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( D. Ross Cameron / AP ) Let’s all give thanks to Truthdig for enlightening us about the political views of Josh Fox, environmental activist and filmmaker. When Fox was asked in a filmed interview with Truthdig to give his view of presidential nominee Jill Stein and the Green Party, he said: I’m sorry. It’s immoral what she’s doing. And I don’t care if I say this on air for the very first time—I spent eight years building the environmental movement, I spent eight years coast-to-coast building the [anti-]fracking movement, I went to 250 cities. I did not see the Green Party having a significant hand in the building of that movement. Fox is still blaming activist Ralph Nader for Democratic presidential nominee Al Gore’s loss to Republican George W. Bush in 2000. No matter how often people like Fox get the math and history wrong, they continue to take the easy exit from reality. They always seem to forget that Gore was a lousy candidate who did not even win his own home state, despite all the deep funds of his chosen corporate party. If they really cared about a strong foundation for democracy, the partisan Democrats would campaign in earnest for public financing of elections and ranked choice voting . The latter reform alone would take away the argument that opposition parties and candidates are simply “spoilers” of elections. Advertisement Square, Site wide Fox claims to make a realistic case for “strategy,” but he is only repeating the talking points of the career politicians and hired apparatchiks of the Democratic Party—including the “news” from sites such as The Daily Beast claiming that Stein’s portfolio is tainted by the circulation of capital in oil and other capitalist industries. In arguing against the purity of the Greens—which is, after all, very easily proved—Fox ends up arguing for an absurd standard of political morality. By such a standard, all of us must first become saints or professional revolutionaries before opposing the anti-democratic corporate parties. Stein, like many people, is looking for ethical ways to save and invest money. She is certainly upper-middle class, and in global terms decidedly among the rich. But by ruling-class ranking she does not rank at all. Money remains money and does not circulate simply by the dictates of our wills. By the very standard of choosing “the lesser of two evils,” which Fox otherwise insists is the decisive choice between presidential nominees Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, we might also choose to compare the wealth and portfolio of Stein with the Clintons’—including the “philanthropic” Clinton Foundation. Or is this comparison ruled out of order if we refuse to vote for the candidate (and party) of Fox’s choice? Fox also claims the Green Party only “shows up every four years” to run a presidential campaign, without building the base and winning local offices in the meantime. False, as the public record shows. But it is surely true that the Greens can’t compete fairly in big elections without a fair share of federal funds, so gaining the threshold 5 percent of votes in the general election would be a net gain for liberty and democracy. Fox sees that percentage result only as a gift to Trump in this election, and thus argues in effect that democracy is too dangerous if we must count votes against both Republicans and Democrats. He takes no responsibility for the downward spiral of retrograde bipartisan candidates in every presidential election, though the party of his choice is one of the big reasons for the erosion of voter turnout. [Editor’s note: Jill Stein writes: “Just 5 percent of the national vote for the Green Party Stein/Baraka ticket can be a true game-changer for American politics. It will qualify the Green Party for recognition as an official national party, and for federal funding in the 2020 presidential race proportional to the amount of votes received—at least $8 million to $10 million. It would also secure ballot access in a number of states that automatically grant ballot status if the presidential candidate receives anywhere from 1 percent to 5 percent of the vote (varying by state).”] Activists in the Green Party have been in the trenches of environmental struggles far longer than the “eight years” Fox spent in the anti-fracking movement. So if Fox is not aware of Green organizers and activists, either he is genuinely ignorant or he is a partisan propagandist. Fox’s alliance with Our Revolution, Bernie Sanders’ new movement, means he followed Sanders right back into the Democratic Party. Despite all of the friendly attempts by Stein to communicate directly with the Sanders camp, he chose not to cross a public and open bridge of communication. And indeed, though Stein and Sanders agree on many issues, an abiding contradiction separates the Green Party from the Democratic Party. As Stein has noted, you can’t advance a political revolution within a counterrevolutionary party . Fox says he’d be glad to support various local Green candidates, but he calls Stein “immoral” for daring to run as a Green presidential candidate. In fact, a presidential campaign is one way to raise funds and awareness of the state and local Green candidates Fox claims he would like to support. Fox is in no position to be giving “strategic” advice to the Green Party, since he is not yet ready to make both a moral and strategic break from the Democratic Party. The Green New Deal is a practical program for peace, economic democracy and ecological sanity. A political revolution begins, morally and strategically, with the power of we, the people. Every day of our lives. Including election days. TAGS:	0
The Chinese government has continued to protest the Trump administration’s repeated assurances it would oppose China’s ongoing colonization of international waters in the South China Sea, most recently challenging White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer for calling the waters in question “international territory. ”[“I don’t think he [Spicer] is in a position to say that that’s international territory,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang told NBC News in an interview. “There might be difference, or controversial claims over the sovereignty of those islands, but that’s not for the United States. That might be between China and some other countries in this region. ” Lu’s remarks on bilateral relations with the United States were significantly sharper in tone than those of his boss, Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who said in recent remarks that Beijing’s Communist Party would like to “increase mutual trust, focus cooperation, manage and control disputes and promote the healthy development of relations, to bring even greater benefits to both peoples. ” Spicer had said during his regular press briefing on Monday that the United States would play a role in protecting the territorial integrity of the South China Sea. “If those islands are, in fact, in international waters and not part of China proper, yeah, we’ll make sure we defend international interests from being taken over by one country. ” Spicer’s comments appeared to irritate Chinese officials still objecting to remarks by incoming Secretary of State Rex Tillerson about the region. In a Senate hearing otherwise largely devoid of definitive answers on major international disputes, Tillerson vowed to play a role in protecting the interests of nations whose land and sea China claimed as its own in the region. “We’re going to have to send China a clear signal that, first, the stops and, second, your access to those islands also is not going to be allowed,” he told a Senate committee, comparing China’s usurpation of South China Sea territory to Russia’s invasion and colonization of Crimea. China claims the territory within a border Beijing refers to as the “ line. ” Within that line is territory belonging to the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan, Brunei, and Malaysia, as well as some waters close to Natuna Island, Indonesia. China has constructed numerous artificial islands in the Spratly and Paracel Islands and the Scarborough Shoal, challenging the sovereignty of the Philippines and Vietnam. China has filled some of those islands with military assets, which the United States has repeatedly protested as threat to the international community. China’s official party line on the region appears to be that only the United States continues to protest their presence in waters not belonging to sovereign China. “Countries have already come back to the original agreement that maybe for the time being we could set aside those sovereign disputes, and focus on some joint developments, and working together to maintain the peace and stability in this region,” Lu told NBC. Lu appeared to mostly be referring to the Philippines, which won a case at the Permanent Court of Arbitration at the Hague over China’s illegal construction, but has since backed down of its objection to China’s territorial pursuits under President Rodrigo Duterte. His predecessor, Benigno Aquino, was the one to bring the case to the Hague. While the Trump administration appears to be making the liberation of the colonized South China Sea a priority, President Barack Obama had also engaged China on the matter. Former Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter attended military exercises in the region and often repeated the U. S. policy of having the American military “fly, sail, and operate wherever international law allows. ” The Defense Department also staged numerous “freedom of navigation” exercises in the region, much to China’s chagrin. Critics argue, however, that the Obama administration’s guest passages through the South China Sea did not actively challenge China’s adverse possession claims on the artificial islands and, as such, were more of a “PR stunt” than effective deterrence.	1
ha! Good one	0
We Are Change In this video Luke Rudkowski covers the breaking news of the obviously likely indictment of Hillary Clinton and the Clinton foundation fot the pay to play scandels. With new information coming from wikileaks, Huma Abedin shared laptop and secret records this is sure making for an interesting election year. For more and to help step up our game to defeat the msm go to https://www.patreon.com/wearechange to invest in us. Sources https://i.sli.mg/IYLqtE.gif https://twitter.com/hashtag/HillaryIn… https://www.facebook.com/topic/Clinto… http://www.realclearpolitics.com/vide… https://twitter.com/ggreenwald/status… https://twitter.com/wikileaks/status/… http://dailycaller.com/2016/11/03/sec… http://nypost.com/2016/11/03/feds-pro… http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/artic… http://www.cnn.com/videos/tv/2016/11/… https://twitter.com/dcexaminer/status… http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2… Support WeAreChange by Subscribing to our channel HERE http://www.youtube.com/subscription_c… Visit our main site for more breaking news http://wearechange.org/ Patreon https://www.patreon.com/WeAreChange?a… SnapChat: LukeWeAreChange Facebook: https://facebook.com/LukeWeAreChange Twitter: https://twitter.com/Lukewearechange Instagram: http://instagram.com/lukewearechange Rep WeAreChange Merch Proudly: http://wearechange.org/store OH YEAH since we are not corporate or government WHORES help us out http://wearechange.org/donate We take BITCOIN too 12HdLgeeuA87t2JU8m4tbRo247Yj5u2TVP The post HILLARY CLINTON WILL BE INDICTED BECAUSE OF THE FBI appeared first on We Are Change .	0
UK economy running as mysteriously as a 1993 Vauxhall Nova 16-11-16 INFLATION has dropped because Britain’s economy is running with the same fingers-crossed uncertainty as a Vauxhall Nova with 200,000 miles on the clock. The Bank of England has confirmed that the UK economy is still running fine, that Christ alone knows how, and that nobody is allowed to mess with it. Chairman Mark Carney said: “You know those cars where if you wind the window down, the radio suddenly comes on? That’s us right now. “There is no way on earth inflation should have come down. Maybe there’s a short-circuit between that and the exchange rate. Maybe it just does it on its own now. “Seriously it’s a miracle something this ancient and patched-together works at all. I’m afraid to look closely in case I disturb the magic elves and it suddenly collapses into a pile of rust and bright orange paint.” He added: “Still, with the money we’ve saved running this thing on the cheap for so many years, I’ll bet there’s loads saved up to get a really nice new one.” Share:	0
0 29 As an old SDS-er, I found it hard to see Tom Hayden go. However meandering his path, he was at the heart of radical history in the 60s, an erstwhile companion, if not always a comrade, on the route of every boomer lefty. One of his finer moments for me, which I’ve never seen mentioned (including among this week’s encomia) since he wrote it, was his 2006 article , published on CounterPunch with an introduction by Alexander Cockburn, in which he apologized for a “descent into moral ambiguity and realpolitick that still haunts me today.” It would be respectful of Hayden’s admirers and critics, on the occasion of his passing, to remember which of his actions “haunted” him the most. The title of the article says it clearly: “I Was Israel’s Dupe.” In the essay, Hayden apologizes for his support of the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982, which was for him that “descent into moral ambiguity” More importantly, he explains why he did it, in a detailed narrative that everyone should read. Hayden sold out, as he tells it, because, in order to run as a Democratic candidate for the California State Assembly, he had get the approval of the influential Democratic congressman Howard Berman. Berman is a guy who, when he became Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, was proud to tell the Forward that he took the job because of his “interest in the Jewish state” and that: “Even before I was a Democrat, I was a Zionist.” Hayden had to meet with…	0
The Hard Working American vs. The Government Parasite By Michael Snyder, on April 10th, 2012 Which lifestyle choice produces better results – being a hard working American or being a government parasite? Actually, when you look at the cold, hard numbers they may just surprise you. In America today, we deeply penalize hard work and we greatly reward government dependence. If you live in a very liberal area of the country and you know how to game the system, it is entirely possible to live a comfortable existence without ever working too much at all. In fact, there are some Americans that have been living off of “government benefits” for decades. Many of these people actually plan their lives around doing exactly what they need to do to qualify for as many benefits as possible. America is rapidly turning into a European-style socialist welfare state and it is destroying our nation socially and financially. Ever since the “war on poverty” began our debt has absolutely exploded and yet now there are more poor people in this country than ever before. Obviously something is not working. Now don’t get me wrong. I deeply believe in having compassion for those that are going through tough times and having a safety net for those that cannot take care of themselves. We should not have a single person in this nation going without food or sleeping in the streets. But in America today it is absolutely ridiculous how many people are climbing aboard the “safety net”. At this point, an astounding 49 percent of all Americans live in a home that receives some form of government benefits. So who pays for all of this? The people that drag themselves out of bed and go to work each day pay for it all. For a few moments, let’s examine how the lifestyle of a typical hard working American compares to the lifestyle of a government parasite. In America today, the median yearly household income is somewhere around $50,000. About half of all American households make more than that and about half of all American households make less than that. When you break it down, it comes to about $4000 a month. So how far does $4000 go in America today? Unfortunately, it doesn’t go very far at all. First of all, a hard working American family will need some place to live. Unfortunately, the vast majority of the decent jobs are near the big cities, and it is more expensive to live near the big cities. Let’s assume that an average family of four will spend about $1000 a month on rent or on a mortgage payment. The government parasite, on the other hand, has a whole host of federal, state and local housing programs to take advantage of. During the recent economic downturn, more Americans than ever have been turning to the government for help with housing costs. For example, federal housing assistance outlays increased by a whopping 42 percent between 2006 and 2010. Once you have a place to live, you have to provide power and heat for it. For the average hard working American, this is going to probably average about $300 a month, although this can vary greatly depending on where you live. For the government parasite, there are once again a whole host of government programs to help with this. For example, LIHEAP (Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program) assists low income households in paying their home heating bills. Most average hard working Americans are also going to need phone and Internet service. Let’s assume that the hard working family of four in our example is extremely thrifty and only spends $100 a month for these services. For the government parasite, cell phone service is not a problem. As I have written about previously , those that “qualify” can receive a free cell phone and free cell phone minutes every single month from the federal government. In addition, in some areas of the nation low income families can qualify for deeply subsidized home Internet service . In order to earn money, our hard working family is going to need to get to work. In most households, both parents have decided to work these days so both of them will need cars. Let’s assume that the family is very thrifty and that both cars were purchased used and that the car payments only total about $400 a month. The hard working family will also need auto insurance for the two vehicles. Let’s assume that both parents have a great driving record and that they only pay a total of about $100 a month for car insurance. The cars will also need to be filled up with gasoline. The average U. S. household spent $4155 on gasoline during 2011, but let’s assume that our family is very, very careful and that they only spend about $300 on gas each month. So what about the government parasite? Well, the government parasite does not need to go to work, so this expense can potentially be eliminated entirely. But since most other things are paid for by the government or are deeply subsidized, in many instances government parasites are actually able to afford very nice vehicles. In addition, a new bill (The Low-Income Gasoline Assistance Program Act) has been introduced in Congress that would give “qualifying” households money to help pay for gasoline…. Low-Income Gasoline Assistance Program Act – Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants to states to establish emergency assistance programs to pay eligible households for the purchase of gasoline. A hard working American family is also going to need health insurance. Well, we all know how expensive health insurance has become. In fact, health insurance costs have risen by 23 percent since Barack Obama became president. But let’s assume that our hard working family has somehow been able to find an amazing deal where they only pay $500 a month for health insurance for a family of four. For the government parasite, health insurance is not needed. If there is an emergency, the government parasite can just go get free medical care at any emergency room. And of course there is always Medicaid. Back in 1965, only one out of every 50 Americans was on Medicaid. Today, one out of every 6 Americans is on Medicaid, and things are about to get a whole lot worse. It is being projected that Obamacare will add 16 million more Americans to the Medicaid rolls. So what about food? Everyone has to eat, right? Well, the hard working family in our example is faced with an environment where food prices are constantly rising but paychecks are not keeping up. Let’s assume that the hard working family in our example clips coupons and cuts corners any way that it can and only spends about $50 for each member of the family on food and supplies each week. That comes to a total of $800 a month for the entire family. So what about the government parasite? Government parasites need to eat too. Well, that is where food stamps come in. Right now, there are more than 46 million Americans on food stamps. Since Barack Obama became president, the number of Americans on food stamps has increased by 14 million. Food stamps have become so popular that rappers are even making rap videos about using food stamp cards. Okay, so after all of this where do we stand? Well, the average hard working family so far has spent $3500 out of the $4000 that they have to spend for the month. We still need to find money for clothing, for paying off credit card debt, for paying off student loan debt, for dining out, for entertainment, for medications, for pets, for hobbies, for life insurance, for vacations, for car repairs and maintenance, for child care, for gifts and for retirement savings. But wait. There is actually no money left at all because we have forgotten one of the biggest expenses of all. Taxes. When you total up all federal, state and property taxes, our average hard working family is going to pay at least $1000 a month in taxes. So that puts our average hard working family in the hole every single month. Meanwhile, the government parasite does not pay any taxes because he or she does not earn enough money to be taxed. Are you starting to get the picture? In many ways, life can be so much easier when you are constantly taking from the government instead of constantly giving to the government. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie recently put it this way …. “We’ll have a bunch of people sitting on a couch waiting for their next government check” Once again, I am not dumping on those that have been through all kinds of nightmares because of this economy. As I have written about so frequently, the U.S. economy is simply not producing enough jobs for everyone anymore, and this is creating major problems. Just about everyone needs a helping hand at some point, and we should always be compassionate to those that are in need. However, there is also a growing number of Americans that are content to simply give up and live off of the government, and that is fundamentally wrong. It is not the job of the U.S. government to take care of you from the cradle to the grave. What the U.S. government is supposed to do is to make sure that we have a well functioning economy that operates in an environment where hard working individuals and small businesses can thrive, and sadly the U.S. government has failed miserably in that regard. We desperately need the U.S. economy to be fixed, but I wouldn’t hold my breath waiting for that to happen. As economic conditions get even worse in this country, millions more Americans are going to turn to the government for assistance and at some point the safety net is going to break. What is our country going to look like when that happens? The Shocking Truth About Unemployment In America In One Chart » David H Preach it Michael! I work in the finance industry and can’t tell you how many applications I see where the single mother of 1-4 kids, in some cases, from different fathers is getting child support, afdc, wic, housing assistance and has a boyfriend or ex- husband living with them and making 2-5k a month. These people live better than most others because they are working the system with no one to tell them anything different! In addition to this issue we have another large issue of people bartering or being paid in cash avoiding taxation completely. We are all going to pay dearly for our arrogance, indifference, and ignorance! Rancher You know what… there are and more often times I would rather burn my cash than send it into the govt to pay these bums sitting at home. We do every darn thing we can to keep it out of those leaches grasp…. Prepared Pastor I briefly dated a woman with three children who I saw really gaming the system. Her subsidized townhouse apartment was nicer than my own home. Her utilities were based on her income and she made great dinners using food stamps. She was in her last semester of college to earn a bachelor degree when I asked her what her plans were for after college. When she told me she was going for another degree so she could stay on the dole I broke up with her. I imagine she has a free cell phone now. Michael I would say that you sure dodged a bullet there Pastor. Michael Joel If you want to have an idea of the sress it can create for workers just look toward Belgium (Europe). It’s the country with the “best” welfare system. From your birth to your death you are under government umbrella. Of course this come at a price : the active workforce pay for it. For instance, did you know, an immigrant can receive money from the government (as a right to live decently) even without working. Then he can bring in his family if he was alone when he arrived (under the family reunion excuses), which in turn have some right also… The amount of money they can receive is between 900 – 1200euros per month… all of that at the expense of the workforce. By the way, the demographic pyramid his completely reversed. At first the Belgian welfare system was build around an era of full employment (50’s and 60’s), when the workforce was made up of young generations (babyboomers) and when everything has to be rebuild after the war. Now, the babyboomers at become the papyboomers and have a right for their retirment, etc, etc. Yet this system being based on the active workforce (made up of less young people and underqualified), it is meant to crash one day or another. To see the USA going toward a European version of welfare system is a huge mistake destroying the foundation of your country. Joël MisterD Unfortunately, I believe this has passed the point beyond return. The best anyone can hope for now is a miracle or get ready for the inevitable crash. I pray that nobody nor I will be forced in the middle of the mess such as having to literally protect oneself from crazy people, etc. Ashley B. Finally someone that is not afraid to say something about this! It sickens me to see people leeching off the system because it’s easy money and food and of course free. I know of LOTS of people where I live that get food stamps, SSI, welfare etc. because it’s free and they don’t want to work (many of them are too lazy to take the trash out, seriously) Yet me and the rest of my family earn a living, work hard and have to look at these bums drive nice cars, sit home all day and pump out paychecks, I mean kids. Don’t get me wrong, some people honestly need help and I often donate to the needy, but these are different from the pure lazy bums that just TAKE benefits because they’re too lazy to work. Jodi I have to say I love the “pump out paychecks, I mean kids”. So true! I have a friend who is a retired nurse and she has seen a lot of young people in the hospital with child who had good intensions on going to college and getting a degree. Most of them go to school, get married and get pregnant before they even graduate. Without even thinking about starting a good life and financially being prepared, they get on medicaid & welfare because they don’t have the money or a job to take care of their child. Sheepdog 1 I guarantee that the “Government Parasites” will pay… …come Judgement Day. Meaning of course, they will never pay. Recoveryless Recovery Great article, as usual! One of the MAIN reasons why the American sheeple haven’t REVOLTED yet is precisely thanks to all the government hand-out programs that currently exist. Indeed as you well said; many, many Americans actually plan their entire lifestyles around doing whatever it takes to continuously qualify for them. Unfortunately for the rest of us, as long as there’s a dumpster behind a McDonald’s that these SLOBS can dive into for free food, they will NEVER go hungry. And revolutions rewquire HUNGRY people. Checkmate. Today’s America offers only TWO viable expectations for achieving actual “hope & change you can believe in®”: one requires you to wield a passport & one-way ticket overseas, the other requires wielding an AK-47. I myself will go with Option A. Paul The fostering of dependency on illegitimate governments installed through media fraud or outright election fraud (like you have in the US) is what it is really about. DAS I will give you an example of the the system is flawed. My father worked full time all his life. Paid all his taxes, S.S. and so forth. When the doctors found his canser, it was to late, he had only a short time to live. He worked intill the day he fell and could not walk. We (his family) supported him with his finaces as best we could. Going to the goverment only for help with food stamps. They gave him 14 dollars a month! W.T.F. can you buy with that. We shopped at discount stores, were many people used food stamps. I watched as these people got in to nice cars, with nice clothes with BAGS full of food. Mean while I hurried back to my 12 year old truck (so i wouldent be late for work) with a small bag a crap food. I guess I need to lean how to milk the system too. R.I.P. dad mondobeyondo $14.00 a month? GASP! The explanation that comes to mind is, the government must have been using employment and income data from 1912, not 2012. The reality is, Uncle Sam is flat broke. He has too much pride to tell you he’s broke. Bernadette That is just sick, I’m so sorry to hear that. That is so ridiculous I don’t even know what to say. GOD bless your poor dad, and you for having to go through that. I’m so sorry:( Jodi It’s true, I’ve known some people in my life that do as little at possible to get government assistance. Most of them seem very proud of it and believe they deserve it. My question is, what happens when government runs out of money and can’t pay all these people who have been dependent for so long? That doesn’t sound good! Nothing to see here, go back to sleep. Ron Think Greece WM Jodi, Don’t go back to sleep when the money runs out. It is inevitable that the borrowed money will stop coming and all therse free loaders who have no clue of what it’s like to actually do something, will riot, protest, and burn the cities of America down. Consider this future event as a time of national cleansing, because the millions and millions of law abiding citizens who enjoy the 2nd Ammendment,and have worked for what they have, will surely bear arms to protect themselves from the entitlement zombies coming to take what they have… There will be a population decrease and a cleansing of the entitlement crowd. But, please do not sleep. This is a time to prepare and keep watch, things are going to get very interesting in this nation in the very near future. Jodi I will never go to sleep. It seems like the media ignores this stuff and treats people like it’s time to go back to sleep. That is what I meant! 007 Have you ever watched a zombie movie. It will be a lot like that when the government checks stop. James The poor and unemployed in the U.S. will never be able to get off of the government roles. We are experiencing what I like to call, “Reverse Industrial Revolution”. The Industrial Revolution was a time when farmers were attracted to the big cities for jobs that paid high wages, when compared to their farm incomes. Now, we are experiencing high unemployment from jobs that will never come back unless the energy situation is somehow reversed. These unemployed people will soon realize that they have to have someway to get food to feed themselves. Especially if food stamps and government assistance starts to disappear, and it will. These unemployed people should begin to relocate out into rural areas to find homes where they can grow and produce their food, and sell the rest for income. There is a situation starting to appear in this country where going to college is not a good investment anymore. The only real need for college nowadays is for medicine, engineering, and law. You would be better off taking out a loan for a farm. or opening a small business rather than going to college. Farm and agrarian related jobs can make good money, especially if you own your business. If this reversal comes to fruition, the small rural towns will come back to life and support families and provide a reasonably good life. Tom The only real need for college nowadays is for medicine, engineering, and law. Medicine and engineering- yes, but law? The LAST thing this country needs is another lawyer (sorry Michael)! MANY of the problems facing this country were caused but lawyers and the fear of law suits! Tom sorry again- by lawyers nowwthen Good points. If you can’t find work with a useless bachelor’s degree you will still be accountable for paying back your student loans even after going through bankruptcy. If, like you advise, you instead borrow money to buy a farm or start a business your hard work would benefit you and your family and not a corporation that views you as an expendable business expense. And if your business failed those loans could be reduced or eliminated through bankruptcy. Too many kids are brought up being told to study hard so they can grow up and find a good job. Parents should be telling them to study hard and learn how to run a business that involves doing what you’re good at. S. Wiseman “You would be better off taking out a loan for a farm. or opening a small business rather than going to college. Farm and agrarian related jobs can make good money” James, you are right on the money. I know many people who are doing just that – buying or leasing small acreage to grow crops (1 to 5 acres) and build cottage industries. They are sick and tired of being milk cows for the government leeches and are doing the right thing by starving the beast of what it needs. The major news networks will never report this trend but it is happening. The peaceful revolution has begun. Of course, the government may react with forced labor. Bernadette Wow, those are really good ideas, and I agree with you on so many levels:) Why are you not running for President? We need someone at the Helm with a sharp mind, with creative ideas. Not the ideas of destruction coming from Washington. Everything you said made so much sence. Now I know what to pray about:) Cinderella Man Agreed going back to the basics of rural living will become a means to an end in the future. There is no hope in living in the superslum cities of tommorrow! ky survivor One step closer to total control. That is what a welfare state is about. God help us. Josh I highly doubt that Jesus would use the term parasite to describe a fellow human being. DAS Your right. He would call them leaches Another Richard How about “vipers” in Mathew 3:7? Jesus was not at all “politically correct” as we sweet Christians are Laodocian America are. Colin …you have a better term? David H True….but he would say get off your rear end and work for your living if you are able. At least volunteer your time to some worthy cause to help justify the free lunch your on. I have a relative that draws SSDI (Social Security Disability) and volunteers he says he does it to help justify his disability payments he recieves. We need more people in the world like that. 007 How about sluggardly leaches. If a man will not work let him not eat. Proverbs. Steve Your blog refers to those who feeding off of the nanny state. What about the millions of government(valueless)workers making 75 – 150 K/year with all the perks and a rosy pension they can start to draw before they turn 60 (unless they double or triple dip). They’re just as parasitic as the the free loader on the dole. Altogether, these parasites make up more than half of America’s population. At this stage of the empires existence, I’m saying to myself, let it all collapse. It’s going to be hellish but the longer the government props up the dog poop with fiat money, the more chaotic it will be. Michael Steve: Yes, you are right. I have written about the inflated compensation that government workers get in the past. Michael Klean All systems are broken. There is no right anymore. Stop thinking there is a right way to do something. Going back to sleep is more interesting than earning a living. SpunkyBunks My lazy obese sister is one of these parasites. We are all ashamed of her and she knows it. Her worthless husband doesn’t even bother showing up around us anymore because he knows we think less of him as well. And they have five children, 3 of them are high school dropouts so far. Great welfare system we have in Amrica. It rewards these losers to sit around and breed more idiots too! Paul Nice family. Where have family values gone these days? Why should the tax payer pay for YOUR family, if you do nothing but complain about them? What have YOU done to prevent your nieces and nephews dropping out of high school? Bernadette Your sister is so lucky to have such a supportive family to help her through her hard times. I’ll just bet you all were that supportive of her during her whole life that’s why she’s been such a success. Good job mom and dad:D Mattyboy Start to hide your income. Make extra cash doing things (legal) that can be hidden. This has gone on for a long time in the EU. Taxes are close to 90% over there. I do not want to pay the Fed for a number of reasons. I wish we had a revolt of about 200 million that decided to not pay taxes. I guess we would only need 58 million. I like making cash that I do not have to claim. I would also support a flat tax and the abolition of the IRS. But, you can’t trust the Gov. they always “need” more money. Kathy Smith I totally agree MATTY I wish there was a way to get everyone to not pay taxes for 1 pay check & not buy gasoline for 1 day.That would get some attention. Paul M http://www.thoughtsfromaconservativemom.com/2012/02/number-of-americans-dependent-on-government-jumps-23-welfare-state-now-consumes-70-of-federal-budget/ mark I have been a landlord since 1981. I no longer manage the apartment complexes, but I have seen all that Michael writes about in the past. It make me sad to see where this country has gone. We used to be a proud nation that could do anything, but no longer is our population strong in heart. We have become a weak useless country of people that think everyone else owes them a living. tappedops For the umpteenth time… dont get mad–get even,… and if you cant get mad, its because youve been labotomized by the air food and the water… your programmed…your under mind control— yea- laugh while you can. And you say how can i get even… well you cant figure that one out as well because the chemical weapons have totally removed your ability to criticly think… game over —your done—toast— go back to dancing with the stars… Rodster Gary2 is that you in the picture? DAS I would gladly be in the picture! sistrunkqueen I don’t agree with this article. I think any American who has paid their taxes should be able to get any type of government assistance. I am a tax payer. I also an unemployed, but if I need some assistance you betcha I will apply. My dad, who is a Vietnam Vet, can qualify for food stamps but he say “We aren’t that po’!” My mom wants him to get the aid. Anyway to help make ends meet should be explored. My sister has WIC. I need some government assistance. Where do I sign up? Oh by the way I got the free phone. It is great for local calling. McKinley Morganfield ” I am a tax payer. I also an unemployed…” Error! Does not compute. Error! Review data and resubmit. Cinderella Man Dude they take taxes out of unemployment checks… McKinley Morganfield Yes, they take FICA out. But in the end isn’t it really government playing a charade by simply giving them less? BTW, SS & medicare, which are supposed to be funded by FICA receipts, are both in the red. For every $1.00 DC spends, $0.40+ is borrowed money. Annual interest payments on the federal debt will soon be $500,000,000,000. Do you think this can continue another 5 years? 10 years? 20 years? Rancher Excuse while I barf…. Rodster There’s a big difference. If someone is really down on their luck and needs help after doing all they could to get a job then I have no problem with what you just said. If OTOH, someone wants to live of the Gubmint so they can stay home and play Call of Duty MW3 and watch TV then you sir might just be Gary2’s brother. 😛 I was down on my luck several times. At one point all I had to my name was a months worth of rent. You know what I did? I took “3” minimum wahe jobs just to pay the bills. And I refused to ask the Gubmint for assistance. I figured once I did that it would be a point of no return. Mal R. shouldn’t your name be WelfareQueen? Tatiana Covington Very well, let them starve to death and be done with it. That will get rid of the unfit weaklings. Klean Yeah more food for the powerful and parasitic. 007 They won’t go quietly into the night. They will turn violent and be hunting you they will not have the skills to do do anything else. Can´t believe your comment got through the moderator, tells me a certain thing about the moderator himself. Tatiana Covington Perhaps the world should be made free of Reds. Ryan It appears that the author and the writers of the two comments have been seriously sniffing……. something. This article was a waste of time to read as it is merely the standard diatribe of “hard working family” against the “filthy masses”. You guys have been drinking the Wall Street/GOP/DLC Kool Aide. Tom Lowe Baloney! There is a vast sea of professional freeloaders dragging this world down! Tatiana Covington http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzspsovNvII&feature=related Hognutz Yes I am one who drags himself out of bed everymorning to go to work so the parasites can feed a little longer. But I have a feeling it will end very very soon… “Keep working there are millions on welfare depending on you!” Already Gone The economy is simply not producing enough jobs for everyone anymore and this is creating major problems. the problem with companies leaving this country started when obama took office and implemented his harsh environmental rules if the environment is such an issue then way did they not start implementing solar power,wind power,etc 20 or thirty yrs ago? the technology has always been there during WW2 germany was already making bio-fuel from potatoes and other vegtables,methanol gas from cow-shit my uncle told me back in the depression days they would create battery banks and hook up a generator to the windmill and charge the batteries to power the lites in the house at nite.As i had wrote before during Jesse Ventura’s days as Gov of Mn they had what was called the greyhound-chicago pipeline where people from chicago would come up and use family/ relatives adresses/claim they were residents of Mn get there welfare check and go back to chicago one individual said at the time that he was going to retire in Mn becasuse it was so easy to get welfare-26 yrs old! At This Time the Democrat party is pounding the welfare drum again, they want to add more people to the welfare rolls in this state, who in the hell is going to pay for this? This state is already having money problems we do not need anymore.Since i have been told that i am confused let me relate a fact to you sharonj one reason george bush would not sign the kyoto treaty back when he was president was because of the irreversable damage it would do to the u.s economy now obama has done this in his own way and look at what has happened and mix that together with the ptb’s desire to create a global economy somebody has to pay the price and it is obvious who it is. I Am Neither Democrat nor Republican as i do not care for either, old phart why don’t you tell them to point the gun the other way? Some people in this country are stupid and lazy and need to get off there fat asses and quit stuffing there faces full of potato chips and get a education and a job, the truth hurts doesn’t it. I Am tired of seeing more and more of my hard earned money going to deadbeats so they can live a nice easy life and not have one ounce of respect for the people that are making it happen for them. Gay Veteran “…the problem with companies leaving this country started when obama took office….” That is pure BS and you know it. I’m no Obama fan but outsourcing did not start with him. McKinley Morganfield To protect fools for the folly of their actions fills the world with fools. If you want more of something subsidize it. If you want less of something punish it. We, in the name of compassion, reward fools who have made bad choices. We subsidize those bad choices generation after generation. We punish frugality and hard work via regulations, taxes, and low interest rates. Democracy is dangerous when it creates a class of citizens who benefit from the frugality and hard work of others. Robbing Peter to pay Paul only works until you run out of Peters to rob. I have compassion for those who are truly needy through no fault of their own, but leeches must be starved. Blood sucking ain’t the way. mondobeyondo The system seems to be geared toward rewarding the parasites. There are those out there who truly, honestly are in a hard-luck situation, and need a helping hand, so to speak. And then you have the parasites and leeches. Those who decide to make government dependence their career choice. The ladies (ahem – I use that term loosely) who are accustomed to pumping out a baby every couple of years so they can get better benefits. Food stamps, Aid to Dependent Children, WIC, child support (hope you had a “sugar daddy” knock you up!) All coming their way in 9 months! And they didn’t even have to move their bloated gluteus maximus (okay, obese donkey) off of the couch. Life is grand! Government assistance programs were not created so that these leeches can suck the lifeblood out of the hard working people. Another Richard Government assistance programs were created to make the Masses dependent upon the Gubmit. Roosevelt once said that “nothing happens in Gubmit by accident”. Gubmit undrestands human nature very well and how dependent humanity becomes on freebies and will cooperate with the gubmit to attack the honest hard working people who produce things and are the Real tax payers. When the producers of goods and services want the Freebies stopped by the gubmit, the leaches and parasite Masses will defend the Gubmit giveaways to the Death. Gubmit knows that. whens dinner? It’s a simple as this: “everybody wants to eat the corn, but nobody wants to plow the fields”. Tom Lowe A lot of us don’t mind plowing the fields! In fact we actually enjoy doing so. mondobeyondo I hope my federal income tax money (yes, I have to pay this year) doesn’t go to helping those lazy pathetic sloths. But you know and I know that’s exactly where it’s going. Now I’m starting to get angry. You won’t like me when I’m angry. (Thanks, Incredible Hulk!) To those intentionally taking advantage of the system: Someone is going to play Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire” at your funeral. Just sayin’…. 007 The most infuriating aspect of this welfare system is that it is unrealistic and unsustainable. The welfare state slowly but surely strangles the economy. The higher taxes and regulations and overbearing laws destroy the ability of businesses to survive. Inevitably, the unsustainable benefits will end just like they are ending in Greece. What will the parasites do when the freebies stop. They will starve like domesticated pets do or they will turn violent. Either way it will be a night mare similar to post apocalyptic zombie movie. It will be a pitiful life trying to avoid being eaten alive by these same parasites that are currently living off of the government tit. Tom Lowe I believe that is one reason why they have built ‘Camp FEMA’. 007 Great article Michael. You certainly articulated the crisis which is slowly strangling the life out of the country. I read your article and feel I am able to look into the future and see how this nightmare ends. At least we can see it and prepare ourselves. I will share this article with everyone I can because it so clearly frames the fight for our countries ultimate survival. Michael 007: Thank you for sharing this article. The article may seem a little harsh, but the truth is that our society could use some “tough love” about now. Michael you need to give the tough love to the real parasites–corporate welfare Michael I think that you will find that I did that in the article I just posted. Michael 007 What a tremendous slap in the face to everyone who works and struggles every day to make a living and provide for their famalies. Pat Let me also add that: 1. in Europe a garbage man makes as much income as a physician. Neither can be fired for incompetence. 2.Income taxes in some places can be as high as 70%. And they have no deductions. 3. The government is in direct competition with business. 4. There is very little fishing or hunting. Pollution is rife. 5. Few if any go to university. 6. You must register where you live. 7. Even your name change has to be approved by the courts if you want to use a name that is not on an approved list. 8. And most of the people live in small flats often without bath tubs. 9. In Spain we have no kitchen. In Denmark we had no shower or tub. 10. All protests must be approved by the government. Welcome to your future. …as it is so in many sectors of the U.S. education system. How many schoolteachers are fired for incompetence? Not many, I suspect. Teachers teach the leaders of tomorrow. Our future teachers, teach future biologists, musicians, artists, plumbers, scientists, Web page designers, doctors, veterinarians, you name it. For the job they do, most teachers are highly underpaid. The athletic coaches and deans are well compensated, of course. Maybe it is not so important to most of you. But try having garbage workers go on strike for a month. You will soon realize how essential they are. View from Abroad @1) How did you like your stay in Albania? @2) You seem to speak of some of the Scandinavian Countries (Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Norway)…but there the vast majority, even of those who are in the top-income-tax bracket, approve of it, because they see that they have a superior education system and an overall very efficient government and even welfare system. @3) Yes, right – government chooses to do e.g. waste management themselves, ecologically and recyclable to the max…instead leaving it to the likes of “Barone Sanitation” (remember your “Sopranos”, do you?). And you really think, YOU are better off in this matter???? @4) In most of rural Europe there is as much fishing and hunting as in rural US. Of course maybe not so much fishing e.g. in the Thames or the Rhine – so what? Go fishing in downstream Hudson River, and see what you catch. @5) Surprise: quite a LOT go to university – and WITHOUT burdening themselves with student loans for the rest of their lives, because it’s mostly FREE (except for some “Elite” institutions, where the only meaning of “Elite” is “Rich”). @6) Yes. So what??? @7) Yes…there was a couple of immigrants in Cologne (Germany) a few years ago, who wanted to name their newborn son “Osama bin Laden” ( http://www.spiegel.de/panorama/0,1518,212569,00.html ) – sorry, you are right, they were wrongfully turned down by our brutal, fascist, jackbooted Civil Servants. Horrible. @8+9) Well, YOU get what YOU can afford, even in Europe. But I have heard rumors that somewhere in Germany and even in France there are flats with a water closet(!!!)…never seen one myself, poor me old European… @10) Oh, yes…horrible. Luckily in the US you can rally any amount of people at any time you like – to let them get tasered down by the thugs you call “Police” Gary2 Stop speaking the truth you are ruining a lot of low information foolish republican conservatives world view. You are 100% correct. Like I said before reality has a well known liberal bias. Marcus That was eastern Europe 30 years ago… In Scandinavia we’re doing quite well atm. I would say there’s less welfare here than in the USA by now. And I pay 30% tax. For these 30% I get healthcare as well. I live in a nice house, I have a new car, I eat good and healthy food. Almost all services are private, even the ones financed by taxes. And I’n not considered rich here. I’m middle class. In my opinion the middle class is actually growing here. And, by the way, my country does not have any oil. Have you ever been to Europe? Maybe Romania then… Idiot… Gwyn I am so sick of hearing how wonderful is to be living on Government hand-out. One I start working at 16. At the age of 50 my health and back went. I have done manual work all my life and now I can not stand for 5 min. before I need to sit. And for all that I live on $718. a month and get $50. on food stamps. And in the winter I may get 500. for winter heat. My house is $300 a month in cold of winter. They used to give $150. for cooling in summer but that end so they could help more people with winter needs. I do not own a car, could not afford repair it if broke down. So that mean friend who I pay gas money to or a cab if shopping or bus to go doctors. Also medicaid is no wonderfulness either I am grateful for it, but I have go to a clinic and wait for a month or six weeks for appointment or go emergency ward. Also my pills can be change any time state decide that they get better deal from another company. Not if it good for me or not. I am not living in one of those towers and paying 1/3 of income. I am lucky my family left part ownership of house to me. But I have property Tax to pay and house insurence and repairs and I do not get free phone or internet,I pay for it and the taxes that go with it. I do have to pay some money to doctor and pills but not lot I agree. But living like this means you are my entertainment. I bake my own bread and clean my house from chair. Also my clothes are second hand. Goodwill have lots of visit from people now days. I get sick of this idea that poor pay no taxes. What bill do get that does not some kind of tax on it. Anyone useing those same service have to pay them as well. Are they has much as yours? no. but they all so have less. Less to have fun on less to go out on and less to buy lots food with. Live on $50 see how far that take you. The rest comes for that monthly check I so lovely dream about every month sitting on my sofa. Till you be there you have no idea what like to live it. Not the pain I live with or problem that come with living. I look forward with fear as I watch the state and Federal government talks about things they need to cut so they can give people who live fancy house more money and want to vote for man for President who has bank account in places,like that Island and country with special banking laws. Make no mistake I know that cuts are coming but I am not going easy into that goodnight, so our million dollar congress men and women can keep there golden rewards. I know neither of the parties are our friends but I also know games have been play and working people money got rip off instead of yell for their heads so offend you worry about those who have less then you do. denny The article itself betrays its own horse . If families had that many liabilities every month, they wouldn’t be paying very much in taxes. The 1% have that part down though as most of them don’t pay near as much relative to what a $50,000 wage earner pays. It’s also suspicious that this article doesn’t mention corporate welfare which usually receives twice as much as the social welfare recipients do and let’s not forget what all those lobbyists are for. What’s a Lockeed/Martin contract except glorified corporate welfare or the blackmailing which corporations pull on municipalities when they promise to build a factory in the environs ONLY if they are exempted from paying local taxes. Nah, this article is just more of the Republican AND Democrat crap of blaming those of us who have been hit the hardest for the consequences of the war which the wealthy have laid our lives, infrastructure and jobs to waste. Surprised to find it on this site. Tom Lowe The article is quite clearly directed at professional freeloaders, and not at unemployed people. Jeremy While I disagree with much of Michael’s predictions and assertions in his articles (because our nation has come from the brink many times before), he writes on elite welfare and wealth hoarding all the time. He is fair. Leonard Dear Michael If you take away every single benefit of all these people, you will end up creating plenty of criminals on the streets who will end up in jail getting free food, free air conditioning, libraries, internet, and free health care for many many years to come. You mentioned an article some time ago how somebody checked himself into jail with some kind of a fake holdup in order to get health care in prison. Who do you think will end up paying for this? The banksters? The fat cats? The corporations? Good luck. Remember this: EVERYTHING HAS A PRICE! A job is a social program! Somebody has to give it to you when they hire you. When jobs are shipped overseas, then millions are out of work. If people are so happy with lay-offs, they end up paying for it one way or another! How many people are going to become successful like Bill Gates or Steve Jobs? Almost everybody? Good luck. Remember to play the lottery next time, anybody can win $200,000,000,! Let me give you a solution, Michael. Let’s bring ALL the jobs back that have been outsourced over the last two decades. Is this going to happen? Of course not! Michael Leonard: Yes, that is why I write about “free trade” and our trade deficit over and over so that people can understand what is happening. Michael VyseLegendaire “As economic conditions get even worse in this country, millions more Americans are going to turn to the government for assistance and at some point the safety net is going to break. What is our country going to look like when that happens?” Egypt. We will have chaos in major metropolitan areas around the nation. Or maybe we are so drug and entertainment-infused that we will simply throw up our hands and pull down our pants for big daddy government. Oh, and did you forget to mention the amount of people taking subsidized anti-psyochotic medication? When people suddenly come off of their expensive drugs, let us hope their violent outbursts do not reach the level of other well known mass murders associated with coming off of these SSRIs, like Sgt. Bales in Afghanistan. curt Yes insurance costs have gone up. Why? People are unemployed. Why? Why not, their example has been an industry whose greed is boundless. Lets not forget that if only the top couple of percent of income makers paid their share it could mean clean water, education and health for everyone on this planet. Certain parties have been trying to sink this system without coming up with an alternative and why in the world would anyone not greedy want privatization of natural resourses. Its industry that’s ruining this country and the greed that is their legacy. stan And on top of that, race wars and riots are coming to a city near you. This from the Black Panther: “If you are having any doubts about getting suited, booted, and armed up for this race war that has never ended, let me tell you something… The thing that’s about to happen to these honkies, these crackers, these pigs, these pink people, these mother ’ turtle people – it has been long overdue.” If you happen to be one of them honkies, or crackers, or pig, or pink people, or mother turtle people, you might just end up dead, for no reason other than your whiteness. Nexus789 Amazing number of self righteous pompous individuals. The US has never had welfare state. It is more like a dependency system that has evolved to placate the masses as the US economy has declined and people have adapted to ‘game’ the system. What do you expect will happen if millions of jobs and tens of thousands of factories have been closed down and off shored to China, India, etc. What are the millions of unemployed going to do. The payments, food stamps, etc, are ways of keeping the idle masses passive. At some point this will end as the US is bankrupt and austerity measures will be introduced and many of these payments will be withdrawn..no food stamps, no unemployment benefits, no medical support, etc. Then you will all get you wish and reap the consequences. Paul does a common shareholder contribute to the success of a company? Isn’t the shareholder the true parasite? He draws money out of the company and does nothing in return? Paul Do you have any dependents? Yes, shareholders, managers, chairmen, bureaucrats and politicians. Paul In Hong Kong, every citizen has the right to medical treatment in public hospitals (only entrance fee of USD10 to be paid). There is no VAT in Hong Kong. 66% of Hong Kong people do not pay any income tax. Max. income tax is 15% of gross salary. Minimum is 2% The Hong Kong government does not have debts. Last year they had so much money left over, they paid every Hong Kong citizen over 18 about USD600. In addition they gave every tax payer a tax rebate of USD600. What are they doing wrong? de Malfosse re: “Ever since the “War on Poverty” began our debt has exploded”… certain amount of accuracy in writing this BUT the “War on Poverty” ran alongside that other horse in the Imperial race: the Viet Nam War, and the Viet Nam War is the direct source for Americans monetary difficulties today. I argue the debt explosion has much, much more to do with the maintenance of Uncle Sam’s Empire, an Imperium where tremendous amounts of American taxes continue to flow outward, then it does with the neighbor on welfare. I suggest the “welfare bum” is an easy & obvious target deliberately promoted by Uncle Sam so as to divert attention from the Empire and it’s 70+ year history of perpetual conflict, war, and interfernece in the affairs of other nations. Example: Country XXX (so as not to offend anyone) has itself received an average of 5 millions a day for more than 60 years off the American taxpayers back. Now if that doesn’t qualify as a “gov’t parasite”, what or who does? Is your neighbor on welfare more damaging then an entire company, say Lockheed-Martin, which hasn’t been off the gov’t teat since Truman was president? Tom Lowe Excellent points although they are clearly not directly related to the topic. What I actually see on the ground here is me working night and day for $800/month after 6 years of college long ago while the completely able bodied guy over there who never bothered to go to school does nothing all month but smoke dope and gets $900. NeoIsolationist I work. My wife worked for a long time and is now on unemployment. She would be one of that 49 percent collecting government benefits. She doesn’t want to be on unemployment, and intends to vote against the current administration come November. While lots of that 49 percent wants to continue scamming the system, I’d say there’s some in that group like my wife who don’t. I don’t think 49 percent in and of itself will be enough of a percentage. I could be wrong of course, but I recall hearing that Obama wanted to get about 75 percent of the population getting some kind of government assistance. I think he would agree that 49 percent, while alot, is not enough. Michael “””””In America today, we deeply penalize hard work and we greatly reward government dependence. “”””” same Thing in france, for a longtime As a disabled, i could have until $1000 from government as benefits …. but, no support to get a job, and once i get my own business, many taxes and no more benefits because of my disability stupid world chris Great article Michael as usual. But imo it’s overlooking a critical component to this problem: the breakdown of the family structure. I know your fully aware of this but I just thought it could use some mention. It will be a cold day in hell before I or anyone in my family accept any sort of assistance from .gov. jazzage You are missing three important areas of government dependance in this article. One, the liberal blue states pay more in federal taxes than they get back. That excess goes to the conservative red states that whine about the government but could not exist without their excess of government contracts, military bases, etc. The states of the old Confederacy get almost $2 back for every dollar they pay in. Two, the greatest amount of welfare in this country is money taken by taxing the middle class to subsidize the rich and big business. An example is the private prison industry. We privatize the prisons, the private companies that run these prisons then become lobbyists to bribe the “lawmakers” to make more laws making more things illegal so they have more prisoners and more revenue. Three, people with kids have more deductions and pay less taxes to the point where they have essentially zero taxes. Who has the most kids? Mothers on welfare, yes, but also Republicans who get away with paying little or no taxes. Guess who makes up the difference? Those of us with fewer or no kids, generally more liberal people. We also pay full freight on property taxes that fund the public schools. The hypocrisy of conservative morons is astounding. I say let’s get rid of public funding of schools, end all corporate welfare in all its guises, and set the losers in the Southern states out on their own and watch the size of the federal budget plummet. Gary2 you are 100% correct. Michael will never acknowledge that you speak the truth as he does not let facts get in his conservative leanings. How about the welfare of churches and pastors houses, err mansions being tax free. I do not want to subsidize some rich paster of a megachurch. POOR Michael–what ever are you goiong to do when the real facts about welfare are pointed out?? The church is the biggest welfare scam of all. jazzage You are right, I forgot about the Churches that pay no taxes but yet butt their way onto every political conversation and use the power of the Church to promote their idiotic ideas. Welfare for those on the bottom exists to prevent rioting in the streets, and welfare for those on the top is the reason the government exists. Gary2 its not just churches but pastors homes. Tax payers subsidize these mega church mansions as they are also tax free. Barn Cat The new gold rush is trying to qualify for SSI by being considered legally disabled. Tom Lowe I sprained my ankle walking to a job interview. Can I qualify for SSI?!! Dave Hello All. I have been reading this blog for some time, it is good to read some non-mass media propaganda. I however do not subscribe to the notion that USA or the rest of the world will descend into anarchy overnight. It will continue to be a gradual decline over the next 3-5 years, as it has been so far. It is not merely policymakers to blame, but a system that only operates on perpetal growth fuelled by cheap energy. As this energy rises in not only monetary cost,but also energy input costs, economic contraction is inevitable. Peak oil is definitely here. Shale and tar sands proves they’re getting desperate. Over time, perhaps people may need to return to the rural agrarian lifestyle they had pre-indutrial age,in order to survive. But the sun will stil rise and set. I don’t think that anarchy will come either, at least not where I live. Just a slow decay of order. Whatever happens, I would rather die helping my fellow man, content with this life I’ve been lucky to have, than to go down defending my “stash”. As for all this Dec 2012 rubbish, FYI our calendar (gregorian) ends every 400 years. Funnily enough we’re still around. Another Richard The Powerz that be, hold the rip cord on this Gargantuan Unpayable Debt of the USA and Europe. When they are satisfied with the ever growing level of this Debt – They will pull the rip cord on the Trillions of $ of Derivatives By The End Of 2012. That is their timeline to commence the New World Oder, I mean Order. I believe we will All be startled and frightened by the Suddeness and the Severity of the Collapse. Jack the Leper The United States Government is the parasite on the hard working people. Gary2 Journalist Chris Mooney discusses his new book, “The Republican Brain: The Science of Why They Reject Science — and Reality.” In his new book, The Republican Brain: The Science of Why They Reject Science — And Reality, science journalist Chris Mooney surveys this growing body of data and explains its significance. I think the authors mistake is assuming republicans have a brain to begin with. chuck Isn’t the government our biggest parasite? Michael The government feeds off of hard working Americans. It’s their lifeblood. Chris Hmm… although this won’t be a popular thought, I really feel that the government should not hand out a dime to anyone for any reason. This was what the church was suppose to do. It was suppose to help those, widows, disabled, poor, etc. But, in our “anti-Christian” society now, we’ve given, or better stated, expect the government to take care of these and pushed the church out. The church still should be taking care of it’s own though. No matter what kinds of rules the gov’t tries to push. As a side note, what really burns me is that all the so-called atheists, anti-Christians, etc would try to justify that Jesus would have wanted socialism and that the government should take care or it’s people via handouts. That is a completely different Bible from what I read however as the Jesus I knew was very clear about people taking care of themselves and their family. If hardship hit, then the church – more specifically, other church members (others in your congregation) were suppose to then help you out. But, sadly, most “church” goers are now so self-absorbed and Bible deficent that they aren’t willing to help other church members because they think the government should. Ugh – catch 22. Sorry – my ramble on to a great article that hit a nerve! Eric Ferguson This article is an example of why America is going into massive debt. We have gone from a nation of makers to a nation of takers. People are content to sit on their but and receive enough money from the govt to live on. Yet it is people like me who go to work to support these lazy a$$ people. nowwthen This is not the country I grew up in. As I’ve said before I remember the days in the 60s and 70s when anyone with a high school diploma (and many without one) could find a job with a living wage. There were smokestacks and office buildings all over the country that needed workers. Most from my generation hate that things have devolved into the semi-socialist society Michael has painted here. The corporate lobbyists have convinced our country’s leaders to buy into the belief that tossing U.S. workers into a world labor pool is somehow good for us. Tens of millions of jobs have been lost as a result. Add to that the technological unemployment caused by all of the robotic and computerized replacements for human labor and it’s no wonder that unemployment and underemployment remain at record levels. A person who’s exhausted his or her 99 weeks of unemployment after losing a job they held for 20 years is likely to reason that “the government caused my job to go away so the government must pay me for what they took from me.” I guess it’s what they refer to as a “moral hazard”. I’d like to think that most Americans would still prefer to work at a job that paid a decent wage rather than stay on the dole. But sadly that will not happen as long as good American jobs are being eliminated by lopsided “free trade” policies and productivity gains resulting from more automation with less human labor. Jeremy You think clearly and make good points. Winston Smith though I can agree with your assesment of lack of jobs and good paying ones at that, the problem in part is the result of your statements-we have encouraged and trained people in this nation not to be their own bosses, but employees (wage slaves) dependant on others. Guilds- destroyed largely during the “reformation”, which then ushered in a dog-eat-dog, selfish economy, highly individualistic. Said guilds then and could now, provide training, placement, apprenticeships and benefits (health, insurance,etc). During the 20’s and 30’s, the RCC laity had land associations in the USA and Britain-due to lackluster support of clergy, none from Protestants and a depression/WW II, those died on the vine. Their purpose? to train men how to famr and then, to buy/rent a farm to provide for themselves and others. Ditchling survived, in sorts, until 1989. The men might have gotten training, but nowhere to go and nothing to buy/use/rent afterwards. They then were continually unemployed and stuck in filthy cities. Or many has to rely on a lot of ready cash, equity and suck to buy a franchise. A lot more to get a loan from them or a whole lot more to buy their own buisness, plus where then is training? Open a bar/grill? great, would love to do that-do not know the first thing about payroll, taxes, with holding, how and where to order products,etc…. pete Yes. This is all true and accurate information. Here’s some more: After 27 months of being unemployed, the jobs I am being offered are for about 1/4th of my former salary, while the costs for about everything are about twice as much. So, my choices are get back to work and suck it up like a good sheople…..or do my best to drive a spear into the beast’s heart and try to kill it. More of a mercy killing actually. It boils down to this. Do you buckle down, stiff upper lip, shoulder to the wheel and nose to the grindstone…..or give up? I’m going with the idea that supporting the crooked, decietful and errant policies is a loosing game and I am going to be merciful by helping put the ailing beast (US ECONOMY)to death. Right now it’s a wounded and dangerous animal. Don’t get me wrong….if it was possible to nurse it back to health…I’d be on board. However, Bernanke and the politicoes have decided that injecting growth hormones and a diet of five hour energy drinks is practicing good medicine….so am I evil by wanting to see a suffering animal put to sleep? Tom Lowe This happened to me 25 years ago and I swore then to kill the Beast and I know I am going to win. Tom Lowe BTW I got zip in unemployment from the Corporate Pigs. ZIP you got that right–the jobs are low pay walmart crap. Jeremy Your anger is about where I was last July. But, you are still accountable to God for your actions, and He requires that you work and do your best (Apostle Paul: if you don’t work, you don’t eat). The misery on this website will not help you either. I used to visit this site daily, but I realized that, while providing some key facts, it is no more knowledgable of the future than you or I. Don’t give up. Many days are difficult, but trust me, you WILL find peace in the valley, on the other side. Now I am encouraging people who actually have good jobs. THAT is service, and is a blessing. I take the bar exam in July, and look at it more as an adventure to where God will take me. Gemtap Track what they use….make them pay it back whent they get a real job…if not debtors prison! Cinderella Man Good topic, Michael. Now I know why my Dad gets so infuriated around tax time. When I was out of work and unemployment expired, I worked in the “underground economy” paid under the table because that was the only work there was. I breifly had to get SNAP assistance cause I had no other way to feed myself. Now that Im working again reading articles like this I often have to ask myself Why do I work? Tax time pisses me off too… I already told you about the welfare mama that got back $8,000 on EIC. She also gets section 8 housing assistance, and food stamps. So basically all you have to do is produce illegetimate children, apply for aid and presto! Set for life!! Keep working fools, millions on welfare depend on you! Michael Almost everyone needs help at some point, but the key is to pick yourself back up and get off of the help and that is exactly what you did. I don’t blame those that are going through temporary troubles. But those that have gotten comfortable living off of the system year after year and they never try to get off of it trouble me. Michael davidmpark Not exactly. I’ve been on both sides of this lately, so here’s how things really work. I worked as a government contractor until my wife became severely disabled about 5 years ago. So, I left to get a part-time merchandising job with a big box to be closer to her and our young kids. That “safety net” where I live is not very big. LIHEAP’s funding, at most, is about 2 months worth of utilities per year. The paperwork cost us about $30 to process and mail, after 4 hours of filling in and photocopying. Medicaid is very limited to kids and the disabled – I’m not covered at all. Every 3 months I have to fill out a 15 page review and send in all related documents to prove everything that I claim. Most of the time, I’m either missing a document or not enough info, so it lapses for about 10 – 15 days. Social Security – Disability has been a trial and half! We finally got full disability after 4 years, more than 1000 documents, and a law firm. For this, it’s not much; about $1100 per month. And since there really isn’t housing assistance from everyone else already on that program (been on the waiting list for 4 years), almost all goes to rent. Our kids do an online charter school (and doing well, they can actually read and do the math! The school district is an abysmal failure), but we can’t qualify for discounted (not free) internet because we have to cut service for 3 months before we can apply. We can’t do that unless we let the kids fall way behind. We don’t qualify for the cell phone discount (again, not free) cause I’m still working part-time. I need to quit to get that one; but if I do, the wife looses medical coverage and a few others. It’s not a fun system: and I don’t spend time waiting for a check – I spend a lot of time trying to build what we can afford to create our own utilities and grow food, looking for a better job to work-from-home because, as I said before, she is severely disabled and needs me here! I get up at 5 AM, got work ’till 11 (if I’m lucky and she doesn’t have a seizure or something – then I have to stay home all day), then clean house, help the kids with school, fill out paperwork, cook what I can, and then, if I’m blessed, do some stuff in the workshop and then go to bed at 12 AM. This is not a paradise; it’s near to hell! I don’t know who is profiting so much from being on these programs, but I know it ain’t us! And from the experiences while working for the federal government, I’m sure it’s the bureaucrats running the programs that are living the sweet life! Some of those guys make over $100,000 per year salary alone and spend most of their time in meetings. Tom Lowe Your case just illustrates how those who really do need help have such difficulty getting it in a system clogged with rank freeloaders. I know numerous fully able bodied mentally competent people who get SSI of $900 +/- or large Veteran mental disability payments up to $2500 and more who do NOTHING. Most of them are actually alcoholics or pill people. I knew a guy who gets $2500–plus SS–for some concocted mental disability (PTSD from a military helicopter accident? Come on, liar-actor! This was not even in combat). He came to me on the 11th of the month whining that he was already broke. Well he has lived in a van for the past 43 years while he freeloaded off of the phony PTSD disability. So he spent $2500 in 11 days living it up to the tune of $225+ per day and shows up broke and whining on the 11th here where we self sufficient people have had way more than our share of dumpster meals just to keep this roof over our head. I sent him to Camp FEMA, so to speak. I often have to work for myself for as little as $1-$2 per hour, and have for many years now. All you out there who think there is some sort of automatic minimum wage had better realize there is no such thing if you intend to survive. davidmpark Thanks Tom mondobeyondo All one needs to do to see government efficiency at its best, is to go to the local Department of Motor Vehicles office to get your vehicle registered. There are 30 counters available. Two employees, at two counters, are assisting customers. Some 600 or so people sitting, staring at screens, or chasing their kids. Already a bad sign. Press the little green button on the machine near the entrance. Your ticket reads “number 863″. The loudspeakers announce, “Now serving number 108″. Come on – even the Post Office is better than this! Gary2 there are only 2 employees at the DMV because right wing gov like the soon to be replaced walker cut cut cut. Stop voting repube. Diane C It is really people like you who do need the help, and are not able to get enough. The problem is the entire system (government) is broke. There are those who really take advantage, and there are those who really need it. You would think because the government is so big and bloated, they would have enough people to check on these things. However you would have to be efficient in order to do that. Our government certainly is not. I wish you and your family the best. davidmpark davidmpark Okay, I need to clarify some things. My wife has an actual disability: severe traumatic brain injury, that caused epilepsy and a few other things. She was in a coma for almost a year and had to relearn most everything. It will cost her her life. It’s real – not easy to fake those CT scans and the other numerous tests. Second, I don’t know how to game this system: I give ’em all the requested info, they tell me what we can get. Honesty doesn’t pay off with these guys: and that’s the point! We HATE being on these programs! Using that EBT card in public is the most embarrassing thing; and the stares the cashier gives me is just damning. I hide the card best I can when swiping it and then quickly stash the eyesore away. When the receptionist at the doc’s office asks about insurance, I always whisper the answer. If these gov people want to do something right and good (for once); then pass a law that voids zoning laws for families that have a legitimately disabled member. I am capable of rearing animals and producing things here, but am limited because these guys want us on castrating programs that serve themselves! We have food storage, but it’s pretty basic now. And as someone here mentioned: if we don’t have these programs, they’ll take the kids and force my wife into assisted living – a kind of partial divorce. This isn’t the society I wanted; this is where I’m stuck! Phillip Sherwood The people I personally know who “work the system” aren’t getting rich but just treading water since they double up with family members and work low wage jobs. If they didn’t “work the system” they wouldn’t have enough to eat or their children wouldn’t be able to access health care. Many are caught up in drug abuse or alcoholism and are hardly able to maintain themselves. Some work very hard at low wage jobs and some don’t work at all. I agree at one level that throwing money at these people is worthless but cutting them off is just as bad since the children are the ones who suffer. I remember at the church I grew up in that what worked wasn’t monetary policy but individual assistance and genuine caring. Our pastor went to great lengths to assist a member who had a mentally ill mother and neither the pastor nor the church got a thing out of it except the right thing was done and people knew that this man and this congregation cared. My youth pastor said “am I my brothers keeper?” I thought he was referring to the specific scripture and I fumbled the answer but the Bible is clear from cover to cover what the answer is. Tom Lowe You missed the whole point of the article. It states that there are too many freeloaders burdening a well-intentioned system designed for the truly needy. It never says or even implies that needy people should not get help. What it says is that people who AREN’T needy are robbing the system. Stan522 I agree with you. Government sustenance programs are over burdened. However, over burdening is inevitable. Since government defines “success” only when they can increase their budget, and/or getting as many people reliant on it, you will always grow a program of free-loaders. By definition, this will always happen. Now, we have politicians openly feeding people with guilt for not putting up with supporting these ridiculous programs. They equate charitable “giving” of your money to private support programs to you supporting government taking your money and creating a program. They are not the same thing. Government will ALWAYS be more inefficient. Gary2 am I my brothers keeper That passage is not in Michaels and the other “Christians” on this site. Stan522 Gubamint programs are not supposed to make you rich. They are intended to keep you captive into a low level of sustenance where politicians can get you to keep voting for them as they play the system and put you into a voting block that will ensure their continued candidacy. That goes for ANY program: Home Mortgage Interest Deduction Hope or Lifetime Learning Tax Credit Student Loans Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit Earned Income Tax Credit Food Stamps (did I miss any–?) None of these will provide people with what they need. All they will do is get you hooked just like a crack addict. Tell you friend to break away from government handouts and find their own way to success. It’s inside of every single one of us. It’s God given and we just need to unleash it. Stan522 I believe we are at that point where there may be more takers than givers in our society. The politician’s are now so open about how if you vote for them, they will give “you” free stuff. This “safety net” and how politicians have leveraged it into voting blocks has destroyed our country. Their political greed (power and money) has enticed the weak to become weaker by accepting these bribes. It’s immoral and should be illegal to destroy the drive for success, self-reliance, and determination out of American’s. Michelle You have no idea just how much that hit home. God bless you jox Very unfair and disappointing article! You talk about a pitiful state of things in America, and suddenly, without justification, you equates it with a “European-style socialist welfare” that destroys your nation “socially and financially”. Even worse, you end with that picture, which has NOTHING to do with the content of the article. If you don’t like socialism, OK, let’s discuss it with arguments. But this method of picking something that you don’t like and associate it somehow with the socialism is very unfair and not appropriate for your otherwise brilliant articles. It is exactly the same as when the far left blames any problem in the world on America and capitalism. And, by the way, let me inform you that some of the more “socially and economically” advanced and prosperous countries in the world are European and socialists (or social-democrats, if this word exists in English). You are going to have a hard time finding arguments against the ethics and politics of those countries, which are a model for everybody. Tom Lowe Everyone but Europe knows that Europe are the biggest freeloaders in the entire world. The biggest. Tom Lowe In fact, Europe is nothing but a whole subcontinent wholly dedicated to freeloading off of the rest of the world, and has been for centuries now. Gary2 Michael is becoming an idological right wing warrior where facts are whatever he hears on fox. He can no longer think for him self. This crap was probably transcribed from rush pill head bimbo show. DownWithLibs I see you have even more screws loose than you did before. So sad…we pity you!!!! knightowl77 Well they are not a model that I would like to emulate. We’ll see where they are in 3 to 5 years, but I do not ever think I will support Gov’ts taking from one group to provide to another…. That is not the role of any gov’t that I would care to be subject to….you can keep it… Barn Cat A lot of government jobs are necessary jobs. A lot of those people are incredibly arrogant. They think they’re God because they work for the government. I saw that when I worked for the Census and my superiors had to deal with people who worked for the Department of Commerce. But those people are nothing compared to God. Bobby the line at 2:14 applies here… Bernadette Every time I read something like this it makes my blood boil. It’s this mindset which is making me fight tooth and nail to get my SSI which I worked most of my life paying into. I’m dissabled now. I have a list of illnesses longer than my left arm, and SSI has denied me and now I have to try to find a way to drive 200 miles away to go to some court hearing. You people seem to think it’s so easy to get gov help when you need it. It’s NOT! I’ve been trying to get my SSI benefits since 2009 when I finally became too sick to work. I worked for years with my illnesses, but they got too bad for me to manage in 2009 and I just couldn’t do it any more. Bernadette BTW I would much rather be able to get up and go to work everyday like I used to. I miss working, it’s ridiculous to think that people who were created to create and work would rather sit and be sick, just so that they could get a few hundred dollars every month for free. Talk about socialism, that was Hitler’s mind set “Let the strong survive and the weak go to the wall” That’s why I can’t believe there are so many Believers who are against public assistance. The Church is supposed to take care of sick people like me, not the gov. The Church isn’t supposed to be robbing old ladies of their SS, there supposed to be caring for them. And Christians certainly shouldn’t be complaining about services to assist sick and old people. Oh well it will all come out of the wash when JESUS gets back. Even so Please come quickly Lord JESUS. Cinderella Man Bernadette, I woundnt be mad at you for getting SSI its perfectly healthy young teenagers and 20 somethings that say they have “depression” or “bi-polar” and get to sit around and goof off all day while the rest of us foot the bill. BTW the reason that most people are depressed is because your govt. is tyrranical and you are materialistic!! Tom Lowe EXACTLY!! And then there are all the phony 420 patients, PTSD phantoms, pain pill puppies, and more! Gary2 most 90% Christians are hypoctrites to the max. All one need do is read this site for proof of that. Stan522 They will be left behind…….. Another Richard No, you are wrong. All 90% Christians are hypocrites. Only 100% Christians are Truely Christian. Another news flash for you buster – Only God can see the heart of any person and He alone Knows the True from the Hypocrite. So, quit wasting your energy trying to pick who is and who isn’t a True Christian,because it is useless. Examine your own life and relationship to God is the best thing you could do for yourself and others. Ozmo Thank you so much for that post. It would do well for everyone to live by this. Just my 2 cents Stan522 Isn’t that just like government…. create programs with big promises, make it near impossible to attain, move the goal posts mid game (extending the qualifying years out farther and farther), then steal from it, bankrupt it and then pander to the voting block of retirees and near retirees to garner more votes for the ones who bastardized it in the first place. Our problem is “we” keep believing these SOB’s every time they speak. Be wary of ANY politician coming up with a gubamint program that takes care of “us”. Besides, there isn’t enough to live on once you get it. I would have rather kept my own money for the 40+ years (and still going) instead of giving it to the ripoff artists. My beef is not with you who worked their whole life and believed the promises of politicians. My issue is with bastard (redundant) politicians that make false promises and then leverage votes promising more free “stuff”. They all can go straight to hell…… mondobeyondo Remember that scene in the movie “Titanic”, where Jack asks Rose to hold onto her hand as the ship sinks? “You jump, I jump!” No, wrong scene! It’s the scene where the ship is taking the final plunge to the bottom. The undertow would have sucked anyone near the ship under water. The USA is the Titanic. The people abusing the system, depend on the U.S. government for their survival. They will be dragged underwater. (Some of them already are. “Underwater mortgages”.. wink, wink!) And they will suck everyone else under along with them. Chris In the pyramid of wealth that could describe the population you would have parasites at the very top and at the bottom. At the very top the 1% also live a parasitic existence. I mean people like bankers/ CEOs and others who produce nothing and get rich by scamming those below and basically living a parasitic existence on those that actually do work, the middle of the pyramid. Under the middle there is a large population of an underclass some of whom are genuine hardworking people and some who game the system. The middle supports the lower and the upper parts of the pyramid. A host can only support a certain amount of its energy going to a parasite living on it. Too much energy lost and too many parasites and the host will be killed. This stage must be getting close. Those at the top with their corruption and fraud and greed set the example for those below to follow. When faced with corruption at the top and indolence below the middle will lose heart, see it’s supporting a unjust system and may give up. CitizenS Been a Paramedic for 21 years now and I have continually see things worsening. People used to call for EMS when they or a loved one was sick, now it seems we’re just a ‘free’ taxi service. Sadly they don’t realize or care that while they are being hauled around someone may actually need our service. And even though they aren’t paying foir it…….. I AM!!! I’m all about giving a people a hand up, but I’m getting tired of a third of my pay going to buy them cell phone minutes and the like. I built my own house payday to payday and I own the land. My family and I are putting up feeder pigs and a calf and just broke the sod on 2 acres of ground for a garden. We have wind power when there’s a breeze and 3 underground springs on site. By all means let it collapse. Then these parasites will be forced to work!! Again Michael, good article. Michael They use you for a free taxi service? That is just sad. Michael CitizenS In this state (WV) an individual can activate EMS, not give a reason, and state which hospital they want to go to and we have to take them. They do not even have to give us there name if they so choose. We call it a ‘you call we haul’. And on top of that many use the non emergency ambulances because they don’t want to spend the money on gas or the bus to go to Dr. Visits and other non urgent medicals. I love my state and only wish that we and other states would reform our system. That by itself could save countless money and lives….. the optimist Oh Yay for you. Don’t you get it — you built your house paycheck to paycheck — there are millions of us out here who don’t have the paycheck! And we don’t because of the CEO parasites and 1% parasites who are all about churning and grabbing money over jobs. Outsourcing, golden parachutes, whatever, the jobs are gone and they aren’t coming back. Don’t be so grossly smug and superior. I just lost my house, which was my prepping homestead. I did all those homesteading things for years too, but without a good source of income, when my business failed 2 years ago, I lost it. DON’T think for a SINGLE SECOND that you are invulnerable and incapable of losing YOUR paycheck — YOU CAN LOSE IT ALL. Then maybe you’ll have a deeper understanding of reality. “Then these parasites will be forced to work!!” Hateful. Don’t you think “we” WANT to have jobs?? FOOL, hateful fool. Please read Karol’s comment below. The real parasites are at the top, in DC and in corporate boardrooms. CitizenS If smug and being a fool means harsh austerity @ home (eating ramen, bologna sandwiches, working by myself til 3 in the morning on my house then getting up to be @ work @ 0800 (in which I couldn’t even claim the $8000 tax credit because I didn’t borrow from the banksters), and scratching odd jobs on days off) is smug then I guess that shoe fits. Did I work the system? No. Do I live in the lap of luxury? No. Have I gone without to provide a roof and food for my family? Yes. Am I prepared for what is coming? I hope so. I feel for anyone that looses their job, I really do, I’ve been there before. My comment was not meant to be condescending towards anyone. But I will say this and its as timeless today as it ever has been……. Judge only a man after you have traveled in his footsteps. libertyin413 In the interest of not repeating what others have said, I would just like to add that I don’t believe that we should have any of these government “benefits” or “safety nets” at all. The only thing the government can to is tax (read:steal) from producers and assist (read:redistribute) others. And it’s not just the “poor” receiving benefits/entitlement [sic], the connected elite get their welfare too. Government setting up these safety nets only exacerbates any problem that may have existed because now prices skyrocket as providers know any increase will be backed by the full faith and credit of the US Tax Payer; this hurts the very people the program was intended to help in the first place. All assistance should be done by private local charity as it was before. This way it is truly just a temporary helping hand when someone hits hard times and the organization/church can monitor for fraud. For the Progressives who claim this doesn’t work, we never read about having to step over alternating piles of child prostitutes and dying old people in the street as you tried to make your way to your sweatshop job. The standard of living was increasing like history has never seen before when people were allowed to keep the fruits of their own labor (a one income household could support 5-6 people, children were being better educated, new cars & appliances, etc…). Now under the Progressive model the standard of living is decreasing drastically as once again everyone has to contribute to the household income and the need to hop on the safety net has reached unprecedented levels. Lastly, even if the producers are lucky enough to retain some of their earnings and try to defer some of it for later consumption, they are hit again with the hidden tax of inflation that destroys their wealth and actually decreases their purchasing power. All of this made possible through the criminal and malevolent actions of the Federal Reserve. Karol Hi Michael, Thank you for writing such honest and informative articles. I no longer watch the news or read the local papers because it is mostly all rubbish. Your website is fascinating and I have recommended your site to all my friends and family. No body likes a lazy cheat who games the system for a living, but I am fed up with the parasitical Wall Street Fat Cats, the Politicians, the criminals in D.C. And the 1%, who having been gaming the system for decades at our expense. These rich crooks have stolen billions from the American people, far more than the food stamp family ever will in a life time. BofA paid no federal tax in 2010 and got a billion dollar rebate as well, and I read that they paid no federal tax in 2011 either. When companies that make billions of dollars and give out millions of dollars in bonuses every year don’t pay federal or state tax then the tax payer is robbed. On a local level police and fire stations are affected, schools too. Bridges and roads aren’t being repaired. These parasites send their children to the best schools, they vacation all over the world, own multiple homes with tennis courts and pools, multiple cars and jets, they get to eat the best food, probably cooked by the in-house chef, they have housekeepers and nannies, they have the best health care money can buy, I could go on and on. Disney, a multi-billionaire company, got welfare for a fireworks display and multi-millionaire Sam Donaldson got welfare for mohair. Really! Our schools suck, minimum wage adjusted to inflation should be $22.50 an hour, people are getting screwed out of time-and-a-half, over-time, vacation time, their pensions, health care, etc. And if you work you are lucky if you can get 20 hours a week! Wage theft is the best way for the 1% to steal from the 99%. Most people are so Ignorant they don’t even realize they are being robbed. I worked for the 1% in a private club in Boston, they docked my paycheck for 3 weeks of work. I am a poor single mother, and the richest people felt the need to steal 3 weeks of my wages. Wow! I couldn’t afford to work for free so I had to quit. Do I begrudge the obese, lazy, and unmotivated for scamming the system? Not really. Especially since there ain’t a Benz or a Jag in their driveway, no lawn service for their patch of grass, or a maid to clean up after their sub-par, high-fructose, hydrogenated, sodium laced, junk food dinners, and if they get fuel assistance to keep warm while eating their food-stamp dinner and watching Judge Judy, then good for them. Michael Karol: Yes, I have written many articles about the corruption of the banksters and the elite as well. I am definitely not on their side. Michael Mr. G You are largely right, Karol. Many people who are not doing well would do far better if they were dishonest. That’s what bothers me about the US today – no real earned privilege, just lots and lots of unearned, unfair big cash going to some fat-cats who are RUINING THE COUNTRY at the same time they are getting all that money! I mean, they could at least do a good job for all that cash. I don’t think they even try, really. Good luck! Jimmy Once citizens find out that they can vote themselves MONEY (i.e. the democratic party and has already occured) the system is heading straight to hell and is destined for failure. kHRIStu4 To honestly fix problems like this we need free energy. It is possible, just held up by corporations(owned by bankers) who own the government. Its all about control. This is one more thing added to the list to divide people and keep them docile. Its a long movie (about 2hr). Some stuff may be way out there but have an opened mind. It describes the “food chain” of banks, corporations, governments and people as well. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEV5AFFcZ-s grandpa These parasites you speak of live from the miniscule turds dispersed by the leeches that thrive on 95% of the oxygen you burn… so now we have rich vs poor. black vs white,, and gov vs god… someday people may get the balls to reverse the genocide being played upon us all.. Corey Lewis WOW! What a great article! Loved it! My ex-wife has been one of these friggin parasites for 15 years and doing her best to raise my kids in that lifestyle…over my dead and rotting body I say. People who have never worked hard or refuse to work hard do not deserve to have residency in this country. Put them all on a boat and ship them off. I’ll even pilot the boat. Rick I know of at least one parasite in particular that lived off my older sister for many years. After she finally divorced the leach, he’s now on government subsistence. These type of people all have one thing in common; they just are not employable. Stan522 …..and the rest of them have government jobs…. have you ever been to the DMV–? Nobody Special The Low-Income Gasoline Assistance Program Act was introduced in 2005. Fortunately, it hasn’t gone anywhere since then. Don’t mention it – let’s not give them the idea to revive it. Mike S. When a person loses their job the first thing you do is apply for unemployment. After that runs out and your savings run out and your food runs out and you have kids. Do you honestly think the government will let you live off dehydrated food that is on the shelf in the basement? You will be on foodstamps and medicaid or they WILL take your kids! If you can’t show proof of income, regardless of my house paid for and enough money(at the time)to pay my bills for another year. The first time you take you kids to E.R. for something it opens up a whole crap of worms if you don’t have insurence. Just for stitches from a bike accident I now have my kids on Medicaid and foodstamps. I try to be positive about the government waste and use all they give on foodstamps to restock my shelves for the next go around. I will be pleased to answer any questions about my situation, even negative ones. I get on this site daily and this is my first comment. Michael You make some very good points there. Michael Tom Lowe You are not the person we are talking about. We are talking about lots of fully able bodied people who not only scam for all the gummint benefits but who also work in the underground economy year in and year out. tex Yeah you hypocrites are always talking about some other person- not the person in front of you who has real need. Yes there are abusers- but in my experience most people would rather work for their money walking to work over broken glass than jump through all of the hoops the bureaucracy demands for their meager pittance. The fact is that the US economy is in the toilet and the sheeple are going to let Romney flush it. There are not enough jobs, not even in the cash economy. $6 to $10 an hour jobs won’t pay the rent and feed a man’s kids. When there is no alternative, people will work the government system to eat or they will turn to crime or justice in the streets- and there are not enough guns in this country to turn that tide once it starts. I think it is time quit with the rhetoric and get real- or it is all going to end very badly for us all. mondobeyondo I forgot about the kids aspect of the situation (I do not have children). Whoa… talk about growing up fast! Children in these dire situations don’t need to ask what a “budget” is. erheault As we wander down the road to total automation in our industrys the need for middle and lower semi skilled labor will dwindle and the unemployed and the unable to work will multiply we will face a revolt as all other nation in the past and present have or now undergoing, How this will work out is unknown but it will happen to us, it dont matter who is president or in congress. no nation or country in history has survived by devaluing their monies or massive unemployment which is where we are heading, Enjot the ride as it will be historic to say the least. Bryan it’s simple people our nation has gotten so far from God that we are reaping what we are sowing it’s only a matter of time before the Lord Jesus Christ returns the mark of the beast is coming! don’t be here for it after seeing how the U.S.A has mare debt than most of the european countries alone and look what is happening to them only a matter of time…how much only The Lord knows wheter you believe or not it is amazing to see prophecy being fullfilled right in front of our eyes who will fix this huge world financial mess!!! read revelations chapter 13 turn your hearts to God while will still live in this age of grace! monk Cut down on spending. Donald Wilson The bums who live like vultures living off the system will crash and burn one day. Later.We Tom Lowe I’m a landlord in a lower middle class neighborhood, and down to 105 lb from 135 lb in 2007 for lack of food and time to cook it. There is almost nothing but professional freeloaders for as far as the eye can see from here. I could tell all of you stories about freeloaders that would make your blood boil right off. My only hope is that the gummint finally stops issuing the by-now absurd freeloader checks and benefits and sends all of the professional freeloaders to Camp FEMA, right next to the bankster criminals and right where they all belong until they get off their dead butts and start doing something for themselves. And I don’t mean maybe! Cinderella Man My goodness man!! You need to bulk up on protien powders and high fructose corn syrup immedietly!! 105?? Thats skinny!! no offense. Tom Lowe It’s scary. I’m surrounded by a sea of human sinkers. That means I have to do everything for myself and half of what they need done for themselves. There’s just not enough time or money to eat well enough–especially after all the coffee, cigs, feeding several spoilt cats, and whatever else I might decide to indulge in, like several hours of reading blog comments. OK–so ya caught me! !!!! Eva Yup, it’s not a good time for jobs or growth or prosperity and it won’t be until we get rid of the man in the Oval Office and replace him with someone who takes creating a business-friendly environment seriously. And returning Congress to baseline budgeting. They haven’t been since the 1974 Budget Reform Act, which adds 10% annually to each federal budget regardless of necessity and I hardly need add regardless of federal revenue. sharonsj Articles like this piss me off. Right-wingers like to blame anybody who is struggling to survive–but they never attack corporate welfare. ExxonMobil earned $5 billion a year for the past four years and not only paid no tax but got a tax refund! Corporations get away with murder and rob us blind, but their execs are not in prison, are they? But let some guy steal food from a grocer cause he can’t afford to buy meat and he lands in jail. I don’t know why I remain amazed at the stupidity of the American public to swallow Republican talking points, but I am. If you folks don’t learn how to look up facts on your computers, instead of being yes men, you’ll help the Repubs steal what’s left of the country. Michael I have written quite a bit about the corporations that pay no taxes and about all of the corporate welfare that takes place. Michael Gary2 100 articles on the poor to 1 on the corporate welfare. Come on Michael–I see through your bs. Michael Gary you know that I hit Goldman Sachs far harder than I hit the poor. Michael Gary2 I said corporate welfare not just goldman sucks. and no you bash the poor way more than the corporate welfare which is a FAR bigger cost. sharonsj Economist Richard Wolff pointed out that over the last 30 years, corporations (along with government) have rigged the system so that they now pay only 25 cents in taxes for each $1 of tax paid by the average citizen. He also said that if people understood how they were being screwed we’d have a second American revolution. Michael Yes, I discussed corporate taxation quite a bit in the article I just posted. Michael Winston Smith True, but that never seems to upset “conservatives”, who benefit a lot from Big Govt/Big Biz.Their answer? Just lower taxes (but not spending) and “get the Govt out of the way”. El Pollo de Oro “I call them GC’s three Gs: guns, gold and a getaway plan.”—Gerald Celente Michael T. Snyder write: “As economic conditions get even worse in this country, millions more Americans are going to turn to the government for assistance, and at some point, the safety net is going to break.” Yes, and when it does break, God help The Banana Republic of America (formerly the USA). That’s when things are going to get really nasty in this Third World nightmare. I’ve often said that when the going gets tough, the desperate do desperate things. They rob, they steal, they sell drugs, they mug, they carjack, they kidnap. They do all the things that make it so dangerous to live in Caracas, Ciudad Juarez, Port Moresby, Guatemala City, Kingston and a long list of other Third World cities with high rates of violent crime. They collect the dreaded Desperate People Doing Desperate Things Tax (DPDDTT), which is what the wealthy minority end up paying when they’re surrounded by a dirt-poor majority. “I don’t think people realize just how evil and what an abomination our country has become.”—Alex Jones “America’s not the same place it used to be. And when you look at the decline going on in this country, how anybody can believe that the dollar is going to be a reserve currency is beyond me.”—Gerald Celente Not all Third World countries are ultra-dangerous. I’ve visited Morocco, which has a lot of poverty but doesn’t have a lot of violent crime (only a lot of touts trying to sell you a carpet that you don’t need). But I definitely see the BRA moving in the direction of the really violent and dangerous Third World countries, where kidnappings are a way of life and the cops are often in cahoots with the thugs. So if you think Baltimore, Detroit, Philadelphia and St. Louis are bad now, just wait—the worst is yet to come. And rural places aren’t necessarily going to be all that safe either when the you-know-what hits the fan (some small towns in Mexico are extremely dangerous). Of course, smart preppers understand all these things. They’re the ones who’ve been listening to Alex Jones, Gerald Celente, Paul Craig Roberts, Gary Johnson and Ron Paul and realize that those guys aren’t alarmists—they’re telling it like it is, and the truth ain’t pretty. If you have a gun, I recommend keeping it in a safe, secure place and knowing how to use it. That gun will come in handy when the DPDDTT collectors come a knockin’ here in The Banana Republic of America. William The real government “parasites” are actually 90% of all federal workers (GS & WG). These federal employees are grossly OVERPAID, and do little work. It is almost IMPOSSIBLE to fire one of these slackers once they get tenure. My brother-in-law retired as a GS-14. In his last job in Wash DC, he TOOK NEWSPAPERS and MAGAZINES to work to read BECAUSE HE DID NOT HAVE ANYTHING TO DO Most civil service and wage grade federal workers sit around doing very little except for reading their benefits manual. That is a HARD FACT! TX4Life Most have tv’s in their offices, paid for by the taxpayer, that they watch several hours a day. No one wants confrontation so they ignore it. Or they let it go because they also watch tv a good portion of the day. Some work other jobs during their required GS/WG hours even though it is prohibited. Again, no one wants confrontation so they look the other way. Some come and go as they please, never listing time off on their weekly time cards as required. At the end of the year, they take most of December off to “use or lose” their accumulated “time off”. It will continue and grow worse because no one is willing to do anything about it. Me $50,000 * 0.3 = $15,000 where 0.3 = 30% tax rate. $50,000 – $15,000 = $35,000 /12 = $2916 a month. $2916. Not $4000. $2916. It’s even crazier than you think. By quite a wide margin. Add to that I’d love to see you find a rent of $1000 in Los Angeles. Anywhere. Try it. Minimum is $1400 and that’s if you’re living in hell with a bed that folds up into the wall. I’m seriously considering building a cabin on some nice land in the middle of nowhere and buying a 20 year supply of Ramen noodles. I hear you can…“feed” (if it can be called such a thing) yourself on them for $142 a YEAR. Mr. G I have known plenty who are parasites. They really do work the system amazingly well. I once worked a charity-related job in a city where I found that people coming from Latin-American countries had welfare forms filled out before they even got on the plane to come here. That’s rotten. But it is also rotten that those who really try often can’t get any help at all! That is why I know much welfare is a scam. We should be willing to help those who need it and deserve it. But, we tend to help those who don’t deserve it. For example, many poor American kids who can’t read get no special help, while foreign nationals who are going here while their parents get educated or work fancy professional jobs get special English tutors on the tax-payers’ dime. When are we going to wake up and help those we should? But never, never turn against helping those who have it coming. This is one reason I cannot even support Republicans anymore. (I never did support Democrats) Too mean-spirited, too many people who have never been down and out! DaytoDay Good Article Michael, I had to take some time away from the doom and gloom for a while, although, it is impossible to escape it entirely. I agree with this article, I know people 1st hand who are on welfare, some in my own family who have been on welfare/govt assistance most of their adult lives. I worked at Walmart at one time, and one of the guys I worked with used to be a construction worker and was on welfare for 2yrs before they cut him off, he was receiving $1,000/month while on welfare compared to the $800/month working at Walmart. So, I can understand why some people choose to leach off the system “forever”, because it literally pays more to be dependent than independent… Stay Strong and Keep Up the Good Work! David Gurney New GOP slogan:If you believe in hope,you must be a dope. Mad Max The truth is, none of us really have to work hard anymore. Why get mad at the people who discovered that first. Only a sucker wants to work hard. Work is just a modern extension of slavery from ancient times. That’s why people want to become rich. Because they want to be free. Free to do what they want when they please. Only a jaded fool wants to work hard, and only a jaded fool would criticize others that don’t want to kill themselves making someone else’s dream come true. I’d rather spend more time with my family and doing the things I really love to do. Do you think the 1% care about working their butts off, NO! They care about working your butts off. It is the stupid 99% that persist in this nonsense and guess what? You’ve gotten your wish. We behave like slaves then we complain about how we are treated. Wake up! Read “Common Sense 3.1” at ( http://www.revolution2.osixs.org ) FIGHT THE CAUSE – NOT THE SYMPTOM How else can I say this? “We Are Free!” http://WeAreFree.osixs.org John Rambo Nevermind that most welfare people are WOMEN. Women bankrupted America. They sucked the system dry with all of their special women’s rights and privledges, and also they drove away all of the big corporations who are afraid of frivilous lawsuits from women. American women are sue-happy. They will sue a company or their employer for the stupidest of reasons. So can you really blame the corporations for outsourcing to countries that are not so radical feminist-like? American women are the main ones that destroyed America. Feminism destroyed America. When are you going to start blaming the real culprits, Michael? When are you going to grow some balls and start speaking the TRUTH, instead of watering it down like a ? Michael Michael John Rambo Yes but you RARELY call out WOMEN and FEMINISTS as being the main cause behind the economic collapse of America. Also, American women destroyed TENS OF MILLIONS of men’s lives FINANCIALLY through the divorce courts. So financially destroying TENS OF MILLIONS of men’s lives didn’t help the economy either. When are you going to directly expose the WOMEN as the primary culprits behind this collapse? tex Joh Rambo? Sure you’re not Rick Santorum out slumming? Gary2 ive paid into this system that people are using.i personally know of 10 people using the system to get ssi only one is disabled the rest lied to get ssi. you lie and keep saying your depressed my back hurts etc. etc. etc. i read these coments and funny how all these people diserve ssi and none of these people are lieing to get it. give me back my money and i shouldnt have to help strangers with my money i paid into it with,hell i could retire,ive paid into this since i was 15 im 48. if your a man get a dam job and quit faking if you can work period,i know about it taking four to five yr. it didnt stop those bums i know that are on it,dont forget to tell the people here they back pay you all that money did you. sorry what it comes down to is i shouldnt have to support any stranger,i will help me and my family and no one else and that includes food stamps. i get one third of my money taken in taxs and etc. then i spend it and get taxed again,i dont care who you are,i shouldnt have to raise you as if your a child,get a job even if its flippin handburgers-enough is enough sorry they taken the comas out and ran the sentences together but youll get the point Gay Veteran “…Ever since the “war on poverty” began our debt has absolutely exploded and yet now there are more poor people in this country than ever before….” FACTS please? The Federal debt started exploding under Reagan. Michael It has been exploding for a long time. Both parties are to blame. Michael tom singa yes they are all to blame, and until obama debt was increasing slightly which needed to be put under control, , but Obama ,he has doubled the debt himself, period there is no way to argue otherwise Evie America is rapidly turning into a European-style socialist welfare state The evidence says not! I wish we were a european socialist state tex or even a Canadian style Conservative one…. tom singa well then leave go there and live Gary2 Michael-ALL estimates are that between 3-5% of the welfare recepients are getting benefits fraudently and gaming the system. While I know focusing on the 3-5% who abuse the system makes for a better headline you are ignoring the 95-97% who get benefits that if they did not get they would die. for the most part literally. I know in your ayn rand wet dream that is how you may want the world to be–social darwin like that fool paul ryan but what what a horrible world that would be. For the record I do believe that those 3-5% who are abusing the system need to be kicked off and dealt with. Gary2 How about all the corporate welfare and welfare for the rich? That is WAY more than ANY welfare for the poor. Michael–turn off fox, you can do better. Gary2 49 percent of all Americans live in a home that receives some form of government benefits. Because the wall street corporate bailouts put the economy into a recession. You need to finish the tape to the end. Michael–stop being sop disingenuinous. you know better. Gary2 michael–too one sided–what about the corporate parasites??and the rich parasites who own congress? How much extra does the average family pay for those parasites?? you have sunk to a new low with this article. You are so one sided and incomplete facts I can hardly read this crap. MisterC Then haunt some other blog TROLL! Gary2 nice hypocritical Christian referring to Gods children as parasites. I knew all the was nothing but to make people think you are christian. When push comes to shove you are right up there with the libertarian selfish crowd. You probably really worship Magog Rhynn The only way anybody is going to spend $400 a month on gasoline is if they are riding a motorcycle or simply have no job and nowhere to go and thus couldn’t even afford that $400 a month. Even econo-boxes cost close to $60-$70 per full tank on 87 gas where I live. Nobody is going to fill up a car 6 times a month here if they are employed. Try double that. Same goes for a $1000 a month rent or mortgage. That will barely get you a single in the worst area of the city. One person could not make it under those circumstances. A family of four can completely forget about it, unless they all live in the car and eat out of the 7-11 they park behind. Once you add in insurances, health coverage, car maintenance, etc. you’d have to quadruple that $4000 figure for that size family to even pretend it was comfortable. And that’s only if the $16K figure I mention is net. America is a bad punchline now – nothing more. Newton It’s not even so much the actual people that really costs us all, but the incredibly innefective and almost inexhaustive amount of bureaucratic “support” personnel for all these“programs”. I mean; if you; Michael want to “find a money trail”– follow a single minority mother with 3 kids to 2 different “guys” living in a burb with mom and dad next door – I mean; it’s amazing ! These people have individual “caseworkers”– you can’t make this up ! Now; how does the caseworker keep his/her job? get a raise? What a vicious cycle ! I’ve been saying for 30 years –” when the percentage rowing the boat equals the percentage riding —- in the boat; the boat; she stops. The rowers; they grow weary; but cannot rest as more and more become dependant on them – it is like running a marathon; if you stop at mile 21 for a breather; I GUARANTEE you; you’ll NEVER pick up the pace again. It’s just law # 113 of my 200; right behind if you eat more calories than you burn; you’ll gain weight. Their days are numbered however; as the rowers; they know how to do things; make things; repair things; the parasites – not so much One of these days ( I give it 3-5 years ) we’re gonna find out just who is worth what in this country. Currently we have farmers making 60K and Senators making 160K I’m betting – these roles are gonna change! joe And what about the government employment sector that overpays millions of lazy so-called workers to either do nothing all day or push meaningless government dripple. This article is a shill for the fat cat rich who are so greedy that they would take social security from people who earned it and benefits from people who truly need it. We never hear about the lazy government union parasites in these type of articles because thats what the real parasites who run america want to keep going. Even when these government employees were “layed off” they got full pay and benefits and did not have to apply for unemployment like private sector. Always getting some special privilege including the right to a paycheck without working. This amounts to alot of money payed for nothing and far exceeds the amount anyone receiving government benefits gets. Are they to work or just fill space and stand around and look stupid. Most of these “jobs” are not necessary but work to keep the corrupt political machine going. Government employees are a lazy pack of overpayed,overprivileged spoiled brats who think everything in life should be handed to them on a silver platter. Yet not one word will be uttered against them by their elite masters while these same masters seek to make the lives of those forced onto government benefits more miserable. Another attempt at class warfare. tom singa that can’t get fired! James The Hard Working American vs. The Government Parasite – that’s a good one. Did it occur to you “hard working” types that what you call “work” is actually as chattel on a slave farm? The Indians would never have understood that a person must continually pay to live on the piece of ground they were born on. So to those of you who think you are more noble for working and the poor are despicable – i say its because of you that the system keeps functioning and so its on your head. If people all thought like me then the system would end tomorrow. But they don’t – so those of you who support it – its your mess so you deal with it and i will take what I can, because no man has the right to demand payment of me to live on the land so I have to take steps to circumvent the crime of what most of the rest of you created and continue to support. And by the way – this disdain for the poor “parasites” is one more psyop your rich masters are running on you to divide the lower and middle classes. nowwthen I guess if you try hard enough you can justify your disdain for taking care of yourself. Just throw in some nonsense about “The Indians” and paid work as slavery and all of a sudden you’re smarter than any self-sufficient man or woman and entitled to what you take from them. Timothy Leary’s dead genius now get off your fat and go to work. james Look up the term Sheeple on Wikipedia and learn about yourself. James So, put otherwise – not only are those of you who have jobs fools – your also morally liable for keeping this mess going. Your not better than, but less than. I am all for taking care of my own needs – but they stole the land and put us in cages and its now illegal to do so. A person has to have satanic blood tickets to do any trade. I curse it and refuse to be a good little obedient slave. so yeah, i will take what they give until the rest of you come to your senses. And remember that disdain for those on the government “dole” will not serve you as your turn is coming. Pray your envious demographic has not demonized the poor by that point so that you are just put in a work camp. Mr. G You are so right, James! WE really don’t need so much labor to make the world run – and much of our labor goes to supporting people above us, who want want want. I live happily in a lifestyle from the 1930’s. It is a very full life and I have a great many hobbies and interests which do not require constant outlays of money, though oddly others who do the same things spend constantly and don’t actually DO the things too much anymore. I can live like this, why can’t they? And if they want more, fine by me – but they ought to work like dogs to produce their plastic crap, not enslave the little people! Mr. G Jeremy Lots of anger in these comments. My suggestion: just log off (I come about once per week), and your blood pressure will drop. starr It just makes me sick knowing the economic disaster America is in. I’m 53 years old have worked since i was 14. Unfortunately, the company i worked for 7 years went out of business, which put me on unemployment. Been on it for 8 months, and it’s making me crazy not working. I have alot of skills, put in several applications but no job. The jobs are not there, our government is lying to us. They want to keep us under there control. Wake up America, we need to get rid of the socialism/communism that’s destroying our country!!! mondobeyondo Even a maggot has to work its way up the system, to become a worm. (Yes, I know. Not funny. Sorry!) Jimbo Until our VIP’s start appearing in roadside ditches with bailing wire around their wrists and bullet holes behind their ears every morning, things will continue to get worse bill if im not mistaken the system you curse is givin you free food and shelter that you call a cage,at myself and other workers expense,i curse the system also. i have a firm belief that if you can work but refuse to do so for whatever reason like not enough money,dont like that kind of work or whatever,,STARVE and live on the street or woods where ever,why should working men and women support people who are to lazy to work..i believe that part of being a man anyway is supporting you and your family NOT ME SUPPORTING YOUR FAMILY BECAUSE YOU FEEL YOU SHOULDNT HAVE TO WORK your not one of my kids why should i support someone that THINKS hes a man when he wont work Rowell Michael, I have to call you out on this statement: “If you live in a very liberal area of the country and you know how to game the system, it is entirely possible to live a comfortable existence without ever working too much at all.” Why are you saying that it’s the liberal areas of the country that people take advantage of the system? Aren’t several southern conservative states among the top recipients of government aid for its citizens? Such states as Alabama and Mississippi have extremely high numbers of people on welfare. So, saying that this is a “liberal” problem is just being divisive. Please, keep objective in your reporting; it would lend more credibility to your articles, especially to those of us who are in the middle (like myself) or liberal (like Gary2), and not hard-core conservatives. Michael Yes, it is true. There are people gaming the system all over the country. It just happens to be a little easier to do in very liberal areas such as Chicago. Michael EXCELLENT article. I was waiting for this one! Great job! Nex This has been the case for years, just for the longest time no one wanted to notice it. We got hicks in Alabama who live off subsidies from cradle to grave and we got blacks in NY doing the same, just now when economy turned to (thank you mortgages for everyone), it all of the sudden became an issue. Stop policing the world or conquer whoever we own money to. Or just default already and lets watch fly. Phoenix Great, we’ve seen the problem loud and clear. The solution however is here. This is for open minded free thinkers, those who can envision a different, better world. I like how you’re talking solution-oriented instead of problem-oriented. It’s the best way to promote change. http://rondetafelbeleid.nl/meritocracy ivan As a foreigner living and working in this country, it is sort of strange to watch Americans yell about “socialism” “socialist” Norway debt 48% of GDP“socialist” Denmark 49%“socialist” Sweden 37% socialist East Germany at unification, some 25% United States 69% (not including intra-government debt like medicare and social security) and debt owed by individual states. Japan. A cool 208% Tell me again how “socialism” is killing america? Gary2 its because all the low information right wing voters who are easily manilupated by fox. Scandavian countries are beating the USA in pretty much every catagory and they are socialist. We need to be much more socialist and drop the self made man crap as its simply a myth. Pauly So who is manipulating the left wing voters? Sagacious You’re a sad little child thinking he is a man Gary. I agree with Benjik…is this article about you? Are you a government parasite?? I’m thinking yes, yes you are! Brunot Let me tell that to my high school educated wife who was a nanny till 23 y/o and now makes $300K a year. She’ll be quite surprised. I’m self employed and semi-retired at 48 from a business mowing lawns where I broke a sweat every day. But what do we know, eh? It’s impossible to achieve anything without a govn’t check. What an ignorant statement. tom singa oh there you have it a cash based business running under the table not paying his fair share, can you please tell me the name of your lawn care, Id like to report it to the IRS Tim Yes I hear that all of the time. But look at the populations of those countries, take Norway for example. Population ~5 million. the US ~311 million. And did you know that Norway is an oil country? Without their oil their economy would probably stagnate. You are comparing apples to oranges my friend and your argument about those countries being better is not looking at all of the factors. Oil country= $$$ Marcus We spend less than we earn. Simple as that. Sweden is not an oil country! And we are not socialist, study our economy before ranting please! We are market driven economies with a strong governmental influence. Which is not a problem for most of us, since we consider the government to be our servants, while americans consider the government their enemy. Sometimes it feels like America aimed for freedom and ended up with anarchy. And I don´t hate the USA, but I expected more from you. 20 years ago people in Europe dreamed of California, now they dream of The Emirates, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong and Canada. Benjik Cherenkov This is retarded. Americans should only be so lucky as to have a higher standard of living, better health care for less, better education, more cultural events, more vacations days by at least double, and governments who weren’t in the pockets of the corporations. Gosh what a terrible thing. All this and you get to vote in a parliamentary system where your views might actually be represented instead of co-opted by politicians owned lock, stock, and barrel by the corporate elites. Anyone who believes this stupid story deserves the crappy American life they get. Gary2 Michael–are you listening..your libertarian is just that a dream. tom singa spoken like a true piss antt mooch Bob Marshall European-style socialism “is exactly what we need now. I am against market fundamentalism. I think this propaganda that government involvement is always bad has been very successful-but also very harmful to our society.” George Soros. If you are trying to defend this it is because you are in the 49 % without a doubt!!! tom singa a true mooch! Mia Typical liberal!! Fox news is the the only channel that make sense and I`m glad I do not believe the fairytale of change the liberal leaders want us to believe. The American Dream is dying because of Marxism. Go ahead, nobody can change you anyway… go sit in your couch get all the free money you want from the govt. You don`t care if the hardworking taxpayers suffer because all you libs care is yourself. Lee Do you even know the ideology behind Marxism or the ‘American Dream’? When you find out, come back and explain how it has killed the American Dream. In fact, as a loyal follower of Fox, in your own words, explain the difference between a liberalism and conservitism. As shown by your lack of knowledge, I will assume you did not attend college, but if you did how did you pay for it? Use Pell Grants? Student loans? Sometimes think before you speak…. TheFulishBastid So let me get the logic straight. Most everyone on welfare, snap, medicaid are “gaming” the system. I can quit my job tomorrow, or better yet, be willfully fired. Apply for my “socialist” benefits, and voila, I’m living the high life? Rollin’ in my caddy, wakin’ up at noon, heading down to the store and buying steaks for me and my girl, drinking and smoking to the wee hours of the morn, wake up at 1 in the afternoon and do it all over again, ad infinitum? WHERE DO I SIGN UP?!?! Or the other option, we get rid of the “benefits” that these people are living off of and demand that these folks go get jobs that don’t exist? I think you shouldn’t quit your day job, though maybe you should go work in a soup kitchen one day and see how well these folks you are blaming for your woes are truly living. tom singa Song as your willing to live in a dump, or share a nice home wiht a few others doing he same thing. better yet you can even own that home and charge the “roomies” rent in cash! JF I work in Los Angeles (I live 1 hour away-thank God) as a Parole Agent. Many parolees are claiming a mental health ailment (Depression, hearing voices) and then sign up and receive SSI. Usually just below $900.00 dollars per month (many receive “back pay” which can be several thousand $). They also receive housing rental assistance, and EBT food cards. They lounge around all day and then buy alcohol and drugs with the money. This does not include all of the other freeloaders (Hoodrats-girls, having multiple children, illegals etc) who receive the same freebies. Los Angeles is a total mess and California itself is the same. The collapse is gonna be hard, and I see many cities erupting in violence and bloody riots when this occurs. hora SSI 900$ you said? well I am 65 retired and disable and get 350$. Now for sure a systems will collapse and very soon. 750$ SS and SSI what I collect I was working and paid taxes. Now when collapse sure a lot will stop get any check free, only real disable and older will keep a own money for was paid for long time, and riot? well that will a end of DEM KKK Party. InYoFace Go back to Mexico you are part of the problem Anonymous I will say say this… $4000 per month is MORE than enough to support a family of 5 people. The problem with most Americans is they are not savvy or frugal. They are poor at micro managing and quite honestly, many suffer from narcissism and addiction. Many Americans live their lives ignorant of how their tools work, such as; automobiles, home appliances, computers, clothing, their own bodies. If a family of 5 cannot live off of $4000 per month, they might be terrible at management, likely spending heavily on things they do NOT need to survive. Buying in excess of expensive food, luxury items, luxury clothing and accessories, cigarettes, drugs, bars, new automobiles, automobiles with poor gas mileage. Of course many Americans are bred in the system to believe that they were not be socially accepted if they do not own new cars, new houses, new clothes, new appliances, worship sports teams… The future of many Americans will likely end up as a giant temper tantrum, with riots… followed by scores of military hosing them down and telling them to “shut the fuck up and deal with it.” I’m not going to judge people, but it’s the truth, people need to micro manage their lives better, not be lazy and learn how to care for their bodies and their tools. tom singa just had a conversation about this, how to cut back, but they cant live without a $120+ cable bill a mo, their landline with internet access, two smart phones at almost 200 a mo, I explain to them even turning up the AC o 81 or 82 during the day and no lower than 78 at night will cut that bill some 40 or more a mo, (they cant sleep if its not set at 70 degrees, My gosh, and these people thing tthey are entitled tto get GOC help! and they do! Jan Honeycutt The National Guard requires my husband to have internet access and we have to pay it out of pocket. I coupon constantly, my kids get clearance clothes that are cheaper than Walmart its worth the hunt. We have about 950 a month come in after taxes every other week before taxes 1400, we have honestly needed help before and deserved it, and couldn’t get it. My husband had to have surgery to remove a tumor luckily it wasn’t cancerous, but he was still out of work and our insurance left us with a 1,000 dollar copay. I was in the ICU at the time of his surgery complications from a heart condition, a UTI, and extreme IBS. He ended up going back to work early, we have medical bills coming in everyday despite paying for 2 insurances. Both of our children have asthma, I have several bad health problems, and our daughter has extreme IBS and GERD on top of her asthma. I worked everyday I would now it just isn’t possible and I can’t get a penny of the disability I paid in despite having a non working bladder, heart condition, and epilepsy, while I watch healthy people walk around on it for Fibromyalgia and I even know of one government moocher getting 800 a month because her daughter has dyslexia! On top of that most of these people have never worked or paid a penny into disability! Our daughter has dyslexia and I would rather not manipulate the system to use my daughter as a pay check, these people have no integrity. I will admit we do have to keep our air on 71 at night due to my heart condition if I get too hot my heart rate goes up but blood pressure plummets, I seriously doubt most of the people getting their bills paid have a real need to keep their air low though, they just know they can. My husband works at a factory but he has an education and he is a staff sergeant in the Guard but still we only gross a round 42,000 a yr and one time while he was on orders he didn’t get paid until a week later because of the system being down, we had to use credit cards and ask family for money. My husband only gets 2 sick days a yr I was in the hospital over 10 days last yr. We desperately needed help and because my husband is home now his 3 tours of duty count for nothing and we could not get military aid. We sunk to the ultimate low of applying for food stamps just to get a through a few months and were denied. We get cut out the wazoo to support people who refuse to help themselves, and when we needed help the door was slammed in our face. Now we’re drowning in more debt due to 401k loans and credit cards we had to use during the hard times we were also forced to refinance to an armed interest rate to get by, I really hope it is easy to refinance out of it as we were told, but I doubt it, and we had no choice. Our government is horribly flawed. What this article is saying is that 4,000 a month is before taxes not after if we got half of the taxes we pay monthly we would be fine. Ken Sack The problem wouldn’t exist if people lived by the letter and spirit (no freeies from the government)of the law: Thou shalt not steal. Max Power Unfortunately, most Americans would rather commit mass suicide than see a single high paid multi-generational government neopot lose their job or pension. In the US, there are literally hundreds of thousands of people who have US citizenship — but who are banned from the workforce by law, statute and regulation. Each person in this situation costs the government at multiple levels millions of dollars. Possibly up to 5% of the US debt burden at all levels is exacerbated by this problem — and nepotism, favoritism and cronyism do the rest… Anyway, here is an example of a Canadian with US Citizenship but banned from any kind of employment due to their nationality. Max Power http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Australian-marry-preg/ Brunot Scandinavian countries can do ok with socialism because of their high functioning populace. They’re smarter and have a better culture in terms of work ethic, norms about work, etc, on average. They also live in tiny homes and drive tiny cars to achieve some of this “prosperity”. They also don’t have much military spending, which is why they were conquered in a few weeks the last time anyone tried. A uniform ethnic makeup has helped with cultural issues of socialism as well, though this is changing. There is also something to be said for the way socialist programs are administered. It wouldn’t be difficult to beat us at that. The fact is, before the 60’s welfare state we had virtually no debt problem. That is a FACT. We are not Trillions in debt because of free markets and lack of government programs. That is a ridiculous leap of logic. Buckaroo Banzai Um, also don’t forget the fact that the Scandinavian countries have been pumping oil (and wealth) out of the North Sea for 30 years now. Norway, especially, is just unbelievably rich from North Sea oil. Socialism is real easy to manage when you are pumping stuff out of the ground for $10 and selling it for $100. The monumental bureaucratic waste kind of gets lost in the shuffle of endless free money. John Some good comments that ring true, Brunot. NO NATION is greater than the productivity of its citizens. No nation is more moral that the morality of its people. Any nation that believes (and thinks) otherwise is doomed to eventually fail. tom singa my reply to them, for them to move to any socialist country they like, ge out go live off some other country and see how that works out for you TheFulishBastid lols, what? Didn’t appreciate my logic, or just my comment on working a soup kitchen for a day? Maybe I should just take Gary2’s approach and call you a ****	0
This post was originally published on this site Alexey Ulyukayev © Mikhail Metzel/TASS MOSCOW, November 15. /TASS/. The Russian Investigative Committee (IC) has detained Economic Development Minister Alexey Ulyukayev, IC spokesperson Svetlana Petrenko told TASS on Tuesday. “The circumstances of the crime are connected with Alexey Ulyukayev who holds a government post in the Russian Federation receiving $2 million on November 14 for the positive assessment provided by the Economic Development Ministry that allowed Rosneft to complete the deal on purchasing the government’s 50% stake in Bashneft,” Petrenko said. “The minister has been detained. Investigators plan to indict Alexey Ulyukayev and petition the measure of restraint soon,” she added. The criminal case was opened against Ulyukayev after the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) completed a series of operational activities. The case was opened by the Russian Investigative Committee’s Main investigative department on investigating particularly important cases. {{item.group_date}}	0
Email Grab a box of tissues, because this story is about to make you feel some big-time feels. Two years ago, John Fitzpatrick got the most devastating phone call of his life when he learned that his brother Robert had died of a heart attack in his sleep. John instantly thought of Robert’s 18-year-old daughter, Sophie, who was just starting to forge her path in life. That’s when this amazing uncle decided to step up in a seriously inspiring way: With Robert no longer there for her, John took it upon himself to discourage his niece’s art career. Okay, is someone cutting onions in here? Because we’re getting just a little bit teary. Ever since his brother’s passing, John has made it a point to call his niece every single Sunday evening to remind Sophie just how much her father loved her, how proud he’d be if he could see her now, and how unstable a career in the arts can be compared to more traditional nine-to-five employment. Sophie’s true passion in life has always been drawing and painting, but thanks to her selfless uncle’s constant reminders that almost nobody actually ends up working their dream job, she’s now just two years away from getting her BA in marketing! “I want Sophie to know that she can always depend on me,” John explained, gazing tearfully at an old photograph of Robert holding his baby girl. “But she cannot depend on freelance income, especially in a field as oversaturated and undervalued as the arts. She’s way too smart for that.” John has never faltered in his commitment to making sure his niece understands just how unrealistic it is to earn a living as an artist. Last summer, when Sophie landed an internship at a Brooklyn art gallery, John spent countless hours reminding her that New York is expensive, dangerous, and very far away from Ohio, before ultimately finding her a job doing administrative work for his friend instead. And when Sophie briefly considered getting a double major in studio art, her uncle pulled out all the stops, even going so far as to gain control of her late father’s finances so that he could temporarily withhold the semester’s tuition check until she changed her mind! Incredible! Is there an Uncle of the Year award? Because this guy definitely just won it. While nobody can ever take the place of Sophie’s father, it is seriously heartwarming to see John step up to the plate like this. Sophie is so lucky to have an uncle she can always turn to for love, guidance, and stacks of brochures for MBA programs handed to her at every family holiday. Here’s to you, John!	0
In remarks from Ankara on Thursday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was harshly critical of the U. S. arrest warrants for twelve of his bodyguards. [“What kind of law is this? If my bodyguards cannot protect me then why am I bringing them to America with me?” Erdogan exclaimed, as reported by Hurriyet Daily News. Washington, DC, police issued warrants for the bodyguards on Thursday, at a press conference decorated with photos of the men stamped “WANTED” in red. The charges involve assault against protesters outside the Turkish ambassador’s residence in D. C. on May 16, during Erdogan’s visit to the United States. “We all saw the violence that was perpetrated against peaceful protesters, and it’s not something that we’re going to tolerate,” said D. C. Police Chief Peter Newsham. He added that the suspects are all believed to have returned to Turkey and are thus unlikely to land in an American courtroom unless they surrender themselves, but he stated they would be arrested if the ever return to the United States. The U. S. State Department has not ruled out demanding their extradition. In his remarks, Erdogan claimed the protesters were all affiliated with the violent separatist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the Fethullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) which is the Turkish government’s name for the followers of exiled cleric Fethullah Gulen, currently a resident of Pennsylvania. The Turkish government insists Gulen is the mastermind behind last year’s unsuccessful coup attempt against Erdogan. “The U. S. police did nothing. Can you imagine what the response would have been if a similar incident had taken place in Turkey?” Erdogan asked, insinuating that the protesters were a threat to his safety. It’s something of a trick question because it is not very difficult to imagine how Erdogan’s security forces would respond to a protest by suspected PKK and FETO members that got within 50 feet him. Turkey’s Foreign Ministry summoned U. S. Ambassador John Bass on Thursday to declare the arrest warrants against Erdogan’s bodyguards “unacceptable. ” The statement repeated Erdogan’s allegations that local security authorities were at fault. “This incident would not have occurred if the US authorities had taken the usual measures they take in similar visits and therefore that Turkish citizens cannot be held responsible for the incident that took place,” the Foreign Ministry said. The UK Guardian quotes Center for Strategic and International Studies analyst Bulent Aliriza, who stressed the Turks are very serious about the matter and worried the U. S. relationship with Turkey could suffer significant damage if the warrants are allowed to stand. “There will be demands for action that may ultimately damage the diplomatic relationship to the point of ambassadors being yanked back, which is unprecedented,” Aliriza said.	1
MARIETTA, Ga. — Jen Cox bit her tongue for years about her progressive views for fear of hurting her real estate business. “I felt very concerned about talking about my politics in any way, shape or form,” said Ms. Cox, who lives and works in a suburban milieu north of Atlanta, where people don’t confess to being Democrats until after a couple of glasses of Pinot Grigio at a dinner party. That changed with the election of President Trump. liberals were jolted. Some joined women’s marches in January, and many here have become active in groups, galvanized by a special election this month to fill a vacant House seat that has long been in Republican hands. Ms. Cox the group PaveItBlue to mobilize volunteers to elect the leading Democrat in the race, Jon Ossoff. Within three weeks, 1, 000 people joined. With the national media descending on Georgia’s Sixth Congressional District, and outside money pouring in, the contest is viewed as a major test of whether a wave of activism since Mr. Trump’s inauguration will produce change at the ballot box. Ms. Cox’s group is one of more than a dozen popping out like dogwood blooms in these comfortable suburbs of brick homes, shopping malls and technology companies. They have names like the Johns Progressives Network, Roswell Resistance Huddle and Liberal Moms of Roswell and Cobb. If a Democrat were to win the seat — once held by Newt Gingrich, and recently vacated by Tom Price, who joined Mr. Trump’s cabinet as secretary of health and human services — it would not be because of the $4 million that has come into the Ossoff campaign, much of it from national donors. Rather, it would be thanks to volunteer brigades roused by Mr. Trump’s election, who are knocking on doors, making phone calls and writing personalized post cards to turn out voters. Even though the district favors Republicans, special elections are affairs a strong ground game by Democrats could upend the usual outcome. Mr. Ossoff, 30, a documentary filmmaker and candidate, is hoping for a knockout punch in the open primary on April 18. All candidates in the race appear on the same ballot. If Mr. Ossoff, the polling leader, can win more than 50 percent, it will eliminate a runoff. If the race goes to a second round, scheduled June 20, a Republican would be favored because of the party’s historic advantage. Ms. Cox recalls insisting to Mr. Ossoff that he use lawn signs, even after campaign consultants had ruled them out, arguing that they have no effect. She got in Mr. Ossoff’s face — literally, she says — and told him lawn signs would show shy Democrats like her and her friends that they are not alone. “If you want volunteer action and people working for you up in these red districts, you need to help us help you,” she recalls telling Mr. Ossoff. Today, there are lots of Ossoff signs. Republicans acknowledged the surge of interest and energy powering Mr. Ossoff’s campaign. “Nancy Pelosi and liberal politicians are flooding into Georgia to try and stop our Republican majority that’s getting things done,” says the narrator of a TV ad running in the district from the National Republican Congressional Committee. “The stakes are too high to stay home. ” Republicans expect their followers to coalesce around one candidate after April 18. “We’ve held this seat for 37 years, and we’re planning on keeping it for another 37,” said Maddie Anderson, a spokeswoman for the Republican committee. “The vast majority of the district has no interest in being represented by a candidate with virtually no experience. ” When Mr. Ossoff addressed the Johns Progressives last week, in a subdivision called Medlock Bridge, he spoke of the young people involved in his campaign. “And there are a lot of moms,” a woman piped up from the back, “who are almost 50 who have never gone to anything like this in their whole life. ” “Well, that’s right,” Mr. Ossoff said. Afterward, supporters stayed behind, describing their surprise that so many liberals had come out of the woodwork. “It’s almost like being a gay person and realizing there are other gay people in the world,” Tobie Kranitz Walters, a business consultant, said. Many newly hatched activists described a similar pathway, from feeling abashed about sharing their political views before November to feeling emboldened to act out of anger at the Trump administration. Jessica Zeigler, 32, who works in the medical device industry, said she had cried for days when Hillary Clinton lost. Her son, Noah, came home from first grade distraught that someone had told a Muslim classmate “now you have to leave. ” “I’d always been surrounded by conservatives, and I was very uncomfortable sharing my views, so I didn’t,” Ms. Zeigler said. “I didn’t do any activism. I just voted. But I felt on Nov. 9 that wasn’t enough. I was mad at myself. ” On Saturday, Ms. Zeigler and some 25 members of two groups gathered in the clubhouse of a community pool to write postcards to Democratic voters. Chloe Carlson, 15, wrote to one district resident, “As a high schooler my future means a lot to me, and it’s in your hands. ” She sat at a low table beside her mother, Kit Carlson, who trains bank employees. “When I found this group, it was crazy to find out I was not the only one,’’ Mrs. Carlson said. The groups are adept at using social media. They have private Facebook groups, Slack channels to coordinate volunteers and email blasts headlined “If you only do one thing today. ” Lesley Bauer, who founded PaveItBlue with Ms. Cox, was asked the other day by the Ossoff campaign if she could find two dozen volunteers to drive voters to polls. “I said, ‘Give me 10 minutes,’” Ms. Bauer recalled. “They said, ‘What?’ They sent me a spreadsheet. I posted it to our closed Facebook group with 1, 000 members. People filled it out immediately, and we sent it back. ” Professional campaign organizers, who are used to struggling to enlist volunteers, said they were witnessing something remarkable. “I’ve never seen anything like it,” said Amy Friedman, Mr. Ossoff’s field director, a veteran of Mrs. Clinton’s presidential campaign in Iowa and Maryland. “Nothing we’re doing would be possible without their existence,” Ms. Friedman said of the groups. “It’s something Jon says every day. ” On Saturday, 50 people signed in at an Ossoff field office in Marietta to knock on doors of likely Democratic voters. “Why are we doing this?” a campaign staff member told the crowd, whose attire included “Resist” and “Dump Trump” ball caps. “This is the most effective way to turn out voters. If we can turn out enough, we can end this on April 18. ” Ms. Cox, walking a suburban street, knocked on the door of Kevin and Erin Jones. Their young daughter squealed when she heard the election date. “April 18 is my best friend’s birthday and we’re going to Sparkles!” she said. Both parents said they planned to vote for Mr. Ossoff. Ms. Jones, who works in strategy for a communications company, said she had voted for Mrs. Clinton, but had declined to put a sign in her yard. “There was just this stigma of being a Democratic voter in Georgia,” she said. There was also a reluctance to broadcast her support because of the strong hostility toward Mrs. Clinton. Mr. Trump’s election ended that. “I’m all for balance, I’m just not for crazy,” Ms. Jones said. Ms. Cox asked if she would like an Ossoff yard sign. Yes, said Ms. Jones. She pointed to a spot near the mailbox.	1
President Donald Trump said he was disturbed by reports of chemical weapons used in Syria but told reporters that he would not signal any plans for action in the country. [“That attack on children yesterday had a big impact on me. Big impact,” Trump said. “That was a horrible, horrible thing, and I’ve been watching it and seeing it, and it doesn’t get any worse than that. ” The president made his remarks during a press conference at the White House on Wednesday with King Abdullah II of Jordan. “I’m not saying I’m doing anything one way or the other, but I’m certainly not going to be telling you,” Trump said. Trump said he was flexible in reaction to foreign policy around the world, but criticized the Obama administration for declaring the use of chemical weapons as a red line in Syria and then backing down. He said that after the attacks his attitude toward Syria and President Bashar “has changed,” despite past statements urging the United States to stay out of Syria. “That crosses many, many lines, beyond a red line — many, many lines,” he said.	1
NASA's opportunity rover came across a strange area on the red planet # www.universe-seeker.com 5 NASA came with the opportunity rover to hold in a strange area on the red planet. Last month the opportunity rover took some images fro a strange perfect triangular object. First reactions from people were that it was just a weird shadow, but the angles seemed to be too perfect to be "just a shadow". now, a few days leter, that same opportunity rover took some images from a side view of that same anomaly, and it turns out that it is anything but "just a shadow" or "just a rock". see for yourself. Tags	0
Tuesday, 1 November 2016 Kim Kardashian: The Queen Of Selfies The world wide web has been crashing, due to suffering from withdrawals of Kim Kardashian's daily selfies. Kim was the queen of breaking the internet with her big booty, and it wasn't always from her sitting on it! Once upon a time, Kardashian fans felt so empowered by her nakedness, they would to bow to her tweets 1000 times a day, masterbate to her on Instagram 400 times a day, and drool at her snapchat videos 2000 times a day hoping they could see more selfies. Things changed inside a Paris Hotel when 5 super villains robbed Kim of her biggest selfie moment. Fans were outraged and began rioting around the world when they learned the robbers didn't post any photos online showing Kim's booty & her boobs all tied up. In a press conference, the Kardashian family let the world know that the online trolls are real and keep haunting them in person like the boogie man. Kris Kardashian says the trolls have not stopped the family from living their normal reality TV life in the limelight because she hired more super heroes as body guards that are ready to take on the villains! Meanwhile, Kanye is still loving himself publicly, Kylie continues eating pizza filled with love letters from her number one stalker fan, and the rest of the family is estatic that the focus is back on them for a minute. Kim Kardashian has been offline for a month, yet fans refuse to believe this is the end of her booty selfies online. The world wide web hasn't stopped praying for Kim, they desperately await her selfie comeback so they can have meaning in their lives and feel empowered once again. Make DeniseVasquez's day - give this story five thumbs-up (there's no need to register , the thumbs are just down there!)	0
November 21, 2016 175 Stephen Colbert apologizes to Donald Trump for the mean things he said, and gives Trump the opportunity to apologize as well. Share on Facebook Stephen Colbert grovels and apologizes to President-elect Trump, for being a Hillary Clinton pansy during the US elections. He then asks Trump to apologize. Trump however is no tool and no fool, and does what any good leader should do…he does not apologize or back off from his election rhetoric, instead he owns what he said in the past and what he says present day. After hearing Trump in this late night interview, I like and respect him more than ever. “We have to have a wall, we have to have a border, and in that wall we’re going to have a beautiful door big fat door, where people can come into the country, but they have to come in legally …that is what a country is all about.” “No apologies!” – Donald Trump	0
WASHINGTON — The Democrats’ stunning defeat in the presidential race and continued struggles in contests have jolted party leaders into concluding that their emphasis on cultural issues has all but crippled them by diverting voters’ attention from the core Democratic message of economic fairness. But even as Democrats agree about the need to promote their agenda more aggressively for the middle class and voters of modest means, especially in parts of the country where the party has suffered grievous losses, they are divided over how aggressively to position themselves on the economic left, with battle lines already forming over the issue of foreign trade. While the country has moved steadily to the left on such social issues as marriage and gender equity, it is increasingly apparent that Democrats cannot win in much of the country without a more coherent and overriding economic message. The debate over what that message should be comes not only against the backdrop of Hillary Clinton’s astonishing loss to Donald J. Trump — a race decided by a handful of Rust Belt states that for decades had favored Democratic nominees — but also after the third campaign in the past four election cycles in which the party was routed across vast sections of the nation, leaving Democrats out of power in both chambers of Congress and in most governors’ mansions. The direction the party chooses now could have ramifications for years to come: In 2018, Democrats face Senate races in 10 states that favored Mr. Trump. And there will be 38 elections for governor in the next two years that could decide whether Democrats are able to play a role in drawing more favorable congressional maps after the 2020 census. “If we don’t have Democratic governors there to veto these maps after the 2020 redistricting, the next 10 years for us in Congress and state legislatures are going to be brutal,” said Gov. Terry McAuliffe of Virginia, the only Southern state that Mrs. Clinton carried last week. Over President Obama’s two terms, Democrats have embraced a cultural liberalism that energized his coalition of millennials, minorities and whites. But the growing nationalization of politics and the Democrats’ drift to the left doomed a number of candidates running in more conservative states during the 2014 midterm elections, when turnout fell. Yet despite Democrats’ near extinction in much of the South and in parts of the Great Plains — two regions that had for decades elected Democrats to statewide office — the party had little in the way of a debate about Mr. Obama’s approach. Now, without rebuking the president directly, many Democrats share a growing recognition that Mr. Obama’s way may not be the best course in a country where many voters have experienced little income growth and where jobs can be scarce. Even Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the presumptive incoming Democratic leader and someone who is eyed warily by the left, has taken steps to signal that he recognizes the need to embrace a more populist economic orientation. Mr. Schumer announced on Friday that he was supporting Representative Keith Ellison of Minnesota, a leading House progressive, to be the chairman of the Democratic National Committee. And earlier in the week, Mr. Schumer said in a private meeting at the A. F. L. . I. O. that while Democrats had been at the forefront of cultural change in the country on matters of race, gender and sexuality, they had not been talking in similarly transformational language on economics, according to a labor official in the room. “The party started looking at people through interest group coalitions, and we thought, ‘If we talk to them all in different ways, that will be enough to cobble together an election coalition,’” said Representative Ruben Gallego of Arizona. “But I think there is a common interest in our economic policies between the white worker in Flint, the and the Latino in Phoenix. ” Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers, said the growing importance of social issues in the national debate and Democrats’ reliance on wealthy donors on the two coasts who are more focused on cultural liberalism than on economic solidarity had, together, left the party somewhat disconnected from the working class. “Social issues now have become central, rather than class issues,” said Ms. Weingarten, who recommended what she called a “ ” approach. Such talk bears a striking resemblance to the fierce debates Democrats engaged in 30 years ago when they suffered repeated White House losses and many party moderates concluded that they were too captive to politics. Except now, it is not centrists calling for a greater focus on economic issues, but a broader constellation of Democrats. “The Democratic Party can no longer be led by the liberal elite,” said Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, calling for a party “prepared to stand up to Wall Street and the greed of corporate America. ” Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, who may run in 2020, sounded a similar message in a speech last week to the A. F. L. . I. O. ignoring Mrs. Clinton entirely, praising Mr. Sanders and calling on her party to address the economic grievances that she conceded “ Trump spoke to” in the campaign. The Democratic shift toward a more unapologetic brand of populist economics gained steam when Mr. Sanders electrified many on the left, and even some more moderate party activists across the Midwest, in his primary race against Mrs. Clinton. Yet while Mr. Sanders’s brand of confrontational populism — characterized by his fierce attacks on international trade and Wall Street — may be favored by many liberal activists, it does not sit well with party leaders who fear that his call for an economic “revolution” may turn off moderate voters. “Americans want to hear a stronger economic message from the party,” said Gov. Dannel P. Malloy of Connecticut, “but this shouldn’t be about a revolution, but about fairness. ” Other Democrats are more explicit about their concerns with Mr. Sanders’s broadsides, especially on trade, which Mr. Sanders and Mr. Trump used to great effect in the campaign. It is an issue that highlights regional differences among Democrats from states that have been hit hard by manufacturing plants’ being shut down and replaced overseas, and those from states that depend on a robust export market. “I don’t think you can be ” said Gov. John Hickenlooper of Colorado, who is mentioned as a possible 2020 presidential candidate. “In the modern world, we need consumers overseas for our products as well. ” The Partnership, noted Senator Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, was backed by every agricultural commodity group in her state. “We’ve got to have a market for our products,” said Ms. Heitkamp, who has implored her party to have a more robust rural agenda. What is striking, though, is that there is no larger appetite in the party to move fully toward the political centrism that marked Bill Clinton’s presidency. Jason Kander, a Missouri Democrat who lost to Senator Roy Blunt by just three percentage points while Mrs. Clinton lost the state by 19, dismissed what he called “the old construct about Blue Dogs,” referring to the Democratic group that was once robust in the South and in border states. “I ran on a progressive message: economic fairness, college affordability and equality for the L. G. B. T. community,” Mr. Kander said. “We should not hide from our beliefs or apologize. We should lean in, full force. ” More worrisome to a range of Democrats is that they are struggling in states with significant rural populations, where some of the most competitive Senate races in two years will take place: North Dakota, Missouri, Montana and West Virginia. “We have to be bigger than a coastal party,” said Gov. Steve Bullock of Montana, who eked out last week and went deer hunting with his son over the weekend. The good news for Democratic officeholders and candidates — and something many of them gingerly brought up — is that they may fare better the next two years thanks to Mr. Trump than they would have if Mrs. Clinton had been elected. The party of the sitting president often loses seats in the first midterm election, and many Democrats expect a backlash to Mr. Trump if he is unable to fulfill his grandiose promises. “Sometimes it’s easier, certainly, to be able to run against the White House and have that contrast,” Mr. Bullock said. Mr. McAuliffe said the Democratic governors had convened a conference call after the election to begin planning for governors’ races. He said he planned to push for a larger session with congressional Democratic leaders in the coming weeks to impress on them how important those contests would be to the party’s future. “It’s time for everybody to get in the game,” Mr. McAuliffe said. One Democrat who seems ready to do just that is Nina Turner, a former Ohio state senator and acolyte of Mr. Sanders’s who is eyeing a run for her state’s governorship in 2018. In an interview, Ms. Turner made clear that she had an unambiguous, and familiar, focus. “It’s the economy, stupid,” she said.	1
New York City said on Friday that it would adjust its procedure of testing for lead in the water supply of schools, after experts said the city’s methods could lower the levels found. Between March and June, the city tested the water in all 1, 520 occupied school buildings. The night before taking samples, the contractors who conducted the testing arrived at the buildings and let the water run from all outlets for two hours, a practice known as flushing. An investigation by The New York Times uncovered the practice, which cleans pipes of soluble lead and lead particles, and thus can result in samples with lower than normal lead levels. The Environmental Protection Agency’s voluntary guidelines for testing water in schools do not mention flushing, and the agency has recommended against it when testing water in people’s homes. In July, the city said that less than 1 percent of samples tested had lead concentrations that exceeded the agency’s “action level” of 15 parts per billion. But Marc Edwards, a civil engineering professor at Virginia Tech, said that a long period of flushing would have skewed the results significantly and that the city should throw out the test results and start over. City officials initially defended their methods, saying the flushing did not affect the accuracy of the test results. They said the flushing protocol was developed for testing during the summer, when many school buildings are empty, to mimic normal water use, and then extended to all tests. On Friday, the city changed course — partly. A spokeswoman for Mayor Bill de Blasio, Freddi Goldstein, said that in the future the city would try to conduct as many tests as possible while school was in session, and on mornings other than Mondays, and that for these tests it would abandon the flushing step. But she said the city would continue doing the flushing when it was necessary to collect samples on Monday mornings or over school holidays. Ms. Goldstein said that starting in October, the city would retest every building that had at least one water sample that exceeded 15 parts per billion of lead (there were 510 of them). The city will also begin retesting the buildings that did not have any samples over that threshold. In buildings where one or more sample exceeded the E. P. A. ’s action level, the city has removed those outlets and also instructed its staff to flush all of the outlets in the building briefly every Monday morning. It has said that those steps will protect children from consuming water with high levels of lead.	1
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration said on Thursday that it would begin to phase out the use of private prisons to house federal inmates. The Bureau of Prisons had resorted to such prisons to ease overcrowding as the incarceration rate soared, but the number of federal inmates has been dropping since 2013. In announcing the policy shift, the Justice Department cited that decline, as well as a critical recent report by the department’s independent inspector general about safety and security problems in private prisons. “Private prisons served an important role during a difficult period, but time has shown that they compare poorly to our own bureau facilities,” Sally Q. Yates, the deputy attorney general, wrote in a memo to the bureau. Such prisons, she said, “do not save substantially on costs,” and they provide fewer rehabilitative services, like educational programs and job training, that are “essential to reducing recidivism and improving public safety. ” Ms. Yates instructed the Bureau of Prisons not to renew contracts to use private prisons as existing ones expire, or to at least “substantially reduce” the number of beds that future contracts will provide. By May 2017, Ms. Yates wrote, the bureau is projected to house just 14, 200 inmates in private prisons, down from about 30, 000 in 2013. There are about 195, 000 federal inmates they make up a small percentage of the roughly 1. 5 million prisoners in state and federal facilities. As a first step, Ms. Yates said, a pending contract solicitation will be scaled down from 10, 800 prisoner slots to a maximum of 3, 600. Also, the bureau recently declined to renew a contract for a private prison that had provided beds for up to 1, 200 federal inmates. Advocates of prisoner rights applauded the policy shift — part of a broad effort by the administration to overhaul the criminal justice system — and called on state prison agencies to follow suit. The change was first reported on Thursday by The Washington Post. This month, Michael E. Horowitz, the Justice Department’s inspector general, issued a report on the bureau’s use of privately operated prisons, which it said began on a small scale in 1997 to alleviate overcrowding. It found that private prisons were more violent and problematic than public prisons by many measures, including discovery of contraband like cellphones, reports of assaults, and lockdowns. The inspector general report said that the Bureau of Prisons spent $639 million on prison contracts in 2014, and it identified three corporations as running the private prisons used by the federal government: Corrections Corporation of America, GEO Group, and Management and Training Corporation. Issa Arnita, a spokesman for Management and Training Corporation, expressed disappointment in the administration’s move and pushed back. He wrote in an email that if the decision was “based solely on declining inmate populations, there may be some justification, but to base this decision on cost, safety and security, and programming is wrong. ” He cited a 2015 Bureau of Prisons report showing that it costs about $63 a day to house an inmate in a privately operated prison, compared with about $80 a day to house an inmate in a public prison. While acknowledging the inspector general’s finding that private prisons have had a higher rate of violent episodes, Mr. Arnita said that was misleading “because it doesn’t take into account the vastly different inmate populations in contract and public prisons. ” The bureau has tended to house in private prisons noncitizen inmates linked to gangs, he said. Jonathan Burns, the director of public affairs for Corrections Corporation of America, also criticized the impression left by the inspector general report, saying it “failed to account for the impact of elements such as population demographics or the scope and efficacy of efforts to mitigate contraband. ” “The findings,” he added, “simply don’t match up to the numerous independent studies that show our facilities to be equal or better with regard to safety and quality, or the excellent feedback we get from our partners at all levels of government. ” But David Fathi, the director of the National Prison Project at the American Civil Liberties Union, called the policy change “an important and groundbreaking decision,” and he called on state prison agencies “to stop handing control of prisons to companies” as well. The step joins previous efforts the Obama administration has made to overhaul the criminal justice system. A generation ago, amid a rise in crime rates, state and federal lawmakers began passing “tough on crime” laws, including mandatory minimum sentences for drug possession. That led to a huge increase in incarceration rates at the federal level, the inmate population swelled nearly 800 percent from 1980 to 2013, when it peaked at 220, 000. As crime rates have now fallen to or near lows, political leaders at the state and federal levels and across the ideological divide — some focused on the cost to taxpayers, some on human costs — have increasingly agreed that too many people are behind bars. The Obama administration in its first term worked with Congress to reduce the disparity in sentencing for crack versus powder forms of cocaine. And in 2013, Eric H. Holder Jr. the attorney general at the time, announced several changes intended to reduce incarceration, including a policy of not listing specific quantities of drugs in indictments, to avoid bringing mandatory minimum sentencing laws into play. Ms. Yates said that and other changes made in 2013 had helped reduce the federal inmate population, making it possible to start phasing out the use of private prisons. “This is the first step in the process of reducing — and ultimately ending — our use of privately operated prisons,” Ms. Yates wrote in a blog post published on the Justice Department’s website, adding that the steps put the department “on a path to ensure that all federal inmates are ultimately housed at bureau facilities. ”	1
Monday was in many ways typical for the comedy shows, with network hosts like CBS’s Stephen Colbert and NBC’s Seth Meyers performing pointed satirical monologues about Donald J. Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, and his many years spent propagating lies about President Obama’s birthplace. But Samantha Bee, on her TBS cable series, “Full Frontal,” took aim at a different target, condemning the NBC network and its host Jimmy Fallon for putting Mr. Trump on “The Tonight Show. ” She faulted Mr. Fallon for conducting a genial, interview on Thursday, even as Mr. Trump had refused that day in other interviews to acknowledge that Mr. Obama was born in the United States. “Network execs, and a lot of their audience, can ignore how very dangerous Trump is because to them, he isn’t,” Ms. Bee said on her show. “They’re not going to be deported. They’re not going to live under a president who thinks of them as a collection of sex toys. “They’re not racist. They just don’t mind if other people are, which is just as bad. ” It’s one thing to make fun of Mr. Trump, who said on Friday that Mr. Obama “was born in the United States, period. ” It’s another to criticize a network or Mr. Fallon, who is typically not held up to such scrutiny, partly because of his amiable personality and the perception that his “Tonight Show” (which draws more than three million viewers a night, the most in its category) is a place for nonpartisan diversions. He and rival hosts like Mr. Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel try to avoid criticizing one another in public. NBC declined to comment on Tuesday, and Mr. Fallon has not spoken publicly on his conversation with Mr. Trump, except in a short TMZ. com interview, in which Mr. Fallon says on camera: “Have you seen my show? I’m never too hard on anyone. ” But Mr. Fallon took plenty of criticism for the Thursday interview, and Ms. Bee’s monologue was perhaps the bluntest denunciation of it so far. On a day in which Mr. Trump continued to give ambiguous answers on whether he still supported his false birtherist theory, Mr. Fallon asked him mostly uncontroversial questions and playfully ran his fingers through Mr. Trump’s hair. Playing off that image, Ms. Bee said sarcastically, “Aw, Trump can be a total sweetheart with someone who has no reason to be terrified of him. ” Jo Miller, an executive producer of “Full Frontal,” said in an interview on Tuesday that seeing the cozy behavior between Mr. Fallon and Mr. Trump “was a punch in the gut. ” Ms. Miller said that she and her “Full Frontal” colleagues “love Jimmy. ” She added, “Who doesn’t love Jimmy?” But, she said, Mr. Fallon’s ingratiating treatment of Mr. Trump is “a problem because we love him. ” “If he thinks that a demagogue is O. K. that gives permission to millions of Americans to also think that,” she continued. Ms. Miller, who came with Ms. Bee from Comedy Central’s news satire “The Daily Show,” said she has no problem “showing candidates and public servants as human beings, and I think there needs to be more of that. ” “That said,” Ms. Miller added, “this is not a race between Democrat and Republican — this is a race between Democrat and demagogue. You don’t normalize someone who’s inciting violence. ” The “Full Frontal” segment about Mr. Fallon and NBC had been touched off when Ms. Miller received a text early Friday morning from Travon Free, a former writer for “The Daily Show” who now works on HBO’s “Any Given Wednesday With Bill Simmons. ” The text from Mr. Free included a picture of Mr. Fallon caressing Mr. Trump’s coiffure, and an urgent, slightly vulgar message exhorting Ms. Miller and Ms. Bee to address the subject on their show. “That was the first I heard of it,” Ms. Miller said. “I was like, What? This didn’t happen. ” Mr. Free said on Tuesday in a phone interview that, other than Ms. Bee, “I knew no one would do it, because it’s just this buddy culture among the hosts in that category. ” Mr. Free added: “If Jimmy Fallon was my friend, we would have had a real conversation. Not being cool with what he did on his show doesn’t make you his enemy. ” Echoing Ms. Bee’s monologue, Ms. Miller said that Mr. Fallon did not deserve all the blame, and that NBC was more culpable for providing Mr. Trump a platform as the star of its reality shows “The Apprentice” and “The Celebrity Apprentice. ” Even after NBC said in June 2015 that it was firing Mr. Trump for “derogatory statements” at his presidential announcement, in which he referred to Mexican immigrants as “rapists” and “murderers,” the network continued to feature him on “The Tonight Show” and “Saturday Night Live. ” Ms. Miller pointed out that there is still an awkward relationship between Mr. Trump and NBC, where the “Today” show host Matt Lauer was criticized for going too easy on him in a presidential forum, and Mr. Trump has expressed skepticism of the NBC “Nightly News” anchor Lester Holt, who will moderate the first presidential debate. She drew a distinction between the broader categories of political satire programs like “Full Frontal” and talk shows that can only engage their guests in harmless banter. “It’s not their job to be political satirists and to shake people by their shoulders and say, ‘Look at this thing — do you think it’s O. K.?’” Ms. Miller said. “That’s our job. ” Ms. Miller said it would be helpful to hear her message reinforced by white men in her field. Otherwise, she said, “It becomes, ‘Oh, you see everything through the lens of sexism,’ or, ‘Not everything has to be about race. ’” “To me, this is just about decency,” she said. On Monday night, meanwhile, Mr. Fallon’s “Tonight Show” guests included Hillary Clinton, the Democratic presidential nominee. Going through items that they said belonged to Mr. Trump, Ms. Clinton offered Mr. Fallon something that she said Mr. Trump had left behind for him: a bag of softballs. Mr. Fallon responded, “That was my gift to him. ”	1
Breitbart News Senior Editor MILO praised Cal Poly University President Jeffrey Armstrong during his talk at the college on Tuesday, citing the president’s dedicated commitment to free speech.[ “There is more to love about Cal Poly! ,” declared MILO after listing the things that he liked about the college. “You have a freedom of speech loving President named Jeffrey Armstrong, who has made the brave decision to take a stand against crybabies, and follow the path of the University of Chicago instead of the University of Missouri. ” “President Armstrong put out a definitive statement about tonight’s event, and hasn’t budged an inch,” he continued, before quoting a statement from President Armstrong: It is, in fact, the university’s responsibility to support the rights of all people to express their opinions and ideas — regardless of how unpopular they may be — while also encouraging students to think critically and independently. Protecting freedom of speech is not an option, it is a critical responsibility that the university, and all of us as members of a democratic society, must defend. “Just kidding, I’m not going anywhere. President Armstrong is right, and the left is absolutely furious,” MILO concluded. “They know they will never win in a world with so they fight to censor everything to the right of them. It’s the same thing as when these idiots call everyone on the right a Nazi. They even do it to me, but the Nazis hate my guts! That word used to hold weight, you know. ” Written from prepared remarks.	1
Leave a reply Dylan Harper – The human aura is an electromagnetic field that emits from any living thing. It is comprised of many layers, with each aura layer having its own function or role. An aura is not separate from the physical body but is an extension of it in different composition. To compare, the characteristics of planet Earth include physical and atmospheric layers. The attributes of each layer are different in likeness, appearance and function; each is an interconnected part incorporating the entity as entirely complete. Continuing to use the Earth as a working example of how the human aura serves to function, its layers interactively exchange information with each other. The layers serve as a system of feedback and can indicate states of health, patterns of activity, stagnancy and warn of forthcoming ailments or disease. As the Earth becomes more densely polluted, sections of its atmosphere will suggest the presence of ailment. By observing patterns of the wind, temperature, air flow and pressure, it allows for accurate predictions of stormy weather between different zones. Our awareness or neglect of this system of feedback can mean the difference between preventive maintenance and a result that is costly in damage. All of this information can be detected through observation of atmospheric changes. Human auras are similar – the aura layers relay specific feedback between our physical body and its functioning systems, our mental and emotional states of being, and they exchange information with other auras that we interact with. Using the aura as a more direct way to gauge health has been snubbed in the past because auras were not readily seen or were still thought of by many as mythical apparitions. However, present technology now has the capability to detect and record the human energy field, and the existence of auras is becoming more widely accepted as an authentic physiological marvel. Documented research on the physics of the aura phenomenon has been ongoing since as early as the year 1777. Modern notable research carried out by Dr. Seymon Kirlian in 1939, for which Kirlian Photography has been coined, openly made the controversial claims of their existence, exhibiting photographic ‘proof’ of auras through his technique of electrophotography. More studies were done to further advance our knowledge about what the presence of this energy field means, how it functions and how to analyze what it does. United States scientist, Dr. Thelma Moss, author of The Body Electric, led UCLA’s parapsychology laboratory during the 1970’s to study Kirlian Photography in an effort to document and explain the aura images that are present in an electrophotograph. At present, Dr. Konstantin Korotkov at the Russian University, St. Petersburg State Technical University of Informational Technologies, Mechanics and Optics, uses a process called GDV (Gas Discharge Visualization), a development in aura detection technology based on the Kirlian Effect. “We are developing the idea that our consciousness is part of the material world and that with our consciousness we can directly influence our world,” said Dr. Konstantin Korotkov, a professor of physics at St. Petersburg State Technical University. To bridge our understanding of the unseen world of energy, scientific experiments are being carried out using a technique called bioelectrophotography. The assumption is that we are constantly emitting energy. Bioelectrophotography aims to capture these energy fields seen as a light around the body — or what some people would call your aura. In 1999 the Russian Academy of Science approved Korotkov’s methods and use of GDV techniques and equipment for use in hospitals and athletic training programs as a means of detecting stress in the body to apply preventative measures. SF Source Dreamcatcher Reality Nov. 2016 Share this:	0
The latest entry in the booming genre of TV is “The Son,” an AMC drama based on the captivating historical novel of the same title, which sounds promising. It stars as its Texan patriarch the very Irish Pierce Brosnan, which does not. Maybe Mr. Brosnan will pull it off. As an actual Texan (now living in New York) I’m rooting for him. But I know that Lone Star TV has a track record. For every “Friday Night Lights” there is a “Walker, Texas Ranger” and several reality shows. As a result, Texans have learned to approach shows set in our state with clear eyes and managed expectations. Here is a survey of Texas TV, arranged in order from the realistic to the ridiculous. [ Related: In ‘The Son,’ the Novelist Philipp Meyer Lassoes TV ] It’s hard to describe the weird buzz of football Fridays in Texas towns, as anticipation builds throughout the day to explode that night in garish light, color and sound. Luckily I don’t have to: “Friday Night Lights” nailed it, as it did most details. These include the push and pull of hometown relationships that confine and nurture in equal amounts the egalitarian marriage between the Taylors (Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton) and the cinematography captured in and around Austin. When the sunlight turned golden in the Dillon sky, it was enough to make a Texan expat homesick. “King of the Hill” was an animated show full of clownish characters. But it was also attuned to the rhythms of the Texas exurbs, its families’ schedules defined by school functions and trips to the Mega Lo Mart. The rare sitcom that treated Southern characters with respect rather than mockery, it nevertheless took sly aim at the way Texan grandiosity collides with reality — oversize riding mowers tending modest lawns — and how outmoded ideas about masculinity endure. Or as Hank Hill once put it: “Bobby, if you weren’t my son, I’d hug you. ” Larry McMurtry became the bard of Texas partly by deflating its myths, and this 1989 is a prime example. William D. Wittliff adapted the screenplay from Mr. McMurtry’s novel about a cattle drive from Texas to Montana, which depicted the West as a place of raw beauty but also cruelty and sudden, ghastly death. Gus (Robert Duvall) and Call (Tommy Lee Jones) the aging saddling up for one last adventure, represent the twin poles of classic Texanhood — swaggering and gritty stoicism. More important: Their drawls are tremendous. “Dallas” was, for a time, the most popular show on television and Larry Hagman’s J. R. Ewing is one of TV’s most indelible characters. But when it comes to authenticity, the Ewings were all hat and no cattle, even when you set aside the car crashes, the affairs and the infamous dream season. The show was shot mostly in Los Angeles and looks like it, and its glitzy boomtown of Stetsons and freewheeling oil barons was a fairy tale. TNT’s 2012 “Dallas” update was more representative of the city. It was filmed there, and its urban apartments and diverse subplots were truer to a modern metropolis. The melodrama was milder, and a cynic might surmise that that’s why the show lasted only three seasons, compared to the original’s 14. But the competitive pressures of TV and Mr. Hagman’s death probably had more to do with it. The Dallas installment of the “Housewives” franchise debuted in 2016 and it’s hard to imagine why it took that long. The latest in a string of reality shows (“Dallas Divas and Daughters,” “Big Rich Texas”) about the city’s ladies who lunch — and bicker and backstab and slurp “Jesus Juice,” or wine, in the show’s vernacular — the series wallows in tired stereotypes about big hair, big rocks and big plastic surgery bills. The thing is, they’re not (totally) wrong. Spend an afternoon at the Neiman Marcus flagship and soon you’ll be mentally casting your own reality show. But it’s not a representative depiction of the city. Visit the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum in Waco and you’ll find fascinating artifacts and plenty of lore surrounding the mythic, still active law enforcement group. But you won’t see a dojo, which is only one of the reasons the “Walker, Texas Ranger,” starring Chuck Norris, was so laughable. As patrolled by Walker, Texas was an ThunderDome, a place where grudges were occasionally hashed out with helicopters and missiles. Texans love their firearms, sure, but try fitting a rocket launcher in the gun rack of your pickup.	1
Planned Parenthood is bidding farewell to a president and his administration that have provided the organization with support and new streams of funding. [Thank you for standing with Planned Parenthood, Mr. President. #ObamaFarewell pic. twitter. — Planned Parenthood (@PPIAction) January 11, 2017, In 2013, Barack Obama was the first sitting president to deliver an address to the nation’s largest abortion chain. At its annual gala, Obama praised the group’s century of service to women and condemned those who “try to turn Planned Parenthood into a punching bag. ” “You’ve also got a president who is going to be right there with you, fighting every step of the way,” the president said. “Thank you. God bless you. ” . @POTUS: Thank you for your eight years of support for Planned Parenthood and reproductive freedom! #ObamaFarewell #IStandWithPP ❤👏 — Planned Parenthood (@PPact) January 11, 2017, Planned Parenthood’s president, Cecile Richards, has enjoyed significant access to the White House during the Obama presidency. CNSNews. com reported that, as of July of 2015, Richards had already made 39 visits to the White House since 2009, when she first was a guest on Obama’s inauguration day. We didn’t do it all, but we accomplished so much. Thank you, @POTUS @FLOTUS. It’s been the honor of a lifetime. #ObamaFarewell pic. twitter. — Cecile Richards (@CecileRichards) January 11, 2017, Thank you @FLOTUS. For everything. ❤️ pic. twitter. — Cecile Richards (@CecileRichards) January 6, 2017, Going to miss @JoeBiden almost as much as @BarackObama pic. twitter. — Cecile Richards (@CecileRichards) January 11, 2017, Obama’s deputies in the Department of Health and Human Services allowed Planned Parenthood to serve as “navigators” to assist in signing individuals up for Obamacare, the president’s signature legislation. The abortion business received more than $1 million in the form of grants even as the group was embroiled in a scandal alleging its practice of harvesting the body parts of babies aborted in its clinics and selling them for a profit. As the “baby parts” scandal erupted, the Obama administration came to Planned Parenthood’s defense by threatening states that passed laws that eliminated the group’s taxpayer funding and redirected it to other federally qualified health care centers that do not perform abortions. In October of 2016, Obama celebrated Planned Parenthood’s centennial anniversary with a wish, “Here’s to another #100YearsStrong”: For a century, Planned Parenthood has made it possible for women to determine their own lives. Here’s to another #100YearsStrong. — President Obama (@POTUS) October 16, 2016, The “nonprofit” abortion chain’s IRS form 990 for 2014 shows that Richards’ salary and compensation jumped to $957, 952, double the salary she made just three years prior, in 2011, when her reported income was $420, 153. Despite a significant increase in Richards’ pay, Planned Parenthood’s annual reports show a consistent decline in legitimate health care services, such as pap smears and sexually transmitted disease treatment. Its 2014 tax return also shows that Planned Parenthood’s 12 highest paid employees all earn salaries amounting to almost half a billion dollars. Planned Parenthood receives over a half billion dollars annually in taxpayer funding — as well as some $186 million in private and corporate donations — and performs over 300, 000 abortions per year. On we’ll start the fight for our future with #IDEFY Live on FB. What will you defy in 2017? — Planned Parenthood (@PPFA) January 16, 2017,	1
Major League Baseball and the players’ union reached an agreement Wednesday night on a collective bargaining agreement, beating a midnight deadline and ensuring labor peace through 2021 for a sport once regularly entangled in work stoppages. The deal includes revised rules for compensation and the international amateur market, as well as an escalating threshold for payrolls subject to luxury taxes. Major League Baseball and the union announced the deal, subject to ratification by the involved parties, which continue to draft the formal language. Owners, players and officials from baseball and the union, the Major League Baseball Players Association, negotiated overnight on Tuesday in Dallas, where the union is holding its executive board meeting, and concluded on Wednesday. The owners could have voted to lock out the players at midnight had the old deal expired, but neither side wanted to shut down a roughly $10 billion industry and jeopardize the good will from a season that energized fans with the Chicago Cubs’ first World Series title in 108 years. Baseball’s last work stoppage was the strike that canceled the 1994 World Series and bled into the next season. The sides narrowly avoided a strike in 2002 but swiftly completed new agreements in 2006 and 2011. The new agreement ensures that free agency, trades and other transactions will continue and that the winter meetings will proceed as scheduled next week outside Washington. This was the first negotiation with Rob Manfred as commissioner and Tony Clark as the head of the union, and the slow pace of talks in recent weeks had frustrated some on management’s side. But while both sides wanted revisions to certain rules, there was no battleground issue that seriously threatened the industry. The union has always been fundamentally opposed to artificial restrictions on salaries and was mindful of that again now. In the labor deal that just expired, teams were fined for payrolls exceeding $189 million. In the new agreement, those figures will rise annually from $195 million to $210 million. “I want to thank the players for working diligently for more than a year to negotiate an agreement that, when finalized, will benefit all involved in the game and leaves the game better for those who follow,” Clark said in a statement. The most pressing question at the end of the talks was how to penalize teams that exceed the limit without creating a de facto salary cap or creating too much of a spread between the and teams. Forfeiting of draft picks was under consideration, but the union resisted that idea, understanding how much teams value their high picks. The penalty again will be fines, though they will be significantly higher. Teams that continually exceed the payroll threshold by a certain rate will be subject to increasing tax rates that could reach 90 percent. Under the old C. B. A. the highest tax rate was 50 percent. The union had also pushed for a system in which teams that sign free agents are not docked draft picks for doing so. Under the old system, most teams would lose their pick for signing a free agent who turned down a qualifying offer. That link severely undercut the market values of many free agents. Though the current market will operate under the existing rules, the new rules (starting next ) will be much less restrictive. If a team over the threshold signs a free agent for a certain value — perhaps about $50 million — it will lose and picks. If a team under the threshold does so, it will lose only a . Late in the talks, the owners had agreed to eliminate the link entirely, essentially creating unfettered free agency — but only if the union agreed to an international draft. Management hoped that would move negotiations along, believing that the players might be willing to take that deal because amateurs are not yet members of the union. But with more and more major league players coming from outside the United States, many Latin American players have made a compelling case against an amateur draft, reasoning that it would be unfair to prospects who lack the bargaining power of amateurs from the United States. As a compromise, teams will now be given same amount to spend on the international market — with a hard cap of about $5 million annually — but they can spend it as they please. The hope is that that will bring some cost certainty to the owners while still allowing foreign prospects to negotiate with multiple teams. Earlier in the talks, it seemed that rosters would expand to 26 players through August and be limited to 28 or 29 in September. Ultimately, though, roster sizes will stay the same (25 through August, up to 40 in September). The players will get improvements to the schedule — specifically more afternoon games on travel days. The season will also start four days earlier, allowing the schedule to fit into a window, up from 183.	1
CNN, the news organization branded as “fake news” by Donald Trump, recently posted a job listing for a full time reporter focusing on fake news. [The Hill reports that a job listing was posted to Turner Media’s website seeking a “Senior Writer” for CNN media. The reads, “CNNMoney is expanding its Media team. We’re going to be examining the wave of ‘fake news’ stories and the people behind them, but more than that we’re going to be looking at truth — what happened to it, why so many of us no longer believe it, and where those people are going to get their information instead. ” The ad states that applicants must have at least six years of writing experience and aim for a high level of accuracy within their reporting, and they should, “get angry every time they see any inaccuracy in any story, whether large or small. ” CNN is also apparently looking for someone tech savvy, as ideal applicants should “live on the Internet, and be intimately aware of its darkest corners. ” Applicants will apparently be focusing on: “Investigating fake news, hoaxes and untruths of all kinds” “Debunking myths” and “Confronting the ‘real’ media. ” Applicant’s should also be “the kind of person who can’t pass by a single rabbit hole without being desperate to jump in to see where it leads,” and they must have “Intimate knowledge of and fascination with the parts of the Internet from which dubious news stories bubble up. ” Despite the level of detail given relating to the expectations CNN will be placing on applicants, no salary is listed on the Turner Media website. Successful applicants will be working under CNN media team leader, Brian Stelter, a senior CNN media correspondent and the host of “Reliable Sources. ” Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan_ or email him at lnolan@breitbart. com	1
WASHINGTON — A federal appeals panel on Thursday unanimously rejected President Trump’s bid to reinstate his ban on travel into the United States from seven largely Muslim nations, a sweeping rebuke of the administration’s claim that the courts have no role as a check on the president. The panel, suggesting that the ban did not advance national security, said the administration had shown “no evidence” that anyone from the seven nations — Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen — had committed terrorist acts in the United States. The ruling also rejected Mr. Trump’s claim that courts are powerless to review a president’s national security assessments. Judges have a crucial role to play in a constitutional democracy, the court said. “It is beyond question,” the decision said, “that the federal judiciary retains the authority to adjudicate constitutional challenges to executive action. ” The decision was handed down by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in San Francisco. It upheld a ruling last Friday by a federal district judge, James L. Robart, who blocked key parts of the travel ban, allowing thousands of foreigners to enter the country. The appeals court acknowledged that Mr. Trump was owed deference on his immigration and national security policies. But it said he was claiming something more — that “national security concerns are unreviewable, even if those actions potentially contravene constitutional rights and protections. ” Within minutes of the ruling, Mr. Trump angrily vowed to fight it, presumably in an appeal to the Supreme Court. “SEE YOU IN COURT, THE SECURITY OF OUR NATION IS AT STAKE!” Mr. Trump wrote on Twitter. At the White House, the president told reporters that the ruling was “a political decision” and predicted that his administration would win an appeal “in my opinion, very easily. ” He said he had not yet conferred with his attorney general, Jeff Sessions, on the matter. The Supreme Court remains and could deadlock. A tie there would leave the appeals court’s ruling in place. The administration has moved fast in the case so far, and it is likely to file an emergency application to the Supreme Court in a day or two. The court typically asks for a prompt response from the other side, and it could rule soon after it received one. A decision next week, either to reinstate the ban or to continue to block it, is possible. The travel ban, one of the first executive orders Mr. Trump issued after taking office, suspended worldwide refugee entry into the United States. It also barred visitors from seven nations for up to 90 days to give federal security agencies time to impose stricter vetting processes. Immediately after it was issued, the ban spurred chaos at airports and protests nationwide as foreign travelers found themselves stranded at immigration checkpoints by a policy that critics derided as . The State Department said up to 60, 000 foreigners’ visas were canceled in the days immediately after the ban was imposed. The World Relief Corporation, one of the agencies that resettles refugees in the United States, called the ruling “fabulous news” for 275 newcomers who are scheduled to arrive in the next week, many of whom will be reunited with family. “We have families that have been separated for years by terror, war and persecution,” said Scott Arbeiter, the president of the organization, which will arrange for housing and jobs for the refugees in cities including Seattle Spokane, Wash. and Sacramento. “Some family members had already been vetted and cleared and were standing with tickets, and were then told they couldn’t travel,” Mr. Arbeiter said. “So the hope of reunification was crushed, and now they will be admitted. ” Several Democrats said they hoped the appeals court ruling would cow Mr. Trump into rescinding the ban. Representative Karen Bass, Democrat of California, said in a statement that the ban “is rooted in bigotry and, most importantly, it’s illegal. ” “We will not stop,” Ms. Bass said. But some Republicans cast aspersions on the Ninth Circuit’s decision and predicted that it would not withstand a challenge in the Supreme Court. “Courts ought not sensitive national security decisions of the president,” Senator Tom Cotton, Republican of Arkansas, said in a statement. “This misguided ruling is from the Ninth Circuit, the most notoriously court in America, and the court at the Supreme Court,” he said. “I’m confident the administration’s position will ultimately prevail. ” Trial judges nationwide have blocked aspects of Mr. Trump’s executive order, but no other case has yet reached an appeals court. The case in front of Judge Robart, in Seattle, was filed by the states of Washington and Minnesota and is still at an early stage. The appeals court order issued Thursday ruled only on the narrow question of whether to stay a lower court’s temporary restraining order blocking the travel ban. The appeals court said the government had not justified suspending travel from the seven countries. “The government has pointed to no evidence,” the decision said, “that any alien from any of the countries named in the order has perpetrated a terrorist attack in the United States. ” The three members of the panel were Judge Michelle T. Friedland, appointed by President Barack Obama Judge William C. Canby Jr. appointed by President Jimmy Carter and Judge Richard R. Clifton, appointed by President George W. Bush. They said the states were likely to succeed at the end of the day because Mr. Trump’s order appeared to violate the due process rights of lawful permanent residents, people holding visas and refugees. The court said the administration’s legal position in the case had been a moving target. It noted that Donald F. McGahn II, the White House counsel, had issued “authoritative guidance” several days after the executive order came out, saying it did not apply to lawful permanent residents. But the court said that “we cannot rely” on that statement. “The White House counsel is not the president,” the decision said, “and he is not known to be in the chain of command for any of the executive departments.“ It also mentioned “the government’s shifting interpretations” of the executive order. In its briefs and in the arguments before the panel on Tuesday, the Justice Department’s position evolved. As the case progressed, the administration offered a backup plea for at least a partial victory. At most, a Justice Department brief said, “previously admitted aliens who are temporarily abroad now or who wish to travel and return to the United States in the future” should be allowed to enter the country despite the ban. The appeals court ultimately rejected that request, however, saying that people in the United States without authorization have due process rights, as do citizens with relatives who wish to travel to the United States. The court discussed, but did not decide, whether the executive order violated the First Amendment’s ban on government establishment of religion by disfavoring Muslims. It noted that the states challenging the executive order “have offered evidence of numerous statements by the president about his intent to implement a ‘Muslim ban. ’” And it said, rejecting another administration argument, that it was free to consider evidence about the motivation behind laws that draw seemingly neutral distinctions. But the court said it would defer a decision on the question of religious discrimination. “The political branches are far better equipped to make appropriate distinctions,” the decision said. “For now, it is enough for us to conclude that the government has failed to establish that it will likely succeed on its due process argument in this appeal. ” The court also acknowledged “the massive attention this case has garnered at even the most preliminary stages. ” “On the one hand, the public has a powerful interest in national security and in the ability of an elected president to enact policies,” the decision said. “And on the other, the public also has an interest in free flow of travel, in avoiding separation of families, and in freedom from discrimination. ” “These competing public interests,” the court said, “do not justify a stay. ” The court ruling did not affect one part of the executive order: the cap of 50, 000 refugees to be admitted in the 2017 fiscal year. That is down from the 110, 000 ceiling put in place under President Barack Obama. The order also directed the secretary of state and the secretary of homeland security to prioritize refugee claims made by persecuted members of religious minorities. As of Thursday, that means the United States will be allowed to accept only about 16, 000 more refugees this fiscal year. Since Oct. 1, the start of the fiscal year, 33, 929 refugees have been admitted, 5, 179 of them Syrians.	1
LOS ANGELES — The Hollywood Reservoir is nestled in a basin surrounded, usually, by dusty brown hillsides, broken up by the occasional dry wisp of shrubbery. Not these days. After yet another burst of rain the other day, the hills were transformed into lush fields of grass, spotted with purple flowers. And the reservoir? As high as it has been in years. In Northern California, snow could be seen on top of Mount Diablo outside San Francisco last weekend. Across the state, dams are under siege and reservoirs are overflowing. The snowpack in the Sierra Nevada — a source of water once winter ends and the dry months settle in — was nearly twice its normal level last week. (And that was before even more snow arrived.) Yet for all that, California is, at least officially, still in a drought state of emergency. That has been the case since Jan. 17, 2014, when Gov. Jerry Brown issued the order after one of the driest years in California history. Why hasn’t the drought been declared over? Here are some answers for Californians — and everyone else who has watched this story unfold — about what is going on. So is California ever going to end its drought emergency? The answer is yes, or at least probably yes. “Very soon, but not right away,” Mr. Brown told reporters last week. “We are going to wait until the end of the rainy season. ” In other words, about six weeks. Why the wait? The Sierra Nevada snowpack is now at 181 percent of normal. There was hail in San Francisco the other day. People in Los Angeles are actually learning to drive in the rain. To appreciate just how striking that snowpack statistic is, consider this: When Mr. Brown attended the final snowpack measurement of the season in April 2015, there was not a patch of snow in sight. That was when he ordered a mandatory 25 percent reduction in urban water use, and he met little resistance. But Mr. Brown has seen enough droughts over his 78 years in California to know the risks. The snowpack, a central cog in California’s system of providing water to 40 million people, is ephemeral: A warm April or May could melt it away. That happened, to some extent, last year. The reason is climate change. And while most of California — 74 percent as of last week — is officially out of drought, parts of the state, such as Santa Barbara, remain alarmingly dry. “Some Central Valley communities are still depending on water tanks,” said Nancy Vogel, the deputy secretary for communications at the California Natural Resources Agency. Do Californians still have to cut back their water use an average of 25 percent from levels? That was the original directive by the governor, and Californians responded by meeting — and in some cases beating — the order. But because of that, and because conditions have improved, the State Water Resources Control Board eased up on the statewide mandate last year. The updated rules vary by region. In some places, there are no restrictions in others, they remain relatively strict. “What’s really remaining is the monthly reporting and the bans on wasteful water use — the obvious stuff like watering so much that it runs into the street, hosing down your driveway,” said Felicia Marcus, the head of the Water Resources Control Board. “The reporting and the wasteful practices are things that the governor has asked us to make permanent. And we are working on making them permanent. ” Are Californians conserving less water than they did when the order was first issued? They are, but it’s still better than you might think. The rule that prohibits restaurants from serving water to customers without being asked seems to have gone, um, down the drain, at least in many places. But not all the gains in water conservation were a result of behavioral changes, like taking shorter showers or watering gardens just twice a week. At the height of the emergency, many homeowners replaced lawns with gardens, often with the help of subsidies from water agencies in cities like Los Angeles. New homes are being built with toilets and restrictive shower heads, and lawns have given way to desert landscaping. Those kinds of changes produce lasting effects: Urban water use was down 20. 5 percent in January compared with the same month in 2013, state officials reported Tuesday. Is the state being too cautious? Think the boy who cried wolf: Isn’t there a risk that people who responded so valiantly two years ago will take things less seriously the next time around? That is always a risk state officials have to consider in determining when to declare the beginning or end of a drought. Beyond that, weather is, of course, ultimately unpredictable. California was girding in 2015 for a soaking El Niño weather pattern that never came. And before this winter began, some meteorologists were predicting a La Niña pattern, which would have meant drier conditions than usual. That certainly didn’t happen. “This year may be only a wet outlier in an otherwise dry extended period,” Ms. Vogel said. “Unfortunately, the scientific ability to determine if next year will be wet or dry isn’t yet capable of delivering reliable predictions. ” In the end, has the drought been as bad as everyone worried it might be? Probably not, though it is up there with one of the worst droughts in California’s history. The last severe drought here lasted from 1987 to 1992. At the time that Mr. Brown acted, the state was in the midst of what would turn out to be the driest period in its recorded history. California has always suffered cyclical droughts, but there was considerable concern that global warming was making conditions worse. And many people in Southern California, where growth is booming, have to rely on water that is piped in from other places, mostly from Northern California. “I had to look at the scenario,” Ms. Marcus said. “I was worried. We had to act as if we were having our own millennial drought that would last 10 years. It was definitely DEFCON 1. ”	1
8, 000 prison inmates in Colorado have been given computer tablets with the ability to call loved ones from the inside, play games, read books, and listen to music. [“Until February, Andrew Stiern could only speak with his girlfriend on a phone in a prison day hall while 10 other inmates listened in and waited impatiently in line behind him,” reported The Denver Post . “Now the inmate can kick back in the limited privacy of his cell at Four Mile Correctional Center in Cañon City and call his girl on a new computer tablet anytime between 6 a. m. and 10 p. m. He can also use the same device to listen to his favorite tunes from a streaming cache of 12 million songs, read books or play video games to his heart’s content. ” GTL Corp’s Inspire pilot program seeks to distribute tablets to over 18, 000 prison inmates, and eventually to every prisoner in the United States, according to The Denver Post. It is reportedly “designed to give inmates access to a wide range of media, including educational programming, but also creates a new revenue stream for GTL, which specializes in inmate telecommunications and payment systems. ” “It’s great. I’m kind of the tablet rep guy,” said inmate Andrew Stiern to The Post. “When you are in prison, you are cut off from the outside world. You want your mind to be focused on positive things. It’s kind of an escape from this world. These tabs have become a new piece of life in here. ” Though some believe that the tablets could help deflate friction between prison gangs over prison phone use, other correctional officers and victims group representatives are skeptical of the program. “I’m a little stunned. They are not there to be catered to and offered all the comforts of home,” said Rob Wells, the president of Families of Victims of Homicide and Missing Persons. “I’m not pleased with it. Some of them are gang members and have been involved in some pretty nasty stuff. They shouldn’t be given something that will give them an opportunity to continue their criminal enterprises in prison. How are they going to monitor this?” “All of us had our reservations at first. Are we going to be more vulnerable because of this technology?” asked corrections officer Ryan Flores. “There was a lot of old school mentality. ” Though GTL are giving out the tablets to prisoners, there is a potential profit to be made through their use. A subscription for one prisoner to access a database of music and games costs $6. 59, while text messages are 25 cents each. A phone call costs around $2 to $3. As well as entertainment and education, the tablets can also be used to file complaints, order snacks, contact medical staff, and sign up for prison programs. Despite their ability to contact others outside of the prison, the tablets are not connected to the internet, and inmates are unable to contact others in the prison through the devices. There are also no violent video games available. “These are games I allow my to play,” said one inmate to The Post. “The most violent game is, like, ‘Angry Birds. ’” Charlie Nash is a reporter for Breitbart Tech. You can follow him on Twitter @MrNashington or like his page at Facebook.	1
Another step towards global UFO disclosure. The Spanish Ministry of Defense has declassified 80 reports of alleged UFO sightings that took place between 1962 and 1995. The Spanish Ministry of Defense has declassified 80 confidential reports containing around 1,900 pages of alleged UFO sightings that were recorded above Spanish airspace between 1962 and 1995. The material is available to the public in the online library of the Spanish Ministry of Defense . The reports include the location of the sighting, the date, the summary of facts, considerations, conclusions and the proposed classification or declassification of each document. The declassification process of the documents began in 1991 when the Ministry of Defense decided to analyze the reports and reduce their classification level in order to make them available to the general public which demanded access to these documents. Fascinating accounts – inexplicable phenomena One of the most interesting UFO sightings was reported by pilots and crew when President Adolfo Suarez was traveling from Germany to Spain. The strange UFO was spotted at an undisclosed location. The encounter occurred when former President Adolfo Suarez, was on board an aircraft of the Spanish Air Force. The pilots and passengers onboard witnessed strange lights that could be explained. It remains unclear as to where the sighting took place. The report reads : “During night hours on February 25, 1980, onboard the 401st Squadron aircraft on a flight from Germany to Spain, Madrid with President Suarez, strange lights were observed by the pilots and passengers“. Furthermore, the declassified documents reveal a number of different sightings that occurred over Spain when UFO’s were detected by radar but were invisible for pilots who were sent out to intercept them. A document which dates to the 28th of November 1979 indicates that numerous individuals observed two UFOs in Madrid. A military plane was sent out to search for the UFOs. The pilot of the intercepting aircraft didn’t see anything, even though “the weather conditions were excellent” and “radar contact had been established four times” the report reads. That same report details other sightings, one of them occurred on November 27, 1979, when “lights in the sky, were observed by many people” and “unknown echoes” were recorded. Furthermore, the report details how in 1971, a “luminous object was spotted following a T-33 in Talavera-Getafe route”; and in 1977, mystery lights were seen above Madrid.” The first UFO sighting over Madrid was recorded on December 11 of 1968. Two witnesses reported at 20.05 hours and 20.30 hours the presence “of a very bright object with changes in brightness,“ in the southwestern parts of the capital. Check out more about the declassified documents by visiting this link . Source: Ancient Code	0
People have made up their minds on president. I’ve served as an elected District Attorney in Conservative Texas. Every DA is on a limited budget. We have to make choices. I believe in strict punishment for violent offenders and burglars. I rarely gave probation. Unfortunately we had to deal with all these annoying pot cases. Even when pot users got probation the understaffed probation officers had to make sure they were in by 10PM – I’d rather they checked on sex offenders.] Revenues are another reason to legalize. The Washington Post reports for 2015 Colorado gained 18,000 pot-related jobs and $2.4 billion in revenue. 2016 will be much better. Use among teens has not increased both according to surveys from the Denver Post and Federal Government. It’s best to vote “Yes”.	0
Public health officials say that Texas has hit its highest number of mumps cases in more than 20 years with multiple outbreaks across the state including cases possibly linked to South Padre Island and spring break travel. [On Wednesday, the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) advised the surge marked the highest number of mumps cases since 1994 when the state reported 234 cases. So far this year, Texas accounted for 221. DSHS issued an advisory to health care providers recommending they remain on high alert for patients with the highly contagious virus. They also are asking Texans to get vaccinated. Texas authorities learned about the connection to South Padre Island mumps cases when a health department in another state contacted them about a mumps patient who traveled to the region, a popular Texas coastal student spring break hotspot for locals and young people from many other states. DSHS alerted other states and in turn, was notified of 13 instances of mumps in people who traveled to South Padre Island between March 8 and March 22 from six states, including two individuals from Texas. No one knows why the mumps spiked. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) considers crowded environments a major contributing factor for outbreaks. This includes classrooms, dormitories, and even playing on the same sports team. They noted kissing, sharing utensils, cups, lipstick, and cigarettes may also increase the spread of the virus. Breitbart Texas spoke to Dr. Peter Hotez, dean of Texas Children’s Hospital and president of the Sabin Vaccine Institute. He said it may be hard to discern what is causing the outbreak and suggested “it will require some good epidemiological studies to figure out why we’re seeing this big uptick in mumps. ” While mumps is no longer considered common in the United States, outbreaks around the nation happened in 2006, 2015, and 2016, and most of these cases occurred on college campuses. DSHS maintains the best mumps prevention is through vaccination, although some inoculated people still get mumps if exposed to the virus. “In the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine, mumps is by far the ‘weak player’ in terms of giving protection. A single dose gives only 75 percent protection while two doses 88 percent protection, so it is possible that there is still adequate vaccination rates for mumps it’s just that the vaccine is not as effective as we would like,” said Hotez. “If it were measles I would be quick to blame to low vaccination coverage in pockets in Texas, in part, due to the movement here,” he added. Breitbart Texas reported that Hotez foresees a dangerous measles epidemic in the Lone Star State’s future because of plummeting vaccination rates propelled by an movement. Mumps symptoms include swollen or tender salivary glands, swollen or tender testicles, low fever, tiredness and muscle aches. People usually develop symptoms days after being exposed to the virus, but it can be as long as 25 days. DSHS advises people who think they have mumps to contact their health care provider, and anyone suspected of having mumps should stay home while contagious. That period of time is five days after swollen glands occur. The CDC calls mumps fatalities “exceedingly rare” but they do happen, usually caused by encephalitis. Follow Merrill Hope, a member of the original Breitbart Texas team, on Twitter.	1
Usually, when people decide to run for President of the United States, they do so years in advance, giving them as much time as possible to make their case to voters before the election. Yet, in this...	0
However, the man added that as soon as the Muslims realized they were not in a mosque and that the shawls were of religious importance to Judaism, “they immediately apologized, folded the shawls and explained that they’d just looked for a place to pray.” Sounds pretty grown up to me. They were Turks though, not Barbarians.	0
November 1, 2016 EU member states approve Canada trade deal EU member states have officially endorsed the landmark Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) with Canada, the European Council says. “I am delighted to confirm that the EU is ready to sign the comprehensive economic and trade agreement with Canada,” said Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico. Slovakia currently holds the EU’s rotating presidency. “It represents a milestone in the EU’s trade policy and our commitment to it,” Fico said in a statement, calling it a “modern and progressive deal, opening the door to new opportunities, while protecting important interests. Moreover, it has the potential to set the way forward for future trade deals.” Earlier on Friday, Belgium’s regional parliament of Wallonia gave the go-ahead for the country to approve the deal after its opposition to the accord scuppered this week’s planned signing ceremony.	0
ISTANBUL — Three suicide attackers killed at least 41 people and wounded dozens more at Istanbul’s main airport on Tuesday night, in the latest in a string of terrorist attacks in Turkey, a NATO ally once seen as a bastion of stability but now increasingly consumed by the chaos of the Middle East. Hours after the assault, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim of Turkey said that early indications pointed to an operation carried out by the Islamic State, but as of early Wednesday, the group had not claimed responsibility for the attack. The attack began shortly before 10 p. m. Tuesday, Turkish officials said, when two gunmen opened fire with automatic weapons at a security checkpoint outside Istanbul’s Ataturk airport, one of Europe’s busiest. They then detonated their explosives, setting off two fireballs. A third attacker set off explosives in the parking lot. Turkey has faced a string of terrorist attacks over the past year, including several in Istanbul, as it confronts threats from both the Islamic State and Kurdish militants fighting a war with the Turkish state in the southeast. The Istanbul governor’s office said on Wednesday morning that 41 people had died. Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag said on Tuesday that 147 people were wounded. Most of the dead were Turks, although some were foreigners, Mr. Yildirim said. The three attackers were killed when they detonated their explosives, he said. Outside the terminal on Tuesday night, as calls went out on local news channels for blood donors and the Turkish authorities imposed a ban on publishing images of the scene of the attack, ambulances streamed in, while hundreds of dazed and scared travelers sat on the sidewalk waiting for information. And more travelers, many in tears, were streaming out of the airport. “There were blood splatters everywhere,” said Eylul Kaya, 37, sitting outside with her son. “I covered my boy’s eyes and we ran out. ” As Turkey has faced several deadly terrorist attacks over the past year, Ms. Kaya said, she never thought she would find herself in the middle of one. “We’ve watched these attacks on TV for months, but I never imagined it would happen with so much security in an airport,” she said. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan noted that the bombing came during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, and he called for global unity in the fight against terrorism. “Despite paying a heavy price, Turkey has the power, determination and capacity to continue the fight against terrorism until the end,” Mr. Erdogan said in a statement. Mr. Erdogan added: “The bombs that exploded in Istanbul today could have gone off at any airport in any city around the world. Make no mistake: For terrorist organizations, there is no difference between Istanbul and London, Ankara and Berlin, Izmir and Chicago, or Antalya and Rome. ” Turkey has held itself up as an exemplar of a Muslim democracy and has sought to influence the region by reaching out to its Muslim neighbors. Early on, when Syria slipped into civil war in 2011, Turkey pushed for the ouster of President Bashar and began helping Syrian rebel groups, allowing the transit of fighters and weapons across its territory. Turkey’s Western allies, including the United States, blamed the country’s policy for allowing extremist groups like the Islamic State to become powerful inside Syria, and the chaos has increasingly spilled over into Turkey, with terrorist attacks and waves of refugees. Turkey, a NATO member, has often been at odds with its Western allies over its approach to the region. The United States and others believe that Turkey’s early policy on Syria enabled the growth of the Islamic State, and they have long felt that Turkey was a reluctant partner in fighting the terrorist group. Turkey, in turn, has grown angry over American support for Syrian Kurdish rebels that it sees as terrorists because of links to Kurdish militants inside Turkey. Some of the recent terrorist attacks in Turkey — including a car bombing in Ankara, the capital, in February — have been attributed to Kurdish militants, which has heightened tensions between Ankara and Washington over the support the United States has given to Syrian Kurdish militants fighting the Islamic State. The attack on Tuesday evoked the bombing of the Brussels airport several months ago and highlighted the conundrum security officials face in minimizing casualties from terrorist attacks. In Brussels, the attackers managed to get inside the terminal and detonate their explosives. But at the Istanbul airport, the first security check is in a vestibule at the entrance to the terminal, which theoretically adds a layer of security. But even so, people have to line up there and, as the attack demonstrated, it is an easy target for terrorists. Judith Favish, a South African who was heading home, said she was at the counter checking in for her flight when she heard gunfire and then an explosion. “So I jumped across and hid under the counter and then someone told us to run, so I ran and hid in a cafeteria,” she said, standing outside the terminal. “We waited there for an hour and then we were told to get out, but no one has given us any information. I have no clothes, phone, money, nothing. Haven’t called my family. No one is telling me anything. ” She paused, and then said that she had seen blood everywhere near the entranceway. Flights out of Istanbul were immediately canceled Tuesday night, and ones on their way were diverted. The airport, the third busiest in Europe and the 11th busiest in the world, was closed after the attack, but Mr. Yildirim, the prime minister, said early Wednesday that it had reopened. The Federal Aviation Administration grounded flights between the United States and Ataturk airport after the attack, but lifted the order late Tuesday. Although no group claimed responsibility for the attack, initial speculation centered on Turkey’s two main enemies: the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, and Kurdish militants linked to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or P. K. K. which has waged war with Turkey for more than three decades. Last year, peace talks with the P. K. K. broke down, and the two sides have been at war since. But hours after the attack, Turkish officials turned their attention toward the Islamic State. “The terrorists arrived at the airport in a taxi,” Mr. Yildirim said. “We will share more details about the attack later. There was no security lapse at the airport. ” Turkey has been rocked by a series of bombings since 2014, and the attacks have been increasing in frequency. In some cases, Kurdish militants have claimed responsibility, but in others, including ones this year in Istanbul’s old city and on its main pedestrian boulevard, Turkish officials have blamed the Islamic State. Michael S. Smith II, an analyst who closely tracks the Islamic State’s propaganda online, said on Tuesday that there had been a noticeable uptick in the group’s statements regarding Turkey, especially after the announcement last year that the United States had gained access to the Incirlik Air Base. “Official claims of responsibility for most attacks the Islamic State has been accused of executing in Turkey have been notable by their absence,” Mr. Smith said in an email. “However, during the past year, a significant increase in focus on the Erdogan government’s policies within Islamic State propaganda has been used to build expectations the group will expand its terrorism operations into Turkey. ” Almost immediately after the attack on Tuesday, there was speculation that it might have been a response by the Islamic State to the recent reconciliation between Turkey and Israel, which announced a deal this week to restore diplomatic relations. The two countries had been estranged for six years, after an episode in 2010 in which Israeli commandos stormed a flotilla carrying humanitarian aid for the Gaza Strip in defiance of an Israeli blockade several Turkish activists were killed. Mustafa Akyol, a prominent Turkish columnist, wrote on Twitter on Tuesday evening, “The fact that the attack came right after the deal might be not an accident — if ISIS is that fast in response. ” Other analysts, though, noted that attacks involving multiple suicide bombers take time to prepare and are not typically attempted on very short notice. “Unfortunately, we see the side effects of a disastrous Syria policy that has brought terrorism into the heart of Istanbul and Ankara,” said Suat Kiniklioglu, a former lawmaker who is now chairman of the Center for Strategic Communication, a research organization, in Ankara. “This is obviously intended to create an atmosphere of chaos and hit the economy and tourism. ” When the attack happened, Asli Aydintasbas, an analyst and writer on Turkish affairs, was on a plane bound for Istanbul but was rerouted to Ankara, where the airport was filled with stranded and confused tourists, with airport workers that they had in fact landed elsewhere. “Our world is turned upside down,” said Ms. Aydintasbas, who has chronicled Turkey’s descent in to chaos in recent years in her columns. Referring to Istanbul, and the stature it attained in recent years as a global tourist destination, she said: “It was a happening town, cutting edge in arts and culture. It’s the kind of place that Condé Nast would write about. Now this is a Middle Eastern country where these things happen. ”	1
link The oligarchy runs our society with Problem – Reaction – Solution. If anything, these leaks have proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that the two-party system is an illusion and the whole construct is one huge pay-for-play corporate sham. Obamacare was always meant to destroy the private health care system and usher in single-payer, government run socialist medicine. It was designed that way… and it’s “working”. Related: Link In this particular e-mail, we get to see just how fake and fraudulent our government is. Your health determines how valuable of an asset you are and it’s the main reason why we see “health tracking apparel” and “health scores,” designed by and for prominent health insurance companies in order to track your health data in-between doctor visits. Remember this quote by demon spawn Nancy Pelosi? “We have to pass the bill so that you can find out what’s in it.” If that wasn’t telling you something at the time, maybe this will… Picture: Link In an email thread dated September 26, 2015 between Hillary and her senior policy adviser, Ann O’Leary, titled “Memo on Cadillac Tax for HRC,” Hillary wrote, “Given the politics now w bipartisan support including Schumer, I’ll support repeal w ‘sense of the Senate’ that revenues would have to be found. I’d be open to a range of options to do that. But we have to be careful that the R version passes which begins the unraveling of the ACA.” Do you still have any doubts? Sadly, there are those who have benefited from the ACA, but to a greater extent, many have seen the exact opposite of what was promised. Higher rates, less coverage, new doctors, etc… A Democrat supporting Republican legislation to destroy Obamacare on purpose. How many millions have they raked in on this deal and bilked the American people for in Obamacare penalties because they can’t afford the “affordable” health care? And the American people will look at this like a “victory” when it does unravel, even though it has been the plan all along. Which reminds me, when was the last time that the people had a victory? This just goes to show you that what is good for the goose isn’t always good for the gander. They knew that going in and only after the fact, can we realize this. They wanted the ganders’ money while the goose that benefits (through subsidiaries), cries to defend the ACA, making the rest of us look insensitive and unfair. Good plan… They’re all working together, folks. Obamacare was always meant to fail — on purpose — to bring in a single-payer, government-controlled socialist medicine system. Don’t believe me yet? Back in 2013, Senator Harry Reid had this to say about the ACA… Sen. Harry Reid: Obamacare 'Absolutely' A Step Toward A Single-Payer System When I speak to conservatives about health care policy, I’m often asked the question: “Do you think that Obamacare is secretly a step toward single-payer health care?” I always explain that, while progressives may want single-payer, I don’t think that Obamacare is deliberately designed to bring about that outcome. Well, yesterday on PBS’ Nevada Week In Review , Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) was asked whether his goal was to move Obamacare to a single-payer system. His answer? “Yes, yes. Absolutely, yes.” The plan to undermine your health and sufficiency is so diabolical and disgusting, that many would simply refuse to believe such a thing. Well, there it is folks. They don’t give a damn about you or your well-being and will do anything in their power to see that decisions about your health are made by them in the future. For me personally, the ACA has increased my premium by 300%, causing me to drop what was offered by my employer and settle with less coverage for more money using the "marketplace." Is this where I get to say... Thanks Obama?	0
Center for Security Policy president Frank Gaffney discussed the Manchester attack and its aftermath with SiriusXM host Raheem Kassam on Wednesday’s Breitbart News Daily. [“As Donald Trump said in the course of the campaign, I think we have to get clarity as to the nature of the problem we’re facing. It behooves us, before we start contorting ourselves even more than we have of late, to be honest about the nature of the threat,” Gaffney said. “I think during the course of the campaign, Candidate Trump made great strides in trying to do that. He used the term ‘radical Islamic terrorism.’ We can quibble about that. I think a more accurate way to depict it — as we’ve discussed before, Raheem — is ‘sharia supremacism,’” he suggested. Gaffney went on to define sharia supremacism as not merely a personal dedication to following Islamic law, but a divine obligation “to impose it on everybody else. ” Kassam noted that “sharia, in and of itself as a word, implies supremacy. ” “It does, and it actually explicitly commands its adherents to engage in supremacism, so there is a certain redundancy,” Gaffney acknowledged. “But I think it is the active nature of this that is the problem we have to come to grips with,” he added. “And when we hear the British government — or, for that matter, President Trump of late — talking about the threat in terms of extremism, or in terms of ‘lone wolves’ or people who have no connection with organized efforts, or are otherwise cast in terms that I think obscure their fidelity to this agenda, which is unfortunately part and parcel of what authoritative Islam describes, it is I think a formula for more loss of life and more distortion of our societies. Because as a practical matter, it comes down to our submission, and that’s really the rub of the issue. ” Kassam cited reports that National Security Adviser General H. R. McMaster is one of the leading voices in the Trump administration seeking to divorce Islam from terrorism by defining it as inherently “ . ” “I believe he is not the only promoter of this notion,” Gaffney said. “I think that there are large numbers of people who previously advanced this mistaken and seriously characterization of the problem that are holdovers from the previous administration. ” “In addition to General McMaster, there are some that have been brought in by the president, I think to his great detriment,” he continued. “To my way of thinking, he had this right before he came to office in the early days. I think since then, this has become much, much less clear, and to some extent has now become obscured in part, let’s be honest, by the notion that we’re going to find ourselves forging common cause with folks like the Saudis and the Qataris, the Turks, who include among them — let us be clear — sharia supremacists. ” “In fact, it is the stated policy of all of those governments to promote that goal of worldwide submission to this totalitarian program. There are lots of Muslims who don’t want to live under it any more than the rest of us do. Unfortunately, we’re making now the mistake that the Obama administration made, the Bush administration before it made, I think the Clinton administration before it made, to misperceive the threat,” he warned. Breitbart News Daily airs on SiriusXM Patriot 125 weekdays from 6:00 a. m. to 9:00 a. m. Eastern.	1
Check out the latest gameplay from the upcoming The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild shown during the Nintendo Switch presentation.	1
Originally appeared at Paul Craig Roberts During the decades-long Cold War the belief in America was that the Soviet Union had an ideology of world domination. Every nationalist movement, such as Vietnam’s effort to throw off French colonialism, was misinterpreted as another domino falling to Soviet world conquest. This mistaken American belief persisted despite Stalin’s purge of the Trotsky elements that preached world revolution. Stalin declared: “socialism in one country.” As the Soviets did not have the aim that the US attributed to them, the two governments could cooperate in reducing the dangerous tensions that nuclear weapons presented. The rise of the American neoconservatives and their doctrine of US world hegemony has given the United States the expansionist ideology formerly attributed to the Soviets. Only this time the expansionist ideology is real. Yet, Russia’s foreign minister, Lavrov, said today that “we [the US and Russia] have no ideological differences which make the Cold War inevitable.” https://sputniknews.com/politics/201610251046697689-lavrov-russia-cold-war/ The inability of the Russian government to understand that the neoconservative ideology of US world hegemony is the driving force of US foreign policy leaves Lavrov puzzled at the high level of hostility toward Russia. As Lavrov believes that there are no ideological differences between the two countries, he doesn’t understand the hostility. However, he does understand that this hostility toward Russia is a negation of Cold War rules that both countries avoid surprising the other with what could be perceived as a dangerous threat. There is no sign that the US government understands the danger in Russia’s perception of threat or that Washington cares.	0
Podcast: Play in new window \| Download \| Embed via Newsbud.com : In this week’s edition of Newsbud’s Roundtable Spiro Skouras is Joined by Newsbud Founder Sibel Edmonds, Newsbud Sr. Producer Kurt Nimmo and James Corbett of Corbett Report to discuss potential candidates of the Trump Cabinet. We also discuss the indoctrination process of the youth in public schools and Sibel issues a call to action against the two-party system indoctrination. SHOW NOTES:	0
A Thanksgiving Tribute & Meditation For Standing Rock Nov 24, 2016 0 0 On Thursday, November 24th, we come together with friends, family, and loved ones in gratitude, as is tradition, on this day in the United States. On this day, we are reminded of our gratefulness to our native people for their hospitality to new settlers, who arrived in the Americas during the European discovery of the land. Are we today, truly, still grateful to our native brothers and sisters? In this day and age, during times of deep trauma for our native family at Standing Rock, in North Dakota, how can we truly give back and offer a hand of support and thanks, while celebrating this tradition in our homes? To begin with, giving thanks on Thanksgiving is not limited to the physical borders of the US, nor is it limited to the people of this country. As we the people of the world, as one humanity, come together to increase awareness of our Earth’s challenges, we are reminded that what happens in one corner of our world, happens too in the most far and remote corner. We are one big family. Thus, we celebrate traditions together, as we also come together to stand up for the rights of one another. We share in love and joy, as we too share in pain and despair. “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” -Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. How many of us have watched, read, and heard of the human rights violations going on with water protectors at Standing Rock, and have wished for peace and justice for all? The United Nations has very clearly defined the rights of indigenous people in their “Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples” . It is 15 pages long, and it has 46 articles. The following article very clearly articulates the rights of the indigenous peoples in this particular circumstance: “Article 32 1. Indigenous peoples have the right to determine and develop priorities and strategies for the development or use of their lands or territories and other resources. 2. States shall consult and cooperate in good faith with the indigenous peoples concerned through their own representative institutions in order to obtain their free and informed consent prior to the approval of any project affecting their lands or territories and other resources, particularly in connection with the development, utilization or exploitation of mineral, water or other resources. 3. States shall provide effective mechanisms for just and fair redress for any such activities, and appropriate measures shall be taken to mitigate adverse environmental, economic, social, cultural or spiritual impact.” On September 20th, the chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, Dave Archambault II, traveled to Geneva, Switzerland to appeal to the United Nations Human Rights Council for support. There were more than a dozen of other tribal leaders there, who were also testifying to the destruction of their lands and water, due to private corporations (largely oil companies) and governments, who have unlawfully, and in an inhuman manner, taken over private native lands for their own gain. This is being reported in both mainstream as well as alternative news outlets. “The oil companies and the government of the United States have failed to respect our sovereign rights,” as testified by Archambault to the UN. “I am here because oil companies are causing the deliberate destruction of our sacred places and burials,” said Archambault. “Dakota Access Pipeline wants to build an oil pipeline under the river that is the source of our nation’s drinking water. Thousands have gathered peacefully in Standing Rock in solidarity against the pipeline. We stand in peace, but have been met with violence ,” Archambault said to the Council. Thanks to the determination of Dave Archambault II, tribal members, and all water protectors, the United Nations is now investigating the treatment of people at Standing Rock by North Dakota law enforcement. “When you look at what the international standards are for the treatment of people, and you are in a place like the United States, it’s really astounding to hear some of this testimony.” A lot of it was just very shocking.”said Roberto Borrero, a representative of the UN International Indian Treaty Council, of his time spent interviewing tribal members and water protectors from all over who have gathered peacefully at Standing Rock. He was deeply shocked by what he and other observers witnessed and heard during their visit there. We live in a time, where the United States of America, is being asked to not invade other countries, but instead to look right into the heartland of the USA, and choose to do what is right by her own people. Why do we choose to get involved in one human rights abuse, but not another? How can we invade countries, even at times going against the will of other nations and the United Nations (e.g. Iraq, which was declared illegal by the UN ) to “go it alone” at war over claimed human rights abuses. Tell me, USA, why are you turning a blind eye here at home? Are you more interested in Oil, money and corporate support? Are you really here for your people? What do we have to truly celebrate this Thanksgiving? The whole world is watching. We, the citizens of the USA, are watching. Show us what you stand for USA. Let’s pray for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, for all water protectors at their camp, and for all forms of light and justice to emanate into a ball of light so powerful, that all acts of darkness are completely turned into love. May the North Dakota law enforcement and all private militarized forces surrounding Standing Rock, completely drop their weapons against all. Let’s pray for a complete stop to all activities that are not in alignment with our sacred Earth and the human rights of ALL. Let’s protect our Earth, and Mother Nature’s bounty. Let’s protect our native people. Let’s protect one another. We all need water. We are water. Without water, we do not survive. If we are to be the masters of our own ship, we must be the master of our human right to accessible and clean water rightfully available to us through our Mother Earth. Please, let’s all come together on Thanksgiving, and everyday there after, and practice a 3 minute meditation called, “The Golden Thread” . There are different versions of this meditation. The one being referred to here is from the Swiss spiritual leader, Annette Kaiser , who “sees the 21st Century as a call for humanity to recognize itself as inseparably One, co-creating a new culture in collective wisdom and love of One Heart”. The project “The Golden Thread” has been initiated by a group of world citizens based in Austria, Germany an Switzerland, “bound by a deep love for the Earth”. This meditation “invites you to pause once a day for three minutes for ONE WORLD, our living space”. This is an excellent way to address any global imbalances while contributing towards a peaceful world for all. “It is our idea to practice the following meditation daily for one year as a voluntarily chosen contribution for ONE WORLD.” The Golden Thread Meditation: Look for a quiet place See in front of your inner eye the globe in all its beauty Now turn towards a geographic region that you feel drawn to or that is afflicted with hardship. Let yourself be guided by your heart in this Now pause for three minutes and connect in love and compassion with this region, letting the light of your heart flow there without wanting a specific outcome Let yourself be touched and filled with your meditation When we all apply this meditation as a peaceful force of love at Standing Rock, we can truly add to the process of restoring peace and healing there. We can support our water protectors, and Mother Earth. A helpful reminder to practice this meditation daily, is to wear a simple golden thread on your wrist or on another area of your body. Will you commit to this 3 minute daily meditation for up to a month, 3 months, or one year? Once the pipeline construction is stopped, it is still beneficial to send healing to the area that is Standing Rock. “Being many, we change the world.”– The Golden Thread Let’s come together as one people, on this day, and everyday thereafter, to give thanks to our native people, who have taught and given us so much. It is so much easier to look away from injustice. To turn a blind eye, so-to-say. For what we see, hear, and feel, truly does affect us. At the same time, where there is injustice, we must look, and we must find a way to help. Awareness is the first step. “I recognize that awareness is the first step in healing or changing. I become more aware with each passing day.” – Louise Hay Please join us in the “Golden Thread” meditation today, at your own time, and in your own way. Commit to this 3 minute meditation everyday thereafter, as a call to peace for Standing Rock, and for all. Also, please take part in the globally synchronized prayer for Standing Rock on Saturday, November 26th, at 3pm central standard time (9pm GMT). Here is a link with more information to the event. Let’s all unite in love, and be a powerful force of light that shines light into the darkest corners of our world. Let’s fall in love with ourselves, with our lovers, with our brothers and sisters, with our family, with our friends, with our neighbors, with animals, with plants, with the sky, with the Earth, with the moon, and with the stars again. Let’s love, and let’s dream the biggest and most beautiful dream of our new reality. Visualize it, feel it, live it. We create it. We are love. We are one. Happy day of Thanks and of Giving to all, and blessings and gratitude to our indigenous family at Standing Rock. Peace, love, support and gratitude to all. Thanksgiving Blessings! Ulonda Faye is a certified wellness practitioner, holistic esthetician, and Rejuv Miracles Practitioner. She holds a B.A. in Political Science and International Studies, and has taken part in Peace and Conflict Research in Germany. She offers online and in-person education in holistic skincare, self-love, beauty rituals, and life coaching.	0
BREAKING: Jury finds #OregonStandOff seven (including Bundy brothers) not guilty on all counts Posted at 7:30 pm on October 27, 2016 by Sam J. At the beginning of 2016, protesters went to the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge to in what would result in a 41-day occupation of the Federal property. Ten months later, a jury found seven of these protesters not guilty. Jury verdict: ALL DEFENDANTS FOUND NOT GUILTY. #OregonStandoff — Amanda Peacher (@amandapeacher) October 27, 2016 MORE: All Malheur defendants found NOT GUILTY of conspiracy. https://t.co/qikRMSirZD pic.twitter.com/xnfkPZP4Cz — KOIN News (@KOINNews) October 27, 2016 The defendants in question included: (L-R, top to bottom) Ryan Bundy, Ammon Bundy, Jeff Banta, Neil Wampler, Kenneth Medenbach, David Fry and Shawna Cox. (Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office) Trending OOF! Donna Brazile tries to 'go low' with Jason Chaffetz over Trump, falls flat on her face Charges dismissed included: On Federal conspiracy to impede charges all defendants NOT GUILTY. On possession of firearm on federal facilities NOT GUILTY. ALL defendants — Andrew Dymburt (@DymburtNews) October 27, 2016 Roughly 24 people were arrested for the occupation; seven more of the protesters will face trial in February of 2017.	0
Breitbart News National Security Editor Dr. Sebastian Gorka, author of the book Defeating Jihad: The Winnable War, was tasked by SiriusXM host Raheem Kassam on Tuesday’s Breitbart News Daily with choosing the “worst thing Obama is leaving this country, in terms of foreign policy. ”[“Oh, that’s easy,” Gorka replied. “It’s the empowering to nuclear threshold status of a nation that his own State Department says is a state sponsor of terrorism. The Iran nuclear deal is — of all the many, many catastrophic legacies, it’s the Iran deal. ” He judged that the empowerment of Iran was a worse Obama legacy than the rise of the Islamic State because “we can wipe ISIS off the face of the earth, if we’re serious, and if we really go to war. ” “I mean, think about it: they’ve got maybe, at best, at this point, 40, 000 fighters. We have twice that number of special operators alone in the United States,” he noted. “If we’re serious, we can destroy them, and then follow that up with a campaign. But dealing with an eschatologically informed theocratic republic that now has a crescent of influence from Yemen to Persia, which is on the cusp of nuclear capability, that’s even more dangerous. ” Gorka suggested a dissertation could be written on how the realignment of power in the Middle East became a “secret war,” largely unreported by U. S. media, because President Obama wanted to change American posture towards Iran and other regional powers. “Obama has a legacy for using more drones to kill people in the first six months of his administration than Bush ever did,” he said. “If you look at the fact that on one day, he has bombed six different nations — but nobody’s reporting about it. During the Bush administration, we had embedded journalists. You remember embed phenomena? That doesn’t exist any more. This is the complicity of the mainstream media, that they preach peace, they preach Nobel Prizes, but this is a truly administration when it comes to doing what they think is right around the world for ideological reasons. But nobody writes about it, except Breitbart. ” Gorka agreed with author Dinesh D’Souza’s contention that Obama was “the first President. ” “His guiding philosophy was very simple: America is bad. If there are problems in the world, from global warming to we are the cause. America is the new imperial force. As a result, we have to be taken down a peg or two — and my, did he take us down a peg or two,” he said. Gorka had no patience for Obama’s claim of a “ ” presidency. “Where to begin? Benghazi, the IRS, the Iran deal, the involvement of drone strikes against U. S. citizens without due process — on and on and on,” he said. “That is perhaps the most lie of any of the press reporting in the last eight years, that this was a administration. ” Kassam asked for Gorka’s take on how the Trump transition team is handling the Russian hacking story, in particular the assertion in the intelligence community’s public report that Russian President Vladimir Putin directly ordered an effort to influence the 2016 election via media manipulation. “I can’t talk to the transition, but if you listen to the statements that are being made, I think you’ll understand that the transition team understands better than most: this isn’t about ‘hacking.’ It’s hard to hack somebody whose password is ‘password,’” Gorka replied, making a jab at the notoriously lax security procedures of Hillary Clinton campaign chief John Podesta. “This is about influence operations and information warfare,” he continued. “The issue is that Russia, for very little investment, managed to question the probity of our elections, without there really being anything that’s occurred to the elections themselves. That’s the big story. This is old, Cold information operations at their worst. ” He said links to Russia could be seen in the penetration of the Democratic National Committee and Podesta’s email. “If you look at the code that was used, if you look at the various modus operandi, the report from DHS, FBI, the unclassified one is clear. But the important point is, it’s not a ‘hack.’ The election wasn’t undermined. It is the perception of the probity of the election, and that’s called active measures. That’s called dezinformatsiya,” Gorka said. Kassam noted the IC report has been criticized for offering conclusions about Russian involvement without providing any supporting information, much of which would still be classified — the very same criticism that was leveled retroactively, for years, with passion, against the intelligence reports on Iraq. “Why are we just sort of accepting this now?” he asked. “Look, the thing that has to be remembered — and this is the point I always try to make on any interviews — is that we have patriots and good people working inside the national security establishment,” Gorka responded. “For the majority of cases, that is absolutely true. But who runs them? Who is John Brennan? Who is General Clapper? These individuals are politically chosen. John Brennan has carried the water for Obama for eight years. That is important, and as a result, we have to reassess when one agency says something that the other agencies do not agree with. That’s the bottom line, Raheem. ” Kassam recalled that the last time unanimity was supposedly reached between the intelligence agencies, “it was Colin Powell sitting there claiming that everybody believed we had to go to war in Iraq. How’d that work out for us?” “Yes indeed — another political actor who I’m sure regrets waving a test tube at the United Nations Security Council. Indeed, the ‘ ’ dossier, Colin Powell’s behavior — these are all things we must remember,” Gorka urged. Breitbart News Daily airs on SiriusXM Patriot 125 weekdays from 6:00 a. m. to 9:00 a. m. Eastern. LISTEN:	1
Email Reddit users (also known as redditors) are growing increasingly angry at pro-Hillary Clinton political action committee (PAC) Correct The Record over its efforts to promote a pro-Hillary narrative on the site. Redditors are especially concerned that Correct The Record’s paid internet commenters are suppressing revelations from WikiLeaks’ release of Clinton campaign chair John Podesta’s emails, which have produced a flood of damaging revelations about the Clinton campaign. Reddit, which describes itself as “a source for what’s new and popular on the web” is divided into thousands of “subreddits,” which the site describes as “sub-communities, each focused on a specific topic.” Whether or not a post does well on Reddit (and, consequently, how large of an audience it reaches) largely depends on how many “upvotes” and “downvotes” it receives.	0
Drew Stratton November 5, 2016 Prep Blog Review: 13+ Essential Winter Survival Tips I hate to tell you but winter is almost here. I hope you have already started preparing for the bad weather as you have so many things to do around your home and not only. As The National Weather Service has declared the week of October 31 to November 5 as Winter Weather Preparedness Week , let’s take a look at these 5 useful articles on this topic I’ve gathered for you for this week’s Prep Blog Review. 13 Tips You Need to Get Your Family Ready for Winter “I have 13 tips you need to get your family ready for winter. It’s freezing outside! This picture was taken from my front door right here in Southern Utah a few years ago. We get ready for winter in different ways than up north, like Salt Lake City, Utah folks. They get a whole lot more snow than we get here. But we still have similar things we must all do to be ready for winter, no matter where we live. I must admit, I don’t miss the heavy slick snow storms up north. Whenever the TV weather reports tons of snow…I am so glad I moved away from it. Or at least the real heavy snow. We get a little here, but it melts very quickly. Last winter was not the normal winter where I live. We had so many neighbors with frozen pipes and ice on their north facing driveways. Yikes!” Read more on Food Storage Moms . How to Cope With Extreme Weather If You’re Stranded Outside “People find themselves caught outside in freezing weather for a variety of reasons – maybe you have broken down and the car isn’t safe to stay in for some reason, you may be hiking and an unexpected storm blows in, or even you can’t make it out of the weather because someone is injured and wouldn’t make it on their own so you have to stay with them. There are dozens of variations on the theme and the important thing is knowing what to do about it.” Read more on Underground Medic . What If Your Water Filter Freezes? “Do you have a portable water filter? Do you keep one in your vehicle, perhaps in a GHB (get-home-bag) or BOB (bug-out-bag) or simply in your 72-hour emergency kit? Do you bring a water filter with you when you hike? Does the weather freeze where you live? Have you ever wondered if your water filter might be damaged if it gets below freezing? Maybe you’ve not thought about it before, but you should…” Read more on Modern Survival Blog . How to Store Water During Winter “Water is the most important item to keep in your storage because it is essential to survival. However, this can become more difficult in the winter when temperatures drop below freezing. If your water freezes, you’ll need to use precious energy and heat to thaw it out for use again. But there are precautions you can take to keep your water storage from freezing in the winter.” Read more on Peak Prosperity . 10+ Must Have Winter Preps “ReadyNutrition Guys and Gals, “Old Man Winter” is starting to rear his ugly head. Yeah, so what? So there is a difference this year on three fronts. The first has to do with the weather itself, and the second is the situation in the U.S. and the world. Throughout history winter has been (at times) so severe as to cause large numbers of deaths and great hardships. Throughout history warfare has been conducted during the winter months after the harvest has been taken in. Between you and I, the harvest is being taken in, and the whole world has been on the brink of war for quite some time. The third front: in the U.S., with the election.” Read more on Ready Nutrition . This article has been written by Drew Stratton for Survivopedia. 19 total views, 18 views today	0
Julian Assange unequivocally denies any involvement from the Russian government in Wikileaks’ release of now almost 45,000 hacked emails from Clinton Campaign staff in a recent interview that will be broadcast on RT . “I actually feel quite sorry for Hillary Clinton as a person,” said Assange. He went on to explain that Hillary Clinton has been making “neo-McCarthyist” accusations about the Russian government involvement in the email hack without any evidence: The Clinton camp has been able to project a neo-McCarthyist hysteria that Russia is responsible for everything. Hillary Clinton has stated multiple times, falsely, that 17 US intelligence agencies had assessed that Russia was the source of our publications. That’s false – we can say that the Russian government is not the source. Hillary Clinton is just one person. I actually feel quite sorry for Hillary Clinton as a person, because I see someone who is eaten alive by their ambitions, tormented literally to the point where they become sick – for example faint – as a result of going on, and going with their ambitions. But she represents a whole network of people, and a whole network of relationships with particular states. Delivered by The Daily Sheeple We encourage you to share and republish our reports, analyses, breaking news and videos ( Click for details ). Contributed by Ryan Banister of The Daily Sheeple .	0
Comments A man who was believed to be on ecstasy has reportedly had a five hour chat with a hand after a girl he was trying to chat up told him to “talk to the hand ‘cause the face ain’t listening”. Simon Webber, a twenty six year old used car salesman from Worcester, England, claims to have had a “really good chat” with “the hand” and hopes they can “grab a coffee” some time in the future. “The hand was totally peng mate,” claimed Mr Webber during a catch up with Wunderground earlier today. “The girl who owned the hand was well fit so I tried to talk to her but she actually turned out to be a bit of a dick and told me to talk to her hand. I’m really glad now because I instantly hit it off with the hand.” “I’ve not connected with anything like that since the time I took acid while I was camping in the Lake District and met a goat named Boris in the forest,” continued Mr Webber. “Sometimes I feel like I’ve got more in common with things than people, it’s like I can’t have a good conversation with something unless they’re not able to answer me back.” “Me and the hand talked about all kinds of stuff,” revealed a reminiscent Mr Webber. “Brexit, the U.S. elections, diseases that have been eradicated, the potential dangers of genetically modifying food, chemtrail and all sorts of other really interesting things. She’s a great listener, I didn’t get her number but I’m sure I’ll see her around. Hopefully we can hang out again, I don’t want to be getting ahead of myself but I think she could be the one.” According to Stacey Poole, the owner of the hand, she had her Saturday night ruined by “some little creature” who was following her around the club all night. “I was just trying to have a good night but that little cretin wouldn’t leave me alone,” complained Stacey. “He tried to talk to me but he was off his nut so I gave him the old ‘talk to the hand’ line and put my hand in his face. The daft twat took it literally and started talking to my hand, at first it was kind of funny but I couldn’t get rid of him, he was following me everywhere, eventually I just had to leave. He ruined my night.”	0
at 12:46 pm Leave a comment We are not here to gain power, we are here to distribute power. – Ásta Guthrún Helgadóttir Pirate member of Iceland’s Parliament While there are all sorts of populist political movements gaining traction across the West, the only one I find genuinely revolutionary and distinctly interesting and productive is Iceland’s Pirate Party. I’ve covered the upstart party in the past, most recently earlier this year in the post, “The Pirates Are Coming” – Iceland’s Pirate Party Polls at 43% Following the PM’s Resignation . Now, with the Icelandic election just days away (October 29th), the party is back in the news due to an expected strong performance. The Washington Post explains: REYKJAVIK, ICELAND — The party that could be on the cusp of winning Iceland’s national elections on Saturday didn’t exist four years ago. Its members are a collection of anarchists, hackers, libertarians and Web geeks. It sets policy through online polls — and thinks the government should do the same. It wants to make Iceland “a Switzerland of bits,” free of digital snooping. It has offered Edward Snowden a new place to call home. And then there’s the name: In this land of Vikings, the Pirate Party may soon be king. To Jónsdóttir and other Pirate true believers — who define their party as neither left nor right, but a radical movement that combines the best of both — the election here could also be the start of the reboot that Western democracy so desperately needs. “People want real changes and they understand that we have to change the systems, we have to modernize how we make laws,” said Jónsdóttir, whose jet-black hair and matching nail polish cut a distinctive profile in a country where politics has long been dominated by paunchy blond men. The sticker affixed to the back of her chrome-finish laptop stands out, too: an imitation seal of the U.S. government, the familiar arrow-bearing eagle encircled by the words “National Security Agency Monitored Device.” At the Pirates’ tech-start-up-esque office in an industrial area of Reykjavik’s seafront, a Guy Fawkes mask hangs from the wall and a skull-and-crossbones flag peeks out from a ceramic vase. The Pirates have spelled out their positions on issues from fishing quotas to online pornography to Snowden. (Party leaders offered him Icelandic citizenship if he can find a way to get here.) But on some of the biggest questions facing the country, the official party position is to punt to the voters. To party devotees, that’s fine. The Pirates, they say, are less about any specific ideology than they are about a belief that the West’s creaking political systems can be hacked to give citizens a greater say in their democracy. “We are not here to gain power,” said Ásta Guthrún Helgadóttir, a 26-year-old Pirate member of Parliament. “We are here to distribute power.” Like everything else, the Pirate Party cannot be seen in a vacuum. A total implosion of the Icelandic economy was necessary to clear the path. As The Nation notes: Iceland’s political status quo—a Nordic-style parliamentary democracy, dominated for decades by pro-NATO conservatives—was shattered when the country went bust in the 2008 financial crisis, pitching Iceland into its deepest crisis since full independence and the republic were declared in 1944. This year, Iceland was rocked again when the Panama Papers leak exposed corruption among top politicos, including the prime minister, who resigned under fire. “People here are angry and frustrated,” says Karl Blöndal, deputy editor of the center-right Morgunbladid. “In the minds of many voters, the Pirates are the only untainted party, and with them Birgitta carries authority. She’s been the face of the opposition since the crash.” Iceland’s Pirates, though they currently hold only three spots in the 64-seat parliament, are among the highest-profile of Europe’s Pirate parties. The anarchic hacker-led movement, global in scope, focuses on privacy rights and freedom of expression in the digital age. Born a decade ago in Sweden, and since turbo-charged by WikiLeaks’ and Edward Snowden’s disclosures about NSA surveillance, the Pirates have dozens of chapters worldwide, from Australia to Canada, and a headquarters in Geneva. Iceland’s Pirates were the first in the world voted into a national legislature. Indeed, Jónsdóttir and Iceland’s Pirates see themselves as part of something greater than the direct-democracy uprising they’re leading in the chill North Atlantic. They understand Iceland as the “test grounds for radical progressive changes,” and they stand for an international legalization of WikiLeaks, asylum for Edward Snowden, and legalizing drugs across Europe. They say they’ll turn diminutive Iceland (a country so small its citizens are listed in the phone book by first names) into an international digital safe haven where data, such as whistle-blower revelations, can be securely transmitted and stored. In contrast to Europe and the United States, however, Iceland refused to rescue the banks with taxpayer money; instead, the failed banks were renationalized. Iceland chose instead to protect its citizens, first by imposing capital controls so that money couldn’t leave the country and, second, by expanding the social safety net. “Iceland did the right thing…creditors, not the taxpayers, shouldered the losses of banks,” said economist and Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz in 2011. The bankers were eventually sent to jail: 26 financiers received sentences totaling 74 years. The possibilities are endless once you start jailing bankers. For related articles, see:	0
Speaking at a security forum in Slovakia on Sunday, a member of the Russian parliament suggested his country’s military would resort to nuclear weapons to repel a U. S. or NATO incursion into Crimea or eastern Ukraine. [“On the issue of NATO expansion on our borders, at some point I heard from the Russian military — and I think they are right — if U. S. forces, NATO forces, are, were, in the Crimea, in eastern Ukraine, Russia is undefendable militarily in case of conflict without using nuclear weapons in the early stage of the conflict,” said parliamentarian Vyacheslav Alekseyevich Nikonov, as quoted by Defense One. He added that Russian military leaders have “discussed Moscow’s willingness to use nuclear weapons” with their counterparts in NATO, during the course of “broader and increasingly contentious conversations about the alliance’s expansion. ” Russia supports, and chronically denies supporting, separatist insurgents in eastern Ukraine. Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine outright in 2014. Patrick Tucker of Defense One notes these comments are in line with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s doctrine of allowing the limited use of nuclear weapons against “ aggression utilizing conventional weapons in situations critical to the national security of the Russian Federation. ” That is not mere rhetoric. Newsweek points out that it is actually written down in the official Military Doctrine of Russia. Analysts disagree over what the Russians would actually regard as a crisis serious enough to justify a nuclear first strike, how much their doctrine has truly changed since the Soviet era, and how much it differs in practice from the posture of other nuclear nations, including the United States. Nikonov would certainly be making news by revealing that mere deployment of NATO forces to eastern Ukraine would prompt nuclear retaliation. Nikonov cited the size and power of the NATO alliance, which he described as accounting for “ of the global defense money,” as justification for Russian paranoia about Western encroachments. Conversely, Baltic states look at Russia’s actions in Ukraine and wonder when they might expect a visit from the mysterious unidentified troops that presaged the annexation of Crimea, widely known as Putin’s “little green men. ” The Russians, of course, view the military buildup by those nervous nations as provocative, rather than a response to Russian provocation. Newsweek notes that Nikonov also complained about the strained relationship between Russia and the United States, which he blamed in part on the career destruction of American officials who reach out to Russia with too much enthusiasm.	1
DeVry University, a school that offers courses online and at dozens of locations nationwide, has agreed to a $100 million settlement of a federal lawsuit alleging that it falsely advertised the success of its graduates, the Federal Trade Commission announced on Thursday. Under the settlement, DeVry and its parent company, DeVry Education Group, agreed to about $51 million in debt relief and an additional $49 million in cash to be paid to students harmed by the ads. Tens of thousands of students stand to benefit from the agreement, according to the F. T. C. “When people are making important decisions about their education and their future, they should not be misled by deceptive employment and earnings claims,” the commission’s chairwoman, Edith Ramirez, said in a statement. Under the terms of the agreement, DeVry neither admitted nor denied the allegations, though it rejected them in a previous filing. The settlement stems from a January lawsuit alleging that DeVry falsely claimed that 90 percent of students seeking jobs in their field of study found them within six months of graduating. The trade commission also accused the school of falsely stating that graduates with bachelor’s degrees from DeVry earned 15 percent more, on average, than those who attended other colleges and universities. The debt relief includes about $30 million to cover the balance owed on all private student loans DeVry issued to undergraduates over the course of seven years, from September 2008 to September 2015. It also includes about $20 million to forgive debt related to tuition, books and lab fees. Both the refunds, which the F. T. C. plans to begin sending next year, and the debt relief will be automatically processed. The commission said that it would identify students who qualify for the refunds, and that the school would notify them. DeVry will inform credit bureaus and collection agencies of the debt relief. The settlement also includes provisions designed to prevent the school from misleading consumers in the future.	1
Country: Egypt On November 11, Egypt’s Minister of Finances Amr El-Garhy reported that the Arab Republic of Egypt (ARE) is to obtain a loan worth $12 billion from the International Monetary Fund. Egypt, which is facing a severe economic crisis, desperately needs this money. 40% of over 80 million citizens of the country are on the poverty line, while 51.2% of the youth are unemployed. In November 2016, this unfortunate situation further deteriorated. Due to financial problems, the budget deficit, and the tough terms set by the IMF for granting loans, Egypt’s President Abdel el-Sisi had to liberalize the Egyptian pound (the currency rate dropped to 18 pounds per dollar from the previous 12 pounds) and increase prices for petrol, diesel fuel, and fuel oil sharply at differing rates. It is quite a risky step to make on the eve of the cold season, especially when the country imports a lot of energy sources and food products. This measure is desperate and driven by several circumstances. Let us start with the fact that the economic situation deteriorated because of the terror unleashed by the Muslim Brotherhood after the overthrow of their leader M. Morsi in summer 2013, which led to a sharp reduction in revenues from the tourist industry and an outflow of investment – the most important sources of the country’s wealth. But this is not the sole reason. The sharp deterioration of the situation was partially caused by the suspension of the deliveries of 700 thousand tons of diesel fuel, petrol, and fuel oil to Egypt by Saudi Arabia under preferential terms (a loan at 2% per annum with a 3 years grace period) since late September. As it is well known, these agreements, as well as Saudi Arabia’s promise to provide Egypt with large-scale aid worth 24 billion dollars in order to support the Egyptian pound rate, were reached during King Salman’s visit to Cairo in April. At that time, this visit was called a historic. Riyadh, which is also experiencing economic difficulties due to an almost three-fold drop in oil prices since the end of 2014, agreed to undertake these expenses for a variety of reasons. The major reason is that the Saudi monarchy considers Egypt the main counteraction tool to Iranian influence in all its forms. The overthrow of the Muslim Brotherhood regime was supported by Riyadh due to fears that M. Morsi would develop relations with Tehran, which is considered Riyadh’s main geopolitical, economic, ideological, and military enemy. By paying a huge sum of money to Cairo, the Saudi monarchy wanted to secure certain things in return. First of all, the Tiran and Sanafir Islands, which have a strategic position in the Red Sea close to the Gulf of Aqaba. Control over them means control over all ships entering and departing from the ports of Israel and Jordan, as well as over the flow of oil tankers (including those from Iran) passing through the Suez Canal. Another important objective was to encourage Egypt to side with Saudi Arabia in Yemen, where Riyadh has been conducting a tough and no-win military campaign since March 2015. The Egyptian Air Forces have in fact joined this campaign but they have only managed to secure an air-exclusion zone in Yemen so far. Ultimately, by using Cairo’s economic problems, the Saudis intended to subordinate Egypt to its own end and force it to abandon its claims to leadership in the Arab world and pass its role to Riyadh. The past six months have demonstrated that the Saudis are dissatisfied with the behaviour of the Egyptian leadership, which has taken money but has not met the expectations. As it turned out, the Egyptians are not going to transfer these islands in the Red Sea to its “legal owner”. While the official media state that Tiran and Sanafir have always belonged to Saudi Arabia and they were leased to Egypt in 1950, lawyers and public leaders in Egypt have other versions: the Maritime Border Accord signed between Egypt and the Ottoman Empire in 1906 acknowledges Egypt’s sovereignty over these islands. As a result, the case of transferring the islands is dragging on in the courts. Egypt’s Administrative Court under the ARE State Council upheld the previous court decision that invalidated the agreement signed in April regarding the transfer of the islands to Saudi Arabia, and the appeal of the government was dismissed. However, the State Affairs Committee disputed these decisions, and the Court of Urgent Matters suspended the judgement of the Administrative Court in September. Even if the government manages to change the situation within the legal framework, public opinion within Egypt strongly opposes the transfer of the islands and A. el-Sisi has to take this fact into account. In addition, Egypt has not changed its position in respect of the Yemeni crisis and, apparently, has not increased its contribution to the Yemeni military campaign. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia does not want its soldiers to fight on the territory of Yemen. Cairo is not following the weird twists of Saudi diplomacy in Libya as well. Since June 2016, Chief of the Libyan Armed Forces, General, and now Marshal, Khalifa Haftar has ceased to please Riyadh while Cairo is actively using him to create a buffer zone between its border and members of the Muslim Brotherhood, ISIS, al-Qaeda, and other terrorist groups from all over the world who have occupied Western Libya (historical Tripolitania). However, the straw that broke the camel’s back for the Saudi royal family was Egypt’s voting for the draft Russian resolution on Syria in the UN Security Council in October (Cairo is a non-permanent member) and the demonstrative rapprochement of Cairo with Moscow: it led joint military training with the Russian party that were “not authorised” by Riyadh, made the decision to acquire Russian KA-52 helicopters for the Mistral helicopter carriers originally built for Russia but later obtained by the Egyptians using Saudi funds (as rumour has it in the two capitals). Moreover, Cairo refused to condemn the actions of the Russian Aerospace Forces in Aleppo as demanded by Saudi Arabia. However, the sanctions against Egypt introduced by the Saudis have had a directly contrary effect on Cairo. The pound rate may have dropped and the economic situation may have deteriorated but Egypt has not abandoned its independent foreign policies. Rather on the contrary. Marshal Khalifa Haftar has solved a part of the fuel problems as he has been in control of the major oil fields in Libya since summer. The rest of the problems can be resolved by deliveries from other states, including Riyadh’s enemy Iran or even Azerbaijan (a Memorandum of Understanding has been signed with Azerbaijan’s SOCAR Company). It is no coincidence that on November 6, rumours appeared about an upcoming visit of Egypt’s Petroleum Minister Tarek El Molla to Iran. They have not been confirmed yet, but there is no smoke without fire…the Egyptian leadership is definitely indicating that an alternative to rapprochement with the KSA exists… The breach between the two countries has not yet opened, the search for common ground and compromise is in progress, which is evidenced by the active mediating role played by the UAE that provides strong support to the Egyptian leadership. But it is already clear that D. Trump victory in the elections will give el-Sisi confidence in his goal of restoring the historical role of the Arab world’s leader, and Riyadh should have no illusions about this. Pogos Anastasov, Political Scientist and Orientalist, exclusively for the online magazine “ New Eastern Outlook. ”	0
by Yves Smith Yves here. This article is a sad vignette of how severely central bankers and many economic commentators, in this case one at Westpac, are locked into destructive orthodox thinking. The ECB’s unconventional monetary policy experiment has been an abject failure. And the reason should be obvious: businesses don’t borrow to expand just because money has gone on sale. They borrow to expand if they see an opportunity and if the cost of funding does not constrain the growth plan. The parties most likely to borrow just because money is cheap are the last ones you want to do that: financial speculators, since the cost of money is one of their biggest costs and zombie businesses, since they will borrow if they can to keep an otherwise failed venture going. Notice also that Westpac, presumably following the ECB, views more consumer demand for credit as a good thing. Since more and more economic studies have found that borrowing by households is economically unproductive beyond a modest level, policymakers need to get over the wrongheaded idea that they should promote growth in consumer credit. It is also bizarre to see what central bankers have rationalized or ignored in order to persist in increasingly counterproductive monetary experiments. For instance, super low interest rates drain demand by reducing incomes of savers and retirees. Yet the monetary authorities told themselves that pensioners would choose to spend their capital to maintain their lifestyles. That’s not what has happened. They’ve cut spending and even tried increasing saving to make up for lost returns. For the most part, the ones who have eaten into their nest eggs had no choice. Similarly, super low interest rates signal a lack of official confidence about the economy, and unprecedented monetary experiments are very disconcerting to many businessmen. If the officialdom is signaling deflationary risk, the rational response is to save, since goods and services will be cheaper later. By David Llewellyn-Smith, founding publisher and former editor-in-chief of The Diplomat magazine, now the Asia Pacific’s leading geo-politics website. Originally posted at MacroBusiness From Westpac’s Elliot Clarke A key purpose behind the ECB’s alternative easing programs has been to materially improve credit provision and conditions in the Euro Area economy. Exhibiting a lagged relationship with the business cycle and further hampered by the health of European banks, success on this front has been slow and limited. As referenced in their most recent policy statement, “loan dynamics followed the path of gradual recovery observed since the beginning of 2014”. However, that has only left annual growth in loans to non-financial corporates and households at 1.9%yr and 1.8%yr respectively at September 2016. These are hardly strong outcomes and, of late, there has been a clear lack of momentum, meaning further material gains are unlikely for the forseeable future. Indeed, from the detail of the ECB’s own bank lending survey, there is evidence to suggest credit growth is set to slow. Starting with non-financial corporates, the ECB survey reports that there is a clear downtrend in current credit demand, with the net per cent of respondents reporting increased demand for credit from firms having peaked in the first quarter of 2016 and consistently declined ever since. Expectations of future growth in non-financial corporate loan demand is also in a clear downtrend. Importantly, the peak in the expected series came in mid-2015 (six months ahead of the actual series’ peak) and has endured. It should be noted though that the expected series peaked at a high level and is still consistent with positive credit growth – so we are not anticipating an outright contraction in new lending. The purpose for new loans for corporates also remains unhelpful to the growth outlook for the real economy. Having improved from mid-2015 to early 2016, the six months to October saw demand for credit to fund fixed asset investment abate. Ergo, after a prolonged contraction to mid-2015, it seems a recovery in real investment has failed to launch. This is partly attributable to a lack of confidence in the outlook. But it has also come as a result of loan conditions for firms remaining tight. The ECB’s survey suggests conditions have only improved incrementally since mid-2014. The above results imply only limited support to job creation and therefore to household incomes. It is unsurprising then that growth in credit to households also looks to be peaking at a fairly modest pace relative to history. As for non-financial corporates, households in the Euro Area are clearly benefitting from lower interest rates. Yet the overall credit conditions they are currently experiencing are little changed from a year ago, or indeed late-2013. Note that since end-2013, the average percentage of banks reporting an easing in standards for mortgages and consumer credit has been 2% and 3% respectively. In the three years prior, an average of 14% and 6% of respondents reported tighter conditions each quarter. The above analysis does not, of itself, justify the ECB continuing its asset purchases well beyond March 2017 – there are many market and political points that also need to be considered. But it does suggest that credit provision in the Euro Area is not yet self sustaining. Without the ECB’s support, the Euro Area’s economy; banks; and financial markets will be left in a fragile state, susceptible to any and all economic or financial shocks. Add the political strife building across the Continent that is threatening further eurozone fracturing with the Italian referendum in December, Netherlands election in March, French election April-May, German election in September then Italy six months later and there is no way that the ECB can allow economic weakness and/or peripheral funding stress to creep back in. It is going to print until the cows come home. 0 0 0 0 0 0	0
CHARLESTON, S. C. — Seeming to abdicate one of his last chances to save his own life, the convicted killer Dylann S. Roof stood on Wednesday before the jurors who will decide his fate and offered no apology, no explanation and no remorse for massacring nine black churchgoers during a Bible study session in June 2015. Instead, in a strikingly brief opening statement in the sentencing phase of his federal death penalty trial, Mr. Roof repeatedly assured the jury that he was not mentally ill — undercutting one of the few mitigating factors that could work in his favor — and left it at that. “Other than the fact that I trust people that I shouldn’t and the fact that I’m probably better at constantly embarrassing myself than anyone who’s ever existed, there’s nothing wrong with me psychologically,” Mr. Roof, who is representing himself, told the jury, which found him guilty last month of the killings at Charleston’s Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church. Three minutes after walking to the lectern, Mr. Roof returned to the defense table, exhaling deeply. Any prospects for mercy by the jury had perhaps already been drained by the prosecution’s disclosure, in its opening statement, of a white supremacist manifesto written by Mr. Roof in the Charleston County jail sometime in the six weeks after his arrest. “I would like to make it crystal clear I do not regret what I did,” he wrote in his distinctive scrawl. “I am not sorry. I have not shed a tear for the innocent people I killed. ” Mr. Roof, who was then 21, continued: “I do feel sorry for the innocent white children forced to live in this sick country and I do feel sorry for the innocent white people that are killed daily at the hands of the lower race. I have shed a tear of for myself. I feel pity that I had to do what I did in the first place. I feel pity that I had to give up my life because of a situation that should never have existed. ” As the government laid out its case for a death sentence, the prosecutor who read from the journal, Nathan S. Williams, an assistant United States attorney, told the jury of 10 women and two men that Mr. Roof’s deadly rampage was a premeditated act that had devastated the families of his victims. “The defendant didn’t stop after shooting one person or two or four or five he killed nine people,” Mr. Williams said, a few moments before he declared, “The death penalty is justified. ” Later, aided by a slide show, he described each of the victims and their lives, setting the stage for several days of testimony by family members and friends of the victims. Mr. Williams emphasized that Mr. Roof was capable of remorse and regret, reminding jurors that he had left his mother a note of apology, but only for the pain he knew his actions would cause his own family. The presentations were a startling beginning to the trial’s sentencing phase, which is expected to run into next week in Federal District Court. On Dec. 15, after six days of testimony in which defense lawyers did not contest his guilt, the jury found Mr. Roof guilty of 33 counts, including hate crimes, obstruction of religion resulting in death, and firearms charges. Eighteen of those counts require the jury to decide whether to sentence Mr. Roof, now 22, to death or life in prison without the possibility of parole. To impose a death sentence, jurors must unanimously find that aggravating factors like premeditation and the number and vulnerability of the victims outweigh any mitigating factors, like the absence of prior violent behavior and demonstrations of redemption and remorse. Mr. Roof is also facing a death penalty trial in state court. Although many people in the courtroom had already heard Mr. Roof’s flat, monotone during the guilt phase, when prosecutors played a video recording of his confession to F. B. I. agents, his statement on Wednesday was his first to the jury. Mr. Roof chose to allow his legal team to represent him during the guilt phase, but sidelined them during the penalty proceedings to prevent them from introducing any evidence regarding his family background or mental capacity. “The point is that I’m not going to lie to you, not by myself or through somebody else,” Mr. Roof told the jury. As his paternal grandparents watched from the second row on the left side of the courtroom, several women on the right side, which is reserved for victims’ family members, left their seats, one of them muttering curses. Mr. Roof has said he does not plan to call witnesses or present evidence on his behalf, and he did not any of the prosecution’s witnesses on Wednesday. His approach stands in sharp contrast to the strategy of Justice Department lawyers, who have said they may call more than 30 witnesses, including at least one survivor of the attack, family members of the victims and federal law enforcement officials. Prosecutors began Wednesday with the widow of the Rev. Clementa C. Pinckney, the church’s slain pastor, and his two best friends. Jennifer Benjamin Pinckney, who was married to Mr. Pinckney for 15 years, narrated an affectionate and often lighthearted telling of their life together, illustrated by dozens of photographs of her husband — as a young saxophone player in a school band, attending the births of their two daughters, vacationing on Caribbean cruises and on a trip to Seattle. She described him as a preacher who extended his ministry as “a voice for the voiceless” to his work in the South Carolina Legislature, where he served first in the House and then the Senate. Often exhausted by his dual roles, he was depicted in several pictures as having fallen asleep in the back seat of the family car and on a couch while reading to his daughters. “He was the person that I think every mom would be happy that her daughter would marry,” Ms. Pinckney, a school librarian, said. “He was that great catch. ” Ms. Pinckney also described her terror on the night of June 17, 2015, as she and the couple’s younger daughter, Malana, then 6, listened to the gunfire from their hiding place beneath a desk in her husband’s study. As her husband and the others were gunned down in the adjacent church fellowship hall, Ms. Pinckney struggled to keep her daughter quiet and still. “I was just like, ‘Shh, shh, shh,’ ” Ms. Pinckney said, “and I put my hand over her mouth, and she was holding on to me, and she put her hand on my mouth. ” “Mama, is Daddy going to die?” her daughter asked, Ms. Pinckney said. She said the hardest thing she had ever done was telling her two daughters early the next morning that their father had been killed. Ms. Pinckney said she had heard Mr. Roof try to open the door to the study, which she had locked when the shooting began. Another assistant United States attorney, Julius N. Richardson, asked why she thought she had been spared. “It wasn’t my time,” Ms. Pinckney answered. “I couldn’t see God taking both parents away from two small kids. ” The Rev. Kylon Middleton, an A. M. E. minister who had known Mr. Pinckney from childhood, described his lifelong friend as immensely precocious (he began preaching at 13) and strategically ambitious (he aspired to be both a bishop and, perhaps, the state’s first governor). In addition to Mr. Pinckney, the victims were the Rev. DePayne Middleton Doctor, 49 Cynthia Hurd, 54 Susie Jackson, 87 Ethel Lee Lance, 70 Tywanza Sanders, 26 the Rev. Daniel Lee Simmons Sr. 74 the Rev. Sharonda 45 and Myra Thompson, 59. Near the end of the day, Ms. Thompson’s widower, the Rev. Anthony B. Thompson, the vicar of a Reformed Episcopal Church here, told jurors about their marriage, their anniversary date to a beach, his wife’s determined demeanor and her commitment to the historic congregation. In testimony that was mixed with laughter and tears, Mr. Thompson recounted their final day together as she prepared for the evening study of the Gospel of Mark. “She had her glow,” he said. “I mean, this smile on her face. She was radiant. I just kept looking at her. ” Word of a shooting came hours later, and Mr. Thompson rushed to the church. He demanded to know whether she had been injured or killed. He eventually found out. “My whole world was gone,” he said. “I literally did not know what to do. Everything I did was for her, and she was gone. What am I here for? If she’s gone, what am I here for?”	1
DALORI, Nigeria — Zara and her little brother thought they were finally safe. After being held captive by Boko Haram for months, they made it to this government camp for thousands of civilians who have fled the militants’ cruelty. But instead of a welcome, residents gathered around, badgering them with questions and glares. They beat her brother, convinced that anyone who has spent time among the militants, even a young kidnapping victim, could have become a sympathizer, possibly even a suicide bomber. Zara, in fact, was hiding a dangerous secret strapped to her back: her baby. The child’s father was a Boko Haram fighter who had raped her, but Zara knew the crowd would still doubt her loyalties. So she quickly spun a tale that the militants had killed her husband, leaving her a young, widowed mother. “If they knew my baby was from an insurgent, they wouldn’t allow us to stay,” said Zara, whose full name was not used, to protect her safety. “They’ll never forget who her father is, just like a leopard never forgets its spots. ” In northeastern Nigeria, the years of suffering under Boko Haram have upended the lives of hundreds of thousands of people, stealing something — or everything — from countless families. Now, a deep suspicion is raging against anyone who has lived alongside the group — even girls who were held hostage, repeatedly raped and left to raise infants fathered by their tormentors. Much of the anger stems from fear. Boko Haram has used dozens of women and girls — many not even in their teens — as suicide bombers in recent months, killing hundreds of people in attacks on places like markets and schools. Girls have even been sent to blow themselves up in a camp like this one. Nigeria’s military has made major progress against the militants. Soldiers have been taking back areas that were under Boko Haram control, and the military’s victories have lifted the spirits of Nigerians who are daring to talk about a Haram life. Hopes were raised further this week when one of the more than 200 girls kidnapped from their boarding school in the town of Chibok two years ago was found alive, wandering the forest. But the discovery also reinforced the lingering trauma facing former hostages: She was carrying an infant, accompanied by a man who claimed to be her husband and an escaped captive himself. The military said the man was actually a suspected Boko Haram fighter. As thousands of freed captives pour into the camps, a rift has developed between two classes of victims: the people who managed to evade the group’s clutches, and those who did not. “I will never trust them,” said Adamu Isa, a market vendor, referring to anyone who had been held by Boko Haram. “The government should detain them for the rest of their lives. ” Even the missing schoolgirls, whose abduction helped rally the country against Boko Haram and focus international attention on the plight of Nigeria’s victims, are not immune to the suspicion. At a recent meeting with camp dwellers, aid workers said that one man even insisted that the parents of the missing schoolgirls reject their own daughters if they turn up. “We’ve discovered some extreme views,” said Mohammed Ngubdo Hassan, executive director of the Herwa Community Development Initiative in Maiduguri. Millions of people across West Africa have been uprooted by Boko Haram and the sometimes ruthless military campaign against the group through the years. But most of the displaced managed to flee their homes before militants swarmed and subjected them to Boko Haram’s harsh interpretation of Islamic rule. Typically, when Boko Haram fighters overtake a village, they kill many of the young men and boys who refuse to join their ranks. Women are often forced to cook for the fighters or are even trained to become suicide bombers. Some women and girls, like Zara, are forced into what the group calls “marriages. ” As in many conflicts in which rape becomes a weapon of war, the hostages sometimes bear the children of the fighters. These victims now face intense stigma, and in some cases brutal beatings, when they return to their communities, according to humanitarian groups. A recent Unicef report documented the distrust, quoting a community leader who called the babies fathered by fighters “hyenas among dogs. ” “Some people will not accept a child of their enemy,” said Abba Aji Kalli, a state coordinator for the Civilian Joint Task Force, a volunteer group that fights Boko Haram. At one of the camps, Hazida Ali seethed at the mention of anyone who had become a Boko Haram “wife,” as the women forced into marriages are often called. “All those women who lived with Boko Haram are also Boko Haram soldiers,” Ms. Ali said. “The military should not make the mistake of releasing them. If they can’t execute them, they should figure out what to do with them. ” “They should not be allowed to live alongside those who suffered,” Ms. Ali added. The targets of such loathing include Rukkaiya, 13, whose round belly bulged through her dress in a camp here. She had been kidnapped while visiting her sister in a neighboring village. A fighter took her for his wife. “I was so scared, but there was nothing I could do,” Rukkaiya said. “I kept praying to God to rescue me. ” She said she had no idea why she had stopped menstruating until after the military freed the village and she was able to ask a friend what might be wrong. Rukkaiya was devastated when she learned that she was pregnant with a fighter’s baby. Her first thought was abortion. But after some reflection, she decided to keep the child. “God gave me this baby right now,” she said. “We’re facing this war. What good would it do to take another life?” Hafsat Ibrahim was happily married with a daughter when Boko Haram invaded her village. Militants killed her husband, taking her and her daughter, Amira, into the forest. Ms. Ibrahim was forced to marry a fighter. He was strong, she said, and raped her often. Yet he was good to Amira, she said, playing with her toes until she giggled. “I didn’t like him,” she said. “He told me to have his baby, then I’ll forget about my other husband. ” After Ms. Ibrahim gave birth to the child, it became clear that the military was on its way. The fighter begged her to flee with him, but she wanted a chance at freedom and insisted on staying with the infant girl. Before Ms. Ibrahim could protest, he grabbed Amira and ran away. The lineage of Ms. Ibrahim’s baby, a girl with pierced ears, is an open secret in the camp. Some people whisper about Ms. Ibrahim and are uncomfortable when she is nearby. “Sometimes they look at me in that way, but it’s not the baby’s fault,” she said, describing the girl as a blessing from God. “If I didn’t have her, I’d have no children at all. ” When Boko Haram took over Zara’s village, she was 17. A fighter demanded that her parents turn her over to be married. Zara’s mother objected, but her father relented, fearing that they would all be killed. The fighter took Zara to a home he had claimed in the village, a small shed where she became pregnant. “His dream was for me to have a baby boy,” she said. “I didn’t want to have an insurgent’s baby. ” Before she gave birth, he died in a battle with the Nigerian military, she said. Another fighter decided to marry her, moving her to a home with two other girls he had taken. He rotated among them, raping one each night. Zara’s new husband did not want children, she said he wanted martyrdom for himself and his wives. “He wanted us to become suicide bombers,” Zara said. “He told us it wouldn’t be painful — just like if an ant bites you. It wouldn’t be a big deal, because we’d have a better life in heaven. ” Zara resisted. To buy herself time, she told him to wait until the baby was a couple of months older. Before long, the military arrived, freeing the hostages. Zara said she loved her daughter. Even so, the girl resembles her father. It’s an image Zara can’t shake.	1
Management at the World Technology Institute for Women reportedly reversed its decision to temporarily allow its female students to wear pants on condition that the girls donate two Saudi Riyals ($0. 50) to a charity that helps young girls in need. [According to local reports, 300 students donated a total of some 600 Riyals through the institute. Saudi Arabia’s educational and governmental institutions forbid female students and employees to wear pants. Management at the institute reversed their decision, however, seemingly due to outside pressure from religious figures in the kingdom. A notification sent to students stated that the decision was being cancelled and that students would have to return to uniform attire. The management stressed that the attire must include a long and wide skirt with a shirt and long sleeves. The students were also invited to contact student services within 20 days to ask for their donations back. The original decision and its reversal sparked debate on social media, with one Twitter user, Abou Ahmad, writing, “Why is there a price here for values, and a very cheap price of two Riyals. And I innocently thought that values couldn’t be bought and sold! !!” @Akhbaar24 ليش عندنا المبادئ لها ثمن، وثمن رخيص ”ريالين” كنت اضن ان المبادئ لا تباع ولا تشترى! !! — ابوأحمد (@aboahmad7777777) May 26, 2017, Faesal wrote on Twitter, “Improper conduct by the institute’s management. The institute’s management should be punished. It’s required to dress conservatively and modestly and there’s no option to sell that for any amount or donation. ” @Akhbaar24 تصرف غير لااق من الكليه والمفروض محاسبة ادارة الكليه فالوجب ارتدا البس المحافظ دون اي مساومه على خلعه نضير مبالغ ماليه او تبرع, — الفيصل (@faesal00) May 26, 2017, Amani responded to Faesal, asking, “And why is dressing in pants considered immodest or ? !!!” وهل إرتداء البنطال لبس غير محافظ ؟! !! @faesal00 @Akhbaar24, — أماني غنيم (@A7laAlamani) May 26, 2017, Another social media user wrote, “If there are no men, and all those around are girls, why is it forbidden (to wear pants)?” @Akhbaar24 اذا لايوجد رجال والجميع بنات وين الحرام بالموضوع — الله معنا (@yaz_1234_) May 26, 2017,	1
Solar Winds Spur Geomagnetic Storm That May Affect Power 25 October 2016 , by Brian K Sullivan (Bloomberg) http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-10-25/-solar-winds-spur-geomagnetic-storm-that-may-affect-power-lines - Geomagnetic storms can cause voltage corrections, false alarms - Space weather center lowered alert to moderate level storm Also see: Preparing for Power Grid Collapse, Obama Signs Executive Order On EMP, Space Weather Events https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2016/10/13/executive-order-coordinating-efforts-prepare-nation-space-weather-events	0
Russian experts collecting evidence of anti-govt chemical attack in Aleppo – Defense Ministry ‹ › South Front Analysis & Intelligence is a public analytical project maintained by an independent team of experts from the four corners of the Earth focusing on international relations issues and crises. They focus on analysis and intelligence of the ongoing crises and the biggest stories from around the world: Ukraine, the war in Middle East, Central Asia issues, protest movements in the Balkans, migration crises, and others. In addition, they provide military operations analysis, the military posture of major world powers, and other important data influencing the growth of tensions between countries and nations. We try to dig out the truth on issues which are barely covered by governments and mainstream media. Syrian War Report – November 3, 2016: Egyptian Officers Arrive in Syria By South Front on November 3, 2016 …from SouthFront Over 2,500 militants have been killed and wounded in western Aleppo since the start of Al-Nusra-led attempt to break the government forces’ defenses in the area on October 28, according to sources in the Syrian military. Considering that the total striking force deployed by Jaish al-Fatah coalition for the operation was about 5,000 fighters, it’s clear why the militant coalition failed to achieve its military goals. An infighting allegedly started between Harakat Nour al-Din al-Zenki and Fastaqim Kama Umirt militant groupsin Salaheddine and Al-Ansari Mashhad areas in Aleppo city on November 2. Nour al-Din al-Zenki stormed Fastaqim Kama Umirt checkpoints and arrested dozens of Fastaqim Kama fighters including their commander ‘Istakem kma Oumrt’. At least 1 militant was reported dead and 25 injured as result of the clashes. The conflict among ‘moderate rebels’ reportedly appeared because Fastaqim Kama Umirt was considering a possibility to leave Aleppo through corridors set up by the Syrian and Russian military. The Russian general staff has announced that President Vladimir Putin had ordered a humanitarian pause in Aleppo from 9am to 7pm on November 4. “Considering that our American colleagues were unable to separate the opposition from terrorists, we are addressing all militant leaders directly, urging them to cease hostilities and leave Aleppo with their arms,” General Valery Gerasimov, the chief of the Russian General Staff said, adding that “Two corridors will be opened, from which Syrian troops and weapons would be pulled back.” Six additional corridors will be opened for civilians. A group of Egyptian officers allegedly arrived in Syria on November 1 in order to learn from Russian military advisers that are embedded with government troops at the battle against terrorists across the country. The development took place amid the ongoing expansion of military cooperation between Russia and Egypt. In October 2016, Russian airborne troops arrived Egypt to participate in a joint military drill with the host country. The drill was codenamed “Defenders of Friendship 2016”. Related Posts: No Related Posts The views expressed herein are the views of the author exclusively and not necessarily the views of VT, VT authors, affiliates, advertisers, sponsors, partners, technicians, or the Veterans Today Network and its assigns. LEGAL NOTICE - COMMENT POLICY Posted by South Front on November 3, 2016, With 926 Reads Filed under WarZone . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 . You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed. FaceBook Comments 2 Responses to " Syrian War Report – November 3, 2016: Egyptian Officers Arrive in Syria " Paedo hunter November 3, 2016 at 9:35 am Kerry’s awfully quiet these days……as is Erdogan	0
Yes... AARP opposed Single Payer. Boycott them.	0
Breitbart – by Tom Tancredo The announcement by the FBI that it has reopened the criminal investigation into Hillary’s email server is more than an embarrassment to the Clinton presidential campaign. It is a ticking time bomb that could do more damage to our country than the Watergate scandal if allowed to explode. The Watergate investigation revealed Nixon’s attempted cover-up of the June 1972 break-in at Democratic National Committee HQ at the Watergate Hotel. It was the cover-up that led to Nixon’s downfall, not the break-in. The FBI investigation has already revealed Hillary Clinton’s perjury, and a new investigation of additional classified documents shared through her personal email server can lead to criminal indictments—unless the FBI itself wants to fall on its sword in a far more visible and viral cover-up than we have seen to date. It is not at all clear that the FBI has not already been hopelessly compromised: Did the FBI have knowledge of Barack Obama’s participation in the illegal email server and the president’s lies about it to the public? Who will investigate the investigators? What happens if Clinton wins the election and is then indicted on criminal charges prior to January 20? What happens if the FBI again fails to recommend criminal charges but the House of Representatives finds her in contempt of Congress and asks the Department of Justice to prosecute her for perjury? What happens if the Congress holds up all presidential appointments and all Democrat legislation until a nonpartisan Special Prosecutor is appointed? The likelihood of a constitutional crisis grows each day that Clinton continues to lie about her classified emails and continues to avoid criminal penalties for her possible perjury. If Clinton wins the election and is sworn in as President, she can only be removed by impeachment by the House and conviction by the Senate. If Democrats win majority control of the Senate on November 8, Clinton could defy the Congress and either refuse to appoint a Special Prosecutor or appoint someone who would rubber stamp her criminal behavior. The patriotic thing for Hillary Clinton to do would be to step aside and let the DNC select Tim Kaine as the party’s presidential candidate. But since that would almost certainly lead to a tidal wave of support for Donald Trump, that will not happen. The national Democrat Party is not famous for its fidelity to constitutional norms. The difference between the Watergate scandal and the Clinton perjury scandal is that in 1974, a delegation of Republican members of Congress went to Nixon and told him point blank he must resign because they would vote to remove him if he didn’t. Republicans suffered devastating losses in the 1974 elections because of the Nixon resignation—even though no members of Congress were implicated in Nixon’s cover-up. In the Watergate scandal, Republicans in Congress put the truth and the rule of law above politics. Democrats do not behave that way; Democrats put politics above everything, including the Constitution. Besides, the Clintons have been here before and survived. In 1998, Bill Clinton committed perjury — and obstruction of justice – and got away with it because, as Democrat Senators admitted publicly, they would not remove one of their own for merely telling a lie. After all, they said, Bill Clinton’s lie was not about policy, it was about sex with a White House intern. The national media will of course do its best to deflect public attention away from the new FBI criminal investigation. Indeed, that is already happening. Like liberal newspapers across the country, The Denver Post considers it necessary to link the FBI story to the Associated Press survey of public opinion on the veracity of the “groping” allegations against Trump. The media has not yet managed to find any credible allegation of criminal wrong-doing against Trump, but is working hard to divert public attention away from Clinton’s newest scandal. A constitutional crisis is not entirely avoided even if Hillary Clinton loses to Donald Trump on November 8. Let’s suppose President Trump asks newly appointed Attorney General Rudy Giuliani to appoint a Special Prosecutor to investigate Clinton’s misuse of a private email server. A Democrat-controlled Senate could obstruct that investigation and threaten all kinds of retribution against the new President. Thus, in typical Washington fashion, a bipartisan deal would likely be struck to let Hillary off the hook—all in the name, of course, of saving taxpayer money. A very real constitutional crisis has already occurred and it is ongoing — the transparent politicization of the FBI and the Department of Justice by the Obama team and the resulting loss of public confidence in those law enforcement institutions. Americans now have additional reasons to be wary of expanded federal powers.	0
Donald J. Trump met with David H. Petraeus on Monday as the battle rages to fill the post of secretary of state. Meanwhile, the is on Twitter again, threatening the Cuba thaw and lobbing voter fraud charges. David H. Petraeus, the retired general who led the C. I. A. met Monday with Trump, and it appears he really would like to be secretary of state. “I was with him for about an hour,” Mr. Petraeus told reporters. “He basically walked us around the world, showed a great grasp of a variety of the challenges that are out there and some of the opportunities as well. Very good conversation, and we’ll see where it goes from here. ” The returned the compliment. Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee, chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, is up next with a meeting in Trump Tower on Tuesday. And Mitt Romney is set to have dinner with the on Tuesday night. Mr. Romney is the preferred choice of Vice Mike Pence and some business leaders from whom Mr. Trump has heard. But contention over him being chosen has led Mr. Trump’s aides to open the process to other names, such as Mr. Corker. Typical of the pushback, L. Brent Bozell, a conservative media critic, said in a statement: The camp is doing its own pushback. A person briefed on the process, who asked to remain anonymous to discuss sensitive conversations, said that Mr. Romney had not sought consideration for the secretary of state, and was initially contacted by Mr. Pence. In that first conversation, Mr. Romney made clear to Mr. Pence that he would accept the position if the incoming president offered it, the person said, contradicting the claim from others in Mr. Trump’s circle who are opposed to the potential appointment. The debate over Mr. Romney — and before him, Rudolph W. Giuliani — has given an opening to Mr. Petraeus, despite the cloud of scandal that still hangs over him for sharing classified information during an extramarital affair. The has not held his punches in denouncing the predations of Fidel Castro, the late Cuban dictator, but he seemed to be keeping his options open on President Obama’s diplomatic thaw with the communist Caribbean nation. On Monday, via Twitter, Mr. Trump lobbed a threat about that. Josh Earnest, the White House spokesman, isn’t mourning Mr. Obama’s initiative just yet though. There will soon be 110 daily flights from the United States to Cuba, and cruise, tour and hotel operators have already invested significant sums in infrastructure to support those visits. Citizens in Cuba and the United States overwhelmingly support the new policy, Mr. Earnest said. “So unrolling all of that is much more complicated than just the stroke of a pen,” Mr. Earnest said, adding, “It’s just not as simple as one tweet might make it seem. ” As a recount proceeds in Wisconsin, Michigan officially certified its results on Monday: Mr. Trump beat Hillary Clinton by 10, 704 votes, or 0. 2 percentage points. Mrs. Clinton’s overall popular vote lead stands at 2, 241, 834. Mr. Earnest confirmed Monday that President Obama and Trump had spoken for 45 minutes on Saturday after Mr. Obama returned a call from the man who will succeed him. “President Obama has been doing this job for eight years, and he’s learned a lot about the kind of challenges a person in that job faces,” Mr. Earnest said. But what are they talking about? Mr. Trump has hinted that Mr. Obama has told him of one big foreign policy concern: North Korea. And for good reason: The autocratic government there is pressing ahead with efforts to develop a missile that could reach American soil a corruption crisis has paralyzed South Korea’s government and Washington will soon be led by a new president with no governmental experience. When Trump claimed on Twitter that he was losing the popular vote because of massive voter fraud by millions of voters, one of the states he pointed to was California, where the latest voting returns showed Hillary Clinton crushing Mr. Trump. Now the state’s top election official, Alex Padilla, has responded. Mr. Padilla asserted that there was no evidence for the ’s claim, and he denounced Mr. Trump for what he said was unpresidential behavior. This state has historically been slow to count ballots, a reflection of its size and the inefficiencies of many county voting operations. As of Saturday, Mrs. Clinton had received 8. 1 million votes in California, compared with 4. 2 million for Mr. Trump, according to Mr. Padilla’s office. It was not clear when the vote count would be concluded. Mr. Padilla is the Latino elected to state office in California. Mr. Trump’s poor showing there, many Democrats and Republicans said, came in no small part because of his attacks on what he described as the threat of illegal immigration — particularly from Mexicans. About 40 percent of this state’s population is Latino. Citing what they called Mr. Trump’s “shocking level of disdain for legitimate bipartisan concerns” over conflicts of interest, the Democratic members of the House Oversight Committee on Monday formally requested that the committee’s chairman open a review of the ’s web of global business interests. Oh, and they’d like copies of the tax returns that Mr. Trump has refused to release. The ’s elegant new hotel, built in the Old Post Office building on Pennsylvania Avenue near the White House, has finally secured its second restaurant. The space at the Trump International Hotel has been empty since the celebrity chefs José Andrés and Geoffrey Zakarian backed out in protest of Mr. Trump’s incendiary comments about Mexican immigrants during the campaign, prompting legal action by the Trump organization. Now, Nakazawa, a Japanese omakase bar and dining room, is stepping up with a new restaurant, to be opened by next summer. “My decisions are not clouded by political views or what I feel in my heart, right or wrong,” Alessandro Borgognone, Nakazawa’s owner, told Washingtonian magazine. “Anytime that we decide something on business, it’s what’s best for the business. ” The 114th Congress returns to Washington this week for one big order of business — besides keeping the government’s lights on. In one of its final and most significant acts, the House on Wednesday is set to pass the 21st Century Cures Act, an ambitious and pricey initiative that would deregulate some forms of drugs and medical devices and would fund President Obama’s cancer “moonshot,” Alzheimer’s research, regenerative medicine and efforts to address opioid addiction. The agreement, reached between House and Senate negotiators over the Thanksgiving break, should be passed next month by the Senate. The legislation’s total funding for the National Institutes of Health is $4. 8 billion, a reduction from what the House sought last year. The bill, large as it is, is expected to pass with little debate and lots of lobbying fingerprints — and a bipartisan nod to Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. who wanted the moonshot. Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, the House minority leader and longtime head of the embattled House Democrats, faces something of a reckoning this week. Representative Tim Ryan of Ohio, a burly former high school football player from Youngstown, has had the temerity to challenge her for the minority leader post, saying the party needs to face the reality that Hillary Clinton’s losses in Ohio, Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania show that Democrats have lost touch with their roots. Even if, as likely, Ms. Pelosi survives the vote on Wednesday, she has shown vulnerability. The leadership slate that she has introduced includes Representative Cheri Bustos of a corner of Illinois. In a letter to colleagues, she introduced her as “a leader representing the Heartland” who “has fought for manufacturing jobs and the needs of our veterans in rural America. ” Another offering? Representative Matt Cartwright, who “knows how to take the concerns of his constituents in Pennsylvania and translate them into a message that moves people. ” The pushback? The Congressional Black Caucus fears its own power is being diluted.	1
REPORT: Megyn Trashes Trump, Newt… Then Murdoch Announces Replacements Are Available “Amazing how many addresses you get from Google. Going again until Saturday and all next week. BAAHAA BAAHAA.” He then tagged someone else — it’s unclear if that was just to alert them to the post or to let them know that he voted for them. After his posts where he laughed and boasted about committing voter fraud, Dougherty apologized on Facebook: “I apologize for the insensitive post. Lesson learned about my stupidity.” It’s difficult to say whether Dougherty apologized because he didn’t do it and had made a stupid joke or if he was simply trying to avoid being prosecuted. Although we can’t tell for sure right now what’s true here, Dougherty’s comments at the very least are a reminder of how important voter ID laws are. If everyone were required to present identification to vote, Dougherty wouldn’t have made his “joke” about how easy it was to commit voter fraud — and if he actually tried to do what he boasted about on Facebook, voter ID laws would stop such a thing. For all we know, Dougherty may not even be a Clinton supporter; he could have been trying to make a point about voter fraud and the dirty tricks committed by Democrats. Doubtful, but who knows? No matter what his party affiliation or whether or not he actually did what he boasted about, he intentionally or not made the case for strong voter ID laws. Share this post on Facebook and Twitter so people can see how this man showed the importance of voter ID laws. What do you think about Dougherty's Facebook posts? Scroll down to comment below! Advertisement Popular Right Now	0
TIJUANA, Mexico — Even before President Trump decided to build the wall, this Mexican border city was already overwhelmed. So many Haitian migrants, traveling across the Americas, began arriving here last year with hopes of crossing into the United States that churches, community halls, programs, rehabilitation centers and private citizens have opened their doors to house, feed and clothe them. In one shelter, about 250 migrants — men, women and children — share two toilets and one shower. Four hundred are crammed into a church. A soup kitchen sleeps hundreds in hallways, a pantry and a lot out back. Now, some officials and advocates worry that Mr. Trump’s plan could spur immigration crises in towns and cities all along the border and, indeed, throughout Mexico. The Mexican government, they say, may not be able to handle it. Mr. Trump is seeking to tighten the border, restrict immigration and increase deportations from the United States. In announcing his actions this week, the president said they would “help Mexico by deterring illegal immigration. ” “Going to be very, very good for Mexico,” he declared. Yet some international officials and advocates envision a potential nightmare for the country. A growing number of people have been streaming north from Central America, fleeing violence and poverty in their homelands. Nearly 409, 000 were caught trying to cross the southwestern border of the United States illegally in the 2016 fiscal year, a 23 percent increase over the previous fiscal year, according to American government statistics. And the trend has continued over the past few months. As more migrants are blocked at the American border and more undocumented immigrants are deported from the United States, border communities in Mexico could be overwhelmed, migrant shelters could overflow, the ranks of the unemployed could swell, and Mexico will bear the strain, officials and advocates say. “It’s worrying us,” said Christopher Gascon, chief of the Mexico office for the International Organization for Migration. “How Mexico can handle that is going to be a whole new area of concern. I don’t think the absorptive capacity is there. ” Even before this week, Mexico was facing extraordinary migration pressures. The waves of Central Americans heading north were severely testing Mexico’s border patrol in the south of the country and led to a sharp increase in the number of people applying for asylum in Mexico, with applications more than doubling from 2015 to 2016. Mexican officials were also scrambling to develop a strategy in case Mr. Trump made good on his promises to increase deportations of undocumented immigrants, a population that includes millions of Mexicans. An intergovernmental group began on Monday to study ways to help integrate deportees into Mexican society. Beyond that, recent changes in American policy during the Obama administration had already contributed to the surge in Haitian migrants, as well as to a separate wave of Cuban migrants. Thousands of Cubans found themselves stranded in Mexico and Central America this month after the Obama administration ended a longstanding policy that favored Cubans. Under American pressure, President Enrique Peña Nieto of Mexico had been trying to stanch the flow of migrants heading through his country, starting the Southern Border Program in 2014 in an attempt to control the movement of people and goods crossing the border with Guatemala. The plan contributed to a doubling of deportations between 2013, before it was enacted, and 2016. Nearly all the deportees in recent years have been from Central America. But the country’s borders remain highly porous. The International Organization for Migration estimates that between 400, 000 and 500, 000 undocumented migrants transit through the country every year, about 90 percent of them Central Americans. Here in the state of Baja California, the migrant crisis has highlighted the Mexican government’s limited capacity to deal with the challenges. Haitian migrants, traveling from Brazil, began arriving in this border city last spring. For a while, the Haitians had little trouble crossing into the United States. In recognition of the troubles in Haiti following the 2010 earthquake there, American border officials allowed undocumented Haitians to enter under a humanitarian parole provision, with permission to stay for as long as three years. The migrants filled the handful of longstanding migrant shelters and cheap hotels in Tijuana while they waited, often for weeks, for their appointments with American border officials. Then in late September, the Obama administration suddenly announced that it was fully resuming the deportations of Haitians, hoping the policy change would dissuade more Haitians from migrating. Still, the Haitians kept coming. As the Haitian migrant population has ballooned — there are now about 4, 500 Haitians in Tijuana and elsewhere in northern Baja California — the Mexican authorities have resisted pleas to open a emergency shelter. More than 30 shelters are providing for the Haitians, yet none are . Most of the burden of sheltering, feeding, clothing and caring for the nonstop stream of Haitians has fallen to civil society groups and individuals, who have accused the government of doing too little too late. This month, a coalition of the main shelters in Tijuana and Mexicali sent a letter to Mr. Peña Nieto demanding a more robust federal “intervention” to address the crisis. The shelters have yet to receive a reply, they said. Advocacy and humanitarian groups in Tijuana filed a complaint this week with the National Human Rights Commission alleging that federal officials had violated the migrants’ human rights “in a widespread and repeated manner” by failing to address the crisis. Federal officials have rejected the criticism that they have been neglectful. “Is there room to do more? Yes,” Rodulfo Figueroa Pacheco, chief of the Baja California office of the federal migration agency, said in an interview last week, before the complaint was filed. “It’s been a struggle. ” “But,” he added, “it isn’t true that the governments have been unresponsive. ” The crisis, now in its ninth month, has been a crushing burden on the shelters. The migrant population at one longstanding shelter, Movimiento Juventud 2000, with capacity for about 25 people, soared to about 250, many of them living in donated tents in an adjoining lot that becomes a swale of mud when it rains. Iglesia Cristiana Embajadores de Jesus, a church situated in a denuded ravine on the western edge of Tijuana, was sheltering hundreds of people even though it was not connected to the municipal water supply and had to refill its tanks with a water truck. Administrators at Desayunador Salesiano Padre Chava, which had for years served as a soup kitchen, repurposed nearly the entire building, including corridors and the pantry, into a sprawling dormitory that at one point housed more than 500 people. Claudia Portela, coordinator of Padre Chava, which recently opened a smaller second shelter, estimates that donations have provided for 98 percent of their needs during the crisis. Government officials, while acknowledging that the bulk of the humanitarian assistance has come from civil society, insist that they have provided crucial services but have been sorely limited by budgets that were already under strain amid Mexico’s economic malaise. “Our deployment has been very, very small,” Mr. Figueroa said. “Institutional capacities are not as robust as we’d like. ” But despite the limitations, he said, government agencies had donated more than $280, 000, about 445, 000 meals, thousands of blankets, hundreds of mattresses and many other goods and services since late October. State and federal officials, he said, were still discussing the possibility of opening a shelter, but the proposal raised difficult practical and philosophical questions. “Will we be building something we can’t unbuild?” he said. Ad hoc networks of humanitarian groups have scrambled to help. “For me, the worst part is the omission of the federal government,” said Soraya Vazquez, one of nine women who run the Comité Estratégico de Ayuda Humanitaria Tijuana, a local group formed in September. “The government has to recognize it as a humanitarian crisis. ” On a recent morning, she and her colleague, Adriana Reyna, jumped into Ms. Reyna’s sport utility vehicle and took a tour of several shelters in Tijuana to assess their needs. At Iglesia Cristiana Embajadores de Jesus, the church in the ravine, a Haitian girl had fallen. Her parents worried she had fractured a bone. So the women drove the child and her father to a nearby clinic where they arranged for a free evaluation, then swung by a pharmacy to pick up some medicine to treat the pain and swelling. At another shelter, the women lined up doctor’s appointments for a man with an infected leg wound and for two migrants who were experiencing complications with their pregnancies. They also strategized about setting up a piñata workshop that would give migrants employment. A message arrived, saying that an cinema had about 30 pillows to donate. With a phone call, the women found a taker: a shelter in central Tijuana. At Iglesia Central del Nazareno, which had been converted into a shelter, the coordinator asked the women whether they had heard anything new about how Haitian migrants were being received at the United States border. Were they being deported? It was the day after Mr. Trump’s inauguration, and rumors were flying. “I hope they’ll all be able to cross. I hope they’ll be O. K.,” said the coordinator, Ruth Gaxiola, fighting back tears. She looked exhausted. Ms. Vazquez opened her arms, and the women embraced.	1
WASHINGTON — Reeling from a major blow to his legislative agenda, President Trump blamed Democrats on Friday after House Republicans rescinded their bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. He insisted it wasn’t an immediate priority anyway. Here is an assessment of his claims. False. Mr. Trump has, of course, repeatedly vowed to repeal and replace former President Barack Obama’s signature legislative achievement. While Mr. Trump never specified doing so within 64 days, killing the health care law was part of his plan, released in October, and he often promised an even more urgent timeline during the 2016 presidential campaign. At a campaign rally in Sioux City, Iowa, in October 2015, Mr. Trump said repealing the health law would be the “first thing” he would do as president. “We will immediately repeal and replace Obamacare — and nobody can do that like me. We will save $’s and have much better health care!” he wrote on Twitter in February 2016. “When we win on Nov. 8th and elect a Republican Congress, we will be able to immediately repeal and replace Obamacare,” he said at a rally in November in Valley Forge, Pa. This is misleading. Democrats have been united in their opposition since the beginning of the fight to repeal and replace the health law. But Republicans did not need Democratic support to pass their legislation. Republicans needed 215 votes in the House to pass the bill. They have 237 out of the 435 seats, meaning they could afford only 22 party defections. Before the bill was pulled, 33 Republicans were opposed. The White House did not immediately respond when asked if Mr. Trump ever tried courting Democratic members in the House. This is exaggerated. As Reed Abelson and Margot have reported for The Upshot, the Affordable Care Act’s insurance markets are not “exploding,” “imploding,” “failing,” “collapsing” or in a “death spiral. ” While there are certainly issues with the current law (for example, high premiums and deductibles) the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said in its first estimate of the Republican bill that both it and the Affordable Care Act would stabilize over the long run. This is exaggerated. The competitive situation is not healthy in those two states, but Mr. Trump has overstated the current lack of insurers. But next year, he could be less incorrect. Congress’s Joint Economic Committee reported, using data from the Kaiser Family Foundation, that 43 percent of counties in Kentucky had two insurers, and 49 percent were covered by just one. Tennessee divides its marketplace into eight areas, three of which have two carriers and five of which have one, according its Department of Commerce. With Humana pulling out of the A. C. A. marketplaces, 16 counties in Tennessee will no longer have insurers available next year, said Larry Levitt, a senior executive at the Kaiser Family Foundation. “It’s not half the state, but it is a real problem. ” This is exaggerated. Only one state, Arizona, saw its premiums double (116 percent). Changes in premium costs ranged from a 3 percent decrease in Indiana to a 69 percent increase in Oklahoma (the second highest). This year, premiums for the benchmark plan rose by 22 percent on average across the states that use the federal marketplace or have their own exchanges, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. This needs context. Six states — Alaska, Minnesota, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Tennessee — saw increases in the range Mr. Trump referred to. As previously stated, the average increase was 22 percent — compared with a 7 percent increase in 2016 and a 3 percent increase in 2015. But looking at premium increases alone does not fully capture what people are paying. About 84 percent of enrollees qualify for tax credits that will help blunt the costs this year, meaning the government picks up the tab for any increase. Premium increases affect just 3 percent of all Americans.	1
WHAT? Leftist Protester Going Nuts On CNN Over Hillary Loss WAS A CNN CAMERAMAN? (VIDEO) shares Facebook Is CNN using their own crew members as fake protesters? Earlier today, we posted a video of a Hillary supporter having a total meltdown on CNN last night. In a slightly longer version of the clip you can watch below, CNN’s Don Lemon remarks at the end of the video that he knows the man and that he’s a CNN cameraman. Lemon says: “Brian, you know I used to live there and I know that guy, that’s John [last name]. He actually went to Africa with me as a cameraman but anyway, that’s another story.” Watch the clip to the end: CNN outs themselves as using their own cameramen as fake protesters pic.twitter.com/APanvukid6 How does CNN ever recover their credibility after this election? They failed so badly!	0
The Palestinian leadership is “disappointed” by the feckless Arab reactions to reports the United States may relocate its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, a former Fatah official told Breitbart Jerusalem. [“Trump is unpredictable and Arab leaders don’t want to get on his bad side so soon,” Dimitri Diliani, a former member of Fatah’s Revolutionary Council, said, adding that “Arab leaders are waiting to see what will happen eventually and how exactly the embassy will be moved. ” “It’s impossible to foresee the reaction of the Palestinians on the street, but I expect it will be harsh,” he said. “The Palestinian Authority must use whatever measure it has at its disposal — from rolling back the security coordination with Israel, to disbanding the PA and turning its security officers into paramilitaries. The Palestinian Authority cannot react lightly. It’s the moment of truth. ” “Jerusalem is not the capital of the State of Israel, it’s an occupied territory,” he wrongly claimed, “and the question is whether the United States wishes to become a country that violates international law,” he said. “I expect the PA leadership to use whatever means it has at its disposal to resist that decision. ” Earlier this week, White House Spokesman Sean Spicer was asked by reporters for an update on the embassy matter. “We are at the very beginning stages of even discussing this subject,” Spicer said, according to Reuters. President Trump told Fox News’s Sean Hannity on Thursday it was “too early” to discuss moving the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.	1
Go read the previous post first , then add this for a bit of additional entertainment. A Russian TV event (vid) covered a nation wide geographic competition for schools children. This is somewhat comparable to the national spelling bee contest in the U.S. and elsewhere. The guest star at the event was the Russian President Vladimir Putin. He was on stage with a nine year old participant who gave his specialties as "borders, neighboring countries and capitals." Putin asked the candidate "Where do Russia's borders end". The answer was "In the Bering Strait at the border with the U.S." Putin replied: "Russia's border does not end anywhere." (When the audience then laughed and Putin sensed that it did not immediately get the real meaning of what he said he added: "That was a joke.") But it was no joke. It was serious science. A whole lot of pundits, "western" reporters and anti-Putin haters now claim that Putin somehow did wrong, showed lust for new, unlimited Russian expansion or announced the fourth World War for the coming new Russian Empire. See for example the BBC , Newsweek , Daily Mail , Express and many others who felt the urgent need to comment on a Russian quiz for kids. From the Newsweek piece: A Kremlin spokesperson was not immediately available to explain if the joke referred to Russia’s military efforts to redraw the borders of Moldova, Georgia and most recently Ukraine, or if the president had a different, more figurative meaning in mind....Ukraine’s Ambassador to Finland, whose country has experienced firsthand Russia’s willingness to alter its borders, tweeted a photo of a ruined country log cabin with the ironic caption ‘Russia’s borders end nowhere.’ ALL THESE WRITERS, THEIR EDITORS, THE PUNDITS AND DIPLOMATS MUST HAVE SLEPT THROUGH BASIC MATH LECTURES, ESPECIALLY IN EUCLIDEAN GEOMETRY OF TWO DIMENSIONS. It is all Greek to them - literally. The basic definition of a border is: A part that forms the outer edge of something. A country, any country, is defined by a limited area (or areas) with an area characterized by an outer edge and a circumferential line known as "a border". Does the circumferential line of, ideally, a circle have a limit? Does it have a beginning or an end? This is exactly what Putin asked the kid. Putin asked a pupil: "Where do Russia's borders end?" The answer "nowhere" is the (only) mathematically and geographically correct one. The geographic area characterized by a border is limited. The circumferential (border) line is, by mathematical definition, not "limited" in the sense that it has no beginning and no end (it has a length though). This is basic math which Putin sympathetically lectured to a child in a scientific school competition on public TV. It probably was too much for a tired evening audience. That is not an excuse for professional writers (not) doing their day job. I am sure that, over time, the kid will get it. The "News" journalists though ... Indeed one can bet on the low level of "western" scientific education, especially of political pundits and news writers, to make an "imperial intent" mountain out of any scientifically correct description of a flyspeck. It is a new subcategory of "fake news" that they expose. It has its roots in basic stupidity. 08:59 AM \| Permalink	0
Here's something interesting from The Unz Review... Recipient Name Recipient Email => I am now convinced that the Oligarchy that rules America intends to steal the presidential election. In the past, the oligarchs have not cared which candidate won as the oligarchs owned both. But they do not own Trump. Most likely you are unaware of what Trump is telling people as the media does not report it. A person who speaks like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYozWHBIf8g&app=desktop is not endeared to the oligarchs. Who are the oligarchs? —Wall Street and the mega-banks too big to fail and their agent the Federal Reserve, a federal agency that put 5 banks ahead of millions of troubled American homeowners who the federal reserve allowed to be flushed down the toilet. In order to save the mega-banks’ balance sheets from their irresponsible behavior, the Fed has denied retirees any interest income on their savings for eight years, forcing the elderly to draw down their savings, leaving their heirs, who have been displaced from employment by corporate jobs offshoring, penniless. —The military/security complex which has spent trillions of our taxpayer dollars on 15 years of gratuitous wars based entirely on lies in order to enrich themselves and their power. —The neoconservartives whose crazed ideology of US world hegemony thrusts the American people into military conflict with Russia and China. —The US global corporations that sent American jobs to China and India and elsewhere in order to enrich the One Percent with higher profits from lower labor costs. —Agribusiness (Monsanto et.al.), corporations that poison the soil, the water, the oceans, and our food with their GMOs, hebicides, pesticides, and chemical fertilizers, while killing the bees that pollinate the crops. —The extractive industries—energy, mining, fracking, and timber—that maximize their profits by destroying the environment and the water supply. —The Israel Lobby that controls US Middle East policy and is committing genocide against the Palestinians just as the US committed genocide against native Americans. Israel is using the US to eliminate sovereign countries that stand in Israell’s way. What convinces me that the Oligarchy intends to steal the election is the vast difference between the presstitutes’ reporting and the facts on the ground. According to the presstitutes, Hillary is so far ahead that there is no point in Trump supporters bothering to vote. Hillary has won the election before the vote. Hillary has been declared a 93% sure winner. I am yet to see one Hillary yard sign, but Trump signs are everywhere. Reports I receive are that Hillary’s public appearances are unattended but Trumps are so heavily attended that people have to be turned away. This is a report from a woman in Florida: “Trump has pulled huge numbers all over FL while campaigning here this week. I only see Trump signs and sickers in my wide travels. I dined at a Mexican restaurant last night. Two women my age sitting behind me were talking about how they had tried to see Trump when he came to Tallahassee. They left work early, arriving at the venue at 4:00 for a 6:00 rally. The place was already over capacity so they were turned away. It turned out that there were so many people there by 2:00 that the doors had to be opened to them. The women said that the crowds present were a mix of races and ages.” I know the person who gave me this report and have no doubt whatsoever as to its veracity. I also receive from readers similiar reports from around the country. This is how the theft of the election is supposed to work: The media concentrated in a few corporate hands has gone all out to convince not only Americans but also the world, that Donald Trump is such an unacceptable candidate that he has lost the election before the vote. By controllng the explanation, when the election is stolen those who challenge the stolen election are without a foundartion in the media. All media reports will say that it was a run away victory for Hillary over the misogynist immigrant-hating Trump. And liberal, progressive opinion will be relieved and off guard as Hillary takes us into nuclear war. That the Oligarchy intends to steal the election from the American people is verified by the officially reported behavior of the voting machines in early voting in Texas. The NRP presstitutes have declared that Hillary is such a favorite that even Repulbican Texas is up for grabs in the election. If this is the case, why was it necessary for the voting machines to be programmed to change Trump votes to Hillary votes? Those voters who noted that they voted Trump but were recorded Hillary complained. The election officials, claiming a glitch (which only went one way), changed to paper ballots. But who will count them? No “glitches” caused Hillary votes to go to Trump, only Trump votes to go to Hillary. The most brilliant movie of our time was The Matrix. This movie captured the life of Americans manipulated by a false reality, only in the real America there is insufficient awareness and no Neo, except possibly Donald Trump, to challenge the system. All of my life I have been trying to get Americans of all stripes—academics, scholars, journalists, Republicans, Democrats, right-wing, left-wing, US Representatives, US Senators, Presidents, corporate moguls and brainwashed Americans and foreigners—out of the false reality in which they exist. In the United States today a critical presidential election is in process in which not a single important issue is addressed by Hillary and the presstitutes. This is total failure. Democracy, once the hope of the world, has totally failed in the United States of America. Trump is correct. The American people must restore the accountability of government to the people. (Reprinted from PaulCraigRoberts.org by permission of author or representative)	0
As USA Supreme first reported U.S. Code is clear Hillary is disqualified to be president! This news was just confirmed by Chris Wallace for Hillary there is no going back.The news that FBI Director James Comey has unilaterally decided to reopen the FBI investigation into Hillary Clinton’s email server is unwelcome news in the Clinton camp. Not only does it give her opponent an incredibly potent talking point, it presents some legal problems for Clinton regardless of the election’s outcome. (you can view the full article below) Whatever emerges from the new emails could cross the line of “intent” that Comey said didn’t exist in July. And as Fox News’ Chris Wallace said to Brit Hume on On the Record on Friday, “We could end up with a president-elect who could, conceivably, be indicted after she becomes president.” Hillary Clinton has stated on many occasions that her candidacy is “historic.” While she’s only talking about her gender, it may be historic for more nefarious reasons. Never before has a candidate from a major political party run for the presidency while under criminal investigation. This is a fact that will go down in the history books alongside the fact that Clinton is the first woman to capture a major party’s nomination for President of the United States. Wallace just confirmed USA Supreme news that under U.S. Code Hillary is disqualified from running for president You can view the full article here http://www.usasupreme.com/confirmed-u-s-code-title-18-part-1-chapter-2071-hillary-officially-disqualified-run-president/ Posted by USA Supreme on Sunday, October 30, 2016 Comey’s reopening of the investigation is based on information gleaned from the Anthony Weiner pedophilia investigation. Clinton uber-aide Huma Abedin is married to Weiner (not for long) and their shared computer likely led to the trove of 33,000 emails Hillary Clinton insisted she deleted. It should be noted here that Clinton deleted these emails after the entirety of her emails were requested under a subpoena. In fact, the only people who vetted the information in those 33,000 missing emails were Clinton’s personal lawyers, including Cheryl Mills. Mills received immunity from the FBI with assurances her computer would be permanently destroyed. Should Clinton be indicted, and should she be found guilty of the crime of mishandling classified information – among the other criminal acts she committed as Secretary of State along with her abuse of the Clinton Foundation – we would have a constitutional crisis. US law – 18 US Code § 2071 – states that a violator of this statute: “Shall Forfeit His Office And Be Disqualified From Holding Any Office Under The United States…Whoever, having the custody of any such record, proceeding, map, book, document, paper, or other thing, willfully and unlawfully conceals, removes, mutilates, obliterates, falsifies, or destroys the same, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both; and shall forfeit his office and be disqualified from holding any office under the United States.” This would necessarily mean that Clinton, if elected, would have to be impeached in the US House of Representatives, convicted in the US Senate, and then removed from office. That would add another first to Mrs. Clinton’s list of firsts. She would go down in history as one part of the married duo who were both impeached from the presidency. As Wallace said, “Just when you think it couldn’t get any more shocking, any more twisted…” Will Hillary break the law again and keep her security clearance we have to wait and see, but if there is any law in our country she would be disqualified to run for president!	0
The waiting room at St. Lambert Lock in Montreal looks out at a of fence, six security camera towers, a derrick and a guardhouse. There, three armed men stare at a stretch of placid, water waiting to lift freighters up along the St. Lawrence Seaway. The lock is part of the oldest and most traveled inland waterway in America — a corridor that connects the Atlantic Ocean with all five Great Lakes and the Mississippi River. Since deep draft navigation opened on the St. Lawrence in 1959, more than two and a half billion tons of cargo, worth around $375 billion, have traversed the seaway. I’d been waiting 20 minutes for my ride — a freighter called the Algoma Equinox. The Equinox traverses the St. Lawrence and four Great Lakes twice a month, transporting iron ore west and grain back east. Like many freighters around the world, it also occasionally carries people. Travelers willing to take the slow boat get a private cabin, three meals a day and shore leave wherever the ship loads, unloads or stops at a lock. After picking me up in Montreal, the Equinox’s captain, Ross Armstrong, told me the ship would cross Lakes Ontario, Erie, Huron and Superior and drop me in Thunder Bay, Ontario — six hours north of Duluth, Minn. The trip would take six days. Three crew members lowered a steel gangplank onto the parking lot curb, and I dragged my roller bag onto the ship. The Equinox is almost the exact size of the Carnegie Hall Tower in New York City, leaned over on its side. The long, blue hull floated just a few feet above the water, weighed down by 33, 000 tons of iron ore pellets in the cargo holds. All three crew members wore coveralls and hard hats. One, from Newfoundland, introduced himself as Tony. He looked like a Tony, with a bushy black mustache, pudgy cheeks and curly black hair. “You’ll be in the owner’s cabin,” he said. “Better hurry up, supper’s almost over. ” It was 5 p. m. on a warm June day. The sun was still high overhead and the air smelled like river water and algae. Fluorescent lights gave the interior of the ship a pale blue hue. The halls were timeless in a way that any steel room, like a prison cell, is timeless. My cabin was on the third floor, starboard side. It was surprisingly large. The bed could have been transplanted from a Comfort Inn. The separate sitting area had a chipboard desk and and there was an en suite bathroom by the foot of the bed. The walls were covered with white plastic panels. The curtains were a kind of shiny plastic I had never seen before. Behind them, two oversized portholes looked out on a constantly moving scene. I dropped my bags and headed straight to the mess hall. It was empty, something that appeared to please the cook, Mike Newell. The dining area and kitchen were Mike’s domain, though it seemed as if he would trade the keys for a plane ticket home. For a man who openly hated his job, Mike cooked a hearty meal. The first night’s menu: chicken curry, rice, steaks, spaghetti, meatballs, short ribs, steamed veggies, salad, pie and a choice of a dozen nonalcoholic juices and drinks. Mike with a dishtowel as he told me about riding lakers. He was 62 and had been sailing for 41 years. He has cloudy blue eyes and gray hair and opens his shirt a couple of buttons lower than other crew members. He was a mate once. He was an ordinary seaman who worked the decks, too. He was laid off, rehired, laid off again. In the old days, he said, the mess hall was crowded 24 hours a day. Sailors played cards, gambled, got drunk and got into knife fights. Hells Angels, mental patients and gang members hiding from the law worked there. Every now and then one would disappear over the rail in the middle of the night. There was such a demand for labor that if someone was fired, he’d be hired the next day by a competitor. When Mike reached 25 years of service, the company gave him a clock mounted on a brass helm. Mike responded, “You should have given me a Congressional Medal of Honor for surviving!” Mike was still talking an hour later when I slipped out of the mess hall to catch the sunset. Captain Ross gave me permission to roam the ship, as long as I wore a hard hat outside. And didn’t fall overboard. The sun was still above the treetops, and silhouetted skyscrapers in downtown Montreal 10 miles northeast looked like shadows. The engine vibrated the deck and every surface as the ship motored toward Lac St. . A rain shower hit, carried by a ferocious wind. Five minutes later it passed, and the evening sun hammered the deck. I had never moved this slowly as a passenger and wondered if I would lose my mind with boredom in the next six days. But the pace was meditative, too. From the wheelhouse, you notice things onshore you would typically miss in a car, train or plane. Like kids playing lacrosse in a hockey rink, a teenager peeking into his neighbors’ windows with a drone, and a red fox hunching his back and relieving himself on a beautifully manicured lawn. The canal opened into Lac St. where it was nearly four miles wide, then narrowed again near Île Perrot. We were 300 miles due north of New York City and on the same latitude as Portland, Ore. Elms and cottonwood bent in the breeze, casting shadowy fingers onto the water. White cedar and ash grew close to the river where 350, 000 cubic feet of water passed every second. Moraines and gentle drumlins rose and fell along the riverside, creating miniature highlands shrouded in red oak and sugar maple. In between, peat bogs were laced with the skeletons of fallen trees. Two riders on a bike path lining the dike left us in the dust. I found it hard to believe that we would be in Minnesota in six days. In my mind, it was difficult to connect Montreal and Minnesota by water at all. I was so used to driving and flying, the shape of the continent had been distorted. You get on a plane or Interstate in New York and get off in Minneapolis. Or Chicago. Or Los Angeles. Most people don’t travel anymore. They arrive. Unless you are riding the slow boat. Then you see every mile. The Great Lakes basin spans 10 degrees of latitude and 18 degrees of longitude — set almost exactly between the Equator and the North Pole. The circumference of all five lakes combined is 10, 500 miles, nearly half the distance around the world. An average of 200, 000 cubic feet of precipitation falls somewhere on the lakes every second. The first ships to sail the lakes were classic European schooners, sloops and brigs. “Canallers” were the workhorses of the and by 1860, 750 of them were in service. The steam engine brought larger boats, and larger locks too. Steam barges called “smokers” spoke to each other using “whistle talk. ” Next came hookers, whaleback tows and bulkers, before steel ocean freighters sailed up the St. Lawrence and the age of the modern laker began. These days oreboats, straight deckers, bulkers, sternenders, self unloaders, longboats and lakeboats deliver 180 million tons of cargo to and from the lakes annually. Most goes to or comes from electric utilities, steel mills, construction companies, mining companies, factories and farms. Because a freighter can transport a ton of cargo 576 miles on a single gallon of fuel — compared with 413 miles by train or 155 miles by truck — shipping is often a greener way to move people and freight as well. Many shipping companies like Canada Maritime, and Grimaldi Lines offer passenger cabins on certain routes. Prices average around $100 a day for trips to most major international ports. Specialty travel agencies like Maris and A la Carte Freighter Travel book and trips, and others like ZIM Integrated Shipping Services take applications for artist residencies on their ships. Great Lakes freighters are unique in that almost all passenger tickets are sold through nonprofit — mostly to benefit shipping museums — so booking a room is not easy. I got lucky while researching a book about America’s northern border when I met Peter Winkley, vice president of Algoma Central. The border splits the St. Lawrence River and four Great Lakes, and the Equinox follows the line almost the entire journey. The only way to see it up close is on a ship, and Mr. Winkley offered me a ride. The Equinox is the most advanced bulker on the Great Lakes. Algoma captains, engineers and naval architects designed it, making it 45 percent more fuel efficient than Algoma’s existing fleet. They added a computerized, gearless engine that occupies four stories of the engine room and gas scrubbers on the smokestack, which remove 97 percent of emitted sulfur. The result is the fastest, largest and most efficient ship sailing all five Great Lakes. Still, the next morning mustard yellow exhaust fell from the smokestack and hovered a few feet above the water. Thick bands of clouds blocked the sun. The Equinox deck glowed dull red. Every handle is painted white and safety instructions are bright yellow. Captain Ross looked more like a retired police officer on vacation at the helm — wearing a polo shirt, jeans and Crocs — than the captain of a $40 million ship. He was 27 when his father, a lifetime Great Lakes captain, called him from Quebec City and asked if he wanted to be a deckhand. years later he was celebrating his third decade as a captain. The job is more demanding than it looks, he said. The lakes sit in a lowland between the Rocky Mountains and the Appalachians, creating a vortex of dangerous weather. Winds can blow 40 to 50 knots and whip up waves 25 feet tall. The slender and flexible lakers seek shelter or to survive these storms. The Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum estimates that 6, 000 ships and 30, 000 lives have been lost on the lakes. The most famous wreck, Edmund Fitzgerald, sank a few hundred miles ahead on our route. The wheelman stood behind Captain Ross, clutching a surprisingly tiny, computerized steering wheel. He wore driving gloves and turned the Equinox every few seconds in whatever direction the captain told him to. The wheel, computer monitors and what looked like a server farm filling the wheelhouse are indicative of changes in the shipping industry. Twenty years ago, it took 35 crew members to run a laker. The Equinox operates with 16, only a handful of whom are on duty at once. I stepped onto the wheelhouse deck in Chippewa Bay to see Thousand Islands, N. Y. summer home to millionaires for a century and a half. There are 1, 864 islands along the stretch, many of which were retreats for business moguls and movie stars during the Gilded Age. Singer Castle’s walls and roof, built by Frederick Gilbert Bourne of the Singer Sewing Machine Company, passed a few hundred yards to starboard. A couple of miles farther, we passed within a few hundred feet of another castle built by George Boldt, proprietor of New York City’s original Waldorf Astoria, and Deer Island, a retreat for Yale’s Skull and Bones club. The channel was so tight in the American Narrows that the Equinox completely filled it. and mahogany runabouts zipped 30 feet in front of the bow and alongside the gunwales. An S O S message came across the VHF radio saying that a private boat had lost power and drifted into the shipping lane, and I asked the wheelsman how long it would take the Equinox to stop. “It doesn’t stop,” he said. Then he added, “You should see this place at night. Or in the fog. ” That evening we passed the windmills and farms of Wolfe Island, then broke into a deep blue plain. From the bow, Lake Ontario looked like an endless silvery horizon. The air was still and the view ahead was so wide I could see the curvature of the earth. The only sign of land was a smokestack 20 miles away on the southern shore. Seeing a Great Lake for the first time, I understood how French explorers, who discovered “the sweet seas” and essentially blazed the border with Canada, assumed that the lakes led to the Pacific — and China. Most mapmakers estimated that North America was only 300 miles wide, and every indication on the edge of Lake Ontario suggested that the lake went on forever. Seagulls circled the smokestack and a gentle swell from the last storm gently rolled the ship. The sun was a bonfire three fingers off the horizon, and an exact image of the sky reflected off the surface of the water. The first mate throttled up to 17 miles an hour, and the bow of the Equinox plowed ahead. Foam breaking off the hull turned green as it slid along the sides of the ship, then split from the stern in a wide V. The sky was dark the next morning. The land was dark too. Flames blazed above tall, cylindrical smokestacks, casting an orange light on the Equinox. The waterfront was barricaded by black, pyramidal dunes of coal and iron ore pellets at the ArcelorMittal Dofasco steel mill. My watch read 9 a. m. We were docked in Hamilton, Ontario, steel capital of Canada. Unloading takes about a day, so Captain Ross gave me shore leave until 10 p. m. I took a cab straight to Jamesville, an unlikely arts district that recently popped up in Hamilton. I found a art galleries, three coffee shops, a smoothie bar, eight restaurants and two boutique saloons on North James Street alone. The neighborhood didn’t look like Manhattan’s Chelsea, but it didn’t look like a steel town, either. I wandered all day through shops and public parks, looking at wood prints, paintings, a recording studio, art center and the Hamilton farmers’ market, the oldest indoor market in Canada (founded in 1837). That evening at a bar called the Brain — where the owner was with an artist friend from Berlin — a patron in skinny black jeans showed off a print headed for New York City. It was a matted grid of 28 life rings from Great Lakes ships. Neighborhoods grew progressively darker and poorer as I rode in a cab back to the waterfront that night. An orange cloud hovered over the steel mill and flames flickered above Dofasco’s smokestacks. Inside Gate 15, earthmovers roared as they pushed piles of iron and coal around. Nothing had changed inside the Equinox. The system whirred. The fluorescent lights made hallways and cabins bright and sterile. The only smell was of spaghetti sauce in the mess hall, where a lone crewman sat staring at his food. By the time I woke up the next morning, the Equinox had finished unloading, crossed Lake Ontario and cleared two locks in the Welland Canal — an engineering marvel that circumvents Niagara Falls. The first Welland Canal was dug between Lake Erie and Ontario in 1829. The current one lifts ships 326 vertical feet up the Niagara escarpment over 27 miles and eight locks. Captain Ross let me off at Lock 3 and told me I had six hours to explore Niagara, before reboarding at Lock 8. I climbed a rope ladder up the lock wall and walked to a cab that took me to the Table Rock Welcome Center on the Canadian side of the falls. A rock wall with an ornate steel railing held back 1, 200 humans gazing at the waterfall on the planet. It is a strange thing to see a wonder of the world in the flesh after gazing at photos of it 1, 000 times. I spent a watching the river wend around rocks and submerged logs, then accelerate and shoot forward, cascading, ricocheting and vaporizing into a white cloud of mist before coalescing into a cushion of foam. What you don’t see in photos is the view the falls have of everyone looking at them, an explosion of tourism almost as breathtaking as the cataract itself. I embraced the chaos for a moment over a Jack Daniel’s New York Strip Steak at TGI Fridays — near the Guinness World Records Museum, Ripley’s Believe It or Not, Upside Down House, Brick City toy museum, Movieland Wax Museum of the Stars and the Haunted House. Then I caught a cab to an older world in Port Colborne at the opposite end of the Welland Canal. Port Colborne sits on Lake Erie and is the kind of place where local legends include a high school kid who played in the N. H. L. and a World War II Canadian battleship that was named after the town. Like Hamilton, Port Colborne had become a chic weekender destination and was packed with gift shops, cafes and the incredible Minor Fisheries cafeteria — where your breaded and fried perch comes in daily from the local fishing fleet. The Equinox eased into Lock 8 around 6 p. m. After I boarded, Captain Ross directed the ship into Lake Erie. Sunset comes slowly on the Great Lakes. The surface of the water morphed into an antique mirror, clouded and rippled. Before long, land on the far shore became a shadowy thumbnail, marked by a dozen bristling towers and smokestacks. The final leg of the journey through Lakes Huron and Superior was the fastest. There is one stop at Soo Locks between Lake Huron and Superior, and the ship cruises at top speed the rest of the way. We were in the Detroit River when I woke up the second to last day. After coffee and an omelet, Detroit appeared like a house of mirrors off the port bow. From there we steamed past Belle Isle into Lake St. Clair, through the St. Clair River and Lake Huron. Sometime that night we turned north up St. Mary’s River to the Soo Locks at Sault Ste. Marie and continued west across Lake Superior. The fog set in on the last night, and I couldn’t see the bow of the ship. The dampness and cold penetrated my jacket on deck, and beads of water formed on my eyelashes. There were no buoys, ships or rocks. You could see them on the radar but not through the windshield. “Lake’s too cold,” the wheelman said. I woke in the middle of the night and looked through the porthole. The fog had lifted and Superior was black and calm. The average depth of the lake is 483 feet. Off Grand Island, the bottom drops to 1, 333 feet. Somewhere down there the Midcontinent Rift, a giant scar of hardened magma where the North American continent split in two a billion years ago, runs across the bottom. Deepwater ciscoes swim through the deepest trenches of the lake. Native lake trout and lake herring circle above them. Sleek black loons, herring gulls, harlequin ducks and oldsquaw dive at the fish on the surface, and eagles, falcons, terns and plovers glide above. Before I went to bed, I had packed my things. I couldn’t imagine riding a boat for three months, much less 30 years as a career seaman. I stared at the ceiling for an hour, wondering if I would fall asleep. I imagined the cliffs that border the northern shore of Lake Superior passing by, and gray wolves and black bear wandering through stands of paper birch and pine. In a I dreamed of the cottony white cloud covering the lake. Above the cloud the moon seared a crescent into the sky. The ship made a long furrow through the mist, just the smokestack poking through. It was a clear night above and a whiteout below. Lights flickered onshore. Cars zipped along highways. America went on as usual while the giant ship slid forward in the silver light.	1
October 30, 2016 - Fort Russ News - - Sputnik France , translated by Tom Winter - While the European Parliament makes preparations about exempting Ukrainian citizens from the visa obligation, the figures are speaking volumes about the prospects of this measure: more than half of Ukrainians are ready to leave their country. About 30% of Ukrainians would want to flee the country, according to a recent survey conducted by the "Raiting" group. An even greater number of respondents, 40%, would wish to work abroad, citing the difficulty of "a decent life" in Ukraine. While in the immediate aftermath of the Maidan, 58% of Ukrainians were against the idea of leaving the country, but three years later, only 28% completely reject the idea. Explaining their choice, the respondents put forward their hopes of having better living conditions and ensuring a happy future for their children. Notable also is the fact that the majority of potential migrants live in the western and central regions of Ukraine, ie those closest to the border with the EU. In 2015, about 9.5 million Ukrainian migrants crossed the Polish border. Is the EU about to withstand a new wave of migration? No need to wait long for the answer. The new statistics are a reminder of the promise made just yesterday by Piotr Poroshenko. The visa-free regime between Ukraine and the EU will be in place by November 24, he said yesterday, adding that Kiev had fulfilled all its commitments to Brussels. The obligations to stop the war in the southwest and improve living standards in the country apparently were not part of the list. Follow us on Facebook! Follow us on Twitter! Donate!	0
(Want to get this briefing by email? Here’s the .) Good evening. Here’s the latest. 1. Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump entered the final two months of a long, presidential contest virtually tied in the popular vote, according to a new national poll. Mrs. Clinton still leads in crucial swing states that could decide the election. House Republicans asked the Justice Department to investigate whether Mrs. Clinton or those working with her obstructed justice when emails were deleted from the personal server she used as secretary of state. Mrs. Clinton responded, “The F. B. I. resolved all of this. ” She also dismissed conservative alarms over a coughing fit she had, and, in Florida, portrayed Mr. Trump as a bungling businessman to serve as commander in chief. _____ 2. Mr. Trump, bolstered by the endorsement of 88 retired generals and military officials, visited Virginia and North Carolina. Mr. Trump is facing persistent questions about a $25, 000 donation he made to a group supporting the Florida attorney general, Pam Bondi, after which her office decided not to join in a review of fraud allegations at Trump University. Whoever wins in the fall, the billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch are determined to restore their brand of conservatism to the Republican Party. The vehicle: the Grassroots Leadership Academy, intended to groom a new generation of activists. Above, David Koch. _____ 3. President Obama became the first sitting American president to visit Laos, promising more aid to help locate unexploded bombs the U. S. dropped during its secret war alongside the Vietnam conflict. His dayslong Asian trip has offered opportunities to burnish his legacy, particularly on fighting climate change. But the shine was dimmed by insulting behavior from China and Rodrigo Duterte, the new president of the Philippines. _____ 4. Congress returned from a break highly attuned to the fall elections. One of the legislators’ most urgent but divisive tasks is to find a way to fund the government after the fiscal year ends on Sept. 30, since neither the House nor Senate advanced annual spending bills. Zika funding is likely to have to wait for that resolution. The rotunda reopened to visitors after more than a year of repair work. The flowers above are part of an installation representing gun deaths that occurred during Congress’s recess. _____ 5. 21st Century Fox Corporation settled a sexual harassment suit against Roger Ailes for $20 million and an apology. The company said that the former Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson, above, “was not treated with the respect and dignity that she and all of our colleagues deserve. ” Turmoil and friction remain, as Mr. Ailes’s lawyer said he was “not contributing anything” to the settlement, and Fox News abruptly announced the departure of its longtime star Greta Van Susteren. _____ 6. Muslims from around the world have begun arriving in Mecca for the annual hajj pilgrimage. Saudi Arabia, the host, and Iran, are bickering bitterly over a crush of pilgrims last year that left at least 769 people and possibly more than 2, 400 dead, many of them Iranian. Iranians are not taking part this year. The Saudis have not explained precisely how one of the deadliest hajj accidents ever unfolded, but we reconstructed some of the disaster through official information and the account of a survivor. _____ 7. The Library of America, which has published the definitive collection of American writing for more than 35 years, enshrined Ursula K. Le Guin. At her behest, the nonprofit did not bring out her science fiction, starting instead with “The Complete Orsinia,” a collection of early stories evoking the realistic histories of imagined lands. “Someone who pigeonholed me firmly will say, ‘What the hell?’ ” she told our interviewer recently. “But that’s their problem. ” _____ 8. We can no longer fence our food critic in. From now on, he’ll be reviewing restaurants outside New York from time to time. He’s on the far coast, giving Cassia, in Santa Monica, Calif. three stars. The Asian food offers balance rather than extremes, he writes, and the chef “isn’t in the business of scrawling his signature on other countries’ cultures. ” If you’re in the vicinity, check out California Today, our new daily briefing. _____ 9. Britain, which like the U. S. has a large proportion of people over 65 living alone, has begun confronting loneliness as a critical public health problem linked to illness and overall decline. “It is no longer medically or ethically acceptable to ignore older adults who feel lonely and marginalized,” a geriatrician said. _____ 10. An asteroid flying between Mars and Jupiter has been named for Freddie Mercury, the lead singer of the rock group Queen. He died in 1991 at the age of 45 from complications of AIDS. The asteroid now bearing his name was discovered the same year. “It’s just a dot of light but it’s a very special dot of light, and maybe one day we’ll get there,” said Brian May, the Queen guitarist who became an astrophysicist. _____ 11. Finally, good news: A leading environmental group declared the giant panda out of “endangered” status. Noting that several other species were closer to extinction, the group made a point of praising the Chinese government’s efforts to protect and preserve forests to reverse the slide of the panda population. _____ 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 our prior Evening Briefing. What did you like? What do you want to see here? Let us know at briefing@nytimes. com.	1
OAKLAND, Calif. — Kevin Durant began his evening by searching for his teammates. He dribbled against defenders and kicked the ball out to the perimeter, involving everyone as the Oklahoma City Thunder sought to extend their season. Some two hours later, his night ended in a flurry of yellow confetti. As the Golden State Warriors celebrated their Game 7 victory in the Western Conference finals late Monday, Durant found Stephen Curry, the Warriors’ transcendent star, and the two embraced. Not so long ago, Durant was the league’s most valuable player. Curry now owns the title, and they showed their mutual respect. Over the course of the series, Durant pulled everything from his basketball tool kit. He scored and defended. He encouraged his teammates and badgered his opponents. It was nearly good enough. The Thunder had three games — three rare opportunities — to close this thing out and advance to their first N. B. A. finals since 2012. Instead, the Warriors proved their dominance once more in their victory. But if the Thunder are sure to be haunted by their mistakes, Durant delivered a message of hope. “Just proud, man,” Durant said. “It’s a journey. A lot of people just see the basketball games, but they don’t see everything else behind the scenes, and that’s what I’m proud of these guys for: staying together and continuing to get better day by day throughout the season. ” As the Warriors began to prepare for their N. B. A. title defense against the Cleveland Cavaliers, who will visit Oracle Arena on Thursday night for Game 1 of the N. B. A. finals, Durant waded into his uncertain future. He is due for free agency this summer, and teams are lining up. He is among the best players of his generation, a talent. “I’ll think about that stuff,” said Durant, who has spent his entire career with the Thunder franchise. “I don’t know when. ” But in the wake of profound disappointment, after so many blown chances to upend one of the most dominant teams in league history, Durant sounded encouraged by the experience, by his team’s growth and by what the future held. He did not sound like a man who was ready to leave. “I thought we peaked at the right time and got better at the right time,” he said. “Unfortunately, we didn’t come out on top. And that’s something that all the guys are upset about. But we laid it all out there. Everybody left their soul out on the court. We have no regrets. ” The case for Oklahoma City is simple: Durant can make more money by staying (the N. B. A. ’s collective bargaining agreement rewards loyalty) and the Thunder are an excellent team. With Russell Westbrook, his teammate, set to become a free agent in 2017, it would make sense for Durant to sign a deal with an after next season. The Thunder are right there, after all — one win short of the finals this season, with young players who are improving. Consider the emergence of Steven Adams, their center. Against the Warriors, he averaged 10 points and 8. 9 rebounds while playing terrific defense and revealing a remarkable threshold for pain. He is exactly the type of player who complements Durant and Westbrook, both of whom can score and create offense. Adams, who seems oblivious to statistics, is happy to do everything else. “It’s up to him,” Adams said of Durant’s looming decision. “We’re just here to support him, and he knows that. ” It was a stirring run for the Thunder, especially given their recent history. Last season, with Durant sidelined for all but 27 games because of injuries, Oklahoma City went and landed in the draft lottery. After Billy Donovan was hired to replace Scott Brooks as coach, he set about building relationships with his players. The Thunder improved as the weeks and months passed, becoming more cohesive, more aggressive and more dangerous in the twin shadows cast by the Warriors and the San Antonio Spurs, whom the Thunder demolished in their conference semifinal series. “I think they got dramatically better during the playoffs,” Warriors Coach Steve Kerr said. “I really do. They’ve always been very, very talented. They’ve always been formidable. ” Before Game 7 on Monday, Donovan was completely at ease with the weight of the moment, saying his players had “an understanding of what they’re walking into tonight. ” After launching 31 shots in Game 6, Durant tailored his approach for Game 7. He attempted just five field goals in the first half, coaxing his team along by being generous with the ball. He knew he could not do it alone — until he nearly did, his scoring binge cutting into the Warriors’ lead. Curry was too much in the end, though. In the final two games of the series, the Warriors shot 38 of 82 from range (46. 3 percent). The Thunder were 10 of 50 (20 percent). Those totals stuck with Durant. “They beat us from the line,” Durant said. “We beat them everywhere else. They beat us from the line, and that was the series. ” It was a sign to him of just how close the Thunder had come to reaching the grand stage of the finals. All the more reason, then, for him to come back and try again.	1
Sen. Elizabeth Warren ( ) has failed to disclose a $1. 3 million line of credit provided to her by Bank of America, the Washington Free Beacon reports:[Warren argued that financial disclosures are needed to ‘reveal potentially damaging information that may undermine fitness to serve’ and that nominees with ‘complex financial histories’ need to be ‘forthcoming and transparent.’ Warren, meanwhile, continues to skirt congressional ethics laws by failing to include a $1. 3 million line of credit against her Cambridge, Massachusetts, home on financial disclosure forms. “Another example of this shady lady in action — she claims to fight for the downtrodden, but checks the box to claim minority status, takes loans from Harvard to buy her mansion, says in 2012 that she doesn’t own stocks, only mutual funds, claims to be the ‘intellectual mother’ of the Occupy movement until it turns into a PR disaster — is anyone suprised by this latest?” Boston talk radio king Howie Carr tells Breitbart News. “Surely not Bernie Sanders, whom she refused to endorse!” Carr notes. The revelation of the existence of this previously undisclosed line of credit leaves Warren, who presents herself as a champion of the common people, vulnerable to charges of hypocrisy. Warren aggressively criticized Rep. Tom Price ( ) at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee on January 18 to become Secretary of Health and Human Services over the purchase of $2, 700 in the stock of one company by the manager of his stock portfolio. “I’m just asking: Did you buy the stock, and then did you introduce a bill that would be helpful to the companies you just bought stock in?” she asked Price at the hearing. “The stock was bought by a direct … by a broker who was making those decisions. I wasn’t making those decisions,” he responded. “Was the stock purchased through an index fund? . . . Through a blind trust?” Warren asked, a question that was followed by this exchange: Warren: So, let’s just be clear. This is not just a stock broker — someone you pay to handle the paperwork. This is someone who buys stock at your direction. This is someone who buys and sells the stock you want them buy and sell. Price: Not true. Warren: So, when you found out that … Price: It’s not true Senator. Warren: What? Because you decide not to tell them? Wink, wink. Nod, nod. And we’re all just supposed to believe that? Price: It’s what members of this committee. It’s the manner in which members of this committee . . . Warren: I’m not one of them. The senior senator from Massachusetts, who is up for in 2018, now has a political perception problem of her own related to personal financial dealings — the undisclosed $1. 3 million line of credit, which suggests that she is very much “one of them. ” This is not the first time Warren has been publicly labeled a hypocrite. In April 2012, during her successful campaign to win her Senate seat, the Boston Herald reported that Warren had publicly claimed Native American status in reports given to two of her employers — first at the University of Pennsylvania Law School in the late 1980s, and then at Harvard Law School in the 1990s. As Breitbart News documented extensively at the time, there is zero credible evidence to support Warren’s claim that she has Native American ancestry. Warren has repeatedly asserted that “family lore” of Native American ancestry is the only evidence she needed to make that claim. In 1993, Warren provided information to the Harvard Women’s Law Journal about her background that led that publication to include her as a “woman of color” teaching at Harvard in an article published that year. As improbable as it may seem in a state where Hillary Clinton defeated Donald Trump by a margin of 60 percent to 33 percent, a recent poll conducted by WBUR indicates that Warren may have a tougher battle ahead in 2018 then previously thought. “According to a new WBUR poll, only 44 percent [of Massachusetts voters] think Warren ‘deserves reelection.’ percent think voters ought to ‘give someone else a chance,’ ” WBUR reported on Monday. “No one’s going to look at a 44 percent reelect number and think that that’s a good number,” said Steve Koczela, president of The MassINC Polling Group, which conducts surveys for WBUR. “No one’s going to look at it being close to even between ‘reelect’ and ‘give someone else a chance’ and think that that’s reassuring. ” Colin Reed, executive director of American Rising, a Republican Super PAC, highlighted Warren’s political vulnerabilities in an at the Boston Herald on Friday. “It’s quickly becoming the winter of her discontent for U. S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren. No matter which direction she looks, she faces political headaches,” Reed wrote. “From the right, a fresh barrage of stories broke this week about the mysterious $1. 3 million line of credit on her Cambridge home, a development first reported by the Boston Herald in 2015. For two years in a row, Warren failed to list it on the financial disclosure form all senators complete each year,” he continued, adding: The purpose of the line of credit remains murky, and Warren’s staff claims she is not required by law to report it. But that hasn’t stopped the Massachusetts Democrat from hypocritically demanding the highest levels of ethics from President Trump’s Cabinet appointees. Writing in The Washington Post last week, Warren declared, “It is critical that each nominee follows basic ethics rules to ensure that they will act for the benefit of all the American people. ” Transparency has never been a hallmark of the former Harvard Law School professor. Throughout her political career, she has been dogged by lingering questions about a number of controversies, including her employment status at Harvard, her work as a corporate lawyer and her real estate holdings in Oklahoma. Her own vulnerabilities, however, have never stopped her from casting stones at others. In 2012, Warren defeated incumbent Sen. Scott Brown ( ) by a 53 percent to 46 percent margin.	1
BNI Store Nov 5 2016 Muslims regularly use “Inshallah” (“God Willing” in Arabic) and nobody calls it ‘Christophobic’ hate speech…so why is “Deus Vult” (“God Willing” in Latin) graffiti being called ‘Islamophobic’ Crusader hate speech? At the newly sharia-compliant University of Southern Maine, moronic school officials say “Deus Vult” Graffiti of Crusades’ rallying cry is being referred to the state Attorney General’s office after the Latin phrase used by Christians was written on a desk and wall in a student government office. Press Herald The phrase was used as a rallying cry for Christians during the Crusades in medieval times, and more recently has now is being called an anti-Muslim insult. In an email to the campus community, USM President Glenn Cummings condemned the “anti-Muslim graffiti” found in the office in the Woodbury Campus Center. “I want you to know that addressing this is our highest priority. Our campus security is fully investigating what we believe to be a hate crime,” Cummings wrote. “A team from our Dean of Students is working hard to uncover the facts while providing opportunities for intergroup dialogue and supporting students directly and indirectly affected by this reprehensible act. (It’s free speech, you idiot, and Muslims use the exact same phrase everyday, especially when trying to impose their death cult on non-muslims) British member of ISIS Mostly, to our Muslim students I want to express how sorry I am this has happened. Please know that such actions affect all of us. This is not who USM is or wants to be.” (USM is a school of politically correct asswipes who should be fired) According to USM’s student body president (a Muslim, of course) , Muhammad “Humza” Khan, a male student who is not part of student government drew the graffiti Tuesday afternoon, while two student Senate members were in the office. Khan, who declined to identify the student because of the investigation, said the two witnesses have said they didn’t understand the meaning of the phrase – which was written in small letters on an electrical wire cover on a wall, and on a wooden desk. USM officials also have not released the student’s name. In a Facebook post, USM student body Vice President Matt Raymond condemned the graffiti. “I just wanted to say that all this happened a day after five Muslim students asked for applications to Student Government to become Senators. I believe this act of “criminal intimidation” (Seriously? You should be taken away in a straitjacket) to be linked to that fact,” Raymond wrote, adding that student government is open to all students of any race, gender, religion, sexuality, economic background or nationality.” (It is, but you can’t blame students for hating Muslims, the biggest threat to America) Southwest Airlines knows what it means and acted accordingly Humza Khan, myself, and our Cabinet under the Executive branch condemn in the harshest terms this crime of bias and intimidation. Let’s show folks that USM is a diverse and inclusive university for all moving forward!” A group of about 40 students rallied in support of Muslim students at lunchtime Thursday. Raymond said he plans to ask the student Senate to vote out two members who he believes did not respond appropriately to the incident. Khan said he believes the person who wrote the graffiti intended to intimidate Muslim students who have expressed interest in joining the student Senate. “The way Muslims see (that Latin phrase,) we see it indirectly as ‘Let’s kill Muslims,’ ” said Khan, who is Muslim. (But Muslim students who keep saying Death to Israel/Death to America are said to be exercising their freedom of speech) “It’s not immediately seen as racist, it’s not a racial epithet, but it’s still there to intimidate a specific group of people,” Raymond said. “And it served its purpose, even though it was coded language.” (One can only hope. Muslims should be banned from holding office anywhere America. Look at the mess the Muslim in the White House has made)	0
The top Republicans on the Senate Banking Committee called on the Treasury Department Tuesday to end the policy of designating financial companies as Too Big To Fail. [In a letter sent Tuesday, Senator Tom Cotton and nine other Republican Senators urged Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to “use the all tools available” to reverse the Obama administration’s policy of having a federal council designate financial companies as “systemically important financial institutions,” a designation that brings with it stringent supervision by the Federal Reserve, new capital requirements, and costly regulatory burdens. Critics of the policy claim that designating nonbank companies as SIFI’s is counterproductive because it creates the impression that were the companies to fail despite regulation, the government would act to bail them out. Instead of dismantling Too Big To Fail, SIFI designation actually reinforces it, critics charge. “Among its many flaws, enshrined ‘Too Big To Fail’ as an official policy by creating a Federal council to designate nonbanks as ‘systemically important financial institutions.’ These designations offer large firms implicit taxpayer backing for future bailouts and result in massive new regulatory costs,” the group of Senators said in a statement Tuesday. The Senators frame their letter as supporting the President Donald Trump’s Executive Order on financial regulation. It was signed by Senators Cotton, Pat Toomey, Richard Chelby, Mike Crapo, Mike Rounds, John Kennedy, Ben Sasse, David Perdue, Thom Tillis and Tim Scott. The Act created a new financial regulatory body called the Financial Stability Oversight Council, an intergovernmental taskforce led by the Treasury Secretary, and gave it the power to designate financial companies as SIFIs. The council, known as FSOC, designated three large insurance companies — American International Group, Prudential Insurance, and MetLife — as SIFIs. Last year, a federal judge ruled that the designation of MetLife was “arbitrary and capricious,” describing FSOC’s process as “fatally flawed. ” The Obama administration appealed that ruling and the case was heard by the D. C. Circuit Court of Appeals last fall. Many expected the Trump administration would drop the appeal, letting the original ruling overturning the SIFI designation stand. The failure of the Trump administration to act has perplexed allies of the administration on Capitol Hill and in the insurance industry. Although the letter from Senator Cotton and others doesn’t explicitly mention the MetLife case, it is undoubtedly an attempt to spur the administration to action on the matter. “The FSOC’s process for designating systemically important financial institutions lacks transparency and accountability,” the letter states, echoing the language of the federal court’s decision overturning the MetLife designation. “There have been talks about this, yet nothing has happened. Hopefully this gets the administration off its keister,” said one person familiar with the background of the letter. One concern is that if the administration does not act swiftly, the D. C. Circuit Court could issue a decision reversing the lower court. That would complicate efforts to reverse the designation of the insurance companies as SIFIS.	1
HONG KONG — Donald J. Trump’s golden quiff, bushy eyebrows and preening gestures were immortalized this week in China — though perhaps not in a way that he would like. They appeared on a giant rooster statue, just above some feet and a wattle that hangs below a gilded nose and mouth. The statue, which was installed outside a shopping mall in the northern Chinese city of Taiyuan, was built to celebrate the coming Year of the Rooster in the Chinese lunar calendar and comes less than a month before Mr. Trump’s inauguration. It is 23 feet tall. Relations between Washington and Beijing have been especially jittery in recent weeks. The tension is due in large part to Mr. Trump, who belittled China during his presidential campaign and caused a diplomatic stir this month by making clear that he views the central basis for diplomatic relations between Washington and Beijing — known as the One China policy — as up for negotiation. But reaction to the rooster on Chinese social media was light and full of positive emoji. Global Times, a tabloid, said on Tuesday that onlookers in Taiyuan, the capital of Shanxi Province, had praised the statue as a “perfect blend of Chinese and Western cultures. ” “It’s not bad looking,” Zhang Guoqiang, an employee at the Yihui Japanese Restaurant at the North America N1 Art Shopping Center, where the statue is, said by telephone on Thursday. Inflatable “Trump chicken” replicas were on sale at Taobao, an online shopping bazaar, with a version advertised for $1, 725. Casey Latiolais, an illustrator and animator in Seattle, said in a telephone interview that he completed the design in early November for Beijing Reliance Commercial Land, a real estate company that had contacted him through Behance, a website where artists post their portfolios. Mr. Latiolais said the company had asked only for a statue to commemorate the Year of the Rooster and did not mention Mr. Trump. Mr. Latiolais, 30, declined to comment on why he had given the rooster features. But he said he had been surprised by the size of the final product, which is made of fiberglass. “This was way more yuge than I expected,” he wrote on Twitter. Mr. Latiolais said that he was also surprised when the statue was “sort of bipartisanly looked at as funny” by his friends and family — including his parents, who voted for Mr. Trump. It was not the first time since the American presidential election that people in China had likened Mr. Trump to a bird with notable hair. In November, photos by a Chinese journalist of a golden pheasant with a blond pompadour and a red body circulated widely on social media and were published online by People’s Daily, the Communist Party’s main newspaper. The bird, which lives in a safari park in the eastern city of Hangzhou, became a star attraction there and a muse for Hsiaohan Chen, a political cartoonist in Taipei. Mr. Trump has a penchant for lashing out at his critics, however minor, on Twitter. But as of Thursday afternoon, he had not commented on either bird.	1
They have to flee the poverty, goyim. Being poor is an international war crime. The game, faggots: you just lost it. Politico : Theo Francken, Belgiumâs secretary of state for migration, said he will appeal a court ruling that the country must grant a visa to a Syrian family wanting to apply for asylum in Belgium, according to local broadcaster VRT. The Belgian Court of First Instance ruled the state must pay a penalty of âŹ4,000 for each day the visa is delayed. The Syrian family of four is seeking an official visa to come to Belgium without traveling by sea. They claim they will apply for asylum as soon as they are in the country. Secretary of State Theo Francken called the decision âinsaneâ and said he will appeal. Currently, people can only apply for asylum in a country if they are actually on its territory. âIt will open the door to thousands of people,â Francken said. âIf we allow people to come to Belgium with a visa to apply for asylum, the whole system will collapse.â roflmao and he’ll be called a racist for this. Theo Francken be all like “damn, dawg.” And I don’t think an EU court could possibly disagree with this decision. Because of course, if unlimited millions of people are allowed to take boats into Europe, why should they not be allowed to fly-in on airplanes? No idea why Francken says “thousands” though. This is several billion people that it opens the door to. The EU has treated as valid asylum claims from every country in Africa, the Middle East and West Asia. Of course, not all of them are eventually approved, but no one is ever deported (except Albanians lel). They can just keep appealing the decision, and even when the appeals fail and they’re issued a deportation order, they are still allowed to loaf around on welfare because there is no mechanism to go find them, arrest them, and ship them out. So basically, anyone from any African or Moslem country who can afford a plane ticket will be issued an EU visa which will effectively allow them to come live in Europe on welfare forever. It is obviously insane, but it was insane for Merkel to invite these billions to take boats to Greece and walk across Europe. Everything that happens anymore is insane, so “this is insane” is no longer a valid argument for anything. The only accepted argument is “this is racist”– there is no accepted counterargument. So basically: it’s time to spread your legs wider, Europe, because this gang-bang just got a lot more crowded. Note that that metaphor applies in a literal sense to your daughters.	0
BALTIMORE — After a string of defeats, the prosecutors who were unable to win convictions of police officers in the death of Freddie Gray defended themselves on Thursday and sharply accused the city’s Police Department of undermining them. At a news conference the day after their boss, Marilyn J. Mosby, the state’s attorney for Baltimore, announced she was dropping charges against the three officers who still awaited trial, the lead prosecutors — both seasoned lawyers — said the police had failed to serve search warrants for the officers’ personal cellphones. The lawyers also echoed a charge made in court that a detective assigned to the case was sabotaging it. They disputed a contention by critics that they rushed to bring charges, and said they never doubted their theory of the case — or whether they had the evidence to win. “There was sufficient evidence for a rational juror to convict,” Michael Schatzow, deputy chief state’s attorney, told reporters crowded into a conference room in Ms. Mosby’s downtown suite. “We believed in these cases, and we were prepared to fight very hard for these cases. ” The appearance by Mr. Schatzow and Janice Bledsoe, a deputy state’s attorney, was the first time the prosecutors — who like all the lawyers, defendants and witnesses had been subject to a strict rule of silence imposed by the judge — spoke publicly, outside the courtroom, about a case that has torn apart this city and drawn national attention. The two appeared worn out and at times exasperated — “When it comes to frustration, I plead guilty,” Mr. Schatzow said — but offered a remarkable look into their thinking, and the potential conflicts between the police and prosecutors who usually work together. It is “extraordinarily unusual” for prosecutors to publicly criticize the police, said David Jaros, a law professor at the University of Baltimore. He said the trials highlighted the need — as Ms. Mosby suggested at her news conference on Wednesday — for independent investigators and prosecutors to handle police misconduct cases. “There is something problematic,” Mr. Jaros said, “when police officers are asked to investigate themselves and when local prosecutors are involved in these highly politicized, prosecutions. ” The Police Department has stood by its investigation. In a statement released Wednesday, Commissioner Kevin Davis said “over 30 ethical, experienced and talented detectives worked tirelessly to uncover facts” in the case. A department spokesman said Thursday that the police would “not engage in public banter with our criminal justice partners. ” Mr. Gray, a black man, was arrested on April 12, 2015, in the blighted West Baltimore neighborhood where he grew up. He sustained a fatal spinal cord injury and died a week later — one of a string of deaths around the country of black men at the hands of the police that prompted national outcry, and riots here. On May 1, with National Guard troops on patrol, Ms. Mosby announced that she was bringing criminal charges against six officers. Prosecutors argued that Mr. Gray was improperly arrested, and that he sustained the fatal injury during a ride in a police van, in part because officers failed to put a seatbelt on him and drove the van dangerously. But the first trial ended in a hung jury, and three more ended in acquittals issued by Judge Barry G. Williams of the Baltimore City Circuit Court, prompting the prosecution team to conclude they could not win convictions before him. In Maryland, defendants may choose whether to have a trial by judge or jury. Mr. Schatzow said prosecutors began investigating the circumstances around Mr. Gray’s injury in the days after it happened, and said it was not scattershot or rushed, adding, “I don’t think we felt that there was material that we overlooked. ” Legal experts have noted that timeline fell short of what is typical for federal inquiries, which last months if not years. But the prosecutors laid blame on the police, not themselves. Mr. Schatzow said the lead police detective involved in the inquiry, Dawnyell Taylor, “was doing things without notifying us, and doing things that were counter to what a primary detective should be doing,” and was removed from the case as a result of his complaints. But in court, she denied that she had been removed from the case. And Ms. Bledsoe said that while the police tried to get personal cellphones of the six officers, which might have shown their communications during and after the episode, the department “did not execute those warrants in the correct amount of time, and they expired. ” One of the biggest outstanding questions is what, precisely, happened to Mr. Gray. Some residents here, as well as neurologists who have watched the case from afar, have questioned whether he was injured not in the van, but during the initial arrest, when he was pinned to a sidewalk — a scene captured on video that was widely replayed. “Everybody who saw that acknowledged that he couldn’t use his legs properly,” said Mary Anne Whelan, a retired neurologist in Cooperstown, N. Y. who was one of several doctors who in interviews have questioned the narrative about Mr. Gray’s injury. “Somehow or other it’s gotten to be accepted that it happened in the van, but that’s wrong. ” But prosecutors said that video recordings of the arrest, which they said showed Mr. Gray raising his chin off the pavement and later standing on the back bumper of the police van, at least partly supporting his own weight, indicated that he had not yet sustained a paralyzing injury. In the end, Mr. Schatzow said, Ms. Mosby “correctly determined” that while there may have been enough evidence to persuade jurors, they would never convince Judge Williams that the officers had committed a crime — despite the judge’s history as a lawyer who once prosecuted police misconduct for the Justice Department. “We had to face the reality,” he said, “that defendants would select judge trials, and that this judge would try the cases. ”	1
What is your job now? I don’t have one, really. I’ve got a consulting company with a handful of clients — a couple of nonprofits, a universe of businesses and executives whose instincts are good. Sometimes they just want to kibitz. During the week of the Democratic National Convention, you appeared on both Stephen Colbert’s and Bill Maher’s shows. What’s your current philosophy on media exposure? I’m more experiential. When you do media as an elected official or as a candidate, you have a very clear message that you’re trying to impart and an idea of who you’re talking to. Now I don’t have all that. It’s more just to say what I think. You’re an unusual public figure in that you are known as a former member of Congress and candidate for mayor — and now you’re a guy who had an embarrassing sex scandal featured in a recent documentary. Do people approach you differently? The interactions I have with people have gotten clouded lately because of the movie. The movie seems very much to be a Rorschach test of what people thought about the thing itself. Some people approach me, and they’re like, “Oh, you got a raw deal. ” Some people approach me saying, “Oh, man, I wish you hadn’t messed up. ” Some people approach me and say, “Man, you are such an idiot. ” Have you or your wife, Huma Abedin, seen it? No. Do you regret giving access to the filmmakers? Obviously, when I agreed to do the movie, I anticipated a different outcome. Does anything hurt your feelings anymore or are you kind of immunized by what you’ve been through? To some degree, the same thing that made me successful and that allowed me to survive stuff is that my emotional wiring isn’t fully connected. I have a very thick skin. Without going down a rabbit hole here, you could argue that some of my emotional wiring wasn’t working terribly well. That is how I can survive having 40 cameras outside my house. Are you still engaging in the activities that got you in trouble? I’m not going to go down the path of talking about any of that. But I will say this: There’s no doubt that the Trump phenomenon has led a lot of people to say to me, “Boy, compared to inviting the Russians to come hack someone’s email, your thing seems almost quaint. ” I would think a great number of your former Republican colleagues in Congress must have some regrets about what’s really going on in their party, but most of them can’t say anything. Do you think that might change now that the conventions are behind us? No. The reason they don’t say anything is because they think it fractures their base. But I’m far enough away from this that I doubt my judgment. Recently, you said that if Donald Trump Jr. ran for mayor of New York, you might run yourself, just so you could beat him “like a rented mule. ” I never understood that expression. Why would a rented mule get beaten worse than a regular mule? I don’t know. I grew up listening to Don Imus, who would use that expression all the time. It’s colorful. Do you miss politics? I always had this philosophy when I was an elected official that I shouldn’t be a pundit, but now I’m called upon to be one every once in a while. Notwithstanding the flames I went down in, I’m pretty good at this stuff. Have you thought about running campaigns or being a political consultant? Almost weekly, some candidate will call and ask for advice. I’ve weirdly become a little bit of an elder statesman. Shouldn’t you get paid for it then? No, I don’t want to make a life out of it. Also, no one would want me. Why not? Would you really want the distraction of having me as your campaign manager?	1
Speaking from Freedom House within the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) Vice President Mike Pence delivered strong words to American and Republic of Korea (ROK) military troops, reassuring South Korea of U. S. commitment to denuclearization and warning North Korea that every option is on the table. [“The patience of the United States and our allies in this region has run out, and we want to see change,” Pence warned. Pence made clear that the U. S. wants to see the Democratic Peoples’ Republic of Korea (DPRK) or North Korea, abandon “its nuclear program and its ballistic missile program” and that the U. S. hopes to see China take actions necessary to achieve this change. The Vice President recalled more than a ago, when the U. S. became aware North Korea’s attempts at developing a nuclear weapon: We want to see North Korea abandon its reckless path of the development of nuclear weapons. And also its continual use of and testing of ballistic missiles is unacceptable. That clarity we hope will be received in North Korea, and that they will understand that the United States of America, the people of South Korea, our allies across the region are resolved to achieve our objectives through peaceable means or ultimately by whatever means are necessary to protect the interest, the security of the people of South Korea and to bring stability to the region. He went on to tell the group: We are heartened by the support of allies across the Asia Pacific, including China, who will continue to advance this objective on the Korean Peninsula. And I’m here to express the resolve of the people of the United States and the President of the United States to achieve that objective through peaceable means, through negotiations, but all options are on the table as we continue to stand with the people of South Korea for the denuclearization of this peninsula and for the prosperity and freedom of the people of South Korea. Pence again recalled his father’s military service in the Korean War. “People across the world should know that the bonds between our people are not simply strategic and military and economic, but they are personal, and they span generations of Americans and South Koreans,” he said. Asked about what role China could have in denuclearizing North Korea, Pence stated that he and the President are “heartened by some initial steps that China has taken in this regard, but we look for them to do more. ” The Vice President said that he and the President hope to achieve denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula “through peaceable means” with the cooperation of China, South Korea, Japan, and other allies in the region. “All options are on the table to achieve the objectives and ensure the security of the people of this country and the stability of this region,” said the Vice President, who was clear that the Administration stands by its policy of not talking about military tactical decisions. He also reaffirmed that the U. S. stands with the people of South Korea. Asked what message he had for the “people on the other side of this line,” Pence responded, “We seek peace, but America has always sought peace through strength. And my message here today standing with U. S. Forces Korea, standing with courageous soldiers from the Republic of Korea, is a message of resolve. ” “The alliance between South Korea and the United States is ironclad. We will fulfill that alliance for the sake of our people and the people of South Korea,” Pence continued. He went on to say, “As the President has made very clear, either China will deal with this problem or the United States and our allies will. ” Follow Michelle Moons on Twitter @MichelleDiana	1
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— Della Melton (@DellaMelton57) November 7, 2016 Here's the crowd to see Trump in Michigan tonight. WOW! This is a MOVEMENT! In 2 days we are going to #MakeAmericaGreatAgain ! pic.twitter.com/WRj0VKQemn — Students for Trump (@SoCal4Trump) November 7, 2016 View of the crowd watching Trump tonight in Michigan pic.twitter.com/8Hsibo968U — Chris Snyder (@ChrisSnyderFox) November 7, 2016 Trump invited a group of kids on stage in Michigan! Crowd shouts “USA! USA!” pic.twitter.com/2pA5Lyl0Hk — Asa J 🇺🇸 (@asamjulian) November 7, 2016 25,000 for Trump in Michigan.Michigan is going red this year. pic.twitter.com/WbEfBcq3SQ — Top Capitalist 🇺🇸 (@TopCapitalist) November 7, 2016 360 degrees @realDonaldTrump rally Sterling Heights, Michigan. Raucous crowd spilled out of amphitheater #Campaign2016 #Trump pic.twitter.com/2P3sWWAB0G — Major Garrett (@MajorCBS) November 7, 2016 500+ days of campaigning across America – comes down to just 2 days before the biggest election of our lifetime. This was MICHIGAN tonight. pic.twitter.com/BoUQoz3HJV — Dan Scavino Jr. (@DanScavino) November 7, 2016 Amazing!	0
The second video (bottom one ) proves what Trump is sayng is true , corruption with the Clinton gang is rife , he could use this in his arguments . http://www.opb.org/news/series/burns-oregon-standoff-bundy-militia-news-updates/ammon-bundy-verdict-oregon-standoff-malheur-court/ And lets not forget there were 15 undercover FBI infrmants doing the provications = set up .	0
ERIN, Wis. — Benign conditions at Erin Hills made for a scoring fest and a crowded leaderboard that guarantees an exciting weekend at the U. S. Open. [With little wind, no rain, and greens that Fox Sports analyst Paul Azinger called the best he’s ever seen, the world’s best golfers tore up the course leading to the lowest cut line in U. S. Open history at +1. The bunched leaderboard consists of four players tied at the top: Englishman Paul Casey and Tommy Fleetwood, and Americans Brian Harman and Brooks Koepka. Rickie Fowler failed to capitalize on the great conditions, shooting a 73 that kept him on the first page of the leaderboard but left him in a tie for second place with Jamie Lovemark and JB Holmes. Fowler seemed unconcerned with missing an opportunity to run away from the field. “It will be just fine,” said Fowler, who plays in the group on Saturday. “We’re in a good spot. Looking forward to the next two days. ” The course wasn’t easy for the ranked players in the world as Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy, and Jason Day head home after missing the cut. This is the first time in major championship history that the ranked players have failed to make the cut. DJ looked very disappointed as he was hoping to defend his title while Day and McIlroy seemed more resigned to their fate. McIlroy chalked his poor play up to rust and lack of competitive rounds. There is a palpable excitement around the grounds at Erin Hills due to the packed leaderboard that portends a thrilling weekend and the fact that the course has shown well — challenging yet fair. The forecast calls for rain and stiffening winds over the weekend. Expect the course to exact revenge.	1
Leonard Cohen’s music perfect for feeling sad about Leonard Cohen 11-11-16 THE music of Leonard Cohen is perfect for fans feeling desolate and melancholic about his death, they have confirmed. Fans saddened by the death of the 82-year-old singer-songwriter have found that almost any Leonard Cohen song sums up their feelings this morning exactly. Tom Booker of Manchester said: “There’s no need to compile a special mournful playlist. Just put the back catalogue on shuffle. “It’s very different to when Prince died, when playing classic tracks to mark his passing overwhelmed all my sadness with the inappropriate urge to party, dance and have sex. “With Len, he’s been writing songs about the beautiful inevitability of departing from this world pretty much from 1967’s Songs of Leonard Cohen, so they’re all right where you need it.” Booker added: “I’ll miss him. But I can’t deny he prepared us for this.” Share:	0
WASHINGTON — America, and the world, just found out what “America First” means. President Trump could have used his inaugural address to define one of the touchstone phrases of his campaign in the most inclusive way, arguing, as did many of his predecessors, that as the world’s greatest superpower rises, its partners will also prosper. Instead, he chose a dark, alternative, one that appeared to herald the end of a American experiment to shape a world that would be eager to follow its lead. In Mr. Trump’s vision, America’s new strategy is to win every transaction and confrontation. Gone are the days, he said, when America extended its defensive umbrella without compensation, or spent billions to try to lift the fortune of foreign nations, with no strategic benefits for the United States. “From this day forward, it’s going to be only America first,” he said, in a line that resonated around the world as soon as he uttered it from the steps of the Capitol. “We must protect our borders from the ravages of other countries making our products, stealing our companies and destroying our jobs. ” The United States, he said, will no longer subsidize “the armies of other countries while allowing for the very sad depletion of our military. ” While all American presidents pledge to defend America’s interests first — that is the core of the presidential oath — presidents of both parties since the end of World War II have wrapped that effort in an expansion of the liberal democratic order. Until today, American policy has been a complete rejection of the America First rallying cry that the famed flier Charles Lindbergh championed when, in the late 1930s, he became one of the most prominent voices to keep the United States out of Europe’s wars, even if it meant abandoning the country’s closest allies. Mr. Trump has rejected comparisons with the earlier movement, with its taint of Nazism and . After World War II, the United States buried the Lindbergh vision of America First. The United Nations was born in San Francisco and raised on the East River of Manhattan, an ambitious, if still unfulfilled, experiment in shaping a liberal order. Lifting the vanquished nations of World War II into democratic allies was the idea behind the Marshall Plan, the creation of the World Bank and institutions to spread American aid, technology and expertise around the world. And NATO was created to instill a commitment to common defense, though Mr. Trump has accurately observed that nearly seven decades later, many of its member nations do not pull their weight. Mr. Trump’s defiant address made abundantly clear that his threat to pull out of those institutions, if they continue to take advantage of the United States’ willingness to subsidize them, could soon be translated into policy. All those decades of generosity, he said, punching the air for emphasis, had turned America into a loser. “We’ve made other countries rich,” he said, “while the wealth, strength and confidence of our country has disappeared over the horizon. ” The American middle class has suffered the most, he said, finding its slice of the American dream “redistributed across the entire world. ” To those who helped build that global order, Mr. Trump’s vow was at best shortsighted. “Truman and Acheson, and everyone who followed, based our policy on a ‘’ not an ‘’ basis,” said Richard N. Haass, whose new book, “A World in Disarray,” argues that a more granular, view of American interests will ultimately fail. “A narrow America First posture will prompt other countries to pursue an equally narrow, independent foreign policy,” he said after Mr. Trump’s speech, “which will diminish U. S. influence and detract from global prosperity. ” To Mr. Trump and his supporters, it is just that view that put America on the slippery slope to obsolescence. As a builder of buildings, Mr. Trump’s return on investment has been easily measurable. So it is unsurprising that he would grade America’s performance on a scorecard in which he totals up wins and losses. Curiously, among the skeptics are his own appointees. His nominee for defense secretary, Gen. James N. Mattis, strongly defended the importance of NATO during his confirmation hearing. Both Rex W. Tillerson, the nominee for secretary of state, and Nikki R. Haley, the choice for ambassador to the United Nations, offered up paeans to the need for robust American alliances, though Mr. Tillerson periodically tacked back to concepts echoing Mr. Trump’s. And there is a question about whether the exact meaning of America First will continue to evolve in Mr. Trump’s mind. He first talked about it in a March interview with The New York Times, when asked whether that phrase was a good summation of his views. He thought for a moment. Then he agreed with this reporter’s summation of Mr. Trump’s message that the world had been “freeloading off of us for many years” and that he fundamentally mistrusted many foreigners, both adversaries and some allies. “Correct,” he responded. Then he added, in his staccato style: “Not isolationist. I’m not isolationist, but I am ‘America First.’ So I like the expression. ” He soon began using it at almost every rally. In another interview with The Times, on the eve of the Republican National Convention, he offered a refinement. He said he did not mean for the slogan to be taken the way Lindbergh meant it. “It was used as a very modern term,” he said. “Meaning we are going to take care of this country first before we worry about everybody else in the world. ” As Walter Russell Mead, a professor at Bard College and a scholar at the conservative Hudson Institute, put it the other day, “The fact that he doesn’t have a grounding in the prior use of the term is liberating. ” “If you said to the average American voter, ‘Do you think it’s the job of the president to put America first,’ they say, ‘Yes, that’s the job. ’” But Mr. Mead said that formulation disregarded the reality that “sometimes to achieve American interests, you have to work cooperatively with other countries. ” And any such acknowledgment was missing from Mr. Trump’s speech on Friday. Mr. Trump cast America’s new role in the world as one of an aggrieved superpower, not a power intent on changing the globe. There was no condemnation of authoritarianism or fascism, no clarion call to defend human rights around the world — one of the commitments that John F. Kennedy made in his famed address, delivered 56 years ago to the day, to protect human rights “at home and around the world. ” That was, of course, the prelude to Kennedy’s most famous line: that America would “bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty. ” But the America that elected Mr. Trump had concluded that it was no longer willing to bear that burden — or even to make the spread of democracy the mission of the nation, as George W. Bush, who was sitting behind Mr. Trump, vowed 12 years ago. Mr. Trump views American democracy as a fine import for those who like it. “We do not seek to impose our way of life on anyone,” he said, “but rather to let it shine as an example for everyone to follow. ”	1
Vicar sacked over orgies, hookers & porn after wife exposes his double... Vicar sacked over orgies, hookers & porn after wife exposes his double life By 0 41 A sex addict Church of England vicar who took part in orgies, visited gay saunas and collected “perverted” pornography has been sacked after his estranged wife exposed his double life. Reverend James Day’s actions amounted to “conduct unbecoming and inappropriate,” a Church of England tribunal found. It has banned him from ministry for life. Read more Speaking at the tribunal in London, Birte Day said she had collected evidence showing her husband had taken part in group sex, attempted to set up meetings with prostitutes and used a fake name to meet new partners. She said her husband had stored “a substantial amount” of porn on his computer, which she collected on memory sticks presented to the tribunal, according to the Telegraph. “There were about 50 short films of men and women in scenes of sexual pleasure and orgies, at least 100 sketches of naked women being tortured and burned, a scene of a gladiator being hit and tortured, many images of naked young men… and other sexually explicit material.” She said her husband became increasingly open about his “sexual addiction,” adding: “He often said the two most important elements in his life were God and sex.” “I think James wanted to hurt me with his sexual activities and was making me feel guilty as I was just ‘not good enough,’” she said. Read more The hearing was told the vicar had also been violent towards his wife – tightening a scarf around her neck so she couldn’t breathe, spanking her as punishment for wearing shorts in front of workmen, biting her hand and spitting in her face. “I had to protect myself by gathering evidence to show that he was not normal, because to others outside the marriage he projected himself to be a successful and respectable person,” his wife said. She also referenced an email she had found from Day – who is also a psychology professor – to his friend. He wrote: “You must never desist on account of my priesthood and all to do with vocation … Perhaps I should send you photos from a gangbang I participated in … to assuage your guilt.” His wife also found business cards suggesting Day was visiting gay saunas in Brussels, New York and Italy. He had also created email addresses for himself under different names and identities. The Bishop’s Disciplinary Tribunal for the Diocese of Europe concluded Day’s behavior was not criminal – but that standards for clergy “must be different.” It said it was satisfied the assaults on his wife took place, adding the allegations made against the priest were proved in their entirety. Day did not attend the tribunal but did not contest the proceedings. Via RT . This piece was reprinted by RINF Alternative News with permission or license.	0
Paid instigators are making an already bad situation much much worse. As riots and protests rage through the streets of America, the question has to be asked. Via ActivistPost Does someone behind the scenes want to see civil war in the United States? The answer is almost certainly yes. And it isn’t likely to settle down anytime in the next few days. (If you aren’t prepped for this, go here to learn how to stay safe.) Just a little background: this has been going on since the midst of the campaign when actors were hired on Craigslist and trained to disrupt rallies. For example, one Craigslist ad was answered by Paul Horner, who admitted he was paid $3,500 to cause a scene at a Trump event in Fountain Hills, Arizona. “As for who these people were affiliated with that interviewed me, my guess would be Hillary Clinton’s campaign,” Horner said. “The actual check I received after I was done with the job was from a group called ‘Women Are The Future’. After I was hired, they told me if anyone asked any questions about who I was with or communicated with me in any way, I should start talking about how great Bernie Sanders is.” Horner continued, “It was mostly women in their 60’s at the interview that I went to…” (source) The same report goes on to say: When asked about the other protesters at the rally, Horner said he saw most of them during the interview and training for the rally. “Almost all of the people I was protesting with I had seen at my interview and training class. At the rally, talking with some of them, I learned they only paid Latinos $500, Muslims $600 and African Americans $750. I don’t think they were looking for any Asians. Women and children were paid half of what the men got and illegals received $300 across the board. I think I was paid more than the other protesters because I was white and had taken classes in street fighting and boxing a few years back” You can also read this article, in which a quote caught on video from Project Veritas shows how the Clinton campaign caused disruptions via “bird-dogging.” There’s a lot of evidence that someone is funding these protests. An eyewitness in Austin, Texas spotted protesters being transported by chartered coach buses. Anti-Trump protestors in Austin today are not as organic as they seem. Here are the busses they came in. #fakeprotests #trump2016 #austin pic.twitter.com/VxhP7t6OUI — erictucker (@erictucker) November 10, 2016 Then there was this Craigslist ad. There are many more tweets along these lines, but suffice it to say, suspicion is high that these, just like the Clinton campaign, are rigged to manipulate the American people. Why would anyone want to cause all this trouble? That’s where the web gets tangled. It certainly seems counterproductive to set fire to America. After all, what these people are doing is likely to end up with more tyranny – like martial law, for example. Exactly. That’s precisely the plan. Back in August, hackers from a group called DC Leaks got into the private documents of the Open Society, an organization founded by George Soros. Soros, whom DC Leaks referred to as “the architect and sponsor of almost every revolution and coup around the world for the last 25 years” is a pro-globalist billionaire who has been trying to take over the world via shadow government for decades. Zero Hedge reported on the findings in the Soros leak: The documents are from multiple departments of Soros’ organizations. Soros’ the Open Society Foundations seems to be the group with the most documents in the leak. Files come from sections representing almost all geographical regions in the world, from the USA, to Europe, Eurasia, Asia, Latin, America, Africa, the World Bank “the President’s Office”, as well as an unknown entity named SOUK. As the Daily Caller notes, there are documents dating from at least 2008 to 2016. Documents in the leak range from research papers such as “EUROPEAN CRISIS: Key Developments of the Past 48 Hours” focusing on the impact of the refugee crisis, to a document titled “The Ukraine debate in Germany“, to an update specific financials of grants. They reveal work plans, strategies, priorities and other activities by Soros, and include reports on European elections, migration and asylum in Europe. An email leaked by WikiLeaks earlier this week showed Soros had advised Hillary Clinton during her tenure as Secretary of State on how to handle unrest in Albania – advice she acted on. As well, it’s important to note that Soros provided a whopping $33 million to activists in Ferguson, Missouri, escalating a protest to a siege. The Washington Times reported: …liberal billionaire George Soros, who has built a business empire that dominates across the ocean in Europe while forging a political machine powered by nonprofit foundations that impacts American politics and policy, not unlike what he did with MoveOn.org. Mr. Soros spurred the Ferguson protest movement through years of funding and mobilizing groups across the U.S., according to interviews with key players and financial records reviewed by The Washington Times. In all, Mr. Soros gave at least $33 million in one year to support already-established groups that emboldened the grass-roots, on-the-ground activists in Ferguson, according to the most recent tax filings of his nonprofit Open Society Foundations… This is business as usual for the OSF (Open Society Foundation), as explained by director Kenneth Zimmerman: Mr. Zimmerman said OSF has been giving to these types of groups since its inception in the early ’90s, and that, although groups involved in the protests have been recipients of Mr. Soros’ grants, they were in no way directed to protest at the behest of Open Society. “The incidents, whether in Staten Island, Cleveland or Ferguson, were spontaneous protests — we don’t have the ability to control or dictate what others say or choose to say,” Mr. Zimmerman said. “But these circumstances focused people’s attention — and it became increasingly evident to the social justice groups involved that what a particular incident like Ferguson represents is a lack of accountability and a lack of democratic participation.” Soros-sponsored organizations helped mobilize protests in Ferguson, building grass-roots coalitions on the ground backed by a nationwide online and social media campaign. Other Soros-funded groups made it their job to remotely monitor and exploit anything related to the incident that they could portray as a conservative misstep, and to develop academic research and editorials to disseminate to the news media to keep the story alive. The plethora of organizations involved not only shared Mr. Soros‘ funding, but they also fed off each other, using content and buzzwords developed by one organization on another’s website, referencing each other’s news columns and by creating a social media echo chamber of Facebook “likes” and Twitter hashtags that dominated the mainstream media and personal online newsfeeds. Soros was busted for paying protesters to go into Ferguson and stir things up. This is not theory. It’s FACT. The Daily Mail reported that Soros spent $33 million to bankroll the protests. The Washington Times reported that it was totally cool, though, because humanitarian that he is, Soros just wanted to help the civil rights movement. What a guy. Of course, this seems to be a thing with the kabillionaires. The Ford Foundation and Rockefeller foundation also fund “social activism.” Which is kabillionaire code for “mess stuff up and wreak havoc.” And guess who footed the bill for the rent-a-thug protesters at Trump rallies in California and New York? (Here’s another source, too.) You guessed it. Everyone’s favorite Hungarian-American troll. Keep in mind that the organization Black Lives Matter was born through the Ferguson riots. Does this look familiar? If the Modus Operandi in these protests looks familiar, that’s because MoveOn.org is organizing a lot of them, and MoveOn is funded by…you guessed it: George Soros. The organization was originally founded to combat the impeachment of Bill Clinton…are you seeing a link here? Another proud instigator is the Answer Coalition which also – are you sitting down? Has links to Soros. There are a lot of people who are out there because they genuinely oppose a Trump presidency. The unfortunate thing is, their opposition comes from propaganda that they passionately believe. They are acting based on misinformation and they’re being professionally manipulated. The next step here is martial law, which nobody wants. Well, nobody except George Soros and friends. Someone who wants to see America ripped apart is causing this division. Last summer, it was leaked that Soros attempted to destabilize Russia and depose Putin in 2012. Putin responded by banning Soros and all of his organizations from Russia. In 2014, Putin issued an international arrest warrant for Soros. We could certainly improve both international relationships and our current situation by extraditing Soros immediately.	0
You are here: Home / US / After FBI Reopens Hillary Email Case Trump Supporters Chant 3 Brutal Words After FBI Reopens Hillary Email Case Trump Supporters Chant 3 Brutal Words October 28, 2016 Pinterest During a campaign rally in New Hampshire, Donald Trump supporters chanted “lock her up” when Trump announced to the crowd that the FBI had reopened their investigation into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s mishandling of classified information. Trump told the Manchester, New Hampshire crowd, “The FBI has just sent a letter to Congress informing them that they have discovered new emails pertaining to the former Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton’s, investigation, and they are reopening the case.” In response, the crowd of around 2,000 people chanted “lock her up.” Trump waited for the cheers to die down before he said, “The rest of my speech was going to be so boring.” He asked the crowd, “Should I even make the speech?” Trump added : Hillary Clinton’s corruption is on a scale that we have never seen before. We must not let her take her criminal scheme into the Oval Office. I have great respect for the fact that the FBI and the Department of Justice are now willing to have the courage to right the horrible mistake that they made. As Breitbart reported , the focus of the day was supposed to be Obamacare and the enormous premium increases hitting Americans, but the FBI announcement changed things for not only Trump’s speech, but maybe for the rest of the campaign. In light of the huge FBI announcement, advisers reportedly told Trump to skip the speech, but he said, “I don’t have the courage to skip the speech in New Hampshire.” Trump went ahead with his speech and touched on the major themes of his campaign, with bits about the FBI revelation sprinkled in. “Job-killing Obamacare is one more way the system is rigged. But with what I just announced, previously, it might not be as rigged as I thought, right? Right?” Trump said. “The FBI, I think they are going to right the ship, folks. I think they are going to right the ship and they’re going to save their great reputation by doing so.” We’ll see if this investigation does anything to “right the ship.” As FBI Director James Comey noted in his letter to Congress: Although the FBI cannot yet assess whether or not this material may be significant, and I cannot predict how long it will take us to complete this additional work, I believe it is important to update your Committees about our efforts in light of my previous testimony. This could all be one big smokescreen in an effort to somehow help Clinton, particularly if she should be elected president. It could also be something so damning that even Comey felt like he couldn’t look the other way…which, given the cover-up and lack of indictment, that would really be saying something. Time will tell, of course, but at the very least this revelation is another blow to the Clinton campaign. It doesn’t seem likely that an investigation will be completed before election day, so there will certainly be yet another cloud hanging over the corrupt campaign.	0
How A Communist Brainwashing Method Came To The US CIA learns from communists Image Credits: Luo Shaoyang via Flickr . During the height of the Cold War, the CIA attempted to develop mind control techniques with the MKULTRA program. As it happens, the Communists already had a leg up on them. We’ll explore how this was done, along with some new twists. The criticism and self-criticism technique in history The technique of “criticism and self-criticism” (kritika i samokritika) was developed during the early days of the Soviet Union. This got results. When the early Soviet show trials and purges took place, the targets would confess to committing treason—the details stretching credulity—and beg for execution. The Maoists (Chinese Communists) used it too, typically during “struggle sessions.” Also, forced confessions were required in Vietnam for prisoners in reeducation camps. What happened wasn’t much different from a medieval inquisition. Those targeted would be badgered until they confessed to whatever it was they supposedly did. Of course, physical forms of coercion were also an option. These weren’t actual trials; their fates were already decided.	0
Would you change the oil in your car or assemble an Ikea kitchen yourself if you didn’t have to? Neither would I. But what if you wanted something relatively simple, like a new dress. Is there someone around who can help? And even better, at no charge? I am happy to tell you that yes, there are — and very — people stationed in dressing rooms all over the city. They are called personal shoppers and most big stores have had them for so many years that it’s easy to forget about them. I decided to try out the services offered by Bergdorf Goodman, Macy’s and Saks Fifth Avenue, stores that represent a range of prices. Here’s how it works: You call the store, ask for a stylist, make an appointment, tell the stylist what you’re looking for — and off to work they go, pulling items off the racks for you to try. (Bergdorf’s and Saks offer “Closet Styling,” too this means that a personal shopper comes to your house, helps clean out your closet, updates your wardrobe and dreams up ways to mix and match new and existing pieces. For no charge. Might they be willing to clean out the fridge as well?) There are also companies like Trunk Club, which send boxes of clothing selected to fit your needs. Try the items on at home. Buy them if you like. Return them if you don’t. They’ll send new ones, and at no cost. I supplied my stylists at Bergdorf’s, Saks, Macy’s and Trunk Club with the same information: I wanted to look smarter, more chic and more fun younger wouldn’t hurt, but I didn’t want to look like a nutty person trying to look young. I said I was a writer and that I sometimes had work lunches and dressy events. Each of the stylists posed very different questions when we spoke on the phone before meeting. The Saks stylist wanted to know: Blonde or brunette? Shoe size? O. K. with sleeveless? [More in Shopping: A sensual experience \| Art that makes shopping fun] The stylist at Bergdorf’s asked me to send along a few photos, which I think was a deft way of not asking questions like: Are you fat? Misshapen? Entirely undistinguished looking? gorgeous? I sent photos to clear up these mysteries. You know how you go to the grocery and always manage to come home with the same items? I do something like this when shopping for clothes: No matter how thoroughly I scout the racks, I somehow wind up with variations on the same black outfits. I deliberately did not set a particular price range for my stylists I did not want to inhibit their instincts. Instead, I let each one know that I was open to seduction and invited them to show me something I would never select myself. The Macy’s stylist was the only one who probed the delicate matter of money. How much was I comfortable spending, she asked. I told her a few hundred dollars for a truly great item was fine and that beyond that, I would have to think more deeply. The personal shopper office at Bergdorf’s is on the fifth floor, just behind the evening dress collections. The $13, 575 Carolina Herrera sequined illusion tulle and the $8, 800 sleeveless ruffled ivory ball gowns you pass on your way there help put you in a mood. My stylist led me into a nicely lit suite of rooms. It was full of mirrors and outfitted with velvet chairs, the closet of collective dreams. I made myself at home. appointments can last up to three hours but have been known to extend for three days. My stylist favored feathers, metallics and lacy fabrics mixed with leather. I picked up a black Elie Tahari skirt. It was a miniskirt and a midiskirt it was lace and also not lace. The mini was set inside the midi the outer layer was lace, the inner one not. (I had it all!) Then, a perfect dress: Olive green. Fit and flare. Good for four seasons. All occasions. My stylist tossed a scarf over my neck it landed in a perfect, chic configuration. I tried a silver and black velvet minidress with geometric rings. Conservatively tailored, but definitely fun. She strapped an Gucci bag over my shoulder. A smash addition. Next, a black blouse with golden fruit blossoming on the front a floral print leather skirt with lace panels a reversible shearling coat, blue leather with black collar! The very definition of smarter, more chic, more fun. “A few great pieces and you’re all set, a new look,” the stylist said. The cost was sufficient for what she said was a “transformation”: $5, 900. Crazy. But for a whole new me? Maybe it’s worth it. I looked in a way I couldn’t possibly put myself together. At Saks, the area looks like a salon, all hushed grays and sparkling lights. White roses bloom everywhere. My stylist is big on black. “Let’s go with your style, and take it up a notch,” she said. The black Milly coat and the Vince suede leggings certainly do that. Especially if you throw in the $1, 200 Jimmy Choo boots, one of several pairs thoughtfully placed around the room, “the” boots of the season. A couple of $395 blouses, basic black with white lace collar on one and interesting stitching and layers on the other … very fabulous. Did I say anything about needing a long black Hugo Boss dress with a skirt made of panels: embroidered flowers on one, pink swirls on the other? Would you like to know how it looked on me? Expensive. Very expensive. And great. I want this dress. And a life in which $1, 495 dresses make sense. I learned many things from my Saks stylist. About sweaters, for example. (These are regular sweaters with what looks like holes in the shoulder and are very hot this season.) And: Wear leather boots with suede pants suede boots with leather pants. I have also learned inadvertently about “upselling. ” This is when your stylist intuits — by your response to price tags on the items that you like — the price point that you may accept, with just a little encouragement. A practiced will direct you, subtly, to a pair of Roger Vivier black suede boots. They are gorgeous. You will want them. They cost $2, 000. Is there such a thing as a pair of boots? The total cost to take my style up a notch is $6, 100. I said I’d be in touch. A woman I know, having survived two failed marriages, announced some years ago that she wanted to marry a rich man. She got a job as a personal stylist in the Bloomingdale’s men’s department, and was soon engaged to a billionaire (to whom she is still happily married). This is pretty much all I knew about personal shoppers before I started my investigation. But as I discovered, the parallels between mating and shopping are, in fact, many. “It’s like a blind date,” said my Macy’s stylist when I met her on the fifth floor. We were both bumbling around, looking for each other. She took me to a dungeon of a room, the kind of fluorescently lit place where you might be sent for school detention. (Calla lilies, wilted, in a vase in the reception area.) The dresses she selected were perfect — if I were planning to appear in an episode of “Mad Men” or attend P. T. A. meetings in Ohio in 1962. (I think I mentioned a fondness for retro fabric when we spoke on the phone.) There was a green jumpsuit that would have been a good costume for pumping gas at a suburban service station. Could we try something a little younger, less dowdy? I asked. The Macy’s stylist could not be nicer. And because she inquired about my budget, she, unlike the others, was constricted, though I do not think this fully accounted for her selections. I waited for her to return from the racks with the same bad feeling I imagine you get when you meet someone through Tinder and know at once that this is not going anywhere, but are nonetheless compelled to finish the drink. I dutifully tried the green jumpsuit, and a DKNY black slip of a dress with screaming magenta blotches ($395) a Max Mara plaid and several tweedy Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren and Rachel Roy numbers ($195 to $495). And then politely, and also a little sadly, I said it doesn’t seem to be my day, but I will think about the clothes and maybe try again another time. A Trunk Club box awaited me at home. There are few things as exciting as a giant box with your name on it and lots of stuff inside. But unfortunately, I tried on all the items and they all seemed wrong too short, too tight, off somehow. I liked the range of vision evident in the choices: a casual cashmere sweater with an asymmetric hem, a black Vince moto jacket with shearling collar, a camel cashmere sweater with an asymmetric hem, a conservatively tailored silk shirt dress in a slightly exotic leopard print (red spots! ). “Beats going to the store, huh?” That’s the subject line on the email that Trunk Club sent the following day. Yes! It was a big pleasure to try on clothes at home (white hydrangeas, dried, on my windowsill) and I was sorry to pack everything back up in the cardboard trunk, return label conveniently supplied, and send it back. The note my Trunk Club stylist sent the next day suggested we were just getting going, though, and that she would happily send more boxes until we got it right. I honored the promise I made to each of my store stylists and thought about the items we selected. Obsessively. (Was there any rational way in which it could be said to be smarter to buy the Roger Vivier boots than replace the dishwasher?) But none of the stylists called to follow up. No hard sell there. I was sad about this but also relieved, knowing how vulnerable I felt to prodding. Though I did not make any purchases, my investigation ended with an upbeat takeaway: If you know what you want, personal shoppers can help you find it. Say “retro” and “fit and flare” and “tempt me” and they will hear at least some of what you say. The more specific you are, the more helpful they will be. Tell them you want a little black dress with a for less than $400 or a outfit around $195, preferably with lace or feathers, and, my experience suggests, your personal shopper will deliver. Free. Water and white flowers included. Macy’s Pro: Not intimidating. The personal shopper didn’t make me feel like a big jerk because I wasn’t wearing a million dollars’ worth of clothing. Con: It lacked the drama and the cushiness of the other places (the fluorescent lights didn’t help). The stylist had a kind of fashion vision. Bergdorf Goodman Pro: Really, really lush. Two rooms with lots of mirrors. They took pictures of me that carefully cropped my head off so it was all about the clothes. It felt like . Con: When I got home, I thought: “What was I thinking? I’m going to spend $400 for a skirt with holes in it. ” I didn’t have their undivided attention: They were doing a little texting and running out to get things for other customers, which punctured the fantasy a little. Saks Fifth Avenue Pro: They brought all these expensive and beautiful shoes that looked transformative in that setting. They picked out things I never would. They showed me things that were truly great. And I was actually tempted. Con: I was dizzy with desire. I really wanted that $1, 700 dress. I thought about it for four days, and then went back to being happy with my wardrobe.	1
espace , ioukos , justice Crédit : Reuters L’Agence spatiale russe (Roscosmos) a menacé de bloquer la livraison des lanceurs Soyouz à ses partenaires français d’Arianespace tant qu’elle n’aura pas récupéré les 300 millions d’euros gelés par la Cour d’arbitrage de la Haye dans le cadre de l’affaire des anciens actionnaires de Ioukos, a informé vendredi l’agence AFP , citant le service de presse du groupe public russe. Ioukos : la justice française refuse de suspendre la saisie des biens de l’État « Nous ne recevons actuellement pas l'argent dû par Arianespace pour notre travail. Pas d'argent, pas de produit. Nous ne pouvons travailler gratuitement. Nous ne livrerons donc rien » , indique la source citée par l'agence AFP . En juillet 2014, le tribunal arbitral de la Haye a jugé que la Russie devait verser 46 milliards d’euros aux anciens actionnaires du groupe pétrolier Ioukos . En vertu de cette décision, plusieurs actifs russes ont été bloqués par les tribunaux en France en juin 2015. Cela concerne également les actifs de Roscosmos et de Russian Satellite Communications Company pour un montant total de 642 millions d’euros. En 2016, un tribunal français a établi que Roscosmos était juridiquement indépendant de l’État russe et que les actifs bloqués n’appartenaient donc pas au gouvernement russe et devaient être débloqués. Cependant, les anciens actionnaires de Ioukos ont fait appel de cette décision et l’argent reste toujours sous séquestre. Rappelons qu’Arianespace utilise les lanceurs russes de classe intermédiaire pour envoyer les satellites en orbite depuis le cosmodrome de Kourou en Guyane française . Depuis 2011, Arianespace a déjà lancé 15 Soyouz, le dernier lancement en date a eu lieu en mai. Lire aussi :	0
BBC News A group of warships including Russia’s only aircraft carrier, the Admiral Kuznetsov, is reportedly refuelling at sea off North Africa en route to Syria. Plans for some of the ships to dock at a Spanish port were cancelled after Nato allies voiced concern. Nato is concerned planes from the carrier could be used to attack civilians in the Syrian city of Aleppo. President Vladimir Putin also hinted that an aerial bombardment of rebel-held east Aleppo could resume. Russia and its ally, the Syrian government, had said earlier that they would continue a moratorium on the bombing. At an international conference in the Russian city of Sochi on Thursday, Mr Putin said other parties to the conflict had not been keeping their promises. “Where is the disengagement of terrorists from the healthy part of the opposition?” Mr Putin asked. “So far we have been restrained, and we have not been rude to our partners, but everything has its limits. We could respond.” The Admiral Kuznetsov can carry dozens of fighter bombers and helicopters. It has been sailing for the past week from Russia to the Mediterranean. The BBC’s Jonathan Marcus reports from Brussels that the battle group is currently at anchor off the North African coast and taking on fuel. The group has two “oilers” (tankers) with it and it is not clear which of the vessels is actually refuelling, he adds. The Russian embassy in Madrid formally withdrew a request to Spain for refuelling after being approached by the Spanish foreign ministry. “Given the information which appeared on the possibility that these ships would participate in supporting military action in the Syrian city of Aleppo, the ministry of foreign affairs requested clarification from the embassy of the Russian Federation in Madrid,” the Spanish foreign ministry had said on Wednesday in a statement to the BBC. It added that permission had been granted in September for three Russian ships to dock in the port of Ceuta between 28 October and 2 November. It said such stops for Russian naval vessels had taken place for years in Spanish ports. Nato had said the final decision on resupply rested with Spain. “We are concerned and I have expressed that very clearly about the potential use of this battle group to increase Russia’s ability and to be a platform for air strikes against Syria,” Nato’s Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told journalists on Tuesday. Image copyright EPA Image caption The warships came down the Channel The naval group also includes a nuclear-powered battle cruiser, two anti-submarine warships and four support vessels, probably escorted by submarines. The battle group is expected to join about 10 other Russian vessels already off the Syrian coast. Some 2,700 people have been killed or injured since the Russian-backed Syrian offensive started last month, according to activists. Western leaders have said Russian and Syrian air strikes on Aleppo could amount to war crimes, an accusation rejected by Russia. About 250,000 civilians who live in Aleppo have been trapped by the fighting. Moscow announced last week a “humanitarian pause” in attacks as part of a plan to allow civilians and fighters to leave the area.	0
Hello, Welcome to Teotihuacan Presenting: Streaks of Gold As you can clearly see this is not Teotihuacan but we are very close to it. With places like Puma Punku that have Quick Crete stones that have these shapes in them... And you can clearly see that Ancient Man were telling us in the future that one day would have our green plantations marked by streaks of gold. Obviously being a circuitry board. Our heaven is dependency on technology! This is Teotihuacan People were inspired to build such large and grandiose structures and attribute them to the Sun and the Moon. But why obviously the sun being a life giver is something to honor. But the Moon is a great question. Night is the absence of the Sun and everything depending on the Sun surely would not want to celebrate it's absence. It must be because the Sun was attributed to a great king who sailed across a mighty ocean much like the sun does the sky. And the moon was attributed to a great queen that did the same. And both of them must have proven with great detail. That not only made you believe past all the great technology they brought with them but also believing in them with your heart and soul. That kind of belief transcends time and it also transcends race and species. Those people knew that the moon was not real proof of this is that they symbolize the moon with the crescent moon. If you pay attention at all the moon like god and everything else on the planet snitches what the truth is no matter how good it is at hiding it. And the crescent moon is a snitch that it can cloak and uncloak. Otherwise why would anyone attribute the night with the moon. You would just mark tiny dots in a sky and point to the day and say absent of the sun. It means that while we are very technologically dependent we are being told to believe through what is natural and what mother nature has intended you to see. Why advancement is necessary it's also good to stay rooted and see that everything from top to bottom no matter how primitive still believes in the same Sun and Moon that all life depend on. And that kind of love builds cities,nations, and galactic kingdoms.	0
Conway: Called Delusional on “The View” November 03, 2016 Campaign manager Kellyanne Conway for U.S.... Campaign manager Kellyanne Conway for U.S. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump speaks to the media at Trump Tower in the... The women of "The View" called Donald Trump's campaign manager "delusional", but barely let her speak. Kellyanne Conway appeared on ABC's "The View" Wednesday only to be called “delusional” when she attempted to answer a question about Donald Trump's and nuclear weapons. Joy Behar commented that Trump's "rhetoric about nuclear weapons is reckless", but when Conway tried to respond she was interrupted repeatedly and eventually called "delusional". The back and forth banter was more like an aggressive approach to dumb down Conway's answers and of course limit any negative talk about the Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, who is under intense legal scrutiny just days before election. The women also stated that they did not care if Donald Trump "ever came back on the show". Remains to be seen if they will say the same thing if he wins the nomination.	0
Posted: Nov 14th, 2016 by Guest Click for more article by Guest .. More Stories about: Ticker	0
Navy Commander Says Fleet Will Counter Russia The host of one of Russia’s main fleets until the secession of Crimea, calling Ukraine’s own navy a mess would be an understatement. Built around aging Soviet hand-me-downs, the ships they did have largely defected along with Crimea. Indeed, while they have some small attack boats and the like, it would be fair to classify Ukraine’s entire “navy” as one ship, the Hetman Sahaydachnyy, their flagship, which is in the process of being repaired and refitted. Even this ship is just a frigate, but apart from coastal patrol boats and tug boats, it is what’s left. Ukrainian Navy Commander Vice Admiral Ihor Voronchenko is playing up the repairs and upgrades to their ship as the beginning of a major increase in capacity which will allow them to “counter Russia” in the Black Sea. The US is bankrolling part of this effort with $30 million in aid. By contrast, Russia’s Black Sea Fleet includes four Frigates, a guided missile destroyer, and an even larger guided missile cruiser, the Moskva, which is roughly four times the size of Ukraine’s ship. Beyond that, Russia has half a dozen submarines in the Black Sea, along with the usual smaller boats. NATO in general and the US in particular have talked up their desire to counter Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, but the Ukrainian Navy seems far from a realistic counter in and of itself, and the US funding appears primarily aimed at buying more influence with the Ukrainian government than at trying to develop their ship as a serious fighting force.	0
Country: Yemen With six previous attempts to observe truce having already failed to mitigate the intensity of the crisis, the US brokered seventh truce has yet again —and unsurprisingly— failed to end the fighting in Yemen where the death toll has already risen to 7,000. Despite the fact that both rebels and the Yemeni government had agreed to observe the truce and the ceasefire announced by the Saudia led coalition, fighting has surged, with both sides accusing each other of violation, around the flashpoint southwestern city of Taez, where violence has killed dozens this week, despite clashes subsiding on several fronts. While the fighting itself is a clear reflection of the US’ inability to control the situation on the ground even in a limited sense, the irony of the matter is that—and what turns the tragedy into farce—the US, which is trying to broker peace, happens to be the biggest provider of weapons to Saudi Arabia which has been bombing Yemen for last 19 months. This is where the crux of the problem lies and this is where the original cause of the war must be traced back to. Yemen war continues to drag on not because the warring parties are unable to come to terms; it continues to defy a negotiated end due primarily to the US’ dual-game in the region—a policy that utilises the war-scenario to not only to deepen the Arab countries’ dependence upon the US for military assistance and aid but also to earn billions in terms of weapons sold to the same countries. Therefore, John Kerry’s involvement in many rounds of talks notwithstanding, it is also a fact that many strikes are actually carried out by Saudi pilots who have received their training by the US and who fly US-made jets that are refuelled in the air by American planes. And Yemenis often find the remains of American-made munitions, as they did in the ruins after a strike that killed more than 100 mourners at a funeral last month. Graffiti on walls across Sana reads: “America is killing the Yemeni people.” To the US’ disappointment, no graffiti reads “America is brokering peace in Yemen”, or that “America, is protecting the Yemenis from brutal bombing.” With the US thus playing a double game in Yemen and with the US-made missiles and jets pounding the Yemenis indiscriminately, the question of the US being a committer of war crimes becomes pertinent. The allegation has concrete material base. For instance, consider this: while the UN officials were expressing their concerns over the rising toll of civilian deaths in Yemen in September this year, the US Senate backed, on September 21, the Obama administration’s plan to sell more than $1 billion worth of American-made tanks and other weapons to Saudi Arabia, soundly defeating a bid to derail the deal pushed by lawmakers critical of the kingdom’s role in Yemen’s war. The deal involves more than 100 main battle tanks, machine guns, smoke grenade launchers, night-vision devices, vehicles to recover damaged tanks from the battlefield, and thousands of rounds of training ammunition. The primary contractor for the equipment is General Dynamics Land Systems of Sterling Heights, Michigan. With Saudi Arabia being such an important buyer of the US made weapons, which are being currently used in Yemen against the Houthis, and with the US being eager to fulfil its security commitments and equally facilitating the Saudi led coalitions’ bombing campaigns both logistically and militarily, peace cannot really be established, not unless the US forces Saudia to stop its bombing campaign—something that comes at a high-cost for the US weapon-makers: hence, unlikely to happen. What adds insult to injury is that the supporters of the deal say that the US cannot deny its Middle East allies the weapons they need to combat Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) extremists and check Iran’s aggression in the region. “Blocking this sale of tanks will be interpreted by our Gulf partners, not just Saudi Arabia, as another sign that the United States of America is abandoning our commitment to the region and is an unreliable security partner,” said John McCain. The support continues despite the fact that the Saudi-led coalition was responsible for 60 percent of the 2,067 civilians killed in the conflict over a yearlong span starting on July 1, 2015, according to a report released by U.N. human rights chief Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein. Given the dual game the US is playing in Yemen, it cannot be gainsaid that truce and ceasefire cannot hold the fighting and pave the way for an end of the war, not unless Saudi Arabia’s source of military power, the US, decides to cut off the chain of supply and brings it to the negotiating table—something that is unlikely to happen under Obama administration and something that would be paid lip service only under the Trump administration. In this context, the off and on saga of truce and ceasefire means nothing except that it allows the US administration to feed the general public with the impression of maintaining a ‘neutral’ stance towards the war. Salman Rafi Sheikh, research-analyst of International Relations and Pakistan’s foreign and domestic affairs, exclusively for the online magazine “ New Eastern Outlook ”. Popular Articles	0
Share This The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reports that 300 Daesh child soldiers were killed in Mosul operations. They believe the children were brought to Mosul from Syria. It is unclear if these deaths have already been counted in official figures. The first Christian mass in two years was held on Sunday in the Christian village of Qaraqosh , which is also known as Hamdaniya. However, many Christians doubt they will ever return to their homes. The village of Ali Rash was liberated . Kanona and Rozbian were also freed , as were about 11 villages west of Mosul, including Amrini, Ayin Al-Baiyza, Jarn, Mad Al-Dibaj, Mistanqa’ al-Thanya, Qariya Al-Shik, Salmani, and Zarka. Also freed were Faziliya, Kani Shirin, Khadheir, Kevrok, Khrab Bet, and Qabr Esaaq. Militants have trapped 7,000 civilians in Anah . At least 255 people were killed and 60 were wounded:	0
A Bureau of Land Management (BLM) internal working document that was leaked and reported on by the liberal Greenwire website spells out in detail President Donald Trump’s plan for making America great again. [It lists expanding production of domestic energy resources, supporting law enforcement, the military, and enhancing border security. “Several conservation and government watchdog groups say they’re concerned about the direction the Bureau of Land Management is headed after a draft list of agency priorities under the Trump administration surfaced this week,” Greenwire’s EE News reported on Monday. “The draft ‘BLM Priority Work’ list, first reported on yesterday by EE News, calls for the agency to focus on increasing energy development in suitable areas of the 245 million acres BLM manages (Greenwire, April 10),” EE reported. The document is divided into five sections — “Making America Safe through Energy Independence” “Making America Great Through Shared Conservation Stewardship” “Making America Safe — Restoring Our Sovereignty” “Getting America Back to Work” and “Serving the American Family. ” EE gathered statements from environmental activists in response to the leaked document, which it said “calls on the agency to streamline federal coal, hardrock mining, and oil and gas ‘leasing and permitting processes. ’” “It also prioritizes streamlining unspecified ‘processes’ mandated by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) as well as ‘land use planning to support energy and minerals development and other priorities,’ including ‘ processing for pipelines, transmission lines, and projects,’” EE reported. Under the “Make America Safe” headline, it calls for BLM taking action to “coordinate with the Department of Defense to ensure that public lands and resources are available to support the mission of our military” and to “prioritize clearance and approval process to support Southern Border actions. ” EE illustrated its report with a photograph of the wall now in place along the U. S. border with Mexico, which Trump has vowed to expand. The document states that BLM will “provide employment opportunities for veterans and youth to work on public lands. ” But critics of Trump’s plans expressed horror after reviewing the document. “The Trump administration is prioritizing drilling, mining and the construction of an immoral and border wall over protecting America’s public lands and people’s health,” League of Conservation Voters Deputy Legislative Director Alex Taurel said in a statement given to EE. “Our country’s public lands should be preserved for all people to enjoy and should not be handed over to corporate polluters,” Taurel added. “The priorities from Trump’s Bureau of Land Management make it clear that the administration is not planning to manage our parks and other special places for the use and enjoyment of the people, but rather for the profits of corporate polluters,” Athan Manuel, director of the Sierra Club’s public lands protection campaign, said in a statement provided to EE. “America’s public lands are worth much more than what lies underneath,” Manuel said. “These are the places where families spend time together, where people and wildlife both can take refuge as they enjoy and explore our wild places. ” But EE reported that a senior BLM official “defended the priority work list, telling EE News this week that it is meant to help agency staff understand that the Trump administration will prioritize the agency’s full ‘ ’ mission — including increased public access and recreation — and not concentrate solely on promoting fossil fuels or any other energy development. ” Under the “Serving the American Family,” BLM included in its goals expanding recreational, hunting and wildlife conservation opportunities, working with state and local law enforcement to improve public safety and streamlining grazing permits to help American ranchers and farmers.	1

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