Britain said on Thursday that moves toward paying half a billion dollars to Iran for a debt owed since the 1979 Islamic Revolution had nothing to do with a bid to secure the release of a jailed Iranian-British aid worker. Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a project manager with the Thomson Reuters Foundation, was detained in April and sentenced to five years after an Iranian court convicted her of plotting to overthrow the clerical establishment. She denies the charges. Prime Minister Theresa May s government is under intense pressure to secure Zaghari-Ratcliffe s release, in part because Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson made remarks that Iran said justified her conviction. Britain has sought legal advice over whether it could transfer over 400 million pounds ($528 million) which it owes the Islamic Republic in capital and interest for a 1970s arms deal with the then-Shah of Iran, the Telegraph newspaper. Britain owes the money after the Shah paid up front for 1,750 Chieftain tanks and other vehicles, almost none of which were eventually delivered after the Islamic Revolution of 1979 toppled the U.S.-backed leader. British officials did not directly answer requests for comment on whether they were preparing to pay the money to Iran, but May s spokesman said the debt issue was not linked to the attempts to convince Tehran to release Zaghari-Ratcliffe. Talks to resolve the debt matter have been going on for years. It is wrong to link a completely separate debt issue with any other aspect of our bilateral relationship with Iran, a government spokesman said, adding that Iran s Defence Ministry remains subject to European Union sanctions. The debt was paid to a bank account controlled by the High Court in 2002 but has not been released due to sanctions on the Islamic Republic, the spokesman said. Iran rejected media reports associating the debt Britain owed to Iran with the fate of Zaghari-Ratcliffe. These are two separate matters ... Linking them is wrong. Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has been tried and sentenced to jail, TV quoted Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi as saying. British officials told the Telegraph that work on how to pay the debt has intensified in recent months in a bid to improve relations with Iran. When asked about the reports, May s spokesman said the government saw no connection between the debt and the fate of Zaghari-Ratcliffe. We are clear we don t see any link between these two issues, the spokesman said. The reports are speculation, not anything that I recognize. The Thomson Reuters Foundation is a charity organization that is independent of Thomson Reuters. It operates independently of Reuters News.


Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump decided to attack the family of a U.S. soldier who died in combat in Iraq. Responding to Khizr Khan s statement at the Democratic convention that Trump had sacrificed nothing for his country while pushing for bans on Muslims, Trump told ABC, I think I ve made a lot of sacrifices. I work very, very hard. U.S. Army Capt. Humayun Khan was a Muslim immigrant who died serving in Iraq in 2004.On Twitter, the dismissive, callous, and insensitive remarks from the former reality TV star and self-described billionaire (an assertion that has not been independently verified) were quickly attacked.The hashtag #TrumpSacrifices became the top trending hashtag in the world and thousands of posts mocking Trump followed.Many of the posts associated with the tag pointed out Trump s well documented luxury life that has been the selling point of his presidential run.Once survived an entire weekend at Mar-a-Lago with just one can of hairspray. #TrumpSacrifices Paul Begala (@PaulBegala) July 30, 2016Once flew coach class in college on a dare. #TrumpSacrifices Sanho Tree (@SanhoTree) July 30, 2016Others noted his history of racially discriminatory policies and statements, most notably when the government had to force Trump to stop blocking blacks from renting in his buildings.#TrumpSacrifices the government forced him to rent apartments to black people. https://t.co/PAguRphnof pic.twitter.com/fBrBLIsOuS sean. (@SeanMcElwee) July 30, 2016#TrumpSacrifices NBC wouldn't let him make a "race war" season of "The Apprentice." https://t.co/2TwEjg2PVp pic.twitter.com/IcZ9EUW1AW sean. (@SeanMcElwee) July 30, 2016Some #TrumpSacrifices posts discussed the candidate s repeated business failures, which include multiple bankruptcies that completely destroy the mythology of him as a huge business success.#TrumpSacrifices Declaring Bankruptcy And Walking Away pic.twitter.com/v4B2I8AeXm Laurel Davila, CPA (@laureldavilacpa) July 31, 2016The wages of every contractor he has ever employed. #TrumpSacrifices Matthew Chapman (@fawfulfan) July 30, 2016#TrumpSacrifices Dishwashers, carpenters, electricians, painters they do the work, then find out he won't pay. https://t.co/xsKfCASpas The Daily Edge (@TheDailyEdge) July 30, 2016Many posts simply pointed out the immorality of Trump s comments, and how beyond the pale attacking the families of the fallen is.#trumpsacrifices Morals. Ethics. Self-respect. Decency. Civility. Intelligence. @realdonaldtrump Jeff Jarvis (@jeffjarvis) July 30, 2016#TrumpSacrifices Dedicated himself no matter what it cost to making lots and lots of money. Harold Itzkowitz (@HaroldItz) July 30, 2016List of #TrumpSacrifices: 1. Nothing 2. No one Kaivan Shroff (@KaivanShroff) July 30, 2016This picture says it all about @realdonaldtrump @realDonaldTrump & the rest of them. Draft dodger #TrumpSacrifices pic.twitter.com/lTNGooahKC Carolyn Gonzalez (@carogonza) July 31, 2016The hashtag also presented the opportunity to compare Trump s military service or lack thereof to Captain Humayun Khan. Trump received military deferments during Vietnam and has compared avoiding sexually transmitted diseases to serving in combat.Gave up his 5 spots in the military for another 5 men. That's generous! No one thanked him #TrumpSacrifices Sarah (@redpainter1) July 30, 2016Despite the public outcry and condemnation of his comments, senior Republican officials like Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell failed to directly condemn the nominee s attack on a military family, and did not rescind their support for the candidate.


The following statements were posted to the verified Twitter accounts of U.S. President Donald Trump, @realDonaldTrump and @POTUS. The opinions expressed are his own. Reuters has not edited the statements or confirmed their accuracy. @realDonaldTrump : - It was an honor to stop by a #SchoolChoice event hosted by @VP Pence and @usedgov Secretary @BetsyDeVosED at the @WhiteHouse today. [1757 EDT] - An honor to host President Mahmoud Abbas at the WH today. Hopefully something terrific could come out it between the Palestinians & Israel. [1801 EDT] - Join me along w/ @VP Pence & @BetsyDeVosED at a school choice event in the Roosevelt Room, here at the @WhiteHouse: 45.wh.gov/Laipqh [1106 EDT] -- Source link: (bit.ly/2jBh4LU) (bit.ly/2jpEXYR)


This call to violence by the Left against innocent people who don t agree with their radical ideology, is eerily similar to the tactics used by terror groups in the Middle East. These are acts of terror that are being overlooked by our President and our DOJ, simply because they understand that this is the only way to stop Trump is by striking fear in the hearts of his supporters A picture of a flier that s been circulating in the Richmond, VA area is going viral. The intent of this flier is clearly to stir up hate and encourage violence against Trump supporters who plan to attend Trump s upcoming rally. This type of organization to create chaos and fear is how the Left wins elections, how the unions get what they want and how our PRESIDENT and his cronies operate behind closed doors at our White House. This flier is laced with hate, fear mongering and calls to violence, but you will never see it being shown to the general public by the mainstream media, as it crushes their narrative that the Trump supporters and conservatives of America are somehow promoting violence and fear mongering to get votes. This incendiary flier is summarized at the bottom by claiming, They [Trump supporters] have promised us violence, and we must promise them the same. Can someone please provide us with one iota of evidence that shows Trump supporters asking other supporters to violently attack innocent people who disagree with their political views?America needs to stand up to these coordinated efforts by talking to their neighbors, relatives, friends, co-workers and even to members of their churches. Sunlight is the best disinfectant. If the media won t report this, we need to speak up and let everyone know what is happening h/t Weasel Zippers


Hillary Clinton and her aides must have felt like mandatory didn t apply to them they were obviously reminded several times about the ethics training they were required to take but chose to ignore it. Not that it would have helped these corrupt people The State Department has no evidence showing Hillary Clinton or the majority of her top aides at the department complied with mandatory ethics training. McClatchy reports newly released documents show just three of Clinton s aides took the required training:State Department records show only three of nine top Clinton aides took the mandated training for new employees. Records also suggest that none of seven top aides required to take subsequent annual training completed it.No records indicate whether Clinton herself took any training. The Republican National Committee made an FOIA request for the documents last December. When the State Department did not respond within the 90-day deadline, the RNC filed a lawsuit. Today the documents the RNC received in response to the lawsuit were released. The RNC press release reads in part:While the State Department s production demonstrated some senior officials met some of their obligations under the law, no records showing completion of annual ethics training were found for Hillary Clinton or the following top aides:Cheryl Mills Huma Abedin Jake Sullivan Dennis Cheng Anne Marie Slaughter Philippe Reines Caitlin Klevorick Kris Bladerston One of the documents released today is an email exchange in which someone named Angela Jordan informs Huma Abedin that she has yet to complete annual ethics training for 2012. The email, which is dated January 17, 2013, reads in part:Hello HumaOur records indicate that you have not completed Ethics Training for 2012. Per Federal Regulation, all financial disclosure filers must receive annual trainings. If you have taken the training online or with an ethics attorney, please provide the approximate date. Two days later, Huma responds, Angela heather samuelson has my financial disclosure form. Jordan replies, am not talking about your Financial Disclosure Form am talking about your Ethics training. Huma s final response is, Okay I wasn t aware. I ll go online. Apparently there is no record Abedin completing the training. The exchange concluded about a week before Hillary Clinton left her post as Secretary of State.


A teacher is claiming that her strict Muslim childhood "repressed" her and contributed to her desires to have sex with students who attended a New Jersey high school, court records show. [Linda Hardan, a teacher at Manchester Regional High School in Haledon, New Jersey, was arrested and charged with sexual contact with at least two male students, one a and another a . Her contact began with explicit text messages and graduated to sexual contact, police said. But Hardan's defense counsel insists that her strict Muslim upbringing served to repress her, causing her behavior. He also requested therapy for his client instead of prison time, according to the Daily Mail. The victim was "disgusted" and "upset" about the sexual encounter. Hardan began explicitly texting him and eventually got him in her car, drove to a secluded area, "and performed a sex act on him. " The student reported he was so repulsed that he jumped out of the car and walked two miles back home. The convict reportedly perpetrated similar acts with the older boy, prosecutors proved in court. Prosecutors had worked out a deal with Hardan's legal team, and she accepted a sentence, which was then presented during the sentencing phase of her trial. But Passaic County Superior Court Judge Miguel de la Carrera decided on a lesser sentence, citing the mitigating factors of her childhood. Judge de la Carrera imposed a sentence. "She had classmates and friends, but somehow, perhaps because of limitations on her dating life, she didn't find the proper outlet among males of her own age," the judge insisted during the sentencing. "She did not learn how to interact with guys her age," de la Carrera added. Still, the judge refused to put her sentence off until she finished a college class she was taking at a local community college. Hardan will be eligible for parole, with good behavior, in a year. Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail. com.


MANY people will receive drones as gifts this holiday season. But before heading to the nearest field to fly the devices, recipients may want to check their insurance coverage. "I'm sure there will be a lot of drones given as Christmas gifts, and we'll start to see more claims," said Chris Hackett, the senior director for personal lines at the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America, an industry group. Demand for drones has surged because of their lower cost and expanded capabilities. More than 577, 000 people — many of them owners of multiple drones — have registered as hobby drone operators as of early December, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. The Consumer Technology Association estimates that about 1. 2 million drones will be sold this holiday season. Drones are highly maneuverable, and they can carry cameras to record spectacular vistas from the air. But accidents do happen: Recently, news outlets reported that a drone being used to record a wedding reception in New Hampshire injured two guests, who later sued the groom. "There are a lot of unfortunate things that can go wrong," said Christie Alderman, a vice president at Chubb Insurance. Generally, if you are using a drone for personal purposes and it injures someone or damages their property, your standard homeowner's insurance policy would provide liability coverage up to the policy's limits, said Mr. Hackett. (If you are using a drone to make money — even if it is a sideline, like photographing property for a real estate business — that would not typically be covered by a homeowner's policy). It is always wise, however, to check with your insurance carrier on the specifics of your policy, said Loretta Worters, a spokeswoman for the Insurance Information Institute, a trade group. Some insurers may exclude incidents from their policies — and those that do not do so now may decide to eventually, as the number of drones taking to the skies increases and insurers learn more about the cost of claims. "Generally speaking, we evaluate every claim on its own merit," said Justin Herndon, a spokesman for Allstate, in an email. "We continue to follow the evolution of drones and its impact on our customers' policies. " It is also a good idea to reduce your risk by brushing up on drone operational and safety rules, Ms. Alderman said. The F. A. A. requires that hobby users fly drones at or below 400 feet, and keep them within sight. The agency offers a safety video on its website. Also, the Academy of Model Aeronautics, which charters more than 2, 500 clubs, works with other groups and the F. A. A. to promote safety guidelines and instruction through the Know Before You Fly initiative. Simulation software that can help you learn to fly a drone on a home computer is available for about $100, said Chad Budreau, director of public relations and government affairs for the model aeronautics group. Here are some questions and answers about drones: What other insurance options are available? One option for hobbyists: If you join the Academy of Model Aeronautics, you will receive group liability coverage as a benefit of membership. (Membership is $75 for adults, free for those under age 19.) The academy's insurance policy, issued by a specialty insurer, typically pays out after your homeowner's policy is exhausted, and it provides $2. 5 million in liability coverage for property damage or bodily injury. What if my drone is lost or damaged? Homeowner's policies typically cover replacement of personal belongings, which would include a drone. But most policies have a deductible — say, $500. So unless you have a very expensive drone, it may not be worth filing a claim, Ms. Worters said. Do I have to register my drone? Federal rules now require recreational owners to register any drone — or "unmanned aircraft system," in F. A. A. parlance — flown outdoors. Drones weighing a to 55 pounds can be registered online on the agency's website the fee is $5 per person, can be applied to as many drones as you own and is good for three years. Failure to register a drone can be costly: The F. A. A. says generally it aims to educate operators, but can impose civil fines of up to $27, 500, and criminal penalties can be much higher.


About 7, 000 years ago, gentoo penguins first came to Ardley Island in the South Shetlands chain just off the Antarctic Peninsula. The island is a little over a mile long, almost small enough for a classic castaway cartoon, except that it is the Antarctic. And instead of a lone palm tree, there are now about 5, 000 breeding pairs of gentoo penguins, one of the largest colonies in the Antarctic, and a lot of guano (penguin excrement) much of which is washed into the freshwater Ardley Lake, where it accumulates in the sediment. In that guano, scientists have found the record of a recurring natural historical drama. Three times since the gentoos arrived on Ardley, the colony was devastated by volcanic eruptions. The ash and smoke killed them or drove them away. Penguins gather in colonies to breed, so there may well have been chicks caught in the ash fall even if adults escaped. The landscape the eruptions left cannot have been hospitable, because each time it took 400 to 800 years for a colony of similar size to . That is the story, reported Tuesday in Nature Communications, that Stephen J. Roberts of the British Antarctic Survey, Patrick Monien of Bremen University in Germany and other scientists from Poland, Scotland and England teased out of lake sediments that show, in the rise and fall of guano concentration, the rise and fall of the penguin colony. Dr. Roberts said the team of scientists did not set out to study guano. Rather, their interest was in evidence of historical changes in climate and sea level. But something about the sediment samples drilled from the bottom of Ardley Lake prompted them to take a different approach this time. The samples were a bit ripe. "When we opened them up they smelt differently," he said. The team could see the ash from volcanic deposits and penguin bones, and began to compile information on the ash layers, biochemical analysis of the guano and similar samples from a lake whose shores did not have a penguin colony nearby. They estimated penguin population by the percentage of guano in a sediment sample, figuring three ounces of guano per day per penguin, and calculating how much of the colony's output would flow into the lake. Using a sample to determine the amount of penguin guano flowing into the lake in a given period of time, they could calculate how big the colony was. This showed wide fluctuations in the colony's size, with the peaks similar to the current numbers. Over all, they did not find any consistent pattern related to climate or sea level. But three times the population crashed — indicating the near extinction of the colony — coinciding with eruptions from the Deception Island volcano, also in the South Shetlands chain. The events do not have broad implications for climate studies, Dr. Roberts said. But they show one case where local events had a far greater effect on the population than global trends. Deception Island is an Antarctic landmark and a destination for tourists. The island is the rim of the volcano's caldera. It's a circle in the ocean, with only one entrance to the protected waters inside. Heat from the volcano makes some spots swimmable, and many passengers on Antarctic cruises bring back pictures of themselves in the waters of the island caldera. The scientists estimate that three large eruptions of the Deception Island volcano all but wiped out the penguins on Ardley Island — one 5, 500 to 5, 400 years ago, one 4, 500 to 4, 200 years ago, and the last 3, 200 to 3, 000 years ago. In more recent times, there have been smaller eruptions. The last eruption was in 1970.


Just as fears of nuclear terrorism are rising, U.S. President Barack Obama's drive to lock down vulnerable atomic materials worldwide seems to have lost momentum and could slow further. With less than 10 months left in office to follow through on one of his signature foreign policy initiatives, Obama will convene leaders from more than 50 countries in Washington this week for his fourth and final Nuclear Security Summit, a high-level diplomatic process that started and will end on his watch. A boycott by Russian President Vladimir Putin, apparently unwilling to join in a U.S.-dominated gathering at a time of increased tensions between Washington and Moscow, adds to doubts that the meeting will yield major results. The recent deadly militant attacks in Brussels have fueled concern that Islamic State could eventually target nuclear plants and develop radioactive "dirty bombs," a topic that may well be uppermost in leaders' minds as they meet. Despite significant progress by Obama in persuading dozens of countries to rid themselves of bomb-making materials or reduce and safeguard stockpiles, much of the world's plutonium and enriched uranium remains vulnerable to theft. The absence of Russia, one of the biggest atomic powers, could detract from decisions reached in Washington this week. Obama, in an opinion piece in The Washington Post, said, "Our massive Cold War nuclear arsenal is poorly suited to today's threats. The United States and Russia - which together hold more than 90 percent of the world's nuclear weapons - should negotiate to reduce our stockpiles further." Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday Russia was skipping the summit because of a "shortage of mutual cooperation" in working out the agenda. While noting that Moscow had continued joint work on nuclear security, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Russia was going to "miss out on an opportunity" and that its no-show illustrated the "degree to which Russia is isolated." Russia has chafed over U.S.-led sanctions over the Ukraine conflict. Efforts to make the world safer have also been complicated by North Korea's nuclear weapons advance and Pakistan's move toward smaller, tactical nuclear weapons, which Washington fears may further destabilize an already volatile region. All of this weighs on Obama's agenda as he prepares to host world leaders on Thursday and Friday. He inaugurated the event nearly six years ago, after using a landmark speech in Prague in 2009 to lay out the goal of ridding the world of nuclear weapons as a central theme of his presidency. There is no guarantee that once Obama, the driving force behind the initiative, leaves office in January his successor will keep the issue a high priority. The White House previewed the summit by touting a list of achievements in the U.S.-led effort to tie down loose bomb-grade materials, and arms control advocates commend Obama for galvanizing an international response to the problem. However, many say progress has slowed since the last summit in 2014 and countries such as Japan, India and Pakistan are preparing activities that could increase stockpiles of nuclear materials. "The Nuclear Security Summits have had a positive effect, but the strategic goal of developing an effective global nuclear security system remains unachieved," the Nuclear Threat Initiative, an anti-proliferation watchdog, said in a report this month. According to the group's Nuclear Security Index, which tracks the safety of weapons-usable nuclear materials, the past two years have brought no improvement in a range of measures, including on-site physical protection, security during transport and the ability to recover lost radioactive materials. The report also said many countries' nuclear reactors were vulnerable to online attacks. Seven of 24 countries with weapons-grade material, including China and Belgium, received the lowest possible score for their facilities' cyber security. Other critics point to a lack of an agreed-upon set of international standards for nuclear security or a mechanism for keeping tabs on common sources of radioactive material often found in hospitals and medical labs. However, Laura Holgate, Obama's adviser on weapons of mass destruction, cited commitments from 30 countries at the 2014 summit to secure their most dangerous material. "The international community has made it harder than ever for terrorists to acquire nuclear weapons, and that has made us all more secure," she told reporters before the summit. Two of the Brussels suicide bombers secretly filmed the daily routine of the head of Belgium's nuclear research and development program and considered an attack on a nuclear site in the country, according to Belgian media. U.S. experts are less concerned about militants obtaining nuclear weapon components than about thefts of ingredients for a low-tech dirty bomb that would use conventional explosives to disperse radioactive material and sow panic. U.S. officials said they had no doubt that Islamic State, which controls swaths of Syria and Iraq, was interested in obtaining such materials, but Holgate said U.S. authorities had no "explicit indications" that the group had tried to do so. More commitments from world leaders to enhance nuclear security are expected at the summit but anti-proliferation groups worry that without further meetings at the highest levels, interest could wane and improvements could backslide.


The violence and hate we witnessed at Trump rallies is now spilling over into the rest of society. Since the billionaire racist misogynist internet troll was elected to lead the free world, there have been literally hundreds of hate crimes (many of which in his name) and his supporters have proved completely unwilling to behave themselves even in their victory.At an anti-Trump protest in Ohio on Monday, we received a reminder of the violent nature of the animals known as Trump voters. As Tim Joseph was delivering his message into a bullhorn at the Ohio Union at OSU in Columbus, one Trump voter voiced his displeasure with the current direction of the country (or whatever bullsh*t the media is saying to explain away these alleged people s behavior today) by shoving the protester down some stairs from behind like a coward, of course. You idiot, the disenfranchised white man screeched as he went all WWE on Joseph.One man wearing a Guy Fawkes mask began to beat the living hell out of the attacker, whose identity has not yet been released. Instead of joining in like we saw at Trump rallies throughout the election year, other protesters calmed the man down and the crowd detained him peacefully until police arrived. According to Undergraduate Student Government president Gerard Basalla the attacker, a student, was arrested and placed under indefinite suspension. The assault that occurred that s what it was in the Union tonight is completely unacceptable, Basalla told The Lantern. Every person on this campus has the right to feel safe and voice their opinion without fearing harm. We can t be having this. We protect First Amendment rights actively, but we do not under any circumstances tolerate intimidation or threats to students, faculty, staff or visitors to our campus, University President Michael Drake said in an email to students following the attack.Watch the assault below:


The following statements were posted to the verified Twitter accounts of U.S. President Donald Trump, @realDonaldTrump and @POTUS. The opinions expressed are his own. Reuters has not edited the statements or confirmed their accuracy. @realDonaldTrump : - The Failing @nytimes, the pipe organ for the Democrat Party, has become a virtual lobbyist for them with regard to our massive Tax Cut Bill. They are wrong so often that now I know we have a winner! [0701 EST] -- Source link: (bit.ly/2jBh4LU) (bit.ly/2jpEXYR)


Actor Jeffrey Wright tweeted that our nation has "too many stupid asses" with "too many fucking guns" following news that a man opened fire on Wednesday's congressional baseball practice. [The facts of the shooting are not in yet. The shooter's motivation has not been confirmed, nor has the shooter's identity or background been released. Wright tweeted: Too many stupid asses in our country with too many fucking guns. — Jeffrey Wright (@jfreewright) June 14, 2017, What is known is that five people were injured when a gunman opened fire on members of the House and Senate on the field. House Majority Whip Steve Scalise was among the injured. The gunman was slowed down because someone at the practice had a firearm and returned fire. Rep. Mike Bishop ( ) told WWJ News Radio, "The only reason why any of us walked out of this thing, by the grace of God, one of the folks here had a weapon to fire back and give us a moment to find cover. " AWR Hawkins is the Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and host of Bullets with AWR Hawkins, a Breitbart News podcast. He is also the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart. com.


A sobering new Security Council ( SC ) analytical report on the US presidential election states that a new American Revolution has begun which today's popular vote is just the beginning of; and that could fully last up to an entire decade, especially if this election is stolen from Donald Trump. [Note: Some words and/or phrases appearing in quotes in this report are English language approximations of Russian words/phrases having no exact counterpart.] According to this report, Federation intelligence analysts in their "deciphering/uncovering" what the current US presidential election is really all about have heavily relied on "outliers" [a thing situated away or detached from the main body or system] such as artificial intelligence ( AI ) models, social media trends and psychological analysis of the American electorate. This report notes that the Security Councils use of these "outliers" to both understand and explain what is occurring during this US presidential election provides the only proven scientific evidence of what is occurring as the so called polling data used by the American propaganda media has been proven to be nothing more than a manipulation device used to keep people from voting for or supporting the anti-establishment candidate Donald Trump. Examples of this being true, this report explains, lie in too many examples to fully cite—but includes the once respected Monmouth University poll found manipulating data to favor Hillary Clinton , news networks NBC and CBS found manipulating polling data to show Hillary Clinton leading Donald Trump when she was actually losing , and CNN manipulating their poll data to favor Hillary Clinton too . Unlike manipulated polling data showing Hillary Clinton will win this election, however, this report continues, the objective and independent scientific "outliers" used by Security Council research analysts show not only Donald Trump winning—but winning in a landslide victory. Evidence proving this assertion of a Donald Trump US presidential win, this report notes, lies first with artificial intelligence analysis—that includes the MogIA supercomputer showing Trump winning in landslide and showing he is more popular than President Obama , and a just released AI computer simulation showing Trump winning with 289 electoral votes compared to Clinton's 249 . Social media trend lines in this election, likewise, proves a Donald Trump landslide win in this election, this report continues, as his Facebook-Twitter-Instagram-YouTube "presence" dwarfs Hillary Clinton's by a staggering 74 million —and that is further validated by the over 700,000 Americans who have come to his campaign rallies, as opposed to the barely 60,000 that have attended Hillary Clinton's . Most fascinating though of the "outliers" used in this Security Council report is the psychological analysis of the American electorate conducted by a virtually unknown US political project called " We Need Smith "—whose scientifically conducted studies shockingly proved that anyone from a liberal Democrat, to a conservative Republican was able to win the US presidency as long as they promised to destroy the corrupt political system currently ruling America . The "We Need Smith" project, this report explains, is named after a popular US Great Depression era movie called Mr. Smith Goes To Washington about a newly appointed United States Senator who fights against a corrupt political system—and that during this present US presidential election only Donald Trump and US Senator Bernie Sanders fit the mold of. Critical to note about the "We Need Smith" project too, this report continues, is that it was co-founded by the legendary American pollster Patrick Caddell —who almost singlehandedly was responsible for putting President Jimmy Carter in office in 1976, but also presided over Carter's unprecedented defeat in 1980 at the hands of the US establishments most hated candidate Ronald Reagan. Seeking to understand how President Carter could go from victory to defeat in just 4 years, this report details, Patrick Caddell spent the past nearly 4 decades examining it—and coming to the scientific conclusion that the conventional wisdom that America is absolutely divided into warring tribes is simply not true, they are all just tired of being lied to . In fact, this report continues, Caddell's research proved that the American political battleground is no longer over ideology but instead is all about insurgency—and with a staggering 84% of the American public believing that the elites live by a different set of rules and laws than ordinary people do , anyone running against them is assured victory. Interestingly to note too, this report says, is Caddell's scientific analyses showing that the hatred of the American people towards their elites comes from both the left and right —and as evidenced by the equal explosive political movements known as Occupy Wall Street and the Tea Party insurgencies . This report grimly concludes, however, with a warning that Soviet Communist leader Joseph Stalin's attributed statement—" Those who cast the votes decide nothing. Those who count the votes decide everything. "—may, indeed, be active in the present US presidential election after newly released secret documents revealed that Hillary Clinton's main supporter, multi-billionaire George Soros, has not only been manipulating the entire American election system , but one of his companies is, also, providing vote county software to 16 States ( they've since denied )—and that should Donald Trump have this election stolen from him the people of that nation will most surely revolt. Source


A commute in Hong Kong turned to panic Friday evening when a man ignited an incendiary device in a crowded subway train, filling the car with flames and smoke and injuring at least 17 people. Photographs taken soon after passengers fled the burning subway car show a man, believed to have started the fire, standing on a platform as flames jumped from the tatters of his burning clothes. Other images show injured commuters, their faces wrapped in gauze, being treated by emergency workers. The police said the man, whom they identified only as a with the surname Cheung, admitted starting the blaze and was charged with suspicion of arson. Violent crime is exceptionally rare in Hong Kong, home to one of the world's largest subway systems. Annual ridership ranks just below that of New York, according to the Mass Transit Railway Corporation in Hong Kong. "The suspect was believed to be speaking nonsense," said Kwok a police district commander. "What he said didn't make a lot of sense. " The South China Morning Post reported that passengers heard the man say that he would "burn you to death" before lighting the device, and local television stations reported that he was carrying a document identifying him as a psychiatric patient. The police would not confirm those details, but fire officials said the blaze was caused by the ignition of a combustible material. "At this stage, we're certain that there's no evidence suggesting it was terrorism or an attack targeting the mass transit system," Mr. Kwok said. Employees and commuters helped put out the flames after the train, traveling on the Tsuen Wan line, arrived at Tsim Sha Tsui station, where it was evacuated. Of the 17 people hospitalized, two were in critical condition, five were in serious condition, nine were in stable condition and one was released, according to the Hospital Authority. Hong Kong's chief executive, Leung expressed sympathy for the victims in a statement, and he asked the territory's food and health secretary, Ko to visit the hospitalized passengers. The last major arson attack on a subway train in Hong Kong occurred on Jan. 5, 2004, when a fire broke out as a train was arriving at the Admiralty station. Fourteen people were injured. That fire was set by a man using newspapers, a lighter and a bottle believed to contain gasoline.


Michael Strickland, 36, was arrested after pulling a handgun on Black Lives Matter protesters in Portland, Oregon, Thursday night. Video of the incident shows Strickland pulling what appears to be a Glock 26 on protesters who were demonstrating against the recent fatal shootings of black men by police officers. It was revealed that the gun owner had a round in the chamber and five other magazines of ammunition of him while aiming the gun at the anti-police brutality group, according to court records.Strickland is accused of two counts of unlawful use of a firearm, menacing and second- degree disorderly conduct, according to The Oregonian.Multnomah County deputy district attorney Kate Molina Friday successfully argued for Strickland s bail to be set at $250,000 after two felony counts of unlawful use of a firearm were added to misdemeanor allegations of menacing and second-degree disorderly conduct.Strickland had an extended clip in his firearm that he swept at chest level multiple times in front of the demonstrators. The gun owner also waved it in front of a plain-clothed Portland police officer.Portland Officer Branden L. Combs was in Chapman Square during the protest and heard people running by him yelling, Gun! Gun! and He s got a gun, according to a probable cause affidavit.Police were told by one of the protesters that Strickland has tried to incite or instigate others at different demonstrations.Officer Combs witnessed the incident. He was standing just about 20 to 25 yards away from Strickland when he went all Second Amendment on the protestestors, sweeping the crowd with his firearm.After the arrest, police found an extended clip in Strickland s handgun, a round in the chamber of the gun, plus two magazines of ammunition in a belt pouch, two magazines in one of his pants pockets and one magazine in the other, Molina said. In addition, he also had a pocket knife in his right front pants pocket.According to Strickland s attorney Chris Trotter, his client was a journalist who has a concealed carry permit, adding that he has every right to protect himself. Trotter alleged that the District Attorney s office was making an example of Strickland.Molina responded, saying that Given that Mr. Strickland pulled a gun on a crowd of people in front of the steps of the Justice Center and has a past police report alleging possibly race-based threats against an attendee at a Portland vigil for the victims of last month s Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida, his client s bail set at $250,000 is justified.From the video, it looks like Strickland aimed his Glock at a man who is armed with only a camera.[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvV3BQ-RoJw]In a separate incident, a white male showed up at a memorial for Alton Sterling, the black Louisiana man who was fatally shot by police officers.Hey guys, you re doing the Second Amendment wrong.Image via screen capture.


At least one person was killed and several others injured by Hurricane Irma on the Dutch side of the Caribbean island of Saint Martin, the Dutch government said on Thursday. French officials earlier said there had been eight fatalities on the French side.


A U.S. State Department official said on Tuesday that Washington has no plans to change a Cold War-era law granting special immigration benefits to Cubans, despite President Barack Obama's moves toward normalized relations with the island country. "There continues to be a large migration flow out of Cuba. It reflects the difficult economic and human rights conditions in the country," Francisco Palmieri, principal deputy assistant secretary in State's Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, told a Senate subcommittee hearing. "We have no plans to change the Cuban Adjustment Act at this time," Palmieri said. The Cuban Adjustment Act provides Cubans with benefits granted to migrants from no other country. Once they enter the United States and ask for asylum, virtually all are granted the right to stay, can apply for work permits and, later, green cards, which convey lawful permanent residency. Some U.S. lawmakers have been demanding a fresh look at Cuban immigration policy since the surprise December 2014 announcement from Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro that the two countries would move toward ending decades of estrangement. They argue that most of the Cubans coming to the United States are coming for economic reasons and are not refugees from its Communist government. Fear of an end to their benefits has fueled a surge in departures from Cuba, many via third countries, which has left large groups of Cubans stranded in Central America. Earlier this year, thousands were airlifted from Panama and Costa Rica to northern Mexico, where they crossed the border into the United States. Senator Marco Rubio, the subcommittee chairman, asked Palmieri about reports that Panama might be planning to send more Cuban migrants north. "We have not told them not to do their airlift," Palmieri said.


In an extraordinary denunciation of Donald J. Trump's temperament and competence, President Obama urged leaders of the Republican Party on Tuesday to withdraw their endorsements of Mr. Trump's candidacy, flatly calling him "unfit to serve" as the nation's 45th president. Speaking in the East Room of the White House while Mr. Trump rallied supporters in a nearby Virginia suburb, the president noted the Republican criticism of Mr. Trump for his attacks on the Muslim parents of an American soldier, Capt. Humayun Khan, who died in Iraq. But Mr. Obama said the political recriminations from Republicans "ring hollow" if the party's leaders continue to support Mr. Trump's campaign. "The question they have to ask themselves is: If you are repeatedly having to say in very strong terms that what he has said is unacceptable, why are you still endorsing him?" Mr. Obama said. "What does this say about your party that this is your ?" The president's condemnation of Mr. Trump, and his direct appeal to Republicans to abandon their candidate, were stunning even in a city where politics has become a brutal and personal affair. Mr. Obama seemed eager to go beyond his past interventions in the race, which have included forceful rejections of Mr. Trump's statements and policy proposals. The last time a sitting president was as openly critical of the other party's candidate, said Douglas Brinkley, a presidential historian, was when President Harry S. Truman mocked Dwight D. Eisenhower during the 1952 campaign. And once Eisenhower was elected, Truman said he did not know "any more about politics than a pig knows about Sunday. " "It's a reflection of just how radical and dangerous President Obama feels that Trump is," Mr. Brinkley said. Using the formal backdrop of a joint news conference with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong of Singapore, Mr. Obama suggested that Mr. Trump would not abide by "norms and rules and common sense" and questioned whether he would "observe basic decency" should he reach the Oval Office. The president said he would have been disappointed to lose in 2008 or 2012, but added that he had never doubted whether his Republican rivals in those races, John McCain and Mitt Romney, could function as president or had the knowledge to make government work. "That's not the situation here," Mr. Obama said. As Mr. Obama condemned Mr. Trump, the Republican candidate — apparently unaware of the president's remarks — repeatedly criticized his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, and the president in an hour of remarks. He called Mrs. Clinton a "liar" and a "thief" and said the country would be "finished" if voters chose four more years of a presidency like Mr. Obama's. Mr. Trump also accused Mrs. Clinton of repeatedly lying over the weekend when she told Chris Wallace on "Fox News Sunday" that James B. Comey, the F. B. I. director, had said her statements about her private emails were truthful. "I mean, she lied," Mr. Trump said, prompting cries of "Lock her up!" from his supporters. "She, pure and simple, she only knows to lie. She really does. She only knows to lie. But she lied, and it's a big story. " Mr. Comey, testifying last month to Congress, said that "we have no basis to conclude she lied to the F. B. I. " But he also said he could not say whether Mrs. Clinton's many public statements on the issue were truthful. Mr. Trump, in a written statement meant to respond directly to the president's remarks, called Mrs. Clinton "unfit to serve in any government office. " He also accused Mr. Obama and Mrs. Clinton of allowing Americans to be slaughtered in Benghazi, Libya letting veterans die waiting for medical care and releasing immigrants into the United States to kill innocent people. "Our nation has been humiliated abroad and compromised by radical Islam brought onto our shores," Mr. Trump's statement said. "We need change now. " The dueling appearances by the president and the Republican candidate seeking to replace him escalated the heated political rhetoric in a race that had already devolved into a series of personal attacks and character assassinations. Mr. Obama cited Mr. Trump's reaction to Captain Khan's parents, Khizr and Ghazala Khan, as a principal reason for his extended remarks. Mr. Trump had criticized the Khans after they honored their son at the Democratic National Convention and urged people to vote for Mrs. Clinton. Mr. Obama lamented what he called an attack on a "Gold Star family that had made such extraordinary sacrifices on behalf of our country. " He said he did not doubt that Republicans were outraged about the statements Mr. Trump and his supporters had made about the Khan family in the last several days. "But there has to come a point at which you say somebody who makes those kinds of statements doesn't have the judgment, the temperament, the understanding, to occupy the most powerful position in the world," Mr. Obama said. The president did not limit his criticism to Mr. Trump's treatment of the Khan family. Mr. Obama said the Republican nominee had repeatedly demonstrated that he was "woefully unprepared to do this job. " The president said Mr. Trump had proved he lacked knowledge about Europe, the Middle East and other parts of Asia. "This isn't a situation where you have an episodic gaffe. This is daily," Mr. Obama added. "There has to be a point at which you say, 'This is not somebody I can support for president of the United States, even if he purports to be a member of my party.' The fact that that has not yet happened makes some of these denunciations ring hollow. " Mr. Trump, who spoke at a boisterous rally at Briar Woods High School in Ashburn, Va. began his remarks there by saying a veteran had given him a Purple Heart medal earlier in the day. "I always wanted to get the Purple Heart," said Mr. Trump, who received five deferments from the draft during the Vietnam War. "This was much easier. " Throughout his speech, Mr. Trump argued his case that Mrs. Clinton was "unfit" for the presidency, accusing her of being dishonest, weak on foreign policy and corrupt. He accused the president of doubling the national debt and said the Iraq war exit was a "disaster. " "Let Obama go to the golf course," Mr. Trump said. "But you know what? We'd be better off. " At one point during the rally, a crying baby interrupted Mr. Trump's speech. "Don't worry about that baby. I love babies," Mr. Trump said at first. "I hear that baby crying, I like it. What a baby, what a beautiful baby. Don't worry, don't worry. " A few beats later, he changed his tune. "Actually, I was only kidding," Mr. Trump said. "You can get that baby out of here. " Laughs and a few gasps escaped from the crowd. "Don't worry, I think she really believed me that I love having a baby crying while I'm speaking," Mr. Trump added. "That's O. K. People don't understand. That's O. K. " Even as Mr. Obama discussed trade policy and security issues with the Singaporean prime minister, Mr. Trump criticized world leaders. He said he would ask Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany "what went wrong" in her country. And he criticized Mrs. Clinton for what he called "terrible relations" with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia. At the White House, Mr. Lee of Singapore responded to a question about Mr. Trump with diplomacy, and said Singapore would look forward to working with whomever Americans chose as president. "Many pressures build up during the election campaign, and after the elections in a calmer, cooler atmosphere, positions are rethought, strategies are nuanced, and a certain balance is kept in the direction of the ship of state. It does not turn completely upside down," Mr. Lee said. "The Americans take pride in having a system with checks and balances," he added. "So, it is not so easy to do things, but it is not so easy to completely mess things up. "


Loretta Lynch is head of the DOJ and is opening for Deray McKesson of Black Lives Matter tomorrow in Detroit. Is this an endorsement of the radical domestic terrorist organization that calls for looting and violence in the name of social justice? The Department of Justice has lost any remaining credibility it might have had. Loretta Lynch is a political hack and a radical racist!


Some companies, including Exxon Mobil, say the economics of climate change are too hard to predict for them to give investors hard numbers about the business impact of global warming. Federal regulators may disagree and are considering requiring Exxon to do just that for the value of its oil reserves. Now a legislative effort by a Florida congressman to prevent such a move by the federal government has become an unexpected flash point in the battle over disclosing risks — with potentially hundreds of billions of dollars in the balance. The congressional measure, an amendment to an appropriations bill, originally introduced in July by Representative Bill Posey, a Florida Republican, has been picked up in the Senate version of the legislation. Because the bill is tied up in a partisan debate over spending, there is no certainty the amendment will pass. But at a time when many Republicans dispute the very notion of climate change, the Posey measure has focused the debate over whether it is reasonable — or even possible — to expect companies to put a price tag on the environmental impact of climate change. Donald J. Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, has called climate change "a hoax" and promises to slash environmental regulations to bolster economic growth. The issue is not limited to Exxon and oil companies. The Posey amendment would allow real estate companies to stay mum on the risks posed to waterfront properties by rising seas, for example, and let food companies leave the impact of future water shortages unaddressed. "Whether it's oil, apparel, clothing, utility — almost everything in our economy is built off of some use of natural resources, and the risks they face are substantial," said Mindy S. Lubber, president of Ceres, a nonprofit organization that works with some of the world's largest investors on climate change issues. But some companies, including Exxon, contend that the economics of climate change are unpredictable and that global growth will continue to create demand for resources, making it even more difficult to come up with hard numbers. Representative Posey is among those who say the federal government has no business forcing businesses to try. He accuses the financial regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission, of pursuing a political agenda by pressing companies to quantify climate risks. "These politically motivated and mandated disclosures are not about protecting investors, they are about shaming companies, or at least attempting to shame companies, into adopting their agenda," he said in July. "It is a waste of resources for the companies, for their shareholders, and for the S. E. C. ," said Mr. Posey, who has accepted donations from oil and gas companies. George Cecala, a spokesman for Mr. Posey, did not respond to requests for further comment. Advocates of fuller corporate disclosure say the sums at stake are vast. Even under a plan that would limit warming to 2 degrees Celsius — a goal agreed to as part of the Paris deal — climate change could wipe out $1. 7 trillion of global financial assets, according to a study published earlier this year in the journal Nature. "How could anybody tell the S. E. C. to ignore the climate?" Ms. Lubber of Ceres said. The issue has been for investors, corporate executives and environmental leaders gathered in New York this week for Climate Week, an annual showcase tied to the opening of the United Nations General Assembly. Discussions here have been galvanized by news that more than 20 world leaders had ratified the Paris climate accord on Wednesday, all but ensuring that the agreement will be adopted by the end of the year. And Exxon's acknowledgment that the S. E. C. was asking about its accounting gave further hope to proponents of fuller disclosure. Already, a shift in the global energy landscape, brought on partly by a surge in drilling in United States oil and gas shale fields, has brought about a slump in fuel prices, calling into question the viability of future oil projects in places like the Arctic and deepwater oceans. And scientists estimate that as much as of the world's coal, oil and gas reserves must remain in the ground if the world has a shot at keeping carbon emissions under levels set by the Paris climate accord — unless there is a technological breakthrough in capturing carbon and keeping it out of the atmosphere. Exxon and its American oil industry peers have been reluctant to estimate the risks to their balance sheets. That contrasts with oil companies in Europe, which have been writing down the value of their assets over the last two years as oil prices plummeted. Energy experts say that is largely because international financial reporting standards require more detailed reporting on asset valuations than the standards in the United States. Last year, Statoil, the Norwegian oil giant, wrote down the value of its North American shale and oil sands assets by $4 billion. Royal Dutch Shell reported a of more than $8 billion. "The rules are different, the relationships between the companies and governments are different, and Europe has clearer carbon policies," said Michael Webber, associate director of the Energy Institute at the University of Texas at Austin. Exxon Mobil, which has accumulated assets over decades, has long argued that its executives take a long view that includes periods of both low and high commodity prices that swing as a matter of normal course. In its filings to the S. E. C. Exxon Mobil has reported that it has its major assets and expects that future cash flow could sustain even its most economically challenged oil and gas fields. The company has conceded that a future of assets is possible if its projections change. Still, most oil companies, including Exxon Mobil, predict that oil and natural gas prices will recover over the next few years and that demand for those fossil fuels will continue to increase along with growing populations and middle classes in emerging markets. The companies also say that projections are difficult without knowing what future regulations will entail, or how new technologies might help curtail greenhouse gas emissions. "This is like being blindfolded, shooting in the dark at a moving target," said Fadel Gheit, a senior energy analyst at Oppenheimer Company. The one certainty is that the United States oil industry is already under severe financial pressure. Last year, American petroleum producers wrote down $177 billion in assets, according to a recent report by IHS Energy. Exxon Mobil is in far better financial condition than most other companies in the industry. But this year the company, stretched by debt, lost its AAA credit rating. And while the fossil fuel companies may face the biggest climate change risks, the need for financial disclosure stretches to other industries, said Mark Campanale, founder and executive director at Carbon Tracker, a financial think tank that focuses on energy and climate change. "Banks are lending to fossil fuel projects, and ports and railroads are being built to handle coal, and that's not viable," Mr. Campanale said. "We're talking about a highly disruptive transition, and companies aren't properly disclosing what that transition will look like. " Efforts are now afoot to set standards for disclosing climate change risks, most notably by the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board, a nonprofit group whose chairman is Michael R. Bloomberg, the former New York mayor. The board estimates that there are significant climate risks for most companies it tracks, which represent $27. 5 trillion, or 93 percent, of United States stocks as measured by market value. Some companies have led the way with disclosure. The global agriculture giant Adecoagro, in an April 2015 S. E. C. filing, reported that drought had reduced yields for its corn and soybean harvest by as much as 31 percent, and warned that "the occurrence of severe adverse weather conditions, especially droughts, hail, floods or frost or diseases are unpredictable and may have a potentially devastating impact" on future agricultural production. Jean Rogers, chief executive of the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board, says more companies should acknowledge the threat. "Climate risk is the most ubiquitous risk out there," Ms. Rogers said. "There's no excuse anymore. We know what the risks are, industry by industry. "


Warning : array_key_exists() expects parameter 2 to be array, null given in /home/content/p3pnexwpnas07_data02/05/3222705/html/wp-content/plugins/widget-options/core/functions.widget.display.php on line 182 Home › ECONOMIC › HERITAGE COLLEGE CLOSING ALL 10 OF ITS CAMPUSES HERITAGE COLLEGE CLOSING ALL 10 OF ITS CAMPUSES 0 SHARES  [11/3/16] The Kansas Board of Regents confirms all 10 of Heritage College's locations, including those in southeast Wichita and Kansas City, Mo. are closed. The board or regents says the school is closed effective "immediately" and "indefinitely."  Tuesday afternoon, Eyewitness News heard from a student at the college's location on South Rock Road in Wichita, who was preparing to graduate.  The student says there was a note on the door of the school that they weren't letting anyone in. The note read that the school went bankrupt, the student says. She says neither students nor staff received notice of the shutdown. Some learned of the closure by finding the notes, others heard from classmates.  "I actually got a text message from a classmate and then I called the school several times and couldn't get an answer so I decided to come up here," said Machelle Hatter, who went to Heritage.  Many students say they feel angry and confused.  "I don't know where I'm going, I don't know what's going on with my loans, I don't know what to do next," said Stephanie Hermrack, who attended Heritage College.  Hermrack said now she and many others who attended Heritage are left with only a partial education and thousands of dollars in student loans.  "So I don't know if I owe the government $20,000 now even though I didn't get a degree out of this or what," added Joshua Anderson, another Heritage student. Post navigation Warning : array_key_exists() expects parameter 2 to be array, null given in /home/content/p3pnexwpnas07_data02/05/3222705/html/wp-content/plugins/widget-options/core/functions.widget.display.php on line 182 Warning : array_key_exists() expects parameter 2 to be array, null given in /home/content/p3pnexwpnas07_data02/05/3222705/html/wp-content/plugins/widget-options/core/functions.widget.display.php on line 182 Warning : array_key_exists() expects parameter 2 to be array, null given in /home/content/p3pnexwpnas07_data02/05/3222705/html/wp-content/plugins/widget-options/core/functions.widget.display.php on line 182 Warning : array_key_exists() expects parameter 2 to be array, null given in /home/content/p3pnexwpnas07_data02/05/3222705/html/wp-content/plugins/widget-options/core/functions.widget.display.php on line 182 RESOURCES


COMICAL: Larry the Cable Guy slams 'indefensible' hypocrisy from Donna Brazile Posted at 3:57 pm on October 29, 2016 by Doug P. Share on Facebook Share on Twitter  The defenses of Hillary Clinton have reached comical proportions, so it's only appropriate that a comedian helps point out a fresh round of hypocrisy: Lol. I swear this is getting ridiculous. The hypocrisy is indefensible RT @RyanBLeslie : This tweet didn't age well. https://t.co/8fPB4wnJ92  — Larry The Cable Guy (@GitRDoneLarry) October 29, 2016  Indefensible indeed! Check out this flashback from current DNC head Donna Brazile by way of Media Matters: Wash. Post Editorial Board: Republicans Are Damaging Rule Of Law By Attacking FBI Director Comey https://t.co/HEyZqdRsaK  — Donna Brazile (@donnabrazile) July 7, 2016  That's from July 7th. Oh how the Democrats' attitude has changed in the course of one day! Trending


A Tennessee woman slipped into a coma and died after an ambulance company took so long to assemble a crew that one worker had time for a cigarette break. Paramedics in New York had to covertly swipe medical supplies from a hospital to restock their depleted ambulances after emergency runs. A man in the suburban South watched a chimney fire burn his house to the ground as he waited for the fire department, which billed him anyway and then sued him for $15, 000 when he did not pay. In each of these cases, someone dialed 911 and Wall Street answered. The business of driving ambulances and operating fire brigades represents just one facet of a profound shift on Wall Street and Main Street alike, a New York Times investigation has found. Since the 2008 financial crisis, private equity firms, the "corporate raiders" of an earlier era, have increasingly taken over a wide array of civic and financial services that are central to American life. Today, people interact with private equity when they dial 911, pay their mortgage, play a round of golf or turn on the kitchen tap for a glass of water. Private equity put a unique stamp on these businesses. Unlike other companies, which often have years of experience making a product or offering a service, private equity is primarily skilled in making money. And in many of these businesses, The Times found, private equity firms applied a sophisticated moneymaking playbook: a mix of cost cuts, price increases, lobbying and litigation. In emergency care and firefighting, this approach creates a fundamental tension: the push to turn a profit while caring for people in their most vulnerable moments. For governments and their citizens, the effects have often been dire. Under private equity ownership, some ambulance response times worsened, heart monitors failed and companies slid into bankruptcy, according to a Times examination of thousands of pages of internal documents and government records, as well as interviews with dozens of former employees. In at least two cases, lawsuits contend, poor service led to patient deaths. Private equity gained new power and responsibility as a direct result of the 2008 crisis. As cities and towns nationwide struggled to pay for basics like public infrastructure and ambulance services, private equity stepped in. At the same time, as banks scaled back their mortgage operations after the crisis, private equity firms — which face lighter regulation than banks, and none of their capital requirements — moved in there as well. The power shift has happened with relatively little scrutiny, even as federal authorities have tightened rules for banks. Unlike banks, which take deposits and borrow from the government, private equity firms invest money from wealthy individuals and pension funds desperate for returns at a time of historically low interest rates. Since the 2008 financial crisis, private equity firms have gone from managing $1 trillion to managing $4. 3 trillion — more than the value of Germany's gross domestic product — according to the advisory firm Triago. Retirement nest eggs are fueling the growth and sharing in private equity's risks and returns: Nearly half of private equity's invested assets come from pensions. "There is private equity — a lot of it — and it's happening everywhere," said Vikram Pandit, a former Citigroup chief executive who is now head of the Orogen Group, which invests in financial businesses. Across the financial landscape, he said, "New champions will emerge. " Warburg Pincus, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts Company, and other major private equity firms have invested in emergency services, a business that routinely holds the lives of customers in its hands. While this represents one small corner of private equity, which traditionally used debt to seize underperforming companies, it captures the industry's newfound pervasiveness. K. K. R. — a firm memorialized in "Barbarians at the Gate," a book that chronicled a defining 1980s Wall Street deal — also invested in public water services. Blackstone is now America's largest landlord of rental houses. And in the mortgage industry, until recently the province of banks, the Fortress Investment Group controls a huge bill collector. In many of the fields where private equity now operates, it has not necessarily performed better or worse than the banks and governments it replaced. In some cases it financed projects that others wouldn't fund and provided crucial public services, including emergency care. And because these firms do not rely on the government for loans, and are much smaller than Wall Street banks, they pose far less risk to the broader economy. "Over 11 million Americans work for businesses, and millions more rely on private equity performance for their retirement security," said James Maloney, a spokesman for the American Investment Council, the industry's leading lobbying group. Private equity, Mr. Maloney said, helps "advance both our economic and societal . " But the Times investigation of emergency services shows that hasn't always been the case. Of the 12 ambulance companies recently owned by private equity, three filed for bankruptcy in the last three years, according to public filings and SP Global Market Intelligence, a research service that tracks over 1, 100 major ambulance companies in the United States. Those three companies had problems that predated private equity. But no other ambulance company tracked by the research firm filed for bankruptcy during that period. The latest blowup came in February, when TransCare EMS, controlled by the firm Patriarch Partners, filed for bankruptcy, closing its doors forever. One day, cities and towns up and down the East Coast had TransCare services the next, they didn't. "Private equity has, in this case, threatened public safety," said Richard Thomas, the mayor of Mount Vernon, N. Y, which relied on TransCare. "It's not the way to treat the public. " Patriarch's owner and founder, Lynn Tilton, said in a statement that she was "deeply saddened by the unfortunate circumstances that triggered the abrupt end to TransCare's operations and the heartache it has caused for many of its devoted employees. " She noted that TransCare, like other ambulance companies, "faced the obstacles inherent to its business model. " long one of the nation's largest ambulance companies and one of the few operators of private fire departments, did a tour through bankruptcy, although it reorganized and stayed in business. One private equity investor took into bankruptcy, and another helped get it out. During that period, 's response times slowed in certain towns and it instituted more aggressive billing practices across the board, records show. While under the control of Warburg, once sent a $761 collections notice to an infant girl born in an ambulance. "The matter may be reported to a national credit reporting agency," the notice read, effectively threatening a baby with a bad credit report. "Obviously there were problems with " said Ron Cunningham, a spokesman for 's new parent company, Envision Healthcare, which is not a private equity firm. "We are continuing to hire paramedics and E. M. T.s and what you are seeing is that the response times are improving. " In a statement, Warburg said it "invested in with the objective of growing and strengthening the company's business. " "Despite several initiatives undertaken by the company's board and management team," the statement said, the "challenges faced were too difficult to overcome. " While private equity firms have always invested in a diverse array of companies, including hospitals and nursing homes, their movement into emergency services raises broader questions about the administering of public services. Cities and towns are required to offer citizens a free education, and they generally provide a police force, but almost everything else is fair game for privatization. "We're reaching new lows in the public safety services we will help provide, especially in very poor cities," said Michelle Wilde Anderson, a law professor at Stanford University who specializes in state and local government. Private equity firms, she said, "are not philanthropists. " A TransCare ambulance pulled into a hospital parking lot in Westchester County. Employees in windbreakers, "EMS" emblazoned on the backs, hopped out and headed for the emergency room door. They were there not to bring in a patient or sign paperwork, but to go "E. R. shopping": swiping supplies to replenish critical items TransCare could not afford to replace in its ambulances. After an ambulance finishes a run, hospital staff members often restock medications as a courtesy. But TransCare emergency workers described pressure from supervisors to go further and raid supply carts, sometimes without the hospital's blessing. On occasion, one TransCare worker would act as lookout while "the other one would just be grabbing stuff," said Emanuel Almodovar, a former employee. Chez Valenta, an veteran of TransCare, said employees often had no choice. Medications in the ambulances were expired and supplies were depleted. "There's only a couple of things that terrify paramedics," Ms. Valenta said. "Being without your critical medications is one of them. I make no apologies. " The supply shortage — and the extreme measures taken to address it — was just one warning sign of TransCare's demise. In February, it became official: Employees received an email from a supervisor declaring, "We are being told to cease operations immediately. " TransCare's unraveling, told through internal documents and interviews with former employees, provides a case study in private equity's ambulance experiment. The company's implosion followed the bankruptcies of two other ambulance companies owned by private equity, and First Med. It wasn't supposed to be this way. Private equity investors swept into the ambulance business with high hopes. "Tremendous growth potential," Warburg Pincus said in a statement in 2011 when it bought with plans to acquire rival ambulance services and improve bill collection. Other firms bet that fragile towns would outsource emergency care. And, the thinking went, President Obama's health care overhaul would insure millions more people, providing new paying customers. But many newly insured Americans turned out to be on Medicaid, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. Medicaid restricts some of the most aggressive billing tactics. "It didn't quite play out like they had hoped," said Mike Ward, executive director of the National EMS Management Association. So some private equity firms fell back on a moneymaking strategy: slashing costs. The case of TransCare shows the perils of that approach. In 2003, Patriarch helped rescue TransCare, which had previously been owned by other private equity investors, from another bankruptcy. For years the company, which once had 2, 000 employees, showed signs of improvement, with ample resources and high morale. Patriarch's owner, Ms. Tilton, liked to put a friendly face on private equity, shunning the stereotype of Wall Street raiders out to strip companies of valuable assets or flip them for a quick profit. Ms. Tilton starred in a reality television show, "Diva of Distressed," and has famously said, "It's only men I strip and flip. " The TransCare mess was a mere blip for Patriarch, which manages a sprawling portfolio of more than 70 companies, including the mapmaker Rand McNally. And Ms. Tilton, who said she "worked tirelessly" to try to save the company, attributed TransCare's collapse to problems beyond Patriarch's control. The business requires costly investment in medical gear, she said. "With limited free cash flow, any disruptions in the business can cause unsustainable deterioration. " Yet Ms. Tilton was very much in charge of TransCare as it crumbled. She was the sole owner of the Patriarch Partners fund that had a controlling stake in TransCare. And although she never held an executive or management role, she was TransCare's sole board member — a situation almost in corporate America. Only 3 percent of private companies have two or fewer board members, according to survey data from the National Association of Corporate Directors, which called a board "likely a recipe for governance failure. " Former TransCare employees described pressure to cut costs and increase billing as the company weakened in recent years. Patients were transported unnecessarily in ambulances, they said. And ambulances regularly broke down. On the day TransCare filed for bankruptcy, more than 30 percent of the company's vehicles were out of service, some for hundreds of days, according to internal documents. "We drove buses on the 911 unit where the brakes didn't work properly," said Rayshma Raghunath, a former TransCare employee, referring to her ambulance. She started feeling uneasy during the Ebola scare in 2014, when she said workers had trouble getting enough sanitary wipes to disinfect their ambulances. Caitlin Cannizzaro, another former employee, said that even starting the ambulances became tough. One morning, it took four hours to get some running, she said. "You really had to become a MacGyver in the field. " By early 2015, the company had racked up health department violations for failed ambulance inspections, internal documents show. Employees spotted bedbugs in the Brooklyn dispatch center. Suppliers refused to provide drugs or repair ambulances because of unpaid bills. "We were constantly having problems with the heart monitors," said Mr. Almodovar, the former emergency medical technician. "It started getting scary. The last thing we want is for a patient to die on us because the equipment is failing. " By February 2015, shortages became critical. According to meeting minutes reviewed by The Times, TransCare executives discussed how their New York locations would be "unable to make it through the weekend with current medical supplies. " Supervisors regularly paid for supplies out of their own pockets and hoped for reimbursement, emails show. Some workers said the ambulances carried expired medications. Others went "E. R. shopping. " In March 2015, a new problem emerged: Some TransCare employees did not get paid on time. Then in July, it happened again. When it looked like payroll might be delayed another time, TransCare sent sample questions and answers to managers, "to help you communicate" with frustrated employees. It read in part: In the first few days of 2016, the trouble accelerated. Eviction warnings had piled up. High levels of carbon monoxide in the Brooklyn office sent at least one employee to the hospital, according to medical records. The company lost a major customer, the city of New Rochelle, N. Y. Less than 48 hours later, employees learned the chief executive had stepped down — the third in four years to leave. "Recent events have been a call," the chief operating officer wrote to the staff to announce the chief executive's departure. The note signed off, "Here's to a great future together!" A month later, the company filed for bankruptcy, leaving a mess for cities and employees alike. Workers rushed to the company's offices in Brooklyn to collect their final paychecks. Worried the checks might bounce, some piled into emergency vehicles and raced to a store. James Bradley, deputy commissioner of public safety in White Plains, blamed Patriarch for TransCare's woes. "That's where the problems lie," he said. The city of Mount Vernon, another former customer in New York, hired a new private company at a cost to taxpayers, and is developing its own ambulance operation within its fire department. In New York City, where TransCare had operated 27 ambulances, the fire department paid its own ambulance workers overtime to fill the void. "I am highly upset with Patriarch. They lied to us," said Jay Robbins, a former director of operations at TransCare who was at ground zero after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. "I told my employees to come in and work, and now they won't be getting paid," he said soon after the bankruptcy, his voice shaking. The bankruptcy also disrupted litigation pending against the company, including a malpractice case that raises questions about TransCare's training procedures. During an Aerosmith concert at Madison Square Garden in 2012, Robert Albrecht, a businessman with a wife and three children, suddenly collapsed. TransCare arrived within minutes — it was stationed in the building. But a paramedic mistakenly inserted a breathing tube into Mr. Albrecht's esophagus, medical records and the lawsuit show, pumping air into his stomach instead of his lungs. He was pronounced dead minutes later. The case was scheduled for preliminary settlement talks, according to the family's lawyer, Jonathan C. Reiter, when TransCare went under. Today Mr. Albrecht's widow is a creditor in the bankruptcy, in line with medical suppliers and unpaid workers. In Loudon County, Tenn. another ambulance company was unnerving local officials. After 11 years of relying on the Tennessee county wanted to part ways in 2014. So it sent letters to the company outlining grievances: employees slept through an emergency call. A driver refused to transport a dead body because it would "stink up" his ambulance. Another worker, who later said she offered to respond to an emergency even though she was off duty, had enough time to smoke a cigarette while the company scrambled to assemble a full crew. The patient later died. In the year since private equity had led the company into bankruptcy, had endangered "the health and welfare" of its citizens, Loudon County said in a letter to the company. It was, as the letter put it, "a complete system failure. " Data on the quality of an ambulance company's performance is scarce at the national level and difficult to compare or . A basic metric — how often ambulances are late — is often defined differently, if it is measured at all. Still, data can show how one company changes over time, and a Times analysis of data obtained under freedom of information laws from five of 's major markets suggests that service in four areas suffered under private equity ownership. The Times examined where operated exclusively, in or near cities. In one town, response times surged in another, penalties skyrocketed. In a third, county officials time and again received a dreaded alert: no available ambulances. The first private equity investor to back was Warburg Pincus. It was just one investment for a firm that manages roughly $40 billion. But the 2011 takeover was the sort of acquisition that tarred private equity firms in the public mind as corporate raiders out to make a fast dollar. Warburg financed its roughly $730 million purchase by adding more than $500 million in debt to 's balance sheet — a deep hole to climb out of. Initially, Warburg invested in the company and its ambulances. acquired two ambulance companies, helping increase capital spending by 20 percent and payroll by 15 percent in 2012. But the deals added to overall debt, contributing to cutbacks that potentially affected patient care. Some ambulances weren't promptly restocked, employees said. In Arizona, the company's home state, it shelved a program that gave raises to senior staff. It also slashed pensions there. "It was a train wreck," said Aaron Chamney, a former fire captain who said he was dismissed a month into Warburg's ownership after he was injured on the job. The financial results were also a mess. which operates ambulances in 20 states, told investors it would book higher revenue than it ultimately did, leading bondholders to sue Warburg for fraud, a case that continues. Warburg denies the accusations. As Warburg's investment spiraled toward bankruptcy, service suffered. In Arizona, just days before the August 2013 bankruptcy, the health department wrote to demanding data on its 911 response times. was failing to respond on time, state records show. Tacoma, Wash. waived almost all of 's fines for lateness in 2012 because the company was meeting overall standards. Then, however, performance collapsed. paid fines for nine straight months. In the first half of 2013, average monthly penalties, both waived and not, nearly quintupled from the same period a year earlier. "Throughout our ownership of Warburg Pincus always supported a high standard of customer care and the best possible results for all of the company's stakeholders," the firm said in a statement, citing "increased spending to improve operations and processes, increased capital investment and strategic acquisitions. " But as Warburg's investment was crumbling, something interesting happened: Other investors saw an opportunity and snapped up 's bonds. This is a classic strategy in which Wall Street firms hunt for investments (in this case, distressed debt) expecting them to bounce back. But didn't recover. It filed for bankruptcy. Suddenly those bondholders had a choice: revive the company, or lose their money. The biggest bondholder was Oaktree Capital Management, an investment manager that specializes in distressed bonds and private equity deals. Oaktree invested $88 million in loans and stock, helping wipe out Warburg's stake in the company. By January 2014, Oaktree was the single largest shareholder in . But Oaktree, which owned nearly 40 percent of did not halt the slide. In Rochester, monthly penalties averaged $58, 950 in the first half of 2015, during Oaktree's tenure, more than double the average during the first half of 2013, when Warburg owned the company. In July 2014, the Mesa, Ariz. fire chief formally complained about 's "unprecedented reduction of ambulances, which in turn delayed patient care. " The fire chief of the Superstition Fire and Medical District, in Apache Junction, Ariz. accused of appearing "more focused on cutting corners and canceling contracts than quality of care. " In Aurora, Colo. awarded medals of valor to some employees for responding to the 2012 movie theater shooting. But the city issued increasing penalties to the company, on an average basis, for late responses and other problems after the bankruptcy. Last year, during Oaktree's tenure, Aurora chose to award its contract to a different ambulance company. In a statement, Oaktree said 's board was unaware of "any contracts that the company lost due to deficient response times or supplies. " "The board's foremost focus was patient safety," Oaktree said, adding that it "never contemplated any expense cuts that would have affected response time or patient care. " Not everyone was displeased with . In Wheat Ridge, Colo. the company has been considered compliant since 2011. When suffered delays, "There were always reasonable explanations," said Daniel Brennan, chief of police. Similarly, San Diego considered compliant under Warburg's and Oaktree's ownership. However, the city's records show that it excused several hundred late responses over the last five years for circumstances like bursts of emergency calls. Officials in Knox County, Tenn. said they started worrying in April 2015 when alerted them twice that it had no ambulances available for emergencies, forcing them to rely on other providers. That is known as a "level zero," and it had happened only once before in recent years. In 2015, the county penalized $110, 000 for . also must tell the county if three or fewer ambulances are available. During the second half of 2015, it notified the county of such shortages an average of 106 times per month — quadruple the average of the same period in 2013. "What we've been told is that their challenge is around staffing," said Dr. Martha Buchanan, director of the county's health department. She cited the bankruptcy and a new law requiring more worker certifications, making hiring tougher. also reported increased lateness, defined as taking 10 minutes or longer to reach an emergency. In the second half of 2015, was late, on average, about 9. 4 percent of the time, up from 6. 8 percent two years earlier. Though the company still met overall standards, the county said "had increased difficulty in doing so. " Since Envision took over in late 2015, replacing private equity, the company has shown signs of improvement, Knox County officials said. It has purchased new ambulances and raised salaries. In neighboring Loudon County, officials noticed response time problems after the bankruptcy, when Oaktree was the largest shareholder. The final straw came after an 911 call in August 2014. Donna Maher, 81, couldn't breathe. "They're coming as quick as they can," the 911 operator promised. But 's ambulance had not yet left the station. Surveillance video showed an emergency worker standing beside her ambulance, smoking a cigarette. Ms. Maher eventually reached the hospital, but died 10 days later. Later that year, Loudon County negotiated an early exit from its contract. And the ambulance worker, Cortney Bryson, was fired. Ms. Bryson sued for wrongful termination, saying the company was "covering up improper scheduling, staffing and response criteria" in a way that "could have been shown to be a direct factor in the death of a citizen. " In an interview, Ms. Bryson said she had worked two shifts before the call about Ms. Maher came in. Ms. Bryson was technically off the clock, she said, but a replacement hadn't yet arrived. Ms. Bryson said that she offered to go with another colleague, but that they needed permission because the colleague lacked full credentials. While waiting, she smoked. Jennifer Estes, the 911 center director, says it is difficult to link a delayed ambulance to a death. But this case, she said, "leaves some room for someone to wonder, 'Could the extra time have made a difference? '" After private equity took over new posters appeared on the walls of ambulance and fire stations, featuring a caricature of a uniformed employee delivering a mandate: Get a signature. In other words, get patients to sign documents that can be used to bill them. "Almost always, if the patient is alert, they will be able to sign," he says. And if the patient can't sign? Then go to a family member, or a nurse. "They'll sign — because I don't give up. " The posters — just one element of 's aggressive billing practices while owned by private equity — promoted "Do the Write Thing," a policy instructing employees to document every detail of a patient's treatment. It paired with another initiative, the "Care to Cash" checklist, also instituted during Warburg's tenure. Warburg Pincus said it was not aware of those specific initiatives. The policies, said, would help patients by ensuring that bills were accurate. But employees complained that the process distracted them from caregiving and put them in the awkward position of seeking signatures from ill or medicated patients. Do the Write Thing "didn't sit well with the firefighters," said Nico Latini, who has worked at for a decade. "We operate under a high level of integrity and we do the right thing every day — with an R, not a W. " In the four years that private equity led the company was fighting for financial survival. It raised its prices, but patients couldn't afford those bigger bills. Against that backdrop, the company intensified its collection efforts. And when people didn't pay, took them to court. After Warburg left the company, eliminated Care to Cash and Do the Write Thing. But even under its new equity owner, it still sues to collect some unpaid bills from fire and ambulance customers. 's new owner said it "will continue to utilize the legal system to pursue payment when appropriate," but added that it first asks "customers who need assistance to work with us to develop a payment plan that meets their needs. " 's fire departments sell homeowners an annual subscription for fire protection, often ranging from $100 to $500, depending on the property. If a nonsubscriber suffers a fire, will still answer the call, unlike some other private departments. But then it sends a bill well above the subscription price. Even before private equity took over, the company sued to collect fire bills. Under private equity, this practice flourished. The Times examined court filings in the areas where operates fire departments and identified dozens of lawsuits filed since 2011, when private equity took over. In these lawsuits, which are at public fire departments, the company pursued unpaid bills ranging from a few hundred dollars to $59, 000. In Knoxville, Tenn. Lester Day faced one of those lawsuits. When his chimney caught fire in March 2013, he dialed 911. When firefighters arrived almost an hour later, 911 records indicate, the house had been reduced to ashes. That didn't stop from charging Mr. Day for their response and then placing a $15, 000 lien on his home, which he had since rebuilt. "Now I'm having to sell everything we've got," Mr. Day said in an interview. "It ain't right. " also filed hundreds of lawsuits against ambulance patients in the same time period, including claims against families of people who died. Public providers are generally less aggressive than private ones, and some opt not to sue at all. The New York Fire Department said it sends letters to ambulance patients but stops short of suing. And yet, patients may not always have the chance to ride in a government ambulance. Private companies now represent about 25 percent of all ambulance providers, according to the National Association of State EMS Officials. 's community fire service, which operates in Arizona, Oregon and Tennessee, is one of the nation's few private fire departments. Only 4 percent of Americans rely on a private fire service. mainly serves unincorporated areas without public fire departments, where often there is no government contract or public oversight. The Times spoke with more than a dozen people who had been sued by the company after fires on their property. Many homeowners in 's jurisdiction did not realize they had to pay for fire protection separately, on top of their taxes. Some thought the subscription fee was unwarranted. "I thought the fire department was paid out of taxes," said Alice Addie, who lives with her husband, LaVern, in Mesa, Ariz. In 2013, filed a roughly $7, 000 lawsuit against the Addies after their mobile home caught fire. Mr. Addie, a Navy veteran, at first disputed the charges, storming into his local fire department to question the suit. Ultimately, the company allowed the Addies to pay off their bill in monthly installments. But in the backyard of his home, in the shadow of the rugged mountains of Maricopa County, he explained how they were still struggling with that debt. "We just eat two meals a day instead of three," he said.


A man diagnosed with cancer 50 years ago and told by doctors that he had not got long to live, drank wine to forget his sorrows and found that it saved his life and cured his cancer.  98-year old Stamatis Moraitis who had refused chemotherapy and expensive medical procedures for his lung cancer decades ago lived long enough to share his story.  He even outlived his doctors before dying at the ripe old age of 100 from natural causes in 2013.  Underground Reporter :  There are now many studies proving chemotherapy can make cancer more malignant (deadly).  Some attest that chemotherapy and radiotherapy are both intrinsically carcinogenic treatments — so if a 98-year old man can live through a cancer diagnosis, without resorting to these treatments, what can we learn from him?  The answer is surprisingly simple.  Stamatis Moraitis was diagnosed with lung cancer in his 60s, and wanted his doctors to tell him how long he had to live. He was surprised by the diagnosis, but even more by the prognosis — that he was to live only six to nine months, according to medical 'experts.'  Moraitis hails from the Greek island of Ikaria, known as a place where people 'forget to die,' as they have such high longevity rates. He opted to forgo chemotherapy and other medications, not because this was the Greek way, necessarily, but because he considered funeral costs to be too exorbitant in the U.S. where he had moved in 1943 to seek treatment for a combat injury. Upon learning he had little time, he opted to return to his native Ikaria.  Moraitis simply continued to work, and drank two to three glasses of wine every day, waiting for his certain death. At about age 50, he started to question the doctor's prognosis, and at 98 years of age he says, " I'm no doctor, but I think the wine helped. I've done nothing else except eat pure food, [drink] pure wine, [take] pure herbs. "  His actions to cure his cancer are decidedly simple, but that's what makes them so surprising. Americans have been taught to believe they need to spend thousands of dollars on chemotherapy drugs, and practically go into bankruptcy while also killing their healthy cells with chemo and radiation, instead of simply changing their lifestyle habits.  Moraitis is living proof that eating right, working in fresh air , and giving the body the proper nutrients — that scavenge free radicals and create an environment in which cancer cannot thrive — might be all it truly takes to live well and prosper.  Moraitis may not be a doctor, he quipped, but there are over 2,200 peer-reviewed scientific studies suggesting that his lifestyle was very conducive to his recovery.  Instead of spending more than $120,000 on pharmaceutical 'cures' which don't necessarily work, he likely spent a few bucks every week on wine, fruit, and vegetables. He also happened to avoid the cost of an American funeral .  So, in essence, he spent less to live, than to die at the hands of modern, Western medicine.  " I found my friends in the village where I was born, and we started drinking. I thought, at least I'll die happy, " he said when first given his death-sentence.


The White House said on Thursday it would respond to Iran's ballistic missile test and other hostile actions, a day after President Donald Trump's national security adviser put Tehran on "notice," but it stopped short of providing any details. "We will have further updates for you on those additional actions, but clearly (national security adviser Michael Flynn) warned to make sure that Iran understood that they are on notice that this is not going unresponded to," White House spokesman Sean Spicer told reporters.


On Thursday, Hillary Clinton ripped Donald Trump and his bigoted administration apart for being on the wrong side of history and refusing to defend LGBT rights and while she was at it, she showed conservatives just what they missed out on by letting a former reality television star get into the White House instead of a well-qualified politician.At a fundraiser for LGBT community organization The Center, Clinton received an award and gave a speech in which she thanked her audience for their continued support. However, her message came with a chilling warning about the Trump administration as she said the progress that we fought for, that many of you were on the front lines for. It may not be as secure as we once expected. Clinton blasted Trump: We may not ever be able to count on this administration to lead on LGBT issues. Then, she couldn t resist rattling off several of the things Trump has been doing to directly attack and weaken the LGBT community. She said: When this administration rescinded protections for transgender students, my heart broke. When I learned about the proposed cuts in funding for HIV and AIDS research, I thought about all of our efforts to try and achieve an AIDS-free generation. Some of the changes that we re seeing should seem small, but they matter a great deal if you re the person affected. Others carry historic significance, like the future of the Supreme Court. While Clinton was not always a supporter of same-sex marriage, she had changed her tone several years ago and has been a powerful ally since. In her usual classy way, she called on Americans to stick together and unite to protect human rights and resist homophobia. Clinton said: I know the election hit a lot of us hard. I can tell you this: Even when it feels tempting to pull the covers over your heads, please keep going. Clinton s skilled and powerful delivery is something that Trump could only dream to emulate one day. Despite having lost the election to Trump, the majority of Americans still love and support Clinton, as Trump s approval rating plummets by the day. The support for her message shows that America no longer supports the values of the GOP any longer, and that conservatives have made a major mistake by putting Trump in the White House.You can watch Clinton s speech below: