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Donald J. Trump on Wednesday unveiled a list of prospective Supreme Court nominees, seeking to pacify veteran Republicans who fear he does not take judicial matters seriously and to reassure conservatives that his appointees would reflect a philosophy. Here is a look at his possible picks: Born: 1963 Position: United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit Background: Judge Colloton, who was nominated by President George W. Bush in 2003, once clerked for Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist and was an associate independent counsel on the Whitewater investigation in the . _____ Born: 1965 Position: Colorado Supreme Court Background: Justice Eid, who was appointed in 2006 by Gov. Bill Owens, a Republican, previously served as the state’s solicitor general and clerked for Justice Clarence Thomas. A native of Spokane, Wash. she was a speechwriter for William J. Bennett, a secretary of education in the Reagan administration, before attending law school. _____ Born: 1963 Position: United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit Background: Judge Gruender, who has been suggested by conservatives as a possible nominee before, was nominated for his current post by President Bush in 2003. He has also worked as a prosecutor, serving as the United States attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri, in St. Louis. His political background includes working as Missouri state political director for Bob Dole’s 1996 presidential campaign. _____ Born: 1965 Position: United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit Background: Judge Hardiman was nominated by President Bush in 2003 after over a decade in private practice. He grew up in Waltham, Mass. and graduated from Notre Dame. Among his notable cases was a 2014 decision overturning Philadelphia’s ban on political contributions by police officers. _____ Born: 1966 Position: United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit Background: Judge Kethledge, confirmed months before President Bush left office, worked as a clerk for Justice Anthony M. Kennedy. This year, he wrote a decision ordering the Internal Revenue Service to provide information about applications as part of a Tea Party lawsuit that accused the agency of unfairly targeting conservatives. _____ Born: 1968 Position: Michigan Supreme Court Background: Judge Larsen, who was named to the state court last fall by Gov. Rick Snyder, a Republican, is up for election in November to complete the term, which expires in 2018. She spent several years as a law professor at the University of Michigan and clerked for Justice Antonin Scalia. _____ Born: 1964 Position: Utah Supreme Court Background: Justice Lee, who has held his current post since 2010, is the brother of Senator Mike Lee of Utah (who endorsed Senator Ted Cruz in the Republican primary) and the son of Rex E. Lee, who was United States solicitor general under President Ronald Reagan. _____ Born: 1962 Position: United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit Background: Judge Pryor was Alabama’s attorney general when he was nominated by President Bush in 2003. That year, he was at the center of a national firestorm when he called for the removal of the state’s chief justice, Roy S. Moore, who had refused to obey a federal court order to remove a Ten Commandments monument from the state’s judicial building. Judge Pryor initially supported Judge Moore but wound up leading the prosecution that led to his ouster from the bench. _____ Born: 1974 Position: Minnesota Supreme Court Background: Justice Stras, who has been on the court since 2010 and was elected to a term in 2012, was previously a faculty member at the University of Minnesota Law School. His selection six years ago by Gov. Tim Pawlenty, a Republican, stunned much of the state’s judicial world, given Mr. Stras’s age at the time (35) and that he had spent most of his time in academia. _____ Born: 1957 Position: United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit Background: Judge Sykes, who was nominated by President Bush in 2003, has been mentioned before by Mr. Trump as a possible choice. She is the former wife of Charlie Sykes, a prominent Wisconsin radio host who fiercely opposed Mr. Trump before the state’s primary last month, which Mr. Trump lost decisively. _____ Born: 1966 Position: Texas Supreme Court Background: Justice Willett, appointed by Gov. Rick Perry in 2005, served as an adviser to George W. Bush in the Texas governor’s office and in the White House. He then worked in the Justice Department office that coordinates the judicial nomination and confirmation process with the White House and the Senate. Later he was deputy attorney general under Greg Abbott, now the state’s governor. Last June, Justice Willett, an eager Twitter user, weighed in on the prospect of a President Trump’s imprint on the Supreme Court: | 1 |
In a press release for their most recent data dump, whistleblowing service WikiLeaks claims that the CIA has lost control of their “hacking arsenal. ”[The press release states that WikiLeaks’ publication of CIA documents is the “largest ever publication of confidential documents on the agency. ” The data dump consists of 8, 761 files and documents taken from a isolated network situated inside the CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia. Explosively, WikiLeaks also claims that the CIA has lost control of their “hacking arsenal. ” Recently, the CIA lost control of the majority of its hacking arsenal including malware, viruses, trojans, weaponized “zero day” exploits, malware remote control systems and associated documentation. This extraordinary collection, which amounts to more than several hundred million lines of code, gives its possessor the entire hacking capacity of the CIA. The archive appears to have been circulated among former U. S. government hackers and contractors in an unauthorized manner, one of whom has provided WikiLeaks with portions of the archive. WikiLeaks states that their data dump contains information outlining the CIA’s global hacking program, the large collection of malware utilized by the agency, and their “zero day” weaponized exploits which could be used to hack “Apple’s iPhone, Google’s Android and Microsoft’s Windows and even Samsung TVs, which are turned into covert microphones. ” Since 2001 the CIA has gained political and budgetary preeminence over the U. S. National Security Agency (NSA). The CIA found itself building not just its now infamous drone fleet, but a very different type of covert, force — its own substantial fleet of hackers. The agency’s hacking division freed it from having to disclose its often controversial operations to the NSA (its primary bureaucratic rival) in order to draw on the NSA’s hacking capacities. By the end of 2016, the CIA’s hacking division, which formally falls under the agency’s Center for Cyber Intelligence (CCI) had over 5000 registered users and had produced more than a thousand hacking systems, trojans, viruses, and other “weaponized” malware. Such is the scale of the CIA’s undertaking that by 2016, its hackers had utilized more code than that used to run Facebook. The CIA had created, in effect, its “own NSA” with even less accountability and without publicly answering the question as to whether such a massive budgetary spend on duplicating the capacities of a rival agency could be justified. The press release notes the vulnerability of these “cyber weapons” and how easily they can be hijacked by third parties: Once a single cyber ‘weapon’ is ‘loose’ it can spread around the world in seconds, to be used by rival states, cyber mafia and teenage hackers alike. WikiLeaks founder and editor Julian Assange gave his own comment on the release, stating: There is an extreme proliferation risk in the development of cyber ‘weapons’. Comparisons can be drawn between the uncontrolled proliferation of such ‘weapons’ which results from the inability to contain them combined with their high market value, and the global arms trade. But the significance of “Year Zero” goes well beyond the choice between cyberwar and cyberpeace. The disclosure is also exceptional from a political, legal and forensic perspective. Read the full press release here. 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 |
Donald Trump boasted on Thursday that his administration will “have by far the highest IQ of any cabinet ever assembled. ”[Trump delivered these remarks at a leadership luncheon with inauguration officials and Republican leaders at Trump International Hotel in Washington, D. C. on Thursday afternoon. He praised the members of his cabinet, including “the legendary Jeff Sessions” — the Alabama senator who is Trump’s nominee for U. S. Attorney General. He also mentioned UN Ambassador nominee South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, Health and Human Services Secretary nominee Dr. Tom Price ( ) and Treasury Secretary nominee Steve Mnuchin, among others. “We have a lot of smart people. I tell you what — we have by far the highest IQ of any Cabinet ever,” he said. Watch the video of his complete remarks above. | 1 |
At least six members of the Super New England Patriots have said they will not visit the White House for the traditional meeting that championship teams have with the president. Running back LeGarrette Blount, defensive end Chris Long and defensive tackle Alan Branch on Thursday became the latest to announce that they would skip the visit. Long posted on Twitter that he “planned on skipping” in response to a column in The Daily News that urged him to skip. Blount revealed his decision on Fox Sports in a radio interview on “The Rich Eisen Show” later in the afternoon. “I just don’t feel welcome in that house,” Blount said. “I’m going to just leave it at that. ” Branch told Sirius XM Radio that he planned to spend time with family. A day earlier, the Pro Bowl linebacker Dont’a Hightower bowed out when he told ESPN, “Been there, done that,” having visited with a championship Alabama team. Tight end Martellus Bennett told reporters after the Super Bowl that he would not go: “It is what it is,” he said. “People know how I feel about it. Just follow me on Twitter. ” The outspoken Bennett had joked that he might move to outer space after Donald J. Trump was elected. The Pro Bowl safety Devin McCourty, a team captain, told Time magazine: “Basic reason for me is I don’t feel accepted in the White House. With the president having so many strong opinions and prejudices, I believe certain people might feel accepted there while others won’t. ” Bennett and McCourty were in the news for their activism last fall, when they raised their fists in protest during the national anthem for one game. At the time, athletes in various sports were protesting racial oppression in the country. The number of Patriots absences may well increase. Running back James White said he had not made up his mind whether to go. “I’ll wait till the time comes and decide then,” he said. No date has been scheduled for this year’s ceremony honoring the Patriots. The ceremony for last year’s champions, the Broncos, took place in June. Perhaps no other team has as close an association with Trump as the Patriots. Just before the election, Trump claimed that he had the support of Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and Coach Bill Belichick. Brady, who displayed a “Make America Great Again” cap in his locker during the campaign, never explicitly endorsed Trump, but he spoke favorably of him and they have socialized. Trump also cited a supportive letter he had received from Belichick, and several news media accounts confirmed the letter was authentic. The team’s owner, Robert K. Kraft, has said he has considered Trump a longtime friend. Brady did not attend his team’s visit with former President Barack Obama at the White House, in 2015, citing family issues. But some athletes who have skipped the trip over the years have explicitly given politics as a reason. Bruins goalie Tim Thomas declined to visit the Obama White House with his teammates in January 2012, saying in a statement: “I believe the federal government has grown out of control, threatening the rights, liberties and property of the people. “Because I believe this, today I exercised my right as a free citizen, and did not visit the White House. ” Baltimore Ravens center Matt Birk cited his opposition to abortion as the reason for skipping a 2013 visit. A number of other athletes have skipped the ceremony while citing scheduling conflicts or family commitments. Presidents for years have invited sports figures to the White House, but the tradition of honoring championships teams there solidified under Ronald Reagan. Major professional champions and many college champions stop by for a presentation and a photo opportunity. Six Patriots, so far, won’t make the trip this year. | 1 |
Charles Osgood, whose distinct voice and dapper broadcasting style has made the CBS show “Sunday Morning” a weekly ritual for many viewers, will be leaving at the end of September after 22 years as the program’s anchor. News of his departure comes after months of speculation. On Sunday, Mr. Osgood, who is 83, used a part of the “Sunday Morning” broadcast to tell his viewers that the rumors were true. “For years now, people, even friends and family, have been asking me why I keep doing this, considering my age,” Mr. Osgood said. “I am pushing 84. It’s just that it’s been a joy doing it. ” He added: “It’s been a great run, but after nearly 50 years at CBS, including the last 22 years here on ‘Sunday Morning,’ the time has come, and a date is set for me to do my farewell ‘Sunday Morning. ’” The farewell broadcast will be on Sept. 25. Since he joined the network in 1971, Mr. Osgood had been a reporter and anchor for every broadcast on CBS, according to the network. He took over “Sunday Morning” from Charles Kuralt in 1994. His comforting, almost folksy approach to the news (and trademark bow ties) quickly eliminated any early doubts that he could successfully replace Mr. Kuralt, who had spent 15 years developing the show. With Mr. Osgood in the anchor chair, the program has won three daytime Emmys for outstanding morning program. His voice, velvety and gravelly at once, made him well known to radio, television and movie listeners. In 2008, he was the narrator of the animated film “Horton Hears a Who!” “Charles Osgood has one of the most distinctive voices in broadcasting, guiding each broadcast, making sure the words were just right and being a calming, reassuring presence to our viewers,” David Rhodes, president of CBS News, said in a statement. “His impeccable commitment to quality inspires all of us at CBS News. ” On Sunday, Mr. Osgood assured viewers that they could still find him on the radio. He will contribute to his program “The Osgood File,” where he has been known to read vignettes and poems about the day’s news. He ended his farewell announcement by singing a folk song, written by Woody Guthrie, to his viewers: “So long, it’s been good to know long it’s been good to know long it’s been good to know long time since I’ve been I’ve got to be drifting along. ” | 1 |
Trump Now Praises Poll That He Said Were Rigged Now that He's Up 2 Points In Florida? And so will you lemmings. Anonymous Coward Re: Trump Now Praises Poll That He Said Were Rigged Now that He's Up 2 Points In Florida? And so will you lemmings. Quoting: Anonymous Coward 58059507 Report Copyright Violation Re: Trump Now Praises Poll That He Said Were Rigged Now that He's Up 2 Points In Florida? I see London I see France I see Op's underpants not to big and not to small just right for a cannonball Page 1 | 0 |
Russia outstrips USA in anti-meteorite defence 07.11.2016 AP photo The US government has held exercises to simulate a collision of planet Earth with an asteroid up to 250 meters in diameter. The asteroid may supposedly ram into Earth on September 20, 2020. Pravda.Ru asked coordinator of Kosmopoisk public association, cryptophysicist, researcher and writer Vadim Chernobrov what means of protection against space bodies Russia had. "The Americans often carry out large-scale and regional exercises, the legend of which is about meteorites. Russia should not be envious about such measures at all, because Russia holds similar exercises on a regular basis without advertising them. "One of the most recent exercises was held in the Tyumen region. I have to say that the world's largest of such exercises was conducted in Russia in the first half of 2013, although the event had not received any coverage at all. The event was held soon after the fall of the Chelyabinsk meteorite. As we know, pieces of that space body started falling on Earth on February 10. The last pieces fell on 20 February - the process took ten days. Print version Font Size "The Russian Defence Minister ordered to hold large-scale exercises in the area of the crash site soon after the phenomenal event. The legend of the exercises did not contain a word about the meteorite danger, but everyone knew that the event was connected with the fall of the Chelyabinsk meteorite . In fact, their goal was to show both the defence minister and the president, that our troops, if necessary, would be ready to go to any location in Russia and take all necessary measures in this regard." Prior to 2050, as many as eleven asteroids may approach our planet at distances smaller than the average radius of the lunar orbit (385,000 kilometers). The dimensions of these space bodies vary from seven to 945 meters, RIA Novosti said. One of them will pass near Earth on October 12, 2017. Experts note that the distance between asteroid 2012TS4 and planet Earth will be 115,000 kilometers, while its speed will be 6.8 kilometers per second. The diameter of this celestial body is not less than 17 meters. The most dangerous space object, which will soon fly past Earth is known as Asteroid Apophis , 393 meters in diameter. Apophis is said to approach Earth on April 30, 2029 at a speed of seven kilometers per second. Pravda.Ru Read article on the Russian version of Pravda.Ru Behind Russia's space shield | 0 |
The Sunday wedding announcements in The New York Times have long been a fertile hunting ground for writers of parodies, and other forms of snark. The best explanation of why our wedding pages make such a tempting target was provided by Robert Baedeker, one of the authors of “Weddings of The Times,” a 2009 book parodying our reports, during an interview on National Public Radio. “The wedding announcements in The Times are so perfect and polished, and the inspiration comes from that sort of primal feeling one gets when one sees a perfect picture, which is to scribble a mustache on it or draw some sunglasses on it,” Mr. Baedeker said. Such scribbled mustaches abound. The website Gawker, before closing last year, routinely took shots at us, including this post imagining our staff at work: I envision, just so you know, a room of ladies peering skeptically over their bifocals at announcement submissions, occasionally pausing to consult worn leather bound address books — “I could have sworn Swoosie Remington was from Darien and not New Canaan,” they sniff — while Bob Woletz sits in his office lighting copies of Town Country on fire. (For the record, Mr. Woletz, the weddings editor, lights up copies of Architectural Digest, not Town Country.) The comedian and writer Selena Coppock has an NYTVows Twitter feed parodying the wedding pages. Here is an example: In an interview, Ms. Coppock said, almost convincingly, that she does not really hate us. So why do people like her pick on us so much? It’s partly jealousy, she explained, and partly the idea of so many big shots marrying each other. “It seems almost comical, just Ivy League upon Ivy League, the Mayflower and so on,” she said. “People get a kick out of hearing about these important families marrying into these other important families. ” The Times has grown more egalitarian through the years — the sons and daughters of truck drivers, waitresses and maintenance workers have graced our pages. (One of our most recent brides, an art teacher for an program, bought her wedding dress for $6.) But that patrician reputation is hard to shake. There have been other parodies and commentaries aplenty: Jena Friedman has created videos poking fun at us, and Zach Miller’s “Veiled Conceit,” a blog from years ago, was the most elaborate. L. V. Krause wrote a memorable piece about why she keeps reading us, angrily. Here in the weddings section, we don’t mind an occasional insult thrown our way. Much. Just spell the names right, as the saying goes. Sometimes we even chuckle — in a dignified, sort of way. In that spirit, we’re sharing three of the better takes on our announcements: 1. Terri Pous of BuzzFeed was so mortified by our prose that she produced a quiz last summer asking readers whether an excerpt actually came from our pages or from her own fanciful mind. Following is a real one followed by a fake one: • “Before she started, she asked her new boss, Christine Riordan, then the provost of the university, if a boyfriend came with the job. ” • “The bridegroom had never eaten a hamburger, a fact he delightedly recounted on their first date in between bites of seitan and kohlrabi. ” 2. Last summer, Colin Nissan, writing in The New Yorker, projected a gruesome future for a bride who graduated summa cum laude and a groom who was just magna cum laude: This disparity in achievement will be a recurring source of tension for the couple, first rearing its head during their honeymoon, in Belize, when the groom will take a little too long to calculate a tip and the bride will step in to “summa the situation” — a phrase the groom will coin in that moment and continue to employ for years to come, with diminishing amusement. … 3. We even parodied ourselves in this 1993 article in The Times’s Metro section about the wedding of a fellow who has been in the news quite a bit lately. Georgia Dullea wrote: Marla Ann Maples, the daughter of Ann Ogletree and Stanley Maples, both of Dalton, Ga. was married last night at the Plaza Hotel to Donald John Trump, a son of Mary and Fred Trump of Jamaica Estates in Queens. The bridegroom’s previous marriage ended in divorce. … Dr. Arthur Caliandro of the Marble Collegiate Church performed the ceremony in the Grand Ballroom, on an altar decked with white orchids and white birches. Dripping from the birches were teardrops. Other than that, as the writer Julie Baumgold remarked after the ceremony, “There wasn’t a wet eye in the place. ” The bride is taking her husband’s name. The bridegroom is keeping his name, The Donald, a legacy from his former wife, Ivana. Ivana Trump is keeping her cool on the ski slopes of Aspen. **** This article is part of the series “Committed: 165 Years of Love (and War) in The New York Times Wedding Announcements. ” | 1 |
The office party can be a chance for to get together in a relaxed setting to celebrate the holidays. Or it can be a memorable event for all the wrong reasons. “Getting on top of the boss’s desk and dancing — not a good idea,” John A. Challenger, chief executive of the outplacement consulting firm Challenger, Gray Christmas, said in an interview. “Making a pass at the C. E. O. ’s spouse — not a good idea. These sorts of things have happened and given the H. R. teams great headaches. ” Phyllis G. Hartman, who owns the human resources company PGHR Consulting, said the newly released movie “Office Christmas Party” depicts the worst of all possible behaviors at office holiday gatherings. “For the most part, of all my years in H. R. 90 percent of the parties go fine,” she said, adding, “Bad things happen sometimes. ” To prevent misbehavior that can lead to lawsuits, complaints of sexual harassment or lasting memories that can make things awkward in the workplace, experts offer these suggestions: Employees expect alcohol to be served at parties, and it makes for a better celebration, Mr. Challenger said. Caron Treatment Centers, which treats drug and alcohol addictions, found that 85 percent of 2, 018 adults surveyed last year said they believed that it was appropriate to drink at a holiday party at work. Of those who attended such parties, 11 percent reported experiencing negative physical and social effects from drinking, including passing out, needing to apologize to colleagues, and having their behavior hurt their standing at work, according to a company statement. “Drinking too much at a workplace party is one of the quickest ways to derail your career,” Doug Tieman, Caron’s president and chief executive, said in the statement. Party organizers should try to strike a balance between treating workers as adults and curbing potentially bad behavior, experts said. “Corporations hope that everyone will drink in moderation” said Laura E. Prather, managing principal of the Tampa, Fla. office of Jackson Lewis, which specializes in employment law. “And that never happens. ” She recalled one supervisor who overindulged in alcohol and loudly “gushed” to a subordinate about the outstanding performance review, raise and bonus she would get. Although the employee did get a bonus and raise, neither was for the maximum, Ms. Prather said. The supervisor’s comments at the party set unrealistic expectations and made another subordinate who was within earshot fear that he would fare poorly because the boss said nothing to him at the party about his performance, Ms. Prather said. Michael C. Schmidt, vice chairman of the labor and employment department at the law firm Cozen O’Connor, suggested that attendees be allowed a limited number of tickets for drinks. Experts also recommended having an early last call, offering vouchers for cab rides or serving a punch. A survey by the Society for Human Resource Management last year found that 59 percent of 385 human resources professionals surveyed said their organizations planned to serve alcohol. Ms. Hartman said managers can be enlisted to help supervise the festivities, noting that employees will take cues from their bosses. “If you’re the president of the company, and you’re sliding down tables, your employees will too,” she said. “You need some adults in the room. ” As a human resources manager, she said she did not drink at the parties. “I’ll tell you honestly, I never had a good time, I never relaxed,” she said. “I wanted everyone else to have a good time, but also I had to be aware of what was going on. ” Employers should outline expectations for appropriate conduct in the invitations and send a reminder on the day of the event, Mr. Schmidt said. Employees need to understand that “just because it’s not being held in the four walls of the office setting, it does not translate into becoming the wild, wild West,” he said. The size of the company does not matter, he said, adding: “When you’re the small shop, you think, ‘I’m not going to have these kinds of issues. It’s a small family atmosphere.’ And then when you’re a big corporation, you think, ‘We have H. R. and these things are not going to happen here. ’” Ms. Hartman said employees should be reminded that the party is a event regardless of whether it is being held at the office or somewhere else. “It’s silly to say this, but when you don’t say anything, employees take it that they can go crazy,” she said. Remember, what happens at the party does not necessarily stay at the party. With the proliferation of smartphones and social media, there are more ways than ever to document and share bad behavior, which can permanently damage your reputation. Work the room and network. Arrive early. It might be the best opportunity to talk to senior managers while things are relatively quiet. Company parties are a place to introduce yourself to executives who will influence your work life, Mr. Challenger said. “You can’t just go into the office to meet your boss’s boss’s boss,’’ he said, “but at a party it’s very easy to do. ” | 1 |
[World socialist flag by Frankoko.] Andre Vltchek – from Moscow Itinerant Philosopher and Journalist Editor's Note Andre Vltchek’s analysis here points out important erosions of left activism, and left activists bear partial responsibility for the tumble into chaos. Hit critiques takes on extra bite in the context of the rise of racism and xenophobia, misogyny, and the crassest brutality, in the United States. It would do everyone well to wake up and carefully look at what is happening to the left. P eople all over the world are fed up with capitalism. They don’t always know how to formulate their aversions anymore (the result of a confusing ‘education’ and disinformation campaign pouring out of the West), but intuitively they are increasingly longing for socialism or even Communism; definitely for some humane, compassionate system based on social justice, kindness and anti-imperialist principles.
Such sentiments are everywhere, in countries as diverse as the Philippines and Bolivia, South Africa and Kirgizstan.
The rulers and propagandists in the West are well aware of this ‘dangerous trend’, and they are trying to reverse it with increasing determination – even with brutal force.
In the past, they used to simply try to fully ideologically discredit all socialist and Communist thoughts. Billions of dollars were spent on propaganda and disinformation, on ‘re-education’ of the masses in all corners of the globe, on targeted scholarships and tactics aimed at dividing the Left. This approach was successful, but only to a certain degree. All over the world, the leftist revolutionary ideas would lose some ground for a while, but then they would re-emerge again, often under some new labels and banners.
Lately, the Empire has begun changing its strategy. Instead of trying to contain its main adversaries, it has decided to exterminate them ‘intellectually’ once and for all. And how better to do it than by what it always does the best – by spreading confusion, nihilism and chaos!
*
Instead of attacking socialism and Communism directly, the Empire has begun its massive campaign to discredit most of the countries that are being governed by left-wing governments and movements. This is of course by itself nothing new. What is ‘innovative’ is that this time Western propaganda has actually began arguing that the anti-imperialist countries are essentially not left wing at all, that they are more capitalist than the West itself, that they are ‘anti-people’, and sometimes even fascist.
New derogatory and thoroughly grotesque terms like ‘state capitalism’ have been invented and put to destructive work. These terms have then been repeated so often that they have become normalized, and eventually been adopted by the Western ‘soft left’, the liberal media and academia, as well as by the countless ‘progressive’ but anti-Communist movements – including anarchists.
While I was told by some of the greatest revolutionary figures like Eduardo Galeano and Pramoedya Ananta Toer, that it is time for ‘un-dusting the old flags and symbols’ (and they were clearly talking about the socialist and Communist ones), the Western official propaganda and much of the Western ‘left’ were busy spreading their vitriolic but contagious doctrines that ‘the labels’ should be once and for all declared obsolete. “I don’t want to be part of any political party or any movement”, one hears increasingly from millions of couch and cafe revolutionaries in cities like London or Paris. “I don’t like to be labeled”. Or typically so in those places: “I have my own mind”.
Except where there are no structures, no strong organization, no labels or flags, there can be no true victory.
But who cares about victory? Soon it became clear that the ‘progressive’ Western ‘opposition’ was not truly seeking to take power or to implement real revolutionary changes. It wanted to ‘improve things at home’, instead of abolishing the entire monstrous world order. It felt cozy and comfortable being a toothless discussion club, hating everything that was truly fighting, risking life while trying to stop imperialism and the Empire from devouring the Planet.
Thus was born the grand quiet alliance of the Western establishment (the Empire), the liberals and of those undefined (or of loosely defined) movements like the anarchists. It was directly antagonistic to almost all the countries where the Left was by now holding power. It ‘distrusted’ leading revolutionary figures. Needless to say – the criticism of the world revolutions has been based strictly on Western liberal values and doctrines.
Those countries that decided to face the Western Empire were generally labeled as un-democratic, as being arch violators of human rights. Socialist nations became the main target of the propaganda. Their every move has been scrutinized, each error blown out of proportion. Grotesquely, the West was, as mentioned above, now criticizing them for ‘not being socialist enough, or socialist at all’. It is because the demagogues in London, New York and Paris knew perfectly well that socialism, even Communism, is once again, for many people all over the world a great asset, not liability.
In the meantime, millions of ‘purists’ from the pseudo-Left in the West got engaged in endless and pointless theoretical debates about what was or not true socialism and Communism.
“Is socialism, the Chinese way, truly socialism?” they are repeating, like parrots, all over Europe and North America. “Is Russia socialist at all, or is it governed by a strongman and by a bunch of selfish oligarchs?” And of course: “How socialist are countries like Iran or South Africa?”
The verdict of the purists is always extremely stern. Almost nobody manages to survive the scrutiny! The purists in the West don’t hold power, and it is apparent that they don’t really want to. They bark. They philosophize. They throw sticks into the wheels of those who are truly and determinedly fighting for a better world. They ridicule the revolutions and any powerful left-leaning state.
Victorious and actively militant anti-imperialist governments and nations make them feel irrelevant, obsolete, embarrassing.
And the Empire knows it. It understands. It uses the soft Western left against the arch socialist and Communist enemies.
It is using soft left effectively because it is selfish, cowardly and it lacks discipline. But above all, because it is self enamored.
*
And so, in great unison with the Western Empire’s palace propagandists, the soft Western anti-Communist ‘left’ is arguing that the governing Left all over the world is not really true left, that the countries that call themselves socialist are in fact more capitalist than the West, and the world can only be saved by some extremely vaguely defined and abstract system of collective production means (unrealistic and utopian, as nowhere except in the West and in a handful of countries inhabited by European descendants, like Argentina, would such concepts be supported by the masses).
The new alliance is against China, Russia, South Africa, North Korea, Venezuela, Cuba, Syria, Iran, Eritrea; it is basically against all countries that are still opting for an independent, anti-imperialist course.
All these countries are ‘wrong’. All of them are brutally ‘oppressing their people’ and in almost all of them the local ‘oligarchs are more brutal than in the West’.
You look closer, and it’s all manipulation and lies, or at best half-truths. However, ‘falsehoods repeated a thousand times have a tendency of becoming the truth’, as an ‘icon’ of German Nazism explained many decades ago. And so it goes…
Fabrications are sinking deeper and deeper into the sub-conscience of the people, in the West but also in countries that are being targeted. Nobody dares to protest, to scream loudly: “Nonsense! These countries are actually socialist!”
What eyes are seeing and what the brains are conditioned to ‘conclude’ are suddenly two thoroughly different things.
The strategy of the Western Empire is clear: it makes things thoroughly confused, too complex to understand, lacking in transparency.
“Capitalist China, right-wing Russia, anti-black South Africa, state-capitalist Venezuela, monolithic and Fascist DPRK. Who would want to follow their examples? Better to accept the familiar Western fundamentalist capitalism and imperialism”. That’s what the world is being maneuvered into thinking.
Brilliant indoctrination strategy! Except… Red flags, fresh from being washed, are proudly waving all over the world, once again. In China and Russia, in South Africa and in so many other places, people are proudly returning to the old labels.
Not everyone can understand, anymore, but many are still able too feel, instinctively, and as a result of these basic human impulses, a violent clash between depressing deceit and simple human desires and dreams will soon become imminent.
Originally published by NEO .
Andre Vltchek Philosopher, novelist, filmmaker and investigative journalist, Andre Vltchek has covered wars and conflicts in dozens of countries. Three of his latest books are revolutionary novel “Aurora” and two bestselling works of political non-fiction: “ Exposing Lies Of The Empire ” and “ Fighting Against Western Imperialism ” . View his other books here . Andre is making films for teleSUR and Al-Mayadeen. After having lived in Latin America, Africa and Oceania, Vltchek presently resides in East Asia and the Middle East, and continues to work around the world. He can be reached through his website and his Twitter .
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(Before It's News) King of Shambhala
also see here for me…. I belong to an old Norwegian aristocratic ROYAL family including Count Tolstoy (Leon Tolstoy, the famous Anarchist theorician inspired the Russian Revolution but at the same time was the scion of the Chernigov Princes – 11th cent. – by far the oldest Russian royalty) , Henrik Ibsen, Papal and Royal Chamberlains, many Members of the Royal Household, (Mistresses of the Robe) barons and counts, ambassadors. All those who fail to heed heaven’s voice (the lottery draw of 666 below) will be thrown into hell in the end times says the Bible. Well, heaven has spoken. On the day after Obama’s election the lottery in his homestate drew 666. The 666 lottery-draw also reveals that Obama’s Mark of 666 means his money. Check the lottery numbers in Obama’s homestate here : the Pick 3 of Nov 5, 2008 was 666, less than 24 hours after Obama’s election!! Because I’m alone in revealing the lottery draw of 666, the Mark of the Beast that everybody knows is the Antichrist, that makes me the Messiah and Jesus’ Second Coming . Tibetan Tantric Buddhism is the highest form of culture in the world and I follow it’s Kalachakra creed. Buddhism and Hinduism never carried out war like Christianity and Islam (That’s the worst thing existing in the world.) I’m working on revealing myself and my message to the world fast now so the Apocalypse blows. My message of truth and that shows the way, must be revealed not only here at BIN (the only place in the world where speech is free), but worldwide! The lying Antichrist Camp is infesting my articles with trolling from such criminal orgs as “Organizing for Action” so don’t follow anyone opposing me here!
CAUGHT ON TAPE: Bill Clinton Tells Alleged Mistress to Deny He Got Her State Job
NEW YORK – Speaking in a series of recorded phone conversations in 1991 with his alleged mistress Gennifer Flowers, Bill Clinton can be heard telling Flowers to deny that he aided her in obtaining a state job. “If they ever asked if you’d talked to me about it, you can say no,” Clinton can be heard saying in the audio.
Listen to the audio here:
Clinton was referring to news media inquiries about Flowers’ alleged affair with Clinton and Flowers’ concern that the media could raise questions about how she landed her job as administrative assistant for the Arkansas Appeal Tribunal.
Clinton can also be heard advising Flowers on how to handle a grievance filed by a woman who applied for the same position and alleged that she was more qualified that Flowers. The complainant implied that Flowers was only hired because of her alleged relationship with Clinton.
From December 1990 to December 1991, Flowers famously recorded a series of conversations with Clinton during the period he was Governor of Arkansas and considering a run for the presidency.
On October 1991, Clinton announced his bid for the Oval Office, with rumors of extramarital affairs threatening to derail his campaign.
Flowers recently provided this reporter with complete original cassette recordings of her taped conversations with Clinton, recordings that take on renewed significance as the issue of Clinton’s alleged treatment of women has reemerged during the 2016 presidential campaign.
The sections of the audio recordings related to the state job are not exclusive to Breitbart News. Those excerpts were played for the news media in 1992, one day after Bill and Hillary Clinton appeared side by side on 60 Minutes , where Bill denied a relationship with Flowers.
Clinton later admitted to one sexual encounter with Flowers in a 1998 deposition for the Paula Jones lawsuit.
The audio segments about the state job were widely reported by the news media in the 1990’s. However, the details may warrant revisiting amid numerous Clinton financial scandals that have since surfaced alleging pay-for-play, including those tied to the Clinton Foundation and Clinton Global Initiative.
In one section of the audio, which can be heard above, Flowers discusses the grievance filed against her and informs Clinton that she was being questioned about how she obtained the position.
Clinton says “Good for you,” when Flowers tells him that she found out about the job from a newspaper advertisement and pursued it from there.
Here is a transcript of that part of the audio:
GF – But anyway, then Wednesday, there was a grievance filed in my office when I got the job by a girl who felt like she should have gotten it, a black girl named (deleted). And they called me as a witness. So I go in and uh, nothing big came of it. It’s just that they were questioning me about how I found out about the job. And I said, “Well, that personnel said it that it was a possibility there would be a position,” and then uh, “they told me that it would be advertised in the newspaper. And it was and I pursued it from there.
BC – Good for you.
GF – Well, it caught me off guard ‘cause I… at first I just didn’t know… I just didn’t expect that for some reason. I thought about a whole lot of things about my qualifications and all that business, but I didn’t think about that.
BC – Yeah.
In the next section of the audio, Flowers expresses concern that the news media, which was asking her questions about the alleged affair, could find out about the state job.
GF: Yeah. We had a little bit of a scare recently because she had a spot on an X-ray. And she went and had it checked again and it wasn’t cancer. And it’s been almost, it’ll be two years in May that she’s now diagnosed cancer free. My stepfather has been through two angioplasties, but he’s doing good. And I am, I’m really, Bill what I’m afraid of is that if somebody in the press finds out that I’m working for the state.
BC – Yeah.
GF – They’re going to make a big deal of it.
BC – Yeah.
In a subsequent conversation, Clinton specifically counsels Flowers to say “no” if she is asked about whether she discussed the state job with him.
Here is a transcript:
GF – Well the only thing that concerns me, where I’m, where I’m concerned at this point is the state job.
BC – Yeah. I never thought about that, but as long as you say you’ve just been looking for one, you’d uh, check on it. If they ever asked if you’d talked to me about it, you can say no.
GF – Well and I would. But I’m… here is the thing I’ve got to consider, too, is I’ve gotta go in there to work every day. You know what I mean?
BC – Yep.
GF – And if, and if these people start talking or someone in the press…
BC – Well, have they been nice to you there?
GF – Yeah they have been. But I don’t, you know, I mean, I just want you to know what’s going on. And I’ll be glad to hang in there.
BC – Has the, has the…
GF – But if it gets real…
BC – Has the grievance committee ruled yet?
GF – No. Not that I am aware of. Uh, I forget the guy’s name that appeared to be the head of it. Dudley or Dewey. Is there a Dudley or a Dewy or somebody? Do you know?
BC – I don’t know.
GF – Don Barnes was there. And of course…
BC – Is he happy with you?
GF – Well sure. (Laughter.) I’m good. I’m good at what I do, Bill.
BC – I know.
GF – But Don was, you know. He… He pretty much… When this guy was trying to beat up on me a little, said, “hey, I don’t see the relevance of this” and dadada. And then the head of the grievance committee said “I don’t either and I think we need to go on and you know go, not go along with this line of questioning.” And then that was about it except for just some other minor questions. But I found that curious that he would ask me how I found out about the job.
BC – Yeah.
GF – Now maybe at this point I’m paranoid but I mean no one has mentioned anything about it to me at all but I just found that, that I found interesting.
BC – Yeah.
In another conversation, Clinton tells Flowers that he will “nose around” to see if he can find out more about the issue, and he asked her whether the person who filed the grievance was being represented by a lawyer.
BC – Alright. I’m gonna nose around, if I find out anything I’ll call you. And meanwhile, uh, I can understand this grievance thing. I’ll, I’ll run that down.
GF – Well I don’t think there’ll be any problem there from what I understand, you know, that her deal was to either have my job or for them to create a position equal to mine.
BC – Uh huh.
GF – But it’s my understanding that then it’ll go to… even if they say yes, created position for her.
BC – Uh huh.
GF – That’s the same as Gennifer’s. Don Barnes can always say, “No, I won’t” and period. That’s it.
BC – That’s right. I mean that’s my understanding. So…
BC- Yeah. And then she could sue, but I doubt if she will. Was she there with a lawyer or a representative of any kind?
GF – She had a guy that works for the tribunal represent her which I thought was very inappropriate.
BC – Uh huh. Well, I guess maybe they do that for people…
Contacted yesterday by Breitbart News, Flowers explained why she says she turned to Clinton for help securing the state job.
She stated:
I found out my Mom had cancer and decided I wanted a regular job so I would have my weekends to spend with her. I was performing six nights a week and wouldn’t of had time. I asked to get me the job and he did.
In her deposition for the Paula Jones case, Flowers detailed Clinton’s alleged involvement in helping her secure the state job.
Here is her affidavit on that matter:
In early 1990 I told Bill Clinton that I wanted a job with the state. Bill Clinton told me to contact his assistant Judy Gaddy who would assist me with the application for employment. I met with Judy Gaddy in her office and she provided me with the details of what needed to be on the application. Judy Gaddy also told me to contact Clara Clark who set up a job interview for me. I was eventually employed by the state as an administrative assistant for the Arkansas Appeal Tribunal.
Shortly after I was employed by the state, another woman who had applied for my job filed a grievance or some sort of complaint in which she alleged that she was more qualified and implied that the only reason I got the job was because I had had an affair with Bill Clinton. I was called to testify before a panel in connection with this proceeding. When I learned that I would have to testify, I did not know what to do, so I called Bill Clinton. I told him that I had been called to testify and asked what I should say. He told me to deny that we had ever had an affair. During the proceeding, when questions came up about my relationship to Bill, Don Barnes, his appointee and head of the commission, stopped the questioning.
In 1992, Michael Isikoff reported at the Washington Post that Clinton’s office admitted that it helped Flowers obtain the job in June 1991, while denying allegations that Flowers was Clinton’s mistress. Clinton’s office maintained that Clinton only helped Flowers because the politician felt bad that she was being hounded by the media over the sex allegations.
Isikoff reported:
Gov. Bill Clinton’s office said today that Clinton assigned a member of his staff to help Gennifer Flowers find a state job in September 1990 after she asked for his assistance.
Michael Gauldin, Clinton’s press secretary, also released two handwritten notes he said Flowers had written to Clinton. The first, in 1986, said she would appreciate his help in finding a job. The second, dated Feb. 23, 1991, complained that the assistant assigned to help her was not being very “successful.” …
Gauldin said Clinton was interested in helping her in part because he “felt responsible for all the women” who were being hounded by reporters after they were named in an unsuccessful 1990 lawsuit in which a state employee alleged the governor had used state funds in furtherance of extramarital affairs.
In the 1986 letter, Flowers enclosed a resume, said she “certainly enjoyed speaking with you by phone,” and said “anything you can do” to help with employment would be “appreciated.”
In the 1991 “Dear Bill” letter, Flowers complained that the staff aide Clinton assigned to the matter, special assistant Judy S. Caddy, “has not been very successful in the job hunting area.”
“Bill, I’ve tried to explain my financial situation to you and how badly I need a job,” Flowers wrote. She said she was enclosing “some correspondence that will be of interest to you” – a letter written by a lawyer she had hired threatening to sue a local radio station for repeating the 1990 allegations. The letter, which had previously been released by Clinton, said the allegations were untrue.
“Unfortunately, it looks like I will have to pursue the law suit to hopefully, get some money to live on until I can get employment,” Flowers ended the note. “Please be in touch.”
In 1998, the Washington Post again reported on the matter:
Flowers said her affair with Clinton had been over for at least a year but that about the time of the Nichols suit, she was looking for a job and turned to the governor.
Clinton agreed to help find her a position at an Arkansas state agency, Flowers said, and enlisted a political appointee named Don Barnes. Efforts to contact Barnes last night were unsuccessful.
“I don’t know Vernon Jordan, and I don’t know whether he is or is not telling the truth,” Flowers said. “But it reminds me of [1990] in regard to a position that Vernon Jordan supposedly arranged for Monica Lewinsky.”
Flowers was hired by the Arkansas Appeal Tribunal, a state agency, after an interview Barnes arranged and sat in on, according to Flowers’ 1995 written account of her relationship with Clinton.
http://www.scoopnest.com/user/TPoliticmanager/791321070535966720
Trump threatened Hillary with bringing on Gennifer Flowers last month to the debate.
Mike Pence Gennifer Flowers Wont Be at Debate Trump Was Just Mocking Clinton Camp
All Stories By King of Shambhala Click Here! | 0 |
2 Reminders to Ignore the "Trump is Doomed" Polls
We've recently had two object lessons in the worthlessness of the "Trump is Doomed" polling saga. A few days ago, the media was loudly trumpeting that Hillary's victory was inevitable, that the polls were in and she was going to ignore Trump and focus on building her administration and winning downticket races. And then, just like last time around, the numbers turned around again.
I was recently asked to predict the race. I answered that the one thing I could predict is that the media will claim a landslide for Hillary right before the election. That much is very likely.
It's in the media's interest to spread FUD by promoting polls that predict not just a Hillary win, but a landslide, creating the perception that voting is useless. The more Republicans feel that the outcome is futile, the less likely they will be to go out and vote. But the scandal polling numbers have a history of rebounding. This remains a challenging and very unusual election.
The premature panic we've seen in some circles is unhealthy. We shouldn't completely ignore poll numbers, but neither should we treat them as inevitable.
We've had two major lessons in why that's short sighted. | 0 |
It has been a rough year. By now, our violence is down to a pattern, and there is a choreography to our reactions. A killer seeks out a nightclub, a church, an airport, a courthouse, a protest. Someone is shot on video, sometimes by the police, and marchers fill the streets. An attack is carried out in France, America, Turkey, Bangladesh, Lebanon, Tunisia, Nigeria, and then claimed and celebrated by a radical terror group. Our phones vibrate with news alerts. The talking heads fill air over cable news captions that shout “breaking news” in red. Rumors and misinformation abound. The comments erupt on Twitter, Facebook and news sites. Journalists create multimedia stories that focus on videos, photos and graphic accounts from victims and witnesses. The experts give interviews, and the latest tools of immediacy are put to use. After thedeadly terror attack in Nice, France, The Times invited grief counselors to be interviewed on Facebook Live. Within days, attention had turned to a shooting in Baton Rouge that left three law enforcement officers dead. So, what is this doing to us? It depends on the individual, but living in a digitally linked world where broadcasts of violence are instantaneous and almost commonplace means that many of us are becoming desensitized, Anita a psychologist in Washington, said Friday. “With the frequency of shootings and terror attacks there is a sense of anxiety that’s building in people,” she said, “a sense of vulnerability and powerlessness. ” Dr. Smith added: “There is a heightened alarm, but there can also be some desensitization that’s happening. ” The constant stream of news on social media can also be traumatic. A team of researchers at the University of Bradford in England told a British psychology conference last year that exposure to violent imagery on social media can cause symptoms that are similar to stress disorder, defined as a persistent emotional reaction to a traumatic event that severely impairs one’s life. In an analysis conducted by the Bradford researchers, 189 participants were shown images and provided with stories of violent events, including the Sept. 11 attacks, school shootings and suicide bombings. The researchers’ analysis showed that 22 percent of those who participated were significantly affected by what they saw. The study also found that people who view violent events more often were more affected than people who saw them less frequently, and that people who described themselves as extroverts with outgoing personalities were at a higher risk to be disturbed by the images. What can we do about it? The advice hasn’t changed. It is natural to want to follow along with incremental updates on social media and in the news. But it’s important to know that this can heighten your anxiety. Anne Marie Albano, a clinical psychologist and the director of the Columbia University Clinic for Anxiety and Related Disorders, said in an interview after the 2015 Paris attacks that it might be a good idea to limit your exposure to social media. Designating times to plug into the news — checking Twitter in the morning over coffee, but not listening to the radio while driving your kids to school, for instance — can help you manage anxiety if you are feeling stressed. “This will help you balance a realistic and credible threat with information that is sensationalized,” Dr. Albano said, “or a rush to report something or talk about something that doesn’t have the impact that you would think it has. ” If you’re feeling anxiety about a possible attack, compare your fear with the facts. When you fear the worst, it’s hard to remember that, say, a flight or a train ride has extraordinarily high odds of being safe. But you have to try. Humans are bad at assessing risk, Martin Seif, a psychologist who specializes in treating anxiety disorders and the fear of flying, said in an interview late last year. “Every single technique is based on the premise that your reaction is out of proportion” to the likelihood of danger, Dr. Seif said. Also, remember to take a breath. A guide to dealing with terrorism released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation encourages closing your eyes and taking deep breaths to feel calmer. Taking a walk or talking to a close friend can also help. The guide also recommends avoiding alcohol and drugs, exercising regularly and eating healthy foods — basic guidelines that help reduce stress. Make sure you have a plan to contact your family if something happens, especially if cellular networks are overloaded or transportation is disrupted, but remember that you most likely will not need it, experts say. If you have children, the American Psychological Association recommends asking them how they are feeling about the news. Keep in mind that it is possible for children to be influenced by news reports and the adult conversations around them. Lastly, keep your daily routine. Dr. Albano said that a primary worry in the field of psychology is people “going out of their way to be so safe that it shrinks their world. ” “Terrorists thrive on this kind of thing,” she added. “They want to see the population change their practices. ” Going out of your way to avoid interacting with strangers — by refusing to take mass transit, for example — can stoke fear and anxiety in children, she said. The best way to help children cope with acts of violence is to start by listening to them, Sean Rogers, a psychotherapist who works with children and teenagers, told The Times on his Facebook Live appearance. ”Listening is curative,” he said. “It is the basis of all therapies. ” | 1 |
WASHINGTON — Margaret Thatcher famously declared that “we must try to find ways to starve the terrorist and the hijacker of the oxygen of publicity on which they depend. ” In a speech 32 years ago, Mrs. Thatcher, the British prime minister facing a threat from the Irish Republican Army, said she was not calling for censorship but proposing that “a voluntary code of conduct” for journalists might keep them from aiding “the terrorists’ morale or their cause. ” It was a statement of a familiar point, one made repeatedly in the decades since: that the news media plays a crucial role in amplifying the effect of terrorist violence and giving it exactly the political import the terrorists crave. So for some experts who study terrorism, President Trump’s assertion this week that the news media has actually been ignoring and covering up terrorist attacks came as a surprise. “It’s totally astonishing,” said Martha Crenshaw, a Stanford scholar who has written on terrorism since the 1970s. “It has no basis in fact whatsoever. The criticism has always gone the other way. ” Other experts said Mr. Trump’s claim had less to do with the facts about terrorism coverage than with the new administration’s political goals, notably defending his executive order that temporarily bans refugees and visitors from some Muslim countries. In the face of the onslaught of legal challenges and outspoken opposition to the order, they said, the president has an interest in persuading Americans that the terrorist threat from abroad is worse than the news media has revealed. Years of books and articles critiquing the “symbiosis” of terrorism and news media coverage have pointed out that terrorists usually seek to promote a political or ideological cause and use spectacular violence with the specific goal of attracting attention. News executives, while sometimes expressing mixed feelings about giving terrorists what they seek, have generally felt obligated to give such attacks ample coverage. “It’s incredible to say that the media does not give enough attention to terrorism,” said David C. Rapoport, a retired U. C. L. A. political science professor considered a founder of terrorism studies. He said modern global terrorism arose in the 1880s in Russia in parallel with, and partly owing to, the rise of mass daily newspapers. In the United States since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, even failed terrorist plots often have drawn saturation coverage — think of the fizzled underwear bomb on a airliner on Christmas Day 2009 or the S. U. V. to blow up that produced only smoke in Times Square on a May night in 2010. Though no target was harmed, both attempts drew mountains of coverage, much of it focused on how terrorists went undetected. But in an appearance Monday at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Fla. Mr. Trump reviewed the horrors of more recent attacks, including those inspired or directed by the Islamic State, and pronounced the coverage inadequate. “Radical Islamic terrorists are determined to strike our homeland as they did on as they did from Boston to Orlando to San Bernardino,” he said at the headquarters of Central Command, which carries out military operations in the Middle East. “All over Europe it’s happening. It’s gotten to a point where it’s not even being reported and, in many cases, the very, very dishonest press doesn’t want to report it. They have their reasons, and you understand that. ” The president did not explain the reasons he believed journalists might have for not reporting Islamist terrorism. But in response to a wave of skeptical comment, the White House on Monday night released a list of 78 attacks around the world since September 2014. “Most have not received the media attention they deserved,” the accompanying statement said. Sean Spicer, the White House press secretary, stood by the point on Tuesday, though adjusting the language. “It’s becoming too often that we’re seeing these attacks not get the spectacular attention that they deserve,” he said. “And I think it undermines the understanding of the threat that we face around this country. ” It was a subjective judgment only a dozen of the 78 listed attacks occurred in the United States, and most resulted in few or no deaths, reducing their prominence in American news reports. The list omitted terrorist attacks by including white supremacists like Dylann S. Roof, who killed nine at a Charleston, S. C. church in 2015. But news databases show virtually all 78 attacks got some coverage, and the big attacks in Paris Brussels Boston San Bernardino, Calif. and Orlando, Fla. played out for days or weeks on cable television and news sites. Peter D. Feaver, a political scientist at Duke who studies public opinion on national security issues, said he saw no basis for the White House claims. “I don’t think there’s evidence of the press underreporting terrorism,” he said. “The corporate incentives run the other way. ” But Mr. Feaver, who served in the George W. Bush White House but publicly opposed Mr. Trump during the presidential campaign, said the president’s remarks, if not literally true, nonetheless play out in a larger, partisan debate about terrorism. Democrats sometimes accused the Bush administration of exaggerating the terrorist threat. Republicans often charged President Barack Obama of minimizing the danger and embellishing his own successes against Al Qaeda. By suggesting that the news media is hiding the truth about the menace from “radical Islamic terrorists,” Mr. Trump may rally his base behind the executive order and other measures still to come. Mr. Spicer suggested as much, saying the executive order and the president’s remarks in Tampa have the same motive: “because he cares about making sure that we don’t have attacks in this country, that we’re protected. ” Mr. Trump wants Americans, he said, to “understand the unwavering commitment that the president has and the actions that he will take to keep the country safe. ” Preventing terrorist attacks is, of course, a goal that is pretty much universally shared. But Mr. Trump’s loose relationship with facts, and his eagerness to fault journalists and judges, make some think he has a less lofty goal as well: to find scapegoats for terrorist attacks that sooner or later are certain to happen. “ blame,” said Ms. Crenshaw, the Stanford terrorism researcher. “Nothing’s happened. But if something does happen, he can blame the judiciary and the news media. ” | 1 |
TRUMP CAMPAIGN being sued for humiliating Skittles candy by comparing it to Syrian Muslim infiltrators It was a campaign ad that ignited a firestorm: Donald Trump Jr. tweeted a photo of a bowl of skittles and compared the colorful candy to Syrian jihadists posing as refugees. Now, the man who took the photo is suing Donald Trump, Donald Trump Jr., and vice-presidential nominee Mike Pence for copyright infringement. Liberals accused the tweet of being insenstive, racist, and a micro-agression which forced them to seek shelter in the nearest safe room. CBC David Kittos, an expert photographer and former Cypriot refugee, says he never gave permission and never would give permission for his photo to be used in the ad. “The image, the way it was used is reprehensible,” said Kittos from his home in Surrey, England, in an interview with CBC News. “It’s ignoring the plight of the refugees and it’s completely unacceptable that someone who was born into privilege would steal my picture and use it to make this political point.” Kittos says when he first saw the tweet, he was “in shock.” He explains he took the photo in 2010 as an experiment using artificial lighting and posted it on Flickr . “I just couldn’t believe my humble picture of some Skittles would just be used by someone so powerful.” Kittos says his lawyer reached out to the Trump campaign to discuss the matter but got no response. So he reported a copyright violation to Twitter, and about a week after it was posted his Skittles photo was removed from Trump Jr.’s tweet. Even though his photo is no longer connected to the ad, Kittos decided to file a lawsuit at a federal court in Illinois. He says he wants to ensure the Trump campaign never uses the work again. As well, he wants to spread the message that “they can’t go around stealing from authors like myself. They’re not above the law.” The Trump campaign told CBC News it’s not commenting on the case at this time. Back in September, Trump Jr. defended the tweet. “I am surprised by the reaction simply because it is a metaphor for risk,” he said at a campaign stop in Boise, Idaho. Trump’s election campaign has called for “extreme vetting” of immigrants to the U.S., especially Muslims, to help weed out anyone who could be a danger to American citizens. While Trump’s position is popular with some Americans, his eldest son’s tweet ignited outrage on social media. “Sorry kid. For all we know you could be a poisonous Skittle,” someone tweeted along with a well-known photo of an injured and bloodied young Syrian boy. “The stupidity ensues,” commented another person. Even the Skittles owner, Mars, Inc., weighed in. “Skittles are candy. Refugees are people,” tweeted Denise Young, vice-president of corporate affairs. Kittos is seeking yet to be determined damages as part of the lawsuit. But he says he’s not in it for the money (sure he isn’t) and would have settled a for a public apology. Because that didn’t happen, he says he’s pursuing the lawsuit because “it’s the right thing to do.” | 0 |
Endangered animals ‘guilty of poor financial planning’ 27-10-16 THE loss of two-thirds of the earth’s wild animals in the next four years has been blamed on their refusal to earn and save money. Animals from elephants to salamanders are expected to die out completely by 2020, which is widely supposed to be because they have not worked hard enough. Stephen Malley of Hitchin said: “Habitat being wiped out? Tough all over mate. “I got priced out of Walthamstow so I moved up here, started a Bargain Booze franchise, coining it. You’ve got to be adaptable. “But your gorillas just sit on their arses never thinking about where the next tract of primary rainforest is coming from.” Primary school teacher Susan Traherne agreed: “Since 2008 I’ve been on a tracker mortgage for low interest, but now I’m on a fixed rate in case they go up. “The endangered Panamanian golden frog should take a leaf out of my book and plan for changing circumstances, or he’s got nobody but himself to blame.” Mountain gorilla Tom Logan said: “Fair enough, I made some mistakes, I’m holding my hands up.”
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November 5, 2016 - Fort Russ Exclusive - Interview and translation by Jafe Arnold (J. Arnoldski) -
Eduard Popov, born in 1973 in Konstantinovka, Donetsk region, is a Rostov State University graduate with a PhD in history and philosophy. In 2008, he founded the Center for Ukrainian Studies of the Southern Federal University of Russia in Rostov-on-Don. From 2009-2013, he was the founding head of the Black Sea-Caspian Center of the Russian Institute for Strategic Studies, an analytical institute of the Presidential Administration of Russia. In June 2014, Popov headed the establishment of the Representative Office of the Donetsk People's Republic in Rostov-on-Don. He has actively participated in humanitarian aid efforts in Donbass and has been a guest contributor to various Donbass media, such as the Lugansk-based Cossack Media Group. Popov has actively contributed to Fort Russ since June, 2016.
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Fort Russ Special Editor Jafe Arnold: Dr. Popov, for nearly half a year already, you have regularly submitted your commentary on global events to Fort Russ. You’ve covered a number of topics ranging from European politics and the war in Donbass to the possibility of a Third World War breaking out over Syria and the future of Ukraine and Ukrainian nationalism. Before we begin discussing a number of related questions, what would you like to say to your readers at Fort Russ?
Dr. Eduard Popov: I consider the rare and somewhat unexpected honor to address you, dear readers of the wonderful analytical site Fort Russ, to be some kind of reward for my future contributions. I see this not as a right, but as a sacred duty of the author before his readers.
We live in different countries, speak different languages, and share different (ranging from more or less similar to diametrically opposite) worldviews and political opinions. Nevertheless, to some extent, we are all like-minded. The common denominator for all of us is the strong belief that the world is multifaceted and cannot be reduced to only one correct doctrine.
The history of mankind has seen and will probably still see more than a few attempts at organizing an ideological and political monopoly. The ideology of the American New World Order that claims universality and all-inclusiveness is nothing original and not even clever. As a historian of political ideologies, revolutionary communism in its Trotskyite and Khrushchevite variants also immediately comes to mind, which also claimed for itself the role of ending world history.
But the era of American domination over the world awaits its finale and is maybe more imminent than many of us expect. I see my own personal mission as an author at Fort Russ to help prepare this finale, which depends on the efforts of every one of us.
Restoring the violated principle of national sovereignty instead of the idea of one nation’s global domination, restoring the ‘blooming complexity’ of the world’s cultures instead of an imposed and dull liberal “post-culture”, and affirming solid moral principles instead of immoral promiscuity - this is a sample program which is shared by the majority of humanity. Most of humanity is opposed to the dominant quasi-religion of American neoliberalism or, rather, the ideology of Pax Americana is opposed to the majority of humanity.
The events in the former Ukraine and Donbass have become some of the reference points determining each of our’s moral position. People from different countries and with opposing political views, from ultra-right to ultra-left, have expressed support for the people of Donbass. And I am very grateful to Fort Russ for constantly striving to present the truth of these events. I’ve had the opportunity to personally observe the astonishing events in Donbass, and I can say that Donbass’ fate is still far from sealed. Together, we are contributing to a more just alternative not only for Donbass, but for all of humanity.
Eduard Popov (left), DPR representative in Rostov-on-Don, with Moscow DPR representatives
Arnold: In this context, how do you assess the state of the ongoing global information war? Are resources like Fort Russ helping to turn the tide against the Atlanticist narrative or “Pax Americana”? Is bringing together such “like-minded people” the main goal of this information war?
Popov: It’s difficult for me to assess the state of the whole front of the information war - I don’t possess complete information and don’t consider myself a specialist in this sphere. I’m simply a political analyst and historian specializing in some topics that are relevant in today’s world.
Nevertheless, I have no doubt as to the benefit that “new media” brings to the resistance movement. Let me explain these terms. New media means independent publications that do not legally fall under the category of media, but fulfill the same function. This applies to different websites and groups on social media. The “resistance movement” (I don’t think the origin of the term needs to be explained) is a synonym for anti-globalism or, as has become fashionable to say now, the anti-mainstream.
If De Gaulle’s movement fought against the Nazi occupation of France with weapons in hand, then today’s fighters of the resistance fight mainly with information against an occupant operating not so much with direct physical violence as with distanced coercion, i.e., informational, psychological, economic, and political force, etc.
Can it be said that the fight against this new occupation is more difficult? As a historian by education and a philosopher (my doctoral dissertation was on the political philosophy of conservatism), I believe that the world has now arrived at the complete breaking point of one historical epoch and the beginning of another. Perhaps it wouldn’t be so wrong to compare the current era with the era of the collapse of the Roman Empire, first and foremost because ahead of us is most likely a dark ages comparable to the early Middle Ages, and a new Great Migration of peoples. Of course, not everything is the same, but I won’t focus on this now. I’ll just say that there are not too many reasons for historical optimism.
Resources such as Fort Russ have taken on the extremely important mission of speaking the truth in an epoch of great lies. “Big” official publications in Europe are filled with lies. And this is not only my opinion. All the thinking, honest europeans with whom I’ve discussed the situation of the press in ‘united Europe’ also think so. Hence why, as my friends in European countries have noted, independent media has a growing circle of readership. In my opinion, this trend is a long-term one.
As for what I believe is necessary to concentrate efforts on, the first step has already been done. The minimum social anti-mainstream has been formed in Europe. This has been done primarily thanks to the efforts of the independent press. But in my opinion, the task fulfilled at this first stage has goals primarily centered around negation, i.e., proving what is wrong and dangerous in globalism.
The anti-mainstream wields an unusually rich diversity of worldviews and ideological shades ranging from Marxism to certain currents of fascism to even clerical monarchism. Why not use this methodological richness for forming a united, anti-globalist intellectual front? Then we can proceed to solve constructive tasks, such as discussing the foundations of a future, more just world order.
In no case should the resistance movement identify as marginals - this is precisely how the “Ministry of Truth” tries to present it. If a number of new media take on the mission of creating platforms for intellectual discussions with others, then this will undoubtedly become one of the main tasks of the information war. Even the leader of the Bolsheviks, Vladimir Lenin, spoke of a newspaper as a center not only of publications, but as a center for party work. I don’t know if the creators of new media have read Lenin, but they are acting according to his methodological precepts.
Arnold: A t the present moment, o ne of the centers of attention of the information war and what you called the “resistance” is the threat of a Third World War being unleashed by the US. Russian experts have different opinions on how realistic such a turn is. Considering that you say there is little reason to be historically optimistic, what do you think?
Popov: The topic of WW3 is really actively being discussed in Russian expert circles, yet all the while has the status of some kind of fantasy. But as I said earlier, we are now witnessing the breaking point of not only a historical period (what Immanuel Wallerstein calls the American Century century lasting since 1945), but a change in historical epochs.
This can be compared with the collapse of the Roman Empire or the collapse of the Middle Ages and the onset of the Modern Age. The Russian philosophers of the emigration in the 1920’s foresaw this shift of epochs and called it the New Middle Ages. Perhaps this was also an anticipation of fascism, which lasted a comparatively brief historical period.
In my opinion, this also anticipates the New Middle Ages, but with only one necessary correction: this will be a new early Middle Ages, not the High Middle Ages of great Romano-Germanic culture which the Russian philosopher Konstantin Leontyev considered to be the highest achievement of humanity, but the “dark ages” that preceded it - barbarism, the plague, the collapse of the great ancient cultures, and the mass migration of peoples. A very vivid impression of these centuries is offered by the German epics (the genesis of the historical basis of the Nibelungenlied dates back to the dark ages and the invasion of Attila the Hun) and Scandinavian mythology, especially the tale of the death of the gods.
This change of epochs is primarily being prepared on mental grounds. I believe that the conditions are ripe for this: the Western world has finally turned into a post-Christian and partially anti-Christian entity. It’s difficult for me to say whether Europe has enough life left in it to oppose the new onslaught of the Caliphate - I have in mind Muslim migration to the European continent and the expansion of Salafist networks. The answer is more likely no than yes.
America is also going through very difficult times, although its difficulties are of an entirely different nature. Wallerstein long ago said that the age of American domination is coming to an end and will end with a grandiose crash. This conclusion is in a certain measure shared by the ideologist of Pax Americana, Brzezinski, who called to negotiate, not to prevent, but to slow down the collapse of the American Empire.
The Americans have a very high level of strategic thought. Both times that America entered a world war on the European continent, it achieved grand strategic successes with very little blood shed (compared to the European Allies and Axis). There are many works that, substantiated by references to historical sources, show that the US stood behind the scenes of WW2 and pushed European rivals to war. The US entered the war as the most powerful economy on the planet and came out with the status of a superpower, the successor to the British Empire. The US’ GDP increased 10 times in only a few years.
We can also see outstanding, though not as tremendous achievements of American geopolitics in WW1. Europe was gushing blood, but the United States profited from and became stronger because of the war between European competitors, even the British. Now that the age of the USA is coming to an end, they are faced with the threat of having to drastically reduce their appetites, busy themselves with overhauling renovations at home, and turn from the lord of the world into a first among equals.
I am almost sure that the US will not go down the path of isolationism for psychological (the inertia of imperial power is very strong) and economic reasons. This means they will continue down the path of foreign expansion.
Russia and China are becoming all the more stronger and independent rivals of the US. Russia is increasing its military power, while China is increasing its economic power, even though it should be noted that China and the US are vitally needed by each other as economic partners at the present stage. Meanwhile, Europe does not wield geopolitical subjectivity and remains the US’ junior partner, but this is threatening its overall economic and productive capacity which is surpassing the US.
I’ll suggest an opinion and perhaps re-invent the wheel: the “Arab Spring” was sponsored by the Americans in order to organize a new great migration of peoples to Europe. In the long and even medium term, the Islamic World is not an ally of the US, but in the short term such an alliance is possible. American strategists are using the mixing of peoples and languages to greatly weaken their European competitors.
Other tools are being used against China and Russia, and this toolbox is quite large. The Americans have attempted to wage a cheap war against Russia by creating a powerful protest movement against President Putin. Perhaps we can already say that this venture failed. The Russian people and other peoples of the Russian Federation, unlike their Ukrainian neighbors, wield historical and state wisdom and are ready to endure hardships in the face of an external enemy. This makes war almost inevitable. Time is working against the US and for Russia.
By 2020 or 2025, the program of rearming the Armed Forces of Russia should be completed, and the economy is not in the best condition, but can still cope with crises. Therefore, I’ll repeat, war is an inevitable way out of the impasse.
Will this be a real Third World War? In my opinion, this is unlikely. In one of my articles , I’ve already employed the notion of a “flank war.” The Americans are largely fighting by proxies - Polish, Ukrainian, and Muslim-Salafist ones, etc. The almost inevitable (in my opinion) victory of Hillary Clinton will add psychological motives to this war. What is entailed in this scenario? Two things: (1) the Russians and Americans will fight without the use of strategic nuclear weapons and on fronts far away from US shores - otherwise, the cure for the American Empire, war, would be worse than the disease; (2) I am sure that the American hegemon will be defeated in this war. And this offers the opportunity to begin to liberate Europe, and for Russia this means the opportunity to finally throw off the burdensome shackles of American tutelage.
To be continued…
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While many of us weren’t paying attention, some credit card bonuses became so large that the analysts at Bernstein Research wondered in November if the industry was afflicted with temporary insanity. One particular bit of madness — a Chase offer that effectively puts $1, 500 in your pocket without a lot of effort, if you are a relatively big spender — is close to ending, and many people have just a few more days to take advantage of it. But the mere existence of bonuses on top of the points and perks that come with everyday spending raises a number of questions for consumers. Even if you thought you had had enough of to get the best deals, shouldn’t you at least grab those 15 bills if you have the means? Or might the offers actually get better? And is it time to bet against the stocks of the maniac bankers who are tossing around offers like this? CHASE, TODAY? First things first: That giant bonus comes from the Chase Sapphire Reserve card. Here’s how it works (and don’t confuse it with the similarly named Preferred card): If the bank accepts your application, you have three months to spend $4, 000. Once you do, Chase hands over 100, 000 of its proprietary rewards points. Then you can trade them for $1, 500 worth of travel, as long as you book your flights or rooms through Chase. The card has a $450 annual fee, but it gives back $300 of it each year once you purchase at least that amount in travel. It also gives out a generous amount of points — three per dollar spent — on travel and dining. Plus, you can swap points for miles on many airlines if you want to take your chances with seat availability in those reward schemes. Other perks include access to some airport lounges and a rebate for fees you pay for TSA PreCheck, the expedited security screening, or Global Entry, which speeds international returns. In cardland, any offer this lucrative tends not to last. This week, Chase said it would cut the bonus in half for anyone who applied online after Jan. 12 or in a branch (which isn’t possible for people in parts of the country where there are no Chase branches) after March 12. To be safe, the company suggests applying online by Jan. 11, before it flips the switch the next day. Why the change of heart on a product Chase introduced last summer? The company always said the bonus was an introductory offer, and the bank’s generosity led to a $200 million to $300 million hit to its earnings. So the window on a good thing is partly closing. So should you take advantage of it while you can? My wife and I both have done it and are glad we did. It has required some mental energy to channel the right amount of spending away from our current card and track the new bills so we don’t end up paying late. But there is nothing that focuses the mind quite like feeling that you are beating the system. This feeling of superiority may be delusional, given the amount of research that suggests that we pay more when we put things on plastic than when we pay with cash. But I consider myself above average in this regard, as we all probably do. Another big question: Does it make sense to stick with the Chase card, or ditch it after the bonuses clear? One useful exercise is to run your spending patterns (which your card company’s website ought to be able to divide into categories like dining, travel and groceries) through creditcardtuneup. com to compare the results with those of a number of leading rewards cards. It’s a great tool, but the site’s operator has its own opinions about how much a Chase point is worth versus the Starwood points that I collect on my primary American Express card. Your mileage may vary if you, say, swap Chase or Starwood points for miles and then redeem them for $10, 000 plane tickets to a faraway country. Think about your goals for the next couple of years and evaluate accordingly. In our household, we are reserving judgment. That is (in part) because Starwood is in the middle of being acquired by Marriott, which faces the challenging task of combining two loyalty programs without driving away frequent travelers. Sometime in the next year or so, we will find out what it is going to do. Standard disclaimers apply here, as always. Don’t carry a balance, since interest charges will generally eat up the value of the rewards and then some. Also, applying for too many cards in a short time could hurt your credit score a bit. IS THE MADNESS CATCHING? Gordon Smith, the chief executive of consumer and community banking at Chase, spent more than 25 years working at American Express, and it was plainly obvious that the bank was aiming Sapphire Reserve squarely at the Amex Platinum card. Indeed, less than two months after the Chase card appeared in August, Amex issued a news release announcing new benefits for Platinum card holders. Here is what it didn’t do, though: offer a bribe to every new customer who wanted one of its cards. Its standard online offer is currently 40, 000 of its own proprietary points, which are 10, 000 fewer than what Chase’s new, lower bonus will be. (Yes, it’s hard to compare the value of different reward currencies, but these two aren’t that far apart, and many consumers never make the distinction and assume they are the same anyhow.) Some American Express customers have been luckier, though. Card industry bloggers report that the company has sometimes made targeted bonus offers of 100, 000 or even 150, 000 points. Leah Gerstner, an American Express spokeswoman, noted that the company had been in the premium card market for more than three decades, implying that it knew a thing or two about appropriate competitive responses to the latest shiny thing. “What’s worked for us is a mix of targeted bonuses combined with a range of premium benefits and services,” Ms. Gerstner said. She added that the company had issued “record levels of new cards” while delivering “sustainable” economics to the company. In their report in November, the Bernstein Research analysts dangled the tantalizing possibility that American Express might begin some kind of price war, throwing its own bonuses and privileges at customers. Now that Chase has lowered its bonus, however, Kevin J. St. Pierre, a Bernstein managing director, thinks the chances of that are low. “They have inertia on their side, with a customer base that is generally satisfied with their product and very satisfied with the service,” he said. “So how much do they need to tweak to defend that?” PITY NOT THE POOR BANKERS Shareholders (and consumers who are determined to be the least profitable customers of thriving, generous banks) probably shouldn’t panic about the ramifications of the banks’ largess at this point. Chase would not comment about the performance of Sapphire Reserve, owing to the requirement to stay silent before its coming earnings announcement. Still, it almost certainly modeled the possibility that some people would spend their bonus and then stop using the card. The card’s profitability will depend largely on what percentage of cardholders carry a balance — and how much and for how long. Mr. St. Pierre said he didn’t lose much sleep over a single, card offering from a bank of this size. “They are so large that they can afford to experiment,” he said. “A few hundred million in any quarter is a cost of doing business, and they’ll use it, learn from it and improve the product from their perspective and move on. ” Citi’s own plastic pushers have already done a bit of this. Its competing Prestige card reduced some perks several months back, though it kept a hotel benefit. “Our strategic focus is delivering products and experiences that create long, lasting relationships,” said Chris Fred, head of proprietary products for Citi’s cards unit. Bonus chasers and card churners, it seems, are not particularly welcome. Still, the banks face an existential crisis of sorts. A generation of young adults grew up on debit cards, and banks are going to have to do something to get the millions of them who don’t need to carry a balance to switch to credit anyway. There aren’t a lot of great ways to do it other than throwing bonuses and perks at them. The rest of us can keep an eye on the bonus offers via blogs like The Points Guy and View From the Wing or on forums like FlyerTalk and Reddit’s pages. Then — when the going gets as good as it’s gotten in recent months and we want to go on a free vacation — we can sweep in and gleefully pick off the juiciest offers of all. | 1 |
Wed, 26 Oct 2016 17:26 UTC © Sandro Perozzi/AP The Church of San Sebastiano stands amid rubble in Castelsantangelo sul Nera following an earthquake. A 6.0 magnitude earthquake hit the Marche region in central Italy, just hours after a 5.4-magnitude tremor damaged buildings and cut power lines across the area. Buildings in the region have been damaged, but there have been no reports of fatalities. A series of powerful aftershocks between magnitude 4 and 4.9 struck the area about five hours after the first tremor. The strongest earthquake occurred 9.18 p.m. on Wednesday, 71 km (44 miles) east of Perugia. The United States Geological Survey reported it as a 6.0 magnitude temblor, while Italy's National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology said it was a 5.9. "It was a very strong, apocalyptic earthquake - people were screaming in the street, and now the lights are cut off," said Marco Rinaldi, the mayor of Ussita, a community of 400 that was also affected by the initial earthquake. "Many houses have collapsed. Our area is devastated." Trains were stopped for checks, while police closed off some roads in danger of potential landslides. A football match was briefly suspended. Impact was felt as far away as Naples, Rome and Florence. In the capital, historical monuments were shaking from the shockwaves. Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has returned from a trip inside the country to chair an emergency meeting in Rome, and has canceled a planned TV appearance. The first earthquake was detected at 7:11pm local time, about 66km to the southeast of Perugia, striking a mountainous part of the Marche region and lasting several seconds. The exact epicenter of the tremblor remains unclear, but it was relatively shallow, at about 9km below ground. Within an hour of the first earthquake, there was a series of small but noticeable aftershocks, ranging in magnitude from 2.5 to 2.8. After the second there were at least four after shocks exceeding 3 on the Richter scale. "We're in the square, all the lights are out, we can't see, we're counting each other to see who's here, we still don't know how bad the situation is," Mauro Falcucci, mayor of Castelsantangelo sul Nera, the small commune closest to the epicenter, told Sky News by phone. "The situation is delicate. It is important to remain calm." The official said that the emergency is exacerbated by a downpour, and intermittent problems with mobile phone communication. Police say that the town is in "crisis" and have dispatched rescue teams, Castelsantangelo sul Nera. A video posted by a Huffington Post journalist shows rubble strewn through the streets of Visso, a commune less than 10 km from the epicenter. The Civil Protection Agency, which has been overseeing the response, says that so far only two injuries have been identified, in Visso. The first, smaller earthquake, may have served as a warning, as people were in open areas, and prepared, when the second temblor struck. Schools will be shut in some cities throughout eastern and central Italy on Thursday, and in Ascoli, local media is reporting that hundreds of people are gathering in public squares, and sleeping outside in cars. The earthquakes are in the same area of seismic instability in the Apennines as the one that struck the village of Amatrice this summer, killing almost 300 people. The strongest earthquake there was 6.2-magnitude on August 24. Seismologists now fear a multiplier effect from the increased disruption resulting from the twin natural disasters. "The earthquake today has further disrupted the tectonic plates, and in the coming hours we may see aftershocks of today's earthquake on top of those from August 24," Salvatore Mazza, the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology told RAI News24. "This earthquake is likely the activation of a new fault line, connected to August's calamity . But we need to get closer to the epicenter, before drawing conclusions," said Paulo Messina, for the Institute of Environmental Geology and Geoengineering of the Italian National Research Council. | 0 |
Report Copyright Violation I sense a giant earthquake will happen today I don't know where. Hopefully it's just in my pants, but seriously though, something makes me feel 7.0+ is coming within a day or so. Page 1 | 0 |
Speaking of the United States’ bid to the 2026 World Cup with Mexico and Canada, U. S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati noted that President Donald Trump is “fully supportive” of the effort. [The comment comes after the soccer federations of the United States, Mexico, and Canada announced a joint bid to host the upcoming World Cup, USA Today reported. During Monday’s joint press conference, Gulati addressed the question of how the Mexican soccer officials could work with their U. S. counterparts after last year’s contentious election. “We have the full support of the United States government in this project,” Gulati said during the presser. “The president of the United States is fully supportive and encouraged us in having this joint bid. He is especially pleased that Mexico is part of this bid, and that’s in the last few days that we have gotten further encouragement on that,” the U. S. soccer chief continued. “We’re not at all concerned about some of the issues that other people may raise,” Gulati added. “We looked at bidding alone, and again, decided we wanted to bid with our partners in North America, and we have a strong encouragement from President Trump to that very end. ” For his part, Decio de María, president of the Federación Mexicana de Fútbol and CONCACAF vice president, agreed that the World Cup is about soccer, not politics. “I believe, like Sunil said, this is not a forum to talk about politics, it’s a forum to talk about soccer,” de María said. “What I am certain of is that both countries will work tirelessly to build many soccer fields, so that the ball keeps rolling and so that our respective communities can enjoy the benefits that soccer creates. ” Certainly the issue of immigration featured prominently in Trump’s campaign and subsequent election to the White House. But, the three soccer heads assured the media that the issue would not be part of the World Cup. “That us three are standing here as presidents of the federations of the countries that took in our families is a very strong statement,” Victor Montagliani, president of the Canadian Soccer Association and president of CONCACAF, said during the conference. “And it’s something that I’m very proud of. ” Speaking in Spanish, de María added that, “the real winners are soccer and the region to have invited the world to enjoy this celebration. I think that’s how you create a beautiful story. ” The vote on where the 2026 World Cup will end up occurs in 2020, as President Trump’s current term in office winds down, though the game itself would be held during another president’s term, regardless. According to the plan worked out between the three countries, the U. S. would get 60 of the 80 games and Mexico and Canada would host ten each. Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail. com | 1 |
DETROIT — A low buzz fills the air as an army of mortgage bankers, perched below floating canopies in a kaleidoscope of vivid pinks, blues, purples and greens, works the phones, promising borrowers easy financing and low rates for home loans. By the elevators, nobody blinks when an employee wearing a pink tutu bustles past. On any given day, a company mascot, Simon, a bespectacled mouse, goes on the hunt for “gouda,” or good ideas, from the work force. A visit to the headquarters of Quicken Loans in downtown Detroit may seem like a trip to a place where “Glengarry Glen Ross” meets Seussville. But the whimsical, irreverent atmosphere sits atop a business in a field — the selling of the American dream — that has changed drastically since an earlier generation of mortgage lenders propelled the economy to near collapse in 2008 by issuing risky and even fraudulent loans. In the years since the crisis, many of the nation’s largest banks pulled back their activities. Quicken Loans pushed in. Today, it is the retail mortgage lender, originating $96 billion in mortgages last year — an eightfold increase from 2008. Privately held Quicken, like some of America’s largest banks before it, has also landed in regulators’ cross hairs. In a federal lawsuit filed in 2015, the Department of Justice charged that, among other things, the company misrepresented borrowers’ income or credit scores, or inflated appraisals, in order to qualify for Federal Housing Administration insurance. As a result, when those loans soured, the government says that taxpayers — not Quicken loans — suffered millions of dollars in losses. Quicken Loans today is the F. H. A. insurance program’s largest participant. Executives at Quicken Loans deny the charges, maintaining, among other things, that the government “ ” a small number of examples to build its case. In an aggressive move, the company sued the Department of Justice, demanding a blanket ruling that all of the loans it had originated met requirements and “pose no undue risks to the F. H. A. insurance fund. ” Quicken’s suit was dismissed. But it reflects the style of Quicken Loans’ founder and chairman, Dan Gilbert, the billionaire who once publicly excoriated the N. B. A. superstar LeBron James for leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers, in which Mr. Gilbert has a majority stake. He also owns significant chunks of central Detroit, where Quicken Loans is based. Mr. Gilbert, who founded the company in 1985, sold it to the business software company Intuit in 1999, before buying it back with other investors in 2002. He is working to rectify the city’s downtrodden image with streetcars, upscale cafes and boutiques, and data, making him a hometown hero. Late last year, Quicken Loans won a motion to move the Department of Justice case to a federal courthouse roughly three blocks from its Detroit headquarters. Sitting on the edge of a chair in his office, the Motor City’s skyline a steel gray in the November sun, Mr. Gilbert said that his company has been unfairly targeted. “You want to know what this case is about?” he said. “Somebody probably put up a whiteboard and said, ‘Here are the 10 largest F. H. A. lenders, now go and collect settlements from them, regardless of whether they did anything wrong. ’” In court documents, Quicken argues it has the lowest default rates in the F. H. A. program. It projects the government will reap $5. 7 billion in net profits from the insurance premiums for loans made from 2007 to 2013, after paying out any claims. A spokesman for the Department of Housing and Urban Development, which is home to the F. H. A. program at the center of the case against Quicken, declined to speak about the lawsuit. Late last year, Donald J. Trump named a former Quicken Loans lobbyist, Shawn Krause, to his H. U. D. transition team. A Trump spokeswoman did not respond to an email asking about potential conflicts of interest. In an emailed statement, Quicken Loans said the fact that Ms. Krause had come from the largest F. H. A. lender in the country “bodes well for the positive impact she has, and will, make on H. U. D. ” In the years since the financial crisis, Quicken has emerged as a leader in the nation’s system, a network of nonbank financial institutions that has gained significant ground against its more heavily regulated bank counterparts in providing home loans to Americans. Increased regulation and decreased profits sent the nation’s banks packing. Nonbanks, like Quicken, have filled that gap. Today, Quicken is the nation’s retail residential mortgage lender, behind Wells Fargo, but ahead of banking giants like J. P. Morgan, Bank of America and Citigroup, according to Mortgage Daily. Considered by many to be a visionary leader, Mr. Gilbert often strikes a pugnacious stance. When Mr. James, the N. B. A. star, announced he was leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2010 to join the Miami Heat, Mr. Gilbert — who not only has a majority stake in the Cavaliers, but also operates Quicken Loans Arena, where they play — penned a public tirade against the “cowardly betrayal,” in a letter written in the typeface Comic Sans. Mr. James is again playing for the Cavaliers. A call to his agent seeking comment was not returned. The year before, Mr. Gilbert got into an altercation at a bar mitzvah, punching a former colleague, David Hall, in the head before he was escorted out by security, according to interviews conducted by the Birmingham Police Department in Michigan. In police documents, Mr. Gilbert’s lawyer said Mr. Hall filed the complaint in order to pressure Mr. Gilbert into paying $2 million to buy out Mr. Hall’s investments in Mr. Gilbert’s companies. The Birmingham city attorney ultimately denied a warrant in the case on the grounds that the charges were not “supported by probable cause. ” Mr. Hall did not return an email seeking comment. In an email statement, a Quicken Loans spokesman said Mr. Gilbert “defended himself in a minor confrontation that was instigated by a former employee who was the aggressor. ” On a more trifling scale, after sending text messages about this article to a reporter at The New York Times but not receiving a response — Mr. Gilbert was texting her landline number by accident — he followed up with an email accusing the reporter of disconnecting her mobile phone to avoid him. The phone “likely is one of your temporary numbers that you deploy for the surreptitious work that you do,” he wrote. When alerted to the misunderstanding, Mr. Gilbert apologized “for any of it that was caused on my end. ” When Mr. Gilbert was asked in an email if he “often strikes a ‘combative stance’ or ‘frequently attacks his critics,’” a Quicken Loans spokesman responded in an email, “It’s interesting that when someone with as long and successful career as Mr. Gilbert is forced to defend his integrity and honor from old insignificant already rehashed incidents and accusations from a media source as credible as The NY Times, you would imply that doing such is ‘frequently attacking’ his critics. ” These days, Mr. Gilbert appears to be itching for a fight with the Justice Department. In court filings, Quicken argued that the government investigation was based on 55 “ ” loans out of nearly 250, 000. Quicken also argued that a longstanding F. H. A. process to resolve loans that did not meet its requirements, through either the repurchase of the loan or by indemnifying F. H. A. from any losses, was retroactively discontinued for Quicken. Since 2011, Mr. Gilbert has spent more than $2. 2 billion on downtown Detroit, buying up 95 decrepit properties and rehabilitating them in an effort to lure new tenants. Nike opened a store there last year. The New York burger chain Shake Shack is coming in 2017, as is the sports retailer Under Armour. Mr. Gilbert also notes that he has leased space downtown to several local businesses. That sort of presence makes downtown Detroit today seem a bit like a company town, a sort of Quickenville. That’s because Quicken Loans is just one of more than 100 closely knit companies that is owned or controlled by Mr. Gilbert with a footprint in the area. Through his commercial real estate properties, Mr. Gilbert can decide which tenants fit into his vision for downtown Detroit, and which don’t. Rocket Fiber, an idea developed by three former Quicken Loans technology employees and financially backed by Mr. Gilbert, has brought internet to downtown Detroit. For a $15 million donation, Quicken received the naming rights for the QLine, a streetcar that is expected to start running through downtown Detroit this spring. Mr. Gilbert sits on the board of the streetcar project. Lines of bicycles in downtown Detroit are available free for all employees of Mr. Gilbert’s companies. And visitors can bet at the tables at Jack Detroit Greektown, a gambling venture controlled by Mr. Gilbert. The Quicken Loans family also includes one of the largest title companies in the United States, an appraisal firm, a call center and Realty, which says on its website that it is the “preferred real estate partner” of Quicken Loans. Mr. Gilbert, who was busted in college for running a football betting ring (the charges were dismissed and his record was expunged) plays on a big stage. Back in 2010, he guaranteed that the Cavaliers would win the N. B. A. championship before LeBron James would. They didn’t, but the team, led by Mr. James, did win the title last year, and this season’s team has the highest payroll in the league. With Quicken Loans, Mr. Gilbert has built a company in the industry. Former executives describe Quicken Loans as a technology company that sells mortgages. But the heart that keeps Quicken’s blood moving is the 3, 500 mortgage bankers who work its phones. Many new employees come in with little to no background in financial services. One employee joined after delivering pizzas to the Quicken Loans office and becoming interested in working there. employees typically make hundreds of calls a day, trying to get potential customers on the phone. Not unlike the assembly lines that put together cars in Detroit, the call is immediately handed off to a licensed mortgage banker, who completes the loan application, then quickly passes it to processing so that he or she can focus on the next loan application. Mr. Gilbert said clients are able to close more quickly on loans when specialists focus on each stage of the loan process. He and other Quicken executives note that the company has repeatedly made Fortune magazine’s list of Best Places to Work For and has earned top marks in J. D. Power client satisfaction surveys. Quicken defines its culture and philosophy through a number of “isms,” created and curated over the years by Mr. Gilbert: “Yes before no. ” “A penny saved is a penny. ” “We eat our own dog food. ” At the same time, several former employees and executives in interviews described a demanding work environment, with staff members expected to work long hours and weekends to hit targets. In recent years, Quicken and its affiliated companies have faced at least four lawsuits filed by former mortgage bankers seeking overtime. Quicken won one of the overtime cases, but court documents indicate others were directed into settlement negotiations. An email to the various plaintiffs’ lawyers was not returned. And in early 2016, a National Labor Relations Board judge ruled that Quicken and five of its related companies issued an employee handbook with rules that violated workers’ right to engage in various activities, including ones. Quicken has appealed the ruling, calling the policies “common, rational and sensible. ” When asked about criticisms of the work environment, Mr. Gilbert and other executives defended the company, noting that mortgage bankers work an average of 44 hours per week and are compensated well. It is possible for team members, Mr. Gilbert said, to earn over $85, 000 in their second year, more than double the median household income for Wayne County, Mich. Quicken Loans’ growing role in parts of the mortgage market may make it a lightning rod for critics. Proponents say that nonbanks like Quicken or PennyMac in California — which was started by former executives of Countrywide, the mortgage machine in Southern California that was a hotbed of toxic mortgages in the 2008 crisis — are filling an important void. They argue that they serve people with low to moderate incomes or lower credit scores whom the big banks shun. The big banks, they say, focus instead on jumbo mortgages, or mortgages of more than $424, 100, the maximum amount that can be backed by enterprises like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. “The large banks want to go after the business,” said Guy D. Cecala, the chief executive and publisher of Inside Mortgage Finance. Thanks to low interest rates, home sales are booming and the mortgage market was expected to top $2 trillion in originations in 2016. That’s a far cry from the frothy height of $3. 8 trillion that was hit in 2003. Moreover, many other parts of the mortgage machine that were in place leading up to the financial crisis have been dismantled. Still, critics say today’s shadow banks, by focusing on the riskier end of the mortgage market, may be revving up the same parts of the engine that resulted in defaults and foreclosures in the past. Nonbanks, which are typically less capitalized and may have more difficulty reimbursing the government for bad loans, now dominate F. H. A. mortgage loans, according to data from the American Enterprise Institute’s International Center on Housing Risk. In September 2012, banks originated 65 percent of the loans insured by the F. H. A. according to the data. Today, that number has more than flipped: Nonbanks originate 73 percent of the loans, with banks’ share dropping to 18 percent. The figures are more spectacular for refinanced mortgages, where nonbanks now make up 93 percent of loans. “The market has moved to the nonbanks because the nonbanks’ appetite for risk is much higher,” said Edward J. Pinto, a director of the Center on Housing Risk. He has argued that the F. H. A. is not only failing to help communities with its programs, but is actually weakening them with imprudent loans. Mr. Gilbert disputed any “false narrative” that claims Quicken faces less regulatory scrutiny, is lightly capitalized or makes risky loans. He said that the average credit score of a Quicken borrower is one of the highest in the nation that the parent company’s assets “are larger than that of 93 percent of all F. D. I. C. depositories” and that the company is regulated by 50 states, multiple municipalities and numerous federal agencies. Quicken Loans is privately held, and it is unclear what its assets are worth. In an email response to questions, Mr. Gilbert added, “Quicken Loans underwriting and production is one of the highest, if not the highest, quality production in the entire country. ” | 1 |
Deployment Meant to Block ISIS Escape by Jason Ditz, October 30, 2016 Share This
As the Iraqi invasion of Mosul continues, the Shi’ite militia groups who have proven so controversial in previous attacks have begun to deploy west of the city, aiming to block the escape of any ISIS forces into Syria. The militias see this as the last real fight against ISIS inside Iraq, and are openly talking about heading into Syria next .
While the militias’ involvement in previous captures of major Sunni Arab cities around Iraq has seen them looting, torturing, and killing with reckless abandon, the militias’ ambition to get into Syria once this is wrapped up may mean less are left behind around Mosul to harass the locals.
The sectarian nature of the wars in Iraq and Syria have both led to a spike in recruitment for the Shi’ite militias, with many being deployed around significant religious sites in both countries to protect them from groups like ISIS. For many of them, this has also meant a blurring of the lines between the two wars.
There remains considerable concern about the impact on the Mosul population of the militias’ presence. This is doubly true because, in “blocking” ISIS escape, they may also end up blocking the escape of the civilian population,. which is unlikely to be welcomed if they flee into Kurdish territory.
That’s also a recurring reality in Iraq’s war, that the Sunni Arab civilians aren’t welcomed into Kurdish or Shi’ite territory, and generally end up having to flee into other ISIS territory for lack of alternatives. With little ISIS territory left, it is unclear where they’ll go. Last 5 posts by Jason Ditz | 0 |
Dreaming Up a Reason for NATO’s Relevance November 17, 2016
European leaders still rattle their tiny sabers at Russia, but Donald Trump’s election has spread confusion across NATO nations that had dutifully climbed aboard the New Cold War express, says ex-British intelligence officer Annie Machon.
By Annie Machon
A few months ago during the seemingly endless U.S. election, Donald Trump said NATO is not a gift that America can keep giving. In his stated view , the other member states should make a greater financial contribution (the U.S. currently contributes 70 percent of NATO’s budget) and, if not, they could not expect automatic protection in the face of an attack.
On Nov. 13, after Trump’s victory, NATO Secretary General and former Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg wrote a think piece in the U.K.’s Observer newspaper, and acknowledged the need for more widespread contributions while crying up the historic importance and future need for NATO by citing growing Russian “assertiveness” (diplo-speak for “aggression”) and the threat from international terrorism. NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium.
I was invited onto RT to analyze this and am here expanding on some of the points I made in an always-all-too-brief interview.
Stoltenberg was right to acknowledge Trump’s concerns about the contributions to NATO. But I think he was also addressing another and already-serving president somewhat closer to home – head of the European Commission and totemic Eurocrat Jean-Claude Juncker – who for a while now has been plotting an integrated E uropean Union army and who ramped up the rhetoric last week after Trump’s victory. The head of NATO is naturally not going to be too happy that the E.U. is poaching on his territory as the supposed military defender of Europe.
It was also reported in The Observer that France and Germany are planning to announce the acceleration towards an E.U. army over the coming weeks. So much for European-wide consensus. It would appear that Juncker also sees this as a bargaining position in future Brexit negotiations, if Britain ever does get around to triggering Article 50 for withdrawing from the E.U. Any E.U. army would need the U.K.’s contribution – not just the armed forces, which are the second largest in the E.U., but also continued close cooperation with the intelligence agencies.
After all, if both the U.K. post-Brexit and the U.S. after the ascension of Trump become increasingly isolationist and isolated, it would be natural for the two countries to pivot towards each other to the increasing exclusion of Europe. The U.K./U.S. “special relationship” has always been heavily predicated on the uniquely close working relationship of their spies, and the E.U. will fear being left further out in the cold.
So, if Juncker carries on regardless with his vanity E.U. army project and Britain agrees to contribute post-Brexit, there may be other sweet deals to offer to the U.K. during the Brexit negotiations. At least, that seems to be the position that Juncker is oiling his way towards. But the fundamental question has to be asked: why, now, do we need either a New Model E.U. army or the cavalier NATO?
Stoltenberg tried to address this in his article: “In the last few years we have seen a dramatic deterioration of our security, with a more assertive Russia and turmoil across north Africa and the Middle East. Nato allies have responded together. We have implemented the biggest reinforcement of our collective defence since the cold war. [….] This is deterrence, not aggression. […] Nato also continues to play a crucial role in the fight against terrorism. Every Nato ally is part of the US-led coalition against Islamic State.”
The Dubious Group Think
Let us unpack these comments. Firstly, is Russia indeed becoming more of a military threat, or is this just so much diplomatic grandstanding? After all, is it Russia or NATO that has been more, umm, “assertive” over the last 27 years? A map showing stages of NATO’s expansion. Dark blue showing original members; lighter blue the “round one” members; aqua the “round two” members; yellow represents neutral states; and brown and red (including Ukraine), otherwise aligned. On the map, Montenegro is one of the tiny brown spots on the eastern Adriatic.
In answer, I refer you back to an article I wrote two years ago after the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Referencing the work of former senior CIA officer and fellow Sam Adams Associate , Ray McGovern , it made clear that a deal was made between the Soviet Union of the time and the U.S. – and that, in return for the withdrawal of 260,000 Soviet troops from East Germany and the reunification of Germany, NATO would not move one inch further east than the German border.
Well, today we can see the result of these negotiations – another 12 countries, most in Eastern Europe and right up to the Russian border, have been assimilated into NATO . Recently within most of these border countries large-scale military exercises have been provocatively and publicly staged, plus missile “defen s e ” systems have been planted in the fertile paranoiac soil of an increasingly aggressive and nationalistic Poland.
Yes, Russia has in retaliation been conducting its own border exercises. The leadership has to be seen to be doing something, otherwise it will appear weak and not protecting its own people. That might be “assertive,” but it’s certainly not “aggressive.”
Nor let us forget the fact that, in 2008, NATO was warm towards the idea of Ukraine and Georgia joining, provided they could meet a few conditions. This would be taking Western forces directly into Russia’s backyard. It would be encircling Russia’s border with the rest of Europe with a new “Iron Curtain.” And I have to say that IS an aggressively political move at the very least.
How did this play out? Well, first stop for the campaign of Russian demonization was Georgia, under Western neocon puppet President Mikhail Saakashvili , invading a small and ethnically Russian segment of Georgia, South Ossetia. Russia responded by protecting the population, and then was excoriated across the Western world as conducting an unprovoked invasion of Georgia. This myth has long been exposed factually, but it is the hysterical headlines of the time that residually stick in most people’s minds.
Similarly in Ukraine. In 2014, a coup against the elected head of state , Viktor Yanukovych, apparently partly orchestrated by the U.S. as we know from an intercepted call between the Assistant U.S. Secretary of State for Europe Victoria Nuland and U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine, Geoffrey Pyatt. Interestingly, it was Yanukovych who blocked Ukraine’s accession to NATO after his election in 2010, perhaps an additional motivation for the 2014 coup.
All this laid bare the fact that the U.S. had pumped $5 billion in to subvert the Ukrainian state during the post-Soviet years and that, in the face of European concern about the worsening crisis, the U.S. pronounced – in the tender words of Victoria Nuland – “fuck the E.U.” And yet still the E.U. acquiesced to U.S.-led sanctions against Russia that have hit the E . U . economy hard .
Pot and Kettle
Despite this history of interference in the politics of other nations, the U.S. government accused Russia of meddling in the 2016 presidential elections. The old story of the pot and kettle springs to mind. uncomfortably accepting the Nobel Peace Prize from Committee Chairman Thorbjorn Jagland in Oslo, Norway, Dec. 10, 2009. (White House photo)
Add to this a probably NATO-approved strike on a Russian jet involved in the Syrian conflict earlier this year by NATO member Turkey (at the time one of the closest trading partners of Russia and which, temporarily, caused bilateral damage that has since been repaired) and the military wing of Western interests is not exactly coming up smelling of roses. (The Russian pilot bailed out but was then shot to death by Turkish-backed Syrian rebels on the ground.) Perhaps NATO was just being “assertive.”
So to Stoltenberg’s second point of justification for NATO: the success that it has had combating the threat of international terrorism. Where can I start with this? Since NATO invoked Article 5 (when one state is attacked, all must respond) in the wake of the 9/11 attacks against America , Western countries have been dragged into war after illegal war across the Middle East, central Asia and North Africa.
Let us examine the roll call of successes: Afghanistan (now largely back in the hands of Taliban warlords and supplying ever more heroin to the illegal drug trade that goes toward funding terrorist groups, including ISIS); Iraq, now a basket case and the cradle of ISIS; Libya ditto plus the drugs ; Yemeni communities being vaporized with “precision” bombs by U.S. proxy Saudi Arabia ; and the bloody catastrophe of Syria of course.
So the NATO Secretary General’s second justification of the organization’s continued existence is not exactly what one would call compelling. But I suppose he had to try, when Juncker’s threatened folie de grandeur that is the E.U. army is even less inspiring.
So, back to President-elect Donald Trump. What will he do, faced with this mess of competing Western military/security interests and Euro-bureaucrat careerists? Perhaps his U.S. isolationist position is not so mad, bad and dangerous as the wailings of the Western liberal press would have us believe?
American “exceptionalism” and NATO interventionism have not exactly benefited much of the world since the end of the Cold War. Perhaps the time has indeed come for an American Commander-in-Chief who can indeed cut deals to cut through the saber-rattling rhetoric and, even unintentionally, make a significant contribution to world peace.
Stranger things have happened. After all, outgoing President Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize a mere eight months after his inauguration, more a hoped-for aspiration than a recognition of any accomplishment, and we see how that worked out.
Annie Machon is a former intelligence officer in the UK’s MI5 Security Service (the U.S. counterpart is the FBI). | 0 |
SEATTLE — The catch of the day has a couple of meanings to Mike Kirn, who works at Pike Place Fish Market. If you’re talking fork, plate and a nice dill sauce, he puts his money on white king salmon. But when he is trying to catch one in midair, with hundreds of people clustered around to watch — not an unusual amount on a touristy afternoon — halibut, Mr. Kirn says, is the fish without equal. Sure, salmon are sleeker and more beautiful — and they are the money fish at Pike Place, clocking in at $46 or more per pound. They glisten like princelings as they go up and up, hurled 20 feet or more, and then down into the waiting, surprisingly gentle hands of a fishmonger. But the ungainly and lumbering halibut is the real of the market when it takes off to fly. “It’s like a big floppy Frisbee,” Mr. Kirn said. “The crowd loves to see a halibut. ” Fishmongers have been throwing fish for decades in this small shop just off Seattle’s downtown waterfront at Pike Place Market. And for a long time, they have allowed amateurs to try their luck at catching, too. (Vanna White, from TV’s “Wheel of Fortune,” tried a few times, with eventual success.) The practice, and the philosophy of fun that came with it, evolved partly through desperation after a failed expansion in the the shop’s owner, John Yokoyama, wrote in 2004 in a book called “When Fish Fly. ” “The only way I was going to go for being world famous was if it didn’t cost me any money,” Mr. Yokoyama wrote, with his Joseph A. Michelli. For here’s the drill: You stand sideways to the fish’s flight path, then think of a football, or perhaps a baby — one hand held low, the other high, ready to support the head as the fish comes down. Then you hope for the best. New employees said that the learning curve is steep. Fish fly at you from the first day on the job. There are no corporate retreats, no training sessions out of the public eye. “You stand back here and they throw a big fish and you say, ‘Time out, I don’t want to catch this fish,’ but you’ve just got to do it,” said Ryan Hébert (pronounced ) 36, who has worked just more than a year with the company. “And the more you do it, the more and more you learn,” he added. Mr. Kirn, 33, said the secret of flight is that while the crowd roars at a good catch, especially the but risky the real skill is in the throwing, which hardly anyone notices at all. “It’s like a golf swing, you keep your right arm straight,” said C. J. Conrad, 27, describing the perfect form for tossing. “Then you use your hips. ” A fish does a little flop halfway to its target, then flattens out into an aerodynamic glide, horizontal but with the head slightly up. If all goes well, the final moments are more like a landing than a catch. Sliminess is irrelevant. Except when it isn’t. “I picked it up so fast, people didn’t even know,” said Zach Swingle, 27, describing a recent miss. They also keep a “practice fish” behind the counter, which gets tossed around for fun, or when business is slow. At day’s end, a fish that has been thrown too many times looks exactly as you would expect: beaten up by the experience. This fish is then donated to the zoo, where the bears have it for dinner. | 1 |
For Frank Vincenti, there is a certain truth to those old Warner Bros. cartoons in which Wile E. Coyote, scheming but hapless, always takes the fall in pursuing the speedy Road Runner. “You know, that cartoon is really correct — Wile E. Coyote and the real thing are not that much different,” said Mr. Vincenti, a barber by vocation, but also a advocate for urban coyotes. “Coyotes are always going to be controversial animals, but they get an undeserved reputation. ” By day, he gives $10 haircuts at his shop in Mineola, N. Y. but by night, he transforms into a coyote whisperer, dedicated to saving coyotes in and around New York City and to challenging the perception that the animals are too dangerous to coexist with people in urban and suburban areas. After spying a coyote in the Bronx, Mr. Vincenti started the Wild Dog Foundation in 1996, a nonprofit that protects coyotes. When he hears of a sighting, he closes his barbershop and heads to the scene. He may spend all night working as a human scarecrow, chasing the coyotes back into the underbrush. The goal is to keep them out of the public view and away from the traps set by specialists hired to euthanize them. On a recent weeknight, he closed his shop and drove to an area near La Guardia Airport where a family of coyotes had settled in the woodsy patches near the bridge leading to the Rikers Island jail complex. Officials from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which runs the airport, deemed the coyotes a danger to users of a nearby parking lot for airport employees and notified federal officials to have the coyotes removed. Since the fall, coyotes have been continually trapped and euthanized, despite Mr. Vincenti’s preventive efforts. “You want to know the irony of all this?” he said, gesturing toward Rikers Island. “You got accused murderers and rapists over there, and the government is afraid of a family of coyotes. ” Pacing the narrow visitors parking lot for Rikers, he recounted how by early last year, three adult coyotes had settled here, which led to a litter of eight pups roaming the area by July. “The coyotes were like mascots — people were driving by, taking pictures like they were on safari,” said Mr. Vincenti, who showed up every night to chase the coyotes back into cover. “You don’t want them just walking around in the open because that unnerves people. ” Lobbying for the coyotes to remain, he handed out fliers and assured local residents that the animals were not looking for confrontations. He approached parents at Little League games and told them the coyotes scared off geese and hunted rats. Pushed by swelling coyote populations upstate, some coyotes have inhabited wooded sections of the Bronx for 20 years, Mr. Vincenti said. There are active dens under the Whitestone Bridge and in Pelham Bay and Van Cortlandt Parks, he said. The adult coyotes near Rikers may have wandered down from the Bronx over the Hell Gate Bridge, which carries only sporadic freight train traffic. Mr. Vincenti said their puppies may have been the first born on geographic Long Island in centuries. He had hoped they would eventually migrate to eastern Long Island, but by last week, trappers had managed to kill all but one of the coyotes. “The coyotes had no chance,” he said. “My efforts were too little too late. I’m one man, on my own dime and my own time, and I had a lot of people against me. ” He stood by his car. It had a coyote rescue placard on the dashboard and a stuffed coyote dangling from the rearview mirror. Looking for the remaining pup, he examined tracks near a bicycle parking area. On Monday, he was back in his shop, which his opened in 1925. Mr. Vincenti said he began cutting hair there at 13. The walls were covered not with photos of hairstyles but with images of coyotes and other animals. Mr. Vincenti has carved out an underdog role, not unlike the coyote. He is short in stature but with an outsize personality and tenacity. Mr. Vincenti’s coyote advocacy seems thankless. He sets up tables at events and gives talks at local libraries, often facing residents who consider the coyotes a threat to their children and pets. Mr. Vincenti, who is married with a son, is a history buff and a fan of Napoleon. During slow times in the barbershop, he plows through history books, educates himself on wildlife issues and dreams of making a living protecting coyotes instead of cutting hair. The euthanized coyote family left him discouraged, but he could already hear the next coyote calling, in the form of a sighting near Farmers Boulevard in Queens. Once again, the Road Runner cartoon proved correct. “Wile E. Coyote always loses,” he said, “but no matter how they try to kill him off, he always comes back. ” | 1 |
Your daily reality snack Moscow Working on Arranging Israel-Palestine Summit
Since the United States cannot or will not act as an honest broker in the middle east, Russia is taking over the job Originally appeared at Sputnik
Russia continues to conduct a thorough preparation for the first Israeli-Palestinian summit in Moscow in order to ensure that it does not become "a meeting for the sake of the meeting," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said on Friday.
"Here you need to strive for it to be done at the appropriate time. It is necessary to conduct a thorough preparation for the meeting so that it would really be productive … not just a meeting for the sake of the meeting," Gatilov said during his visit to Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas earlier announced their support for Moscow’s effort to mediate any talks on the resolution of Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but laid responsibility on each other for the fact that the meeting had not been agreed yet.
In late September, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told a press conference following his address to the UN General Assembly that Moscow continued working with both Israel and Palestine to resume negotiations, noting that the parties were not equally eager to consider the initiative. Did you enjoy this article? - Consider helping us! Russia Insider depends on your donations: the more you give, the more we can do. $1 $10 Other amount
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The complete list of winners: Record of the Year “Hello” — Adele Album of the Year “25” — Adele (read our review) Song of the Year “Hello” — Adele Adkins Greg Kurstin, songwriters (Adele) New Artist Chance the Rapper (read our review of “Coloring Book”) Pop Solo Performance “Hello” — Adele Pop Performance: “Stressed Out” — Twenty One Pilots Traditional Pop Vocal Album “Summertime: Willie Nelson Sings Gershwin” — Willie Nelson Pop Vocal Album “25” — Adele Dance Recording “Don’t Let Me Down” — The Chainsmokers Featuring Daya Album “Skin” — Flume Contemporary Instrumental Album “Culcha Vulcha” — Snarky Puppy Rock Performance “Blackstar” — David Bowie Metal Performance “Dystopia” — Megadeth Rock Song “Blackstar” — David Bowie, songwriter (David Bowie) Rock Album “Tell Me I’m Pretty” — Cage the Elephant Alternative Music Album “Blackstar” — David Bowie RB Performance “Cranes in the Sky” — Solange Traditional RB Performance “Angel” — Lalah Hathaway RB Song “Lake By the Ocean” — Hod David Musze, songwriters (Maxwell) (read our interview) Urban Contemporary Album “Lemonade” — Beyoncé RB Album “Lalah Hathaway Live” — Lalah Hathaway Rap Performance “No Problem” — Chance the Rapper Featuring Lil Wayne 2 Chainz Performance “Hotline Bling” — Drake Rap Song “Hotline Bling” — Aubrey Graham Paul Jefferies, songwriters (Drake) Rap Album “Coloring Book” — Chance the Rapper Country Solo Performance “My Church” — Maren Morris Country Performance “Jolene” — Pentatonix featuring Dolly Parton Country Song “Humble and Kind” — Lori McKenna, songwriter (Tim McGraw) Country Album “A Sailor’s Guide to Earth” — Sturgill Simpson (read our interview) New Age Album “White Sun II” — White Sun Improvised Jazz Solo “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” — John Scofield, soloist Jazz Vocal Album “Take Me to the Alley” — Gregory Porter Jazz Instrumental Album “Country for Old Men” — John Scofield Large Jazz Ensemble Album “Presidential Suite: Eight Variations on Freedom” — Ted Nash Big Band Latin Jazz Album “Tribute to Irakere: Live in Marciac” — Chucho Valdés Gospel “God Provides” — Tamela Mann Kirk Franklin, songwriter Contemporary Christian Music “Thy Will” — Hillary Scott the Scott Family Bernie Herms, Hillary Scott Emily Weisband, songwriters Gospel Album “Losing My Religion” — Kirk Franklin (read our interview) Contemporary Christian Music Album “Love Remains” — Hillary Scott the Scott Family Roots Gospel Album “Hymns” — Joey + Rory Latin Pop Album “Un Besito Mas” — Jesse Joy Latin Rock, Urban or Alternative Album “iLevitable” — iLe Regional Mexican Music Album (Including Tejano) “Un Azteca En El Azteca, Vol. 1 (En Vivo)” — Vicente Fernández Tropical Latin Album “Donde Están?” — Jose Lugo Guasábara Combo American Roots Performance “House of Mercy” — Sarah Jarosz American Roots Song “Kid Sister” — Vince Gill, songwriter (The Time Jumpers) Americana Album “This Is Where I Live” — William Bell Bluegrass Album “Coming Home” — O’Connor Band With Mark O’Connor Traditional Blues Album “Porcupine Meat” — Bobby Rush Contemporary Blues Album “The Last Days of Oakland” — Fantastic Negrito Folk Album “Undercurrent” — Sarah Jarosz Regional Roots Music Album “E Walea” — Kalani Pe’a Reggae Album “Ziggy Marley” — Ziggy Marley World Music Album “Sing Me Home” — Ma The Silk Road Ensemble Children’s Album “Infinity Plus One” — Secret Agent 23 Skidoo Spoken Word Album “In Such Good Company: Eleven Years of Laughter, Mayhem, and Fun in the Sandbox” — Carol Burnett Comedy Album “Talking for Clapping” — Patton Oswalt Musical Theater Album “The Color Purple” Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media “Miles Ahead” (Miles Davis Various Artists) Score Soundtrack for Visual Media “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” — John Williams, composer Song Written for Visual Media “Can’t Stop The Feeling!” — Max Martin, Shellback Justin Timberlake, songwriters (Justin Timberlake, Anna Kendrick, Gwen Stefani, James Corden, Zooey Deschanel, Walt Dohrn, Ron Funches, Caroline Hjelt, Aino Jawo, Christopher Kunal Nayyar) Track from: “Trolls” Instrumental Composition “Spoken at Midnight” — Ted Nash, composer Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella “You And I” — Jacob Collier, arranger (Jacob Collier) Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals “Flintstones” — Jacob Collier, arranger (Jacob Collier) Recording Package “Blackstar” — Jonathan Barnbrook, art director (David Bowie) Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package “Edith Piaf ” — Gérard Lo Monaco, art director (Edith Piaf) Album Notes “Sissle and Blake Sing Shuffle Along” — Ken Bloom Richard Carlin, album notes writers (Eubie Blake Noble Sissle) Historical Album “The Cutting Edge : The Bootleg Series, Vol. 12” (Collector’s Edition) Steve Berkowitz Jeff Rosen, compilation producers Mark Wilder, mastering engineer (Bob Dylan) Engineered Album, “Blackstar” — David Bowie, Tom Elmhirst, Kevin Killen Tony Visconti, engineers Joe LaPorta, mastering engineer (David Bowie) Producer of the Year, Greg Kurstin Remixed Recording “Tearing Me Up” (RAC Remix) — André Allen Anjos, remixer (Bob Moses) Surround Sound Album “Dutilleux: Sur Le Même Accord Les Citations Mystère De L’instant Timbres, Espace, Mouvement” — Alexander Lipay Dmitriy Lipay, surround mix engineers Dmitriy Lipay, surround mastering engineer Dmitriy Lipay, surround producer (Ludovic Morlot Seattle Symphony) Engineered Album, Classical “Corigliano: The Ghosts of Versailles” — Mark Donahue Fred Vogler, engineers (James Conlon, Guanqun Yu, Joshua Guerrero, Patricia Racette, Christopher Maltman, Lucy Schaufer, Lucas Meachem, LA Opera Chorus Orchestra) Producer of the Year, Classical David Frost Orchestral Performance “Shostakovich: Under Stalin’s Shadow Symphonies Nos. 5, 8 9” — Andris Nelsons, conductor (Boston Symphony Orchestra) Opera Recording “Corigliano: The Ghosts of Versailles” — James Conlon, conductor Joshua Guerrero, Christopher Maltman, Lucas Meachem, Patricia Racette, Lucy Schaufer Guanqun Yu Blanton Alspaugh, producer (LA Opera Orchestra LA Opera Chorus) Choral Performance “Penderecki Conducts Penderecki, Volume 1” — Krzysztof Penderecki, conductor Henryk Wojnarowski, choir director (Nikolay Didenko, Agnieszka Rehlis Johanna Rusanen Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra Warsaw Philharmonic Choir) Chamber Ensemble Performance “Steve Reich” — Third Coast Percussion Classical Instrumental Solo “Daugherty: Tales of Hemingway” — Zuill Bailey Giancarlo Guerrero, conductor (Nashville Symphony) Classical Solo Vocal Album TIE: “Schumann Berg” — Dorothea Röschmann Mitsuko Uchida, accompanist and “Shakespeare Songs” — Ian Bostridge Antonio Pappano, accompanist (Michael Collins, Elizabeth Kenny, Lawrence Power Adam Walker) Classical Compendium “Daugherty: Tales of Hemingway American Gothic Once Upon A Castle” — Giancarlo Guerrero, conductor Tim Handley, producer Contemporary Classical Composition “Daugherty: Tales of Hemingway” — Michael Daugherty, composer (Zuill Bailey, Giancarlo Guerrero Nashville Symphony) Music Video “Formation” — Beyoncé Music Film “The Beatles: Eight Days a Week the Touring Years” — Ron Howard, video director Brian Grazer, Ron Howard, Scott Pascucci Nigel Sinclair, video producers | 1 |
Morrie Gold is not a political protester. He is a retired doctor in Pennsylvania. But he recently participated in a quiet act of rebellion: He and 11 golfing buddies canceled their annual trip to a Florida resort owned by Donald J. Trump to express their disgust with his remarks about women, immigrants and minorities. “For me,” Mr. Gold said, “it’s an ethical statement. ” Political demonstrations are alien to Margaret Riordan, too. “I’m just an old white lady from Illinois,” she said. But when friends invited the and her husband to dinner inside Chicago’s Trump International Hotel and Tower, a boycott was born. “Pick another place,” Ms. Riordan firmly told her friends. “By crossing that threshold, I’m saying Donald Trump’s O. K. I won’t do that. ” The reservation was canceled. Across the country, voters alarmed by the tenor of Mr. Trump’s campaign and the emerging accounts of his personal conduct are engaging in spontaneous, unorganized and inconspicuous acts of protest that take direct aim at perhaps his most prized possession: his brand name. In more than two dozen interviews, they described creative methods of punishing his economic empire and expunging the reminders of him from their lives, closets, golf bags and bookshelves over the past few months. They have thrown out — or cut up — Trump neckties, called off stays at Trump hotels, even stopped imbibing Trump wines. Gary Berry, a military veteran and Gold Star father whose son died while serving in the Army, used to love Mr. Trump’s sparkling wines. He bought the ornate bottles, stamped with the candidate’s heavily serifed surname, near his hometown, Charlottesville, Va. for special occasions like the birth of a grandchild and wedding anniversaries. That stopped the moment Mr. Trump mocked the parents of Humayun Khan, an Army captain who was killed in Iraq. “I am sorry, that’s just not what you do,” Mr. Berry said from inside a Veterans of Foreign Wars hall, where he was chatting with fellow veterans. “Trump is despicable in my mind. I’m not buying Trump anymore. ” Organized, noisy demonstrations are a fixture of election seasons, and they have bedeviled both Mr. Trump and Hillary Clinton throughout the presidential campaign. But the scattered retail rebukes of Mr. Trump are something new: independent acts of protest by everyday consumers who feel that voting against Mr. Trump would not be a sufficient reproach. They are animated, they said, not just by his inflammatory statements or allegations of predatory behavior toward women — which he has denied — but by the belief that the wealth that powers his candidacy was in many ways amassed on their backs, one book, dress shirt or hotel stay at a time. “There’s never been a presidential candidate that’s had a product that I had bought before,” said Nadav Ullman, 26, an entrepreneur who has a standing coffee meeting with his business partner in the food court of Trump Tower in Midtown Manhattan. Or at least he used to. As Mr. Trump marched toward the Republican nomination, Mr. Ullman was startled by what he saw as Mr. Trump’s strategy of “bigotry and racism. ” He moved his weekly meeting outside to a bench in Central Park, grabbing coffee from a Wafels Dinges vendor on the sidewalk. “It kind of came down to the idea that going to Trump Tower — in a very small way, no doubt, but in some capacity — would support him,” Mr. Ullman said. Besides, he added, the coffee at Trump Tower was never very good. “It was a win on multiple levels,” he said. It is difficult to measure the economic impact of such protests on Mr. Trump’s businesses. His holdings are privately controlled, and he has a history of exaggerating his financial performance. Amanda Miller, the vice president of marketing for the Trump Organization, said in a statement on Sunday that the Trump brand “remains incredibly strong, and we are seeing tremendous success across business units. ” The nonstop exposure provided by the presidential campaign has its upsides: Sales at Mr. Trump’s winery in Charlottesville are up 55 percent, said Kerry Woolard, its general manager. A few customers have headed there straight from his political rallies, she said. But there are signs of a strain: An online travel company, Hipmunk, has found that bookings for Trump hotels on its site fell 58 percent during the first half of 2016, compared with the same period a year ago. Eric Danziger, the chief executive of Trump Hotels, said that data from sites like Hipmunk “does not provide an accurate representation of our performance. ” In interviews, though, several owners said they were avoiding Trump hotels. Elonide Semmes, the president of a Chicago branding company, has turned her anger at Mr. Trump into company policy: Expenses incurred at Trump properties shall not be reimbursed. “The one thing you can do is vote with your feet,” she said. Employees at ArtMotion, a New York agency that represents commercial photographers and illustrators, have done the same. They used to routinely book rooms at Trump hotels in New York and Chicago. But in response to what they saw as Mr. Trump’s factual distortions and ignorance of global affairs, the firm’s partners gave their travel agent a firm decree: “Don’t even think of booking us at Trump hotels,” recalled Billy Diesel, a . “It’s a small amount of money, but it’s a way to make our voices heard,” Mr. Diesel said. The amount of money is not always small. Before they rebooked at a rival golf resort nearby, Mr. Gold and his friends had planned to spend about $18, 000 on a multiday stay at Mr. Trump’s Doral golf resort in Miami. They had played there for about 14 years, he said, long before Mr. Trump purchased and upgraded the property in 2012. “It’s a beautiful place,” Mr. Gold said with a sigh. The rejection has extended to brands controlled by Mr. Trump’s children, whom these consumers see as aiding and abetting the candidate they increasingly revile. A few weeks ago, Natalie Davis, 50, bought a navy blue sundress from an Ivanka Trump line of clothing at Lord Taylor in Midtown Manhattan. “It fit me really nicely,” she said. But soon after, she heard Mr. Trump grimly and inaccurately describe the economic and social status of : “You’re living in your poverty, your schools are no good, you have no jobs,” he said. Ms. Davis, who lives in New Jersey, was appalled. “The way he talked about black people — it’s like we are not human,” she said. Ms. Trump had not uttered the offending words, but Ms. Davis had watched her speak for her father at the Republican National Convention. That was enough. “I feel,” Ms. Davis said, “like she’s a puppet to her dad. ” Ms. Davis marched back into Lord Taylor, handed a cashier her perfectly fitting sundress and asked for a refund. “There’s no way one penny of my money is going to anything with the Trump name on it,” Ms. Davis said. The cashier, she said, did not seem surprised. Ms. Davis got her $120 back. Retail workers, it seems, have grown accustomed to such interactions. Ryan Whitacre said he was simply following company policy at a Marshalls clothing store in central Ohio when he asked a woman why she was returning an Ivanka Trump shirt this summer. “She told me she didn’t want to support that name,” he recalled. “They want to get that name away from them as much as they can,” Mr. Whitacre added. The campaign spotlight is not all bad for Ms. Trump’s brands: The pink dress she wore at the convention quickly sold out, her aides said. For some seething voters, returning Trump products is no longer feasible: They sit, well worn, inside their closets and dressers. So they are taking creative measures. After hearing Mr. Trump rail against the loss of American manufacturing jobs to foreign workers, Brian Betteridge, 33, a teacher outside Philadelphia, checked the label on his Trump Signature Collection dress shirt. “Made in Indonesia,” it read, according to Mr. Betteridge. “I tossed it right into the garbage,” he said. “At that point, it represented all of these things about him that I could not stand. ” The shirt had been a gift from his grandmother. “I haven’t told her,” he said. | 1 |
Posted on October 31, 2016 by Sean Adl-Tabatabai in News , US // 4 Comments
An FBI source has confirmed that evidence has emerged from the Clinton email investigation that a massive child trafficking and pedophile sex ring operates in Washington.
According to reports , at least 6 members of Congress and several leaders from federal agencies are implicated in the pedophile ring, which they say was run directly with the Clinton Foundation as a front.
According to an NYPD source, emails found on Anthony Weiner’s laptop detail trips made by Weiner, Bill and Hillary Clinton on convicted pedophile pal billionaire Jeffrey Epstein’s plane ‘ Lolitta express ‘ to a place known as “ Sex Slave Island “. Will this be the fatal shot? NYPD talking about Child Porn ring involvement. This is NOT confirmed, but would gut Dems. #GoHillary #CNNSOTU pic.twitter.com/ke8YTz4DMh RELATED CONTENT | 0 |
Actor James Woods had a message for Planned Parenthood president and CEO Cecile Richards after she tweeted a Mother’s Day message of her own. [Richards, who testified before Congress that “abortion is health care,” tweeted Sunday: Nothing says ”I love you, Mom!” like standing up for the right of mothers everywhere to get the care they need. https: . — Cecile Richards (@CecileRichards) May 14, 2017, Woods, a practicing Roman Catholic and conservative, responded to Richards: Hard to say ”I love you, Mom” from a medical waste dumpster … #DefundPP https: . — James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) May 15, 2017, And, as it turns out, many tweeted in response to Woods’s slam against the nation’s largest abortion vendor: @RealJamesWoods Her sentiment might mean something if PP actually provided healthcare for women, other than abortions. Which isn’t healthcare at all. — Sherry (@staylorwrite4) May 15, 2017, @Nimz105 @staylorwrite4 Outstanding. Like selling aborted baby parts like a chop shop. We’ve seen the hidden cameras revealing the truth. Can’t change facts. — John Porter (@John_Porter601) May 15, 2017, @Nimz105 @staylorwrite4 I would love to visit your local PP Abortion factory. Can I bring state medical inspectors? Auditors? It would be a blast! — Josey Wales (@josephwales911) May 15, 2017, Late last week, the Kardashian sisters also visited Planned Parenthood’s clinic in West Los Angeles: My sisters I visited Planned Parenthood learned so much! They are such an amazing place that provides so much to so many! #istandwithpp pic. twitter. — Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) May 13, 2017, organization Live Action has produced a video that utilizes Planned Parenthood’s annual reports to show the actual decline in its healthcare services, while abortions have increased. “Over the last six years, Planned Parenthood’s annual clientele has dropped half a million clients,” Live Action reports in the video. “And over the last ten years reported, Planned Parenthood has shut down over 200 facilities. ” The video adds that over the last ten years, Planned Parenthood’s annual breast exams have declined 60 percent, leaving the group with less than two percent of breast exams performed in the United States. Additionally, the group’s annual Pap tests have decreased 77 percent, resulting in a current market share of less than one percent of these procedures. Similarly, Planned Parenthood’s annual cancer screenings have reportedly decreased 68 percent, an outcome that leaves the group with less than two percent of U. S. cancer screenings performed for women. “However, Planned Parenthood’s annual abortions have increased 27 percent,” observes Live Action, noting the group performs 34. 9 percent of abortions in the nation. Despite the stark decline in services other than abortions, Planned Parenthood’s government funding has more than doubled, from $272 million to $553 million, with the group claiming taxpayer funding is not used to pay for abortions. Maybe not so safe for the future generation … pic. twitter. — James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) April 17, 2017, | 1 |
Come with me … if you want congressional districts to be drawn fairly. [Arnold Schwarzenegger has launched a nationwide campaign that aims to place Congressional in the hands of independent, unbiased commissions. In a post to his Facebook page this week, the actor and former California governor promised to match any donations made to his new fundraising campaign, which is aimed at fixing what he calls a “broken” system of drawing district lines in which representatives with approval ratings worse than “herpes, colonoscopies and cockroaches” continually get . “At the same time, it seems like the American people are more divided than at any time in recent memory,” Schwarzenegger wrote. “That’s no accident — our politicians have literally divided us, drawing map lines so that they can pick the voters they want to represent, instead of letting the voters pick them. ” “When I was elected Governor of California in 2003 a lot of voters imagined I would be the Kindergarten Cop and break the gridlock in the legislature singlehandedly, but I realized very quickly that the problem ran much deeper,” he added. “Because legislators were drawing their own districts, they were picking their voters and virtually assuring their own . Most politicians came from hardcore Democratic districts or hardcore Republican districts and had no incentive to leave their partisan corners to come together for the people of California. ” Schwarzenegger went on to explain that California’s adoption of an independent commission to draw congressional districts nearly ten years ago resulted in four House seats changing party hands in the 2008 election, what he said was a 400 percent increase from the past decade in just one year. “It’s a attack — we will fight gerrymandering with grassroots initiatives, we will fight it by lobbying in state capitols, and we will fight it in the courts,” Schwarzenegger wrote. “Together, we will win. ” As of Sunday afternoon, the “Terminate Gerrymandering” fundraising page on CrowdPac had raised more than $15, 000. Schwarzenegger has been both politically active and gone back to his acting roots in recent months. In addition to feuding openly with President Donald Trump, the former governor hosted a reboot of Trump’s popular Apprentice reality show, before announcing earlier this year he would not return for a second season. Earlier this month, Schwarzenegger told Entertainment Weekly that he hoped to begin shooting a sequel to his 1988 comedy Twins — tentatively titled Triplets — later this year. Follow Daniel Nussbaum on Twitter: @dznussbaum | 1 |
It is the kind of nervous moment that almost any New Yorker would recognize, the reason that even in a city where crime is at historic lows, direct eye contact is sometimes not considered the wisest maneuver. A man, angry and ranting in a public place. It could be on the subway, on a street corner or in a shop. In most cases, it is just a fleeting incident in a very big city, a brief reminder that it is a good idea to keep your wits about you. On Wednesday morning, however, it ended with blood on the streets after a man lunged at a police officer with a knife and was shot dead by other officers. One woman, a bystander, suffered a minor wound after being grazed by a bullet. It was shortly after 8 a. m. when a man later identified by the police as Garry Conrad Jr. 46, of Upper Manhattan, entered the Food Emporium grocery store at 49th Street and Eighth Avenue. He was disheveled and agitated. He wanted to buy beer. But as he shopped, he threatened customers, officials said. “He became aggressive and belligerent,” said James P. O’Neill, the chief of department for the New York Police Department. “He was swearing at the people in the store. ” As Mr. Conrad was going to pay, his confrontation with the cashier escalated. “She asked to see some I. D.,” Robert K. Boyce, the chief of detectives, said. A retired state law enforcement officer in the store thought it best to find a police officer and flagged down one, who was on foot patrol. At the same time, employees of the Food Emporium forced Mr. Conrad from the premises, the police said. On the corner of 49th Street and Eighth Avenue, the officer engaged him, grabbing him by his backpack. They both went crashing to the pavement, the police said. “As the suspect got back on his feet he displayed an knife and approached the officer and two other officers who were coming to his assistance,” Chief O’Neill said. The man was ordered to drop the weapon but refused, he said. At that point, another officer rushing to the scene fired seven rounds at Mr. Conrad, and a police sergeant fired two more rounds at him, according to the police. Their names were not released. It was unclear how many times Mr. Conrad was struck, but he fell to the ground and was pronounced dead at the scene. The police said that they expect to find video recordings of the episode, but all indications were that the shooting was justified. The bystander who was injured, a woman, was standing north of the point of the shooting. The police described her injuries as minor. The officer who wrestled Mr. Conrad to the ground suffered a cut to his hand. It was almost a year to the day after the police shot a man wielding a hammer on a Midtown street, farther south on Eighth Avenue. That attack also took place in broad daylight on a crowded city street, and as was the case then, the crime scene on Wednesday quickly turned into a public spectacle. Diners at a nearby cafe, Pigalle, were startled by the gunfire, setting down their coffee and their croissants and going out onto the street to see what had happened. Guests at the Hilton Garden Inn peered from their hotel windows as the police draped a white blanket over the dead man, his blood staining the pavement. | 1 |
Blockbuster Audio From '06 of Hillary Proposing RIGGING Palestine Election Observer
On September 5, 2006, Eli Chomsky was an editor and staff writer for the Jewish Press, and Hillary Clinton was running for a shoo-in re-election as a U.S. senator. Her trip making the rounds of editorial boards brought her to Brooklyn to meet the editorial board of the Jewish Press.The tape was never released and has only been heard by the small handful of Jewish Press staffers in the room. According to Chomsky, his old-school audiocassette is the only existent copy and no one has heard it since 2006, until today when he played it for the Observer.The tape is 45 minutes and contains much that is no longer relevant, such as analysis of the re-election battle that Sen. Joe Lieberman was then facing in Connecticut. But a seemingly throwaway remark about elections in areas controlled by the Palestinian Authority has taken on new relevance amid persistent accusations in the presidential campaign by Clinton’s Republican opponent Donald Trump that the current election is “rigged.”Hillary Clinton listens to Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump speak during the third U.S. presidential debate at the Thomas & Mack Center on October 19, 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada.Hillary Clinton listens to Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump speak during the third U.S. presidential debate at the Thomas & Mack Center on October 19, 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada.Speaking to the Jewish Press about the January 25, 2006, election for the second Palestinian Legislative Council (the legislature of the Palestinian National Authority), Clinton weighed in about the result, which was a resounding victory for Hamas (74 seats) over the U.S.-preferred Fatah (45 seats).“I do not think we should have pushed for an election in the Palestinian territories. I think that was a big mistake,” said Sen. Clinton. “And if we were going to push for an election, then we should have made sure that we did something to determine who was going to win.” | 0 |
President Donald Trump honored former President Andrew Jackson, celebrating his 250th birthday by visiting Hermitage, Jackson’s home in Nashville, Tennessee. [“Look what he was able to do, look what he was able to build,” Trump marveled as he told the story of Jackson, who was orphaned as a young boy before fighting in the Revolutionary War. “Andrew Jackson was a military hero and genius and a beloved president, but he was also a flawed and imperfect man, the product of his time,” Trump said. Trump told the story of Jackson being captured by the British during the Revolutionary War as a boy and being slashed with a saber when he refused to shine an officer’s boots. “It was during the revolution that Jackson first confronted and defied an arrogant elite,” Trump said. “Does that sound familiar to you?” “Oh, I know the feeling, Andrew,” Trump smiled as he shook his head. Trump explained that since the event, Jackson defied elites and authority figures throughout his life. “Jackson’s victories shook the establishment like an earthquake,” Trump said. He quoted Henry Clay calling Jackson’s victory as president “mortifying” and “sickening. ” “Oh boy, does this sound familiar,” Trump grinned, as the audience laughed loudly. Trump told the audience that Jackson removed ten percent of the federal workforce, expanded veterans benefits, rooted out corruption, imposed tariffs to protect American workers — something he was also committed to doing. “Wait till you see what’s happening pretty soon folks,” he said. The president reminded the spectators that he brought the Andrew Jackson portrait into the Oval Office, adding that he can see the Magnolia tree planted on the South Lawn by Jackson. “Now we must work in our time … to expand the blessings of America to every citizen in our land and when we do, watch us grow,” Trump said. “We will truly be one nation. ” | 1 |
ISTANBUL (AFP) — Turkey on Tuesday attacked a ruling by the EU’s top court that European companies can ban employees from wearing religious or political symbols including the Islamic headscarf, saying it would intensify sentiment. [“The European Court of Justice decision on the headscarf today will only strengthen and xenophobic trends,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said in a tweet. “Quo vadis Europa? (Where is Europe going? )” he added. The response came as Turkey is locked in a mighty row with Germany, the Netherlands and other EU states over the blocking of Turkish officials from holding rallies abroad in the campaign for a referendum on expanding Erdogan’s powers. The European Court of Justice (ECJ) said it does not constitute “direct discrimination” if a firm has an internal rule banning the wearing of “any political, philosophical or religious sign. ” The court was considering the case of a Muslim woman fired by the security company G4S in Belgium after she insisted on wearing a headscarf. Turkey last month said it was lifting a historic ban on female officers wearing the Islamic headscarf in the country’s officially secular armed forces, the last institution where the wearing of the garment was forbidden. | 1 |
Nah. Go take a nap. We love women, hate what they've become. Women are weaker than us, physically and emotionally, and easily misled. Thats why they have to be viciously protected. They're our life force, the exact opposite of an object. That's why it's so enervating to us when they concede to being just an object. Those ones have to go, and the men who objectify them. | 0 |
It seems the only way left for Hillary Clinton camp to cover her lies and misdeeds of Clinton's clan, is to use the misleading and false Russian's card! | 0 |
The local CBS News affiliate in Seattle issued a correction to an article in which they called Breitbart editor MILO a “white nationalist. ”[The original article, which falsely branded MILO a “white nationalist,” and a leader of the movement was slightly modified. It now repeats the false claims of others instead of making the claims itself. “Yiannopoulos — who had been invited to speak Friday by the University of Washington College Republicans — who has been called a white nationalist and “ ” leader, a charge that Yiannopoulos has repeatedly denied,” the article now reads. Claiming that an individual “has been called” a certain something is questionable with regards to journalistic standards because it does not require the reporter to substantiate the claim. Unlike the local CBS affiliate, several other news outlets have issued whole corrections after falsely branding MILO a “white nationalist. ” | 1 |
Edmondo Burr in Technology // 0 Comments Nano drone used by U.S. Special Forces in Afghanistan Russia is developing a micro reconnaissance drone and other miniature UAVs that can be easily replaced if shot down on the battle field.
The pocket-sized reconnaissance drones are easy to launch and cheap to manufacturer.
RT.com reports:
“ Right now we are working on several types of UAVs, ” Russia’s United Instrument Corporation said in a statement. “ Each drone or a group of drones will be chosen to perform specific missions depending on the objective, weather conditions and the landscape, ” the company added. RELATED CONTENT Russia: US, Allies To Blame For Russian Embassy Attack In Damascus
The Russian mini-UAVs will challenge the 16-gram Norwegian-built Black Hornet drone, which is currently used by the US Marine Corps’ Special Ops units.
All the drones in the line are dragonfly-sized copters, which are easy to control, maneuver and maintain, according to the manufacturer.
The operational rage of the aircraft will be enough to carry out battlefield reconnaissance as well as take part in law enforcement and anti-terrorist operations.
“ Such drones are relatively cheap and can be quickly replaced if shot down or malfunctioning, and this is what makes them so special, ” the statement added.
The copters will capture and transfer HD videos and photos in real time, allowing the operator to identify even the tiniest details on the ground. Another important feature of the drones is their ease of use, United Instrument Corporation said. Controlling them will require a very short learning curve, and mere minutes needed to make the aircraft operational. Black Hornet Drone | 0 |
The Senate intelligence committee released on Wednesday remarks prepared by former FBI Director James Comey for delivery the next day. [In the prepared remarks, Comey confirms that he told Trump he was not under FBI investigation multiple times, as Trump has asserted. Comey said he told the president on January 6, January 27, and on March 30 that he was not under investigation. They also show that Trump had never pressured Comey to drop the FBI’s investigation of whether there was any collusion between his campaign and Russia. In fact, according to Comey, Trump had said it would be “good” to find out of there were some “satellite” associates of his who did something wrong. In his remarks, Comey clarified conversations with Trump that his “associates” relayed to the media — which showed Trump never “demanded” loyalty or “pressured” him to drop any investigation on Flynn or the broader Russia. According to a May 11 New York Times report, Trump had told Comey he “needed his loyalty. ” The headline read, “In a Private Dinner, Trump Demanded Loyalty. Comey Demurred. ” However, according to Comey’s account, Trump never asked Comey to pledge his loyalty, and Comey never refused, as the Times reported. Trump had, according to the account, said, “I need loyalty. I expect loyalty. ” Comey said he did not respond to the comment. Later in the conversation, he said Trump said again, “I need loyalty,” and that he responded, “You will always get honesty from me. ” He said the president then said, “That’s what I want, honest loyalty,” to which Comey said, “You will get that from me. ” Comey said he was not sure what the president meant, and he did not ask, leaving it unclear as to what Trump actually wanted from him and what he meant by “loyalty,” and in what context. As the Times also noted in the report, “Throughout his career, Mr. Trump has made loyalty from the people who work for him a key priority, often discharging employees he considers insufficiently reliable. ” Comey also provided more context to a conversation he had with Trump on February 14, in which the president reportedly asked him to drop the FBI investigation on his former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, whom he had dismissed the day before. The Washington Post ran an article on May 16 that was headlined, “Notes made by FBI Director Comey say Trump pressured him to end Flynn probe. ” However, Comey’s account makes it far from clear that he was ever “pressured. ” Comey said the president said, “I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go. He is a good guy. I hope you can let this go. ” Comey said the president then turned to the subject of leaks. Comey did not say whether he responded to the president’s comment, which he characterized as a “request. ” A White House statement at the time said, “the president has never asked Mr. Comey or anyone else to end an investigation, including any investigation involving General Flynn. ” Comey also clarified that he understood the president’s comment as a request that any investigation of Flynn be dropped — but not “the broader investigation into Russia or possible links to his campaign. ” The former FBI director also addressed why he did not tell anyone outside of senior FBI leadership about the President’s comment. He said he did not pass on that information to others in the FBI because he didn’t want to “infect” the investigative team, and because he did not intend to abide by the request. He also said he had nothing to corroborate his story (which he still does not) and that he didn’t tell Attorney General Jeff Sessions because Sessions was expected to recuse himself from the investigation. They also decided not to tell the deputy attorney general, who would not long be there in that role. “After discussing the matter, we decided to keep it very closely held, resolving to figure out what to do with it down the road as our investigation progressed,” he said. Comey said the investigation actually “moved ahead at full speed. ” Comey does not explain why he never told anyone in Congress, including congressional committees that oversee the FBI. He will likely be asked on Thursday why he did not come to Congress. In fact, he told Sen. Mazie Hirono ( ) last month that a situation where the FBI was told to stop something for a political reason has “not happened in my experience. ” Comey said Trump had called him on March 30 and said the Russia investigation was like “a cloud” impairing his ability to act on behalf of the country, and asked what the FBI could do to “lift the cloud. ” Comey said he told him they were investigating the matter as quickly as they could. He said he again told Trump he was not being personally investigated. He said Trump had repeatedly told him, “We need to get that fact out. ” Comey said he did not tell the president that the FBI and Justice Department were reluctant to do that, since that would create a duty to correct the record if things changed, but that he would “see what we could do” to lift the cloud. “I told him I would see what we could do, and that we would do our investigative work well and as quickly as we could,” he said. Comey also said he called Acting Deputy Attorney General Dana Boente for guidance, but he never received a call back. Trump would call back two weeks later asking what he had done to make it clear that he was not personally under investigation. Comey said Trump said he would “have his people” reach out to Boente, and that he told the President that was the way to go. Comey said Trump said he would do that and added, “Because I have been very loyal to you, very loyal we had that thing you know. ” But Comey said he wasn’t sure what the President meant. “That was the last time I spoke with President Trump,” Comey said. | 1 |
Monday is what for many in the nexus is considered the highlight of the social season: the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute gala. Before guests like Sarah Jessica Parker and Johnny Depp run the flashbulb gantlet to get to their Champagne and canapés, however, they will have to the Anna Wintour, Miuccia Prada, Taylor Swift, Nicolas Ghesquière, Idris Elba and Jonathan Ive, and at least pretend to pay attention to the nominal reason they are there: the opening of “Manus x Machina,” the Met’s annual fashion blockbuster exhibition. A meditation on the assumptions we all make about what constitutes value in clothing, the show features 150 garments made between the 1880s and last February by names like Chanel, Iris van Herpen, Lanvin and Hussein Chalayan, and is meant to draw attention to the increasingly meaningless standoff between hand and machine. Why do we believe a dress that took one seamstress thousands of hours to embroider is worth more than a dress that took thousands of hours to 3D print? Can you even tell the difference? “Technology is eroding the difference between haute couture and ” said Andrew Bolton, chief curator of the Costume Institute, who wants the show to convince viewers that “we need a new paradigm for thinking about creativity. ” Not to mention, he added, to raise the question of what wearables really means. The implication being that, despite the fact that Apple, maker of the Apple Watch (a. k. a. the poster object for wearables) is a sponsor of the show, the answer is not necessarily a gadget you strap on your body. Rather it may have something to do with what is going on a few miles to the south of the museum, across the East River in a cavernous old industrial building in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. That is the headquarters of Manufacture New York, a fashion incubator, factory and research facility housed in a landmark building that was once Storehouse No. 2 of the United States Navy Fleet Supply Base (so noted on a plaque by the entrance) and is now the wearables epicenter of a Brooklyn waterfront reinvention that has been taking place over the last few years. Forget Silicon Valley and Silicon Beach. Welcome to the land of the Silicon Schmatte. Incubator hubs in former factories have begun to dot the river’s edge and the uplands like pearls on a string: Aside from Manufacture NY, there is the Greenpoint Design and Manufacturing Center, a complex of old brick buildings originally built for the textile industry, and New Lab in the Brooklyn Navy Yard (which concentrates on prototyping and structures) to name just a few. Then there is the Brooklyn Army Terminal, just a few blocks down from Manufacture NY’s home, and a center for “advanced manufacturing” (including biotech) in the words of Maria president of the New York Economic Development Corporation, which will manage the space. Thanks to an unexpected collision of circumstances — a borough with a surfeit of unused industrial spaces city planning (the realization on the part of the development corporation, among other agencies, “that there is enormous economic opportunity in encouraging this identity,” according to Scott Cohen, one of the founders of New Lab) the rise of the maker movement, with its emphasis on small businesses thinking in a local and custom way and the city’s legacy as a fashion capital — New York, especially Brooklyn, has become “the natural home of the greater wearables movement,” said Francis Bitonti, a designer who runs a namesake studio and whose primary tools are algorithms and 3D printers. “The West Coast has a lot of software talent, but not really a strong fashion culture,” said Mr. Bitonti, who has collaborated on dresses for Dita Von Teese and Chromat and shoes for United Nude. “They take a very approach to their . ” Manufacture NY has a somewhat different approach. Manufacture NY was founded in 2012 by Bob Bland, 33, a redhead with stints at Polo Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger on her résumé, who was inspired to “create the garment district” after struggling to run her own label, Brooklyn Royalty, and source production locally. Now the group aims to focus on the points where design intersects with technology, and how together they can alter the supply chain. To this end, the executive team includes a chief technology officer named Amanda Parkes, a computer scientist and mechanical engineer with long blond hair who talks at warp speed, has a thing for biofabrication, and tends to pepper her sentences with words like “density mapping,” “voxel” and “hacking interfaces. ” Together, she and Ms. Bland are the sharp point of the wearables spear. They function a bit like “Charlie’s Angels,” if the angels had thrown off the patriarchy and gone out on their own. “We want to create a whole new genre of company that will have the instincts and design skills of fashion and the back end of research and I. P.,” Ms. Parkes said, pointing out that current fashion exist in one sphere and tech in another, and, generally, never the twain do meet. But, Ms. Parkes said, “If you are making a clothing line, you need research facilities for the hydrophobic nanotechnology that’s going to make it special, and you need to know what it takes to create a private label so you can actually bring it to market. ” If you are Dan Steingart, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Princeton and an energy specialist who is researching how to make fabric into a battery, “You need to know who can actually scale the fabric you make, or who can actually make clothes out of it. Who can design them. ” You need to be in the same ecosystem. Or at least on the same floor — all 160, 000 square feet of it, with washed concrete floors, giant mullioned windows and curving pillars nearing completion. (Manufacture NY is in a temporary home on a lower floor.) There will be space for 30 or 40 companies, a denim lab, digital printing, laser cutting, 3D knitting, weaving, chemistry and biology labs, and a working sample room. At the moment, 15 are in the temporary site, with another 50 or so linked into their network. Not all of them are . But all of them embody, to varying extents, this new kind of thinking and function somewhat as a circuit unto themselves. Dropel, for example, was by Simardev Gulati, scion of a family in India, who studied international trade and finance at Oxford. He and the Bradley Feinstein, a former consultant, have patented a nanotechnology process that bonds hydrophobic polymers with natural fibers on the molecular level to make them and a process that can be licensed by clothing brands. Translated it means that a linen or cotton or denim shirt looks and feels exactly like linen or cotton or denim, but if you spill cranberry juice (or soy sauce or wine) on it, the liquid beads right off. Recently they were in the “office” hanging out near Jae Rhim Lee, an artist and TED fellow, who first became known for her “burial shroud,” an art project she created at M. I. T. that combined biological material (mushrooms) with textiles to help achieve perfect physical decomposition after death. “But I’m not a designer, so it didn’t look that attractive,” she said. Ms. Parkes introduced Ms. Lee to Daniel Silverstein, a Fashion Institute of Technology graduate who had interned at Carolina Herrera before going out on his own, and who has a space in Manufacture NY denoted by a gold velvet vintage chaise, a silver bowl of apples and two rails of clothing. Mr. Silverstein redesigned the funeral shroud into a neatly tailored funeral suit, and now Ms. Lee plans to sell it for $1, 500. Mr. Silverstein, meanwhile, spends most of his time creating tops, for his label ZWD (Zero Waste Daniel) that are painstakingly and personally collaged from scrap fabric left on the floor at local factories, so that within its basic contours no one garment is the same. His goal is to connect with a company using visual algorithms that allow robots to identify and manipulate the scraps, which would allow him to automate the process and produce at scale (and use up ever more textile ends that would otherwise end up as landfill). “If you put designers and engineers really close to the manufacturing process, what happens is they realize they do things the way they do because they are working with machines that were made a long time ago,” said Mr. Cohen of New Lab. “Suddenly they say, ‘Why not just make a new machine?’ And it transforms the process. ” Indeed, process is the key word in the language of the new wearables, as it reflects the idea of technology used to improve the creation of an object, as opposed to technology that is the object in itself. Such was the genesis of Thesis Couture, a Manufacture NY shoe line founded by Dolly Singh, the former head of talent at Elon Musk’s SpaceX, who in 2013 enlisted a rocket scientist, an orthopedic surgeon, a mechanical engineer, a shoe designer and an Italian shoemaker in her goal of the stiletto. “It essentially hasn’t changed since it was invented in 1950,” said Ms. Singh, who has spent the last two years trying to build a better shoe. Now she says they have done it. The result, which is in prototype and they hope will be available to order next month, is a limited edition of 1, 500 pairs, each pair selling for $900. On first view the shoe looks like a black leather gladiator sandal very much in the Jimmy Blahnik vein, except it is made of thermal plastic polyurethane, the pieces of which snap together. There are no internal steel shanks, as is traditional. The trademarked system is known as “structural interlocking architecture” and will make “a stiletto feel like a wedge,” Ms. Singh said. Thesis Couture’s website already has a list of almost 11, 000 interested consumers who are waiting to be notified when the shoe goes live, as well as another 2, 100 who have registered to place orders. Ms. Singh plans to do a Series A next year, at which point she intends to bring out a collection, each style balanced on a towering spike and named after a woman: the Sally Ride (a black ankle boot with a curve of gold beads) the Maya Angelou (an with a contrasting color heel) the Malala Yousafzai (a hot pink sandal with a gold ankle strap) and so on. “The fact is, technology has been a part of fashion forever,” Mr. Bitonti said. “Fashion has always used tools, whether they are sewing machines or knitting needles. ” Back at the Met, Mr. Bolton called this “silent technology” — the tech you can’t see, like the ultrasonic welding used by Nicolas Ghesquière in a floral dress for Louis Vuitton — and said that for him, it and the collaboration it represents is the future of fashion. Not to mention Brooklyn. | 1 |
VIENNA — The Freedom Party of Austria filed a legal challenge on Wednesday over the results of the country’s presidential election, disputing the outcome of the May 22 runoff, in which the party’s candidate, Norbert Hofer, was narrowly defeated. Officials said there was no precedent for a challenge to the outcome of a presidential election in the history of modern Austria, a federal republic that was reconstituted in 1945 from the ashes of Nazi Germany, which annexed the country in 1938. The challenge, submitted by the party’s chairman to the Constitutional Court, injected an element of uncertainty into a debate that has already stirred questions over the strength of the far right in a nation with a fraught wartime past. Mr. Hofer led the first round of voting, on April 24, in which the country’s two mainstream parties were handed a humbling defeat. The runoff pitted Mr. Hofer against an independent candidate and former leader of the Greens, Alexander Van der Bellen. The results were too close to call when polls closed at 5 p. m. on May 22 only after nearly 700, 000 ballots were tallied was the result announced, midafternoon on May 23. Mr. Van der Bellen was declared the winner, with 50. 35 percent of the vote and a very tight lead of 30, 863 ballots, according to the Interior Ministry. On Wednesday, the Freedom Party’s chairman, Strache, submitted 150 pages of documents to the Constitutional Court, claiming “numerous irregularities and failures” in the counting of the runoff votes. According to the Austrian news agency APA, Mr. Strache submitted three documents: one from himself, the second from Mr. Hofer and the third from “voters and citizens. ” Mr. Strache said there had been electoral irregularities or fraud in 94 of 117 regional polling stations. In 82 of the stations, he said, at least 573, 000 ballots were sorted or counted before the election authorities were even on site to monitor the process. “We are not sore losers, and we are not disputing for dispute’s sake,” Mr. Strache said at a news conference. “The mistrust is justified. Without these failures and irregularities, Norbert Hofer could have been president. ” The Freedom Party had already claimed election irregularities — including premature counting of ballots and erroneous tallies — but Mr. Strache went further on Wednesday, calling the ballot system a “systemic failure. ” According to the APA, the Interior Ministry has called for an investigation into at six polling stations. The Constitutional Court could call for a recount or even a . Austrian law requires that the challenge must be resolved “within four weeks of submission. ” That would be July 6 — two days before Mr. Van der Bellen’s inauguration. The president of Austria is elected for a term and serves as head of state, though the position is largely ceremonial. The incumbent, Heinz Fischer, is completing his second term and was not allowed to seek a third. In 1986, Kurt Waldheim, a former foreign minister and secretary general of the United Nations, was elected president of Austria, despite revelations that he had concealed his wartime involvement with German military units that executed thousands of Yugoslav partisans and civilians and deported thousands of Greek Jews to death camps between 1942 and 1944. A commission of historians found no evidence that Mr. Waldheim was guilty of war crimes, but concluded that he must have been aware of the atrocities and, by doing nothing, had facilitated them. Mr. Waldheim did not seek in 1992 he died in 2007. | 1 |
Women currently occupy nearly half of all the seats in American law schools, gaining credentials for a professional career once all but reserved for men. But their large presence on campus does not mean women have the same job prospects as men. New research indicates that female law students are clustered in schools, and fewer women are enrolled in the country’s most prestigious institutions. Such distribution can make a significant difference in whether female law graduates land legal jobs that pay higher wages and afford job security and professional advancement. Women “are less likely than men to attend the schools that send a high percentage of graduates into the profession,” said Deborah J. Merritt, a law professor at the Moritz College of Law at Ohio State University, who the report called, “The Leaky Pipeline for Women Entering the Legal Profession. ” This means women “start at a disadvantage” that may well continue throughout their professional lives, Ms. Merritt said. Despite the high numbers with law degrees, women hold fewer than 20 percent of partnerships at law firms and are underrepresented in the higher echelons of law, including the ranks of judges, corporate counsel, law school deans and professors. Ms. Merritt and Kyle McEntee, executive director of the nonprofit group Law School Transparency, decided to examine American Bar Association data and other official statistics to see why fewer qualified women made it into the legal profession’s highest rungs even though there has been general numerical equality in law school enrollment for more than two decades. They found that the disadvantage for women was created by more than overall numbers it began even before law school, when a smaller percentage of female college graduates applied to law school compared with similarly credentialed men. Even though women earn 57 percent of college degrees, they account for just under 51 percent of law school applicants. And when they do apply, they are less likely to be accepted. For 2015, for example, 75. 8 percent of applications from women were accepted compared with 79. 5 percent of applications by men, according to figures from the Law School Admission Council, which collects data on the gender and ethnicity of applicants. There is also a gap depending on a law school’s national ranking or its job placement success, according to the study. Over all, 49. 4 percent of the country’s nearly 114, 000 law school students are women, but that percentage drops at the top 50 nationally ranked schools. schools, in the academic year, enrolled just over 47 percent of women as students compared with or unranked law schools, which enrolled 53. 5 percent women as students, according to study data. Law school rankings are sometimes disputed, so the research team checked the enrollment figures at schools with strong records of postgraduate employment. Law schools that claimed they placed 85 percent of their graduates in gold standard jobs, defined as positions that require passing the state bar exam, had fewer women enrolled than men, by about 3 percentage points. The divide was even greater in the next rung of schools, where 70 to 84 percent of students found jobs requiring bar passage. The enrollment discrepancy for women was almost 4 percent below men. In contrast, the schools — the ones that listed fewer than 40 percent of their graduates in jobs that require bar passage — had noticeably higher female enrollment, at 55. 9 percent of students. That indicates women who graduate from less prestigious schools have fewer opportunities to be hired for their first legal job, which can be decisive in shaping a career, Ms. Merritt said. One reason for the gender gap, Ms. Merritt and Mr. McEntee said in the report, was that the national rankings have become so important that the 50 schools “increasingly stress LSAT (Law School Admission Test) scores over other admissions factors as they fight for better rankings. This disadvantages women, who have lower LSAT scores (on average) than men. ” Women score an average of two points lower than men on the LSAT, which is still the key admissions number. Since law school rankings are weighted heavily on this number, that discrepancy gives elite law schools a greater reason — all other things being equal — to accept a man over a woman. Ms. Merritt also noted that test scores affect financial aid, which can be crucial in choosing a law school. Prestigious schools have high tuition, and generous financial assistance helps to defray those costs, which can easily reach over $100, 000. Currently, there is little transparency in how law schools negotiate tuition assistance and whether there are gender differences influencing how such sums are distributed, although most schools admit that they bargain over their overall price tag. Some law schools that found their rolls seriously lacking women students have taken active steps to recruit them. Washington University School of Law in St. Louis, for example, began taking a more active approach when its 2013 entering class shrank to 38 percent women, a drop from 45 percent the previous year. “We noticed the dip in women and it was very disconcerting,” said Nancy Staudt, the school’s dean. “We have stepped up our efforts through social media and other means, to talk to those considering law school and those who have been accepted, and we try to find the right fit for them. ” By 2014, the school, which is 18th in the national rankings, had an entering class that was 43 percent female. The current 2016 class is 50 percent women, Dean Staudt said. More deans have been with recruiting since law school applicant numbers began to slide and tuition began to climb in recent years. But while postgraduate employment is more transparent, the admissions process at the country’s accredited law schools remains murky. Jay Shively, dean for admissions and financial aid at Wake Forest University School of Law, said that the admissions process was “very ” and that schools were aware of the repercussions “if they lose a couple of points on U. S. News,” referring to the U. S. News World Report annual law school rankings. “If you are a top 50 school, I think you have to be very aware of your medians and how losing a point or gaining a point might impact your ranking and thus the sort of student that might be attracted to you,” Mr. Shively said in a podcast produced by Law School Transparency, released on Wednesday with the research. | 1 |
A new email released by Wikileaks as part of the Podesta dump features Hillary ally Wendy Bronfein advising Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta on how to reach “f**king dumb” young people.
Marketing executive Bronfein tells Podesta in Wikileaks ID 34866 that Clinton “may not be the best face” to attract younger voters and that she needs to utilize “trending figures” as par of an “infusion to pull younger voters” because “that’s the crap that young people pay attention to”.
Bronfein goes on to state, “It’s f**king dumb but being “cool” counts for more than it maybe should.”
She references Bill Clinton’s saxophone playing as an example of this before asserting, “I hate to generalize a generation but by social media nature, they “follow”. So if someone they identify as cool endorses – they will likely fall in line with that candidate.”
Bronfein is introduced to John Podesta in another email as someone who “could be immensely helpful in improving HRC’s connection to millennials.”
The email is yet another example of the disdain that Hillary insiders have for Clinton’s own voters.
Yesterday, we highlighted how Clinton ally Brent Budowsky accused Hillary operative David Brock of having a plan that relied upon black voters being “stupid”.
In an audio recording leaked earlier this month, Hillary Clinton was caught on tape saying Bernie Sanders supporters are “living in their parents’ basement” and had bought into a “false promise”. In another Wikileaks Hillary Clinton was caught calling Bernie Sanders youth supporters “ bucket of losers ”.
In another email , Clinton operative Bill Ivey spoke of the need to maintain political power by producing “an unaware and compliant citizenry”.
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0 комментариев 10 поделились Фото: Fotodom.ru/DP
Как сообщил РИА Новости источник, знакомый с ситуацией, полицейские уже опросили девочек, вернувшихся домой. Никто из подростков противоправных действий не совершал.
По словам источника агентства, дочь бывшего министра обороны, выбросила мобильный телефон возле метро, документов с собой в "путешествие" не взяла.
27 октября в СМИ появилась информация о том, что в Москве без вести пропали две школьницы . 13-летняя Наталья, дочь Анатолия Сердюкова якобы сбежала из дома вместе с 16-летней подругой. К поиску подростков были подключены сотрудники ФСБ РФ.
В то же время, источник в правоохранительных органах сообщил РИА Новости, что сообщения о пропаже дочери бывшего министра обороны России Анатолия Сердюкова полицию Москвы не поступали.
Между тем "МК" продолжал настаивать на том, что девочки совершили побег. Якобы школьницы запланировали побег еще несколько дней назад и до этого вели себя очень странно.
По словам родных 16-летней девочки, в выходные школьница купила походную палатку. А 26 октября, надев теплые вещи, немного перекусила и убежала из дома на глазах удивленных родственников. Позже бы найдена записка со словами: "Я ушла познавать мир".
Родители сразу же обратились в полицию. Тогда и выяснилось, что их ребенок сбежал не один, а с подружкой Наташей. Девочки познакомились в интернете, а за день до побега ходили вместе в театр.
Как ранее сообщали СМИ, перед побегом 13-летняя дочь Сердюкова также оповестила родителей. Девочка отправила маме смс-сообщение: "Я ухожу из дома". Однако телефон беглянка отключила не сразу, поэтому аппарат успели запеленговать.
Читайте последние новости Pravda.Ru на сегодня Подросток на "Феррари" устроил "огненное ДТП" в Москве Поделиться: | 0 |
News Bulletin Andy Murray of Great Britain returns the ball during a tennis match against Martin Klizan of Slovakia at the ATP Tennis tournament in Vienna, Austria, October 26, 2016. © AFP
Britain’s Andy Murray has booked his spot in the second round of the Erste Bank Open by defeating Slovakia’s Martin Klizan 2-1 in Vienna. Andy Murray. © AFP
Murray was tested in the Wednesday match as he managed to overcome his opponent after 2 hours and 22 minutes.
The Scot won the opening set 6-3, but the Slovakian kept up with him all the way in the second and came out on top to take it 7-6 and tie the match at 1 a-piece. Martin Klizan. © AFP
The number 1 seed, however, produced some master class performance in the 3rd and didn’t let Klizan to even win a game as he advanced into the last 16 with a bagel. He’ll next face Frenchman Gilles Simon. Loading ... | 0 |
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(Want to get this briefing by email? Here’s the .) Good evening. Here’s the latest. 1. The presidential race grew more tumultuous the day after a debate our TV critic described as beyond rock bottom. The top elected Republican leader, House Speaker Paul Ryan, said he would no longer defend the party’s candidate, Donald Trump. Mr. Ryan’s effective concession of the race to Hillary Clinton set off a furious backlash among the party’s Trump supporters, and Mr. Trump tweeted, “Paul Ryan should spend more time on balancing the budget, jobs and illegal immigration and not waste his time on fighting Republican nominee. ” And a new set of leaked emails from Mrs. Clinton’s campaign chairman reveals bitter disputes within her team over Bernie Sanders and other points. ____ 2. Hurricane Matthew’s death toll in the U. S. climbed to at least 21. In South Carolina, above, Gov. Nikki Haley lifted the last evacuation orders, allowing some residents to begin returning to their homes. The death toll has been difficult to track in Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. In Jérémie, a small coastal city that had finally begun to prosper in recent years, the grim work of counting the bodies and assessing the damage is just beginning. ____ 3. In Yemen, airstrikes on a funeral killed more than 100 people in Sana, the capital, on Saturday. Officials and witnesses blamed the military coalition led by Saudi Arabia for the attacks. The U. S. said it would conduct “an immediate review” of its support for the coalition fighting against Houthi rebels. ____ 4. and PepsiCo have given millions of dollars to health groups in recent years. They have also spent millions trying to stop laws aimed at reducing how much soda people drink. A new study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine documents the beverage industry’s strategy to silence health critics and win over unlikely allies against soda regulations. ____ 5. Samsung halted production and sales of its Galaxy Note 7 amid reports that the smartphones sometimes catch fire. It said consumers who own them “should power down and stop using the device. ” The company is the world’s largest smartphone manufacturer and had been counting on the Galaxy to help it close the gap with Apple, its biggest rival, which has a strong hold on the more expensive end of the market. 6. The Nobel Prize in economics went to two professors for their insights into how best to write contracts Oliver Hart and Bengt Holmstrom, above, professors at Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, have sought to show how contracts can ensure that the parties are bound by mutual interest. The Nobel Prize in Literature will be awarded Thursday. ____ 7. With Colombia’s peace deal in doubt, a small town that lost dozens of residents in the war fears a return to violence. Fourteen years ago, a mortar fired by FARC rebels landed on a church in Bojayá, above, killing 79, more than half of them children. But 96 percent of the town voted in favor of the peace deal in a referendum this month, showing the deep desire — almost desperation — for an end to the war. “In order to live in peace, you have to disassemble your heart,” one resident said. ____ 8. “Go back to China!” That was the ugly phrase yelled at a Times editor and his family on the New York City street above after church on Sunday morning. Michael Luo was born in the U. S. the child of Chinese immigrants. His open letter to the woman who screamed the phrase has gone viral. After the incident, his daughter asked why the woman said that when they’re not from China. “No, we’re not, my wife said,” he wrote. “We’re from America, she told my daughter. But sometimes people don’t understand that. ” ____ 9. Don’t worry about the rule at home — but do wash your hands often. That’s according to a pediatrician who was a of a book on medical myths, and who flouts the rule himself. “Things get dirty when lots of hands touch them and when we don’t think about it,” Aaron Carroll writes. ____ 10. Say you’re a star soccer player and you want the latest cellphone, or someone to do your Christmas shopping, or to propose to your girlfriend. There’s a guy for that: Charles Porter. To hundreds of players in English soccer over the last 20 years, Mr. Porter is the ultimate purveyor of the Premier League lifestyle. And while he could easily write a salacious memoir, breaking the omertà of his trade would be anathema to him. “We live and die by our discretion,” he said in his newspaper interview. 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 the Weekend Briefing. What did you like? What do you want to see here? Let us know at briefing@nytimes. com. | 1 |
WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Friday ordered the State Department to finish preparing roughly 1, 000 pages of Hillary Clinton’s emails for release by Nov. 4, a more protracted timetable that means the bulk of Mrs. Clinton’s emails that were uncovered by the Federal Bureau of Investigation will not be released until after the election. In August, the judge, James E. Boasberg of Federal District Court, raised the prospect of a flood of Clinton emails being released during the final weeks of the campaign, when he ordered the State Department to accelerate the release of nearly 15, 000 new emails. But Judge Boasberg acknowledged the burden for the department’s lawyers in reviewing thousands of emails, as well as responding to multiple lawsuits under the Freedom of Information Act that seek documents relating to Mrs. Clinton, her aide Huma Abedin, and the Clinton Foundation. Under the order issued on Friday, in a lawsuit brought by the conservative group, Judicial Watch, the State Department will release 350 pages of emails by Oct. 7, 350 pages by Oct. 21, and another 350 by Nov. 4. After that, it will produce 500 pages a month. Judge Boasberg summoned the lawyers for another status report on Nov. 7, the day before the election. Questions about Mrs. Clinton’s private email address and server have hung over her presidential campaign for more than a year, even after the F. B. I. ’s director, James B. Comey, said in July that her conduct did not warrant criminal charges for mishandling of classified information. Mr. Comey said the F. B. I. had discovered thousands of emails that Mrs. Clinton had not voluntarily turned over to the State Department before its investigation. Of the nearly 15, 000 emails the F. B. I. turned over to the State Department in late July, roughly 9, 400 were purely personal, according to the department’s lawyers. They will therefore not be released. That leaves about 5, 600 emails to be reviewed. But roughly half of those may be wholly or largely duplicates of emails that have already been released. Duplicates could take the form of a previously released email, which Mrs. Clinton may have forwarded to her aides with orders to print it out. In some cases, the emails were part of long chains, on which Mrs. Clinton was copied at the beginning, but later left off the list of addressees. “We are currently processing these documents for release,” said the State Department spokesman, John Kirby. “As we have done so, we have noticed that some personal emails remain within the approximately 5, 600 documents, so the number may be further reduced. ” Each email generates roughly 1. 8 pages of print, a government lawyer said, which means about 10, 000 pages will be released in total. Only about 10 percent will be made public before the election, which prompted a complaint from Judicial Watch. “The public deserves to know what is in those emails, well before Nov. 8, and the State Department should not continue dragging its feet on producing them,” the group’s president, Tom Fitton, said in a statement. “The American people need to pressure State to stop sitting on these new Clinton emails for political reasons and release them as the law requires. ” | 1 |
Traffic deaths in the United States rose 10. 4 percent in the first half of this year compared with the same period in 2015, maintaining a steady climb. The numbers were released on Wednesday by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which noted that Americans drove about 50. 5 billion more miles in the first six months of 2016 than in the first half of 2015, an increase of 3. 3 percent. But that does not account for the rise in the number of deaths: to 17, 775 in the first six months of 2016 from 16, 100 in the same period in 2015. Officials have not identified a specific cause for the most recent increase. “It is too soon to attribute contributing factors or potential implications of any changes in deaths on our roadways,” the agency said. The dire statistics were the latest bad news from the traffic safety administration. Beginning in the final months of 2014, the rate of fatalities has increased for seven consecutive quarters compared with the corresponding quarters of previous years. The statistics were released as federal officials announced a “Road to Zero” coalition that aims to eliminate traffic deaths, including those on sidewalks and bicycle paths, by 2046. The Department of Transportation said it would commit $3 million over the next three years for grants to provide help, such as promoting the use of seatbelts and installing rumble strips. But advanced technology, like the introduction of driverless cars, figures to play prominently in the plans. The Obama administration announced new guidelines in September that encourage the development of the technology while promising strong safety oversight. Still, the view that computers can operate vehicles more safely than humans was tested when a Tesla Model S electric sedan crashed and killed its driver in June while the car was in mode. | 1 |
A plan to ban local and county jails in California from detaining illegal immigrants with immigration detainers is being pushed by open borders organizations. The groups have ties to globalist billionaire George Soros. [As blog Mother Jones reported, the initiative to protect illegal immigrants would be included in the California state budget. The proposal makes it illegal for local or county jails from entering into agreements with federal immigration authorities to protect Americans from illegal immigrant crime. Coincidentally, the two organizations pushing the plan behind the scenes have links to Soros and his infamous Open Society Foundation, which serves as a to enrich social justice and open borders groups. For instance, the Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC) which is promoting the plan, has taken grant money from Soros’ Open Society Foundation since at least 2009 when it received $200, 000 from Soros. In 2012, ILRC took even more money from the Open Society Foundation, receiving more than $1. 8 million from Soros that year. The other open borders organization behind the immigrant California plan is the Community Initiatives for Visiting Immigrants in Confinement (CIVIC) This group also has staff ties to Soros. CIVIC staffer Tina Shull runs the organization’s “storytelling projects,” while also being a recipient of the Soros Justice Fellowship, a grant department that gives out anywhere between $58, 700 to $110, 250 to specific individuals for social justice advocacy. CIVIC’s director Christina Fialho told Mother Jones in an interview that California potential ban on detaining illegal immigrants was a “powerful first step” in the state’s overall agenda to oppose President Trump’s agenda. This is not the first California initiative this year that organizations have pushed. Breitbart Texas reported in May that the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE) pushed legislation forcing landlords to rent to illegal immigrants, even after they know their immigration status. John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart Texas. Follow him on Twitter at @JxhnBinder. | 1 |
Lisa Tanner October 27, 2016 Leaky Cellar 101: What You Need To Know
Cellars can be an ideal location for storing your emergency supplies, and especially your food. Located underground, cellars take advantage of insulation from the Earth. This helps prevent your supplies from freezing in the winter.
Your survival cellar is also out of sight for your household visitors, so you won’t be advertising your stores for everyone. Whether you’re building a cellar , or using a crawlspace or cellar that’s already under your house, they’re very useful.
But, cellars can have a humidity problem. Because leaks can spring up, it’s easy to get too much moisture inside. That’s what we need to solve.
Problems with a Leaky Cellar
Too much water in your cellar can cause a variety of problems. The humidity can easily cause your food and paper goods to develop mold. It’ll make your cans rust. Both issues will severely impact the shelf life of your stores.
If your cellar is under your house, water damage can eventually lead to structural issues. This can lead to your house’s integrity being compromised. The wood your house is built from isn’t meant to be continually wet.
Additionally, unpleasant odors are common in damp cellars. If your cellar lacks ventilation, these odors will become more noticeable and can lead to allergic reactions and health problems.
Signs of a Water Leakage
Since signs of water damage can be subtle, you may not realize at first that there’s a problem in your cellar. You probably won’t find standing water across the floor. Instead, you’ll notice signs like these: A musty odor A white, chalk-like powder on the walls Cracks in the walls or floor Condensation on windows Water stains on the walls or floor
Once you discover signs of moisture, it’s important to investigate further. If you are unsure if the water is seeping into your cellar from the outside, or condensing from the inside, you can perform a simple test.
Take a piece of aluminum foil and cut it to a 2-foot by 2-foot square. Using duct tape around the edges, tape the foil to your wall.
The next day, examine the foil. Is there water on the side facing out? If so, it’s a sign that your water is coming from inside.
If not, take down the foil and feel the side that was facing out. Water on this side indicates you have a seepage problem.
Where Is the Water Coming From?
Cellar leaks from internal and external sources can come from a variety of places. It’s important to give the entire space an inspection. Here are some common causes of a leaky cellar: Ground Water
If you’ve had an unusually amount of precipitation, your cellar could be the collection point for the excess groundwater. Ground water can also be a problem during spring runoff times.
The water will have to find its way into your cellar, so be on the lookout for cracks in the walls or on the floor. Leaking Water Pipes
Check your water pipes for leaks. This can include outdoor spigots. One year ours sprung a leak underground and the only reason we knew was because of the water leaking into our basement. Sprinklers
Are you watering too close to your cellar? A misaimed sprinkler can send unwanted water into your cellar. Gutters
If you have gutters meant to bring the water away from your home, check and make sure they’re working properly. A clogged gutter can lead to water in the cellar.
A lack of gutters can cause a similar problem. It’s important to have a way for the excess water to be channeled away from your cellar. Trees or Bushes Too Close
Is there vegetation growing right next to your cellar? If so, the root systems can allow water to work its way inside. Drainage Conditions Around the Cellar
What’s the ground like around your cellar? Does the soil absorb water, or let it run freely? Is the grade of the land forcing water away from the area?
Taking a few minutes to inspect your cellar and the land around it can help you pinpoint the source of your leak.
8 Steps to Prevent a Leaky Cellar
There are a few simple ways to prevent leaks in your cellar. If you don’t yet have a moisture issue, these steps will help reduce the risk.
1. Gutter Maintenance
Make sure to take time to clean out your gutters regularly and ensure they haven’t fallen. While you’re working with your gutters, it’s a great time to evaluate your rainwater collection system .
2. Fix the Grade
Check the level of the soil around your cellar. You want it to be at its highest around the perimeter. That way water runs away from your cellar instead of down into it.
If you need to, you can add additional soil around your cellar. Then, use a rake and shovel to slope it away from your structure.
For a more permanent solution, you can make a retaining wall and then regrade around it. Video first seen on This Old House .
3. Remove Overgrown Greenery
The roots of trees can reach a long way. If you have any planted too close to your cellar, their roots can cause problems. Bushes, shrubs, and other plants that send down massive root structures can cause similar problems.
Be sure to remove any greenery that threatens your cellar space. You don’t want roots to allow water inside.
4. Patch Cracks
Use caulking to fill any small cracks you see in your cellar walls. Even if they aren’t yet letting in moisture, they’re a weak spot that could start leaking in the future.
Larger cracks will need a little more attention. They may require the insertion of a rubber membrane, additional reinforcement with cement, or a special epoxy. Your exact repair will depend on the location, the material of the wall, and the size of the crack. You might need to bring in an expert to evaluate.
If your cellar has a cement floor, you can use epoxy to seal small cracks in it. Larger floor cracks may need a cement patch. You can mix up a small amount in a wheelbarrow and use a trowel to pack in the crack and smooth over the top.
5. Insulate Your Pipes
Do you have water pipes running through your cellar? If you do, make sure they’re insulated to avoid condensation.
If your pipes are leaking and you don’t have the material on hand to fix them the proper way, you can make a makeshift patch out of a plastic bottle .
6. Apply Waterproof Sealant
You can purchase special sealant at home improvement stores designed to keep the water away. Many varieties go on just like paint, though you’ll need a sturdy brush to apply it to cement. A coat of this will help keep your cellar dry. Video first seen on Today’s Homeowner .
7. Put Plastic Down
Is your unfinished cellar’s floor made of dirt or gravel? Moisture can easily seep up through these materials. Consider lining your floor with thick plastic vapor barrier.
8. Insulate
Insulation will help produce interior condensation. If your walls aren’t insulated, the temperature change between inside and out can cause water droplets to form.
Be sure your insulation is designed for foundation walls. Foil-backed or foam based insulation materials are common in cellars.
Depending on building regulations in your area, you may need to cover the insulation with a fire barrier. Thin drywall is acceptable in many areas.
Removing Moisture from a Wet Cellar
If excess moisture has already reached your cellar, the above steps can help prevent future problems. By keeping future water from getting in, you’ll help improve the conditions in your cellar. However, you will also have to address the moisture problem. To get rid of excess moisture you can: Air Out the Space
Open the windows and use a fan to help circulate the air. A dehumidifier will also help suck the moisture out. Remove Mold or Mildew Damaged Items
If your cellar has mold or mildew, you need to get rid of the items effected if they can’t be properly cleaned. This will help remove the odor and built up moisture from your space as well. Install a French Drain and a Sump Pump
If your cellar continues to have water problems even after taking corrective measures, it might be time to install a French drain and a sump pump. This interior drainage system will help channel the water where you want it to go.
This involves digging a trench as close to the wall as possible around the inside perimeter of your cellar. You’ll then put down connected pipe that slopes to your water collection pit. Inside this pit is a sump pump.
The sump pump will then pump the water out of your cellar and out to a spot away from your foundation. When the pipes are all connected, you’ll cover it with gravel and then pour more concrete on top. You’ll leave the sump pump accessible, with an air-tight lid, in case it needs repair in the future.
This is a more involved DIY project, but it’s possible to do without calling in a professional. Video first seen on gregkieslich .
Have you ever dealt with a leaky cellar? What other tips can you share for preventing the problem or taking care of moisture in your cellar? Were you successful in drying it out, or are you still dealing with moisture?
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Lisa Tanner for Survivopedia. 8 total views, 8 views today | 0 |
Former Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura appeared on The Young Turks, a leftist online news channel, and explained to the host why he doesn’t take Hillary Clinton seriously on gun control.
Ventura says that Clinton should first concentrate on the US not sending arms to people around the world before she starts talking about disarming people here in the US. He explains:
Hillary wants us all to disarm, right? Well, my answer to that is: Hillary, when you come after my guns, let the United States disarm first. We are the biggest gun dealer in the world; we sell weapons all over the world to kill people, and they’re telling me to give up my 2nd amendment weapons, when my own government is the biggest weapons dealer throughout the world.
Then Jesse demonstrates the insanity of gun control from his own experience living in Mexico. He says, “I live in Mexico. Gun control is strictly followed there; you cannot have a gun. Yet they have 20,000 gun murders a year down there, or more. And yet, guns are banned.”
Ventura goes on to say that there are more gun murders in Mexico than there are in the US, even with such strict gun control measures. This completely ruins the leftist narrative. Delivered by The Daily Sheeple
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WASHINGTON — South Florida has long been a laboratory for some of the nation’s roughest politics, with techniques like phantom candidates created by political rivals to siphon off votes from their opponents, or boleteras hired to illegally fill out stacks of absentee ballots on behalf of elderly or disabled voters. But there was never anything quite like the 2016 election campaign, when a handful of Democratic House candidates became targets of a Russian influence operation that made thousands of pages of documents stolen by hackers from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in Washington available to Florida reporters and bloggers. “It was like I was standing out there naked,” said Annette Taddeo, a Democrat who lost her primary race after secret campaign documents were made public. “I just can’t describe it any other way. Our entire internal strategy plan was made public, and suddenly all this material was out there and could be used against me. ” The impact of the information released by the hackers on candidates like Ms. Taddeo in Florida and others in nearly a dozen House races around the country was largely lost in the focus on the hacking attacks against the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign. But this untold story underscores the effect the Russian operation had on the American electoral system. “This is not a traditional on a partisan political campaign, where one side hits the other and then you respond,” said Kelly Ward, executive director of the D. C. C. C. “This is an attack by a foreign actor that had the intent to disrupt our election, and we were the victims of it. ” Why the Russian government might care about these unglamorous House races is a source of bafflement for some of the lawmakers who were targeted. But if the goal of Russia’s president, Vladimir V. Putin, was to make American democracy a less attractive model to his own citizens and to Russia’s neighbors, then entangling congressional races in accusations of leaks and subterfuge was a step in the right direction. The intrusions in House races in states including Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Ohio, Illinois, New Mexico and North Carolina can be traced to tens of thousands of pages of documents taken from the D. C. C. C. which shares a Capitol Hill office building with the Democratic National Committee. The document dump’s effectiveness was due in part to a de facto alliance that formed between the Russian hackers and political bloggers and newspapers across the United States. The hackers, working under the name of Guccifer 2. 0, used social media tools to invite individual reporters to request specific caches of documents, handing them out the way political operatives distribute scoops. It was an arrangement that proved irresistible to many news outlets — and amplified the consequences of the cyberattack. “It’s time for new revelations now,” the Guccifer 2. 0 website proclaimed, as it began to pass out the D. C. C. C. documents, trying to entice reporters to look at them on their own. “All of you may have heard about the D. C. C. C. hack. As you see I wasn’t wasting my time! It was even easier than in the case of the D. N. C. breach. ” Cybersecurity consultants believe the hacking of the D. C. C. C. took place around March or April of 2016 after a staffer clicked on a phishing email. The D. C. C. C. shut down its computer system for a week — from the moment it learned of the attack in June. But it was already too late to close the door. The consequences started to become clear in August when the hackers released the home addresses, cellphone numbers and personal email addresses of Democratic House members. “As you are aware, the D. C. C. C. and other Democratic Party entities have been the target of cybersecurity intrusions — an electronic Watergate ” the House minority leader, Nancy Pelosi, wrote in an email the day after the personal information was released. The email continued, “It has been widely reported that this cybersecurity incident is part of a Russian cyberattack which appears to be an attempt to interfere with our elections. We take this troubling situation very seriously and have notified the appropriate authorities, including the F. B. I. and . ” State troopers were sent to the homes of House Democrats across the United States, and they were urged to immediately change their cellphone numbers and personal email addresses, although this took place after many received a series of obscene calls, texts and emails. But it turned out this was just a warning shot. Guccifer 2. 0 followed up on the release of lawmakers’ personal data with large caches of internal party documents, starting with some documents related to House races in Florida, including Ms. Taddeo’s contest. The seats that Guccifer 2. 0 targeted in the document dumps were hardly random: They were some of the most competitive House races in the country. In Ms. Taddeo’s district, the House seat is held by a Republican, even though the district leans Democratic and Mrs. Clinton won it this year by a large majority. To prepare for the race, the D. C. C. C. had done candid evaluations of the two candidates vying in the primary for the nomination. Those inside documents, bluntly describing each candidate’s weaknesses, are considered routine research inside political campaigns. But suddenly they were being aired in public. Ms. Taddeo, one of the internal D. C. C. C. documents noted, had “proven to be a somewhat poor and she has gained a reputation as an inadequate campaigner among some of the talkers in the community. ” Her Democratic opponent in the August primary, Joe Garcia, “also made a large misstep during the campaign saying ‘communism works,’ which did not sit well in an area with a large Cuban refugee population,” the document says. “More embarrassingly, Garcia was caught on a feed picking his earwax and seemingly eating it, and the video made the rounds on the internet. ” Mr. Garcia was the first to use the material as a tool to attack his opponent, showing up at a televised debate with a printout of the documents and accusing Ms. Taddeo of hiring a private detective to follow him, an allegation she disputed. It was the first of many attacks based on the leaked material. After Mr. Garcia defeated Ms. Taddeo in the primary using the material unearthed in the hacking, the National Republican Campaign Committee and a second Republican group with ties to the House speaker, Paul Ryan, turned to the hacked material to attack him. In Florida, Guccifer 2. 0’s most important partner was an obscure political website run by an anonymous blogger called HelloFLA! run by a former Florida legislative aide turned Republican lobbyist. The blogger sent direct messages via Twitter to Guccifer 2. 0 asking for copies of any additional Florida documents. “I can send you some docs via email,” Guccifer 2. 0 replied on Aug. 22, according to a cellphone screen shot of the message that the blogger, who writes under the pen name Mark Miewurd, provided to The New York Times. “Great! Editor@hellofla. com. I’m just getting my kid from school but I’ll be able to get it up pretty quick after I get it. Thanks!” “Do u have a size limit?” Guccifer 2. 0 replied, a question that led the Florida blogger to set up an anonymous Dropbox account so he could take thousands of pages of stolen information from the Russian operative, data that the blogger immediately recognized would have an extremely high strategic value for the Republicans. “I don’t think you realize what you gave me,” the blogger said, looking at the costly internal D. C. C. C. political research that he had just been provided. “This is probably worth millions of dollars. ” Guccifer 2. 0 wrote back: “Hmmm. ok. u owe me a million. ” By September, Guccifer 2. 0 had expanded his releases to include documents related to House races in Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Ohio, Illinois and North Carolina, working with individual political bloggers like Miscellany Blue in New Hampshire. “Exclusive: Leaked D. C. C. C. documents reveal effort to replace with ‘fresh face for 2016,’” said one of the first dispatches posted in New Hampshire, on Miscellany Blue, referring to Carol the Democratic candidate for the House, who ended up narrowly winning the seat, despite the intense criticism directed at her by Democratic leaders that was revealed by the leaks. In Pennsylvania, the leaked documents showed that Democratic Party officials did not like their own candidate for one House seat — a local businessman named Mike Parrish — and worked aggressively to recruit an alternative. Mr. Parrish, the internal party documents noted, owned a company in Pennsylvania that had been sued eight times, had been delinquent on his taxes and had been named in a 2013 lawsuit “alleging racketeering and corruption,” the D. C. C. C. internal report said. Concerned, the party tried to recruit a local businesswoman, Marian Moskowitz, to challenge Mr. Parrish. But Ms. Moskowitz ultimately declined to run for the seat, so the party was left with Mr. Parrish, whose standing was further hurt when the details about the Democrats’ misgivings about him drew coverage from bloggers and newspapers. Mr. Parrish lost his bid for the seat. Guccifer 2. 0 even posted a cache of confidential documents focusing on Representative Ben Ray Luján, Democrat of New Mexico, the chairman of the D. C. C. C. who faced no serious challenger this year. Mr. Luján said it was a clear effort to send a message to the party leadership — that the hackers wanted to try to hurt Democrats at all levels of the party, from lesser known races in Florida to the leadership. After the first political advertisement appeared using the hacked material, Mr. Luján wrote a letter to his Republican counterpart at the National Republican Congressional Committee urging him to not use this stolen material in the 2016 campaign. “The N. R. C. C.’s use of documents stolen by the Russians plays right into the hands of one of the United States’ most dangerous adversaries,” Mr. Luján’s Aug. 29 letter said. “Put simply, if this action continues, the N. R. C. C. will be complicit in aiding the Russian government in its effort to influence American elections. ” Ms. Pelosi sent a similar letter in early September to Mr. Ryan. Neither received a response. By October, the Congressional Leadership Fund, a “super PAC” tied to Mr. Ryan, had used the stolen material in another advertisement, attacking Mr. Garcia during the general election in Florida. AshLee Strong, a spokeswoman for Mr. Ryan, said he did not control how the material was used in the ad, although she did not dispute that the material had been stolen as part of an act of Russian espionage. “Speaker Ryan has said for months that foreign intervention in our elections is unacceptable,” she said in a written statement. At least some Republican players turned down a chance to exploit the material, including Representative Ryan Costello of Pennsylvania, who was running for in a contest where he faced off against Mr. Parrish and was aware of the unflattering material about his opponent that had become public. “We believed it was neither necessary nor appropriate,” said Vincent Galko, a campaign consultant to Mr. Costello, “to use information from a possible foreign source to influence the election. ” Still, Mr. Parrish, in an interview Tuesday, said he believed that the document dumps hurt his candidacy. But as a former Army cavalry troop commander who served in West Germany in the final years of the Cold War, he said he was not surprised to learn that the Russians were behind the cyberattack. “I’ve have been fighting Russians my entire life,” he said. “To me this is just a continued the Cold War games are still being played. ” | 1 |
In an interview with ABC News, White House Senior Adviser Stephen Miller pushed back against the media’s false narratives about President Donald Trump and said Trump “is the best public orator since William Jennings Bryan” and “has a better sense of the pulse of the people” than any president since populist hero Andrew Jackson. [Miller spoke with ABC News’ Jonathan Karl and Rick Klein on their “Powerhouse Politics” podcast on Thursday. Asked about the seemingly “dizzying pace” of Trump’s first two weeks in office, Miller made it clear that Trump is merely fulfilling his campaign promises. “What you’ve been seeing,” said Miller, “is President Trump is governing based on the promises he made to the American people during his campaign, and I think that that’s one of the things that the American people find most refreshing and most heartening. He campaigned on building a border wall, he campaigned on getting tough on trade, he campaigned on getting tough on refugees, he campaigned on defending America’s interests in dealing with foreign nations. These are all things he campaigned on and really cross party lines. ” Miller also emphasized that it’s Trump’s worldview, developed over the last 30 years, that’s now steering the ship of state within the White House. “The worldview that the President of the United States has been espousing, he’s been espousing for 30 years,” Miller said. “You can go back and watch interviews of him in the 1980s talking about the emerging economic turmoil that would be caused by Japan’s product dumping and currency cheating. You can see him talking about threats of terrorism before many people around the country were. You can see him talking about China, talking about NAFTA. It’s really remarkable the extent to which he presaged almost everything that’s relevant and pressing in our politics today over the course of three decades in public life. ” Asked “what’s been the and the ” of the past two weeks, Miller rejected the “ ” characterization, saying, “There hasn’t been a . ” Miller addressed the controversy surrounding Trump’s executive order temporarily suspending the U. S. Refugee Admissions Program for 120 days while the refugee vetting process is being reviewed. “For folks in the media centered in New York City, Los Angeles, Washington D. C. the idea of having a curtailment of migration from some of the most dangerous regions in the Middle East strikes them as an enormously disruptive event,” Miller said. “But for the rest of the country who are worried about their jobs, who are worried about their schools, who are worried about their ability to get a pay raise, who are worried about their ability to be safe and to have a country that supports them — for them, those kinds of actions are just the first steps in bringing some kind of sanity to how we approach immigration policy in the United States of America. ” He continued, “So the divergence of perspectives in terms of how people who reap the benefits of globalization look at things, versus people for whom it hasn’t been an unalloyed benefit — I think that divergence explains a lot of the difference between the polling data which shows the enormous popularity of his actions and the response you’ll see on certain television networks and some newspapers where they’re, I guess, not happy that things aren’t continuing on in the future as they always have in the past. ” Miller also strongly condemned the media’s efforts to inflate the role of White House advisors. Said Miller, “I can state this to you categorically … the only person who makes decisions here is Donald Trump. The only person whose vision is executed is Donald Trump. The only person who is guiding the strategy of this White House is Donald Trump. It’s his vision, his policies, his insights. Like I said, he’s been laying out this roadmap for thirty years. ” “Donald Trump comes up with the policy,” Miller continued. “He comes up with the words, he comes up with the vision. He is America First to his core. That’s who Donald Trump is. That’s who he’s always been. ” Miller placed Trump in the tradition of America’s great populist leaders, comparing him to the nineteenth century firebrand William Jennings Bryan and to the nation’s first populist president Andrew Jackson. “I’d say [Trump] is the best public orator since William Jennings Bryan, and he has a better sense of the pulse of the people than any President at least since Andrew Jackson. ” The media, Miller said, “has constantly both gotten [Trump] wrong, underestimated him, failed to give him his due credit, but what he has accomplished and what he has proven is that he understands and sees in this country and has a vision that has eluded the people that the media held up as the most brilliant consultants, and pollsters, and strategists. And he outsmarted them all. And I just hope the media will give the President the credit he really deserves. ” | 1 |
Updated, 10:48 a. m. Good morning on this perfect fall Friday. Is there any clash of ideas as “monumental” as the one over our city’s skyline? For every spike, steeple and spire, there are wastebaskets full of dashed architectural ambitions. These unbuilt projects often tell us as much about our city’s history and values as the built environment, says Sam Lubell, with Greg Goldin of “Never Built New York. ” Take I. M. Pei’s Hyperboloid, a sleek hourglass office tower and transit hub proposed in the 1950s, which would have entailed the demolition of Grand Central Terminal. Even as the rest of America took to the road in cars, and struggling railroads were liquidating assets, our city preserved the building in Midtown. (Sorry about that, Mr. Pei, but we’re glad it didn’t pan out.) Or imagine floating in a translucent bubble to Governors Island on a gondola designed by Santiago Calatrava. Sounds nice, but in 2006 The Times’s architecture critic argued that the plan ran up against one of New York’s hottest commodities: a spectacular view. And then there was Trump City. Donald J. Trump’s plan for a grandiose, 14. on the West Side would have included office buildings, 7, 600 apartments, a huge shopping mall and the world’s tallest building. But its magnitude aroused staunch opposition in the neighborhood, sparking what Mr. Trump described as “a war to the death. ” Trump City was eventually downgraded to what is now known as Trump Place — where, earlier this week, the owner of three buildings removed the ’s name from their façades. Occasionally, though, adventurous architecture does get built here. Test your knowledge of New York’s new skyline with this quiz: Can you identify some of our most iconic modern structures by their silhouettes? Here’s what else is happening: Mirror, mirror, on the wall, which day is the fairest of them all? Today. Sunshine. Blue skies. . Enough said. We’ll have another divine day on Saturday, but beginning that night — and lasting the rest of the weekend — things are looking and wet. • How Rudolph W. Giuliani, a leading contender to become secretary of state, made millions as . [New York Times] • The Chelsea bombing suspect, Ahmad Khan Rahimi, pleaded not guilty to federal charges. [New York Times] • Mayor Bill de Blasio increased New York’s budget by $1. 3 billion. [New York Times] • Two men were charged with murdering a in Manhattan and burying his body on the Jersey Shore. [New York Times] • As New York sees a spike in reporting of hate crimes following the election, Ku Klux Klan advertisements have appeared on Long Island. [WNYC] • . .. And a swastika is spotted on the subway. [New York Post] • Eric T. Schneiderman, the New York State attorney general, has asked the police department to increase vigilance in fighting hate crime. [CBS] • Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo has set up a hotline. If you see something, say something by calling (888) . [NY. gov] • A whale was spotted near the Statue of Liberty. [DNAinfo] • A Bronx woman was sentenced to five years in prison for robbing a legally blind woman. [NBC] • Today’s Metropolitan Diary: “A Memorable Night at McSorley’s” • Scoreboard: Ducks exorcise Devils, . Wizards cast spell on Knicks, . • For a global look at what’s happening, see Your Friday Briefing. • Mayor de Blasio speaks at “The Only Way is Up: A Citywide Discussion to Boost Voter Turnout in New York” at New York Law School in TriBeCa. 12:30 p. m. • . .. And he’ll discuss security, congestion and traffic around Trump Tower at a press conference at 1 Police Plaza in Downtown Manhattan. 2:30 p. m. • The Williamsburg Independent Film Festival continues at the cinema at the Wythe Hotel in Brooklyn. Times vary. [Tickets start at $10] • The exhibition “Masterworks: Unpacking Fashion,” which highlights 60 canonical works of fashion, opens at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. 10 a. m. [$25 suggested admission] • A “Game of Thrones” with props, costumes, and demonstrations of visual effects, at Astor Place in the East Village. 12:30 p. m. [Free] • Stargazing and a lecture, “How to Stage the Moon Landings,” at Columbia University in Morningside Heights. 7 p. m. [Free] • Comedians riff off a screening of the film “Plan 9 From Outer Space” at Q. E. D. in Astoria, Queens. 11 p. m. [$10] • Islanders host Penguins, 7 p. m. (MSG+). Rangers at Blue Jackets, 7 p. m. (MSG). Nets at Thunder, 8 p. m. (YES). Saturday • The EQUUS Film Festival is showing films starring horses at Village East Cinema in the East Village. Times vary. [Day passes begin at $50] • hours of music, storytelling and a silent disco, in celebration of the new exhibition “New York at Its Core,” at the Museum of the City of New York. 10 a. m. [Prices vary] • Join a 5K race (and bring a nonperishable item for those in need) at Willowbrook Park on Staten Island. 10 a. m. [$30] • Bar Car Nights, an evening of music, performances and demonstrations, is at the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx. 7 to 10 p. m. [$25] • You can also stay up late at Night at the Museum, an evening of drinks, dancing and art at MoMA PS1 in Long Island City, Queens. 8 p. m. to midnight. [$15] • Devils at Kings, 4 p. m. (MSG+). • Watch “The New York Times Close Up,” featuring The Times’s Nicholas Kristof and other guests. Saturday at 10 p. m. and Sunday at 10 a. m. on NY1. Sunday • The easily understood film festival, In French with English Subtitles, continues at the French Institute Alliance Française on the Upper East Side. Times vary. [Tickets start at $15] • A celebration of the city planner Andrew H. Green, sometimes referred to (in the best way) as the Robert Moses, at the Andrew H. Green Memorial Bench in Central Park near East 105th Street. Noon. [Free] • A reading and discussion, “Queens Activism Now,” with artists and academics, at the Queens Museum at Flushing Park. 2 p. m. [Free, donations suggested] • Tony Danza sings selections from “Honeymoon in Vegas” and other songs at the Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts at Brooklyn College in Flatbush. 3 p. m. [Tickets start at $36] • A photo editor at Rolling Stone leads a discussion about photographing New York’s underground music scene at the Alice Austen House on Staten Island. 5 p. m. [$15] • Knicks host Hawks, Noon. (MSG). Giants host Bears, 1 p. m. (FOX). Nets host Trail Blazers, 3:30 p. m. (YES). Rangers host Panthers, 7 p. m. (MSG). • For more events, see The New York Times’s Arts Entertainment guide. • Subway and PATH • Railroads: L. I. R. R. N. J. Transit, Amtrak • Roads: Check traffic map or radio report on the 1s or the 8s. • parking: In effect until Nov. 24. • Ferries: Staten Island Ferry, New York Waterway, East River Ferry • Airports: La Guardia, J. F. K. Newark • Weekend travel hassles: Check subway disruptions and a list of street closings. Thanksgiving is fast approaching. To get you in the spirit, New York Today wants to know how you would finish this sentence (in just a few words): This year I am thankful for ____________________. Please tell us what you think in the comments section, or send us an email at nytoday@nytimes. com, including your full name, age, and the neighborhood where you live. We plan to publish a selection of comments next week. New York Today is a weekday roundup that stays live from 6 a. m. till late morning. You can receive it via email. For updates throughout the day, like us on Facebook. What would you like to see here to start your day? Post a comment, email us at nytoday@nytimes. com, or reach us via Twitter using #NYToday. Follow the New York Today columnists, Alexandra Levine and Jonathan Wolfe, on Twitter. You can find the latest New York Today at nytoday. com. | 1 |
POWELLTON, W. Va. — Deep in the belly of an Appalachian mountain, a powerful machine bored into the earth, its whirring teeth clawing out a stream of glistening coal. Men followed inside the Maple Eagle No. 1 mine, their torches cutting through the dank air. One guided the machine with a controller others bolted supports in the freshly cut roof. They were angry. The coal industry that made West Virginia prosperous has been devastated. Every day, it seemed, another mine laid off workers or closed entirely. Friends were forfeiting their cars, homes and futures. For these men, this season’s presidential campaign boils down to a single choice. “I’m for Trump,” said Dwayne Riston, 27, his face smeared in dust. “Way I see it, if he wins, we might at least stand a chance of surviving. ” Few places in America offer such a simple electoral calculus as the rolling, hills of West Virginia. Even as Donald J. Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, lags badly in crucial swing states and loses his grip on white male voters over all, he remains on solid ground here with his promise to “bring back coal. ” The fact that his Democrat opponent, Hillary Clinton, said in March, “We’re going to put a lot of coal miners and coal companies out of business,” has helped, too. But this is not just about economics. West Virginia’s coal country is part of the broader white, vote that has coalesced around a single candidate, Mr. Trump, like never before. His support here stems from a profound, sense of political and cultural alienation that has left people feeling distant from their leaders, and even from fellow Americans. “I kind of feel that people are looking down on us,” said Neil Hanshew, a miner, voicing a common sentiment. “They’re looking at us like we’re a bunch of dumb hillbillies who can’t do anything else. ” I found my way to the Maple Eagle No. 1 mine after I met the mine manager at a church in Mingo County, famed as the center of the feud more than a century ago, when rival clan members battled it out along the border with Kentucky. This is not my regular beat — I’m usually reporting on the Arab world as The New York Times’s bureau chief in Cairo, but I have come to the United States for a few months to cover this unusual campaign from a foreigner’s perspective. After Mr. Trump’s combative nominating convention in Cleveland and Mrs. Clinton’s coronation in Philadelphia, I hit the road to explore how the campaign themes were playing out on the ground. Mingo County, a picturesque district of twisting valleys, is steeped in the lore of coal, corruption and violence. A gun battle between mine company officials and unionized workers in 1920 brought the nickname “Bloody Mingo,” fodder today for history tourists and TV serials. I checked into a hotel in the county seat, Williamson, where the manager offered a of the area’s more recent dramas. In 2013, the county sheriff was murdered as he ate lunch in his patrol car. A year later, a senior judge was jailed on corruption charges (“Folks knew him as ‘the king,’” the manager said). More recently, the local coal magnate, Donald L. Blankenship, started a prison sentence for breaching safety standards at a mine where 29 miners died in an accident in 2010. And in May, a wealthy coal executive was fatally shot in the town cemetery as he visited his wife’s grave. A pair of drug addicts have been arrested. Williamson itself, a town of 3, 000, is a picture of social and economic decay. Unemployment, at 12 percent, is more than twice the United States average. stores crowd alongside lawyers’ offices and gun dealerships. Rates of heroin overdoses and obesity are among the highest in America. Many residents scrape by on food stamps. In the surrounding hills, abandoned coal mines hum with the noise of ventilation pumps still circulating oxygen through the empty shafts, in the hope that they might one day be reopened. Yet the people of Mingo County have forged their own brand of resilience, one born of the rural values that draw embattled citizens together. For some, that means planning for a better future: Dr. Dino Beckett, a local physician, has spearheaded initiatives to grow healthy food locally and reduce diabetes. For others, it means lifting a defiant finger to the outside world. At the Regional Church in Delbarton, 10 miles from Williamson, Sunday services were both exuberant and solemn, a mark of the conservative Christianity that holds strong here. Peals of catchy gospel songs were followed by a fervent sermon delivered by an evangelical missionary who had taken 900 Jewish immigrants to Israel (in fulfillment of a biblical prophesy, she explained) and sought to convert Arab Muslims. Among the singers on stage was Bo Copley, the area’s most famous miner. His celebrity stems from a visit Mrs. Clinton made to Williamson in May, when hundreds of jeering protesters, many wielding Trump signs, lined the main street. “Go home!” they yelled as Mrs. Clinton, wearing a strained smile, slipped into a private meeting. Mrs. Clinton has apologized for her comment about putting coal out of business, saying she was misunderstood. But Mr. Copley, who had been called to meet Mrs. Clinton, challenged her, sliding a photo of his three young children across the table while the television cameras rolled. “How can you come in here and tell us you’re going to be our friend?” he said, his voice cracking with emotion. “Because those people out there don’t see you as a friend. ” Days later, at a Trump rally in the state capital, Charleston, Mr. Copley received a standing ovation. “People are tired of politicians,” he told me during my visit. “Trump is a break from the status quo, which promises the moon but doesn’t deliver. ” He struck a chord across coal country, giving voice to the inchoate rage and impotence that has accompanied the in less than a decade, of a lucrative industry. With salaries starting at $70, 000 a year, a job in the mines was long considered the local jackpot. Mingo County’s breathtaking valleys and hollers — narrow creeks bordered by high hills — are lined with spacious homes, swimming pools and gleaming vehicles. Now, there is a palpable fear that the good life is gone, perhaps for good. Jeremy Queen, 35, earned $30 an hour in a mine a few years ago. Now he is working security at a Walmart for $10. 50 an hour, and the economic slump means even the shopping mall that houses his store is suffering. “When the mines go down, it hurts everything,” he said. Political fury in Mingo County focuses squarely on the Environmental Protection Agency and President Obama, who is seen as having started a “war on coal. ” Issues of race and class bubble under the surface: Mingo County, population 27, 000, is 97 percent white, and racial epithets that are taboo in much of America still ring out openly. Support for Mr. Trump’s proposed ban on Muslim immigrants is strong, even though Muslims constitute only a tiny fraction of West Virginians. In 2012, local Democrats selected Keith Judd, a felon incarcerated in Texas, as their nominee for president instead of Mr. Obama. On a sleepy Sunday afternoon, a red pickup truck rolled slowly along Williamson’s main street, bearing two giant flags: one for Mr. Trump, the other emblazoned with the Confederate colors. Corey Matney, 26 years old and wearing a National Rifle Association stepped out and asked why I was taking pictures. Of the Confederate flag, he said, “That’s heritage, not hate. ” Mr. Matney, who was in Williamson to play Pokémon Go with his girlfriend, is a linesman for a telecommunications company that, he said, is losing 500 customers a month. “Families are moving away,” he said. “I know Donald Trump may not be the best man for the job. But he’s the lesser of two evils. ” There is no doubt that Mr. Trump, a brash Manhattan tycoon who lives in a gilded tower, can seem a discordant political idol for rural America. Many overlook that, pointing to his business success and his war on “political correctness” while berating Muslims and “ ” environmentalists. But some have been jarred by his ideas. Mr. Copley’s wife, Lauren, has a sister whose husband is Jordanian, and was upset by a recent question from her niece. “She said, ‘If Donald Trump comes in, does that mean that we have to leave? ’” Ms. Copley recalled. Ms. Copley started to cry. “He just spouts off,” she said. “I can’t fathom that. ” “Some of the things he says really bother me,” her husband added. “But we have a lot of people in this area who are very angry, very upset. ” Mr. Trump and his running mate, Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana, have yet to explain how they will revive the coal industry. Aside from the Obama administration’s tough environmental regulations, the decline of coal is a product of hard economic realities: Natural gas, produced by new fracking technologies, is simply much cheaper. For West Virginians like Roger Ooten, 56, their ballots may be a mark of resignation more than one of hope. A giant Trump sign adorned the gate of Mr. Ooten’s neat house in Delbarton, where he sat on the porch, rocking gently on a chair. He retired after 16 years working at a mine in Turkey Creek. Now he watches in despair as the community around him crumbles. Mr. Ooten is following the election on conservative channels like Fox News. He doesn’t like Mr. Trump’s invective against Mexicans. “They gotta eat, too,” he said. “You can’t be mean to people. ” But in November, Mr. Ooten will stick with Mr. Trump. “He’s the only shot we got,” he said. “Because if something doesn’t happen, this is going to be a ghost town. ” | 1 |
A grueling cycling race is somewhat less grueling if your bike is a motorcycle. Understanding this, some cunning cyclists may be turning the sport into Nascar on two wheels by surreptitiously giving their bikes a motorized boost. The first confirmed case of mechanical doping surfaced this year when a tiny motor and battery were found inside a Belgian cyclist’s bike, but that involved cyclocross, a comparatively minor branch of the sport. The latest accusations emerged Sunday on Stade 2, a sports program on the French television network that is also the host broadcaster of the Tour de France. The report suggested that motor doping is also at the highest levels of the sport. Suggestions that top riders are rigging their bikes have escalated in the past several years. As was the case in the early 1990s with more conventional doping, riders who are the targets of such accusations have dismissed them. But several current and retired professional riders, including the American Greg LeMond, are among those who have said it is a real problem. Brian Cookson, the president of the International Cycling Union, has made the search for cheating a priority. Suspicions stem from two factors: The technology exists, and there is an library of videos that show suspicious performances and actions by riders as well as teams. Anyone can buy systems that hide small motors and batteries inside bikes. Marketed as a way to help older or infirm people keep cycling, most of the systems power the axle that joins the two crank arms of the bike and are outwardly invisible, with switches hidden under handlebar tape. Newer, even smaller motor systems can slip into the rear hub to boost the bike from there. For its report, Stade 2 positioned a thermal imaging camera along the route of the Strade Bianche, an Italian professional men’s race in March held mostly on unpaved roads and featuring many steep climbs. The rear hub of one bicycle glowed with almost the same vivid thermal imprint of the riders’ legs. Engineers and antidoping experts interviewed by the TV program said the pattern could be explained only by heat generated by a motor. The rider was not named by the program and could not be identified from the thermal image. The program also used the camera at a gran fondo, an amateur and semiprofessional event, in Italy. At least one bike showed a suspicious heat pattern around its cranks. Corriere della Sera, an Italian newspaper that collaborated with the French program, reported that the thermal camera found signs of motors in seven bikes used in the Strade Bianche and at the Coppi and Bartali, another Italian race. Cycling’s equivalents of the Zapruder film are online videos that show unusual patterns of bike changes that precede or follow exceptional bursts of speed by riders. Other videos analyze riders’ hand movements for signs of switching on motors. Still other online analysts pore over crashes, looking for bikes on which the cranks keep turning after separation from the rider. Unlike the thermal images, however, the videos have only implied that a motor was present. In a statement, the cycling union, which commonly goes by its French initials, U. C. I. said it had tested and rejected thermal imaging. “The U. C. I. has been testing for technological fraud for many years, and with the objective of increasing the efficiency of these tests, we have been trialling new methods of detection over the last year,” the governing body said. “We have looked at thermal imaging, and ultrasonic testing, but by far the most reliable and accurate method has proved to be magnetic resonance testing using software we have created in partnership with a company of specialist developers. ” Its system uses a device attached to a tablet computer that sends out a magnetic field. Bikes that create unusual disruptions of that field are then pulled for physical inspection. About 2, 000 bikes have been scanned this year, although no inspection took place at the Strade Bianche. The magnetic resonance device was responsible for the world’s first confirmed mechanical doping case. At the women’s event at the world cyclocross championships in late January, it showed a suspicious pattern in a bike belonging to Femke Van den Driessche. A subsequent physical inspection found a motor and battery. After initially claiming that the bike no longer belonged to her, Van den Driessche, 19, abandoned her defense just before a disciplinary hearing opened and quit cycling. In an interview on Monday, Varjas said that his devices could produce more than 250 watts, the amount of power a professional rider might typically average during a race. The smaller motors, which he makes only for custom orders, typically produce only about 25 watts, he said, and require the rider to be able to maintain a high pedaling rate as is the case with all professionals. Even a boost would be significant during a professional race. Varjas said his system was nearly silent and light enough to keep a bike at the cycling union’s minimum weight. “If you have this system, you can stay with the group, but nobody hears it, nobody sees it, nobody knows about it,” he said of the devices, which cost 10, 000 to 25, 000 euros (about $11, 300 to about $28, 200) depending on features. While Varjas said that some professionals and teams used the motors for training — sometimes as a substitute for pacing at high speeds behind a motorcycle — he said that he did not know if the motors were also used in races for cheating. But he added that he believed that some kinds of carbon fiber, the material used to make pro bikes, could render the technology invisible to the cycling union’s new screening devices. Varjas said that many of his customers who merely relied on the device to keep cycling were reluctant to offer endorsements. “It’s a very strange market,” Varjas said. “No one will say they have this kind of bike. ” | 1 |
Donald J. Trump said Wednesday that he would place his vast business empire in a trust controlled by his two oldest sons and take other steps in an attempt to remove any suggestion of a conflict of interest with his decisions as president. But he said he would not sell his holdings. Hours later, the government’s top ethics monitor said the plan was wholly inadequate and would leave the president vulnerable to “suspicions of corruption. ” The unusual public criticism from Walter M. Shaub Jr. director of the Office of Government Ethics, followed Mr. Trump’s most detailed explanation yet of his plans to distance himself from the global business operations of the Trump Organization. No modern president has entered the White House with such a complicated array of holdings. The steps Mr. Trump outlined include turning over to the United States Treasury any profits received at his hotels from foreign government clients. An ethics officer and, separately, a chief compliance counsel will be appointed at the Trump Organization to watch its operations and ensure that it is not receiving special terms, payment or favors as a result of its ties to Mr. Trump, even as the organization is managed by a trust controlled by his two oldest sons and a longtime legal associate. Sheri A. Dillon, a longtime lawyer for the Trump Organization, said that many of the alternatives ethics lawyers have advocated, such as selling off Mr. Trump’s business assets entirely or putting them in a blind trust that would be managed by an independent party, were not practical. Pointing out flaws in a blind trust, she said, “President Trump can’t unknow he owns Trump Tower, and the press will make sure that any new developments at the Trump Organization are well publicized. ” In addition, she said, the price of a sale of assets would draw scrutiny, and Mr. Trump would still be owed royalties. The speaking at a news conference Wednesday in Trump Tower, repeated his view, expressed shortly after his election, that as president, he will be exempt from conflict of interest laws that apply to all other federal employees except the vice president. But he and his legal team said he would still take voluntary steps to avoid even a perception of a conflict, such as the appearance that a decision he made as president might benefit one of his business ventures. But Mr. Trump and his advisers would not release basic information about this plan. Mr. Trump has filed information with the federal government that indicates he is worth at least $1. 5 billion, but that information has not been independently verified, and the value of the assets being transferred into the trust is not known. Mr. Trump’s representatives also would not release the names of people who stand to benefit from any profits the trust generates, or say whether Mr. Trump would be able to reverse the transaction. On Wednesday, Mr. Trump rebuffed a renewed call to release his tax returns, which presidents have done for decades and which would show how much profit he makes from his business endeavors, including golf courses, marketing deals and commercial office space. Mr. Shaub, who was appointed by President Obama, said that he did not believe selling assets was too high a price to pay to be president, and that Mr. Trump must divest them in order to avoid conflicts of interest. “We can’t risk creating the perception that government leaders would use their official positions for profit,” said Mr. Shaub, whose office establishes ethical standards for 2. 7 million civilian employees in the White House and more than 130 executive branch agencies. “I appreciate that divestiture can be costly. But the would not be alone in making that sacrifice. ” He criticized Mr. Trump’s decision to put his assets into a trust instead of under the far stricter control of an independent manager, known as a blind trust. “The only thing this has in common with a blind trust is the label, ‘trust,’” Mr. Shaub said during an unusual news conference Wednesday at the Brookings Institution, a policy research center in Washington. “His sons are still running the businesses, and, of course, he knows what he owns. ” Even some Republican ethics experts questioned how far Mr. Trump had gone to confront the many ethical issues he faces. They noted, for example, that Mr. Trump had not promised to prohibit communication between federal employees and anyone at the Trump Organization, or his current or future business partners. “If you don’t have a real firewall, outsiders will view doing business with the Trump Organization as a way to gain access to the administration or to influence it,” said Matthew T. Sanderson, a Washington lawyer who worked on the Republican presidential campaigns of John McCain, Rand Paul and Rick Perry. In fact, Mr. Trump and his legal advisers seemed on Wednesday to revise a promise that the had made on Twitter in December: that there would be “no new deals” by his company while he was in the White House. Now, his legal team said, this standard will apply only to foreign deals. Ms. Dillon said the Trump Organization had canceled about 30 pending deals, costing it millions of dollars. But the company will continue to look for new business opportunities — be it hotels, golf courses or other ventures — within the United States at a time when the Trump Organization brand has an unrivaled profile. Instead, the Trump enterprise will clear new transactions with an ethics adviser to be named by the in the coming days. That person will vet the deals for potential conflicts, using a standard that Mr. Trump’s advisers said had not yet been determined. A spokeswoman for Mr. Trump said he had always intended the “no new deals” promise to apply only to foreign deals. The influence Mr. Trump will have over foreign and domestic policy as president has raised questions about whether American policy could affect his bottom line. For instance, he will oversee the regulation of banks, some of which lend money to his company, and he will have frequent contact with foreign heads of state, including some who run countries where the Trump Organization does business. He has consistently used his position to showcase his real estate properties, inviting dignitaries and cabinet hopefuls to visit him at his golf club in Westchester County, N. Y. and his resort in Palm Beach, Fla. And the business offers have been flowing in, Mr. Trump says. His lawyers said his company had canceled 30 deals as he prepares to take office, and last weekend, Mr. Trump said he had turned down a $2 billion deal in Dubai. “I don’t want to take advantage of something,” Mr. Trump said. The Dubai offer came from Damac, a major developer in the Persian Gulf region that is building the Trump International Golf Club, Dubai, and an adjacent luxury housing development. Mr. Trump and his legal team appeared to be particularly sensitive to the suggestion that Mr. Trump might violate the emoluments clause of the Constitution, which prohibits federal employees from taking any “present, emolument, office or title, of any kind whatever, from any king, prince or foreign state. ” Ms. Dillon, the Trump Organization lawyer, who works for the Washington firm Morgan Lewis, said the clause, in her view, did not apply to transactions such as a foreign government’s paying a hotel bill. But to address the issue, the organization plans to donate to the federal government the “profits” derived from any payments from foreign governments to hotels it owns. Representatives of the organization did not reply when asked how this calculation would be made or whether a public accounting of the payments would be provided. But Trump Organization officials said this agreement would not apply to golf courses or other businesses. That means Mr. Trump could still benefit from payments by foreign governments, critics said. Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the University of California, Irvine School of Law, also said the plan to turn over profits from foreign government payments to Mr. Trump’s hotels was not sufficient to eliminate the constitutional issue. “As soon as he receives the payment, he will have benefited, even if he later decides to give it away,” Mr. Chemerinsky said. “This will mean he will have violated a provision of the Constitution. ” Separately, Mr. Trump’s daughter Ivanka said on her Facebook page that she was both separating herself from the Trump Organization and turning over management of her brand of handbags, jewelry, shoes and other accessories to another executive. But ethics experts said the family might have figured out a way to accelerate the growth of their business while taking modest steps to separate themselves from the operations. “It’s hard to imagine anything she could do to help the brand more than simply being a part of the White House apparatus,” Robert Weissman, president of Public Citizen, a liberal nonprofit, said of Ivanka Trump. “The only solution for all of this is for them to divest — and that does not include handing it to another family member. ” | 1 |
From Bloomberg: London-based gold dealer Sharps Pixley Ltd. is running out of bars and coins as buying surges after Donald Trump won the U.S. presidency. The company’s store, a short walk from Buckingham Palace, has arranged emergency imports of Britannia coins and kilogram (2.2 pound) bars to meet demand. “We keep running out of product — we’ve had to increase our credit lines to allow us to keep more stock on site,” Norman said, keeping a customer waiting on another line. “Swamped!” The reality is that trading volumes have skyrocketed across the globe. In other words, physical gold demand is off the charts right now. It will be very interesting to see how long the central banks can restrain the price of gold in light of the skyrocketing physical demand.
***KWN has now released the extraordinary audio interview with Egon von Greyerz, where he gives KWN listeners a look what is really happening behind the scenes globally and in the gold market, and you can listen to it by CLICKING HERE OR ON THE IMAGE BELOW.
***ALSO JUST RELEASED: Gold Spikes Over $60 Before Pulling Back After Trump Upset Shocks The World! But Here Is The Real Shocker… CLICK HERE.
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The Daily Sheeple – by Melissa Dykes
Sure, Hillary Clinton is a banshee nightmare from Hell, but that really doesn’t mean Donald Trump is automatically amazing just because literally anything is better than Hillary. That’s a pretty low bar.
Trump has assured us he’ll give a lot more power to Big Brother as if we aren’t already living in an Orwellian nightmare as it is. He has said that he will grow the police state, boost the Patriot Act, and extend the neverending wars (he keeps mentioning Iran specifically, because no matter who becomes president, they all know they have to sing that same old “Which Path to Persia?” tune). Once I even heard the man say he expects the NSA to be listening in to all our phone calls… guess that makes it okay???
ಠ_ಠ
Trump has also called Edward Snowden a traitor and implied that he should be executed.
He also banned Snowden from Miss Universe… which I’m sure must’ve really broken poor Edward’s heart. Message to Edward Snowden, you’re banned from @MissUniverse . Unless you want me to take you back home to face justice!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 21, 2013
While Snowden may be a limited hangout, that’s beside the point here. Without Snowden, we wouldn’t have so much hard physical evidence of just how much our Constitution has been trampled, our 4th Amendment has been run over, and our privacy has been rendered nonexistent in the cybernetic technological control grid we now find ourselves living in.
How is exposing the tyrannical government’s crimes against the people a traitorous act worthy of death?
And this talk of “justice”?
Real justice would be someone standing up for the Constitution and Bill of Rights and challenging Big Brother and the NSA surveillance state, something neither Trump nor Hillary ever planned to do.
Then again, Trump is the same guy who said he would “take out” the family members of terrorists. Do you have a criminal in the family? How would you like to be killed because your family member is a criminal? Same logic fail.
Like this government is honest about who the real terrorists even are anyway. Come on. If we’re to believe Trump is that naive, he shouldn’t go anywhere near the oval office.
Then again, how does the saying go? Everyone that would make a truly good president is smart enough to realize they’d never want to be president? Not that presidents are really running anything in this country anyway…
Sigh. . @realDonaldTrump yes, I'm sure Edward Snowden would take it all back if he'd known he'd eventually be banned from @MissUniverse . | 0 |
Israel settlements legal, Trump aide says, playing anti-Iran video message on Mount Zion By Press TV on October 27, 2016
Donald Trump, the Republican candidate for the US 2016 presidential election
GOP nominee Donald Trump does not believe that settlements built by the Zionist regime of Israel in Palestine are illegal, his advisor on Israel says.
David Friedman, who was campaigning for the New York billionaire at a restaurant on Mount Zion (Jabel Sahyoun) in East Jerusalem al-Quds, made the comments to AFP after the Wednesday rally.
“I don’t think he believes that the settlements are illegal,” Friedman said.
He also said the former reality TV star is “tremendously skeptical” about the so-called two-state solution, promoted by the Democratic administration of President Barack Obama during his eight years in office, but to no avail. David Friedman (L) exits the Federal Building with Donald Trump and Ivanka Trump (R) following their appearance at US Bankruptcy Court in Camden, New Jersey, on February 25, 2010. (Photo via Bloomberg News)
The Obama administration has already voiced criticism over Tel Aviv’s expansionist policies, considered illegal by the international community.
The presence and continued expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestine has created a major obstacle for the efforts to establish peace in the Middle East.
Over half a million Israelis live in more than 230 illegal settlements built since the 1967 Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank. A Palestinian man searches through his belongings after his family home was demolished by Israelis in Beit Hanina, near the illegal Israeli settlement of Ramat Shlomo (background) in East Jerusalem al-Quds, on October 26, 2016. (Photo by AFP)
All Israeli settlements are illegal under the international law. Tel Aviv has defied calls to stop the settlement expansion in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Guaranteeing enmity with Tehran
Some 150 people, including extremist Israelis and evangelical Christians, took part in the Trump rally in on Wednesday.
Friedman echoed previous remarks by Trump, saying the real estate mogul would recognize East Jerusalem al-Quds as the capital of Israel if he wins the White House in the US 2016 presidential election.
A short video message by Trump was also played at the event, in which he said, “Together we will stand up to the enemies like Iran, bent on destroying Israel and her people. Together we will make America and Israel safe again.”
According to leaked emails from March 2015 by former US secretary of state Colin Powell, the regime has pointed 200 nuclear weapons at the Iranian capital. Related Posts: | 0 |
EU UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (C) meets with Greek Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades (L) and Mustafa Akinci (R), the Turkish Cypriot leader, at the UN headquarters in New York, September 25, 2016. (Photo by AFP)
Cypriot political leaders have agreed to continue talks in Switzerland next month in an attempt to reach an agreement on the reunification of the Mediterranean island country, the United Nations (UN) has announced.
A UN spokesman, Aleem Siddique, made the announcement on Wednesday, saying Greek Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci will meet at Mont Pelerin, near Lake Geneva, from November 7 to 11.
Siddique said the two leaders, in the presence of the UN envoy for Cyprus, will concentrate their talks on how much territory each side will administer under an envisioned federation and will discuss all other outstanding issues, too.
The leaders have expressed hope that the Switzerland meeting “will pave the way for the last phase of talks in line with their shared commitment to do their utmost in order to reach a settlement within 2016,” the UN spokesman said.
Negotiations on reuniting the Mediterranean island under a single federal roof have made significant headway since Anastasiades and Akinci resumed talks led by the UN nearly 18 months ago.
However, important differences still remain on the question of territorial arrangements, security and property rights.
Previous UN-mediated talks to reunify the Mediterranean island faced a deadlock in October 2014 when Turkey announced plans to search for oil and gas in waters off Cyprus.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, after an intervention by Turkey, which came when a military coup was carried out by individuals who sought to unify the island with Greece.
Nearly one decade later in 1983, Turkish Cypriots declared an independent state, which has only been recognized by Ankara. Turkey has some 35,000 soldiers stationed in the north of that part of Cyprus.
Cyprus has been a European Union (EU) member since 2004, but only the south enjoys full membership benefits. Loading ... | 0 |
« Previous - Next » Jesus Christ’s ‘Burial Bed’ discovered In 'Chruch Of The Resurrection'
It has long been debated whether Jesus Christ truly existed and walked the earth. The Bible states that God created a miracle that allowed the Virgin Mary first to be alerted by an angel that she would become pregnant without the assistance of her husband Joseph or any other man. The Truth Of Jesus Christ Revealed
Directly after, she became pregnant, and after giving birth, it was a boy who the angel told to name Jesus Christ and he was given just that name. While on Earth, Jesus would walk the Earth and perform miracles for the non-believers while also spreading the gospel to those who would believe in him. He would preach to those who desired him and his teachings, while also healing those who believed he was the only one who could get them into heaven.
Despite these actions, debates between scholars of religious, scientists and atheists have long argued whether such events whether took place or whether there is a clear scientific reason for the human race being born such as evolution. The debate still continues today. One finding, however, may shut down the long-lived perceptions of scientists and atheists, due to a recent finding what was believed to be a burial slab. A team in Jerusalem found the slab .
In the Bible, the story reads that after being crucified by the Jewish people he was put in a resting place covered by a rock where the dead were often placed. Upon this happening, three days later the rock was removed, and Jesus' body was no longer there, which correlated with Jesus' proclaiming he would be crucified but come back to life three days later.
Researchers are now hoping to study the tomb some more to better understand the history and why and how this tomb would suddenly be found. If enough information is gathered, this can completely reshape history, because the many theories that have been thrown out for hundreds or even thousands of years would be completely negated and Jesus Christ would become the official truth to all people. The belief in science theory would no longer hold any water to the truth of Jesus Christ existing. Evolution would be completely crushed, so this would be one of the grandest findings in the 21st century.
This article (Jesus Christ’s ‘Burial Bed’ discovered In 'Chruch Of The Resurrection') is free and open source. You have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with full attribution and a link to the original source on Disclose.tv Related Articles | 0 |
By wmw_admin on November 30, 2013 Rebel of Oz — Nov 30, 2013 For over a century, the Jewish World Almanac has been widely regarded as the most authentic source for the world’s Jewish population numbers. Academics all over the world, including the editors of the Encyclopedia Britannica, used to rely on the accuracy of those numbers. Here is what the World Alamanacs of 1933 and 1948 had to say about the world population of Jews. World Almanac 1933 World Almanac 1948 In other words, according to the World Almanac the world population of Jews increased (!) between 1933 and 1948 from 15,315,000 to 15,753,000. If the German government under Adolf Hitler had – as alleged – murdered six million Jews those losses should have been reflected in the Jewish population numbers quoted in the World Almanac. The suspicions raised by above numbers concerning the veracity of the allegations made against the Hitler government are confirmed by the official three-volume report by the International Committee of the Red Cross, released 1948 in Geneva, according to which 272,000 concentration camp inmates died in German custody, about half of them Jews. The following article elaborates. A Factual Appraisal Of The ‘Holocaust’ By The Red Cross The Jews And The Concentration Camps: No Evidence Of Genocide There is one survey of the Jewish question in Europe during World War Two and the conditions of Germany’s concentration camps which is almost unique in its honesty and objectivity, the three-volume Report of the International Committee of the Red Cross on its Activities during the Second World War, Geneva, 1948. This comprehensive account from an entirely neutral source incorporated and expanded the findings of two previous works: Documents sur l’activité du CICR en faveur des civils détenus dans les camps de concentration en Allemagne 1939-1945 (Geneva, 1946), and Inter Arma Caritas: the Work of the ICRC during the Second World War (Geneva, 1947). The team of authors, headed by Frédéric Siordet, explained in the opening pages of the Report that their object, in the tradition of the Red Cross, had been strict political neutrality, and herein lies its great value. The ICRC successfully applied the 1929 Geneva military convention in order to gain access to civilian internees held in Central and Western Europe by the Germany authorities. By contrast, the ICRC was unable to gain any access to the Soviet Union, which had failed to ratify the Convention. The millions of civilian and military internees held in the USSR, whose conditions were known to be by far the worst, were completely cut off from any international contact or supervision. The Red Cross Report is of value in that it first clarifies the legitimate circumstances under which Jews were detained in concentration camps, i.e. as enemy aliens. In describing the two categories of civilian internees, the Report distinguishes the second type as “Civilians deported on administrative grounds (in German, “Schutzhäftlinge”), who were arrested for political or racial motives because their presence was considered a danger to the State or the occupation forces” (Vol. 111, p. 73). These persons, it continues, “were placed on the same footing as persons arrested or imprisoned under common law for security reasons.” (P.74). The Report admits that the Germans were at first reluctant to permit supervision by the Red Cross of people detained on grounds relating to security, but by the latter part of 1942, the ICRC obtained important concessions from Germany. They were permitted to distribute food parcels to major concentration camps in Germany from August 1942, and “from February 1943 onwards this concession was extended to all other camps and prisons” (Vol. 111, p. 78). The ICRC soon established contact with camp commandants and launched a food relief programme which continued to function until the last months of 1945, letters of thanks for which came pouring in from Jewish internees. Red Cross Recipients Were Jews The Report states that “As many as 9,000 parcels were packed daily. >From the autumn of 1943 until May 1945, about 1,112,000 parcels with a total weight of 4,500 tons were sent off to the concentration camps” (Vol. III, p. 80). In addition to food, these contained clothing and pharmaceutical supplies. “Parcels were sent to Dachau, Buchenwald, Sangerhausen, Sachsenhausen, Oranienburg, Flossenburg, Landsberg-am-Lech, Flöha, Ravensbrück, Hamburg-Neuengamme, Mauthausen, Theresienstadt, Auschwitz, Bergen-Belsen, to camps near Vienna and in Central and Southern Germany. The principal recipients were Belgians, Dutch, French, Greeks, Italians, Norwegians, Poles and stateless Jews” (Vol. III, p. 83). In the course of the war, “The Committee was in a position to transfer and distribute in the form of relief supplies over twenty million Swiss francs collected by Jewish welfare organisations throughout the world, in particular by the American Joint Distribution Committee of New York” (Vol. I, p. 644). This latter organisation was permitted by the German Government to maintain offices in Berlin until the American entry into the war. The ICRC complained that obstruction of their vast relief operation for Jewish internees came not from the Germans but from the tight Allied blockade of Europe. Most of their purchases of relief food were made in Rumania, Hungary and Slovakia. The ICRC had special praise for the liberal conditions which prevailed at Theresienstadt up to the time of their last visits there in April 1945. This camp, “where there were about 40,000 Jews deported from various countries was a relatively privileged ghetto” (Vol. III, p. 75). According to the Report, “‘The Committee’s delegates were able to visit the camp at Theresienstadt (Terezin) which was used exclusively for Jews and was governed by special conditions. From information gathered by the Committee, this camp had been started as an experiment by certain leaders of the Reich … These men wished to give the Jews the means of setting up a communal life in a town under their own administration and possessing almost complete autonomy. . . two delegates were able to visit the camp on April 6th, 1945. They confirmed the favourable impression gained on the first visit” (Vol. I, p . 642). The ICRC also had praise for the regime of Ion Antonescu of Fascist Rumania where the Committee was able to extend special relief to 183,000 Rumanian Jews until the time of the Soviet occupation. The aid then ceased, and the ICRC complained bitterly that it never succeeded “in sending anything whatsoever to Russia” (Vol. II, p. 62). The same situation applied to many of the German camps after their “liberation” by the Russians. The ICRC received a voluminous flow of mail from Auschwitz until the period of the Soviet occupation, when many of the internees were evacuated westward. But the efforts of the Red Cross to send relief to internees remaining at Auschwitz under Soviet control were futile. However, food parcels continued to be sent to former Auschwitz inmates transferred west to such camps as Buchenwald and Oranienburg. No Evidence Of Genocide One of the most important aspects of the Red Cross Report is that it clarifies the true cause of those deaths that undoubtedly occurred in the camps toward the end of the war. Says the Report: “In the chaotic condition of Germany after the invasion during the final months of the war, the camps received no food supplies at all and starvation claimed an increasing number of victims. Itself alarmed by this situation, the German Government at last informed the ICRC on February 1st, 1945 … In March 1945, discussions between the President of the ICRC and General of the S.S. Kaltenbrunner gave even more decisive results. Relief could henceforth be distributed by the ICRC, and one delegate was authorised to stay in each camp …” (Vol. III, p. 83). Clearly, the German authorities were at pains to relieve the dire situation as far as they were able. The Red Cross are quite explicit in stating that food supplies ceased at this time due to the Allied bombing of German transportation, and in the interests of interned Jews they had protested on March 15th, 1944 against “the barbarous aerial warfare of the Allies” (Inter Arma Caritas, p. 78). By October 2nd, 1944, the ICRC warned the German Foreign Office of the impending collapse of the German transportation system, declaring that starvation conditions for people throughout Germany were becoming inevitable. In dealing with this comprehensive, three-volume Report, it is important to stress that the delegates of the International Red Cross found no evidence whatever at the camps in Axis occupied Europe of a deliberate policy to exterminate the Jews. In all its 1,600 pages the Report does not even mention such a thing as a gas chamber. It admits that Jews, like many other wartime nationalities, suffered rigours and privations, but its complete silence on the subject of planned extermination is ample refutation of the Six Million legend. Like the Vatican representatives with whom they worked, the Red Cross found itself unable to indulge in the irresponsible charges of genocide which had become the order of the day. So far as the genuine mortality rate is concerned, the Report points out that most of the Jewish doctors from the camps were being used to combat typhus on the eastern front, so that they were unavailable when the typhus epidemics of 1945 broke out in the camps (Vol. I, p. 204 ff) – Incidentally, it is frequently claimed that mass executions were carried out in gas chambers cunningly disguised as shower facilities. Again the Report makes nonsense of this allegation. “Not only the washing places, but installations for baths, showers and laundry were inspected by the delegates. They had often to take action to have fixtures made less primitive, and to get them repaired or enlarged” (Vol. III, p. 594). Not All Were Interned Volume III of the Red Cross Report, Chapter 3 (I. Jewish Civilian Population) deals with the “aid given to the Jewish section of the free population,” and this chapter makes it quite plain that by no means all of the European Jews were placed in internment camps, but remained, subject to certain restrictions, as part of the free civilian population. This conflicts directly with the “thoroughness” of the supposed “extermination programme”, and with the claim in the forged Höss memoirs that Eichmann was obsessed with seizing “every single Jew he could lay his hands on.” In Slovakia, for example, where Eichmann’s assistant Dieter Wisliceny was in charge, the Report states that “A large proportion of the Jewish minority had permission to stay in the country, and at certain periods Slovakia was looked upon as a comparative haven of refuge for Jews, especially for those coming from Poland. Those who remained in Slovakia seem to have been in comparative safety until the end of August 1944, when a rising against the German forces took place. While it is true that the law of May 15th, 1942 had brought about the internment of several thousand Jews, these people were held in camps where the conditions of food and lodging were tolerable, and where the internees were allowed to do paid work on terms almost equal to those of the free labour market” (Vol. I, p. 646). Not only did large numbers of the three million or so European Jews avoid internment altogether, but the emigration of Jews continued throughout the war, generally by way of Hungary, Rumania and Turkey. Ironically, post-war Jewish emigration from German-occupied territories was also facilitated by the Reich, as in the case of the Polish Jews who had escaped to France before its occupation. “The Jews from Poland who, whilst in France, had obtained entrance permits to the United States were held to be American citizens by the German occupying authorities, who further agreed to recognize the validity of about three thousand passports issued to Jews by the consulates of South American countries” (Vol. I, p. 645). As future U.S. citizens, these Jews were held at the Vittel camp in southern France for American aliens. The emigration of European Jews from Hungary in particular proceeded during the war unhindered by the German authorities. “Until March 1944,” says the. Red Cross Report, “Jews who had the privilege of visas for Palestine were free to leave Hungary” (Vol. I, p. 648). Even after the replacement of the Horthy Government in 1944 (following its attempted armistice with the Soviet Union) with a government more dependent on German authority, the emigration of Jews continued. The Committee secured the pledges of both Britain and the United States “to give support by every means to the emigration of Jews from Hungary,” and from the U.S. Government the ICRC received a message stating that “The Government of the United States … now specifically repeats its assurance that arrangements will be made by it for the care of all Jews who in the present circumstances are allowed to leave” (Vol. I, p . 649). Biedermann agreed that in the nineteen instances that “Did Six Million Really Die?” quoted from the Report of the International Committee of the Red Cross on its Activities during the Second World War and Inter Arma Caritas (this includes the above material), it did so accurately. A quote from Charles Biedermann (a delegate of the International Committee of the Red Cross and Director of the Red Cross’ International Tracing Service) under oath at the Zündel Trial (February 9, 10, 11 and 12, 1988). | 0 |
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NYPD sources have confided to True Pundit that information contained on the shared laptop of Anthony Weiner and Huma Abedin contains enough evidence “to put Hillary and her crew away for life.”
Police first seized the laptop during their investigation into Weiner’s underage sexting scandal last month, but then found the thousands of emails pertaining to Clinton.
NYPD sources said these new emails include evidence linking Clinton herself and associates to the following: Money laundering Sex crimes with minors (children) Perjury Pay to play through Clinton Foundation Obstruction of justice Other felony crimes
The NYPD Chief expressed that what he has seen is so horrific he will not allow Clinton to walk away unpunished.
“Whatâs in the emails is staggering and as a father, it turned my stomach,” he said. “There is not going to be any Houdini-like escape from what we found. We have copies of everything. We will ship them to Wikileaks or I will personally hold my own press conference if it comes to that. People are going to prison.” | 0 |
Next Swipe left/right This man dressed as the “20th Century Fox shitty flute” meme for Halloween You’re probably familiar with the “shitty flute” version of the 20th Century Fox logo that’s been knocking around the internet for years – so naturally someone has dressed up as it for Halloween. A video posted by aboynamedsoo (@aboynamedsoo) on Oct 29, 2016 at 6:21pm PDT
According to the Daily Dot Soo-Hon Kim spent about five hours putting the costume together before a party on Saturday. He used a couple of small flashlights, some cardboard, and portable Bluetooth speaker behind the logo that connected to his own playlist.
Here’s the original video, in case that wetted your appetite for shitty flutes. | 0 |
Top eurocrats fear that should Marine Le Pen win the French presidency, the European Union will not survive. [“From the [European] Commission’s point of view, success for Marine Le Pen is a disaster and an existential threat to the European project,” a top official from the bloc’s unelected executive told Politico. “We can survive a Brexit, but not a Frexit. ” Ms. Le Pen has stopped short of openly endorsing French withdrawal from the EU but has pledged a “France First” economic policy should she win office, levying taxes on companies which move jobs out of the country and reintroducing the French franc alongside the euro currency — policies which would fall foul of EU law. The economic patriotism which I advocate is impossible within the European Union ! https: . — Marine in English (@Marine2017_EN) March 6, 2017, Following mass casualty terror attacks in Paris, Nice, and elsewhere in France, Ms. Le Pen also pledged to take France out of the EU’s Schengen area, which former Interpol chief Robert Nobel has described as “an international zone for terrorists”. Politico’s sources inside the European Commission, however, have insisted that “There is no legal way to leave the euro or Schengen and still remain in the European Union. ” By preventing us from having national borders, the European Union condemns us to undergo #mass immigration #Marine2017 https: . — Marine in English (@Marine2017_EN) March 10, 2017, Another top staffer confessed the prospect of a Le Pen presidency “worries us — without any doubt … After the UK [referendum] and the U. S. election, it would almost be a natural consequence. ” Conscious of its unpopularity, the EU as an institution has played only an role in events like the Brexit referendum, but has intervened far more directly in the French elections. Pierre Moscovici, the European Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs, Taxation and Customs, has said it would be “a mistake” to avoid confronting politicians like Ms. Le Pen directly, as “France leaving Europe … would both kill Europe and make France choke severely”. ”I am convinced this is not an example to follow”: my remarks on #Brexit to @bbckamal https: . #Davos #wef17 pic. twitter. — Pierre Moscovici (@pierremoscovici) January 19, 2017, “The Commission would vote [Emmanuel] Macron without any doubt,” a top Commission official confessed to Politico, referring to Ms. Le Pen’s main rival for the presidency. Macron, a independent in the cast of former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, served as economy minister in François Hollande’s socialist government. | 1 |
posted by Eddie We’ve been exploring the surface of Mars since the mid ’70s. Since then, roving vehicles have sent back thousands of fascinating images, all of which are helping scientists to understand whether the Red Planet could have once supported life. But could these 20 images be the only clues they need? From strange skulls to abandoned space stations, these photos have certainly got UFO hunters and conspiracy theorists talking nonstop. 19. Face of an ancient god The Mars Opportunity rover was just going about its business; it didn’t expect to be greeted by the face of the divine. But that’s what happened, or so it seems, with the image it captured bearing more than a passing resemblance to the 2,800-year old Neo-Assyrian god on the right. 18. Lady in the distance This landscape is about as Martian as it gets, but standing on one of those rocks is what appears to be the figure of a woman. “She” was captured by NASA’s Curiosity rover, and website UFO Sightings Daily reckons that the image is proof that there’s life on Mars. 17. A perfect pyramid It looks like something straight from the Libyan Desert, but this isn’t one of the pyramids of Giza. No, this image was taken by NASA’s Curiosity rover, with the “pyramid” being roughly as big as a car. Paranormal investigators say it’s proof of alien life; scientists say it’s simply a quirky rock formation. 16. A huge human face This large Martian rock in the planet’s Cydonia region looks like a person’s face – there’s just no denying it. It was captured during the Viking 1 mission way back in 1976, but NASA scientists were quick to explain that, unfortunately, the “face” was merely a light-and-shadows induced mirage. 15. A thigh bone There’s no getting around this one: it’s obviously a thigh bone, right? Well, when it was captured by the Curiosity rover in 2014, NASA swiftly pointed out that, actually, this was the image of a rock that had been eroded by water. That’ s still quite exciting, as it’s a sign of life; less exciting, though, is the fact that it could equally well have been shaped by wind. 14. Alien skeleton Conspiracy theorists reckon that this shot is proof that aliens once roamed Mars. Their case, on the surface, appears to be strong – a head and torso can be clearly made out, as can a pair of arms. But who knows what happened to the “skeleton”’s legs? 13. Star Wars spaceship This photo appears to have captured a downed Destroyer in the desolate Martian landscape, which seems crazy given that Star Wars is fictional – but hey, the camera never lies, right? The image was taken by NASA’s Curiosity rover, and UFO experts have been totally captivated by it. 12. Jelly donut Apparently aliens are partial to sweet treats, too. But the weirdest thing about this apparent image of a jelly donut is that one day, it wasn’t there, and then 12 days later, it was. Did NASA’s Opportunity rover miss a careless alien dropping it as it passed by? One concerned citizen even launched a lawsuit against NASA, claiming that they were not investigating this donut-shaped proof of life properly. 11. Alien scorpion Scott C. Waring, a self-titled “alien expert” from Taiwan, believes that this image depicts a giant scorpion scuttling across the surface of Mars. The intriguing image was taken by the Curiosity rover in September 2015, and it’s left quite the sting in the tail. 10. Alien peering from a cave Is this a shy alien peering out from its cave? Well, Scott C. Waring certainly believes so. In his YouTube video analysis of NASA coverage, he says, “Right inside this little cave area there is a pink face or a red face sticking out. Is it a living being? Possibly.” 9. Female statue In 2007 the Mars Spirit rover captured this strange image of what appears to be a female statue, though at first glance it also looks remarkably like Bigfoot. The Planetary Society, however, believe that the image is nothing more than a trick of the eye. 8. “Marshenge” Anything Earth can do, in an ancient unexplained monument sense, Mars can do too. This is “Marshenge,” and a YouTuber by the name of Mr. Enigma – who calls himself an alien hunter – has said that it looks “eerily similar” to the stone circle in Wiltshire, England. “I’m just saying there is something strange about this area,” he concluded. 7. Crab monster This image, captured by the Curiosity rover, appears to show a crab-like monster emerging from a gap in the rocks. Sadly, however, it’s nothing more than an optical illusion caused by our brains’ habit of recognizing familiar shapes in unfamiliar objects. It’s called pareidolia, and it’s why we often see things that aren’t there. 6. A giant waffle Towards the end of 2014 the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter took this photo of an island on Mars’ exterior. What was so interesting about it? Well, it looks like a giant waffle – one that is 1.2 miles across, in fact. Yet rather than being delicious and edible, it’s believed to have been formed from lava flows breaking out from beneath the planet’s surface. 5. Bigfoot skull If that was Bigfoot earlier, then this may be the skull of one its descendants. It was captured by the Curiosity rover in 2016, and while it got people talking, the “skull” – which is, somewhat predictably, just a rock – is really just another example of pareidolia. 4. Mystery dome This strange dome, according to conspiracy theorists, was constructed by an ancient civilization. “Is it possible,” questioned the Unsilent Majority website, “that we are looking at some sort of building left behind by ancient inhabitants on Mars?” Its existence was uncovered by the Opportunity rover in 2015. 3. The Mars monolith In 2009 the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter captured what appeared to be a monolith on the surface of Mars. The remarkable image was published to the Lunar Explorer Italia website, which is how people started talking about it. Scientists, however, later said that the monolith was nothing more than a typical Martian boulder. 2. Something shiny In 2012 the Curiosity rover captured a small shiny object somewhere on Mars’ surface. Was it a fragment of alien spacecraft, or a piece of leftover currency? Well, according to NASA scientists the object is merely a part of the Red Planet’s typical geological make-up. It’s no doubt worth a few dollars on eBay, though. 1. Hunk of metal What’s this hunk of metal doing on Mars? It was unearthed by the Curiosity rover in 2013, and when it was published Flickr users tried to enhance it to discover what it was. It’s suggested however, that the object could merely be a fragment of a meteorite or – even more disappointingly – a trick of the light. source: | 0 |
Environment and Energy Policy research fellow at the Heartland Institute, H. Sterling Burnett, spoke with Breitbart News Daily SiriusXM host Alex Marlow on Tuesday regarding President Trump’s position on the Paris Climate Agreement. The Heartland Institute has called for the United States to withdraw. [The press release reads in part: The Paris Climate Treaty puts America last, the exact opposite of what candidate Trump and now President Trump has promised. The treaty would require the United States to make massive reductions in emissions and pay billions of dollars in ‘climate reparations’ to Third World dictators, while requiring no emission cuts from developing countries including India and China. Why should the United States pay hundreds of billions of dollars to developing countries at a time when the U. S. government is running massive debts, when economic growth is slower for a longer period of time than at any time since the Great Depression, and when American workers are losing out to workers in China and India? Burnett said Wednesday, “Trump rightly said he was going to withdraw from this, but … there are two factions in the White House. There are those like Scott Pruitt, head of the EPA, like Steve Bannon, his adviser, that say keep your campaign promise. Withdraw from the Paris Climate agreement. Let America grow. ” “But then there’s the other faction,” he continued, “that’s led by Rex Tillerson, who has a lot of influence … as secretary of state, who said we should stay in the agreement. It’s led by his daughter and Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner. … She wants to make climate change her signature issue. So he’s got powerful interests trying to keep him in the agreement, saying not [to] leave it as it is, but renegotiate it. Cut a better deal. ” “Problem is, there are no terms within the treaty to cut a better deal. You’re not allowed within the treaty to cut a better deal. And the worst problem is, is there’s no better deal to be had, in the sense that if you’re forcing America to cut its emissions, you’re having big government intervene in the economy,” he concluded. Breitbart News Daily airs on SiriusXM Patriot 125 weekdays from 6:00 a. m. to 9:00 a. m. Eastern. | 1 |
The Governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, has told MPs that leaving the European Union (EU) is not the biggest threat to financial stability in Britain, and that Brexit actually poses a bigger risk to the continent than it does to the UK. [He said “I am not saying there are not financial stability risks in the UK … but there are greater short term risks on the continent in the transition than there are in the UK” reports the Daily Telegraph. This constitutes a substantial for the Goldman Sachs alumnus, who argued during that referendum that voting to leave the EU could hit growth and tip the country into a technical recession. Following the vote, however, the UK economy has performed strongly. Growth in the construction, services, and manufacturing sectors are at and highs, respectively, according to the purchasing managers indices (PMIs) for each sector. PMIs are among the leading indicators for the economic health of a country. Ewen Stewart, a director at the Global Britain think tank and leading Scottish economist, welcomed Carney’s apparent change of heart, telling Breitbart London he was “baffled” by the central bank’s gloomy forecasts. “The risks of Brexit do indeed lie with the EU and not the UK … because of the inherent contradictions within the Eurozone,” he confirmed. “The EU have far more to lose than the UK, especially as it becomes ever more apparent that the UK is well positioned to strike free trade deals with the US, Australia, and other regions. ” Andrew Haldane, the Bank of England’s chief economist, has described the Bank’s inaccurate forecasts as a “Michael Fish” moment, recalling the BBC weatherman’s infamous dismissal of a hurricane prediction hours before the Great Storm of 1987 struck Britain. Richard Tice, of the Leave Means Leave campaign, told Breitbart London that Carney was simply “catching up with what we Brexiteers knew all along”. “The UK will thrive, we have the upper hand and nothing to fear. He should offer to resign given his woeful forecasting track record. ” | 1 |
November 18, 2016
Prime Minister David Cameron has hailed the success of his Big Society programme, citing the example of South Oxhey Community Choir, which has been appointed to take control of all policing and crime issues in the area.
Mr Cameron says: ‘The Big Society is about giving control of public services back to community groups and charities. What these local activists lack in experience, funding, training and competence they more than make up for with enthusiasm and their own gardening tools.’
Robert Fette, the Musical Director of the Choir says, ‘We were actually bidding to run an after-schools music project for 8-16 year olds. But beggars can’t be choosers, so we’re going to combine our challenging programme of Tippet, Purcell and Britten with upholding law and order, detecting the perpetrators of serious crime and the random kettling of student protestors.’
During one busy evening last week, a desperate 999 call redirected to the choir saw the tenors despatched to a local warehouse, where an abortive burglary had resulted in a security guard being held hostage by a desperate drug-addicted gunman. After the choristers used old police loud hailers to sing a couple of verses of ‘Stand By Me’, the gunman gave himself up. He has been promised that he can sing ‘Smack My Bitch Up’ in next month’s hugely anticipated community concert.
‘Our busy rehearsal schedule means that we cannot spend as much time as we would like preparing statements when cases come to trial, but at least our evidence is presented with a vibrant and ever-changing accompaniment of pop, gospel, classical and world music that certainly brightens up court proceedings.’
Elsewhere in the district, South Oxhey Cat Rescue has won control of the Meals on Wheels service previously provided by the council. Ms Moira Finnegan, who heads up South Oxhey Cat Rescue, says: ‘This is very exciting. Obviously it means the elderly will have to eat tinned cat food, but the way the cuts were shaping up, that was bound to happen anyway.’
However, it is not all good news for Mr Cameron. The case against the gunman in the Oxhey warehouse siege collapsed after the judge in the case suspended the trial and went home to watch television. Judge Shanika Thompson, aged 9, said she was bored of volunteering to be a judge and asked if she could go back to being school library monitor instead. Share this story...
Posted: Nov 18th, 2016 by Fin Robertson Click for more article by Fin Robertson .. More Stories about: From The Archives 1 | 0 |
BEIRUT, Lebanon — Russian airstrikes helped the Syrian government and allied forces seize critical territory on the outskirts of the divided northern city of Aleppo on Monday, tightening a siege of territory there as Russian and American officials joined meetings said to be aimed at hashing out access for humanitarian aid to the city. Intensifying battles raged across several fronts in Syria’s multisided war, signaling that the combatants were seeking to press their advantage on the ground either to bypass the talks or strengthen their position at the table. The siege of parts of Aleppo had been on Sunday. Islamic State militants claimed a series of bombings that killed at least 40 people in four cities across Syria on Monday — two cities held by the Syrian government and two held by Syrian Kurdish militias. The largest and most unusual attack was in Tartus, a coastal city that had been so calm that the Syrian Ministry of Tourism recently put out a promotional video showing its Mediterranean beaches. The attack in Tartus struck a checkpoint along a highway that runs from the coastal areas, where support for the government is strong, to the Syrian capital, Damascus, connecting a string of major cities that the government has made it a priority to control. An initial blast was followed a few minutes later by another, apparently an attempt to target rescue workers. Around the same time on Monday morning, blasts went off in a area in the central city of Homs and in two cities, Qamishli and Hasakeh, in the northeast. The bombs in the Kurdish areas were quickly claimed by the Islamic State’s media agency, Amaq. Those bombings occurred after major setbacks for the Islamic State, which on Sunday was pushed from its last footholds along the Turkish border by Turkish forces and Syrian rebels backed by Turkey and the United States. The changes have denied the Islamic State a key supply and transportation corridor while allowing Turkey to block the establishment of a Kurdish semiautonomous zone there. They have also given a lift to Syrian rebels eager to show they can help international efforts against the Islamic State. But the changes sent American officials scrambling to mend fences with the Syrian Kurdish militias, which also receive American assistance against the Islamic State. The State Department said Brett H. McGurk, the United States envoy to the region, had visited forces in northern Syria recently and given assurances that American support was still strong. But he also issued a warning that the Kurds must abide by commitments to remain east of the Euphrates River. West of the river, Syrian rebels and their Turkish backers now control an area that Turkey has long coveted as a buffer zone, where displaced Syrians, protected from aerial bombing, could gather instead of flowing into Turkey. Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, declared Monday at the Group of 20 summit meeting in China that he had proposed to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia and President Obama that a zone be established there. But similar requests by Turkey have been put off before. Diplomats played down the chances that Russia and the United States would agree even on a limited truce in Aleppo, let alone a more ambitious plan. In Lebanon on Monday, a Lebanese military court indicted two Syrian government intelligence officers accused of setting off twin bomb blasts at Sunni mosques in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli in 2013. The ruling said the officers, identified by Lebanon’s National News Agency as Muhammad Ali Ali and Nasser Jubaan, had acted on orders from superiors in the Syrian security hierarchy. | 1 |
Teachers’ unions are cheering the news that New York state education officials have killed off a literacy test which successfully revealed that almost a third of candidate teachers cannot meet standards. [Members of the New York state Board of Regents voted on Monday to eliminate the literacy exam which revealed the prospective teachers’ poor reading and writing skills, saying the controversial test is “flawed” and that it puts Latino and teacher applicants at an unfair disadvantage. Advocates of testing said the decision to kill the literacy test will lower teaching standards, especially for minority students in the city. “Eliminating the [test just] to increase the number of unqualified, unprepared Black and Latino prospective teachers is the most racist and destructive action taken under the guise of diversifying NY’s teachers,” said Mona Davids, President of the New York City Parents Union, adding: We, Black and Latino parents, do not want teachers who cannot pass a basic literacy test. We don’t care about the color or race of the teacher, we want highly effective teachers teaching our children. “It’s alarming because we’ve now abandoned or watered down the teacher evaluation process, and now we’re lowering the bar for entry certification as well,” said Charles Sahm, Director of Education policy at the Conservative think tank Manhattan Institute. “It is deeply disappointing that the Regents and State Education Department are lowering the bar for teacher literacy skills and astonishing that there has been virtually no public discussion of the potential impact on student learning,” said Ian Rosenblum, the Executive Director of Education York, a advocacy organization that promotes high academic achievement for students of color and students. “We should be focusing on ensuring that prospective teachers receive the support they need in teacher preparation programs rather than weakening the teacher certification standards that can help ensure students have equitable access to strong educators,” he said. The Academic Literacy Skills Test, one of the four exams aspiring teachers in New York must take to become certified, was introduced in 2013 to ensure teachers had strong language skills and to assess the ability to master the Common Core standards for English. Considered the hardest exam out of the four, it found that 32 percent of aspiring teachers statewide failed the test — even though it was passed by teachers who just met English standards. The exam began to draw controversy when data from the State Education Department showed that only 41 percent of black and 46 percent of Hispanic passed on the first try, compared to 64 percent of white test takers. This disparate result also cut the pool of eligible teaching candidates by 20 percent in just one year. State officials defended their vote to let the least literate teachers into classrooms. “We’re not getting rid of literacy, so let’s dispel that right now,” said Kathleen Cashin, who chairs the board committee. “Just because the word ‘literacy’ is on the test doesn’t mean it’s a good test, does it? And if it’s not a good test, our students [teachers] shouldn’t be subjected to it. ” Cashin added, “It’s just that if you have a flawed test, does that raise standards or does that lower standards?” State Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia also supported the Board of Regents’s removal of the test. “The Regents and I continue to seek out expert advice from educators, parents and the public as we make important policy decisions,” Elia said, adding: In this case, the experts and practitioners have suggested changes to our certification requirements that will help support teacher candidates and ensure students are taught by teachers while helping to address the national teacher shortage at the same time. New York’s teaching certification requirements remain some of the most rigorous in the country, requiring the vast majority of teaching candidates to pass three assessments before earning certification. To replace the ALST, the New York State Education Department recommending on modifying one of the three remaining exams, the Educating All Students (EAS) test to “assesses both students’ ability to teach a diverse population and also their literacy skills. ” Since the federal ruling which supported the test, the Board of Regents, a powerful panel that sets education policy for New York, established an edTPA Task Force in 2016 to review issues with the teacher certification exams. According to, The Task Force subsequently complained about “the cost of the exam, the ongoing need for the exam in light of the other required exams and the total number of exams required for certification. ” Despite the 2015 ruling and findings from the Task Force that found no racial bias, members of the Task Force still claim the ALST exam has caused a shortage of minority teachers. “Having a white workforce really doesn’t match our student body anymore,” Leslie Soodak, a professor at Pace University, who also serves as a member of the Task Force. “We want high standards, without a doubt. Not every given test is going to get us there. ” New York education leaders defended killing the test. “The changes we advanced today strike the right balance for both teachers and students,” Board of Regents Chancellor Betty A. Rosa said in a statement. “Candidates for certification will still be required to demonstrate their teaching skills and knowledge before entering the classroom. At the same time, we are eliminating costly and unnecessary testing requirements that create unfair obstacles to certification for many applicants. ” According to the Albany Rosa slammed the critics who are critical of the changes, calling it “insulting. ” “We’ve got individuals out there who don’t even know what this [literacy] test looks like,” Rosa said. “The only thing they know is they hear the word ‘literacy’ and they don’t realize these people are going through a bachelor’s degree, English classes, writing classes. Getting a degree and all of that stuff becomes negated, and it’s so insulting that people make this an issue without having the complete story. ” “The changes adopted by the Regents will, when fixed, fix some of the worst problems associated with the botched of edTPA and testing for aspiring teachers while maintaining high standards for those students who wish to enter the profession,” the teacher union said in a statement. “Eliminating the duplicative Academic Literacy Skills Test (ALST) — are pluses for students, and we support these changes. ” Advocates for better education were not mollified by the promise of from the advocates. “The Regents eliminating the ALST is again putting the interests of adults before our children,” Davids said. “By lowering the bar for prospective teachers to please the teachers union and diploma mills, Schools of Education, the Regents is completely destroying the futures of Black and Latino students. The majority of students do not read, write or do math at grade level and we need teachers who are literate and effective. ” “It is important that we increase the share of black and Hispanic teachers, and we certainly don’t have enough here or anywhere, Sahm said. “I don’t think this is the way to go. This is a literacy exam. If you’re going to be a teacher in New York state, this is a criterion you should be able to meet. ” | 1 |
thomas koch / Shutterstock.com
Turkey is restless. President Erdogan is consolidating his power, trying to get rid of Parliament’s bothersome interference. He intends to reformat Turkey into a presidential republic, assuming the powers of an American president. He wants to be a Caliph, the people in Istanbul jest, and call him “Sultan Erdogan”. And the failed July coup has been used as the pretext for a huge purge in the power structure. However, the result may be better than many observers expect.
That much I learned during my visit to Turkey, where I was given an opportunity to meet Turkish members of parliament, ministers and chief editors of the major mass media. I expected the failed coup belongs to history, but I was mistaken.
Its shadow lays heavily on everyday events in the country. I was shown the debris in the parliament, where a bomb dropped by the putschists fell; there is a photo exhibition showing previous successful military coups with a horrible picture of President Menderes on the gallows. The Turkish coups weren’t vegetarian. The army intented to keep power for itself and for its NATO allies.
The July coup caused death of 240 people, half of them killed at the Bosporus bridge in a confrontation with the army. It is not much compared with the successful coup in Egypt, where the victims were counted in the thousands; and where the army defeated the legitimately elected moderate-Islamist President Morsi.
After the coup, Erdogan began the purge of Gulenists, or Fethullists, as they call the followers of Fethullah Gülen, the father of moderate Turkish political Islam and the creator of the vast school network reaching 160 countries. They were supposed to be the initiators of the coup. It is not really clear whether Gülen and his followers were behind the coup, but they are definitely enemies of Erdogan.
The purge is not bloody but painful: the purged Gulenists aren’t shot, but they lose their jobs and often land in jail. Some seventy or eighty thousand men have been purged, 35,000 are imprisoned. They are judges, army officers, officials and many teachers. 500 persons have been purged from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, some of them refusing to return home when called back. The state of emergency had been declared right after the coup and it was extended a few days ago for an additional three months.
Such emergency justice is notoriously blind: one judge died three months before the coup, but he still was purged for his participation in the coup. Some companies belonging to Gulenists had their assets confiscated, while their obligations and debts remained with their dispossessed owners. It is difficult to defend oneself against such moot accusations as Gulenism.
The Turks answer with a salubrious joke referring to ‘blind justice’: “A blind man screws whomever he can catch”.
The government claims that the Gulenists formed a conspiratorial organisation called FETO, and described it as “a terrorist organisation.” They compare it to Daesh (ISIS), to the Medellin Cartel and (surprise!) to the Jesuits.
However, it is hard to comprehend in what way the Gulenists were terrorists. The worst thing they are accused of is fraudulently obtaining examination tickets for the civil service and thus securing good positions for their followers. This is surely not cricket, but hardly an act of terror.
How can one unmask a Gulenist? This is not an easy task, but there are a few cues to revealing a crypto-Gulenist.
Users of the ByLock messenger system are suspicious. This amateur messenger had been popular with Gülen followers and with some people implicated in the coup. One hundred fifty thousand users of ByLock are being screened. This messenger system had been hacked by the state security services some time ago, for it was very light on security. Afterwards, the plotters switched to the professional WhatsApp messenger. That one offered good security, but it was enough to seize a smartphone of one plotter to gain access to the rest.
Another way to unmask a crypto-Gulenist is to locate the one dollar bill a follower of Gülen received from his guru. I was told by a member of parliament that a true Gulenist often sews his one dollar bill into his underwear, close to his skin.
This idea has been pioneered by Lubawitscher Rebbe of the Chabad Hassids. The late Menachem Mendel Schneersohn also gave away dollar bills and even blessed vodka for his Hassids’ consumption. He conversed with God, and so did Gülen – according to his followers and adversaries. Hassids also tried to obtain influence, with considerable success – but they were never called “terrorists.”
Gülen had been, and remains a very powerful figure in the Turkic-speaking world, especially in the ex-USSR and China, from Tatarstan and Yakutia to Sinkiang (Xinjiang). Youths from Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan studied in his schools as well. The Gülen movement had been considered the leading moderate pro-Western branch of political Islam. Practically all modern Islamists of Turkey passed through his schools. He was the most important ally of Erdogan in his uphill fight against the violently secular Kemalists who ruled Turkey until 2002.
It is being said that the Kemalists were quite pro-American, but they refused to privatise public assets. Erdogan and Gülen were equally pro-American, and they accepted the idea of massive privatisation and sale of assets to American and other Western companies. Much of Turkish wealth is now in the foreign hands, and this is what inhibits Erdogan’s U-turn towards Russia.
While Erdogan and Gülen were friends and partners, Gülen helped Erdogan cut the secular and all-powerful army generals down to size. His followers, well established in the legal branch of government, organised the Ergenikon affair. They had claimed to have discovered a vast ultra-nationalist terrorist conspiracy called Ergenikon and sent 43 generals and many politicians to jail. Erdogan was amazed by this feat of Gülen, amazed and frightened, as this old man from Pennsylvania apparently controlled the legal system of the Republic from police to attorneys to courts. ORDER IT NOW
Indeed Erdogan had good reason to be afraid. In 2013, Gülen demanded that Erdogan let him fill one hundred seats in the Parliament, and when he was refused, he unleashed his legal machine upon his old buddy. In December 2013 Gülen followers in the police and the attorney general office accused the Erdogan government ministers of corruption. Among the accused there was Bilal, Erdogan’s son, and personal friends of Erdogan.
Instead of trying to refute the accusations and argue the cases in courts, Erdogan described the accusations as “an attempted coup.” He went to people, traveled the country, appealed to the masses, and the masses supported him. He forced the police and the courts to close the cases, and began his de-Gulenisation of Turkey.
For people brought up with the concept of Supremacy of Law, this feels like a travesty of the normal order of things. However, the Law is not better than the Legislative or the Executive, it is less democratic, it is less connected to an ordinary citizen, it is more connected to the real power of money. In the US, there is no Gülen or Gulenists, but the judges beginning in the Supreme Court can disregard the people’s will as we observed when they pushed for same-sex marriages or for the right of corporations to buy candidates. They are the Deep State, so their uprooting is not bad an idea.
Yes, we want justice, but we want democracy, too. Once, the US judges were all elected, all connected to the people, but not anymore. In Turkey, Gülen had been too successful in promoting his people to legal positions; he had lost the people’s support. And the Turks were ready to forgive Erdogan even some very real corruption: they felt he cared for the people, while Gülen and his followersdid not. For the legal system, corruption is a crime, and a corrupt politician must go to jail. If a politician is not corrupt, he can be sentenced for an indecent proposal to a woman. Thus the legal system has the power to block any politician, to override the political democratic process. Erdogan succeeded in overriding the legal system.
After his victory in December 2013, Erdogan accused Gülen and his followers of having created Ergenekon affair and arresting many innocent people. Generals and politicians regained freedom.
In Ankara, I’ve met a leader of the Republican Kemalist parliamentary faction, Mustafa Ali Balbai. This handsome, wiry, muscular European-looking (as many Turks do) man did five years in jail for his alleged involvement in Ergenekon conspiracy. He was elected to parliament while still a prisoner, and lately had been freed. “Now the judges who sentenced me are in jail themselves”, he said cheerfully.
Did the Ergenekon plot exist at all? I asked the chief editor of CNN Turk, a powerful network, that played the key role in neutralisation of the July coup. “There was a core of a plot, a tiny core, and it was blown into a monster that it never was”, he said. In other words, there was a conspiracy, but a conspiracy of judges and of security services, the most frequent sort of conspiracy.
As for present purges of alleged Gulenists, one number tells a lot about its extent. The Ankara police had received forty thousand tips denouncing various Gulenists, I was told on my arrival to the capital of Turkey. Wives denounce unfaithful husbands, landlords denounce tenants who are in arrears. It became a universal accusation; naturally the police are not arresting everybody, but a lot of people have been called in for investigation. This campaign reminds of McCarthy’s campaign in the US, or the campaign against Trotskyites in the USSR of 1930s.
For some people, the purge is not consistent enough. An editor of a small newspaper, let’s call him Mehmet, told me: “If they were to purge all followers of Gülen, they would have no party and no Parliament faction. All the party bosses and all ministers passed through Gülen’s network. They purge only small people, the big ones escape the purge.”
However, there is no doubt, Erdogan takes the purge very seriously, as he did the Ergenekon conspiracy purge five years ago. He does not want to have Gülen standing behind his back ready to plunge a dagger in, and he prefers to completely remove completely that network, extensive as it was. Erdogan says that the July coup was the second, while the previous one was the attempt to use police and court in December 2013 against him and his family.
Turkey’s relations with Russia and with the US are directly connected with the story of the two coups. I visited Turkey right after Putin’s October 2016 visit, when the two leaders agreed to proceed with the very important gas pipeline, and completed the last, or the most recent stretch of their zigzagging relations.
The Erdogan-Putin friendship suffered an unexpectedly strong setback in November 2015, when a Russian SU-24 jet was downed by an air-to-air missile fired by a Turkish jet over Syria. Relations were severed, Russian tourists ceased to arrive, Turkish vegetables lost their Russian market, oil and gas projects were shelved.
In June 2016, there was another zigzag. Erdogan sent his apologies, and the relations turned better before the July coup. Possibly this step of Erdogan actually triggered the attempted coup. After the coup, it was roses all the way. In August, Erdogan visited Russia and met with Putin. This was his first trip abroad after the coup. And now, in October, Putin came to Istanbul and signaled that their relations were as cordial as ever. Even the gas pipeline project was signed, putting paid to the only leverage Kiev had on Moscow. ORDER IT NOW
The Gulenists were useful here, as well: the downing of the SU-24 has been attributed to them, though previously Ahmet Davutoglu, the Prime Minister, claimed he ordered it. On the other hand, Davutoglu was close to Gülen and even visited him in 2013, but then, Gülen was still a persona grata in Turkey. It was alleged Davutoglu was being groomed to assume power in case of the coup’s success.
So why did Turkey turn to Russia and away from the US, its old senior partner? Mehmet, the editor, ascribes this move to Erdogan’s well-developed self-preservation instinct.
It appears that the American administration decided to ditch the unruly Erdogan some time ago, and install Gülen’s man Ahmet Davutoglu in his stead. A leading American neocon expert on Turkey, Michael Rubin, had demanded Erdogan’s head for quite a while. In March 2016 he called for a coup, in August 2016 he said Erdogan should blame himself for the coup, and now in October he predicted , or rather called for another coup.
The new putsch is expected on November 10 or thereabout, and it will begin with Erdogan’s assassination, it being said. Erdogan considers his partnership with Russia and friendship with Putin give him his only chance to survive politically.
The Americans are upset by Erdogan’s attitude to the Syrian Kurds. The Turkish president cares about preserving Turkey, the rump state of the vast Ottoman empire intact, while the Americans prefer to dismantle Turkey altogether, and create a Great Kurdistan from the mainly Kurd-populated areas of Turkey, Iraq and Syria.
The Americans would like the Syrian Kurds to unite their enclaves, but Erdogan does not agree and actually stopped their offensive.
Now the battle for Mosul is a new point of disagreement. Turkey, says Erdogan, has certain rights on Mosul. The city and its area had been illegally seized by the British, the Turks say. Mustafa Kemal Ataturk tentatively agreed with Mosul being given to Iraq only in 1926, well after the Treaty of Lausanne (1923). And now Erdogan objects to Mosul being taken from the Daesh and transferred to the Kurds. The people of Mosul are also far from happy about the perspective of passing to Kurds or to the predominantly Shia government in Baghdad.
In the struggle for Mosul and for Aleppo, in the battles between Kurdish enclaves in Syria, Erdogan goes against the will of the US. The problem is that there aren’t many important Turkish leaders who are ready to stand up to Washington. The Kemalist opposition and the Gulenist forces prefer to accept the American line, more or less.
If Erdogan loses in a power struggle, Turkey may collapse into a civil war: between Turks and Kurds, between various Muslim movements and Kemalists. This was the purpose of the July coup, I was told by Ali Mustafa Balbai, the Republican MP.
It is not an easy time, for sure. The Turkish lira went south. The agenda has been changed: once, Taksim square demonstrated against Erdogan, now they demonstrate against the overwhelming presence of Syrian and Iraqi refugees. Not only the European Right: Turkey also feels there are too many refugees. They are afraid the battle for Mosul will force the two millions inhabitants of that city into Turkey.
And the demonstrators are different. It is ordinary people who demonstrate against the influx of Syrians, while the educated and Westernised Turks demonstrated against Erdogan. The latter are quite unhappy and discuss whether they have a future in Turkey. The political class is unhappy, too. They do not cherish the authoritarian rule of Sultan Erdogan. Gulenists are extremely displeased. The generals are still reassessing their positions after so many purges. And the long-standing dispute between the secular and religious populations goes on unabated.
While the US has a definite idea which way should Turkey should go, its competitor, Russia, just does not care about Turkish internal politics. Or about anybody’s else internal politics. The Americans under Obama, and presumably even more under Clinton are likely to interfere; to impose their rules from swimming suits to same-sex marriages. The Russians do not interfere.
This is their tradition since the times immemorial. They did not interfere into private life of Uzbeks and Tajiks, and Chechens, and Finns, and Poles. That’s why inside Russia one can find areas ruled by Muslim law, by Buddhist tradition and even by sheer polytheist custom.
For the Russians, Erdogan is a valuable partner, and they let him – and other Turks – decide whether they should have a parliamentary or a presidential republic and whether girls should go in a scarf or without. You may be sure the Russians will not teach them what to do in their private life. This is a big advantage of having the Russians for allies.
We shall see whether having such good allies is enough in order to survive. Much is hanging upon the US elections: Erdogan was furious when Ms. Clinton referred to Kurd ambitions. But then, the whole world waits for the decision of the American people.
Israel Shamir can be reached at ORDER IT NOW | 0 |
Say you’re shopping at a farmer’s market in Rome, and you’d like to pick up some nice, ripe watermelon. The signs at some stands call it “anguria” others say “cocomero” or “melone d’acqua. ” Why so many different words for the same fruit? Because in their daily lives, many Italians don’t speak Italian. That is, they don’t shop or chat or argue in standard Italian, the kind that is studied in school and heard on the news. They use one of the country’s hundreds of local dialects, each with its own quirks of pronunciation, inflection and vocabulary. “You call it watermelon in New York, and that would be ‘anguria’ in Italian,” said Tino Mattiussi, a owner of a fruit and vegetable stand in the colorful Campo de’ Fiori market in central Rome. “But here, everyone knows it as ‘cocomero,’ so I wrote what people understand better. ” A few stands away, Mauro Ranucci had a different approach. “We advertise it as ‘anguria,’ as that is Italian,” he said firmly. “At least, that’s how people call it in the north. ” When a southerner once asked him for a “melone d’acqua,” Mr. Ranucci said, it took him a minute to realize what he meant. “We all speak Italian with strong regional connotations, even if the discrepancies are minor,” said Giovanni Ronco, vice director of the Italian Linguistic Atlas. “No other country has so many linguistic differences in such a limited space. ” For centuries, Italy was a fragmented patchwork of thousands of small, insular communities. When the country unified in 1861, 90 percent of the population was illiterate and spoke only the local tongue. They are called Italian dialects, Mr. Ronco said, but many of these tongues are really separate languages, descended directly from Latin. That helps account for the many names for familiar things, even within a single region. An anchovy is an “alice” in some parts of southern Italy, for example, but an “acciuga” in others. Neighboring dialects may be similar, but people from opposite ends of Italy — say, Sicily and Lombardy — might struggle to understand what the other said. Only in the 1950s, when televisions began to appear in bars and homes, did many ordinary Italians around the country start to hear the same standard language being spoken it’s based on the Florentine dialect, which was used in the former royal courts and in many great works of literature. Now, most people know standard Italian as well as their local dialect — which sometimes necessitates thinking twice about what to call a fruit. “It’s not a big problem, after all,” Mr. Ranucci said as he offered a customer a yellow and dark red peach. “If we don’t understand each other, we just gesticulate. ” | 1 |
It was not true in 2011, when Donald J. Trump mischievously began to question President Obama’s birthplace aloud in television interviews. “I’m starting to think that he was not born here,” he said at the time. It was not true in 2012, when he took to Twitter to declare that “an ‘extremely credible source’” had called his office to inform him that Mr. Obama’s birth certificate was “a fraud. ” It was not true in 2014, when Mr. Trump invited hackers to “please hack Obama’s college records (destroyed?) and check ‘place of birth. ’” It was never true, any of it. Mr. Obama’s citizenship was never in question. No credible evidence ever suggested otherwise. Yet it took Mr. Trump five years of dodging, winking and joking to surrender to reality, finally, on Friday, after a remarkable campaign of relentless deception that tried to undermine the legitimacy of the nation’s first black president. In fact, it took Mr. Trump much longer than that: Mr. Obama released his birth certificate from the Hawaii Department of Health in 2008. Most of the world moved on. But not Mr. Trump. He nurtured the conspiracy like a poisonous flower, watering and feeding it with an ardor that still baffles and embarrasses many around him. Mr. Trump called up sowers of the same corrosive rumor, asking them for advice on how to take a falsehood and make it mainstream in 2011, as he weighed his own run for the White House. “What can we do to get to the bottom of this?” Mr. Trump asked Joseph Farah, an author who has long labored on the fringes of political life. “What can we do to turn the tide?” What he could do — and what he did do — was talk about it, uninhibitedly, on social media, where dark rumors flourish in bursts and, inevitably, find a home with those who have no need for facts and whose suspicions can never be allayed. And he mused about it on television, where bright lights and sparse editing ensure that millions can hear falsehoods unchallenged by . “Why doesn’t he show his birth certificate?” Mr. Trump asked on ABC’s “The View. ” “I want to see his birth certificate,” he told Fox News’s “On the Record. ” And so it went. The essential question — Why promote a lie? — may be unanswerable. Was it sport? Was it his lifelong quest to court media attention? Was it racism? Was it the cynical start of his eventual campaign for president? It might not matter. He kept doing it, even as his most senior aides assured the public that he had long since abandoned the fallacy. He had not. He was disingenuous until the very end, telling a Washington Post reporter just 72 hours before that he was unready to concede the president’s place of birth. But he treated the weighty topic, as he does so much else, like a television cliffhanger, promising a major declaration on Friday. And then, around 11 a. m. Friday in Washington, he gave up the lie. But he conjured up a bizarre new deception, congratulating himself for putting to rest the doubts about Mr. Obama that he had fanned since 2011. “I finished it,’’ he declared, unapologetically. “President Obama was born in the United States — period. ’’ Surrounded by, and in many ways shielded by, decorated veterans in his new Washington hotel, he could not resist indulging in another falsehood — that his opponent, Hillary Clinton, had started the birther movement. She did not. Much has been made of Mr. Trump’s casual elasticity with the truth he has exhausted an army of with his mischaracterizations, exaggerations and fabrications. But this lie was different from the start, an insidious, calculated calumny that sought to undo the embrace of an president by the 69 million voters who elected him in 2008. In the end, it seemed, Mr. Trump’s plot to diminish Mr. Obama did not succeed. On Friday, the president of the United States seemed much bigger. “I was pretty confident about where I was born,” Mr. Obama said from the White House, a wry smile crossing his face. “I think most people were as well. ’’ And the president had this to say about the myth heedlessly spread by the man seeking to replace him: “My hope would be that the presidential election reflects more serious issues than that. ” | 1 |
Dan Weber, founder of the Association of Mature American Citizens (AMAC) talked with Breitbart News Daily SiriusXM host Alex Marlow on Thursday regarding his impressions of the current GOP Obamacare replacement bill. [Said Weber, “What I like about the bill is the positive step in lowering the cost of health care. ” Weber also said he believes the bill will “bring the free market back into play with health care. ” Breitbart News Daily airs on SiriusXM Patriot 125 weekdays from 6:00 a. m. to 9:00 a. m. Eastern. | 1 |
Posted on November 6, 2016 It seems the more 'connected' people become via technology, the more isolated they become in real life. Credit: Jean Jullien
There is no shortage of artwork depicting the influence technology has had on people and their relationships. The main takeaway from all collections is that while technology is great for numerous reasons, it does have its downsides. Tools, such as the internet, might connect groups of like-minded people, but overused, it may also result in individuals cutting themselves off from real life and, in effect, feeling lonely and isolated.
It’s this reality artist French illustrator Jean Jullien seeks to highlight with his witty illustrations. Best known for creating the “Peace for Paris” symbol which has become a worldwide sign of solidarity with France after the frightful attacks which took place earlier this year, the artist is also well-known for mocking peoples’ obsession with technology .
One only need review the thought-provoking illustrations below to get a sense of what Jullien hopes to convey. While technology is great, nothing can beat genuine, face-to-face interaction with others. After all, life isn’t meant to be lived from behind a phone or a computer screen. #1 Weirdo On The Subway Credit: Jean Jullien | 0 |
LONDON — Who knew that déjà vu could smell this fresh all over again? On paper, the happy new musical “Groundhog Day,” which opened on Tuesday night at the Old Vic Theater here, seemed like one of those shows that elicit instant groans of “been there, done that” among jaded theatergoers. For starters, “Groundhog Day” is based on a film about someone (a jaded someone, just like you, groaners of little faith) becoming caught in time and being forced to relive the same day over and over and over again. Which feels like dangerous ground for a musical that is the latest in a long, sporadically successful line of musicals based on popular movies that hardly seemed to require song sheets to fulfill their inner nature. In other words, would audiences for “Groundhog Day” feel they were reliving their traumatic memories of recent clunkers like “Rocky,” based on Sylvester Stallone’s 1976 flick about an underdog boxer, or “Ghost,” a reworking of the 1990 flick about an underdog dead man? More scary portents: “Groundhog Day” stars Andy Karl (who played the title role in the musical “Rocky”) and is directed by Matthew Warchus (who did the same, er, honors, on “Ghost”). Yet much in the manner of its improbable romantic “Twilight Zone” style plot, “Groundhog Day” seems guaranteed to have the skeptics waving (and using) white handkerchiefs long before its final curtain, while transforming Mr. Karl into the musical star he has long deserved to be. Featuring a creative team that includes the book writer Danny Rubin (who wrote the “Groundhog Day” screenplay with Harold Ramis) and the songwriter Tim Minchin (the fabulous “Matilda the Musical”) this bright whirligig of a show is a shrewd juggler of contradictions. It is cool (as in hip) and warm (as in cuddly) it is spiky and sentimental. And it transforms its perceived weaknesses into strengths in ways that should disarm even veteran . You know that whole element of the plot, wherein everything is repeated ad infinitum? Isn’t that what often drives you crazy about musicals, having to listen to the same damn melodies and watch the same dance steps over and over? Well, Mr. Warchus and company know all about those fears and make cunningly sadistic use of them. As we watch our hero, the professionally snarky weather reporter Phil Connors (Mr. Karl) having to the same events, the claustrophobia is heightened by his being surrounded by a chorus forever moving and musicalizing in the same monotonously, relentlessly peppy styles. “Aargh!” you think. “Somebody please get me out of this musical, stat!” Except only a part of you feels that way, because Mr. Karl is doing the suffering for you, in a manner that makes you both root for his deliverance and hope he’s stuck forever in purgatory (partly because he deserves to be, but partly because he’s so entertaining in limbo). About Phil’s special quandary: It’s the same as it was in the 1993 movie, one of the most unlikely to become a popular hit, which was directed by Mr. Ramis and starred Bill Murray as Phil. As in the film, Phil, a weatherman, is sent on assignment to Punxsutawney, Pa. on Feb. 2 to witness the annual appearance of the town’s resident groundhog. Phil feels nothing but contempt for the ritual, the town and everyone who celebrates it. He is to Groundhog Day what Scrooge is to Christmas but with a greater appetite for partying. Anyway, after a of reliving and rearranging that single day, and behaving as badly (and as hilariously) as eternity allows, Phil starts to wax philosophical and stop and smell the snowflakes and — could it be? — even be ready to take a chance on love with one Rita Hansen (Carlyss Peer in the part created by Andie MacDowell) the producer he initially dismissed as boring. “Aargh!” you think. “Somebody please get me out of this Hallmark card!” But for the most part, this production manages to balance the sweet and the sour to charming, effect, starting with Rob Howell’s slightly askew Americana set and costumes. As he demonstrated in his score (with Dennis Kelly) for “Matilda,” Mr. Minchin is an inspired mixmaster of darkness and brightness. Even this show’s early numbers, extolling the homespun virtues of life with harmonic “aahs” and folksy bluegrass chords, have a depressive undertow. And when Mr. Minchin feels like signaling angst, he brings on the electric guitars and vocals for Mr. Karl that bring to mind Michael Stipe losing his religion. Mr. Karl imbues Phil with all shades of sarcasm and kindness and what falls in between with equal conviction. If in “Rocky,” he seemed to be channeling Sylvester Stallone (and what choice did he have?) here he is by no means merely imitating Mr. Murray, which would have been a disaster. Instead, he’s translating the essence of Mr. Murray’s lazy dryness into the energy of musicals. He makes that transition so joyously and persuasively I did wonder what the show might be like without Mr. Karl. His supporting cast is all more than adequate, and they all sound convincingly American. But they lack the sort of vibrant individuality that Mr. Karl could use to make sparks with. This includes the attractive, willfully bland Ms. Peer as the producer, who essentially functions as straight woman to Mr. Karl’s antic joker. Her character, Rita, has been given some emotionally expansive solos (and duets) that hint at a quirkier soul within, and I kept thinking about what a more idiosyncratic actress could have done with the part. (Remember what Annaleigh Ashford made of the patient factory girl in “Kinky Boots”?) More could be made, too, of the solos of other Punxsutawney citizens, who express their own fears of treadmill lives. As it is, their numbers seem to float in at random (though I loved Phil’s trio with two moronic barflies). Peter Darling’s choreography still feels oddly unfinished, and the big sequence in the second act could definitely use sharpening and clarification. But even given those caveats, I grinned pretty much all the way through “Groundhog Day,” unexpectedly happy to be stuck with Phil in Punxsutawney (and please never make me spell that again). | 1 |
May 4 (UPI) — Leonard Fournette didn’t win the Heisman Trophy but he might have won Mother’s Day. [He hasn’t officially reached terms on his rookie deal yet, but the Jacksonville Jaguars running back wasted no time in gifting his mother. Fournette posted videos and photos on social media Thursday showing off his mom’s new prize: a white AMG GLE 63 S SUV. The former LSU star told his mom, Lory Fournette, that the car is a Mother’s Day gift. The 2017 AMG GLE65 S starts at $110, 650, according to the official website. Fournette, 22, is likely to see a contract similar to the one the Dallas Cowboys gave Ezekiel Elliott last year. Elliott was the No. 4 overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft. He received a $24. 9 million fully guaranteed deal last May. The deal also included a $16. 3 million signing bonus. Fournette was the No. 4 overall pick last Thursday and is expected to see a huge role in the offense this season. But the 2015 consensus isn’t the only draft pick in the giving mood. Former Clemson star quarterback Deshaun Watson gave his mom a 2017 Jaguar 35T last week. The Houston Texans traded up in the first round to snag Watson with the No. 12 overall pick. | 1 |
A sobering new Security Council ( SC ) analytical report on the US presidential election states that a new American Revolution has begun which today’s popular vote is just the beginning of; and that could fully last up to an entire decade, especially if this election is stolen from Donald Trump. [Note: Some words and/or phrases appearing in quotes in this report are English language approximations of Russian words/phrases having no exact counterpart.]
According to this report, Federation intelligence analysts in their “deciphering/uncovering” what the current US presidential election is really all about have heavily relied on “outliers” [a thing situated away or detached from the main body or system] such as artificial intelligence ( AI ) models, social media trends and psychological analysis of the American electorate.
This report notes that the Security Councils use of these “outliers” to both understand and explain what is occurring during this US presidential election provides the only proven scientific evidence of what is occurring as the so called polling data used by the American propaganda media has been proven to be nothing more than a manipulation device used to keep people from voting for or supporting the anti-establishment candidate Donald Trump.
Examples of this being true, this report explains, lie in too many examples to fully cite—but includes the once respected Monmouth University poll found manipulating data to favor Hillary Clinton , news networks NBC and CBS found manipulating polling data to show Hillary Clinton leading Donald Trump when she was actually losing , and CNN manipulating their poll data to favor Hillary Clinton too .
Unlike manipulated polling data showing Hillary Clinton will win this election, however, this report continues, the objective and independent scientific “outliers” used by Security Council research analysts show not only Donald Trump winning—but winning in a landslide victory.
Evidence proving this assertion of a Donald Trump US presidential win, this report notes, lies first with artificial intelligence analysis—that includes the MogIA supercomputer showing Trump winning in landslide and showing he is more popular than President Obama , and a just released AI computer simulation showing Trump winning with 289 electoral votes compared to Clinton’s 249 .
Social media trend lines in this election, likewise, proves a Donald Trump landslide win in this election, this report continues, as his Facebook-Twitter-Instagram-YouTube “presence” dwarfs Hillary Clinton’s by a staggering 74 million —and that is further validated by the over 700,000 Americans who have come to his campaign rallies, as opposed to the barely 60,000 that have attended Hillary Clinton’s .
Most fascinating though of the “outliers” used in this Security Council report is the psychological analysis of the American electorate conducted by a virtually unknown US political project called “ We Need Smith ”—whose scientifically conducted studies shockingly proved that anyone from a liberal Democrat, to a conservative Republican was able to win the US presidency as long as they promised to destroy the corrupt political system currently ruling America .
The “We Need Smith” project, this report explains, is named after a popular US Great Depression era movie called Mr. Smith Goes To Washington about a newly appointed United States Senator who fights against a corrupt political system—and that during this present US presidential election only Donald Trump and US Senator Bernie Sanders fit the mold of.
Critical to note about the “We Need Smith” project too, this report continues, is that it was co-founded by the legendary American pollster Patrick Caddell —who almost singlehandedly was responsible for putting President Jimmy Carter in office in 1976, but also presided over Carter’s unprecedented defeat in 1980 at the hands of the US establishments most hated candidate Ronald Reagan.
Seeking to understand how President Carter could go from victory to defeat in just 4 years, this report details, Patrick Caddell spent the past nearly 4 decades examining it—and coming to the scientific conclusion that the conventional wisdom that America is absolutely divided into warring tribes is simply not true, they are all just tired of being lied to .
In fact, this report continues, Caddell’s research proved that the American political battleground is no longer over ideology but instead is all about insurgency—and with a staggering 84% of the American public believing that the elites live by a different set of rules and laws than ordinary people do , anyone running against them is assured victory.
Interestingly to note too, this report says, is Caddell’s scientific analyses showing that the hatred of the American people towards their elites comes from both the left and right —and as evidenced by the equal explosive political movements known as Occupy Wall Street and the Tea Party insurgencies .
This report grimly concludes, however, with a warning that Soviet Communist leader Joseph Stalin’s attributed statement—“ Those who cast the votes decide nothing. Those who count the votes decide everything. ”—may, indeed, be active in the present US presidential election after newly released secret documents revealed that Hillary Clinton’s main supporter, multi-billionaire George Soros, has not only been manipulating the entire American election system , but one of his companies is, also, providing vote county software to 16 States ( they’ve since denied )—and that should Donald Trump have this election stolen from him the people of that nation will most surely revolt.
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(Want to get this briefing by email? Here’s the .) Good evening. Here’s the latest. 1. President Trump is marshaling the full power of his office to win support for the Republican bill to replace the Affordable Care Act. On Capitol Hill, the bill was approved by two House committees despite vociferous opposition from Democrats, health care providers and some conservatives. It goes to the Budget Committee next, before a final House vote that Speaker Paul Ryan, above, plans for the week of March 20. _____ 2. The administration is considering deep cuts to the Coast Guard, the Transportation Security Agency and the Federal Emergency Management Agency to fund its southern border security plan. The goal is to shift about $5 billion toward hiring agents for Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, infrastructure and building a wall. The three agencies in question have played roles in the Department of Homeland Security’s . 11 security architecture. Some agency veterans were befuddled by the news. _____ 3. The new head of the Environmental Protection Agency, Scott Pruitt, said in a TV appearance that carbon dioxide was not a primary contributor to global warming. That statement is at odds with the global scientific consensus on climate change. His remarks come as the Trump administration prepares to roll back President Barack Obama’s two signature global warming policies: a pair of sweeping regulations intended to curb carbon dioxide emissions from vehicles and power plant smokestacks. _____ 4. The United States is sending an additional 400 troops to Syria to help prepare for the looming fight for Raqqa, the capital of the Islamic State’s caliphate. The increase, which includes a team of Army Rangers and a Marine artillery unit that have already arrived in the country, appears to represent a of the number of American troops in the country. _____ 5. The founder of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, moved to seize the moment after his organization released a new trove of classified information about the C. I. A. ’s cyberweaponry. Speaking from the Ecuadorean Embassy in London, where he has sought refuge since 2012, Mr. Assange presented himself as a defender of some of the biggest American technology companies against their own government. The C. I. A. responded by saying that any spying it does is restricted by law to foreigners and foreign countries, and described Mr. Assange as “not exactly a bastion of truth and integrity. ” _____ 6. In a rare public disclosure, Fox News released a joint statement with a former contributor, Tamara Holder, about her report of sexual assault by a company executive. In late February, 21st Century Fox reached a settlement worth more than $2. 5 million with Ms. Holder, who said that she was assaulted at company headquarters two years ago. She said she struggled with whether to come forward with her claims. The company is still dealing with the fallout from the harassment scandal involving Roger Ailes. “I was told by agents and lawyers that if I opened up, I would forever be ‘toxic’ and my career would be over,” Ms. Holder said in an email. “I had to turn my fear into courage. ” _____ 7. And in Texas, sexual assault accusations piled up while Baylor University made football its top priority. The victims, furious alumni and the authorities are seeking answers. One lawsuit claims there were 52 rapes from 2011 to 2014 — a period when the football program became a dominant force in the Big 12 conference. Collectively, the cases have become a cautionary parable for college athletics, one in which a Christian university seemed to lose sight of its core values in pursuit of football glory and protected gridiron heroes who preyed on women. _____ 8. We’re getting ready for St. Patrick’s Day, celebrated on March 17. So was Mr. Trump’s online store, which briefly stocked a $50 green “Make America Great Again” hat embroidered with a clover. The designers may have been thinking of the shamrock, often mistaken for a clover. The latter is not a symbol of Ireland. The hats have now disappeared from the website. _____ 9. Here’s a new category of TV show: “pastoral porn. ” That’s how our writer described “Countryfile,” a wildly popular BBC documentary show that portrays the lifestyle and grassy valleys of the English countryside. The “quintessentially British” program moves at a leisurely clip, and doesn’t shy away from difficult topics such as dementia or domestic abuse. “A lot of television may be made with ratings in mind,” one of the show’s directors said. “That may be where they are getting it wrong, as far as I am concerned. ” _____ 10. Finally, in 2017, identity is at the absolute center of our conversations about music. Here are 25 songs that show why. In the process, they show us where music is going. To celebrate the release of the Times Magazine Music Issue, we offer a curated playlist featuring Future, Kelela, Adele and more, with essays by Margo Jefferson, Wesley Morris, Angela Flournoy and others. Happy listening. _____ Photographs may appear out of order for some readers. Viewing this version of the briefing should help. Your Evening Briefing is posted at 6 p. m. Eastern. And don’t miss Your Morning Briefing, posted weekdays at 6 a. m. Eastern, and Your Weekend Briefing, posted at 6 a. m. Sundays. Want to look back? Here’s last night’s briefing. What did you like? What do you want to see here? Let us know at briefing@nytimes. com. | 1 |
Chart Of The Day: Mind The Russell 2000---Epic Breakdown Underway By David Stockman. Posted On Wednesday, October 26th, 2016
David Stockman's Contra Corner is the only place where mainstream delusions and cant about the Warfare State, the Bailout State, Bubble Finance and Beltway Banditry are ripped, refuted and rebuked. Subscribe now to receive David Stockman’s latest posts by email each day as well as his model portfolio, Lee Adler’s Daily Data Dive and David’s personally curated insights and analysis from leading contrarian thinkers. | 0 |
Saturday 19 November 2016 by Neil Tollfree Jose Mourinho to motivate players for Arsenal match by punching them in the face
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho is to take his confrontational style of management a stage further and prepare all his players for today’s crucial Arsenal match by punching them all squarely in the face.
The news follows Mourinho’s criticism of Chris Smalling for not playing with a broken toe and Luke Shaw for having a broken leg and not being ‘brave.’
“My players are all total bastards,” said the grumpy Portuguese, either as some magnificent psychological game that no one but he can understand, or as another stage in what increasingly looks like a total psychotic breakdown.
“I despise them for not making the goals I want, but I am Mourinho. I understand players. How to make them play better for me.
“I will punch them in the face. All of them. I will continue to punch them all in the face until they score all the goals I want them to.
“I am no longer the Special One, I am the Punchy One.”
Pundits seemed impressed with Mourinho’s plans.
“The problem with players today is they’re soft-arsed, headphone shitters,” said Chris Sutton, angrily.
“A punch in the face would do them all the power of good.
“And a kick in the balls wouldn’t hurt, either.
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Home › ECONOMIC › WALL STREET JOURNAL BEGINS LAYOFFS, CUTS SECTIONS WALL STREET JOURNAL BEGINS LAYOFFS, CUTS SECTIONS 0 SHARES
[11/3/16] News Corp’s The Wall Street Journal will launch a new format for the newspaper with fewer sections on Nov. 14, and has begun laying off employees as part of an effort to cut costs, according to two memos reviewed by Reuters on Wednesday.
On Wednesday, the Journal laid off staff of its Greater New York section, according to a memo sent on Wednesday from the International Association of Publishers’ Employees to members of the union at the paper. The layoffs include 19 IAPE-represented employees.
The layoffs came just weeks after Dow Jones & Co, the News Corp unit NWS 0.21% that oversees the newspaper, announced a three-year plan to cut costs in response to a decline in print advertising.
As part of the cost cutting, the Journal offered all of its news employees the option to take a buyout. The deadline to express interest in a buyout was Monday, and 48-IAPE represented employees took the buyout, out of a total 450 who were offered it, according to IAPE.
A spokeswoman for Dow Jones declined to comment on how many employees requested buyouts or how many layoffs were expected. Post navigation | 0 |
Microsoft is trying to light a creative spark under the struggling personal computer industry. On Wednesday, the company, which is based in Redmond, Wash. unveiled a desktop personal computer that turns into a digital drafting table. Surface Studio, as the new device is called, is the company’s first desktop PC, and a reminder of Microsoft’s growing presence in the hardware side of the industry that it once left entirely to its partners. At an event in New York, Microsoft also announced an update to its Windows 10 operating system that is designed to make creating, manipulating and viewing objects easier. The new Microsoft machine is a handsome specimen of the PC category best exemplified by Apple’s iMac. It has a sleek aluminum body with screen that rests on top of a stand. Microsoft also showed a new accessory device called the Surface Dial that augments computer mice, giving users a precise way to zoom in images and perform other actions. “This is a product that we believe truly brings out the creator in all of us,” said Panos Panay, a Microsoft corporate vice president. The new Microsoft PC will not be for everyone though, if only because of its $2, 999 price tag. It will go on sale in limited quantities this holiday season, Mr. Panay said. Architects, product designers and engineers are among the likely targets for the product. Surface Studio stands out from others in that its display is touch sensitive, effectively making it a gargantuan tablet that can be manipulated with hands and a stylus. A hinge in its stand allows users to position the screen at an angle so they can write and draw on it more naturally. J. P. Gownder, an analyst at Forrester Research, thinks the new device allows Microsoft to participate in the high end of the PC market, where profit margins tend to be fatter. During its most recently reported quarter, Microsoft said it had $926 million in Surface revenue, up 38 percent from the same period a year earlier. But like previous Surface computers from Microsoft, including a laptop and tablet, Surface Studio is also intended to inspire other PC makers, Mr. Gownder said. “Without the vision that the Surface team has provided, frankly, the PC industry would be in worst shape than it is anyway,” Mr. Gownder said. Sales in the PC market have been in a long slump. Shipments of new PCs in the third quarter fell 3. 9 percent from the previous year, according to IDC, the technology research firm. Microsoft said a new version of its operating system that would be released early next year, Windows 10 Creators Update, is aimed at responding to the interest in imagery inspired by new technologies like virtual reality. The company demonstrated how a image of a sand castle can easily be captured on a smartphone and then edited into a greeting card on Windows 10 with a new application that comes with the software. The company’s chief executive, Satya Nadella, said Microsoft’s new products were meant for the people who needed more than a regular consumer’s computer. “We are the company that stands for the builders, the makers, the creators — that’s who we are,” Mr. Nadella said. “Every choice we make is about finding that balance between consumption and creative expression. ” Microsoft also said several hardware companies, including HP, Dell, Lenovo and Asus, would release virtual reality headsets next holiday season that work with Windows 10 PCs. The headsets will start at $299, hundreds of dollars less than comparable headsets. | 1 |
The fix is in.
If the latest flurry of emails from the Clinton Camp prove anything, it’s that Hillary’s organization has been actively manipulating and rigging the Presidential election from the get-go. We know for a fact that she colluded with Democratic National Committee to marginalize Bernie Sanders. We know her mainstream media cohorts gave her debate questions ahead of time. We know that she actively hired and organized actions in Chicago and elsewhere to make it look like Trump supporters were violent. And we know from recently released John Podesta emails that they have been tampering with polls through over sampling. We also know that dead democrats all over the country are voting in the Presidential election.
Thus, it stands to reason that if there’s any way to rig actual election outcomes either through hacking electronic voting systems or other ballot machinations, the Clinton campaign will do everything in their power to take advantage of it.
In the video below The Daily Sheeple’s Weekly Word explains that there are five key states that are actively being target for election fraud:
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Katie Rich, a writer for “Saturday Night Live,” has been suspended from her position at that show following a widely criticized post she made Friday on her personal Twitter account in which she mocked Barron Trump, the son of President Donald J. Trump. She was suspended immediately after her tweet, and her suspension is indefinite, according to someone familiar with the plans at “S. N. L. ,” who was not authorized by NBC to comment on personnel matters. That tweet on Friday, during Mr. Trump’s inauguration ceremony, drew widespread condemnation, and Ms. Rich subsequently deleted the post (which said “Barron will be this country’s first homeschool shooter”) and deactivated her Twitter account. Her name did not appear in the closing credits of “Saturday Night Live” in its broadcast on Saturday. On Monday afternoon, Ms. Rich reactivated her account and posted a message that said: “I sincerely apologize for the insensitive tweet. I deeply regret my actions offensive words. It was inexcusable I’m so sorry. ” The suspension of Ms. Rich, who was hired to join “S. N. L. ” at the end of 2013, comes at a delicate time for the program, when it has felt emboldened to lampoon Mr. Trump but has faced his swift retaliation on Twitter. Following the show’s broadcast of Jan. 14, in which the actor Alec Baldwin played Mr. Trump in a parody of his news conference from earlier that week, Mr. Trump wrote on Twitter the following day: “NBC News is bad but Saturday Night Live is the worst of NBC. Not funny, cast is terrible, always a complete hit job. Really bad television!” Mr. Trump made no public comments about Saturday’s show, in which Mr. Baldwin did not appear. NBC said on Monday that Mr. Baldwin will host “Saturday Night Live” on Feb. 11 and appear throughout that program. | 1 |
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Well, Donald Trump certainly has cause for celebration today.
Despite having a multi-billion-dollar net worth, an international real estate company, and a primetime television show, Donald Trump’s ambitions were still set higher. The one trophy he’d spent his entire life trying to claim for his mantle of accomplishments had always evaded him—until today. By winning the 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump is finally able to kick the nation’s most powerful black family out of their house.
One can only imagine the immense joy Donald’s wife and children feel for him today.
Trump has been preparing for this moment ever since the Trump Organization first started buying buildings throughout New York City and raising rent for African-Americans until he could toss them out for no longer being able to afford it. Now, after decades of practice and determination, the president-elect will see his magnum opus arrive in the form of booting the incredibly influential and powerful Obama family out of the home they’ve lived in for the past eight years.
Ejecting black people from their residences has been a lifelong passion for Donald. From practicing discriminatory housing policies that prevented black people from moving into Trump buildings to tagging black people’s rental applications with a separate sheet of paper marked “C” for “colored,” Donald has never lost focus on his goal. But that was all just warm-up for Trump, who clearly wanted to challenge himself by attempting to evict a wealthy black family of international renown. And when he sends President Obama, Michelle, Malia, Sasha, and all their boxed-up belongings packing from their house in January, Trump will have done just that.
What a truly stunning feat. With the biggest item on his bucket list now firmly checked off, Trump would be more than justified in resting on his laurels to soak in the consummation of all his dreams. It’s hard to imagine an even more powerful and famous black family Donald could evict, but knowing Trump, he will continue to push himself. Whatever his plans are now, the world will be watching in anxious anticipation. | 0 |
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The Resentments Trump Represents While the mainstream U.S. media has focused on personal scandals, the presidential race has revealed a deep and sometimes ugly resentment among many Americans who blame the haughty elites for declining living standards, says Andrew Spannaus,
By Andrew Spannaus
This year’s presidential election has been surprising on many fronts, with the success of a number of outsider candidates and the fact that the most unorthodox of them all, Donald Trump, is within striking distance of victory in the last days of the campaign.
As shocking as Trump’s candidacy has been to the national media and political establishment, it has provoked even more astonishment outside of the United States, where people often have a superficial view of the U.S. political and economic situation. This is driven by a reliance on only a few major news outlets that tend to give an elitist view of what happens in the country, ignoring the type of undercurrents that have driven the outsider campaigns this year. Donald Trump speaking with supporters at a campaign rally at Veterans Memorial Coliseum at the Arizona State Fairgrounds in Phoenix, Arizona. June 18, 2016. (Photo by Gage Skidmore)
In Europe, a common question asked of Americans this year has been: “Has everyone gone crazy?”
There is shock that much of the country would be willing to vote for someone as unprepared and offensive as Donald Trump. It is heightened by the fact that the current President is the first African-American to hold the office, confusing people who thought that Barack Obama’s election had put racial considerations on the backburner, but now see the Republican candidate drawing on racist stereotypes to increase enthusiasm among his base.
This has led to the common view that white, male America is “fighting back,” and not willing to accept a woman president, after having to suffer the indignity of the first black president for the past eight years.
While sexism and racism can’t be ignored, the problem is that just as much of the U.S. media has done for so long, Europeans concentrate mostly on the person of Trump himself, with his countless faults, while almost entirely ignoring the discontent among the population that has made this kind of revolt possible.
There is in fact very little recognition of the difficulties of the U.S. middle class over the past 35 years, caused principally by the pro-finance, anti-industrial policies that have contributed to the loss of millions of well-paying jobs across the country. The media touts the low unemployment numbers and the return to economic growth, and thus Europeans don’t understand how the American population could be so upset, and what the source of the anger could be.
Yet it doesn’t take much to go beneath the surface and explain the economic anxiety that has driven the realignment of U.S. politics this year. Indeed the stagnation of wages and lack of financial security that much of the American middle- and lower-class suffers from is quite similar to that in Europe; and in Europe the drop in living standards is leading to a continent-wide revolt against the institutions of the European Union. Europe’s Battle: Nationalists vs. Elites .”]
A Left-Right Resistance
In Europe as in the U.S., there are right-wing and left-wing manifestations of the protest, combining anger against the bank bailouts, opposition to economic austerity, and fear of immigrants seen as threatening traditions and security. Flag of the European Union.
In addition, international “free trade” agreements are the target of significant public and political opposition around the Continent, even more so than in the U.S., where much of the establishment remains committed to the current neoliberal economic policies.
Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, the self-described “democratic socialist,” and real-estate mogul Donald Trump both target NAFTA and the Trans-Pacific Partnership, denouncing the pacts as negative for American workers and favorable mostly to multinational corporations. In Europe the target is the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), the agreement still being negotiated with the U.S. that is seen as negative for smaller companies and traditional markets, and favorable mostly to multinational corporations.
The similarities between the protest movements are so strong that failure to recognize them means that someone obviously deserves a prize for misinformation.
When it comes to foreign policy, the issues become even more urgent for Europe. While Donald Trump promises to crush ISIS and increase spending on the U.S. military, his position regarding the key strategic question for Europe – relations with Russia – is the opposite of what most people expect.
Hillary Clinton’s hawkish stance towards Russia and her stated disgust for Vladimir Putin appear to be perfectly in tune with the reversion towards an adversarial relationship that is currently taking shape after the apparent failure of attempts at greater cooperation through diplomacy made by President Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry listens to Russian President Vladimir Putin in a meeting room at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, at the outset of a bilateral meeting on July 14, 2016. [State Department Photo] The superficial view is that Clinton will represent continuity with the foreign policy of the Obama administration, but anyone who has been paying attention knows that on numerous important questions, from the nuclear agreement with Iran to relations with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, from the establishment of a “no-fly zone” in Syria to intervening more directly in Ukraine, there is significant daylight between the President and his former Secretary of State, and Clinton has barely attempted to hide it.
Trump, on the other hand, is more in line with the preferred foreign policy of most major European nations, in particular as regards Russia. After years of sanctions and increased military activities closer to Russia’s borders, the leaders of Germany, France and Italy all hope for a reduction of tensions, allowing them to resume economic relations and avoid being caught in the middle of a new East-West conflict.
Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has been particularly vocal in opposing the anti-Russia sanctions, including – curiously – immediately after his return from a state dinner at the White House. In fact, it’s not the first time he has been critical of current policy towards Russia right after a meeting in Washington, and as anyone in Italy knows, it’s highly unlikely he would make such statements without tacit approval, or at least acceptance, from the U.S. government, in this case most likely President Obama.
If Hillary Clinton wins the election, it will be interesting to see if nations such as Italy will continue to be afforded such leeway.
Over the course of the campaign, the recognition of the deeper issues at play in the U.S. election has grown, although such discussion still tends to be overshadowed by superficial coverage of the personal battle between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, and the various scandals of the moment.
Europeans would do better to pay close attention to the fundamental questions that have been raised during the campaign, that will have a major impact on the entire Western world in the coming years: the fate of the middle class and the decline of the productive economy, and the decision as to whether to seek cooperation, or conflict, with Russia.
Andrew Spannaus is a freelance journalist and strategic analyst based in Milan, Italy. He is the founder of Transatlantico.info, that provides news, analysis and consulting to Italian institutions and businesses. His book on the U.S. elections Perchè vince Trump (Why Trump is Winning) was published in June 2016. | 0 |
Celebrating GLOBAL GRACE DAY, November 9, 2016 As every year, we celebrate the Global Grace Day on this November 9, 2016. First “Global Grace Day” at the Separation Wall in Israel-Palestine, November 9, 2005 By Dieter Duhm / terranovavoice.tamera.org
As every year, we celebrate the Global Grace Day on this November 9, 2016. It is a day of taking a decision for a future worth living. Its date reminds us of November 9, 1938, when Hitler Germany began its first massive attack against German Jews in what was called “Kristallnacht” or the “Night of Broken Glass.” Yet this date also reminds us of November 9, 1989, when the Berlin Wall was opened. The external wall that was overcome back then now also needs to be overcome within people so that we can find a way out of the unspeakable suffering people currently inflict on each other around the world. People shooting each other, intentionally killing one another – this does not belong to the plan of a humane world. Our goal is a world without war, without weapons and without fear.
First of all, immense gratitude to all those who are offering assistance in this world gone astray; gratitude to all peace workers, all communities and organizations working to support the many people currently fleeing, those that need to persevere in camps without protection, hungry and cold, those that are trapped in war zones (e.g. Mosul, Aleppo) without any prospect for help, those that cross the Mediterranean Sea in crowded dinghies and those that mourn their lost relatives. It is an unending suffering on all continents. Many volunteers travel from hotspot to hotspot trying relieve a kind of distress that can no longer be relieved. We need another solution if want to provide sustainable, lasting help. What could it consist of?
We need a new foundation for human coexistence. The relationship among people is the greatest crisis of our times. The morphogenetic field of war currently dominating this planet needs to be replaced by a new morphogenetic field of peace. The solution consists in creating new fields of life which the existing world of war cannot integrate, for they are anchored in the universal order, the field of the “Sacred Matrix.” This field arises when we create new communities that manifest the fundamental values of life – solidarity, compassion, love and mutual support. Liberating sexuality and the love between the genders from all false restrictions and prejudices, renouncing lies and forevermore ending all forms of sexual violence belong to the work of these communities as well.
“Sexpeace” is a key for healing. If truth, trust and love enter at the core issue of erotic love, the entire superstructure of society will change. A different relation to life develops (“re-ligio”), a new relation to animals and all beings. We experience this in Tamera on a daily basis. There is a power greater than all violence. This is the power of communities, which focus in total trust on a common goal for the future and are, while doing so, connected with the inner laws of objective ethics. They can no longer be corrupted nor governed. The power stronger than all violence – this is profound trust among people. Where there is trust, higher powers assist us as well.
In this spirit, we work on the global Healing Biotopes Project . All groups working for peace are warmly invited to join this network. In the name of love for all that lives. 0.0 · | 0 |
12 Life Lessons from a Man Who’s Seen 12,000 Deaths
What Can We Learn from the Dying? By Deepak Ramola
Rooted in the hearts of many Hindus is the belief that if you breathe your last in Kashi (Varanasi) you attain what is popularly known as ‘Kashi Labh’ or ‘the fruit of Kashi’—moksh or “release from the cycle of rebirth impelled by the law of karma”.
Kashi Labh Mukti Bhawan in Varanasi is one of the three guesthouses in the city where people check in to die. The other two are Mumukshu Bhawan and Ganga Labh Bhawan. Established in 1908, Mukti Bhawan is well-known within the city and outside.
Bhairav Nath Shukla has been the Manager of Mukti Bhawan for 44 years. He has seen the rich and the poor take refuge in the guesthouse in their final days as they await death and hope to find peace. Shukla hopes with and for them. He sits on the wooden bench in the courtyard, against the red brick wall and shares with me 12 recurring life lessons from the 12000 deaths he has witnessed in his experience as the manager of Mukti Bhawan: 1. Resolve all conflicts before you go
Shukla recounts the story of Shri Ram Sagar Mishr, a Sanskrit scholar of his times. Mishr was the eldest of six brothers and was closest to the youngest one. Years ago an ugly argument between the two brothers led to a wall to partition the house.
In his final days, Mishr walked to the guesthouse carrying his little paan case and asked to keep room no. 3 reserved for him. He was sure he will pass away on the 16th day from his arrival. On the 14th day he said, “ Ask my estranged brother of 40 years to come see me. This bitterness makes my heart heavy. I am anxious to resolve every conflict.”
A letter was sent out. On the 16th day when the youngest brother arrived, Mishr held his hand and asked to bring down the wall dividing the house. He asked his brother for forgiveness. Both brothers wept and mid sentence, Mishr stopped speaking. His face became calm. He was gone in a moment.
Shukla has seen this story replay in many forms over the years. “People carry so much baggage, unnecessarily, all through their life only wanting to drop it at the very end of their journey. The trick lies not in not having conflicts but in resolving them as soon as one can,” says Shukla. 2. Simplicity is the truth of life
“People stop eating indulgent food when they know they are going to go. The understanding that dawns on many people in their final days is that they should’ve lived a simple life. They regret that the most,” says Shukla.
A simple life, as he explains, can be attained by spending less. We spend more to accumulate more and thus create more need. To find contentment in less is the secret to having more. 3. Filter out people’s bad traits
Shukla maintains that every person has shades of good and bad. But instead of dismissing “bad” people outrightly, we must seek out their good qualities. Harbouring bitterness for certain people comes from concentrating on their negatives. If you focus on the good qualities though, you spend that time getting to know them better or, maybe even, loving them. 4. Be willing to seek help from others
To know and do everything by yourself might feel empowering but it limits one from absorbing what others have learnt. Shukla believes we must help others, but more importantly, have the courage to seek help when we’re in need.
Every person in the world knows more than us in some respect. And their knowledge can help us, only if we’re open to it.
He recounts the incident of an old woman being admitted on a rainy day back in the 80s. The people who got her there left her without filling the inquiry form. A few hours later, the police came to trace the relatives of the old lady who, they said, were runaway Naxalites. Shukla pretended to know nothing. The police left. When the lady’s relatives returned next morning, Shukla asked the leader uninhibitedly, “When you can kill 5-8 people yourself why didn’t you simply shoot your Nani and cremate her yourself? Why did you make me lie and feel ashamed?” The grandson fell to his knees and pleaded for forgiveness saying no one amongst them is capable of helping his religious grandmother attain salvation. He respects that, and is the reason why he brought her to Mukti Bhawan. 5. Find beauty in simple things
Mukti Bhavan plays soulful bhajans and devotional songs three times a day. “Some people”, he says, “stop and admire a note or the sound of the instruments as if they have never heard it before, even if they have. They pause to appreciate it and find beauty in it.”
But that’s not true of everyone, he adds. People who are too critical or too proud, are the ones who find it hard to find joy in small things because their minds are preoccupied with “seemingly” more important things. 6. Acceptance is liberation
Most people shirk away from accepting what they are going through. This constant denial breeds in them emotions that are highly dangerous. Only once you accept your situation is when you become free to decide what to do about it. Without acceptance you are always in the grey space.
When you are not in denial of a problem you have the strength to find a solution.
Indifference, avoidance, and denial of a certain truth, Shukla believes, cause anxiety; they develop a fear of that thing in the person. Instead, accept the situation so you are free to think what you want to do about it and how. Acceptance will liberate you and empower you. 7. Accepting everyone as the same makes service easier
The secret to Shukla’s unfazed dedication and determination towards his demanding job can be understood via this life lesson. He admits that life would’ve been difficult if he treated people who admit themselves to Mukti Bhavan differently, based on their caste, creed, colour, and social or economic status. Categorisation leads to complication and one ends up serving no one well. “The day you treat everyone the same is the day you breathe light and worry less about who might feel offended or not. Make your job easier,” he says. 8. If/When you find your purpose, do something about it
To have awareness about one’s calling is great, but only if you do something about it.
A lot of people, Shukla says, know their purpose but don’t do anything about realising it, making it come to life. Simply sitting on it is worse than not having a calling in the first place. Having a perspective towards your purpose will help you measure the time and effort you need to dedicate to it, while you’re caught up in what you think you can’t let go or escape. Take action on what truly matters. 9. Habits become values
Shukla recommends cultivating good habits to be able to house good values. And building good habits happens over time, with practice. “It’s like building a muscle; you have to keep at it everyday.”
Till one doesn’t consistently work towards being just or kind or truthful or honest or compassionate, every single time he is challenged, one cannot expect to have attained that quality. 10. Choose what you want to learn
In the vastness of the infinite amount of knowledge available to us it is easy to get lost and confused. “The key lesson here is to be mindful of choosing what you deeply feel will be of value to you,” he says. People might impose subjects and philosophies on you because it interests them and while you must acknowledge their suggestions, the wise thing to do is delve deeper into what rejoices your own heart and mind.
With a smile on his face Shukla says, “In the last days of their life a lot of people can’t speak, walk or communicate with others with as much ease as they could, earlier. So, they turn inwards. And start to remember the things that made their heart sing once, things that they cared to learn more about over the course of their life, which enriches their days now.” 11. You don’t break ties with people; you break ties with the thought they produce
You can seldom distance yourself from people you have truly loved or connected with in some way. However, in any relationship, along the way, certain mismatch of ideologies causes people to stop communicating. This never means you are no longer associated with that person. It simply means that you don’t associate with a dominant thought that person brings with him/her, and to avoid more conflict you move away. The divorce, Shukla affirms, is with the thought and never with the person. To understand that is to unburden yourself from being bitter and revengeful. 12. 10 percent of what you earn should be kept aside for dharma
Dharma, Shukla doesn’t define as something religious or spiritual. Instead, he says it is associated more with doing good for others and feeling responsible about that. A simple calculation according to him is to keep 10 percent of your income for goodwill.
Many people donate or do charitable acts towards the end of their life because death is hard on them. In their suffering, they begin to empathise with others’ suffering. He says those who have the companionship of loved ones, the blessings of unknown strangers, and an all-encompassing goodwill of people exit peacefully and gracefully. That is possible when you don’t cling on to everything you have, and leave some part of it for others.
Feature Image: Jorge Royan | 0 |
Is the battle to contain global warming now lost? With the election of Donald Trump, it certainly looked that way to many of the shellshocked diplomats gathered in Morocco earlier this month at the first climate summit following the breakthrough agreement in Paris last year to contain greenhouse gas emissions. During the campaign, the of the world’s second largest polluter claimed that climate change is a hoax, threatened to drop the Paris accord, committed to kill the Clean Power Plan at the center of President Obama’s emissions reduction strategy, and promised a new dawn for the fossil fuel industry. Don’t give up just yet. True, international diplomacy will become more difficult as China and India weigh their own energy policy commitments in the light of the possibility that the United States will walk away from its promises. But President Trump’s climate policy — or his lack of one — could work out in surprising ways. Ted Nordhaus and Jessica Lovering, in a report published on Tuesday by the Breakthrough Institute, pointed out that real progress on reducing carbon in the atmosphere has been driven so far by specific domestic energy, industrial and innovation policies, “not emissions targets and timetables or international agreements intended to legally constrain national emissions. ” It’s certainly possible that a Trump administration will drop the Clean Power Plan and renege on the Paris accord. But as long as it keeps the nation’s nuclear power plants online, continues tax incentives for wind and solar energy and stays out of the way of the shale energy revolution, Ms. Lovering and Mr. Nordhaus write, “the U. S. might outperform the commitments that the Obama administration made in Paris. ” For all his promises to bring back coal jobs in Appalachia, Mr. Trump might be drawn in a different direction by his own objectives of promoting natural gas and achieving energy independence. If he gives those goals high priority, he could well end up pursuing policies that would ultimately lower carbon emissions. Striking a meaningful deal on climate has proved an elusive goal. The first try, in Kyoto, Japan, in 1997, committed advanced nations to reduce emissions between 1990 and 2010. But they actually achieved more in terms of reducing dependency on fossil fuels in the decade before the agreement than in the decade after. If the Kyoto target survived, it was only because of other forces: First, the collapse of the Soviet bloc wiped out a lot of European carbon emissions along with the decrepit Eastern European industrial base then the global downturn that started in 2008 reduced carbon emissions along with economic growth. Even the most aggressive proposals by the Obama administration probably packed less punch than supporters believe. President Obama’s original bill, which was blocked in the Senate in 2009, proposed emissions limits that were higher than what emissions have turned out to be. The steep decline was driven not just by the recession and slow recovery, but also by the wholesale move by the power sector over the last decade from coal to less polluting natural gas. As Robert Stavins of Harvard University put it, “The most important factor in terms of carbon emissions in the United States is the price of natural gas. ” And for all the over the future of the Clean Power Plan, its demise might not even make that much of a difference. The shift from coal to gas will continue to happen anyway. A study commissioned last December by the Environmental Defense Fund concluded that most states could comply “by relying exclusively on existing generation, investments already planned within each state and implementation of respective existing state policies. ” Of course, President Trump could do much more than simply stopping the Clean Power Plan, especially if he had eight years to work with. But why would he do that? Production tax credits for renewables have already been extended by a Congress until 2021. Mr. Trump supports nuclear energy, and could well be persuaded to extend federal subsidies to keep the nation’s teetering string of nuclear plants in operation. Most importantly, climate objectives could mesh with Mr. Trump’s goal of energy independence. According to the 2016 edition of the International Energy Agency’s World Energy Outlook, the United States could pretty much become energy independent by 2040 — reducing its annual oil imports to 1 million barrels a day from 6 million in 2014 — as long as Washington sticks to current policies. Part of this has to do with rising shale oil and gas production. But the main driver would be efficiency. The Trump administration only has to maintain the Obama administration’s CAFE standards, which require the average fuel economy of cars and light trucks to rise to miles per gallon by 2025, from 34 today. This is not to say that the world could survive forever an American administration that doesn’t believe in climate change and does nothing to contain it. A recent analysis by scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology concluded that the promises made in Paris would reduce the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere at the end of the century to 710 parts per million from 750. That is still far from the 450 p. p. m. ceiling needed to tip the odds in favor of staying under the temperature threshold scientists consider safe. According to the International Energy Agency, the commitments made in Paris will cap the growth of greenhouse gas emissions between now and 2040 to 13 percent. The 450 p. p. m. target requires them to fall by 43 percent. Getting there will require rich countries like the United States to help finance much of the transition for poor countries. The role of global diplomacy will rise. “It will be a big deal that will affect economic growth and jobs,” said David Victor of the School of Global Policy and Strategy at the University of California, San Diego. “We need a strategy to assure countries that their economic competitors are undertaking similar types of policies. ” For this to work, the United States, as the dominant economic player, must play ball. Simply pursuing energy independence will not go far enough. In four years, the United States might have an administration that is less hostile to the concept of climate change. In any case, the rationale for policies to support and energy sources will be even stronger then than it is today. “If a Trump administration lasts only four years, the process could maybe absorb that,” said Oliver Geden, head of research at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs. The bomb is ticking, but the world still has some time. | 1 |
People in 29 states can legally use medical marijuana for a variety of problems, including the relief of pain, anxiety or stress. But what if they want to travel with it? Secure airport areas beyond the Transportation Security Administration checkpoints are under federal control, and the federal government classifies marijuana as a Schedule 1 (most harmful) substance, even in states where it is legal for adults to consume it. The laws conflict, but federal law trumps state law, making it illegal to fly with marijuana in or checked luggage. It is also illegal to transport marijuana across state lines, even if both states have legalized it. Still, some passengers, especially on domestic flights, take the risk, because searching for marijuana is not on the T. S. A. ’s list. The agency focuses “on terrorism and security threats to the aircraft and its passengers,” a spokesman, Bruce Anderson, said. Airport screeners are looking for things that can take down an airplane, like guns or explosives, not marijuana, he said. But if screeners do notice marijuana in someone’s or checked luggage, Mr. Anderson said, they will call in local airport law enforcement officials to deal with it. Of the 54 million passengers who went through Denver International Airport in 2015, the T. S. A. stopped just 29 for possession of marijuana, an airport spokesman, Heath Montgomery, said. In those cases, as long as the amount was legal for personal possession in Colorado — one ounce of dried flower, for example — the local police simply asked the flier to dispose of it, either by throwing it in the trash or taking it home. All 29 complied, and no tickets were issued. In 2016, the airport did not keep a record of those stopped with the substance. “The bottom line is, it’s not an issue,” Mr. Montgomery said. Sales of medical and recreational marijuana are legal in Colorado, and over $1 billion of marijuana was sold through dispensaries last year, said Matthew A. Karnes, founder of GreenWave Advisors, which analyzes the industry. The comparatively small number of T. S. A. stops at the airport may mean that travelers have gotten the message that it is illegal to fly with marijuana and they leave it behind. Or perhaps they just pack it and travel with it in a way that is subtle enough not to draw attention to it, said Lisa Smith of Seattle. She often travels through airports with marijuana and says many of her friends do as well. Local airport authorities handle the situation differently in different states. In Florida, where medical marijuana is legal but recreational use is not, few are stopped for possession in the airport, but they do face penalties. Eleven of the approximately 2. 8 million passengers who were screened by T. S. A. at Jacksonville International Airport in 2016 were detained for possession of marijuana, said Michael D. Stewart, the airport’s director of external affairs. All were arrested or given a notice to appear in court, he said. T. S. A. agents with dogs that are sniffing people in line by security checkpoints are looking for explosives, not marijuana. Dogs assisting Customs and Border Protection agents, however, are searching for illicit drugs along with other illegal substances, but only among passengers arriving in the United States on international flights. “Some people like a glass of wine to relax when they travel,” Ms. Smith said. “I prefer a little marijuana. ” It is hard to find in some states, she said, so “it’s easier to bring my own. ” Medical and recreational marijuana are legal in Washington State. Typically she takes loose marijuana in a plastic pill container. “Only once has a T. S. A. agent pulled the container out of my purse,” she said, “but that was because she was looking for a water bottle that had set off the scanner. ” The agent put the marijuana back, Ms. Smith said. “I don’t think she noticed what it was. ” Ms. Smith said she also traveled sometimes with edible forms of marijuana. “I’ll take a couple of chocolates or mints and transfer them from their packaging to a container that isn’t labeled as a cannabis product,” she said. Cy Scott, of Headset, a marijuana industry data analytics company in Seattle, said the proliferation of new forms of cannabis made it easier to take the substance on a flight. “Along with cookies and chocolates, there are transdermal patches, sublingual drops, vape pens and topical ointments,” he said. There are 70, 000 unique marijuana products sold in Washington State alone, he said, “so there are endless ways to carry marijuana in a nonobvious way. ” Jaime Ruiz, chief of the Northern Border and Coastal Waters branch of the Department of Homeland Security, would not speculate on whether the odors in every processed marijuana product would be picked up by a detector dog working for Customs. “But by experience, our canines have been able to detect odors in unthinkable places and have found marijuana concealed in airtight containers,” he said. The musician Melissa Etheridge said she used medical marijuana for pain relief when she was being treated for breast cancer. She is now starting her own cannabis business, offering products like baked goods, tinctures and prerolled marijuana cigarettes aimed at people with pain from arthritis, sports injuries or other conditions. She said she had carried marijuana in her checked luggage, but always attaches her doctor’s recommendation to it. “Once the T. S. A. left a note that they had inspected my luggage, and they left it right on top of my weed,” she said. The conflict between legal consumers of marijuana and federal laws is bound to worsen. Doctors’ recommendations for the drug are increasing as new medicinal uses are discovered. And the number of states legalizing medical and recreational marijuana continues to rise. At the same time, Attorney General Jeff Sessions favors stricter law enforcement nationwide. Ms. Etheridge said she had become more cautious about flying with marijuana. So far, though, said Mr. Anderson of the Transportation Security Administration, “our policy and procedures in this have not changed. ” | 1 |
In these trying times, Jackie Mason is the Voice of Reason. [Jackie’s back this week with a brand new exclusive clip for Breitbart News, and a warning: “If I were you, I wouldn’t go into any Russian restaurant. Because for all I know, the blintzes could be bugged. ” “Do you hear all the conversation about the Russians? Somebody would think that the Russians left Russia and that they’re all living in Pittsburgh now because no matter where you go, that’s all you hear, about what the Russians did to us. ” Of course Trump, Jackie drolly explains, would never have won the election without Russia’s help. As for Trump accusing former President Obama of wiretapping his office at Trump Tower — Jackie finds it laughable that Democrats have now suddenly begun demanding proof for the allegations. “Let’s be honest about it. Do the Democrats need proof about any claims that they make?” he asks. “Every accusation they make is just invented out of nothing, out of nowhere. They’re claiming that Trump is involved with the Russians, the Russians influenced the whole election. ‘What proof do you have?’ We don’t need proof, we just announce it. ” Nevertheless, Jackie offers up his own proof for how Democrats could make the Russian accusations. Watch the full clip above, and the rest of Jackie Mason’s weekly exclusive clips for Breitbart News here. Follow Daniel Nussbaum on Twitter: @dznussbaum, | 1 |
SAN FRANCISCO — Yahoo, already reeling from its September disclosure that 500 million user accounts had been hacked in 2014, disclosed Wednesday that a different attack in 2013 compromised more than 1 billion accounts. The two attacks are the largest known security breaches of one company’s computer network. The newly disclosed 2013 attack involved sensitive user information, including names, telephone numbers, dates of birth, encrypted passwords and unencrypted security questions that could be used to reset a password. Yahoo said it is forcing all of the affected users to change their passwords and it is invalidating unencrypted security questions — steps that it declined to take in September. It is unclear how many Yahoo users were affected by both attacks. The internet company has more than 1 billion active users, but it is not clear how many inactive accounts were hacked. Yahoo said it discovered the larger hacking after analyzing data files, provided by law enforcement, that an unnamed third party had claimed contained Yahoo information. Security has taken a back seat at Yahoo in recent years, compared to Silicon Valley competitors like Google and Facebook. Yahoo’s security team clashed with top executives, including the chief executive, Marissa Mayer, over the cost and customer inconvenience of proposed security measures. And critics say the company was slow to adopt aggressive security measures, even after a breach of over 450, 000 accounts in 2012 and series of spam attacks — a mass mailing of unwanted messages — the following year. “What’s most troubling is that this occurred so long ago, in August 2013, and no one saw any indication of a breach occurring until law enforcement came forward,” said Jay Kaplan, the chief executive of Synack, a security company. “Yahoo has a long way to go to catch up to these threats. ” Yahoo has made a steady trickle of disclosures about the 2014 hacking, which it has been investigating with the help of federal authorities. The company said Wednesday that it now believes the attacker in that breach, which it says was sponsored by a government, found a way to forge credentials to log into some users’ accounts without a password. Bob Lord, Yahoo’s chief information security officer, said in a statement that the actor in the 2014 attack had stolen Yahoo’s proprietary source code. Outside forensics experts working with Yahoo believe that the hackers used Yahoo’s code to access user accounts without their passwords by creating forged “cookies,” short bits of text that a website can store on a user’s machine. By forging these cookies, attackers were able to impersonate valid users, gaining information and performing actions on behalf of their victims. The company has not disclosed who it believes was behind the attack. In July, Yahoo agreed to sell its core businesses to Verizon Communications for $4. 8 billion. Verizon said in October that it might seek to renegotiate the terms of the transaction because of the hacking, which had not been disclosed to Verizon during the original deal talks. After the latest disclosure Wednesday, a Verizon spokesman, Bob Varettoni, essentially repeated that position. “As we’ve said all along, we will evaluate the situation as Yahoo continues its investigation,” he said. “We will review the impact of this new development before reaching any final conclusions. ” Mr. Lord said Yahoo had taken steps to strengthen Yahoo’s systems after the attacks. The company encouraged its users to change passwords associated with their Yahoo account and any other digital accounts tied to their Yahoo email and account. In the hacking disclosed Wednesday, Mr. Lord said Yahoo believed an “unauthorized third party” managed to steal data from one billion Yahoo user accounts. Mr. Lord said that Yahoo had not been able to identify how the hackers breached Yahoo’s systems, but that the company believed the attack occurred in August 2013. Changing Yahoo passwords will be just the start for many users. They will also have to comb through other services to make sure passwords used on those sites are not too similar to what they were using on Yahoo. And if they were not doing so already, they will have to treat everything they receive online, such as email, with an abundance of suspicion, in case hackers are trying to trick them out of even more information. Yahoo recommended that its customers use Yahoo Account Key, an authentication tool that verifies a user’s identity using a mobile phone and eliminates the need to use a password on Yahoo altogether. Security experts say the latest discovery of a breach that happened so long ago is another black mark for the company. “It’s not just one sophisticated adversary that gets in,” said Ben Johnson, and chief security strategist at Carbon Black, a security company. “Typically companies get compromised multiple times due to the same vulnerability or employee culture. ” Mr. Johnson added that the scale of the breaches is only increasing as companies store more and more troves of information in similar databases. “When you have these huge databases of information, it’s millions — and now billions — of accounts lost,” he said. | 1 |
Swedish economist Tino Sanandaji has hit back at claims Sweden would collapse without illegal migrant workers saying the notion was a “fantasy”. [Mr. Sanandaji, a noted economist who has been outspoken about the consequences of unrestricted mass migration, wrote a post on his Facebook page in response to comments made by Swedish journalist Åsa Linderborg who said Sweden could not function without illegal migrants. “It is a fantasy that the economy would collapse without a few thousand undocumented migrants in occupations,” Sanandaji wrote. “Sweden worked demonstrably a few years ago when there were few illegal immigrants. ” According to the economist, illegal migrants have a very small impact on the overall economy because so few of them are employed. “Paperless migrants are a tiny fraction of the labour force and is in excess in professions that can easily be done by others. Low wages, no social benefit. It reflects the low productivity of the marginal service occupations that are barely required and can be easily replaced. ” Hitting out at left wing parties who are often he noted: “An illegal sector distorts competition and crowds out the unemployed who are looking for the few simple jobs that remain. It is harmful and unwanted and opposed by the traditional left. ” The economist, of background, did not stop with his criticism of left wing parties calling them an “immigration cult”. “They romanticise … undeclared work and wage dumping and have now begun to argue that the economy ‘needs’ a subclass. ” He then accused the left of creating a new class of poor, something that Sweden has attempted to fight through social programmes for decades. “Cultural Left’s new slogan can be summarised as ‘We want what the United States has! ’” he said, comparing the mantra to those in the U. S. who claim that without illegal migrants, the economy would collapse. Mass migration and its effect on the economy has been the subject of a book by Sanandaji entitled Mass Challenge. The book became controversial in some circles in Sweden including a library which refused to stock the book claiming it was promoting racism. Economists across Europe have spoken out against the purported economic benefits of mass migration. Economist Johan Javeus claimed that migrants were a “ticking time bomb” in Sweden which will harm the Swedish economy. In Germany, the Institute for Employment Research (IAB) wrote a report claiming that mass migration would likely harm economic growth rather than improve it. Follow Chris Tomlinson on Twitter at @TomlinsonCJ or email at ctomlinson@breitbart. com | 1 |
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