We all know that Trump supporters are crazy, but a man in New York City s Times Square took it to a whole other level on Thursday. The clearly disturbed man is NYC s 21-year-old Krit McClean. He was reportedly shouting about Donald Trump at the top of a ledge, and was completely naked. Authorities and bystanders stared as he blew kisses at the crowd that stopped to watch the show, and was shouting, Donald Trump where are you! It all started when McClean took to the Square early Thursday morning, stripped naked in front of a Disney Store near 46th street, removed the watch from his wrist, hurled it at a nearby woman, and began shouting incoherently. A security guard told McClean to get dressed, but the order was ignored. He also was combative when police arrived, shouting Get that bitch Debbie, I want to talk to Debbie! After that, McClean said he needed to meet with Trump.Then, McClean was atop a 16 foot ledge shouting, Donald Trump where are you, Donald Trump where the f are you?! Officers on the scene report that he was grabbing and waving his private parts at them, did some sort of dance, and then jumped from the ledge, but unfortunately missed the safety apparatus that first responders had down below for him, and hit the pavement instead. He was carted off to Bellevue, a psychiatric institution in New York City, and is reportedly in stable condition.Now, this man is clearly mentally ill, but I find it very telling that he appears to be obsessed with Donald Trump, even in the middle of some kind of psychotic break. That isn t to make fun of McClean, of course. It s just a very interesting connection. May he make a full recovery.


Saker Message: No current Saker messages. Russia celebrates a Unity Day of liberation of Moscow from the Polish Roman Papists army in 1612 273 Views November 05, 2016 No Comments Scotts Corner Scott  The National Unity Day, first celebrated on 4 November 2005, commemorates the popular uprising lead by prince Dmitry Pozharsky and a meat merchant Kuzma Minin which ejected the alien occupying forces of Polish Roman Papists army from Moscow in November 1612, and more generally the end of the Time of Troubles and foreign interventions in Russia. Its name alludes to the idea that all the classes of the Russian society willingly united to preserve the Russian statehood when its demise seemed inevitable, even though there was neither Tsar nor Patriarch to guide them. Recently this episode was made into a Russian movie 1612.  Minin and Pozharsky: The Liberation of Moscow. (from the triptych "For the Russian Land!") Artist Yuri Pantyukhin  Russia: Muscovites celebrate Unity Day in capital  River dance in Simferopol, Crimea  Russia: Putin and Patriarch Kirill bless new monument to Vladimir the Great  Nov 4, 2016  President Vladimir Putin unveiled a new monument to the Russia's first Christian leader Vladimir the Great in Moscow, on Friday. The opening ceremony took place just in few meters from Kremlin walls and coincided with the Russian National Unity Day.  Vladimir Putin, Russian President (Russian): "Your Holiness. Respected Muscovites! Dear friends! I greet and congratulate you on the opening of the monument to Saint Equal-to-apostles Prince Vladimir. This is a big and significant event for Moscow, for the whole country and for all Russian compatriots. It is symbolic that it is being held on the National Unity Day here in the centre of the capital near the walls of the ancient Kremlin, in the heart of Russia."  Vladimir Putin, Russian President (Russian): "The strong moral support, cohesion and unity helped our ancestors to overcome difficulties, to live and to win for the glory of the Fatherland, to strengthen its power and greatness from generation to generation. And today it is our duty to stand together against modern threats and challenges basing on spiritual precepts, invaluable traditions of unity and concord and to move forward ensuring the continuity of our thousand-year history."  Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and all Russia (Russian): "The monument to Prince Vladimir is a symbol of the unity of all the peoples to whom he is farther. This is the peoples of the historical Rus' currently living within the borders of many states. The monument to the farther may be everywhere where his children live. There is no contradiction in it. But it is bad if children forget that they have the only father." The Essential Saker: from the trenches of the emerging multipolar world $27.95 Be the First to Comment! Leave a Reply Click here to get more info on formatting (1) Leave the name field empty if you want to post as Anonymous. It's preferable that you choose a name so it becomes clear who said what. E-mail address is not mandatory either. The website automatically checks for spam. Please refer to our moderation policies for more details. We check to make sure that no comment is mistakenly marked as spam. This takes time and effort, so please be patient until your comment appears. Thanks. (2) 10 replies to a comment are the maximum. (3) Here are formating examples which you can use in your writing:bold text results in bold text italic text results in italic text (You can also combine two formating tags with each other, for example to get bold-italic text.)emphasized text results in emphasized text strong text results in strong text <q>a quote text</q> results in a quote text (quotation marks are added automatically) a phrase or a block of text that needs to be cited results in: a phrase or a block of text that needs to be cited
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License DMCA  MIDDLEBURY, Vt. -- The Native Americans who have spent the last months in peaceful protest against an oil pipeline along the banks of the Missouri are standing up for tribal rights. They're also standing up for clean water, environmental justice and a working climate. And it's time that everyone else joined in.  The shocking images of the National Guard destroying tepees and sweat lodges and arresting elders this week remind us that the battle over the Dakota Access Pipeline is part of the longest-running drama in American history -- the United States Army versus Native Americans. In the past, it's almost always ended horribly, and nothing we can do now will erase a history of massacres, stolen land and broken treaties. But this time, it can end differently.  Those heroes on the Standing Rock reservation, sometimes on horseback, have peacefully stood up to police dogs, pepper spray and the bizarre-looking militarized tanks and SWAT teams that are the stuff of modern policing. (Modern and old-fashioned both: The pictures of German shepherds attacking are all too reminiscent of photos from, say, Birmingham, Ala., in 1963.)  The courage of those protesters managed to move the White House enough that the government called a temporary halt to construction. But the forces that want it finished -- Big Oil, and its allies in parts of the labor movement -- are strong enough that the respite may be temporary.  In coming weeks, activists will respond to calls from the leaders at Standing Rock by gathering at the offices of banks funding the pipeline, and at the offices of the Army Corps of Engineers, for protest and civil disobedience. Two dozen big banks have lent money to the pipeline project, even though many of them have also adopted elaborate environmental codes . As for the Corps, that's the agency that helped "expedite" the approval of the pipeline -- and must still grant the final few permits. The vast movement of people across the country who mobilized to block fossil-fuel projects like the Keystone pipeline and Shell's plans to drill in the Arctic need to gather once more. This time, their message must be broader still. - Advertisement -  There are at least two grounds for demanding a full environmental review of this pipeline, instead of the fast-track approvals it has received so far. The first is the obvious environmental racism of the whole project.  Originally, the pipeline was supposed to cross the Missouri just north of Bismarck , until people pointed out that a leak there would threaten the drinking water supply for North Dakota's second biggest city. The solution, in keeping with American history, was obvious: make the crossing instead just above the Standing Rock reservation, where the poverty rate is nearly three times the national average. This has been like watching the start of another Flint, Mich., except with a chance to stop it.  The second is that this is precisely the kind of project that climate science tells us can no longer be tolerated. In midsummer, the Obama administration promised that henceforth there would be a climate test for new projects before they could be approved. That promise was codified in the Democratic platform approved by Hillary Clinton's campaign, which says there will be no federal approval for any project that "significantly exacerbates" global warming.  The review of the Dakota pipeline must take both cases into account.  So far, the signs are not good. There has been no word from the White House about how long the current pause will last. Now, the company building the pipeline has pushed the local authorities to remove protesters from land where construction has already desecrated indigenous burial sites, with law enforcement agents using Tasers, batons, mace and "sound cannons." - Advertisement -  From the Clinton campaign, there's been simply an ugly silence, perhaps rooted in an unwillingness to cross major contributors like the Laborers' International Union of North America , which has lashed out against the many other, larger unions that oppose the project. But that silence won't make the issue go away: Sioux protesters erected a tepee in her Brooklyn campaign office on Thursday. If Mrs. Clinton is elected on Nov. 8, this will be the new president's first test on environmental and human rights.  What's happening along the Missouri is of historic consequence. That message should reverberate not just on the lonely high plains, but in our biggest cities, too. Native Americans have carried the fight, but they deserve backup from everyone with a conscience; other activists should join the protest at bank headquarters, Army Corps offices and other sites of entrenched power.  The Native Americans are the only people who have inhabited this continent in harmony with nature for centuries. Their traditional wisdom now chimes perfectly with the latest climate science. The only thing missing are the bodies of the rest of us joining in their protest. If we use them wisely, a fresh start is possible. View Ratings | Rate It Bill McKibben is the author of a dozen books, including The End of Nature and Deep Economy: The Wealth of Communities and the Durable Future. A former staff writer for The New Yorker, he writes regularly for Harper's, The Atlantic Monthly, and The ( more... )


Sir Rod Stewart has apologized after a video appeared online this week in which the rocker seemingly performed an mock execution on a male friend in the desert. [According to the Independent, Stewart's wife Penny Lancaster first posted the video to her Instagram account, which showed the "Maggie May" singer walking on a sand dune in the desert of Abu Dhabi with a group of friends. At one point, one of Stewart's male friends kneels down in front of the singer, as Stewart pulls his head back with his hand and appears to make a cutting motion across the man's throat. The video was deleted from Lancaster's account but was captured by several media outlets, including TMZ. The rocker came under fire from some fans, social media users and even the families of ISIS victims. Relatives of David Haines and Alan Henning, two British aid workers who were murdered by the ISIS terrorist known as Jihadi John, told the UK Mirror that they found the joke to be "brainless" and "disgraceful. " Stewart apologized in a statement, saying he had not intended to mock ISIS executions and had instead been emulating a scene from the HBO series Game of Thrones. "From the Beatles' Abbey Road crossing to spontaneously playing out Game of Thrones, we were simply larking about " he said in a statement to the Independent. "Understandably, this had been misinterpreted and I send my deepest apologies to those who have been offended. " Stewart's apology did little to quell the criticism (and sarcastic jokes) on social media. Not sure I'm a great fan of Rod Stewart's new album cover, tbh. pic. twitter. — Thomas Jones (@tomj191) March 3, 2017, Rod Stewart, what happened, man? — DIRTBAG LEFTIST (@coconono) March 3, 2017, I hope I've got the energy to perform mock executions with teenagers when I'm Rod Stewart's age. I won't probably, but nice to have options, — John Shafthauer (@hourlyterrier) March 3, 2017, Excited to start my first day as Rod Stewart's US publicist. Time to take a huge swig of coffee and see what's in today's news pic. twitter. — Patrick Monahan (@pattymo) March 3, 2017, Follow Daniel Nussbaum on Twitter: @dznussbaum


North Korea's biggest nuclear test, conducted last week less than 50 miles from the Chinese border, sent tremors through homes and schools in China's northeast. But hours later, there was no mention of the test on China's evening television news, watched by hundreds of millions of viewers. The decision on Friday to publicly ignore stark evidence of Pyongyang's expanding nuclear capabilities illustrated the embarrassment that North Korea's leader, Kim poses for his patrons in Beijing. But although North Korea remains nearly 100 percent dependent on China for oil and food, Chinese analysts say Beijing will not modify its allegiance to North Korea or pressure the country to curtail its drive for a nuclear arsenal, as the United States keeps requesting. "The United States cannot rely on China for North Korea," said Shi Yinhong, a professor of international relations at Renmin University in Beijing. "China is closer to North Korea than the United States. " China sees living with a state on its border as preferable to the chaos of its collapse, Mr. Shi said. The Chinese leadership is confident that North Korea will not turn its weapons on China, and that China can control its neighbor by providing enough oil to keep its economy afloat. The alternative is a strategic nightmare for Beijing: a collapsed North Korean regime, millions of refugees piling into China and a unified Korean Peninsula under an American defense treaty. The Obama administration's decision to deploy an advanced missile defense system in South Korea also gives President Xi Jinping of China less incentive to cooperate with Washington on a North Korea strategy that could aim, for example, to freeze the North's nuclear capacity, the analysts said. The missile defenses in South Korea, known as the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, or Thaad, have effectively killed any chance of China's cooperating with the United States, they said. "China is strongly opposed to North Korea's nuclear weapons but at the same time opposes the defense system in South Korea," said Cheng Xiaohe, an assistant professor of international relations at Renmin University. It is not clear which situation the Chinese leadership is more agitated about, he said. Beijing interprets the Thaad deployment as another American effort to contain China. The system reinforces China's view that its alliance with North Korea is an integral part of China's strategic interests in Asia, with America's treaty allies Japan and South Korea and tens of thousands of American troops close by, Mr. Shi said. Washington insists that the Thaad system, due to be installed in 2017, is intended to defend South Korea against North Korean missiles, and is not aimed at China. The system "does not change the strategic balance between the United States and China," President Obama said after meeting with Mr. Xi in Hangzhou, China, a week ago. But China is not persuaded. Chinese officials argue that the Thaad radar can detect Chinese missiles on the mainland, undermining its nuclear deterrent. So despite what Chinese analysts describe as the government's distaste for Mr. Kim and his unpredictable behavior, China's basic calculus on North Korea remains firm. Mr. Xi is expected to continue to ensure that North Korea remains stable. The Chinese leader, 63, has shown disdain for the much younger Mr. Kim, 32. He has not invited him to China, and has authorized only sporadic visits by Chinese officials to Pyongyang. The two militaries remain largely uninvolved with each other. But the personal and professional antagonisms do not alter Beijing's goal of preventing a unification of North and South Korea under an American defense arrangement. The longstanding fear that punitive economic action would destabilize North Korea makes it very unlikely that Beijing will cooperate with the United States on more stringent sanctions at the United Nations, according to Chinese analysts. In March, after considerable hesitation, China agreed to Washington's appeals and signed on to tough United Nations sanctions that included a ban on the export of North Korean coal. Now, as the West moves toward another round of United Nations sanctions, China's mood is very different, said a former senior Chinese official who worked on North Korea. He said some officials were wondering why China would work with the United States at the United Nations after Washington went ahead with the antimissile system against Chinese wishes. Meanwhile, the sanctions imposed in March have been enforced in only a desultory fashion, trade experts said. A loophole in the sanctions allows North Korean coal to be sold if the proceeds are used for humanitarian purposes, and that opening seems to have been exploited, said Stephan Haggard, a Korea expert at the University of California, San Diego. The sale of coal since the sanctions came into force was down 12 percent from the same period last year, a marginal amount, he said. On its own, the United States imposed secondary sanctions on business entities that do business with North Korea and in the United States. But North Korean businesses have found Chinese partners or are creating front companies to use smaller Chinese banks, Mr. Haggard said. There are differing opinions in China about whether an oil embargo — an unlikely punishment — would result in Mr. Kim's giving up his weapons. If China stopped the flow of oil, North Korea would face a severe economic crisis in about one year, and then face a choice between keeping its economy going or maintaining its nuclear program, the former senior official said. It is possible that at that point, Mr. Kim would negotiate, the former official said. But others disagree, saying the Chinese government would not dare cut the oil supply, knowing that North Korea would be able to get supplies from Russia and elsewhere. "The fundamental reason for not cutting oil is they don't want to sacrifice the buffer zone, and they also know if they cut off the oil supply, it will not force Kim to surrender his weapons," Mr. Shi said. Mr. Shi questioned why China would want to risk making North Korea into an enemy by cutting off the oil supply. "If you cut off the oil, there is a 50 percent possibility North Korea will not surrender their weapons, and they will hate China even more," he said. China's continued support of North Korea is a fundamental reason the United States should stop relying on China for progress on reducing the North Korean nuclear threat, said Joel Wit, a visiting scholar at the U. S. Institute at the School for Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University. Mr. Wit is among a group of American North Korea experts who believe the United States should take the lead and negotiate with the North.


Home / Badge Abuse / Police Family Fakes Robbery, Vandalizes Own Home to Blame it On Black Lives Matter Police Family Fakes Robbery, Vandalizes Own Home to Blame it On Black Lives Matter Matt Agorist October 31, 2016 Leave a comment  Millbury, MA — If you want to scam your insurance company while painting a group in a negative light who wants your husband and his peers to be held accountable for beating and killing unarmed black people, you can simply fake a robbery on your police officer's home and blame it on Black Lives Matter. But, you have to do it better than Maria Daly, who was busted last week for that very act.  According to CBS Boston, police say on October 17 Maria Daly reported a burglary at the family home, saying jewelry and money had been stolen. She also reportedly said her house was tagged with graffiti that appeared to reference the Black Lives Matter movement.  After investigators looked at the supposed crime scene, however, they quickly determined the entire account was false.  "Something wasn't quite right," said Millbury Police Chief Donald Desorcy. "I think that was pretty obvious and as a result of that investigation, the officers did their due diligence and followed through with the investigation that we had."  "Basically we came to the conclusion that it was all fabricated," said Desorcy. "There was no intruder, there was no burglary."  After Daly robbed and vandalized her own home, she reported it to police and then went on social media to decry the 'hatred' against her husband from Black Lives Matter.  "We woke up to not only our house being robbed while we were sleeping , but to see this hatred for no reason," she said.  Naturally, chief Desorcy quickly exonerated Daly's police officer husband, noting that he had no role in the deception. Whatever you say chief.  "She must have tagged the place herself," one neighbor said. "I don't know why you'd do that if you're gonna stage a robbery, I mean really come on, you're a cop's wife. You should know better."  Maria Daly faces charges of filing a false police report and misleading a police investigation, according to CBS Boston.  People vandalizing their own property to blame Black Lives Matter is not an isolated incident.  A man who accused Black Lives Matter activists of vandalizing and spray-painting his car was recently arrested because police believe that he vandalized the car himself to stage a hoax and to scam his insurance company. Scott Lattin, a self-described supporter of police, reported in September of 2015, that his truck was torn apart and tagged with the phrase "Black Lives Matter." Lattin alleged that his vehicle was targeted because he had a number of pro-police stickers and symbols displayed.  Lattin's story received national press, and he even appeared on a number of news programs where he showed the damage that was done to his truck. However, shortly after the hype, Whitney police arrested Lattin on a misdemeanor charge of making a false police report.  "We had initial video when the officers took the report and then when we saw your story on Channel 4. When we looked at those two videos, there were some differences in those and that led us to take the investigation into a different direction," Whitney Police Chief Chris Bentley said, adding that the case was "very disturbing."  Lattin was apparently so excited about going on TV he further vandalized his own truck, more so than what was initially reported. When police noticed the extra damage on the TV report, they knew he was lying. Share


(Want to get this briefing by email? Here's the .) Good evening. Here's the latest. 1. Democrats seemed relieved and pleased a day after Hillary Clinton used a major speech to ridicule Donald J. Trump. Some Republicans fretted that Mr. Trump might not be up to the task of repelling such attacks. "I thought it was one of the most important speeches Secretary Clinton has made throughout this campaign," said Leon Panetta, the former defense secretary under President Obama and chief of staff for Bill Clinton. _____ 2. The judge hearing a lawsuit by former students of Trump University is a cool customer, his friends say. That temperament is said to be helping the judge, Gonzalo Curiel, weather unusual public criticism by Mr. Trump. His attacks on Judge Curiel, including calling out his Mexican heritage, are part of a pattern of behavior that has led some scholars to question Mr. Trump's respect for the rule of law. _____ 3. Officials in Chicago released videos and other materials from 101 cases in which police officers had shot or otherwise injured civilians. The officials said many of the videos were not illuminating, but the disclosure was unusual for a city whose police department has a reputation for secrecy. The head of the investigative agency behind the release said it represented "an important step" toward increased transparency. _____ 4. As flooding in Paris threatened the Louvre, staff members and volunteers worked to remove art from harm's way. Nearly 160, 000 works were moved to higher floors from storage areas and galleries. Rain has lifted the Seine River to its highest levels since 1982. _____ 5. The U. S. economic recovery isn't quite as robust as analysts had hoped: Employers added just 38, 000 workers in May, the lowest monthly growth since September 2010. But the numbers aren't as foreboding as they seem, our analyst writes. Averaging job growth over the past three months shows a more modest slowdown. _____ 6. Nest, a digital device maker Google bought for $3. 2 billion in 2014, drew comparisons to Apple with its innovative approach to bringing unglamorous household devices like thermostats into sync with a digital world. Its Tony Fadell said Friday that he was leaving because Nest was in "maintenance mode. " But the departure came after reports that Nest had a harsh corporate culture and Mr. Fadell an abrasive style. _____ 7. It's a big weekend in sports, kicking off tonight at 9:30 Eastern time with the first game of the Copa América soccer tournament, pitting the United States against Colombia. On Saturday, Serena Williams goes for her 22nd major championship in the French Open final, and the Pittsburgh Penguins shoot for a lead over the San Jose Sharks in the Stanley Cup finals. Sunday brings Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray competing in the French Open final, while the Cleveland Cavaliers, down to the Golden State Warriors in the N. B. A. finals, try to tie the series. _____ 8. If you're looking for a movie to watch this weekend, our critics say the mockumentary "Popstar: Never Stop Stopping" is one of your best bets. It features Andy Samberg as a Justin pop idol, and "takes aim at everything that is artificial and plastic in contemporary pop in a spirit of love rather than spite," A. O. Scott writes. Ostensibly more serious fare: "Me Before You" is the story of a romance between a paralyzed aristocrat and the woman hired to keep him company. But Mr. Scott finds it to be ridiculous. _____ 9. Most West African capitals are scenes of sartorial flair, but the bright patterns adorning skirts and dresses worn by women there are more than just eye candy. Messages ranging from the playful to the political are encoded within the prints. During election season, clothes sporting the face of a politician can signify support — although that depends on where the face is placed. _____ 10. A Japanese boy survived six nights alone on the island of Hokkaido. He had wandered off after being left on the side of the road by his parents as a disciplinary measure, and was found by soldiers on a military base about three miles away. "I'm full of gratitude. From now on, I'm going to take better care of him as he grows up," the boy's father said. _____ 11. In other rescue news, a Florida fisherman who fell out of his boat without a life jacket was saved by the Coast Guard after 20 exhausting hours treading water, a local news channel reported. The man, William Durden, said the night was an ordeal but when the sun came up, he felt a surge of optimism. He felt fish hitting his legs, but his fears that a shark "would come out and decide to have me for dinner" went unrealized. Your Evening Briefing is posted at 6 p. m. Eastern. And don't miss Your Morning Briefing, posted weekdays at 6 a. m. Eastern, and Your Weekend Briefing, posted at 6 a. m. Sundays. Want to look back? Here's last night's briefing. What did you like? What do you want to see here? Let us know at briefing@nytimes. com.


If the weather hadn't been so foul, the most dramatic moment of Tiffany Mallory's wedding to Jerrell Moore would never have happened. "It had been pouring, and then it stopped raining but turned cold and windy right as we started the ceremony," said Mrs. Mallory Moore, who was married April 2 before 140 guests on the back lawn of the Mint Museum in Charlotte, N. C. Just as she arrived through the squall to meet her groom at the altar, a gust blew her veil into the sky. "It went flying, right off my head," she said. "But I'm over six feet tall, so people thought it looked very glamorous. " During a very wet April and May on the East Coast, many couples learned the hard way that a perfect (or at least nearly perfect) wedding does not require perfect weather. "Did my guests get wet? Yes, kind of," said Minoo Fadaifard Wade, who married John Wade in a drizzle on May 21 at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden in front of a crowd of 82. "It was chilly, too. But nobody complained. Everybody made the best of it. We were all lighthearted. " Should rain clouds threaten your wedding, here are some tips on how to salvage that perfect day, provided by couples who have managed to do just that. Rain was expected on May 22, the day Jill Jacinto, 30, was to marry Sander van den Bergh, 31, on the outdoor terrace of Battery Gardens, a New York restaurant. But she held out hope that the day would clear by the ceremony's 4:30 p. m. start time. "I gave up on checking weather. com the night before and assumed an indoor ceremony was in our future and out of our hands," said Ms. Jacinto, an associate director at an investment firm. "But then 30 minutes before the start time, the sun came out. " The couple was able to swiftly switch from their Plan B — an sheltered space — to the patio, their Plan A. "We ended up with a gorgeous ceremony," Ms. Jacinto said. "But we were ready for whatever happened. " At Mariana Rodrigues and David Rothschild's May 21 wedding at Cherry Hill in Central Park, rain began falling as guests boarded buses bound for a reception at the NoMad Hotel. "The bus driver was really kind and offered everyone on the upper deck ponchos, but I was pretty upset," said Mrs. Rothschild, 32, a former financial executive. "Then I was upset with myself for being upset, and David reminded me that that was absolutely warranted, that I was allowed to have that moment. " She did not let the moment last, though. "I realized it wasn't perfect but it was a great celebration," she said. "You have to remember that the weather is out of your control, and just enjoy yourself. " Erin McGrail and Elliot Fleming invited 150 guests to their June 2014 wedding under a stately oak tree at the Destrehan Plantation, just outside New Orleans. Thirty minutes before the ceremony, the sky turned black. "Then it just started pouring torrentially in that typical New Orleans way," Mrs. Fleming, 28, said. Instead of panicking as she watched friends and family run for shelter at a gift shop, she played it cool. "At first I took it badly," Mrs. Fleming said. "Then I saw how upset my mom was. So I said to myself, 'Stay calm, we can figure this out. '" The wedding was moved to the reception site nearby, where guests were seated at decorated tables. "But it didn't matter: At that point I had just accepted it for what it was," said Mrs. Fleming, who works in purchasing at the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans. Looking back, she added, she wouldn't change a thing. "Your state of mind is going to determine your guests' state of mind," said Constantino Khalaf. Mr. Khalaf, 36, married David Khalaf, 38, on May 14 in Cathedral Park in Portland, Ore. the couple's hometown, under drizzly skies with the occasional hard rain. There was no shelter for their 65 guests. "We warned people far in advance to bring their umbrellas and raincoats, because we knew getting married in May in Portland was like playing Russian roulette with the weather," said David Khalaf, who runs the Christian website Modern Kinship with his husband. Then they made the best of it. During the reception, held at the wedding site, "We all huddled together to stay warm, and we danced in the rain," he said. "If you're just like, 'Hey, this is a beautiful occasion, let's dance in the rain,' everybody is going to pick up on that," "The first advice I would give is: Ask all your vendors what their rain policies are, and read the contracts closely," said Mrs. Mallory Moore, the bride whose veil wouldn't stay put and who is also an assistant United States attorney with the Western District of North Carolina. That includes contracts with musicians. "Some live musicians who play string instruments won't play in dampness," she said. "We had a trio of horn players, so it worked out for us. But it might not have if we had a violinist. " She also was not sure how her florist would handle broken vases several were smashed in the storm. The couple was not charged. "But you really have to pay attention to that stuff," Mrs. Mallory Moore said. Rachel Bowie felt personally responsible when the rain started coming down on May 13 at Jane's Carousel in Brooklyn, where 99 guests had gathered to watch her and Matthew Dorville get married. "It was Friday the 13th. We sort of asked for it," she said. But she was glad she remembered a tip from her photographer: buy a lot of clear umbrellas. "They don't cast a shadow on your face," said Mrs. Bowie, 33, an editor who lives in Brooklyn. If she had to do it over again, she would have asked a friend to pack galoshes for her, too. "Right before I walked down the aisle my shoes were so wet I was slipping in them. I had been jumping through those gross, deceptively deep New York City puddles. " Hurricane Irene was an uninvited guest at the August 2011 wedding of Jacqueline Shea and Matthew Bailey of Eatontown, N. J. When the bride was getting her nails done in preparation for the rehearsal dinner, an evacuation was ordered for an area that included the wedding site on the beach near Asbury Park.' ""I was in denial, like, this is not happening," said Mrs. Bailey, 35, a teacher of the deaf. The couple married that night at a local restaurant. Flowers were assembled from Trader Joe's, and the bride's mother bought a sheet cake from ShopRite." 'Then, vendors refused to refund deposits for the wedding. A year later, the couple appeared on Anderson Cooper's talk show, "Anderson," ostensibly to warn other couples about the need to buy wedding insurance. Instead, Mr. Cooper announced that the show was giving them a wedding redo, including a reception at the Wilshire Grand Hotel in West Orange, N. J. and a trip to the Caribbean island of St. Lucia, to renew their vows on the beach. The Baileys now have two children, ages 1 and 2½, and more perspective on disasters. "I think what happened to us is sort of like a precursor to what everybody finds out once they're married," Mrs. Bailey said. "And that's that there are ups and there are downs in married life, sometimes big ones. What you do is you make the most of it, no matter what. "


Fox News host Sean Hannity is having a Twitter meltdown after Time called out Donald Trump for claiming that the magazine called him regarding the Person of the Year award and that he declined the offer.Time magazine corrected Trump in a tweet, writing, The President is incorrect about how we choose Person of the Year. TIME does not comment on our choice until publication, which is December 6. The magazine calling out Trump was too much to bear for Trump cult member Sean Hannity who called it bullshit just hours after Time denied the former reality show star s bizarre claim. I call total Bullshit on Time. Answer the question; did you or did you not call the WH and say @realDonaldTrump @POTUS was being considered for person of the year and ask for an interview? Hannity tweeted Friday.I call total Bullshit on Time. Answer the question; did you or did you not call the WH and say @realDonaldTrump @POTUS was being considered for person of the year and ask for an interview? https://t.co/DaqfDBsr0V Sean Hannity (@seanhannity) November 25, 2017And again.So @Time is worse than Fake News @CNN. The coming ice age, The Big Cool ha. https://t.co/mppoFtFsvc Sean Hannity (@seanhannity) November 25, 2017Sean really wants the magazine s attention.Waiting https://t.co/90GSYMVVKU Sean Hannity (@seanhannity) November 25, 2017Twitter users, of course, are calling out Liddle Sean.You re questioning Time? Why aren t you questioning the man who hung fake Time covers of himself in his resorts? It s sad you haven t caught on to his lies yet, Sean. Mrs. SMH (@MaraLaGoFuckYou) November 25, 2017pic.twitter.com/UJtVSaKgOF What the Fork (@WhattheForkLLC) November 25, 2017Only the finest make it on @TIME @POTUS44 @MichelleObama pic.twitter.com/fGLX2Rzgwo NAT (@N_A_T_39) November 25, 2017LMAO! Let s look at this logically. @Time magazine has been in business 93 years. It s never gone bankrupt. It s a respected institution.@realdonaldtrump has gone bankrupt 4 times, has been caught in scores of lies including a fake Time cover mounted on his golf club walls. pic.twitter.com/ywzr96arh1 Annalise Brown (@SWFLib) November 25, 2017Donnie can t stand the idea of Obama being Time s Man of the Year in the first year of his presidency. He knows he ll never be half the man or the President @BarackObama was, and it s eating him up inside. pic.twitter.com/ROMxC3oc7C Annalise Brown (@SWFLib) November 25, 2017As this woman notes, Trump has always been obsessed with Time magazine.Honey, just get the man warm milk and one for yourself Also. pic.twitter.com/LMV9lwg9Lx kastherine (@Mercedes8_S) November 25, 2017Find a comfy chair. Drink some warm milk. And wait for the voices to stop. Charles P. Pierce (@CharlesPPierce) November 25, 2017With Trump s history, a man who literally hangs photoshopped Time magazine covers featuring his big stupid face, on the walls of at least 4 of his golf courses, we re pretty it s not Time magazine who is lying.Photo by Rob Kim/Getty Images.


Bestselling conservative author Ann Coulter, one of President Donald Trump's earliest and staunchest supporters, railed against the Obamacare 2. 0 bill championed by House Speaker Paul Ryan on Tuesday. [Obamacare 2. 0 would inflict severe healthcare costs on Rust Belt voters while easing taxes on counties that voted for Democrat Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election, according to Bloomberg News. Trump swept into the White House on a populist wave because voters protested mass immigration policies, erosive trade deals, and Middle Eastern military conflicts — not because they wanted another "crazy corporatist agenda," Coulter tweeted. Could some investigative reporter write a piece explaining why Ryan is so hellbent on this deeply unpopular healthcare bill? — Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) March 22, 2017, We did the tough thing! We passed an unpopular bill! — Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) March 22, 2017, GOP: When did you get the sense that Americans are clamoring for a tax cut to help the "job creators"? — Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) March 22, 2017, Only 50% of people even pay taxes! — Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) March 22, 2017, "Job creators" aren't popular right now. They're creating jobs in Indonesia and jobs for lobbyists. — Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) March 22, 2017, TRUMP DIDN'T RUN ON CUTTING TAXES! — Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) March 22, 2017, NO ONE SAID CUTTING TAXES WAS TOP PRIORITY! Even businesses would prefer cutting regulations, red tape and trial lawyers. — Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) March 22, 2017, The only thing that got the GOP this win that voters thought Trump was going to abandon this crazy corporatist agenda. — Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) March 22, 2017, GOP response to Trump's victory has been to on all the ugly unpopular policies that make GOP hated. — Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) March 22, 2017, GOP has to get working class votes, or they're just handing it to social justice warriors. — Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) March 22, 2017, I'd love to pay less in taxes. THAT ISN'T THE BIGGEST PROBLEM. Bigger: No jobs, no health care, no wall, immigrant crime welfare … — Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) March 22, 2017, Conservatives are furious over the bill's complete lack of enforcement against illegal aliens receiving healthcare tax credits — meant for citizens and certain immigrants — through document fraud and identity theft. Michigan Republican Rep. Justin Amash said the bill has "no constituency" beyond the political class entrenched in Washington, D. C. and their wealthy insurance company allies.


Trump s brand-new communications director, Anthony Scaramucci, is raising some eyebrows, and not because he s another former Wall Streeter. He supported both Obama and Hillary, and has expressed some considerably liberal views on things like gun laws and the 2nd Amendment. That may well put Trump at war with the NRA, because the NRA is likely to see this as a betrayal of sorts.In 2012, Scaramucci was very clear in his position on gun laws, and they do not match what the NRA wants to see in the White House at all:Image via TwitterHe also told all of Twitter that he s always supported strong gun laws. The NRA hates any gun laws in fact, they like to push lawmakers to loosen them in response to mass shootings:Image via TwitterSo, of course, NRA spokeswoman Dana Loesch isn t exactly thrilled with Scaramucci s appointment. She s hoping that he s changed his position since then, because, after all, the only things that matter to the NRA-types are guns. Lives? Safety? Well, those are just collateral damage in the fight for freedom.Loesch and the NRA have been under fire recently for a patently disgusting ad calling liberal protesters messages the violence of lies, and that also said that liberals assassinate the truth. She says that it s up to real Americans to fight the violence of lies with the clenched fist of truth. It s not hard to interpret that as a call to eliminate liberals.Scaramucci is, crazily enough, someone that Trump believes will be loyal to him, first and foremost and above everything else. Will he actually do that, though? Maybe. He ll have to do a complete 180 on issues like gun control, which then throws his convictions and credibility into doubt. Who will come out on top when all is said and done? Only time will tell.


We always knew that the Trump Administration was anti-LGBTQ. However, he just went full throttle on Twitter in an incredibly bigoted way. Despite his promises during the campaign, Trump is now insisting that transgender people should not be included in military service. Trump tweeted that transgender people would never serve in the military under his direction. Trump tweeted:Of course, this is a major reversal of Obama-era policies. President Obama ended the travesty that was Don t Ask, Don t Tell for lesbian, gay, and bisexual service members. Now, he is going after the policy that would provide healthcare for transgender soldier. Trump just effectively let the nation know that he has every intention of taking the nation back to a time when equality was simply not on the table for anyone not straight, white, Christian, and cisgender.Of course, this is red meat for Trump s bigoted base. Also, his rabidly anti-LGBTQ #2 Soldier in bigotry, Mike Pence, likely had a whole hell of a lot to do with this. Pence hates LGBTQ people, as was shown by the actions and statements he made first during his time in Congress, and then as Governor of Indiana.This is disgraceful. Trump made all kinds of promises he is refusing to keep. He promised he wouldn t go after LGBTQ people. He promised to be a president for all Americans. He has now officially proven that he never had any intention of doing any such thing.This is indeed a dark day for America.


As she announced in January 2016 that the Philippines would immunize one million children with a new dengue vaccine, the nation s then health secretary Janette Garin boasted it was a world-first and a tribute to her country s expertise in research. At the time, it seemed the Philippines could be on the cusp of a breakthrough to combat a potentially lethal tropical virus that had been endemic in large parts of the Southeast Asian nation for decades. Almost two years later, the program lies in tatters and has been suspended after Sanofi Pasteur, a division of French drug firm Sanofi, said at the end of last month the vaccine itself may in some cases increase the risk of severe dengue in recipients not previously infected by the virus. Documents reviewed by Reuters that have not been disclosed until now, as well as interviews with local experts, show that key recommendations made by a Philippines Department of Health (DOH) advisory body of doctors and pharmacologists were not heeded before the program was rolled out to 830,000 children. After Garin s announcement, the Formulary Executive Council (FEC) of advisers urged caution over the vaccine because it said its safety and cost-effectiveness had not been established. After twice meeting in January, the panel approved the state s purchase of the vaccine on Feb 1, 2016 but recommended stringent conditions, minutes of all three meetings show. Based on the available scientific evidence presented to the Council, there is still a need to establish long-term safety, effectiveness and cost-effectiveness, the FEC told Garin in a letter on that day. The letter was reviewed by Reuters. The FEC said Dengvaxia should be introduced through small-scale pilot tests and phased implementation rather than across three regions in the country at the same time, and only after a detailed baseline study of the prevalence and strains of dengue in the targeted area, the FEC letter and minutes of the meetings said. The experts also recommended that Dengvaxia be bought in small batches so the price could be negotiated down. An economic evaluation report commissioned by Garin s own department had found the proposed cost of 1,000 pesos ($21.29) per dose was not cost-effective from a public payer perspective, the minutes from the meetings reveal. For reasons that Reuters was unable to determine, these recommendations were ignored. The DOH purchased 3 million doses of Dengvaxia in one lot, enough for the required three vaccinations for each child in the proposed immunization program and paid 1,000 pesos per dose, a copy of the purchase order reviewed by Reuters shows. It did conduct a limited baseline study in late February and March 2016, but the survey looked at common illnesses rather than the prevalence of dengue, according to guidelines issued by Garin s office at the time and reviewed by Reuters. Garin, who was part of the government of former president Benigno Aquino and replaced when President Rodrigo Duterte took power in June, 2016, did not respond to requests for comment on why she ignored the local experts recommendations. A physician, Garin has defended her conduct and a program that she said was implemented in accordance with WHO guidance and recommendations . I understand the concern, she told Philippine TV station ABS-CBN on Friday. Even us, we re also very angry when we learned about Sanofi s announcement about severe dengue. I m also a mother. My child was also vaccinated. I was also vaccinated. DOH spokesman Lyndon Lee Suy also did not respond to text messages or questions emailed to him. Sanofi Philippines declined comment on the Philippines government decision. However, Dr. Su-Peing Ng, Global Medical Head of Sanofi Pasteur, told Reuters: We communicated all known benefits and risks of the vaccine to the Philippines government. Rontgene Solante, former president of the Philippines Society for Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, said health officials were motivated to end the debilitating impact of dengue on the Philippines, where there are about 200,000 reported cases each year and many more unreported. Over 1,000 people died of the disease in the country last year. Two months after the FEC wrote to the health secretary, the DOH began immunizing one million students around the age of 10 in all three target areas in April 2016, in accordance with its original plan but at odds with the FEC s recommendations to conduct a slow roll-out of the vaccine. The usual process for the DOH that has protected our children for so many decades was not followed. That s a fact, said Susan Mercado, a former Philippines health department undersecretary and former senior official at the World Health Organization (WHO). WHO said in April 2016 that the Philippines campaign appeared to meet its criteria for using Dengvaxia because the targeted regions had high levels of dengue exposure; the vaccine would be provided to children 9 years and older; and they would each receive three doses. WHO was not involved in the deliberations of the FEC, according to the minutes. It said in a statement last week that a position paper on the dengue vaccine it published in July 2016 did not include a recommendation for countries to introduce it. Now, after Sanofi s warnings, WHO has said it agrees with the government s decision to suspend the immunization program. The current secretary of health in the Duterte administration, Francisco Duque, said he would carry out a thorough analysis of the FEC s recommendations and the program before passing judgment. He said the Council s recommendations were not legally enforceable. At the end of the day, the final decision is made by (the)secretary of health, he told Reuters. But because of the expertise that the members of the FEC have, it is something that you don t want to ignore. Underpinning the concerns in 2016 about Dengvaxia, since confirmed by Sanofi, were fears that the vaccine would act like a primary infection for those who had never had dengue. If they were bitten by a mosquito carrying the virus after the vaccination, it could be akin to getting dengue a second time, which often leads to far more severe symptoms and potentially death if bad cases are not treated quickly. The concerns were first raised by noted U.S.-based tropical disease expert, Dr. Scott Halstead, who urged both Sanofi and the WHO to proceed with caution. In the Philippines, Dr. Antonio Dans, an epidemiologist from the University of the Philippines, led a delegation of physicians to the DOH in March 2016 where, citing Halstead s research, they pressed for the campaign to be aborted. The data was not definitive but it was clear there were uncertainties and risks. Why not wait for the complete studies to be finished before endangering so many children? Dans told Reuters. In a Senate hearing late last year, Garin said she was aware of Halstead s assessment but dismissed it. This is a theory ... it has not been proven, she said at the time. Two sources involved in the program said no antibody testing was undertaken, as recommended by the FEC. Antibody testing, while not 100 percent accurate, indicates whether an individual has had dengue before. Duque, the current health secretary, is demanding the company refund the 3 billion pesos ($60 million) paid for the vaccinations and has threatened legal action against Sanofi if it is proven to have withheld information. A criminal probe is underway into how a danger to public health came about and two Congressional inquiries have been convened in the Philippines. Duque told Reuters he was concerned that the program was paid from an off-budget allocation, meaning it bypassed Congressional scrutiny. Reuters was unable to confirm this. Until now, one child out of the 830,000 vaccinated, a girl who was hospitalized with severe dengue, has been linked definitively by the DOH to the campaign. But the department of health says it still does not have complete data on those who fell ill after taking Dengvaxia.


Egypt's czar thought he was just doing his job when he estimated how much endemic graft had cost his country: About $76 billion, he said, mostly in corrupt land deals. But the estimate, it turned out, was itself a criminal offense. The official, Hisham Geneina, is to stand trial in Cairo on Tuesday, just over two months after he was unceremoniously fired by President Abdel Fattah as the head of the Central Auditing Authority. He faces a charge of spreading false news and disturbing the peace that carries a potential jail sentence. Mr. Geneina, who served as a senior judge for 34 years before taking the post in 2012, said the prosecution is politically motivated and driven by powerful enemies inside Mr. Sisi's government. "I was expected not to touch certain corruption cases," he said in an interview. More broadly, critics of the government say his case exemplifies how, under Mr. Sisi, even senior officials are running afoul of an authoritarian crackdown that seems intent on quelling any criticism of the powerful state security apparatus. In the past month alone, the authorities have indicted the head of Egypt's journalists union and convicted more than 150 people who protested the transfer of two Red Sea Islands to Saudi Arabia. Even the Parliament has been whipped into line: In May, the speaker threatened to discipline any politician who publicly criticized Egypt's efforts to defend its sliding currency. "This is an unprecedented way of dealing with corruption and the rule of law," said Ashraf el Sherif, a politics lecturer at the American University in Cairo. "The message is that nobody in the state, especially key institutions, can be held accountable. " The prosecution of Mr. Geneina began in March, days after Mr. Sisi dismissed him by presidential decree. It surprised many Egyptians for its speed and the profile of the defendant. Unlike the Islamists, activists and journalists who have been singled out by Mr. Sisi's government, Mr. Geneina had long been a member of the establishment. Mr. Geneina's lawyer, Ali Taha, said he had been misquoted by a newspaper, which reported that the $76 billion loss had been incurred in 2015 instead of across three years. Mr. Sisi convened a committee to examine the figure, which concluded that Mr. Geneina had exaggerated the figures. In an interview, Mr. Geneina declined to discuss the details of the report, saying he had been told not to discuss the case. But he said he believed that he was being pursued because he had angered powerful interests — officials who became wealthy under former President Hosni Mubarak, and parts of the state security services under Mr. Sisi. "In every position I have held, I underwent security checks," he said. "If I was so dangerous why didn't they come after me 40 years ago?" Since then, Mr. Geneina and his family have been subject to a campaign of defamation on television channels in an effort to discredit him, ranging from accusations that he belonged to the Muslim Brotherhood to suggestions that his wife supported the militant group Hamas because she is of Palestinian origin. "I have lost faith in a lot of things," Mr. Geneina said. His wife, sitting beside him, spoke of her shock of him being hustled into a van and hauled off to jail. Mr. Sisi made fighting corruption a central policy plank after he came to power in 2013. Yet since then, his government has introduced a "reconciliation" law that has cleared the way for several figures to have corruption convictions quashed in return for large cash payments. Hussein Salem, a businessman living in exile in Spain, recently struck an agreement to pay more than $600 million to the Egyptian government to be allowed to return home. Analysts say that Mr. Geneina's $76 billion comment hit a nerve because it touched on the power of state institutions that Mr. Sisi has sought to placate, even in the face of accusations of graft and brutality, in order to solidify his own power, and in the name of ensuring the country's stability. Mr. Geneina has been succeeded at the Central Auditing Authority by Hisham Badawy, who worked previously for Egypt's state security apparatus. The agency has not announced any major new cases, Mr. Sherif noted. "He's a regime figure," he said. "It's more or less the same old wine. "


House Republicans managed to pass their healthcare bill on Thursday, just barely, and it is truly a despicable piece of legislation. The right-wing nutjobs who have taken over the Republican party, AKA the Freedom Caucus, refused to vote in favor of the bill as long as Obamacare s protections for pre-existing conditions remained intact. So, the GOP said the hell with it and gutted protections for the sick in order to gain their votes.Think it can t get any worse? WRONG. As if taking health care from 24 million people and removing protections for pre-existing conditions isn t bad enough, what qualifies as a pre-existing condition is even worse.Among possible pre-existing conditions that could result in outrageous premiums are rape and sexual assault. Seriously. Rape.NYMag reports:The new MacArthur-Meadows Amendment will allow states to discriminate based on medical history, reportedly without addressing the subsequent high cost of health care for millions of Americans.In addition to rape, postpartum depression, cesarean sections, and surviving domestic violence are all considered preexisting conditions. Companies can also deny coverage for gynecological services and mammograms.The amendment also says that Nothing in this Act shall be construed as permitting health insurance issuers to discriminate in rates for health insurance coverage by gender. But, ummm, did you look at what qualifies as a pre-existing condition? Insurance companies don t have to cover gynecological services and mammograms that screen for cancer? How many men are gonna need a c-section? How many men have postpartum depression? How many men need a pap smear to check for cervical cancer? Seems pretty damn obvious that being a woman is a pre-existing condition itself.Paul Ryan and Donald Trump have tried to claim that pre-existing conditions are covered, but that isn t exactly the truth. The MacArthur-Meadows amendment would allow states to opt out of federal regulations and allow insurance companies to charge higher premiums for people who have pre-existing conditions. Since this was the law of the land before the Affordable Care Act, we know what happens when you give insurance companies this option: they set premiums so high that sick people are priced out of insurance coverage altogether.So now, besides the shame, fear, and trauma that have traditionally kept women from seeking medical care after they are sexually assaulted, rape victims now get to worry that they will lose their health insurance if they get help. What the actual f*ck is wrong with these people? This is as disgusting as it gets.


The value of the bully pulpit of the president of the United States can't be measured on a corporate spreadsheet or the Excel file of a Wall Street analyst. But as Donald J. Trump tries to stop Carrier from moving more than 2, 000 jobs to Mexico, the company is learning that the pulpit can be powerful indeed. Carrier, in the middle of negotiations with the incoming administration, may end up keeping some of the jobs in Indiana. In exchange, the incoming administration could ease up on regulation for businesses and cool campaign rhetoric on imposing tariffs. Officials familiar with the situation, who insisted on anonymity because talks were still underway, described the discussion on Friday as a negotiation, with both sides seeking a compromise. Carrier and its corporate parent, United Technologies, confirmed on Thursday that executives were in discussions about the fate of two factories in Indiana scheduled to shut down, not long after Mr. Trump posted on Twitter that he was "working hard, even on Thanksgiving," to get Carrier to stay. "Making progress," he added, in all capital letters. For both Mr. Trump and the company, the stakes are huge. His promise to reverse trade deals like the North American Free Trade Agreement, or Nafta, and bring back manufacturing jobs to the United States was critical in taking the Rust Belt out of the Democratic column and winning the White House. "Trump cannot afford to back down on this one," said Robert Dilenschneider, a veteran public relations executive who advises companies and chief executives on strategic communications. "He prides himself on the art of the deal, and he's going to make Carrier an offer they can't refuse. " "It's a hallmark case and if Trump can win it, which I think he will, it will send a message to every single American company that's thinking of going offshore," Mr. Dilenschneider added. For the company, the costs of defying the are at least as high, if not higher, and may well outweigh the tens of millions of dollars to be saved by relocating production to Monterrey, Mexico, from Indiana. United Technologies is among the country's biggest military contractors, producing engines for the Pentagon's most advanced fighter jets and receiving more than $5 billion annually from the federal government. That equals 10 percent of the company's revenue. The size of the federal government's dealings with United Technologies has also caught the eye of legislators on Capitol Hill, like Senator Joe Donnelly, Democrat of Indiana. "It's unfair to ask the same workers who have been laid off to pay tax dollars that will go to the company that fired them," he said. "We're in this together as Americans. When our workers succeed, our economy succeeds and our defense contractors succeed. " Senator Donnelly is pushing for the government to consider outsourcing as a factor in deciding which companies receive federal contracts. Kenneth G. a professor of labor and employment law at the Maurer School of Law at Indiana University, said he also thought that Mr. Trump "could get a win here," adding, "Because they are a defense contractor, the federal government has some leverage. " "Whether he can do something that benefits the working class in general is a different story," he said. "The underlying problems are very hard to address. Trying to hold back the economic tide of automation, and the loss of manufacturing jobs, is something I'm not sure anybody can do. " While Carrier is best known for its it also sells a variety of other heating and cooling equipment for homes and small businesses, like the furnaces and fan coils made at the Indianapolis factory. And as a business, Carrier is much more vulnerable to public pressure than firms that primarily deal with other businesses, said Barbara J. Fick, a professor of law at Notre Dame Law School. She noted that not far from Notre Dame's campus, at a plant in South Bend, Honeywell has been engaged in a bitter standoff since May with employees represented by the United Automobile Workers. "Honeywell doesn't make a lot of things you can boycott," Ms. Fick said. "It's mostly . To the extent that Carrier makes and furnaces, you can hit them with the pocketbook. " Although Carrier workers in Indianapolis say management at the factory has been traveling back and forth to Mexico in recent months, with Mexican engineers measuring machines that are expected to be transported to Monterrey, there is plenty of time for the company to change course. In a presentation this week, Carrier's management told employees that the fan coil line would be the first to close in eliminating 300 to 400 jobs. But as that line closes, about 100 jobs will be saved temporarily by the creation of a new night shift making furnaces. furnace production is not set to end until to late 2018, while the final line to close, furnaces, won't he shuttered until early 2019. That staggered schedule has given workers some hope that if a compromise between the new administration and the company does emerge, it may revolve around keeping the gas furnace production lines open, even if a smaller number of jobs are relocated to Mexico in the meantime. If a deal was reached, it could also help set the tone for a Trump presidency in terms of corporate America, Mr. Dilenschneider said. Much as Ronald Reagan's decision to fire striking air traffic controllers in 1981 signaled to organized labor that political momentum was no longer on their side, keeping Carrier in Indiana would show that a Republican president was willing to stand up to corporate America. There are signs that Mr. Trump is already eager to show just that. This month, he took credit for Ford's decision to keep Lincoln production in Kentucky, although it is not clear that any Ford jobs at the Louisville plant were actually in danger of going to Mexico. "It doesn't make any difference who the president is," Mr. Dilenschneider said. "If the president of the United States says, 'Do it,' you've got to give it some very serious thought. "


Five Republican presidential hopefuls are scheduled to speak at an ultra-conservative pastor s religious freedom event, to prove what the GOP believes religious liberty is REALLY about i.e. bigotry, exclusion and treating those who live different lifestyles like scum.On Saturday, Jeb Bush, Ben Carson, Ted Cruz, Carly Fiorina and Mike Huckabee will appear on the Free to Believe Broadcast, which is being hosted by the Family Research Council s Tony Perkins and Vision America s Rick Scarborough two men who have become infamous for their anti-gay activism. Both Perkins and Scarborough have taken it upon themselves to fight against gay marriage because it is apparently violating their Christian rights. In the past, Perkins has said that America s persecution of anti-gay Christians is inspiring ISIS and Scarborough said he ll burn to death to outlaw gay marriage. Live and let live is completely lost on these two, and they intend to keep fighting with more fear-mongering, threats and punishment.Scarborough, who is a pastor, has repeatedly said that God punishes gay people for their immoral act with AIDS and has even called for a class action lawsuit against homosexuals in 2013. Scarborough has claimed that if only Americans would wake up and stop supporting gay rights, God would probably give us the cure for AIDS today. Last year, Scarborough said God would be completely justified in sending a nuclear bomb to destroy America just because Obama appointed a few gay ambassadors. Here s a video of Scarborough preaching about AIDS and God s judgement on gays:Perkins record of homophobia isn t much better.It should come as no surprise that the five GOPers listed above would support such a vile event. Cruz in particular has rained praise on Scarborough and similar anti-gay activists before, expressing his support for the Religious Right s rhetoric that God will punish gays. Cruz, along with Huckabee, have also supported anti-gay radicals by making appearances at a 2015 conference hosted by Kevin Swanson, who believes gay people should be put to death. The two candidates also stirred up controversy last year with their alliance to anti-gay Kentucky clerk Kim Davis, who became infamous for her refusal to issue marriage licenses to gay couples after the Supreme Court s ruling.Extreme events like the broadcast these five GOP candidates are planning to attend are a perfect example of what the party truly stands for. It s not about religious freedom at all it s about hate, shame, fear and punishment and has very little to do with the true values of Christianity. When Republican candidates attend and participate in events like this, they re showing America who they really are and what they truly support bigotry. Hopefully, America is paying attention.


Mark Crispin Miller, a professor at New York University, explains how US elections are stolen: http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article45799.htm  He outlines what can be done, but those in power will not do it. Revolution is probably the only solution. The post Mark Crispin Miller, a professor at New York University, explains how US elections are stolen: appeared first on PaulCraigRoberts.org .


In Indiana, schools staged a robotics competition for fourth graders. The winning team was comprised of two African-American children and three Latino children, ranging in age from 9-10. While this fact should (and does) demonstrate that science doesn t know skin color, it also brought out the ugliness that s become pervasive in Trump s America.The winning team was from Pleasant Run Elementary in Indianapolis. As they were leaving the competition, though, things got really ugly. Some children screamed Go back to Mexico, to the team. Then, parents got involved and it got even worse.This verbal attack had spilled over from the gymnasium. While the children were competing, one or two parents disparaged the Pleasant Run kids with racist comments and loud enough for the Pleasant Run families to hear. They were pointing at us and saying that Oh my God, they are champions of the city all because they are Mexican. They are Mexican, and they are ruining our country, Diocelina Herrera, the mother of PantherBot Angel Herrera-Sanchez, heard a woman say.Source: USA TodaySchool officials, naturally, apologized and said that that sort of behavior isn t tolerated, but unfortunately, this is Trump s America and enabling that sort of behavior is what the non-political correctness crowd is all about.Trump s America is why Rep. Steve King (Iowa), who literally preached eugenics on Twitter, had almost zero consequences from Republicans.Wilders understands that culture and demographics are our destiny. We can t restore our civilization with somebody else s babies. https://t.co/4nxLipafWO Steve King (@SteveKingIA) March 12, 2017Trump s America is why hate crimes have been on the rise since the election.No, Trump is not the cause of racism, but he is an enabler. Racism has suddenly become socially acceptable, at least among certain people. Trump has filled his cabinet and administration with white supremacists. Steve Bannon is a known white supremacist and he is the de facto Chief of Staff (sorry Reince Priebus, but you know this to be true). Their policies even want to make it easier (and slightly more legal) to be a radical right-wing extremist.The winning kids, fortunately, were much more mature than some of the adults. One gave the most heart breaking comment of all: They yelled out rude comments, and I think that they can talk all they want because at the end we re still going to Worlds, said team leader Elijah Goodwin, 10. It s not going to affect us at all. I m not surprised because I m used to this kind of behavior.He shouldn t have to be used to it. No one should ever be used to this.


CHARLESTON – John Kasich isn't sure how he got to be the runner-up to in Tuesday's New Hampshire GOP primary, an achievement that is drawing more South Carolina voters to his under-the-radar presidential campaign. "Frankly no one would have thought I would finish in second place, way ahead of everybody else, in New Hampshire," Mr. Kasich told […]


When Ellen DeGeneres found out that Donald Trump watched Finding Dory as his immigration ban was causing worldwide chaos, she used it as a teaching moment.On Friday, Trump signed an unconstitutional executive order banning people traveling from seven countries from entering the United States. International outrage ensued as people and governments around the globs condemned the ban and protests raged across the country.On Sunday, Trump watched the Disney/Pixar film in the White House as the protests continued and apparently learned nothing from watching it.So on Tuesday, DeGeneres told Trump what he should have learned. I don t get political, so I m not gonna talk about the travel ban, DeGeneres began. I m just gonna talk about the very nonpolitical, family-friendly, People s Choice Award-winning Finding Dory. DeGeneres explained that the character of Dory lives in the ocean near Australia, but she decides to travel to America to find her parents, whom she remembers after getting her memory jogged. Dory and her friends reach California, only to find a wall standing in their way and they proceed to do what is necessary to get around the obstacle.Finding Dory is about a fish named Dory and Dory lives in Australia. These are here parents. They live in America. I don t know what religion they are but her dad sounds a little Jewish. Doesn t matter! Dory arrives in America with her friends Marlin and Nemo and she ends up at the Marine Life Institute behind a large wall. They all have to get over the wall and you won t believe it but that wall has almost no effect in keeping them out. Even though Dory gets into America, she gets separated from her family. Other animals help Dory animals that don t even need her, animals that don t have anything in common with her. They help her even though they re completely different colors because that s what you do when you see someone in need. You help them.Here s the video via YouTube.Indeed, walls are a main obstacle throughout the movie, but the characters find a way to circumvent them every time, just as immigrants are going to circumvent Trump s massive and expensive wall along the southern border.As the Berlin Wall teaches us, people will find a way no matter how deadly the risks are.At least 5,000 people entered West Germany across the heavily guarded wall to escape the tyranny of the Soviet Union. 138 people died trying.If people are desperate enough, they will find a way to live in America. Travel bans and walls will not stop immigrants and refugees from seeking a better life for themselves and their families.


Friday on CNN's "Situation Room," CNN political director David Chalian said President Donald Trump's recent foreign policy maneuvers mean he is "going mainstream" and Washington "establishment. " Chalian said, "I don't know if we're seeing a Trump doctrine take shape. Certainly, Donald Trump is not portraying it as such. It's a little bit more of these disparate and discrete incidents that have happened, whether the Syria attack or this bomb. In fact, you just said it was a tactical move that the theater commander was able to make, not necessarily the large — part of a strategic framework here, and I think — the only thing that I could sort of ascertain in observing what Donald Trump is doing right now is that he's going mainstream — a little establishment, which is totally against the brand that he ran on. " "But he — I think it shows the power — and when I say establishment, I don't mean just Republican establishment — Democrat — the Washington establishment — and it shows the power and the stranglehold that the establishment has," he continued. "I know he tried to bust it up during the campaign and saying that he was going to be the irritant and destroy it, but when you don't have ideological moorings — you're not moored, that's guided, then I think you're susceptible to the power of the establishment and I think that's what we see playing out right now with Donald Trump. " CNN chief political correspondent Dana Bash added, "He said the world has changed, and it hasn't. I mean, things change every day in the world, but the — but the overall sort of zeitgeist of where these hot spots are is where they were when he took office, so it wasn't that. It was him, and it is him, and — and to your point, David, it's that he's not a dogmatic guy. He never was. If he was a dogmatic guy, then he would have run for the Democratic nomination because he would still be and for health care system but he's not. He switched, you know, did a complete 180 on those issues and so it's not surprising that he is willing to — to use his words, be flexible when it comes to a whole host of issues, as he's learning a really, really hard, really new job that people who are even ideological and get the job tend to realize, you know, I need to switch a little bit. " Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN


Two women were injured on Friday by an attacker wielding a hammer and shouting Allahu Akbar in the eastern French town of Chalon-sur-Saone in Burgundy, local officials said. The local prosecutor s office said witnesses of the attack in a public park of the town center heard the attacker shout Allahu Akbar while hitting the women, who were taken to hospital but whose life is not in danger. Prosecutors said they were treating the incident as a possible terror attack, but also did not rule out the possibility the attacker was deranged. The attacker was still on the run on Friday afternoon, police said.


Tune in to the Alternate Current Radio Network (ACR) for another LIVE broadcast of The Boiler Room tonight 6:00 PM PST | 8:00 PM CST | 9:00 PM EST for this special broadcast. Join us for uncensored, uninterruptible talk radio, custom-made for bar fly philosophers, misguided moralists, masochists, street corner evangelists, media-maniacs, savants, political animals and otherwise lovable rascals.Join ACR hosts Hesher and Spore along side Funk$oul and Randy J (ACR & 21WIRE Contributors), and Patrick Henningsen (21WIRE) for the 125th episode of BOILER ROOM. Turn it up, tune in and hang with the ACR Brain-Trust for this weeks boil downs and analysis and the usual gnashing of the teeth of the political animals in the social reject club.This week on the show the ACR Brain-Trust is back with another meeting of the Social Reject Club in the No Friends Left Zone and the gang is discussing Hurricane Irma, weather modification, the off the charts levels of so called political correctness in Washington DC as reported live by Sunday Wire s Patrick Henningsen, establishment are still actively pushing lies about the war in Syria, the good/bad/ugly business of disaster relief charities, reactionaries still blaming Hurricane Harvey on climate change, the repeal of DACA and the challenges for the left and the right to have any sort of beneficial dialog about immigration realities, platforms and policies in the environment of media driven, knee jerk, emotionally charged politicization of the topic.Direct Download Episode #125Please like and share the program and visit our donate page to get involved! Reference Links, for your consideration and research:


A Wall Street News poll released Monday found growing disapproval of Speaker of the House Paul Ryan. [Forty percent of Americans hold an unfavorable view of Ryan, compared to only 22% who view him positively, according to the poll. The numbers represent a major decline in popularity since February, when Ryan's net favorability was only one percentage point negative. The same drop in support is mirrored among Republican poll respondents, with net favorability falling from to 23 in the same period. Ryan's drop in popularity was more significant than that among the low rating for Congress as a whole. The percentage of those with a favorable view of congressional performance fell from 29 to 20 since February. The drop among Republicans was more significant, falling to a mere 31% from the high 40s. This outpouring of disapproval comes after Speaker Ryan spearheaded the abortive effort to repeal and replace Obamacare with his own "American Health Care Act. " The bill had to be withdrawn for lack of support and drew criticism from across the spectrum of Republican politics. The perception of Ryan's ability to deliver legislative victories in the House took a major hit in the aftermath of his health care bill's demise, with some members of Congress calling for his replacement. Other legislative initiatives have stalled under Ryan's leadership. He has repeatedly stated that tax reform will likely to be possible only after the precarious health care situation is untangled. At the moment, the House is embroiled in a struggle to pass a budget to keep the government running, with contention over the funding of President Donald Trump's signature border wall apparently stalling this often routine measure. As Congressional Republicans approach the mark of the Trump presidency, Speaker Ryan is unable to point to any major legislative accomplishment. Negotiations are ongoing to revive the momentum for implementing the GOP's agenda, but the Wall Street News poll suggests the electorate is losing confidence in the Republican leadership's ability to do so.


A key meeting between Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives ended on Thursday without a compromise on a proposal to eliminate a popular deduction for state and local taxes, the top House tax writer told reporters. "I'm going to stay at the table and so is the leadership ... to try to find a solution," U.S. House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady said after a dozen Republicans from states that oppose the deduction's elimination voted against a key budget measure to advance tax reform. "They made it clear. They need this problem solved before they vote 'yes' on tax reform," he added.


21st Century Wire says..With Christmas season right around the corner, millions retail consumers in North America and Western Europe will be taking on thousands of dollars in new credit card debt. Few have paused to ponder how it all started, and where the real breaking point lies for both personal and social stability. If you think that your credit has taken over your life then you need to watch this film.This week s documentary film curated by our editorial team at 21WIRE Debt is like a disease that can enable us from living a happy and normal life by taking control over our lives. Most of us don t even know how we end up in the situation we are in. Buying every thing we own with credit has become our culture. But don t let debt control your life any more. You can take over your life again. Imagine life with out debt Watch: SEE MORE SUNDAY SCREENING HERESUPPORT 21WIRE SUBSCRIBE & BECOME A MEMBER @21WIRE.TV


The classless Democrats are at it again. The over-the-top potty talk by the Chairman Tom Perez was bad enough but now the California Dem Chairman has raised the bar on nastiness. He prompts the crowd to yell out F@ck Donald Trump! The kicker is that Nancy Pelosi was caught laughing with the crowd. How unbelievably childish are these people?AP reported:California s elected Democrats had tough words for President Donald Trump and the GOP Congress on Saturday, urging their party s fired-up activists to work against the 14 Republicans in the state s congressional delegation.The party s leaders blasted Trump s alleged ties to Russia and presented California as the epicenter of liberal resistance to the president. The world, literally the world, is counting on all of you, counting on California to reject Trump s deception and destructiveness, said Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is among a crowded field of Democrats running for governor next year.U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris, often mentioned as a potential candidate for president in 2020, accused Trump of putting Russia first, America second. In a sign of the vigor of the party s distaste for the president, outgoing party Chair John Burton, a longtime Democratic lawmaker and powerbroker known for his blunt and profane manner, extended two middle fingers in the air as the crowd cheered and joined him. F Donald Trump, he said:Outgoing @ca_dem chair @Johnburton gets standing O w final words to his party, finger upraised: F@ck Donald Trump! pic.twitter.com/VIqNQlhDJc Carla Marinucci (@cmarinucci) May 20, 2017And we though Tom Perez was bad!


For years if not decades liberals have complained that the nation is on the verge of becoming an oligarchy, which in the most simplistic terms possible, means that corporations (and the wealthy) are more important than regular people. Well, a ruling in Los Angeles might not be the biggest or the most wide-reaching news story, but when a judge ruled that the victims (yes, the victims) of the horrific mass shooting in Aurora, Colorado would have to pay for the sins of daring to sue the movie theater, our wall between government and corporations crumbled even more.On July 20, 2012, an orange haired 24-year-old named James Holmes entered a screening of the Batman movie, The Dark Knight Rises. He proceeded to set off tear gas and grenades before peppering the theater with hundreds of rounds of ammunition. He killed 12 and injured 70. At that point, it was the largest mass shooting in history. Holmes was sentenced to more than 3,000 years in prison, so there was some justice some The living victims of the shooting sued Cinemark Theaters, claiming that if they had had guards and better security camera coverage, the shooting might not have happened and even if it had, there might have been fewer casualties. They lost. Now, we can debate the validity of the lawsuit all day long, but to add insult to dozens of brutal injuries, the theater countersued, claiming that the victims owed them $700,000 in legal fees and court costs. The theater won. They now owe the theater $700,000.We can also debate the validity of this ruling all day long, but the bare truth is that Cinemark didn t need to sue. They were just being dicks. The shooting or the impending lawsuit didn t hurt Cinemark. Their annual revenues are just south of $3 billion a year and rising steadily. They could have easily eaten the legal costs with just a few concession sales (only a slight exaggeration).The worst thing this ruling did, other than re-victimize people who have to live with the traumatic memory and for some, permanent injuries, was to send a message. The message is that if citizens dare to stand up to their corporate overlords, we should be prepared to be slapped down hard and in the most expensive ways possible. Cinemark should have just let this go, but it was in their interest, like it s in the interests of large corporations throughout the nation, to let us know, in no uncertain terms, that we have no voice.


UN: Migrant Deaths in Mediterranean Hit Record in 2016 BBC News, October 26, 2016  At least 3,800 migrants have died or are missing in the Mediterranean Sea in 2016–the deadliest year on record, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) has said.  It said this was despite a significant drop in migrant crossings compared with 2015, when 3,771 deaths were reported.  Smugglers were now more often using flimsy boats and putting more people aboard, the UNHCR said.  {snip}  The agency said the most dangerous route had been between Libya and Italy, with one death in every 47 arrivals recorded.  By comparison, another–much shorter–route from Turkey to Greece had a ratio of 1 in 88.  {snip}  Nearly 330,000 people have crossed the Mediterranean Sea this year, compared with more than one million in 2015.  {snip}


« on: Today at 08:34:33 PM » Duterte Wants Foreign Troops Out of Philippines in 2 Years 26 October 2016 , by Andreo Calonzo (Bloomberg) - Philippines will survive without U.S. help, he says in Japan- No talks with China about military alliance, Duterte says Logged


A U.S. Justice Department appeals lawyer is on special counsel Robert Mueller's team probing interference in the 2016 presidential election, Reuters has learned. Scott Meisler, an appellate attorney with the Justice Department's criminal division, is one of 16 lawyers who have signed on to the probe and one of only two who have not been previously identified. Peter Carr, a spokesman for Mueller, said Meisler joined the team in mid-June. In an investigation like Mueller's, former U.S. Solicitor General Donald Verrilli said appeals lawyers would help determine whether the conduct being examined violates sometimes complex federal laws. "Having people who've spent their careers making difficult judgments in this area would be quite valuable," Verrilli said. Appeals lawyers usually argue in federal circuit courts or the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold or overturn trial results. The solicitor general's office represents the U.S. government before the Supreme Court. Meisler is one of several appeals lawyers on Mueller's legal team. The most senior is Deputy Solicitor General Michael Dreeben, who has argued more than 100 cases before the Supreme Court and is widely considered the Justice Department's top criminal law expert. Elizabeth Prelogar, an assistant solicitor general, is another appeals lawyer on the team. Mueller, who was appointed special counsel in May, is looking into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia during the election, among other matters. Last week, his team began interviewing former and current White House officials, according to a person familiar with the matter. Russian officials have denied meddling in the U.S. election, and Trump denies any collusion by his campaign. A 2005 Georgetown University Law Center graduate and fluent Spanish speaker, Meisler has been in his current position since 2009, aside from a recent year-long stint as an assistant solicitor general. He has represented the government in appeals involving search warrants and seizures, motions to suppress wiretap evidence, mail fraud, wire fraud, structuring financial transactions and money laundering.


The travel restrictions put in place by U.S. President Donald Trump on seven countries are deterring travelers from other countries too, according to a travel analysis company. ForwardKeys, which analyses 16 million flight reservations a day from major global reservation systems, said bookings for international arrivals to the United States over the next three months were 2.3 percent higher than last year. But on Jan. 27, the day Trump issued the executive order, bookings had been 3.4 percent ahead of the previous year, Forwardkeys data showed. When the travel ban was in place from Jan. 28 to Feb. 4, bookings to the United States dropped 6.5 percent, including an 80 percent slump in reservations from the seven countries listed on Trump's order and a 13.6 percent drop from Western Europe. On the day the curbs were lifted by a U.S. judge, bookings from Iran surged, ForwardKeys said, leaving reservations for travel to the United States five times higher on Feb. 3 and Feb. 4 than the same two days a year earlier. Most of those bookings were for arrival in the United States on Feb. 5 and Feb. 6. ForwardKeys CEO Olivier Jager cautioned that the data was just a snapshot of an eight-day period and it would continue to monitor the situation. Other groups, such as the U.N. World Tourism Organization, have also warned travel demand could be hurt by U.S. restrictions, which are still suspended pending a U.S. appeals court hearing due to start at 2300 GMT on Tuesday. "The ambiguity of these very latest developments introduced by President Trump is casting a shadow over the future travel demand to and from the U.S.," said Nadejda Popova, travel project manager at Euromonitor. "The new executive order could also impact how the U.S. is perceived as a tourism destination and how open to foreign travelers it will be in the future."


In the latest move in its ambitious space program, China launched a manned spacecraft from the Gobi Desert on Monday morning. Images broadcast on CCTV showed the astronauts giving a salute seconds before launch, and 15 minutes later they could be seen on the live feed clasping their gloved hands, apparently a sign of a successful launch. The spacecraft, called is to dock with an orbiting space laboratory launched last month. The astronauts are expected to stay in the lab for 30 days before returning to Earth, the deputy director of China's Manned Space Agency, Wu Ping, said before the launch. The mission is the third flight for one of the astronauts, Jing Haipeng. "It is any astronaut's dream and pursuit to be able to perform many space missions," Mr. Jing said, according to Xinhua, the news agency. The mission is China's sixth manned space launch, and by staying aloft for 30 days the two astronauts will more than double the national record for staying in space, CCTV, the national broadcaster reported. The main tasks in the space lab will include testing computers, as well as propulsion and life support systems and other experiments, according to CCTV. The activities in the lab are intended to help China reach its goal of launching a more permanent space station, in 2018. The docking of the spacecraft with the lab will take place about two days after the liftoff, Chinese space officials said. China launched its first lunar probe in 2013, and plans to land another lunar probe on the far side of the moon by 2018. In 2020, China aims to send an unmanned rover to Mars. The target date for sending an astronaut to the moon is 2025. This year is the 46th anniversary of China's space program, which has bolstered its spending in the past decade in an effort to catch up with the United States and Russia. Chinese official media reported that the space program expects to complete 20 launches this year, including the deployment of the world's first quantum communications satellite and a military satellite. The Chinese word for Shenzhou means "heavenly vessel," and Tiangong means "heavenly palace. "


21st Century Wire says NSA and police state cheerleaders will often use the flimsy defense of mass surveillance, claiming that it s legal , and therefore, it is somehow right, and that we must trust the state because the U.S. is an advance democracy, land of the free, home of the brave (you know the drill).The truth of the matter is independent of the whims of the state (in this case, the Orwellian police state), which is this: when laws are manipulated and passed through our bicameral legislative machine and then used for oppressive and profitable ends the very ends that so many great writers and philosophers warned us about for centuries then those laws, along with the state s omnipotent authority must be challenged. And how many times have we heard central government cheerleaders throw around this old trope when it comes to state surveillance: Well, if you haven t done anything wrong and you have nothing to hide, then you have nothing to worry about. Presently, Washington s current liberty death spiral is in direct conflict with the fundamental principles and morals of a free society. This has caused a near complete breakdown in trust between the corporate state and the voters. This reality seems to be lost on so many media pundits and of course, completely lost on our bureaucratic class RT: It turns out that FBI director James Comey covers his laptop camera with tape, just like any NSA-fearing citizen should an admission that has generated hilarity on social media


Bosnia must start making concrete reforms if it wants to join the European Union, or the window to becoming a member could close, the bloc s enlargement chief said on Monday. The European Union accepted Bosnia s application 15 months ago - but Johannes Hahn said the Balkan nation had not made any of the reforms or changes agreed with the bloc and international creditors. So far nothing has been delivered. We now expect very concrete results, Hahn said after meeting political leaders. Bosnia s prime minister, Denis Zvizdic, said he hoped the leaders would reach a compromise on outstanding issues by later this month or early January. The ethnically divided country has so far not managed to respond to the initial EU questionnaire on its readiness to join the bloc. Political bickering has held up a law raising excise tax on fuel, required to unlock external financing for infrastructure projects. There has also been no sign of development and energy and agriculture sector strategies demanded by the bloc. There are a lot of issues in the pipeline but I would like to have them through the pipeline, said Hahn. It is absolutely high time now to deliver on what has been agreed, otherwise, the window can be closed again and this is not something we all would like to see, he told a news conference. Hahn urged government and opposition leaders to stop appealing to ethnic nationalism, and said the EU would be looking for evidence of European values, including a respect for court rulings. Without that understanding one cannot make any progress, he said.


The French island of Martinique escaped Hurricane Maria largely unscathed but a communications blackout with Guadeloupe meant it would be several more hours before damage there could be assessed, a senior French Civil Protection official said on Tuesday. Maria, the second major storm to hit the Caribbean this month, lashed Guadeloupe s southern shores as it tracked northwest toward the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. In Martinique, reconnaissance operations are still underway but already we can see that there is no significant damage, Jacques Witkowski, France s head of civil protection and crisis response, told a news briefing in Paris. He said the hurricane was currently less than 70 km (43.5 miles) south of Guadeloupe. Right now we re in a blackout zone, so it s very, very hard to communicate with Guadeloupe, Witkowski said. Video footage released by the Guadeloupe prefecture showed tree-bending winds whipping through deserted streets and shaking lamp posts when the storm first hit. It urged residents to stay indoors and take shelter in their most secure room. Guadeloupe prefect Eric Maire said up to 400 millimeters of rain were forecast in some parts of the island. A storm surge could also flood low-lying coastal areas. We ve already got some early information of flooding, flooded houses and submerged roads, Maire said in a video recording posted on the prefecture s Twitter handle. Airport group Guadeloupe Pole Caraibes said Guadeloupe s main international airport would be closed until at least 14:00 local time (1800 GMT) on Tuesday.