Maha 's family is divided. She immigrated to New York City in 2014, reuniting with her three sons who had arrived earlier. She expected that her husband, Husham and her two other sons would soon join her from Amman, Jordan, finally bringing the family together after a tumultuous decade of surviving the Iraq war, fleeing to Jordan and then searching for a permanent home. But on Friday, the family was dealt another blow, after President Trump approved a sweeping executive order on immigration that, among other things, blocked entry into the United States for 90 days for citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries including Iraq, where members of the family are citizens. Her husband and two sons in Jordan are for now locked out of the United States, and Ms. Obaidi cannot travel away, or risk being denied . "Now our family in the U. S. can't even come to visit us, nor can we visit them," Mr. Qadhi said on Saturday in Amman. "We just sit and watch like the rest of the world what is happening, and our fate is being decided for us, in front of our eyes. " The family lived in Baghdad as American tanks, troops and missiles tore into the Iraqi capital in 2003. It stayed for several years, despite gunfire and bomb blasts outside its house and the kidnapping of several family members. The family helped American soldiers even though other Iraqis targeted it for doing so. One of the sons in Amman, Thabit said he and his father had run a snack bar on an American base in Baghdad, serving candy and soft drinks to troops, and operated a internet cafe, which required them to be vetted and approved to begin work. After Thabit was kidnapped in 2006 by Qaeda terrorists and eventually released, he said, he reported details about the episode to American officials in the hope that they would be caught. And on his way home from the Baghdad base one day, he came upon four American troops injured along the road, and he said he had loaded them into his car and driven them to the Green Zone. "America has abandoned its responsibility to protect those who protected and cooperated with the Americans," he said. "It's a decision solely based on my religious faith. It's discrimination solely on religious grounds. " He added: "This is the wrong decision. Is it even constitutional?" The family's home was along one of Baghdad's major highways, an entry point for American troops during the invasion. The family huddled in a windowless section of the home for 10 days, as bullets shattered windows and rockets blazed through the sky, until the United States took control of Baghdad. In the years after the invasion, the family remained in Iraq, even as unrest spread, militants took up arms and tensions between Sunnis and Shiites flared up. In addition to Thabit Ms. Obaidi's husband was also kidnapped, on two separate occasions. The family members recalled the lengths to which they went to get them freed, how they stuffed $60, 000 in Iraqi dinars into garbage bags and were instructed by cellphone to travel to a series of locations before dropping off the ransom. "It was like in the movies," Ms. Obaidi said in an interview this month. Fearing more attacks, the family left Iraq for Jordan. It joined many other Iraqi refugees, including extended family members. Ms. Obaidi and her husband used their savings to buy a home in Amman. Employment opportunities were scarce for Iraqis, leading three of her sons, starting in 2010, to venture to the United States to find work. When Ms. Obaidi later followed them, she hoped that her entire family could apply for asylum and unite in America. She made the trip despite a number of concerns. "At first, I felt afraid," she said. "How can I live in this country? It is a foreign country. It is very far from my culture. How will I be compatible with the community?" To her surprise, Ms. Obaidi found New York to be unlike its gruff stereotypes. People smiled as she walked down the street. Men helped her haul heavy bags up stairs. Others offered her seats on the subway. "Everybody in America is very nice," she said. "They are very polite, helpful people, nice people, always with a smile on their face. That is my experience. " She has found additional support from the International Rescue Committee, a global humanitarian aid, relief and development nongovernmental organization based in New York. Founded in 1933, the organization is the newest organization supported by The New York Times Neediest Cases Fund, and the only one of the eight groups whose work extends beyond the New York area. It operates in 29 cities in the United States and in more than 40 countries. The organization was instrumental in helping Ms. Obaidi adjust to her new life and connecting her with a number of social services, including health insurance and food stamps. It helped her obtain a Social Security card, navigate New York's streets and understand its transportation system. The group also helped her study for her driver's license permit exam, among other services. "I feel I am not lonely," she said. "I have somebody. I have somebody to support me. " She shares a home in the Astoria neighborhood in Queens with two of her sons, Saif and Qaed . Her third son, Tameem and his wife, Melissa Forstrom, also live in the neighborhood. "I have a nice life," Ms. Obaidi said. "Even though my apartment is small, I feel happy in it. I like it. " But it is a home with some notable, painful absences. "I've divided myself," Ms. Obaidi said. "Some part is there in Jordan, and some parts … " She trailed off, overcome with emotion. In Amman, Thabit her oldest son, lives with his wife and son across the street from Ms. Obaidi's husband, Husham, and their youngest son, Omar . They have been denied asylum in the United States. In October 2015, Husham was sent a conditional acceptance letter for asylum in the United States. About a year later, he received a second letter, denying him resettlement. Omar who works at Unicef to help provide water, sanitation and hygiene to Syrian refugees in Jordan, was also denied resettlement. "We have lived here as if we were waiting for something, as if everything was temporary, but now we no longer know what we are waiting for," Omar said in his apartment in Amman. Thabit who has traveled to New York several times to visit his family, has not received the same denial letters for resettlement in the United States. His tourist visa was renewed, but a week later, an officer at the American Embassy in Amman told him that his visa had been canceled, and his case for resettlement was denied. Whether they will ever get approval to move to the United States is even more uncertain now. Thabit said that Mr. Trump's order was particularly painful and that he felt America was turning its back on Iraqis who had risked their lives to help soldiers during the war. "At the end we realized we were no longer welcome, neither from the Iraqis because we worked with the Americans, nor from the Americans because we were Iraqi," he said. Like many Iraqis, Thabit is living in Jordan on a conditional basis. He must renew his permission every year, and it is dependent on the family's financial means. "Nothing is guaranteed in business," he said. "Today, my trade company here is successful, but if one day the business fails, then what will happen? Where do I go?" In the United States, his siblings, even with employment and legal immigration status, live in a similar state of unsteadiness and concern. For three years, Tameem 's only proof of his legal status was an record known as an form, a document without a photo of him and only his name and identification numbers. It has hindered his attempts to travel even within the United States. Visas for Saif 's wife and children were approved recently after a wait of more than two years. They were booked on a plane expected to arrive Feb. 7, but Friday's executive order by Mr. Trump has dashed those plans. "The kids, they grow up far from their father," Saif said. "All of a sudden, I told them 'I'm sorry, something changed. I may not be able to see you soon. '" He and his wife are distraught by the development, which leaves them in a precarious position. In anticipation of the move, their children were taken out of their private school and the lease on their apartment in Amman is to expire on Feb. 1. "I'm watching the news every second," Mr. Qadhi said. Ms. Obaidi's children have been able to acclimate to their new surroundings and establish a rhythm in their lives. Tameem owns a cellphone store in the East Village in Manhattan, Qaed works as an information technology manager, and Saif is an Uber driver. Ms. Obaidi stays busy by volunteering at the Masjid Dar mosque. The family gathers as often as work schedules and other responsibilities allow, most often on Sundays, when Ms. Obaidi prepares a large meal. They all await the day when more chairs can be placed around the table. Halfway across the world, the other half of the family shares that sentiment. Omar said he missed his brothers, but especially his mother. "It just feels weird that we are now split, and the future looks grim," he said. "We are travelers on a journey with no destination, and my family is so far away. "


Actually: The Big Bang didn't happen at a place it happened at a time. "Where did the Big Bang happen?" I am often asked, as if the expansion of the universe was like a hand grenade going off and the solar system and our Milky Way galaxy were shards sent flying. The universe didn't start at a place, it started at a time, namely 13. 8 billion years ago, according to the best cosmological data. It's been expanding ever since — not into space because the universe by definition fills all space already, so much as into time, which as far as we know is . It is true that everything we can see now, out to 13. 8 billion years of time, was once the size of a grapefruit, buzzing with hideous energies, but that grapefruit was already part of an infinite ensemble with no edge, except one made up of time. When we look out, we look into the past, the farther we look, the more deeply into the past we see. At the center is the present. Alas there is no direction in which we can look to see the future — except perhaps into our own hearts and dreams. All we know is right now. So where is the center of the universe? Right here. Yes, you are the center of the universe. When Albert Einstein married space and time in his theory of relativity back in 1905, he taught us that our eyes are time machines. Nothing can go faster than the speed of light, the cosmic speed limit, and so all information comes to us, to the present, from the past. And so Einstein's relativity teaches us that the center of the universe is everywhere and nowhere. It is the present, surrounded by concentric shells of the past. History racing at you at 186, 282 miles per second, the speed of light, the speed of all information. Your eyes are the cockpit of a time machine, filmy wet orbs looking in the only direction any of us can ever look: backward. Everything we see or feel or hear — now that gravitational waves have been discovered — took some time to get here, and so comes to our senses from the past. The moon, hovering over the horizon, is an image of light that left its cratered surface traveling at the speed of light a second and a half ago. The sun that burns your skin is eight minutes and nineteen seconds in the past. The Jupiter we see, glowering orange at the zenith these nights, is about 414 million miles out there as of this writing, or 37 minutes away in the past. The light from the center of the Milky Way, hiding behind the thick star clouds and dust lanes of Sagittarius, takes 26, 000 years to get here. While it was on the way the first primitive ice age villages grew into skyscrapered metropolises. Your lover, brushing your lashes with his or her breath, is a nanosecond gone. This is more than poetry. Mathematically, in Einsteinian terms, all the information and history available at any one place in the universe is known as a light cone. Everybody has one and everybody's is slightly different, which means in effect that everyone's universe is a little different. There will always be some piece of information that has reached your lover but not yet you, let alone E. T. over in the next galaxy. It gives a new definition to being alone with your thoughts. As T. S. Eliot put it: As a result every spot in the universe is unique. There will always be a piece of it you haven't seen yet and a piece that you have seen but that nobody else has. There is no place to stand if you want to claim universal knowledge. We all need each other in order to overlap our knowledge. We don't have to stay in our prisons. Working together and sharing, we can know everything. Or as Bob Dylan once put it, "I'll let you be in my dreams, if I can be in yours. "


It s good to know Hillary s Campaign Chairman has such extraordinary ties with a top official involved in the reopening of Hillary s FBI probe Will this woman ever get the justice she deserves for decades of criminality? With all of her ties and crooked connections, is it even a possibility? The Justice Department official in charge of informing Congress about the newly reactivated Hillary Clinton email probe is a political appointee and former private-practice lawyer who kept Clinton Campaign Chairman John Podesta out of jail, lobbied for a tax cheat later pardoned by President Bill Clinton and led the effort to confirm Attorney General Loretta Lynch.Peter Kadzik, who was confirmed as assistant attorney general for legislative affairs in June 2014, represented Podesta in 1998 when independent counsel Kenneth Starr was investigating Podesta for his possible role in helping ex-Bill Clinton intern and mistress Monica Lewinsky land a job at the United Nations. Fantastic lawyer. Kept me out of jail, Podesta wrote on Sept. 8, 2008 to Obama aide Cassandra Butts, according to emails hacked from Podesta s Gmail account and posted by WikiLeaks.Kadzik s name has surfaced multiple times in regard to the FBI s investigation of Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton for using a private, homebrewed server. After FBI Director James Comey informed Congress on Thursday the FBI was reviving its inquiry when new evidence linked to a separate investigation was discovered, congressional leaders wrote to the Department of Justice seeking more information. Kadzik replied. We assure you that the Department will continue to work closely with the FBI and together, dedicate all necessary resources and take appropriate steps as expeditiously as possible, Kadzik wrote on Oct. 31.The DOJ is responsible for approving the bureau s warrant applications and ultimately for convening a grand jury.Fox News has previously confirmed the Justice Department was opposed to Comey making public the latest Clinton revelations. FOX News


Catalonia s ousted leader Carles Puigdemont agreed on Tuesday to a snap election called by Spain s central government when it took control of the region to stop it breaking away, but he said the fight for independence would go on. Spain s High Court issued a summons for Puigdemont and 13 members of his sacked administration to testify in Madrid on Thursday and Friday as the court starts processing charges of rebellion, sedition and breach of trust against them. Under Spain s legal system, a judge will then decide whether Puigdemont should go to jail pending a comprehensive investigation and potential trial. Puigdemont travelled to Brussels after the Catalan regional parliament issued a unilateral declaration of independence on Friday, and it was not immediately clear if he would heed the summons to appear before the Madrid court. Belgium s crisis centre said it was evaluating whether Puigdemont needed to be protected by Belgian authorities while he was staying in the country, Belga news agency reported. He had said earlier on Tuesday he would return to Spain only when given unspecified guarantees by the Spanish government. Puigdemont s announcement that he would accept the regional election on Dec. 21 signalled the Madrid government had for now at least gained the upper hand in the protracted struggle over Catalonia, a wealthy northeastern region that already had enjoyed considerable autonomy. Resistance to the central government s imposition of direct control on Catalonia failed to materialise at the start of the week and the secessionist leadership is in disarray. But a poll released on Tuesday showed that support for the creation of an independent state of Catalonia rose to an almost three-year high in October. Spain s Constitutional Court on Tuesday blocked the independence declaration - a largely symbolic move that gained no traction and led to the assembly s dismissal by Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy less than an hour after it was made. I ask the Catalan people to prepare for a long road. Democracy will be the foundation of our victory, Puigdemont told a news conference in Brussels, where he showed up after dropping out of sight over the weekend. He also said he was not seeking asylum in Belgium. Rajoy, who has taken an uncompromising stance throughout the crisis, is gambling on anti-independence parties taking power in the regional parliament and putting the brakes on the independence drive. Puigdemont will hope a strong showing for the independence camp will reboot the secessionists after a tumultuous few weeks. The Spanish government said at the weekend Puigdemont was welcome to stand in the election. The judicial process was a separate matter, it said. The Supreme Court also began processing rebellion and sedition charges against Catalan parliament speaker Carme Forcadell and other senior leaders on Tuesday. The political crisis, Spain s gravest since the return of democracy in the late 1970s, was triggered by an independence referendum held in Catalonia on Oct. 1. Though it was declared illegal by Spanish courts and less than half Catalonia s eligible voters took part, the pro-secessionist regional government said the vote gave it a mandate for independence. The United States, Britain, Germany and France have all backed Rajoy and rejected an independent Catalan state, although some have called for dialogue between the opposing sides. Puigdemont, Vice President Oriol Junqueras and other Catalan leaders had said previously they would not accept their dismissal. But their respective parties, PdeCat and Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya, said on Monday they would take part in the election, a tacit acceptance of direct rule from Madrid. The struggle has divided Catalonia itself and caused deep resentment across the rest of Spain, although separatist sentiment persists in the Basque Country and some other areas. Two recent opinion polls showed support for independence may have started to wane. But an official regional survey published on Tuesday showed some 48.7 percent of Catalans believe the region should be independent, up from 41.1 pct in June and the highest since December 2014. Based on 1,338 interviews, the Centre d Estudis d Opinio poll was the first survey released since the independence declaration though the bulk of it was taken before then, between Oct. 16 and Oct. 29. Despite his dash to the European Union s power centre, Puigdemont s hopes of engaging the bloc in his cause seem forlorn. Member states have asserted their support for Spanish unity and EU institutions in Brussels say they will deal only with Madrid and that the dispute remains an internal matter. Our position remains unchanged, EU Commission spokeswoman Mina Andreeva said in Brussels on Tuesday. But some analysts believe the dispute is not going to fade away anytime soon. Spain is heading for a period of disruption, and like the UK and Brexit, having its policy agenda dominated by one political issue while other key challenges fade into the background, said Raj Badiani, an economist at IHS Markit in London. A more tangible impact from the crisis could evolve from early 2018, with the uncertainty set to build as Catalans push harder for a legally binding referendum. Influential Catalan business lobbies have backed direct rule and called on firms to stay in the region. The crisis has prompted more than 1,000 businesses to switch their legal headquarters from Catalonia, which contributes about a fifth of Spain s economy, the fourth-largest in the euro zone. Spain s IBEX fell slightly as Puigdemont began speaking in Brussels but then rose again. For some in Barcelona, the overwhelming emotion appears to be exasperation. It s a farcical and completely ridiculous situation, said Ernesto Hernandez Busto, 42, an editor. This extreme nationalism, this separatism, has taken Catalonia to the most absurd situation and the worst inconvenience we have had in the last 40 years.


We're not electing a drinking buddy, we're electing a president. Likeability is a smoke screen. And yes, it's sexist besides. With her latest primary wins, Hillary Clinton is all but guaranteed the Democratic nomination. But exit polls in some of the states where she has been victorious indicate that she is far from guaranteed the presidency. More pointedly, polls make it clear that if Hillary wants to win she may have to find the courage to admit something most women are afraid to. While a majority of recent Democratic voters deemed Clinton trustworthy, Democrats who ranked honesty as the most important quality in their decision chose Bernie Sanders. Additionally more than half of Americans hold an unfavorable opinion of her. Clinton's favorability numbers are still better than Donald Trump's. But the question is not really whether a majority of American voters will choose Donald Trump. They won't. The question is whether enough voters opposing his candidacy will turn out—on Election Day and as volunteers beforehand— for Hillary Clinton to win. The even larger question, however, is why so many voters have such strong negative reactions to Hillary Clinton in the first place. After all, many of the same voters who disdain her for being "dishonest" will cheer for her husband. You know the one who actually did lie to all of us. Remember "I did not have sexual relations with that woman"? Of course for many the distinction between how the two Clintons are viewed is clear. He's a man and she's a woman. We've all heard it said before, "A woman is called 'difficult' for behavior that gets a man hailed as 'assertive.'" Bill Clinton is not seen as a liar, but simply as a mischievously rakish leader who was economical with the truth. Hillary, on the other hand, is a lying harpy. I'm sure that sexism has played a role in how Hillary Clinton is perceived and critiqued by some. Because no woman in the public eye as much as she is or as long as she has been is immune to sexist critiques. (I get them regularly.) But the reality is that the real difference between Bill and Hillary Clinton is a difference all of us have faced in life, whether in junior high, or the office. Bill is simply more likable. In the same way George W. Bush was seen as more fun and friendly than his more intellectually accomplished and responsible brother Jeb, Bill is preferred by most people with a pulse over his more responsible wife. Every election we hear about the importance of the so-called "beer test," as in "who do voters want to have a beer with?" Hillary Clinton screams a lot of things, but person you want to chill with in your free time is not one of them. (Which is why President Obama's backhanded compliment of Clinton as "likable enough" landed like the diss that it was.) But I believe the real problem for Hillary Clinton is not that her husband is more likable than she is, but that it is obvious that she cares so much—like a lot of women do. I remember a conversation I had with a female friend just before an important meeting I was supposed to have with a prominent media person. I was nervous because for a variety of reasons I suspected the person I was meeting with might not be a personal fan of mine. When I finished laying out my concerns my friend—who is significantly more successful said: "This is the difference between men and women. Why do you care if he likes you or not? You got the meeting because his boss's boss thinks you're qualified, and if they tell him to work with you, he will." This may sound like a fairly unimportant anecdote in the context of a presidential campaign but for some of the women I've shared it with over the years it is revelatory. The reason: because women are taught early on to spend much of our time, energy and social capital pleasing others. Boys are taught to be smart. Girls are taught to be smart—but not at the expense of being popular, and certainly not at the expense of being pretty. Because after all, accomplishments ultimately mean very little in the big scheme of things if when it's all said and done you're a woman who is perceived as unattractive, unlovable and unlikable. Hillary Clinton, the candidate voters don't trust, was deemed the most trustworthy presidential candidate on terror following the recent Brussels attack. But of course that's not quite the same as being loved or liked, but it does seem to indicate that plenty of Americans know that the job of president is far too serious to be decided the same way we decide who we want to sit with in the cafeteria in high school. Instead of trying desperately to generate laughs on "Saturday Night Live" or "Broad City" or some other outlets her team of advisors have convinced her are essential to making her likable enough to win, she should finally do something most of us would never have the courage to do but wish that we did, which is to say this: "I know I'm not what you'd call likable and that you may not like me or think of me as a fun beer date. But I'm really qualified, and for a job this serious I think that's what should matter. After all, do you care whether your heart surgeon is likable?"


On Friday, the White House released its 2015 National Security Strategy, an official document defining the administration's approach to international politics. A lot of the document is pretty uninformative; the ratio of substance to platitudes ("our economy is the largest, most open, and most innovative in the world") is low. But this sentence, pretty early on in the report, is actually a pithy but insightful encapsulation of President Barack Obama's core approach to foreign policy: This cuts to the core of what can often confuse people about Obama's approach to the world. Though he's constantly intervening in foreign crises — toppling Libya's Muammar Gaddafi, bombing al-Qaeda in Pakistan, Yemen, and Somalia, and so on — he's also deeply invested in reducing America's involvement in major wars like Iraq and Afghanistan. To understand this approach, you have to look at each half of the above sentence in turn. Each reflects a core tenet of the way the Obama administration approaches the world. Let's focus on the first half of the sentence: "there are no global problems that can be solved without the United States." That's meant pretty literally. On basically every major world crisis — containing the fallout from the global financial crisis, rolling back climate change, combating ISIS, punishing Russian expansionism, or curing Ebola — the United States has played a major role in organizing the international response. That's because Obama, like basically every president since the Cold War began, has bought into what's now called the "bipartisan consensus" on foreign policy. To most people, the consensus is basically invisible. That's because almost no one on either side of the aisle bothers to debate its basic premises. But nonetheless, it's defined American foreign policy for decades. It rests on basically three ideas: If these statements sound banal, it's because, for the most part, they are. Foreign policy intellectuals on both the left and the right regularly criticize these ideas, but no one with serious power in the US government does (at least in public). You see this pretty clearly in Obama's actions. Bombing ISIS, organizing a coalition to end Libya's civil war, and sending US troops to West Africa to help stop the spread Ebola are all premised on the assumption that the world's problems are also America's. The general consensus on principles obviously doesn't translate into bipartisan agreements on specific policy issues. That's where the second part of the sentence comes in: there are "few [global problems] that can be solved by the United States alone." This is a pretty unmistakable reference to the Bush administration. Obama rode to power as a critic of the Iraq war; a core part of his administration's strategic doctrine is to avoid Bush's aggressive, unilateral uses of American power. If Bush pushed the hawkish bounds of the bipartisan consensus, Obama is at times — though not always — somewhere on the dovish end. In some cases, that means avoiding military action and trusting in multilateral diplomacy and deterrence to resolve conflicts (Iran, East Asia). In others, it means relying on non-military means of punishing bad actors (Iran again, Russia). In others still, it means marshaling global coalitions, but limiting America's up-front military role as much as possible and consistent with the mission's objectives (Libya, ISIS). Obama's approach to each of these global crises is shaped by a keen desire to avoid Bush-style protracted wars. Even in cases where Obama really does act unilaterally, such as with targeted killings or the Afghanistan surge, he tries to put limits on those actions to keep them from escalating beyond control. You might think this approach is too cautious — or, for many critics of the consensus, too aggressive still. But one thing it's not is "withdrawing from the world" or "abandoning America's allies," as some critics have alleged. By virtually every statistical measure imaginable, the United States is the world's leading power, and deeply entangled in political conflicts around the world. Obama has done nothing to change that. His approach may or may not be to your liking on specific issues but, as the NSS reinforces, the broad strokes of his approach are pretty consistent with what America has been doing in the world for decades.


U.S. President Barack Obama and his family escaped the blistering heat of the Chihuahuan Desert on Friday when they went through a maze of ancient caverns where the only sound was the drip-dripping from stalactites. The subterranean adventure was the first stop on a working vacation during which Obama will spend some time with his teenaged daughters while making the case for more spending on conservation and curbing climate change. It was just like any other family holiday, except the entourage of Secret Service agents, aides and press who follow Obama wherever he goes had to descend the 754 feet (230 m) on elevators in eight shifts. "How cool is this?" he said to the press in the dark, damp alien landscape of the "Big Room," the best known of the labyrinth of limestone caves that actor Will Rogers once called the "Grand Canyon with a roof on it." The president is helping celebrate the centennial of the National Park Service while highlighting his plan to reduce climate-changing carbon emissions, which he sees as part of the legacy of his time in office. The White House has said the changing climate evidenced by droughts, increased flooding and wildfires and stronger storms has put national parks at risk. The Obamas were due to fly west later on Friday to the Sierra Nevada mountains and Yosemite, the country's oldest national park and one of its most popular landmarks. Visits to national parks have surged due in part to lower gasoline prices. Still, roads, sewer systems and visitor centers in national parks are aging, and the government is grappling with a $11.5 billion backlog of maintenance projects. At Carlsbad, elevators broke down in 2015, though they seemed in good shape for the Obamas' descent. During his time in office, which will end on Jan. 20, 2017, Obama has added 20 sites to the national park system, protecting more than 265 million acres of public land and water and historic sites with new parks, monuments and restrictions for development, more than any other president. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell said national park visits in 2016 were on pace to beat last year's record of 307 million. Tourists contributed an estimated $300 billion to the economy, supporting about 2 million jobs, she told reporters. She wants Congress to remember those numbers as it considers investments in public lands. Republicans have slammed Obama for adding sites at a time when the government does not have enough funding to look after existing ones. "To me, there is little point in conserving lands or allowing the federal government to acquire even more land if we are not going to take proper care of them," Senator Lisa Murkowski, a Republican from Alaska who is the chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said last year.


King Edward VIII sacrificed his throne and Queen Elizabeth s sister Margaret gave up her one true love, but for Prince Harry marrying a divorcee is no longer a bar to being a royal or following his heart. On Monday, Harry, fifth-in-line to the British throne, announced he was to wed his girlfriend, divorced U.S. actress Meghan Markle, with the blessing of his grandmother, the queen. British social attitudes have been transformed in recent decades but the monarchy has been bound by a more traditional set of Christian values. So the queen s approval is a stark demonstration of how much the monarchy has also changed and modernized in the last 80 years when the idea of a royal marrying someone who was divorced was inconceivable. It s extraordinary how far we ve come since the 1930s, said royal biographer Claudia Joseph. In less than a century times have changed beyond all recognition. Famously, Harry s great-great-uncle Edward VIII set off a constitutional crisis in 1936 by insisting on marrying twice-divorced American socialite Wallis Simpson to the horror of the British establishment, the government and the Church of England, which the monarch nominally heads. It was dubbed the greatest love story of the 20th century and Edward abdicated after just 11 months on the throne and ended up living in France, meaning Elizabeth s father George VI unexpectedly became king. You must believe me when I tell you that I have found it impossible to carry the heavy burden of responsibility and to discharge my duties as king as I would wish to do without the help and support of the woman I love, Edward said in his abdication speech. Such attitudes were still prevalent two decades later. In 1955, Elizabeth s younger glamorous sister Margaret was forced to call off her proposed marriage to a dashing air force officer, Group Captain Peter Townsend. Although a royal equerry, Townsend was still deemed an unsuitable husband for the queen s sister because he was divorced and he was sent off to Brussels by Buckingham Palace. I would like it to be known that I have decided not to marry Group Captain Peter Townsend, Margaret said in a sad announcement to the nation. Mindful that Christian marriage is indissoluble and conscious of my duty to the Commonwealth, I have resolved to put these considerations before others. While divorce was considered unfathomable in those days, it has since become a common feature for the Windsors. Of Elizabeth s four children, three of their marriages have ended in divorce, most spectacularly that of Harry s father, heir-to-the-throne Prince Charles and his first wife Princess Diana. They divorced in 1996, 15 years after their fairytale wedding and a year before she was killed in a car crash in Paris and Charles went on to wed another divorcee Camilla Parker Bowles in 2005. Camilla was someone who he had first considered marrying in the early 1970s but who royal courtiers had considered unacceptable while she was not keen on taking on the role herself at the time. However Charles and Camilla could not marry in church, and the queen, who holds strong religious beliefs and has taken her role as Supreme Governor of the Church of England very seriously, declined to attend the civil ceremony. The Church of England had only ruled three years earlier that a divorced person could in exceptional circumstances marry again in church while their former spouse was still alive. Joseph said Charles s second marriage had paved the way for Harry. I think the dilemma came when Prince Charles married the Duchess of Cornwall, she told Reuters. That was a hard thing for the queen to deal with. Somehow they had to marry without compromising her role as head of the church. Harry and Meghan s union, like all those of the first six royals in direct line of succession, must be approved by the queen under the 2013 Succession to the Crown Act, which replaced an even more prescriptive law dating back to the 18th century. The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh are delighted for the couple and wish them every happiness, Buckingham Palace said in a statement.


German politicians visited their country s troops at an air base in Turkey on Friday but some lawmakers said they would not extend the airmen s mission to take part in NATO air patrols unless an underlying dispute over visiting rights was resolved. Germany s armed forces are under parliamentary control and Berlin insists lawmakers must have access to them, but Turkey has repeatedly prevented visits from taking place. Friday s visit was arranged by NATO, sidestepping Ankara s objections. Some of the lawmakers, who were flown to the Konya air base on a NATO plane from the alliance s Brussels headquarters, said Germany s parliament would only extend the troops mandate if future visits were more straightforward. The current mandate expires at the end of this year. The conflict over visiting rights must be dealt with before parliament votes again on the mandate, said Green lawmaker Tobias Lindner, a member of the delegation. Flying via Brussels cannot be a long-term solution. Relations between Ankara and Berlin were already strained by Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan s crackdown on opponents after a failed coup last year, and Turkey s refusal to let German members of parliament visit airmen based in the country has exacerbated tensions. It must be possible for us to visit our soldiers serving abroad, said Henning Otte, a lawmaker for Chancellor Angela Merkel s ruling conservative party. Germany has a parliamentary army. Seven German lawmakers visited the handful of German troops serving in a NATO air surveillance mission at Konya. The delegation was led by NATO s Deputy Secretary General Rose Gottemoeller. There are usually around 25 German soldiers based in Konya although only a handful were present at the base on Friday. Some more arrived with the lawmakers in the NATO plane. Turkey had objected particularly strenuously to the participation of a member of Germany s far-left Left party whom Ankara accuses of supporting terrorists. Repeated refusals by Ankara to let lawmakers visit German soldiers at Incirlik, another base in Turkey, prompted Berlin to relocate those troops to Jordan in July. Turkey and Germany are also at odds over Berlin s refusal to extradite asylum seekers Ankara accuses of involvement in last year s failed coup against Erdogan, while Berlin is demanding the release of an imprisoned Turkish-German journalist. The deterioration in relations has led German Chancellor Angela Merkel to say she will seek to end Turkey s membership talks with the European Union.


Britain's opposition Labour Party, already reeling after voters defied its advice and chose to leave the European Union, was plunged further into crisis on Tuesday when its leader, Jeremy Corbyn, overwhelmingly lost a motion among his fellow lawmakers. The measure, which passed by a vote of 172 to 40, opens the way for a challenge to Mr. Corbyn's leadership. It technically changes nothing, as Mr. Corbyn has refused to step down, though it underscores his loss of authority among colleagues in Parliament. "I was democratically elected leader of our party for a new kind of politics by 60 percent of Labour members and supporters, and I will not betray them by resigning," Mr. Corbyn said after the vote by Labour members of Parliament. "Today's vote by M. P. s has no constitutional legitimacy. " He added: "We are a democratic party with a clear constitution. Our people need Labour Party members, trade unionists and M. P. s to unite behind my leadership at a critical time for our country. " In the aftermath of Britain's vote to leave the European Union, Mr. Corbyn has been hit by the mass resignation of most of his leadership team. About of Parliament members opposed leaving the union, including the overwhelming majority of Labour members and a smaller majority of members from the governing Conservative Party. Prime Minister David Cameron announced on Friday, the day after the referendum, that he would resign, and a power struggle has begun within the Conservative Party over who will succeed him. Given the disarray in British politics, many Labour lawmakers are worried that a general election may be held soon, and they fear that, with Mr. Corbyn at the party's helm, they will face even bigger losses than they did in the May 2015 election. A Mr. Corbyn was elected last year by an overwhelming majority of party members and supporters, but his support was very shallow among lawmakers. Discontent at Mr. Corbyn's performance was crystallized by his campaign in the referendum on European Union membership, in which the party's policy was to remain within the bloc. While Mr. Corbyn, a lifelong euroskeptic, did urge Labour supporters to vote to remain, critics regarded his campaign as lackluster, and his message as lukewarm. Mr. Corbyn's staunch ally John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor of the Exchequer and the party's top spokesman on economic issues, has said that Mr. Corbyn is "not going anywhere," and even vowed to run Mr. Corbyn's campaign if there were a new election among Labour Party members. Supporters of Mr. Corbyn have called on his critics to either shut up or challenge him in a formal leadership contest. Under the Labour Party system, the final choice lies with party members and supporters, and Mr. Corbyn's allies, who include influential activists, are confident that he would win despite some indications that support for him is weakening.


In a rare interview, Red Bull boss and Austria's richest man Dietrich Mateschitz has slammed mass migration and political correctness, warning they threaten to destroy Europe's true cultural diversity. [Speaking to Kleine Zeitung, the Formula 1 investor called the decision of key politicians to open the borders — which resulted in Europe's migration crisis — "unpardonable" noting that "if a company were to make mistakes on the same scale, it would have gone broke". Highlighting the "hypocrisies" of what he called the "refugees welcome brigade" with regards to migration, Mateschitz said: "I am talking about the fact that none of the people shouting 'refugees welcome' or [Chancellor Angela Merkel's famous phrase] 'we can do it' were preparing their own guest rooms or tents in their gardens to accommodate half a dozen migrants. "Even then it was clear to everyone that most of the people [arriving in the continent] did not correspond to the definition of the refugee. In any case, not the Geneva Convention". In the interview, Mateschitz took a stand against the "destabilisation of Europe" which he said threatens the "uniqueness of [the continent's] diversity and individuality with its different cultures and languages". "I hope I'm not the only one who's worried that one of the highest officials in Brussels said that countries which aren't multicultural should be wiped off the map" Mateschitz told the newspaper, possibly alluding to comments made by European Commission Frans Timmermans in 2015. "Any society, anywhere in the world, will be diverse in the future — that's the future of the world," Timmermans said, demanding that Eastern and Central EU nations undergo similar demographic transitions to Western Europe. Of political correctness, Mateschitz said: "It seems that no one dares to tell the truth, even if everyone knows what the truth is. ""The elites want citizens to be frightened, and easily manipulated," he added. The Red Bull founder said he sees numerous problems plaguing the European Union (EU) the architects of whom he fingered as belonging to a " intellectual elite" with nothing to contribute to the continent. "Policies which are steeped in political correctness have been imposed in the name of a intellectual elite who have nothing to contribute to our country neither economically nor culturally despite their best intentions," he said. Mateschitz also poured scorn on how Russia has been framed as the EU's nemesis by large parts of the media and Western liberal establishment, telling Kleine Zeitung: "I do not need anyone to tell me who my enemies are. "Criticising attempts to destroy the former Soviet superpower through economic sanctions, the Formula 1 investor pointed out that "for Europe as a whole [this policy] results in losing billions of Euros". Challenged by the Austrian newspaper with the assertion that he too is an 'elite' Mateschitz hit back, describing himself as a "humanist" but "someone who basically opposes any dogma". Speaking about banning the Islamic veil, a talking point in Austria currently, the Red Bull boss said: "I can't bring myself to think that this is really a matter of any importance … It's silly to make a political issue out of something like this when there are far more pressing matters. "


Defying a new Swedish law that prohibits full face coverings at public events, such as political rallies and sports matches, keen football (soccer) fans donned Islamic garments at the game instead. [Members of the AIK Ultras, the dedicated fans of Stockholm's Allmänna Idrottsklubben (AIK) team, also unfurled a giant banner at the match in Sweden Sunday thanking the law for a religious provision loophole. Swedish law specifically bans people in "a public place attending a public meeting under the Public Order Act" if there is a disturbance of the peace, or "immediate danger of such a breach" — making full face coverings generally illegal at football games. Those breaking the law can be fined or imprisoned for up to six months. Yet understanding of particular religious minorities in Sweden means the second paragraph of the face covering law created an exception: "The ban does not apply to covering the face for religious reasons. " La Suède ayant interdit le port de masques et cagoules dans les stades, les ultras portent désormais des niqabs … . dont le port est légal. pic. twitter. — PassionFootball Club (@PassionFootClub) April 4, 2017, Making the most of the new law intended to curb antisocial behaviour at football games, large numbers of AIK Ultra members were seen at the game wearing niqabs — the full face covering cloth which forms part of the Islamic hijab. The colossal banner held by fans in the stands made reference to the Swedish politician who introduced the ban, Anders Ygeman. It read: "AIK's ultras are well meaning, we're now wearing masks for religious reasons. Freedom for ultras is the goal, thanks Ygeman for the loophole. " Speaking to bestselling Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet's Sportbladet section, Minister of Home Affairs Ygeman said he found the episode "pretty funny" and said the fans clearly had a sense of humour — but said if fans continued to use the religious exception the courts may decide the legal loophole doesn't apply on a basis if they found men up before them. The minister confirmed that police would not require football fans turning up to matches in niqabs to prove their religion on the spot. While the Swedish mask ban was introduced to deal with particular problems, including violence at matches, this is not the first time European football fans have invoked Islam to make political points. Breitbart London reported in 2015 when Polish football fans unfurled a giant 'stand and defend Christianity' banner at a premier league match. Running to thousands of square feet, the banner depicted an armed crusader standing over Europe repelling migrant boats carrying terrorists.


posted by Eddie Censorship by Facebook has become a thorn in the side of nearly anyone with an opinion differing from the narrative touted by the corporate press — for instance, sentiments not praising Hillary Clinton — and now, through both a new report from Reuters and emails published by Wikileaks, we have insight into why certain posts are targeted. Facebook relies on a combination of artificial intelligence and human judgment to remove posts deemed offensive, violent, or otherwise unacceptable to its community standards — but precisely how the ultimate call to take down posts, pages, and groups are made remains unknown. And Facebook takedowns, no matter the improvements to the process the social media behemoth claims to make, have been no less controversial or questionable — and those whose posts are censored have little if any recourse to argue their case. Recent examples of head-scratchers which led to an international uproar, include Facebook's removal of the iconic Vietnam War photograph of Phan Thị Kim Phúc — who, at just 9-years-old, was captured on film by an Associated Press photographer fleeing the aftermath of an errant napalm attack near a Buddhist pagoda in the village of Trang Bang. That photograph helped cement in the collective American mind the horrors of the war, and ultimately fueled the success of the anti-war effort — but Facebook arbitrarily pulled the image for nudity — and proceeded even to ban the page of the Conservative prime minister of Norway for also posting the image. Ultimately, the social media company reversed course in that case — but not before also taking down the equally iconic image of civil rights leader Rosa Park's arrest. But taking down of the image of Kim Phúc might not have been simply an error of AI, since it had been used as a specific example in training the teams responsible for content removal, two unnamed former Facebook employees told Reuters . "Trainers told content-monitoring staffers that the photo violated Facebook policy, despite its historical significance, because it depicted a naked child, in distress, photographed without her consent, the employees told Reuters." In the final decision to reverse that censorship, Facebook head of the community operations division, Justin Osofsky, admitted it had been a "mistake." According to Reuters , to whom many current and former Facebook employees spoke on condition of anonymity, the process of judging which posts deserve to be remove and which should be allowed will, in certain instances, be left to the discretion of a small cadre of the company's elite executives. In addition to Osofsky, Global Policy Chief Monika Bickert; government relations chief, Joel Kaplan; vice president for public policy and communications, Elliot Schrage; and Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg make the final call on censorship and appeals. "All five studied at Harvard, and four of them have both undergraduate and graduate degrees from the elite institution. All but Sandberg hold law degrees. Three of the executives have longstanding personal ties to Sandberg," the outlet notes. Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg also occasionally offers guidance in difficult decisions. But there are others. Company spokeswoman Christine Chen explained, "Facebook has a broad, diverse and global network involved in content policy and enforcement, with different managers and senior executives being pulled in depending on the region and the issue at hand." For those on the receiving end of what could only be described as lopsided and inexplicable censorship, recourse is generally limited and can be nearly impossible to come by. Often, the nature of posts and pages removed insinuates political motivations on the part of the censors. Indeed, and once again flaring international controversy, Facebook disabled , among others, the accounts of editors of Quds and Shehab New Agency — prominent Palestinian media organizations — without explanation or even a specific example given for justification. Although three of four Palestinian-focused accounts were restored, Facebook refused to comment to either Reuters or the accounts' owners why the decision was reversed, except to say it had been an 'error.' In fact, although Chen and other Facebook insiders spoke with Reuters directly about contentious content removal policies and procedures, many details of the processes remain covert and sorely intransparent to the public who is so often forced to cope with the consequences. Earlier this year, an exposé by Gizmodo showing Facebook's suppression of conservative outlets via its "Trending Topics" section appeared to evidence extreme bias in favor of liberal and corporate media mainstays. Alternative media, too, which provides reports counter to the mainstream political and foreign policy paradigm, has often been the subject of controversial take-downs, censorship, and suppressive tactics — either directly by Facebook, or through convoluted algorithms and artificial intelligence bots. However, considering Sheryl Sandberg and her loyalists populate the top-level group deciding the fate for content removal complaints, it would appear Wikileaks could provide answers for both post censorship and suppression of outlets not vowing complete fealty to the preferred, left-leaning narrative. In a June 4, 2015, email to Clinton campaign chair John Podesta — an enormous cache of whose emails are still being published on a daily basis by Wikileaks — penned by Sandberg in response to condolences on the death of her husband, states , in part, "And I still want HRC to win badly. I am still here to help as I can. She came over and was magical with my kids." After a wave of post removals and temporary page bans, it appears Facebook has begun to come to its senses for what actually violates community standards — and what might have political worth contrary to the views of its executives. Senior members of Facebook's policy team recently posted about the laxing of rules governing community standards, which — though welcome — might only provide temporary relief. Quoted by the Wall Street Journal , they wrote : "In the weeks ahead, we're going to begin allowing more items that people find newsworthy, significant, or important to the public interest—even if they might otherwise violate our standards." While the social media giant deems itself a technology, and not news, platform, Facebook is still the bouncing off point for issues of interest for an overwhelming percentage of its users. Although it perhaps has some responsibility in regard to the removal of certain content, putting censorship in the hands of only a few individuals in certain instances is a chilling reminder of the fragility — and grave importance — of free speech. source:


Watch this young man relay his experience that he calls, disgusting outside of the Deploraball, the event the SJ20 group has been planning to disrupt for quite some time:https://twitter.com/willthethinker/status/822310509525381120DC Police form line at Press Club as angry Anti-Trump protesters taunt, jeer supremacist attendees. #disruptj20 #TrumpInauguration pic.twitter.com/tVBOTCDPPA DCMediaGroup (@DCMediaGroup) January 20, 2017I hope George Soros (or whatever radical leftist group) got a great deal on all of those pre-printed signs for his spontaneous or grass roots protesters. BREAKING: DC police mace, teargas anti-Trump protests outside National Press club. Video: #disruptj20 pic.twitter.com/cdIKHUlUg9 DCMediaGroup (@DCMediaGroup) January 20, 2017A popular Youtuber and candidate for Conservative Republican National Chair James Allsup was attacked outside of the Deploraball. After this interview he was hit in the back of the head with a flagpole and his head was split open:Quick interview with the pro-Trump supporter who got punched in the protest. Police pulled him away before I could ask his name pic.twitter.com/gUEh4ASpbm Nick Corasaniti (@NYTnickc) January 20, 2017Here s what happened to James Allsup after he was assaulted by the first anti-trumper. His story is below:This is the photo @FoxNews got. More graphic photos coming from my cam. #Deploraball pic.twitter.com/QsEt0WszrN James Allsup (@realJamesAllsup) January 20, 2017I hear "die Nazi" being yelled. Crowd begins chasing us. I know this is not good. 11/? James Allsup (@realJamesAllsup) January 20, 2017Next thing I know ears are ringing. I turn and see white male, approx 5ft11,with flagpole in hand. I knew. 12/? James Allsup (@realJamesAllsup) January 20, 2017I pull MAGA cap off, run hand through hair. Hand is full of blood. Now I know it's serious. 13/? James Allsup (@realJamesAllsup) January 20, 2017Bit of a blackout here. Don't exactly remember what happened. Cops pulled me and Nico out. Bring us through building. 14/? James Allsup (@realJamesAllsup) January 20, 2017An intrepid reporter may find the officer who saw the pole attack and FOIA the bodycam footage. James Allsup (@realJamesAllsup) January 20, 2017About to get head stapled. Thanks all for good wishes. James Allsup (@realJamesAllsup) January 20, 2017Inauguration protest organizers are drowning in a deluge of death threats at the behest of conservative media. https://t.co/KjPZfh9d5A Jack Smith IV (@JackSmithIV) January 19, 2017


President Donald Trump on Thursday embraced a suggestion from the Senate's top Democrat to end congressional battles over the U.S. debt ceiling, a day after he stunned fellow Republicans by striking a major budget deal with the opposition party. Testing his new opening with Democrats, Trump also reached out on another tricky issue, the fate of 800,000 so-called Dreamers, young adults brought illegally to the country as children. He even honored a request by Nancy Pelosi, the top House of Representatives Democrat, to publicly reassure the Dreamers they do not face imminent deportation. The Senate voted 80-17 to approve the deal Trump reached with Democrats on Wednesday, which would raise the federal debt limit and fund the government through Dec. 8. The legislation included $15.25 billion in aid for areas affected by Hurricane Harvey and other natural disasters. The bill now goes to the House for final congressional approval, where it faces opposition from conservatives who traditionally favor raising the ceiling while also cutting spending. Representative Bill Flores, a Republican helping round up votes for the deal, said his count of party members intending to vote yes on the legislation "didn't look very good." Trump voiced support on Thursday for the idea of eliminating the statutory cap on the U.S. Treasury Department's authority to borrow. "For many years, people have been talking about getting rid of debt ceiling altogether, and there are a lot of good reasons to do that," Trump told reporters. "It complicates things, it's really not necessary." "So certainly that's something that will be discussed," he added. Legislation that would end the need for Congress to regularly authorize debt ceiling increases came up during a White House meeting Trump had on Wednesday with Pelosi, top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer, House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, people familiar with the meeting said. Schumer proposed eliminating the limit, and Trump and Vice President Mike Pence said they liked the idea, one source said. Schumer said the parties should canvass rank-and-file lawmakers to gauge support for getting rid of the ceiling ahead of the next deadline to raise it, in December, the source said. The meeting's participants did not say whether they would seek to repeal the cap or revert to a practice of automatic increases tied to Congress approving its annual budget, the sources said. Republican Ryan said he opposed any effort to do away with lawmakers' role in approving debt limit increases, citing the powers given to Congress under the U.S. Constitution. The United States spends more than it raises through taxes and other revenue, and issues debt to make up the difference. The limit on how much it can borrow is the debt ceiling. Congress must regularly vote to raise the cap, which frequently sparks nasty political fights that spook financial markets over the prospect of an unprecedented U.S. default. Representative Barry Loudermilk, a member of the conservative Republican Study Committee, said the proposal to scrap the debt ceiling was worth exploring. "This is something that just comes up over and over again and we've never done anything to fix it," he said, adding lawmakers should have a conversation about finding a permanent fix that also leads to cutting deficit spending, such as a constitutional amendment to balance the budget. But Republican Representative Joe Barton, who belongs to the party's right-wing Freedom Caucus, said scrapping the debt ceiling was wrong and he hoped Trump "reconsiders his position." Schumer said on Thursday he hoped the meeting was "a ray of hope for both parties coming together on the big issues." Pelosi said Trump also made clear he wanted Congress to act on the Dreamers issue. U.S. lawmakers for years have failed to pass comprehensive immigration reform legislation. On Tuesday, Trump rescinded a program created by his Democratic predecessor, Barack Obama, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, that protected the immigrants from deportation and provided them work permits. Trump gave Congress six months to work on an alternative by delaying implementation until March. Democrats want a bill addressing the Dreamers without other issues attached, but Pelosi did not rule out including border security measures that Trump and Ryan want. Pelosi said "we have a responsibility to secure our borders," but that does not include Trump's planned wall along the U.S.-Mexico border that many Democrats oppose. "We want to do it as soon as possible to strike while the iron is hot, because public opinion is so much in favor," Pelosi told reporters. Pelosi said she told Trump the Dreamers needed his assurance he was not planning a six-month-long roundup for deportation. Trump subsequently wrote on Twitter: "For all of those (DACA) that are concerned about your status during the 6 month period, you have nothing to worry about - No action!"


Jack Links, which is a very popular maker of beef jerky, just released a brand-new ad that is absolutely disgusting. It s supposed to give you facts about building muscle, and how beef jerky can aid you in that endeavor, but it does so as a direct appeal to Nazis and other white supremacists. Seriously.The 30-second spot features Green Bay Packers linebacker Clay Matthews, who literally says the following, word for word, at the beginning of the ad: I m the product of hard work, superior genetics, Norse mythology, and protein. The ad also shows primates putting muscle fibers back together, which could be seen as promoting slavery and anti-Semitism, since racists and anti-Semites have traditionally used monkeys to disparage black people and Jews. Watch below: Superior genetics is what white supremacy and anti-Semitism are all about. Sure, on their planet, people are people, but whites have superior genes and built the whole world, and everyone needs to understand that. Adolf Hitler s Aryan race was all about superior genetics, the white supremacists and Nazis in this country push that, so there s no getting away from the fact that the term is a dog whistle to white supremacy.What about the Norse mythology claim, though? Most of our Nazis and white supremacists want to preserve western European genetics. Norse mythology is Scandinavian, so what the hell? It turns out that this is also an appeal to a very racist brand of Odinism, which, unfortunately, does have a fairly strong history in the U.S. among the white supremacist hate groups.This brand of Odinism was popular in Nazi Germany, and it s popular among today s white supremacists, including Nazis, KKK members, skinheads, and others. The reason for that is it sings the virtues of the tribe, or folk, strongly emphasizing genetic closeness. And it credits whites with building civilization and an ethic of individual responsibility, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. That s exactly what white supremacists want. No more mixing of races because that s white genocide, and an acceptance that whites are the superior race above all others.Odinism is likely more appealing to these people than Christianity because Christianity (attempts) to emphasize inclusion and love of all, not the racial division they want. It also fits better with the anti-Semitism these hate groups harbor than Christianity does. However, many in these hate groups still call themselves Christian and pervert Christianity to suit their own needs, which those who actually promote Christian ethics say is a problem. It s possible that particular conflict can drive white supremacists to Odinism.Jack Links has a serious problem on its hands with this ad. They just branded themselves as openly white supremacist with a desire to appeal to the worst elements of our society. One might try to claim that they re just ignorant of the current social and political environments, but that s about as likely as Trump not knowing who David Duke is.


Jordan s King Abdullah on Wednesday rejected any attempt to change the status of Jerusalem or its holy sites, and said peace would not come to the region without a resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. All violence... is a result of a failure to find a peaceful solution to the Palestinian issue, he told an emergency summit of Muslim leaders in Turkey. King Abdullah s Hashemite dynasty is custodian of the Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem, making Amman particularly sensitive to any changes of status after the Trump s administration s decision to recognize it as Israel s capital.


Kid Has 'Birthday Surprise' For Church, Does The Unexpected While Inside Alisha Rich in Religion Share This  A teenager recently celebrated his birthday in Harriman, Tennessee. However, the kid isn't so fond of his yearly celebration and finally became fed up with it, devising a plan not many would consider. In fact, he came up with a "birthday surprise" for a local church, and onlookers spotted him doing the unexpected after he walked inside. Ryan Nelson  Ryan Nelson, 13, had explained to his parents that he didn't want to celebrate his birthday. Although most kids would like to invite all of their friends, open gifts, and eat some birthday cake, Ryan didn't want to spend his special day that way. Instead of having a huge ordeal for himself, he devised a plan that not many people would ever consider. He was going to give a "birthday surprise" to a church.  Ryan decided to take the money his parents would have spent on a party, as well as all of his birthday money, and he donated it to a local church. "He also packed up and donated canned soups, ramen noodles and lots of clothes and blankets," according to WVLT . His donations will go to the M-14 Ministries' "Dry Bones" shelter.  "The community, in my opinion, has given me so much," Ryan explained. "So I think this year, on my birthday, it's time to give back to the community." Ryan's donations  The director of the shelter, Dwayne Linger, was overwhelmed by Ryan's generosity. "I just hope that other kids see what he's done and follow his lead," Linger said. "I think it's a great blessing, what he's done." Ryan admitted that he came up with the idea after he watched his mother donate to another church earlier this year.  It's great to see that some of those in the younger generation can think about someone other than themselves. We need to ensure that our children realize how much of an impact their beliefs and actions will have on our country's future.


October 30, 2016 at 4:49 pm  Quite possible that Trump is surfing a much more significant phenomenon, powered by the total penetration by internet, the neural system of the world.  to keep insisting that it is just business as usual is like claiming that because no earthquake happened for the last observed 100 days, it will never happen.  An aside, regarding the gatekeeping: i am quite certain that the jew has covered the entire gamut from outrageous lying of pam geller through restrained lying of alex jones and veterans today to deep sayanim sites that to this date have never failed to speak nothing but the truth, yet only wait to start their siren call to the ever sly deception. remain vigilant.


All this non-GAAP activity should be disclosed in the footnotes. Where is the confusion coming from? Peeps who can't read a 10Q? Also Tesla's auditors should have required a period-to-period crosswalk of the numbers both pre-adjusted and post-adjsuted just so they can compare apples to apples. Did this not happen? Anyway, just rely on the opinion, and sue if it all goes south. That's why auditors get paid to perform the same test work period after period after period....


On Thursday, Donald Trump eased sanctions against Russia s spy agencies following a phone call last week with brutal Russian dictator and Trumpfriend Vladimir Putin. Details of the call have been scarce, limited to a vague, one-paragraph statement posted on the White House website:President Donald J. Trump received a congratulatory call today from Russian President Vladimir Putin. The call lasted approximately one hour and ranged in topics from mutual cooperation in defeating ISIS to efforts in working together to achieve more peace throughout the world including Syria. The positive call was a significant start to improving the relationship between the United States and Russia that is in need of repair. Both President Trump and President Putin are hopeful that after today s call the two sides can move quickly to tackle terrorism and other important issues of mutual concern.Many have been wondering why information about the specifics of the call has been so scarce. According to Ian Berman, vice president of the conservative-leaning American Foreign Policy Council, the reason is simple Trump turned off the recording. On Wednesday, Bergman said at a forum on Russian-Turkish relations at the Bipartisan Policy Center that there was no readout of the Trump-Putin call because [the] White House turned off recording. .@ilanberman: "there was no readout of the Trump-Putin call bc WH turned off recording" Kremlin readout is very positive @BPC_Bipartisan pic.twitter.com/oi4v1R5dN0 ilhan tanir (@WashingtonPoint) February 1, 2017The Kremlin s clearly sanitized readout sounds very nice, if one ignored the fact that multiple intelligence agencies have confirmed that Putin personally spearheaded a massive hacking and propaganda campaign on Trump s behalf or that he began receiving his quid pro quo when The Donald eased sanctions against his spy agencies. According to a statement on the Kremlin s website, both sides expressed their readiness to make active joint efforts to stabilise and develop Russia-US cooperation on a constructive, equitable and mutually beneficial basis and The sides stressed the importance of rebuilding mutually beneficial trade and economic ties between the two counties business communities, which could give an additional impetus to progressive and sustainable development of bilateral relations. In other words, Putin and Trump talked about how our own fascist dictator intends to repay Russia s leader for his help in securing the Oval Office.While it is yet unconfirmed that the recording does not exist, it seems this is the case given the vague readout and the clear attempt to keep information from Americans. If he did indeed shut off recording, why would he do that? There is only one answer plenty was said that would be uncomfortable if the American people learned the details.We as Americans need to demand a full release of every call Trump has had with world leaders. We need to demand answers because we will not get them otherwise.


Ostracized by the government and mistrusted by much of the public, Cuba's dissidents are hoping to receive a clear message of support from U.S. President Barack Obama when he visits the island next month. Obama plans to meet dissidents during his March 21-22 visit, the first by a sitting U.S. president since 1928. It follows the rapprochement of December 2014, when Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro ended more than five decades of Cold War-era animosity. Cuba's Communist government has long considered the dissidents a tiny and illegitimate minority funded by U.S. interests, while anti-Castro groups hold them up as champions of democracy. Political opponents say a public blessing from Obama might improve their standing and the cause of human rights in Cuba. "It's possible the visit will help raise the hopes of the Cuban people, which is important because Cuba is short on many things, most of all hope," said Elizardo Sanchez, leader of the Cuban Commission of Human Rights and National Reconciliation, which monitors arrests of political opponents. Sanchez said Cuba is holding about 90 political prisoners, including some convicted hijackers and spies and 11 former prisoners out on parole. Cuba says it has no political prisoners. In addition Cuban officials briefly detain an average of more than 700 dissidents a month, the commission says. Obama's Republican critics have called the visit a capitulation, while Cuban dissidents are mostly supportive. "Any gesture of solidarity, any words or gestures, any contact with the peaceful opposition would be well received by the majority of the population," said Jose Daniel Ferrer, leader of the Patriotic Union of Cuba, which says it has about 3,000 members, making it the largest opposition group in Cuba. Cuban Foreign Ministry official Josefina Vidal said Cuba hoped Obama would meet with "the real Cuban civil society," a term making a distinction between most Cubans and anti-government activists. Some Cuban dissidents prefer the previous U.S. policy of isolating Cuba and say Obama has failed them. The Ladies in White, who march each Sunday in Havana, say Obama is unwelcome unless he responds to their request that he denounce the repression of activists and calls for amnesty for political prisoners. "If he makes a strong statement repudiating these human rights violations, then we will consider it an advance in human rights," said Berta Soler, leader of the group. "In practice, we have not seen a thing."


There's a reason David Brock, founder of the liberal group Media Matters for America, chooses to house an unregistered professional solicitor in his office to raise money for his conglomerate of super PACs and nonprofits. Professional solicitors are required to disclose their active solicitation contracts. Brock wants his unregistered solicitor, the Bonner Group, to keep its client list hidden for a very specific reason. David Brock is laundering money    Related Stories Consumers Need Protection From New Consumer Protection Bureau Rule Here's What The Markets Are Telling Us… Exposed: Profiteers Of Governing – And These Are The Ones Who Got Caught! Brock has seven nonprofits, three super PACs, one 527 committee, one LLC, one joint fundraising committee and one unregistered solicitor crammed into his office in Washington . Uncovered records expose a constant flow of money between these organizations. The Bonner Group, his professional solicitor, works off a commission. Every time money gets passed around, Bonner receives a 12.5 percent cut.   Follow the money  Nonprofits are required to disclose to whom they give cash grants. But they aren't required to disclose who gives them cash grants. This weak system of one-way verification is being abused by Brock. He's been cycling money between his organizations for years, and the Bonner Group's 12.5 percent commission gets triggered after every pass.   Trending Stories Frustrated With Media Bias, Trump Campaign Takes Its Case Directly To Voters With Nightly Show On Facebook RNC Official Takes CNN Host To Task For Claiming There Is No Media Bias Hannity Proposes A Sendoff For Obama In The Event Of A Trump Presidency In 2014, Media Matters for America raised more than $10 million. The Bonner Group was credited for raising these funds. Media Matters paid it a $1.1 million commission. That same year, Media Matters gave a $930,000 cash grant to Brock's Franklin Education Forum , an organization that shares office space with Media Matters. In 2014, the Franklin Education Forum reported $994,000 in total contributions, and 93.6 percent of that total came from Media Matters. Surprisingly, though, the Franklin Education Forum gave full credit to Bonner for raising that money. It paid the fundraiser a $124,250 commission in 2014. Notice what happened?  Brock's Media Matters gave a $930,000 cash grant to Brock's Franklin Education Forum. Brock's Franklin Education Forum credited the Bonner Group for raising those funds, triggering the 12.5 percent commission. Brock paid the Bonner Group a $124,250 commission to solicit a cash grant … from himself! It doesn't stop there  After the Franklin Education Forum retained $869,750, it sent a $816,224 cash grant to Brock's Franklin Forum .  Note: The Franklin Education Forum is a 501(c)3, and The Franklin Forum is a 501(c)4. They are not the same company.  The Franklin Forum 501(c)4 paid Bonner a commission in 2013 , so it's safe to assume the fundraiser received a $102,028 commission in 2014. Unfortunately, it's hard to tell for sure. It still hasn't filed its taxes for 2014! Let's recap  Say, for example, you donate $1,062,857 to Media Matters for America. This is how David Brock would have used your charitable donation in 2014: Media Matters would receive your $1,062,857 donation. The Bonner Group would earn a $132,857 commission. Media Matters would retain $930,000. Next, Media Matters would give what's left of your entire donation , $930,000, to the Franklin Education Forum. The Bonner Group would "earn" a $116,250 commission. The Franklin Education Forum would retain $813,750. The Franklin Education Forum would then forward the remaining $813,750 to The Franklin Forum. The Bonner Group would "earn" a $101,718 commission. The Franklin Forum would retain $712,031. In the end, Brock's solicitor would have pocketed $350,825, almost a third of your initial donation. That's a far cry from the advertised 12.5 percent commission. As bizarre as that scenario may sound, this is exactly what Brock did in 2014. How can we be sure this is intentional?  Brock is the chairman for each of these organizations. How could he not know what's going on? He's a hands-on chairman. According to their tax returns, Brock allocates time, weekly, to his organizations: Media Matters: 31.50 hours per week Franklin Education Forum: three hours per week The Franklin Forum: one hour per week Furthermore, The New York Times reports that Brock shares a summer rental in the Hamptons with Mary Pat Bonner, the president of the Bonner Group. Brock would have a hard time claiming ignorance on this. These transfers are intentional. He vacations with his solicitor. Case closed. Still not convinced?  Brock didn't even bother to give his organizations different phone numbers. They all share the same number. What if …?  We even located the Bonner Group's solicitation agreement with Media Matters on Florida's Gift Givers' Guide . Clarification on the commission can be found on page 2: In English: Contractually, Brock has the option to exclude certain contributions from triggering the commission. In spite of this option, he intentionally chooses to trigger the 12.5 percent commission for money grants between his organizations. Note: Yes, we are making the assumption that all of Brock's organizations have the same solicitation agreement with the Bonner Group. Given that his organizations share the same address, board members and telephone number, we feel it's safe to assume they also share the same solicitation agreement.  This barely scratches the surface  Utilizing public-facing tax returns, along with records submitted to the Federal Election Commission, we mapped out all the significant money transfers from 2014 that took place in Brock's office: Summary  This is all from just one year! No further commentary required. We understand this may be hard to believe. We first came across this in July, and are still having a hard time wrapping our heads around it. All of the data referenced in this article originated from publicly accessible sources. Check for yourself — we provided links to the source material in our article exposing the organizations operating in Brock's office. These data have been sitting out in the open, gathering dust for years.  If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck. We've spent months trying to find some sort of loophole to justify this activity. But there aren't any loopholes. David Brock has something to hide. Just last month, The Daily Caller reported the following: "Brock's former long-time live-in boyfriend William Grey (whom Brock has thanked in several of his books) threatened to go to the IRS with damaging information about how Brock was running his Media Matters empire. What did Brock do? He paid Grey $850,000 to keep quiet. Brock reportedly had to sell his home in Rehoboth, Delaware, to come up with the money. This certainly seems to indicate that Brock was terrified about what the authorities would uncover." Adding to this, Fox News reported the following: "Grey accused Brock of 'financial malfeasance' and threatened to undermine Brock's fundraising efforts. "'Next step is I contact all your donors and the IRS,' Grey wrote in an email dated May 19, 2010. 'This is going to stink for you if you do not resolve this now.'" We believe that the information presented in this article is what has Brock so terrified. We feel confident in saying, with close to absolute certainty, that David Brock is laundering money through his Media Matters conglomerate. This article first appeared at The Citizens Audit .  The views expressed in this opinion article are solely those of their author and are not necessarily either shared or endorsed by the owners of this website.  What do you think?


Evidence Building Against Soros George Soros Funded Trump Protests: http://sjlendman.blogspot.com  This one might be wishful thinking: http://usdefensewatch.com/2016/11/putin-issues-international-arrest-warrant-for-george-soros-dead-or-alive/  A reader writes that Soros "is involved in destabilizing and overthrowing democratically elected governmenbts all over the world. He is not just a political and social threat to Russia and Ukraine, but evidently now to the USA and Western Europe, where he has been behind the mass influx of immigrants to destabilise those countries as well.  "It is clear that Trump and Putin have a lot of threats in common to deal with. The shadow government is currently rattled, but will strike back soon. After the recent violent events, Trump should join the Russian government and also call for the immediate arrest of Soros for his treasonous activities and confiscate all his assets in the West, appoint special prosecutors to deal with the neocon war criminals and break up the bought and paid for press and media monopolies that are the corrupt and mendacious whores of the oligarchy. Furthermore, he should also shut down the oligarchs' Fed and create a national bank to issue debt- and interest-free US money to fund infrastructure and the rebuilding of the US economy. That would critically weaken the opposition and strengthen his position in dealing with the shadow government.  "These forces will be eternal enemies not just of him, but of the Western people. They represent a cancer that is killing the host. Not reconciliation, but deep and thorough cleaning is required to rout out this den of vipers." The audacity of George Soros is extraordinary. How does he get away with it? The post Evidence Building Against Soros appeared first on PaulCraigRoberts.org .


Go to Article  They had to know they had it coming…  Donald Trump scolded media big shots during an off-the-record Trump Tower sitdown on Monday, sources told The Post.  "It was like a f–ing firing squad," one source said of the encounter.  "Trump started with [CNN chief] Jeff Zucker and said 'I hate your network, everyone at CNN is a liar and you should be ashamed,' " the source said.  "The meeting was a total disaster. The TV execs and anchors went in there thinking they would be discussing the access they would get to the Trump administration, but instead they got a Trump-style dressing down," the source added.  A second source confirmed the fireworks.  "The meeting took place in a big board room and there were about 30 or 40 people, including the big news anchors from all the networks," the other source said.  "Trump kept saying, 'We're in a room of liars, the deceitful dishonest media who got it all wrong.' He addressed everyone in the room calling the media dishonest, deceitful liars. He called out Jeff Zucker by name and said everyone at CNN was a liar, and CNN was [a] network of liars," the source said.  "Trump didn't say [NBC reporter] Katy Tur by name, but talked about an NBC female correspondent who got it wrong, then he referred to a horrible network correspondent who cried when Hillary lost who hosted a debate – which was Martha Raddatz who was also in the room."  The stunned reporters tried to get a word in edgewise to discuss access to a Trump Administration.  "[CBS Good Morning co-host Gayle] King did not stand up, but asked some question, 'How do you propose we the media work with you?' Chuck Todd asked some pretty pointed questions. David Muir asked 'How are you going to cope living in DC while your family is in NYC? It was a horrible meeting."  Here's a sampling of Trump hitting back at the dishonest media while he was on the campaign trail. Trump did something no other presidential candidate has ever done before, he won the election in a landslide, in spite of the entire fake news empire working together to take him down:  Trump spokeswoman Kellyanne Conway told reporters the gathering went well.  "Excellent meetings with the top executives of the major networks," she said during a gaggle in the lobby of Trump Tower. "Pretty unprecedented meeting we put together in two days."  The meeting was off the record, meaning the participants agreed not to talk about the substance of the conversations.  The hour-long session included top execs from network and cable news channels. Among the attendees were NBC's Deborah Turness, Lester Holt and Chuck Todd, ABC's James Goldston, George Stephanopoulos, David Muir and Martha Raddatz,  Also, CBS' Norah O'Donnell John Dickerson, Charlie Rose, Christopher Isham and King, Fox News' Bill Shine, Jack Abernethy, Jay Wallace, Suzanne Scott, MSNBC's Phil Griffin and CNN's Jeff Zucker and Erin Burnett. -Via : NYP


Pinterest  As the Syrian Civil War rages on, the Russians continue to back the Assad regime in the fight against myriad rebel groups. The bloody conflict has garnered international attention, including a refugee crisis in the Middle East and Europe (which is quickly spreading to the United States, as well).  The United States has been involved in several military actions to aid the rebel groups in Syria, though much of this help has aided the rise of ISIS (smuggling weapons to these groups fighting Assad, only to end up with ISIS). Given US involvement, and Russian backing of the Assad regime, tensions between the two superpowers have risen to near Cold War levels.  One recent event demonstrating just how volatile the situation was a near-collision between two fighter jets, one American and the other Russian, in Syrian airspace. #BREAKING Russian, US jets had near miss over Syria: US officials  Zero Hedge has details:  The near miss occurred late on October 17, when a Russian jet that was escorting a larger spy plane maneuvered in the vicinity of an American warplane, Air Force Lieutenant General Jeff Harrigan said. The Russian jet came to "inside of half a mile", he added. Another US military official, speaking on condition of anonymity , said the American pilot could feel the turbulence produced by the Russian jet's engines.  "It was close enough you could feel the jet wash of the plane passing by," the official said.  The incident appears did not take place out to malice, as the Russian pilot had simply not seen the US jet, as it was dark and the planes were flying without lights according to AGP. This incident was deemed unsafe, but not necessarily unprofessional, officials said. "I would attribute it to not having the necessary situational awareness given all those platforms operating together," Harrigan said.  The incident raises serious questions about the extent to which pilots are able to track the complex airspace they operate in.  The US-led coalition has set up a hotline with Russian counterparts so the different militaries can discuss the approximate locations and missions of planes, and avoid operating in the same space at the same time. In this case, the American pilot tried unsuccessfully to reach the Russian jet via an emergency radio channel.  This close-call is one of several similar incidents in the past six weeks or so. The Russians have become increasingly brazen in the past few months, especially in the Syrian arena. Anything that threatens the Russo-Syrian alliance is not taken too well by the Kremlin, and responses are bold, dastardly, and provocative.  Luckily, there have not been any full-blown engagements between American and Russian military forces, but the number of close-calls in recent days is cause for concern. These are two of the world's most prominent nuclear superpowers, one of whom is becoming more and more brazen and willing to incite conflicts when it suits their interests.  The other is a regime with massive military superiority, yet weak and flaky leadership.  At this point it is not totally clear what the Russians will do next. Undoubtedly, they will continue to prop up the Assad regime and bomb anywhere rebel forces may be, but whether or not they will harass American military forces in the area remains to be seen (though I predict that it will only continue to further escalate).


By Amanda Froelich at trueactivist.com The new "right to disconnect" law mandates that a company with 50 employees or more cannot email an employee after typical work hours. If you've ever been with friends or family members over the weekend then received an urgent email from work, you're aware of the dread that fills your stomach and causes your mood to dip. Being unable to fully disconnect from work can have mental and physical health implications, which is why unwarranted contact by the workplace is soon to become illegal in France. Credit: Wall Street Journal Already, the country gives its employees 30 days off a year and 16 weeks of full-paid family leave; this latest initiative is only making France more popular. According to BBC News , the new "right to disconnect" law will mandate that a company with 50 employees or more cannot email an employee after typical work hours. The amendment is largely a result of studies showing that people have an increasingly difficult time distancing themselves from the workplace. Good relays that the law seeks to make sure the French citizens are able to fully enjoy their time off. Said Benoit Hamon of the French National Assembly:


America does not have a king. America is not a monarchy. But Donald Trump apparently thinks otherwise and the American people are NOT happy about it.When President Obama visited England for the first time, he declined the gold-plated carriage the Royal family offered for his use during the state visit, opting instead to ride in a motorcade. The motorcade was not only easier to provide security for, it was less expensive and demonstrated that Obama was truly a man of the people.Donald Trump, however, is demanding that the horse-drawn gold-plated carriage be rolled out for him and that a parade be organized down the Mall to Buckingham Palace in October.Of course, we all know that Trump is NOT a man of the people no matter how much he makes that claim. After all, we re talking about a man who continues to live in a gold-plated penthouse in Trump Tower.Trump literally thinks he s a f*cking king and he is demanding to be treated like one even though the Constitution makes it clear that such titles of nobility are not recognized in this country.The cost of security is going to be massive and it s the American taxpayers who are going to be picking up the tab.As news of Trump s ridiculous demand spread, Americans took to Twitter to virtually tar and feather him in the public square of social media.While enjoying the spoils of stealing an election, The Trump Royal Crime Family requests a gold-plated carriage ride with the Royal Family. https://t.co/uRSrPoULCD UNITE & FIGHT (@stopthenutjob) April 15, 2017@kurteichenwald They should give Trump his ride on gold carriage off a cliff. Seriously, they must have a spare gold carriage. Barry Rosen (@BAR0ke) April 15, 2017This is a man of the people? Trump demanding ride in queen s gold carriage during Buckingham Palace visit: report https://t.co/mxFnx9ycPL Kurt Eichenwald (@kurteichenwald) April 15, 2017[Cut to #Trump looking over at Ivanka,] There isn t enough gold on that carriage to represent my status! Ivanka: Let s call @Nigel_Farage! https://t.co/QYirm1uugh TrumanDem (@TrumanDem) April 15, 2017#trump ego is expensive & a burden. @realDonaldTrump demands $ be wasted on ridiculous gold carriage but cuts meals for hungry kids at home pic.twitter.com/ZuKXSYG6SL Doodledevotee (@doodledevotee) April 15, 2017Man of the people demands gold carriage! https://t.co/cTbympSmN9 mrs panstreppon (@mrspanstreppon) April 15, 2017I keep thinking the bar for vulgarity has been buried. He keeps proving otherwise. https://t.co/Hb7yvjK0A1 Nancy Nall Derringer (@nnall) April 15, 2017The Living Like a Coal Miner Saga Continues: Emperor @realDonaldTrump demands a gilded carriage ride in England https://t.co/QrMrsxz4eX Col. Morris Davis (@ColMorrisDavis) April 15, 2017Perhaps we could do a Cinderella in reverse. Gold plated carriage turns in to a pumpkin. Trump turns in to one of the rats. https://t.co/4I6J0a29Hz Glynis Elliott (@Chiclanagirl) April 15, 2017https://t.co/D8gIwGQjPf This must be stopped. It could be very dangerous for the horses and the carriage could be damaged from an attack. Frederick Parsonage (@FParsonage) April 15, 2017#Trump s idea of #MealsOnWheels. Melania feeding their (then) baby a bottle in his 24 KT Gold Baby Carriage. They should be ashamed.#Wheels pic.twitter.com/ygpDMgY36n Annemarie Weers (@AnnemarieWeers) March 16, 2017Trump wants a gold-plated carriage for when he visits the Queen? Golden carriages, golden showers he expects A LOT when he visits Europe! Cyrus McQueen (@CyrusMMcQueen) April 15, 2017He s a child, right? Needs a fancy carriage ride to prove some weird, I m important view. https://t.co/9BhfAKSTJO Fat Tony (@anthonysorro) April 15, 2017Would it be beneath her majesty if she told him to fuck off? https://t.co/FKh5sf0CMY Erik Huey (@ErikHuey) April 15, 2017At this point, the world and the American public should all tell Trump to f*ck off. He s an embarrassment who has turned our nation into a laughingstock around the world. Trump is not acting like a president, he s a petulant child pretending that he is a monarch. That s as un-American as it gets.Featured Image: Alex Wong/Getty Images


A Caddo Nation tribal leader has just been freed after spending two days behind bars in North Dakota. Family members say she was simply an innocent bystander in a clash between police and protesters, and was not guilty of anything the police claimed.  Via AlternativeNews  Jessi Mitchell, of local News 9 reports that "family members of Caddo Nation chairwoman Tamara Francis-Fourkiller said an anonymous donor paid $2.5 million late Saturday afternoon to release everyone arrested on Thursday at the Dakota Access Pipeline site." They added, however, that Francis-Fourkiller was never supposed to have been arrested in the first place. "An expert on sacred burial grounds , Francis-Fourkiller was one of the tribal leaders visiting the Sioux of Standing Rock to advise them during negotiations with the Dakota Access Pipeline construction team," Mitchell continues. "Remains were being desecrated in this pipeline, so they had asked a bunch of people to come up there, so there's a big conference," Francis-Fourkiller's sister Loretta Francis explained. On the visit , Francis said her sister and other leaders decided to tour the protest camps. They never thought they would wind up in jail. Francis said her sister had no access to her medication while in custody in Cass County, North Dakota, and now faces charges of conspiracy and rioting. "Part of my family was removed on the Trail of Tears and they came here to Oklahoma and they suffered," said Francis. "I always feel like each generation – our parents, our grandparents – try to make it better for the next generation and they certainly didn't want this for my sister." Dozens of Native Americans from Oklahoma tribes had gathered Saturday afternoon at the state Capitol, according to Mitchell, with the purpose of voicing their "anger at the treatment of the protesters in North Dakota, pointing out this week's acquittal of armed protesters at an Oregon wildlife refuge earlier this year." "We're not holding guns. We're not armed, and when we see the military right here in the US use that on us, it's shameful," Comanche Nation tribal council member Sonya Nevaquaya explained. One of the fundamentals of all Native American tribes is the protection of the land. Chanting "Water is life!" Saturday, the Oklahoma demonstrators hope to rally people from around the country to stand with those in North Dakota and stop construction on the pipeline project. "These pipelines, you hear of a lot of bursts and leaks and it contaminating the waters. What happens when all of our waters and resources are gone?" Nevaquaya explained. Francis-Fourkiller says she will be traveling back to her home in Norman as soon as possible.