Thousands of people marched through downtown Chicago on Thursday night. The rally was held by the Chicago Teacher s Union. They, along with other groups who stood in solidarity with the union, were demonstrating against the budget cuts, lay-offs, and more.#CTU takes the street #brokeonpurpose pic.twitter.com/gfj4Buqt0K Aaron Cynic (@aaroncynic) February 4, 2016 @ctuLocal1 #FairContractNow rally through #Chicago loop. #CTU #CPS #reportage #journalism pic.twitter.com/5sX0qdWVn3 Chris Riha (@TalentedMrRiha) February 5, 2016A major target for the CTU was Bank of America. They claim that BOA and the Chicago Public School system made a number of unwise financial investments that the teachers and students have been deeply hurt by. WGN reports: CPS says it needs the bond money for existing debt payments to cover construction and repair projects.This all comes after the union rejected a contract proposal that would have required members to pay more toward their pension and health care.The district then announced it would slash $75 million from school budgets.According to a Chicago Tribune poll, three times as many Chicagoans side with the teacher s union versus Mayor Rahm Emanuel on how to improve public schools.The survey also found that Emanuel s approval rating on education has fallen to a record low as it has with his overall job performance and handling of crime in the city. #CTU #faircontractnow Sit in started at Bank of America building Photos from inside @Sarah4Justice @CTULocal1 pic.twitter.com/LFxm8rP4wm Bill Chambers (@Chgofenian) February 4, 2016Protesters filled the streets, causing traffic on the Loop to slow to a crawl. Many of the protesters carried signs that lobbed attacks at Chicago s mayor, Rahm Emanuel.The CTU released a statement, saying: Our goal remains the same: reaching an agreement that protects our children while treating teachers fairly. We know our work is not finished, and we are committed to building a mutually respectful relationship with the CTU and working at the bargaining table around the clock so Chicago children can remain in the classroom. In the meantime, because of our dire financial circumstances, we must proceed forward with painful cuts in the absence of an agreement. We are hopeful we can rescind these cuts by swiftly reaching an agreement. It looks like the Emanuel administration will be embroiled in just as much controversy this year as it was in 2015. Last year, The Nation released an editorial, calling for Emanuel to resign. Among Emanuel s numerous sins, is his terrible track record with educators. Particularly with the teacher s union.#CTU marches against #Rahm pic.twitter.com/CbTxRRf5s0 Joe Iosbaker (@iosbakerjoe) February 4, 2016Emanuel also garnered national attention over allegations that his administration took part in a cover up to prevent video footage that shows the death Laqaun McDonald, who was shot sixteen times by a Chicago police officer. So far, there has been evidence released that shows that the mayor s office was in working in coordination with the CPD.Featured image from video screenshot via WGN


The state of Hawaii said in a court motion on Tuesday that it intends to seek a temporary restraining order on Wednesday against President Donald Trump's new executive order restricting travel from six Muslim-majority countries. The Trump administration this week issued the new executive order that supplanted an earlier, more-sweeping one which had been challenged in court by the state of Washington.


Comments  As the protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline continue to escalate, the crackdown from law enforcement has grown harsher and harsher. Hundreds have been arrested by Morton County police, many of them without charge, and have had their civil rights violated by shockingly cruel police officers, who are sexually humiliating their prisoners by strip-searching them and leaving them naked in their cells.  When getting booked at the jail, they were all strip searched, forced to "squat and cough" to demonstrate they had nothing hidden in their rectums, then were put in orange jumpsuits. The treatment was the same for Chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Dave Archambault, to a pediatrician from the reservation, Dr. Sara Jumping Eagle, to actress Shailene Woodley, star of the films "Divergent" and "Snowden," among others.  The use of a strip search for those arrested on trumped-up charges like "trespassing" and "rioting" is a clear intimidation tactic that shows the the United States government still sees Native Americans as savages to be abused.  LaDonna Brave Bull Allard told The Young Turks how her daughter was arrested, stripped of her clothes by three male and one female officer, and then left naked in a cell overnight. "They're targeting our families" she said. Human rights abuses have been widely committed by police and security forces as they try to discourage the protesters.  Rebecca Kemble, Alderwoman from Madison, Wisconsin, recounts how arrested protesters are beaten and thrown into pieces of the very pipeline they are protesting. "I saw the Marathon County deputy push her down the hill and slam her body and head into the transport van after this."  Georgianne Nienaber of the Huffington Post knows where to point the finger for these outrageous crimes.  Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier is the official who sets the tone for police actions in Morton County North Dakota. He alone determines how prisoners are treated. He holds the authority to enforce humane treatment or encourage cruelty designed to instill fear, humiliation, embarrassment and shame. And shame is the ultimate weapon—utilized by the narcissist in a pitiful attempt to gain control and break the spirit of his victims.  This kind of systematic violence is the way the U.S. government has always treated the native inhabitants of the American continent. Very little mainstream news coverage is documenting these crimes, instinctively taking the side of the corporation plotting to desecrate the sacred grounds of the Standing Rock Sioux in order to make a quick buck off of climate-warming and water-poisoning fossil fuels. We cannot allow the police state to squash the will of the people.  Listen to LaDonna Brave Bull Allard tell her story here:


Jerusalem (CNN) When Israel destroyed Iraq's nuclear reactor in 1981, then-Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin drew an important line in the sand: No enemy could be permitted to develop weapons of mass destruction. Israel, he declared, would defend itself "with all the means at our disposal." These words still reverberate in Israel today, and they help explain why Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is flying to Washington next week to give a controversial speech before Congress on Iran. Netanyahu wants to thwart a nuclear deal world powers are hammering out with Tehran, a deal that his government believes will leave Iran with the means to potentially develop a nuclear weapon -- and leave him with the same choice Begin faced more than three decades ago. "This is the primary Israeli fear," said Ronen Bergman, military and intelligence analyst for the daily newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth. "They are afraid at the end of the day, if negotiations fail, Israel would be left alone to make the call -- whether to contain an Iranian nuclear capability or to make the call on the strike." In making the trip to Capitol Hill, Netanyahu is willing to risk the ire of the White House, which is chagrined that he is expected to rail against the administration's deal-making and encourage Congress to push for an Iran sanctions package that President Barack Obama has threatened to veto. And Netanyahu is doing so even amidst recriminations -- over how Republican House Speaker John Boehner and the Israeli Embassy handled the invitation -- that have tainted the atmosphere between the prime minister and the White House. Administration officials charge that the invitation violated protocol and has partisan overtones. While the Israeli leader's speech might only intensify those bad feelings, Netanyahu has said it's worth the cost of stating his case before the American public. Advisers indicate that with a deal looming, he feels that he has less and less time to prevent what he sees as a catastrophic outcome. Netanyahu critics and many analysts see a political motive. His speech to Congress comes two weeks before the Israeli election, in which he is facing a tight race. His security credentials and rhetorical skills are two of his strongest assets, and being welcomed by U.S. senators and representatives could play well on television screens in Tel Aviv. The White House has used the proximity of the elections as its reason for denying Netanyahu an Oval Office meeting during the trip. But many confidants insist that Netanyahu has a strong ideological conviction on the need to block Iran and treats his roles as protector of Israel and the Jewish people with the utmost seriousness. For him, this is a chance to act before Israel is faced with choosing between an Iranian bomb and bombing Iran. Inherent in that choice is the fear Israel cannot count on the United States to stop Tehran. Obama has famously said that he's "got Israel's back" when it comes to Iran. Yet Israeli officials say they have watched over the past several years as the Obama administration has backtracked from its firm stance on Iran's nuclear program to a position that could potentially allow Iran to maintain a significant uranium enrichment program. "What started with zero (centrifuges), then went to a symbolic enrichment capacity of a few hundred. Now it is well known we are speaking about several thousands," Israeli Minister of Intelligence Yuval Steinitz said in an interview with CNN. "We think that the overall goal of the negotiation should be to get rid of the Iranian nuclear threat and not just hold it or restrain it or freeze it." Israel maintains that even an Iranian threshold nuclear state, leaving Iran with enough enriched uranium to give it "break-out capacity" to build a nuclear weapon, would position Tehran as a superpower in the region and enable it to threaten Israel with impunity. That would challenge the so-called qualitative military edge that Israel has built up over decades to fend off its enemies. Israeli military leaders worry they may have to think twice about responding to say, a Hezbollah attack on Israeli troops, out of fear of Iranian reprisal. "This is a severe strategic threat to the variety of options that the national security of Israel stands upon," Bergman said. "They want to have the bomb in order not to use it. They want to position themselves as a regional superpower and this would give them a nuclear umbrella over their heads." It's a daily threat to their existence that many Israelis believe the United States -- half a world away -- can't possibly understand. And some Israelis aren't as sanguine as Bergman that Iran wouldn't want to use the bomb. "I have no doubt about the seriousness and the good intentions of the Obama administration," said Steinitz, the intelligence minister. "Maybe we are more concerned because we feel the threat because they are speaking about the elimination of the Jewish state." Moreover, Israel fears a nuclear Iran would spark an arms race in the Middle East, potentially surrounding them with a group of nuclear-armed enemies in a region in turmoil. While the United States has long pledged to safeguard Israel's security, Israeli leaders now fear the easing in relations between the United States and Iran following the election of President Hasan Rouhani has clouded the Obama administration's judgment. And the U.S.-Iran thaw has come at the same time that tensions between Obama and Netanyahu have escalated. "The sense in Israel, and it goes way beyond Netanyahu, is that the president underestimates Iran's duplicity, underestimates Iran's ruthlessness, the religious imperative behind its ideology," said David Horovitz, editor of the Times of Israel news website. In addressing Congress next week, aides say that Prime Minister Netanyahu feels compelled to warn the U.S. and the world that, in his view, beneath its friendly new image, Iran is still intent on wiping Israel off the map. "I think that he feels fated that he is leading the Jewish people when it potentially faces a genocidal threat," Horovitz said. "That is the Netanyahu mindset -- that people are in peril, and he needs to stand firm and say what he wants to say and if necessary take the step that needs to be taken."


Home › SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY › MOBILE PASSES DESKTOP FOR THE FIRST TIME… MOBILE PASSES DESKTOP FOR THE FIRST TIME… 0 SHARES  [11/1/16] More users around the world are accessing the internet from mobile devices than from desktop computers for the first time, according to internet monitoring firm StatCounter . The combined traffic from mobile and tablet devices tipped the balance at 51.2 percent, vs. 48.7 percent for desktop access, marking the first time this has happened since StatCounter began tracking stats for internet usage.  It's a huge moment for the web overall: this means going forward, companies that haven't yet decided to focus on a mobile-first approach to their internet services and web properties really should, as the trend line is unlikely to reverse.  StatCounter also found that the maturity of the market impacts which is the dominant means of access, and as you might have guessed, mobile platforms are far and away the method of choice for internet access when it comes to emerging markets like India, where they account for 75 percent of use. More mature markets including the UK, the US and Ireland still see use swinging in favor of desktop, but the trend is still showing a narrowing gap. Post navigation


Obamacare architect blames Republicans for rising premiums pic.twitter.com/sFlKgPlvzz FOX & Friends (@foxandfriends) October 6, 2016


A CBS News poll released on Monday showed Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton holding a 4-point lead over Republican Donald Trump, 45 percent to 41 percent. The survey of 1,753 U.S. adults was taken Nov. 2-6 and has a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points. A Washington Post/ABC poll released earlier on Monday also found Clinton with a 4 percentage point lead. A separate Bloomberg Politics-Selzer & Co poll found a 3 point lead for the former secretary of state.


I watched this exchange last night and couldn t believe the insanity seriously. It was curfew and the people in the streets ignored it which is crazy in itself but then Geraldo shows up. He almost comes to blows with rioters and is screamed at. One rioter said, Stop making money off of black pain. The part of all this that s maddening is this woman s excuse that the media was causing these people to be angry. The City Council woman continued to make excuses for these bad actors and blamed the messenger. Does this sound familiar to anyone? Yes, this is the common theme from the left and I believe most Americans are 100% FED Up! with it.


Senate Banking Committee Democrats on Monday asked the panel's Republican chairman in a letter to "clear the backlog" of 16 nominations by President Barack Obama to posts related to financial oversight, national security and other areas. The committee, led by Republican Senator Richard Shelby, has "failed to carry out one of its basic duties" for more than a year, the 10 Democratic banking committee senators wrote in the Feb. 22 letter. It is the only Senate committee that did not act on any nominees last year, the Democrats wrote. Of the 16 nominations pending before the committee, four have been waiting for action for more than a year while others have been "in limbo" for more than nine months, the Democratic senators wrote. Shelby must "stop obstructing" the nominations, they wrote in a separate statement. All 10 Democrats on the committee signed the letter, including Senators Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, and Charles Schumer of New York. A spokeswoman for Shelby did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Shelby has said he is concerned that Obama has not nominated anyone as the U.S. Federal Reserve's vice chair for supervision, a post created by the Dodd Frank financial reform law, but which has never been filled. "We are aware of your concern that the Administration has not nominated anyone to serve as Vice Chair for Supervision at the Federal Reserve, but the response to one vacancy should not be the creation of 16 more," the Democratic banking committee senators wrote. It was unclear why President Obama has not appointed a nominee for the Fed post. A White House spokesperson was not immediately available for comment. The Senate Banking Committee backlog includes Lisa Fairfax and Hester Peirce, Obama's two nominees to the Securities and Exchange Commission and Adam Szubin, nominated as the Treasury Department's under secretary for terrorism and financial crimes.


The Brazilian authorities arrested 10 members of an Islamist militant group that was organizing terrorist attacks, officials announced Thursday, raising tension around the country just two weeks before the start of the Olympic Games. The Federal Police said in a statement that the suspects belonged to a group called the Defenders of Sharia. Agents from an antiterrorism unit are investigating the group's activities in several states, including Rio de Janeiro, where the Games will take place. The arrests were announced at a time when the Brazilian authorities are coming under scrutiny over security preparations for the Olympics. Responding to the truck massacre last week in Nice, France, Brazil's sports minister, Leonardo Picciani, told reporters on Wednesday that "the government is absolutely convinced that the Games will be safe. " Brazil's justice minister, Alexandre de Moraes, said Thursday that Brazil's main intelligence agency, known as ABIN, was working with foreign intelligence services and the Federal Police, an investigative force in Brazil that is similar to the F. B. I. Officials said that the people arrested had communicated with one another via WhatsApp and Telegram, two mobile messaging services. Mr. Moraes said the suspects had been taken into custody "when they went from basic commentaries about the Islamic State to preparatory acts. " Still, Mr. Moraes emphasized the group's embryonic nature, calling it "an amateur cell without any preparation. " He said that its members had been seeking to buy weapons in Paraguay, including an rifle, but that no such arms acquisitions were confirmed. "This is a disorganized cell," Mr. Moraes said, who described all those arrested as Brazilian citizens. He said that intercepted messages showed members of the group celebrating the recent attacks in Orlando, Fla. and Nice. Mr. Moraes did not provide more details about what kind of attack the group was planning, but he said officials had to act "because of the proximity of the Olympics. " Marcos Josegrei da Silva, the federal judge overseeing the case, said on Thursday that the suspects ranged in age from 20 to 40, and that they communicated with each other using code names in Arabic even though none appeared to have Arab ancestry. "It's hard to call them terrorists," Judge da Silva said. "But even though they don't have a very solid organization, the arrests are warranted from a legal point of view. " One suspect, identified in Brazilian media reports as Vitor Barbosa Magalhães, 23, converted to Islam several years ago and lived in the city of Guarulhos in São Paulo State's metropolitan area, where he works in his father's car repair shop. Mr. Magalhães's wife told reporters he had traveled to Egypt in 2012 to study Arabic and Islam. After returning to Brazil, he gave classes in Arabic over YouTube and maintained a WhatsApp group to discuss Islam, she said. Concern has been increasing here over the potential for terrorist attacks around the Olympics, with police squads responding to various reports of bags left in public areas (no explosive devices have been found). These fears are relatively new in Brazil, a country that has largely been spared the kind of attacks that have horrified Europe, the Middle East, the United States and many other parts of the world. Brazilian officials have also said they were enhancing security measures following a report by the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors jihadist websites, saying that a group calling itself Ansar Brazil had proclaimed allegiance to Abu Bakr the leader of the Islamic State. The arrests on Thursday marked a turning point in the way Brazil's government generally discusses terrorism threats. For more than a decade, and especially after the Sept. 11 attacks, Brazilian intelligence officials have been monitoring individuals suspected of links to terrorism. During that time, however, "Brazilian government officials kept saying publicly that no credible evidence exists that people who live inside Brazil have links to terrorism," said Marcos Ferreira, a scholar focusing on terrorism in South America at the Federal University of Paraíba. At the same time, other experts voiced caution as to whether the suspects would have put a plot into motion. "Initially, these arrests seem very fragile," said Rodrigo Monteiro, a security specialist at the Federal Fluminense University in Rio. "We need to wait a bit for the government to define the threat in a better way. " On Thursday, the justice minister, Mr. Moraes, said that violent crime remained the priority ahead of the Olympics. Despite gun control measures, Rio is still awash in weapons, with drug gangs wielding control over parts of the city. The authorities have begun deploying tens of thousands of troops to bolster security in Rio. "The biggest concern is still crime," Mr. Moraes said.


In a move that will most likely never be described as progress, the state of Missouri has voted to pass SB 5, a bill that among other controversial and oppressive laws, would permit employment and housing discrimination against women who use birth control or choose to have an abortion. The bill passed by the Senate tonight is a good start, Will Scharf, policy director for Missouri Governor Eric Greitens, wrote on Twitter. Looking forward to seeing how the House can substantially improve it to protect life! The main reason behind SB 5 is to impose more restrictions on abortion providers in the state, such as requiring them to send fetal tissue samples to a pathologist within five days, the pathologist then having 72 hours to respond. Currently there are no deadlines, but despite the bill being supported under the guise of women s health, requirements such as this serve absolutely no medical purpose whatsoever. Furthermore, the move will just impose more costs, both monetary and bureaucratic, on abortion clinics, ultimately forcing them to eventually close down, which was the goal all along.But there are even more disgusting, farther-reaching repercussions of SB 5 The bill overturns a St. Louis ordinance that prevented discrimination from employers and landlords against people based on their reproductive health decisions. To put it bluntly, if the bill is passed, women could be fired or evicted in Missouri for having an abortion, using contraception, or becoming pregnant while unmarried.The ordinance that was passed in February had its share of opposition. Archbishop Robert Carlson released a statement criticizing the passing of the ordinance as a terrible moment for a city with such proud history, adding The laws of the city of St. Louis now actively protect and promote the killing of unborn children. Thomas Buckley, general counsel to the Archdiocese, said the ordinance promotes religious discrimination against those who don t want to be complicit in the evils of abortion. He then took it a step further, saying The Archdiocese will not and cannot comply with this. We will go straight to federal court. That is not far removed from what they did. And they won. Soon in Missouri if an employer has a problem with a female staff member s use of contraception, which is about 99% of sexually active women between the ages of 15-44, their employment could be terminated and landlords could even deny them a home.


For some time now, the United States has been experiencing a rapid decline in gas prices. It s almost hard to forget when the last time filling up at the tank was a burdensome thing that s because nearly two years has gone by since gas was over $3.00 a gallon (on average across the United States). Over the last year or so, gas prices have dropped even further, due to Saudia Arabia continuing to keep up output, and the Iran deal that is expected to glut the global market even more so. All of this is great news but it looks like the good news will keep on flowing (pun intended) according to experts in the industry.The AAA and GasBuddy, two top organizations that follow gasoline prices, say that if refinery capacity stays strong the price of a gallon of gasoline could reach historic lows of $1.00 a gallon in some areas a level that hasn t been reached since 1999. That would be quite a remarkable event.Prices are already low by historical standards and depending on which part of the country you live in, already under $2.00 a gallon. If you look at the map below, you will easily be able to see which parts of the United States already receive the cheapest gas. There are very few areas colored in dark green (lower than $1.38 a gallon). Most of the middle part of the country is either light green ($1.68-$1.83), or yellow ($1.83-$1.98). If gas is pushed downward to $1.00 a gallon, that s still a huge percentage drop no matter where you live.Pic via Gas BuddyGas prices are mostly driven by four things: oil prices, proximity to refineries, refinery capacity and state taxes and levies.We already know that crude oil prices are going to continue to fall. Although, there are a few detractors, there always are. Nevermind that here s what the money managers that run the economy are doing: while 6,346 of them bet on higher prices (okay fair enough) 17,517 of them bet on lower prices. It s not even close. This is the least bullish investors have been on oil in more than five years, according to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission.All in all, gasoline futures fell 1.83 cents or 1.6%, to $1.12 a gallon the lowest it s been since February 2009. And gasoline also fell 14.33 cents a gallon (11% for the week) which also happens to be the largest weekly loss since September 2009.If the experts are right, $1.00 a gallon gasoline may not be that far off. Thanks, Obama!Pic via Gas Buddy


Clinton's #1 Huma Abedin Caught On Hidden Camera Rant To Make America Islamic State Oct 28, 2016 Previous post  If we are to believe Hillary Clinton's top aide, Huma Abedin, then Hillary Clinton's immigration policy is essentially to just let all Syrians into our country. And according to interviews with Syrians, this works out pretty well. Many of them are now gearing up to get fake passports aimed at allowing them entry to Germany, where they will likely end up in the United States once Hillary takes the Presidential helm.  This, folks, is the real direction we are headed.


0 comments You read that correctly. Here is the ugly truth that is sending Black Lives Matter leadership into orbit over Hillary's pandering hypocrisy! Eric Garner died a tragic, unexpected death at the hands of a police officer. His death has sometime's referred to as "the chokehold death." Video of the sad episode can be seen below: Eric Garner's daughter, Erica, is a prominent Black Lives Matter leader, and she is none to pleased at what WikiLeaks has brought to light. In discussing an upcoming statement to describe Hillary's stance on gun violence, Clinton staffer Nick Merrill wrote: "Finally, I know we have Erica Garner issues but we don't want to mention Eric at all? I can see her coming after us for leaving him out of the piece." Maya Harris replied, "Eric Garner not included because not killed by gun violence." The full email can be read here . Hillary's campaign was clearly considering how to best use, or not use, the Eric Garner story to push their agenda. The revelation, understandably, has set off a firestorm in the Black Lives Matter community. Erica Garner is teeing off! I'm troubled by the revelation that you and this campaign actually discussed "using" Eric Garner … Why would you want to "use" my dad?  — officialERICA GARNER (@es_snipes) October 27, 2016 I dont care what BLM activists endorse #Hillary … They WILL continue more of the same, they dont care about Black lives and I got proof!  — officialERICA GARNER (@es_snipes) October 27, 2016 https://t.co/jzfUl0FbXF In this #PodestaEmails leak @CoreyCiorciari n @NickMerrill plot to use police violence victims to push gun control  — officialERICA GARNER (@es_snipes) October 27, 2016 They can get whoever they want to play their game,she called YOU super predators, they passed the crime bill and welfare reform. JUST SAY NO  — officialERICA GARNER (@es_snipes) October 27, 2016 If you vote for her by default you are endorsing her and whatever she does. Remember her hiding being Nergos that supported the crime bill?  — officialERICA GARNER (@es_snipes) October 27, 2016  Do you blame Erica Garner for feeling the way that she does? For years, since the days of Lyndon Johnson, the Democrats have pandered to blacks, women, and other minorities. Many times, these minority groups have fallen in step behind these pandering, hypocritical, power-hungry leaders.  With WikiLeaks on the scene to reveal the truth, it appears that times are changing!


Did you catch that? Information accidentally collected I think it is alarming. There seems to be a universal trend toward more surveillance and more surveillance that impacts Americans privacy without obtaining a warrant -Lawyer for the ACLU During his final year in office, President Barack Obama s team significantly expanded efforts to search National Security Agency intercepts for information about Americans, distributing thousands of intelligence reports across government with the unredacted names of U.S. residents during the midst of a divisive 2016 presidential election:Barack Obama s top aides routinely took advantage of rules their boss relaxed starting in 2011 to help the government better fight terrorism, espionage by foreign enemies and hacking threats. Dozens of times in 2016, those intelligence reports identified Americans who were directly intercepted talking to foreign sources or were the subject of conversations between two or more monitored foreign figures.The data, made available this week by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, provides the clearest evidence to date of how information accidentally collected by the NSA overseas about Americans was subsequently searched and disseminated after President Obama loosened privacy protections to make such sharing easier in 2011 in the name of national security. A court affirmed his order.The revelations are particularly sensitive since the NSA is legally forbidden from directly spying on Americans and its authority to conduct warrantless searches on foreigners is up for renewal in Congress later this year. And it comes as lawmakers investigate President Trump s own claims his privacy was violated by his predecessor during the 2016 election.


Example #490927 that Trump is terrible with children: While making his way through the crowd at the White House Easter egg roll, Trump was asked by a young child if he would sign his hat. Somehow he screwed that up.After being stopped, Trump grabs a pen, quickly signs the hat and then throws the hat deep into the crowd. Some in the crowd literally shout nooo! as he does it. Trump, oblivious to the fact that he just screwed this kid over, grabs another hat. Signs it. And does the exact same thing.What is going through his head?A kid asks Trump to sign his hat at the White House Easter Egg Roll. The president signs and then tosses the hat into the crowd. pic.twitter.com/7ExdhpO97H POLITICO (@politico) April 17, 2017At the end of the clip, Trump asks whose hat? as if the kid he screwed over wasn t standing right in front of him the whole time. It s unclear if the original kid ever got his signed hat.Even setting aside this awful moment, Trump s Easter egg roll was a shoddily run event.Other than that, everything was perfect.


Is former DNC Chair Donna Brazile attempting to tie Hillary to the murder of DNC staffer Seth Rich in her new book Hacks ? What does Brazile know? Is she in danger if she says too much? Is Brazile offering just enough information, so that authorities are pressured into looking into a connection with Hillary and Seth Rich s murder? From her book Hacks :I felt some responsibility for Seth Rich s death. I didn t bring him into the DNC, but I helped keep him there working on voting rights. With all I knew now about the Russians hacking, I could not help but wonder if they had played some part in his unsolved murder. Besides that, racial tensions were high that summer and I worried that he was murdered for being white on the wrong side of town. [My friend] Elaine expressed her doubts about that, and I heard her. The FBI said that they did not see any Russian fingerprints there.Daily Caller Brazile repeatedly returns to the subject of being haunted by Rich s murder, even though other Democrats have pounced on anyone who suggested that the murder was anything other than a robbery gone wrong. The DNC data staffer was killed days before Wikileaks began publishing its emails, and his valuables were not taken.100 Percent Fed Up The private investigator, Rod Wheeler, who was hired by the Rich family to get to the bottom of the murder of their son, DNC staffer Seth Rich, offered startling information on the Rich murder case when he appeared on the Sean Hannity show on May 15, 2017. Wheeler spoke about the mystery of why they can t locate the computer Rich used. They went on to discuss clues in the case that point to collusion between the DC police and the DNC. The most shocking information comes at the 4:20 mark when Wheeler says that a high ranking official at the DNC wanted to know why he was snooping around.Rod Wheeler: Here s one other thing that is going to be startling I m just gonna say this right now. I reached out to the police department way back in March when the family first hired me right..to get involved. I didn t hear anything from the police department for 2-3 days.Guess what I learned yesterday from the family of Seth Rich? The police department did not call me back because someone, a high ranking official at the DNC check this out a high ranking official at the DNC when I called the police department, they got that information and called the Rich family wanting to know, why was I snooping around? Shorty after WND wrote a story that outed Donna Brazile as the high ranking DNC representative who allegedly called the police to ask why a private investigator was snooping into Rich s death, Twitter SUSPENDED WND s account!Here s the title and an excerpt from the WND article:BOMBSHELL: DONNA BRAZILE WARNED OFF PRIVATE EYE ON SETH RICH MURDEREx-DNC chairwoman reportedly asked cops why investigator is snooping into mysterious case Alicia Powe and Liz Crokin wrote the story that was also posted to and deleted from the social media platform by Twitter: Former Democratic National Committee interim chairwoman Donna Brazile is the high-ranking DNC representative who allegedly called police and the family of murdered DNC staffer Seth Rich and demanded to know why a private investigator was snooping into Rich s death, the private eye revealed to WND Monday. The high-ranking DNC official that called the police after I inquired about Rich s case was Donna Brazile, veteran homicide detective Rod Wheeler told WND. Why shouldn t I reveal who it was? Brazile, who was also a CNN contributor and a Hillary for America donor at the time, was caught providing Democratic Party nominee Hillary Clinton with questions that would later be asked of Clinton at a televised CNN town hall. In an interview with Fox News before the election, Brazile denied leaking the questions to Clinton. But in a March 17, 2017, column for Time magazine, she finally admitted doing so, saying it was a mistake I will forever regret. According to WND, their Twitter account was suspended because of this Seth Rich investigation bombshell.Daily Caller But Brazile says she had a spook, with connections to the intelligence community, who told her after the killing that she needed protection for herself, including cameras, alarms and backup power at her house, and that she heeded his advice.I knew the campaign had over $3 million set aside in a legal fund. Could she help me get this lawsuit started? And don t forget the murder of Seth Rich, I told her. Did she want to contribute to Seth s reward fund? We still hadn t found the person responsible for the tragic murder of this bright young DNC staffer. You re right, she said. We re going to get to that. But she really had to go. She had made the call and checked it off her list, and I accepted after we said our goodbyes that I might never hear from her again.


Iranian President Hassan Rouhani declared the end of Islamic State on Tuesday while a senior military commander thanked the thousands of martyrs killed in operations organised by Iran to defeat the militant group in Syria and Iraq. Today with God s guidance and the resistance of people in the region we can say that this evil has either been lifted from the head of the people or has been reduced, Rouhani said in an address broadcast live on state TV. Of course the remnants will continue but the foundation and roots have been destroyed. Major General Qassem Soleimani, a senior commander of the elite Revolutionary Guards, also said Islamic State had been defeated, in a message sent on Tuesday to Iran s supreme leader which was published on the Guards news site, Sepah News. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei congratulated Soleimani on the defeat of Islamic State and said it was a blow against Israel, America and its allies, an allusion to Saudi Arabia. It was a blow against the past and current governments of America and the regimes linked to it in the region who created this group and gave them every kind of support so they could expand their malevolent power in west Asia, Khamenei said in a statement published on his official website. In June Islamic State carried out its first attack in Iran, killing 18 people in Tehran, testing the government s belief that by backing offensives against the group elsewhere in the region it could keep the militant group away from Iran. Iranian media have often carried video and pictures of Soleimani, who commands the Quds Force, the branch of the Guards responsible for operations outside Iran, at frontline positions in battles against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. The Revolutionary Guards, a powerful military force which also oversees an economic empire worth billions of dollars, has been fighting in support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and the central government in Baghdad for several years. More than 1,000 members of the Guards, including senior commanders, have been killed in Syria and Iraq. The Syrian conflict has entered a new phase with the capture at the weekend by government forces and their allies of Albu Kamal, the last significant town in Syria held by Islamic State, where Soleimani was pictured by Iranian media last week. Iraqi forces captured the border town of Rawa, the last remaining town there under Islamic State control, on Friday, signaling the collapse of the so-called caliphate it proclaimed in 2014 across vast swathes of Iraqi and Syrian territory. Most of the forces battling Islamic State in Syria and Iraq have said they expect it to go underground and turn to a guerrilla insurgency using sleeper cells and bombings. In his address on Tuesday, Rouhani accused the United States and Israel of supporting Islamic State. He also criticized Arab powers in the region and asked why they had not spoken out about civilian deaths in Yemen s conflict. The foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia and other Arab states criticized Iran and its Lebanese Shi ite ally Hezbollah at an emergency meeting in Cairo on Sunday, calling for a united front to counter Iranian interference. Soleimani acknowledged the multinational force Iran has helped organize in the fight against Islamic State and thanked the thousands of martyrs and wounded Iranian, Iraqi, Syrian, Afghan and Pakistani defenders of the shrine . He pointed to the decisive role played by Hezbollah and the group s leader Seyed Hassan Nasrallah and highlighted the thousands of Iraqi Shi ite volunteers, known as the Popular Mobilisation Forces, who have fought Islamic State in Iraq. On websites linked to the Guards, members of the organization killed in Syria and Iraq are praised as protectors of Shi ite holy sites and labeled defenders of the shrine . Rouhani is scheduled to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish leader Tayyip Erdogan in Russia on Wednesday to discuss the Syria conflict. The Revolutionary Guards initially kept quiet about their military role in both Syria and Iraq but have become more outspoken about it as casualties have mounted. They frame their engagement as an existential struggle against the Sunni Muslim fighters of Islamic State, who see Shi ites, the majority of Iran s population, as apostates. Last month, U.S. President Donald Trump gave the U.S. Treasury Department authority to impose economic sanctions on Guards members in response to what Washington calls its efforts to destabilize and undermine its opponents in the Middle East.


The officials decision to keep information cite deep mistrust Judge Napolitano has a great solution QUIT! The people who re loyal to Barak Obama need to go!


Marco Rubio finished third in Monday's Iowa caucuses, but his Republican White House rivals are attacking him as though he were the victor, and on Wednesday the U.S. senator from Florida peppered his speech with humble caveats that seemed designed to deflect the hits. As the 2016 candidates looked ahead to Tuesday's New Hampshire primary, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has called Rubio "the boy in the bubble," suggesting he gives the same speech no matter where he goes. Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who is campaigning for former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, said Rubio could not win a general election because of his positions on abortion and immigration. Bush and Ohio Governor John Kasich both said the country needed an experienced commander in chief, in what appeared to be a jab at Rubio, a first-term senator. In the run-up to the Iowa caucuses, Republicans Donald Trump and Ted Cruz, two anti-establishment candidates, had dominated the polls in the state while Rubio lagged well behind. But on Monday, he racked up a surprisingly strong third-place finish, garnering the support of 23 percent of Republican caucus goers, just below Trump's 24 percent second-place finish. Cruz, a senator from Texas, won Iowa with 28 percent. Many pundits had predicted Rubio would struggle to get much above 15 percent to 20 percent in the state. Rubio struck a triumphant tone in his post-caucus speech. "This is the moment they said would never happen," he said, adding that the people of Iowa had "sent a very clear message." On Wednesday, though, he gave a cautious outlook on his prospects in New Hampshire and beyond. Rubio said he was leaving his fate in the Republican U.S. presidential primary contests in God's hands, and added that he hoped his children would be proud of him "no matter how this turns out." "I just want to do as well as we possibly can here in New Hampshire," Rubio told reporters. After emerging as the leading "establishment" candidate competing with Trump and Cruz, Rubio faces high stakes in New Hampshire. His elevated stature in the race has given his rivals added incentive to attack him. Some voters in the state seemed to be warming to him. Grace Freije, 63, of Bow, New Hampshire, said she had decided to support Rubio after gravitating earlier toward Christie. Steve McMahon, 65, said the same. "He's not a divisive person," McMahon said. "This guy's got the best shot at winning." (Reporting By Emily Flitter; Editing by Caren Bohan and Jonathan Oatis) SAP is the sponsor of this content. It was independently created by Reuters' editorial staff and funded in part by SAP, which otherwise has no role in this coverage.


Wow! What a week for the Democrats! Nothing like the truth to bring the Dems to their knees! With the start of the DNC Convention, it s looking like the Bernie supporters are going to put on a huge demonstration. This ll be interesting since their chairwoman has been ousted and Hillary just hired her. And they said the Republicans are divided? This gathering of leftists will show us what divided looks like get ready for chaos!PHILADELPHIA The Democrats convention kicking off Monday still faces the potential for rowdy protests from Bernie Sanders delegates and supporters, despite the ouster of Democratic National Committee leader Debbie Wasserman Schultz serving as somewhat of a peace offering to liberal factions of the party that have accused her of tipping the scales for Hillary Clinton.Sanders supporters were angry over leaked emails that show the Florida congresswoman and her team blasting Sanders and discussing ways to undermine him.While her resignation could calm that storm, the liberal wing still appears intent on protesting over other grievances including Clinton, the party s presumptive presidential nominee, picking Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia as her running mate.Norman Solomon, a Sanders delegate from California, said Sunday that Clinton picking a centrist like Kaine is an assault on the progressive agenda. He said the roughly 1,250 Sanders delegates connected to his Bernie Delegates Network are considering walking out during the Virginia senator s expected acceptance speech at the Wells Fargo Center, and they are even looking into contesting his nomination.


Fixing the corruption problem in China s ruling Communist Party is world class hard and the battle will never end, the country s top graft-buster told Singapore s prime minister in a rare meeting with a visiting foreign leader. Wang Qishan, who heads the party s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, has been at the forefront of President Xi Jinping s fight against deep-seated corruption, and speculation has swirled about whether he will retire or stay on at next month s key party Congress. Meeting Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the central leadership s Zhongnanhai compound in Beijing, Wang said the party s anti-corruption campaign and efforts to supervise itself had been highly effective. Carrying out an operation on yourself to cure an illness is world class hard, the commission cited Wang as saying, in a statement late on Wednesday. The party has long insisted it has no need for an independent anti-corruption mechanism, in a country where the party also controls the legal system. Wang said that the final aim in the graft fight was to find an effective route to self-supervision for a party that has been in power for a long time, and to always maintain the party s progressiveness and cleanliness . The party s efforts have won the trust of the people and demonstrates the party s confidence in its system, he added. The anti-corruption effort is always on the road , Wang said, using a frequently used party expression to refer to how the campaign will not end. Singapore s Straits Times said that the meeting with Wang had been requested by Lee, and that Wang told Lee he was surprised but happy the request had been made. So I sought permission and I am here meeting you and your delegation today, Wang told Lee, the newspaper reported. Wang, who is 69 and sits on the party s elite ruling Standing Committee, should retire at next month s party Congress according to unwritten party rules on age limits, but he is close to Xi and could stay on in some capacity, sources with ties to the leadership have said.


Companies including Cars.com, Peloton, and Leesa Sleep have all given in to pressure to cease advertising on the show over Hannity s pursuit of now retracted claims made by Fox News that murdered DNC employee Seth Rich had contact with Wikileaks before his death.Leesa Sleep even bragged about cutting off their advertising with Sean Hannity on Twitter. They apparently made 11K liberals very happy with their decision. The big question is how many conservatives will they lose as customers for their high-end mattresses?We adjust our media buying every day and we can confirm that we are no longer advertising on Sean Hannity. Leesa (@leesasleep) May 24, 2017Cars.com would like you to consider purchasing one of their certified pre-owned options. They must be addressing their new liberal audience with this tweet, since conservatives are likely now shopping with their competition like autotrader.com for instance Shopping for a new or used car but don't know about the certified pre-owned option? Find out more here: https://t.co/pTb209UzBs Cars.com (@carsdotcom) May 20, 2017Peloton bragged about the $1.25 billion value of their company on Twitter yesterday. Bringing a Peloton Cycle bike home with you comes with a hefty price tag of $1,995. You will, however, need to pay a $39 per month subscription fee to continue taking spin classes over the HD screen. Peloton has a link on Amazon where users can review their bikes. Feel free to review their bikes HERE..@WSJ features Peloton's latest round of financing, which values the company at $1.25 billion: https://t.co/MeLC9HULCo #ridepeloton Peloton (@RidePeloton) May 24, 2017 I totally and completely understand how upset and how hard this is on this family, especially over the recent coverage of Seth s death, he said. I ve been communicating with them. I got a very heartfelt note. I also sent them a heartfelt note back. However, out of respect for the family s wishes, for now, I am not discussing this matter at this time, Hannity continued, although he later contended that he had retracted nothing and would continue to try to get to the truth. In a series of tweets on Wednesday, Hannity accused figures including George Soros, David Brock of Media Matters, and failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton of liberal fascism, after his advertisers were reportedly inundated with emails from left-wing groups asking them to stop advertising on the show. Breitbart


Billionaire Carl Icahn will advise Donald Trump on rescinding what the activist investor called "excessive regulation" on U.S. businesses, the president-elect's transition team announced on Wednesday. Icahn will serve as a special adviser, not a federal employee, and he will not have specific duties, Trump's team said in a statement. He will not take a salary, a transition aide said. The pick could draw scrutiny because Icahn, whose major investments include insurer American International Group and oil refining business CVR Energy, could help shape rules meant to police Wall Street and protect the environment. In the transition team statement released on Wednesday, Icahn said it was time to "break free of excessive regulation" and let businesses create jobs. Icahn, an early supporter of Trump's White House bid who has at times been outspoken about regulation, has already helped the transition team weigh candidates to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission. He has held meetings at his New York City office, not far from Trump Tower but away from reporters staked out there, people familiar with the talks said. Current SEC Chair Mary Jo White will leave in January. Candidates to replace her have included former SEC Commissioner Paul Atkins and Debra Wong Yang, a former federal prosecutor, a source familiar with the matter said. Over the years, Icahn's businesses have had occasional regulatory run-ins, according to disclosures with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. He is a large investor in nutrition supplement maker Herbalife, which said at one time it was investigated by the SEC. "Voters who wanted Trump to drain the swamp just got another face full of mud," Democratic National Committee spokesman Eric Walker said in a statement, referring to Trump's pledge to clean up Washington. Icahn, who was once known as a corporate raider, said in a recent Reuters interview the 2010 Dodd-Frank banking law "went too far." He is a critic of the U.S. biofuels program that requires oil companies to use renewable fuels such as ethanol. "I do believe that, to some extent, we have gone overboard concerning the environment. But I leave that to the experts in that area," Icahn told CNN in a recent interview. Trump and Icahn share some history in the casino business. Icahn this year helped shutter the Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resorts in Atlantic City, two years after buying it out of bankruptcy. The casino was once a prized part of Trump's empire.


President Donald Trump decried on Thursday the removal of monuments to the pro-slavery Civil War Confederacy, echoing white nationalists and drawing stinging rebukes from fellow Republicans in a controversy that has inflamed racial tensions. Trump has alienated Republicans, corporate leaders and U.S. allies, rattled markets and prompted speculation about possible White House resignations with his comments since Saturday's violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, which came in the aftermath of a white nationalist protest against the removal of a Confederate statue. Republican Senator Bob Corker, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, questioned Trump's capacity to govern. "The president ... has not yet been able to demonstrate the stability nor some of the competence that he needs to demonstrate in order to be successful," said Corker, who Trump had considered for the job of secretary of state. Corker said Trump needed to make "radical changes." Trump unleashed attacks on two Republican U.S. senators, Jeff Flake and Lindsey Graham, in a series of Twitter posts on Thursday, raising fresh doubts about his ability to work with lawmakers in his own party to win passage of his legislative agenda, which includes tax cuts and infrastructure spending. He took aim at the removal or consideration for removal of Confederate statues and monuments in a long list of cities in California, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, New York, North Carolina, Massachusetts, Missouri, Montana, Tennessee, Virginia, and Texas, as well as Washington, D.C. "Sad to see the history and culture of our great country being ripped apart with the removal of our beautiful statues and monuments. You can't change history, but you can learn from it," Trump wrote on Twitter, refusing to move past the controversy. "Robert E Lee, Stonewall Jackson - who's next, Washington, Jefferson? So foolish!" Trump said. He was referring to two Confederate generals in the Civil War that ended in 1865, and to early U.S. presidents George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, who owned slaves but whose legacies are overwhelmingly honored. Opponents call the statues a festering symbol of racism, while supporters say they honor American history. Some of the monuments have become rallying points for white nationalists but also have the support of some people interested in historical preservation. Trump also denied he had spoken of "moral equivalency" between white supremacists, neo-Nazis and Ku Klux Klan members who clashed with anti-racism activists in Charlottesville. U.S. stocks suffered their biggest drop in three months on Thursday as the turmoil surrounding the White House sapped investor confidence that Trump's ambitious economic agenda would become reality. Equity index futures fell a bit further after the close of regular trading, with S&P 500 emini futures heading into the overnight trading session about 2 points lower. The U.S. stock market has not followed a 1 percent-down day with a second straight day of losses since Trump was elected in November, so Friday's session is being watched as a significant test of the market's resilience. Amid the controversy, the White House knocked down rumors that Trump economic adviser Gary Cohn might resign. An official said Cohn "intends to remain in his position" as National Economic Council director at the White House. Trump announced the disbanding of two high-profile business advisory councils on Wednesday after the resignation of several corporate executives over his Charlottesville remarks. On Thursday, a White House official said Trump had dropped plans for an advisory council on infrastructure. In another indication of businesses not wanting to be associated with the president, the world-renowned Cleveland Clinic canceled a planned 2018 Florida fundraiser at Trump's Mar-a-Lago Florida resort, where it had held such events for seven straight years. Spokeswoman Eileen Sheil said the Cleveland Clinic considered "a variety of factors" in deciding to cancel an event that typically generates $1 million a year. The clinic's chief executive, Toby Cosgrove, was a member of a one of the two councils that disbanded on Wednesday. James Murdoch, chairman of Twenty-First Century Fox Inc and son of media mogul Rupert Murdoch, slammed Trump's response to Charlottesville in an email to friends and pledged to donate $1 million to the Anti-Defamation League, the New York Times reported. James Murdoch wrote that Trump's comments should "concern all of us as Americans and free people," the Times said. Twenty-First Century Fox owns Fox News Channel, a favorite with Trump and his conservative supporters. 'HATE-FILLED INDIVIDUALS' The Charlottesville violence erupted when white nationalists marched to protest against the planned removal of a statue of Robert E. Lee. A 32-year-old woman, Heather Heyer, was killed when a man described as a white nationalist crashed his car into the counter-protesters. Trump has blamed the Charlottesville violence on not just the white nationalist rally organizers but also the counter-protesters, and said there were "very fine people" among both groups. He also expressed distaste for removing Confederate statues in a heated news conference on Tuesday. After Trump blasted Graham on Twitter, the senator who was one of Trump's rivals for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination fired back. "Because of the manner in which you have handled the Charlottesville tragedy you are now receiving praise from some of the most racist and hate-filled individuals and groups in our country. For the sake of our Nation - as our President - please fix this," Graham said. "History is watching us all." Another Republican senator, Dan Sullivan, also said on Twitter: "Anything less than complete & unambiguous condemnation of white supremacists, neo-Nazis, and the KKK by (Trump) is unacceptable. Period." Graham had said on Wednesday Trump's remarks at his news conference the day before had suggested "moral equivalency" between the white nationalists and anti-racism demonstrators and called on the president to use his words to heal Americans. "Publicity seeking Lindsey Graham falsely stated that I said there is moral equivalency between the KKK, neo-Nazis & white supremacists and people like Ms. Heyer. Such a disgusting lie. He just can't forget his election trouncing. The people of South Carolina will remember!" Trump wrote. In a separate tweet, Trump called Flake "WEAK on borders, crime and a non-factor in Senate. He's toxic!" and appeared to endorse Kelli Ward, Flake's Republican challenger in his 2018 re-election race. Nancy Pelosi, the top Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives, called for the immediate removal of Confederate statues from the U.S. Capitol. U.S. Senator Cory Booker, also a Democrat, said he would introduce legislation so that could be done. "There is no room for celebrating the violent bigotry of the men of the Confederacy in the hallowed halls of the United States Capitol or in places of honor across the country," Pelosi said in a statement. A spokesman for Republican U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan said it was up to U.S. states to determine which statues were displayed on their behalf in the Capitol building.


by Yves Smith  The law firm Akin Gump issued a warning that might chill the bones of some private equity general partners: clawbacks may be a-comin'. From the firm's website :  In recent months, managers of private equity funds in the energy sector have been facing a scenario they likely never imagined: having to return millions of dollars of their "carried interest" earnings back to investors.  For newbies to this private equity practice, private equity funds typically pay the profit share, prototypically 20% once a target rate of return has been met. What creates the possibility of a clawback is the fact that for most US funds, the profit computation and any payouts are made every time a portfolio company is sold. By contrast, in "European" deals, the carry fees are paid only at the end of the fund's life.  The conventional US approach, combined with strong general partner incentives to realize profits on at least some promising deals early in the fund's life, means that the general partners can pay themselves carry fees that are more than they deserved once the impact of doggy companies, which are sold late in the fund's life, are factored in. Hence the limited partnership agreements provide for "clawbacks," as in the recovery of overpayments of carry fees.  Yet as we've written, clawbacks are almost never paid in practice. Why? First, the clawback provisions have tax language that is very favorable to the general partners, and has the economic effect that they can hang on what are excessive carry fees based on raw cash flows. Second, possession is 9/10ths of the law. In those instances where the general partner owes limited partner clawbacks, the general partner usually goes to the limited partners and offers them a special deal (details often unspecified!) on their next fund. Needless to say, this approach has the desirable effect of pre-committing those limited partners.  Akin Gump flagged specifically the lousy performance of some unnamed energy funds. In light of the discussion above, the limited partners have been sufficiently burned that they have no intention of investing in energy funds any time soon, and may also be willing to be atypically forceful about getting money back. Recall that limited partners fetishize maintaining friction-free relationships with general partners. Again from the firm's missive:  Several energy-related funds that were formed in nascent stages of the boom now have terms ending during collapse-protracted downturns. Managers may feel as though they could recoup some losses if they could delay liquidating assets until oil recovers further. Many fund agreements provide for a one or two year extension of the fund's investment period at the manager's discretion; however, to the extent that this option has already been exhausted, some managers are now going back to investors to seek additional time and, potentially, additional capital. To placate investors in such cases, a manager may need to reduce or eliminate management fees charged to a fund for the duration of any extension period. Unfortunately, apart from extending a fund's investment or harvest period, managers have little recourse after a fund's inception.  In other words, Mr. Market did not bail these funds out and a day of reckoning is coming.  Interestingly, Akins Gump uses pain in the oil patch to argue that general partners should consider building in better means for assuring that general partners can pay clawbacks back if they are due and owing. What this document reveals is that limited partners have signed up for clawback agreements that are likely to be empty in practice. The money went years ago into the firm's carry pool, and hence for payouts to senior and mid-level staffers. The top dogs may have tied the money up in investments or property (houses, art) that they can't readily liquidate. Or the funds may be beyond their reach entirely by having gone to outlays (political fundraising or a campaign, big gifts to charities) or an ex-wife. People below the senior level may have moved on. And perhaps as important, all the true partners (owners of the management company) have vis-a-vis everyone else who is in the firm is moral suasion. How far do you think that is going to go in getting people to write checks to disgorge monies they banked or worse spent, years ago?  What is striking about the Akins Gump article is that the firm is giving what amounts to marketing rather than legal advice:  The best way a manager can avoid the predicament of having to return a large sum to investors in respect of a clawback is to build preventative measures into the organizational documents of the fund or the vehicle earning the carry at the outset (i.e., escrows at the carry level or the contractual ability to get any distributions back from employees).  Mind you, the private equity business has been around for 40 years, and has had large and supposedly savvy institutional investors for 30 plus years. The general partners have always been expose to the risk of paying clawbacks when their limited partnership agreements allow for them. So what is different now?  Perhaps it is that investors are more acutely aware of the risk of investing at the peak of cycle than in the past, and the example of what happened to energy funds has made them realize that they could see problems like that on a broader basis. Moreover, given that the mainstream media is much less reverential in its treatment of private equity than in the past, if a meaningful minority of funds were to post overall crappy returns, resulting in meaningful clawbacks due, the press is more likely to expose the failure of investors like public pension funds to get insistent about getting their money back. Limited partner suing general partners is unheard of, but in a weak returns environment, private equity would no longer be a "must have" portfolio allocation. So Akins Gump appears to be alerting the industry to a risk that they had been able to cavalierly ignore that may start to bite them.  And another reason for concern:  Further, although Section 956 of the Dodd-Frank Act relating to executive compensation could impose a mandatory return-of-incentive compensation scheme on certain financial institutions, it is unlikely that the proposed rules, in their current formulation, would apply to carried interest distributions, but they are subject to further clarification.  The suggestions acknowledge that money-driven private equity professionals wouldn't be happy with a "wait until the dust has settled" European structure. Some of the ideas include escrowing some carry but not so much as to demotivate staffers (30% was the suggested level), interim clawbacks that require the general partner "to reckon with any shortcomings as they occur." A modified deal-by-deal structure would require the general partner to tally up losses and writedowns and earn back the shortfall before any more carry could be paid.  Akins Gump curiously omitted another option: a performance bond. It's not hard to imagine that Wall Street firms would be willing to insure this risk (or at least after the general partners paid a first loss amount) for a suitable fee.  Nevertheless, this alert to general partners, as occurs so routinely in private equity, illustrates how remiss the limited partners have been. It would be gratifying if the underlying assumption in the Akins Gump piece were correct, that the deterioration in private equity profit generation is leading to contract terms becoming less one-sided in favor of general partners. But given the degree of complacency among limited, don't expect these changes to take place any time soon. 0 0 0 0 0 0


Turkey cast the testimony of a wealthy gold trader in a U.S. court as an attempt to undermine Ankara and its economy on Friday, highlighting how President Tayyip Erdogan may use the politically charged case to rally nationalist support. The trader, Reza Zarrab, told a New York court on Wednesday that Erdogan had authorized a transaction in a scheme to help Iran evade U.S. sanctions. A dual national of Iran and Turkey, Zarrab is cooperating with U.S. prosecutors in the trial of a Turkish bank executive accused of helping Iran launder money. The executive has pleaded not guilty. This court case has stopped being judicial and become completely political, with the sole aim to corner Turkey and its economy, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said. The case has aggravated tension between Ankara and Washington, NATO allies already at odds over Syria policy and the United States failure to extradite the Muslim cleric Turkey accuses of engineering a failed military coup last year. Although the economic fall-out from the case could be substantial - especially if U.S. authorities fine Turkish banks - analysts said that Erdogan is unlikely to be damaged politically at home and could potentially emerge stronger by attracting more nationalist support. This will bolster his claim that he is fighting an independence battle against foreign enemies, said Halil Karaveli, editor of the Turkey Analyst, a policy journal. If there is going to be any political impact, I suspect it will actually help in the electoral sense. Media coverage of the case has been limited in Turkey and one pro-government outlet branded the trial as a conspiracy by enemies of the country. Erdogan, who has governed Turkey for almost 15 years, has not yet responded to the courtroom claims; but had already dismissed the case as a politically inspired attempt to bring down the Turkish government. His government says the network of U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, blamed by Ankara for the failed military coup, was also behind the court case. Zarrab s deposition before the U.S. court will not impact the outlook of the AK Party constituency. In return, mitigating the possible economic impact will be more of a challenge especially if Turkish banks are eventually fined, said Sinan Ulgen, an analyst and former Turkish diplomat. International investors have grown nervous about Turkey as ties with the United States have worsened - helping drive the lira currency down some 10 percent against the dollar in the past three months, to a series of record lows. But the U.S. legal action over the alleged Iran sanctions busting, and the risk that some of the country s banks might be sucked into the case, lies at the heart of the latest investor concerns. U.S. prosecutors charge that the executive of Turkey s state-owned Halkbank, Mehmet Hakan Atilla, helped Iran launder the money. Halkbank, like Atilla, has said it is not guilty of the charges. In his testimony, Zarrab also said that Turkish officials had authorized two Turkish banks, Ziraat Bank and VakifBank, to move funds for Iran. Both Ziraat and VakifBank have denied taking part in any such scheme. Nonetheless, investors are worried about the possibility that Turkish banks could be fined. If there is a fine that s outsize and the Turkish government doesn t want to pay or allow the bank to pay, it will turn into a political standoff which is not great for banks or sovereign spreads, said Greg Saichin, head of emerging debt at Allianz Global Investors in London. This whole issue is weighing heavily on Turkey as a country to allocate (capital) to.


Influence Peddling Scheme Hits President Park in Korea November 07, 2016 Influence Peddling Scheme Hits President Park in Korea  A South Korean court said on Sunday it had issued arrest warrants for two former presidential aides under investigation in an influence peddling scandal that has sent President Park Geun-hye's approval rating to a record low. Tens of thousands of South Koreans demonstrated at a rally on Saturday evening in central Seoul demanding that Park resign over the scandal involving an old friend, Choi Soon-sil, who is alleged to have used her closeness to the president to meddle in state affairs. Park's approval rating has fallen to just 5 percent, the lowest since such polling began in 1988, according to a Gallup Korea survey released on Friday. The Seoul Central District Court said in a statement that it granted a warrant to prosecutors to arrest An Chong-bum, a former senior advisor for Park, who faces charges of abuse of power and attempted extortion. An was already in custody under an emergency detention order.  Prosecutors are looking into allegations that An and Choi forced South Korean conglomerates to donate funds to non-profit foundations.  The court said it also issued an arrest warrant for a second former presidential aide, Jeong Ho-seong, who also had already been held in temporary custody.  Prosecutors apprehended Jeong late on Thursday on suspicion of leaking classified information.  An and Jeong both stepped down late last month amid the deepening crisis. Article by Doc Burkhart , Vice-President, General Manager and co-host of TRUNEWS with Rick Wiles Got a news tip? Email us at Help support the ministry of TRUNEWS with your one-time or monthly gift of financial support. DONATE NOW ! DOWNLOAD THE TRUNEWS MOBILE APP! CLICK HERE!


Recently I had a conversation with a chief executive who expressed concern about several of her senior managers. They were smart, experienced, competent. So what was the problem? "They're not asking enough questions," she said. This wouldn't have been a bad thing in the business world of a few years ago, where the rules for success were: Know your job, do your work, and if a problem arises, solve it and don't bother us with a lot of questions. But increasingly I'm finding that business leaders want the people working around them to be more curious, more cognizant of what they don't know, and more inquisitive — about everything, including "Why am I doing my job the way I do it?" and "How might our company find new opportunities?" I may be of this trend because I think of myself as a "questionologist," having studied the art of questioning and written a book about it. But I also think there are real forces in business today that are causing people to value curiosity and inquiry more than in the past. Companies in many industries today must contend with rapid change and rising uncertainty. In such conditions, even a company cannot rest on its expertise there is pressure to keep learning what's new and anticipating what's next. It's hard to do any of that without asking questions. Steve Quatrano, a member of the Right Question Institute, a nonprofit research group, explains that the act of formulating questions enables us "to organize our thinking around what we don't know. " This makes questioning a good skill to hone in dynamic times. Asking questions can help spark the innovative ideas that many companies hunger for these days. In the research for my book, I studied business breakthroughs — including the invention of the Polaroid instant camera and the Nest thermostat and the genesis of like Netflix, Square and Airbnb — and found that in each case, some curious soul looked at a current problem and asked insightful questions about why that problem existed and how it might be tackled. The Polaroid story is my favorite: The inspiration for the instant camera sprang from a question asked in the by the daughter of its inventor, Edwin H. Land. She was impatient to see a photo her father had just snapped, and when he tried to explain that the film had to be processed first, she wondered aloud, "Why do we have to wait for the picture?" One might assume that people can easily ask such questions, given that children do it so well. But research shows that peaks at age 4 or 5 and then steadily drops off, as children pass through school (where answers are often more valued than questions) and mature into adults. By the time we're in the workplace, many of us have gotten out of the habit of asking fundamental questions about what's going on around us. And some people worry that asking questions at work reveals ignorance or may be seen as slowing things down. So how can companies encourage people to ask more questions? There are simple ways to train people to become more comfortable and proficient at it. For example, question formulation exercises can be used as a substitute for conventional brainstorming sessions. The idea is to put a problem or challenge in front of a group of people and instead of asking for ideas, instruct participants to generate as many relevant questions as they can. Kristi Schaffner, an executive at Microsoft, regularly conducts such exercises there and says they sharpen analytical skills. Getting employees to ask more questions is the easy part getting management to respond well to those questions can be harder. When leaders claim they want "everyone to ask more questions," I sometimes (in my bolder moments) ask: "Do you really want that? And what will you do with those questions once people start asking them?" For questioning to thrive in a company, management must find ways to reward the behavior — if only by acknowledging the good questions that have been asked. For example, I visited one company that asked all employees to think of "what if" and "how might we" questions about the company's goals and plans. Management and employees together decided which of these mission questions were best, then displayed them on banners on the walls. Leaders can also encourage companywide questioning by being more curious and inquisitive themselves. This is not necessarily easy for senior executives, who are used to being the ones with the answers. I've noticed during questioning exercises at some companies that top executives sit in the back of the room, laptops open, attending to other business they seem to think their employees are the only ones who need to learn. As they do this, these leaders are modeling precisely the kind of incurious behavior they're trying to change in others. They could set a better example by asking "why" and "what if" — while asking others to do likewise. And as the questions proliferate, some good answers are likely to follow.


The Czech Republic is not prepared to accept any more than the 12 migrants it has already taken under the quota scheme set up by the European Union (EU) even if that means facing sanctions, the nation's interior minister has said. ["Ongoing security checks show that the country can no longer accept anyone else" said Milan Chovanec, noting that the Czech Republic has so far received 12 of the 1, 600 migrants it has been ordered to take in under the terms of the EU quota deal. Vetting refugees is "complicated" the minister explained, adding that migrants "have not even been willing to remain in place [in Greek and Italian camps, while security checks take place". "We check thoroughly and in detail during the process, which takes between several weeks and more than two months. "But these people [that the Czech Republic have been told to take in as refugees] were not prepared to remain in place while being vetted. Because of that, we haven't given them security clearance. " Confirming that the country "has no further plans to adopt more migrants" Mr Chovanec raised the issue of repeated threats from Brussels to punish states which are refusing to go along with the EU's agenda to push migrants from the third world on unwilling countries. "The Czech Republic does not plan to adopt more migrants" he said, acknowledging that this stance is likely to result in Brussels imposing sanctions against the country, "perhaps in the range of several million Euros". "It is then up to the government to assess if it's worth paying the penalty or not. In my opinion — yes. You cannot let people here without running all the checks. " The Czech minister's position is likely to come as a blow to Brussels, as last week the EU told Hungary and Poland they face legal action if their populist governments continue to resist orders to take in migrants from the third world. Warsaw and Budapest have strongly opposed the scheme, which seeks to move 160, 000 people from Italy and Greece into other EU nations. Fewer than 20, 000 people have been resettled so far even though the programme is due to end in September this year. "If Member States do not increase their relocations soon, the Commission will not hesitate to make use of its powers … for those which have not complied," the bloc's executive arm said in a statement. Italy, along with Germany, Sweden, Austria, and France have been vocal in demanding the EU cut subsidies to Hungary and Poland for their refusal to welcome migrants. But Reuters reported that, worried about rising Euroskepticism, officials in Brussels are split on whether to open legal proceedings against Hungary and Poland.


Former Hillary Clinton operative Huma Abedin is reportedly "working hard" to save her marriage with former Democratic congressman Anthony Weiner, just months after the pair separated as a result of his multiple sexting scandals. [Sources close to the Abedin family told the New York Post that "Huma has been working hard on her relationship with Anthony. He has been spending 80 to 90 percent of his time at the [Irving Place apartment] they share. If there is a disagreement, he goes to his mother's apartment in Brooklyn. " "Both [his and her] families are hoping they will reconcile," the source continued. Another source supported this story, saying that the couple's separation was "more for optics for the campaign and pressure from Hillary's camp. " The potential reconciliation is perhaps surprising given Weiner's multiple sexting scandals. The first, exposed in 2011 by the late Andrew Breitbart and dubbed 'Weinergate,' led to Weiner's resignation from Congress and the issuing of a public apology. In 2013, having declared himself a candidate to be mayor of New York, other photos were published of Weiner sexting another woman under the name 'Carlos Danger.' Despite the revelation, Weiner did not pull out the race and eventually finished fifth with just 4. 9 percent of the vote. In August last year, Abedin revealed that she was separating from Weiner after yet another sexting incident, although she said the pair would continue to work together to raise their son, who could even be seen in one of Weiner's photos. EXCLUSIVE: Anthony Weiner sexted a busty brunette while his son was in bed with him https: . pic. twitter. — New York Post (@nypost) August 29, 2016, Last October, Weiner checked into a sex addiction facility to overcome his urges, although he was reportedly forced to leave early having run out of money to pay for it. He was also investigated by the FBI over claims he had been sexting a girl. A laptop examined in that investigation reportedly contained emails from Hillary Clinton's private email server, as both Weiner and Abedin used the device. This development led FBI Director James Comey to announce that the bureau its investigation of Clinton's handling of classified information. The Clinton campaign to this day claims the Comey announcement caused significant damage to her candidacy. The girl claimed that Weiner sent her nude photos, shared pornographic videos with her, discussed his "rape fantasies," and requested that she undress and masturbate during video calls. In January, media reports revealed that federal prosecutors were looking into potential charges against Weiner for child pornography, However, despite all this, Abedin is apparently "still in love" with Weiner, blaming the "pressures of the campaign and presidential race and him drifting off into obscurity" for his latest relapse. "A lot of [their] friends believe this is an illness, that he is sick. [But] Huma takes it into consideration that there's been no affair, or physical contact that anybody is aware of. He never met [the women]," the family friend added. You can follow Ben Kew on Facebook, on Twitter at @ben_kew, or email him at bkew@breitbart. com


Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov held a phone call on the Syria crisis with his American counterpart Rex Tillerson, the ministry said in a statement on Friday. Lavrov and Tillerson spoke late on Thursday and discussed cooperation in their attempts to resolve the Syrian crisis with an emphasis on de-escalation zones, the ministry said.


Donald Trump probably did not enjoy watching Fox News this time around.Because when Neil Cavuto went on the air on Tuesday he addressed Trump s angry rant against the media and will likely be labeled fake news in retaliation for the way he did it.Earlier in the day, Trump attacked the media instead of honoring the 29,000 American soldiers who died on D-Day 73 years ago.The FAKE MSM is working so hard trying to get me not to use Social Media. They hate that I can get the honest and unfiltered message out. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 6, 2017Sorry folks, but if I would have relied on the Fake News of CNN, NBC, ABC, CBS, washpost or nytimes, I would have had ZERO chance winning WH Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 6, 2017Of course, Fox News was not included on that list.But Cavuto decided to sort of speak out against Trump s rant anyway, and he not only informed Trump that he is the problem, he accused Trump of scapegoating. Mr. President, it s not the fake news media that s your problem, Cavuto said. It s you. It s not just your tweeting, it s your scapegoating. It s your refusal to see that sometimes you re the one who s feeding your own beast and acting beastly with your own guys. Cavuto pointed out that Trump focuses too much on settling endless scores and that the people around him want him to stop shooting himself in the foot all the time.By lashing out on social media and going on these ridiculous rants, Trump is only embarrassing himself. If Trump really wants the media to stop reporting on his tweets, he should stop tweeting stupid things like attacks on the media and insulting London s mayor in the wake of a terrorist attack. Look at the critiques you re now hearing from usually friendly and supportive allies as sort of like an intervention, Cavuto concluded. Because firing off these angry missives and tweets risks your political destruction. Here s the video via YouTube.Donald Trump just got called out by Fox News. Will he listen or will he put them on his enemies list, too?Featured Image: Screenshot


Gardasil Vaccine Given without Consent and Ruins Life of 14 Year Old Girl Savannah with her mother Sarah Snyder.  Health Impact News  The VAXXED film crew continues interviewing people who are vaccine damaged around the country.  In this interview in Nebraska, 14 year old Savannah Snyder is interviewed along with her mother Sarah.  Savannah talks about her experiences in receiving her 7th grade required vaccines. Her mother Sarah explains that she only gave permission for Savannah to receive the required vaccines. Gardasil, the HPV vaccine, is an optional vaccine. Sarah explains that she had been warned about this vaccine and wanted to investigate it further.  You believe your doctor. Every parent believes their doctor. We're all trying to do the right thing.  But Savannah was given the Gardasil vaccine anyway, without their original knowledge. She immediately started suffering some side effects, such as a headache, almost fainting, and skin rashes breaking out. She soon developed pneumonia and other infections.  As time went on, things got worse. She started experiencing seizures, including grand mal seizures. She was hospitalized many times for severe pain. Her mother tearfully explains that Savannah would wake up in the middle of the night and state that she was dying.  Like many other parents of children with Gardasil injuries, Sarah relates how they had little support, and that most people just thought it was all in Savannah's head.  But after a trip to the Mayo clinic, Savannah was diagnosed with POTS (postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome), a known side effect of Gardasil that affects the heart. (See: Cardiologist Comments on New Study Linking HPV Vaccines to POTS )  Savannah explains that before the Gardasil shot, she was very active and athletic. She was in the process of joining a gym. Now, she has difficulties speaking and walking, and needs a feeding tube.  Comment on this article at VaccineImpact.com.  Watch the entire interview: More information about Gardasil Leaving a lucrative career as a nephrologist (kidney doctor), Dr. Suzanne Humphries is now free to actually help cure people. In this autobiography she explains why good doctors are constrained within the current corrupt medical system from practicing real, ethical medicine. FREE Shipping Available! Order here . Medical Doctors Opposed to Forced Vaccinations – Should Their Views be Silenced? eBook – Available for immediate download.  One of the biggest myths being propagated in the compliant mainstream media today is that doctors are either pro-vaccine or anti-vaccine, and that the anti-vaccine doctors are all "quacks."  However, nothing could be further from the truth in the vaccine debate. Doctors are not unified at all on their positions regarding "the science" of vaccines, nor are they unified in the position of removing informed consent to a medical procedure like vaccines.  The two most extreme positions are those doctors who are 100% against vaccines and do not administer them at all, and those doctors that believe that ALL vaccines are safe and effective for ALL people, ALL the time, by force if necessary.  Very few doctors fall into either of these two extremist positions, and yet it is the extreme pro-vaccine position that is presented by the U.S. Government and mainstream media as being the dominant position of the medical field.  In between these two extreme views, however, is where the vast majority of doctors practicing today would probably categorize their position. Many doctors who consider themselves "pro-vaccine," for example, do not believe that every single vaccine is appropriate for every single individual.  Many doctors recommend a "delayed" vaccine schedule for some patients, and not always the recommended one-size-fits-all CDC childhood schedule. Other doctors choose to recommend vaccines based on the actual science and merit of each vaccine, recommending some, while determining that others are not worth the risk for children, such as the suspect seasonal flu shot.  These doctors who do not hold extreme positions would be opposed to government-mandated vaccinations and the removal of all parental exemptions.  In this eBook, I am going to summarize the many doctors today who do not take the most extremist pro-vaccine position, which is probably not held by very many doctors at all, in spite of what the pharmaceutical industry, the federal government, and the mainstream media would like the public to believe. Read : Medical Doctors Opposed to Forced Vaccinations – Should Their Views be Silenced? on your mobile device!