined the defense team in the nation’s first female genital mutilation case in federal court,” The Detroit Free Press reported on June 1.

Privacy Group Sues NYPD over Freedom of Information Request on Facial Recognition Program - Breitbart

Charlie Nash

The New York Police Department (NYPD) is being sued by a privacy group for failing to disclose information about a “secretive” facial recognition program. [The Center on Privacy and Technology at Georgetown Law filed the lawsuit after the NYPD allegedly refused to comply with a Freedom of Information Law request. “As of 2016, the NYPD is reported to have conducted ‘8, 500 facial recognition investigations, yielding 3, 000 possible matches, and leading to almost 2, 000 arrests.’ In January 2016, the Center sent a FOIL request to the NYPD seeking records relating to the department’s acquisition and use of face recognition technology,” explained the group in a press release. “Despite extensive evidence of an advanced and frequently used face recognition system, the NYPD disclosed only a single document responsive to the request for procedures relating to facial recognition technology. The department refused to disclose contract and purchasing records, and claimed that no other records could be found. ” Despite the fact that there are currently no laws against the use of facial recognition by law enforcement in New York, the Center claims that it is illegal for the NYPD to keep the records surrounding it from the public. “Face recognition is too powerful, and its price on privacy and civil liberties too high, to not be controlled by robust policies and training guides,” said the Center’s Clare Garvie, who filed the original request. “If these records do in fact exist, it is against both New York law and the interests of the public to keep them secret. ” “The NYPD has been using face recognition for over five years. New Yorkers have a right to know how it’s using face recognition technology,” added David Vladeck, the Faculty Director of the Center. “The department’s claim that it cannot find any records about its use of the technology is deeply troubling. ” “If no records exist, that means that there are no controls on the use of face recognition technology and we ought to worry about that,” he continued. “If there are records, then why did the Police Department say that it couldn’t find them? The lawsuit we’ve filed aims to get to the bottom of those questions. ” The lawsuit can be viewed in full online. Charlie Nash is a reporter for Breitbart Tech. You can follow him on Twitter @MrNashington or like his page at Facebook.

IS Jihadist on Eilat Attack: ‘The Jewish Enemy Should Anticipate More’

Aaron Klein and Ali Waked

TEL AVIV — Wednesday’s rocket fire on the Israeli resort city of Eilat was “a natural reaction” to alleged Israeli involvement with the Egyptian army’s clampdown on Sinai militants, Abu Baker Almaqdesi, a jihadist who fought for the Islamic State, told Breitbart Jerusalem in an interview. [Late on Wednesday, four rockets were launched toward the southern city, three of which were intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense system. No damage or injuries were reported. Earlier on Thursday, the Islamic State Sinai Province posted an online statement taking credit for the rocket salvo aimed at Eilat. Almaqdisi previously fought for IS in Syria and Mosul in northern Iraq, where he says he was injured. Without offering evidence, Almaqdesi claimed that in recent days Israel Air Force drones have taken part in raids on chapters of Wilayat Sinai, the Islamic State’s Egyptian affiliate. Some of the casualties, he claimed, were Gazans. Breitbart Jerusalem submitted a request to the Israel Defense Forces for comment on the allegations of drone strikes in the Sinai. Using language, Almaqdesi, who spoke to Breitbart Jerusalem in Arabic, claimed that “the Jewish entity” — referring to Israel — “never stopped assisting the Egyptian army of infidels in their war against the mujahedeen, and tonight’s salvo on Umm Rashrash [Eilat’s Arabic name] was a natural reaction to those crimes. ” The jihadist claimed the Eilat rocket attack wasn’t a precedent. “Earlier this month, we fired at the Elojah crossing [between Egypt and Israel]. Our brothers are determined to continue to react to the crimes of the Jews, and we’ll continue to launch rockets at Israel despite their airborne operations and despite the strain of the Egyptian army of infidels. ” Almaqdesi claimed that only three days ago, an Israeli drone fired at a house in the Egyptian Sinai, which happened to be empty and therefore no injuries were caused. “The Jewish enemy continues its attack on the mujahedeen and innocent civilians, so they should anticipate more from our brothers the Sinai mujahedeen. ” Asked whether they plan attacks on Israel, Almaqdesi said: “It’s the decision of the brothers in the leadership, but it is clear to all that the Jewish entity is just one player in the war on Islam. Though a major one. Therefore, no option is off the table. It’s true that the Jewish police arrest our mujahedeen even inside Palestine and the forces of the treacherous collaborator Abu Mazen do it too, and even those who are falsely called Muslims in Gaza fight against us. But our organization proved that we could strike anywhere in the world. I can tell you that our weapons are now aimed at Israel more than ever before. ” The Islamic State Sinai Province on Thursday released a statement taking credit the Eilat rocket attack: “A military squad fired a number of Grad rockets at communities of Jewish usurpers in the town of Eilat. ” The group said the rocket attacks were meant “to teach the Jews and the crusaders a proxy war will not avail them of anything. ” “The future will be more calamitous with Allah’s permission,” the statement said. In a interview last March, Abu a Salafist movement senior official in the Gaza Strip allied with IS, threatened that it is only a matter of time before the Islamic State’s branch in the Egyptian Sinai carries out a “big operation” in the Israeli resort town of Eilat and other parts of southern Israel. Ansari was speaking on “Aaron Klein Investigative Radio. ” He has since been arrested by Hamas and is reportedly in a jail in the Gaza Strip. Aaron Klein is Breitbart’s Jerusalem bureau chief and senior investigative reporter. He is a New York Times bestselling author and hosts the popular weekend talk radio program, “Aaron Klein Investigative Radio. ” Follow him on Twitter @AaronKleinShow. Follow him on Facebook.

An Identity-Politicized Election and World Series Lakefront Liberals Can Love

Paul Street

Photo by Mark Hodgins | CC BY 2.0 It’s the perfect time to be an affluent white and politically correct North Side Lakefront – or other kind of – Liberal and sports fan in the Chicago area. Think about it. Your beloved Chicago Cubs are finally going to their first World Series since 1945 and they will be doing a battle against a team with the worst racist Native American logo in major U.S. professional sports: the Cleveland Indians – yes, the “Indians.” The Indians’ Chief Wahoo – a wild grinning caricature – is the single most offensive, politically incorrect image in sports today. It’s enough to make folks forget that the Cubs are owned by a politically active right-wing Republican family, the Ricketts, one of whom recently contributed $1 million to the racist and sexist bigot Donald Trump. And that the Cubs’ storied ballpark Wrigley Field will be jammed with rich white people who can swallow up secondary market World Series tickets selling for as high as $18,000 . And that the Cubs owe no small part their ability to overcome their “ Billy Goat curse ” (proclaiming that they’d never go again to the final championship series) largely to massive infusions of big Ricketts money required to purchase free-agent veterans to go along with their younger stars. Meanwhile, the liberals’ party has a presidential candidate Hillary Clinton who is about to become the national government’s first female chief executive after trouncing the aforementioned bigot Trump in the November 8 th election. The insane, politically incorrect spectacle of Trump has helped people forget that Mrs. Clinton is herself a “right-wing fanatic” and a “lying neoliberal warmonger” – and here I am quoting two left intellectuals who counsel folks to vote for her. Hillary’s Wall Street-friendly arch-corporatism and hawkish militarism are well understood in very predominantly white establishment business and imperial circles, where she is by far and away the preferred candidate. This is true even among many normally Republican members of the economic, political, policy, and – in a word – power elite. Identity politics provides cover for, and diversion from, class rule and from the deeper structures of class, race, gender, empire, and eco-cide that haunt American and global life today – structures that place children of liberal white North Side Chicago professionals in posh 40 th -story apartments overlooking scenic Lake Michigan while consigning children of felony-branded Black custodians and fast food workers to cramped apartments in crime-ridden South Side neighborhoods where nearly half the kids are growing up at less than half the federal government’s notoriously inadequate poverty level. Most of the Black kids in deeply impoverished and hyper-segregated neighborhoods like Woodlawn and Englewood (South Side) or North Lawndale and Garfield Park (West Side) can forget not only about going to a World Series game but even about watching one on television. Their parents don’t have cable and the Fox Sports 1 channel. There’s few if any local restaurants and taverns with big-screen televisions in safe walking distance from their homes. Major League Baseball ticket prices being what they are, few of the South Side kids have even seen the White Sox – Chicago’s South Side American League team, whose ballpark lacks the affluent white and gentrified surroundings of Wrigley Field. (Thanks in no small part to the urban social geography of race and class in Chicago, the White Sox winning the World Series in 2005 – their first championship since 1917, marking an overcoming of the Black Sox Curse – was a smaller deal in the city than the Cubs going to the World Series this year.) The World Series might be playing out before a national and even global audience just miles away in hyper-Caucasian Wrigley Ville, but for tens of thousands of Black and Latino kids on the city’s South, West, and (in fact) North Sides (there are significant stretches of minority poverty west and north of the Cubs’ storied ballpark), the games are being played in another universe. Hillary, a Cubs fan from the affluent northern white Chicago area suburb of Park Ridge (though also a self-declared Yankee fan during her years “representing Wall Street as a Senator from New York” [her own words]) isn’t going to remotely change any of that. She has a long record as a vanguard neoliberal Democrat (a de facto “moderate” Republican) going back to the Clintons’ days in Arkansas, where and when she played a key role in helping move the Democratic Party ever further away from its last lingering commitments to social, racial, and environmental justice and decency. I may be a “far left radical” stamped as a White Sox fan by family upbringing and a childhood on the South Side. Still, I am going to make the most both of the Cubs going to the World Series and of Hillary trouncing Trump. Much as I wish the Sox were headed for their second championship in eleven year (they held first place in the American League Central Division for a few weeks last spring), I have to admit that nothing can beat the heartwarming story of the “lovable losers” the Cubs going to the October Classic when it comes to boosting the profile of baseball relative to that of the sadistically violent, brain-mashing blood sport called U.S. football. It is a telling tragedy that the beautiful pastoral game of baseball has been trounced by the vicious, fascist-lite spectacle that is U.S. football as the nation’s favorite sport in the neoliberal era. Plus, I have nice memories of my father taking me up to enemy territory to watch National League baseball in Wrigley Field in the late 1960s, before it became a Yuppie playground and a tourist attraction. You could sit in Wrigley’s bleachers for $1.50. Like all good leftists, I hate the Clintons, including the ones with two x chromosomes – and that includes young Chelsea, with her noxious $10 million condo complex in Manhattan Still, I do not await a Hillary Clinton administration with undiluted trepidation. The presence of a Democrat in the nominal top U.S. job can be usefully instructive for young workers and citizens. It helps demonstrate the richly bipartisan nature of the American plutocracy and Empire. The people need to see and experience how the intolerable misery and oppression imposed by capitalism and its evil twin imperialism live on when Democrats hold the White House. At the same time, the presence of a Republican in the White House tends to fuel the illusion among progressives and others that the main problem in the country is that the wrong party holds executive power and that all energy and activism must be directed at fixing that. It just feeds the electoral and candidate obsessions that do so much to divert us from building and expanding the kinds of rank and file social movements required to bringing about an actually progressive transformation. There is, yes, I know, the problem of Democrats in the White House functioning to stifle social movements and especially peace activism (the antiwar movement has still yet to recover from the Obama experience). But there’s more good news here about a Hillary presidency. Not all Democratic presidents are equally good at shutting progressive activism down. As the likely Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein (for whom I took five minutes to early vote in a “contested state” three weeks ago) noted in an interview with me last April (when the White Sox still held first place in their division), Hillary Clinton will have considerably less capacity to deceive and bamboozle progressive and young workers and citizens than Barack Obama enjoyed in 2007-08 . “Obama,” Stein noted, was fairly new on the scene. Hillary,” by contrast, “has been a warmonger who never found a war she didn’t love forever!” Hillary’s corporatist track record – ably documented in Doug Henwood’s book My Turn: Hillary Clinton Targets the Presidency (her imperial track record receives equally impressive treatment in Diana Johnstone’s volume Queen of Chaos: The Misadventures of Hillary Clinton ) – is also long and transparently bad. All that and Mrs. Clinton’s remarkable lacks of charisma and trustworthiness could be useful for left activism and politics in coming years. For what it’s worth, the first and most urgent place to restore such activism and politics is in the area where Barack Obama has been most deadening: foreign policy, also known (when conducted by the U.S.) as imperialism. When it comes to prospects for World War III, it is by no means clear that the saber-rattling, regime-changing, NATO-expanding, and Russia-baiting Hillary Clinton is the “lesser evil” compared to the preposterous Trump. That’s no small matter. During a friend’s birthday party the night the Cubs clinched the National League pennant, I asked fellow celebrants and inebriates if they were prepared for the fundamental realignment of the space-time continuum that was coming when the North Siders won the league championship. That was a joke, of course, but there’s nothing funny about the heightened chances of a real downward existential adjustment resulting from war between nuclear superpowers when the “lying neoliberal warmonger” Hillary Clinton gets into office and insists on recklessly imposing a so-called no-fly zone over Russia-allied Syria. Postscript : Meanwhile, could we save some love for the poor and mostly working class sports fans of Cleveland? They didn’t vote for their one and only Major League Baseball team to be named the Indians and bear a noxious racist logo. Until LeBron James delivered on his basketball promise last spring they hadn’t won a major sports professional championship in fifty-two years. In the years since 1948, the last time the Indians won the World Series, Cleveland has had two such champions: the football Browns in 1964 and the basketball Cavaliers earlier this year. Over the same period, Chicago has accumulated four National Hockey League (NHL)/Stanley Cup championships (1961, 2010, 2013, 2015), six NBA (basketball) championship (the 1990s Michael Jordan Bulls), two NFL (football) championships (the Bears in 1963 and 1985-86), and one World Series (the officially unlovable White Sox in 2005). That’s Chicago 13, Cleveland 2 (9 to 2 if you subtract hockey since Cleveland has never had an NHL team). That said, I’m still rooting for the Cubs for three reasons: (1) I may be from the South Side but I’m also from Chicago and have lived on the North Side at different times; (2) the Cubs becoming a dynasty (a distinct possibility given the talent and youth of their team the money behind it) will be good for baseball versus football (3) the truly disgusting atrocity that is Chief Wahu. Check it out .

Evergreen State College Protester Arrested on Main Campus Plaza - Breitbart

Tom Ciccotta

A protester was arrested during a demonstration that took place on Evergreen State College’s main campus plaza on Friday afternoon.[ The arrest, which occurs at the at 6:21 mark of the video, occurred following protests in response to demonstrations by street preachers. After loud verbal exchanges between the street preachers and the campus protesters, a protester was arrested for an alleged assault. It is unclear if the individual arrested is an Evergreen student. During the arrest, the individual shouted, “I’m not assaulting people. ” Later in the video, one protester asks, “Do you know how many people die in jail? For nothing?” Another protester mentioned starting a Kickstarter project to help fund bail for those who would be arrested during that day’s protests at the college. The protester claimed that the activist group’s presence made “people feel safer. ” Tom Ciccotta is a libertarian who writes about economics and higher education for Breitbart News. You can follow him on Twitter @tciccotta or email him at tciccotta@breitbart. com

Deutsche Bank LIVES: Shock profits posted in Q3

Deutsche Bank LIVES: Shock profits posted in Q3 October 27, 2016 A green traffic light is seen next to the logo of Germany's largest business bank, Deutsche Bank in Frankfurt, Germany, October 27, 2016. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach Deutsche Bank chief John Cryan has shocked the financial sector by posting a quarterly profit after expectations sent economists running for the hills Wednesday. Deutsche Bank posted an unexpected quarterly profit, likely due to staff and bonus cuts. Deutsche announced an unexpected net profit of 278 million euros ($303 million) in the third quarter. Profit attributed to a modest rebound in bond trading that boosted all Wall Street banks. Cryan: The quarter had been overshadowed by talks over the DOJs settlement proposal relating to sales of residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS). Uncertainty had also taken its toll on "financial planning and strategy execution”. Cryan’s letter to Deutsche staffers: The situation "will stay difficult for a while,” and I am working to finalize the settlement "as soon as possible”. Deutsche will also intensify major restructuring to counter a deteriorating environment for EU banking. Top ten shareholder: "Fixed income is still oversized in terms of cost and on group level there are still 10,000 staff too many." Deutsche Bank's CFO Marcus Schenck: Expect the fourth quarter trading business overall to exceed last year's performance. Cryan: Spending at least an hour a day explaining the bank's position to clients. "To dispel any myths, I don't just sit poring over spreadsheets". In Deutsche Banks retail and wealth management: Had assets of almost 440 billion euros, clients withdrew 9 billion euros in the third quarter. Deutsche has liquidity reserves of 200 billion euros, down from the 215 billion outlined on Sept. 30, and 223 billion euros in June. Deutsche increased their litigation reserves to 5.9 billion from 5.5 billion at the end of June. Deutsche revenue grew slightly at 7.5 billion euros, with bond trading earnings up 14 percent. Morgan Stanley analysts: "Top down, revenues were stronger and the bank is delivering on costs with this quarter being a fourth consecutive one of declining operating expenses.” In contrast: Barclays on Thursday reported a 40 percent spike in its business. (FRANKFURT, GERMANY) Deutsche Bank chief John Cryan pledged to redouble restructuring efforts on Thursday, warning that it faces tough times finalizing talks with U.S. justice authorities over a multi billion dollar fine. Germany's biggest lender earlier posted an unexpected quarterly profit, benefiting from a modest rebound in bond trading, but failed to dispel the cloud of uncertainty that drove clients to withdraw billions of euros. Cryan said on a conference call that the quarter had been overshadowed by talks over the U.S. Department of Justice’s settlement proposal relating to sales of RMBS (residential mortgage-backed securities) which had caused uncertainty. As well as having an impact on investor and client views of the bank, this uncertainty had also taken its toll on "financial planning and strategy execution", Cryan added. Cryan warned Deutsche Bank employees in a letter that the situation "will stay difficult for a while" and said he was working to finalize the settlement "as soon as possible". Deutsche Bank would also intensify a major restructuring to counter a deteriorating environment for banking in Europe and elsewhere, Cryan said. However, a top ten shareholder called on the bank's management to make deeper cuts in its trading activities. "Fixed income is still oversized in terms of cost and on group level there are still 10,000 staff too many." Despite weeks of negative headlines, Deutsche was able to announce an unexpected net profit of 278 million euros ($303 million) in the third quarter, lifted by a surge in bond trading that boosted all Wall Street banks. This sent its shares to a more than one-month high, but they retreated in line with the market to be down 0.3 percent. Deutsche Bank's Chief Financial Officer Marcus Schenck also struck a positive note, saying he expects the fourth quarter trading business overall to exceed last year's performance. SPREADSHEET MYTH Cryan said he was spending at least an hour a day explaining the bank's position to clients, adding: "To dispel any myths, I don't just sit poring over spreadsheets". Negotiations over a $14 billion demand from the U.S. DoJ for misselling toxic mortgage-backed securities before the 2007-2009 financial crisis have set a bleak backdrop for Cryan. Thursday's results gave some insight into how this demand has rocked confidence in Deutsche Bank, which plays a critical role in financing some of Germany's biggest companies. In retail and wealth management, which had assets of almost 440 billion euros, clients withdrew 9 billion euros in the third quarter, Deutsche Bank revealed. Outflows had since abated, it said, although its global markets trading business was also hit. Cryan said the bank had liquidity reserves of 200 billion euros, a fall from the more than 215 billion he had outlined on Sept. 30. In June, the bank had 223 billion euros. Deutsche Bank set aside more money for its legal bill for numerous past missteps. Litigation reserves rose to 5.9 billion from 5.5 billion at the end of June. However, Deutsche Bank has so far not made a specific proposal for what it would be willing to pay to settle the RMBS case and has therefore not upped its provisions for it. It had hoped to settle the case for about $3 billion. Revenue grew slightly at 7.5 billion euros, ahead of analysts' expectations, mainly driven by Deutsche's trading, while business declined in other operating areas. "Top down, revenues were stronger and the bank is delivering on costs with this quarter being a fourth consecutive one of declining operating expenses," analysts at Morgan Stanley noted. Its bond trading, which has volatile earnings and tough capital requirements to meet, revenues were up 14 percent. But the rebound was less pronounced than at peers because of cuts Deutsche has made to the division. Barclays on Thursday reported a 40 percent spike in its business. In equities trading, Deutsche saw revenue fall as low stock market volatility gave investors less reason to trade, while revenue from corporate and investment banking fell by 1 percent. ($1 = 0.9173 euros) This article was contributed by Reuters Please contact TRUNEWS correspondent Edward Szall with any news tips related to this story. 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